Recipe Archive | Page 2 of 5 | Bake With a Grain of Salt

Yellow Butter Cake & Chocolate Fudge Frosting

A yellow butter cake – with a twist that keeps it soft! Includes a delicious chocolate fudge frosting recipe. Perfect for any birthday, party, or special occasion!

Few combinations are better than Yellow Butter Cake & Chocolate Fudge Frosting! The thing is, and I think I’ve mentioned it in a different recipe, that I don’t actually prefer to make butter cakes. My favorite cakes are usually oil based, or more oil than butter. But butter cakes are all the rage and I do occasionally like to enjoy them. So here’s my take on an improved Yellow Butter Cake & a Chocolate Fudge Frosting recipe.

When it comes to making cakes and frostings you’ll often hear or read that you should “cream” one or several ingredients together. The creaming process allows for more air and fluffiness in your cake. In this recipe, you will be using a reverse creaming method. This will ensure tenderness and evenness to the crumb of your cake.

To reverse cream, you want to mix all of your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl. Mix your buttermilk, eggs, egg yolk, extract, and oil into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl with the dry ingredients, add in your room temperature butter a few tablespoons at a time and mix thoroughly before adding more. The final mixture should look like wet sand. Add the liquid in two halves. Add the batter to your cake pans and bake. This recipe will bake either 3 6 inch pans or 2 8 inch pans.

The chocolate fudge frosting recipe is half buttercream and half room temperature ganache. It’s silky and just sweet enough with a rich chocolate flavor.

Make each and whip together for the final fudge frosting! Use some milk to adjust the consistency of your frosting. I made mine a little thicker, with less milk because I needed to cake to sit through a 40 minute Texas summer car ride!

Frost and stack your cake once the cake layers cool fully.

Add sprinkles or any decorations to spruce up the cake!

Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

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Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

A yellow butter cake – with a twist! Includes a delicious chocolate fudge frosting recipe. Perfect for any birthday, party, or special occasion!

Prep Time25

Cook Time25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 -16 people

Calories: 350kcal

Equipment

3, 6-inch round cake pans or 2, 8-inch round cake pans

Ingredients

Yellow Butter Cake

1⅓ Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1¼ tsp Baking Powder
⅓ tsp Kosher Salt
½ Cup Unsalted Butter, room temp, cubed
1 Cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs, large
1 Egg Yolk
2½ tsp Vanilla Extract, or bean paste
¼ Cup Vegetable Oil

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
¼+⅛ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1½ Tbsp Milk maybe more or less
1¼ Cup Powdered Sugar maybe more or less
⅛ tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
4 ounces Semi Sweet Chocolate
4 ounces Heavy Cream

Instructions

Yellow Butter Cake

Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking pans with parchment and nonstick spray
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil.
In the bowl with the dry ingredients, toss in the butter a few cubes at a time while beating thoroughly. Once all the butter is incorporated it should look like damp sand.
Gradually add in the liquid until the batter is fluffy and fully incorporated.
Split the batter evenly between your baking tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and let cool fully before frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Warm the heavy cream until medium heat and pour over roughly chopped semi sweet chocolate. Let sit for a while and then mix until glossy. This is the process of making chocolate ganache. Let cool in the fridge.
Beat the softened butter until fluffy.
Add in the cocoa powder, half of the powdered sugar, and kosher salt and mix until fully combined.
Add in half of the milk, the vanilla extract and the rest of the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.
Once the ganache is cool, add it into the frosting and beat until fully combined.
At this stage, add more powdered sugar or milk depending on the consistency of frosting you want.
Frost the cake to your desired thickness and enjoy!
I recommend letting the cake sit with the frosting for at least an hour before serving.

Spicy Sweet Corn Disks

Spicy seasoning for sweet corn disks sauteed with onions and a dash of lemon juice! The perfect snack or accompaniment for a main entree. A 10 minute dish!

So corn really is one of my favorite foods in the entire world. I could eat corn in any form, from bread to creamed to steamed and anything inbetween. These spicy sweet corn disks are super easy to make and full of flavor. There is no added sweetness, just the sweet corn!

Aside from the spices, there are four main ingredients: corn, onion, lemon, and cilantro.

Take a medium pan and sautee the onion until translucent and add the spices. Stir well.

Then toss the corn in and add water to cook and steam the corn.

Add the cilantro and lemon just before serving and enjoy!

Check out some of my other side dishes if you liked this spicy sweet corn disks recipe!

