Cabbage Beet Salad

I saw this salad on my instagram's friend @venera_cher, and I just had to ask her for the recipe. She said that the recipe has been in her family for 80 years, from her great grandmother in Belarus.
I made it right away, and we love it.  It is delicious, crisp and fresh. I love that it keeps in the fridge for days.

Click HERE to Print

Ingredients:

2 small heads of cabbage or 1 large one
2 large beets
8-10 cloves of garlic

4 cups of water
1/2 cup of vinegar
1/3 cup of sugar
3 TB salt
10 TB veg oil
10-15 black peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves

Directions:

-Cut the cabbage into small chunks. Peel, half and slice beets. Slice all of the garlic cloves.
-In a medium sized pot, bring water, vinegar, sugar, salt, veg oil, peppercorns and bay leaves to a boil.
-In a large bowl, layer 1/3 of the cut cabbage, followed with 1/3 of the beets and 1/3 of the garlic. repeat again until all of the vegetables are used.
-Pour boiled  marinade over the cabbage. Weigh the cabbage down into the liquid with a heavy plate in the bowl. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating.
-The longer you refrigerate it, the pinker the cabbage will turn. I think it is perfect 48 hours after making.
-You can serve as a side dish, I use a slotted spoon to scoop up all of the cabbage/beets.
-Transfer the cabbage into a large glass jar filled with the liquid. Refridergate up to 2 weeks

Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

These cupcakes are incredible. Biting into one, you get the tangy lemon cake,  along with a burst of fresh strawberries. I can't help but think of summer with each bite. They take me back to sipping fresh strawberry lemonade out on the patio. Boy, am I looking forward to those days again. Especially right now, when it is raining outside.

Print recipe here

Ingredients:

Lemon Cake-

1 box of white cake mix

1/3 cup veg oil

3 eggs

zest of 2 lemons

fresh squeezed juice of 2 lemons

1 cup sour cream

Strawberry Frosting-

1 cup fresh strawberries

1 cup butter (softened)

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with liners.

Sift cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the veg oil, eggs, lemon zest and juice. 

Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, mix until combined and smooth. 

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Let cool completely. 

FROSTING-

Place the fresh strawberries into a food processor or blender. Blend until pureed.

Transfer the puree to a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Bring to a boil (stirring often), until the puree is reduced to about half (15 minutes) Remove from heat and cool completely. 

Beat the softened butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. 

Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar into the butter, and beat until blended. 

Add 2 TB of strawberry puree, and mix until blended (don't forget to scrape the sides)

Add 1 cup of  the confectioners sugar and mix. Add 2 more TB of the puree and continue mixing. 

Add the last 1/2 cup of the confectioners sugar and mix until all is combine (scrape the sides).

 Fill into a pastry bag and ice the cupcakes. 

Enjoy!

Apple Pecan Pull Apart Rolls

I remember these rolls from my childhood, all seven of us kids, loved them. We always used to fight for the top parts, you know, the ones covered in glaze. 

I now make them for my family, It is a breeze with my bread machine, but even if you don't have a bread machine, you can still make them, it just takes a little time and effort with the dough. 

They are great for breakfast or just a snack with a glass of milk. Each piece is filled with pecans and cinnamon covered apples. Definitely a mouth watering treat. 

Print Recipe Here

Ingredients:

dough-

1 cup of warm water

1 egg

1/4 cup of butter (melted)

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

3 1/2 cups of flour

1 1/2 tsp quick active yeast

Filling-

3 apples (peeled and chopped)

1 cup pecans (chopped)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

------

1/4 cup of butter (melted)

Glaze-

2 TB melted butter

1 cup of confectioners sugar

1-2 tb milk 

Directions-

I make the dough in the bread machine- Carefully place all of the dough ingredients into the bread machine pan, and select the dough cycle. Do  not use delay cycle.

If you do not have a bread machine, use your stand mixer.  In you stand mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the butter, egg, sugar, salt, and flour. Beat until smooth. Add more flour to form a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6/-8 minutes. Place into a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

While the dough is rising, combine the chopped apples, pecans, cinnamon and sugar in a medium bowl and mix well. 

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 20-25 pieces. 

On a floured surface, pat and roll each piece of dough into a small circle. Fill with 1 tsp of filling and pinch the sides together to form a ball. 

Melt 1/4 cup of butter, dip each ball into the butter before placing them seam down in a spring form pan. Layer the balls and then sprinkle the remaining apple filling. 

Cover and let rise for at least 1 hour, until doubled. 

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown. Cool for at least 15 minutes and remove the sides from the pan. 

Combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the warm bread. 

Chocolate Cream Pie

 I love cream pies, especially a good chocolate cream pie. It satisfies the sweet tooth, without being to heavy or filling, This chocolate cream pie is easy to make and we never have any leftovers because it is so amazing. To make the large chocolate shavings, I use this technique. 

