Beer Battered Onion Rings

Two of my favorite foods, beer and onions, have united to make this not so healthy, but very tasty recipe: Beer Battered Onion Rings.

Anyone who has known me for more than one day knows about my obsession with onions. If you look in my kitchen, you will without a doubt always find onions at any given time. So you can only imagine how excited I was to make these onion rings.

Cut the onion into 1/2-inch slices and separate into rings.

You'll need one cup of any dark beer. When you are measuring the beer, do not include the froth. Looks like I need more beer!

The egg white in the batter is what helps the batter stick to the onions.

Beer, flour, salt, pepper and egg white - pretty simple batter!

Drip off any excess batter before frying.

Fry em up! If you want to fry more than one ring at a time, make sure your fryer is big enough so that the rings do not touch each other while frying.

Crispy and delicious Beer Battered Onion Rings!

In summary, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t know if I would make this recipe again. It was quite time consuming and created quite the mess in my kitchen. We enjoyed eating them thoroughly, but they just might end up being a one hit wonder.

Meatballs!…not to be confused with the Snookie and Deena variety

These meatballs have very quickly become a favorite in our household. They are so full of flavor it’s hard to believe that they’re on the healthier side of meatballs…you heard me.

The fresh herbs in this recipe is really what makes these meatballs special.

Basil, oregano, parsley, onions, garlic, parmesan...how can they NOT be delicious!

A secret and unusual ingredient: soaked bread in the place of bread crumbs.

Roll the meatballs into the size of golf ball. I love how the color of fresh herbs pops so well!

To cook the meatballs, I let them simmer in marinara sauce for about 30 minutes. This cooking method makes them so moist and flavorful (and helps with the healthy factor).

We usually use the sauce on top of spaghetti, but I think they would taste pretty delicious on a sub as well.

So what makes this recipe healthier than normal meatballs? 2 main things. We are using fresh whole grain bread in lieu of breadcrumbs and there’s no oil! But you’d never guess based on how tasty these babies are .

Banana Pudding….Cupcakes!

Did someone say Banana Pudding? Nope. Someone said Banana Pudding Cupcakes!

Yes my friends, these are as delicious as they sound (and look). Some may even say, my best creation yet .

Mash two ripe (almost completely browned) bananas. The browner the banana, the more banana flavor you'll have in your cake.

Add the mashed bananas to the cake batter once it has been prepared.

Check out this fun cupcake corer the hubs snuck into my stocking this Christmas.

The corer pulls out the center of the cupcake - same mechanism as a wine bottle opener.

Use a piping bag to fill the cupcake with the vanilla pudding.

Push the cake that is stuck in the cupcake corer back in the potion you just cored. The filling will not ooze out, it will mostly seep through the rest of the cupcake making it moist and delicious!

Okay, I skipped a few steps here. But basically what I did was crumble some Nila Wafers onto the cupcake before icing it (you might see some peeking out from underneath the icing). Then I piped the icing (which by the way is a fresh whipped cream based icing so it’s very light and fluffy) and finally I placed a Nila Wafer in the middle of the icing for garnish.

Wah-Lah! Banana Pudding Cupcakes!

One important disclaimer for this recipe. The shelf life on these cupcakes is pretty short. The cake portion will stay fresh if properly stored for 3-4 days. However, once you get the Nila Wafers and icing involved, time until soggy mess increases exponentially! I’d highly recommend only icing these puppies right before serving. Don’t worry, they are so tasty that you won’t have any leftovers to worry about storing.

Happy New Year!

As the New Year begins, it’s inevitable to reflect back on the year gone by. I have so much to be thankful for and the number one thing on that list by miles is my husband. He has been beyond supportive of all my endeavors not matter how out of reach they feel at times. It’s rare to find someone in life who is not only your biggest cheerleader (sorry Neil, couldn’t think of a better analogy) but also a partner who is hell bent on making sh** happen.

Other things I am grateful for include:
1. My friends and family (that’s a constant).
2. Launching my blog.
3. Finding a job in this crap economy. It might not be the job of my dreams but it’s still something to be very grateful for.
4. My beautiful new standing mixer….and ice cream attachment.
5. Baked Apple Cinnamon Donuts.

My first step in the culinary world began in 2011. In the coming year I want to set forth a few ‘hopes.’ Forgive me for not calling them resolutions, but I simply hate that word as every year I see empty resolutions being thrown out there and never being realized.

In 2012 I hope to:
1. Continue to blog at least once a week.
2. Learn/Create 25 new recipes.
3. Finalize my online cupcake website (I’m going to have to sneak this ‘hope’ onto my husband’s list).

Happy New Year to all my friends and family! And a special call out to the new friends I have made through this blog. Wishing you a fantastic new year!