Old friends and Lighter Chicken and Biscuits

Hello everybody! I am sooo happy! It's almost Friday! If you know me then you know I am not someone who complains about Mondays and is only happy when it's Friday...  I actually love Mondays! It feels to me like they are always a good opportunity to do things differently, etc... but... this time I am super excited because tomorrow we'll have friends -who live far away- coming over! ... they've been my friends for so long! They are a couple (Tere and Daniel) ... I've known her since I was 12 and I know him since I was I think 15 or 16 ... it turns out that they have always been like a sister and a brother to me and then they got married! How cool is that? To have your best friends get married and you can keep talking and hanging out and just sharing the same memories, etc... I actually went with him to the jewelry when he was looking for an engagement ring for her about 16 years ago! WOW! then we continued to hang out in church and later on at work, Daniel and I worked at the same company together and when I lived the hardest times in my life they both were there for me, just like family!... and I think I am going to be grateful with them FOREVER! They now have 3 kids and I am sure you can imagine how THRILLED I am to think of our children playing together! Oh! Memories... sweet memories! So... they'll be spending the weekend with us!

.... and now... the recipe:

As good as sweet memories "  Lighter Chicken and Biscuits"
(Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart's recipes)

Inspired by southern comfort food. It's not exactly "low calorie" but it is still a healthier version.

Today is SIMPLE LIVES THURSDAY ... if you want to know more about it visit Diana's blog:  "A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa" go visit her and join her on this project! It is very cool! It's all about tips/recipes, etc... on living a "Simple (and wholesome) life" ... I hope you like it.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 large egg white
• 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 1 cup low-fat (1 percent) milk -You can use whole milk if you prefer-
• 5 carrots, thinly sliced
• 5 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 1 box (10 ounces) frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together whole-wheat flour, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together egg white, 3 tablespoons oil, and 1/4 cup milk; add to flour mixture, and stir until moistened. Drop four 1/4-cup scoops of dough onto a baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Bake until golden, 12 to 14 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a 5-quart Dutch oven or large heavy pot, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, and onions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
4. Sprinkle vegetables with remaining 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; stir in remaining 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, and thyme. Simmer until liquid is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, (add more liquid if too thick). Add chicken; simmer until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve chicken stew with biscuits.

So... to good friends! ... ENJOY!

 © Paloma K

Sweet Thursday and Peach Pie Recipe!

Hello everyone! It's Sweet Thursday again! Thank you for joining us! Hopefully we'll see you every Thursday! Take this space as a place where you can show off your desserts, get ideas/recipes from others or just enjoy the beautiful sweet treats displayed in the pictures of everyone's posts!

Remember, to join you just need to link up to a post of your creation where the "star" is something sweet (candy, dessert of some sort)  - not your kids or hubby, no matter how sweet they are - and hopefully you can post the recipe too! Please take our "Sweet Thursday Button" if you want to be a member!

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I am excited and expecting more people to join us, right now we aren't many but I am sure soon we'll have more people interested to be part of our Sweet Thursdays!


So, here we go with my recipe:

Peach pie:

 

Ingredients:

• Double Pie Crust (Your favorite recipe or store bought! I will share my recipe at the end)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter -room temperature-
• 6 large fresh ripe peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced (I used 4 because that's all I had and I was happy it wasn't a humongous and too filled pie... but you can use up to 10 peaches)
• 1 egg 
• 1 Tbsp. water
  

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Mix until it looks "crumbly"
3. Place one pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Scoop in one layer of peaches. Top with some of the crumbly sugar mixture, layer more peaches followed by the sugar mixture and continue the "layering" until you've used all the ingredients for the filling.
4. Place the 2nd. pie crust on top (you can even do a lattice topping but I just go for the easier route, plus I love my crust recipe so much that I want it to cover all the peaches) Just make sure you cut about 4 slits into the top crust so the steam can go through it. Close the edges together (as pretty as you can).
4. Whisk the egg with the tbsp. of water and brush the top of the pie with it.
5. Bake on the center rack in the oven for 1 hour or until it has a beautiful golden brown color along the crust and the peach filling is bubbling in the center. - to prevent the edges from 'over browning' you can wrap them (just the edges) all around with aluminum foil.
6. Take out of the oven and cool down to a nice warm temperature (warm is best!)

