Simply Tasty

Peanut Butter Torte

2009-06-16T08:06:00.003-05:00

An unexpected break...I’m having a hard time staying motivated to blog. I do have recipes I need to post and I have certainly had the opportunity to do so, but I just haven’t. The same goes with staying updated on my GR. I have so many unread posts in there, some of which are from my favorite blogs, but I just can’t get motivated to even read them.

Anyway though… Last year the TWD bloggers posted this fabulous Peanut Butter Torte, it was right before my birthday and I decided it was going to be my birthday cake. Sadly, I was a bit insane last summer taking 17hrs and working full time so I didn’t have time to make it. This year however, GAME ON. I’m not taking any classes this summer, only working (and AHHHH! I only have 1 month left of that!) So I have much more time.

So my birthday came around a couple weeks ago and it was a fabulous day. I took the day off work, went on a nice run with the husband followed by a mani, pedi, massage, a nice big piece of this torte, happy hour and the cinema suites at the new Mainstreet Theater here in KC. It was the absolute perfect start to the big 2-7. I never ever get to relax, so a little pampering is just what I needed.

The Torte is amazing…. to die for, absolutely perfect, fabulous, creamy, super rich, chocolaty, peanut buttery with a hint of cinnamon, espresso, and nutmeg that just gives it a little kick. It’s one of those desserts that you go to sneak a bite of before your meal and somehow end up devouring an entire piece. I took some of this into work and it was very well received. I was told I have to make it again before I leave. The recipe is very simple to make. I made the crust and filling one night and then the ganache topping the next day. This dessert is definitely one of my favorites and will be made again and again!

Peanut Butter Torte
Dorie Greenspan
Baking: From My Home To Yours

¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

2009-05-31T21:07:00.003-05:00

Last week I must have been in a Mediterranean Mood.

I made Mediterranean Chicken Salad and this Mediterranean Pasta Salad. I was looking for a recipe that was easy and flavorful and after looking through quite a few sites I stopped at RecipeZaar. My biggest regret with this is that I forgot to buy fresh basil and parsley so I was stuck using dried. Don't get me wrong, this was absolutely fabulous and full of flavor, but I can just imagine what fresh herbs would have done.

Besides the flavor from the dressing, I loved the all the veggies and feta, it was just so good. (sadly I didn't get a good shot of the veggies. Believe me, it was very pretty!) Oh and the artichokes, I just love artichokes. The process of making this is easy but long, it's not something to just throw together after work and eat for dinner. That's kind of a pain but it really allowed the flavors to marry. We had this the first night on a Tuesday and it lasted the rest of the week for lunches and dinner. The next gathering we go to I will definitely bring this. I think it will be a big hit with a crowd! It would also be wonderful with some chicken or steak - something I will definitely add next time.

Easy Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Source: RecipeZaar

1 lb shell pasta, cooked al dente, drained well, and tossed with 2 tbs olive oil (I used campanelli and didn't use 2tbsp olive oil, that just seemed ridiculous. I drizzled a tiny bit on the pasta and then tossed it)
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
Handufl of grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup pitted kalamata olive chopped (omitted, I don't like olives)
1 (4 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut into quarters
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 (1 1/2 ounce) envelope tomato basil soup mix
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large serving bowl, toss together the pasta, onion, cucumber, bell peppers, celery, olives, and artichoke hearts.

Refrigerate the salad up to 24 hours In a medium glass mixing bowl, whisk together the oils, vinegar, soup mix, black pepper, basil, parsley, and feta until well blended. (I only added 1/2 cup of the feta, I wanted some to crumble on top when I served the salad)

Pour 1 cup of the dressing over the salad and toss Refrigerate the salad for at least 6 hours.
When ready to serve, toss the salad with the remaining dressing.

Fresh Strawberry Bars

2009-05-31T19:09:00.007-05:00

When I got the May 2009 issue of BHG and saw Fresh Strawberry Bars on the cover I knew they were right up my alley. Recently I've become a sucker for anything strawberry. I also knew I needed to make sure they didn't stay around my house long. I wanted to bring them into work, but one of my coworkers is allergic to Strawberries so I kept putting them off.

Last week that coworker was out of town so it was my chance to make them. The dense peanut butter base of the bars is the perfect compliment to the sweet strawberries. It almost tastes like the freshest, gourmet PB&J sandwich you've ever had. I got a TON of compliments on these. They were everything from "Oh this reminds me of the pastries I used to eat in France" .... "Oh wow this is the best Peanut Butter and Jelly I've ever had" ...."Wait, you MADE those??" "Oh my gosh, this is delicious"... and last but not least "scrapescrapescrape" (The sound of people scraping every last bit off their plate.) Matt was also a huge fan of these and exclaimed "WOAHHHHOMYDISOGOD!" (That's Woah! Oh my gosh this is so good! With his mouthful.) I really appreciated all the compliments and they made me laugh because the recipe is incredibly easy. All in all I say this is a perfect summer time dessert. I highly, highly recommend it!

Fresh Strawberry Bars
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup strawberry jam (I ended up not measuring and just eyeballing how much jam was needed)
4 cups small whole strawberries, halved or quartered (I think quartered is the best bet, I ended up sprinkling mine with brown sugar to make them extra sweet)

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12×9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond edges. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Spread dough in prepared pain. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool completely on rack. Remove from pain by lifting foil. Spread jam and top with berries. Cut into bars. Serve at once or refrigerate up to 6 hours. Makes 24 bars.

Make ahead: Wrap the peanut butter base in foil; store at room temperature up to 24 hours. Before serving, top with jam and berries or freeze the peanut butter base in a freezer container up to 3 months. For individual servings, cut the base in portions and freeze. Pull a portion from the freezer, thaw, and top with jam and berries for a last-minute dessert.**

**What I did was made the base and cut and topped 4 individual bars to take my pictures. I wrapped the rest in foil and the next morning before work I spread jam on the remaing base and topped with strawberries. I took it to work and cut individual squares and then kept it in one of those pyrex carry cases with the compartments for icepacks so it stayed cool all day.

Cookie Carnival: Almond Macaroon Sandwiches

2009-05-31T17:07:00.006-05:00

I'm barely getting this posted in time! I forgot all about the recipe until today and decided to throw it together. I didn't want to be like last month when I missed it and posted late.

This month Kate chose Hazelnut Macaroon Sandwiches. I was nervous about making these because 1) I'd never made Macaroons before and 2) I don't get along so well with sandwich cookies. Luckily, the recipe was pretty simple.

Everything was going well while I prepared this until I went to pipe the mixture on the parchment paper. I sort of missed the part where it says pipe MOUNDS. I guess I saw the word diameter and just assumed I was supposed to pipe circles. Well that certainly didn't work for me and I was annoyed so I decided to just take a measuring cup and pour the mixture on the baking sheet. So it really doesn't look like I have macaroons, I have flat circles. But they are still so good! I substituted ground almonds for the hazelnuts and it tastes great . The cookie itself is delicious, it's light and sweet with a hint of almonds. Add the chocolate ganache filling and it's just amazing. I'm looking forward to trying to make this again... the right way!

Almond Wanna-Be Macaroon Sandwiches
Source: Williams-Sonoma

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 egg whites, at room temperature
* 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
* 1/4 cup superfine sugar
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1 cup toasted, skinned and ground almonds
* 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
* About 2/3 cup ganache filling (see below) refrigerated until cool and thick enough to spread

DIRECTIONS:

Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper. Have ready a third rimless baking sheet, unlined.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar and beat on medium speed until the whites begin to thicken. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat just until soft peaks form. Slowly add the superfine sugar and continue to beat until stiff, shiny peaks form. Beat in the vanilla until blended. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the almonds and confectioners sugar until incorporated.

Scoop the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe mounds 1 1/2 inches in diameter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the mounds 1 inch apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Let the cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 35 to 45 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, putting the cookie-filled baking sheet on top of the unlined baking sheet. (This insulates the top baking sheet so the cookie bottoms do not darken too much.) Bake until the tops and bottoms are firm and golden, 10 to 13 minutes. That wasn't quite enough for me (as you can see they look a bit light, not so golden.)

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully lift the parchment, one end at a time, and sprinkle about 2 Tbs. water under the paper. Be careful that the steam does not burn you and that water does not splash on the cookies. (The steam loosens the cookies from the paper.) After 3 minutes, slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet, peel the cookies from the paper and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Turn half of the cookies bottom side up. Spread a thin layer of the ganache filling (about 1 rounded tsp.) over the cookie bottoms. I piped my filling in because the cookies were huge! Press a plain cookie, bottom side down, onto the ganache. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Chocolate Ganache Filling

INGREDIENTS:
* 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and butter.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream just to a boil. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Using a handheld whisk, stir the mixture until the chocolate and butter melt and are smooth. Let cool until spreadable.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups.

Thanks Kate for another great month!

Cookies For Breakfast

2009-05-25T19:04:00.006-05:00

But first things first. The other day I received a notification that I had a new comment on one of my posts. It was from Anonymous but I quickly found out it was actually from my Grandma:

Hi Stacey-This is the 23rd of May and I just went in to your blog to see what's new. Surprised and "thrilled" to see the group at the winery for Ann's birthday celebration.. And for anyone else seeing this that birthday cake is fantastic!! Have a good one-love to you and Matt--G'ma M.

The post she's referring to is here. 1) I love that my grandma reads my blog and comments on posts. 2) You know if Grandma says a cake is good, it MUST be good. So everyone needs to make the Italian Birthday Cake!

Ok, now on to cookies for breakfast.

I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies on Baking Bites recently and decided I needed to make it ASAP. Peanut Butter and Bananas make such a good combination I couldn't wait to try. The recipe is fairly simple and the cookies seem fairly simple but the taste is far from simple. One bite and I felt like I was eating a bowl of oatmeal with PB and bananas mixed in. I added some chopped honey roasted peanuts to add to the texture of the cookies and bring out the peanut flavor a bit more. The cookies are soft and chewy, similar to traditional oatmeal cookies, but the peanut butter gives them a bit more substance.

I made these 2 days in a row. The first day in cookie form and the second day in bar form. I took them to work and got rave reviews and requests for seconds. Overall my coworkers seemed to go for the bars over the cookies. Matt loved these - he was definitely not happy when I took them into work. Keeping them in my house would have been trouble. Like I said, they tasted like a bowl of oatmeal and with only 2tbsp of butter I rationalized they were a good choice for breakfast and a good pre-workout snack. :)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Source: Baking Bites

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used chunky)
1/4 cup mashed banana
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped Honey Roasted Peanuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.In a large bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Beat in egg until smooth, then mix in the peanut butter and mashed banana. Working by hand or with a mixer on low speed, blend dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture. Stir in the oats and chopped peanuts.

Shape dough into tablespoons and place on baking sheet, flattening each slightly with your fingers. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies just begin to turn golden around the edges. Cool on a wire rack.

Bakes approx 2 dozen. I got 2.5 dozen.

Belated Cookie Carnival: Toasted Almond Pink Lemonade Bars

2009-05-17T21:43:00.004-05:00

I missed Cookie Carnival last month and was really bummed out. I was so looking forward to making lemon bars. I don’t like lemon bars but really wanted to mess around with the recipe a bit. Even though I missed the carnival I decided to play along when I had time. Rather than just making “plain” lemon bars I made Pink Lemonade Bars using Strawberry and Lemon.

The bars were tart yet very sweet, just like Strawberry Lemonade and the almond shortbread gave a nice crunch to the bars. I took these took work and got as many compliments on the yummy shortbread crust as I did the bars as a whole. They have definitely beat out my old favorite Strawberry Bar recipe. They are a bit labor intensive but well worth it. Kate and Holly, I'm so bummed out I missed this month. These were absolutely wonderful. I just bought 4lbs of Strawberries and I know where some of them will be going…

Toasted Almond Pink Lemonade Bars
Adapted From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy
Makes 1 dozen bars

For the Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 Tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

For the Stawberry Lemon Filling:
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
1 cup strawberries, hulled and pureed 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

To Toast the Almonds:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Before You Start:
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Make a parchment "sling" by cutting two pieces of parchment paper, measuring 16 1/2 inches long by 12 inches wide (you can also use aluminum foil). Place one piece across the length, and the other across the width of the pan, with the excess hanging over the edges. You will use this sling later to lift the finished bar from the pan. Spray the sling with the cooking spray.

To Make the Crust:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, almonds, and salt to combine. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. This was my first time making dough in my food processor and it was so easy. It turned out sooo much better than using my blender.

2. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/4 inches up the sides. (This crust, once it is baked, needs to act as a liner in which to pour the liquidy lemon filling. So be sure to do a good job of pressing the dough up the sides - no cracks!). Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights ( you can use dried beans or uncooked rice as pie weights as well). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Carefully remove the pie weights and the liner and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the whole crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To Make the Filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the almond extract and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice and strawberry puree, and whisk to combine.

To Complete the Bars:
1. Pour the lemon strawberry filling into the prepared crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm and lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

2. When cool use the parchment sling to lift the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into twelve 3 x 3 1/2 - inch bars. Remove from the pan and, using a small sifter, dust with the confectioners' sugar.

The bars keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

To check out the results of April’s Cookie Carnival, go visit Holly of Phemomenon who was the guest host this month. For more information on Cookie Carnival go check out Kate at the Clean Plate Club.

Spinach Salad with Strawberries

2009-05-17T14:15:00.003-05:00

I made this salad for dinner a few weeks ago and it was a big hit. It's based off a recipe I adapted from my friend Leslie. She made this for a shower a few months ago and from what I remember she couldn't keep the bowl filled. I made a huge batch so I was able to have this for dinner and a few lunches. It's a perfect summertime meal!

Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Adapted from: Leslie

Ingredients:

For Salad:
To be honest, I eyeballed the amounts of everything....

Bag of leaf spinach
Fresh sliced strawberries (sliced)
Red Onion, sliced
Sliced almonds
Chopped Walnuts
Crumbled Bacon
Feta
Cooked BS Chicken Breast Seasoned with S&P

For the dressing (I doubled this based off the size of my salad):

1/4 cup of veg oil
1/4 cup of sugar
1/8 tsp worcestershire
2 T cider vinegar

Mix oil, sugar, worcestershire and vinegar to make dressing. Set aside. Put spinach in salad bowl and top of with strawberries, onion, almonds, walnuts, bacon, feta, and chicken . When ready to serve, pour dressing over the salad and then toss well with tongs.

Banana PB Granola

2009-05-17T13:46:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I was on overload. I didn't really have time to cook any meals and was pretty much living off snack-type foods. That combined with not having time to workout as much as I like left me feeling pretty gross. I stumbled across this recipe for Banana Peanut Butter Granola on Annie's Eats and immediately put the ingredients I didn't have on hand on my grocery list. I made it that evening and have made 4 batches of it since. I have yet to make a recipe from her blog that isn't a big hit in our house. Matt and I absolutely love the crunchy combination of Banana and Peanut Butter with a hint of chcolate. Vanilla yogurt with this granola mixed it has become my number one snack lately.

Another reason I absolutely love this is because with my old oven I could not make a batch of granola without burning it. My new oven however makes this beautifully. Each time I've made this granola I messed around with the amount of ingredients a bit, the first time I made I used more Rice Krispie (3.5cups) than Oats (2.5 cups) because I ran out of Oats. That has been my favorite batch. I also like to add some of the chocolate before mixture completely cools. Below I have the recipe as found on Annie's blog.

Banana Peanut Butter Granola
Souce: Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
2 tbsp. honey
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup mashed bananas
1/3-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, warmed slightly (I use 1/2 heaping cup)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1-1 1/2 cups dried banana chips
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts
3-4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, mashed banana, peanut butter, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the oat mixture is evenly coated. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet in a thick even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then, using a large spatula, turn the granola over in segments. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried. If necessary, remove the edges of cooked granola and bake the remaining granola for 10-15 minutes more or until done, being careful not to over-bake. Cool on a wire rack.

Once the granola has cooled, crumble it into a large bowl or plastic bag. Add in the dried banana chips, honey roasted peanuts and bittersweet chocolate, if using. Mix well to combine. Store in an airtight container.

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

2009-05-17T12:19:00.002-05:00

This is a recipe I have heard my friend Leslie rave about for a while but I never made it. At the end of March one of the grocery stores had some excellent 5 for 5 sales on veggies. Red Peppers were one the selected items. I love Red Peppers but was feeling a little overwhelemed at the idea of 5 Red Peppers hanging out in my fridge. I soon remembered this recipe and decided to give it a shot. OK, actually I lied, I was up to my ears in homework so Matt actually made these. He did a wonderful job! These stuffed peppers very tender and juicy, definitely not a diet food but well worth it. I asked Matt how he woluld describe them and he said "Really good, an exquisite meatball in a red pepper". (what a nerd!) I think that means he really liked them. I also loved them and we've been talking about them ever since that night.

Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers Recipe
Courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Sinful Vegetables

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 large egg
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
2 zucchini, ends removed, halved lengthwise and crosswise
1 short orange bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short red bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short yellow bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
(We obviously just used Red Peppers)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly drizzle the olive oil into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Whisk the onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Cover and refrigerate the turkey mixture.

Using a melon baller or spoon, carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Be careful not to pierce through the skin. Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed vegetables.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown and a thermometer inserted into the filling registers 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the stuffed vegetables to a platter and serve

Where do I begin?

