Smokin' Goodness

Smoked Chicken and Beef Ribs with Green Beans & Bush's Baked Beans

So this weekend we bought a smoker. My husband had been wanting to buy a smoker for a while and since fall and winter are coming, this is the time were we can BBQ and eat outside. Living in the desert during the hot months of June, July, August and mid September is not fun! Heat and humidity is not the ideal weather for cooking food outside.
We (my husband) started the morning off with the beef ribs since those take a little longer to smoke than the chicken. He marinated the ribs the night before with white vinegar, honey, some trader joe's smoked seasoning, and salt. Left it in the fridge and the next day started up the smoker with some charcoal and apple wood, then put the ribs on the smoker at around 8 am.He kept checking to make sure the temperature was at the right degree. We then added the chicken in at around 1:30pm, with a little bit of the same seasoning and off it went into the cooker. 
Moment of truth came around... 6pm!!! Oh, man did the aroma from outside smell so good! My husband brought in the ribs and chicken and we plated them with green beans and bush's sweet mesquite beans. And the sauce for the ribs was "Famous Dave's BBQ Sauce," Devil's spit. We usually use "Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce"... You know, "The Sauce Is The Boss!" But, decided to go a different route this time with the ribs.
The ribs were very good, falling off the bone good. The smoked flavor that filled your mouth was just mouth watering good. Tender not tough at all, and the sauce was left with a little bit of wanting more flavors and maybe sweetness to it, the kick to it was a mildly taste to compare it with "Franks Red Hot." I was expecting more out of the sauce which fell a little off the flavor wagon.
And now, for the chicken. The chicken was the high light of the dinner for me, anyhow. Stab your fork into it and you have flakes of chicken falling all over. From the smoker it came out nice and juicy. Once I took a bite out of the chicken, it felt like it was melting in my mouth! So savory and more than I was expecting it to be. I don't think I've ever had chicken like that before. The smoker did it justice! And this time I added "Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce" to my chicken and was perfect!
So for everyone that has been trying or thinking about smoking food... Do it! The wait is worth the anticipation and the taste is everything. Now to only figure out what to smoke next. So if anyone has any ideas, please send them our way!

Gone a while...

Hello, everyone!

I've been out of the blogging scene for a while. Not for the lack of not wanting to blog, but because the inspiration was lost for a while and life took a turn for the better. I was focusing first on cupckaes and while I was pregnant, I lost the passion for baking, since food during pregnancy had a huge effect on me. 
So now, that I'm back to being semi normal... My husband gave me a great idea about blogging about food. Not just from what I make at home from the time being at home during my maternity leave, but from food from all aspects of life. Meaning, store bought food to food being made at home with creative ways to rate each and everyone. And I'll be taking pictures of each out come to share with you all. Hope this all goes well and hope that you all enjoy.

Here we go....

Denise

Low Fat No Bake Cheesecake (Reduced Guilt)

I know, I know... Low fat no bake cheesecake! Really? I'll be the first to admit that I despise no bake cheesecake, it's like a sin to not have a real cheesecake. But my husband happened to surprise me one day by making a tasty dessert for dinner one Friday, and to say the least... it wasn't bad, it was good. So after that day I decided to give it a go myself. Here is what you need. Not a whole list of ingredients and not a lot of time to waste either. And, my husband did say it was 10x better than the one he made. :)

Ingredients:

•  1/2 to 1 Cup Powdered Sugar( taste before adding the full cup)
• 2 8oz Cream Cheese either light or 1/3 fat (softened)
• 1 8oz whipped cream(fat free)
• Graham crackers(enough to cover the bottom of your bowl) you may also use a pre-made pie crust. As you can tell I used Trader Joe's Cat cookies for people.

Directions:

1. Place your cream cheese in a mixing bowl and mix until fluffy. About a minuet. 
2. Add your whipped cream and mix until well incorporated.
3. Add 1/2 C powdered sugar and mix together. Taste and see if you need the other half of sugar. (This all depends on your pallet)

     4. If making your own crust. Grab your cookies and mash them up well until  you're happy with the consistency of the crust. 

        5. Pour your cheesecake mixture over the crust.

     6. Place in the freezer for about 30 minuets, then transfer to the refrigerator until ready to eat. And seriously, enjoy without having the guilt. 

Sparkling Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

Found this wonderful recipe on  http://thecupcakerecipes.com/ and thought, now that sounds yummy.
So, I decided to go ahead and try them out. Made these cupcakes and shared them with my co-workers,
what a hit! Everyone loved them. And the fact that they didn't last more than 20 minuets around the department I work at, that had to mean something, right? These are really nice, and refreshing. Not to sweet and not overly done with all the strawberry flavoring.

Sweet Pink Strawberry Champagne Cupcake Recipe

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® strawberry cake mix
• 1 1/4 cups champagne, (I used Andre Champagne -) it will compliment the fruity strawberry flavor.
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 egg whites

Champagne Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup champagne
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 to 5 drops red food coloring

Garnish

Pink decorator sugar crystals

Edible pink pearls

Halved Strawberries ( I skipped on the crystals/pearls. The strawberries added a lot more color and flavor)

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• In large bowl, combine dry cake mix and champagne. Add oil, eggs.  Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
• Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat frosting ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Frost cupcakes.

 Beat butter until nice and fluffy, gradually add 2 cups of sugar and whisk with electric mixer until combined. Add the teaspoon of vanilla and continue to mix, add remaining sugar, then slowly add the 1/4 cup of champagne. Add 3 drops of  Red food coloring to give it the pink factor. Mix until nice and smooth.

Champagne is a sparkling wine, and while many expensive champagnes are available, this is one time you might choose less expensive champagne. Have the champagne at room temperature when preparing the cake.