 Now my pie crust recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

I teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons butter (softened)

6 tablespoons shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

If this is your first time making this pie crust, you MIGHT want to make a double batch to be sure you have enough crust.

Directions:

Mix in a large bowl:

2 cups all-purpose flour

I teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Then cut in using a dough blender or fork (but not your hands):

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water - I use 7 - (just until it all comes together, don't add more water because it would be ruined)

Wrap your pie crust in plastic wrap. Then place in refrigerator for 20 or more minutes, while you make the pie filling, then, when your pie crust has had plenty of time to cool, divide it into two, equal halves, roll them out and use them for your pie! Enjoy! 




© Paloma King

Sweet Thursday and Pumpkin Brownies!

Hello everybody! Here I am with a new recipe for our Sweet Thursday! Hopefully you'll join us and share a recipe/picture on your blog about some sweet treat/dessert of any kind and then link up with us to show off! ;) how about that?

Won't it be cool when we have many people linking up and making our Thursdays sweeter with their desserts? I think it will be fun and a beautiful Link-Up party, with all those pictures of the most decadent desserts that are so inviting! plus we'll have a place to share our ideas and GET BAKING! So here is my recipe for today: (trust me... you HAVE TO try it!)

(slightly modified from AllRecipes.com)

Spiced Pumpkin Brownies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan. Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, stir together the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract; beat in the eggs one at a time with a spoon. Gradually add the flour mixture, and stir the batter until it's evenly moistened. Divide the batter in half in two separate bowls.
3. Into one bowl of batter, blend the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. In the second bowl of batter, stir in the pumpkin puree, walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
4. Spread 1/2 of the chocolate batter into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, and follow with 1/2 of the pumpkin batter. Repeat the layers, ending with a pumpkin layer, and drag a kitchen knife or small spatula gently through the layers in a swirling motion, to create a marbled appearance.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan, cut into squares, and serve. 

© Paloma King

Sweet Thursday Link Up and Molten Chocolate Cakes

Hello everybody! It is Sweet Thursday again! Last week flew! And I am happy to share a new recipe with you! If you don't know yet what Sweet Thursday is just click here. I hope you join us today and every Thursday and link up with us! You just need to post about some dessert and share your link with us! Hopefully we have more people with each passing week and we can all show off our desserts!

Here is my recipe:
Molten Chocolate Cakes: (Makes 5)

( I first tried these at a friend's house -Jessica- they were awesome, she uses ceramic ramekins though so they were a little bigger)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 Tablespoons flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 5 of the cups of a standard muffin pan. Microwave the chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on high for 1 minute or until butter is completely melted (that's easier but I usually melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, so you can do that if you prefer to). Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended (let the mixture cool for about 2 mins). Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour. Divide batter among the muffin cups (fill them all the way up). Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until sides and top are firm (you will see the top starting to show little cracks) and centers should still be "runny". Let stand 1 minute. Carefully run knife around cakes to loosen. Carefully invert cakes. Serve immediately.
Note: You can top the cakes with whipped topping. I just dust them with powdered sugar... you can also take about 1 cup of frozen berries, add a tablespoon or 2 of sugar and simmer them for about 10 minutes. Then use that to top the cakes.

© Paloma King

Sweet Thursday Link Up and Apple Cake!

Hello everybody! Welcome to The Coffee Shop, as some of you might know today is "Sweet Thursday" (it's our third week) in the Coffee Shop! And I hope you join and Link Up with us! I will be posting a dessert recipe and all you need to do is post about something sweet/dessert and link up with us! it's that easy! hopefully you will join us today and every Thursday!

So... Today I will not only be sharing a GREAT RECIPE! But... it's also the day I am supposed to write about a cake I made! yes... I am supposed to write about it because I am part of a group of "cake bakers" ...

I just joined so this is my first cake and I am glad it turned out GREAT! The aromas coming from my oven were AMAZING! and hubby and I just enjoyed this cake so much that I am SOOO looking forward to the "cakes to come" ... Its texture is really soft and rich, I compare this cake to an AWESOME choir... there aren't any "voices" (flavors in this case) that are too overpowering or out of tune! The flavors blend in perfect harmony! It's definitely a "grown up kind of cake" too! Not for kids as I doubt they will like it as much.  So... here it is:

Apple Cake with Maple Frosting. 

