Introduction: Flaming Baked Figs. <PIC> I love good figs, dessert, and fire. This dessert combines all three of them, turning figs and fire into pure deliciousness. We live in the San Francisco bay area, and so have access to an overabundance of figs when the neighborhood trees ripen. I'm always looking for more good ways to eat or preserve figs to ensure we make the most of this short season. Step 1: Tools and Ingredients. Figs: smear of butter 12-20 ripe figs (not too squishy - we'll be baking them) 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or other orange liquor (or interesting liquor of your choice, 80proof or higher)Cream: 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon liquor (same type as above) 2 tablespoons sugarTools: 8 inch fry pan, oven and stove safe (or similarly-sized pan) electric mixer or beaters rubber spatula (optional but handy) Step 2: Bake Figs. <PIC>  Butter pan, stab the bottoms of the figs so they'll drop juices, and arrange figs so they're close but not touching. I could probably fit a few more figs in this pan, but we've already eaten the rest. Sprinkle over 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Bake at 325F for about 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with pan juices. Poke your figs - if they're not cooked through, bake a little longer. The timing is pretty flexible. Step 3: Make Whipped Cream. <PIC>  Whip 1 cup heavy cream, 1 Tablespoon liqueur, and 2 Tablespoons sugar until cream is nice and thick, forming moderately-stiff peaks. Add a sprinkling of any spices you like - I'm fond of allspice with figs, but your mileage may vary. Chill until ready to serve. Step 4: Flame Figs. <PIC>  This is the good part! Pull your pan of figs out of the oven, add 1/4 cup of Cointreau, and place it on the stove at medium heat. Remember the pot handle is hot - I kept forgetting this, which caused a few problems. As soon as the liquid boils, remove from heat (important if you have a gas stove) and carefully prod at the air over the edge of the pot with a lit match. Note that you're not setting fire to the liquid: you're setting fire to the alcohol vapor just above the liquid, which will quickly catch the liquid itself on fire. Sit back and enjoy the show. If you can't get it to catch fire, add a bit more liquor (AWAY from any flame!) and reheat so the alcohol vapors are ready to go.
         Step 5: Reduce Syrup. <PIC> After the fire dies down, remove figs from the pot and set them on a plate to cool. Place the pan back on the stove, and cook over medium-low until the liquid is syrupy. Stir as needed, and remove from heat when syrup is nicely syrupy. (Sorry, I'm not going to be able to explain it better than that. Just don't burn it.) Set aside to cool, as the syrup will be dangerously hot. Step 6: Serve. <PIC>  Scoop a blob of whipped cream onto a plate next to the figs. Drizzle the whole thing with the syrup, and garnish with some kind of fresh herb tips1 for maximally awesome presentation. All these ingredients store nicely! Just plop the figs into a bowl of syrup, and store the whipped cream separately. in fact, overnight marination will only make the figs taste better - it's just a matter of planning ahead.1Mint, thyme, etc. I only have rosemary growing right now, so skipped it.


Introduction: Easy Peasy Pickled Veggies [10 Min Max!]. <PIC> This is a super-easy recipe to pickle your favourite veggies! Takes all of 10 minutes to get done, and enjoy for months!Ingredients:3 carrots3 hog plums5 Indian gooseberries (Phyllanthus emblica)3 lemons / limes2 raw mangoes2 5-inch mango ginger (curcuma amada)3-4 chilli peppers or jalapenos½ cup of sunflower, or olive oil½ cup of sea salt for briningA mason jar for storing the pickle Step 1: Prepping & Pickling. <PIC> Clean, dry and cut the vegetables as you like. In a large mixing bowl, add the cut vegetables, and sea salt per taste. Add sufficient oil to cover the vegetables. Add juice of 4 limes and mix thoroughly. Clean and dry a glass jar. Fill the jar with the picked vegetables for long-term storage.The juice of lime and salt act as natural preservatives while oil blocks the moisture.      The pickle stays good for more than 6 months without refrigeration, and longer with refrigeration Step 2: Ways to Enjoy Them (if You Can't Think of Any!). <PIC> Uses:The pickled vegetables 1.    Can be consumed as is, as a side, or in burgers and sandwiches.2.    Can be used in any food preparation. Especially, in the dishes where there is use of lemon and salt.3.    You can add spices of your choice to the pickled vegetables as and when you need. Such as, roasted and powdered red chilli, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Or, season it with onion and garlic.


Introduction: Frittata Pie.. <PIC> Here is a quick, inexpensive, and easy dish to feed 4-6 people who might show up unexpectedly. It is certainly a Latin (in the European sense) classic meal. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Ingredients:
1 - tablespoon cooking oil.
8 - large eggs.
1 - 29 ounce can of mixed vegetables.
1/2 - cup or so of your favorite cheese. (we use our own home made cheese).
To taste:
Garlic powder.
Pepper.
Salt.
Required equipment:
Oven with a broiler.
Large heatproof pan or skillet.
heat proof gloves or pads.
Method:
Preheat broiler to 350 - 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put cooking oil in pan and warm to medium heat.
Scramble eggs in a bowl.
Add the seasoning's and stir to combine.
Pour into the skillet.
Add the vegetables and stir to combine so that everything is uniform.
Cook for 4 to five minutes till the bottom is firm.
Top with the cheese.
Put skillet under the broiler.
Let cook for four to five minutes.
Check on it at least once every two minutes.
Skillet will be HOT!!!
When top is brown remove from the broiler using the heat proof gloves.
Let cool for a few minutes.
Slice and serve.
Enjoy!


Introduction: Tofu Nuggets. <PIC> I love to snack.  My family loves to snack.  None of us need empty calories and we can all use extra protein.  Enter into your diet Tofu Nuggets!  These things are so good that usually they don't make it off the cookie sheet.  When my 4-year-old requests for dinner Tofu Nuggets that should give you an idea of how good they are.  They are easy to make, but they do take some time.  They are worth it!  Let me show you how I do them. Step 1: Start With Tofu. <PIC> Ingredients:1 lb firm or extra firm tofu1 tbs oil (olive oil or vegetable oil works)1/4 tsp salt1/2 tsp curry powderTools:Stuff to press the tofu.BowlCookie sheetParchment paperOvenSpatulaStart by pressing your tofu.  I get tofu from a local Asian grocer (it's much cheaper there than anywhere else) and I put 1 lb in a paper towel, on a cloth hand towel, between two plates, and with some oil on top of the plate to press it for 30 minutes.  I start preheating the oven to 450°F when I have about 5 min left on the press.  When the 30 min are up I unwrap the tofu and cut it into about 1 cm^3 nuggets.   Step 2: Coat Your Tofu. <PIC> So while your oven is heating up to 450°F get your tofu ready.  I would suggest you put the parchment paper down on the cookie sheet first before this step so when you mix the tofu you do it over the cookie sheet so if anything falls out it goes on something clean.  So in a bowl put the cut up tofu, the oil, the salt, and the curry.  Gently mix with your hand (make sure your hand is clean first) until the tofu is evenly coated and then dump on the cookie sheet. Step 3: Bake/Eat. <PIC> When the oven is at 450°F and your tofu is ready put the tofu in the oven.  15 min use the spatula to turn the tofu, or at least mix it, and put it back in for another 15 min.  Total time in oven is about 30 min but this can vary depending on what consistency you want and also I've found the type of tofu.  The corners of the cubes should start to get very brown, but not burnt.  Take out the cookie sheet (use a hot-pad) and let it sit.The tofu comes out almost like chicken (you may not believe me but that is what it's like).  If you can stop yourself these make great salad toppings, or even little hors d'oeuvre with a cherry tomato and cucumber.  Typically these are just eaten as snacks.  I would like to say you can cover and store these in the refrigerator but they must be completely cool first.  These are good travel food, and excellent for when we go to an outdoor event.So total time just over an hour, but in that time you can get the salad and the rest of dinner ready.  Since these are good for the car they make great snacks to make the night before a trip.  I hope everyone likes them and I can't wait to hear what people to do try and spice them up.  Thank you.


Introduction: Rubik's Cube Salad (Healthy Snack for Geeks) :-). <PIC> I came up with this idea for my hubby. He is always busy and also loves playing with his Rubik's cube time to time. I thought it'd be fun to make him a Geeky and healthy salad :-)He is not keen on Mozzarella cheese so I used a polish sausage instead, but I think that it would be tastier with Mozzarella cheese cubes.  Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> Here we go:One whole cucumber (need to make 9 cubes out if it)9 plum tomatoesPolish or other (ready to eat) sausage ( or use Mozzarella for vegetarian option)Salt PepperFresh basil oil to drizzle Step 2: Cutting Cubes. <PIC> Cut the top and the bottom of plum tomatoes, cut the edges of the cucumber (so it will be like a long rectangle) and do the same with a sausage. I put the tomato on top of the cucumber (like on the picture above) to make similar size cubes. (you could do the same with a sausage). After cutting everything in cubes, I started putting them in mix of three rows (see picture above) - I put two more layers on top (you could do as many as you want though :-) ) Step 3: Last Bit!. <PIC> Then I sprinkled some oil, salt and pepper on it and served it with fresh basil leaves!Bon appetit!


Introduction: Pumpkin Oatmeal Waffles. <PIC> Who doesn't love waffles? I have changed the typical waffle recipe so it's healthier and tastier! Get out your waffle iron because these are delicious! Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> Oatmeal that has been put in the food processer to make oatmeal flour, 1-1/4 cups
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil Step 2: Mixing Ingredients. <PIC> Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a seperate bowl, mix egg, oil, pumpkin, milk and honey together. Combine pumpkin mixture to oatmeal mixture. Stir just until combined thoroughly.  Step 3: Cooking Waffles. <PIC> Pre-heat waffle iron on the medium setting. Spray waffle iron with no-stick cooking spray. Scoop about 1 cup of batter onto a hot waffle iron, close and allow to cook until done, approximately 4 or 5 minutes.   Step 4: Eat and Enjoy!. <PIC> This recipe makes 2 large waffles. You can double the recipe and make more for your family! Serve with butter and syrup.


Introduction: Mickey Mouse Sugar Cookies. <PIC>   I looked all over the internet for instructions to pipe these, but none of them looked right, so I created these. I baked sugar cookies using the mouse-shaped cookie cutter I got in Disney World. Then, I spread vanilla icing on the face, piped chocolate stars in the ears, and using a round tip, I piped his face in chocolate. They were so delicious!


