Chocolate Pecan Turtles

I received 2 bags filled with pecans last Friday from a patient of mine.  So, last weekend, after going out on a date with my hubby, I spent most of the afternoon shelling those pecans.  I didn't know what to do with them.  Then, another of my patient said that she loves pecan turtles.  Early this morning, around 5 am, I decided to make these pecans to turtles.  I arranged all of the turtles in a decorated Christmas tin cans to be given to my patients who are not diabetics =)

Chocolate Pecan Turtles


1 lb of pecan halves
1 pack of Hersey's Cinnamon Chips
Homemade Caramel (recipe to follow)




Directions


Arrange pecan halves on pan lined with parchment paper.  Pour spoonful of homemade caramel over each pecan halves.  Let it cool.
Melt Hershey's cinnamon chips in a double boiler.  Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream.  Mix well until all chips are melted.  Pour melted cinnamon chips over caramel-coated pecans.  Let it cool.
Arrange pecan turtles  in any preferred container. Then enjoy!


Homemade Caramel


1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup light syrup
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
2 tbsp vanilla extract


Directions:


In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients above.  Put on medium heat, stir constantly until heat temperature reaches to 250-260 degrees ( or until a small amount of syrup is dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball).  

Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy

A usual Sunday routine after church,  a hearty breakfast for us.  I fixed some cheese biscuits, sausages, scrambled eggs and gravy.  Washed it down with pressed coffee,  OJ (for me)and milk (for Monty).  It was a heavy breakfast!  Now, I'm planning for dinner =)

Baby Back Ribs!

I went to the grocery today & found a sale of their baby back ribs.  Coincidentally, I watched an episode of Guy Fieri's DDD, where he was in a barbecue joint that was famous for their ribs.  I did my own dry rub and cooked the slab of ribs in the oven for a total of 3 1/2 hours.  It was perfect! My ribs turned out as good as Logan's  Roadhouse!(in my opinion, since I always go for Logan's ribs when we go there for dinner every now & then) 


Recipe for the Baby Back Ribs:


1-2 slabs of Baby Back Ribs
1/4 cup of dry barbecue rub (it consist of ground cumin,paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper and brown sugar)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 cup of any Barbecue sauce


Directions:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


Liberally spread dry rub on the Baby Back Ribs.  Place the ribs directly inside a roasting pan. Pour the beef broth in the roasting pan.  Cover tightly with foil then place pan in the oven. 
Bake ribs for 2 hrs.  After that, remove foil and baste ribs with the barbecue sauce.  Place pan back in the oven uncovered for 30 mins.  Do basting again after 30 minutes then back to the oven for another 15 minutes. 

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

My husband is a little under the weather and not wanting to eat anything except for my homemade chicken noodle soup.  I baked some cheesy dinner rolls to go with it. Simple but delicious and warms the insides during this chilly December evening.

Thanksgiving Desserts

During this time of the year, my family always goes to Madisonville, TX to celebrate Thanksgiving with Monty's family (his mother side).  My wonderful mother-in-law prepares everything.  She has been having me bring homemade desserts.  It has been 5 years that I have done this.  All desserts were made with pumpkin.  This year, I am still bringing something made out of pumpkin, Pumpkin Cheesecake  and I am offering an Italian dessert that I got from one of my favorite cooks of Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis.  Chocolate Ricotta Pie.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Chocolate Ricotta Pie with toasted Hazelnuts and Chocolate Ganache drizzle

(close-up)

...I thank God for all the blessings that He has given this family.  I thank God for my family and friends!

H A P P Y  T H A N K S G I V I N G!

A Hearty MEAL

 A meal dedicated to my carnivorous husband.  I slow cooked the beef in the oven for 4 hours.  Paired with not-so-ordinary mashed potatoes with smashed peas. Truly a stick-to-your rib good and hearty meal!  For dessert? SIMVASTATIN! 

