Things That Make You Go Mmmmmm

The Best Salsa Ever

2011-08-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

With garden season in full swing, it must be time to make salsa! I've tried a few versions, and I go back to this one every time. The spices really give the salsa a nice flavor, and you can easily adjust the amounts of ingredients to your liking (spicy - add both jalapenos, not so spicy - hold back a little). Its the perfect blend for a salsa - not to chunky, not too watery. Its a great salsa to eat with chips, but I have also used it for other Mexican cooking, to top our eggs with, and I have even had success canning this recipe.

Annie's original recipe called for 2 large vine tomatoes and 1 can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes. Since we have more tomatoes in our garden than we know what to do with, I just used a bunch of tomatoes, maybe 8-12 or so, depending on size. If the batch seems like it might be too spicy, I add in another tomato or two. I usually quarter the tomatoes and add about 6-8 full tomatoes to the food processor, then I remove the "guts" of the others so the salsa isn't too watery. If your food processor is getting a little full, you can always process the tomatoes separately then stir everything together at the end.

The Best Salsa
adapted slightly from Annie's Eats

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and very coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, halved
8-12 large vine-ripened tomatoes, OR 2 tomatoes and 1-28oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. cumin
1/2 sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped (I have also used red onion, or half red and half yellow)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (more if you really like cilantro)
juice of one lime

DIRECTIONS:
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the jalapenos and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. 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).
3. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Olga's Pita Bread - BLTs and Snackers

2011-08-11T22:08:00.002-04:00

Have you ever eaten at an Olga's Kitchen? It might be a Michigan chain, I'm not sure. But they have the BEST pita bread EVER! When we were younger, my mom would take us there for a quick dinner in between dance classes. I would get either the three cheese Olga with tomatoes and onion, or the BLT Olga. I really just wanted anything that came with the Olga bread.
I came across a reference to Olga bread in the meal-plan of one of the blogs I follow. I knew I had to look up a recipe! With bacon and lettuce on hand and fresh tomatoes from the garden, dinner was planned.

The recipe below makes 16 pitas, but I cut it in half for the two of us (made 8 medium sized pitas). I used about half of the pita bread to make Olga's snackers - Just cut the pita into trianges, spray with some olive oil, sprinkle with spices of your choosing and bake at 375F for about 5 minutes (maybe less) - that aren't supposed to be crisp, just baked a little more.

I thought this bread was really good and tasted a lot like the Olga bread I remember. And its really pretty easy to make. I'm already planning to make this again soon! But first, I need to find a recipe for their cheesy snacker dip...

Imitation Olga Bread
source: buddhabelly on Food.com

1 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup margarine
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 pkg.)
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups flour, divided
1 egg

DIRECTIONS:
1. Scald milk, remove to large bowl. Add honey, margarine and salt to milk, stir until margarine is melted. Set aside to cool until lukewarm.
2. Combine yeast, warm water and sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour to lukewarm milk mixture and beat well. (I used the dough hook on my Kitchenaid for this.) Mix in egg and yeast mixture. Add remaining flour, a little at a time, until sticky dough is formed.
4. Turn out on a floured surface, knead about two minutes. Dough will be sticky, but don’t add more flour. (I had to add just a little more flour, it was really sticky! They still turned out fine!)
5. Place dough in oiled bowl, turning once to oil whole surface of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm place until doubled in bulk. (I left mine for about 90 minutes.)
6. Punch down dough; divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece to a thin rough circle about 8-1o inches in diameter (mine were a little smaller; don't worry too much about a perfect circle, she shape is distorted a little when you transfer to the pan).
7. Heat a large dry skillet over medium-high heat; do not use any oil. Bake 15-20 seconds, flip and bake about 15 seconds on other side, until mottled brown spots appear. Cool and store in a plastic bag.

BLTs
For the BLTS, I just spread a little mayo on the Olga, and topped with 3 pieces of bacon, some tomato slices, and lettuce. Very easy!

Snackers

For the snackers, I cut 3-4 pitas into triangles and placed them in a bowl. Spray with olive oil cooking spray, and sprinkle on spices (chili powder, paprika, garlic salt, sesame seeds; but whatever you enjoy would work fine). I didn't measure anything, but just add enough to suit your tastes. Then place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake in a 375F oven for a few minutes. Yummy snack or side!

Cilantro Lime Rice

2011-07-24T22:08:00.001-04:00

I wanted something to serve along side these Chicken Fajitas, and this recipe was quick, easy, and used up more of our cilantro stash from the garden. I know the rice looks green, but it was VERY yummy! The cilantro really shined through, but wasn't overpowering. We will definitely be making this rice instead of traditional Mexican rice more often.

Cilantro Lime Rice
recipe from Annie's Eats, originally from Everyday Food

1 cup long grain rice
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine the rice, 2 cups water and salt in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stir briefly, cover and reduce the heat to low. Let cook, covered, until the water is absorbed and rice is fluffy and tender, 16-18 minutes. (Cooking time and directions can vary depending on the brand of rice. Check the package directions.)
2. While the rice is cooking, combine the cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, garlic and 2 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Stir the mixture into the cooked rice and fluff with a fork.

Chicken Fajitas

2011-07-24T21:52:00.001-04:00

We have had some really good food lately, and there are some recipes I definitely don't want to forget! This is one of those recipes, which we made with Cilantro Lime Rice. We had an abundance of cilantro in the garden to use, and fajitas immediately came to mind. I found this recipe when searching for a good cilantro-lime marinade. It was very tasty, we especially liked the touch of the grilled tortillas. The only thing missing from this dinner was margaritas!

Grilled Chicken Fajitas
from Annie's Eats, originally from Cook's Illustrated

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
6 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1½ tsp. brown sugar
1 jalapeño, seeded, ribbed and diced
1½ tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt
¾ tsp. pepper
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1½ lbs., pounded to an even thickness
1 large red onion, sliced into ½-inch thick slices
2 large bell peppers, sliced
8-12 (6-inch) flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lime juice, 4 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and pepper. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade; set aside. Place the chicken breast halves in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat grill, and grill the chicken until it is well browned, 3-4 minutes. Using tongs, flip the chicken and continue grilling until it is no longer pink inside (or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160˚ F.)
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet and saute onions and peppers over medium heat until soft. Season with salt and pepper and toss with 2 Tbsp. of the reserved marinade just as they are done.
4. When the chicken and vegetables are done, transfer them to a large plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
In 2 or 3 batches, transfer the tortillas in a single layer to the now empty grill over low heat. Cook until warm and lightly browned, about 20 seconds per side. When the tortillas are done, wrap them in a clean kitchen towel or foil.
5. Slice the chicken into ¼-inch strips and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade in another bowl. Arrange the chicken and vegetables on a large platter with the warmed tortillas and serve with sour cream, lime wedges, or other toppings of your choosing.

Guinness Cupcakes aka Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

2011-03-16T22:07:00.006-04:00

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

Maybe I'll get around to posting every now and then, who knows. In the mean time, I thought I would jump in around where I left off and share these amazing cupcakes I made last year to celebrate March 17th and everything Irish and green. Whats better than a sweet treat with the alcohol included (most of it bakes off, yes, but that frosting is potent and delicious!)? Enjoy!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
*Note: This name is not meant to offend anyone, it is in reference to a drink. If you find it offensive, please call them Guinness Cupcakes.
Recipe from: Smitten Kitchen

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness) *Hubby loves that this leaves at least a half can of Guinness for him!
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional, I used more like a Tablespoon.. or a little more)

Baileys Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)
*I made a double batch of the frosting, and used 3 of the mini-bottles of Baileys.. I didn't measure, but I know I added more than is listed here

Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.

3. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely. (Yes, I made mini-cupcakes because I thought the bite size-ness would work better for the party we were going to. No, I do not remember how long I bakes them, but it was less than 17 minutes.)

Make the filling:
4. Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined. If you add the whiskey to a very hot mixture, some of the alcohol will evaporate. Wait until it cools a little if you want a more potent filling.

Fill the cupcakes:
5. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using a small knife or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. I did not put the removed cake back on top of the filling, I just frosted right over it.

Make the frosting:
6. Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

7. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin, beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar to reach a piping consistency. (You may need to add a bit more powdered sugar if you use as much Baileys as I did!)

8. Ice and decorate the cupcakes. [I used a similar method as here, I painted stripes of orange and green gel food coloring up the insides of the piping bag, and then slowing swirled the cupcakes as I was frosting them.]

REVIEW: Awesome. These are so good! You can easily adjust the amount of whiskey and Baileys to suit the tastes of your crowd. I thought the cupcakes were really moist and I was extremely pleased with how they turned out. Plus, they were quite the topic of conversation!

2 months

2010-03-31T11:25:00.004-04:00

That's right. TWO MONTHS since my last post. Well, that is unacceptable. And I missed my 1-year-blogiversary, but I'm not even sure I can count it given that I took the entire last month of that first year off. (Did you follow that?)

I have actually been in the kitchen. I've baked some new goodies, tried a few new fish recipes in honor of Lent, took my first stab at eggplant.... and made a lot of our old favorites and other quick dishes that aren't really worth a picture or blog post.

So, I have some catching up to do. But today is my birthday. So maybe tomorrow. There is nothing wrong with showing you St. Patrick's Day cupckaes at Easter, right?

Beef and Pinto Bean Chili

2010-01-31T20:39:00.006-05:00

I recently subscribed to Cooking Light magazine, and I just got my first issue this month. The cover featured a delicious-looking bowl of hearty chili, and the timing coincided perfectly with the near-zero temps we have had here lately.

We usually make Josh's White Chicken Chili, but I thought the beef would be a nice change since I don't often buy red meat. The recipe called for beef chunks, which is a little different from other recipes that call for ground beef. There was a lot of depth to the flavor of this chili, without it being too spicy. Overall it was quite yummy!

Beef and Pinto Bean Chili
from Cooking Light
makes 6 servings

cooking spray
1 pound boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil (I used olive oil)
4 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
1/4 cup minced jalapeño peppers (about 2 large, use ribs for more heat)
10 garlic cloves, minced (yes, we used that many!)
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (I omitted)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth (I used ~2 cups and 1 cup water)
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup thinly sliced radish (for garnish, I omitted)
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped (for garnish)
6 tablespoons small cilantro leaves (for garnish, I omitted)
6 tablespoons sour cream
6 lime wedges (I omitted)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat a stock pot (or Dutch oven) over high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle beef evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add beef to pan; sauté 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from pan.

Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and jalapeño; sauté 8 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid almost evaporates (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally. Stir in paprika, cumin, and tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add broth, tomatoes, beans, and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer (uncovered) 1 1/2 hours or until mixture is thick and beef is very tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Ladle 1 cup chili into each of 6 bowls. Divide radish and avocado evenly among bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon cilantro and 1 tablespoon sour cream. Serve with lime wedges.

Crockpot Apricot Chicken

2010-01-23T10:21:00.000-05:00

Its been kind of a slow month on the posting front. Josh and I have been sticking with some old favorites, and making lots of quick chicken dishes that don't often deserve their own post.