Introduction: The Chef's Spice Caddy. <PIC> When you're heading out to the grill, you need the right tools. All your favorite spices and salts in one handy-dandy caddy! Step 1: The Guy Needed Some Spices.. <PIC> So here's the story. My brother-in-law moved into a new space, and he found that his roommate was woefully lacking spices to cook with.What to do?Well, Christmas was coming, so we decided to help him out.Hook him up with enough spices to rock the kitchen or grill. The idea was to give him 20 spices, and a rack to hold them. We bought 20 spice jars with caps and shaker inserts from Specialty Bottle.Once they arrived, it was time to get busy. Using the bottle as a measuring guide, we went to find some wood. Step 2: Cut the Handle Section.. <PIC> Using the bottle, I figured out how many bottles long I wanted and how high. I didn't want it tight-tight, so I left room between each bottle for some rattle room. Also to allow for variances in store bought bottles. He might pick up some "Devil-Ghost-Bum-Burner" spice and want to replace the Arrowroot.You'll notice the grinder wheel. I used that to draw out my curves. Then I drilled some holes for the handle, cut it out with a jigsaw and did some edge work with a router.The plywood is standard 5/8" stuff. It's what I had as scrap. (Reduce, reuse, recycle!) Step 3: Figure Out the Sides.. <PIC> Since your bottles may vary in size, I'm not giving exact measurements here. There's some fiddly room.Using the handle as a guide, cut out the bottom, with about an 1/8" oversize all the way around. I did this so that when I notch the sides, the bottom will fit into that notch, adding rigidity. This was a fussy bit. Go slow, test your fits and make sure you're not going to tight. For the bottom material I used some 1/8" Luan, again a scrap piece. The sides are 1/4" plywood. (yes, from the scrap bin)Using the table saw, I cut an 1/8" notch, about 1/8" up the side of 1/4" plywood sides. I ran this cut all the way through, yes it leaves a gap that's visible. No I don't care. We could always fill it with putty! The depth of the notch is only 1/8", or halfway through the plywood. Test fit the bottom, it should be snug, but if it isn't, that's ok, we're going to glue it anyway. But aim for snug.TEST FIT EVERYTHING! Step 4: Clamp It Up.. <PIC> I clamped things up in stages. First I clamped and glued the box. I didn't use any brads, in fear of firing one crooked and popping it out a side. So the box was clamped and glued and it sat overnight. Next time however, I will use some brads. I have a pneumatic brad gun, and will use brads to hold things together. 1/4" plywood gives me enough room as long as the brad isn't too big.The next day I installed the handle. This I also glued and fired some staples into to help secure it while it dried. I stapled through the sides and a couple through the bottom up. More clamps, then overnight to dry.Then I sanded the whole thing. First 200 grit, and I finished with 600 grit. Step 5: Time for Some GRAPHICS!. <PIC> So into Illustrator!I was going to be using a method I've used in the past, which is to print out a design on a color laser printer, making sure it's reversed, then coating the surface of the project with a Matte Gesso medium, sticking the image side down, letting it dry, then rubbing off the paper.I tell you, the process is a pain, but man I like the results.So what you see here is the images I created in Illustrator printed out. Then carefully cut out. Cut out as much of the paper as you can. Saves on rubbing later. And makes it easier to place. Step 6: Stain the Wood.. <PIC> Do you know how hard it is to find a water based stain?Not real hard if you know how to look. What I used was Rit® clothing dye. Grey.Why not an oil based stain? Because I was using the Gesso over it, I wanted to make sure it stuck, so a water based stain was it. I mixed the Rit® dye with water and using a sponge brush, coated the sanded surface.The water did raise the grain a little, so once it was dry, I used a 600 grit paper to knock down the high spots. It gave the finish a nice patina.  Step 7: Apply Some GRAPHICS!. <PIC> You can obviously skip this step, and finish the caddy however you wish. Some nice tung oil, or anything really. I prefer oil finishes verses poly finishes. They just feel better over sanded wood. (there's a joke there somewhere)So add a layer of Gesso to the surface, a little thick, but not milky white thick. Then press the paper into the Gesso with the ink side down, and let it dry overnight. The next day, get the paper wet, and start rubbing away the paper. Go easy! the ink is only a couple molecules thick! It's VERY easy to rub through the image. With that said however, I LIKE the look if it's rubbed through in some sections. Instant vintage! I finish the entire caddy with a couple coats of linseed oil. The oil sticks to the Matte Gesso just fine.This thing looks like it has seen trips to the beach and gets loved. Step 8: Go Get Some Spices!. <PIC> So my wife went to the co-op to get the spices needed. While there, several people asked about the caddy, and where THEY could get one.So I'm back out to the shop making 3 MORE! They want them unfinished so they can do the paint/stain/oil themselves, which is great.The 6oz jars that I bought, are standard spice jars found on the shelves of the store, so people can just buy what they need and mix things up. (Bulk spices however are cheaper) There is enough wiggle room in the caddy to get other jars in there. I just wouldn't force anything as the box will give way. It's built light, because it gets heavy once the spices are added.Not, "It's a workout." heavy, but enough where you don't want to start out with a lot of weight. Enjoy!


Introduction: How to Quilt Chocolate. <PIC> According to Wikipedia, quilting is a "method done to join two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded material."
I don't have a sewing machine or appropriate fabric, but I still wanted to quilt something.  For some reason, my thoughts drifted to the kitchen.  Those who know me know that I don't consider fondant edible.  Chocolate clay, on the other hand, works quite well where others might use fondant, without the drawback of tasting like overly sweet play doh.
I decided to try quilting chocolate.
I used colored white chocolate for the top of the quilt, but you could just as easily use milk or dark, or a combination of them for different patterns. Step 1: Make the Chocolate Clay. <PIC> Make sure you're using actual white chocolate chips, rather than the white candy chips.  If you're not sure, read the ingredients.  Real white chocolate has cocoa butter.  The crappy chips have hydrogenated vegetable oil (ick).
Melt 3/4 C white chocolate chips with 2 1/2 T light corn syrup.  Stir until smooth, then let it cool.  Knead until smooth and pliable, adding a tiny bit of powdered sugar or cornstarch if it's too greasy.  Don't overuse the cornstarch or it'll taste powdery.
If you want to color some of the chocolate clay, separate those portions. Step 2: Prepare the Quilt Squares. <PIC> Add a little food coloring to each ball of chocolate clay.  You might want to first mix it in with a stick before kneading it so you don't get food coloring stains on your hands.
Choose two or more colors and slice, roll, or assemble them in whatever way you want to make the pattern for the first type of "fabric" square.  Repeat until you've used all the colors.
The red and orange pattern was made by layering three flattened colors, rolling them up into a log, slicing the log, and arranging those roll slices along with leftover scraps to form a loose, swirly pattern.  Note the white corn starch in the red and orange squares; this is why I recommend you be VERY sparing with the cornstarch.  If it sticks to your fingers, it'll stick to the quilt and be less likely to fall apart, even if the quilt is stretched slightly over the stuffing.
The yellow piece was covered with tiny orange balls of clay and rolled flat to make dots.
The green and blue were made by placing thin strips of the various colors next to each other and rolling flat.
The purple squares are a looser swirl pattern than the red/orange.
Roll the clay fabric flat.  Slice it into squares roughly the same size. Step 3: Assemble the Quilt Top. <PIC> Roll a piece of the uncolored white chocolate clay flat, and slice a rectangle; this will be roughly the size of your finished dessert.  Arrange colored squares on this white clay, leaving a border of white around the edges.
I would recommend brushing a little bit of corn syrup on the white clay to help the colored squares adhere better.  Press them gently together in place.
Take one edge of white chocolate and fold it up over the edge of the colored squares.  Press gently, then press "stitches" into the clay with a wooden skewer.
Press the side of the skewer along the edges of the colored squares, making a gentle indentation to hold them down and squish them together.  "Stitch" the colored squares together by pressing little holes along the border with the wooden skewer.
You have now quilted chocolate.  Your chocolate quilt would be lovely on a frosted brownie, cupcake, or dill pickle (okay, maybe not the last one).
I can't add notes to my photos, so:
Photo 1. Arrange squares, notice I used a little too much cornstarch on the red/orange squares
Photo 2. Fold the edge of the border over to barely overlap onto the colored squares
Photo 3. Stitching the edges down using a wooden skewer; notice the wavy edges on the sides.  You can even these up by pressing in with the side of the wooden skewer before stitching them
Photo 4. Pressing down on the borders of the colored squares, helping them stick and making the raised, "quilted" effect
Photo 5. Stitch the borders of the colored squares by poking little indentations with the point of the skewer after pressing all the edges down  Step 4: Assemble Your Dessert. <PIC> In this case, I completed my quilted dessert with a semisweet chocolate clay bottom and almond nougat filling.
Stay tuned for an instructable with more details on almond nougat, or follow this recipe on Chow.com for peanut butter nougat, substituting almond butter for the peanut.
I made the semisweet chocolate clay the same way I made the white, but I wasn't as careful about kneading until smooth because it was the bottom of the dessert.  I cut the rectangle slightly smaller than the top quilt, and cut a piece of almond nougat smaller than the bottom piece.  The quilt would've looked better and less puffy if I'd used less almond nougat, but... then it wouldn't have had as much almond nougat in it.  :)
After placing the colored quilt on top of the nougat, I pressed down at the intersections of the squares with a wooden skewer in order to anchor it a bit more.  I added little cupcake decorations at the corners for fun, but it'd be just as good without sprinkles.
I was going to make several more quilts, but my 3 year old discovered that the clay I was using was edible, and it didn't last long after that.
Thanks for reading!  I hope you try your own chocolate quilt.
Photo notes:
Photo 1. Finished dessert with lots of almond nougat (note how the excessive stuffing made the quilt bulge out and burst its "seams." Cupcake pearls placed at corners of colored squares, chocolate clay as the base of the quilted dessert.
Photo 2. Semisweet chocolate chips and corn syrup in the unwashed bowl I'd used to make the white chocolate clay; yes, I'm messy like that.
Photo 3. Melted chocolate and corn syrup, not as smooth as it could be; if this was for the top of the dessert, I'd have heated it a little more to make sure it was all melted and stir a lot to make it smooth.
Photo 4. Rough, slightly sticky semisweet chocolate clay; this is good enough because it's for the bottom of the dessert and kids were starting to get into stuff by this point, so I had to hurry.
Photo 5. Lovely almond butter nougat with chopped almonds on top.  This would make a fabulous almond version of a knockoff Snickers bar.  I used the recipe from chow.com but added a little bit more salt and used smooth almond butter instead of crunchy peanut butter.
Photo 6. Overly generous layer of almond nougat on the chocolate clay base
Photo 7. Quilt top resting on the puffy filling; it bulged out enough that the colored squares loosened.
Photo 8. Pressing down on the corners between the squares with the blunt end of the skewer to emphasize the quilted effect
Photo 9. Cupcake pearls
Photo 10. Cupcake pearls
Photo 11. Finished dessert
Photo 12. Cutaway bite, plenty of almond nougat inside


