Posts Tagged ‘pineapple’
Review: OXO Mini Measuring Beakers & Funfetti Cake Shots
January 25, 2013 | 
Author Until now, all the liquid measuring cups I owned were larger and the smallest volume they could measure was a 1/4 cup. But with the new 4 Piece Mini Measuring Beaker Set from OXO, I can now measure out more than one tablespoon at a time. The best part for my nerd-self is that they are shaped like little beakers and are designed specifically for measuring and pouring smaller amounts of ingredients such as food coloring, extracts, lemon juice and more. No more food coloring stained fingers – let’s rejoice!
The beakers stand on their own, with fill lines below the very top, making it easy to set out ingredients before you start cooking or baking. The funnel shape and spout on the top of the beakers make filling and pouring simple. They are also brightly colored, top-rack dishwasher safe, and nest together for compact storage – an extra bonus for my crammed micro-apartment kitchen. The set includes 2 oz, 1 oz, 1 T and 1 tsp beakers. And just a little knowledge for you: 1 oz = 2 Tbsp
Now let’s talk about what I decided to make with these, and speculate on why the first thing I thought of was alcohol. Have you ever taken a shot by yourself? I would assume not as I had not either until I made this Funfetti cake shot. I didn’t think it through prior to it’s preparation, and mixed it up around 2pm… well now what am I supposed to do with it? So I shot one and dumped the other down the drain after feeling like an alcoholic drinking by myself. Although I felt a little guilty tossing a perfectly good cake-flavored shot down the drain. Somehow pineapple juice and vanilla vodka creates a yellow cake batter flavor, who am I to judge?
One year ago: Stromboli
Two years ago: Grilled Three Cheese Sandwich
FUNFETTI CAKE SHOTS
Makes 2 shots
Ingredients:
2 white chocolate candy melts (or 1 Tbsp white chocolate)
Sprinkles
2/3 oz. vanilla vodka
2/3 oz. triple sec
2/3 oz. pineapple juice
Directions:
- On a small plate, melt the chocolate in the microwave at half power for 10 seconds at a time until just melted. Dip top of shot glass into the chocolate and then dip into sprinkles.
- Shake the vodka, triple sec and pineapple juice together with ice and strain into decorated shot glass.
Source: Adapted slightly from The Wedtender, referred to me by I Am Honey Bee.
Disclosure: I received one set of OXO’s Mini Measuring Beakers for free from OXO’s Blogger Outreach Program. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice
Fried rice is one of my favorites although I’ve only made it myself a handful of times. It is likely due to Qing bringing in fresh homemade fried rice for us at work sometimes, and I am convinced I cannot make it any better. One of these days I need to watch her make it. She uses Asian BBQ pork which you can only buy at the Asian grocery store – another place I need to check out evidently.
Meanwhile while planning to invade her kitchen, I took a stab at fried rice again with this pineapple and pork chop version. Granted there is no competition when it comes to Qing’s fried rice, but it was still quite good. Next time I would use less onion, but that may just be my preference. But I really thought the grilled pineapple was a must for the flavor of this dish. Start up your grill!
Be sure to check out the original post by The Pioneer Woman for great step-by-step photos.
One year ago: White Chocolate Coconut Chili Macadamia Nut Cookies
PORK CHOPS WITH PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1/2 whole pineapple, cut into spears and skewered
2 cups cooked white or brown rice
6 whole pork chops
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, sliced
8 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce (more to taste), divided
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Sriracha, or other hot sauce
Salt to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggs
1 cup chopped carrots
1-1/2 cup frozen peas
Directions:
- Grill (or saute) pineapple spears until they have good marks/color on the outside. Slice, then set aside.
- Heat butter and oil over medium high heat, then add the pork chops to the pan. Saute on both sides until they have nice color.
- Throw in the sliced onions and work them into the crevices between the chops. Shake the pan and move the onions around and let them cook for a good couple of minutes.
- When the onions are starting to soften, add 6 tablespoons pf the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, and hot sauce. Shake the pan, stir it around, and let it cook and bubble up for a good couple of minutes until the pork chops are completely cooked and the sauce is thicker. Remove the pork chops to a bowl, then let the sauce bubble up and cook for another 30 to 45 seconds. Pour it over the pork chops. Set aside.