And here we are with another crockpot recipe. I haven't been good about menu planning lately, and I find the best plan for frozen chicken is to throw it the crockpot. This recipe is great because of the few ingredients required. I happened to have a jar of apricot preserves in the pantry, so all I had to get was the onion soup mix - everything else I had on hand. I served with rice and microwave-steamed broccoli for an easy, complete meal.

**Picture from About.com, because I forgot to take one**

Crockpot Apricot Chicken

adapted from About.com

serves 4 as written

4 frozen chicken breast halves (4-6 oz each)

1 c. apricot preserves (I used a jar of the sugar free kind)

1 package dry onion soup mix

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1/4 tsp. pepper

salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken breasts (frozen is ok) in 3-4 quart slow cooker. Mix all other ingredients and pour over chicken, turning chicken to coat.

Cover crockpot and cook 8 hours on low (less if your chicken was thawed), or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender.

If you like you can thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch before serving. Combine 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. chicken stock and mix until smooth. Stir into crockpot juices, turn to high for 10-15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice or pasta. Enjoy!

Crockpot Honey Chicken and Dried Fruit

2010-01-12T20:12:00.005-05:00

It was noon on a Saturday, and we didn't have anything planned for dinner. Working with frozen chicken breasts, I decided I had enough time to toss something in the crockpot. We adapted this About.com recipe slightly to work with what we had on hand.

I really like chicken in the crockpot - it stays so moist! This recipe had some great flavor to it - I used a cup of mixed dried berries, and I think the cranberries really made the dish work well. Since the fruit is in the crockpot all day, it plumps up from the moisture. I started with frozen chicken, so the sauce was quite watery near the end. I scooped out about 1/4 cup of the juices, and mixed it with 2 Tbsp of cornstarch, and then added this back to the crockpot for the last 20 minutes of cooking. The sauce with nice and thick, and it was great served over whole grain rice. (Yeah, the picture isn't so great. But some dishes are just so hard to photograph!)

Crockpot Honey Chicken with Dried Fruit
adapted from About.com; serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (frozen is ok!)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup mixed dried fruit pieces
1/4 c. honey
1/3 c. chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Place all ingredients in 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours until chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. Thicken sauce with a little cornstarch if desired. Serve over hot cooked rice or egg noodles.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

2010-01-04T19:59:00.003-05:00

While looking for a healthy chicken recipe I came across Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken. And I thought, no way - it has "sugar" in the title! But as long as you don't go crazy on the brown sugar, this recipe isn't too bad. Everything in moderation...

We really liked this - a little brown sugar goes a long way and adds a tinge of sweetness to the dish without making it "sweet." And the best part - I had dinner ready in 20 minutes, which included making rice and steaming a veggie!

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken
adapted from Spark Recipes
makes 2 filling portions

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, approx 6 oz each
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce, reduced sodium recommended
4 tsp brown sugar, unpacked

DIRECTIONS
Pound chicken breasts to approx 3/8 inch thickness. Don't flatten them too much, you are simply trying to make them a uniform thickness so they cook faster and more evenly. Season both sides with some salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium to medium high heat. Brown the garlic in the butter.

Add chicken breasts to garlic and butter and cook thoroughly, about 5 minutes on each side. About halfway through cooking, add a few splashes of soy sauce to the pan.

When chicken is fully cooked, turn off heat and sprinkle 2 tsp. of brown sugar on top of each breast. Allow the brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 3-5 minutes).

I served over brown rice with steamed broccoli. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Chicken Roll-ups

2010-01-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

Josh found this recipe and cooked it up for dinner one night. It was actually pretty darn good! I had him go light on the pepperoni and cheese on mine, and the sauce was a nice addition of flavor (even though we used the jarred kind and not homemade).

Pepperoni Chicken Roll-Ups

adapted from Brenda on All-recipes

serves 4 as written, we easily halved the recipe for the 2 of us

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 slices pepperoni
4 slices (or 1 cup shredded) mozzarella cheese
1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 pinch garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian-style seasoning

1-2 tsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Pound chicken breasts flat with a meat mallet. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian style seasoning.

Place 3 slices pepperoni on each chicken breast and top each with a slice of cheese. Roll up breasts and fasten with toothpicks.

Heat 1-2 tsp olive oil in a small fry pan. Brown chicken rolls in oil about 5 minutes each side. Place chicken in a baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over chicken, and top with a little extra cheese if desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

REVIEW:

These were pretty tasty. They were a tad greasy from the pepperoni, but you could sub turkey pepperoni if you can find it. We used fat free mozzarella, and it would also be a little healthier if we used our homemade spaghetti sauce.

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip

2010-01-02T20:17:00.004-05:00

There are a lot of versions of "Buffalo Crack Dip" around the interwebs, and every version I have tried is just as addicting! Josh and I snacked on this while watching football on New Years Day. I really like the creaminess, and we add lots of chicken so it is quite filling. My only issue with this recipe is the color - the Franks Red Hot sauce is diluted with cream cheese and dressing, leaving a slightly pink-hued dish. But its the taste that counts, and Josh didn't seem to mind. Beware, this dip has quite a kick!
Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip
adapted slightly from Frank's
makes 3 cups

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened (I use fat free)
1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles
1/2 c. blue cheese OR ranch dressing
1/2 c. Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce or Cayenne Pepper Sauce
2 c. cooked chicken
Tortilla chips for serving

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Shred chicken or chop into small pieces. (You can use canned, but we just boil 2 chicken breast halves and then shred it - we had closer to 3 cups.)

Mix cream cheese, blue cheese, dressing, and red hot sauce together in a bowl with a spoon or fork. Clumps of cream cheese is ok. Add chicken and stir to combine.

Transfer mixture to a pie plate or 6-9" baking dish. Bake at 350 deg F for 20 min or until hot and bubbly. (Alternatively, you could heat in a crockpot until hot, about 60-90 min, and turn down to warm to serve at a party.)

Stir and serve, we like it with tortilla chips.

Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Dip

2010-01-02T20:15:00.001-05:00

My mom made Spinach Artichoke Dip as an appetizer for our family Christmas dinner, and it was so yummy! She made it in the crockpot, and kept it warm in a bowl on a heating plate.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
from my mom's friend Renay

1/2 c. mayo (Hellman's recommended)
1/2 c. light sour cream
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed
1 can artichokes (bottoms are fine)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. crushed garlic

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients and heat until melted and warm. It is easiest to do this in the crockpot and set it on low for 1-2 hours, but you could also place a small baking dish in a 350 deg F oven until heated through.

Best of 2009

2009-12-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

Every blog does it. And I like to follow the crowd (well, as long as the crowd isn't jumping off a bridge, anyways). But I digress.

Here is the obligatory year in review post: some of our favorite things from 2009. Some of these recipes we have still only had once despite their deliciousness, others have become favorites in our meal rotation. And I added some sweets in at the end, because I just can't ignore how much I am really liking to bake, and how big of a sweet tooth I have.

Garlic Rosemary Roast Chicken with Potatoes

Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin

Bacon Potato and Cabbage Soup

Curried Chicken Salad

Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Kay's Braised Chicken

Awesome Spiced Barbeque Baby Back Ribs

Tilapia Parmesan

Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Mango Salsa

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Cheddar-Garlic Oven Fried Chicken

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

Root Beer Pulled Pork

Josh's White Chicken Chili

Apple Pie

Strawberry Layer Cake

The Chewy

Cookies and Cream Cake (especially the frosting!)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake (served with yogurt-fruit parfaits)

Ginger Spice Cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Kisses

Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

I'm excited to keep this blog going in 2010. There are still a lot of recipes out there that I want to try, and Josh and I are getting a little more creative in the kitchen throwing things together ourselves. And I'm still working on my food photography... its bound to get better than last year! Thanks for reading along, and Happy New Year!

Baked Brie en Croute

2009-12-28T08:00:00.002-05:00

Sounds fancy and delicious, doesn't it? More importantly, it tastes just as delicious as it looks. My sister-in-law made this for Christmas last year, and I fell in love. The warm brie with the fruit spread was just so yummy, I knew I wanted to make it for some guests I was having over. I used some spiced apricot preserves that a friend had given me this summer, but any fruit would do. Raspberry would be especially lovely, but be sure to use the seedless variety.

Baked Brie en Croute

adapted from the Pepperidge Farm website

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package)

1/2 cup fruit preserves, seedless

1 (13- to 16-ounce) Brie cheese round

Water crackers or french bread for serving, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Spread the preserves on the pastry to within 2 inches of the edge. Place the cheese in the center of the pastry. Top brie round with a little more preserves, if desired. Fold the pastry up over the cheese to cover. Trim the excess pastry and press to seal. Brush the seam with the egg mixture. Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet (I recommend lining with foil). Decorate with the pastry scraps, if desired. Brush with the egg mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let stand for 45 minutes. Serve with crackers or french bread, if desired.

REVIEW:

Delicious! I didn't serve with anything, as I thought the puff pastry would be enough "bread." It worked out just fine. After having had this with apricot and raspberry, I prefer the berry version more, so I will use a berry spread next time.

Real Hummus

2009-12-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

I have been wanting to make a batch of hummus for a while now, as evidenced by the jar of tahini paste that has been in my pantry for a few weeks. I needed to put together some appetizers for a small party I was having, and I though this was a nice healthy option when served with bell pepper slices. I also served with some Wheat Thins crackers.

Real Hummus

from Katie at Good Things Catered

1 12-oz can chick peas

1-2 large cloves garlic

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp+ tahini (sesame paste)

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

Drain water from the can of chick peas into a small bowl and reserve.

In a food processor (or blender), mix together the chick peas with the remaining rest of the ingredients, being careful to add second half of lemon juice and tahini slowly, stopping to taste.

Slowly add some of the reserved liquid from beans and a bit of water for correct consistency,(about 1-2 tsp) until a smooth, slightly fluid paste is formed.

Refrigerate for at least 30 mins before serving. This changes the taste of the hummus by allowing the flavors to form. Note: to dress the hummus up for the table, the traditional way of serving is on a plate, with an extra drizzle of olive oil on top and a sprinkle of paprika and chopped parsley.

REVIEW:
This was really good hummus, and I will make it again. My favorite is actually roasted red pepper hummus, so I might try to add some of that in next time.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

2009-12-26T09:00:00.002-05:00

We were having a breakfast potluck at work, and I originally planned to bring my mom's cheesy hash browns recipe. I went to sign up, only to find someone else was already bringing a hash brown casserole. Oh well, just another excuse to bake something new!

I have been on a HUGE cranberry-orange kick lately. The two flavors were made for each other. I decided to make some scones - something I have never made before. I settled on this recipe which I found on Smitten Kitchen, but substituted orange for the lemon the recipe called for, and added a glaze. I thought they turned out great, and they were a huge hit!

Cranberry-Orange Scones

adapted from Smitten Kitchen, originally from Gourmet

yields 8-10 scones

For the scones:

1 1/2 tbsp. freshly grated orange zest (from about 1 large orange)

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar, plus 3 tablespoons

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 1/4 c. fresh cranberries, chopped coarse

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 c. heavy cream

For the glaze:

1 c. confectioners sugar

dash nutmeg

2 Tbsp. orange juice (fresh from the orange you zested is best)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Zest the orange, reserving the fruit for another use (like the glaze!).

