Cheesy Bacon Tomato Tartlets

1 cup mayonaise
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
1 small onion (diced)
1 small tomato (diced)
2 tsp dried basil or 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I actually use a little more)

Mix all these ingredients together and refrigerate. When you are ready to make the tartlets, use the pillsbury pie crust and roll it on the roulpat (no extra flour needed) to thin it out. Use cutters (size will vary depending on the size tartlet tray you are using) to cut the pastry into circles. Place Mini Tartlet Tray on Perforated Baking sheet, and place each piece of dough in the tartlet tray, press with shaper. Add 1tsp of dip to each and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Enjoy!!
**Adapted from Demarle at Home recipe

Guilt Free Quiche

In my search to find a good crustless Quiche recipe for a An ALL Weight Watcher friendly Demarle at Home Cooking Demo, I created the following: 

For 12 servings:

4 eggs

4 egg whites

3/4 c sour cream

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 - 2 cups cheese (I used FF cheddar and LF mozzarella)

1/3 of a red onion chopped and sauteed in a little olive oil

5 oz (or so) frozen broccoli - thawed, finely chopped and excess water squeezed out

Mix eggs and sour cream together until very well mixed; then add in other ingredients as listed and combine well. This mixture can sit, covered, in fridge for a few hours (or overnight) til ready to bake. 

Preheat oven to 375. Place Muffin Tray on the Perforated Baking Sheet. Fill each muffin well about 3/4 full. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes, until top starts browning. OR, place your favorite Mold (The Daisy Mold is shown in the pictures) and fill it. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes.

WW Points = 2.5 points for 1 muffin (or 1/12 of dish)

 

 

Margarita Cupcakes

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Let's celebrate with some yummy Margarita Cupcakes :)

I was asked to make dessert for a Mexican themed luncheon for all of the wonderful staff and teachers at my daughter's school. The only thing I could really think of (that I could actually do, easily for 75 people - won't touch Flan) was Margarita Cupcakes. I've seen recipes over the years but have yet to attempt them. So, of course I had to try them ahead of time to be sure they were worth making, and my dad and hubby gave them a thumbs up! Plus, cupcakes are easy to freeze, so I made a third of them fairly early. This frosting kept really well in the fridge ahead of time, and it actually never hardened too much, it was even spreadable after taking right out of the fridge. 

I made up my own recipe after viewing multiple others. Since this was for teachers, on a school day, I figured they maybe shouldn't have alcohol...although, I know many would prefer with the Tequila ;) It would be easy to add it in though! 

CAKE:

1 White Cake Mix

1 cup Margarita premade mix (non-alcoholic)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 egg whites

2 tsp lime zest

Preheat oven to 340. Mix all ingredients really well. Place your Mini Muffin Tray (or whatever mold or tray you prefer) on the Perforated Baking Sheet. Using the medium scooper, scoop about 2/3 full into each muffin well. Bake at 340 for about 16 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before unmolding. Because I had to make so many batches, I cooled for about 3 minutes, then stuck them in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes. I unmolded, placed cupcakes in a single layer in a gallon Ziploc bag and put back in the freezer. Then I went on to batch #2, then 3... (each cake mix made 40 mini cupcakes and each mini muffin tray makes 20 at a time)...that's why I love that it freezes so well!!

OPTIONAL STEP: I saw a few recipes that made a glaze using 1 1/2 tbsp water, 1 1/2 tbsp Tequila and 1 cup powdered sugar; brush it on the cupcakes after cooling about 5-10 minutes. Then completely cool and add frosting. If you really want an authentic Margarita flavor, then I'd try adding this.

FROSTING:

1/2 cup butter or margarine (or if you prefer ALL butter buttercream, use 1 cup butter and eliminate the shortening)

1/2 cup Crisco or shortening

2 tbsp lime juice OR 1 tbsp lime juice + 1 tbsp Tequila...or more ;)

1 tsp lime zest

1 lb+ powdered sugar (I ended up using maybe 1/2 cup extra to reach the right consistency)

Mix butter and shortening really well (a couple minutes), then slowly add about 1/2 the powdered sugar, add the liquid, then slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar, mixing well until reaching your desired consistency. Whip for an extra 1-2 minutes once frosting is fully incorporated for that fluffy buttercream texture. 