Follow me on facebook and instagram!

Some tips: This recipe is super simple and will only take about ten minutes to cook but it’s best to ensure that your corn disks are no more than 3 but no less that 2 kernels thick.

You might need to use a mallet to help you cut the corn if the cob core is too thick. If you want you can also make this a corn salad and use off the cob sweet corn with the same seasonings! It’ll be a great burrito bowl or salad topping!

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Spicy Sweet Corn Disks

Spicy seasoning for sweet corn disks sauteed with onions and a dash of lemon juice! The perfect snack or accompaniment for a main entree. A 10 minute dish!

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Calories: 110kcal

Ingredients

2 Whole Sweet Corn Cobs, sliced every two to three kernels
½ Yellow Onion, diced
2-3 sprigs Cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
½ tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Chili Powder
¼ tsp Cumin
Juice of quarter lemon
¼ Cup Water

Instructions

Prep your onions, cilantro, lemon, and corn. The corn may need a mallet to help with the cutting of them.
Saute onions in the olive oil until lightly translucent.
Add the chili powder, salt, and cumin and stir properly.
Add the corn, stir well, sprinkle in the water, and cover immediately. Let the corn cook and steam for about five minutes.
Stir the corn again and toss in the cilantro and lemon juice just before serving.
Enjoy! You can even lightly drizzle some sour cream on there if you want!

Extreme Fudge Brownies

Cocoa-ey, chewy, soft, and a little salty! Extreme Fudge Brownies are the best homemade brownies ever. Enjoy with milk or a scoop of icecream!

If you like rich, chewy, salty brownies then this recipe for extreme fudge brownies is perfect for you!

Some recipes for brownies require chocolate and some require cocoa powder. Mine is a cocoa powder one!

I’m never fully satisfied with full oil or full butter brownies so I developed this recipe to capture the best qualities of each. Butter is a rich flavor but oil is what gives brownies that really gooey texture. That’s why boxed brownies are often the simplest and fudgiest!

Thoroughly whip the melted butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk or beat until the mixture becomes light in color and fluffy.

Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

Then add in the oil and mix until fully incorporated.

This recipe for extreme fudge brownies is open for you favorite add ins! A few suggestions are walnuts, chocolate chunks, caramel chunks, peanut butter chips!

Bake in a 7 x 7 or 8 x 8 square pan!

Cut brownies with a greased knife and use chopping motions instead of sliding motions to prevent the brownies from sticking and crumbling!

If you want the same triangle pieces that I have. Cut the brownies into four quadrants. Then cut each quadrant with two diagonal slices. You’ll get 16 triangular slices of these extreme fudge brownies.

Check out some of my other chocolate recipes!

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Extreme Fudge Brownies

Cocoa-ey, chewy, soft! Extreme Fudge Brownies are the best homemade brownies ever. Enjoy with milk or a scoop of icecream!

Prep Time10

Cook Time18

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16 pieces

Calories: 130kcal

Ingredients

4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Cup White Sugar
2 Eggs, Large
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
½ Cup All-Purpose Flour
½ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ tsp Kosher Salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Whip the melted butter and sugar together until properly combined.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and thoroughly whip until the mixture turns a little fluffy and light.
Fold in the flour, salt and cocoa powder. The mixture will be a little dry.
Then add the oil and mix thoroughly.
Spread the brownie batter into a parchment paper lined 8 x 8 pan and bake for 18 – 20 minutes.
Once fully cooled, use a greased knife and cut the brownies!

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Perfectly soft chicken topped with grilled vegetables, cheese, pico, and more! This Grilled Chicken Fajitas recipe is perfect for a family dinner and includes recipes for some toppings!

Grilled chicken fajitas are one of my favorite, go to, family dinner recipes!

It’s easy to put together and make a large batch of. This recipe is perfect for a dinner of 4 or a dinner of 2 with perfect leftovers!

The chicken marinade is pretty simple. If you’ve seen some of my other Mexican recipes, you’ll see that my chicken marinade is pretty similar. It’s what I think is the best all purpose chicken seasoning.

You can grill your choice of bell peppers, all one color or a mix of them. Red onions are the best for grilling onions. They are a little sweet, a little crunchy, and develop an awesome flavor.

This is a super basic and simple pico recipe that only requires four recipes. If you want, you can hit it with a squeeze of lime!