In a food processor pulse flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and zest until mixture resembles coarse meal and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture.

In another small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.

On a well-floured surface with floured hands pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter) and with a 2-inch round cutter or rim of a glass dipped in flour cut out as many rounds as possible, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Try to avoid over-working the dough; handle it as little as possible so the scones don't become tough. Alternatively, you can pat into one large 7-8" round.

Arrange rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. If making a large round, bake 20-25 minutes and slice into wedges when cool.

While the scones are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar, nutmeg and orange juice. Let the scones cool slightly, and drizzle with the glaze. Allow glaze to set before serving.

Note: These scones don't keep long, maybe a day or two in the fridge. If you won't be eating them immediately, you can freeze the dough! Work to the point where you have each biscuit cut out, and flash freeze the rounds by placing them spread out on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen. Then transfer to a Ziploc bag, and keep in the freezer up to 1 month. You can bake directly from the freezer, but you may need to add 3-5 minutes to the baking time (the best time is to watch them closely for browning).

REVIEW:
The dough was very sticky for me, so I decided to just pat it into a large round and bake that way. I was a little worried because I didn't think the dough had turned out, but they tasted delicious! I didn't have any leftovers to bring home, which makes them a hit in my book!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T07:00:00.009-05:00

From my family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas!

My your day be filled with happiness and joy, your travels be safe,
and your tummies be full :)

Here is a recap of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies posts:
Day 1: Slice and Bake Brown Sugar Cookies
Day 2: Cranberry Orange Pinwheels
Day 3: Andes Mint Cookies
Day 4: Raspberry Linzer Cookies
Day 5: Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt
Day 6: Ginger Spice Cookies and Sugar Cutout Cookies
Day 7: Snickerdoodles
Day 8: Chocolate-Peppermint Meringue Kisses
Day 9: Molasses Cookies
Day 10: Mocha Crackle Cookies
Day 11: Chocolate Covered Popcorn
Day 12: Chocolate-Mallow Cookie and Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

Enjoy!

Day 12: Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti and Chocolate Mallow Cookie Sandwiches

2009-12-24T08:00:00.003-05:00

*Tear* This will be the last 12 Days of Christmas Cookies post. Josh and I, along with all my co-workers, have really enjoyed the cookies along the way. :)

I actually have 2 recipes left, so I'm posting both of them today. Both of these recipes are from Betty Crocker, courtesy of a cookie party that I hosted. I invited some ladies over, and we transformed Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix into these treats. I'm not opposed to using box mixes every now and then. And with the recipes they provided - you would never guess these started from a mix. There are quite a few ingredients required, so don't be fooled - these treats are much more than what you would expect from a cookie mix.

Both of these turned out quite well. The mallow cookie pies were very yummy: cake-like cookies with a sweet fluffy filling in the middle. I had been wanting to make a biscotti recipe, and while there are a lot of other ones out there I still want to try, pistachio-cranberry sounded interesting to me. I really liked the flavor combination, and I didn't find the pistachio overwhelming (though the green color from the pudding mix was a tad odd to me).

Chocolate-Mallow Cookie Pies
from Betty Crocker
yield: 18 cookie pies

Cookies:
1 pouch Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
1/3 c. unsweetened baking cocoa
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. sour cream
1/4 c. butter softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Filling:
2/3 c. marshmallow creme
1/3 c. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. powdered sugar

Topping: (optional)
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. unsweetened baking cocoa

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350 deg F. In a large bowl, stir together cookie mix, cocoa, and flour. Add sour cream, butter, 1 tsp. vanilla, and the egg; stir until stiff dough forms.

Shape dough into 36 1-inch balls. (The dough will be sticky!) On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2-inches apart. Press each ball to flatten slightly (use floured bottom of a drinking glass).

Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until set (do not overbake). Cool 2 minutes; move to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

In small bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy. For each cookie pie, spread about 2 teaspoons filling on bottom of 1 cooled cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down; gently press cookies together.

In small bowl, stir together topping ingredients; sprinkle over tops of cookie pies. Roll edges in colored sugar if desired. Store between sheets of wax paper in tightly sealed container.

Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti
from Betty Crocker
yield: ~40 cookies

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1 box (4 serving size) pistachio instant pudding mix
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 c. dry-roasted salted pistachio nuts, finely chopped
1/2 c. dried cranberries
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together cookie mix, pudding mix and flour. Add melted butter and eggs; blend. Stir in pistachios and cranberries. Divide dough in half, shape each half of dough into 15x2-inch log. Place each log on ungreased cookie sheet.Bake at 375 deg F for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets 20 minutes. Place logs on cutting board, cut crosswise into 3/4 inch slices. Place slices cut side down on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 250 deg F for 40 minutes, turning once. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar over tops of cookie (optional).

REVIEW:
As I said, these were both surprisingly tasty. It might be worth cruising around the BC website to find other ways to dress up these simple mixes. I found the mix really only substituted the flour, sugar, and baking soda/powder from standard recipes. It was cool to see how each recipe started with a sugar cookie mix but transformed to something totally different.

*Note: Betty Crocker did send 2 pouches of mix to use with these recipes. All opinions are my own.*

Day 11: Chocolate Covered Popcorn

2009-12-23T08:00:00.006-05:00

Here we are at Day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies posts, and I have yet another non-traditional cookie treat to share with you. Its called chocolate covered popcorn, and it is addictive.
I learned how to make this at a baking supply store when I lived in Green Bay. But that is not the first time I had it. I dated a guy in high school whose mom made this - and I munched on bag after bag of it. I really like the sweet and salty combination, and this treat has both.

The trick to this recipe is to find methods that work for you, with what you have. I should have taken more pictures when I made this... but I didn't so I will do my best to explain. Any kind of popcorn will do - I recommend a lightly salted and buttered variety. You also need some means to thin the chocolate. I have used both paramount crystals (check a local baking supply store) and vegetable shortening with success. You will also need some big bowls, and a bunch of baking pans or wax paper.

Chocolate Covered Popcorn

popped popcorn - I used microwave this time

red chocolate wafers
green chocolate wafers

white chocolate wafers

paramount crystals, or vegetable shortening

DIRECTIONS:

Pop your popcorn. Sort through the popcorn and remove all unpopped kernels (they get coated in chocolate and stick to popped kernels and can be an unpleasant surprise when taking a bite).

Melt the first color of chocolate in the microwave, adding some paramount crystals or shortening along the way. I don't have any measurements here, but I would guess I add about 1 Tbsp. of shortening per cup of chocolate. You want to melt about 1/2 cup of chocolate per bag of popcorn. (For reference, I made three bags of popcorn in each color, and used a little more than 1/2 of a bag of the wafers that I bought from Jo-Anns.)

Working in small batches, add some popcorn to a LARGE bowl. Pour some chocolate over it, mixing to coat. Add more chocolate if needed. Here is what I do: I have 2 large plastic bowls that are the same size. I fill 1 up with popcorn, not quite all the way. I dump chocolate on top. Then I invert the second bowl over the first (the edges meet up exactly), and rotate the two bowls while I hold them together. (Its hard to explain, I wish I took a picture). Flip, rotate, flip rotate, swirl, maybe even a gentle fluff.

Once you have the popcorn covered in chocolate, spread it out on baking pans or wax paper for it to harden. After about 30 mins, you can carefully break it apart and move to a large bag.

Repeat with the other colors of chocolate and the rest of your popcorn. For all of my Christmas treats, I made 9 bags of popcorn, 3 bags of each color (and did each color in 2 batches). You can easily size this recipe up or down though!

Once all of your popcorn is cool, toss together to distribute the colors. Store in an airtight bag, or package in small bags to easily distribute.

REVIEW:

This sounds so much harder than it is. Once you try it, you will find a way that works for you. The key really is to thin out the chocolate so that it coats the popcorn more easily. Once you make it, be sure to store it away. It is so hard to just eat a few pieces, this stuff is seriously addictive!

Day 10: Mocha Crackle Cookies

2009-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Day 10... only a few more cookie recipes to go! This is a pretty traditional cookie, but oh my, are they delicious! Don't skip the coffee in them - even if you aren't a coffee drinker, you will like these cake-like cookies. But you will need a napkin to clean up the powdered sugar moustache!

Mocha Crackle Cookies
from One Ginormous Adventure, originally from Taste of Home
yield: about 5 dozen

1/2 cup butter, cubed
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
4 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:
In a sauce pan (or in a microwave-safe bowl), heat the butter, chocolate and coffee until chocolate is melted; cool slightly. In a bowl, beat the eggs and salt; add sugar and brown sugar. Stir in chocolate mixture; mix well.

Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to egg mixture to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

Roll dough into 3/4-in. balls. Roll in confectioners' sugar; place 2 in. apart on greased (or parchment lined) baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.REVIEW:
These are so tasty, even if they are a tad messy to eat. I made the dough ahead, and after rolling into balls, I flash froze them and stored them in a Ziploc in the freezer for a week. The night before baking, I moved them to the fridge and baking was a breeze.

Day 9: Molasses Cookies

2009-12-21T08:00:00.006-05:00

Welcome to Day 9 of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies posts. Its about time we get traditional. I am a very adventurous baker, always trying new recipes year after year. But this recipe, well, I make it EVERY YEAR. Growing up, I can always remember molasses cookies. My mom (and my grandma) made them for Christmas every year. The truth is, I associate molasses cookies with Christmas, I can't imagine making them at any other time of year. My sister and I would help roll out the dough and roll it in sprinkles. And we would constantly get in trouble for eating it. I have so many fond memories of making these cookies for the holidays.

Molasses Cookies

yield: ~3 dozen cookies

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 c. flour
1/4 c. mild molasses

sugar or sprinkles for rolling

DIRECTIONS:
Melt shortening in sauce pan. Take off stove and let cool slightly, transfer to a mixing bowl. Add sugar and egg, beat well.

Sift together soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and flour.

Add flour mixture and molasses to sugar/egg/oil, mix to combine. Cover and chill 1/2 hour, or up to a few days.

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Roll dough into 1.5" balls, and roll in sugar. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet, bake 8 to 10 minutes.REVIEW:
These cookies are quite yummy and have a bit of spice to them. I will warn you - they are sensitive to time and temperature while baking. My mom and I use the same recipe, and year after year, they don't turn out quite the same - so you may have to experiment a bit depending on your oven (don't over bake them!). Like the snickerdoodles I posted, these cookies have a little bite to them - but they are PERFECT for dunking in a tall glass of cold milk.

Day 8: Chocolate-Peppermint Meringue Kisses

2009-12-20T08:00:00.005-05:00

Its Day 8 of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies posts, and today is another non-traditional cookie day. Believe it or not, I have never made meringues before. I saw these in my reader, and knew instantly that I would be trying my hand at meringues this year.

