SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

~ Natasha Fredrickson ~ 3 Comments

Hey guys! I’ve been trying some new recipes that pop up in my social media. Saw this recipe last week and I just had to try it! It’s delicious!

Ingredients

Crust:

Cooking spray, for spraying the foil

2 sleeves (10 ounces) graham crackers

1/2 cup pecans 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, melted 

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs 

1/2 cup sour cream 

Caramel Topping:

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

6 tablespoons salted butter 

One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Flaky sea salt, for garnish

Directions

Special equipment:

 a candy thermometer

  1. For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch rectangular baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
  2. Place the graham crackers and pecans into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbs. Add the butter and vanilla and pulse again until combined. Pour into the prepared pan and press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. If they come up the sides, that’s okay!
  3. For the filling: Beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sour cream and mix again.
  4. Pour the mixture into the crust, smooth the top and bake for 50 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door, leaving the cheesecake to sit in the oven with the door open for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool for an hour.
  5. For the caramel topping: Add the brown sugar and butter to a pan, set over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Add the condensed milk, corn syrup and vanilla and bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
  6. Place a candy thermometer in the caramel mixture and continue to boil until the caramel reaches 225 degrees F. Turn off the heat and let the caramel cool for about 5 minutes before pouring over the cheesecake.
  7. Allow to set for 2 hours, then cut into squares with a sharp knife. Arrange on a plate and garnish each square with a pinch of sea salt.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

All done!

BREAKFAST BISCUITS

~ Natasha Fredrickson ~ 3 Comments

No frozen or refrigerated biscuits in the store? No problem! Try this easy recipe 😋👩‍🍳

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups AP flour (250g)
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp butter (very cold/frozen)
  • 3/4 cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Chill butter in freezer 20 mins before beginning. This is very important for light flaky biscuits
  2. Preheat oven to 425F, line cookie sheet with parchment paper
  3. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, mix well and set aside
  4. Remove butter from freezer and cut it into your flour with a pastry cutter or my preferred way, grate using a box grater.
  5. Add the grated butter to the flour and stir until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs
  6. Make a well in the centre and add the milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until just combined (don’t overwork the dough)
  7. Transfer dough to a floured surface and gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until manageable
  8. Once the dough comes together, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten layers together, rotate 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeat 6 times
  9. Use hands to flatten dough to 1″ thickness, lightly dust cutter (I use a drinking glass) with flour, push cutter straight down (don’t twist) into the dough and drop biscuit on prepared sheet about 1/2″ apart. You should get about 6 bicuits
  10. Bake at 425F for about 12-15 mins or until the tops are light golden brown
  11. Brush with melted butter immediately after removing from oven.

CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD

~ Natasha Fredrickson ~ Leave a comment

This is one of my favorite breads!♥️ Have it warm with butter, toasted with peanut butter, a couple days later, use it to make the best French toast or make a lovely bread pudding with ice cream 😋

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1⁄2 cups milk
  • 1  cup warm water (must be between 110-115 degrees)
  • 2 (1/4ounce) packages active dry yeast
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1  teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1  cup raisins
  • 8  cups AP flour
  • 2  tablespoons milk
  • 1  cup white sugar
  • 3  tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 2  tablespoons butter, melted (approx.)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Warm the milk in a small sauce pan on the stove until it just starts to bubble, stirring occasionally,remove from heat.
  2. Let cool until lukewarm, about 120-125 degrees.
  3. Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside until yeast is frothy, about 10 minutes or so (make sure your water is at the correct temperature or the yeast won’t activate.) Then mix in eggs, sugar, butter salt and raisins (stir in the cooled milk slowly so you don’t cook the eggs.) Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.
  4. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes until smooth.
  5. Place in a large, buttered, mixing bowl and turn to grease the surface of the dough.
  6. Cover with a warm, damp cloth and let rise. Allow to rise until doubled, usually about 1 1/2 hours.
  7. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick.
  8. Moisten the dough with 2 tablespoons milk and rub all over the dough with your hands.
  9. Mix together 1 cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons cinnamon and sprinkle mixture evenly on top of the moistened dough.
  10. Roll up tightly (the long way).
  11. The roll should be about 3 inches in diameter.
  12. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends and pinch bottom together.
  13. Place loaves into well greased (you can use Crisco or butter for this) 9 x 5 inch pans and lightly grease tops of loaves.
  14. Let rise in warm place, uncovered, again for about an hour.
  15. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped.
  16. Remove from oven and let cool on rack.
  17. Take melted butter and spread over tops of loaves.
  18. After about 20 minutes, lay loaves on their sides and remove from pans.
  19. Allow to cool before slicing.

My Best White Bread

~ Natasha Fredrickson ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s the softest homemade bread ever! ♥️

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 oz dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup water (warm)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tsps salt
  • 2 cups milk (warm)
  • 2 1/2 tbsps shortening
  • 6-7 cups AP or bread flour
  • 1/8-1/4 cup butter

DIRECTIONS

  1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, let sit about 10 mins
  2. In a large bowl combine sugar, salt, 2 cups of milk and shortening.
  3. Stir in yeast mixture
  4. Gradually add flour to make a soft dough
  5. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth
  6. Place in a greased bowl and cover and let rise about two hours
  7. Punch down and divide into 2 portions to form loaves
  8. Place in greased 9×5 loaf pans and prick tops with a fork
  9. Cover and let rise until higher than pans (about 2 hours)
  10. Bake at 375F for about 25-30 mins.
  11. Cool for ten mins and rub butter all over the tops of loaves
  12. Place pans on sides until loosened, then remove bread from pans and cool completely.

