K's Recipes Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on July 1, 2014

Well, it is officially the week of Fourth of July and you know what that means..S’more season is here! What is better then (or equal to a s’more,) but a S’more Chocolate Chip Cookie combination.

The boyfriend and I have a bit of an obsession with chocolate chip cookies. I feel like we haven’t baked much of anything else this year except for white sandwich bread and chocolate chip cookies. My boyfriend has become a chocolate chip cookie baking-pro over here. While he was gone today, I decided to make a new cookie recipe. We had this bakery near our old house in New Jersey that sold really good cupcakes and cookies. They had the most amazing S’more Cookies and ever since then I have been trying to recreate them. This recipe is pretty darn close!

One Thanksgiving, my mom was making Martha Stewart’s recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole and asked me to cut up large marshmallows to put on top because that is what the recipe called for. We joked that maybe Martha didn’t realize they made mini marshmallows. This particular cookie recipe calls for mini marshmallows, which of course I forgot at the grocery store. Luckily, I had large marshmallows and got to cut them up like old times!

S'more Cookies

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1¼ cup AP flour
1 cup graham crackers crumbs
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
½ cup milk chocolate chips
3-4 Hershey Bars broken into squares
1 cup of mini marshmallows or large marshmallows cut up

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and then add both sugars. Once mixed, add in egg and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, and baking soda.
Add the dry mix into the wet mixture, scraping down the sides to make sure everything is incorporated.
Mix in chocolate chips (not the Hershey's squares yet.)
Scoop the cookie dough into 24 balls and spread out on two cookie sheets lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Bake one tray at a time for 8 minutes, take out of the oven, closing the oven door so you do not lose heat. Press marshmallows and Hershey's squares into the top of the cookies (I did 1-2 squares and then 3-4 marshmallows in each cookies). Put tray back in the oven and bake for an additional 3-4 minutes. Repeat for second tray.
Let cookies cool for 5-10 minutes and then move to cooling tray. Store in an airtight container.

Source- Adapted from Carl’s Bad Cravings Blog

Looking for more S’more desserts? Try these:

S’more Ice Cream

Raspberry Truffle S’mores

Frozen Cupcakes S’mores

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on May 25, 2014

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start to summer! I am so excited for summer for the nice weather, the fresh produce, and the chilled desserts! My boyfriend and I have been taking advantage of the longer days and have started running. We have a park within walking distance from our house so we started a Couch to 5k Challenge. There is still a lot of running/walking, but we are half way through the program. It is so nice to be outside and taking advantage of the beautiful park we live near.

I made this pie a few weeks ago and it was the perfect cold dessert. I love the peanut butter/chocolate combination of the pie and topping it with chopped peanut butter cups makes it even more amazing. This pie would be the perfect Memorial Day dessert because you can make it ahead and it is cold and delicious. It’s actually even better the next day so feel free to make it a day ahead of time and chill completely in the refrigerator. Hope you all have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Serves: 8

Ingredients

For Crust

16 Oreo cookies
4 tbsp. butter, melted

For Filling

½ cup peanut butter
8 oz. cream cheese (I used ⅓ fat kind), at room temperature
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. milk
½ cup chopped roasted peanuts
3 cups of heavy cream
½ cup chopped peanut butter cups, for topping

Instructions

To make Pie Crust-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor pulse the Oreo cookies until finely ground. Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse until butter is incorporated. In a 9" pie pan spray with non-stick spray. Dump the cookie crumbs into pie pan, spread evenly and work in to an even crust on the sides and bottom. Bake crust for 10-15 minutes until pie crust is set. Let cool completely before adding filling.

To make filling:

In the bowl of your mixer fitted with a whisk attachment whip two cups of heavy cream until thick and fluffy. Put the whipped cream in a separate bowl and set aside for a later step.
Add cream cheese and confectioners' sugar to empty mixer bowl and mix together until smooth.
Beat in peanut butter, milk and chopped peanuts and beat together for about 1-2 minutes.
Gently fold in 2 cups of the whipped cream by hand until everything is combined.
Pour the filling out into the cooled crust and spread evenly. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
When serving, whip remaining whipped cream and top each slice with whipped cream and chopped peanut butter cups.

Source- Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on May 5, 2014

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Are you looking for some recipes to celebrate with? Well, you have come to the right place. I love, love, love me some Mexican food so it isn’t too hard to find a recipe in my my collection to make around here.