These little bites look way more intimidating than they actually are, and you can simplify the recipe more if you want to. I really liked the red&white striped look, but you could make all red or all white. To get the stripe, paint 3 lines of food coloring (I used Wilton gel) up the sides of your pastry bag before filling it with the meringue. Piping each meringue out really doesn't take long at all (but I did have to run and buy a 1/2" star tip, as the one I had was too small). The time consuming part really was dipping each meringue in chocolate and peppermint candy. You could easily skip that part if you wanted to - the meringue bites are quite tasty without those additions!

The Beantown Baker has a lot more pictures in her post if you need more of a step-by-step tutorial. (I forgot to take any pics along the way, plus it was dark out and the lighting in my kitchen makes everything really yellow.)

Chocolate-Peppermint Meringue Kisses

from Beantown Baker, originally from Better Homes and Gardens

Yield: ~100 meringues

4 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1-1/3 cups sugar

1 cup milk chocolate pieces (I used Nestle chocolate chips)

1 teaspoon shortening

1-1/4 cups crushed striped round peppermint candies* (about 50 candies) - (I used 4 candy canes, and ran out - so you will need more than 4 candy canes worth)

DIRECTIONS:

Place egg whites in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or foil; set aside.

For meringue: Add salt, vinegar, and peppermint extract to egg whites. Beat with an electric mixer (I used the whisk attachment on my Kitchenaid) on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight) and sugar is nearly dissolved. **Be sure to be patient and add the sugar slowly. If you are not patient enough, your meringue may have a grainy texture.

Transfer meringue to a decorating bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip. To achieve striped cookies, paint 3 stripes equally spaced up the sides of the empty bag with red gel coloring. Pipe 1-inch kisses 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake all of the meringue kisses at the same time on separate oven racks for 7 minutes. Turn off oven; let meringues dry in oven with door closed for 1 hour. Lift meringues off paper or foil. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate pieces and shortening (I microwaved mine). Cook and stir over low heat just until melted. Remove from heat. Spread crushed candy in a shallow dish. Dip bottoms of meringues in chocolate, then dip in crushed candies. Place on waxed paper and let stand until chocolate is set.

REVIEW:
These are definitely a hit. I love how the meringue melts in your mouth, and the chocolate peppermint bottom is a nice change in texture. I ate a bunch of these - the first few out of the bag were all white, plus it took me a few to get the hang of piping good looking kisses. They were good even without the chocolate and peppermint, so you could definitely simplify the recipe if you wanted to. I think I will make these next year again - in addition to being tasty, they look so interesting!

Day 7: Snickerdoodles

2009-12-19T08:00:00.003-05:00

While these might not be considered a very Christmas-y cookie, I decided to make them this year. I hope you will consider making these year round - they are delicious! There is something about a plain-ish cookie coated in cinnamon and sugar... yum! These cookies are a little thinner, and have a little bite to them - not that they are hard, but they are not thick, soft cookies either. I really liked the balance, and they are great for dunking in milk!

Snickerdoodles
from Annie's Eats, originally from Baking Illustrated
Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen cookies

2 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/4 c. vegetable shortening
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar, plus 3 tbsp. for rolling dough
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, for rolling dough

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until well combined, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and beat again until combined, about 30 seconds. Add in the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.

In a small, shallow bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon for rolling the dough. Stir or shake well to combine. Working with a heaping tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Use a drinking glass with a flat bottom to gently flatten the dough balls to 3/4-inch thickness (butter the bottom of the glass before starting, and dip it in sugar between cookies if it begins to stick).

Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the center are soft and puffy, 9-11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2-3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.REVIEW:
These turned out great. I'll admit - I completely forgot to flatten my cookie balls with a drinking glass, but I still think they turned out well. These might not be the most exciting cookies on my platter this year, but once you try one, its really hard to not go back for more.

Day 6: Ginger Spice Cookies and Sugar Cutout Cookies

2009-12-18T08:00:00.005-05:00

Its Day 6 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies posts, and its BONUS Day! That's right, TWO recipes today! Well, sorta. I decided to also post pictures of my cutout cookies today, since I have posted and referenced the recipe I used on here many times previously. So it wouldn't really be fair to take up a whole day on those cookies, since the recipe isn't new.

As for the ginger spice cookies - these tasted great! I really liked how they turned out. My only hesitation is that the dough was quite sticky and I worked quite a bit of flour and powdered sugar into it while I was rolling it out - and the cookies did spread a bit. Not too bad, but I did put this first batch aside as "defective cookies" (I worked in even more flour on subsequent batches). Poor Josh - he just HATES it when a batch of cookies doesn't turn out perfectly. Katie got good reviews on this recipe, so this time I'll just chalk it up to something I did wrong. When decorated nicely, these cookies make excellent gifts, and the dough is good in the fridge up to a week - another bonus in my book.

Sugar Cookie recipe for cut-outs (my go-to recipe)

Royal Icing recipe (with meringue powder)

Ginger Spice Cookies
from Katie at Good Things Catered

1 c. butter, softened (2 sticks)

1 c. sugar

1 c. molasses

1 egg

4 c. sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth.

Cover, and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Let cool for 10 minutes on pan. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.

REVIEW:

These taste delicious - a nice, soft, gingerbread cookie. Like I said, my dough was sticky and it spread a bit, but maybe my kitchen was too warm or something. Just work a little extra flour in if you experience that and it will be fine (they will still spread some, but not so bad that you can't tell what the shape is). I decorated mine like Katie's, just because I thought hers looked awesome. I also used some edible pearl dust to add a little sparkle. You can find this at most craft stores (like Jo-Anns or Michaels). I mixed with a little bit of vodka (the alcohol will evaporate as it dries), and painted it on with a small paint brush (I have a few set aside that I use only for baking). I really like how they shine!

And I will leave you with a few more cookie pictures:

Day 5: Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

2009-12-17T08:00:00.004-05:00

Yes, its Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies, and today I bring you a treat that is not actually a cookie at all. I decided to include these anyways, as with some other "treats" later on because I like variety on my cookie platters.

In past years I have made both chocolate fudge and peppermint bark. Both have been hits in the past, but this year I wanted to try something different. I saw these truffles on Pioneer Woman's blog, and decided they would be a good substitute. If you have never tried chocolate with sea salt, you really should. It is an unbelievably heavenly combination.

These little truffles are delicious - Josh can't keep his hands off them, and he really isn't a chocolate lover! I had a hard time rolling the filling part into balls - it was very sticky. I was constantly moving the dough in and out of the fridge/freezer and washing my hands. In the end they turned out nice and yummy though, so I guess it was worth it.

Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

makes ~34 truffles

8 ounces, weight (up To 9 Oz.) Good Semisweet Chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)
8 ounces, weight (up To 9 Oz.) Good Bittersweet Chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
1 can (14 Oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
8 ounces, weight Meltable Milk Chocolate (I used Nestle chocolate chips)
Sea Salt (I used a sea salt grinder to get slightly larger chunks)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat dark chocolates and condensed milk in a double boiler over medium low heat until chocolate is melted. Stir—mixture will have a slight marshmallow texture. Stir in vanilla.

Remove from heat, cover and refrigerate for two hours. (I recommend overnight.)

Once chilled, roll in balls, then roll in melted milk chocolate coating. (I recommend using a fork to dip in the the chocolate, as the excess can run through the tongs back into the bowl. PW has a picture by picture tutorial with some other tips and tricks on her site.) Sprinkle with sea salt or other fine, coarse sprinkles.

REVIEW:

These are definitely tasty little chocolate bombs. I have no idea what I did wrong, but when I rolled out the truffle center, mine didn't look like the picture on PWs site. They just weren't as smooth looking. But regardless, they were still round, and you couldn't tell once I covered them in the milk chocolate. I might adjusting the filling recipe a little next time (adding less condensed milk), but I think I would probably make some variation of these again. I also think they would make a great gift on their own, if you package them up nicely in a little box with a bow.

Day 4: Raspberry Linzer Cookies

2009-12-16T08:00:00.006-05:00

These cookies were a little time consuming to make, but I think they look so elegant that I couldn't resist. I really like how the jam compliments the delicate cookie texture. To make a little more work for myself, I doubled the recipe that is posted below, as I wasn't sure if 2 dozen sandwich cookies would be enough. I actually made the dough 5 days in advance, and let it sit well-wrapped in the fridge until baking day. It seemed to work out just fine, and I was happy to skip the mixing step when it came to baking and assembling all of these cookies.

Raspberry Linzer Cookies
from Estee at One Ginormous Adventure
makes 2 dozen "sandwich" cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs, separated
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners' sugar (for rolling)
1/2 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup raspberry preserves (or jam of your choosing, I recommend a red jam though)

DIRECTIONS:

First of all, separate your eggs. You will need the yolks for the cookie dough and the egg whites for an egg white wash used later. Set the bowl with the egg whites aside.

Cream together the 1 cup (2 sticks) of the softened butter and 2/3 cup of the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the 2 eggs yolks, one at a time. Make sure that each has been completely combined. Continue to beat until fluffy.

In a medium bowl, sift the 2-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and the 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Slowly add to the butter mixture. Do NOT over mix this. Just mix until the flour has been incorporated. You will be rolling these cookies and will be handling the dough a lot, so you don't want to do to much to it at this point.

Shape the dough into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, break off half (or even a quarter) of the dough and put it onto a surface that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar. At this point, you will need to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You will also need a 2-1/2 inch circle cutter and then a smaller one for the center. I used a wine glass for my circles and then small holiday cookie cutters for the center.

Roll the dough out to 1/8 of an inch. That's pretty thin. I don't think I rolled my dough quite thin enough (oops!).
Half of the circles are going to have a cut-out in the center. This will be the top cookie. Make sure you make the same number of top cookies as bottom cookies!

This is where you are going to need the reserved egg whites and the ground almonds. Combine the ground almonds and the remaining sugar.

Brush some of the egg white mixture onto the "top" cookies (the ones with the shape cut out). Then sprinkle on some of your ground almond/sugar mixture. Place your cookies on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.You can see the two halves here. The egg wash and almond mixture only go onto the "top" cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Watch these carefully and be sure to check on them at six minutes. The cookies will be lightly browned and smell amazing. Move to a cooling rack to cool completely.Once they have cooled, take the bottom of your cookie and spread a few teaspoons of the raspberry jam (or the jam of your choosing).

Top with the cookie that has the almond mixture. Enjoy your artwork.REVIEW:
These are almost too pretty to eat, no? I really like how elegant these cookies look. And even though they were kind of a lot of work, I think I will make them again next year. One change I might make is to skip the ground almonds on some cookies. I think the almonds really add something, but some of Josh's family has nut allergies. By skipping the simple topping, more people I know would be able to enjoy them!

Day 3: Andes Mint Cookies

2009-12-15T08:00:00.003-05:00

If you like chocolate and mint, and soft, chewy cookies, then these are a treat for you. I actually made these last year, and they were a hit - so I made them again. Estee has lots of pictures in her blog if anything is unclear along the way :) I made the dough for these a week ahead, and froze the balls after I rolled them. I just popped them in the fridge the night before, and baking was a breeze!