What is the difference between an American Breakfast and Filipino "Almusal"?

...the difference:
  American breakfast (MONTY'S)

Bacon, Scrambled egss and Toasts

Filipino Almusal (JUNE'S)

Bacon, Eggs (sunnyside up) and Garlic Fried 

rice

Chicken Fried Steak with gravy, Green Beans & Rice

We usually just have 2 meals a day.  Breakfast & dinner.  This dinner is heavy tonight!  

I made a Chocolate Tres Leches cake the other day.  For dessert, we both got a small piece of it.  It was terrific!

Pulled Pork Sammy with Fried Onion Curls

It was a long day for me & Monty.  Thank goodness for CROCK POTS!  Pork has been in it for a good 6-7 hrs.  Made fried onion curls in a jiffy!  It was a simple yet filling dinner at 9 o'clock in the evening.

Potato & Leeks Soup with Roast Beef & Cheese Panini

I'm loving this cold weather! What to eat to keep me warm inside & out? Got a lot of potatoes in the pantry...Went to the store & saw leeks on sale.  Made this soup & decided to pair it with a panini sandwich.

the ingredients

Potato&Leeks Soup with Roast Beef & Cheese Panini

Vietnamese food for a late lunch with Monty

After work in the morning, stayed home & relaxed for a bit with my hubby and watched a serious movie...Then, we both got hungry! I have been craving for Pho since early this morning (must be the cold weather), so, we went to the closest Vietnamese restaurant (Monty's favorite).  I had a big bowl of Pho with thin cuts of steaks, tripes and tendons, while Monty had his favorite beef fried rice.

Bowl of Pho

Beef Fried Rice

For dessert, I got a Blue Bell Cherry Vanilla ice cream that was on sale @ Kroger for $2.99 half gallon.  It was good & sweet!

Chicken Wrap with Homemade Potato Chips seasoned with cracked black pepper & salt

For tonight's dinner, TO EACH HIS OWN!...Monty had Chicken wraps with a side of homemade potato chips seasoned with cracked black peppers & salt.  I had rice & Philippine-style pork barbecue.

Chicken Wraps with Homemade Potato Chips

Philippine style barbecue with a side of rice

NY style Cheesecake with chocolate ganache

I love Cheesecakes! This one is my favorite...just a plain NY Style Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache drizzled on top.  This particular cheesecake is a hit at Monty's workplace. Here is the recipe for this decadent dessert.
      

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 5 (250 g) packages PHILADELPHIA Brick Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs

  Directions

  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F if using a silver 9 inch springform pan (or to 300 degrees F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
  2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.
  3. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until centre is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. 
  
  
  Chocolate Ganache
  
  
   9 oz Semi-sweet chocolate chopped
   1 cup hot whole milk
   1 1/12 tsp. butter, softened
  
  
  Place chocolate in a small bowl.  Place bowl over simmering water until melted.  Pour in hot milk.  Stir gently to mix; add butter.  Remove from heat.  Continue stirring until completely cooled and smooth.  Pour over cold cheesecake or drizzle on a slice of cheesecake.

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with a side of Pasta with Basil Pesto Sauce

 ...this was our lunch yesterday.  One of my patients gave me a bunch of basil & rosemary from his garden.  So, I put these 2 herbs in good use.  The chicken was so good & aromatic, while the pasta was delightful.  

Introduction

I never thought that I will be doing this blogging "thingy" until my friend, Jescel Dzubay, convinced me to do it!

What will this blog page contain?  Well, just as the title asks, "Am I a Foodaholic?"  I will be posting pictures of my family's everyday meals.  The Baccus' are connoisseurs of good eating! 

My husband, Monty, likes anything and everything American...meat & potatoes.  My daughter, Adrianne, eats whatever is edible! Especially, Japanese.  Me? I am more of an "international cuisine" type of foodie.  Then, our dogs! They eat anything and everything!

Monty & June

Adrianne

the dogs...