2009-05-17T11:06:00.005-05:00

It's hard to believe my last food related post was March 22nd. It sounds like a cop-out to say I've been super busy, but I honestly have. I work for the Layoff King in KC and when we went through the last round of layoffs a massive chunk of my group was laid off leaving the rest of us to do our work and all of theirs. So between all the OT, school, trying to workout, and everyday "stuff" I haven't been very connected to the world of blogging or even the internet in general. Today though, I am back! I spent the morning lying in bed and watching 90210 reruns on Soapnet. I haven't just lounged around in months. It felt great.

My back to blogging recipe is one I got from my coworker Eddie. I know I've mentioned before that I'm not a cake person, but this cake could be reason I'm slowly coming around to the stuff. Back in February Eddie brought some into work and I accepted a piece to be polite, thinking I'd have a bite and bring the rest home for Matt. I quickly ate my words and gobbled up the cake in no time. I asked what kind of cake I'd just inhaled and found out it was Italian Wedding Cake.

I assumed it was some sort of secret family recipe and went home and scoured the internets for what I thought could be the recipe. I found one on All Recipes and bookmarked it to make sometime. Before I had a chance to make it Eddie brought the cake in again. This time I asked her if I could have the recipe, she said sure and started to look it up online and told me it’s just so easy. I was shocked to learn that this recipe came from an episode of Sandra Lee Semi Homemade. Eddie laughed at me when I told her I thought the recipe was top secret. She said one day she was home from work watching the food network and she saw good old Sandy whipping this cake up. Eddie makes a few changes to the recipe which I decided to follow as well.

The first time I made this for my Aunt Ann’s 60th Birthday. The girls (I use the term girls to describe those of us age Twenty-Something to age Eighty-Something) in my family decided to surprise Ann with a Girls Weekend. We spent the day at a winery, a micro-brewery, and ended the night just hanging out at the hotel. It was so much fun and everyone loved the cake. The second time I made this was on Easter and my in-laws all loved the cake as well. The cake itself is incredibly delicious, dense, moist, rich, and did I mention delicious?

It has coconut, walnuts, and pineapple both in the cake and in the frosting. Both my husband and brother in-law dislike coconut, walnuts, and pineapple but loved the cake. I know my description of the cake is very vague, but it’s been so long since I made this I’m having a hard time thinking of descriptors. I would make it again but it’s VERY dangerous to keep around the house! The bottom line is this recipe for Italian Wedding Cake is phenomenal. I'm not even sure I'll ever give Allrecipes a shot.

Italian Wedding Cake
Source: Adapted from Sandra Lee

Ingredients
1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 (20oz) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 cup sweetened flake coconut, divided
2 cups chopped pecans, divided
2 (16-ounce) cans cream cheese frosting I made my own homemade cream cheese frosting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 3 9in cake pans with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, buttermilk, egg whites, and extracts. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in 8oz crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup coconut, and 1 cup pecans. Divide batter into 3 prepared cake pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 31 to 36 minutes or until tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn out on to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1 cup pecans and frosting. Frost the top of each layer with 1/2 cup of frosting and stack on top of the next layer. Use remaining frosting to frost the entire outside of cake. Slice and serve. If you make homemade frosting, add remaining coconut, pineapple, and pecans to the frosting, frost the top of each layer and entire outside of cake. Slice and Serve (I made my frosting usig 1 8oz cream cheese 4ish cups of powdered sugar, 2 sticks of butter and the pineapple, pecans, and coconut and it was enough frosting for 2 cakes)

And just for fun...

All of us at at the winery with some of our loot (yes, thats frost on the already bloomed trees on March 28th)

Sorry my spacing is messed up... I guess I'm just getting used to this blogging stuff again :)

2,559 Days Ago

2009-04-21T00:00:00.005-05:00

7 years and 2 days ago....

Those two dorky kids met and fell in love

731 Days ago or

2 years ago

April 21, 2007...

Those same dorky kids take the plunge and get married...

The hubster and I are celebrating our 2nd Anniversary today. We just got back from a fabulolus little stay at Hermann Hill in Hermann, MO. It was a super relaxing trip filled with lots of good wine, food, and hot tubs! The past 2 years have just flown by. It's hard to believe we have been together for 7 years and married for 2 of those 7. It feels like yesterday we were just college kids whose biggest worry was whether or not to go to a party or stay in and order a pizza. Matt is a really great guy and I still wonder what I did to deserve him. It's been a great 2 years of marriage. I can't wait to see what the years ahead bring us.

And because I've been known to be an attention whore from time to time...a few La Vita Dolce....

Oh and lookie what he got me...

I left my house the other morning with this in the kitchen...

And came home to find this....

YAY!! He decided to break it in by making himself a frozen pizza, but I gave it a good use the next night. I swear I'll be back next week with some new posts. Life has just been hectic, I've been working a ton of OT at work and with school ending in 3 weeks, the last month has been insane. I'm looking forward to the summer when school will be O-V-E-R and I can relax and do the things I love!

My Latest Addiction

2009-03-22T20:16:00.003-05:00

I hate watching the news before bed at night. It's so depressing and scary! You would think that there is nothing good in the world going on. The last thing I want to hear about before I fall asleep is who was murdered and who is getting laid off. So what do I watch before bed? The Food Network. Specifically Alton Brown's Good Eats and if I'm not tired Unwrapped. I used to think Alton Brown was just plain weird. I thought his show was stupid and didn't want to hear all of his "useless" factoids. Somewhere along the line though he grew on me and I now love tuning into him and his interesting facts at night.

Last week on the episode Sandwich-craft he made an simple, but delicious sounding Roasted Vegetable Spread. Roasted Veggies, Cream Cheese, EVOO and S&P and you got yourself an awesome dip. When I made this, I altered up the recipe a tiny bit by adding some extra vegetables. It almost reminds me of Panera's Veggie Cream Cheese, but much, much better. The roasted vegetables give the cream cheese a great flavor, especially the sweet roasted garlic flavor. I'm so glad I found this recipe. I'm starting to get bored with hummus and laughing cow cheese, this is a great way to change up my lunches and snacks. I served this with pita wedges, home made pita crisps, and veggies. Besides starring in my lunch this will also make an appearance at my next get together. It's simple to throw together, but the flavor is sure to impress company.

Roasted Vegetable Spread
Source: Alton Brown Good Eats

Ingredients
1 red bell pepper, sliced into rings I used 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 handful broccoli florets
1 handful of baby carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces cream cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper (I added quite a bit of pepper)
Challah, foccacia, pita bread, or veggies

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the bell pepper, onion, garlic, zucchini, broccoli, carrots and olive oil in a medium mixing bowl and toss until the vegetables are coated. Spread the vegetables evenly on sheet pan lined with foil and place to the oven. Roast, tossing occasionally, until they are soft and are beginning to turn brown around the edges, approximately 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Place the vegetables in the bowl of a food processor along with the cream cheese and process until well combined and spreadable; do not process until completely smooth.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on soft bread, such as challah, foccacia, pita bread, or serve with vegetables. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

White Cake with Strawberry-Lime Frosting

2009-03-22T18:28:00.004-05:00

I had the urge to bake a cake the other day despite the fact I don't normally care for cake. I was going to go with Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake, but then decided I wasn't in the mood for chocolate. (I know, I know, what on earth got into me!?) I found a few different recipes but ultimately settled on Classic White Cake that Baking Blonde posted about a few months ago. I distinctively remember this post because it was a change up from the chocolate/peanut butter/cookie goodness I find so often on her blog. I was confident the cake would be delicious because everything I've tried on her blog has been wonderful.

I wanted a layer cake, but only have one round baking pan. (Isn't that odd?) So, I improvised a bit.... I baked the cake in a 9x13 glass pan that I had COATED with butter. When I pulled the pan out, the cake had pulled itself away from the edges a bit. I also took a Spatula and ran it around the edge of the cake. After it cooled, I flipped the cake upside down and gently shook the pan so the cake kind of worked its way out onto a cutting board. I let it cool completely and then I cut the cake in half so I had two squares.

Then, I started on the frosting. The other night we went to Matt's cousin's house and had delicious strawberry short cake. Ever since then strawberry desserts have been on my mind. I had strawberries in the fridge and thought I'd make a strawberry butter cream frosting. I ran the idea by Matt and he told me he wanted cream cheese frosting. I did a little research on strawberry frosting/fillings and found one similarity in all the recipes. I had to put the strawberries in a saucepan, bring them to a boil and crush them. When I went to the fridge to pull out the strawberries, I saw lovely limes looking me in the eye and decided they needed to be used too. The result was an amazing Strawberry-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. A frosting that I will make again and again.

I definitely need to practice my cake decorating skills, but over all I was happy with how my cake looked and very happy with how it tasted. The cake was moist and dense with a very subtle flavor and the frosting almost tastes like a Strawberry Daiquiri. The strawberries are nice and sweet, but then the sweetness is cut by the lime flavor - it's very refreshing. I have some left over frosting that I'm going to use on sugar cookies.

When I asked Matt if he liked it, he told me he did and said this, "You know honey, you're baking skills and my home remodeling skills are pretty similar. Every once in a while something turns out bad, but mostly the results are good things. This cake is a great thing". Men and their compliments. :) He keeps getting himself massive pieces so there isn't enough for him to take to work tomorrow... sneaky, sneaky.

White Cake with Strawberry-Lime Frosting
Cake Source: Baking Blonde
Frosting: Me

Classic White Cake

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 large egg whites

3/4 cup milk

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Butter two 9-inch diameter by 1 1/2-inch deep layer pans or 1 (13 by 9 by 2-inch) pan and line bottoms with parchment or waxed paper. (I was out of parchment paper so I just buttered the pan really well. There was no way I was using waxed paper, I had a bad experience with that once!)

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5-7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture.Scrape bowl and beater often. Pour batter into prepared pan (s) and smooth top with a metal spatula. Bake cake (s) about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.

Strawberry-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks butter, very soft

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, very soft

2 tsp vanilla

3-4 C powdered sugar

8oz strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/2 - 1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

zest from 1 lime

Combine strawberries, brown sugar, and 2 tbsp lime juice in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly and crushing strawberries with the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Cream butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer. Add 1 C of powdered sugar, mix well. Add the second cup and mix well. Add the strawberry mixture, lime zest, and remaining lime juice and (oh wait, you know what's next..) mix well. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. I ended up adding about 1 3/4 cup more powdered sugar. This made a ton, I had enough to frost the cake, use it as the filling, and still have some leftover.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-18T17:35:00.006-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope everyone had an awesome day. I know I sure did! I took the day off to enjoy some green beer and the gorgeous weather. I also made some cookies.....

I took them into work on Monday. My coworkers all loved them. I made Chocolate Shamrock Rollout Cookies with my favorite Dorie Recipe and made Cookies on a Stick with a Candy Four Leaf Clover. I used Royal Icing which I am still learning how to use the right way. I know it's famous for it's smooth look, but I do love when it's a little bit thicker, it gives me an opportunity to practice using my different decorating tips. When I decorated the cookies on a stick though, I thinned it out and got the smooth look.

For the Candy Four Leaf Clover, I used an idea I saw on Pennies on a Platter last week. I printed off an image from the Internet, placed it under a piece of wax paper and piped green candy melts over the image. When the candy set I just CAREFULLY peeled it off.

Blurry Pic of my Cookies on a Stick:

My chocolate cookies and you can also see my candy clovers:

Close up of some of the decorating detail:

I still have a long way to go in the world of decorating, but I think I'm definitely improving.

Recipes

Chocolate Rollout Cookies

Cookies on a Stick

Royal Icing

Are you a Ten? How 'bout a Time Bandit?

2009-03-16T12:33:00.001-05:00

I just joined the TBTL Tens Metablog . There has to be at least one other time bandit (or maybe you’re cool and live in Seattle) that knows what I’m talking about. If you don’t, click here and check out the AWESOME that is TBTL.

Rawr!

Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches

2009-03-15T20:38:00.003-05:00

I've been receiving the BHG daily recipe emails for a few years now but I rarely pay attention to them. The other day though I was procrastinating (what's new, right?) and my phone buzzed with a new email. It was from BHG. I decided to look at the featured recipes and saw quite a few that looked good. One in particular that caught my eye was Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches.

You make the beef in the crockpot and then throw it in a saucepan with a few other ingredients right before serving. The meat had this awesome spicy flavor to it. I'm usually not a big shredded beef fan, but this was so good. I even had the leftovers for dinner the next night. This meal was perfect for my crazy life because the bulk of the cooking is in the crockpot. We threw it in at 5 when we went to the gym and by the time we left for work at 7:45 the house was already full of the wonderful aroma of our dinner in the crockpot. I was also happy because the nutritional value of the sandwiches wasn't too shabby. I am positive we'll be making this again.

Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1 sliced red pepper, orange pepper, and yellow pepper
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 cups Shredded Beef Master Recipe (see recipe below)
1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles I used the Hot/Spicy Rotel
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro I used 1/4 Cup
1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces)
4 rolls, split and toasted, if desired
1 cup shredded lettuce

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, cook onion in hot oil over medium heat about 4 minutes or until tender. Add shredded beef, undrained tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until heated through and desired consistency. Stir in cilantro.

2. To serve, sprinkle some of the cheese over bottoms of onion rolls. Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture over cheese on each bun. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and the shredded lettuce. Add roll tops.

Makes 4 servings.

Shredded Beef Master Recipe: Trim fat from a 3 to 3-1/2 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast. If necessary, cut beef to fit a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker. Place 2 large onions, cut into thin wedges, sliced peppers and 2 cloves garlic, minced in the cooker. Top with beef.

In a medium bowl, combine 1, 14-ounce can beef broth, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed; 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Pour over beef in cooker. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 11 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5-1/2 to 6 hours.

Remove beef and onion from cooker, reserving juices. Using two forks, shred beef, discarding any fat. Skim fat from juices. Add onion to beef; add enough juices to beef to moisten. Place 2-cup portions of beef in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes 6 cups.

** Nutrition Facts: Calories 114, Total Fat (g) 4, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 1, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 16, Sodium (mg) 230, Carbohydrate (g) 10, Total Sugar (g) 1, Fiber (g) 1, Protein (g) 9, Vitamin C (DV%) 7, Calcium (DV%) 5, Iron (DV%) 7, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet**

Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Oats

2009-03-15T20:20:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I've made a few things including these fabulously yummy cookies. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. I took the ATK Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and messed around with the recipe a bit. I don't remember why I made these, but my coworkers were crazy for them. I had multiple people ask if I put crack in them because they were so addicting. My bosslady had 6! When you take a bite it's like a flavor explosion. The peanut butter makes these especially moist and the oats give them a somewhat crunchy texture. I must say I agree with my coworkers, these are damn good.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from: ATK

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2c rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
1 c peanut butter
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus
1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, oats, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, vanilla, and peanut butter. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips. I didn't follow this next step. I just used my good old PC cookie scoop. Although I did use parchment paper and refrigerate my dough for a bit. For an illustration of step 3 click here

3. Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.I found the trick to these cookies was taking them out of the oven before they looked like they were done. They stayed moist on the inside but slightly crunchy on the outside.

The Latest in Baby Shower Dessert

2009-03-01T12:40:00.006-06:00

Hosting a baby shower soon? Tired of traditional baby shower food and games? Pay attention to this post.

Jules is having a baby. Somewhere along the line an idea for a Fetus theme came to light. (I think this happened at a lonnnggg happy hour one night.) It may have been a joke at first, but it slowly turned into reality. The evite, the games, the cookies, the shirt Jules wore... all fetus themed.

Around Christmas Julie stopped by and happened to see some of my mad cookie decorating skillz. I had put all the decent looking cookies away, but the super ugly ones were still out. I think it was then she knew I'd be the perfect partner to decorate the fetus cookies

So on Wednesday I headed over to her house and we got busy decorating cookies. Some were normal and others had stories. Each cookie had a bottle in hand, an umbilical cord (Twizzlers Pull and Peel), and a placenta (prune). The whole time we were decorating we just kept cracking up... it was just weirdly hilarious that we were actually decorating these cookies.

I couldn't make it to the shower because I had a wedding to go to, but I went over after the reception (the shower was still goin on... my friends know how to throw one hell of a party!) and found out they were a big hit. There were still a few cookies left so I had to try one, they were surprisingly tasty and believe it or not, it wasn't strange taking a bite out of one of the cookies.

So if you're hosting a shower and are running out of original ideas, consider the fetus theme... you too can have cookies in the shape of a fetus from "America's #1 Fetus Cookie Cutter" (no really that's what the package the cookie cutter came in says).

The somewhat normal cookies...

These fetuses had stories...

And these guys REALLY had stories...

Non-Traditional Soda Bead

2009-03-01T11:31:00.003-06:00

After my success with Food and Wine last weekend I went back to the website to find a recipe to use my leftover buttermilk. I also decided to search for an Irish Soda Bread recipe. I was pleasantly surprised to learn buttermilk is one of the ingredients in Irish Soda Bread.

The recipe was very simple and while it was baking I did a little research on Irish Soda Bread and came across this website: http://www.sodabread.info/. It's dedicated to the preservation of traditional Irish Soda Bread. Contrary to popular belief Traditional Irish Soda Bread is made of only flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. So when people talk about making Traditional Irish Soda Bread and then post a recipe for Spotted Dog, it's not really Irish Soda Bread. Interesting, isn't it?