Andes Mint Cookies
from Estee of One Ginormous Adventure
makes 52 cookies

3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water
12 oz. bag chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
2 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
26 Andes mints

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium-sized sauce pan, melt together the 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, 1-1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons of water. Stir together over medium heat. Add the bag of chocolate chips. Stir together until completely melted. Set the mixture aside for 10-20 minutes to let it cool.

While your chocolate mixture is cooling, sift together the dry ingredients: 2-3/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1-1/4 tsp baking soda.

Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the two eggs and the 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract. Mix well.

Gradually add in the dry ingredients. Don't over mix the dough. You must, must, must let the dough rest. Put it in the refrigerator for one hour.

If you have a melon baller, it would be perfect for this dough. Roll the dough into balls and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. If you want to freeze this dough, now is the time. Freeze the balls individually on a plate or cookie sheet. Once they are frozen solid, transfer to a Ziploc bag.

If you are ready to bake, then bake these at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.

When they come out of the oven, place half of an Andes mint on the top of each cookie. Let the Andes mint melt. Gently swirl the chocolate so that it covers the cookie. Once the chocolate had hardened and the cookie as cooled, you can stack them and store.REVIEW:
Well, I liked these enough last year to make them again this year. They are a really yummy cookie and are very easy to make.

Day 2: Cranberry Orange Pinwheels

2009-12-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

I really, really, really like cranberry and orange together. This recipe instantly caught my attention and I immediately added it to the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies rotation. I really like the flavor of these cookies - you can definitely taste the orange in the cookie, and the cranberry filling is nicely complimented with pecans and brown sugar. Definitely a winning combination.

When making these, I actually make the dough 5 days in advance and stored it in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a Ziploc bag. I had no issues rolling it out or baking it nearly a week later. I also liked how this one recipe yielded nearly 6 dozen cookies.Cranberry Orange Pinwheels
from Taste of Home Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook (2008, pg. 62)
Yield: approx 6 dozen cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. orange zest
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
1 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange zest, making sure to clean the beater after to ensure the zest is combined.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Divide dough in half. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the cranberries, pecans, and brown sugar. Cover and process until finely chopped; set aside.

Roll out one portion of dough between two sheets of wax paper to a 10-in. square. Remove top sheet; spread dough with half of the cranberry mixture to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up tightly, jelly-roll style. Wrap in plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough and cranberry mixture. Refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight.Unwrap rolls and cut into 1/4 in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 deg F for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks. Store in airtight containers.

REVIEW:
I like these, they were fairly simple to make and it was a nice way to mix in some "fruit cookies" on my platter. This is a recipe I would consider making again next year; depending on how many I decide to repeat, of course.

Day 1: Slice and Bake Brown Sugar Cookies

2009-12-13T21:20:00.001-05:00

Its time to get this Christmas cookie party started!

When I first saw pictures of these cookies, I thought they were so neat. The striped cookies are my favorite. The designs with the different colored dough is just something you don't usually see, so I wanted to make these because they were so unique.

This recipe is a little time consuming when it comes to rolling out the dough. Bridget has some good tips (and way more pictures) in her post to help you along. I think I would be better at these if I make them again - I just haven't perfected by dough rolling skills yet.

Slice and Bake Brown Sugar Cookies

from Bridget at The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Makes about 8 dozen

4 c. unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

2 eggs, preferably room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

20 Tbsp. (2½ sticks) butter, room temperature

1 tsp. salt

1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

½ c. granulated sugar

½ ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Break the eggs into a small measuring cup, whisk them lightly, and mix in the vanilla.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if you’re using a hand-held mixer). Beat the butter on medium-low speed until it’s smooth, then add the salt and both sugars. Continue beating on medium-low until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running, gradually add the egg mixture. Once the eggs have been added, scrape the sides of the bowl once, then continue mixing on medium speed for about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until evenly combined. Divide the dough into three equal portions.

For the striped cookies: Divide the first portion of dough into three more equally sized parts. Color one third red, another green, and leave the last one white. Between sheets of wax paper, roll each portion out to a 3-by-9-inch rectangle. Freeze the rectangles for about 10 minutes, until they’re firm enough to cut and stack. Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise to form two 1½-by-9-inch rectangles. Stack the rectangles of dough, alternating colors, to form a block of dough with stripes. Trim the edges if desired. Wrap in wax paper and freeze for at least four hours, or up to 4 weeks.

For the checkerboard cookies: Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on half power for about 30 seconds. Stir, then repeat the heating and stirring until fully melted, being careful not to burn the chocolate. Divide one portion of dough into two equally sized parts. Mix the chocolate into one half and leave the other plain. Roll each portion into a 9-by-3-inch rectangle. Freeze the rectangles for about 10 minutes, until they’re firm enough to cut and stack. Cut each rectangle into eight 9-by-3/8-inch strips. On a sheet of wax paper, lay four strips next to each other, alternating colors. Press the strips together gently to remove any gaps. Lay another four strips on top of the first layer, alternating colors between layers. Repeat twice more, until there are four layers of four strips each. Trim the edges if desired. Wrap in wax paper and freeze for at least four hours, or up to 4 weeks.

For the spiral cookies: Divide the last portion of dough into two equally sized parts. Color one half red and the other green. Between sheets of waxed paper, roll each portion of dough into an 8-by-8-inch square. Without chilling the dough, stack the squares, then tightly roll them together to form a spiral. Wrap the dough in wax paper and freeze for at least fours hours, or up to 4 weeks.

When ready to bake, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Slice the frozen logs into cookies about 1/8-inch thick. Lay the cookies on the prepared pan, about ½-inch apart. Bake for 7-10 minutes, just until the tops no longer look wet. Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks. Serve at room temperature. Stored in an airtight container, they cookies will be good for at least a week.REVIEW:
Although these were time consuming to prep, they were quick to cut and bake from the freezer. I actually prepped them a week ahead of time so they were quick to finish on my baking day. I really like how these taste, but I do wish each cookie was a little bigger. Also, all of the non-conformities in my rolling and stacking showed in the final product, so I will have to be more exact next time.

Cookie Party

2009-12-13T21:07:00.006-05:00

A while back, I came across an opportunity to host a Cookie Party sponsored by Betty Crocker. I signed up, and was selected as a host.

I invited a bunch of girlfriends over for a day of cookies. We baked a few recipes that Betty provided in the kit, and I had sugar cookies and royal icing set out for decorating. The guests also brought 3 dozen cookies for an exchange.

The party was great! We baked, talked, tasted, and gossiped over wine and appetizers. I really enjoyed putting the party together and I think my guests had a good time as well! Here are some pictures from the day:

Appetizers included hummus, bake brie en croute, and mini spanakpitas (not pictured).
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti: (recipe to come at some point)
Chocolate-Mallow Cookie Pies: (recipe also to follow at some point):
A big thanks to those ladies who came and made the party such a success!

On a related note, I *almost* finished my holiday baking over the weekend. The 12 Days of Christmas Cookie posts are coming very soon.

So much in store...

2009-12-07T20:30:00.002-05:00

It may seem like December is a slow month in my kitchen, but that is hardly the case! I've got quite a bit in store for this blog.

Starting next weekend, I will be posting a little series I like to call

The 12 Days of Christmas Cookies(image source)

Yes, 12 posts (maybe even an extra here or there) full of yummy treats. Lots of sugar, red & green and cuteness overload. I can't wait to share all of these recipes with you.

Last weekend, I got started on dough making. I made the dough for 8 different cookies, and it is waiting in either the fridge or freezer for baking day.

My prep table, with the recipes at my fingertips on my laptop:
After a hard days work:

(there is even more in the freezer!)

I just LOVE baking for the holidays! I bring treats in to a bunch of different groups at work, and share them at each holiday gathering we attend with family and friends. I've picked some new recipes to try this year, and also included some from years past.

I am also hosting a small cookie exchange/bake/decorate party this weekend, which will allow me to open my (small) kitchen to some family and friends. Pictures and recipes from that are coming as well.

All this to say, there won't be many dinner recipes posted here the rest of the month. Josh and I are rotating through some old favorites, and some of the quick and easy options we have on stand-by (lots of baked chicken and veggies, some chili and pasta). I will definitely be back in January, hopefully with some hearty, healthy recipes to kick off the new year and refresh us from the holiday season.

Stay tuned....

Turkey-Pumpkin Meatloaf Muffins

2009-12-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

Umm... yum! These meatloaf muffins are delicious and incredibly healthy. Its another recipe I found on Cara's blog, but she adapted Ashlee's original here. They are just so great at coming up with these things... and I'm great at following a recipe. But in this case, that's all you need to do.

As soon as I get some more ground turkey (or chicken), I want to make another batch of these and stick them in the freezer. These would be great for me to take to work for lunch, as I am always in search of a quick option that is high in protein. Its also a good way to use up any leftover cranberries you have from Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin-Turkey Meatloaf Muffins with Cranberry Glaze
from Cara's Cravings

2 tsp. olive oil
1 c. finely chopped onion
1 8oz package mushrooms, chopped finely
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 lb 93% lean ground turkey breast
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 egg white
1/3 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. each minced fresh thyme and rosemary (I also added sage since I had some on hand)
Freshly ground salt and pepper
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 c. fresh cranberries
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, saute the onions in olive oil until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more, until vegetables are tender. Add to a bowl with the turkey, pumpkin, egg white, oats, thyme, rosemary, (sage), salt & pepper, and worcestershire. Toss gently to combine. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin tin. Place in the oven, bake for 20 minutes.

3. Combine cranberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Spoon onto the meatloaf muffins, and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

REVIEW:
These were quite good. The cranberry on top was a delicious addition to balance out the savory. The pumpkin was not overwhelming, but helped keep the meatloaf moist. Oh yeah - did I mention each muffin is only 108 calories!?! Two make a great meal when served with a veggie. (Per muffin, I calculated 108 cals, 4g fat, 6g carbs, 2.5g sugar, 1.5g fiber, and 9g protein!)

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

2009-12-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

I needed to bring a non-pumpkin desert to Thanksgiving dinner, and I wanted to try something new. After thinking about it awhile, I settled on cheesecake. I've never made one before, and it is something I wanted to try. I used a water bath method, and the cheesecake turned out beautifully. I even used a lower-carb recipe for the cheesecake part (not the crust), and was very impressed with the taste - it was still very rich, and the chocolate added plenty of sweetness.

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake
adapted from About.com

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature (I used 1/3 less fat)
4 eggs (preferably room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/3 cups sugar equivalent of artificial sweetener (I used Splenda)
1/4 c. sour cream
1.2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crust:
9 oz chocolate wafer cookies (I used Oreos)
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

DIRECTIONS:
1. For the crust - process the chocolate cookies in a food processor to crumb stage. Drizzle in the butter and pulse a few times to mix. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and about 1.5 inches up the sides of a 9" springform pan.

2. Heat oven to 400 degrees F, or 350 degrees F if using a water bath.

**If you have bricks or a pizza stone or unglazed ceramic tile*, put them on the lower rack of the oven. This will hold the heat in the oven. This is good for cheesecakes not baked in a water bath. (I used a water bath, so I did not do this.)

