Slow Burn Fudge

For the 3rd year in a row the Grand Prairie Farmer's Market had their Fudge Competition & I entered!

This year I decided to come up with a sweet & spicy fudge :)

Slow Burn

Ancho Jalapeno Fudge

3 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Tbsp Mexican Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Ancho Chili Powder

1 tsp Ground Jalapeno Powder

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Put one inch of water in a medium saucepan and put on the stove over medium heat. Put a glass bowl on the saucepan that sits above the water. Add all ingredients to the glass bowl & continuously stir. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth pour it into a parchment lined baking dish & put in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. Now have fun licking the spoon, you deserve it for all that stirring!

This fudge is sweet at first, but then has a slow burn once the chiles hit your tongue :)

The judges are trying my fudge! I did not place this year, but had a great time! I love this new recipe & so does everyone I had taste test it :)

My cheering section ;) Thanks for coming out ya'll! It was very special that ya'll came to see the competition!

& my Mommy, the only person who thought the fudge was actually spicy ;) and my 2 year old niece & 3 year old nephew tried it before her!!

Now excuse me, I need to come up with a recipe for next year! :)

Books 5 & 6 A Couple More Cookbooks

My 5th & 6th books on my Empty Shelf are both cookbooks :) I'm really trying to build my recipe repertoire!

The 5th book was a birthday gift from Hubby :) Eat Like A Gilmore by Kristi Carlson. This unofficial cookbook for fans of Gilmore Girls is a great read! Before every recipe is a little blurb about what was going on in the show when we saw this dish. While the recipes are made up by the book's author and other contributors, they do seem to be right out of the kitchen of Sookie, or Emily, or Luke :) The only recipe I envisioned differently was Sookie's Muffin Bottom Pudding Pie. This book used a graham cracker crust then the muffin bottoms. I always figured Sookie would have made the muffin bottoms into a crust, no need for bread on top of bread ;) But that's the great thing about recipes, experimentation! One of these days I'll make my vision for Muffin Bottom Pudding Pie!

I believe any fan of the show would enjoy this cookbook! Have a little Stars Hollow with dinner :)

The 6th book on my Empty Shelf I actually started a while ago & Hubby found with a bookmark in it. So I finished it and added it to the shelf :) The Easy Way To Chinese Cooking by Beverly Lee. An Interesting tidbit I learned from this book was that egg drop soup is not something eaten in most Chinese households, but she still included the recipe for us :) I have never been able to pull off good Chinese food, but I'm hoping with the help of this cookbook, maybe I can try again!

Fresh Fish

On our quest to eat healthier, I decided to find a way to make fish that Hubby would eat! The first step was starting with the freshest fish I could find, which led me to Atkins Seafood.

This is a tiny half fish market half seafood lunch spot in Waxahachie, TX.

So of course I got lunch before buying my fresh fish :) Blackened Fish Tacos with pineapple salsa, and a side of black bean salad. These were hands down the best seafood tacos I've ever had! I thought the black beans could have used a little more seasoning, but they were a nice complement to the spicy fish.

Then it was time to pick what fish we would be having for dinner :) The lady behind the counter told me, you pick your fish and pay for the whole thing, then if you would like they will fillet it for you.

She told me Red Snapper was their most popular fish, so that is what I chose, and I got it filleted with the skin on.

Then I brought it home to cook :)

Blackened Red Snapper

9oz Red Snapper Fillets, skin on (about 2 fillets)

2 tsp canola oil

1/2 Tbsp Salt

1/2 Tbsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Mix salt, paprika, garlic, cayenne, and pepper together in small bowl.

(What you see in this pic is twice as much seasoning, I ended up only needing half, and adjusted suggested measurements accordingly)

On Clean work surface cut several small slits in skin to keep it from curling while cooking. Flip fish and generously season meaty side. Heat small cast iron skillet over medium heat. If only one fillet will fit in you skillet, then add 1 tsp oil and allow to heat without smoking. If both fillets will fit, then add 2 tsp oil and let heat. Once oil is hot, place fish, seasoning side down into skillet and set timer for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes flip fish and allow skin side to cook for 2 minutes. Remove fish and allow to drain on paper towel lined plate. At this point you can add the second tsp of oil and second fillet if you did not cook them together. You can peel the skin away from the fish before serving, or the meat will gently flake off the skin while eating.

I also made Crustless Swiss Chard Pie from The Skinnytaste Cookbook to go with our fish.

Blackened Red Snapper, Crustless Swiss Chard Pie, Sauteed Green Beans, and homemade (kinda) Horseradish Sauce ( 1 single serving size fat free greek yogurt, 1 Tbsp Penzey's Horseradish dip mix, 1 tsp dried dill)

Served on our fancy china ;)

It happened ya'll! Hubby said the fish was his favorite thing on the plate! This is a man who has always hated fish! I was so excited! Fresh fish is clearly the key!! Hubby's mom also really enjoyed it. Though she said it was pretty spicy, so take that into consideration when using the cayenne. We all also really enjoyed the swiss chard pie! We always enjoy sauteed green beans (I had to have something on the plate that we had eaten and liked before!) The horseradish dip was surprisingly good on the swiss chard, however I thought it had a tangyness (hello greek yogurt) that did not meld well with the fish.

I highly recommend this dish! And if you too are hesitant to eat fish, find a fresh fish market, and let them change your mind!

Books 3 & 4

Yesterday I put 2 books on my Empty Shelf!