Introduction: Make Your Own Tortilla/press. <PIC> yes, tortilla's are easy to purchase and make into great food...but why not make it even better? Do you want to make your own tortilla's but don't have a press?Inspired by "Tortilla Press" by kuhldad on instructables...with some great design inputs from my son (soon to be a graduate chef from Culinary Arts of America, please hire him!) and my father in law...it only took 1 trip to Home Depot and about an hour of assembly. Step 1: Tortilla Dough. <PIC> Recipe:Mix masa with water and salt...it should be like play dough.  When you smash a ball down it shouldn't crack on the edges.The world's easiest recipe! Step 2: Make Dough Balls and Load the Press.... <PIC> Roll the dough into balls, press and determine if the size is correct for the dish you are making...I am often the victim of overstuffed tortilla's, so I advocate large diameter...something like 10".Line the bottom and of the press with cellophane, deli paper, or other food safe material that will keep the tortilla's separate and prevent sticking to the press.  Place the ball nearer the hinge side, if you are too far away from hinge you will get a wedge shape (not even thickness).From there it doesn't get any easier, close, the middle layer, then close the top.  The weight of the wood will press the tortilla.So how do you make your own press? Step 3: The Press.. <PIC> We went to Home Depot and purchased 3' of 12" wide, and 1" thick poplar.  Make sure the board is flat.  I realized afterwards that the saw operator probably could have cut us the 3 individual pieces.The only other items we needed were hinges.  Because the wood is actually 3/4" thick we got 4 hinges that were 1.5" and also 2 - 3" for the triple side.  See the sketch for how these are attached.From there I used 2 different "things" from Thingiverse:  A handle:http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:670763and knobs on the side to open the middle layer:http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:600955 Step 4: We Had Some Awesome Fish Taco's.... <PIC> what will you have with your home made tortilla's?Making and food does go together!


Introduction: Apple Chocolate and Peanut Butter Snack. <PIC> this is a snack that I love to make and is really good for sharing with! I'm sorry about he photos they are from my iPod and I hope u like it Step 1: Getting Supplies. <PIC> you will need:1 small plate1 apple a knifea tablespoonpeanut buttericing sugar (optional)cutting boardchocolate chipsand a small microwaveable container Step 2: Cutting the Apple . <PIC> take your cutting board knife and apple and start cutting your apple into slices or however you wantwhen your done put all your apple slices on the plate Step 3: The Chocolate Chips. <PIC> put as much chocolate chips in the small container as you want( i would suggest not putting in as much as i did because its a bit much) next put them in the microwave for about 15 to 20 seconds   take them out stir them with a teaspoon and put them back in for 10 to 15 seconds stir and pour on to apples(you might need to use the tablespoon to help pour them on the apples Step 4: Finishing With the Peanut Butter. <PIC> u can use the same container that u used for the chocolate or a different clean oneput about one big tablespoon in the container and microwave it for about 15-20 seconds pour on to apple and viola! an easy yummy snack if you want u can also sprinkle icing sugar on top


Introduction: Irish Mom's Enchiladas. <PIC> This my mom. She makes pretty good enchiladas. Here is how you do it. Step 1: Compras En Trader Joe. <PIC> Take yourself to my second home, the big TJ and buy all the ingredients you need:- 2-4 chicken breasts depending on size- 1 can of black beans- Your favorite cheese (please pick an appropriate cheese for the dish... not brie or something fancy)- 6-8 tortillas depending on size (not the brown wheaty kind. They do not roll well)- 1 bottle enchilada sauce- Green onions, cilantro, avocado, etc (optional garnishes) Step 2: Precalentar El Horno. <PIC> Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Please remember to complete this step. You will waiting a long time, longingly looking at your cold enchiladas while you wait for the oven to heat.  Step 3: Manos Limipas. <PIC> Clean those puppies. You don't want to infect yourself or your beloved diners. Step 4: Hornear Y Triturar El Pollo. <PIC> Seasoning two chicken breasts with salt, garlic, pepper, and cumin. If spicy is your thing, feel free to add more spices.Bake your chicken for 20 minutes or until cooked through.Then, shred it up and set it aside. Step 5: Coge Tus Tortillas. <PIC> Take your tortillas and fill them up one by one with the shredded chicken, Be generous. Step 6: Frijol Hasta. <PIC> Add the black beans on top of the chicken. This is an optional step. If you don't like beans, don't add them. But they are delicious and nutritious and add great pizzazz. Step 7: Agregar El Queso. <PIC> Next, you should shred your cheese. My mom uses this kind or jack cheese. You do not have to do that. Pick your favorite queso that would make sense in an enchilada (aka not brie or blue). Step 8: Añadir La Salsa. <PIC> Then, add your enchilada sauce. Roll your enchiladas and lay them side by side in a baking dish. Add more sauce and cheese on top. Step 9: En El Horno. <PIC> Pop those puppies into your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese has melted and the enchiladas are hot. Step 10: Comer. <PIC> Now, you may eat them and marvel at their mediocre beauty. Thanks Ma!


Introduction:  Pancake & Muffin - Indian Method. <PIC> Appam is a type of pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk.It is popular food in South India and Sri Lanka. It is eaten as breakfast or dinner. This recipe is not the traditional style of making appam, but my own variation and one which I find easy to prepare with the ingredients available in US.Usually in India they cook the pancake from this batter, but i am making the muffin as well as pancake from the same batter. The fermentation process of the batter is natural.  Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> Ingredients for batter (1 cup = 250 ml)Raw rice (Sona Masuri, Basmathi or any variety), 1 cup   Idli rice or Idli rava or parboiled rice , 1 cup   Fenugreek seeds, 1 Teaspoon   Urad dal , 1/4 cup   Cooked rice, 1/2 cup (a fistful)  Coconut, 1 to 1 1/2 cup (grated) or 1 cup of thick coconut milk   Sugar, 1 Tablespoon   Salt, 1 teaspoon or as required   Water, as required for grindingAdditional Ingredients for Indian muffins  (1 cup = 250 ml) Ghee or Butter, 1 Tablespoon   Cashewnuts, 1/4 cup chopped   Raisins, 1/4 cup  Cardamom, 1 TeaspoonJaggery or Brown sugar, 1/2 cup ( adjust as per your taste)   Baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon (optional) Oil as required Step 2: Equipments. Blender / Mixer / GrinderMicrowave or Electric Idli Steamer/ Pressure Cooker with Idli mould (I used stove top pressure cooker)Fry pan with lid (6 or 8 inch diameter)Spatula & Large spoon Step 3: Soaking & Grinding. <PIC> Soaking Rinse both the regular rice, idli rava together for a couple of times. Be careful while rinsing idli rava as it is very small.Rinse urad dal, fenugreek seeds together in another bowl.Soak them 7 to 9 hours or overnight.Grinding  ( I used blender )First drain and grind the urad dal, fenugreek into a smooth paste and transfer it to a bowl.Drain and grind the raw rice, idli rava, cooked rice, and coconut together into a slightly grainy texture. Add the previous grinned paste and blend it to thick batter.Pour the batter into a large bowl. Step 4: Batter Fermentation. <PIC> Add sugar and salt to the batter. Stir wellKeep aside for fermentation overnight or for about 10 to 12 hours or more if required. In cool areas keep it overnight, in oven with lights on.The batter will increase in volume and doubles a little bit with lot of bubbles. Step 5: 1 Making Muffin (Sweet Idli). <PIC> Heat pan and fry chopped cashew nuts. When it turns golden, add raisins and fry for 30 secondsPour 2 cups of thick batter into a bowl, add cardamom, jaggery/ brown sugar, cashew, raisins and baking soda. Mix well.Meanwhile put water in the steamer or pressure cooker and let it boil.Grease muffin or idli moulds with oil and pour 3 tablespoon of batter in each moulds.Put the moulds into steamer and steam cook for 10 minutes. Let it cool for 5 minutes and remove muffins from moulds.Enjoy the muffins. Serve muffins for breakfast, dinner or evening snack.  Step 6: 2 Making Pancake (Aapam). <PIC> Take 1 cup of batter, adjust water so that the consistency of the batter will be thin but not too watery.Add baking soda and mix well.Heat pan, smear 1/2 teaspoon oil and pour 1 large spoon of batter.Hold the handle and swirl it, so that the batter spreads evenly in a round shape and close it with lid.This pancake cooks only on one side.Pancake is done when sides are golden brown.Remove lid and gently lift the pancake with spatula.Enjoy the lacy pancakes.Serve pancake hot or warm with sweetened milk/coconut milk,or chickpea curry or vegetable stew anytime. Step 7: Tips for Pancake . <PIC> If the holes are really big and batter not sticking to pan, the batter is very thin. Add more batter to adjust the consistency.If pancake is coming heavy, then batter is very thick and needs to be diluted with water.If batter is not browning properly, it means batter is not fermented enough or very less sugar has been added.If pancake comes yellow instead of white, then too much baking soda. Add more batter to adjust the soda.


Introduction: Indian Pudding. <PIC> Also referred to as Hasty Pudding, this Boston treat is an autumn staple. The (naive/ignorant) colonial settlers used to call cornmeal "Indian meal," and that's where this cornmeal-based pudding got it's name.
Indian Pudding is easy to make, and is absolutely delicious served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream. With simple molasses, cinnamon, and nutmeg flavors, it's a crowd pleasing dessert at any Thanksgiving table! Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC>
          You will need: 		6 cups of milk
		1 stick of butter
		1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
		1/4 cup flour
		1 teaspoon salt
		1/2 cup molasses
		3 eggs
		1/2 cup granulated sugar
		1 teaspoon cinnamon
		1 teaspoon nutmeg
		vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
There are a lot of different variations you can make on Indian pudding. I went for a rather basic batch, but I've tried some great ones that mix it up and include some different ingredients, such as: 		rasins
		ground ginger
		maple syrup
		honey Step 2: Scald Milk. <PIC> Preheat oven to 250
Pour your milk and butter into a large pan (preferably with a thick base - otherwise use a double boiler), and apply medium heat. Warm until butter melts, and liquid has just hit a boil, stirring regularly. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, and let simmer. Step 3: Dry Ingredients. <PIC> In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and cornmeal.
Stir in molasses until mixture has a uniform consistency. Thin with a few spoonfuls of the scalded milk, then slowly transfer the moxture back to the large pot of buttermilk.  Step 4: Thicken. <PIC> Whisk and continue warming until mixture has thickened to the consistency of a porridge. About 5-8 minutes. Step 5: Temper Eggs. <PIC> Beat eggs in a small bowl. While quickly whisking with one hand, slowly add ~1/2 cup of the hot cornmeal mixture into the eggs. When everything mixed, and there are no eggy chunks, transfer egg mixture back into the large pot.
Add sugar and spices (now's the time to add rasins, too, if you opted for them), and stir to combine.  Step 6: Bake. <PIC> Pour into a large and shallow casserole dish, and bake at 250 for 2 hours.
Pudding will be very hot when you remove it from the oven, so be sure to give it time to cool. After you can't take it anymore, because it just smells too darn good, grab a bowl-full, top with some ice cream, and dig in!


