Eclairs

One of my husband's Easter traditions growing up, was that each of them received an Easter Basket with an eclair in it. This was how they knew who's basket was who's- each had their name written on it. I thought this might be fun to continue in our family as well, so thought I'd just run down to the grocery store, pick up a few and then write our kid's names on them.

Then my husband left for the entire day...with our kids! I had a whole day with nothing really to do (well, plenty of cleaning...but who wants to do that!?) So I figured, I might as well MAKE some eclairs instead of buying some (who wants to get dressed and leave the house on your kid-free day anyways!?) So I searched and searched for a recipe and came across this one from All Recipes. The reviews were awesome. The only thing I noticed were that about half of the reviews I read, didn't like the glaze. I didn't want to risk it, so I found another one from here, and tried it instead.

Oh. My. Goodness!!! They are SO good. Once I finished them, I decided I needed to try one...you know, to make sure it was edible. I licked my fingers clean and told myself I was only allowed to have one! These are sooo good and they really do taste store bought. And the best part is that, even though there are a lot instructions- they are really easy to throw together.

My only suggestion is that when you make the glaze, you work very quickly. The stuff hardens really fast and then you don't get really pretty glazy-ness on top. Next time I will work faster or be sure to keep it warm while I am putting it on the Eclairs. Maybe then they'll look a little prettier. ;)

Anyways- Enjoy! These are DELISH!
Makes about 10-11

What you'll need:

For the Pastry:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. water
1 c. flour
1/4 t. salt

For the Filling:
5 oz. package instant vanilla pudding
2 c. cold milk
1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

For the Glaze:
6 T. half and half (or if you have cream and milk on hand, do half of each of those)
4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
2 c. powdered sugar

What to do:
Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In medium saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil until butter is completely dissolved. Reduce heat to low and vigorously stir in the flour until it becomes a ball and leaves the sides of the pan.  Remove from heat and put in the bowl of a stand-mixer with the whisk attachment. Let mixture cool for a few minutes and then add one egg at a time- mixing well until completely incorporated each time.

Fit a piping bag with a #10 pastry tip (I used a number 808 in the brand I had) and pipe your dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. You want each to be about 1 1/2 in. wide by 4 in. long. Be sure to space they about 2-3 in. apart- they do get bigger in the oven.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 325 and bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

For the filling, combine the pudding mix and milk. In separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold into pudding mixture.

There are a number ways you can fill these. You can cut them in half and spoon the mixture in and then put the top back on, or you can use a pastry tip and pipe it in through the ends, or you can cut little holes along the top and pipe it in that way. I used a Wilton #230 (long skinny tip) and just piped the filling in through both ends.  It worked great for me and I got them nice and full.

For the glaze, melt the chocolate and half and half in small saucepan. Once melted, quickly whisk in the powdered sugar. Either keep it warm while you are putting the glaze on each pastry, or work really fast. I didn't work quite fast enough and they sure don't LOOK store-bought. They may taste store bought, but I'm going to have to work on my glaze-application technique. ;)

Refrigerate until needed. Then Enjoy- these are SO good!

Best Ever Chewy Snickerdoodles

I have never been a huge fan of snickerdoodles- I prefer chewy chocolate chip cookies any day. But my husband is a die-hard snickerdoodle fan so the quest began for a good recipe for him. It must've been my lucky day because, I actually found the perfect one- the very first try! I've made these a few times now and they turn out perfect every time and are SO delicious and chewy! I took some in to my husband's office for his birthday and got so many compliments!

Best Chewy Snickerdoodles
Source: Our Best Bites

What you'll need:
1 3/4 c. sugar, divided
1 T. ground cinnamon
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
8 T. butter at room temperature
8 T. shortening
2 large eggs

What to do:
Prep: Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine 1/4 c. sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish and set aside.

Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

Beat butter, shortening and remaining 1 1/2 c. sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add the flour mixture until well combined.

Roll about 2 T. of dough into balls and then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. (Really do this- they spread a lot! And you want them to be larger balls because then they will be nice and chewy.)

Bake 1 sheet at a time for about 10-12 minutes, until edges of cookies are set and just barely beginning to brown. Centers will look soft and puffy and look underdone.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Nutella Fudgesicles

I got a ZOKU for my birthday from my sisters and have had so much fun trying out new popsicle recipes already. Yesterday we made these Nutella Fudgesicles and they were so delicious- I think I could eat them every day. And the best part is- the recipe is SUPER simple- it has a grand total of two ingredients- Nutella and Chocolate Milk. My girls absolutely LOVED them. My littlest wanted to be sure to make it a full body experience... lol

You can make these in the ZOKU, or just freeze them in traditional popsicle molds.

So here ya go!