From The Cake Book

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk (you can also use plain yogurt)
2 cups of Granny Smith apples (I almost used 3 apples), peeled and diced (1/3 inch pieces)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt.) Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute, then gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating on medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time. Beat well after adding each egg, and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk (or yogurt) in two additions. Mix just until blended. Turn off the mixer, add the diced apple and chopped walnuts, and stir them in by hand.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is light golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack, then turn out onto a serving platter before you frost it.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp. maple flavoring
1 cup confectioner’s sugar (sifted)

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla, maple syrup, spices and salt. Reduce the speed to low and add the confectioner’s sugar. Beat until well blended. Increase the speed to high, and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.

© Paloma King

Sweet Thursday! Recipe and Link Up!

 Happy Sweet Thursday Everybody! Thank you for choosing this blog as your "Virtual Coffee Shop" Relax and enjoy the atmosphere, the friends and a good cup of coffee if you like... or a cup of tea/hot chocolate if that's what you prefer! Today... as every Thursday (since last week) we are going to be talking about "sweets/desserts" that's what makes our Thursdays sweet! I will be sharing a recipe and then I'll just ask you to "link-up" with us to your blog... where you will be featuring something sweet like a type of dessert, something baked, candy or any kind of sweet treat! and hopefully you'll also share the recipe with us! Hopefully you will share our "Sweet Thursday Button" too!

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So here goes my recipe!

I made this recipe for hubby's birthday this year... He REALLY loved it... I just changed it a little bit and used sliced almonds instead of walnuts because hubby prefers them! I found the recipe in the "Martha Stewart LIVING Magazine"

Chocolate Almond Fudge Bars

Ingredients  (Yield: Makes 3 dozen)

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 27 store-bought chocolate wafer cookies (6 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• Table salt
• 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup toasted and sliced almonds (or finely chopped walnuts if you prefer)
• Coarse salt, preferably fleur de sel (I used Kosher Salt)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides. Spray parchment.
• Pulse wafers in a food processor until finely ground, and transfer to a bowl. Add sugar and a pinch of table salt. Melt 6 tablespoons butter, and stir into crumbs. Press into bottom of dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Heat chocolate, condensed milk, whole milk, remaining 4 tablespoons butter, and a pinch of table salt in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring, until melted. Stir in vanilla.

•  Pour chocolate mixture over baked cookie layer, smoothing top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle almonds and coarse salt over top, pressing slightly to adhere. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

• Remove fudge from dish using parchment to lift, and transfer to a cutting board; remove parchment. Trim edges of fudge with a sharp knife, and cut crosswise into six 2-inch-wide strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 3 equal bars, then cut each bar in half on the diagonal to form 36 triangles.

Enjoy!



© Paloma King

Let's have a SWEET Link-Up Party

Starting next Thursday we'll have our official SWEET THURSDAY Link-up Party... But I want to have a "Party rehearsal" today! What do you think? Would you like to Join us? I will share a "dessert" recipe and then you'll just LINK UP those great Sweet Recipes (desserts only) ... This is your "Virtual Coffee Shop" You don't need to leave your home to have the whole "Coffee Shop" experience! We'll all bring our desserts to your home! I think our Thursday link-up parties won't only be yummy but they'll be all beautiful too! don't you agree???

Please grab our button to share about it!

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Here is my recipe:

Pay (PIE) de Queso (Mexican Version of the famous American Cheesecake)

Ingredients:

1 (14oz.)  can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 prepared graham cracker crust (I use 2 cups of crushed honey graham crackers, 6 tbsp. melted butter and 1 tbsp. sugar. All mixed, pressed into the pie dish and baked for 6 min @375 F -cooled-)

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350F. In the meantime pour both condensed and evaporated milks, eggs, cream cheese and vanilla into the blender cup. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust. Bake @ 350 F for about 45 minutes or until center is set. (Do not overbake)

Remove pie from oven; let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate pie at least 3 hours before serving.





© Paloma King