Spring Sangria

Looking for the perfect cocktail to serve at all your spring and summer barbeques? Well, I’m sharing it with you today! While I can’t report on the full tastiness of this because of that big news I told you on Friday I can say I sampled it before the wine was added and it was so yummy. I can only imagine how much more tasty it was with the Moscato.

But, don’t worry, I got the full report from the peeps I made it for and I totally trust their opinions! It was light, refreshing, citrusy, bubbly and (a bit to Joel’s disappointment) not very boozy. It’s a wine cocktail for goodness sakes, it’s just supposed to taste good. That’s what I think at least. I personally really don’t like the taste of any kind of alcohol and would almost always opt for a cherry coke over a cocktail. I’m not a big wine fan (and now you are wondering why I’m writing about wine) but if I am going to drink it, I like the fruity, bubbly, juice tasting variety. So, I know I would have liked the spiked version of this.

It was just amazingly refreshing and will be especially perfect once the hot, humid weather strikes! I can’t wait to be able to try the full version of this.

Spring Sangria
recipe from Eat, Drink, Love

1 (750 mL) fruity white wine (I used Moscato)
3 cups lemon lime soda
2 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice
Sliced lemons, limes and oranges
Sugar, optional

1. In a large pitcher, stir together the wine, lemon lime soda, pineapple juice and the orange juice. Then gently stir in the slices of fruit.

2. Place the sangria in the refrigerator for about 2 hours and serve. This is something you don’t want to make ahead of time because of the fruit. If you do need to make this more than two hours in advance, mix all the liquid ingredients together and chill. Then right before serving, add the sliced fruit.

3. If you want to pretty up the rims of your glasses, dip them lightly in water then in a shallow dish filled with sugar. Then fill ‘em up and enjoy!

Orange Blueberry Muffins

I was in the baking mood recently and had a big container of blueberries that I needed to be used up so I went on the hunt for something sweet to whip up. Whenever I think of blueberries, muffins immediately pop into my mind. They are my favorite kind and there are so many different varieties out there.
And as you all know, Noah is an enormous fan of the muffin. If he could choose, it would always be chocolate but he’s down with blueberries too. He has been wanting one at every meal so he runs to the kitchen, grabs the big bowl of them and brings them to the table, prying the lid off to help himself. All the while he is saying “Noah want a muffin….Noah have a muffin for {insert meal time here}.” He is a bit addicted to food like his mama!

These were bright, moist and yummy. I liked the idea of the sugar topping but I think a streusel topping with some grated orange peel mixed in would be amazing. I kind of have a thing for streusel.

Orange Blueberry Muffins
recipe from Taste of Home Cupcakes, Muffins and More

1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries*
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. In a small bowl, combine the oats and orange juice. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Combine the oil, eggs and oat mixture; stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in blueberries and orange peel.

2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine the topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire rack.

*If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding to batter.

Almond Poppyseed Bread {Christmas Tray 2012}

I came across this recipe via Pinterest and it went to the top of my “to make” list immediately. I love love love almond flavoring and it looked so moist (and it was). This recipe came from a blog I follow and absolutely adore, The Girl Who Ate Everything. If you aren’t familiar with it, you need to check it out asap.

Although I love making cookies, I wanted to give you all a variety of options to bake for the upcoming holidays. Sweet breads are great to give away at Christmastime because they last for several days and are a nice change to the traditional treats. Plus, you can buy cute mini loaf pans to bake them in so it’s like a double gift. I found cute ones for $1 each at Michael’s last year (I haven’t looked yet this year).

I loved the combination of the almond and citrus flavors in this bread. I replaced the orange with lemon juice since I didn’t have any oranges and I loved the zip the lemon gave the bread. I do think it would be amazing with the orange juice and will be trying it that way next time.

Almond Poppyseed Bread
recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Bread:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/8 cups cooking oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp butter extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

Glaze:

1/4 cup orange juice (I subbed lemon juice since I didn’t have any oranges)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp butter flavor extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

For the bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour into greased and floured baking pans. Makes 6 small loaves or 2 large loaves. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes for large pans and less for smaller pans. If you have a dark metal pan make sure to bake it for less time at a lower temperature. I overdid this batch a little bit because I used a dark pan. I like the disposable foil bread pans the best.