Nutella Fudgesicles
1/4 c. Nutella
3/4 c. Chocolate Milk

Combine the ingredients until smooth and pour in popsicles molds. In the ZOKU, it takes about 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

 

Chicken Souvlaki - Gyros

My hubby took me to this greek restaurant a little bit ago and I was not excited. I was still calling their main dish, Jy-rohs at the time... He made me try this one gyro with the most delicious chicken I have ever tasted in my life. After that, I was hooked and have been scouring Pinterest for the perfect gyro recipe. Well, I found it.

This has become one of my absolute favorite meals. The marinade for the chicken is so delicious. I can't wait for grilling season to roll around again, since right now, it's too cold to use the grill. But I can't wait until Summer is finally here to enjoy these again- and even eat them outside on our patio!!

For the first time I made them, I actually made the flat bread myself. It wasn't a terribly successful attempt- I think I may be bread-incompetent when it comes to using yeast. It was still good, but I have since then only used store bought pita bread (much easier!)

Chicken Souvlake:
Source: Seemingly Greek

Here's what you'll need:
1 lb. chicken, cubed
4 T. Fresh lemon juice
3-4 T Olive Oil
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 t. oregano
1 t. thyme
2-4 cloves garlic
1/4 onion, sliced or cubed
salt and pepper
wooden skewers
green or red peppers, cubed

What to do:
Whisk the liquid ingredients together and allow cubed chicken and cubed onions to marinate for at least 2-4 hours.

Once finished marinating, alternate the chicken pieces, onion pieces and pepper pieces on skewers.

Be sure to let your wooden skewers soak in water for about 30 minutes before skewering all your veggies/chicken.

Depending on how thick your meat is cut and the size, cook evenly over medium  heat on the grill. Feel free to baste it once or twice while grilling as well- using left over marinade.

Enjoy with pita bread, or Naan bread, Tzatziki sauce and fries!

 

Tzatziki sauce

This is the sauce that goes along with the Chicken Souvlaki/ Gyros. It took a bit to get used to it, but once I did- I couldn't get enough of it!!

Tzatziki Sauce
Recipe Source: Seemingly Greek

What you'll need:
1 lb. Plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 English cucumber (or a regular once, seeded)
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 T. fresh dill
1 1/2 T Olive Oil
1 T. lemon juice
good dash of salt

What do do:
Place the yogurt into a bowl. Chop or grate the cucumber - I used my little food processor to get it nice and fine. Place the cucumber in a strainer to remove any excess liquid- or you can squeeze it in your hand over the sink. Add the cucumber, minced garlic, chopped dill, olive oil,  lemon juice and salt to the top of the yogurt. With a spatula, fold all the ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Do not stir or beat them together though. Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Be sure to enjoy with this Chicken Souvlaki Recipe!

 

Mom's Cucumber Salad

Growing up, our mom was all about cooking with fresh fruit and vegetables- usually from our garden in the summer. A lot of those meals were busts...sorry Mom. But I do remember this salad. And quite fondly. She even made it up! Go her and her bad self! You can make it with cucumbers or with tomatoes, or with both. Tonight, I made it with both, took a bite and had a serious walk down memory lane. It was so crazy what those flavors did to me!! It did not disappoint and was just as good now, if not better!

I hope you will enjoy it, I have since I was little. And it's always nice to try a recipe from way back when, that you still like now. :)

Cucumber (or Tomato) Salad

What you'll need:
1/2 c. Plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 c. Mayo
1 clove garlic
1 t. dill weed
1 t. majoram
1 t. spike
1/4 t. white pepper
1 t. basil
1 t. mrs. dash
6-8 peeled, chopped tomatoes OR
2 large peeled cucumbers cut lengthwise in fourths OR
3 peeled, chopped tomatoes and 1 large peeled cucumber cut lengthwise in fourths

There- you have lots of options!

What to do:
Combine all ingredients except the tomatoes/cucumbers until mixed well. Add the vegetables and serve fresh!

This is delicious and pretty darn healthy too! And great for summer when you have oodles and boodles of tomatoes in your garden!

Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies

I found these cookies awhile back and they have very quickly become my "go-to" cookie recipe. I LOVE these cookies. Love them. Really, really. I've made them with PB chips and with mini reeses pieces.  Both ways are delicious! These cookies very rarely last longer than a day, but when they do, they are still so good!

Recipe source: Inside BruCrew Life

What you'll need:
3/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 T. honey
1 t. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 sm. box vanilla pudding
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. reeses pieces or PB chips

What to do:
In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pudding mix. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream the butter, PB and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and honey and mix again.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix.

Stir in the chocolate chips and reeses chips by hand.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. DO NOT overbake! Cool on pan for 3-4 minutes. Store in a tightly covered container.