If you want, you can use regular sour cream. But I never have it at home and I always have yogurt on hand. I wanted to make a healthier alternative. So it’s just yogurt, salt, and lemon or lime juice.

Try to get the best quality, restaurant style flour tortillas. Heat them up on a pan to get the warm and pliable.

Top your grilled chicken fajitas with grilled veggies, pico de gallo, salsa, mexican cheese, sour cream, avocado, and salsa. All of the above or some of the above!

Check out my recipe for Guacamole!

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Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Perfectly soft chicken topped with grilled vegetables, cheese, pico, and more! This Grilled Chicken Fajitas recipe is perfect for a family dinner and includes recipes for some toppings!

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4 Servings

Calories: 450kcal

Ingredients

Grilled Chicken

2 Large Chicken Breasts, boneless skinless
½ tsp Mexican Chili Powder
½ tsp Kosher Salt
1 Clove Garlic, grated
½ tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
½ Tbsp Olive Oil

Grilled Veggies

2 Bell Peppers (any color), sliced I used red and green
1 Large Red Onion, sliced
1½ tsp Olive Oil
½ tsp Mexican Chili Powder
½ tsp Kosher Salt

Pico de Gallo

½ Red Onion, diced
1 Roma Tomato, seeded and diced
2 Sprigs Cilantro, diced
¼ Jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

Home Made Sour Cream Alternative

½ Cup Yogurt, full fat
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Pinch Kosher Salt

Other Toppings

Flour Tortillas
Mexican Cheese
Avocado, sliced
Salsa of your choice

Instructions

Grilled Chicken

Cut the chicken breasts laterally so that you have four flat chicken fillets (Butterfly the chicken all the way through)
Marinate the chicken with the seasonings above for about an hour.
Add a dash of olive oil to the pan and cook the chicken.
Grill the chicken (preferably on a cast iron pan). Only flip once to ensure that the chicken is soft.
Let the chicken cool and slice it into thin strips.

Grilled Veggies

Add a dash of oil to the pan and saute/grill the veggies until a little soft but still crunchy.

Pico de Gallo

Mix the tomato, onions, cilantro, and jalapenos.

Home Made Sour Cream Alternative

Mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, and salt.

Assembly

Warm up some flour tortillas in a pan.
Top with your desired assortment of chicken, veggies, and toppings.

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is a perfect mix between the classic American strawberry shortcake and angel food cake. Paired with fresh strawberries and light and fluffy homemade whipped cream! Best served 24 hours after assembly!

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is my favorite go-to party cake. It’s a crowd pleaser, especially among adult crowds.

(this cake recipe is being posted on my birthday because it’s one of my more favorite cakes in the entire world!!)

It’s best served after being set overnight, as the cream, cake, and fruits get a good time to mix flavors.

The recipe doesn’t require anything special as far as ingredients go. It’s all about the technique!

Cake

You’ll want to separate your egg yolks from the whites. When you do this, make sure none of your yolks leak into the whites. Any fat in the egg white will cause it to have trouble while whipping up.

Once the egg white reach a frothy state, begin to drizzle in the sugar while you keep whipping.

Whip until you reach medium to stiff peaks and the egg whites are white and glossy.

Mix together the egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Grab a spatula and fold half of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Once that is fully incorporated, add the remaining egg whites into the mixture and fold in.

You want to be gentle when you do this and mix as little as possible. We are relying on the fluffy egg whites to keep this cake soft, the more you mix the more you pull air out of the egg whites.

Next, add the flour, baking powder, and baking powder and gently fold. Finally, add the milk and oil.

At this stage, you have two options. You can bake the cake in two even layers, or three. I would recommend three layers in an 8 x 8 in square pan. But 2 layers on a 8×8 works as well.

Bake at 320 for 14 mins and cool fully before you assemble.

Whipped Cream

This is a rather simple, straight forward homemade whipped cream recipe! All you’ll need is sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.

Whip the heavy cream and slowly add the sugar. Once you get to the 3 tbsp stage, taste the cream and see how much sweeter you want it to be. I prefer 5 tbsp. Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and mix well.

Assembly

Take your first layer of the cake (you can level your cakes if you want to / they didn’t rise evenly) and add a layer of the cream. Add 1/2 of the strawberries and add more cream to cover the berries. You should have used 1/3 of the cream.

Repeat the same assembly for the next layer using the remaining strawberries and another 1/3 of the cream!

