NewTree Chocolate Bars!

I recently found a chocolate company that I have fallen In love with! Newtree Chocolate bars are definitely worth every penny!

NEWTREE Belgian chocolate is about quality with an essential ingredient: FUN. Fresh, unique extracts for well-being; playful product names; a medley of flavors to tempt your mood. NEWTREE puts the fun in functional food.

With Flavors like Tranquility, Blush, Vigor, Sexy, Forgiveness and Rejoice you can definitely find the perfect bar for your mood! These chocolate bars are GMO-Free and boast 73% Cocoa in the dark chocolates as well as 33% in the milk chocolate bars. This probably is part of the explanation as to why you feel so great after eating one! Using only the finest of Belgian chocolates Newtree has been making a splash in the chocolate loving community!

I have been able to enjoy each and every one of these Delicious treats with my favorite being the Blush as I am a huge fan of Cherry everything! I have been scouring the Internet and the best place to get NewTree Chocolate Bars is here.

Stirrings Cocktail Mixers

I recently had the pleasure of trying some new cocktail mixers with some friends. A friend of mine brought in Stirrings Chocolate Peppermintini and I absoultely loved it! This mixers are perfect. Stirrings has really hit the nail on the head with their high quality all natural cocktail mixers! They are very easy to make only add your favorite liquour and shake or stir your way to the perfect party cocktail! Not only are their drink mixers fantastic but each mixer has its own rimmer which blends perfectly with the mixer. The chocolate Peppermintini has a crushed candy cane rimmer that makes for not only a great taste but a great presentation as well!

Pumpkin Spice Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is now one of my most favorite recipes! Not only is it quick and effortless to prepare, it tastes like it took all afternoon to make! It will definitely be a new addition to the Thanksgiving and Christmas menu. The pumpkin by itself is a relatively health squash. Not only does it contain beta carotene (which is believed to reduce some forms of cancer) it is also low in salt and contains no cholesterol! The frosting we put on top of this relatively health loaf of bread however, is not. So without further ado here are the recipes....

Pumpkin Bread

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

2 cup flour

2 tsp pumpkin spice

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 12 oz can pumpkin filling (Libby's works best)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 egg

1 egg white

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl blend pumpkin filling, sugar, brown sugar, milk, egg, egg white, and oil until well mixed. Then slowly add flour mixture 1 cup at a time until moist. Pour into a greased 9 by 5 loaf pan.

Bake 60 - 65 min.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz unsalted butter

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar in mixer. When mixture has become a soupy paste, add 2 tsp vanilla and whip on high for 2 min. ( This will make a deceptively large amount of frosting. I recommend cutting it in half and you will still have plenty to smother your bread with!)

Good Old Country Stuffing!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! This has to be one of my favorite holidays! Nothing is better then the gathering of family to give thanks for all of the great things that have happened in the past year! But even better then that is the fact that it is the one time of the year that you can stuff your face full of delectable treats and not feel guilty about doing it. This year I have been elected to bring the stuffing to the table. So I did a little looking and found this great Good Old Country Stuffing Recipe from The Food Network. Paula Dean hit the nail on the head with this one! Who can resist a great stuffing smothered in gravy?? This was a really simple recipe to make and took about 30 mins to prepare. If your not a big fan of adding rice to a stuffing (I am not) you can take it out and it still is great! Also make sure that you have an industrial sized bowl to do all the mixing in becuase you will need it! I wish all of you out there a happy thanksgiving and hope that your hearts and your stomachs are full!

Ingredients:

2 loaves oven-dried white bread (recommended: Pepperidge Farm)
2 cups cooked white rice
1 sleeve crushed saltines
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
2 cups chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
7 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 stick butter, melted Mushroom

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Crumble oven-dried bread into a large bowl. Add rice and saltines.

Cook sausage in a large skillet until it starts to brown. Add celery and onion and saute until transparent, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over bread and rice mixture. Add stock and mix well. Add salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Mix well. Add the beaten eggs and melted butter. Mix well.

Pour stuffing into a greased pan and bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Ice Cream Sundae Cake

So I know that I am a little late in getting this posted but there was definately a good reason for it. This week was my wife's birthday! So I thought I would do it right by making a great tasting cake for her after dinner treat! I know that she is a huge fan of the black raspberry ice cream and found that this recipe from Stonewall Kitchen. It is very easy to make (especially if you cheat like I did and buy the crumb crust). Everyone loved it and it tasted fantastic if I do say so myself. Definately make sure that you find a black raspberry chocolate chunk ice cream, it definately gives it the WOW factor! It is a little hard to find but I got mine at Tom Thumb. Also putting the raspberries on top really allows you to make it seem as though you spend all day making it even if you didn't! I also appologize for not having my own photos but I was running short on time as I was trying to surprise her before she got home from work. So without further ado here is the reicpe.

