Jell-O Art

I love Jell-O. Who doesn't?! The fun colors, the fruity tastes, the delicious dessertness.... And easy to prepare! I actually found this recipe while looking for alcoholic jell-o recipes.... This one does NOT contain alcohol but still looked yummy! Can you guess why I chose those particular Jell-o flavors? *waves flag*

Original recipe here

Servings: 48
Calories per serving: 56

Ingredients:
4 to 6 three oz boxes of Jell-O in desired colors (use 4 boxes if you want the top to be mostly smooth)
One 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp of unflavored gelatin
Boiling water
Cold water

Step 1: Prepare Jell-O as per package instructions. Refrigerate for several hours (I left mine overnight).
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Step 2: Cut Jell-o into cubes.
Step 3: Lightly oil a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish. Place cubes into casserole dish, rotating colors so they are mixed up and pretty!
Step 4: In a bowl, sprinkle gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. Let sit for 1-2 minutes.
Step 5: Add 1 1/2 cups boiling water to gelatin mix, stirring until disolved.
Step 6: Add condensed milk to gelatin mix. Stir and cool. (I set mine in the fridge for about 30 minutes; don't leave in fridge too long and make sure to check on it so it doesn't get too cold and solidfy. I also put my Jell-o cubes back in the fridge during this time.)
Step 7: Pour cooled mixture over Jell-o cubes. Refrigerate overnight.
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Step 8: Once the new Jell-O/milk mixture is fully set, use a sharp knife dipped in HOT water to slice into desired portions (squares/cubes/rectangles). Keep dipping knife into hot water between cuts to have cleaner cut lines.

Recipe time: not listed
My cooking time: Less than 15 minutes active time (but a lot of waiting/cooling time--2 days)

This dish looks so cool! And tastes even better! It was soooooo easy to put together, you just have to make sure you plan in advance if you want to make it for an event, because there is a lot of "fridge time". AND it's inexpensive to make! I picked up the Jell-O and condensed milk at Walmart for a total of ~$4. The gelatin I had on hand already, but I think it would add only another $1-2 if you bought envelopes of gelatin too. Will definitely make again!!

Ingredients (minus water :P)

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Green Chocolate-Vanilla Trifle

It's been a long time since I've posted... been slacking in trying out recipes! This one is one I actually made for St. Patty's Day, and realized I never posted. I found this one through Pinterest, like I do most of my recipes nowadays. This is from a blog called Kroma Design Studio. It sounded simple and delicious! I changed it a little bit for my tastes.

Original recipe

Ingredients:
2 boxes (4 serving size each) of JELLO vanilla flavor instant pudding
Green food coloring
3 1/2 cups cold milk
1 tub Cool Whip (8 oz.)
1-18oz pkg. Oreos, coarsely crushed*
A couple brownies, cut into small pieces (or crumbled)

Step 1: Pour milk into large bowl. Stir in food coloring to desired green-ness.
Step 2: Add pudding mixes and beat with a wire whisk until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes.
Step 3: Gently stir/fold in Cool Whip.
Step 4: In a trifle bowl, layer half of the crushed cookies and brownies in one layer. Then add pudding mixture layer. Repeat layers.
Step 5 (optional): Top with piped whipped cream if desired.
Step 6: Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to serve (mine sat overnight).

*Remove the Oreo filling before crushing the cookies. I mixed the Oreo filling into the pudding mix, before adding the Cool Whip.

Recipe time: Less than 30 minutes
My cooking time: 40 minutes (including cookie crushing)

This recipe turned out great! I was a little impatient with the Cool Whip thawing, so the consistency was a bit off. But still turned out very tasty (just the top piped whipped cream didn't hold well). Will definitely make this again. Could actually use any other food coloring to make it appropriate for whatever type of party you're holding.

Ingredients

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Step 4 repeated

Step 5 (optional whipped cream topping)

Wine Gummies

I've been a little lazy about posting my trials lately. Chalk it up to busy weekends filled with wedding arrangements (and just plain lazy days). Here's something I made a few weeks ago... I love gummies! Gummy worms and bears especially! So when I found this recipe for WINE GUMMIES, I thought "YAY ADULT GUMMIES!". These are actually super easy to make, it just takes a little while for the initial gelatin powder to start dissolving.