So was my Irish Soda Bread traditional? Nope. The recipe includes sugar which is an absolute no. It also includes butter. The website says butter is ok if you want to deviate a bit.

According to the website,Traditional Irish Soda Bread does not contain:

*"zest", orange or any other kind
*Irish Whiskey
*Honey
*Sugar
*eggs
*Garlic
*Shortening
*Heavy Cream
*Sour Cream
*Yogurt
*Chocolate
*Chiles/Jalapenos
*Fruit

Anyway, back to my experience with the Non-Traditional Irish Soda Bread... it was delicious, very dense and moist. It was amazing warm with some butter. Matt and I almost polished off half the loaf right after I took it out of the oven. I was surprised at how my finish loaf turned out... it didn't maintain the shape of the original ball of dough. ..

Getting ready to go in the oven...

Right out of the oven.. woah!

Irish Soda Bread

Source: Food and Wine Magazine

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add the buttermilk and cooled butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is well combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 times. Shape the dough into a 9-inch round loaf and transfer to a baking sheet. Slash an X about 1/4 inch deep in the top of the bread. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the bread is golden and the bottom sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Transfer the soda bread to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Cookie Carnival: Fudge Cookies with Toffee and Dried Cherries

2009-02-25T21:23:00.008-06:00

Well, maybe not quite. But, Cookie Carnival is Back!

CC was on a break in January and I just didn't have time to participate in December. I'm so glad it's back. This month Kate chose Fudge Cookies with Toffee and Dried Cherries from Regan Daley. I was happy to see we were baking chocolate cookies this month, but cringed when I saw the dried cherries. I don't like cherries. I planned on just leaving them out when I decided to take the cookies a whole different route.... Chocolate and Orange.

Have you ever had a bite of an orange and then popped a piece of dark or bittersweet chocolate in your mouth? Heaven. It's a simple combination that tastes (almost) luxurious. It's a wonderful way to indulge. I've been on an orange kick the past couple weeks. I like to pair it with dark Hershey kisses from time to time. With all the chocolate in this recipe I knew adding orange would be a sure winner. I've also developed an obsession with lime recently and at the very last minute decided to add lime zest and lime juice to the recipe as well.

The result was a fresh, citrus-y flavored cookie. The orange and lime didn't overpower the chocolate, but they really complimented it. Matt liked these, I absolutely loved them. I was going to give them to Matt to take the work, but decided my freezer would make a much better home. Next time we have Mexican and some Corona I think these cookies will make a great addition :)

Fudgy Orange Cookies

(orange fudge cookies? chocolate chunk orange cookies?)

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 + 1tbsp granulated sugar, separated
2 large eggs
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Zest and Juice (mine was about 1/4 cup) of 1 orange

Zest and Juice of 1 lime

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line two heavy baking sheets, not non-stick, with parchment paper and set aside. sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside. In a small bowl mix orange and lime zest with 1tbsp of sugar.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until light in colour and fluffy, about 2 minutes. add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. beat in the orange and lime juice. stir in the flour-mixture in 3 additions, blending just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the chunky ingredients and mix until they seem evenly distributed.

Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets and place them in the center of the oven. bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes, or until barely set in the center and just firm around the edges. I have no clue how long mine baked, I just watched them until they looked almost done, but still sort of gooey. cool the cookies on the tray for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before storing.

So Kate, thank you so much for choosing this recipe. I know I wondered pretty far off the reservation with this one, but I definitely used the guidance of the original recipe. To check out the original recipe, please go visit Kate at The Clean Plate Club!

Julie's Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

2009-02-25T21:09:00.003-06:00

I don't have any pictures of this recipe, but it's so good I wanted to share. I've heard all sorts of rave reviews about Julie's Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken but have never tried it. The other day I finally decided to give it a try. The chicken was moist and very flavorful. It was excellent paired with some of her fabulous No-Fail Mexican Rice and corn and black beans seasoned with cumin, paprika, and cilantro. It was also delicious in a salad for lunch the next day. I have a feeling this will become a staple in our house!

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

INGREDIENTS
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons lime juice

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken breasts. Note from Julie: she usually use a little less salt, and doubles the rest of the spices so there is plenty to coat the chicken

Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

PS: Julie and I teamed up tonight and decorated some very unique cookies . Stay tuned for a post about that on Sunday.

Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze

2009-02-25T20:44:00.003-06:00

Disclaimer: I'm well aware at how bad the pictures are. Don't let that stop you from making this cake though. It was divine.

The other day I was sitting here procrastinating and decided to google Chocolate Bundt Cake. One of the first search results was from Food and Wine Magazine... Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze. I saw the picture (much better than mine) and read over the recipe and decided it would be what I do on my break from writing my paper on Sunday. I followed the recipe almost to the T. I did double the glaze and add some white chocolate to the top. I was slightly nervous because it required 1 cup of strong-brewed coffee. I know that coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor, but 1 cup seemed like a lot. I soon found out I was wrong and 1 cup of coffee wasn't too much.

The flavor of this cake is amazing. It's incredibly moist and has a rich chocolaty flavor. The glaze on top is to die for. Matt and I both loved it. It was the perfect dessert for our Sunday meal. I decided I didn't need this hanging out at my house (this bad boy is most definitely NOT diet food!) so I brought it into work for my coworkers. They all absolutely loved it. I got many compliments on how moist it was and the glaze. Even 3 days later my SIL had a slice (I saved a piece for her) and she commented on how moist it was. I will definitely be making this cake again and again!

Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Source: Food and Wine Website

I wish I would have been more careful with my white chocolate.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong-brewed coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
*note: I doubled the cream, corn syrup, butter and added additional chocolate. The amounts above are from the original recipe.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. I first checked my cake at 30min and it was no where near being ready. I decided to check it 5min later and it was done. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. In a heatproof bowl, combine the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate with the corn syrup and butter. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.

Pour the ganache over the cooled cake.Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving

Make Ahead
The glazed cake can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T09:43:00.008-06:00

Just a few days late. Matt and I have been together for almost 7 years and we've never been big Valentine's Day people. This year however I was super exctied. Almost the whole fam was going to be in KC this weekend. I love my family and am so sad most of them live in STL and we don't get to see each other all the time.

My cousin and wife that live in DC had a baby back in November. (Actually, I blogged about. It was the day I realized I am not and will never be Martha.) They were coming in so we could all meet little Collin. Saturday night consisted of a fabulous Steak Dinner compliments of Kent (proud member of Gremlin Grill) and then an open house/shower for friends. I decided to make roll out cookies so I could practice using the new Wilton Decorating Tips I got for Christmas.

I'm still not Martha, but the tips make decorating so much easier than the plastic bag trick. I used Royal Icing, but for some reason my icing was super thick. I tried to thin it out by adding extra water/vanilla/food coloring, but it remained thick. It didn't tase bad, but some of the cookies didn't turn out as smooth a I would have liked. I made these cookies last year and don't remember them being this awesome. They are soft and the hint of cinnamon in the dough gives the chocolate just a little kick. The cookies are so good, they honestly would be amazing without the icing. The recipe I used was Chocolate Rollout Cookies from Dori Greenspan and can be found here. Click here for the Royal Icing Recipe

I made between 3 and 4 dozen cookies and there was only one left in the morning. They were a big hit!

And of course, the best Valentine's Day is the one you get to spend with those you love.... (yeah, yeah so corny!)

The guest of honor...

Peanutty Gooey Bars

2009-02-16T09:18:00.006-06:00

These bars are good. Seriously Good.

Does anyone else acquire used cookbooks on a pretty regular basis? I always seem to end up with a new(to me) cookbook in my hands. Last month I was over at my aunt and uncle's house and left with 2 or 3 cookbooks and a handful of other books to read. One of those cookbooks is full of Nestle Tollhouse recipes. How can you go wrong with Tolhouse? May not be gourmet, but it's always good.

I found this recipe for Peanutty Gooey Bars in the Nestle Tollhouse book. I woke up a few Sundays ago and had the urge to throw together a yummy treat. I read the recipe name to Matt and his first words were Oh my God, those sound great. Make them. So I did and he was right, they not only sounded great but the tasted great. These are very similar to a Hello Dolly... but better. The recipe is super simple. It comes together in no time. This kind of treat would make a perfect addition to an open house type of gather or a potluck at work.

I did make a few changes to the recipe. I cut back on the nuts and added some chopped PB M&Ms. Also, after I took it out of the oven I decided to add some extra Chocolate (used a mixture of milk and dark) and PB chips while it cooled.

Peanutty Gooey Bars

Crust:

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Toppings:

1 Cup each Peanut Butter Chips Chocolate Chips (plus extra to sprinkle on top if desired)

1 can (14 ounces) Nestle Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/2 cup chopped PB M&Ms

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray 8-inch square pan with vegetable cooking spray.

For Crust:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar in medium bowl; press onto bottom of ungreased 13 X 9-inch baking pan.

For Topping:

Microwave 1 cup morsels, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract in medium microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power 1 minute; stir. Microwave additional 10- to 15-second intervals stirring until smooth. Pour evenly over crust. Top with nuts and remaining morsels. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
Makes: 2 dozen

Cooking Club - Romantic Dinner for Two

2009-02-12T17:55:00.002-06:00

This month's cooking club was so much fun! There were 15 people, lots of laughs and lots of wine. And let's not forget about the amazing food! The menu consisted of:

Feta & Mushroom Bread Tarts
Chicken Fig & Pancetta Bites
Asparagus Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette
Cream of Asparagus Soup
Beef en Croute with Mustard Sauce
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Marsala
Minty Mashed Potatoes and Peas
Molten Lava Cakes
Raspberries in Champagne Gelatin

I loved it all. I was surprised I did since I'm so picky. Head over to Julies blog to see pics and get the recipes!

First things first....

2009-02-12T17:31:00.006-06:00

Thank You Julie! She's given me the Lemonade award! It's fun knowing someone thinks my blog is refreshing.

Here are the rules:

- Add the logo in your blog.
- Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
- Nominate 10 other (refreshing…like lemonade) blogs of your choice.
- Don’t forget to add links to those blogs in yours.
- Also leave a message for your nominees in their blogs, informing them about the award.

Now for some of my fav blogs. These are blogs that I always look forward to reading.

Ash is Fit
The Ochs Family
My Life in Transition
Cookies with Boys
Chomping the Big Apple
Nikki's Blog
Feed the Moose
Family, Food and Friends
Olive U
My Life Through a Lens

Gooey Double Chocolate Cookies

2009-02-06T09:47:00.003-06:00

I found this recipe over on Patsy's blog and decided I had to make it right away. Any recipe with the words Double and Chocolate in name are right up my alley. One thing I love about this recipe in particular is Patsy created it.

I wasn't quite sure how I would do with the recipe because it involves marshmallows. Anytime I've used marshmallows in cookies they end up leaking out of the cookie while in the oven and the cookie spreads quite a bit. I made sure to chill the dough before baking to try and prevent the cookies from spreading. Unfortunately it didn't do much good with the first dozen I baked..

They ended up thin and crispy, not soft and gooey. The next batch I threw in the oven, I made sure the marshmallows were not touching the baking sheet. This seemed to work out much better. The cookies were definitely softer and gooier (is that even a word!?). I loved the chocolate and marshmallow combination, particularly right out of the oven.

I made two changes to the recipe based on the ingredients I had in my house. I used regular cocoa powder instead of dark and used dark chocolate chips instead of milk.

Gooey Double Chocolate Cookies
Source: Family, Friends and Food

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup Butter flavor Crisco shortening
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Combine brown sugar through vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat a medium speed on a mixer until creamy. Add egg, and blend well.

Combine flour through cocoa powder, then add to the shortening mixture. Beat at a low speed just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Allow about 1-2 inches between each cookie, they don't spread too much.Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Allow to cool on pan for about 4-5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for 5 days, if they last that long.Makes about 3-4 dozen cookies.

Homemade Salsa

2009-02-06T09:26:00.003-06:00

I haven't been doing much cooking or baking lately. School is back in full swing and super busy. I have a 5 week class going on right now that is particularly time consuming. I love the fact it's only 5 weeks, but writing research reports every week and then a 20-30pg paper due the last night isn't much fun. The meals I have been making are very simple; things like chilli and tacos.

I was looking through my google reader (which BTW, I am so behind on... I have almost 600 unread posts... yikes!) and saw this recipe for Salsa on Annie's Eats. I've been looking for a good homemade salsa recipe and this my friends, is it. Matt and I love to snack on chips and salsa. In the summer we have nights that we just sit on the deck, drink some Corona and snack on chips and salsa. The Salsa is very flavorful and spicy and super simple to make. (A great excuse to use my food processor and my new juicer!) This will probably be at any get together I have at my house.

Salsa
Source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and very coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, halved
2 large vine-ripened tomatoes
1 (28 0z.) can diced tomatoes (drained or not, depending on how much liquid you want in your salsa, I went with not drained)
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. cumin
1/2 sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
juice of one lime

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the jalapenos and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add all other ingredients to the food processor. Pulse in very brief pulses until the vegetables have reached the size you desire (it does not take many pulses so don’t overdo it). Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Want to wreck your diet?

2009-01-24T13:34:00.006-06:00

How about cancel out all that hard work you put in at the gym this morning? These cookies may just do it for you.

In November/December when I was a baking fiend, I was spending a ridonkulous amount of money at the grocery store on flour, sugar, butter, and all that good stuff. Gold Medal flour happened to be on sale quite a bit. The bag also had a coupon for Hershey's Chocolate Chips and a recipe for Caramel-Pecan Snappers. When I bought the first 3 bags, I saved the coupon, but didn't think much of the recipe. After buying a few more bags the recipe grew on me. When I got the urge to bake last weekend, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

After I'd started on these I realized I was out of Cream of Tartar. I just threw in a little more vanilla to make for that. The cookies turned out good, but I really want to make them again with the Cream of Tartar. The cookie part itself isn't really a sugar cookie, it reminded me of a shortbread cookie. The topping of pecans, caramel, and chocolate was perfect. It was just enough sweetness without overpowering the actual cookie. This is sort of like Turtle Candy.

My only gripe with this recipe is the amount it's supposed to yield. The recipe says 3dozen cookies. I got 17 cookies.

Caramel-Pecan Snappers
Source: Gold Medal Flour Bag

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Shortening
1/ Cup Butter, Softened
1tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Pecans, Chopped
36 Caramels, unwrapped (I used a bag of the caramel bits)

2 Tablespoons Milk
1 Cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350. Mix sugar, shortening, margarine, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with greased bottom of glass dipped into sugar. I didn't like the way that turned out, so I ended up using the back of my cookie scoop. Press pecans onto cookies.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until set, but not brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Place caramels and milk in small microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until smooth. Spoon over cookies. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl on high 1 to 2 minutes, stir until smooth. Spoon melted chocolate over caramel. I put the chocolate in a plastic bag and piped it over the caramel, then with the back of a spoon smoothed it out. Cool completely, about 30 min. YIELD: 3 dozen cookies

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto & Chicken Pasta

2009-01-24T12:33:00.003-06:00

I saw this recipe recently over on Julie's blog. If you haven't checked her out yet you really need to. My blog totally has a crush on her blog. She is a wonderful cook and an excellent hostess. I love going over to her house, I always know I'll get some tasty food, tons of laughs, and I'll get to stare at her pretty serving dishes. (I'm so jealous of those!)

I knew I had to make this for two reasons...

1) It just sounded good
2) It would give me a chance to hang out with my new friend, Frannie Food Processor.

The dish was very good. It had a wonderful flavor, I loved the pesto. It just a little dry for my taste. When I eat pasta it has to be coated in a ridiculous amount of sauce. (So healthy, I know) Now, the reason this could have been a little dry is because I couldn't find sun dried tomatoes in a jar at the grocery store. How annoying! We shopped at the Walmart Market to save a few $$ and the only sun dried tomatoes I could find were just in a package "ready to eat", no oil or anything with it.

While I was making the pesto, I did add some oil, but I guess just not enough. Since this is originally a CL recipe though, the pasta probably isn't supposed to be drenched in anything. If I make this again, I can just add less pasta. Matt loved this. He loved it so much he had it again for dinner or lunch the next 4 days. One night was plenty for me.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto & Chicken Pasta
Found On: Julie's Foodie
Originally from: CL
(no pictures, it just wasn't very pretty)

Ingredients
Pesto:
1 (7-ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
Pasta:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 (6-ounce) bag prewashed baby spinach
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated fat-free milk
1 (3-ounce) package goat cheese, crumbled (I used mozzarella, I had it on hand)
6 cups hot cooked cavatappi (about 4 cups uncooked pasta) (I used rotini, I had it on hand)

Preparation

To prepare pesto, drain sun-dried tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl, reserving oil. Place 2 tablespoons reserved oil in a food processor. Place remaining oil in sun-dried tomato jar; reserve for another use. Coarsely chop 1/4 cup drained tomatoes; set aside. Place remaining drained tomatoes in food processor. Add basil, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 garlic cloves to food processor; process until finely minced.

To prepare pasta, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan.

