Hearty Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or beef broth
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound red potatoes, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons Minute tapioca
• 2 cups frozen peas

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. After the meat has been cut into chunks, pat it dry with a paper towel and season all the pieces with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat until the oil is rippling and hot. Cook half of the beef until it is well browned on each side, about 4 minutes. No need to cook it all the way through – just get some great brown color all around. Toss the meat in the slow cooker and follow the same process with the second half of the meat (you may need to add another tablespoon of oil to the pan if it looks a little dry). Remove the meat to the slow cooker, trying to keep as much oil in the pan as possible.
2. Return the skillet to medium heat and add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the onions are translucent and golden, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the broth, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil and transfer it to the slow cooker, pouring it over the meat.
3. In a large bowl, toss the carrots, potatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. On the counter, lay out a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil (use two sheets of regular foil on top of each other if you don’t have heavy-duty). Place the tossed vegetables on one side of the foil. Fold the foil over the vegetables and crimp the edges really well to form a little foil packet that will fit in the top of your slow cooker. Stir the tapioca into the slow cooker. Place the foil packet of vegetables on top of the stew, cover the slow cooker, and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 10-11 hours.
4. When the stew is finished cooking, carefully remove the foil packet from the top of the stew. Discard the bay leaves from the stew. Carefully open the foil packet (be careful of steam that may escape as you open it!). Return the vegetables and any juices to the slow cooker and gently mix them into the stew. Stir in the frozen peas and let them rest in the stew for 5-10 minutes, until they are heated through. Serve.

Source :melskitchencafe

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Banana Caramel and Sea Salt Milkshake Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

        -1 banana
        -1 cup brown butter caramel ice cream (or purchase caramel ice cream 

       or dulce de leche ice cream)
        -3 chocolate caramels (optional)
        -½ cup milk
        -pinch sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Puree everything in a blender until smooth and pour into a chilled mug.
2. Top with fresh whipped cream and serve with a straw.

Preparation time: 2 minute(s)

Cooking time: 2 minute(s)

Source :heatherchristo

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Sparkling Mango Lemonade Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

         -1 large mango
         -1 cup sugar
         -2 cups water
         -1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
         -Fresh mint
         -Ice
         -1 liter chilled club soda

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel and Pit the Mango and chop into 1” pieces.
2. In a small pot, combine the mango, sugar and water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Pour the mangos and syrup into the blender and puree until very smooth.
4. Add the mango syrup puree to the fresh lemon juice and combine well.
5. In a pitcher filled with ice add a few fresh mint sprigs and pour in the mango/lemon mixture. Fill the pitcher the rest of the way with the chilled club soda and stir to combine.
6. Serve cold over ice cubes.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 5 minute(s)

Source :heatherchristo

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Pomegranate Lemonade Punch Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces pomegranate juice
• 4 tablespoons ginger simple syrup
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 ounces vodka (optional)
• splash of club soda
• lemons and pomegranate seeds
• ice cubes
• ginger simple syrup
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• ½ inch slice of raw ginger

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar, water and ginger until the sugar dissolves. Dispose of the ginger and transfer the syrup to a heat proof container (like a mason jar) and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. In a pitcher filled with ice cubes, combine the Pomegranate juice, ginger simple syrup, fresh lemon juice and vodka (if adding). Stir well.
3. Fill 4 glasses with ice cubes and add lemon wedges and pomegranate seeds. Pour the punch over the ice cubes and serve immediately.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 5 minute(s)

Source :heatherchristo

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Caramel Apple Cider Floats Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup ginger ale
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1-2 scoops vanilla ice cream
• Caramel sauce, for drizzling, see note above

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large glass, combine the ginger ale and apple cider. Drop in one or two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce. Serve immediately.

Source :melskitchencafe

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Amazing Chocolate Cake Recipe

for frosting:
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups (350 gr) sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
7.5 oz (213 gr) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
12 Tbspn unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tspn vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a saucepan, bring the sugar and heavy cream to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the cream and sugar for six minutes. Be careful not to let the saucepan overflow.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate and butter until they have completely melted.
4. Stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Let the frosting cool completely, whisking every now and then during cooling.  (You can do this step in the refrigerator to speed up the process)  Once completely cool at room temperature, the frosting will be spreadable.

for cake:
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups (600 gr) sugar
scant 3 cups (425 gr) AP flour
1 cup + 2 Tbspn (135 gr) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 tspn salt
2 1/4 tspn baking powder
2 1/4 tspn baking soda
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup hot coffee

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease, flour, and line the bottoms of three 8" round cake pans. If desired, wrap the cake pans with bake-even strips.
2. In a mixer bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the beaten eggs, vegetable oil, and milk. Stir to mix. Then, with the mixer on low, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until evenly distributed.
4. Pour the hot coffee into the batter and mix on medium low until smooth. The batter will be soupy.
5. Divide the batter between the cake pans.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out cleanly, the cakes are done. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
7. Level the cakes (this is easier if they've sat in the freezer for at least one hour beforehand).
8. Stack the cakes, spreading a layer of frosting in between each cake layer. Frost the outside of the cake--for a smoother finish, use a hot knife.

note: this recipe also works for a 3-layer 9" cake, with slightly shorter layers.

