Cocinando con Alena

When I was a little girl, my mother would always make us crepes on Sundays. I also loved the smell of vanilla when my mother would make her cookies. So, I would always ask her to make her cookies, and when she refused, I would take out the vanilla and sit it next to me with the cap open, so that I could breathe the aroma. My mother get a kick out of this, and said, well, if it's that important, we'll add a little vanilla kick, just for you. After the first time she put the vanilla in, there was never a last...it became a tradition :) Vanilla Crepes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups milk 3 egg yolks 2 tablespoons vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons melted butter Directions: In a large bowl, mix together the milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt and melted butter until well blended. Heat a crepe pan over medium heat until hot. Coat with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Pour...

My mom has always made this for us on Christmas morning, and since we only have it once a year it makes it even more good. It is so delicious, and everyone enjoys it! When I double the recipe I use 1 pound regular sausage and 1 pound sage sausage.. Christmas Breakfast Sausage Casserole Ingredients: 1 pound ground pork sausage 1 teaspoon mustard powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 eggs, beaten 2 cups milk 6 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes 8 ounces mild Cheddar cheese, shredded Directions: Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain. In a medium bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk. Add the sausage, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cover, and bake 45 to 60 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (16...

Ruffles! I saw this frosting technique on sweetapolita and had to try it. I think the end of my piping tip was a bit too even – I could have gotten sharper ruffles with a tip that had a more angled opening. Regardless, I couldn’t contain my glee at the sight of such a pretty cake! I ran out of frosting though, so my two little cakes ended up being ruffled and sprinkled which I thought was quite fun. The cake is a traditional white cake that I added a little lemon zest to, then filled with lemon curd and topped with Swiss meringue buttercream icing. Which is now my new favorite – so rich and creamy and just mildly sweet. I thought it went perfectly with the intensely lemony filling. The lemon curd and cake are both Martha recipes, and I followed the buttercream recipe found on the blog that inspired my cake making festivities. I was very pleased with the mini pans that I had just bought – I think the cakes came out so cute and were small enough tha...

A full flavored Mexican casserole that will not leave you feeling hungry and the leftovers are great for freezing and eating later. Serve with chopped green onions or lettuce and plenty of sour cream,,  only 6.5 weight watcher points per LARGE serving! YUM! (on the new, Points Plus system of Weight Watchers, this recipe is 9 points),, Mexican Casserole - 6.5 Weight Watcher Points Ingredients: 1 lb extra lean ground beef (drained or rinsed!) 1/2 cup onion (chopped) 1/4 cup canned jalapeno slices, chopped 2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped or 1 (15 ounce) can diced canned tomatoes 1 (15 ounce) can kernel corn (drained) 1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained) 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix 8 corn tortillas 3/4 cup nonfat sour cream 1/3 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend, shredded 1/3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste Directions: Brown ground beef and chopped onions in large skillet; brown 10 to 12 minutes or until thor...

There’s nothing trifling about this dessert that has it all: peanut butter, cookies and creamy chocolate pudding.  Peanut Butter-Chocolate Trifle 12 servings, 2/3 cup each Ingredients: 1 pkg.  (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding 1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding 3 cups  cold milk, divided 1/4 cup  PLANTERS Creamy Peanut Butter 1 tub  (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided 30 chocolate chip cookies (2 inch), chopped 3 Tbsp.  chocolate syrup Instructions: EMPTY pudding mixes into separate medium bowls. Add 1-1/2 cups milk to each; beat with whisk 2 min. Add peanut butter to vanilla pudding; beat until well blended. Stir 1/2 cup COOL WHIP into pudding in each bowl. SPOON chocolate pudding mixture into 2-qt. serving bowl; cover with layers of half each of the remaining COOL WHIP and chopped cookies. Repeat layers, using vanilla pudding mixture. DRIZZLE with syrup....