Pasteis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

I stumbled across this recipe and decided to give it a try.  It seemed easy for what I've always thought would be complicated to make and I guess if you were making your own puff pastry, then it would...They're never the same here if you've eaten them in Portugal, but I thought I'd give it a go since they're a fine breakfast or dessert, regardless.

Keto Pizza

I had to try this when I saw it.  I've never really had a good pizza crust that is not made with real white death flour of some sort...I had no idea what size this would make but it made a large pizza.  What I used:

Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Crust

This recipe is Joanna Gaines', from Magnolia network.  I saw her make it on her show and thought how much my son would enjoy this, so I made it for him.  I didn't look to see if I had powdered sugar in the cupboard (I did) so bought it while out shopping for this.  Are you kidding me, a bag of icing sugar was $4.69!!!  I used to love food shopping, now I just feel like I'm getting reamed. 💰😠 ...and I won't even eat this, lol.  What I used:

Poulet Mafé

I saw this recipe come up and decided to give it a try.  It comes from the Senegal region of West Africa, I learned.  I didn't buy scotch bonnet peppers at the grocery store as they came in a pack of 8 for $5!  I knew I'd only use one so decided to use my scotch bonnet hot sauce instead.  In the video, he uses one whole pepper to simmer in the stew at the end.  I also only had sweetened (Kraft) peanut butter but hopefully could balance that out with extra hot sauce???  I bought a pack of thighs that was well over 2 lbs as well but I used it all anyway.  I marinated my chicken overnight.  In the video he kept the chicken skin on and so did I.  

Pad Kra Pao

I make this on rotation but have never put the recipe up so today was the day.  It really only takes a couple of minutes to put together once you've done the mise en place (15 more minutes?).  It's a ground meat and "Holy Basil" stir fry.  What I used today:

Low Country Pickled Shrimp Salad

I saw this on food t.v. and I knew (providing I could find pickled okra) that this would be my next salad.  I ended up pickling my own okra as I couldn't find it locally.  What I used:

Homemade Pickled Okra

I tried to buy jarred pickled okra locally but couldn't find it.  So, I decided to make it myself and found this recipe.  Here's my take on it:

Tiramisu

I made this  before and it was really tasty and easy to make.  The only downside of this dessert is the cost of Mascarpone cheese!  It cost me $16 for a 400 gram container!  On the up side, it freezes really well which was another bonus.  And the fact it's simple, no eggs meaning less work...One thing I've learned is to not soak the lady fingers too long or too short of a time.  I find you should dip, feel the liquid starting to penetrate, flip, then quickly remove.  If you get the timing right there will be zero liquid left over.  I've had it where there was waaaay too much left and not enough.  You have to find the groove of it...

Baked Feta & Tomato Spaghetti Squash

This seemed like an easy and possibly tasty recipe so I thought I'd give it a try.  I didn't have fresh oregano and only had fresh Thai basil but I used it anyway as I think it has more punch. 👊  Here's what I used today:

Chicken Wing Tom Yum Soup

This was something new to try for me.  I never order Tom Yum soup when at Thai restaurants but I was intrigued by this recipe because of the use of chicken wings.  We're in the middle of a snow storm here so I ordered in groceries.  I was so sad when the lemongrass didn't show up 😞.  I bought this new soup infuser so wanted to try it out.  This was perfect for it.  What I used today and by no means am I calling it "authentic", it was just my take on Tom Yum soup: