Taco Soup

Sorry no picture for this one friends! But I promise it is real good. I never post anything on here that is just so-so. It is 43 degrees outside right now and pretty much freezing so this soup really hit the spot. It is so easy you can make it in ten minutes!

Ingredients:

1 diced onion

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 tbs. sugar

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans corn

4 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans beef broth

2 4 oz. cans diced chiles or 1 cup fresh salsa

2 packets or 6 Tbs. taco seasoning

Brown the onion and the meat at the same time and add the sugar. After the meat is browned add the rest of the ingredients and heat through. Yummy yummy yummy! This is such a hearty soup and will keep you warm on a cold day.

Sichuan Green Beans

I first became obsessed with green beans done Sichuan style when I had them for the first time in Chinatown, NYC. A friend of a friend recommended that we order them and they were a.m.a.z.i.n.g! I came straight home and tried to find a recipe. This recipe isn't the exact same as the dish I had in Chinatown, but they are pretty close.

Cooking note: Be careful not to overcook the beans. You want crisp and not mushy beans.

Sauce:

4 Tbs water

4 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs cooking sherry

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl and set aside for the moment.

Beans:

2 Tbs olive oil

2 pounds fresh green beans trimmed

1/2 pound ground pork

6 med garlic cloves mined

2 Tbs minced fresh ginger

6 scallions green parts only sliced thin

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan until shimmering. Add the beans and cook until the beans are slightly browned/blackened on medium-high heat. Transfer the beans to a large bowl.

But wait wait don't turn off the heat! Add the ground pork to the skillet and break it up while it is cooking until it is completely browned. Make a little hole in the middle and add the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute. Re-stir the sauce to recombine and add the sauce to the frying pan and cook for about 30 seconds. Off the heat, stir the contents of the skillet into the bowl with the green beans. Toss the beans, pork, etc. with the scallions and the sesame oil and serve immediately.

Even if you don't particularly like green beans I promise you will like this dish!

Balsamic Salad

Who doesn't love Balsamic Vinagrette? I know all you ladies out there do. This is by far the best balsamic vinagrette I have had. You can make it for any kind of salad you want. I have used it for both pasta salad and regular lettuce salad. Whatever you use it with, I promise you will never buy balsamic vinagrette from the store again.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. water

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 garlic clove

2 tsp. dijon mustard

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

All you do is put it in a cup and mix it up with a hand blender. A regular blender would work too, but it's a lot less hassle with a hand blender.

For the best lettuce salad with this dressing (and the one pictured) use romaine hearts, dried cherries, toasted pine nuts, and grated parmesan cheese the fresher the better.

Pasta salad it's good with grape tomatoes, cucumbers, green olives, and whatever else you like to have in your pasta salad. Enjoy!

Boston Cream Cupcakes

If you like Bismarck doughnuts or cream in the middle of everything you will die over these cupcakes. They take a little bit of effort, and they can be hard to assemble, but not to fear! The chocolate topping covers any mistakes you might make on your first try.

Ingredients:

Cream--1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

Pinch salt

4 tsp. cornstarch

2 Tbs butter cut into 2 pieces

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cupcakes--

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

12 Tbs. butter softened

3 large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

1 1/2 tsps vanilla

Glaze--

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the cream: Simmer the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together then whisk in the cornstarch until mixture changes to a pale yellow and thickens.

Whisk the hot cream into the egg mixture to cool a bit, then return the mixture to the pan and cook over medium heat. Whisk constantly until mixture becomes glossy and thick. IMPORTANT: do not let the mixture boil because if you do it will separate later. Take the saucepan off the heat as soon as it looks thick. Off the heat whisk in the butter and vanilla needed for the cream recipe. Transfer the finished cream to a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the cream (to keep in the moisture) and place in refridgerator until chilled for about 2 hours.

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin. It is important that you grease and flour the tin because the cupcakes come out rather light and fluffy, which is good, but easy to fall apart.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Grab your electric mixer and beat the softened butter into the flour mixture until it resembles little yellow moist crumbs. After, beat in the eggs one at a time until just combined. Beat in the milk and vanilla about 1 to 3 minutes more until the batter is light and fluffy.

Once the batter is finished, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup and pour the batter into the muffin tin. It is important to note you ONLY fill the cups 3/4 of the way full. Put in less than you think you need. If you overfill, it is bad news to try to get the cupcakes out of the muffin tin. The smaller the cupcakes, the easier they are to work with.

Cook the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until the tops are firm and springy. Another way to tell cupcakes are done is to insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out with just a few moist crumbs they are finished. Let the cakes cool in a pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.

For the Glaze: Microwave all of the ingredients together, whisking half-way through, for about a minute or until the mixture is smooth. Let the glaze cool for about 20 minutes so it can thicken, but still pour easily.

Assembly: Cut a small cone shaped area out of the top/middle of the cupcake so there is a big hole in the center. Be carful not to cut into the sides or bottom of the cupcake, but remember the more room you have the more cream you can put in later. Cut the top off of the cone shape you cut out of the cupcake so you have a little round disk of cupcake to place on top once you fill the cupcake with cream. Fill each cupcake with the pastry cream in your refridgerator and then place the round cupcake disk on top of the cream. After all the cupcakes are filled, pour or spoon a generous amount of the chocolate topping on top. The chocolate topping hides all of the cuts you made in the top of the cupcakes. Let the mixture drip down the sides of the cupcakes. A little tip is to place parchment paper under the cupcakes so it is easier to clean up.

Phew! And you are done! Like I said, a little complicated, but these cupcakes will change your life and will make you guaranteed the most popular. *Special thanks to America's Test Kitchen for the recipe.