Spread the remaining cream (reserve a small bit to fill in any gaps) on the top layer of the cake. At this stage your cake will look like this.

Trim about 1 cm off of the sides of the cake to expose the cross section of strawberries. Use any leftover cream to fill any gaps.

Save your trimmings and any extra cream! It’s still good to eat!

Cover and store in the fridge overnight for the flavors to fully develop! Always serve your Japanese Strawberry shortcake cold / chilled.

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Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Prep Time20

Cook Time14

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 10 – 12 slices

Calories: 215kcal

Equipment

8 x 8 Baking Pan (one is fine but two is preferable)

Ingredients

1 Lbs Fresh Whole Strawberries

Cake

4 Large Eggs
⅔ Cup White Sugar
1½ tsp Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Milk
¾ Cup All Purpose Flour

Whipped Cream

2 Cups Heavy Cream
1½ tsp Vanilla Extract
3-5 Tbsp White Sugar
Pinch Kosher Salt

Instructions

Cake

Preheat the oven to 320°.
Separate eggs whites and yolks (make sure you don't get any yolk in the white or the recipe won't work!)
Whip the egg whites and slowly drizzle the sugar into the whites until they reach a medium to stiff peak consistency.
Mix together the vanilla extract and egg yolks.
Fold in the egg whites into the yolks by folding half of the egg white mixture into the yolks, then fold the remaining the whites into egg mixture. Be gentle as you do this, you don't want to deflate the mixture.
Fold the all purpose flour and baking powder into the egg mixture gently.
Then mix in the vegetable oil and milk.
Line the 8 x 8 baking sheet with parchment paper and pour 1/3 of the batter into each of the trays.
This is a 3 layer cake, I had to bake the cake three times but the process will speed up if you have two of the 8 x 8 sheets. You want 1/3 of the batter in each go in the oven.
Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, the cake bakes very quickly but will still be a little soft and pale so take it to the 12 minute mark before you pull it from the oven. Let it take on a very pale golden color before you remove it.
Let the cakes cool fully before you ice and stack them.

Whipped Cream

Whip the heavy cream and slowly add sugar in until the cream takes on a thick consistency. Taste the cream once you get to the 3 tbsp make and add more if you want some.
Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and set aside while the cakes cool and you prep your strawberries.

Assembly

Rinse and thoroughly dry your strawberries. Cut the tops off and slice the regular sized ones in half and the large ones into quarters. Reserve few of your best looking strawberries for the top but don't cut them.
The cream needs to be split evenly between 3 sections, so be mindful as you frost the cake. The strawberries will be split between two.
Place down one layer of the cake and spread some of the cream on cake. Add half of the strawberries and spread more of the cream on top of the strawberries. Spread the cream to the edge of the cake. You should have used 1/2 of the cut strawberries and 1/3 of the cream.
Add the second layer of cake and repeat the above step.
Add the final layer of the cake and spread the remaining cream on the cake. You don't need to spread any cream on the side of the cake as we will be trimming the edges.
Once the top layer of cream is applied, trim about 1 cm of the cake off on each side so you can see perfect layers and cross sections of the cake on all four sides.
(Save the trimmings and enjoy them with any of the leftover cream!)
Place the remaining whole strawberries on the top of the cake and serve the next day. Don't use cut strawberries on the top because they will leak juices and mess up the cream.
This cake is best served after sitting and soaking for 24 hours!

Creamy Indian Chicken Curry

Creamy Indian Chicken Curry that requires no cream! A perfect introduction into authentic south Indian cooking that uses nuts to make it creamy! Enjoy with rice, roti, or naan!

Okay, so creamy Indian chicken curry is a super simple and easy introduction to Indian cooking. It’s the first Indian recipe that my fiance learned to cook from my mom! It’s not SUPER authentic but not super un authentic either. It utilizes authentic techniques and flavors.

The recipe is straightforward once you understand certain basic steps and concepts.

Overall, you need to have the right spices and seasonings. That means you should get Indian Chili powder, specifically. Any turmeric, any garam masala, and any coriander powder works fine.

Below, you’ll see three other very crucial ingredients to this recipe.

The first is a ginger – garlic paste. This paste is just 1 part ginger 1 part garlic blended into a paste. We make it in large batches and store it in the fridge (it tends to turn a little green as it technically ferments). It smells heavenly when being made and when being cooked. If you don’t want to make and store this, you can just grate 1 part each of the ingredients to make the paste on the spot.