For the Glaze:

Pour all ingredients into a small saucepan and let cook on stove on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove bread from pans and pour glaze over warm bread. Use knife or spatula to bring the glaze that has run off up and over the warm bread until it stays on.

Spicy Orange Teriyaki Marinade and Glaze

Do you live in a house divided? Divided between sweet and spicy? I know I sure do. I love spicy food while Joel is definitely more of a sweet kind of guy (that’s my nice way of saying he’s kind of wimpy). Well, this is a nice marinade to know if you have a similar situation because it gets sweetness from orange marmalade and pineapple juice and a spicy kick from the chili paste. It’s the perfect compromise for our family. What makes it even better for us is that it consists of things I almost always have stocked in the kitchen.

I have tried this marinade on pork loin, boneless skinless chicken breasts and even salmon and it has been great on all three! I would have to say my favorite was the chicken with the pork a close second. This marinade also does double duty as a glaze. The glaze part is totally optional but totally worth it in my book because it adds so much more flavor. You can really taste the citrus and it’s yummy to have little bites of pineapple with the chicken. It’s almost like an updated version of sweet and sour sauce. Plus, who doesn’t love a little sauce for dipping? Noah is in a dipping stage right now so it’s pretty much a requirement around here to have a little dip dip as he would say.

Spicy Orange Teriyaki Marinade and Glaze
recipe from allrecipes.com

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili paste with garlic
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Chicken, pork loin or chops

1. For marinade: In a small, nonporous bowl, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic chili paste, ginger, garlic powder, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine, orange marmalade, pineapple chunks and cilantro, if desired. Mix well and pour over pork or chicken. Marinate covered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

2. Reserve marinade then grill chicken or pork until cooked through. Meanwhile, place reserved marinade and pineapple chunks in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower to a hard simmer and cook for at least 5 minutes. Drizzle meat with glaze then top with chopped cilantro.

Blue Moon Cupcakes

I’ve been an a huge cupcake kick lately. I made 3 different kinds of cupcakes in just a couple weeks (mind you they were for events but still it’s a bit excessive). They are just so fun and tasty and make a big impact with not much effort. When I saw these Blue Moon Cupcakes at one of my favorite blogs, Erica Sweet Tooth, I knew they would be perfect for our Super Bowl party last month. And they were a really big hit with everyone.

The cake was light and airy with a great hint of citrus. I couldn’t taste the beer in the cake but that was more than fine with me since I don’t like beer. I took Erica’s advice and poked holes in the cupcakes and brushed them with beer. I still didn’t taste it all that much but it made the tops moist and delicious.

The frosting was amazing to say the least. I added even more orange zest than the recipe called for because I love the fresh flavor of orange and I knew it would be so tasty with the cream cheese. I’m not one of those people that love frosting so much they eat it with a spoon but this frosting….it could have happened. I will be keeping this frosting as a favorite recipe for cream cheese frosting (with or without the zest).

These are perfect for any get together, you have to give them a try!

Blue Moon Cupcakes
recipe from Erica Sweet Tooth

3/4 cups butter, at room temperature
1-3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 cup Blue Moon beer, plus more for brushing on tops
1/4 cup milk
Orange wedges and sanding sugar for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

4. Add eggs, beating after each addition then add the vanilla and zest.

5. Combine milk and beer and alternatively add this mixture and the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture with the mixer on low speed, starting and ending with the flour.

6. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

7. When cupcakes are done, poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes with toothpicks and brush some beer on each while still warm.

For the citrus cream cheese frosting:
12 oz cream cheese, cold
6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
4 cups powdered sugar

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the citrus juice and zest and gradually add the powdered sugar until well-combined.  Beat until smooth for about 2 minutes.

3. Load frosting in a piping bag fit with a large star tip and pipe cupcake tops once cooled.

Recipe yields 24 cupcakes.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Fusion Friday and Sweets for a Saturday.