Introduction: Halloween Rice Krispie Treats. <PIC> What better way to celebrate Halloween than with delicious Rice Krispie Treats covered in Jell-O flavored Marshmallow Fondant!  Check out how to make these adorable pumpkins, ghosts, skulls and kitty cats. Step 1: Supplies. <PIC>
          It doesn't really very, but here is what you need.Edible:
Rice Krispie Treat = Rice Krispies Butter Marshamllows
		Marshmallow Fondant (MMF) = Marshmallows Water Powdered Sugar (optional jell-o for color and flavoring)
		Corn Syrup for "glue"Food coloring (What I used: black for cats and decorations for skulls, ghosts, and pumpkins; orange for pumpkins; green for pumpkin decorations) (You can use liquid or gel coloring.  If you use liquid, I usually use that as a substitute for some of my water when I melt the marshmallows.)
		Crisco or Non Stick Spray (I use the spray) - to put on your hands while working with the rice krispie mix.  It helps stop the marshmellowy mess from completely covering your hands.Inedible: 		Pot for making Rice Krispie MixBowl for Rice Krispie Mix (if you leave it in the metal pot it will stick like crazy, I use nonstick spray on a glass or plastic bowl and transfer the mix while I'm shaping my treats)Silpat Mat  or Similar Alternative (like usual, these are AWESOME when working with MMF)Halloween Cookie Cutters (I got these because there was a variety of shapes in one package and they were smaller than what I usually use; it seems like all my holiday rice krispie treats have been getting too big, these are perfect for personal sized snacks.)Pizza Cutter - everyone has one of these, but it is really nice to have for cutting strips with fondantPiping tips or something similar you can use to cut out small circles - I've used these for various decorating projects and they are just nice to have :) Step 2: Make Halloween Treats. <PIC>
          Pick out your shapes!  I decided I had to do a pumpkin.  I also wanted to try the ghost, skull and the cat while I was at it.  After doing this I would strongly suggest, if you are using small cookie cutters like me, to not do ones with little bits on it.  For example: it was hard to fill in the little ghost tail.  Not impossible, just hard.  I would still do the ones I did, but doing the little kitty ears, and making sure you could tell what they actually were, was hard.Steps: Move rice krispie mix to another bowl.  I sprayed a glass mixing bowl with non stick spray and poured mine in there.  I say to move the mix, because the first time I did this I left it in the pot I made it in and by the time I got to the bottom it would not come off the pot.  Real pain that was.Spray your cookie cutters with non stick spray.  I did this a little late and I think that was why the mix would stick.  Also, plastic might work better here than metal cookie cutters.Smash the krispie mix into the cookie cutters.  And when I say smash, I mean smash.  You want to hear the krispie crunch as you smush them in.  This gives them a nice strong and defined shape.Set them aside to harden up a bit before moving on. Step 3: Clean Up the Mess You Made.... <PIC> when you dropped the box of rice krispies.
:(
I know, sad day, sweep it up and you'll be fine.
It is hard to hold that big box with one hand while measuring out 6 cups of rice krispies. Step 4: Cover Piece by Piece Or.... <PIC>
          I don't really like this method, but it is an option.
Take out your pizza cutter and cut out strips of your MMF that is roughly the thickness of the rice krispie treat shape. Then use the cookie cutter that matches your shape (in this instance, pumpkin) and cut it out in MMF. Wrap the strip around the side of the treat.  If there is extra, fold it over the top as show in the pictures.Stick the cut out fondant right on top.  This does the trick, but doesn't look nice in my opinion. Step 5: Fully Cover. <PIC>
          This is the method I usually use that gives the best results.  It is very time consuming though.
Roll out your MMF.Lay it over the top of the rice krispie treat you want to cover.If the fondant is soft it will mold nicely to the treat.  Just ease the the fondant over the edges until you have covered the top and sides of the treat.Cut around the bottom edge. If you have extra hanging down, just smooth it over the bottom of the treat.Repeat for all the treats!
There is another very easy way to do it.  Simply cut out the same of the treat in the fondant and just put that on the top.  It doesn't look as complete, but you still get a tasty treat.  If you just cut out the treat in fondant like this, you can cut it out thicker than you would have if you had covered the whole thing.
         Step 6: Decorate. <PIC>
          Time to decorate them!  Us a decorating paint brush to brush on corn syrup to use as clue for all your little pieces.Pumpkin (2 options) Traditional Pumpkin:
	Roll out some green and cut out a couple small circles of green using a decorating tip.Smush the circles a bit to give them more of an oval or diamond shape.Arrange the rolled out piece as a vine and put your little oval leaves on the vine.Jack O' Lantern:
	Cut out a couple circles for leaves. (you don't have to, but they look cute)Cut out larger circles from the black using a larger decorating tip.Smush the larger circles to look like triangles and arrange them as eyes and a nose.You can get more complex and creative!  Go crazy!  I would love to see what people do!SkullCut out 2 larger circles and a few smaller ones using the decorating tips.Put the big circles on as eyes.Put on the smaller circles as teeth and kind of smush them up against each other to make them more oval.GhostCut out three small circles using the tips.Arrange them as eyes and a mouth. Step 7: Have Fun. <PIC> Eat up!  You can see I just cut out shapes for all those colored ones.  It is a nice easy way to do it if you don't have time to completely decorate them all.
Hope you enjoy!


Introduction: Fun Mummy Treats for the Kids. <PIC> These sweet mummy treats make great and cute school snacks, not just for Halloween! Step 1: Method. <PIC> CeleryFruit by the foot, fruit snack Smooth peanut butter Mini chocolate chips (you can also use edible eyes)Spoon peanut butter into a ziploc bag and snip the cornerPipe peanut butter onto washed and dried celery sticksCut strips out of fruit by the foot and start threading on the peanut butter, transforming them into mummyPlace mini chips as eyes and your mummy treats are readyEnjoy~


Introduction: Ancho Coffee Short Ribs. <PIC> These short ribs fall off the bone, are tender and delicious. A hearty meal that is sure to please. Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> 3 Kg (6 lbs) of Short ribs, salt, pepper, olive oil
SAUCE
1/2 Cup coffee
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp ancho chili powder
2 Tbsp honey
2 canned chipotle peppers with 2 Tbsp of the adobo sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 onion, roughly cut
3 cloves of garlic
2 canned chipotle peppers with 2 Tbsp of the adobo sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice Step 2: SAUCE. <PIC> Puree coffee, salt, ancho powder, honey, peppers, lime juice, onion and garlic in the blender. Set aside. Step 3: RIBS 1. <PIC> Pat ribs dry, then season with salt and pepper Step 4: RIBS 2. <PIC> Preheat olive oil in skillet, then brown ribs a few at a time, placing them close together in a roasting pan. Step 5: RIBS 3. <PIC> Once the ribs are browned, take the skillet off the heat (to avoid splatters), then pour the sauce in the pan. Bring to a simmer, stirring to deglaze and get all drippings from the pan.
Pour the sauce over the ribs. Step 6: RIBS 4. <PIC> Cover with tin foil, then bake at 300 degrees for 3 1/2 hours
Remove the ribs, skim off the fat, then serve the sauce on the side.
Enjoy!


Introduction: Chopped Broccoli Tomato and Bacon Salad. <PIC> This salad can be a main course salad as it contains bacon and eggs, both bringing a punch of protein to this salad. This salad has a carbohydrate (the tomato), vegetable, fat, and a protein. It was also made with home made mayonnaise, which included using olive oil and avocado oil (no canola oil, high in omega-6 causing inflammation). This recipe also contains omega-3, great for the skin, heart, and your emotional well-being.Enjoy the step by step video on how to prepare: Chopped Broccoli Tomato and Bacon Salad. Step 1: Making Chopped Broccoli Tomato and Bacon Salad. Thanks for viewing our Instructable. For more great recipes link to Splendid Recipes and More.


Introduction: Cranberry Sauce Muffins. <PIC> Last week during my grocery shopping, I found loads of fresh cranberries in the market and I bought one packet because they were just so pretty and Christmacy . After coming home I was wondering how to use these cranberries and hence started my research and I found thousands of recipes online. So I decided to make Cranberry sauce as that seemed to be the most popular and I imagined this sauce could be used in place of Jam or on top of ice cream, cream cheese pie etc etc. And so when I finished making the sauce, I had a spoonful for tasting the end product and I don't know why, but all I could think of was how this sauce will taste inside a muffin. And so I decided to make Cranberry Sauce muffin. Of course I saved some sauce for my morning toast and remaining I used up for making muffin and OH MY GOD the most unique tasting, moist, yummylicious muffin I have ever tasted. I really really hope you like this. Step 1: Ingredients and Process to Prepare Cranberry Sauce. <PIC> Ingredients:Fresh Cranberries - 12 ozSugar - 1 cupWater - 1/2 cupOrange Juice - 1/2 cupProcess:Wash the cranberries very wellIn a pan, add cranberries, water and orange juice and let it come to a complete boilAdd sugar and mix well and let it cook on medium flame for 15 minutes. The sauce will be a little runny at this pointSwitch off gas and let it cool down completely and the consistency will become jammy.This sauce can be used in place of any Jam and also for toppings on ice cream/pies Step 2: Ingredients Required to Prepare Cranberry Muffins. <PIC> All Purpose Flour - 1 3/4 cupSugar - 1/2 cupUnsalted butter, softened at room temperature - 1/4 cupBaking Powder - 1 tspBaking Soda - 1/2 tspSalt - 1/4 tspCranberry Sauce - 2 cupsGround Cinnamon - 1/2 tspVanilla extract - 1 tspMilk - 2 tbsp to 1/4 cup (if required)Eggs - 2Orange Zest - 1 tsp Step 3: Process to Prepare Cranberry Muffins. <PIC> Preheat oven to 400 degrees FIn a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar, add the eggs, vanilla extract and Orange zest and whisk them together until combinedWhisk in the cranberry sauce and mix wellIn a separate bowl , mix together baking powder, baking soda, salt , cinnamon and flourSieve this dry ingredients into the cranberry sauce mixture and mix only till combinedAdd little milk at a time if required to get nice muffin batter consistencyUsing an ice cream scoop divide the batter evenly in the lined muffin tin and bake for 15-18 minutesInsert a tooth pick into the muffins to see if any batter sticks to the muffins. If it comes out clean, our muffins are completely cookedLet it cool down for 15 minutes and enjoy :). Hope you like it :)


