A Foodie's Recipe Blog

I am an enthusiastic fan of Hazelnuts to say the least.  One of my all time favorite candies was the Ferrero Rocher candy, Mon Cheri.  Unlike the name suggests, the American version did not contain any cherries at all.  It was a rectangular milk chocolate candy, filled with a single hazelnut and hazelnut bits.  Yummmm.  I think my last one must have been in 2000.  They since discontinued it :(  So I am left to my 2nd favorite candy, which is the Hazelnut truffle sold at the Godiva Chocolatier counters found at your local shopping mall.   This is my first attempt at making chocolate truffles and I must say, it was a success.  Next time, I will opt for milk chocolate ganache and a milk chocolate coating to replicate the Godiva version.    Ingredients 1/2 cup of heavy cream 200 grams or 1 and 1/3 c of dark chocolate chips (you can roughly chop up a good bar as well) 1 cup of Nutella 1 cup of chopped hazelnuts 1 cup of semisweet chocolate pieces Directions Warm heavy cream in a small sauce

An absolute staple!  You can store in fridge up to 3-5 days after making.  Mix in with any type of protein and serve over rice or alone.  So delicious!  Ingredients  1/4 cup of soy sauce 1 cup of water 1/2 tsp ground or minced ginger 1/4 tsp garlic powder 5 TB brown sugar 1-2 TB honey 2 TB cornstarch 1/4 cup cold water Sesame seeds optional  Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and pour into a small saucepan.  Let come to a bubble and simmer for 5-10 min.  

  My absolute favorite appetizer!  Can you believe I used to hate mushrooms?  The nerve! Ingredients 1 lb of Baby Bella Mushrooms 1/2 lb of ground pork sausage 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 - 8oz package of cream cheese softened 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper  Chopped parsley for garnish  Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees Wash mushrooms and remove stems.  Mince stems to cook with ground sausage.   Add a bit of vegetable oil in skillet at medium heat, and add mushroom stems, sautee for about 2-3 min with garlic. Add in sausage and brown. Mix cooked sausage with remainder ingredients Scoop filling into mushroom caps and sprinkle panko bread crumbs over top.   Bake in oven for 20. min or until internal temp is 165

  Ingredients -  1 lb ground pork sausage 4 oz pepper jack cheese shredded 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos 1 egg 1/4 cup almond flour 2 tsp minced onions 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt  Instructions  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F Mix all ingredients together Scoop 1 inch balls onto lined baking sheet with parchment paper Bake 18. min and broil for 2 min 

Growing up, we always made egg rolls for special most if not all of our special occasions.  My mom would always make the meat mixture and us kids would sit and help roll hundreds of miniature eggrolls.  These were always such a hit!  I loved eating them right off the fryer and I couldn't get enough since they were so bite sized.  I finally decided to make them myself with a rough guide from mom.  They turned out just as good and I couldn't be any more proud! Makes ~ 80 eggrolls 2 packages of egg roll wrappers - Can be found in refrigerated section at Asian market.  I like these ones because it is just the right size for my mini eggrolls.  They come in packs of 50.  You can get the larger ones and cut them into quarters though. 1 bag of Chinese dried fungus - this is basically dried mushrooms.  Any brand will do.  You will only use about 1/4 of the bag.  Soak dried mushrooms in water for about 10 min and finely chop. If you don't like mushrooms like

One of my fave desserts of all!  Carrot cake.  I decided to make cupcakes this time after a failed attempt of the actual cake this weekend.  Trust me, these will be sooooo freakin delicious if you are a carrot cake lover.  One trick I learned from a friend of mine who is an avid cupcake baker is to freeze the cupcakes overnight and then frost the next day.  It supposedly locks in the moisture.  These beauties are super moist and delicious; just the way I like them! Preheat oven to 350 F Ingredients: 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 cup applesauce 1- 8 oz can of crushed pineapple (drained) 3/4 cup canola oil 7-8 carrots grated 1. Beat all of the above ingredients until smooth 2. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix together: 2 cups of all purpose flour 4 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg 2 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup of pecan chips (you can sub for