Recipe Source :dessertsforbreakfast

 

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Unbelievable Carrot Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 lb. medium carrots (6 to 7 large carrots), peeled
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
Frosting (I double the recipe below to frost a 9-inch layered cake):
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 5 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sour cream, light or regular
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (4 1/2 ounces)

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Grease and flour a 9X13-inch baking pan or 2 9-inch round pans.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside. In a food processor fitted with large or fine shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. You can also shred by hand on a box grater if you don't have a food processor.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in large bowl and using hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.
4. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 32 minutes for 9-inch round pans and 40 minutes for a 9X13-inch pan. Let cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely (the 9X13-inch cake can be cooled completely in the pan if you don't plan to invert and ice all the sides). At this point, once the cakes are cooled, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a ziploc bag and placed in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature prior to frosting.
5. When cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium high speed in clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or in large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute. 

Source :melskitchencafe

 

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Unbelievable Chocolate Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 ¼ cups warm water
• 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the baking rack is in the middle of the oven. Prepare your cake pans by cutting out a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Grease the pans, place the parchment or wax paper in the bottom of the pan and lightly grease again. Dust the pans with flour (or cocoa powder if you don’t want the white dusting on the finished cakes). Set the pans aside.
2. Using a fine mesh strainer, sift together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, yolk, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix on low speed (with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Do not overbake! Remove the pans from the oven and set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes, removing the parchment paper liners from the bottom of the cakes. Let them cool completely, top sides ups, on a wire rack.
4. Trim the tops of the cake layers with a long serrated knife to make them level. Frost as desired. 

Source :melskitchencafe

 

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Perfected Yellow Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (13 ounces, 368 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour, lightly measured (9 ounces, 255 grams), see note for high altitude adjustments
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (see note)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk (1% or above), room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream (light or regular), room temperature

DIRECTIONS: 

1. To prep, whisk together the milk and sour cream together in a liquid measure and let come to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and make sure an oven rack is placed in the middle of the oven.
3. In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, whip the butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Mix in the vanilla.
4. One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolks, mixing just until combined in between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift them together through a fine mesh strainer.
6. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and mix. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Add the last 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and beat until just combined. Add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Give the batter one good, final stir with the rubber spatula.
7. Grease the cake pans and line the bottoms with a parchment round. Grease the parchment and sides of the pan again very well. I use regular cooking spray but you can also use butter or cooking spray with flour. If your cake pans tend to cause sticking, consider also flouring the pans.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Drop each pan from about 3-inches onto the counter to minimize air bubbles while baking.
9. Bake for 25-28 minutes (high altitude: 28-30 minutes) until lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Resist the urge to open and close the oven to check on the cake - this can cause the center of the cake to fall and never recover. And as with all cakes, don't overbake or the cake will be dry.
10. Let the cakes rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes before gently turning them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Source :melskitchencafe

 

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Coconut Tres Leches Cake Trifle Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Coconut Pastry Cream:
• 1 can (14-ounces) coconut milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Cake:
• 1 cup white sugar, divided
• 5 egg yolks
• 5 egg whites
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Whipped Cream Ingredients & Extras:
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups toasted coconut for assembly and topping
Tres Leches Mixture:
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup coconut milk

DIRECTIONS: 

1. First up, make the pastry cream so it can chill in the refrigerator. In a medium saucepan combine the coconut milk, sugar, salt and vanilla. Heat the mixture over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and cornstarch. When the coconut milk mixture comes to a simmer, slowly ladle about 1/2 a cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously and constantly so the eggs don't scramble and form hard, cooked bits. Add the entire egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and whisk constantly while the mixture cooks over medium heat for 3-4 minutes; it will thicken considerably. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and coconut extract. Pour the pastry cream into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface, and refrigerate until completely chilled, 3-4 hours (you can speed up this process by placing the bottom of the bowl in an ice water bath and stirring the pastry cream constantly until cool). Once the pastry cream has cooled completely, beat the 1/2 cup whipping cream until thick and creamy. Fold it gently into the pastry cream until combined. Refrigerate the pastry cream until ready to assemble the trifle.
2. While the pastry cream is chilling (before folding in the whipped cream), make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease two round cake pans. Measure your trifle dish to determine what size is needed. My trifle dish would only fit an 8-inch round cake layer so I baked mine in 8-inch layers but some trifle dishes are larger and could work with 9-inch cake layers.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the 3/4 cup granulated sugar until they are light and thick, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the coconut milk, vanilla extract, coconut extract, flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl whip the egg whites until foamy. While beating, add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 12-14 minutes (watch closely!) until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the cakes onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
4. For the whipped cream, combine the cream and sugar together in a medium bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.
5. To assemble, whisk together the condensed milk, evaporated milk and coconut milk (or be like me and shake it all up in a canning jar with a lid). Place one cake layer in the bottom of the trifle dish, flattest side up. Poke holes all over the cake with a fork. Pour 3/4 cup of the milk mixture over the cake gradually, swirling the trifle dish back and forth to cover the cake with the milk mixture and adding the rest of the milk as the first layer soaks in. You can refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the milk soak in or just keep swirling and poking the cake until the mixture settles in. Top with 1/2 of the coconut pastry cream, 1/3 of the toasted coconut and 1/2 of the whipped cream.
6. Poke holes all over the flattest side of the 2nd cake layer (before you put it in the trifle dish). Set the cake layer over the whipped cream layer (with the flattest side up; the side you poked all over) and pour 3/4 cup of the milk mixture over the cake, again, pouring it on gradually and swirling to distribute the milk mixture. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes if needed to help the milk mixture absorb into the cake. Top with the rest of the coconut pastry cream, 1/3 of the toasted coconut, the remainder of the whipped cream and sprinkle with the last of the coconut.
7. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours (or up to 24 hours) before serving. Serve chilled.

Source :melskitchencafe

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