Over the weekend, I mixed up a couple batches of these Strawberry Margaritas to celebrate with. With strawberries on sale for so cheap around this time of year in California, it seemed like the perfect flavor for our “margs.” I love this classic recipe for Margaritas,but sometimes a little variation is needed. The best part about this recipe is that you make strawberry simple syrup which can then be used to make other drinks like strawberry milk, pink lemonade, or even strawberry-flavored seltzer water by mixing in a few spoonfuls. I recommend making the strawberry simple syrup ahead of time. I also juiced my limes ahead of time so when I was preparing the drinks, everything was ready. Enjoy!

Strawberry Margaritas

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Serves: 2 drinks

Ingredients

4 oz. triple sec
4 oz. tequila
5 oz. strawberry simple syrup
4 oz lime juice
Ice
sugar and kosher salt, to garnish
lime slices and strawberries, to garnish

Instructions

To make simple syrup- In sauce pan, heat 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar, stir and heat until mixture is clear. Put in a mason jar and let cool.
To make Strawberry simple syrup, put in 1 cup of cooled simple syrup and 1½ cups of cleaned, hulled strawberries. Blend until smooth.
To make Margarita- Mix together all ingredients with ice. Rub a slice of lime on the rim of 2 glassed, dip glassed is the sugar/salt mixture so it sticks to rim. Add additional ice to glasses and pour mixed drink into glasses. Garnish with lime wedges and strawberries. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Source- Adapted slightly from Tide and Thyme

Want more recipes for Cinco De Mayo?

Black Bean Burritos

Tres Leches Cupcakes

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on April 25, 2014

Mason Jar Iced Coffee

M and I actually got to spend over three whole days together this week while visiting our parents’ in Syracuse. The stars aligned for our schedules to match up because I was able to find a plane ticket that I didn’t need to take out a small loan for and M had a free week because it was school vacation week for T.

Mason Jar Iced Coffee

Mason Jar Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

Mason Jar Iced Coffee

As always, my mom had special meals and treats planned for us, but one of our favorite afternoon pick-me-ups (which I am learning is very necessary with two active babies running around) were the mason jar-brewed iced coffee. She had made two different types made with regular coffee and a caramel flavored coffee. The mixture of the strong smooth coffee with the rich caramel flavor, the creamy half and half, and sweetness of the condensed milk was the perfect combination.

Mason Jar Iced Coffee

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Recipe type: drink

Prep time: 12 hours

Total time: 12 hours

Serves: 3-4

The perfect afternoon pick-me-up!

Ingredients

⅔ cup ground coffee, flavored if you prefer
Cold water
Half-and-half or milk
Sweet condensed milk

Instructions

In a 1-quart pitcher or mason jar add in ⅔ cup of ground coffee. (We used caramel-flavored coffee). Fill with cold water and set on the counter for 12-24 hours.
After the coffee brews, line a mesh sieve with cheese cloth and a coffee filter. Place over a 1-quart measuring cup. Start off spooning the grounds at the top of the jar into the filter. Slowly pour the coffee through the filter until all the liquid passes through the filter, cheese cloth, and sieve.
While the remaining coffee is filtering, rinse out the pitcher or mason jar.
Squeeze the remaining coffee out of the filter. Pour the filtered coffee back into mason jar. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
To serve:
Fill glass with ice. Pour in the coffee, followed by a few tablespoons of half and half or milk and then 1-2 spoonfuls of sweetened condensed milk. Stir together and serve with a spoon. Add sugar or sweetener if your prefer your drink sweeter. Enjoy!

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on April 18, 2014

Deviled Eggs 4 Ways.jpg

One of the most popular posts on our site has been the Classic Deviled Eggs post from Easter last year. M and I got a good laugh after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Superbowl Sunday because we would get so much traffic from Pinterest for the Deviled Eggs post. I think we have only thought about having deviled eggs around Easter time, but we are so glad for to learn there are hardcore deviled egg fans year-round! I have been thinking of how I could expand on the original post to show more versions of deviled eggs.

I personally love classic deviled eggs and had never ventured outside of my favorite recipe. When I received this month’s Cooking Light, I was excited to see they had 12 different types of deviled egg recipes. I knew I had to try some new recipe variations!

