Coconut Pancakes

I love coconut so it should come as no surprise that I love coconut pancakes as well. Mmmmm!!!! Delicious!

Coconut Pancakes

1 egg - separate whites and yolk

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

1/8 cup oil

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix egg yolks, coconut milk, and oil. Mix together flour, sugar, coconut, soda, and salt. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into other ingredients. Pour batter onto hot griddle and cook yourself up some pancakes! These go so, so well with this delicious coconut syrup.

Fresh Peach Pie

This is a great peach pie recipe! This recipe is from my momma-in-law.

1 baked and cooled pie crust

Filling:

1 8 oz. package softened cream cheese

1/2 pint whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Use a small amount of whipping cream to blend with the cream cheese. Blend with beater. In another bowl, whip the remaining whipping cream and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Then add it to the cream cheese mixture. Pour into baked and cooled pie shell. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Topping:

1 1/2 cups finely mashed fresh peaches (about 3 medium-large peaches)

3 tsp. cornstarch

2 Tbls. sugar

Extra sliced peaches for the top

Blend together mashed peaches, cornstarch, and sugar and cook over medium heat until thick. Cool. Spoon peaches over cream cheese mixture in pie crust. Top with the peach slices. You can top with additional whipped cream if desired.

Shrimp Tacos

This recipe is really yummy! I rarely cook seafood in my house because I don't like fish. I do love shrimp but have very little recipes I cook with that use shrimp. This, however, is quite delightful and easy. We will definitely be eating this again.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. shrimp (any size, I used 71-90)

1 medium red bell pepper cut into thick slices

1 red onion cut in thick slices for grilling

3 Tbsp. olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

bamboo skewers (for grilling shrimp on grill)

Flour tortillas or crisp taco shells (whichever you prefer)

Taco garnishes:

lettuce

avocado

salsa

cheese

sour cream

cilantro sprigs

Directions:

1. Marinate shrimp, peppers, and onion with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Marinate for at least 1 hour. (I marinated mine overnight.)

2. Spray grill with non stick spray or olive oil. Prep at high temperature. Arrange shrimp on bamboo skewers. Grill for 2 1/2 -3 minutes on each side. Grill the peppers and onion. You can just set them on the grill or use skewers. Peppers and onions should be grilled until nicely caramelized and tender. (So, we have to buy a new part for our grill so I used our George Foreman. It worked out great!)

3. Fill each tortilla or taco shell with some shrimp, peppers, and onions. Add a little lettuce, salsa, avocado, sour cream, cheese and cilantro. (Add or leave out any of the garnishes.) With these tacos, less is definitely more because you want the delicious flavor of the shrimp, peppers, and onions to come out.

Servings: 2-4

Adapted from: Simple, Seafood Summers Recipe Booklet

Chris' Outrageous Chocolate Cake from the Cheesecake Factory

All the layers of this heaven sent cake before frosting the edges.

Mmmmmm!!!!!

The frosted edition.

After digging in!

This is a little piece of heaven on earth for me! I love this cake from Cheesecake Factory. Maybe we should call it a big piece of heaven on earth because the cake is huge. It has eight layers. Yes, eight delicious layers. It's actually 4 layers repeated twice. What are these delicious layers you might ask? Here goes: Moist chocolate cake, creamy chocolate chip coconut cheesecake, chewy brownie, and toasted coconut pecan frosting. Oh my mouth is watering! So I searched and searched online for a copycat recipe for this dessert. I couldn't find one much to my dismay! That's when I decided to create my own. I was so happy with how it turned out! Now I don't have to pay $7.50 when I want a piece of this baby. The cake itself is easy to make. It just takes time because you have to freeze and refrigerate parts of it in order to assemble it. It is so worth it though! The cake is very similar to the Cheesecake Factory's. The big difference is that I put buttercream frosting around the edges of mine. The Cheesecake Factory has a different frosting around the outside. The buttercream frosting was fabulous.

Kimmy's Version of Chris' Outrageous Chocolate Cake from the Cheesecake Factory

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake Layer:
1 Box Mix of German Chocolate Cake

(Plus ingredients to make cake)

Brownie Layer:

1 Brownie Mix
(Plus ingredients to make brownies)

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cheesecake Layer:

2 8 oz. packages cream cheese

2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Coconut Pecan Frosting:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup butter, cubed

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1 lb. powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cube butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk (adjust to get to the right consistency)

Directions:

1. The Cake Layer

Make cake according to directions on box. Prepare 2 9 inch cake pans by putting wax paper in it and spraying it with cooking spray. Pour half the cake mix into each of the pans. Cook according to box mix for the 9 inch pans. Check with toothpick to make sure they're done. Cool. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. (You can wrap them in the pans or remove them from the pans and wrap them.)

2. The Brownie Layer

Make brownies according to directions on box. Prepare 2 9 inch cake pans by putting wax paper in it and spraying it with cooking spray. Pour half the brownie mix into each of the pans. Cook for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean at the degree specified on the brownie mix box. Cool. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. (You can wrap them in the pans or remove them from the pans and wrap them.)

3. The Cheesecake Layer

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together softened cream cheese, eggs, and sugar. Then add the coconut, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Prepare 2 9 inch springform pans by putting wax paper in it and spraying it with cooking spray. Pour half the cheesecake mix into each of the pans. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until middle is set. Remove from oven and let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

4. The Coconut Pecan Frosting Layer

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. (It should be thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.) Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency.

5. The Buttercream Frosting
Mix all ingredients until light and fluffy. Not too long or it will get too gooey.

Putting it all together:

I froze the cake and brownie layers overnight. The cheesecake was refrigerated overnight. The next day I made both the frostings. I leveled the chocolate cake with a cake leveler. If you don't have a leveler, just eyeball it. The first layer of the cake was the chocolate cake. Next the cheesecake. Then brownie. Then coconut pecan frosting. Repeat the layers: chocolate cake, cheesecake, brownie, coconut pecan frosting. Use the buttercream frosting around the sides. I left the cake out for 1/2 a day so the layers could settle together. Yummy, yummy, yummy in my tummy!

Linked to:  A Themed Baker's Sunday

Recipe Source:  This is my personal creation!

BBQ Chicken Ranch Spaghetti

I found this recipe and knew I had to try it. I love BBQ Chicken, and it sounded so easy. It was easy and delicious!

BBQ Shredded Chicken and Caramelized Red Onion Ranch Spaghetti
Adapted from Picky Palate

1 lb thin spaghetti noodles
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 Tablespoons dry Ranch Dressing Mix
3/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Shredded BBQ Chicken

Mozzarella Cheese (grated)

Parmesan Cheese (grated)

1. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Place olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. Saute red onions until softened and golden. Add cooked spaghetti to onions; mix and add dry Ranch Dressing seasoning and cilantro leaves. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Place noodles onto serving plates and top with warm shredded BBQ chicken. Garnish with cilantro leaf, shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and serve.