Introduction: 3D Butterfly Mini-Cupcakes. <PIC> This past spring I brought three dozen mini-cupcakes to a spring picnic. What better illustrates "Spring" than butterflies? I came up with the idea of making the butterflies three-dimensional using melted chocolate and this Instructable will detail how I went about doing it. Since that picnic I've had 2 people request my butterfly cupcake services. The pink/yellow/white butterflies were for my originals for the picnic. The 5 dozen blue/violet/red butterflies were commissioned for a first birthday party and that's when I decided I needed to share my methods. It took me about 5 hours to complete these from start to finish. I spread it out over 3 days: Day 1-Wings, Day 2- Cupcakes, Day 3- Frost and Assemble. I found that to be much more manageable. Step 1: Gather Your Supplies. <PIC> Here's what you will need...For the wings:   Chocolate chips (for the body and outline), Candy melts in whatever colors you desire (available at JoAnn Fabrics, Michael's Crafts, Candy & Cake Decorating Supply Stores or online)  cereal bag liners, plastic baggies or pastry bags, decorator tip and coupler.
**Note:  If your desired color is not available, don't despair! Here's what you'll need to do, find your nearest candy supply store if you are in a rush or if you are not in a hurry, you can search online, get candy melts or almond bark in a color close to what you are looking for, then get OIL-BASED food coloring to add to the chocolate. This is important! If you use water based or gel based colorant to color your chocolate, it will seize (ball up and look like cottage cheese) because water and chocolate do not mix. If you can not find oil-based colorant (like I couldn't with the purple) you can use a water/gel based dye BUT you MUST add Paramount Crystals to the chocolate to prevent seizing. That is the bag of white flakes in the picture. They also work great as a thinning medium to extend the cooling time. They do not change the flavor of the chocolate but they will allow resolidification. More on that later.For the cupcakes:  I made mini-cupcakes, but you can do whatever size you want. For fool-proofness and ease I used a boxed cake mix because I knew I would already be spending a considerable amount of time on the wings. For the yellow/pink set I used a confetti flavor and for the red/purple commission she wanted vanilla flavor. You'll need to follow the directions on the box, usually you will also need eggs, oil, water, pans and cupcake liners if desired.For the frosting:  I always make my frostings from scratch. I think they taste so much better and they don't have the preservatives in them. You can also make it whatever flavor or color you'd like. You will need confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar), milk, butter, flavoring, food dye. Step 2: Print Out Your Wings Template. <PIC> I sketched out a wing outline and scanned it into my computer, Actual size is 1"x 1-3/4". I then inserted the wing into Word into 4 rows of 3 (a dozen right wings). I flipped the image and made another sheet of a dozen left wings. I printed out these 2 sheets and they became the template I used underneath the cereal bag liners. I've included the pdf of this file but since this is my first Instructable I'm not sure if the pdf will work or not.
About the cereal bag liners, these are super useful and worth saving, they are washable and reusable. It allows you see your template below like tracing paper and the chocolate will pop off easily when cool. Take any box of cereal and eat all the cereal (hopefully not all at once) or you can empty the cereal into another container. Carefully remove the clearish bag liner the cereal came in and open it up along the seams. Give it a good rinse to remove all the cereal dust. Lay the dry cereal liner over your paper template. It may be possible to use waxed paper, but I have not tried it and therefore do not recommend it. Because the chocolate will be hot/warm when you pipe it, I expect that it will melt the wax coating and become one with the chocolate. Yuck.
As you can see from the image I had intended some detail for my wings. When put to practice, the detail didn't really matter since I ended up winging it. (hehe) The important part is the tab because that will be the part that sticks into the frosting. I make the tab out of the outline color so it becomes invisible once assembled.  Step 3: Begin Your Wings and Make Bodies. <PIC> After you have your template set up you can start melting your chocolate for the outline and body. This will be done in several steps and since chocolate cools quickly, just start with a small amount of chocolate at a time (about a half cup). Melt chocolate either in the microwave in a dish for 30-60 seconds on power 6, stirring every 15 seconds or in the microwave in a plastic baggie (same time and power) smushing it every 15 seconds, or melt in a double boiler (small bowl set in a pot of simmering water-careful not to get moisture in the chocolate or it will seize). Chocolate chips work well for a darker butterfly and white or speckled candy melts work well for a lighter butterfly. (If you want to color the chocolate at this stage please read ahead to Making the Wings)
The first time I made these I used a pastry bag but I found it extremely difficult to clean. The next time I used plastic baggies with the corner clipped out so I could insert the decorator tip and coupler. Since it was disposable I found that this method worked better for me. I just had to deal with cleaning the tip (boiling hot water!). If you uncouple the metal tip you can also remelt the chocolate in the baggie, just watch it more closely since the plastic coupler will heat up faster than the contents and could possibly melt a hole in the baggie (not that I have experience with this, but you may want to keep some packing tape handy in case that happens). Then just recouple the metal tip back on when you are ready to use it again.
I used a small round piping tip the first time and that worked nicely, but somehow I misplaced it so instead of buying a new one (because they always turn up after you replace them) I just used a small star tip I had on hand and that worked just as well. Pipe the outline and the tab thick enough to minimize fragility. If the walls of the outline are too thin you risk breakage.
**Note: If a wing breaks, it can be fixed but your best bet is to make 5 or so extra so that you don't have to used mended wings. To mend a wing you will need to add more melted chocolate in the appropriate color(s) like glue and place the wing parts together. Wait until completely cooled to move. Sometimes you may need to pull more of it apart to repipe a section. A mended wing is not ideal.
To make the bodies pipe a blob about 3/4 inch long. Even if my wings are a lighter color, I still prefer to make the bodies out of chocolate chips, I feel they more closely resemble real butterflies that way. They will look like little turds only until they are assembled and then they will look like butterfly bodies :) Step 4: Making the Wings. <PIC> After you have your left and right wing outlines completed and cooled, you can start to fill in the colored portion of the wings. Remember that butterfly wings are symmetrical but you can use artistic license. I filled in my wings in pairs of left and right so that I'd be sure to have a mate in each pattern. You can be as creative as you'd like here!
To melt the chocolate put a few candy melts (about 6) in a dish and melt either in the microwave or double boiler and stir until smooth. If you need to change the color, using oil-based food dyes are the easiest-just drop and stir. If you don't have that option, add Paramount Crystals and regular gel or water based dye. I added about 1 teaspoon of crystals to 1/2 cup melts plus 2 squirts of gel colorant. Melt as usual.
Working fast is the key especially if you want to marble the colors together. That means you will have 2 (or more) colors actively warm at the same time. Spoon, knife or pipe one color in to the wing, then the next and while still warm, use a tooth pick or knife tip to marble together. This is where multiple couplers, tips and baggies can be useful. One for each color. Always remember to remove the metal tip from the bag if you reheat in the microwave. This is also where the Paramount Crystals come in handy. After the chocolate has been reheated a few times it tends to get stiff. By adding a teaspoon or so of the crystals before reheating you can improve the consistency of the subsequent melts.
When making my yellow/pink ones I attempted to follow my design and applied each color one at a time and let each one cool. I added dots and paisleys but did not blend the colors. I actually prefer the free form design of the red/purple wings better. Step 5: Make the Cupcakes. <PIC> Using your boxed cake mix, follow directions and make the size that you want. One Betty Crocker Supermoist French Vanilla cake mix made 6 dozen mini-cupcakes. I filled the lined tins 2/3 -3/4 full and baked them at 350 degrees for 13-14 minutes. Step 6: Frost the Cupcakes and Insert the Wings. <PIC> This is the last step before assembling your butterfly cupcakes so be sure you have the time to do this in one sitting. The frosting will set up and firmly hold the wings in place.This is my frosting recipe:
1 stick of butter (salted)
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 squirts of purple (or any color) gel food dye
Using a mixer blend all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Scoop into a pastry bag or plastic baggie with the corner clipped out and decorator's tip and coupler inserted. I used a large star tip because that's what I could find.
Pipe a spiral pattern on each cupcake, doing no more than a dozen at a time. Add sprinkles now if desired. The wings will pop off the cereal liner very easily, but take care, as they are very delicate. Find your two wings mates and insert the tab portion into the frosting leaving room for the body in between. Add the body and adjust the wings as desired.
(On the green frosted cupcakes I used too much milk and the outcome was more of an icing but it still worked.) Step 7: Admire Your Butterflies!. <PIC> I made nearly all of my butterflies different but you could just as easily make them the same. If you need to transport these (as I did) I'd highly recommend getting clamshells to keep them safe.
If the chocolate starts to bloom (develop a waxy surface) you can take a tiny amount of extra virgin coconut oil and rub it on the bloomed parts and it will help to make it less noticeable. I had some bloom and some were fine, not sure what caused it but it doesn't affect the quality at all.
Enjoy! Hopefully you can bring yourself to try one. I think they are too beautiful to eat...almost...nom nom nom.


