Coconut cream pie

Very good; made with baked graham cracker crust in a springform. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/old-fashioned-coconut-cream-pie/detail.aspx

Cake donuts

Best recipe I've tried to date:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=24577&origin=detail&&Servings=24

Shrimp Curry

Cleaning out email and found this...forgot to try it but want to.  I'll delete the post if I try it and it's icky.

Goan style shrimp curry
by Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur

This is a gem of a recipe, I think, because the sauce is so versatile. Instead of shrimp (which is nice because it cooks so quickly), you could sub chicken or vegetables (the author recommends cauliflower, potatoes, and green beans). If you substitute vegetables, however, I would steam them before adding them to the sauce.

My notes:

• I like to make my own curry powder but you can certainly use a storebought blend.
• Start a big pot of basmati rice before you begin prepping the curry.
  
• The amount of kosher salt called for was a little too much for me, though Mark thought it was fine. I am not changing the recipe, but use caution if you are sensitive to salt.
• I added extra cayenne pepper at the end, because I like the pain of a spicy curry.

1 1/3 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
4 dried red chilies
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Place shrimp in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, and add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne. Mix well and refrigerate.

2. In a deep skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, combine oil and chilies and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Add ginger, onion, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt and sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, ground coriander and turmeric and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes. Stir, scraping sides and bottom of pot, for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

4. Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, bring to a boil, and add shrimp. Bring to a simmer and cook until shrimp are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro. If desired, serve with rice.

curry powder blend:

ngredients

• 2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons whole cardamom seeds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds, toasted
• 1/4 cup ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon cayenne

Directions

Place all ingredients in a container with an airtight lid. Shake to combine. Store in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. When ready to use, grind and add to dishes according to taste

Peanut butter noodles

Sounds gross, but really yummy! (adapted from allrecipes.com)

8 ounces Udon or spaghetti noodles
1/2 lb uncooked shrimp
1-2 uncooked chicken breasts, 1/2 in cubes
1" dice green beans approx. 1/2 cup
Julienned carrots approx. 1/2 cup

Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons hot chile paste (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced

Garnish:
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain.
Sauté carrot and green bean briefly in scant oil over med. hi heat, add small amount of water, cover, and steam til crisp tender. Add chicken, cook halfway, then shrimp and more oil as needed. Sauté til meats are fully cooked.
Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, chili paste, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through. Add noodles, meat, and veggies and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and peanuts.

Cranberry Chicken

This was a good supper tonight. The kids ate the chicken without the cranberry topping. I used orange juice in place of the apple juice.

http://family.go.com/food/recipe-807453-cranberry-chicken-t/

Chicken and dumplings

The recipe I've been using from my mom and the kids like...
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-dumplings-10000000258843/

Aili's Cruise Fruit Tarts

Crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 stick butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3 Tbs. ice water

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, and salt. Drop in butter pieces. Work butter into the flour with fingers a fork, or a pastry cutter until it resembles corn meal with stray pea-sized pieces of butter in it. Pour 2 Tbs. water over mixture and stir until it comes together. (Add another Tbs of water if it remains too dry to pull into a dough.)

Cool pastries.

Filling:
1 cup whipping cream
1 " piece of cream cheese (I think that might be 4 oz?)
2 Tbs. sugar

Whip the cream and then beat the sugar and cream cheese into it.

Aili topped them each with sliced strawberries, banana, blackberries, and frozen blueberries, sprinkled the tops with crushed lemon heads, and drizzled them with a mix of 3 spoonfuls of honey and 2 tsp lemon juice.

Blueberry Dessert Pizza

1.  1.5 recipe sugar cookie dough baked in large jelly roll pan, then cooled:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/detail.aspx

2.  Spread with 2 bricks cream cheese + 2/3c sugar + zest of 1 lemon + ~2tsp lemon juice whipped together

3.  Top with blueberries (fresh picked day before were extra yummy)

4.  Glaze tops of blueberries with apricot jam mixed with bit of water to thin.

Grilled Pizza

Followed these guidelines for pizza on the grill, and it turned out great!  Crispy, not black at all, just right.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_grill_pizza/
Nice to have for a hot, no-oven day.

Thick, Fluffy (low-fat, but who cares?) Pancakes

A recipe born out of necessity yesterday morning.

3/4 c. buttermilk

3/4 c. yogurt (mine was vanilla)

1 egg

1 1/2 c. flour

1 t. (scant) baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

The yogurt makes the batter very thick -- I think I added a little plain milk to thin it a bit. No butter or oil needed!