Print recipe here 

Ingredients

crust:

30 nabisco wafers (I buy these at wincos)

1/3 cup of sugar

6 TB butter - softened

filling :

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 cups whole milk
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

topping:

• 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• shaved chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Make the filling: place the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy medium saucepan, on medium/low heat. In a  measuring cup, whisk together the milk and egg yolks. Add the milk mixture to the saucepan in a slow and steady stream, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, 6-8 minutes. Immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, whisking constantly until thick. (to prevent eggs from scrambling)    
3. Turn off the heat, add the chocolate and whisk. Add the butter and vanilla extract. Transfer the filling to a bowl. Press a piece of saran wrap directly over surface of the filling to prevent a film from forming; refrigerate until cool, 1-2 hours.
4. Make the crust: Combine the chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until the cookies are finely crushed. Press the mixture firmly into a pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes until crisp. Cool completely.
5. Once the filling and crust are cooled, spoon the filling into the crust and spread evenly and chill for at least 6 hours or up to one day.
6. Up to 3 hours before serving, make the topping: Place the heavy cream and sugar in a stand mixer. Whip on medium speed until the whisk leaves  tracks in the cream. Add the whipped cream over the filling and sprinkle with the grated chocolate and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Thanks for visiting, 

Packing School Lunches -Planet Box Rover Review

Lets talk about packing lunches. My daughter takes a cold lunch to school about 3 times a week, depending on what is on the lunch menu.

  I prefer to pack my daughters lunch the night before- to avoid the morning rush. All I need to do in the morning, is move there container from the fridge to her carry bag. I also fill up her water bottle and put everything into her back pack.

 I used to have to pack little individual boxes and ziplock bags of fruit, veggies, snacks, and the main meal. Then I would need to wash all the individual boxes when my daughter would come home from school-- not fun. So when PlanetBox reached out to me and offered to send me their Rover lunchbox, to review, I jumped at the opportunity. I have seen pictures of this lunch box on instagram,  and I was even planning to purchase 2 for the next school year, so I could pack the same meals for both kids, side by side. 

After using this box for a few weeks, I feel like I can give you an honest review. 

I think this is a fantastic lunch box! It has perfect portions for a child or an adult. I no longer have to wash 2 or 3 tupperware containers after school. I just wash the entire lunch box or put it into the dishwasher. 

My daughter is picky- like most kids, so if she saw something in a baggie or a little container that she didn't like, she wouldn't even bother opening it. Now, as she lifts up her lunch box lid, all the food is in front of her and she doesn't need to ask for help from the teacher with any containers or baggies.  

I have only one tiny complaint about this box, and that is you can not heat food in the the stainless steel container, I wish they offered a container that was microwave safe. My daughter's class eats in their classroom, and they have a microwave to heat up food.  So when I pack something that I know she will like to warm up, I slip a small paper plate into the carry bag. She is able to place foods like quesadillas or pizza on the paper plate and heat them up. 

As I did some more research on this, I found out that Planet box makes a bigger lunch box (the Launch) with a glass container inside, which can be used in the microwave. I decided that I will be getting my daughter the Launch box next year and keep this rover box for my son. He will be in kindergarten next year and this would be perfect for him. I will just buy a new carry bag :)

The planet boxes come with magnets which you can customize your lunch box with,  and you can choose the color of your carry bag. 

This lunch box is made of high quality steel, the main box is not waterproof, which is why it comes with 1 little dipper and 1 big dipper for sauces, applesauce, yogurt and so on.

 I like the separate compartments, It helps me make sure I pack a balanced meal.

Heres a peek into her past few lunches-

Fried Chicken Tenders

I absolutely love fried chicken, I really don't know anyone who doesn't. What I don't like is getting my hands dirty while eating around the bones. This is why I love using chicken tenders. This chicken is so tasty, it is seasoned well and the crunchy coating is amazing. 

I like to marinate the the chicken overnight, this insures that the chicken tenders are moist and seasoned well. 

Click HERE to print recipe

Ingredients:

marinade-

2 pounds chicken tenders

1 cup butter milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

for the breading-

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3/4 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tb buttermilk

2-3 cups vegetable oil for frying

Instructions:

 In a large ziplock bag, combine chicken tenders and all the ingredients for the marinade. Seal the bag tightly and mix it all together. I like to place the bag into a bowl (incase there is any leakage) and place into the fridge overnight, or at least 4-6 hours.

To make the breading, in a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and baking powder. Stir together to combine. Add the 3 TB of buttermilk, and stir. This will make some lumps in the coating which will adhere to the chicken and make that yummy crispy crust. 

Dip the marinated chicken tenders into the flour coating and set aside onto a parchment lined sheet. Press the coating in firmly so the clumps adhere to the meat 

Heat 2-3 cups of veg oil on medium-high heat in a skillet with high sides. 

Prepare a large plate lined with paper towels. Place chicken into the hot oil, do not overcrowd. I fry 3-4 pieces at a time. 

Cook until golden brown on the bottom, and then flip and cook until the other side is golden. Remove the chicken onto the prepared plate. 

Fry the remaining chicken. This chicken tastes best when it is fresh and hot. 

But we still eat it the next day to. Kids love to dip it into ranch and bbq sauce, It is also amazing in a hoagie bread for a chicken sandwich (with some ranch, lettuce and tomatoes).

Enjoy!