In one day, I made four of the 12 types, adapting them slightly based on ingredients I had on hand. (I was quite impressed that I could make four types without buying any more items!):

Pickle Jalapeño
Pimiento Cheese
Herb and Crumb
Wasabi Ginger

The results (well, besides Matt and I being stuffed with eggs) were delicious. My favorite of the four was the Herb and Crumb, while Matt’s was Pimiento Cheese. I predicted that would be his favorite since we are always making up this Pimiento Cheese Dip I shared with you last month.

Easter is the best time to make deviled eggs because of all the extra hard-boiled eggs from decorating eggs. When my sisters and I were younger, we loved decorating eggs. Since there was four of us, my mom had to make a lot of eggs so we could get our fill of coloring. What did we do with all that extra eggs? Deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches of course! We hope everyone has a great Easter Weekend!

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Ingredients

12 eggs

Instructions

Gently place the eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water (water level should be 1-inch above the eggs.)
Place saucepan on stove-top, set to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove saucepan from heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Fill a large-sized bowl with ice cold water while the eggs are sitting.
After the 10 minutes, take eggs out of hot water with a slotted spoon and place in the ice water gently; let sit for 5 minutes.
Store in refrigerator or use immediately

Pickle Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

12 hard-boiled eggs
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
3 tbsp. 2% Greek yogurt
1½ minced sweet gherkins
1 tbsp. minced pickled jalapeño
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. fresh cracked pepper
Thinly sliced gherkins, for garnish

Instructions

Peel eggs and then slice length wise. Take out the yolks of the eggs and place them in a medium sized bowl. With a fork, mash the egg yolks until all the large chunks are gone.
Add in remainder of ingredients except for garnish and stir with a rubber spatula. Mash mixture on the side of the bowl to smooth out any lumps.
Prepare a pastry bag with a large star tip (I used Wilton’s 6B). Take egg yolk mixture and add it to the pastry bag, then twist the top portion closed to push the eggs into the bag further.
Pipe the yolks into the egg whites by applying pressure to pastry bag and lifting up slowly and releasing the pressure as the egg white fills with yolk. Top each egg with sliced gherkins.

Pimiento Cheese Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

12 hard-boiled eggs
¼ cup chopped pimientos, drained
¼ cup light mayonnaise
½ tsp. hot sauce
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. fresh cracked pepper
¾ ounce reduced fat shredded cheese
2 tbsp. pecans, toasted and chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Peel eggs and then slice length wise. Take out the yolks of the eggs and place them in a medium sized bowl. With a fork, mash the egg yolks until all the large chunks are gone.
Add in remainder of ingredients except for garnish and stir with a rubber spatula. Mash mixture on the side of the bowl to smooth out any lumps.
Prepare a pastry bag with a large star tip (I used Wilton’s 6B). Take egg yolk mixture and add it to the pastry bag, then twist the top portion closed to push the eggs into the bag further.
Pipe the yolks into the egg whites by applying pressure to pastry bag and lifting up slowly and releasing the pressure as the egg white fills with yolk. Top each egg chopped toasted pecans.

Herb and Crumb Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

12 hard-boiled eggs
2 tbsp. panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. butter
¼ cup light mayonnaise
3 tbsp. light sour cream
3 tbsp. chopped green onion
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

In a small fry pan, melt the butter and add the panko bread crumbs. Stir until toasted.
Peel eggs and then slice length wise. Take out the yolks of the eggs and place them in a medium sized bowl. With a fork, mash the egg yolks until all the large chunks are gone.
Add in remainder of ingredients except for toasted panko breadcrumbs and stir with a rubber spatula. Mash mixture on the side of the bowl to smooth out any lumps.
Prepare a pastry bag with a large star tip (I used Wilton’s 6B). Take egg yolk mixture and add it to the pastry bag, then twist the top portion closed to push the eggs into the bag further.
Pipe the yolks into the egg whites by applying pressure to pastry bag and lifting up slowly and releasing the pressure as the egg white fills with yolk. Top each egg with the toasted panko breadcrumbs.