Add minced garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add balsamic vinegar and baby spinach; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Stir in pesto and evaporated fat-free milk. Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add crumbled goat cheese; cook until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Combine chicken mixture and pasta, tossing well to coat. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup chopped drained tomatoes.

HG's Chicken Pot Pie

2009-01-13T20:13:00.003-06:00

Growing up I loved Chicken Pot Pie. My favorite kind of pot pie was not homemade, but from Marie Callendar. That woman knows how to cook. :) However, I couldn't even tell you the last time I ate one, have you seen the "nutritional" info on those puppies? Go take a quick peak. 430 Calories... 30.6g of Fat (12.6 saturated)...1041.3mg Sodium... YIKES! So as soon as I found Kickin' Chicken Pot Pie in HG's book, I marked it to make right away.

This recipe has 4 ingredients and is super simple to make. It does taste pretty close to a real pot pie. I did make a few changes.. added more veggies, added a tiny bit of chicken broth and greek yogurt. Next time I make it I think I might try it out with Cream of Chicken Soup rather than celery. Even with my changes though, I know it is still MUCH healthier than other chicken pot pie options out there.

HG's Kickin' Chicken Pot Pie

8 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast; cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (I used Birdseye SteamFresh Baby Potato Blend)
1 can (10.75 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Soup, 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery
3 servings Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (unprepared) I wanted a thick crust so I used the entire thing.
Because I added more than 3c veggies, I also mixed in about 1/4 c reduced sodium chicken broth and maybe 2 tbsp of greek yogurt and some S&P.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute chicken pieces for several minutes in a pan spritzed with nonstick cooking spray, until chicken is light brown/cooked but still tender; set aside.

Heat frozen veggies in microwave according to package. Mix chicken, vegetables and soup together and put in a 9" round baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Place dish in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly (stir about halfway through).

While dish is cooking, unroll 3 crescent rolls. Combine pieces together with hands to make one large ball of dough. With a rolling pin, roll dough out into a circle to cover top of dish. Add dough to the top of the dish and cook for an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serves 4. Serving Size: 1/4th pie (approx. 7 oz.)

Nutritional Info for the Original Recipe:
Calories: 210
Fat: 6g
Sodium: 800mg
Carbs: 24g
Fiber: 2.5g
Sugars: 6g
Protein: 16.5g

Fudge

2009-01-11T10:49:00.005-06:00

The other night I decided to make fudge. I found a relatively easy recipe on Big Oven and got down to work. My work was quickly interrupted when I realized I only had a bout a 1/2 cup of "regular" (as opposed to white) chocolate in the pantry. That's insane. I always have ridiculous amounts of baking squares, chips, and chunks on hand. I guess I used them all in my holiday baking extravaganza. So rather than making Chocolate Caramel Fudge, I made Triple Chocolate Caramel Fudge using Semisweet Chocolate Chips and Baking Squares, Milk Chocolate Hershey Kisses, and White Chocolate Chips. It turned out pretty good. I rate this recipe a 7, there's room for improvement.

Triple Chocolate Caramel Fudge
Source: Big Oven

Ingredients
3c (18 oz.) semisweet chocolate or whatever chocolate you can scrounge up in the house
1c Chopped walnuts
1can Sweetened condensed milk
1/2c Caramel ice cream topping
1tsp Salt
1 1/2tsp Vanilla

Instructions

In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate pieces with milk and salt. Remove from heat and stir in walnuts, topping and vanilla. Spread evenly into foil-lined 8 or 9 square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off foil and cut fudge into pieces. Makes about 2 lbs.

Just for Nikki...

2009-01-07T20:33:00.006-06:00

I received a comment on facebook today mentioning the fact I haven't blogged in forever. So thanks to Nikki I'm blogging.

We've been very busy traveling for Christmas and New Years since my family and my husband's family are both out of town. I've also been busy playing with my new kitchen goodies and trying to relax. My fav food related gifts:

Cuisinart 7 Cup Food Processor
An awesome food scale that weighs food and also gives the nutritional value.

I've become obsessed with weighing EVERYTHING. Who knew calorie counting could be so fun. I got some smaller kitchen gadgets too and I have some BB&B gift cards that are just burning holes in my pockets.

Anyhow, my friend Jamie gave me the Hungry Girl cookbook. I'm sure most of you know of HG. If not, go to her website. The book is full of easy low fat and low calorie recipes. Depending on who you ask, they aren't all exactly healthy seeing as she recommends lots of fat free/imitation type of ingredients. (She's not a nutritionist... just hungry!) I know for some people this is great while others would prefer using real ingredients. I'm right smack dab in the middle of this. My diet usually consists of both. I real ingredients like Butter as opposed to that mysterious margarine. But, I might eat a 100 Calorie Pack to satisfy a craving. In the future, I'm not sure if I'll follow every recipe to a T, but I'll definitely use it as a guide. The book is also good for portion control. It seems most of the recipes are for 1-5 servings. HG also includes little facts about food that will make you think twice before stuffing your face with a huge platter of nachos at the next happy hour.

I've tried a couple recipes and they've been pretty good. My favorite so far is the Big Fat Greek Pita. It's perfect for lunch. My lunches usually consist of some sort of raw veggie/hummus/pita type of concoction. This was a great way to change it up without ruining my eating habits for the day.

Big Fat Greek Pita
Source: Hungry Girl Book

Image from HG Newsletter 10/26/06

Ingredients

1 Whole wheat (or high-fiber) pita
2 oz fat-free plain Greek Yogurt
1 small onion - sliced
1/2 cup sliced red and green bell peppers
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
S&P, oregano, and garlic powder, to taste
Optional: Red Pepper Flakes

Directions

In a small dish, combine yogurt with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder (season to taste). Add red pepper flakes for a super-spicy pita.

In a pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, cook onions and peppers over medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes.

Add spinach and tomatoes, and cook until spinach wilts

Remove from heat, and mix veggies with yogurt sauce. Cut pita in half and stuff with veggie mix

Where I've been

2008-12-26T15:36:00.004-06:00

The past 4 weeks of my life been a blur of projects, papers, finals (all leading up to a 4.0!), and all of this......

I know the pictures aren't that pretty, but I took them at work.

The plates included....

Cookies
Chocolate Chipperdoodles
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chocolate Gingerbread
Gingersnap
Gooey Butter
Snickerdoodles
Sugar Cutout

Candies
Chocolate Walnut and Triple Chocolate Toffee
Peppermint Bark
PB Fudge

I'm looking forward to easing up on the baking a bit, doing a little cooking, and relaxing the next 3 weeks before school starts again. I know my husband is thrilled to have the deep freeze back now that 35 dozen cookies are no longer taking up all the room!

Peanut Butter Fudge

2008-12-26T15:24:00.002-06:00

Last time I tried to make fudge I failed miserably and made Fudge Drop type things. I decided to try and find a different recipe and stumbled across a recipe from Alton Brown. It was so easy and so incredibly delicious, I'll surely be making this again and again!

Peanut Butter Fudge
Source: Alton Brown

Ingredients
1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar

Directions
Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week

Peppermint Bark

2008-12-26T15:17:00.003-06:00

Not the best picture, but peppermint bark is always tasty!

Peppermint Bark
source: JoyofBaking.com

6 ounces semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 - 1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch (23 cm) square baking pan with aluminum foil, smoothing out any wrinkles.

Melt the semi sweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil and break the bark into small irregular pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Makes about 25 pieces.

Saltine Toffee

2008-12-26T14:59:00.003-06:00

I first had this tasty treat two years ago, but this is the first time I made it myself. This recipe is perfect for me because past candy attempts have always turned out awful. One of the pans of toffee I made was semisweet with walnuts on top and the other was milk chocolate with dark and white chocolate drizzled on top. This toffee is always a crowd pleaser.

Saltine Toffee Candy

1 C Butter
1 C Brown Sugar
1.5 C chocolate chips
1 Sleeve (about 40) Saltine Crackers
1 C chopped nuts
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Line jelly roll pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Lay crackers out flat on foil. Melt sugar and butter until foamy (3 minutes). Pour over crackers and spread to coat. Bake 10 minutes in 350º oven. Remove from oven. While hot, sprinkle with chocolate chips, let soften and melt, then spread. Sprinkle with nuts. Let cool. Refrigerate until hardened. Break into pieces like peanut brittle.

Sugar Cookies

2008-12-26T14:42:00.003-06:00

At work we decided to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas by bringing in a treat each day. I signed up for Sugar Cookies for some odd reason. As I recently learned I'm no Martha, so why in the world I would volunteer to bake and decorate sugar cookies is beyond me. I spent the day last Sunday baking and decorating these bad boys. I think I made around 50 and only half of them were decent enough to take out of my house and show people besides my husband.

Sugar Cookies
found on: Good Things Catered
originally from: A Year in the Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest
5 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Powdered sugar, for rolling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time. Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute. Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes. Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.

I used a powder sugar/water icing, royal icing, and sprinkles to decorate.

Gingersnaps

2008-12-26T14:25:00.005-06:00

I came across this recipe on Erin Cooks. When I saw the recipe was from the book A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu, I knew I had to make them ASAP. The last cookies I baked from that book have become one of my favs. These cookies were very good, but the molasses flavor was a tad too strong for me. My husband on the other hand fell in love with these.

Gingersnaps
Found on: Erin Cooks
Adapted from: A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu
(I followed the changes Erin suggested)

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
Extra sugar for rolling

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until smooth, light, and fluffy. Add spices and mixed until combined. Add egg and mix to combine. Add molasses and mix to combine. Add flour mixture and mix to just combine

Shape the cookie dough with a small ice cream scoop. Roll the dough into uniform balls, placing them in batches into a large bowl with one cup of sugar. Swirl the container to coat the gingersnaps completely with sugar. Place them onto a cookie sheet. For small chewy cookies you should bake each batch for 8 minutes at 350º. (mine baked a little more than 8 min) Let the cookies stand for two minutes before carefully moving them to a wire rack.

Chocolate Gingerbread

2008-12-26T14:01:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago a fellow RB asked if anyone had a recipe for a Chocolate Chip Gingerbread cookie. I didn't, but I turned to Martha and she didn't let me down. I made a few adaptations to this recipe because once again I didn't read the recipe all the way though before starting. I have this bad habit of just looking at the ingredients and throwing everything together. I didn't start making these until about 7pm and didn't have time to refrigerate for almost 2 and half hours, I also ended up throwing in an egg at the end, because I didn't care for the consistency of the dough after it was mixed together.

Despite the changes I made, the cookies turned out awesome! I absolutely loved them and included them on the goodie plates I gave away. I'm usually not a big fan of molasses, but these were fab.... especially right out of the oven!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted From: Martha Stewart

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more. When I was done beating the ingredients together, I added an egg because the dough seemed a bit dry, I then stuck the entire bowl in the fridge for about 30 min (I do this with all my cookies)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. (skipped this part) Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lasagna

2008-12-26T13:40:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I woke up to an icy 4 degree day. It was depressing, especially when just a week earlier I woke up to a 40 degree day and went on a nice long run. I hate the winter. As I drove home from the gym I had to stop and get some gas in my car. After standing in the cold, I decided that dinner had to be a nice warm meal. Lasagna was the first thing that popped in my mind.

I'd never made lasagna before and immmediately went to my google reader and found a recipe I had starred a couple months ago - Healthy Spinach and Sausage Lasagna. I choose it for a few reasons. It was a healthy lasagna, wasn't going to take hours to make, and had spinach in it. My husband isn't a big fan of spinach, but loved this. I loved it as well. It made enough to last us all week, and we have a big pot of marinara in the freezer to use for another meal.

Healthy Spinach and Sausage Lasagna
source: A Year in the Kitchen

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. Penzeys Italian seasoning blend
1 6 oz. can tomato paste, Italian style
2 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
10 basil leaves, torn
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/4 lb. bulk turkey sausage
8 oz. part skim ricotta
16 oz. bag frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1 egg
1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

First make the sauce:
Heat skillet to medium, add olive oil, onion and garlic. Sautee for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add seasoning, salt and pepper, tomato paste, sauce and crushed tomatoes. Cover and simmer while you prepare the other elements.Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt heavily.

Sausage: Sautee in a nonstick pan for 10 minutes, breaking up and browning. Drain and set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, egg, ½ cup mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste. Add in cooled sausage, stir. Drop 4 noodles into the pot (if you’re making a lasagna with 4 rows). Cook for 5-6 minutes. Tear basil leaves into sauce and turn heat off.

Ladle some sauce to coat the bottom of a baking dish.Remove noodles from water with tongs and line the dish, drop in 4 more. Spread ricotta mixture over each noodle row, a sprinkle of cheese, and some marinara. Add next layer of noodles and repeat. Add 3rd layer of noodles, top with ricotta, and sauce first, then the remainder of the cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven until brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes if you bake it off right away, and 1 hour if it’s been refrigerated.

Cooking Club: Cheddar Chicken Chowder

2008-12-26T13:25:00.002-06:00

This is another soup I sampled at cooking club. Very easy, tasty, and not full of cream, so I don't feel guilty having a bowl (or two). I add extra veggies in dishes whenever I can, this soup is perfect for that.

Cheddar Chicken Chowder
From: Julie

2 bacon slices
1 lb boneless skinless chx breast, cut into small pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 3/4 c quartered red potatoes
2 1/4 C frozen corn
1.5 cup broccoli
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup carrots
1/2 cup zucchini
1/2 C flour
2 C milk
4 1/2 C chx broth
3/4 C shredded cheddar
salt & pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a dutch oven or stock pot until crisp. Remove bacon and crumble, set aside. Add chicken, onion, garlic, red pepper, green pepper, carrots, broccoli, and zucchini to bacon grease, saute 5 minutes. Add broth and potatoes, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes. Add corn, stir well.Place flour in a bowl. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add to soup. Cook over medium heat 15 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in cheese, bacon, salt and pepper.

306 calories, 33.7 g carbohydrates, 7.5 g fat, 25 g protein

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T13:33:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been almost 20 days since my last post. Where has time gone? Oh wait, let me tell you... school, work, finals, and a baking frenzy. I hope to have quite a few updates the day after Christmas...

a chicken chowder
lasagna
3 cookie recipes
peanut butter fudge
and some saltine toffee and peppermint bark (not that those are really blog worthy, but it's my blog and I'll post if I want to!)
There may be some more, but I can't remember them all.

Anyhow, hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Holiday and gains a few pounds :)

Parmesan and Sage-Crusted Pork Chops

2008-12-06T12:14:00.003-06:00

I saw this recipe in the December 2008 Cooking Light. It's a very simple and delicious dish. We paired in with some spinach and brown rice seasoned with basil, parsley, sage, and sauteed onions. It was a great Monday night meal.

Parmesan and Sage-Crusted Pork Chops
Yield4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop)

Ingredients
1 (1 1/4-ounce) slice white bread, torn into pieces (I also used Panko)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
2 large egg whites
4 (4-ounce) boneless thin-cut pork loin chops, trimmed
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
Preparation

1. Place bread in a food processor; pulse bread 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure about 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, sage, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Place flour in another shallow dish. Combine mustard and egg whites in another shallow dish, stirring with a whisk.

2. Working with one pork chop at a time, dredge pork in flour, shaking off excess. Dip pork into egg white mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Coat pork completely with breadcrumb mixture. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining pork, flour, egg white mixture, and breadcrumb mixture.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned and done.

For Nutritional Info go here

I'm No Martha

2008-12-06T11:35:00.006-06:00

This are super crazy here. We're so busy every weekend, school is full of 10 page papers, projects, and presentations, and my google reader has over 500 unread posts! Yikes!

A few weeks ago my cousin and his wife welcomed their son Colin in the world. I decided to send them a gift and wanted to include some goodies too. My first thought was some chocolates using a baby candy mold. I went to the store, had the mold in my hand and then saw the Wilton Round Cookie Pan . I felt my inner Martha itching to get out. I had these grand images of beautifully decorated cookie lollipops dancing around my head. In reality, this is what I got:

So I'm totally not Martha. However, the cookies tasted very good! Besides, it's the thought that counts, right?

Vanilla Sugar Cookies On-A-Stick

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 3/4 cup AP Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Royal Icing

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Do not chill dough.

Spray pan with vegetable spray. Fill cavities with cookie dough to 1/8in below the top of the edge; insert sticks into dough covering 2 in of end. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes, gently loosen with spatula. Tip pan upside down to remove.

Makes about 12 cookies

Cooking Club: Spicy Sausage and Cabbage Soup

2008-11-25T19:31:00.004-06:00

When I found out Trish was going to bring this to cooking club I was disappointed. I don't like sausage and cabbage at all. I was brave though and gave it a shot and loved it. There are so many flavors in the soup, I couldn't taste the cabbage and I could deal with the sausage. This makes a TON of soup. We froze well over half of it and have still been eating it almost every day since I made it. I served this with cornbread (I used Rookie Cookies amazing recipe... never again will I buy a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. This recipe was so easy and tasted delicious) and it was the perfect side.

Spicy Sausage and Cabbage Soup
Source: Trish

2 T. Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
3 BS chicken breast
1 pkg spicy smoked sausage or keilbasa (sliced)
1/2 large chopped onion
3 cups sliced carrots
1 full head cabbage (chopped in about 1 inch pieces)
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 teas. red pepper flakes
2 T. Tony Chachere's original creole seasoning (I couldn't find that seasoning so I used this)
Cornstarch and water (optional)

Liberally salt and pepper raw chicken breast and fully cook in olive oil then shred or chop. In stock pot combine cooked chicken, sausage, onion, carrots, cabbage, chicken broth, water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, pepper flakes and tony Chachere's. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender. Trish recommends simmering for 4 - 5 hours, I simmered for 3 hours.