- Add a small amount of oil to the same pan (without cleaning it) and return it to the stove top over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir it around, then crack in the eggs and immediately stir them to scramble them a bit. Add carrots, peas, and remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Add cooked rice and stir it around to cook for a couple of minutes.
- To serve, pile rice on a plate, then top with pineapple chunks, pork chops and onions from the sauce. Drizzle a little bit of sauce over the top.
Source: Adapted slightly from The Pioneer Woman.
Pineapple Muffins with Coconut Streusel
I have a weakness for fun colored makeup, despite the fact that most of the time these days I don’t wear any at all. But regardless, Urban Decay and I have remained very good friends over the years. And it just so happens that their Fall Sale is going on right now, so I felt like I should share. Even if you like to stick to more basic colors they’ve got you covered, just see for yourself HERE.
Now that your eyes have been filled with fun colors, how about filling your belly with fun flavors? With Chobani’s blended Greek yogurts I have so far showed you recipes using peach, blueberry, and vanilla chocolate chunk. Today is pineapple! Originally I wanted to make a pineapple upside-down cake, but decided to break up the sweets a little bit… so I made muffins! They were so moist that the streusel on top ended up being soft as well, but that was not a problem. In fact I kind of wish I had doubled the streusel recipe.
The Chobani giveaway continues, enter for your chance to win a pack of all 6 flavors HERE!
One year ago: Gnocchi with Goat Cheese, Grape Tomatoes and Basil
PINEAPPLE MUFFINS WITH COCONUT STREUSEL
Makes 14 muffins
Ingredients:
STREUSEL
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp sweetened flaked coconut, chopped
1 pinch salt
2 Tbsp butter
MUFFINS
12 oz. (1-1/2 cups) 2% Pineapple Chobani Greek yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
8 oz. can crushed pineapple
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter/grease muffin pans (or line with paper liners).
- Combine 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, 1 tablespoon sugar, the coconut, and 1 pinch of salt in a small bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons of butter until completely incorporated into the flour; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yogurt and egg. Mix until combined. Add the oil, brown sugar and pineapple to the bowl and mix until combined. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- Fill the prepared muffin cups with batter and sprinkle with the coconut streusel. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Source: Streusel from Allrecipes. Muffins from Annie’s Eats.
Disclosure: I was sent six 16 oz. tubs of blended Chobani Greek yogurt. I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Pineapple Burgers
First off, I wanted to thank every one of you for all the wonderful birthday wishes. I had a great (and tiring) weekend, filled with too much food and staying up way past my bedtime. Weekends are always much too short, especially birthday weekends when friends like Becky come to visit. But definitely had plenty of fun to make up for not going to the Beale St Music Fest for the first time since I moved here 5 years ago (cannot believe it’s been that long).
But on to this burger. Many burgers I have encountered that include pineapple, merely have it as a layer in the toppings. But this burger is special – it is stuffed with an entire ring of fresh pineapple. There is even a sweet and tangy sauce to top it off.
That bun is purely for decoration only. Sure it’s real but I didn’t touch the thing. I grew up without eating these burgers on a bun because, well, the recipe never says anything about a bun! And honestly, I love this burger without any silly bun. But I included it anyway because a burger patty sitting on a plate by itself isn’t very photogenic.
Random question, do you spell it ketchup or catsup? Cause my mom totally spelled it catsup on the written recipe card I have and I never knew she and I spelled it differently then me.
PINEAPPLE BURGERS
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried cilantro
4 pineapple rings
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp mustard
4 buns and favorite burger toppings, if desired
Directions:
- Preheat your broiler to 500 degrees and place rack 6 inches away from broiler unit. Cover a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with non-stick stray, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, garlic and cilantro. Form into 8 thin patties (slightly bigger than the pineapple rings). Place a ring on 4 of the patties and top with remaining 4, seal edges.
- Place burgers on prepared baking sheet, and broil for 5 minutes on each side.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, ketchup and mustard. Pour over cooked burgers and serve with chips.
Source: Adapted slightly from my Mom.
Pineapple Pancakes with Honey Greek Yogurt Topping
What a very lazy weekend I had. Such weekends are a rarity which meant lying on the couch for hours at a time was pure bliss. I still did plenty that required energy, such as assembling my new TV stand, a little lab work, hanging new shelves for my ever-growing root beer collection, and even spent time in the kitchen making things such as these pancakes.
