Friday, September 30, 2011

Cookies*N*Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

Cookies*N*Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

These cheesecakes are super easy to prepare, everything comes together in one bowl and there’s no crushing chocolate wafers with a rolling pin, then melting butter, baking the crust first and then baking a second time when filled.
Just a little warning, once you try these, there’s no going back, absolutely mouthwatering and scrumptious!

INGREDIENTS:

*42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
*2 pounds (32 ounces) cream cheese, softened
*1 cup granulated sugar
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*4 large eggs, lightly beaten
*1 cup sour cream
*pinch of salt


PROCEDURE:

Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard cupcake pans with liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.


Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt.


Stir in chopped cookies by hand.


Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top.


Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight).


Remove from tins just before serving. Best served really cold! You can garnish with fresh whipped cream and crumbled Oreos if desired.


Nom nom nom...


Just a little taste of heaven <3



ENJOY!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)


Pão de Queijo — pronounced pow duh KAY-zhoo, or cheese bread, has a really interesting texture. It’s crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. These breads are a national craze in Brazil. Brazilians love their cheese bread, trust me, you will too.
I am obsessed with these cheese balls of goodness, can't get enough whenever I visit family in Brazil, and now that I know how to make them, WATCH OUT!

INGREDIENTS:

*1 egg, at room temperature
*1/3 cup olive oil.
*2/3 cup milk
*1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
*1/2 cup packed (about 100 grams) grated cheese of your choice (I like the combination of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese)
*1 heaping teaspoon salt



PROCEDURE:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a mini-muffin tin generously. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth.



Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.





Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes. Eat while warm or save to reheat later.




ENJOY!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Life is busy, the air is cool, the leaves are changing...'tis the season for good old-fashioned comfort food and this chicken pot pie recipe is just it! With such perfect timing, I thought that I would have to try making one. A chicken pot pie is a pretty simple, savory pie containing chicken, vegetables, and a creamy sauce. You can make the pie with a top and bottom crust or just the top crust, or you can even use biscuits to form a crust. This traditional favorite provides comfort to both adults and kids.
Since this was my first attempt at making such a pie, and not having a lot of time on my hands, I bought and used 2 Pillsbury Pet-Ritz pie crusts for the bottom. For the top crust I used Pillsburg biscuit dough.

INGREDIENTS:

*1 Pillsbury Pet-Ritz frozen pie crust (contains 2 crusts)
*2 cups frozen mixed vegitables
*3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled
*1 teaspoon dried thyme
*1/2 can cream of celery soup
*1 can condensed cream of potato soup
*1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
*1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
*1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (OPTIONAL!)
*salt and pepper to taste



PROCEDURE:

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)
2.) Combine boiled chicken, frozen vegitables and cans of soup in a pot. Bring to a boil.



3.) Pour filling into pie.


4.) Cut slits in the top of the crust to allow for steam to escape.



5.) Place pie on cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes and then serve.





ENJOY!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Strawberry Shortcake Revised

Strawberry Shortcake Revised

Is it your friend's, co-worker's or someone in your family's birthday, and you would like to bake that unique cake for him or her, but you are torn between baking a chocolate, carrot or vanilla cake? Cupcakes or a pan cake? With all the choices out there to chose from, what will you make?

I highly reccommend an easy-to-bake and delicious, all around favorite, strawberry shortcake. Tender yellow cake with layers of vanilla pudding, cool whip and fresh strawberries. Best served after chilling in the fridge overnight, but the wait is well worth it! Whip this up for your next BBQ or party, and wait for the oohs and ahhs to rain down, you domestic goddess, you.

INGREDIENTS:

*3 cups all-purpose flour
*2 1/2 cups sugar
*1 1/2 cups shortening (half margarine or butter, softened, if desired)
*1 1/2 cups milk
*5 teaspoons baking powder
*1 1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
*5 eggs



A pack (which contains 4) of Snack Pack vanilla pudding
1 16oz cool whip
Fresh strawberries, sliced.



PROCEDURE:

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour (or you can use PAM baking spray) two 8-inch round (or one square) cake pan.

Beat ALL ingredients in a large bowl on medium speed, scraping bowl constantly, until blended, about 40 seconds.
Beat on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 5 minutes.
Pour batter into pan(s)



Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely.

Once cake has cooled off, use your hands to crumble and tear it all into small pieces.
Add a 2 inch layer of the crumble to the bottom of a container or bowl.
Add 2, out of the 4, pudding packs on top of crumble.
Add a generous amount of cool whip on top of the pudding.
Add slices of fresh strawberries on top of the cool whip.
(THINK LAYERS!)


REPEAT! Above steps.



ENJOY!!!!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Thanks for stopping by my food blog!

Let me first introduce myself. My name is Debora Soudek (but you can call me Debbie Snacks), student and worker by day, baker by mid week, gluttonous diner by weekends and food blogger in between. I am consumed by food. I love to eat it, read about it, discuss it, write about it, look at it, smell it and eat it again. I'm always hungry for more. More food and the knowledge to learn more about it. Obsessed with all things edible, but found it sad and frusterating that I couldn't share it's deliciousness with other people. It was not until I started to read food blogs and other blogs from friends and family that inspired me to start a blog too.

Well, that pretty much sums up the story of what this blog will be about. Yes, it's about food. Yes, it's about me. Hopefully there's enough humour, information and discussion to keep you coming back. I would love to hear your feedback whether you disagree or agree with me. Feel free to leave comments on any topic or send me an email if you want to discuss it privately.

Now I can't wait to start blogging about yummy foods, hoping to share my passion about what I cooked or ate with everyone else. I have no technical training in the field of writing about food but I will try my best. All opinions on this blog are my own brave, and sometime crazy, thoughts.


ENJOY!