We all love jalapeno poppers, right? Those spicy chili peppers stuffed with oozy goozy cheese? I love em! The spicier the better. Well, if you like those and you like bread, you will love this Jalapeno Popper Bread. Wow……its good. I mean, really good. Crispy, crusty bread with the melty cream cheese cheddar cheese combo and those spicy rings of jalapeno. M-m-m-m-m-m-m. This stuff is dangerous. It could be addicting. I will have to limit myself on this stuff. Maybe like one small piece every couple of months. Hmmmm, or maybe just when I have guests. I can think of quite a few of my friends who would LOVE this.

You gotta try this……..like soon!

Jalapeno Popper Bread

loaf of French or Italian soft bread
1  8oz block of cream cheese (super softened)
1  cup shredded cheddar cheese
garlic clove, minced (optional)
pickled jalapeno slices (fresh jalapeno is good too)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bread loaf in half. Mix together the soft cream cheese with most of the cheddar cheese and garlic. Spread the mixture on the bread.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese. Top with jalapeno slices. Place bread on a baking sheet and pop it into the oven. Bake just until the cheese is all melty.

M-m-m-mmmmm, that first crunchy bite will have you just shoving this bread into your face.

Just sharing some cookies I painted for a coworker. I call her little Miss party planner. I mean she goes ALL out!! She plans months in advance. She has the whole Paris theme going on! I may just go invite myself to her party and maybe I will feel like I am actually in Paris!!!!!!!!!!!! It was fun painting these cookies. I wasn’t really too anxious to accept the order at first, but now I am glad I did. Ah-ha!! Maybe that’s what I’ll do….I will travel the world through cookie painting! Yes, tonight I will paint cookies with an Italian theme…..tomorrow, who knows! Japan!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Last night I made fried rice. I made a veggie version which was filled with 7 different kinds of veggies! I do prefer mine with some type of meat, so I am giving you that version. Either way, it is yummy. I also made some cream cheese fried wontons. Sorry I didn’t take a picture of the finished product, but I’m sure you have all seen a fried wonton before! 🙂

I hope you try these dishes!

Fried Rice

No measurements here. Just eyeball it according to what you like and how many people you are serving.
cooked, cold rice
chicken, shrimp or beef (or all of them)
3 or 4 good splashes of soy sauce
chopped veggies of your choice. I used:
broccoli, bean sprouts, green onion, corn, fresh green beans, chinese cabbage,  pickled ginger
scrambled eggs
1 tsp chicken bouillon

In a large skillet, in a little bit of vegetable oil, fry your meat or use leftover meat. Add the veggies, and bouillon. Stir fry until done but still crispy. Add bean sprouts and toss. Remove from pan and set aside. Put your cooked cold rice into the skillet  and toss until it’s warm. Add all the veggies that you had set aside. Add soy sauce and then your scrambled egg. Serve. It is that simple.

Cream Cheese WonTons

1 package of wonton wrappers (you can purchase these at asian markets and at your local grocery store)
1  8oz pkg of cream cheese
1 green onion
crab or shrimp, minced (optional)
jalapeno, minced (optional)

Mix the filling ingredients together. Place a small amount (1 tsp) in the center of each wonton wrapper. Bring the 2 sides of the wrapper together, then the bring the bottom up and roll. Dab top point with water, roll and seal. Fry in about 1/4″ of hot oil, until brown. They cook quickly! Drain on papertowels. Dip into your favorite sauce. I use a mixture of catsup, chili paste and soysauce.

Who doesn’t love shortbread? That crumbly, melt in your mouth cookie that you just can’t stop eating. It is such an easy cookie to make and there are so many flavors. I just made a lemon cranberry shortbread. They are addicting….seriously addicting. I’ve made dried cherry chocolate chip, orange, toasted oatmeal, chocolate espresso, chocolate dipped, key lime, almond coconut…..it goes on and on. There are so many variations. You just need a good base shortbread recipe. Shortbread makes a great gift. Put them in pretty little bags tied with ribbon, cut them into little bite size squares and fill up a bag. Ya gotta make some. I like mine super crunchy. Some folks like em a bit softer. Either way, they are delicious
                             

Basic Shortbread

3  sticks of butter, room temperature
1  cup of sugar
3 1/2  cups of flour
1/4  tsp salt

Pictured, is this basic shortbread, but I added the zest of 2 small lemons and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries.

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar until combined. Add the flour and the salt. At this point, add any zests, nuts, dried fruits, chopped chocolate, etc. Mix briefly, just until combined. Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes. Lightly flour a board or surface and roll out into a 1/2″ thickness. Cut into 3″ squares or circles. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for approx. 15 minutes or just until the edges are lightly brown. Allow to cool completely.  Chomp, Chomp. 🙂

Finally we had a day here in San Diego that wasn’t scorching hot. Much to my delight, it was a bit overcast, a little coolish, with even a little drizzle. I was so happy. As soon as I see the slightest bit of gloomy weather, I know I have to make some kind of soup, so today was a day for Japanese noodle soup. Like with most soups, you can add anything you want to yours. Typically, Ramen “houses” (restaurants) make  their noodles with a good broth, noodles, vegetables and a sliced boiled egg. I make so many variations of this soup. This is the one I made tonight. I didn’t have any Japanese noodles, YIKES…pretty much unheard of in my house….so I even used angel hair pasta. While the right Ramen noodles are important, the broth is the key…..seriously. So please don’t buy those dried, instant, full of sodium, hard crunchy noodles that you just add hot water to. Make this!! And use chopsticks too….your soup will taste better and you’ll feel all Japanese and stuff. I always use chopsticks for this, but I kinda have to since I’m half Japanese. 🙂
The broth is so easy and delicious. You will love it.
 

Japanese Noodles

2 chicken thighs (you can use pork, seafood or beef too) or leave out the meat altogether and use a vegetable broth
approx. 8 cups of water
3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tsp chicken bouillon (or vegetable bouillon)
1 tablespoon of miso soup paste (found in Asian markets) if you can’t find it, don’t worry about it
a 2″ chunk of fresh ginger, sliced
angel hair pasta, cooked and set aside (if you have access to an Asian market, look for fresh ramen noodles)
hard-boiled eggs, sliced
veggie of your choice ( I prefer spinach, bean sprouts)
green onion for garnish

Place your choice of meat in a pot with the water. If making a veggie version, use vegetable broth instead of water. Add the soy sauce, bouillion, miso and ginger. Let everything simmer until meat is thoroughly cooked. Add salt to taste. Remove meat and slice it up.
Place some noodles in a serving bowl. Ladle some broth on top. Place the meat slices, egg and veggies on top in a pretty manner. Sprinkle with green onion. Grab your chopsticks and slurp, slurp. As I said, you can add anything you like to this dish. Just make sure you have a great tasting broth! Enjoy