Strawberry Filled Whipped Cream

Strawberries are so pleasant to eat on a hot summer day. They're even enjoyable and prettier to look at when filled with a simple creamy whipped cream. This dessert is very easy to make and can be eaten in one bite.  

Ingredients:

• 10 large fresh strawberries 
• 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons of granulated white sugar
• 1/3 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract cup 

Directions:

1. To make the whip cream, freeze medium mixing bowl in the freezer for 2-3 minutes. Add heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract into the cold mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.
2. Wash the strawberries and using a sharp knife, cut an "X" into each strawberry without cutting it all the way down. Then spread the "X" apart with your fingertips.
3. Fill the whipping cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Starting at the bottom of the strawberry, pipe the cream into the center of each strawberry with a swirling motion from the bottom to the top of each strawberry.
4. Sprinkle cocoa powder on top of each strawberries if desired.

Strawberry And Cream Cheese Crepes

After seeing many places with their crepe pan and spreader, I thought I wouldn't be able to made crepes without these necessary kitchenware. There is a way around it and I couldn't be any more happier with the outcome. The crepe batter is one of the easiest recipe to find in the house and I made about 10 5-inch crepes (typically, crepes are approx. 10-inches) that were stuffed with a sweet strawberry cream-cheese filling.

 

Serves 4

Crepe Ingredients:

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Crepe Directions: 

1. Combine all crepe ingredients into a large mixing bowl. After mixing in the milk and water, gradually add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a non-stick small skillet over medium heat. 
3. Pour about 2 tablespoon of batter into skillet and tilt skillet in a circular motion to spread batter thinly and evenly. 
4. Cook only a minute or so on one side (until it is lightly browned) and loosen with spatula to flip to cook other side.
   

(Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling Directions Below)

Crepe Batter Ingredients

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:

• 4 ounce of cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 tablespoon of milk 

Filling Directions:

1. Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and milk in a bowl. Blend with a mixer on low gradually increasing speed until smooth. 
2. Fill a ziplock bag with the filling. Set aside and cool the cream cheese filling in the fridge before using.
3. When crepes are ready to serve, place a crepe on a plate and snip off corner tip of ziplock.
4. Pipe the cream cheese filling onto the crepe and add 1 tablespoon of sliced strawberries.
5. Roll the filled crepe and sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve. 

French Toast Bites

 This mini french toast version came out a little more yellow than I expected, but it had the same  scrumptious soft and sweet taste with a slight spice flavor. I added a generous dusting of powdered sugar and ate them warm, dipped in maple syrup. This breakfast treat can be enjoyed with fresh fruits, hash browns, bacon, and a cold glass of OJ. Did I make your mouth water yet?

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2  loaf of artisan-style bread
• 2 eggs 
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg 

Directions: 

1. Slice and cut bread into one-inch cubes without the crusts. In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Add the bread cubs in the egg mixture to saturate.
2. Butter a pan before transferring the cubes of bread. Shake off excess liquid from the egg mixture, and add cubes on the pan over the medium-high heat and cook, turning as needed, until golden brown on both sides for about 5 minutes. 
3. Serve warm with powdered sugar and a side of maple syrup.

Tiny Tostada Tacos

These are some of my favorite Mexican ingredients! I love refried beans and always request it in my burritos. Avocados usually comes with an additional fee when purchasing condiments for your food, but I relish in the fact that it's very rich and creamy, but in a healthy kind of way. As you can tell in my Cilantro Caprese Salad post, I can eat both raw whole or cherry tomatoes on it's own. Fresh tomatoes are naturally good for your overall health and I heard they promote beautiful skin and hair, too (health bonus points!).

 

This was the twitter photo I posted last night!  Were you able to tell what they were?

 

I heated the beans in a small pot over the stove for 5 minutes to make them warm and easy to scoop into the Tostitos.  The chopped avocados and tomatoes were next to go in and you can decide to add in other ingredients like I did. I chose to add some more color so I had American cheese and sour cream for a better salty and sour element, too. You can also substitute refried beans for ground beef if you're not a fan of beans, but I personally enjoyed these knowing that it's pack with everything nutritious!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

 

You must try this quick and easy cinnamon roll recipe! Granted these mini cinnamon rolls might be the big, fat, and gooey cinnabon rolls that I loved as a kid, but these pop-in-your-mouth bites only takes less than 20 minutes to make and are a perfect snack to have any day of the week.

The first photo shows the ingredients of the cinnamon rolls and the photo on the bottom is for the icing.
You only need one tube of crescent roll dough, 2 tablespoon of butter, and however much cinnamon and brown sugar to sprinkle over your dough.

Rip off the wrapping of the crescent roll tube where instructed to do so. Once you lay out the two layers of dough, you can either pinch the seams together or roll the dough in a ball like I did. I then used a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a shape that is about 1/4 thick.

I applied 1 tablespoon of melted butter onto one side of the dough using a brush. Then I used a knife to cut through the dough into a more rectangular shape so that each roll can be evenly sliced.

Sprinkle as much brown sugar and cinnamon as you wish, but don't overdo it or else it might be too sweet especially with the icing. Carefully roll the dough into one log, and cut into even slices.

I rubbed 1 tablespoon of butter in each space of the mini muffin tin. The rolls were baked in my microwave-oven at 275 degrees, but you can refer to your crescent roll dough package directions and frequently check on the rolls as it is baking. As soon as it's done, you can see the sparkly glaze of the brown sugar like this before and after picture above.

For the icing, stir together 1 tablespoon of milk and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar or however much is needed for desired thickness. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls, pair it with your favorite hot beverage and get ready to experience the sweet bites packed with bold and incredible flavors!

Cilantro Caprese Salad

This is my very own version of a Caprese Salad. Typically, Caprese salads are made with basil, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil, but I didn't have those ingredients laying around the house. You can finely chop the cilantro or cut the stems and use the leafy green part for garnishing and enhanced flavoring.
Serves 3: Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, Cilantro, Salt & Pepper

The sliced tomatoes should be the bottom layer and the mozzarella cheese would be placed on top of that. You can add any amount of the other ingredients depending on your preference. If you want a balance of all the flavors, just sprinkle a little of salt and pepper and drizzle the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. This was such an easy and refreshing appetizer or side dish for summertime. Buon Appetito!

Rice Krispies Lollipops

Special occasions always inspire creative creations in the kitchen or elsewhere. While I was planning my birthday celebration, I knew I was going to feel appreciative towards the people that showed up to my party. As a nice gesture, I wanted my guests to take home something special. The heart and circle shaped cookie cutters that I found lying in my mom's pantry was a fine discovery and the best tool to use when you don't want your hands to be doing 100% of the work.

Serves 25: 2 large boxes of rice krispies cereal, 4 bags of marshmallows, 2 sticks of butter.

I have grown very fond of microwavable chocolate chips. Due to many failed attempts to melt regular chocolate chips in a pot over boiling water, I needed a quick and simple alternative solution. Using a butter knife and small spoon, the melted white chocolate is spread over the heart-shaped rice krispies after a 2 minute cool down. I carefully dipped one side of the remaining circle-shaped rice krispies halfway into the melted milk chocolate and sprinkled finely chopped peanuts for an added crunch.

Skewers came in handy when making these treats resemble a lollipop. It is recommended to insert the skewers or lollipop sticks before refrigeration or else it would be tougher to get them in when it hardens.

I made a stop to the craft store and found candy wrappers to cover the finished treats. The candy wrappers came with wire twist-ties, which was useful and easy for unwrapping the treats. Lastly, ribbons are always a great touch to the complete look!