Mango, Peach & Pineapple Salsa

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mango-Peach-and-Pineapple-Salsa/Detail.aspx

Really liked this, but don't automatically add the 2T sugar...test it, add to taste.

Zesty horseradish coleslaw

LIKE THIS STUFF.

And not just because I'm pregnant.  I love horseradish (and add extra).

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zesty-Coleslaw/Detail.aspx

Dairy-free banana 'ice cream'

Tried this, and it is truly yummy.  But you have to like bananas :)  Tip:  peel the bananas before freezing!!

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/stay-cool/how-to-make-creamy-ice-cream-with-just-one-ingredient-093414

Chocolate Banana Bread

Tim sometimes brings home the extra bananas from his office that are going to be thrown away at the end of the week. And I have a *lot* of cocoa in pantry from and experiment (that probably is another post topic in and of itself) so I went looking for a recipe that used bananas and cocoa. This recipe was a winner and freezes well.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread
http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2009/05/double-chocolate-banana-bread.html

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

Good!

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/whole-wheat-apple-muffins/

Mushroom Stuffing

 A new stuffing that we tried this Thanksgiving, partially because my kids love mushrooms so much I thought they might eat it! It ended up not looking like stuffing, so some people missed it. Those who ate it loved it, and the kids even liked it.
 Part of the reason for the look, though, might be because we had three cooks (Erin, Lorin, and Tim) working on the stuffing and the eggs got added in the wrong order, resulting in a slightly odd brown color all over. To add to the confusion, after we had already started the recipe from Rachel Ray, we realized it called for three sticks of butter! So we were also modifying as we went along changing practically all the amounts. Ingredients listed are what we ended up doing - to the best of our knowledge!
 When eating leftovers, you definitely want to reheat this in the toaster oven.

(image from rachelraymag.com) 

Ingredients:

One 1-pound loaves white bread, cut into cubes
3/4 bunch celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
16-ounce package sliced white mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons water  

Directions: 
1.  Preheat the oven to 250°. Scatter the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake, tossing occasionally, until dried but not browned, about 40 minutes. Let cool. Increase the oven temperature to 350°.  
2.  Working in batches, pulse the celery in a food processor until chopped but not minced.  
3.  In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Mix in the celery and mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and poultry seasoning until thoroughly combined.  
4.  In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the beaten egg mixture. Add the vegetable mixture and toss until well combined.  
5.  Spoon the stuffing into 2 buttered 3-quart casserole dishes and bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes

Hot pretzels

Have on recommendation that these are amazing.  Plan to try them this afternoon and de-post if they're not!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttery-Soft-Pretzels/Detail.aspx


Addendum:  Yep, they're good.  TOO good.

Pumpkin or sweet potato waffles

Great noreaster snow day January 2011 waffles...have tried a lot of recipes and this is the first one with nice texture and not too soggy.  I decreased the milk to ~1.25c.  I used a pureed baked sweet potato thinned with just a little applesauce rather than pumpkin. 

http://www.food.com/recipe/spiced-pumpkin-waffles-67930

Susan's new fave blueberry muffins

Blueberry Streusel Muffins (one dozen)

Streusel (This will be enough for 36 muffins, if yours are like mine!)
1 ¼ c flour
1/3 c brown sugar, packed
1/3 c sugar
½ tsp cinnamon (use more!)
7 tbsp butter, melted

Muffins
2 c flour
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest (I used a few drops of lemon extract)
1 c sugar
4 Tbsp melted butter, slightly cooled
½ c buttermilk
1 tbsp baking powder
1 ½ c frozen blueberries, dredged in 1 Tbsp of the flour

   Toss streusel ingredients with fork until crumbly.  Whisk egg, add vanilla, sugar, and lemon zest until combined.  Slowly add melted butter, then whisk in buttermilk.  Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until almost mixed.  Fold in dredged blueberries (dredging keeps the batter from turning purpley gray!).  Divide in 12 greased muffin cups and top with streusel...use a canning funnel, and all the streusel will stay on the muffin tops instead of getting all over the pan.  375º, 23-27 minutes.  Cool in pan 20 minutes.  Will keep in airtight container about 3 days.

Imitation royal icing

Nice recipe for sugar cookie icing that acts like royal icing, but made with things you have on hand. I used it for some Christmas cookies, and they turned out nicely enough that I think I'll use it again.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Cookie-Icing/Detail.aspx