Wasabi Ginger Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

12 hard-boiled eggs
¼ cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, plus 2 tsp. for garnish
4 tsp. grated ginger
4 tsp. wasabi paste
4 tsp. lime juice
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Peel eggs and then slice length wise. Take out the yolks of the eggs and place them in a medium sized bowl. With a fork, mash the egg yolks until all the large chunks are gone.
Add in remainder of ingredients except for garnishes and stir with a rubber spatula. Mash mixture on the side of the bowl to smooth out any lumps.
Prepare a pastry bag with a large star tip (I used Wilton’s 6B). Take egg yolk mixture and add it to the pastry bag, then twist the top portion closed to push the eggs into the bag further.
Pipe the yolks into the egg whites by applying pressure to pastry bag and lifting up slowly and releasing the pressure as the egg white fills with yolk. Top each egg with toasted sesame seeds and chopped cilantro.

Pickle Jalapeno

Source- Adapted slightly from Cooking Light, April 2014

Wasabi Ginger.jpg

And here’s a bonus version- the classic recipe for Deviled Eggs for all those leftover Easter Eggs!

Click Here!

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on March 10, 2014

Well, hello readers! I originally made this recipe for Super Bowl Sunday, but ran out of time to post it before it happened. Then, I was going to post this as an Oscar’s appetizer, but I am now too late for that! Get it together Keelin! I am officially sharing this recipe with you all so I don’t procrastinate it anymore. This Pimento Dip is a quick and easy cold dip that makes a perfect last-minute appetizer.

A few years ago, I shared a hot Tex-Mex Pimento Cheese Dip with you and today I am sharing a cold one. This dip goes perfectly with tortilla chip strips. The best part about this dip is that Matt can pull it together all on his own and I just get to eat it! I actually don’t think I have made this recipe yet, even this batch was made by Matt! We always dip right into this as soon as it is ready. If you plan to make this recipe ahead of time, store in the refrigerator and bring out 30 minutes before serving. It’s still amazing when it’s cold, but this dips firms up when it is chilled and you will break your chips in it. Nothing is worse than breaking your chips in the dip…well, there are probably a few more thing, but in the dip world it is pretty tragic.

Pimento Cheese Dip

Ingredients

4 oz. reduced fat Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup light mayonnaise
½ tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning
2-3 tbsp. pimentos, or chopped roasted red pepper
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Mix in the remaining ingredients until combined.
Serve at room temperature or chilled with tortilla chips or veggies.

Source- Adapted from Paula Deen via the foodnetwork.com

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 14, 2014

The most popular type of dessert in this house is by far cookies. It seems we have tried every type of chocolate chip cookie and frosted sugar cookie there is. I am always saving the latest and greatest recipes I find. While I was thinking about what I was going to make for Valentine’s Day, I knew that a soft fluffy cut-out sugar cookie with buttercream frosting was in order. Last years cutout sugar cookies with buttercream frosting were such a hit that I thought soft heart cookies would be worth a try. I made soft sugar cookies with buttercream frosting a couple years ago for a bake sale and they were heavenly. My mom made them for Christmas this year and between my boyfriend and I we ate at least half the batch! These heart shaped soft sugars are right up there with the my other two favorite recipes!

I divided the original recipe in half because it made 6 dozen cookies. Since there is only the two of us in my house and we are both on Weight Watchers, we really did not need 6 dozen cookies!

After decorating these cookies with pink frosting and Valentine’s Day sprinkles, I realized how similar these looked to last year’s cookies! I should have tried to make red or purple frosting, but oh well! They were delicious anyways.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Soft Heart Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

For Cookies:

3 cups of All Purpose Flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 small eggs or 1 and ½ large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream or light sour cream

For Frosting:

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar
Smidgen of salt
3 tbsp. heavy cream
food coloring, optional
sprinkles, optional

Instructions

For Cookies:

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in egg and mix until combined. Add in vanilla extract and sour cream and stir until everything is incorporated.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Slowly mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture, with your mixer on low and making sure to scrape down the sides. Once all combined, divide dough into two. The dough will be sticky so you may want to lightly oil or flour your hands to prevent sticking. Place each dough half on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten to about 1 ½ inches thickness. Wrap completely, repeat for second half, and chill both halves for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Flour countertops and roll out the first dough slab to about a ¼th inch thickness. You may need to flour the top of a dough a little too if it gets too sticky. Lightly flour your cookie cutter and cut out your shapes, place each cookie on prepared baking sheet and leave about 2 inches between each cookie. Repeat until you use up all the dough. This recipe should make about 3 dozen but that all depends on the size of your cookie cutter (mine was about a 3 inch heart.)
Bake for 7-8 minutes until cookies start to turn golden on the edges. Using a spatula, gently move your cookies over to a cooling rack.