3. Put cream cheese in mixing bowl, and beat until fluffy. Add other ingredients except the chocolate chips, scraping the bowl and beaters each time (this is very important), fully incorporating each ingredient. When all ingredients are combined, scrape one more time and beat one more minute. Reserve 1/2 c. of the mixture, and pour the rest into the pan over the crust.

4. Heat chocolate chips in microwave bowl until melted, about 1 minute. Mix with reserved cheesecake mixture and stir well to combine. Dollop over top of cheesecake, then use a knife to spatula to swirl into cheesecake.

Instructions for water bath: Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil, put it in a baking pan and pour boiling water around the sides. Bake at 350 F for 45-60 minutes, checking often. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 F, remove from oven. (Mine took 45 minutes.)

Instructions for non-water bath: For this method, you start the cake at a high temperature, and it slowly drops. If you have stoneware, bricks, etc, this allows it to happen at a slower rate, and you get better results in less time. Put the cheesecake on a sheet pan in case of drippage. After putting the cheesecake in the oven at 400 F, turn the oven down to 200 F. Bake for 60 to 90 minutes, checking often after an hour. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 F, remove from oven.

5. Chill completely before serving.REVIEW:
This was a great cheesecake! It was very tasty, and the texture was right on. The chocolate swirl was nice, and it worked well to mix in a little of the cheesecake mixture to make it combine into the cheesecake more smoothly. I'll definitely try some other variations of cheesecake in the future.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2009-12-01T19:42:00.000-05:00

This is a very tasty mashed potato recipe, according to Josh anyways. I have made them for Thanksgiving the past 2 years, and I usually double the recipe below for a crowd.(Please disregard the picture [that Josh took]. I would probably be better off just not posting one. This is a pile of leftovers, since I forgot to take a picture 1 - when I made them, and 2 - when I served them. They definitely taste better than they look in this picture!)

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
adapted from allrecipes

1 medium head garlic
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2.5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 stick salted butter
1/2 c. sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drizzle whole head of garlic with olive oil, then wrap in aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.
2. Bring a large pot of slated water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 15-30 minutes depending on their size. Drain, and place in a large bowl. Begin the mashing process, and add butter, sour cream, and salt and pepper. (I actually prefer to blend my potatoes with my hand mixer.)
3. Remove the garlic from the oven and cut in half horizontally. Squeeze the softened cloves into the potatoes. Blend the potatoes with an electric mixer until desired consistency is achieved. (If the potatoes are too thick, you can add a little milk if desired.)

REVIEW:
Always a hit! The garlic adds a a nice flavor to these potatoes, and the sour cream and butter do make them a little richer. If you do not have sour cream, you could substitute milk instead.

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

2009-11-29T11:15:00.000-05:00

I needed a little twist on this standard appetizer, and this was it. This are quick and easy, and a nice compliment to the holiday appetizer table.

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs
from allrecipes

12 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons finely shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon mustard

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, and cool. To cool more quickly, rinse eggs under cold running water.

2. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Alternatively, wrap bacon in paper towels and cook in the microwave for about 1 minute per slice. Crumble and set aside.

3. Peel the hard-cooked eggs, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a small bowl. Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise, crumbled bacon and cheese. Stir in mustard. Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture and refrigerate until serving. (To fill the eggs, you can pipe them out using a large star tip, or just even squeeze the filling though the corner of a Ziploc bag.)

REVIEW:
Very simple, but very tasty, I got quite a few compliments on these.

Cranberry Relish-Jello

2009-11-25T07:38:00.004-05:00

I don't really know what this recipe is called, but my mom has been making it for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. It is a delicious cranberry treat, and I much prefer it over the traditional canned cranberry log.

Cranberry Relish-Jello

1 box Lemon Jello (3 oz size if it contains sugar, the sugar-free ones are .3 oz)

1 box Strawberry Jello (same thing on the size)

2 c. hot water

1 peeled and cored apple

zest from 1 orange (~2 Tbsp.)

1 peeled orange

1 c. cranberries

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. nuts (walnuts work well)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together the strawberry Jello powder, lemon Jello powder, and hot water. Let cool slightly and refrigerate to thicken. This will take about an hour (15-20 min on the counter top and ~40 min in the fridge, give or take). You want to get this to the consistency of egg whites - when you add the relish, you want it to stay suspended in the jello, not sink to the bottom.

2. In a food processor, add the apple, orange, orange zest, cranberries, and nuts (if not already finely chopped). Pulse a few times, until you have a finely chopped relish. It may be a little watery, that is ok. Stir in the sugar.

3. Once the Jello is at the right consistency, add the relish mixture and stir to evenly distribute it. Place in a jello mold or serving bowl and refrigerate overnight.

REVIEW:

I can't review family-favorite recipes! They are family favorites for a reason!

Thanksgiving Dishes

2009-11-23T09:40:00.004-05:00

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, I thought now would be a good time to review some recipes I have made in the past that could work in the Thanksgiving buffet. I also have a new recipe or four (?) to post as I prep some dishes this week.

Good Eats Roast Turkey
Roasted Acorn Squash
Vegetable Tian
Whiskey Glazed Carrots
Appetizer Idea: Phyllo-wrapped Asparagus with Red Pepper Aioli
Pumpkin Pie Bites
Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Apple Pie

Good Eats Roast Turkey

2009-11-22T19:42:00.000-05:00

(I realize this picture makes the turkey look a tad dry, but I assure you, it was anything but!)

Last year, before this blog was born, I decided that I wanted to host a Thanksgiving dinner for our families. I wanted to make a turkey, and a delicious one at that. After days of research, I knew I would be brining my turkey and settled on Alton Brown's recipe from his Food Network show, Good Eats. The turkey was delicious! Very moist and flavorful, and it did not take all day to roast. The recipe is actually quite simple, and easy to adjust if you have a slightly larger or smaller bird.

This year, Josh and I are not hosting Thanksgiving, and we are not responsible for making a turkey. That didn't stop us though! Walmart had frozen turkeys on sale for $0.40/lb (seriously!), so I picked up a small-ish 12 lb bird that we made this past weekend. We had a nice dinner and kept some leftovers in the fridge. We also froze half the turkey for a later time, and I made some stock from the carcass. I'll link to some helpful tips for that at the end of the post.

Before starting, I recommend you head over here and watch this quick video. Alton discusses the magic of the "turkey triangle," why he starts at 500 deg F, that "low and slow" is NOT the way to go, and answers your basic questions about roasting a turkey. There are some other clips that follow, including why he doesn't stuff his bird. If you want to watch the whole Good Eats episode on Thanksgiving, search Alton Brown "Romancing the Bird" on YouTube.

Good Eats Roast Turkey

recipe courtesy Alton Brown

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock (I used 4 cups homemade and the rest from bouillon cubes)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger (I used about 1 inch ginger root instead)
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

DIRECTIONS:

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket (I use a Ziploc Big Bag - actually 2, just in case). Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Approximately 3 hours before dinner (for a ~16 lb bird):

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. (The dark meat should be closer to 180 deg F.) A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

TIPS:

1. You need some space to work here, and to avoid the spread of bacteria, clear your counters of other food while the raw turkey is around.

2. I use a Ziploc Big Bag to brine in. Last year, I plugged in our small fridge (from the collage days) to store the turkey in, but I have also heard of others sticking it on some ice in a cooler if your fridge is too full. You should never let it sit at room temperature!

3. To go along with point 2, make sure your brine is chilled before putting your turkey in it.

4. The 500-degree thing will make your kitchen a little smokey. We had to open the oven to cover the breast with aluminum foil after the first 1/2 hour, and it was a little smokey in here for a while after. If its a nice day, plan to open a window. At the very least turn on your vent fan for a while if you have one.

5. When freezing the leftover meat, Alton suggests wrapping the pieces in aluminum foil before placing in a freezer gauge bag. So thats what I did, and the leftovers were delicious.

6. If you want to reuse the carcass to make some stock, break it down a bit and stick it in the fridge overnight. You will be far too busy to do this Thanksgiving night! I basically followed this recipe for the stock, minus the butter, and only using whatever I had around the house (no mushrooms, carrots, or parsley). I freeze the stock in 2 cup portions for later use, turkey stock can easily be substituted in most recipes that call for chicken stock.

Josh's White Chicken Chili

2009-11-22T10:53:00.004-05:00

A few years ago, one of Josh's co-workers made white chicken chili for a get-together at his house, and Josh fell in love. With the chili that is. He has altered the recipe a bit over the years, and now he makes it by just throwing a bunch of stuff together and not measuring anything. I took some notes, and this is my best estimate at what he does, but he always tastes and tweaks as he goes.

This is our go-to chili recipe, especially on football Saturdays. Its surely a crowd pleaser, and you can just toss it in a crock pot on low instead of on the stove top to keep it warm all day.

White Chicken Chili
serves ~8 (2-cup servings)

1.5 lbs chicken breast, cooked through and chopped into bite-size pieces (Josh will either boil on the stove top or bake it in the oven, you can use tenders or chicken breast halves)
2 c. chopped white onion
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (2-4 cloves)
2 tsp. olive oil
(1) 48 oz. jar white northern beans
(3) 14.5-16 oz. cans of low-sodium chicken broth
(1) 7 oz. can chopped green chilis
1 Tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (more if you like it hot)
1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
Red hot sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, and sour cream for topping

DIRECTIONS:
1. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until opaque. Stir in green chilis, and continue to saute 30 more seconds.
2. Mix everything into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Simmer 10-15 minutes. The chicken gets more tender the longer you cook it, you could leave it on low all day if you wanted to (covered).
3. Serve topped with cheese and sour cream, add a little Frank's Red Hot Sauce if you want more heat.REVIEW:
No critiques here. This is our favorite! (Its actually pretty healthy too - if you go light on the toppings.)

Island Pork Tenderloin

2009-11-20T22:29:00.001-05:00

My Dad's birthday was a few weeks ago, so Josh and I had my parents (and nieces) up for dinner last weekend. I had seen this recipe come across my reader, and immediately knew that I wanted to make it. This pork tenderloin was very flavorful, and I really enjoyed the spicy-sweet taste. I served it with red skin potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, and rolls. I decided to put the potatoes around the pork in a baking dish to cook, but I would not do that next time - they picked up too much of the sweet flavor from the brown sugar topping, and I think it caused my pork to cook slowly. Other than that, this meal was a success!

Island Pork Tenderloin
as seen on Pennies on a Platter

For Spice Rub:

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 pork tenderloins (2 1/4 – 2 1/2 pound total) trimmed

2 tablespoons olive oil

For Glaze:

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon Tabasco

DIRECTIONS:

1. Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Coat pork with spice rub.

2. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke. Brown pork, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes total. Remove from heat; leave pork in skillet. (I removed mine to a glass baking dish, which worked out just fine.)

3. Stir together brown sugar, garlic and Tabasco in a small bowl. Pat the mixture on top of the tenderloins.

4. Place the skillet (or baking dish) in the oven at 350 degrees F. Roast until thermometer inserted diagonally into the center of each tenderloin registers 140 degrees, about 20 minutes (mine took about 40 minutes - but my baking dish was very full with the pork and potatoes). Let pork stand, loosely covered with foil for 10 minutes.

