Valentines' day Recipe

Chocolate Sweetheart Cakes for Two

From: Hershey's Cocoa

Prep Time: 17 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Skill Level: Beginner

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat with whisk or spoon until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Transfer to cutting board. Using 3-1/4 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut cake into 4 hearts. Spread CHOCOLATE FROSTING on top of two hearts; place remaining two hearts on top. 2 small cakes.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon HERSHEY'S Cocoa
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place butter in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 20 seconds or until butter is melted. Stir together powdered sugar and cocoa; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beating with spoon or whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. About 1/3 cup frosting.

Thai green Curry Hot wings

• 2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 teaspoon(s) ground coriander
• 2 pound(s) chicken wingettes and drumettes, see Note
• 2 1/2 tablespoon(s) green hot sauce
• 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 tablespoon(s) fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon(s) Thai green curry paste

• 2 tablespoon(s) chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500°. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil. In a bowl, mix the flour with the salt and coriander. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Spread the chicken on the baking sheet in a single layer and spray with vegetable oil. Roast the chicken for 45 minutes, turning once or twice, until browned and crispy. In a bowl, whisk the hot sauce, butter, fish sauce and curry paste. Add the chicken wings to the sauce and toss. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Super Bowl Recipes

POP,POP,POP

• Cooking oil (I use olive oil.)
• Popcorn Kernels
• Seasoning mix of your choice

Directions

1. Pour enough oil into the pot to coat the bottom and heat on medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. That means it's hot enough to pop your kernels.
2. Add enough popcorn kernels to make a single layer on the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to medium, and put the lid on the pot. When you hear the kernels start to pop, hold on to the handles (use the potholders), and shake the pot over the heat source while the popcorn pops.
3. When the popping slows down to the point that you don't hear a pop for 10 seconds, take the pot off of the burner, and turn off the stove. Don't worry if you hear a few more pops coming from the pot.
4. Take off the lid, and dump the popcorn into the serving bowl. (This can be exciting if there are a few late poppers.) If your pot's really heavy, get an adult to dump it for you. Sprinkle a seasoning mix on the popcorn, and toss it with your hands.
5. Feel free to mix it up with one of these flavorful variations! Simply mix in the ingredients to spice up the classic snack. Go Italian: Add a handful of grated parmesan cheese, a sprinkle of garlic powder and a sprinkle of mixed Italian herbs to the popcorn. Sugar and Spice: Add a shake of cayenne pepper, a sprinkle of garlic powder, a shake of celery salt and a dash of salt. Double Feature: Mix in a handful of peanuts, a handful of chocolate candies, and a sprinkle of salt. You'll be my BFF: Simply add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, (found in health food stores), and a dash of salt.

Slow-cooked Pulled Pork

Ingredients

serves 12

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup(s) ketchup
• 1/3 cup(s) cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup(s) packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup(s) tomato paste
• 2 tablespoon(s) sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoon(s) Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoon(s) yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
• 4 pound(s) boneless pork shoulder blade roast (fresh pork butt), cut into 4 pieces
• 12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls, warmed
• Dill pickles (optional)
• Potato chips (optional)
• Hot sauce (optional)

Directions

1. In 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce.
2. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender.
3. With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly.
4. While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary.
5. Spoon pork mixture onto bottom of sandwich buns; replace tops of buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.

Mini Tacos

yields 24

Ingredients

U.S. Metric Conversion chart

• 24 wonton wrappers
• 1 pound(s) lean ground beef
• 1 package(s) (1.25 ounces) taco seasoning mix
• 2 tablespoon(s) Pace® Picante Sauce
• 1/2 cup(s) Pace® Chunky Salsa
• 4 ounce(s) shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Sour cream (optional)
• Pitted ripe olives (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Press the wonton wrappers into 24 (1 1/2-inch) mini muffin-pan cups.
2. Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to break up the meat. Pour off any fat. Stir in the taco seasoning mix and picante sauce.
3. Spoon the beef mixture into the wonton cups. Top with the salsa and cheese.
4. Bake for 5 minutes or until the wontons are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
5. Garnish with sour cream and olives, if desired. Serve immediately with additional salsa.

Gingerbread Cookie Tress...

Makes 120 cookies and 10 trees

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup dark unsulfured molasses
• 2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg, then molasses, spices, baking soda, and salt. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour. Divide dough into quarters; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours (up to 2 days).
2. Preheat oven to 375. Transfer one disk of dough at a time to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a set of 11 fluted round cookie cutters in graduated sizes ( 3/4 inch to 3 1/2 inches). You will use each cutter once for every tree. Using a 1 1/4-inch star cutter, cut out 10 stars. Arrange cookies by size on parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes.
3. Bake until firm, about 6 minutes for small cookies and 10 minutes for large. Let cool 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks, and let cool completely.
4. Assemble trees: Put frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip (such as Ateco #12). Pipe a dime-size dot of frosting in center of second-largest cookie; sandwich with largest cookie. Repeat in descending pairs with larger cookies on top to make 5 sandwiches. Pipe a scalloped 1/4-inch-thick border of frosting on top of larger cookie of largest sandwich. Top with the second-largest sandwich, larger cookie up, and repeat to make a tree of 5 sandwiches. Top with frosting, then smallest cookie, then more frosting and a star (standing upright). Cookie trees can be refrigerated up to 6 hours (they will soften). Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Gingerbread-Cookie Trees - Martha Stewart Recipes

Icy Holiday Punch

Ingredients

• 1 package (6 ounces) cherry gelatin

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 cups boiling water

• 1 can (46 ounces) pineapple juice

• 6 cups cold water

• 2 liters ginger ale, chilled

• Slice pineapple and cherries. ( I use cocktail fruits and raspberries)
  

Directions

• In a 4-qt. freezer-proof container, dissolve gelatin and sugar in boiling water. Stir in pineapple juice and cold water. Cover and freeze overnight.

• Remove from the freezer 2 hours before serving. Place in a punch bowl; stir in ginger ale just before serving. Yield: 32-36 servings (5-3/4 quarts).

It was a hit...............So easy to do and you can do any flavor you want. Like orange for Halloween or green for a baby shower.endless possibilities..

Enjoy!

Berry Punch

Makes

4 liters

Ingredients

• 125g blueberries
• 125g raspberries
• 250g strawberries, hulled, sliced
• 1.5 liters raspberry and cranberry juice, chilled
• 1 cup vodka ( I use grapefruit juice for non-alcoholic)
  
• 1 lime
• 1.25 liters lemonade, chilled
• ice cubes, to serve

Method

1. Place blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in a large bowl. Add juice and vodka. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow flavors to develop.

2. Thinly slice lime. Cut slices into small wedges. Stir through punch. Add lemonade and ice. Serve.

Candy-Cane Marshmallow

Ingredients

Makes sixteen 2-inch squares

• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 4 packages (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 teaspoons red food coloring

Directions

1. Coat an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat the parchment with cooking spray, and set pan aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high; cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside.
3. Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture; with mixer running, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Pour mixture into lined pan. Working quickly, drop dots of red food coloring across surface of marshmallow. Using a toothpick, swirl food coloring into marshmallow to create a marbleized effect. Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut into squares

* Perfect for hostess gift, to give out to those extra guests or simply give them out to everyone. They'll love these sweet treats. this homemade treat will give a special touch to your holiday. Your guests will love it.

Happy Candy making.......


Read more at Marthastewart.com: Candy-Cane Marshmallows - Martha Stewart Holidays