You’ll also need to get whole clove. You can find it in the Mexican aisle at most grocery stores. Don’t get ground clove, you’ll need to roast the clove for good flavor.

Finally, you’ll need cinnamon sticks. You can find these at the regular seasoning aisle but they are sometimes cheaper and better quality in the Mexican aisle as well.

Microwave the nuts in a bowl of water and let sit for at least 30 mins. Then peel the almonds (if you didn’t already get prepeeled almonds.)

When you blend the nuts and tomatoes, add a little bit of water. The best way to describe the consistency is like a smoothie bowl.

Having the right ingredients is most of the work, but there are a few more tips and tricks in the method of cooking that can help.

Once the oil is heated, cook the cinnamon and clove until fragrant and they begin to turn dark.

You want to cook the onions before you cook the ginger garlic paste or it will burn. Cook the onions until they are translucent and then add the ginger garlic paste.

Cook until the paste is fragrant and no longer feels raw.

Add the chili powder, turmeric, salt, and coriander powder. Add the chicken and cook.

Once the chicken is cooked, add the tomato-nut paste and stir. Add the water and stir. Add the garam masala

Cook and then taste. Add salt if you feel that it needs some. If you want it spicier add a little more chili powder.

Add a handful of chopped cilantro and stir.

Serve hot!

This creamy Indian chicken curry can be store in the fridge for a few days and reheated in the microwave or on the stove.

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Creamy Indian Chicken Curry

Creamy Indian Chicken Curry that requires no cream! A perfect introduction into authentic south Indian cooking that uses nuts to make it creamy! Enjoy with rice, roti, or naan!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 8 Servings

Calories: 200kcal

Ingredients

1.5 Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenders, diced
⅓ Cup Almonds (skin on off if you can, but on is fine too)
⅓ Cup Cashews
4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1 Yellow Onion, diced
4-5 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 ½ inch Sticks of Cinnamon
4-5 Cloves
1½ Tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste 1 part peeled ginger, 1 part peeled garlic blended into paste.
2 tsp Chili Powder Indian chili powder
½ tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Coriander powder
3-4 tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Garam Masala
6 Sprigs Cilantro

Instructions

Microwave cashews and almonds in a small bowl while submerged in water for 30-45 seconds, then leave them to soak for 30 minutes.
Peel the skin from the almonds then set aside. (still soak the nuts even if you’re using pre peeled almonds)
Finely dice 1 whole yellow onion and cut the tomatoes into around eight chunks per tomato.
Blend the tomatoes, nuts, and a small amount of water into a fine paste for around 1 to 1 and a half minutes on high. (Should be a smoothie bowl consistency)
Put the oil into a pot on medium heat, wait until warmed and add the cinnamon and cloves; Cook until dark brown and fragrant.
Add the onions and cook until translucent, next add the ginger-garlic paste. Cook until the paste is fragrant.
Add the chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder, salt and cook for an additional minute.
Add the chicken and stir to coat; cook the chicken for about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in the tomato/nut mixture and stir. Add 1 cup water and garam masala. Cook.
At this point you can season to taste, add salt if you feel like it needs it and if you feel like it isn't spicy enough then add some more chili powder.
Cook until some oil floats to the top. Add chopped cilantro and serve!

Simple Sweet Mango Lassi

This Easy Mango Lassi recipe is creamy, not too sweet, and only requires four simple ingredients! Full of flavor and a sweet Indian treat for the warm weather!

This simple sweet mango lassi recipe is easy and only requires four ingredients!

This drink is a mango version of the classic, plain yogurt lassi. This drink originates from India and has a yogurt base with fruits, spices, or salts blended in. The classic, plain yogurt one is paired with spicy food to soothe the stomach.

The mango one is a sweet and slightly tart dessert!

All you’ll need is a blender or an immersion blender as far as supplies go.

This recipe *can* be recreated with fresh mangoes or frozen mangoes but the sweetness level and availability of those varies too much. Try to get mango pulp as that will create the most consistent texture, flavor, and sweetness.

The type of whole milk yogurt you use will also affect the recipe. So use the recipe as a guide and adjust based off of your flavor preferences. This recipe uses Dannon While Milk Plain Yogurt.

If you find that the consistency is too thick, you can add a little water at a time. Adjust the sugar as you add more water and yogurt.

If you make this a day ahead of time and store it, the liquids from the yogurt may separate. Just give it a stir and enjoy!