REVIEW:

The pork was very good - moist and flavorful. Next time I would use a little less of the brown sugar topping (I had 2.5 lbs of pork) - I just thought it was a little too much. I did really enjoy how it crisped up while baking - it added a nice texture to the succulent pork. This would also be a nice dish to entertain with - pork tenderloin can be very reasonably priced when on sale, and it makes for some very fancy dinners (I've seen lots of recipes with cranberries & pork for the holidays as well).

Creamy Pumpkin Penne

2009-11-16T19:24:00.000-05:00

One more fabulous pumpkin recipe from Cara. And its another winner!

Oh - and a big THANK YOU to my amazing husband for cooking this one up! I have been working out after work lately, and sometimes I get home kinda late. It was so nice to have dinner ready for me! Love ya babe! (That also goes to show just how easy this recipe is to put together, no offense honey.)

Amazingly Creamy Pumpkin Penne

from Cara's Cravings, serves 2 as written (we doubled it for leftovers)

4 oz penne pasta (we used Healthy Harvest whole wheat)

2 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

about 2T chopped fresh sage (we omitted)

2 links cooked chicken sausage, sliced (we used a spinach asiago chicken sausage from Sam's club, but any will do)

1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

1/2 c. nonfat milk

pinch of nutmeg

5oz torn spinach, thick stems removed

grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, optional

(Josh also added some sliced Portobello mushrooms we had in the fridge, optional of course)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook gently for about 10-15 minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic, sage, and chicken sausage; continue to saute.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

3. In a blender, combine combine pumpkin, cottage cheese, and milk. Blend until no lumps are present. Add to sausage mixture in skillet and continue to cook over low heat until heated through. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

4. Drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add sausage mixture and baby spinach, and toss together. Cover for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt. Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.

REVIEW:

Lately, I haven't been serving a lot of pasta in the house. Josh will make himself some for lunch once in a while, and it is just something I have been cutting out of my diet. However, I knew I had to make an exception for pasta with a pumpkin sauce! Let me tell you - this sauce is delicious. It is wonderfully creamy, but there is NO cream! For those out there who don't like cottage cheese, trust me on this one - you can't taste it. It create a creamy, not lumpy, texture when blended. I might try using this trick with some other pasta-cream sauces I've been wanting to "lighten up."

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

2009-11-09T22:08:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned that I LOVE pumpkin? As it turns out, pumpkin is not just for sweet treats - it is also delicious in savory dishes. This time, I added it to chili! This might be one of my favorite chili dishes ever... next to Josh's White Chicken Chili, of course (which I can't believe I haven't posted yet). This is is straight from Cara, no changes as it is already wonderful!

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

from Cara's Carvings, serves 4-6

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 medium sized bell peppers, diced (I used 1 red and 1 orange)

1 lb ground turkey (I used 93% lean)

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon (don't skip this, trust me!)

1 tsp Mexican oregano (I used regular oregano)

1 small can diced green chili peppers

15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

14 oz can diced tomatoes

15 oz can pumpkin puree, or 2 cups homemade

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spray a large pot with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until just softened. Add the garlic and bell peppers, and cook about 5 minutes more until tender. Add the ground turkey and cook until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and oregano.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes to blend flavors.

Or, just brown the turkey with the seasonings and combine with remaining ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with your favorite chili toppings - cilantro, green onion, cheese, sour cream, etc. Makes 4 very generous servings - perfect if you're not eating this with any cornbread or other sides.

REVIEW:
Absolutely delicious! Josh and I got about 6 servings out of this - and I didn't serve any sides. It was very filling, and the leftovers were great. The pumpkin flavor is quite subtle in the dish and not at all overwhelming - I was a tad worried as I added 2 cups, but it was nice and complimented well by the cinnamon. Cara calculated the following nutritional info, assuming 4 servings: 436 cals / 9.8g fat / 58.4g carbs / 16.8g fiber / 36 g protein. That is great for a rough estimate, but you may want to refigure with the actual brands of ingredients you use.

Roasted Acorn Squash

2009-11-05T08:53:00.002-05:00

I've been trying new things lately, and I picked up a large acorn squash from the last Farmer's Market of the season. Most types of squash can easily be roasted, so that is all I did with this. I rubbed it with a little butter and brown sugar, but I also saw a maple-chipotle recipe that sounded good, and the cooking method is the same.Roasted Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp maple syrup (I used a sugar free syrup)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 deg F.
2. Using a very sharp knife, cut the squash in half (through the stem). Scoop out the the seeds and centers. Make a few slices into the flesh of the squash to aid the roasting process.
3. Rub half the butter and brown sugar on each half on the squash and then drizzle with just a little maple syrup.
4. Place the squash in a pan filled with about 1/4 water to prevent burning the skin or drying out the squash. Bake at 400 deg F for 1 hour, or until fork tender. Do not under-bake.
5. I choose to scoop out the flesh and serve. Enjoy!REVIEW:
This was very simple to make, roasting it just takes a while. It is not very sweet, just enough to complement the flavor of the squash. We had one large squash, and the two of us only ate half of it. I'm looking forward to leftovers!

Root Beer Pulled Pork

2009-11-04T07:57:00.001-05:00

Pulled pork sandwiches are great for fall! You can't really taste the root beer in these, but the carbonated beverage keeps the meat very moist, and so tender that shredding is a breeze!

Root Beer Pulled Pork

from Karen of LovesToEat

Half Loin Boneless Pork roast, or Shoulder or Butt Roast (thick pork chops would work too); we used 2 lbs and had enough to serve 4

12 oz can root beer

1 bottle BBQ sauce (a sweet & spicy flavor recommended); we used ~ 2/3 bottle

DIRECTIONS:
1. Throw pork roast and root beer in slow cooker. Set on low, 8 hours. (The root beer didn't cover our roast, so we flipped it halfway through.)
2. About 1.5 hours before it is done, drain the meat and shred. Add the entire bottle of BBQ sauce (or enough to your liking). Cook the rest of the time.
3. Serve with thick buns and chips! Enjoy!

REVIEW:

This is such an easy meal, and it is so tasty! It would be great for a tailgate or other party as well. Serve with mini-buns for an appetizer.

Cheddar-Garlic Oven Fried Chicken

2009-11-03T19:10:00.000-05:00

Josh was in charge of dinner the other night, and this is what he came up with. We cut it in half for the two of us and went light on the cheese on mine, and it was really good! Extra garlic is not a bad thing in our house!

Moist Cheddar-Garlic Oven Fried Chicken

from Kittencal on Recipe Zaar

serves 4 as written

1/3 cup butter, melted (J skimped on this, and used I Can't Believe Its Not Butter)
2 Tbsp minced garlic (can use more or less)
1 tsp garlic powder (garlic lovers can use more), we used more
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. seasoned dry bread crumbs

1/2 c. finely grated cheddar cheese

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Set oven to 350°F.
2. Coat baking dish with cooking spray.

3. In a bowl, combine melted butter with fresh minced garlic, garlic powder and salt.

4. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs with the cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese and coarse ground black pepper.
5. Dip chicken in butter mixture; then in crumb mixture.
6. Place in prepared pan and bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is done(placing the chicken on a rack in a pan will produce an extra crispy crust and for moist tender breasts cooking time should take no more than at the most 35 minutes unless they are very large then you might have to add on a couple extra minutes).
7. Top with mozzarella cheese the last 5 minutes of baking (optional). Enjoy!

REVIEW:

These were very good, I even proposed they make it into our rotation for week night meals that aren't too complicated to make. It only took a few minutes to get the stuff together, and then the chicken was in the oven. Combine with some microwave veggies, and its a pretty easy meal.

Pomegranate Chicken (or Balsamic Chicken)

2009-11-02T09:15:00.000-05:00

I have had this recipe for Balsamic Chicken bookmarked for so long, I entirely forgot about it. I finally went to make it tonight, and I was out of balsamic vinegar. I did have some Pomegranate Red Wine vinegar on hand, so I substituted that 1:1, and I think it turned out great. I do plan to try this again with balsamic vinegar, but I expect great results with that as well.

This recipe is actually pretty light, but to cut calories even more, skip flouring and frying the chicken and instead bake, broil, or grill it. The real flavor is in the sauce, so you won't be losing that component.

Pomegranate Chicken
adapted from Simple, but Delicious (original source)

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup pomegranate red wine vinegar (or use balsamic)

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 Tbsp butter

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

4 (5-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used 2 large)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

5 garlic cloves
pomegranate seeds (optional, for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine broth, vinegar, and honey in small bowl, whisk to combine.

2. Pound chicken to 1/4-1/2 inch thick and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour. Increase heat to medium-high; heat 2 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown. Add chicken to pan; cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3. Add garlic, and sauté 30 seconds. Add the broth mixture, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Serve sauce over chicken.
4. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, if desired. (I didn't have any.)

REVIEW:
I served this over rice and with a green veggie, and thought both were a good accompaniment. This sauce was very good, I can't wait to try it with the original intended ingredient (balsamic vinegar). When making the sauce, be careful to not over-reduce; you will make very sticky sugar if you aren't careful! Also, this dinner took less than 20 minutes to pull together, which is a huge plus in my book!

Happy Halloween: Pumpkin Pie Bites

2009-10-31T20:11:00.001-04:00

J and I were headed to a Halloween party, and needed a treat to bring. I knew I wanted to make something Halloween-themed, and for a while I thought I would just make sugar cookies and decorate them with royal icing.

Then, I saw the cute little pumpkin pie bites on Bakerella's blog. Perfect - I love pumpkin treats, and I liked that these were finger foods for easy nibbling at the party. A little extra decoration, and these are even more festive! I made my own pie crust instead of using packaged, but that is the only change I made to her recipe. (Check out Bakerella's post for pictures of each step if you want more detail.)

Pumpkin Pie Bites
ala Bakerella; makes 24 bites (see notes at end)

2 pie crusts (see dough recipe below, or use packaged)

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. canned 100% pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter (or round shape)

Optional
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
vegetable oil
re-sealable plastic bags

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box.
3. Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.)
4. Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie.
5. Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
7. Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use. Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.
8. Optional: To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw faces on pies.

Note: The cutter Bakerella used was 3 3/4 inches wide, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just use a round cutter around that size or slightly smaller to cut circle shapes out of the dough. Then make stems with the scraps. Press each stem over the edge and down the side of the dough before filling.

Pastry crust dough (enough for 1 double crust or 2 single crusts)
from Martha Stewart
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

DIRECTIONS:
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (much smaller than peas,but don't let it form a paste), 8 to 10 seconds.
2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

REVIEW:
I had a couple issues, but nothing show-stopping. First, roll out the dough super thin. I though the ratio of dough-to-filling was way off in my bites, because there was too much dough. Secondly, I think I overfilled my muffin cups, as the filling puffed up a lot more than the pictures on Bakerella's blog, and then sunk way down. The real issue was that it sunk unevenly, which made them hard to decorate. Finally, I would say this filling recipe actually makes enough for 36 bites, maybe even more. I ran out of dough first, so I had to throw at least 1/3 of the batch away. Next time, I will either make more dough, or make less filling. I also think these would be good with the standard pumpkin pie filling (the kind with evaporated milk on the side of the pumpkin can). I might try this in the future; I imagine the baking time might change a little. These would be great for a Thanksgiving get together as well, maybe without the pumpkin faces :) Oh yeah - the most important part of the review: They still tasted great!