These were the result of my pondering what I could use in place of applesauce in one of my favorite pancake recipes (apple sauce pancakes – which oddly I have yet to share on here). For some reason I was feeling very tropical and went with crushed pineapple. Then got a little crazy and mixed honey with Greek yogurt and plopped it on top. It was a great idea.
PINEAPPLE PANCAKES WITH HONEY GREEK YOGURT TOPPING
Makes approximately 16 pancakes
Ingredients:
PANCAKES
1 cup milk
1-16 oz. can crushed pineapple
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup corn meal
2 Tbsp sugar
TOPPING
1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey, plus more to taste
Directions:
- In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the milk, pineapple, egg and butter.
- In a separate bowl, combine the Bisquick, cornmeal and sugar, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Scoop the batter onto the griddle, brown on both sides and serve hot with yogurt topping.
Source: Adapted from my Dad’s Applesauce Pancakes
Flavor-Injected Glazed Ham
Hope everyone had as great of weather as we did over the weekend. First my dad and I took care of a few odd things around my apartment, such as hanging my newest work of art (check it out). We were super crafty too because I didn’t have a level, just used a straight piece of wood and a tape measure. Then my dad and I took advantage of the weather and spent some time walking around the Lichtnerman Nature Center on Saturday followed by a movie and some great frozen custard eaten on a bench outside. On Sunday we enjoyed brunch on a friend of mine’s roof-patio, followed by cooking our holiday dinner with all the windows open in my apt, while the wonderful aromas were filling my kitchen.
Now that we are on the subject of food, have you ever flavor injected your meat? If you haven’t you really should. It results in serious flavor saturation. And with this ham recipe, you also get a nice sweet glaze on the outside, locking in all of that flavor. Of course, since this was a pre-spiral cut ham some of the injected juices leaked out, but having it seep through the layers was good enough for me. This recipe made way too much for the number of people who were eating it, but leftovers are not frowned upon!
GLAZED HAM
Serves approximately 20
Ingredients:
1-10 lb. fully cooked, spiral-cut smoked ham, on the bone
1 cup mango chutney
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup pineapple juice
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the ham on a rack in a heavy roasting pan, cut-side down.
- In a pot over medium heat, add chutney, sugar, syrup and juice. Stir until sugar is dissolved and then bring to a simmer. Continue to cook until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Using a flavor injector, inject ham with some of the cooled glaze mixture all over, inserting the needle in various directions (use as much as desired). Pour the remainder of the glaze over the ham and cover completely with foil.
- Bake for 2 hours until the ham is fully heated. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Source: The Spiffy Cookie original
Green Monster Spinach Smoothie
If you haven’t yet, vote for my Funfetti Truffle Chocolate Cupcakes in the “So You Wanna Be a CakeSpy” contest! I’m not sure at what time, but a winner should be announced sometime today:
- Like on Facebook (<–click)
- Like on Flickr (<–click)
- Leave a comment on the bottom of CakeSpy’s post (<–click)
While we are on the topic of food contests, I entered a chili contest on Saturday and came in second by 2 votes! Want the recipe? It’s the spiced up version of my dad’s chili recipe, found HERE.
But wait, there have been other battles going on lately. As you know I’ve already tackled my fear of adding spinach to a smoothie with the berry detox smoothie, but next was the green spinach smoothie affectionately named the Green Monster – you cannot hide from the spinach-green color of this one! Despite the green-ness, my reaction to this smoothie may have even been better than to the non-green spinach-containing smoothie. It was creamy and slightly sweet without a single sign of spinach, other than the color.
This was the first combination I tried, with a little pineapple in there. Second time I tried with mango and couldn’t taste much of a difference. But I have seen many other additions floating around other blogs and I plan to test them out as well. For now I was very pleased with this one and plan on making it again. Spinach, for the win!
GREEN MONSTER SPINACH SMOOTHIE
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1/2 frozen sliced banana
1/4 cup frozen pineapple or mango
1/2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Source: Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats.
Posted in Beverages, Breakfast, Smoothies | 
Tags: almond milk, bananas, Greek yogurt, mango, pineapple, spinach | 
18 Comments »
Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Hawaiian Pizza
Can you believe it’s 2012?? Because I definitely cannot. And to start off this fresh start, I completely failed on posting for the first time of the new year yesterday. But for good reason, I came down with a pretty nasty head cold. I’m not fulling recovered yet, but to make up for yesterday I want to share something extra delicious with you.