Introduction: Molasses Bread. <PIC> While I like it with spreads, jam, and/or butter, my husband likes dipping this bread (that my kids call as cake instead) in salsa :) Step 1: Ingredients and Method. <PIC> 4 1/4 c bread flour1 tbsp milk powder (either full cream or skim is fine)1/2 c molasses2 tbsp margarine/butter, room temperature if butter1 tbsp active dry yeast1 3/4 c lukewarm waterProve yeast in water for 5 minutesMix flour and milk powder, make a well in center, pour yeast and add in margarine and molasses, mix wellPour batter into prepared pan (greased and floured) and let stand for an hour (batter will be doubled in size)Preheat oven to 350 F and bake bread for 25-30 minutesNOTE: if you'd like to make it as a loaf, while mixing ingredients, add 1 tbsp flour at a time until dough is form, then place into a loaf pan


Introduction: Nom Nom Mashed Potatoes. <PIC> Despite being raised by home cooks who cooked everything from scratch, when my co-maker and I were first married, we tended to default to the boxed mixes for mashed potatoes. We were young, in a hurry, and had other things we preferred to spend our time doing. When the mini-makers came along, we went all "healthy eating" on ourselves, put time was still of the essence, so we used a hand mixer to blend up our boiled potatoes.When the mini-makers started cooking with us in the kitchen though, we slowed down, because there are few things as lovely as cooking together with friends and family.  And somewhere along the line, the hand mixer gave way to hand masher, and we never went back.There's something about hand mashing potatoes - maybe the fact that they're not whipped into an atomized froth, perhaps - that makes them taste wonderful, with a lovely and nuanced texture.  And using the hand masher means this is a dish you can make on a camping trip as well as at home.We don't eat mashed potatoes a lot these days,  but when we made our Maker's Pie recently, we were reminded of how truly Nom Nom are hand mashed potatoes. Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> 3-4 big Idaho potatoes - peeled and cubed 1/2 milk - purist will cringe, but soy or almond milk works fine for the dairy sensitive1/3 cup butterSalt and Pepper to tasteOptional: fresh parsley And one potato masher - metal or plastic is fine. (metal cleans easier) Step 2: Boil Potatoes. <PIC> In enough water to cover your potatoes, boil over medium high heat until fork tender or softer. (Your call - we like a few lumps in ours, so we don't let our potatoes go too mushy) Step 3: Drain - But Not Completely. <PIC> Drain most of the water from your pot of potatoes, but not all.  I usually leave a good 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of water in the pot. Step 4: Add Butter and Milk. <PIC> Add all your butter, and about half your milk to start. Step 5: Mash Away!. <PIC> Take your masher, and gently mash away, until you've got the texture and consistency you like. Step 6: Season and Enjoy!. <PIC> Add salt and pepper to taste, a sprinkling of fresh parsley or dash of paprika, and serve as a side dish or a topping for Maker's Pie.Nom Nom!