Ingredients For the Crust:

2 1/4 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs*
9 Tbsp. butter, melted
6 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

For the Cake:

1.75 or 2 quarts ice cream, such as black raspberry chocolate chunk or your favorite to complement the Raspberry Liqueur Hot Fudge Sauce
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Raspberry Liqueur Hot Fudge Sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9” spring form pan with wax paper.
For the crust combine the chocolate graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and confectioners’ sugar. Mix until uniform. Reserve ¾ cups of the crumb mixture for the sides of the cake. Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared spring form pan. Bake in preheated oven 8-10 minutes. Remove and cool completely.

Allow the ice cream to soften about 15 minutes. Spread ice cream over crust making sure that the top of the ice cream layer is smooth. Place pan in the freezer for at least 3 hours making sure the ice cream is frozen solid again before putting on the next layer.

Stir the jar of Stonewall Kitchen Raspberry Liqueur Hot Fudge Sauce. If it is not pourable, heat it in the microwave or on the stovetop in a small saucepan. Before pouring the sauce over the top of the ice cream, make sure it is room temperature and will not melt the ice cream. Smooth the sauce over the entire top of the ice cream layer and return the pan to the freezer. This dessert can be kept in the freezer covered 3-4 days before serving.

Decorate the top of the ice cream cake with raspberries just before serving. Remove from spring form pan (making sure you remove the wax paper) and place on a serving dish. Press the reserved crumb mixture onto the sides of the cake and serve immediately.

Recipe Tips *Crumbs can be made by using a rolling pin or food processor fitted with a metal blade to crush the graham crackers

Poached Pears

Since the air here in Dallas has finally hinted that fall has arrived I wanted to make something that was fitting to the season. I know that we will soon be busy shopping and cooking away as we prepare for the gathering of family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. I wanted to try out a new Poached Pear recipe I had found whilst cruising the net the other day. I found the recipe for Poached Pears Here. I feel it is a great recipe because it has a fairly simple ingredient base, is not overly difficult to make, and has endless presentation abilities. Which makes this great for the holidays! I did find it a little time intensive with having to baste every 10 minutes but I think it will time nicely with the turkey if you have double ovens such as I do. The taste is extravagant and a perfect compliment to a well prepared meal. You may also want to pair it with some ice cream as an added treat, but I went with the simplistic approach and drizzled on some chocolate syrup!















Serves: 6

Ingredients

6 small Anjou pears, peeled and cored (make sure stem stays on)

1/2 cup Stonewall Kitchen Black Cherry Cognac Sauce

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp. sugar Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the Stonewall Kitchen Black Cherry Cognac Sauce, water and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Place pears in a baking dish upright. Pour the Black Cherry Cognac Sauce over the pears and cover pan with foil. Bake the pears 45 minute, or until they are tender, basting every 10 minutes or so with the sauce. Serve warm with sauce drizzled over each pear.

Bittersweet Chocolate Rocky Road Bars

I figured I would start this blog out with one of my favorite desserts to make. They are quick and easy and taste great! A perfectly delicious snack or finishing touch to any meal! When they are made they make around 9 good sized bars and each is a little bit messy but hey, isn't that what a dessert bar is supposed to be?? I have found this great recipe posted here.

Serves: 9-12 bars

Ingredients
Bar:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 tablespoons half and half or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Directions
Bar:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a 9" x 9" baking pan.
Place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter. Process until the mixture is like coarse meal. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla. Blend until the dough forms clumps. Stop several times during this process to scrape down sides of bowl.Pat dough evenly over the bottom of the greased pan. Bake for 20 minutes until golden on top and brown on the edges. Cool on a rack.

Topping:
Warm jar of Stonewall Kitchen Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce.
Spread a thin layer on top of cooked cookie bottom. (Use enough to allow nuts to stick to cookie.)Sprinkle with chopped nuts, then marshmallows, and finally coconut.
Drizzle remainder of sauce over the top of the bars in a crosshatch design.
Allow bars to set until chocolate sauce firms up.