Notes From Trish:

"Also, so many people "don't like cabbage" but it will eventually cook down to a point where most people don't even realize it's in there.. If it needs more liquid add it, it's not a perfect science. I actually use 1/2 teas. red pepper flakes and 3 T. tony Chachere's because I like it more spicy and salty. Adjust the recipe according to your own tastes. You can serve it now "as is" if you like soup with a brothier texture. I prefer my soups to be a little heartier and thicker in consistency. So making sure the soup is at a boil I combine 3 T. cornstarch with just enough water to make it stirrable and smooth then stir it into the soup and boil gently for 5 minutes. Then I repeat this process until it's at my desired consistency."

Cooking Club: Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2008-11-25T18:54:00.004-06:00

I joined the Realie cooking club over the summer but have been so busy I never made it to a meeting. This month I was so excited for two reasons:

1) I actually got to go!
2) Soups!

I loved every single soup there... even the ones that had strange ingredients. I put on my big girl panties and sucked it and tried the strange things..... like sausage, cabbage, mushrooms, and rice. I've heard excellent things about Trish's Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice soup for the past couple years, but never made it. When I think of rice in a soup, I associate it with Campbell's Chicken with Rice Soup... Nasty! This however is definitely not Campbells. The soup is thick, creamy, flavorful, super simple to make, and amazing! It's the perfect soup for a chilly fall or winter day.

To see other soups that were at cooking club check out Julia's Blog and Nemmie's Blog Here and Here

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Source: Trish

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded
1/2 yellow onion, chopped (I used white)
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 cups carrots, chopped
1 (4.5 ounce) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream (i used half and half in an attempt to make this a bit healthier and it was still super creamy)

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken, onion, celery, and carrots. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly.

Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.

This makes a ton, so it's perfect to portion out and put it in the freezer for easy meals down the road.

Cookie Carnival: Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2008-11-25T18:22:00.006-06:00

It's Cookie Carnival time again!

This month the fabulous Kate chose The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I was happy to see a "normal" recipe that wouldn't take a lot of time to bake. I was skeptical these were really going to be the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie, you see my heart belongs to ATK's Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie.

2 weeks ago I decided to do something crazy.... I gave up sweets. I'm not one of those people that can have a little bit and my craving is satisfied, if I taste a little bit of something, I need more. I did this a few years ago during Lent and it really wasn't that bad. I let myself cheat on Sundays and usually by Sunday, I'm so used to not eating sweets I don't go overboard on what I do have.

So I whipped these up 2 Sundays ago and fell in love with the dough. It was SOOOO good, I was super excited to try the cookies. When I did try them, I was somewhat disappointed, they weren't nearly as good as I had hoped. The next morning I took my pictures and it was so hard not to pop these in my mouth - especially because baked goods always seem to taste better the next day. I was good though and stuck them in the freezer. So skip forward to last Sunday I had two of them during the day and realized that these are pretty damn good. I'm not sure if they'll take the place of my Thick and Chewys, but I will definitely make these again.

I didn't mess with the recipe much, but I did experiment with a second batch and made a thick blondie type thing. I made the dough and put it in an 8x8 baking dish and popped them in the oven. I started the oven out at 325 and then gradually increased it up to 375. They turned out very good, but I was worried about the center setting and I baked them a little longer than I should have. (I have no idea what my baking time way, I just kept checking them in the oven.)The bars would be amzing while still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies (and Bars)
Source: In The Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped ( I used 8oz bitter and 8oz semi)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

3. Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don't get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.

Conquering My Fears

2008-11-11T22:03:00.011-06:00

When I asked Matt what he wanted for his birthday he told me cinnamon rolls. I cringed on the inside. Cinnamon Rolls?

That involves yeast. Yeast is complicated and scary.
That involves time. I don’t have a lot of time.
He loves his mom’s cinnamon rolls. I can’t compete with that.
Cinnamon Rolls? Yuck

But, being the stellar wife I am, I cowboyed up and accepted the challenge. I’ve had some packages of yeast in my cabinets for a few months, but have just been too intimidated to try and use them. I did a little research and decided I could handle it.

Next was the search for a cinnamon roll recipe. I would have loved to use the recipe I saw on all the Daring Bakers Blogs from Peter Reinhardt's The Bread Baker's Apprentice, but there is that whole time thing again. I just don’t have much. So I searched allrecipes and found Cinnamon Roll recipe that requires a bread machine. The bread machine does all the hard work – perfect!

Since his birthday was yesterday, I prepared these Sunday night and stuck them in the fridge. We got up at 5 Monday morning to work out and I took them out of the fridge and let them come to room temp before poppin them in the oven (almost 2 hours.) I topped them with a cream cheese frosting.

The results? Well, I don’t like cinnamon rolls, but Matt ate three of them so I take that as a good thing. I made a dozen and asked if he was going to take some to work. He told me he planned on eating them every day for breakast. He had two this morning. I think he likes them. This recipe got excellent reviews on allrecipes, a few people said this was a lighter cinnamon roll. I tried a small one and thought “meh, it’s a cinnamon roll”.

Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted From: Allrecipes
(I used cinnamon rolls II for the dough and clone of a cinnabon for the filling and frosting )

note: originally I didn't put that much frosting on them. The husband insisted I use all the frosting and drown the cinnamon rolls in that sticky, yummy goodness

Dough:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1 eggs

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
This made way more filling than I needed. I put the cinnamon/sugar mixture in a container and will make another batch of cinnamon rolls with it soon

Frosting:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

In saucepan, heat 1 cup milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until very warm (butter doesn't need to be completely melted).

Place milk mixture, salt, flour, yeast, sugar, and eggs in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle. Press Start.

Once Dough cycle is complete, remove the dough from the bread machine. Punch down.

On a floured surface, roll dough into a large rectangle. Smear rectangle with the softened butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle over the rectangles.

Roll the dough up into a log starting at the long side. Cut the log into 12 slices. Place the rolls cut side down into two 9x13 inch greased baking pans. (I used two pans - I didn't want pull-apart rolls) Cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled. (I covered the pans with saran wrap and stuck them in the fridge at this point. The next morning I set them out for about 2 hours before I baked them.

Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. While rolls are baking beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Spread frosting on warm cinnamon rolls before serving.

There's the birthday boy! I even pulled out the Special Plate for him. Apparently I can't take clear pictures early in the morning.

Pie

2008-11-11T21:46:00.005-06:00

It’s no secret that Matt and I are huge PB and Chocolate fans. I was on the lookout for a treat for his birthday when I spied this recipe on Simple, But Delicious. It meets both requirements for my blog: Simple and Tasty.

The pie doesn’t use very many ingredients and is packed full of that Chocolate and Peanut Butter combination we both love. It's very rich and very sweet. I’m never one to say a dessert is too sweet, but I couldn’t even finish my piece. Don't get me wrong, we both thought this was quite good. The name most definitely says it all…. Decadent Peanut Butter Pie

Decadent Peanut Butter Pie
Source: Simple, But Delicious
Originally from: Jif.com

Ingredients:
1 prepared chocolate cookie pie crust
1 cup Creamy peanut butter
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups (12 oz) cool whip
1 (11.75 oz) jar hot fudge ice cream topping

Drizzle:
2 T peanut butter
2 T hot fudge

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat together the peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar. Gently fold in 3 cups whipped topping. Spoon mixture into the pie shell. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie.

Reserving 2 tablespoons of hot fudge, place remaining hot fudge into microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Spread hot fudge over pie to cover the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until serving time. Just before serving, spread the remaining whipped topping (1 1/2 cups), over hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers.

Place the 2 Tbs. hot fudge in a small baggie and knead for a few seconds. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle over pie. Do the same with 2 Tbs. peanut butter going in the opposite direction of the hot fudge

Zucchini Cake

2008-11-11T21:25:00.005-06:00

In my quest to find some ways to use up all my zucchini I came across this recipe on Pamela’s blog. After trying Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies this summer I just knew I would love it. The cake has a Caramel Frosting and (side thought: I wonder if people are reading this saying car-a-mel or car-muhl, I’m the latter ) Anywho, Pamela is right when she says the Caramel Frosting on this bad boy is S-uh-uh-WEET! I loved it!

The cake would be fine without, but it’s amazing with! As I was pouring the batter in the pan, it seemed to have the appearance of cookie dough rather than cake batter. I was pleasantly surprised when it came out of the oven in cake form. If you find yourself with an abundance of zucchini, you should definitely give this cake a shot. A warning though, it makes a ton. Luckily, (Lucky for my hips, not so much for my taste buds) I gave a bunch to Matt’s friends and my mom.

Caramel Frosted Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
Source: Cookies With Boys

For the cake:
3/4 c. butter, softened
2 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips (I used a cup of regular sized)

Caramel Frosting
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c milk
1 1/2 c confectioner's sugar

Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs in a bowl. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until combined. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.

Spread in greased 15 x 10 jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

For the frosting, bring butter, brown sugar and milk to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes. Stir in confectioners sugar. Spread over cake.

Pamela's Notes: This is the type of frosting that hardens, so you shouldn't take your time in the spreading step. 13 x 9 works. Bake for approx. 35 minutes.

Breakfast Casserole

2008-11-11T21:00:00.007-06:00

So many posts, so little time. School is kicking my butt right now, but I feel the need to blog. I can always cram tomorrow, right? This past weekend we celebrated the hubs birthday. We decided to have a small shindig at the last minute and honestly thought we’d have maybe 6 people over. We ended up with 18 and a few rugrats… not bad! My mom called me Friday night and asked if they could come up too. I said, of course – the more the merrier. Matt asked if we could make breakfast and then we decided a breakfast casserole would be the best bet. Prepare it the night before and pop it in the oven for an hour in the morning. This allows us to get another hour of sleep to cure any signs of a hangover (and believe me, there were signs).

I went to allrecipes to try and find an egg/ham/cheese/hashbrown casserole. I had it narrowed down to two and finally decided on one. I didn’t realize until right before I went to prepare it there were no eggs in this casserole. I need to start paying more attention.

The casserole ended up being pretty good. The fam all liked it. There is definitely nothing healthy about this recipe, but it sure hits the spot after a long night. This is definitely comfort food. The dish is very rich, totally could have done without the sour cream in it. I’m not sure I’d ever make it again. Next time I’ll make sure to find a recipe with eggs.

Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole
Adapted from: All Recipes
Serves: 12

1 (32 ounce) package frozen Potatoes O'Brien
16 ounces cooked, diced ham
1 can condensed cream of potato soup
1 can cream of cheddar soup
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese - I like Monterrey Jack
S & P to taste
Cheese for Topping - I used Cheddar Jack
Breadcrumbs/crushed cornflakes (I used chex cereal) for Topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and cheese.

Spread evenly into prepared dish. Bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle additional cheese and bread crumbs on top . Bake another 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve immediately

Award Time!

2008-11-03T07:27:00.004-06:00

Pamela from Cookies with Boys has presented me with my first blogging award!

Thank You so much Pamela! There will always be a soft spot in my heart for you. ;) I love being part of the fun world of food blogging and connecting with so many people all over the world.

I'd like to pass the Kreativ Blogger Award on to:

Leslie of Blogsoup
Nemmie of Castsugar
Danielle of Runs with Spatulas
Leslie of Elite Entrees

Thanks again Pamela!

Harvesting the Crop

2008-11-02T12:20:00.003-06:00

No, that is not a jalapeno you see. That my friends, is a green pepper. The one and only veggie Matt salvaged from our garden. He planted Tomatoes (stupid squirrels at them all), Carrots, and Green Peppers. This is all we got:

We decided to eat it right away. It was gross! It had a very bitter taste. We both looked at each other and ended up spitting it out.

Oh well, there is always next year.

Jules, if you're reading this, we need gardening lessons next year!

More Chocolate and Peanut Butter Goodness

2008-11-02T11:17:00.004-06:00

When I first saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen I thought they were going to be similar to the Peanut Butter Rice Krispie treats my MIL makes. After I saw the fabulous pictures though I realized I was wrong. They looked intense.

Last night Matt fixed dinner so I decided to make us a dessert. I opened my google reader and he picked these out. I made a pretty big mistake in this recipe, but with the combo of chocolate and peanut butter, how can you go wrong?

I was making the peanut butter chocolate layer and I got a little on my hand, and I had to lick it off of course. I tasted it and thought it was odd it wasn't very sweet. All the sudden it hit me, I ran out to our recycling box and looked at the package of chocolate I used.... unsweetened. Dang. Oh well. I figured with the dark chocolate layer on top, the unsweetened chocolate wouldn't stand out too much.

I was right, this is still super chocolaty and sweet. This recipe is awesome! I will be making it again for sure. Next time though I'll use the correct chocolate and a little more Rice Krispies to have a thicker crispy crust.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Source: Smitten Kitchen

For the crispy crust:
1 3/4 cups crisped rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the milk chocolate peanut butter layer:
5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used 3/4 cup crunchy and 1/4 creamy)

For the chocolate icing:
3 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cocoa), coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter

Make the crispy crust: Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan. Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and corn syrup (do not let any sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan) and use a small wooden spoon to stir the mixture until just combined. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.
Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour it into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan (do not press up the sides). Let the crust cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.

Make the milk chocolate peanut butter layer: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. (I was feeling lazy and just used the microwave) Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.

Make the chocolate icing: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. (Again, lazy and just used the microwave)

Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled milk chocolate peanut butter layer and spread into an even layer. Put the pan into the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the topping hardens. I also decided to melt a little white chocolate to drizzle over the top.

Cut into 9 (or 16!) and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly, for up to 4 days.

Funny Story

2008-11-02T10:50:00.003-06:00

Last week I asked Matt to run to the farmers market and pick up some fruits and veggies for while I was at work. When I got home, I was looking through the bags and saw one bag had 3 Zucchini in it and another had 2 Zucchini it. I made a comment about having a lot of Zucchini and he said, I didn't get that much Zucchini, I went to one stand and they had Zucchini 3 for $1 and another stand had Squash 2 for $1. I busted up laughing and explained to him that Zucchini is Squash. His reply "oh, so that's why they look alike." Men....

So now i have all this Zucchini I need to use up!

Zucchini Bread
Source: BHG New Cookbook
Prep: 20 min Bake: 50 min
Oven: 350 Makes: 1 loaf (16 servings)

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 beaten egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted

1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8x4x2 inch loaf pan. In a medium bowl combine, the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside

2. In another medium bowl combine egg, sugar, zucchini, and oil. Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into a prepared pan.

3. Bake at 350 for 50 - 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

2008-10-27T20:49:00.004-05:00

Tonight we were looking for an easy and delicious meal. I decided to make spaghetti and use the wonderful homemade marinara I froze the other week. For some reason I wanted to give meatballs a whirl. This is odd for a couple reasons:

1) I'm not a big fan of beef
2) Raw meat grosses me out, I've never touched it in my life. My husband is the one that handles the raw stuff.

I've never paid much attention to recipes for meatballs, so I decided to search my handy dandy google reader. I stumbled across a recipe for Meatball Sandwiches and decided to just use the part for the meatballs themselves.

The recipe was very simple and very tasty. I even forgot to add the garlic and it still tasted great. I think when I make these again I'll use ground turkey, the meatballs didn't taste greasy, but the grease left on the baking sheet isn't very appetizing. So tonight's dinner was a success....Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara and Meatballs and I got over my fear of preparing raw meat.

Meatballs
Source: Feed the Moose

Do you know how hard it is to get a good pic of meatballs on spaghetti? It's near impossible for a novice like myself. The picture above is the best I could do.

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, gently mix by hand the ground beef, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into 12 meatballs, and place in a baking dish. (I lined my baking dish with parchment paper to make for easier cleanup)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cooked through.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2008-10-27T07:30:00.005-05:00

One of my new favorite blogs is Cookies with Boys. Pamela has some wonderful recipes on there and her boys are too cute. Yesterday morning I was catching up on my Google Reader and I saw her post for Pumpkin Pancakes. I decided I needed them immediately and whipped them up for lunch yesterday.

The pancakes are so good! My BIL(Josiah) and husband loved them. Josiah liked his plain, Matt liked his with butter and I had to slather mine in butter and maple syrup. I wanted to top with some whipped cream too, but we didn't have any.

The pancakes are a bit more dense than any pancake I've made before. I loved the subtle pumpkin flavor. I also added 1 tbsp of wheat bran and 1 tbsp of ground flax seed to the batter. It was the perfect breakfast..errr lunch on a gorgeous fall day.

Pumpkin Pancakes
Source: Cookies with Boys
Orginally from: allrecipes
(no pictures of these, my camera battery was dead)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice I used pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp wheat bran
1 tbsp flax seed
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 whole large egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vinegar

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, salt, wheat bran, and flax seed, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Cooking With Love

2008-10-23T18:23:00.010-05:00

When my friend Sarah posted about a Blog Event: Cooking With Love , I knew exactly what story I wanted to share....

One night in college at a party Matt told one of his friends: "She had me at ......

