Orange Mint Chicken Drumsticks

I was wanting to do something with mint, and happened to have drumsticks needing to be cooked.  Viola; Orange Mint Chicken sounded delicious, and here you go:

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Orange Juice
1 tsp Orange Emulsion
1 Tbsp Dried Mint (Juiced)
Seasoning (Alpine Touch & Tarragon)
5-6 Chicken Drumsticks

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the Oil, Orange Juice, Emulsion. and seasoning together in a bowl.  Roll the drumsticks one at a time into the mixture and place into a deep pan (I covered with tinfoil to make cleaning easy).  Once complete, pour the remaining mixture over top of the drumsticks in the pan and the sprinkle with additional seasoning.  Cook for 40-50 minutes or until done all the way through.  Serve & Enjoy!

Mix the Oil, OJ, Emulsion and Spices together in a bowl

Roll the Drumsticks in the mixture and place on a foil covered cookie sheet

Take out of the over after about 50 minutes

Serve & Enjoy!

Cucumber-Watermelon-Mint Protein Smoothie

A nice fresh and delicious tasting protein smoothie for Summer with a hint of sweetness and mint!  I highly recommend this one.

Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 Cups Triple Berry Frozen Fruit Mix (Raspberries, Blueberries & Blackberries)
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Cucumber (Peeled & chopped)
1 1/2 Cups Watermelon (chopped)
2 Tbsp Dried Mint Leaves
1 Cup Milk


Directions:
Add the frozen ingredients into the blender first and then add the protein and the remaining fruit, top with the milk (This helps ensure a better overall blend).  Blend on medium/high speed until well blended and serve.  This gives you 2 smoothies to enjoy so that you can take care of 2 days at once, refrigerate the remaining smoothie.  Enjoy!

Add all of the ingredients to the blender

Blend thoroughly

Serve & Enjoy!

If you interested in more smoothie recipes here are my previously posted recipes

Heirloom Carrot-Watermelon Protein Smoothie

Watermelon-Triple-Berry Protein Smoothie with Kale

Pear-Apple-Berry Fruit Protein Smoothie

Fudge Mint Brownies: St Patrick's Day Recipe # 3

When I first came across this recipe it sounded delicious!  However, the recipe was geared for parfaits in jars.  Once I started looking at the recipe it wanted me to make 24 jars of the stuff.  I was able to come up with about 10 people I could hand it out to (mostly coworkers) which still left me with 14 jars.  I can eat but that is a little overzealous, even for me.  So I decided to just make it in the pan as one big brownie parfait, and it turned out splendidly.  I did have some extra hot fudge and some extra mint filling, but we just pile it on the brownies and have also used it as some delicious ice cream topping, so no complaints here.  Enjoy and may your journey always lead you forward in happiness and good health!

Ingredients:

Brownie Batter
1 Box Brownie Mix (I used Duncan Hines Double Fudge Brownie Mix but use what you like)
2 Eggs (for the cake style)
1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

Hot Fudge Sauce:
1 Cup Butter
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 Cups White Sugar
1 (12 Oz) Can Evaporated Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
*If all else fails you can just use a jar of hot fudge sauce 

Mint Filling:
1 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 Can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
8 oz container Cool Whip (thawed)
1 tsp Mint Extract
green food coloring

a dozen or so Oreos (crushed) for the topping

Directions:

Brownie Batter:
Following the directions on the back of the Brownie Mix box, mix all of the ingredients together.  Pour it into a greased 9x9 pan.  Cook according to the box's instructions.   Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Hot Fudge Sauce
Combine butter, cocoa, sugar and evaporated milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Carefully pour hot mixture into a blender and blend for 2 to 4 minutes. Pour a generous amount over the cooled brownies.  Place the dessert into the fridge to cool completely before adding the mint topping.  Store any remaining hot fudge in the fridge for later use.

Mint Filling
Mix together the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth.  Gently fold in the Cool Whip.  Mix int he mint extract and the green food coloring until the desired shade of green is achieved.  Carefully spoon the mint topping over the top of the hot fudge sauce and just to the top of the pan.  

Topping:
Crush the oreos and sprinkle on top of the mint filling.  Serve & Enjoy!
 

Mix the ingredients together for the brownie batter

My sous chef helped me out with this step :)

Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake in the oven

Remove from the oven and allow to cool

Place the hot fudge ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil

Boil for 7 minutes

Pour into a blender and bled for 3-4 minutes

Ready to be used immediately after blending

Pour the hot fudge sauce on top of the brownie batter and chill

Add the cream cheese and the condensed milk to a mixing bowl

Mix together

Gently fold in the cool whip

Mix in the mint extract and the food coloring

Carefully add the mint filling on top of the hot fudge layer

Should be right to the top of the pan

Generously sprinkle the oreo crumbs on top of the mint filling, Serve & Enjoy!

St Patrick's Day Recipes

St. Patrick's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays!  I LOVE delicious Irish food!  With that being said I like to prepare ahead of time and know what I am going to make.  So I have perused the internet and come up with a few delicious snack and dessert recipes that I know I will be making at least one of these this year!  Because I know that I won't have the time or the stomach space to make and eat ALL of them, I wanted to share the best ones that I came across.  I will be sharing whichever one(s) I choose with step by step directions.  Do any of you have any St Patrick's Day or Irish traditions?  Please let me know! 

Rainbow Cake in A Jar!
So many colors and so much yumminess!













Here is the link: Rainbow Cake In A Jar

Caramel Rice Krispy Treats
I haven't made Rice Krispy Treats in ages, but these get me in the mood for St. Patty's Day!

Link to the recipe: Caramel Rice Krispy Treats








Mint Fudge Brownie Parfaits!
Oh man, I want to eat one of these right now.....

Here is the recipe: Mint Fudge Brownie Parfaits










Rainbow Fruit Platter:
This is delicious and fun to eat and make!  I definitely want to make a variation of this!

Here is the link:Rainbow Party Platter








Guinness Chocolate Pudding
I wish my dad lived closer so that I could make this for him!

Here is the delicious recipe: Guinness Chocolate Pudding

Apricot Glazed Lamb Roast Recipe

Apricot goes very well with lamb and this was a delicious combination with a hint of mint.  I will definitely make it again.  Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys lamb.

Ingredients:

1 Leg of Lamb Roast (3 lbs)

Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Brown Sugar Bourbon, Tarragon, Mediterranean Basil, Ground Cinnamon)

Glaze: 

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1 Cup Apricot Preserve

2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbsp dried Mint leaves

1 tsp dried Tarragon

2/3 Cups dried apricot halves (cut into strips)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

dash ground Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees  Cover the bottom of a pan with foil to make clean-up easy.  Place the lamb roast in the pan with the fat side up.  Cook for 25-30 minutes per pound.  using a meat thermometer a reading of 135-140 for medium rare, cook more for more well done.  Prepare apricot glaze with about 10 minutes left for cooking.

To prepare the glaze combine all of the glaze ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Remove lamb from oven and spoon over the roast to cover.  Return tot he oven for another 10 minutes.  Remove and serve slices with glaze spooned over the cut slices.  Enjoy! 

Set the roast on a plate for seasoning

The delicious seasoning that I used

Season all sides of the roast and place in the pan

Combine the glaze ingredients

Remove the roast from the oven and cover with the apricot glaze

Serve & Enjoy