Check out some of my other Indian recipes!

Follow my page on Facebook and Instagram!

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Simple Sweet Mango Lassi

This Simple Sweet Mango Lassi recipe is creamy, not too sweet, and only requires four simple ingredients! Full of flavor and a sweet Indian treat for the warm weather!

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Course: Dessert, Drinks

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 2 8 oz servings

Calories: 195kcal

Ingredients

1 Cup Plain Yogurt Dannon, Whole Milk
1 Cup Mango Pulp
4 tsp White Sugar
Pinch Kosher Salt

Instructions

Blend 1 cup of plain yogurt with 1 cup of mango pulp.
Add white sugar and a pinch of salt and blend thoroughly!
Chill it in the refrigerator if it's not cold enough and stir if it separates a bit.
Enjoy!

Enjoy your simple sweet mango lassi!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy to make and tasty Creamy Chicken Enchiladas! With corn, black beans, cheese, chicken, and spinach. Includes an enchilada sauce recipe!

These easy, creamy chicken enchiladas are cheesy, soft, and full of flavor! This recipe even includes a recipe for yummy enchilada sauce!

If you have been looking at some of my other chicken recipes on the blog, you may have noticed that I really prefer using chicken tenders. I just really like how, well, tender they are but less fatty than chicken thighs. You can swap the tenders out for breasts in this recipe but the cook time in the sauce will be increased!

You can make this a vegetarian recipe but removing the chicken altogether!

If you are using chicken, you’ll get the best flavor by cooking it in the sauce!

The enchilada stuffing is pretty customizable but my base is always chicken, black beans, spinach, corn, cheese, onions, cilantro, jalapenos and my secret ingredient: cream cheese!

You can use ricotta or extra regular cheese if you want but the cream cheese is so thick and rich that the flavor is the best!

To make sure the tortillas don’t break when you roll them, you want to warm them up on a pan a few at a time so they are pliable. For about 14 – 16 enchiladas, you want to scoop about 1/3 of the stuffing into every tortilla.

The amount of enchilada sauce made for this recipe is the perfect amount to keep your enchiladas moist. The best ratio is a third of the quantity of the sauce goes on the bottom of the tray and the final two thirds go on top of the tortillas. Then sprinkle some more cheese on it.

Then cover and bake.

Enjoy the creamy chicken enchiladas with slices of avocado and fresh cilantro!

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Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy to make and tasty Creamy Chicken Enchiladas! With corn, black beans, cheese, chicken, and spinach. Includes an enchilada sauce recipe!

Prep Time40

Cook Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 14 – 16 Enchiladas

Calories: 184kcal

Ingredients

.75-.8 lbs Boneless skinless chicken tenders
1½ Tbsp OIive Oil
1 Large clove Garlic, grated
1 tsp Cumin divided
1½ tsp Mexican Chili Powder divided
1 tsp Kosher Salt divided
29 ounces Tomato Sauce Hunt's no salt added
¾ Cup Water divided
⅓ Cup Onion, diced
⅓ Cup Corn
⅓ Cup Frozen Thawed Spinach water squeezed out
⅓ Cup Black Beans can, drained
½ Jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
2 ounce Cream Cheese, full fat
½ Cup Mexican Cheese more to top with
14-16 Small corn tortillas
6-8 sprigs Cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Heat up the olive oil in the in a pot and add the chicken, grated garlic, ½ tsp of cumin, ½ tsp chili powder, and ½ tsp of salt.
Cook until chicken is seared and add the tomato sauce, ½ cup of water, ½ tsp of salt, 1 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp cumin.
Cook until chicken is tender and about to fall apart, remove chikcen and set aside.
Add another ¼ cup of water and simmer with lid on while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a large bowl, add ⅓ cup each of corn, frozen thawed (drained) spinach, and black beans (drained), chopped cilantro, jalapeno, and onion.
Shred the chicken and add it to the bowl.
Mix 2 ounces of cream cheese and ½ cup of shredded mexican cheese to the large bowl and mix thoroughly.
Pre heat the oven to 350°
Warm up the tortillas two at a time on a pan to make them flexible.
Scoop about ⅓ cup of the stuffing onto the tortilla and shape it into the center, lengthwise and roll it up (refer to photos)
In a baking dish, line the bottom of it with some of the enchilada sauce. (this applies if you're using multiple dishes or just one , but you want about 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom and 2/3 to go on top of the tortillas)
Place the stuffed tortillas in the baking dish (assemble them however you like), top with enchilada sauce and add cheese on top.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a few more minutes if the cheese on top isn't fully melted.
Enjoy with some mexican rice and some sliced avocados!