Introduction: Lego Brick Shaped Gummy Candies. <PIC>
          In this Instructable, I'm going to show you how to make gummy candies.
I made a silicone candy mold using Lego bricks. You don't need to make a custom mold. There are many commercially available silicone molds, or you could just skip the mold completely, and cut them with cookie cutters, a knife, or even scissors.THIS PROJECT IS NOT ENDORSED BY LEGO. DON'T MAKE THE MOLD, OR THE CANDIES FOR SALE. - FOR PERSONAL DELICIOUS GEEKY BLISS ONLY
First I'll tell you how to make the candy.
I'll explain in detail how I made the mold in step 4. It really is very easy. UserGabebillings made the mold and documented the process in photos. See the first comment under step 4 to read his experience and see his photos.User ibeschierumade a "making of" video showing his kids creating Lego shaped gummy candies! http://vimeo.com/36217289LEGO Gummies from Igor Beschieru on Vimeo.
I bought the Food Grade Silicone from Douglas & Sturgess. They are a great San Francisco store that sells artists materials, mostly for sculpture and casting. They have some great info on their site.If you have kiddos that might mistake real bricks for the candy, you should consider whether it is safe to make these for them. Vegan option There is another kind of jelly candy called gellies or jellies. Those are made with Pectin. It's a different recipe entirely. I don't know how well they would mold though.
Here is a Pectin Fruit Jelly Instructable. I haven't tested it in the mold but it seems like it should work. Pates de Fruit Step 1: Tools and Ingredients. <PIC> When I made the candies in the picture, I experimented with many, many different techniques and recipes to figure out how to get the best flavor, texture and clarity.
I made them in small batches so I could do many experiments.
The recipe is for a small batch (one full mold for me). You will probably want to double, triple, or quadruple it.Recipe:
1 package of flavored Gelatin (Jello)
3 packets of Unflavored Gelatin (Knox is most common in the US - they come 4 packets to a box)
1 500 mg Vitamin C (optional but it adds some great sour flavor)
1/3 to 1/2 cup of waterTools:
Pyrex Measuring cup
A cooking pot that the cup will fit into
Some kind of spatula.
Mold or a flat bottom pan to pour the candy into
Mortar and Pestle (or a hammer?) to grind up the Vitamin C
In the photos you see me using a shallow pan with just about an 1" - 1 1/2" of water to melt the syrup. You should go ahead and use a pot with higher sides, so you can get the water level up another inch or two.
I used the shallow pan so it would be easier to see what was happening in the photos. I use a sauce pan when I make them now. A double boiler would be ideal, but I couldn't find one in the stores I visited. They aren't as popular as they used to be.
The syringe I used to fill the mold in the photos is optional. You can just pour the candy in. I bought the syringe at Tap Plastics. You can get big syringes like this in cooking stores also. There are syringes for injecting stuff into meats. They can handle the hot syrup really well but have a very small hole at the tip.
I have a metal and plastic trigger activated frosting gun. It is used to decorate cakes. I don't remember when, or where I bought it. I tend to buy tools when they are on sale, and think up a use later. I decided to try it out with the gummy syrup and it worked great. That is what I use now.
(The wire strainer in the photos is not needed. I reviewed my notes on the experiments and the clearest candies - the green and red, didn't use the strainer.) Step 2: Making the Candy. <PIC> To make gummies the only essential ingredient is unflavored gelatin.
For flavor I used flavored gelatin (Jello is one brand) plus a Vitamin C to bump up the pucker power.
I expect they can be made by adding candy flavorings and sweetener to unflavored gelatin, but I haven't tried it.
See step 3 if you want to make Sour Gummies.
The amount of flavored gelatin you use is up to you. I'm recommending a full package of flavored gelatin for each batch. It gives the candy a pretty intense flavor.
Use an extra packet of unflavored gelatin, and they will be even chewier. Use one less, and they will be softer.HERE WE GO:
'You might look at all the writing below and think that this is way too much work. All you are going to be doing though, is mixing the powder in water, melting it and pouring it into molds. I've just written a ton, so you know a lot of the pitfalls and know exactly how I make them.'
If you don't really care how clear the candy is, just stir the powders in the water, put it in hot water on the stove and melt it, then pour it in the molds.
If you want them really clear then read the details below.
I use a little over 1/3 cup of water (you can use even more for softer candies).
Measure 1/3 - 1/2 cup of cold water into your measuring cup.MIX IT UPSPRINKLE the gelatin powders into the water, as you continuously and gently stir it. Don't let the dry powder pile up. Sprinkle, stir, sprinkle, stir,... If you get a pile of gelatin and stir that in, it will make a lump, and lumps are hard to dissolve once you've made one. Do this rather quickly. The gelatin will immediately start absorbing the water. If you move too slowly it will get pretty dry towards the end and it will be very difficult to avoid lumps.
It will get very thick as you work in the powders. Sometimes it ended up like a lump of clay. Add just a tiny bit more water to the mix to get a slushy consistency. Either way will work fine. Scrape down the sides of your measuring cup and try to get all the gelatin down in contact with the wet stuff.LET IT REST
Cover the pyrex cup with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes. The gelatin needs time to absorb the water before we heat it.
You can leave the spatula in the gelatin while it is resting, but don't leave any chunks of gelatin on the back of the spatula where it will dry.I'M MELTING...
Put a pan of water on the stove and bring it up to a slow boil/fast simmer.
In the photos I'm using a shallow pan. I only did that so I could photograph the sides of the cup and let you see what was happening. I use a deeper sauce pan when I make them now.
After the resting time, remove the plastic wrap and put the measuring cup in the water. The lump of clay or slushy material will melt but it does take several minutes. Occasionally stir it. Stir it gently. Don't get too vigorous and mix a lot of air in it, or you will have cloudy candy. (If you are adding vitamin C to sour them up, add it at the very end.)
Once it melts, you will see that it has a layer of foam on top. Try to avoid mixing that foam back into the melted syrup. When it is hot enough you will see there is a very thin layer of clear on the bottom, a layer that isn't as clear, then the layer of foam on top.
Now stop stirring and just let it sit in the water for about 2 minutes. We are letting bubbles rise at this point.
* For very clear candies: After melting the candy, put the pyrex cup in the fridge. Let it firm up. Then remove it from the cup and using a pair of scissors, cut it into chunks. Then using a knife or your scissors, carefully trim the foamy layer off. Remelt the clear chunks and you will end up with very clear syrup. Details of this process are in Step 5.FINALLY WE FILL THE MOLD
Now I put my syringe into the bottom of the cup and suck up all that clear syrup.
I use the syringe to squirt the candy into my mold.
(Step 4 has other ways of molding the candy).
If your mold won't hold all the syrup you made, turn the heat off and let the cup sit in the water while your first batch of candy is setting up. When you pull the first batch out of the mold, just turn on the stove and melt the syrup that is still in the cup the same way we did it the first time.
You don't need to use any kind of release (no oil or cooking sprays) with gummies. They will peel off of anything that is smooth. If you get some on your stove, floor, or counter, don't bother to try to clean it up while it is wet and hot. It's much easier to just let it set up and peel it off.
Most of the time when you make gummies you will not try to mold them in 360 degrees. The top side (which will be the bottom of the candies) is just left flat. I wanted to mold in little holes on the bottom of in my bricks so I could actually stack them.
The syrup contracts quite a lot as it cools. I had to fill the mold, then go back through and top them all off again as it would shrink way down. When I got them all full, I took the base plate (the same one I used when making the mold) and pressed it on the top of the mold, squeezing any extra goo out of the sides. Then I let it sit on the counter top for a couple of minutes. I do that, just so the stuff that leaked out the sides would set up and it wouldn't get all over my freezer when I put the mold in there.
I put the mold with the lid (base plate) into the freezer. You only leave it in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes. If you are going to leave it longer, or you think you might forget it, you can just stick it in the fridge. It will be fine there without any worries about leaving it too long.
These candies actually do not need to be refrigerated at all to set up. You can just leave your mold on the counter at room temperature and they will still set up. I use the freezer to get them done faster.
Once they are set up, take them out of the mold. Clean them up if they need it, and you are done. Step 3: Add Some Pucker Power - Sour Gummies. <PIC> Sour Gummies
I really like sour flavors in gummy candies.
The official way to make sour gummies is to add Ascorbic Acid Powder. Other powders that will add sour are called Citric Acid or Vitamin C powder. You can buy it in a cooking store, a health food store that sells supplements, probably some pharmacies and I think it's even available at some bulk food stores.
Sometimes it is incredibly expensive, especially if it is from some "Life Extension" or "Body Cleansing" type of vitamin company.
I've never bothered with buying the powder. Ascorbic acid is Vitamin C. I just grind up a Vitamin C tablet with my mortar and pestle. The cheaper the vitamin C the better the flavor I think. Rose hips Vitamin C is not as sour, and has some kind of non sour flavor. I'm not really sure how to describe it.
I'm not sure what the chewables, or timed released Vitamin C's would do, or how they would taste. The added ingredients in those vitamins might not like being heated, and they might cloud up your candies. Just stick to plain cheap generic Vitamin C if you are going to grind your own. For pure sour pucker power, the cheaper the better.I add the powder of one 500mg Vitamin C to a batch of gummies. That will change the flavor so it doesn't taste so much like a Jello Flavor. I LOVE 3 Vitamin C's - that's a great candy flavor to me. It's one of those things you just have to do by taste. You might like more, or less, than I do.
The easiest way to sour up gummies, and to also give them more concentrated flavor is to add unsweetened Kool-Aid powder! There are a lot of flavor experiments you can try by mixing different flavored gelatin with different flavors of Kool-Aid. They don't come out very clear though.
There are all the other kind of powdered drink mixes. I don't know how they would react if you stirred them into the hot gummy syrup, but I'm sure they would be fine if you rolled the candies in them when you were finished. A good lemonade powder mix would probably taste pretty good.After it is melted and almost ready to go into the mold, stir in the Vitamin C, then let the syrup sit in the bath for a couple of minutes.
This info applies to candy making in general: When making candy, you will almost always add the flavorings right at the end. The reason is, sometimes flavorings can change flavor or breakdown completely when they are heated. When you are making candy, you will usually cook your candy first, then stir in flavorings right after you take it off the stove.
Have fun and experiment. Step 4: Molds. <PIC> You don't need to make a custom mold like I did to make gummy candies. There are many great silicone molds available. They are used for making candies, baking, molding butter, making ice,...
It doesn't have to be made of silicone either. A regular Ice tray will work too. Any thing that has a flat and smooth surface should work fine. I read a suggestion, by a Mom on some recipe site, to pull the rack out of your toaster oven, put a piece of foil on it, and push the foil down through the slats. She made a gummy worm mold that way.
This stuff is very forgiving.Mold Options
Pour the candy in a flat pan and after it has gelled, then just slice it into squares, rectangles and triangles with a knife. You could cut shapes out with cookie cutters. You could even peel the sheet off in one piece, and cut it up with scissors.
Whatever you do, I'd recommend you keep them pretty small. If you are using an ice tray, or a butter mold, or any mold with large compartments, don't fill it to the top. Just fill them up to around 1/4 or 1/2 an inch.
You can make Mega-Gummies if you really want to. Ever wanted a gummy the size of an Ice Cube? Go ahead. It will work fine. Want one shaped like a Banana? Go ahead - just don't tell me what you plan on doing with it.HOW I MADE THE SILICONE MOLD
I purchased Food Grade Silicone fromDouglas & Sturgess. They are a Sculpture Tools, Materials and Supplies store in San Francisco. They are really great folks and have some incredible casting materials that you can't find anywhere else. I bet you MythBusters buys their Ballistics Gel there. Well, I guess I shouldn't bet. Where they bought it is probably on the web, and I've already spent enough money on this project.
The number I used is FGS-2237 Food Grade Silicone. (There is a new number MC-1287) Here is a link
You need two parts. Part A is the silicone gel and part B is the catalyst. They sell it as a set. This is a 1 lb. set.
The silicone must be weighed to make sure you put in the right amount of catalyst. It's 10 parts Silicone (part A) to 1 part Catalyst (part B). Buy yourself a gram scale to do this. You really want to be accurate. You don't want to waste this stuff because you measured wrong.
I made my positive (the part that I made the mold from) out of - you guessed it - Legos!
When I was a kid, way back in the last Century, Legos were still this strange toy from Scandinavia. That was where all the "adult" films and Anita Eckberg came from - she was our Paris Hilton. She was beautiful, classy, spoke with a sultry Swedish accent, and went to the best parties. Well I guess she wasn't very Paris Hiltonish at all.
The only kids who had Legos were the ones who had Moms, or Grandparents, from Europe, or a Dad that we never saw, because he was always "away on business". Those kids got cool gifts. You could tell some of them came from the Airport gift store though.
I had an Erector set and was very happy with it.Woops Sorry I got sidetracked -HOW TO MAKE THE MOLD
As I was saying, I never had Legos and I still didn't have any when I decided to make this project. I visited the Lego website and found a set that I really wanted that had enough pieces for my mold and bought that. I planned what I needed with the Lego Digital Designer. It's a free software program you can download from Lego and it lets you build Lego stuff in VR. It will even count up the pieces for you and place an order.
I wanted my tray to not waste any space. If I left more than a single peg between each candy piece I'd be wasting the silicone.
When I got the Legos - I built the Taj Mahal - I couldn't resist! Have you seen it? It's amazing. 5,922 pieces.
So three days later, after I finished the Taj, I started taking it apart to get my candy mold pieces.
I put the pieces on a tray, and ringed the tray edge with a double stack of pieces to act as a wall and hold the silicone in (there is a photo of it below). Legos are made so well, that they really fit tightly together. I found that I didn't have to seal any of the cracks between the pieces inside.
Silicone will not stick to Legos. So you don't need to put any kind of mold release on the positive.
Just stick the pieces in there and make sure you stick them down really good.Weigh the Silicone
To measure how much silicone you are going to need to fill the mold, you can measure it a couple of ways. The standard way is to fill the positive with water, pour the water into the plastic cup you are going to mix it in, and just draw a line on the cup at the water line. That is how much silicone you will need to fill the mold.
You can't let any water get anywhere near your silicone before you cast it though. If you measure your mold with water, make sure you allow plenty of time for it to get bone dry before you try to make your mold.
To avoid the water problem I used Lentils - yeah like in the soup - but dry ones. They have some really small black ones at the bulk food store and they don't put out any dust, so they are great for this. Just pour the lentils over your positive, then pour them into your mixing container. They don't mess your positive up at all. Then you don't have to worry about liquid spoiling your mold.
Put your plastic container - with the line marked on it, on your gram scale and set the scale to zero. That way you won't be weighing your plastic cup, just the silicone. Now pour enough of Part A to get up to your marked line. Don't just glop it in there, try to avoid causing any air pockets. Check to see how much the silicone weighs. Let's say it measured 350g. Because you use 10 parts A and 1 part B, you will need 10% of that weight in Catalyst or 35g. Zero (sometimes the button you use to do this is labeled "Tare") your scale out, with the silicone still on it. Then add the 35g of Part B right into the same container.Mix it up
Mix your Part A and your Part B with something plastic. The catalyst is blue and the silicone is white so you can tell if you have it mixed. Scrape the sides and bottom as you do it. You want to be careful not to mix any extra air into it. Does that sound familiar? Just like the Gummies!
If you really want to make a perfect mold then you have to "de-air" the silicone. As this involves putting it in a vacuum chamber and most of us don't have one, you can just skip that step. There are lots of tips on the web on how to get the least bubbly silicone castings.Pour it in your tray
You will pour the mixed silicone over the positive. Fill the tray up until you cover the tops of the pieces.
Pour slowly and don't move the Silicone back and forth like you are drizzling on frosting. That will leave air bubbles in the corners around your pieces. Pour it in a stream that hits the bottom of the tray - not over the Lego pieces, and let it flow around the tray and fill it up. This will help you avoid trapping any air.
Silicone is pretty good about releasing bubbles so you probably will get a pretty good mold.
I'd tap the tray a few times, and I've even held a back massager against it to help it release any air. You need to be very careful, that any of this tapping, or vibrating doesn't loosen any of the pieces inside the mold. I did a test piece and when I was tapping it, one of them floated to the top! I just grabbed my plastic spoon and pushed it back down. The only problem it caused was I wasted silicone, because the inside filled up. Avoid that by making sure your pieces are stuck down really well before you pour in the Silicone.Let it set up
Don't try to clean up the cup and tools right now. Let them sit overnight. Most of it will set up and you can just peel it off. If you find you have any sticky spots of silicone gel, you can clean those off by dabbing them with a little Catalyst. That will make them set up and you should be able to peel it off.
Let the silicone set at least overnight, then just pull the Legos out of it. They will come out very easily. Let it set up for 24 hours before you use it. I put mine in the oven at 175 degrees for about 15 minutes after it had already been curing for 24 hours, just to make sure. It might not have been the right thing to do (I should have asked Douglas and Sturgess) but I knew they did that with some of the other silicones.
After you get the Legos out, just trim off any of the little bits that squeezed between the pieces. Wash the mold and you are ready to go.
Now if you will excuse me, I have to go rebuild the Taj Mahal. Step 5: Addendum: How to Get Really Clear Candies. <PIC> ADDENDUM: How to get very clear candies
I figured out how to get really clear candies with almost no bubbles.
I started by straining my vitamin C through a paper coffee filter so I got most of the solids out. I ended up with a very sour liquid that looked like water.
The secret to clear candies is to melt it twice.
After the first cycle of heating, let it rest, and cool off in the refrigerator. Almost all of the bubbles will rise to the surface while it is cooling. When it is cool enough to handle, take it out of the cup (the foam layer sticks to the cup, just cut through it around the edge of the cup with a knife). Put some water in the cup to get that foam to soften up so you can clean it out before you heat the candy again.
Now take your lump of clear candy with the foam layer and cut the foam layer off. I found a clean pair of kitchen scissors works well. I call them "kitchen scissors" because I only use them with food and they stay in the kitchen. You can use any kind of scissors. I cut the big piece into chunks, then I trim the foam layer off.
I've also done this with a knife but you have to be really careful. I don't worry about getting it perfect. The bit of clear that remains on the foam can be melted down at the end to make some candies for the cook to eat after the main batch. When you melt the foamy chunks, you will probably find the clear part melts into a very clear layer. You can siphon that out with your syringe if you want. I just pour it in to about spoon sized circles on a silicone baking mat. Then I peel those dots up when they solidify and put them in a baggy for me to eat. They taste just as good.
Melt all of those clear chunks. No real need to stir it while it is melting. I leave it alone so I don't add any bubbles. I just give it a gentle stir at the end before I suck it up into the syringe.
This technique makes amazingly clear candies. I have two pyrex cups so I make a second batch while the first one is cooling, then while No. 2 cools, I cut the foam layer off No.1 and melt it for casting.


