CopyCats (Part Two)

So this seems so typical of how Ryan and I work. We used to go to Chili's all the time when we were dating in highschool. If we ordered dessert we always got the molten chocolate cake. It is good, but I was always deep down secretly longing for my favorite- Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie. But I thought it wouldn't be Ryan's thing, so I always just gladly shared the chocolate cake.

This year, after eight years of being together, we went to Chili's on my birthday and I decided it was time. It was my birthday after all and I was going to get whatever I really wanted, and my sweet husband of course, more than obliged. Well, as it turned out he was in love and liked it I think even more than I do, haha, of course. So you can imagine how excited we were when I saw it in my previously mentioned new cookbook.

I gave it a whirl last night. When baking the cookie part, I wasn't sure- the texture seemed fluffier. But once I topped with that crazy good ice cream, caramal, and fudge, it became that gooey dessert that I so love.

Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie

Crust:
3 Tbs. butter
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbs. sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Filling:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1 Tbs. veg. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup crushed walnust or almonds (I used crushed sliced almonds b/c I think they are less overwhelming- I don't really like big chunks of nuts in things)

To Serve
vanilla ice cream
hot fudge
caramel syrup

Preheat oven to 350.

For crust, mix melted butter, cookie crumbs, and sugar. Press into a 1 qt. baking dish and top with choc. chips. Bake for about 5 min or until chocolate is melted. Spread the chocolate evenly over crust.

For the filling, mix 1st three dry ingredients. Then add milk, oil, and vanilla, strirring until smooth. Stir in chips, coconut, and nuts. Pour into crust and bake 35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm with toppings and ENJOY!

CopyCats (Part One)

For Christmas I got a cookbook from my MIL  that is America's Most Wanted Recipes: Delicious Recipes from Your Families Favorite Restaurants (by Ron Douglas). It has been fun to look through it and get excited about making some of the yummy "eating out" food at home!!! I have tried two of the recipes and they are both great.

So first, New Year's Eve I made this pasta that I could tell by looking at the ingredients was right up my ally! I have never eaten at California Pizza Kitchen, which is where this one is from, so I don't know if it tastes like the original or not, but we enjoyed it either way!

California Pizza Kitchen's Chicken-Tequila Fettuccine

1 lb. fesh or dried spinach fettucine

1/3 plus some to garnish fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tbs. minced fresh garlic
2 Tbs. minced jalapeno pepper (seeds and veins removed)
3 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 Tbs. gold tequila
2 Tbs. lime juice
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 1/4 lb. chicken breasts, diced
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 each medium red, yellow, and green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Cook the cilantro, garlic, and jalapeno in 2 Tbs. of the butter over medium heat for 4-5 min. (I didn't use quite as much garlic and jalapeno as the recipe called for). Add the stock, tequila, and lime juice. Bring toa boil and cook until reduced to pastelike consistency; set aside.

Pour soy sauce over diced chicken and let set alteast 5 minutes.
Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, cook onion and peppers in remaining tablespoon of butter, until limp. Then add chicken, toss, and add reserved tequila lime paste. Add the cream. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until chicken is cooked through.

Drain cooked pasta and toss with the sauce. Garnish with extra cilantro.

And you know what else I loved about this recipe??? Grab yourself some tomatoes while your at the store and use all your leftover veggies from this recipe to make a fabulous homemade salsa:

Take your tomatoes, onion, lime juice, jalapeno, pepper (I chose the yellow pepper only) cilantro, some salt and cumin, a little bit of extra tomato juice to make it a little runnier- throw them all in the food processor-

Twirl that bad boy around a little and voila-

Yummy!

I Did It!!!

I finally got brave. Two of my bloggy friends did it and I figured just maybe I could too! On Christmas Eve Day I made Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls. They turned out good- I thought they were just a little too sweet- if I were to do it again I would put a little less sugar in the roll up step and some extra cinnamon. The frosting though was TDF ("to die for"- you like that?=). I took them Christmas Eve night and gave them to family for breakfast on Christmas morning. It was kind of fun and if you're feeling up for a baking adventure, you can get her recipe here.