For Frosting:

Cream together butter and vanilla extract in the bowl of you stand mixer set at a low speed. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar and a smidgen of salt (half a pinch) until smooth. Add in heavy cream a tablespoon at a time and continue to beat on medium for 1-2 minutes until the frosting has a light and fluffy consistency. Add your desired food coloring and mix in.

For Assembly:

Once the cookies are cool, frost them with 1-2 tsp. of frosting with a offset spatula or a butter knife. If desired, add sprinkles to frosting right after before it begins to set. Enjoy!

Source- Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

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Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 6, 2014

Root Beer Floats

Do you remember the days of letter jackets, Sadie Hawkins dances, and hanging out at the soda shop after school? Yeah I don’t… I wasn’t born yet. I did have a poodle skirt and saddle shoes for a Halloween costume though. I am also pretty sure I kept wearing the saddle shoes well after Halloween because I thought I was “wicked” cool. (Wicked is a term used in the Syracuse and Boston area that in essence means really really or like totally… Yup that’s my technical definition.)

Vanilla Ice Cream for Float
Why am I referring to soda shops and saddle shoes? That’s because today’s recipe is the Root Beer Float, a favorite throwback recipe in my home.

Root Beer Poured into Float

My mom and I made some fantastic root beer floats when she came to visit in November. Due to Thanksgiving sides, Christmas cookies, and appetizer craziness around here, I hadn’t had a chance to post about them. While we were making the floats, we recalled how grandma called root beer floats, Brown Cows, and ones made with cola and vanilla ice cream, Black Cows. This sparked a conversation and some googling to see what other types of floats are out there.

There are a lot of types of soda floats! A Boston Cooler is when you made a float with ginger ale and vanilla ice cream (originated in Detroit not Boston- sorry M!) A Snow White is a when you make a float with lemon-lime soda and vanilla ice cream. Then, there is an Orange Cow with orange soda and Purple Cows with grape soda, both with vanilla ice cream. You can get crazy with some Beer floats or Shakin’ Jesse, which is Guinness and vanilla ice cream. Who knew you could make this many floats, but my favorite will always be the Root Beer Float!

Root Beer Floats

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Ingredients

Root Beer
Vanilla Ice Cream

Variations:

Cola and Vanilla Ice Cream
Orange Soda and Vanilla Ice Cream
Grape Soda and Vanilla Ice Cream
Root Beer and Chocolate Ice Cream
Lemon-Lime Soda and Vanilla Ice Cream
Ginger Ale and Vanilla Ice Cream

Instructions

In a glass add in two scoops of ice cream and then slowly pour in soda until glass is filled.
Serve with a straw and a spoon.

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on January 31, 2014

Southwest Wontons

Here we are- just a few days from Super Bowl Sunday! Are you ready for your party? What appetizer or snacks are you going to be bringing or sharing? Meagh and I have plenty of recipes to share. Have you tried our:

Just a few ideas in case you haven’t been thinking about it 24/7 like some of us (ehhmm.)

I saw this recipe for Southwest Wontons a year ago and have been dying to make it ever since! It’s taken me a year because I was looking for a good opportunity to post about them. I should have made them sooner because they are so good! I actually made them twice because my first photo shoot was too dark. These wontons could be good dipped in just sour cream, but I went ahead and created my own chipotle lime dipping sauce that pairs perfectly with the wontons (if I do say so myself!)

As I have said before, I hate frying food- not even for health reasons, but because I am clumsy and how it makes the whole house smell like fried food. I wasn’t offended by this frying though because I only used about 1/2 inch of oil in my pan. Each wonton only fries for about a minute a side too so it’s really quick! I made the filling and dip ahead, then put the wontons together and fried them right before we were ready to eat them.