"

I kid you not, those are the exact words Matt said to one of his friends. "She had me at Hamburger Helper." Um ok, or maybe not those exact words, but you could interpret the story that way if you want.

The first meal I ever made for Matt consisted of Lasagna Hamburger Helper, Cream Corn, Salad, and Cheesy Garlic Bread. In college that was "our" meal. We had it a couple times a month. One night out at a party one of his friends came up to me and told me how Matt was braggin on me because of this AWESOME meal I made and how I was the best girlfriend ever. It makes me giggle just thinking about it. The night we got engaged we even had "our meal".

Before we got married someone gave me a recipe for a sort of "homemade" hamburger helper. Matt loves the recipe as is. To see the original recipe click here. I have to spice it up if I make it. I know I'm not a gourmet chef, but I've come a long way from Lasagna Hamburger Helper in the past 6 and a half years. My wonderful husband loves almost everything I make, but I know he'd be a happy man if I made Hamburger Helper every night of the week.

Corn and Blackbean Skillet

1lb ground turkey
1 can black beans
Minute Rice - I usually make 2 servings
1 can Rotel
1 cup Salsa
1 chopped Red Pepper
1 chopped Green Pepper
3/4 bag frozen corn
1/2 cup chopped green chilis
Fresh Cilantro to taste
Cumin to taste
Paprika to taste
Cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, other toppings

Cook turkey- drain. Combine rice, beans, rotel, salsa, corn, peppers, and 2.5 cups of water. (you may have to increase this depending on how much rice you make) Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 min or until water has been absorbed. Add cilantro, cumin, and paprika.

I like to make mine as a burrito and Matt likes to eat his with chips.

Fried Green Tomatoes

2008-10-19T19:48:00.005-05:00

We hung out with my cousin and her husband last night and came home with a bag of tomatoes from their garden - green tomatoes! I was so excited to make Fried Green Tomatoes. The only time I have ever had them was at the Missouri State Fair last year, but I have always loved the movie. :) Come on - who doesn't love Jessica Tandy!? And Chris O' Donnell isn't bad to look at either!

This evening for dinner we had some left over soup and Fried Green Tomatoes. I found a wonderful recipe on Allrecipes. Matt took his first bite and said "Oh My God! These are so good". After his second bite it was "Better than the State Fair!" After his third bite it was "These are amazing, I love you!". I swear after every tomato he had he would just go on about how much he loved them. It made me laugh!

I was actually very surprised at how good they tasted. I put some Ranch Dressing out to dip them in, but they were plenty good without the Ranch. We didn't end up using it. We don't normally eat fried food, so I won't make these again any time soon, but they were certainly delicious and it was fun to have something different for dinner.

Fried Green Tomatoes
Source: Allrecipes.com

My adaptions in italics - they're based on the recipe reviews

4 large green tomatoes
2 eggs I used egg whites
1/2 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup bread crumbs I used Italian Style Panko
2 tsp coarse kosher salt I cut it down to 1/2 tsp
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

Slice tomatoes 1/4 inch thick. Discard the ends. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.

In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels.

Cookie Carnival: Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2008-10-19T17:20:00.007-05:00

It's Cookie Carnival Time again! This month we baked Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I was very excited - chocolate and pumpkin, one of my favorite combinations. I had a much easier time this month than I did last month. The actual cookie part is soft and cake-like. It has a mild chocolate flavor and is pretty unremarkable on it's own. It almost reminds me of devils food cake. Pair it with the tasty pumpkin filling and you have yourself a nice treat.

I messed around with the recipe a bit adding 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to the dough and making some changes to the filling. Thanks to the success I had last time I baked a chocolate/pumpkin treat, I decided to add melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses (25 or so). I also used some pumpkin pie spice and decided that the filling wasn't pumpkiney enough. Rather than the 1/4 cup of pumpkin the recipe calls for I ended up using an entire can. I think this changed the consistency and appearance of the filling, but it is so good.

Matt and I both enjoyed these cookies. If I were to make them again I would add the melted kisses to the cookie dough to spice it up a bit and increase the chocolate chips to 1 cup.

Thanks Kate for choosing this recipe!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Source: Martha Stewart

FOR THE COOKIES:
My adaptions in italics

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

FOR THE FILLING:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin I used an entire can
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pumpkin Pie Spice
25 Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses - melted

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. (mine never actually got smooth, just a moist crumbly texture, too much sugar to get smooth) Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

Makes about 20 cookies

I've been Tagged...

2008-10-18T17:39:00.009-05:00

Who wants to play Attention Whore!?!?! Oh, I do! I do!

My friend Carrie from My Life in Pictures tagged me for a meme so I guess I'll play along.

5 Joys
1) My husband
2) My family
3) Baking
4) How I feel after a great workout
5) Nights where I laugh so much (friends - anyone up for breaking into a pool at 2am? or family - how 'bout a husker room night?) I wake up the next morning and my abs hurt.

5 Fears
1) Being in a car accident. (I’ve been in two really bad ones - like I should have died bad. I’m afraid of what will happen if I get in another one)
2) Being kidnapped and all the bad stuff that goes with it
3) Bugs, all of them!
4) Holding newborn babies
5) Going to prison - this is SO not rational, but I've seen a few prison shows on the National Geographic channel and it scares the crap out of me!

5 Obsessions
1) The internet – blogs, my RB’s, email..
2) Chocolate
3) Cheerleading (seriously, I still make up cheers in my bathroom mirror)
4) Christina Aguliera's new song "Keeps Gettin Better" (have you listened to the lyrics... pretty much sums me up!)
5) Working out

5 Surprising Facts
1) I cheered in high school and college, but didn’t learn how to do a back handspring until I was 21.
2) I didn’t have my first kiss until I was 17
3) When I was 18 I went on a float trip with a bunch of friends and became known as the beer-bonging queen of the river. People were floating by us going “oh there’s the queen" and were bowing down to me. :)
4) When I was 10 some stupid neighbor boy kicked me in the stomach and put me in the hospital for a couple days. Jerk!
5) I used to be quite the singer. I was in the chorus/choir from 4th grade until I graduated high school. One year my solo in the Spring Program was "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore.

Apple Season!

2008-10-15T20:13:00.005-05:00

The first time I had this cake was 3 years ago. One of my coworkers baked it and I politely passed because I didn't "do" hot fruit. She insisted I try it so I sucked it up and prepared myself for a nasty, mushy apple dessert. What I found though was heaven.

I've made it a few times since and I swear it gets better each time. I laugh thinking back to the first time I made it. There weren't any specific directions on the topping, so I poured the melted butter on top of the partially baked cake followed by a mixture of brown sugar/flour/cinnmon. Little did I know it was supposed to be a crumb topping. Oh I've come so far....

This cake may just be the perfect fall dessert. In fact, someone even said this cake "tastes like fall". It would be prefect for breakfast with a Chai Tea Latte or Caramel Macchiato. I've also served these as Apple Bars. We had it for dessert the other night after our Mac and Cheese. The cake is moist with a nice hint of cinnamon and cloves and a fabulous baked brown sugar crumb topping. The house smells amazing when you add the crumb mixture to the top. Oh and I should warn you, it's so easy to devour this. Take it into work, your coworkers and waistline will thank you.

Apple Cake

*I'm so bummed my pictures don't look very good, they do the cake no justice. The stupid sun didn't want to cooperate today. Oh how I miss summer.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup orange juice
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup flour
1tsp each:
cinnamon
salt
baking powder
baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
3 cups chopped apples (I used granny smith and fuji)

Topping:
3 TBSP melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
Dash Cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

Beat oil, OJ, eggs, and sugar until well-blended. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in apples.

Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes Prepare topping (mix topping ingredients until crumb mixture forms). Sprinkle topping on top of cake and bake an additional 20 - 30 minutes.

Homemade Marinara

2008-10-15T19:52:00.003-05:00

It's official, I've become one of "them". The people that swears they will never buy another jar of marinara because homemade is just so easy and tastes so much better! My cousin gave us a bunch of tomatoes a few weeks ago. I noticed a few of them started to go bad, so I decided to make a some marinara while the majority of them were still good.

I turned to my good friend Jules because I remember her fabulous garden from the summer and have heard many rave reviews about how delicious her homemade marinara is. Especially at 3am. Sadly, some of us pass out right before the spaghetti is served. ;)

Anyhow, her recipe isn't exact and that's what I love about it. I used what I had on hand and it turned out wonderfully. Much better than Ragu and so easy. I stuck this in the freezer for future use, but I can not wait to try it over a big bowl of pasta. The few taste-tests I had while it was simmering exceeded my expectations and the hubster agreed!

Julie's Garden Fresh Marinara Sauce
Source: Jules

Ingredients:

Lots of tomatoes
Green Onions
Garlic
Herbs: I used Fresh Basil and Parsley and dried Oregano and Garlic Salt.
Salt & Pepper
Tomato Paste (if after cooking for awhile, the sauce does not thicken up for you, add a few Tbsp of tomato paste)

Blanch tomatoes & let cool. Then peel, degut, squeeze & dice the tomatoes. In a large pot, heat some olive oil & saute the onions & garlic. Add the tomatoes & remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, then reduce hit & simmer for at least an hour. Check the consistency & taste, adjust accordingly.

Comfort Food

2008-10-14T20:35:00.001-05:00

With my leftover cheese from fondue night, I decided to make the most perfect fall comfort food: macaroni and cheese. Usually I have a hard time figuring out what to do with the left over Gruyere and Emmentaler and that stuff isn't exactly cheap so I hate for it to go to waste.

I based my recipe on Ina Garten's Grown Up Mac and Cheese. A recipe I spotted on quite a few blogs last month for Barefoot Bloggers. The result was phenomenal! I especially loved the hint of nutmeg in the dish - delish! I decided this is definitely a mac and cheese that would be ok to serve to company. :)

Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from: Ina Garten

Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
2 cups shells
1 3/4 - 2 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Gruyere, Emmentaler, and Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (Combined, mine equaled a little over 2 cups.)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
Grated Colby Jack Cheese to taste
Panko Bread Crumbs to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, Emmentaler, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well.

Pour into a 2 1/2 qt baking dish. Sprinkle Colby Jack Cheese over top of pasta, sprinkle bread crumbs over top Colby-Jack Cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Oh My! Chai

2008-10-13T07:42:00.005-05:00

Last year I had my first Chai Tea Latte and they have quickly become a favorite of mine. Besides being a fabulous Personal Chef, my friend Leslie is also a Tastefully Simple representative. One of my favorite Tastefully Simple products is their Oh My! Chai tea mix. It's a great alternative to a $4 cup at a coffee place.

Our friends Erin and Scooter had their son baptised yesterday (and I stupidly forgot my camera... he may just be the cutest baby on the planet). After the baptism they had a small open house and I decided I wanted to bring a sweet over to their house. Brownies sounded like a good idea and to spice them up I added some Oh My! Chai mix to them. They were delicious! The hint of Chai Tea was perfect. I'll definitely make these again.

Chai Tea Brownies
Adapted From: Hershey's Best Brownies

Ingredients
:1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4tbsp Oh My! Chai tea mix

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, tea mixture, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle additional Chai mixture on top.

Fondue Night

2008-10-11T21:37:00.011-05:00

August 16, 2008 started out being a glorious morning. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. We were in STL, slept in a bit from the amazingly-awesome (yeah, I know that's not a real compound word) Brad Paisley concert the night before. My mom woke us up around 9:30 and she and my step-dad treated us to breakfast. After a delicious meal, we went down to the Festival Of The Little Hills and stopped in to see my friend Jamie. That night we were supposed to celebrate my dad's 51st birthday with my brother, step-sister, half-sister, and step-mom. On the way home from Jamie's store, we received a call that turned our lives upside down. My father-in-law, who was only 50 years old, passed away very unexpectedly.

Since then, things have just been insane. We've (especially Matt) have had to deal with things we never thought we'd have to at 26 years old. Neither of us have ever been people to take things for granted, but I think now more than ever we really understand the importance of living every day to the fullest.

Tonight we had Matt's mom, sister, and older brother over for fondue. (My younger brother in law had to work.) This was most definitely a meal my father-in-law would have enjoyed, it was the perfect amount of family zaney-ness. My MIL and SIL really enjoyed everything, my BIL however was going crazy, he was way too impatient to wait for all of his food to cook. All in all though, we had a blast! My SIL is almost as picky as I am and I was really nervous she wouldn't like anything, but luckily she did.

Tonight was delicious and so much fun. I cant wait to do it again. I want to dedicate this post to my father in law, Mark. We missed you tonight and will miss you always, but know you are watching over us.

Fondue Night:
Three Cheese Fondue
Coq au Vin Broth
Basic Chocolate Fondue

Best Formula Three-Cheese Fondue
Source: allrecipes.com

1 Cup White Wine (Sauvignon Blanc is suggested)
1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Gruyere cheese - shredded
Sharp Cheddar cheese - shredded
Emmentaler cheese - shredded1 clove of garlic

Combine the cheese and flour in a bowl. Rub garlic over inside of fondue pot -or- saute it in the pot . Simmer wine and add cheese/flour mixture to wine. Stir in a zig-zag motion until cheese is smooth. Serve with French and Sourdough Bread and Apple Slices.

Coq au Vin Fondue
Adapted From: The Melting Pot/Recipe Zaar

2 14oz cans reduced-sodium beef broth
1 14oz can fat free veggie broth
2 Knolls vegetable bullion cubes
1 - 1 1/2 cup Pinot Noir
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
2 green onions, sliced

Dippers:
Chicken
Steak
Broccoli
Carrots
Mushrooms

Dipping Sauces:
Peanut
Terriyaki
A1
BBQ

Heat beef and veggie broth in fondue pot (I have an electric), bring to boil. Add all other ingredients, bring to boil. Place individual pieces of desired meat or veggies on fondue fork and put in pot until correct temperature has been reached. Take the necessary precautions so you don't eat raw meat. Dip Meat in Various Sauce

Josiah searching for his steak:

Fondue is fun and apparently makes people make funny faces

My MIL, me and my SIL

Starvin Marvins! They want their food!

mmmm... dessert.....
Rice Krispie Treats, Marshmallows, strawberries, fresh and canned pineapple, and nanners

Simple Chocolate Fondue Recipe:

4 16oz bars bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 - 3/4 cup cream (I used half and half)

Pour cream in fondue pot, simmer. Add chocolate and stir til smooth.

Matt and his mom...

She cooks too!?

2008-10-06T21:26:00.005-05:00

I know, shocking, right? This blog is going to feature something besides baking. I found this recipe for Thai Chicken with Cashews on Annie's Eats a few months ago.

Lately, I've been craving our favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Place. I absolutely love their Cashew Chicken. On Sunday, when I asked Matt what he wanted to eat, he told me he didn't really care. That left me and my google reader. I scrolled through, found this recipe, and never looked back.

When I served this, I didn't even have to ask how it was. Matt had a bite and immediately said "this is good", with a serious look on his face, I could just tell he loved it. I had my first bite soon after and knew exactly what he was talking about, this dish is awesome. It tastes exactly like the cashew chicken I get at Thai Place. If you like Thai Food, this is a must. You need to try it ASAP! We will definitely be making this often.

Thai Chicken with Cashews
Source: Annie's Eats

please excuse my crappy picture! This dark-by-7:30 thing is killing my pictures. I need to build a light box.

AM Edit: so besides the fact the lighting in that pic is awful, I didn't realize how bad the pic actually is. Apparently the glass err... bottle of wine I had with dinner impaired my judgement a bit more than a I thought.

Ingredients:

1 bunch scallions
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ½ tbsp. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger (or 1 ½ tsp. dried)
¼ tsp. roasted red pepper flakes
¾ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ tbsp. soy sauce
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. sugar
½ cup salted roasted whole cashews
cooked white or brown rice for serving

Directions:

Chop scallions, separating white and green parts. Pat chicken dry, then cut into ¾ -inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Heat a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add oil, swirling to coat, then stir-fry chicken until golden in places and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add bell pepper, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and scallion whites to wok and stir-fry until peppers are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch and sugar, then stir the mixture into the vegetables in the wok. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cashews, scallion greens and chicken along with any juices accumulated on plate. Serve with rice

Healthy Muffins

2008-10-06T16:38:00.004-05:00

Lately, my schedule is insane. I'm taking 11 hours at school, and work 32. Monday and Wednesday are my school related days and Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I work. Yuck. I usually end up eating at least 3 meals a week sitting in the parking lot before class. I don't want to spend the money or calories on eating out and I don't care for deli meat or sandwiches, so those meals usually consist of raw veggies and hummus, a handful of almonds, a banana and apple or nectarine, and a granola bar or trail mix - not super satisfying. I decided to go on the hunt for something that was easy to eat, filling, and healthy that I could throw in the mix every once in a while.

My hunt ended at this recipe from Cooking Light - Morning Glory Muffins. These fit my criteria perfectly. The yogurt and banana make these incredibly moist and I love the trail mix feel to them. An added bonus - I read the reviews and there was a comment on how well they freeze. I can make a batch of 18 and just take one at a time out of the freezer as I need it. I also love how you can change up the ingredients. I am really surprised at how delicious these are. Matt really liked them too. He declared them "The Perfect Breakfast Food".