Stir Fried Orange Shrimp

Joel and I always give up something for Lent. It ranges from soda to chips to sweets…pretty much anything revolving around food. After watching Forks Over Knives, a documentary focusing on the positive health aspects of removing meat and animal products from your diet, Joel thought of the idea of giving up meat for Lent. I wasn’t so sure. That is hard. And it was very surprising to hear him suggest it as he is a huge carnivore and pouts if we have a meal without meat, poultry or seafood. After much thought, Joel decided to give up all meat and poultry but would allow himself to eat seafood. I personally am not a huge fan of seafood so I decided to eat chicken (and maybe the occasional shrimp), but no other poultry or meat.

I have been on the search for vegetarian meals and seafood recipes (that could also be translated to chicken for my dinner). One of the first recipes I tried was this Stir Fried Orange Shrimp. It was sweet and spicy and fairly simple to prepare for a weeknight meal. And for not really caring for seafood, I actually enjoyed this quite a bit (although it would be even tastier with chicken in my opinion…but I love me some chicken). I would love any suggestions for recipe ideas, especially lunch stuff! Our first week has gone well. Here’s to hoping we don’t eat cheesy pasta for 40 days!

Stir Fried Orange Shrimp
recipe from myrecipes.com

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons canola oil tablespoon
minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chopped green onions

1. Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat. Set aside.

2. Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

3. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add juice mixture and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday and Fusion Friday.

Homemade Gumdrops

Yep, you heard me right. Homemade gumdrops. And it’s all thanks to Bakerella….she is a genius…go check out the site if you have never been, you will be amazed.

I have had this recipe bookmarked for awhile now and have just been waiting for the perfect time to give them a try. And what better time than Valentine’s Day? Those bright, sparkly cubes are just so cute packaged up and would be the perfect gift for kids and adults alike.

These little gems involved quite a process to make and took about 3 full days to complete from start to finish but they turned out so darn cute and tasty. After reading what Bakerella had to say about these, I decided to spray disposable foil mini loaf pans with non-stick spray. I sliced each loaf 3 times vertically then cut the foil pan and peeled it off.

From there, I placed the gumdrop strips on a sugared cutting board and finished cutting them into cubes.

I decided to go with orange, lemon, raspberry and peppermint extracts to flavor my gumdrops and the orange was definitely my favorite. When making them, I wasn’t too sure how the peppermint would turn out but I was pleasantly surprised. It was nice and minty but not overpowering as I suspected it would be.

They were softer and chewier than store-bought gumdrops. To be honest, I just thought these would be fun to make and I didn’t have too high of hopes for actually enjoying them but they were pretty darn delicious.

As you can see, I didn’t really measure them to exactly 3/4-inches. I just cut them to approximately the same size then rolled them in sugar. After they dried for 2 days, I wrapped them up in clear cellophane bags and tied them up with a tag and sparkly ribbon.

Homemade Gumdrops
recipe from Bakerella

4 Tbsp gelatin (that’s about 6 envelopes)
1 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups boiling water
4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp flavored extract
1-2 drops food coloring (I used four colors)
extra sugar for coating

1. In a large pot, soften gelatin in cold water for five minutes.

2. Stir in boiling water until gelatin dissolves.

3. Stir in sugar.

4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 25 minutes. Stir constantly.

5. Pour mixture into 4 – 3X5 pans.

6. Add 1/4 tsp extract and 1-2 drops food color to each pan.

7. Stir until thoroughly combined.

8. Cover pan and chill overnight in the fridge.

9. Cut gelatin mixture into 3/4 inch cubes using a knife dipped in hot water.

10. The gelatin may pull, but continue cutting.

11. Separate cubes and roll in sugar until coated on all sides.

12. Place gumdrops on wax paper and leave at room temperature for two days to crystallize.

Store in an airtight container. Makes about 8 dozen 3/4 inch gumdrops.

Recipe linked to These Chicks Cooked, Mangia Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Full Plate Thursday.