2 Bite S’mores Cups

Made with puff pastry, ganache, and marshmallows. These 2 Bite S’mores Cups have the perfect balance between semi sweet chocolate and browned and baked marshmallows. Can be made before a party and served crunchy and gooey!

S’mores are one of my most favorite desserts in the whole world. But I don’t always have access to a charcoal grill or a fire pit! I wanted to make a way I could eat s’mores more regularly and maybe even up the flavor of the treat. Enter 2 Bite S’mores Cups.

The recipe utilizes puff pastry and homemade chocolate ganache.

There’s a simple order to making this recipe, you want to make the ganache while the pastry sheets are thawing and then prep the pastry sheets while the ganache is resting.

Take the puff pastry out of the freezer and set aside to thaw. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put into a bowl (if using a chocolate bar) or place the chocolate chips in a bowl. In a small saucepan warm up the heavy cream to a low simmer. Let it warm up thoroughly but don’t let it boil. Take off the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let the mixture rest before you stir.

Cut the puff pastry into 3 x 3 squares and then flatten them out with either the palm of your hand or with a rolling pin. Spray mini cup cake tins with non stick spray and line each cup with the pastry pieces.

Refrigerate your pastry cups while you finish the ganache. The ganache will start off chunky but with constant stirring, it will become silky and smooth. Don’t give up!

Put the ganache aside and bake the puff pastry in a 400 degree preheated oven for 14 – 15 minutes.

They’re going to puff up and lose a bit of their cup shape.

Use a 1 tbsp measuring cup to squish down the pastry so it retains its cup shape.

Fill the pastry with about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the ganache. From here there are few options. You can either use full size marshmallows or cut them in half. Or, you can use mini marshmallows. For these photos, I made some with full size marshmallows and some with them cut in half.

Whether or not you do full or half size, they’re going to puff like crazy as they bake. They only need to be in the 400 degree oven for about 3 minutes.

As soon as they come out of the oven they’re going to sink as they cool.

The photo below shows how the full size and half size look after cooling.

Use a butter knife or offset spatula to help you remove the cups after they cool. It will be a little tricky and sticky but the cooking spray will help.

2 Bite S’mores Cups can be made a day ahead of time and can be stored in an airtight container after fully cooling. They may need to be toasted right before eating if they pastry is a little soggy. Enjoy!

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2 Bite S’mores Cups

Made with puff pastry, ganache, and marshmallows. These 2 Bite S'mores Cups have the perfect balance between semi sweet chocolate and browned and baked marshmallows. Can be made before a party and served crunchy and gooey!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 Cups

Calories: 125kcal

Equipment

mini cup cake tins

Ingredients

Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate bar or chips
4 ounces Heavy Cream

S'mores Cups

2 Sheets Puff Pastry
24 Marshmallows regular sized, or a bag of mini marshmallows

Instructions

Chocolate Ganache

Heat up the heavy cream in a small sauce pan until warmed.
Pour the warm heavy cream over a bowl of chopped semi sweet chocolate or chips. Let sit for a few minutes.
After a few minutes, stir the mixture. It will go from a chunky thick mixture to a glossy silky mixture. Set aside while you prepare the puff pastry.

2 Bite S'mores Cup

Preheat the oven to 400°.
Unwrap the thawed puff pastry and cut 3 x 3 inch squares. Flatten the puff pastry with your hands or with a rolling pin. You'll want 24 of these squares.
Spray the mini cupcake tins with a non stick spray (this is very important) and don't wipe the spray off of the flat top of the pans.
Place each square of the puff pastry in a mini cupcake slot and tuck into the slot. It's okay for the edges of the pastry to stick out.
If you have two tins, place the first one in the fridge while you prep the second one. If you have one tin, place in the fridge for 10 minutes after it's prepped.
After they chill, bake the pastry cups for 15 minutes at 400°.
Remove them from the oven and let them cool in the pan for a few minutes.
Take a tablespoon measurer and squish down the center of the pastry. Be gentle, you don't want to break or crush the pastry.
Fill each cup with about 2 tespoons of the chocolate ganace.
If you want an overflowing, gooey s'mores cup then place one whole marshmallow standing on top of the ganache. You can cut the marshmallow in half if you want. (or use a spoonful of minimarshmallows)
Bake in the 400° oven for about 3 minutes. The marshmallow will rise a lot and then fall as they cool.
Let cool for at least 5 minutes before you try to remove them from the tins.
Take a butter knife of small offset spatula to help you scoop the cups out of tin. Be gentle!
Storage: place in an airtight container and enjoy within a day or two of baking. Refrigerate if you want to store longer and toast before you eat.
If you happen to have any ganache left over you can store it in the freezer until next use!