Frost and add some grated lime zest and coarse sea salt on top, even lime wedges if you have enough...enjoy!

Coffee Filter Uses

I found this posted on Facebook but I couldn't find the original source of it, so thought I'd copy, paste and pin for future reference!! So many ideas below I could definitely find useful!!

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

11.. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.

16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.

18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.

19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.

21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.

22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.

23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.

24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..

25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

WW Lemon Cake

So easy and not bad for you...two GREAT things in a dessert :)

Mix 1 Lemon Cake mix (about 15-18oz) with 1 cup Fage plain, fat free greek yogurt and 1 cup water. I just used the 6 oz cup and it worked fine. You can also use Lemon flavored but it's harder to find.
Place your Bundt Mold on the Perforated Baking Sheet, fill and bake for 35-38 minutes in a 340 degrees oven. While cooling, mix about 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 tbsp lemon juice; stir thoroughly and adjust ingredients until desired consistency is reached.

Other Options - you can use this idea with any flavor cake mix and change what the glaze is; could do chocolate cake with just a powdered sugar/milk glaze, or orange cake with orange glaze, vanille or white cake with a lime glaze...the possibilities are endless!!

For the Bundt Mold, which is 20 perforated servings, 1 slice = 2 WW points
ENJOY :)
Here are some other great ways to doctor up your favorite cake mix and keep it healthier - http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1543

Almond Sugar Cookies

I just discovered this awesome trick to doctoring up a boring sugar cookie premade mix. Yes, I know you "should" make sugar cookies from scratch, but they are SO much work...AND, they don't always turn out. So, I'm all about the premade sugar cookie mix!! (Not so much chocolate chip or oatmeal, but sugar...yes!) Anyhow, I went to a Demarle cooking demo at a fellow consultant's house (Terri Poppingo) and she served these in the Petal Tray - loved them!!

Here's the simple, easy to follow, directions with photos to follow :)

You will need:

• 1 pouch of Sugar Cookie Mix (I used Betty Crocker, but Terri used Krusteaz)
• 1 egg (per package directions)
• 1 stick of room temp butter (per package directions)
• 1 - 2 tsp Almond Extract (depends on your liking, but Almond is very strong so I used only 1 tsp.) You could also substitute any extract to take on that flavor - Orange, Peppermint, Lemon...and then add a topping suitable for that flavor, crushed peppermints, maybe a lemon or orange glaze (add once they are baked of course) - orange or lemon juice mixed with powdered sugar until desired consistency...the possibilities are endless! If you try something, please post it as a comment. I'd love other ideas!

Directions:

• Mix butter, egg and extract until well blended. Slowly add in the cookie dry mix.
• Place your favorite Demarle Tray on the Perforated Baking Sheet, or use the Silpat if you want just drop cookies. For the Almond cookies, I placed slivered almonds in the bottom of my Charlotte Tray and Butterfly Tray. Scoop cookie dough into each shape and press down slightly; or, drop cookie dough by tablespoon on silpat.
• Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. This just really depends on how big the cookies are. I used my Medium Scooper in the Charlotte Tray and they baked for about 15 minutes. Bake til they are turning golden brown on the edge; the middle may seem still slightly gooey, but they'll keep cooking a bit and mine turned out just perfect going by that.
• Cool, unmold and serve, or store in airtight container...or, just leave in the tray until you are ready to serve since it will keep them moist.

These were for my daughter's school fundraiser - treats for a Cakewalk ;) So, I bought the display boxes from Michaels - don't they look like they're from a bakery??

Easy Hard Boiled Eggs

Came across this method while searching how to make hard boiled eggs easily...since, well, I HATE making them and feel like I'm always stressed out I haven't cooked them long enough. So, I saw you can cook them in the oven and decided to try it using my handy dandy Medium Tartlet Tray...you could also use the Mini Muffin Tray as well. (Yes, you could just set them straight on your oven rack as well, but that made me a bit nervous...the last thing I want is broken egg all over my oven!)

Preheat oven to 325, place tartlet or muffin tray on perforated baking sheet, fill with eggs and bake for about 30 minutes. Then, the key is to immediately submerge them in ICE cold water for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to the fridge and enjoy using, or dying in our case, your perfect (and easy) hard boiled eggs!!
*After baking the eggs, mine had some brown spots on it, but once they went in the ice bath, they washed away.