Beef and Mushroom Pot Pies with Pearl Onions

Beef and Mushroom Pot Pies with Pearl Onions

2 lbs. chuck roast, cubed into 1 1/2 inch pieces
salt
pepper
3 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil
12-15 Cremini (button) mushrooms, quartered
25 pearl onions, peeled
1 -14 oz. can beef broth
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 pkg. puff pastry dough, 2 sheets
1 egg, beaten
poppyseeds, optional

   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet heat the olive oil on medium high.  Add the flour to a medium sized bowl. Salt and pepper the cubed beef and toss it in the flour to coat. Shake off the excess flour, add the beef cubes to the heated oil and brown them on all sides.  Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.  Add the cleaned and quartered mushrooms and saute quickly just until golden on all sides. Remove the mushrooms and set them aside.  Add the beef broth, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce.  Whisk until combined and bring to a boil.  Add the beef and mushrooms back into the pan.  Add the pearl onions.  Cover and turn the heat to low.  Let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the beef is tender.  Spoon the mixture into ramekins.  Lay out the puff pastry dough and cut circles to cover the ramekins.  Place one on top of each filled ramekin.  Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with poppyseeds.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry slightly puffs up and is golden brown.

Pesto Bacon Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

This salad is good warm or cold!

Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus
1 - 16 oz. pkg. mini Farfalle (bowtie) pasta, cooked according to pkg. directions
1/2 cup pesto (I use a jarred brand.)
1/2 lb. asparagus, roasted with olive oil and salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup mozzarella, cubed
10 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
            Heat the oven to 459 degrees.  Wash the asparagus and cut the tough ends off.  Lay it on a broiler sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 6-7 minutes or until just barely tender.  Remove from the oven and cut into thirds or 2 inch pieces.

 In a large bowl combine all the ingredients.  Add more pesto if desired.  Serve either warm or cold.

Oreo Cheesecake Bites

Oreo Cheesecake Bites

Ingredients:

          For the crust:

• 24 whole Oreo cookies (I buy 1 package of Oreos--use 24 for the crust and chop the rest for the filling)
• 5 Tbsp butter, melted

           For the filling:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Remaining Oreos, chopped (I buy 1 package of Oreos--use 24 for the crust and chop the rest for the filling)

          For the chocolate coating:

• 16 ounces high quality milk or semi-sweet chocolate (like a Hershey's bar or Ghiradelli chocolate chips)
  

Instructions

For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8'' baking dish with a large piece of aluminum foil, pressed tightly up the edges of the pan. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place Oreo cookies in a food processor and pulse until small crumbs. Stir in the melted butter. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you make the filling.
   

For the filling: 

3. Reduce oven to 325 degrees F.
4. In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed, add in the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, flour, and salt and beat until just combined.  (Don't over mix!) Pour the batter over the Oreo crust and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cheesecake is set (the center may still be slightly jiggly.) Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze for 3 hours, or until very cold and firm, or overnight.
   

Coat in chocolate:

• Once frozen, lift cheesecake by pulling gently on the foil and lifting it out of the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut the cheesecake into 36 bite-size squares (6 by 6). Freeze for 10 minutes.
  
• Dip the cheesecake squares in melted chocolate and set them on a wire rack to set up.
  

Samoa Bundt Cake

Samoa Bundt Cake 
The original recipe is from: Here
(I made a few slight changes plus the high altitude version.)

 Ingredients

• 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot water

Caramel Frosting

• ¾ cup butter (1½ sticks)
• ¼ cup jarred caramel sauce 
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

Toppings

• 1½ cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• Caramel Sauce
• Hot Fudge Sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl until smooth when stirred. 1 minute at a time for two minutes. Set Aside.
3. Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until blended well, about 5 minutes.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Beat in melted chocolate just until blended.
6. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
7. Add flour mixture to batter, alternating with sour cream, beating at LOW speed just until blended after each addition.
8. Slowly, with mixer on LOW speed, add hot water.
9. Stir in vanilla.
10. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes in pan then remove cake from pan to cool completely.
12. To make frosting, beat butter and caramel sauce until creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in enough heavy cream to get to desired consistency.
13. Spread frosting on cooled cake.
14. Sprinkle toasted coconut on cake and drizzle with caramel sauce and hot fudge sauce.

HIGH ALTITUDE:
Decrease the baking soda to 3/4 tsp.
Add 1 Tbsp. milk when you add in the first part of the sour cream.
Increase the baking temperature to 375 degrees.
Bake for 50-55 minutes.
Be sure to grease and flour the pan! Baking spray is not enough.  High altitudes produce stickier cakes.

Warm Berries, Toasted Pound Cake and Melted Rolos (served over vanilla ice cream)

So easy! So good! The picture pretty much says it all.  I saw this idea online and thought it looked worth a try. There wasn't a written recipe or a site to give credit to or I would! This would be a great dutch oven camping dessert. We made it at home, so we decided to serve it with vanilla ice cream. The warm, soft berries were my favorite part. 

Warm Berries, Toasted Pound Cake and Melted Rolos
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 SaraLee pound cake,thawed if frozen, cubed into 2" pieces
1 lb. strawberries, halved
1- 6 oz. container raspberries
1- 6 oz. container blackberries
1- 6 oz. container blueberries
25 Rolo candies, unwrapped
    In a cast iron pan or dutch oven melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the pound cake cubes and brown them on all sides, soaking up the butter.  Turn the heat to low and add the fruit and then the Rolos on top.  Remove the pan from the heat and cover.  Let sit for about 10-15 minutes to warm the berries and melt the Rolos.  Do not stir!  Serve as is or with vanilla ice cream.