Morning Glory Muffins
Source: Cooking Light

Yield
18 servings (serving size: 1 muffin)
Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup whole wheat flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
1 cup regular oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon wheat bran
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2) (I had a little under 2 cups, so I added some applesauce)
1 large egg
1 cup chopped pitted dates (I used 1/2 cup golden raisins and 1/2 cup cranberries)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (I used soy nuts)
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed (about 2 tablespoons whole)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Place 18 muffin cups liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.

Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, banana, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in dates, walnuts, and pineapple.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with flaxseed. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information (for original recipe)

Calories:186 (21% from fat)Fat: 4.4g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.7g,poly 2.8g) Protein: 4.2g Carbohydrate: 35.2g Fiber: 3.4g Cholesterol: 12mg Iron: 1.2mg Sodium: 190mg Calcium: 42mg

Chocolate Chipperdoodle

2008-10-04T22:53:00.005-05:00

Those of you who know me in real life are probably shaking your head right now. There she goes baking again….

Just the other day I was asking for advice on how to fight my sweet tooth, or more importantly, how to stop going overboard on my indulgences. The first 4 people I talked to told me to stop baking. I know I probably should – out of sight/out of mind. But, I used to bake and have sweets in the house and never had a problem with self control. It’s only been the past few months and I’m sure it’s because there’s been quite a bit of stress between work, school, and family. So the sweets combined with not being able to dedicate 2 hours/day to the gym anymore has left me feeling kind of gross. I decided I just need to hold myself accountable and after talking to one of my coworkers, I’m going to start freezing the majority of the stuff I bake. That way it’s not just sitting there on the counter tempting me every time I walk by.

So fast forward to Friday morning, I was going through my Google reader when I saw this magical recipe, it’s a combination of a snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookie - two of my favorites! I knew I had to make them soon. Soon came Friday at 7:37pm. I needed a break from my homework and had all the ingredients for these.

They are so, SO good! The sweet/spicy/cinnamony goodness of a snickerdoodle mixed with the smooth taste of chocolate make for a fabulous combination. I may just go all out here and say it's a better combo than chocolate and PB. (Well, maybe not better, but certainly as good). These cookies will definitely be showing up again around Christmas. They are perfect for a cookie exchange and will taste delicious on Christmas Eve!

Chocolate Chip Amish Puff Cookies
Source: Erin Cooks
Originally Published in: A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips (used 1/2 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocolate. Normally, I'm not a milk chocolate fan, but they tasted great in these cookies!)
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I decided 2 tsp was the amount needed to reach cinnamon perfection)

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until combined.

Cover dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. (I added my chips before I put the dough in the fridge)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line several cookies sheets with parchment paper. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown. Cool cookie sheets on wire racks. Yield about 2 dozen cookies

*PS: go to Erin’s website and comment on this post. You may just win this !

Simple Hummus

2008-09-29T20:13:00.004-05:00

I love Hummus. 95% of the time my lunch consists with half a pita with either hummus or laughing cow cheese stuffed with fresh spinach, carrots, peppers, and zucchini. The only thing I don't like about that lunch is I buy prepared Hummus. I've been dying to make some homemade Hummus for a long time, but the stores have had an evil conspiracy against me and Tahini. I swear I can never ever find it.

The other night we were at Matt's cousins house when I spied Tahini in the fridge. I asked Jill where she found it and she told me it was in the spot I've search a zillion times at the Hyvee. Well the next day we went to Hyvee, I looked, and sure enough there it was. It was hidden behind a beam though, so that I'm sure that's why I never saw it. (riiighhttttt...)

Anyhow, I finally got a chance to make Hummus tonight and it was so good! Much better than the store bought stuff. I plan on making this on a regular basis rather than buying it. Next time I may spice it up with some roasted red pepper.

Hummus
Adapted From: Allrecipes Hummus III

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained (reserve bean liquid incase thinning is necessary)
2 tbsp tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 cloves garlic, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 tsp paprika
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley (I used dried)

1. Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth adding bean liquid if the mixture needs to be thinned. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl.

2. Drizzle olive oil over the garbanzo bean mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley. Serve with warm pita wedges or fresh veggies.

I'm not sure on the exact amount this made. In the picture, the hummus is in a Pyrex ramekin. It was a little less than half of the entire mixture.

Pumpkin Time

2008-09-28T15:03:00.005-05:00

I hate making cupcakes, infact I think they've only been featured twice on the blog. These cupcakes however are so easy and so ridiculously good I don't mind whipping them up. They only require 4 ingredients, one of which is pumpkin.

Matt mentioned something to me in July about how he couldn't wait for the fall so we could eat these. I told him we didn't have to wait for the fall, I had a can of pumpkin and could whip some right up. He insisted that pumpkin is a fall ingredient so I had to wait.

Another reason these are awesome: they are low calorie. The first time I ever had them was at a food day at work. A coworker brought some in and said they were only 50 calories a cupcake. She said this is her mom's recipe and she doesn't know where it originated or if they really have 50 calories, but let's just pretend they do...

I'm obsessed with the special edition Hershey's Kisses. Matt and I love the Pumpkin Spice Kisses and I thought it would be a good idea to use some in this recipe. I drizzled melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses over the top of the cupcakes and put half a kiss in some of the cupcakes. The result... Amazing! The cupcakes themselves are rich, chocolate, and moist and have a dense texture thanks to the pumpkin. The kisses just throw the flavor over the top. We loved it!

So on this glorious 85 degree fall day I baked my first pumpkin goodie of the season:

50 Calorie* ChocolatyChocolateChip Cupcakes.
*we're pretending... remember!?

My adaptions in italics

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix (do not prepare)
1 15oz can Pumpkin
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Pumpkin Spice Kisses, melted
Pumpkin Spice Kisses, halved

Mix all ingredients (except Kissses) in a medium bowl. Spoon into paper cupcake liners. Bake at 350degrees for 16 - 18 minutes.

I stuck half a kiss in some of the cupcakes before I stuck them in the oven. I made sure to cover the top of the kiss with additional batter. When the cupcakes had cooled, I drizzled melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses over top.

This makes 16 - 24 cupcakes depending on how much batter you put in each liner. I made 24 cupcakes, but wish I would have put more batter in each liner and had fewer, bigger cupcakes. I had forgotten these don't rise very much.

Also a note from Matt, he says: "we don't bake the cupcakes all the way. Take them out of the oven when they are still a little bit gooey so you get the full effect of the rich goodness". (I took them out at about 13 or 14 minutes

Cookie Carnival: Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

2008-09-25T19:17:00.008-05:00

Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies: 1
Stacey: 0

Where do I even begin????? As Julie Andrews sang in The Sound of Music…. Let’s start from the beginning, a very good place to start...

This month for Cookie Carnival, Kate of The Clean Plate Club took suggestions from those of us participating. The recipe Kate chose was a Martha recipe, Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies. It was submitted by Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake. I’ll be honest my first two thoughts when I saw the recipe were:

1) Sandwich cookies.... pain in the ass

2) Grapefruit… ewwwww.

I tossed around the idea of subbing oranges in for the grapefruit, but I wasn’t sure how many oranges I would need to substitute. So I just stayed with the grapefruit. On Sunday I went to the store realized I had to be honest with myself. I have never even tried grapefruit before. How did I know I really didn’t like it? Then I had another realization, I didn’t really know what a whole grapefruit looks like. Luckily I found them and bonus… they were on sale!

So fast forward (or I guess at this point rewind =) ) to Tuesday. I had a rough day, just one of those days I didn’t really feel good and was so exhausted all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. But, if I wanted to get my recipe baked and submit it on time I had to do it Tuesday night. So I sucked it up and made the cookies.

As soon as I started the cookies I was annoyed. I realized I was out of cake flour, so I had to find a substitute. Then I moved onto the zesting/grating portion of the recipe and grew even more annoyed. I just find it to be such a pain in the butt. After that, I squeezed the damned grapefruit by hand in order to get the juice. At that point I was wondering why I decided to make the recipe. I soldiered on though and made the dough. I tried a bit of it and, OH MY GOSH! I loved it. Tasted just like orange sherbet!

So from there I put my dough in the fridge, searched through a drawer in my kitchen, and found super cute heart cookie cutters to use. Fast forward 45 minutes and I took the dough out and rather than flouring the surface of my counter, I was going to roll it between wax paper. There is where my REAL problems began. I rolled it out and peeled back my top sheet of wax paper. The dough was sticky and gooey, not like other roll out cookies I have made in the past. There was no way I could use a cookie cutter on those. So I scraped up my sticky/gooey mess and threw it in a small bowl and stuck it in the freezer thinking I would just forget rolling and make drop cookies.

I kept the dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes before I threw my first dozen in the oven. I peeked in on them and they just didn’t look right. So with that I was certain the cookies had defeated me. I went to lay on the couch and was going to drown my sorrows in 90210 when it hit me that maybe I didn’t add enough flour. Sure enough, I re-read the recipe and forgot a ½ cup of AP flour. With that, I added about 1/3 cup of flour to the remaining dough and wow, what a difference that made.

(cookies on the left with additional flour, on the right without)

So I baked all of these as drop cookies, let them cool and luckily made my icing without a hitch. I did decide to pipe the icing rather than use a spatula.

Overall though, I actually liked these cookies. They had a nice citrus taste. I think they would be a good baby shower or wedding shower cookie. Matt didn’t have very high hopes for these either and said he was “impressed”. I brought some into my coworkers and they really liked them as well.

I’m upset they didn’t turn out like they should have. I think I will try to make these again, with the cake flour, with the right amount of AP flour and my heart cookie cutters. Thanks Kate for choosing this recipe. You got me out of my comfort zone and one step closer to grapefruit. :)

Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

You can bake the cookies and make the filling the day ahead.

Source: Martha Stewart

Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large egg yolks

Pink Grapefruit Filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.

Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out disk to 1/8 inch thick using a lightly floured rolling pin. Using a lightly floured 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely

Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Pink Grapefruit Filling

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in honey. Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use

I'm in love

2008-09-18T16:41:00.007-05:00

One of my coworkers is being induced tomorrow so we had a food day in honor of her. She'll be the first to admit she's been living it up food wise since she got pregnant and today was her last hurrah of eating junk. She didn't give me an option of what type of food to bring. On the email she sent out I was told to bring something sweet and full of calories. I immediately thought of these wonderful No-Bake Bars I saw on Nemmie's fabulous blog. When I told her I would bring these her first comment was "well peanut butter, that's good for me it has protein". Then we realized this also has oats in it, and well, those are good for you too. So this was a "healthy" dessert. ;)

After I prepared these I tried one and it was awesome! I decided that in order to fulfill Sharla's wishes on a calorie laden snack and be able to keep some of these at home I'd better bake something else too. So I made my triple threat blondies and some caramel popcorn and called it good.

Everyone loved these (and everything else, it was all gone before I left work) and I am so glad I kept some at home to enjoy. I have most of the ingredients for these on hand so this will surely become a go-to dessert for me!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Source: Cast Sugar

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
9 oz. chocolate wafers, finely ground (2 cups) (I ended up using chocolate teddy grahams and didn't completely ground them. I wanted some chocolate chunks)
1 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
5 oz. unsalted butter
1 c. chunky peanut butter
3/4 c. + 3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
10 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

Directions:

Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the 2 long sides.

Combine wafers, oats, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add chunky peanut butter and 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, whisking until well combined. Add peanut butter mixture to wafer mixture, stirring until combined. Transfer to baking dish, and use the bottom of a measuring cup or an offset spatula to firmly press mixture into an even layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pour melted bittersweet chocolate over chilled mixture and, using an offset spatula, spread into a thin layer that covers the entire surface. Refrigerate until hardened, at least 15 minutes.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter in a small saucepan until runny. Drizzle peanut butter over chilled chocolate. Refrigerate until hardened, about 15 minutes.

Use parchment to lift out chilled block of bars. Run a sharp knife under hot water, dry well, and cut into 24 squares, wiping knife between cuts. Let bars stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. (Sliced bars can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Success!

2008-09-15T16:56:00.004-05:00

I owe my friend Julie big for our fabulous meal last night. It featured her delish Chicken Enchiladas and her no fail fabulous Mexi-Rice. I'm a huge fan of minute rice. I just suck at regular rice, but this my friends, was a success. It's not only very good, but it's so easy. I made a few modifications and think this would just be great with some chopped red peppers in it too. I can't wait to have leftovers tonight for dinner!

Julie's No Fail Mexi-Rice
Source: Julie

1 Cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 Cup chicken broth
1/2 Cup tomato sauce
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1 can diced green chiles (I used two fresh green chiles - diced)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbs vegetable oil
Cumin, chili powder, salt to taste
Fresh cilantro to taste

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add rice, onion, chiles, and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil.

3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer 25-30 minutes. DO NOT open lid while simmering, or the rice wont come out right. Fluff with a fork. Stir in fresh cilantro.

Have a Moment

2008-09-15T16:37:00.003-05:00

You know I'm a sucker for anything peanut butter and/or chocolate. As soon as I saw these puppies on Erin Cooks last month I knew I had to make them. With a name like Triple Peanut Butter Melting Moments how could these not be the best cookie ever?

Sadly, they aren't the best cookies ever. :( They are good, but I was disappointed. It started when I went to make the cookie part, I was mixing the butter, peanut butter, and powdered sugar and went to add egg when I realized this has no egg. I thought it was kind of odd, but whatever. So I continued on, baked the cookies, made my filling, assembled the sandwich cookie and took a big ole bite and... crumbs everywhere. The actual cookie part had this weird soft/dry/crumbly texture. The filling was fabulous, but the cookie part, not so much. My husband really liked them, I just thought they were ok. If I were to ever make these again, I would use a regular PB cookie recipe instead of this one. My rating: 5 Matt's rating: 8.

Triple Peanut Butter Melting Moments
Source: Erin Cooks

Cookies
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling (I doubled this as suggested)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/8 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature peanut butter cups (I quartered Reeses Mini PB Cups)

Position a rack in the middle of he oven. Preheat the oven to 300º F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the cookies. Sift both flours, the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, peanut butter, and powdered sugar until smooth and lightened slightly in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the owl as needed during mixing. Add the vanilla and mix until blended. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated and a smooth dough forms.

For each cookie, roll a level tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Use a fork to gently flatten the cookies to 1 1/4 inch disks, leaving an impression of the fork tines.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and the cookie bottoms are lightly browned, about 30 minutes; the tops of the cookies should not color. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling. In a medium bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir the butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter cups.

Turn half of the cooled cookies bottom side up, and use a thin metal spatula to spread a rounded teaspoon of filling evenly over each one. Place the remaining cookies right side up on the filing, and press gently.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Perfectly Perfect

2008-09-08T11:28:00.006-05:00

Perfectly chocolate, perfectly moist, perfectly simple.....perfectly prefect. These babies most definitely live up to their name:

Hershey's Best Brownies
Source: hersheys.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional) I decided to add Heath Bits instead
CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING(recipe follows) omitted this, these are are plenty good on their own!

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Prepare CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING; spread over brownies. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.

CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency. About 1 cup frosting.

May the Best Candidate Win

2008-09-03T03:33:00.008-05:00

Well my friends, there is an important election going on this year. No, no, no, not that darn presidential election. (Shhhhh... don't tell... I have a bachelors degree in Political Science and have never voted.) I'm talking about The Race for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie!

Just about 9 short months ago I discovered ATK's Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and came to the realization they were the best chocolate chip cookie ever. Hands down. Since that time I've seen many a blog posts about what people claim are the best chocolate chip cookies. I've never been tempted to make any of them until now.

A few months ago I found the blog Rookie Cookie and have blog stalked it ever since. When she posted her top secret recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies and I was very intrigued. A recipe so good that it has only been shared with a few people until now? Sign me up!

Cookie Face Off '08

On the left we have Thick and Chewy and on the right Rookie Cookie.

The biggest difference between the two: T&C uses melted butter, one egg, and one egg yolk. RC cuts back a bit on sugar and adds a package of instant vanilla pudding in hers. Both of these cookies are phenomenal.

What I observe from numerous taste tests...

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Exactly what it says it is, thick and chewy. The cookie is soft but still has a nice crunch to it. It tastes like it came from a bakery.

Rookie Cookie's Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Super soft and melts in your mouth. These are so amazingly soft they remind me somewhat of Chewy Chips Ahoy. But, a homemade version. (I could devour a package of those bad boys in one sitting)

This was a tough race. I tried the dough for RC's cookies and was certain they would take the place of T&C's in my heart. But, I'm still in love with T&C. Don't get me wrong, RC is an amazing cookie, but my heart belongs to T&C. My husband on the other hand love, love, loved RC's recipe.

A house divided.

Such an important decision couldn't be left up to only two judges, so I brought these out with us on Labor Day and had some friends try them out. Everyone absolutely loved both cookies, but the favorite was the Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

So my friends, the winner of this race is Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Believe me though, I will definitely be making Rookie Cookie's recipe again. Thanks Rookie Cookie for sharing your recipe with everyone :)

For the recipe for Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Click Here
For the recipe for the Rookie Cookie's Chocolate Chip Cookies Click Here

Simple Salad

2008-09-01T20:48:00.004-05:00

Ever since I bought some Arugula at the farmers market last week I've been on the look out for an easy, yummy recipe. When I spotted this on All Recipes, I knew I had a winner. The salad came together in a matter of minutes and even Matt who rarely eats a salad without ranch dressing devoured this. This was perfect as a side salad, but with a little chicken would make a wonderful main dish. I wish I had some more arugula so I could make this for lunch tomorrow!