Original recipe here

I apparently forgot to take pictures of the finished cut little gummies.....I guess I was too busy eating them!

Servings: 256
About 3-4 calories per piece

Ingredients:
2 cups wine (16 fl oz)
8 tbsp gelatin (unflavored)*
4 tbsp maple syrup**

*I used the same gelatin as the recipe-creator used.
**I didn't want to make it too sweet, so I stuck to the low-end of the amount of syrup.

Step 1: In saucepan, warm wine on low heat. Keeping the temperature down is very important, so the alcohol does not burn off.
Step 2: Add gelatin 1 tbsp at a time, stirring well before adding more. Finish adding all gelatin and stir until fully dissolved. Froth is OK, it just make some bubbles in your gummies.
Step 3: Add syrup, to taste.
Step 4: Pour mixture into greased 8 x 8 pan (or candy molds).
Step 5: Let cool. You can put in them in the fridge to set (I did); I left them for a few hours and they were fully set.
Step 6: Flip pan upside down on cutting board. You may have to bang the pan down a little to get the gel to slide out.
Step 7: Cut as desired. Because I doubled the original recipe, my gel was pretty thick, so I cut it into smaller pieces (16 x 16).

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 30 minutes (15 minute prep, 15 minutes cook) *this does not include cooling time

These turned out so good. And they're addictive. I sat there with a bowl in front of me and easily ate 30-40 pieces before I figured out I should stop. I made both red and white wine versions, and they both turned out well. I will DEFINITELY be making these again!

Ingredients (both red & white wine)

Step 2 (see frothing?)

Step 4 (white)

Step 4 (red)

Crispy Oven Roasted Chickpeas

I actually made this a couple weeks ago, but have been super busy wedding dress shopping and St. Patty's Day partying. :P I had a bunch of chickpeas (made from dry) that I needed to use fast, since they're only good a few days after you cook them. And I found a snack recipe for them! They turned out great. I actually took them on a Color "Run" 5k that my friend and I did, and these were a good pre-run snack while we were waiting for the run to start.

Original recipe here

Servings: 10
About 172 calories per serving  (~100g per serving)

Ingredients:
5 cups garbanzo beans/chick peas (canned or cooked from dry)
3 tbps olive oil
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper

Step 1: Drain and rinse chickpeas, if not already done. Lay out on paper towel to dry.
Step 2: Preheat the oven 400°F.
Step 3: Combine olive oil, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and salt in a bowl.
Step 4: Place chickpeas in a medium to large bowl.  Pour the spice mixture over the chickpeas and toss until coated.
Step 5: Spread chickpeas on a baking sheet (I lined mine with aluminum foil). Make sure they're not too tightly packed.*
Step 6: Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.  Carefully shake the tray a couple times between cooking.**
Step 7: Remove from oven. Serve hot or room temperature.

*I had to use two baking sheets to have them spread out. If you have too many on one sheet, they take longer to get crispy.
**I shook tray at 15 minutes in and 30 minutes in.

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 50 minutes (5 minute prep, 45 minutes cook)

As you can see, this recipe is SUPER easy. And so yummy. I ate a whole serving right when they came out out the oven. Sooooooooooooo good. They're still good after they've cooled, and even after a couple days (stored in ziploc bags), but they're the best right out of the oven.

Ingredients

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Step 5 - This tray took a little longer to get the peas crispy

Baked Nian Gao with Coconut Milk

Chinese New Year just passed. And I was sad to miss my family party AND new year's cake! So I decided to make my own! A couple years ago I made a Baked Nian Gao cake, and although I liked it, it wasn't too popular. So I hunted down a different recipe. And this one turned out sooooooooooo GOOD! Rather addicting. One of my favorite recipes now!