Hawaiian pizza is one of my favorite types of pizza, yet I order/make it rarely for some strange reason. This version uses a combination of sweet apricot preserves and spicy chili Sriracha as the sauce instead of the standard tomato base – it’s fantastic and may have just ruined any chance of ordering Hawaiian pizza out ever again because I have never seen this anywhere else!
One year ago: Spinach Tomato Tortellini
SWEET ‘N’ SPICY HAWAIIAN PIZZA
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
1 whole wheat pizza dough
1/3 cup apricot preserves
2 Tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped ham
1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup chopped jalapenos
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 and move rack to just above the center with pizza stone. Allow stone to preheat for at least 10 minutes.
- Roll out pizza dough and transfer to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal.
- Warm the apricot preserves in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stir well and spread evenly all of the pizza crust. Spread the Sriracha on top of that and then cover the entire thing with mozzarella. Evenly distribute the ham, pineapple, and jalapenos on top of the cheese.
- Place directly on the pizza stone and bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes until the crust is crispy and brown and the cheese is bubbly. Carefully remove from oven, let cool slightly, and then slice and serve.
Source: Heather’s Dish
Posted in Entree, Pizza, Pork | Tags: apricots, ham, jalapenos, mozzarella, pineapple | 13 Comments »
Pecan Fruit Cake
I never understood the aversion to fruit cake. Until I realized it was because I was spoiled by my dad’s version (seems to be a trend when it comes to anything my dad cooked/baked). I doubt I will ever stray away from this recipe, unless he finds some inconceivable way to improve it. It’s dense and moist like a pound cake, but filled with an insane amount of fruit and nuts. This is one fruit cake that will not be pawned off.
PECAN FRUIT CAKE
Makes 2 cakes
Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs, beaten
4 tsp lemon juice
4 cups flour, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1 lb (2-1/2) cups candied red and green cherries, cut in pieces
1 lb candied pineapple, cut in pieces
1 lb golden raisins
1 lb (4 cups) chopped pecans
1/2 lb (2 cups) whole almonds (I opted to chop mine a little)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees for tube/bundt pans or 275 degrees for loaf pans. Generously grease and flour two pans and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together 3 cups flour and the baking powder.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs and lemon juice until incorporated, then add the flour/baking powder mix.
- In a separate extra large bowl, mix candied fruit and raisins with the remaining cup of flour until well coated. Add nuts and then the batter and mix well.
- Pour evenly into the two prepared tube or loaf pans. Tube pans cook the best. Do not use glass pans. Bake tube pans at 250 for about 1.5-2 hours; loaf pans cook at 275 for about 1-1.5 hours.
- Cook times are approximate. Test for doneness with a toothpick after one hour and as needed afterward. Do not over cook! Slow baking keeps the cake moist. Let cool completely before removing from pans. Keep covered in fridge.
Source: My dad
Brownie Fruit Pizza
There have been many desserts born in my kitchen recently and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon! But I did think that maybe I should attempt to make things a bit healthier. A reduced fat brownie with fruit on top counts, right? I’ve made this dessert several times, changing the fruit and other toppings up a bit each time and it’s always a hit. But this one here is my favorite so far. The original recipe states serving 8-10, but it didn’t stand a chance sitting in front of my friends and I – it only served four. Whoops! Good thing it was low fat 
.
Ingredients:
1 box fudge brownie mix (I prefer No Pudge brownie mix for this recipe)
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved
2 Tbsp sugar
2 bananas, sliced and tossed in lemon juice to prevent browning
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Nutella, for drizzling
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 15-inch pizza pan*. Prepare the brownie mix according to box directions. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until done. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
- Beat the cream cheese, pineapple, and sugar together in a bowl. Use any reserved pineapple juice at this time, if needed, to soften the mixture to a good spreading consistency. Otherwise dispose of or save the juice for another use. Spread the mixture over the cooled brownie crust.
- Arrange the banana, strawberries, kiwi and blueberries over the cream cheese mixture. Drizzle with warmed Nutella. Refrigerate. To serve, slice as you would a pizza, and enjoy!
*I actually used a tart pan because I don’t have a pizza pan (only a stone).
Source: Adapted slightly from Paula Deen on Food Network
Posted in Brownies & Bars, Desserts | Tags: bananas, blueberries, cream cheese, kiwi, Nutella, pineapple, strawberries | 16 Comments »