KETO LIFESTYLE

~ Natasha Fredrickson

Hi guys!! It’s been a while! Life has been moving a little too fast and so I haven’t been posting as much 😦

My family has been trying to eat healthier, especially after a very indulgent holiday season 😋😋😂 so we started eating keto in February. We usually start the year off by eating keto for about 3 to 4 months and then we try to maintain for the rest of the year… Until holiday time of course 😂

A lot of keto recipes are hit and miss so I wanted to keep track of the recipes I’ve tried that we really liked, and hopefully it will make it easier for you and me to be inspired to make yummy healthy food.

So today I’d like to share No bake keto peanut butter chocolate bars 😋

Peanut butter chocolate bars

Here’s the recipe!

https://twosleevers.com/no-bake-keto-peanut-butter-chocolate-bars-keto/#wprm-recipe-container-7908

SHRIMP CAULIFLOWER FRIED RICE

~ Natasha Fredrickson ~ Leave a comment
Ingredients
  • 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 1 tsp chinese seasoning salt (or to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 head cauliflower riced or grated to resemble rice
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 5 scallions diced whites and greens separated
  • 2 cups peas and carrots (thawed)
  • 2 cloves garlic grated
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
  • ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
  1. Heat a large, deep pan or wok over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Season shrimp with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper before adding to the hot pan.
  2. Cook shrimp in an even layer, turning once, until pink (about 90 seconds per side.) Remove cooked shrimp from the pan and set aside.
  3. While shrimp is cooking, rice the cauliflower using a food processor, blender or a cheese grater; set aside.
  4. Whisk together eggs and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Spray pan with more cooking spray then reduce heat to medium. Pour eggs into the pan and cook, stirring frequently, 1-2 minutes. Remove cooked eggs and place in the bowl with reserved shrimp; set aside.
  5. Add diced onion, scallion whites, carrots, peas, garlic, and ginger to the pan and cook until soft and tender, stirring frequently. This should take 4-5 minutes.
  6. When veggies are cooked through, add cauliflower, soy sauce and rice vinegar to the pan. Stir well to combine then walk away for a few minutes so that the cauliflower can start to cook and create a nice crust. Come back, stir it around then walk away again. The flavor comes from letting the cauliflower brown a bit and become crispy. This process may take up to 10 minutes. It’s worth the wait!
  7. Add cooked shrimp and egg back to the pan and cook until warmed through. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and garnish with scallion greens and Sriracha to serve.

FRIED DUMPLINGS

~ Natasha Fredrickson ~ 4 Comments

Hey everyone!

It’s come to my attention that fried dumplings isn’t as common as I thought! So I’d like to share how I make it.

In the Caribbean, dumplings are traditionally made to go along with stews and curries. It’s a basic recipe really, flour, water or coconut milk and salt to taste.

My brother-in-law actually showed me how to make fried dumplings and that’s the way I’ve eaten them ever since!

It’s a lot more flavorful than plain dumplings and just smelling it makes my mouth water 😂😂 So here’s what I do, start with a basic recipe for ‘Cow Tongue’ Dumplings

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • pinch of sugar
  • 3/4 cup warm water or coconut milk

DIRECTIONS

  1. Mix the  dry ingredients together and add water, knead the ingredients to make a firm dough, cover and let rest for 15 mins.
  2. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add some salt.
  3. Shape and add the dumplings to boiling water for about 10-15 mins, they will float to the top when done.

4. Drain the dumplings. At this point you can eat the dumplings with your favorite stews or curries or smoked herring and saltfish dishes 😋😋😋

 

 

But we’re adding some extra oomph!

FRIED DUMPLINGS

Ingredients

  • Slice 1 small onion
  • Mince 3 cloves garlic
  • Chop a small handful of cilantro (or shadow benny/ bandania )
  • Mince a couple pimento peppers (or you can use Bertie’s Pimento Sauce )
  • Half or a whole hot pepper (if you’re brave 😁)
  • Golden Ray
  • Oil (I like to use avocado, but you can use whichever you like)
  • Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat a couple of tbsps of oil and about 1 or 2 tbsps of golden Ray in a large frying pan.
  2. Add the onions, garlic, cilantro, pimento, hot pepper and some salt.
  3. Let it cook and then add the boiled dumplings and toss to coat and let it fry for a few mins.

     

  4. Add your favorite sides and enjoy!!!

 

PHOLOURIE

~ Natasha Fredrickson ~ 2 Comments

Here’s a simple but delicious pholourie recipe, whenever i feel homesick, this is my go to snack 🙂

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 cups flour
  • 2 cups split peas powder
  • 2 packs yeast
  • 2 tsps salt (or to taste)
  • 2 tsps saffron powder
  • 4 tsps minced bandania (or cilantro)
  • 2 tsps minced garlic
  • minced hot pepper (to taste)
  • warm water
  • vegetable or canola oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the first 8 ingredients together and add the warm water until you get a semi firm dough

2.Then cup your hand and beat air into the dough

3. Let rest for 30 mins

4. Heat about 1 inch of oil over medium high heat

5. Drop rounded dough by the tbsp into oil and fry until golden

6. Serve with all your favorite condiments, tamarind sauce, mango chutney and pepper sauce.

TIP : Its much easier to use a small to medium cookie scoop to form the pholourie into round balls