Introduction: Bacon Wrapped Honey Garlic Burger Rolls. <PIC> Onions and garlic sauteed in honey, need I say more? Yes I do...Bacon. Step 1: Things You Will Need. <PIC> Note: This recipe should make 10 rolls 2 Pounds hamburger meat10 Strips of bacon10 Slices of cheese (I used Mozzarella)2 Heads of garlic1/2 Onion3 TBSP Oil or butter (I used coconut oil)4 TBSP Honey1 tsp Salt2 tsp PepperBarbeque sauce or spicy mustard (your choice) Step 2: Prepping Your Filler. <PIC> 1. Slice half an onion into thin rings or half rings.2. Peel and chop 2 heads of garlic into descent sized chunks.3. Mix your onions and garlic with your honey and oil/butter, then place your mixture onto a large piece of aluminum foil. Fold the edges upward so none of the liquids can melt out and you can open it easily to check on things if need be.4. Cook on grill for about 10 minutes or until everything is sauteed well. Step 3: Quick Tip for Peeling Your Garlic Easily. <PIC> 1. Remove the outer layers of skin and break the garlic into individual cloves.2. Place cloves in a large Tupperware container (I used an old coffee tub). 3.  Shake your container as hard as you can for about a minute or two, then  check out your garlic. Most of the skins should come right off the  cloves. If not, give them another quick shake. Some may still need to be  pealed by hand, but I guarantee this will save you a lot of time  prepping your garlic. Step 4: Making Your Rolls. <PIC> 1. Mix your meat with your salt, pepper, and 3-4 tablespoons of barbeque sauce (or spicy mustard).2. Using about a golf ball sized amount of meat, form a small bowl about an inch deep and 2 inches wide. Make sure all the sides are firm and solid. If your meat is weak around the corners, the insides will melt out and fall apart during the cooking  process.3. Fold your cheese slice into quarters and place them inside your meat so their height is even with the bowl.4. Fill the center with garlic and onions until they are even with the height of the bowl as well.5. Set the roll on your bacon strip so you have enough lip to wrap the bacon to the top of each side of the roll.Now fold the long end of your bacon strip sideways and wrap it tightly  around your meat roll. Make sure it is nice and tight, keeping you  burger meat solid. once again, If your do not, the bacon might unroll  during cooking and weaken your burger until the insides melt out and  fall apart. Step 5: . <PIC> 1. When placing your roll on grill, do not place it directly over coals.  Due to the filling, you will not be able to flip your rolls while  cooking. Set rolls along the outside of your coals and Barbeque slowly  until your hamburger meat and bacon are fully cooked. 2. When rolls are about done, brush on some barbeque sauce or spicy mustard (your choice).  Let it cook for a few more minutes to let the sauce caramelize a little. 3. Let cool for about 3 to 5 minutes then serve. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you like what you see, please give me a vote in the contests found at the top of the page and check out my other recipes here


Introduction: Homemade Thanksgiving Tea Gift. <PIC> What's better than a hot cup of herbal tea on a chilly night? A hot cup of homemade custom-blended herbal tea with a hand-written tag that reminds you of good things in your life.  Step 1: Gather Ingredients & Tea Making Tools. <PIC> For this Instructable, I decided to make three varieties of tea: orange ginger, lavender mint, and orange chamomile. The oranges come from my backyard, the food quality lavender was purchased on Amazon for about $10 per pound, and the chamomile, ginger root, and mint were found at the grocery store. Helpful tools include: - cutting board & knife - baking sheet & parchment paper - muffin tins Spoiler alert... I burnt the fresh mint to a flavorless crisp as I feared I might. Luckily I'd picked up a backup pack of peppermint tea, I would suggest doing the same! Step 2: Prepare Fresh Tea Ingredients. <PIC> Wash your fresh ingredients and blot them dry with a clean towel. Only the peel of the orange was used for my tea, I chopped it into very small, thin pieces and did the same with the ginger root.  Step 3: Dry the Fresh Ingredients. <PIC> I heated my oven to 200 degrees F and put my fresh ingredients in. The orange peels went into a muffin tin and the ginger went onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. It took about two hours for the ginger and orange peel to dry out. I used a spoon to stir them every 10-30 minutes during this process. The mint had become too browned at the one hour mark, and prior to that it was too wet to be used in tea. A dehydrator would be ideal for this process. Step 4: Gather Packaging Supplies. <PIC> While the fresh ingredients are in the oven or dehydrator, you can prepare the packaging and tea bags. You'll need:- unbleached basket style coffee filters- unbleached natural fiber string (mine is made from bamboo)- measuring spoons- plastic baggies- sharpie, pen(s)- lots of beer caps- an awl- scissors and small pliers- 3/4 inch diameter sticker lables- a box for your tea bags - packing tape- six pack cardboard carriers with nice pictures! Step 5: Decorate Your Tea Box. <PIC> In keeping with the beer theme, I used decorative six pack carriers to cover the box I'd chosen. Packing tape helps make a nice glossy surface for the packaging. Of course, you can decorate the chosen box however you'd like. If you want to free hand your own drawings you can use the inside of any paperboard packaging.  Step 6: Write Your Thankful Thoughts on the Labels . <PIC> Thankful thoughts can be your own, shared things with the people you're gifting to, or general things to be thankful for, silly or serious! This is a fun part that reminds you what Thanksgiving is actually about :) Step 7: Remove the Cap Liners. <PIC> I used the awl to lift the edge of the liner inside the beer cap, then I used pliers to continue to lift and remove it. This step is optional, but will make your labels fit more comfortably. If you want to skip it, you can trim the labels to fit around the poked holes. Step 8: Poke Holes, Place Stickers. <PIC> Use the awl to poke a hole in the caps as near the edge as possible. Now place the stickers inside the caps.  Step 9: Fill the Tea Bags. <PIC> By now your tea ingredients should be done drying and cooled. I used my muffin tin to hold the coffee filters for filling. I used a rounded teaspoon of each of my ingredients except the chamomile. Since chamomile is a subtle taste, I used a tablespoon.  Step 10: Tie the Bags Shut. <PIC> Cut about 8 inches of string, tie one end to the beer cap and knot it. Loop the other end around the neck of the coffee filter several times, then knot it twice. Be sure to leave some room for the ingredients to expand. Trim off any excess string. You can now put the finished tea bags into plastic baggies using a sharpie to identify the flavors.  Step 11: All Done!. <PIC> Put the baggie-d  teas inside the box you made. This makes a great gift for your Thanksgiving host, or a nice gift to your future self, reminding you what you have to be grateful for. Notes:- Do not use orange peels for your tea unless you know the source, like I do. The last thing you want is tea made from chemically-ripened orange peels.- The beer theme is completely optional, I used it because it's a nice way to reuse the packaging of products I really enjoy. You can make your own "thankful tea" with coke caps or using paper tags.- My tea need about 10 minutes of steeping to get a nice full flavor.


Introduction: Pickled Thai Chili Hot Sauce. <PIC> I was on a pickling kick and got a little crazy with pickling big batches of Thai chilies and Habaneros.  They are rather difficult to stomach just eating on their own so I was left with a problem of what to do with them.  Easiest solution was making tons of Hot Sauce! Step 1: Gather and Prep Ingredients . <PIC> Gather and prepare your ingredients to be blended togetherThe onions I don't add until later.  You can play around with the quantities and add what ever you want to the recipe.  This is just the basic foundation. Ingredients : Heirloom Tomato (I used only half for this batch)Red Bell Pepper (Used only half for this batch)4 Garlic Cloves (too taste so you can add as much or little as you want)Thai peppers (how hot can you go? I added about 20 for this batch and it kicks my butt)2 tsp SaltYellow onion (Only used half)2/3 cup Vinegar (I used the brine that the peppers were pickled in, you could just use apple cider vinegar or what ever you prefer) Step 2: Blend the Ingredients. <PIC> Add all the ingredients to your container and blend until a liquid consistency.   Step 3: Sautee the Onions and Reduce the Sauce. <PIC> I sautéed the onions prior to adding the sauce.  Keep the pot on medium heat and reduce the sauce for 20-30 minutes.  This will let the flavors mix together for a great flavor.   Step 4: Blend One More Time. <PIC> Blend the sauce again once it's cooled down to get the onions down to the same consistency.  Step 5: Bottle and Enjoy!. <PIC> Add to a bottle and you're ready to spice up all your dishes.  I keep this refrigerated


Introduction: Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino Recipe. <PIC> Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino is a delicious seasonal flavor that comes out in the fall. It recently came off the menu, so I thought I'd share how you can make it at home. The description on Starbucks website talks about mixing mocha and toffee nut, but I assume they do that because they don't have salted caramel? I'm not sure, but I made mine with salted caramel Torani syrup. You can also make this with regular caramel syrup, caramel sauce, or even make your own salted caramel sauce. Make it whatever way works for you! Step 1: Supplies. <PIC> This recipe is a single serving and makes about the equivalent of a 16oz Grande from Starbucks.Ingredients:2c ice1/4c strong coffee1/2c milk - or Half & Half or whipping cream1-2 tbsp Chocolate Sauce / or / Torani's Chocolate Milano Syrup3 pumps/tbsp Salted Caramel syrup / or / 3 tbsp salted caramel sauce / or / 3 tbsp Caramel syrup2-3 tbsp simple syrup (or 3 tbsp of sugar, but simple syrup blends in better)Pinch of  Xantham Gum (optional)Topping: Whipped toppingChocolate sauceCaramel sauceSea Salt - if that is something you like - Starbucks states they use "a blend of turbinado sugar and sea salt"Caffeine-FreeReplace coffee with milk (or whatever you are using).Utensils:Blender - I use a Magic Bullet at home, it's great for making individual drinks though doesn't blend quite as well as the VitamixIce cube trays - small ice cubes make for even easier blendingMeasuring cups and spoonsCups for servingStraws Step 2: Blend. <PIC> Blend all ingredients. My xantham gum got away from me there a little bit :P Step 3: Serve. <PIC> Top it with your choice of deliciousness and you're done!


Introduction: Vegetable Jelly Salad. <PIC> This is my take on the Jell-O salad. I had this recipe in mind when I bought too many vegetables from the farmers market on Sunday. It is good to bring for potluck or just as an appetizer.  Step 1: Pick Your Vegetables. <PIC> anything fresh is good. you want to have vegetables that are okay to eat raw. if not just blanch in boiled water for a few minute so it is cooked. I bought some lemon cucumber, water radish, carrots, purslane leaves, red pepper, corn and some small tree mushroom. Wash and cut all the vegetables to small pieces. I sliced cucumber and radish, julienned carrots. red pepper was roasted then thinly sliced. Corn and mushrooms, I boiled them in water for a few minutes to make sure it is fully cooked. then cut off the corn kernels.   Step 2: Making Jelly Base. <PIC> I use gelatin as the thickener. vegan  can use agar-agar instead.the spice is really just what I can find in the kitchen. I like some pickling flavor so I just add some dried dill. pepper corn. bay leaves, salt and white vinegar. the amount of solution is based on the gelatin mix. for this one is 2 cups of water.once the solution is cooled. let it sit in the fridge for at least 1 hr, or until some chucks formed at the bottom. Step 3: Mix the Vegetables . <PIC> Once some chucks have formed in the liquid. mix in the vegetables and leave in the fridge until it is fully set. Step 4: Enjoy . <PIC> I just cut a small piece and drizzled some olive oil. it's cold and refreshing and have a hint of that pickle flavor