Salmon Croquettes

This recipe is one that belongs to my grandmother. My grandparents  have always been amazing cooks. My mom prepared these a lot while we were growing up, and they were one of my favorites! I wasn't a big fish fan when I was younger, but I always loved the salmon croquettes.

 To make this recipe, you will need the following: 15.5 oz.can salmon, saltine crackers, 1 egg, mustard, salt & pepper, and cooking oil (I use canola oil)

 Place about half a sleeve of saltines into a ziploc bag and seal. Crush your crackers using a hard flat surface. I used my Pampered Chef meat tenderizer (flat side, not spiked). You could use a rolling pin also.

 Pour the crushed saltines in a mixing bowl.

 

Open your can of salmon. I remove the bones and a majority of the skin, although you don't have to.

 Add the salmon to the crushed crackers.

 Add one beaten egg.

 Squeeze in 1 teaspoon of mustard. I just estimated it.

 Now take off your rings and get your hands dirty. Mix the ingredients up with your hands.

 Form the mixture into about five patties, depending on the size you make them.

Cover the bottom of your pan with cooking oil. Heat your oil over medium heat. Make sure that the oil is HOT before you put in your patties, or else they will just soak up the oil. I always test my oil by sprinkling just a touch of water. BE CAREFUL!! If it begins to pop, the oil is ready.

 Sprinkle salt and pepper over your patties and add them to the pan.

 Flip the patties over when the bottom has gotten crispy and brown. Continue cooking until they are a golden brown color.

 Place the finished patties on a plate with a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.

Mmmmm!

Salmon Croquettes

-15.5 oz can salmon

-1 cup saltines, crushed

-1 egg, well beaten

-1 tsp. prepared mustard

-salt & pepper to taste

-cooking oil (I use canola oil)

Mix together well the salmon, crackers, egg, and mustard. Season to taste. Shape the mixture into patties and fry in hot oil until golden brown on both sides. 

Chili Mac

This is a recipe that I got from the Weight Watchers site. I have changed it a little bit to make it my own and it is a dish that I prepare pretty regularly at home. It is one of my husband's favorites.

 You will need 1 lb. ground turkey (or lean ground beef), an onion, a can of Rotel tomatoes, 1 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce, 15 oz. can kidney beans, 2 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. cumin, and 1 cup of dry macaroni.

In a large skillet (I love my cast iron!), cook the ground turkey and onion until the meat is browned. I cut my onion into large pieces so that they could be easily spotted and pulled out. If you have a picky eater, this is a good way to get the flavor in the dish and not have to serve onion on their plate. Then drain the fat and return the meat and onion mixture to the pan.

Pour in the undrained Rotel tomatoes.

Add the tomato sauce.

Rinse the kidney beans...

 

...and add them to the pan.

 

Add 2 teaspoons of chili powder.

Then add 1 teaspoon of cumin.

Stir it all up and bring it to a boil.

Stir in 1 cup of uncooked macaroni (I used whole wheat). Return the mixture to a boil. After you have brought it to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes.

The macaroni will be tender when it is done.

I like to serve my Chili Mac with different toppings, such as hot sauce, salsa, sour cream, green chilies, crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese. You can put whatever you want on yours.

A side note: While trying to decide which hot sauce I wanted on my chili, I realized that we have a lot of hot sauce! There are about three other bottles in the cabinet that I didn't pull down. We really like spicy food!

Chili Mac

-1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef

-1 medium onion

-1 can of Rotel tomatoes

-1 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce

-15 oz. can kidney beans

-2 tsp. chili powder

-1 tsp. cumin

-1 cup dry macaroni

In a large skillet, cook turkey and onion until meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Drain off fat. Stir in Rotel tomatoes, tomato sauce, rinsed kidney beans, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil. Stir in uncooked macaroni. Return to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until macaroni is tender, about 15 minutes. Serve with the toppings of your choice.

Tiffany Cupcakes- How to Decorate

This entry is an addition to the one on Made from Scratch Chocolate Cupcakes. These are perfect for a bridal or baby shower.

Making the Frosting:

You will need cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream or milk.

Start with your butter. Allow it to sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes, but it should still be cool. (I doubled my recipe so that I could frost all of my cupcakes, so all of the ingredients in the pictures will be doubled.)

Slightly blend the butter. It will get all caught up in the mixers, but that's ok.

Add your cream cheese directly from the refrigerator and blend it with the cream cheese.

Add vanilla extract.

Slowly add your powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until fluffy.

Slowly add the heavy cream, a little at a time. Don't add too much or else the frosting will not stiffen and will slide out of place on the cupcake.

Your frosting will look nice and creamy.

 Now comes the fun part: making it colorful! To make the Tiffany blue color, you will need green and blue food coloring.

For my doubled recipe, I used 35 drops of blue food coloring and 10 drops of green food coloring. If you are preparing only one batch, you should start with about 17 drops of blue and 5 drops of green. Add your coloring and then decide if you think it is dark enough. Add more drops as needed.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (sit at room temperature for 10 minutes)

-8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)

-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

-4 cups powdered sugar

-1 to 4 Tablespoons of whipping cream 

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy. Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don't add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.) Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

How to Make the Bows :

**I made the bows the night before decorating the cupcakes. They will need to sit over night in order to harden and keep their shape.**

 You will need a package of white fondant (you can find this at Walmart or at a big craft store such as Michael's or A.C. Moore), a rolling pin, a pizza cutter, and a ruler or other straight edge.

Begin by cutting off a piece of fondant.

Roll the fondant out flat. Don't make it too thin. You don't want it to break when you start bending it.

Using a pizza cutter, I cut the fondant into strips that measured 1/2" x 4"

Start with your strip laying flat on your work surface.

Rub a dab of water in the middle of your strip (this will be the glue to hold the fondant in place). Fold both ends to the middle and slightly push the ends in the middle to secure them to where you rubbed the water.

 

Cut a small strip of fondant to lay over the seam in the middle of the bow. Rub water to secure this in place as well.

Tah Dah!

Let the bows sit overnight in order to harden.

Putting It All Together:

I used the Wilton brand Dessert Decorator Pro to pipe on my frosting with the Open Star (Wilton 1M) tip.

Start at the outer edge of your cupcake and work your way to the middle.

Place one of your hardened bows on top of your cupcake.