Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

Quite often what I make is driven by what I feel like making. At times however I find myself coming up with ideas just to use up whats left in my fridge from my previous ideas. This time around it was pickled jalapenos that I had shared with you a few days ago. Now I am a big fan of jalapenos, especially the pickled ones. My pizza always has to have some and so do my sandwiches. I made two big jars and have been working through them but still had quite a bit left of the last jar. That is where these sandwiches come in. Pickled jalapenos done popper style between two slices of bread grilled to perfection.
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Homemade Bagels with Jalapeno Cream Cheese spread

This is another one in the line of my attempts to recreate at home a commonly available preparation that I thought for the longest time nearly impossible or at least too difficult to create at home. The humble bagel definitely proved to me it sure is a little tricky and requires attention to detail to get the best result. I speak from experience. The first time I tried it, it got too chewy and tough. After much I though I figured out where I was going wrong. To get the right taste and texture, you have to be very mindful of how long you boil the dough, the right pinch of baking soda and finally baking it just right. Once you get it how you want it, and not to mention with the easy-to-put-together but outta this world jalapeno spread, a fresh out of the oven hot bagel with a spicy spread will be close to if not the best kind of bread you ever had.

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Baked Buffalo Broccoli Bites!

Now I realize the post before the last was Brussels Sprouts and here I am trying to sell you guys in to Broccoli - another vegetable that is famous in its notoriety for not being the most liked. But trust you me, after you eat this, you might just discover your new found love for this nutritious member of the cabbage family.
I speak from personal experience. Usually I try to make a vegetable many different ways - in a curry would be my first way, dry pan roasted, oven roasted, tandoori style, mixed with rice as a one pot meal and probably a couple others. Most vegetable are very agreeable to most these methods and come out pretty good. Your good old broccoli on the other hand, not so much. It usually only works for me only when roasted dry with some light seasoning. After tasting these bites, especially with the spicy homemade buffalo sauce, this will be the preferred way to eat broccoli in my household at least for some time to come.

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Roasted Parmesan Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Sour Cream Dip

Who wants to eat brussels sprouts, right? If you were to make a list of commonly available vegetables that most people dislike, these little guys would most probably be very near if not the top of that list. Heck they use these even in TV shows when they have to show parents trying to stuff veggies into kids and the kids kicking up a fuss. Well, not in my family. Hubs loves them and the way he likes to put it "Who wouldn't especially if made the way you make 'em"! This was a new vegetable to me as well until a few years ago when their cute little cabbage shape got my attention. No points for guessing that curiosity got the better of me and I got a batch immediately. Of course the first thing I tried was to cook them like cabbages - in a curry. That was a success. Since then I have cooked them several different ways but these roasted ones are the most popular in my family. They are easy to make, not to mention very nutritious and with their crispy exterior and juicy soft insides, they make a great appetizer or a side to a meal.
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The Best Ever Carrot Cake!

If you have never had carrot cake and the thought of carrots and cake does not paint a very appetizing picture in your mind, think again. For those of you who know and like 'gajar ka halwa', you kinda got the idea already. I was a skeptic once, a long time ago, and then like with everything else food, I had to try it for myself.
This carrot cake is such that once you make it, every single person who has tasted it (including you) will ask you when you are making it again. This cake has branding value. Yes, you might be known by this cake - you know when they say so and so's carrot cake - and you will be begged for the recipe, LOL. Its really that good!
The cake is fluffy and yet has that moist texture from the carrots. The carrots blend their identity into the overall taste and texture of the cake and together with the spices like ginger and nutmeg, give this cake its unique and unmistakable flavor. The hide and seek from the pieces of nuts definitely adds an interesting play as well.

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Dark Chocolate Caramel Nutella Twix Bar

realize the nutella freak in me has been going crazy with these nutella based desserts/recipes lately and believe me I was totally and deliberately trying not to post anything remotely related to the yummy goodness. Then I saw this saw this recipe and I knew I had to give in. For the longest time I thought those chocolate bars were only possible by specialized machines in the factories and needed time and work to make but was pleasantly surprised with this recipe. It is so easy and equally delectable. The same great chocolate bar taste with the added touch of nutella and sea salt to give it a gourmet feel is now all homemade. This one's a winner!

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Cinnamon Rolls/Buns!

alfway through my pregnancy when I was carrying my little princess there was brief period of about a week when cinnamon roll was the only thing I would eat. We bought a whole big pack from our local Sam's club. The craving was gone in a few days but cinnamon rolls were stuck in my mind.

Cinnamon rolls need no introduction; sticky, sweet, sinful and utterly delicious. But the best thing about making your own is the irresistible aroma of the fresh rolls baking in the oven. The straight out of the oven, warm, soft and glazed rolls are heavenly you just want to dig into them and gobble them up... irresistible! On the day you feel like indulging, make these beauties.

I made them a few times since, made them again last week. Whenever I make them, the wonderful smell reminds me of my pregnancy days and then I see my little princess making a mess of herself eating them up. There is no better feeling. That makes this one special for me.

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