Original recipe here

Servings: 24
About 181 calories per serving

Ingredients:
3 cups of glutinous rice flour
1 cup canned coconut milk
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
2 tsp salt

Step 1: Line a 8 x 8 inch square tin with parchment paper.
Step 2: Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Step 3: Mix butter, coconut milk, sugar, salt and water in large bowl, until sugar is dissolved.
Step 4: Add eggs. Mix well.
Step 5: Add glutinous rice flour. Stir until well combined.
Step 6: Strain mixture into baking tin (I used a mesh rinse/drain bowl, like that used for washing veggies or draining pasta).
Step 7: Bake in the oven 45-90 minutes or until the cake is set. Cool completely for at least one hour before transfer out for cutting into desired size.*

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 2 hours (30 minute prep, 1 hour 30 minutes cook)
Does not include cooling time or overnight setting.

*I waited at least two hours before cutting, the cake was still pretty warm despite being on a cooling rack. And the cake was still pretty gooey. It tasted good, but the consistency was off a little. However, after the leftovers sat overnight, the consistency was PERFECT (a little more solid). So it would be best to make this the day before OR at least several hours before serving.

Also, the original recipe cook time was 30-45 minutes. When I checked the cake at 45 minutes, it was still pretty liquidy and not set. I kept adding 10-15 minutes to the cooking time. I probably left it in longer than I had to, but I wanted to be sure it was fully cooked, and the top wasn't burning so I felt it was safe to leave in longer. I ended up leaving it in for almost 1.5 hours.

I took the leftovers to work the next day, and everyone loved it. Many asked for seconds!! And it took all my will power to hand it all away so I wouldn't sit there and snack on it. So I will definitely be making this again. But I might use a larger baking tin or maybe try a higher cooking temp, to try and speed up the cook time.

Ingredients

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Step 7 - completed cake before cutting

Slow-Cooker Barley and Chickpea Risotto

I've been eating pretty badly after I get home from work...either because I snack on random stuff, or each too much pizza during MTG night...or because I don't feel like cooking. So I wanted to pick something easy that was healthy....AND I wanted to use barley, because I'd just read an article saying barley was a good add-in for healthy eating. So I found the this recipe on Pinterest and it sounded pretty simple. That's what I based my attempt on (I changed some things slightly and doubled it up since I have a large slow-cooker).

My mistake....trying to start with dried chickpeas...without looking up/remembering that not only do they need to be soaked overnight (which I did), they need to be cooked in a pot of water for an hour and a half (which I didn't). So that was stressful, there I was in the middle of preparing all this stuff to toss into the slow-cooker and....I had no chickpeas.....Go me.

BUT...I ran to the store and grabbed some canned chickpeas really quickly, and finished setting up the slow-cooker. The rest of the prep was pretty easy. AND IT WAS GOOD.

Servings: 10
About 291 calories per serving

Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
30 baby carrots, chopped
3 tsp garlic powder
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 yellow onion, minced/chopped
3 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups pearl barley, rinsed
2 cans (15.5 ounces) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
5 cups beef broth (prepared from beef Bouillon)*
2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

*can opt for vegetable or chicken broth, per original recipe

Step 1: Heat oil in large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots, garlic, cauliflower and onion. Cook until veggies begin to soften (about 5-8 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Stir in thyme and barley; cook 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 3: Transfer mixture to slow-cooker. Stir in garbanzo beans (chickpeas), broth, water, salt and pepper. Cook on high about 2-1/2 hours or until barley is tender and most liquid is absorbed.
Step 4: Stir in lemon juice.
Step 5: Serve; top with parmesan, if desired.

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 3.5 hours (45 minute prep*, 2 hour 45 minutes cook)

*My prep time is exceedingly long because I kept running around trying to figure out the garbanzo beans/chick peas. My estimation is that regular prep should take no longer than 20-30 minutes. And most of the cook time is just letting it sit in the slow cooker!

I'll definitely be making this again. I had a ton of left overs, and it reheats REALLY well. I even mixed in some crushed red pepper to give it a little kick, and that worked out great! Super easy (minus the chickpea fiasco) and some down time do work out or clean or whatever floats your boat! This recipe actually work perfectly for me, since I usually get home from work around 3-4, so even if I need to prep everything right then, dinner would still be done around 6-7. And since this is a one-pot meal (it's got veggies, protein, and carbs), you really don't HAVE to serve it with anything else....just eat more of it. ^^

Ingredients

Prepped carrots & onions (used Pampered Chef food chopper)

Rinsed Barley

Step 3 (Everything mixed in the CrockPot!)