Easy Arugula Salad
Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

4 cups young arugula leaves, rinsed and dried
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large plastic bowl with a lid, combine arugula, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, oil, vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and shake to mix.

Hot Potato!

2008-09-01T20:34:00.004-05:00

There has been quite a buzz on blogs recently regarding The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes. I came to the conclusion that: #1) they were most likely overrated and #2) I would never bother to make them.

I was wrong. On both accounts.

I got a hell of a deal on some Yukon Gold potatoes at the farmers market last week and this recipe seemed like the perfect way to use them up. They were a perfect companion to steak and a simple arugula salad. This recipe is not only super simple, but it tastes great. It's a nice alternative to a baked potato. I'm positive I'll make these again.

For the recipe visit The Pioneer Woman. The only changes I made were that I used Yukon Gold Potatoes instead of New Potatoes and Chives instead of Rosemary.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

2008-08-24T16:50:00.006-05:00

When I think of biscottis, I think of high school when I worked at the St. Louis Bread Co. There was a lady with a very strong English accent that would come in all the time asking for a biscotti. To this day I can’t say the word without an English accent. I’ve never really cared for biscottis, too dry for my liking. When Kate announced that the recipe for Cookie Carnival this month was for a biscotti I realized I didn’t actually know what a biscotti was. I soon found out biscotti means twice baked. With that knowledge under my belt, I decided to give this recipe a whirl.

I made a few changes, I don’t care much for hazelnuts so I substituted almonds and added white chocolate chips and melted white chocolate on top. I also added more vanilla extract and cut back on the almond extract. The results were better than I expected. Not as dry as I thought they would be, but I wish I would have cut the amount of whole almonds in half and added more white chocolate chips. All in all though, a pretty darn good treat. I might just have to take up drinking coffee to have with my treat.

Thanks Kate for choosing a recipe to broaden my baking horizons!

**** So I have to update this. After munching on them all week, I have come to the conclusion that these are absolutely delicious. Even my husband loves them and it's not something he would usually like. I will most definitely be making these again, maybe next time though I will cut the recipe in half.****

Chocolate Almond Biscotti
Adapted from: Bon Appétit from The Bakehouse, Bloomington, IN

Ingredients - my adaptations in italics

1 1/2 cups almonds, toasted
3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

For Drizzle:
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 tsp shortening

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Grind 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts in processor. Set aside. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and sugar in another large bowl to blend. Add eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well blended. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in 1 cup whole toasted hazelnuts, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece on baking sheet into 2 1/2-inch-wide by 14-inch-long log. Place logs on prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart (logs will spread during baking). Bake until logs feel firm when tops are gently pressed, about 35 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Using long wide spatula, transfer baked logs to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut warm logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Arrange slices, cut side down, on 2 baking sheets. Bake biscotti until firm, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely.

Drizzle: Place 1/4 Cup White Chocolate Chips and 1/4 teaspoon shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil) in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at medium an additional 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour melted mixture into plastic sandwich bag. Snip corner off of bag and pipe mixture over biscotti.

Biscotti can be prepared ahead. Store in airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.)

Restaurant Style

2008-08-24T16:15:00.004-05:00

I'm typically not a fan of red meat. I'll eat it occasionally, but I'd much rather have a plate of raw veggies in front of me. For some reason last night I was craving steak - totally unlike me. I was also craving some asparagus on the grill. Since I was home by myself I was going to ignore my craving, but then thought, what the hell, grill some meat just for you.

So I went to the store and had no idea what kind of meat to buy. I looked at all the choices and had(have) no clue what all the cuts of beef were(are). I ended up with some boneless rib meat b/c the pieces were small. (I sound like such a girl saying that) and it was extra lean. I turned to All Recipes for a marinade that turned out AWESOME!!! My meal seriously tasted like it came from a restaurant. So, so, so good! I can't wait to make this for Matt, he'll be super impressed!

Marinade for Steak
From: All Recipes

The amounts below are just for my one little piece of meat. Go here and it will take you to the original recipe and the serving calculator. My adaptions in italics

1 tablespoon and 1-3/4 teaspoons vegetable oil
2-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar I used balsamic vinegar
1-1/4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
1/8 onion, sliced
1/4 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp brown sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, mustard, onion, and garlic. Mix together well, and use to marinate your favorite meat. (I let my meat marinate for about 3 hours)

Fresh and Fabulous

2008-08-24T14:56:00.007-05:00

Vegetables are my favorite food right behind chocolate. I love, love, love veggies. My lunch usually consists of raw veggies and some sort of crackers with laughing cow cheese or stuffed in a pita. I love 'em. [and with lunches like that I can afford to eat all of the sweets I make ;)] I was so excited when we moved into our house last fall because we're only 2 and half miles away from the OP Farmers Market. Unfortunately I've only been twice all summer thanks to my crappy work schedule.

After my most recent trip I decided I wanted to make some sort of Veggie Couscous with all of my fresh goodies. I turned to a couscous recipe I starred in my Google reader a while ago - Garden Vegetable Couscous with Simple Dijon Dressing. I adapted this a bit and the only part of the recipe I followed was for Simple Dijon Dressing. I served the couscous on Fresh Spinach and Arugula (also FM finds) and it was fabulous. I loved the contrast the spinach gave the cilantro and jalapeno and then the extra bite the arugula gave the entire dish. I highly recommend this!

Farmers Market Couscous with Simple Dijon Dressing
Adapted From: Picky Palate

*I didn't really measure my vegetable amounts... these are just estimates

1 box Near East Couscous (Plain)
1 bunch fresh asparagus, roasted
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup yellow squash, quartered
1 cup zucchini, sliced
1 - 2 red peppers, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
1 heirloom tomato, quartered
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno, diced

1.5 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp Grey Poupon or spicy brown mustard
Pinch of Salt and Pepper

I prepare the Couscous as directed and then sauteed the onion and garlic until it was fragrant. Then I added all veggies (except the asparagus and tomato) and sauteed for just about 5 - 10 minutes. I added the asparagus and tomato in and placed a lid on the skillet and turned the heat down to warm.

Doesn't that just look so yummy!

To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper.

Combine the couscous and veggies. Stir in cilantro. Pour dressing over couscous and stir to combine. Serve over spinach and arugula if desired.

I ate this warm yesterday cold today. Either way, it tasted delicious.

More Peanut Butter and Chocolate

2008-08-24T14:33:00.002-05:00

I saw this recipe last week and knew I had to make them ASAP! With only 5 ingredients these were a cinch to whip up. My problem came into play when it was time to dip these in the chocolate and peanut butter. It was almost 11pm and I was exhausted. I could have waited until this morning, but didn't want to to do that either. So instead of dipping each end like the recipe instructs, I just stated dipping the tops and bottoms of the cookies to save time. Luckily, it didn't hurt the taste of the cookie at all :)

Peanut Butter Cookies
Source: Bakerella

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
4 oz. Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts
Preheat oven to 325.

Mix peanut butter, sugar and egg until well blended. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove and roll mixture into 18 balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball by using a fork to make a criss-cross pattern.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate. Dip one end of cookie into melted chocolate and then dip into chopped peanuts. Repeat with other side. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet and refrigerate until chocolate hardens.

Yum

2008-08-10T20:40:00.005-05:00

I saw these this morning on my Google reader and decided to make them right away. There is nothing better than chocolate and peanut butter. I took my first bite and was in love. I'm sure I'll make them again, next time though, I want to add a layer of crushed pretzels before I add the chocolate.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars
From: Baking Blonde (who I can always count on for a fabulous PB Chocolate treat!)
Adapted from: All Recipes

Ingredients

1 cup butter (I used a little less, just added it slowly)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used a heaping cup!)
3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions

Grease a 9×9 inch square pan.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in the oats. Cook over low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until ingredients are well blended.Press half of mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Reserve the remainder for topping.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust in the pan, and spread evenly with a knife or the back of a spoon.

Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate layer, pressing in gently.Cover, and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before cutting into bars.

Veggies, the fun way!

2008-08-10T20:09:00.004-05:00

No my friends, that is not a leaf you see on the cookie below. It's zucchini. I found this recipe on Amber's Delectable Delights and was intrigued. I thought it sounded tasty, but at the same time they seemed kind of odd. I realized I would never know if I liked these unless I made them, so I decided to give these babies a whirl.

The result was quite pleasant. I love the taste of the cinnamon, zucchini, and walnuts. Combine that with the chocolate and your taste buds will be very, very happy!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies
Found on: Amber's Delectable Delights
Orginially From: RecipeZaar

Ingredients
This made 60 cookies... next time I'll cut this recipe in half.

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 small zucchini, grated approximately 2 cups of grated zucchini)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I only had one cup of semisweet, so I subbed a cup of Hershey's Mini Kisses)
1 1/2-2 cups walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray or line with Parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into the butter mixture, gradually; mix well.

Stir in the zucchini, fold in the walnuts (optional), and chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls with two (2) inches between each cookie-- onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Do not over-bake, or you will not enjoy your cookies. (I used a cookie scoop and made about 60 cookies. Mine baked for 10 -11 min)

Let stand to cool for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove and place on wire racks to allow to cook completely.

White Bean Dip

2008-08-08T22:52:00.007-05:00

This has been a really long week. I woke up Sunday morning and my head was pounding and the room was almost spinning. Saturday night we went to a fabulous wedding (this guy was even staying at the hotel, that pic was snapped during dinner) and all the fun from the night before caught up to me. We had ourselves a nice greasy breakfast at I-Hop. (Who cares if they scored an F and are one of America's worst restaurants, it makes for great hangover food)

I slept for half the trip back to KC and felt somewhat human but had a bad craving for pasta. I decided to make a huge bowl of pasta salad to munch on all week. (I used this recipe, but added a ton more veggies. It was excellent!!)

Tonight the hubs pulled out some pasta we froze a few weeks ago for dinner. I told him no way, after having pasta salad everyday for the last 5 days, I needed a break from pasta. We decided to grill some burgers and after seeing Jules post about this dip, I remembered I had all the ingredients for it. I first saw it on Good Thymes&Good Food and have wanted to make it since.

Pita's weren't sounding good (ranked right up there with the pasta) so I decided to just serve this with some raw veggies (red and green peppers, carrots, zucchini, and celery). It was really good, especially with the red and green pepper. I definitely want to try this with the pita's sometime, just not when I've been on carb overload all week. :)

Giada's White Bean Dip

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 pitas
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl.

Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color. Serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside the bean puree.

I have an addiction

2008-08-01T07:54:00.011-05:00

An addiction to baking. I can't help it. Since Sunday at 2pm I've whipped up: Strawberry Almond Bars, Coconutty Brownies, PB Cookies, and Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting. And that list doesn't include the 2 pizzas we also made. I'm. A. Freak. My addiction wouldn't be quite as bad if I didn't have such a sweet tooth. (Good thing I also have an addiction to working out!) I must be making up for all the times I was too busy with school to bake.

Last night around 7 we were just hanging out and all the sudden these cupcakes popped in my head. I saw them on my Google reader last week and starred them right away. I hopped off the couch and told my husband I had to bake them. My excuse was that I'll bring them to my mom's house this weekend. This probably wasn't a very smart choice. I don't think cupcakes travel very well, especially 3 hours and 45 min. I thought about making this a cake instead, but the hubs wanted cupcakes.

Matt LOVED these, (I'm talkin a 9.5 rating) especially the frosting. I didn't care for them quite as much, but I don't care for frosting at all. (I'm gonna go with a 7.5 - although I may like them more today, you know how it is when you bake something and it's never quite as good after you've been baking. It always tastes better the next day. I may have to edit this after lunch.) I was hoping the honey and cinnamon would help, but it still tasted pretty buttercreamy. These are supposed to bake for 25 - 30 min. I did mine for about 18 and I feel like they are almost dry, I also think next time I make these I'll add something to the mix to give them a little more flavor.

Update: I'm definitely giving these a higher score. I just had one and it was delicious! I think an 8.5 will do! :)

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting
Source: Good Thymes & Good Food

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Make a well in center of flour mixture.
5. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla.
6. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not over mix).
7. Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
8. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
9. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.
10. Spread tops with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting (see below)
11. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired. Makes 12 (I had 16)

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting
1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon I added about 1 tsp

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.

The Best PB Cookie Ever?

2008-07-30T17:51:00.006-05:00

Might just be. I have always loved Peanut Butter Cookies, especially Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. My old standby just doesn't cut it anymore. I don't know why, but the last few times I made them, they sucked. I then turned to these cookies, I would just add a cup of PB to the recipe. They are delicious. Last month, I saw Bakingblonde posted a recipe for the best Peanut Butter Cookies ever and knew I had to try them.

When my coworker requested some Peanut Butter cookies, I thought I'd give these a whirl. This recipe has milk in it and reminds me of Peanut Butter Frosting. The cookies are thick and chewey with just a slight crunch - perfection! Everyone absolutely loved them. Thanks Bakingblonde for the fabulous recipe!

The Original Peanut Butter Cookie
Source: Bakingblonde

1 cup + 2 TBS peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 TBS milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Peanut Butter chips
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Sugar (for rolling dough balls, may need more or less)

Preheat oven to 350.Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter. Once combined beat in the white sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently add to creamed mixture and mix until almost combined. Fold in chocolate and peanut butter chips.

Chill dough for at least 15 minutes.Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Gently roll the dough balls into sugar and place dough balls on parchment lined baking sheets. Carefully press each ball with fork tines to create a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for 5-10 minutes until sturdy enough to be transferred to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bakingblonde's Tips:
(I was excited to see a few of these are things I normally do when baking any cookie)

Chill the dough for about 15 minutes before baking and keep it chilled while one pan is baking (especially during the warm months as Peanut Butter tends to ‘melt’ easily and makes the dough harder to work with). Chilling helps the cookies keep their shape while baking and helps with
the delicate texture of the baked cookie

Let these cool on a baking sheet for at least five to ten minutes after removing from the oven, if not they will fall apart because they are so tender! You can finish cooling on a wire rack before storing.

To keep these nice and soft, store a piece of bread in a sealed container with the cookies, make sure it is not touching the cookies (I place it on a piece of wax paper on top of the cookies in the container)

If freezing the balls for later baking, Chill dough, roll into balls and freeze. Don’t roll in sugar until ready to bake

These are delicate cookies and can be difficult to transport. I find a single layer of cookies transports beautifully. If needing to stack cookies to transport, place a few sheets of waxed paper in between layers.

Cookie Carnival: Blackberry Almond Bars

2008-07-27T20:37:00.005-05:00

I'll be honest, when I got the email stating the recipe for July was Blackberry Almond Bars, I wasn't exactly thrilled. Hot Fruit? Blackberries? What's a chinois set? Will my blender work in place of a food processor? (A Food Processor is on my Christmas List for this year.) Even though I wasn't too keen on the recipe, I still wanted to participate. I mean part of the reason I joined this event was to try new things. A girl can only bake so many chocolate and peanut butter goodies.

Ever since I tried Katie's fabulous Juicy Strawberry Scones, hot fruit doesn't gross me out like it used to or I would have totally passed on this. I don't like Blackberries (actually the only berry I like is a Strawberry), so I decided to mess around with the recipe a bit. I was kind of concerned the strawberry and almond flavors wouldn't go together, but the taste blends quite well.

I'm really glad I decided to participate because when I tried one, my first thought was HOLY CRAP! These actually turned out! They are EXCELLENT! I can't wait to make them for a group of people sometime. These are certain to be a crowd-pleaser.

Strawberry Almond Bars
Adapted from: Williams-Sonoma

INGREDIENTS:

For the shortbread:
* 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 tsp. salt

For the strawberry curd:
* 1 lb strawberries
* 4 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* Pinch of salt
* 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
* 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch cake pan.

To make the shortbread, in the bowl of a food processor, (used my blender) combine the butter, flour, almonds, granulated sugar and salt and process until small lumps form. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom. Bake until the shortbread is golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Meanwhile, make the strawberry curd: In a food processor or blender, puree the strawberries until smooth. Pass the puree through a chinois set over a bowl, using a pestle to press on the solids and extract as much juice as possible; discard the solids. You should have about 3/4 cup juice. I skipped the whole chinois part of the step and just used the pureed strawberries, I ended up with about 1 and 1/4 cup.

In the top pan of a double boiler or in a nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until blended. Then whisk in the strawberry puree, (I used about 1 cup) salt and lemon juice. Set the top pan over but not touching simmering water in the bottom pan, or set the saucepan over medium-low heat. (If using a saucepan, take care not to heat the mixture too quickly.) Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the mixture is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Begin adding the butter a little at a time, stirring each addition until blended before adding more. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, until a finger drawn across the back of the spatula leaves a path, 8 to 10 minutes more. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Pass the curd through the chinois set over a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. (again, skipped the chinios and just let the mixture stand) Whisk to blend, then pour the curd over the shortbread, spreading it evenly to the edges.

Bake until the curd is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into individual bars, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Dust the bars with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Makes 20 bars.

Thank you Kate for choosing this recipe. I love it. Be sure to check out Cookie Carnival to see the original recipe and entries from other bloggers!