Southwest Wontons with Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce

Southwest Wontons

Ingredients

1 cup frozen corn, thawed
½ red pepper, seeded, ribbed and chopped
½ poblano pepper, seeded, ribbed and chopped
½ small yellow onion
1 block reduced fat cream cheese (8 oz), at room temperature
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked pepper, to taste
30-40 wonton wrappers
Canola oil, for frying

Instructions

In a medium bowl mix together the first 5 ingredients. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a skillet with about ½ inch of canola oil on medium-medium-high heat, depending on your stovetop (mine runs a bit slower to heat up then others).
Take wonton papers and spoon about 1-2 tsp of filling in the middle of the wonton. Moisten the edges of the wonton by running you finger lightly moistened by dipping in water along the edges of the wonton. Fold the wonton in half so that opposite corners are meeting and press edges together. Your first wonton with be the determent of how much filling you should be using, just enough to fill but not too much it is overflowing. Make sure wontons are sealed completely or they are going to splash oil all over the place!
Once all wontons are filled, line a couple plates with paper towels. To determine if the oil is ready to fry, stick the edge of a toothpick in the oil tosee if it sizzles. Fry the wonton in groups of 4-5 so they are not touching. Flip after about 1 minute. Cook other side for another minute until golden brown, remove from oil to paper towels. Repeat for remaining wontons.

Southwest Wontons and dip

Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
1 cup light sour cream
¼ cup light mayonnaise
Juice from 1 lime
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor add all the ingredients. Process for about 30-45 second until all ingredients are combined. Place dipping sauce in a airtight bowl and let chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Source- Wontons adapted from Shared Appetite and Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce is a 2s2c original

sisterk (2)

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on January 30, 2014

Hummus

When I first started out working in New York City, I lived in Hoboken, NJ with one of my college roommates. I had grown up on homemade hummus, but my food processor at the time was one of those mini-prep food processors handed down from my mom. Making hummus in this mini-prep was impossible and messy! We started to buy Sabra hummus and Stacy’s pita chips at the grocery store because of the ease and we soon became addicted! We would eat an entire container for dinner some nights.

Pita Chip Dipped in Hummus

Before Christmas, my boyfriend Matt returned from a business trip in Israel, he too has discovered the love for hummus and pita chips. When we went to visit my family, my mom had made homemade hummus and whole wheat pita chips. With a mouthful of hummus and pita chips Matt asked, “why haven’t you ever made this for me?” Truthfully, I forgotten about how delicious and easy to make homemade hummus was. Now that I had a large-sized food processor there were no more excuses.

I have been making a batch of hummus and pita chips every weekend since we have come home. The first batch I made was too garlicky, the second batch was a little too dry, but by the third batch I had perfected the recipe. Here it is to share!

Hummus and Whole Wheat Pita Chips

Hummus

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, inside green stem removed*
4 tbsp. chickpea water (the liquid from the chickpea can)
2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed thoroughly
⅓ cup tahini
6 tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 2 lemons)
2 tsp. Kosher salt
10 splashed of hot sauce (I used Franks, so if using a more concentrated hot sauce start with less)

*When you slice a piece of garlic in half lengthwise, you will see a green stemlike thing. Pull it out and throw it away. I always thought that this was some sort of kitchen myth so I stopped doing it awhile ago. I learned from David Lebovitz taste test post that if you aren't cooking the garlic, the green germ inside makes your dish bitter. Since we aren't cooking this garlic get those green centers out. Batches 1 and 2 of my hummus had the centers in them ,and the third batch did not. I could taste the difference!

Instructions

Cut garlic in half to remove the green centers.
Next cut the cloves into even sized pieces and throw them into the bowl of your food processor. Turn the food processor on and break the garlic up into smaller pieces.
Add chickpeas, 2 tbsp of chick pea water, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and hot sauce. Process for about 30 seconds, add in additional 2 tbsp of water, food process again until desired thickness.

Hummus and Pita Chips

Whole Wheat Pita Chips

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Ingredients

Whole wheat pocket pitas
2-4 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with non-stick silicone mats or parchment paper.
With a bread or serrated knife take a pita and cut into 8 equal triangles (like a pizza.) Take each triangle and peel into two pieces (using pocket pitas). Repeat for all pitas.
Starting with 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a small bowl use a pastry brush to brush each side of the pita with olive oil. Use additional olive oil as needed.
Spread the pitas out on two baking sheets and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
Bake 1 sheet at a time for 8 minutes, turning pitas halfway through and baking an additional 4-5 minutes until golden brown
Repeat for second batch, let pitas cool and store in a airtight container until serving.

Source- Both Hummus and Pitas are adapted from Ina Garten

sisterk (2)