Step 5 (already topped with Parmesan)

Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

This one is based off a recipe found on the Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips bag. I didn't follow it exactly, since I wanted to make a larger batch for a party but didn't have a second bag of those particular baking chips. So I modified the recipe a bit, but they still turned out delicious! Too bad I typically only see those Andes baking chips around during the Christmas holidays....but maybe that's a good thing, or else I'd be making way more cookies than I should...

Servings: 68
About 121 calories per serving

Note: This make a very large batch. It can definitely be halved or quartered for smaller batches.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
1 pkg Andes Creme de Menthe Baking chips (10 oz)
1 cup (6 oz) Nestle Semi-Sweet Baking chips
4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350F.
Step 2: Beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and eggs until mixed.
Step 3: Mix in baking soda, baking powder, and salt (mix well).
Step 4: Mix in flour (mix well).
Step 5: Add Andes and Semi-sweet baking chips, stir.
Step 6: On lined or non-stick baking pan, drop heaping tbsp of dough.
Step 7: Bake for 14-20 minutes (will depend on whether you are baking more than one pan at a time). If baking two pans at a time and on different racks, rotate pans halfway through cooking time (they will also need a few extra minutes). I did two racks at a time and each batch required 18-19 minutes.
Step 8: Cool (or eat some hot like I did!).

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 59 minutes (20 minute prep, 39 minutes cook)

A lot of my prep time was mixing the batter. I don't have a stand mixer, and mixing large amounts of dough by hand takes a while to ensure thorough mixing. So if you make a smaller batch or have a stand mixer, your times will be shorter. These were a hit at our game night party. I think using partially semi-sweet chocolate chips helped keep the cookies from being over-poweringly sweet. I'll make these again, but will try and play with the ingredients to maybe cut down on the calories.

Ingredients

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BBQ Bacon Sushi

Yes...the name is a little....odd. And maybe off-putting to some. But I LOVE bacon and was intrigued. I actually found this through some Facebook page, and was excited by how easy the recipe looked. And what better time to try it than Valentine's Day, for my sweetie that loves all things meat? I used ground lean turkey, since that's what I have on-hand, instead of beef like the recipe called for. I also used my oven on "bake" setting, because I didn't feel like using our outdoor BBQ grill. The original recipe (actually a YouTube video) can be found here. This turned out OK, and it was actually really easy to make. I think I just need to fine-tune the ground meat seasoning, as it was a little bland this first attempt.

Servings: 16
About 141 calories per serving

Ingredients:
12 Slices of Bacon
1.5 lbs Ground Turkey (24 oz)
BBQ Rub or seasoning of your choice
4-5 oz cheese
2/3 cup BBQ sauce

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Prep grilling rack (I used a small grill rack in a lined baking tray).
Step 3: Prep ground meat, mixing with desired seasoning.
Step 4: On wax paper, lay out 6 slices of bacon side-by-side.
Step 5: Spread half of the ground meet on top of the bacon in a thin layer.
Step 6: Put half of the cheese (cut into sticks or strips) along one side of the meat (at one of the edges with the bacon ends).
Step 7: Roll everything up, like sushi.
Step 8: Place roll on grill rack.
Step 9: Repeat steps 4-9 with remaining bacon, meat, and cheese.
Step 10: Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Step 11: Brush with BBQ sauce. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Step 12: Brush again with BBQ sauce. Bake for another 5 minutes.
Step 13: Remove from oven. Slice each roll into 8 pieces.
Step 14: Serve with additional BBQ sauce and any other condiments (such as pickled jalapeno).

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 55 minutes (15 minute prep, 40 minutes cook)

It's hard to tell if the inside of the roll is fully cooked. The cheese was melted and oozing out, so I assumed everything was done. But when I actually sliced everything and started to eat it, I kind of felt like it could have been cooked longer. Nothing looked raw anymore, but I'm not sure about fully cooked....So in the future I'll add on another 5 minutes to the first two cooking stages. I might also invest in a meat thermometer.

But it was still enjoyable. I might try using sliced cheese and creating another "layer" (more like a pinwheel dish), instead of just a center cheese filling. I might also try layering some BBQ sauce too. I think I'll definitely try this again.

Ingredients

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