How To Make Blue Hawaii Jello Shots

Author: Allison  //  Category: Alcohol

Blue Hawaii Jello Shots

Ingredients for Blue Hawaii Jello Shots

Ingredients for the Blue Layer

1/4 cup pineapple juice, strained to remove solids
1/4 cup vodka
1 envelope Knox gelatin
1/4 cup blue curacao liqueur
1/4 cup coconut rum

Ingredients for the Yellow Layer

3/4 cup pineapple juice, strained to remove solids
1/4 cup Rose’s lime juice
1 envelope Knox gelatin

Instructions for making Blue Hawaii Jello Shots

For the blue layer, combine the pineapple juice and vodka in a small saucepan, sprinkle with the gelatin, and allow to sit for 2 minutes.  Turn the heat on low, stirring constantly until the gelatin is fully dissolved, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the curacao and rum.  Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan, or fill prepared silicone molds 1/2 way full.  (Prepare by spraying lightly with non-stick cooking spray and wiping away excess).  Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes for silicone molds, or 45 minutes for loaf pan.

For the yellow layer, combine the pineapple juice and lime juice in a small saucepan, sprinkle with the gelatin, and allow to sit for 2 minutes.  Turn the heat on low, stirring constantly until gelatin dissolves completely.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.  Carefully ladle the yellow gelatin mixture on top of the set blue layer.  Refrigerate until fully set.

To serve, cut into desired shapes or unmold shots.  Makes 18-24 jelly shots.

How To Make Nutella Waffles

Author: Allison  //  Category: Breakfast

 

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup nutella

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

 

Preheat waffle maker to medium-high heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture until smooth. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and nutella over low heat and stir until smooth. Then, stir the nutella mixture into the batter. Pour the batter into the wells of your waffle iron and cook as directed for your particular waffle maker (mine made about twelve 4″ waffles).

How To Make Lunch Pasta

Author: Allison  //  Category: Lunch


Servings: 2

2 cups elbow pasta
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 roasted red pepper
1/2 Kielbasa sausage
1 cup Ragu
1 teaspoon garlic salt

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta until done, about 8 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, add the garlic and butter and saute for a 2 minutes, on medium heat. Cut up the roasted red pepper into bite sized pieces and add to the skillet. Add the sausage, stir, and let it saute until the pasta is done cooking.

Drain off the extra liquid, and put the sausage mixture into the drained pasta. Add the Ragu and garlic salt. Stir to combine thoroughly.

How To Make Taco Corn Bread Casserole

Author: Allison  //  Category: Dinner

Taco Corn Bread Casserole

Ingredients needed for Taco Corn Bread Casserole

1 package (8 1/2 oz) corn bread/muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
3 cups cooked taco seasoned meat
1 can black beans
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream, light
1 cup colby jack, cheddar or mexican cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 can sliced olives (optional, I didn’t use)

Instructions for making Taco Corn Bread Casserole

In a large bowl, combine the corn bread, egg and milk until blended. Spread into an 8 x 8 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Combine taco meat and beans, spread over corn bread. Combine sour cream, 3/4 cup cheese and onion. Spread over meat mixture. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with tomato, lettuce and remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

How To Make Skittles Vodka

Author: Allison  //  Category: Alcohol

Skittles Vodka

Ingredients needed for Skittles Vodka

One 1.75 liter bottle of vodka (avoid the cheap ones)
Five 8.5 ounce flasks or bottles
One 1 pound bag of Skittles
Five empty plastic water bottles
A funnel
Bowls for separating the Skittles into flavors
A measuring cup
Coffee filters or paper towels

Instructions for making Skittles Vodka

You’ll also want to cover your workspace with newspaper or freezer paper – this infusion can get messy. If you’re making a different sized batch, here’s the formula you need to know: I used 60 Skittles to 6 ounces of vodka, which yields about 8 ounces of infused vodka. If you want to make 1.5 times that, or 3 times that, just multiply your amounts.

Start by simply separating the Skittles into flavors. You want 60 of each.

Fill your water bottles with 6 ounces of vodka each. It doesn’t need to be exact – you can always even it out later by pouring in a bit more vodka to the ones that come out with less.
Pour the Skittles of one flavor into one infusion bottle, then pour the next flavor of Skittles into the next infusion bottle, and so on until all five bottles have a pile of Skittles soaking in the vodka.

You could certainly be more sophisticated than I was here, and use a funnel to pour the Skittles of each flavor into one of the bottles. The reason Skittles vodka tutorial. I did it this way was that I felt it would be easier to wash each flavor of Skittles off my hands before moving onto the next one than it than to get that flavor out of the funnel each time – that plastic tends to hold onto the flavors, skin doesn’t.

Now your infusion bottles all have Skittles in the bottom. Give each bottle a good shake – the more, the better. In my picture here, you can see that the colored candy coating has already rubbed off into the vodka, but the white insides of the Skittles still have a lot of dissolving to do. After shaking them, set them aside for a few hours. It’s a good idea to shake them again then, especially if you’re making a bigger batch. My Skittles all dissolved overnight. Once they’re all dissolved, you’ll notice a lot of white muck floating at the top.

There are a number of ways to strain this stuff and get all the white gunk out. Some people prefer paper towels, but I used coffee filters and found they worked just as well. I put a funnel inside a measuring cup.

Then I put four coffee filters in the funnel. It’s hard to say exactly how many you’ll need, since not all coffee filters are exactly the same. I’ll tell you one thing I did learn, though: orange and green needed more filtration than the others. I discovered this when I thought I was finished, and found a little bit of white stuff still floating in those two flavors. No problem, though: I just strained them again through one more coffee filter, and that took care of it. So if you find you haven’t strained it thoroughly enough, the good news is: you can always fix that later.

Then I poured one of the infusions into my strainer setup. I had to pour about a quarter of my infusion in, then wait for some of it to soak through, then pour another quarter in, until I was done. (If the strainer clogs with white gunk, use a spoon to scrape the white gunk out of the way.) In the end, you’ll have about 8 ounces of Skittle infused vodka. Then I dumped the funnel and coffee filters into one of the bowls I’d used earlier for counting out Skittles, to catch drips as I carried it over to the sink. I washed everything out for re-using (except the coffee filters, of course – those I just rinsed before disposing of, so the sugar wouldn’t attract ants).

Then I took the liquid from the measuring cup and poured it into a flask, via the now-clean funnel. You can see here that the green is a little thick, and it shouldn’t have been – that’s why I ended up having to re-filter it. Then I rinsed the funnel out again.

Repeat this process for each flavor.

Stick them in the freezer for several hours or overnight preferably.

Now you have your Skittles Vodka

How To Make Cream Cheese Swirl Halloween Brownies

Author: Allison  //  Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts

Brownie  Layer:1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon warm water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Orange Food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.

Brownie layer: Add melted butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt,  warm water, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. W

hisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.

Cream cheese layer: Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and food coloring in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.