The 3rd book to go on my shelf this year is "The Skinnytaste Cookbook" by Gina Homolka. Have you ever read a cookbook from cover to cover? I love reading cookbooks! I get so many ideas of what foods go together, and different ways to prepare foods. I also keep a note pad close by to jot down the name and page number of recipes I would like to try. Eventually I would like to make up an index of all the recipes that sound good from my cookbooks. That way I won't have to flip through each book searching for the right meal, it will all be in one place :) This cookbook has many good recipes, and has nutrition facts for each recipe at the bottom of the page. My only complaint would be that she does not believe in artificial sweeteners, and they are necessary for us right now. But I can easily swap out for most recipes, and skip those that I cannot. Gina Homolka has a very upbeat way of writing, and reading this cookbook was enjoyable!

The 4th book to go on my Empty Shelf yesterday was "Talking As Fast As I Can" by Lauren Graham. This was such a fun read! I felt like I had found a writing buddy in this book, she too is a huge fan of the exclamation point and of going off on rabbit trails :) I loved getting a behind the scenes look at my favorite TV show! This book is written like you are sitting having coffee with Lauren Graham hearing all about her life! All Gilmore Girls fans should read this book :)

So, tell me, (sips hot tea) what have you been reading?

Candied Ginger Fudge

Today was the 2nd Fudge Competition at the Grand Prairie Farmer's Market.

I decided to create a recipe for ginger fudge this year.

Candied Ginger Fudge

3 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

1/6 Cup Candied Ginger, finely chopped

Place a piece of parchment paper in a baking dish (size depends on how thick you want the fudge). Leave pan to the side until fudge is ready. Put an inch of water in a medium pot and put over medium heat. Place glass bowl over pot of water and pour in chocolate chips, condensed milk, and ground ginger. Stir continuously until chocolate is melted and smooth. Take chocolate off heat and mix in chopped candied ginger. Then pour into parchment covered pan, and smooth out flat. Put in fridge to set for 4 hours, and resist temptation to eat with a spoon ;) Enjoy!!

The judges trying my fudge :)

3rd place ribbon!!

They liked it! They really liked it!

Thank you Grand Prairie Farmers Market for hosting this competition again! I can't wait til next year!

State Fair Fudge

Saturday I entered the Party Foods Competition Bite Sized Desserts category. My plan was to bring my Amaretto Fudge with Fresh Cherries which has already won a blue ribbon. However, cherries are no longer in season :(

 So I went with raspberries!

 This recipe calls for 2 cups fresh raspberries. One cup will be muddled, as shown. If you do not have a mortar & pestle, use the back of a spoon or a potato masher.

 The other cup should be cut in half, these will be topping the fudge once its in the pan.

 These are all of our ingredients :) 

 Ready to go in the fridge

Amaretto Fudge with Fresh Raspberries

3 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 14oz Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 Tbsp Amaretto Liqueur

1 tsp Almond Extract

2 Cups Fresh Raspberries

Parchment Paper

Place a piece of parchment paper into an 8x8 square pan (don't worry, the parchment won't lay in the pan until the fudge is weighing it down). Put pan to the side until fudge is ready. 

Put one cup raspberries into mortar & muddle with pestle. Cut the remaining raspberries in half. 

Pour chocolate chips & condensed milk into double broiler over medium heat & stir until smooth. You can also use a bowl over a medium sized pot of water, just make sure the water is low enough that it is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Once the chocolate is melted & smooth turn off the heat & add in the Amaretto & almond extract. Stir again until completely combined & smooth. Now stir in the muddled raspberries until thoroughly incorporated & pour the mixture into parchment lined pan. Top with raspberry halves. Refrigerate fudge for 4 hours (it is best to get out of the house to avoid temptation!). Finally, enjoy!

Waiting for the judging! 

They are eating my fudge!! I already knew when I turned the fudge in, that I was not happy with the consistency because the raspberries made pockets of softness that does not belong in fudge. So I was not surprised that I did not win. However, the taste was spot on!

 Time for our other State Fair Traditions! We started in the Arts building because we were already there for my competition. These butter sculptures are always pretty cool, literally ;)

 Mom & I bought new shirts in the craft selling tent. Mine says "Beware of Pit Bulls they will steal your Heart", I have seen this print before and loved it. This is my new favorite shirt :)

Mom's says, "Nanny" :)

 2015 Dodge Ram 3500 Longhorn Edition, beautiful truck!

 We tried the Fried Bacon Cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger and fries wrapped up and fried chimichanga style.

 We had it with an order of queso fries. they came from Scrumptious Pieshakes, a booth in the food court. We will be returning to this booth next year!

 It was really good!

 Then we visited Canstruction, all this canned food will be donated to foodbanks once the exhibit is over.

 A Dallas Icon

 My favorite Dallas Icon :)

 This even had sound effects & lights!

 Big Tex!

 Whoa, he talks!!

 Love :)

 Giant Pumpkin Carving

 Nephew loves trains

 This was extra special!

 Thank you Nanny for sharing :)

 Then to top it off, the guy in charge of the trains in the greenhouse came out to talk to us!

 He was so good with Nephew!

 His heart is in his work!

Thank you!!

Our last food to try was a fried mac & cheese slider and fried tamale balls. The mac & cheese slider was bland & dry :( But the tamale balls were super flavorful and a little spicy :)

We also of course had our annual Jalapeno Cheese Fletcher's Corney Dog :)

We had a great day!! Loved sharing our Fair experience for the first time with Niece & Nephew!