Bread Bonda (Fried Potato Balls)

Bread Bonda is an Indian recipe for fried balls stuffed with potato, onion, and cilantro! Easy to make with household ingredients.

Bread Bonda are these fried potato balls that my moms aunt used to make her growing up. It’s called bread bonda because they are potato balls wrapped in white bread and shallow fried to crispy perfection!

I know, I know, the idea of taking white bread, slightly wetting it and frying it doesn’t sound that great but it’s not that different from croutons!

Boil whole, medium sized gold potatoes (2 pounds of them) with the skin on until they can be pierced with a fork. Peel the skin off after you drain and cool them and crush them with a fork. You want them to be crumbly and a little chunky.

Mix the potatoes with the salt, chili powder, grated ginger, diced onions, and chopped cilantro.

Make sure to use red onion for this recipe, they stay crispy and add a great balance to the creaminess of gold potatoes.

Roll the potato into ping pong sized balls, you’ll get about 20 of them.

Take a slice of bread for each potato ball you have and cut the crusts off. Then flatten them with your hand or a rolling pin.

Here comes the slightly tricky part: wrapping the potato balls in the bread.

If you get a presliced loaf of white bread (think Mrs Baird’s or Sara Lee) the size of the slices should be just large enough for you to wrap the potato balls.

Generously wet your hands and pat the water onto the bread slice to get it slightly wet. This will help you mold the bread around the potato balls. Bring the four corners of the bread together and wet your hand once more. Use your wet hands to help you seal the edges of the bread around the balls. Don’t be afraid to keep using water if you need to. It’s okay for the bread to be damp, you just don’t want it to be soggy. (refer to the photo above)

In a small, deep pan on medium heat prepare 2 cups of canola oil for frying.

Keep turning them as they brown. They’ll hit a beautiful golden brown but they won’t be done yet. The first photo below shows that stage but the second photo will indicate that they’re done.

Place the balls on a draining rack or on a paper towel.

My favorite way to each bread bonda is with ketchup or Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce!

You can make the entire batch of bonda all at once or you can store the potato filling in the fridge for up to a week!

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5 from 1 vote

Bread Bonda (Fried Potato Balls)

Bread Bonda is an Indian recipe for fried balls stuffed with potato, onion, and cilantro! Easy to make with household ingredients.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 20 Balls

Calories: 150kcal

Ingredients

2 pounds Gold Potatoes
½ Red Onion, diced
5-6 Sprigs Cilantro, finely chopped
½ Tbsp Ginger, finely grated
½ tsp Chili Powder
½ tsp Kosher Salt
20 slices White Bread Mrs Baird's Large White Bread
2 Cups Canola (for frying)

Instructions

Boil potatoes with skin on until they can be pierced with a fork (don't overboil or they will be too mushy, boil them just until they can be pierced and no longer)
Drain and peel the potatoes.
Take a fork and lightly mashed (crumble) the potatoes. Refer to the photos in the post.
Mix in the ginger, onions, chili powder, salt, and cilantro. You want the potatoes to still be somewhat chunky.
Roll the potato mixture into ping pong sizes balls. You'll get about 20 of them.
Cut the crust off of your bread slices and roll lightly with a rolling pin (you can flatten the bread with your hands if you want)
To wrap the potato balls in the bread, you want generously wet your hands and pat the water onto the bread slices. (this will help them wrap better)
Place a ball on a dampened bread slice and bring the four corners together. Wet your hands again and pat the bread around the balls to seal the edges. Roll the bread ball between your palms.
Heat up 2 cups of canola oil in a medium pan on medium heat to shallow fry.
Fry the bread bondas until they are medium to dark golden brown. Turn the balls often as they fry to get an even color.
Enjoy with ketchup or Maggi Hot and Sweet Sauce!
You can refrigerate some of the potato mixture for up to a week if you don't want to make a large batch.