Orange Clove Snickerdoodles {12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies}

Remember yesterday’s Orange Sugar? Remember how I told you that you had to make it for today’s post? Well now you know why! These Orange Clove Snickerdoodles are so chewy and fresh and perfect for the holidays.

I absolutely love snickerdoodles so when I stumbled upon this recipe I quickly bookmarked it and kept it in the back of my mind waiting for the perfect occasion. And what occasion is better than Christmas? A lot of the treats I made this year were chocolate-y and heavy so the citrus flavor of these cookies was refreshing and a welcomed change to the richness of the other cookies and candies.

We are leaving for our Christmas vacation this afternoon and we are so excited to see all of our family and friends. The next week and a half will be full of food, love and laughter and I can’t wait! I hope that you all are truly enjoying and relishing in this holiday season! Posts may be a bit few and far between until the New Year so please forgive me! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

Orange Clove Snickerdoodles
recipe from Cherry Tea Cakes

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup Orange Sugar
1 egg
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
2 tablespoons Orange Sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cloves, or to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. In a stand mixer combine the butter, sugar and egg thoroughly. In a bowl sift together the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Slowly add them to the wet ingredients, until a dough is formed.

3. Shape teaspoons of dough into rounded balls. Roll in the orange sugar and clove mixture.

4. Place two inches apart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Orange Sugar

Have you heard of vanilla sugar? It’s sugar and vanilla beans mixed together then left alone for a few weeks to infuse. After the process is complete you have a vanilla-y sugar that is perfect for baking, sprinkling on scones or fruit and just about anything else you would use regular sugar for. Well, when I added flavored sugar to my Top 100 list, that is what I intended to make. But then I found this. Orange sugar? Seriously!?!

It was so quick and easy to make and will last forever! You have to go and make it now because tomorrow’s last 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookie will involve it and let me tell you…you will want to make them!

Orange Sugar
recipe from Cherry Tea Cakes

1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp. dried orange peel or 1 tblsp. fresh orange zest
1 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 200.
2. In a small pan over medium heat, simmer orange juice and zest. Cook down until the mixture measure one tablespoon.
3. In a stand mixer, on a medium speed add sugar and a few drops of the orange juice reduction at a time. From here you can get creative. If you want to make sugar cubes for your tea, use molds, ice cube trays or shape into a rectangular disk about a fourth of an inch thick and place on a  cookie sheet cutting into cubes and gently spreading out to about two inches apart. I just scattered the sugar on a baking sheet. Bake for at least 15 minutes, stirring or flipping halfway through. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container. To use for baking, place in a food processor and pulse until it is fine and now chunks remain.

Recipe linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Mrs. Fox’s Sweet Party and What I Whipped Up Wednesday.

Brined and Roasted Turkey {My 1st Turkey}

I have never, ever made a turkey. I have never eaten a brined turkey but I know about all the hype. So I thought for my first turkey, I would go all out and hope for the best. And it turns out it was pretty simple. The hardest thing was rinsing the turkey and getting all the inards out. I absolutely hate touching raw meat so I may have been a little prissy about the whole process. I’m glad the family was downstairs watching a football game so that they didn’t have to witness my ridiculousness. I may have let out a squeal-y “ewwww” as I stuck my hand in the darned bird.

But oh man was it worth the 30 seconds of disgust. I don’t mean to brag but this was probably the juiciest and tastiest roasted turkey I have ever had. Brining really does make all the difference. Any turkey cooked in my home will always be brined…no question.

Because I’ve never made a turkey before, Joel has never had to carve one so he got a little lesson from his dad.

This turkey seemed like a lot of work…more work than I had time for so I skipped the homemade turkey stock and simply basted the turkey with chicken stock. I also just made a simple pan gravy with the drippings and a cornstarch slurry. If you want to be a total allstar, you can click the source below to get the details.

Brined and Roasted Turkey
recipe from Emeril Lagasse

1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey
Brine, recipe follows
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths
1 large orange, cut into 8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting

1. Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water. Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.   Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.

3. Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.

4. Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Brine
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary

To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.

Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.