Hope you had a happy, safe, and SWEET Halloween!

Apple Harvest Cake-Loaf

2009-10-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

With all of the apples available lately, and at super cheap prices, I see a few apple posts in my future. I came across this recipe for Apple Harvest Cake, but adapted it to make sweet apple bread loaves. These are definitely a sweet treat, more like cake than bread, but they are easy to freeze this way. The apple cake is sweet enough to eat on its own, but you can also choose to top it with the cream cheese icing (which is also delicious). I made 1.5 times the following recipe for 3 loaves, and froze one of them. I only made half of the cream cheese icing recipe, and just poured it over the two loaves I didn't freeze. I plan to take one into work, and well, the last one will get devoured at home.Apple Harvest Cake
adapted slightly from 30 Day Gourmet
makes 2 loaves, or 1 9x13 cake as written

For the cake:
2 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. applesauce
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 c. chopped apples (I used granny smith, about 5 small apples)
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional, I omitted)

For the Cream Cheese Icing:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour pans; either 2 cake rounds, 1 9x13 cake pan, or 2 9x5 loaf pans.
2. Combine eggs, sugar, applesauce, and oil. Beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened.
3. Stir in apples, and nuts if using.
4. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake 35-45 minutes (40-50 for loaf pans).
5. Cool cakes, and frost if desired.
6. For cream cheese icing, mix all ingredients. This icing will be kind of runny - decrease amount of milk to stiffen it up, or add more confectioner's sugar to reach desired consistency.REVIEW:
Very tasty. The only issue I have is that since the icing doesn't set up, its a little messy to eat. But really, it is intended to be eaten as a cake with a fork, so I think my issue is that I am trying to eat slices with my fingers ;) If you were going to serve this as a coffee cake, instead of the cream cheese icing you could just top it with a cinnamon-sugar mixture before baking.

To freeze, wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and stick in it a Ziploc Freezer bag.

Red Chili Chicken and Rice with Black Beans

2009-10-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

Another Annie recipe - and another good one! I am always looking for new Mexican recipes for J and I to enjoy, and this is even rather healthy!The only issue I had with this recipe was the length of time it took - our rice just was not cooking! It wouldn't have been as big of a deal if I expected it, but we just kept constantly checking it every 10 minutes after it was supposed to be done. We will make this again, but next time I'll either allot more time for the rice to cook, or remove the cooking liquid from the recipe and toss cooked rice in there at the end and just heat everything together for a few minutes. Annie generally posts pretty reliable recipes though, so I'm guessing it was just the kind of rice I used, and it might not even happen next time.

Red Chili Chicken and Rice with Black Beans
from Annie's Eats, originally adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless
serves 4

2 tbsp. canola oil (I used olive oil)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2.5 tbsp. ancho chili powder, divided (I used regular chili powder)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup long-grain rice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup green onions, chopped (or 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro)
½-1 cup salsa, for serving

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oil in large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chicken breast halves with salt and sprinkle with half of the chili powder. Place the chicken in the hot oil and brown on each side, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate, leaving behind as much oil as possible.

2. Add the onion and rice to the pot. Stir for several minutes, until the rice turns from translucent to opaque. Add the garlic and the remaining chili powder to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then add the chicken broth and salt to taste. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on medium-low heat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and add them to the pot along with the beans. (This chicken is still uncooked in the middle at this point, but it will be cooked through after you add it back to the pan for longer, don't worry!) Recover the pot and allow to cook 12 minutes longer.

4. Sprinkle the green onions on top of the chicken, beans and rice. Test a grain of rice – it should have no more than a hint of chalkiness at the center. If the rice has the correct texture, replace the cover, remove the pot from the heat and let stand 5-10 minutes. If the rice is not completely cooked yet, cook for 5 minutes longer before covering to let stand.

5. Fluff the mixture with a fork and serve with salsa.

REVIEW:
This was very tasty. We actually served with salsa and sour cream. I really liked this recipe from the standpoint that I normally keep the ingredients on hand, so I could make it without too much planning. Other than our rice not cooking as quickly, it was a great recipe. Can't wait to try it again to work out the kinks.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2009-10-28T09:00:00.001-04:00

The thing I look forward to most about carving pumpkins is cleaning and eating the seeds! We got quite a few from our two pumpkins this year, and I decided to be a little adventurous in their flavoring. Normally, I would just toss them with salt and roast them, but this year I tried some different seasonings. The steps are the same, just vary the seasoning to your tastes and what you have in your spice cabinet. Be creative!

This year, I made:
Salted - the old stand-by, spray with cooking spray and toss with salt
Cinnamon Sugar - a sweet treat! Toss with a little bit of melted butter and then some cinnamon, and sugar, with a touch of nutmeg, ginger, and ground cloves thrown in (or pumpkin pie spice)
Garlic Parmesan - A savory treat! Spray with cooking spray and toss with garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and a touch of salt
Hot - A spicy treat! Spray with cooking spray and toss with salt and a little (or a lot) of cayenne pepper

There are a lot of other combos that would work. Italian herbs, cajun spices... the possibilities are endless!Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

pumpkin seeds, cleaned well
cooking spray, oil, or butter
seasonings of choice

DIRECTIONS:
1. Separate pumpkin seeds from pumpkin guts. Place in a colander and rinse WELL. Try to remove as much orange stuff as possible (a little won't hurt you).
2. Spread the seeds out on a paper towel and pat dry. (Mostly dry anyways).
3. Heat oven to 300 deg F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
4. Toss seeds with oil or butter (or just give them a good spray of cooking spray). Then toss with seasonings (I put the seasoning in a sandwich size Ziploc and tossed them that way). Vary the amount of seasoning you have to the amount of seeds. Generally, you need a couple tablespoons of seasoning to ~1/2 cup of seeds. The exception here is strong flavors - you don't want too much salt or too much cayenne. Spread seeds on baking sheet in a single layer.
5. Roast seeds at 300 deg F for 30-40 minutes, flipping/tossing them about halfway through. Seeds are done when they don't taste soft in the middle, but watch so they don't brown too much.

REVIEW:
I am very pleased with the flavor combos I tried. The spicy seeds aren't too hot, and the parmesan garlic seeds had a great taste to them (got this idea from the sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings). When I mentioned a sweet option with cinnamon and sugar, Josh said I was on my own. These are actually really good! I only wish I had more pumpkin seeds to make some more!

And if you are wondering what I carved this year... well, I took the easy way out. But aren't these just adorable?

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

2009-10-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

We had a low-key Saturday planned, and I knew we would be watching a lot of football. Chicken wings are a great football snack, so I whipped some up buffalo wings for us to snack on during the UofM game.

Buffalo Chicken Wings
serves 2

~2 lbs chicken wings
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. hot sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot)
3 Tbsp. butter
celery and ranch for serving, if desired

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 425 deg F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place chicken wings/pieces on baking sheet and bake at 425 deg F for 25 minutes.
2. Melt butter. Add butter and 1/4 c. hot sauce to a large Ziploc bag. Remove chicken wings from oven and toss them in the sauce in the bag. Replace wings on baking sheet and bake for another 20 minutes.
3. Remove chicken wings to a plate. Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. hot sauce, if you like them hot. Serve with ranch and celery sticks as desired.

REVIEW:
These were good. We like them spicy, so I added a little extra hot sauce at the end. Next time I think I will try Frank's Buffalo Sauce, since I think that is thicker and my one complaint about this is how runny the sauce is when you first toss the wings, it doesn't seem like enough of it sticks. These were pretty spicy though!

Slow Cooker Maple-Dijon Chicken

2009-10-26T09:00:00.003-04:00

I was looking for something easy, and found this recipe on the Good Morning America site. The Crockpot Lady, aka Stephanie O'Dea, came out with a book of recipes. I've had success with her recipes in the past, and this looked like another winner. Using the crockpot makes dinner so easy! We had a work FUNction to go to for my work tonight (it was fun - a visit to the pumpkin farm complete with cinder, donuts, and a pumpkin catapult!), and it was nice to walk in the door a little later than usual and have dinner waiting.

Maple-Dijon Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

serves ~4 as written

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken pieces

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed

1 tsp. dried thyme

3 Tbsp. maple syrup (we used sugar-free, I recommend ~1/4 c.)

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (I recommend 3 Tbsp.)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup chicken broth (we used vegetable stock, I recommend using 1/2 as much)

2 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the stoneware and toss with the onion, garlic, thyme, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard. Place the sweet potatoes on top of the chicken. Pour in the broth and add the bay leaves.

2. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours, or on high for 3 to 5 hours. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and the vegetables reached the desired tenderness.

REVIEW:
We served this over rice with a side of parmesan-roasted asparagus, and it made for a good meal. I was a little disappointed with the flavors - we didn't think the maple or dijon was strong enough. Next time I will try adding a little more of those ingredients, and cutting back on the stock some (maybe by half, since the result was very liquidy).

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2009-10-25T17:45:00.001-04:00

This post is WAY overdue! Back on our anniversary (in August!) Josh made me breakfast (insert "Awwws" here). He did a darn good job, too! This was a delicious coffee cake, and he served it with a yogurt-berry parfait. He mixed a little honey in the the yogurt, and it was delish! Now, back to the coffee cake....

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

from Cooks.com

COFFEE CAKE:

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick), room temp.

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1/4 c. dairy sour cream

1 1/2 cups flour

Nutty Cinnamon Topping (see below)

confectioner's sugar (Josh omitted)

NUTTY CINNAMON TOPPING:
2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2-3 tbsp. coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (he omitted the nuts)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 7"x3" loaf pan with wax paper (or dust with flour).
2. Sift flour with salt and baking soda; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter in a medium bowl. Add sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and egg. Beat until mixture has an airy texture. Stir in half of the flour mixture until moistened. Beat until smooth. Add half of the sour cream. Beat until smooth. Add remaining sour cream. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour mixture. (Note: the amount of flour you should add in any baking recipe varies according to the humidity, storage conditions, and the quality and age of the flour you're using. Only use enough flour to make a soft batter for this recipe.)
4. Beat about 30 seconds until smooth. Do not overbeat.
5. Prepare Nutty Cinnamon Topping by tossing ingredients in a separate bowl. Spread half of batter evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of topping. Cover with remaining batter. Sprinkle remaining topping evenly over surface.
6. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until cake pulls away from edges of pan and springs back when lightly touched in center.
7. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan by lifting ends of wax paper liner. Sift powdered sugar generously over top before serving.

REVIEW:
This tasted delicious, despite whatever complications Josh may have had int he kitchen. He was trying to surprise me, and couldn't find the loaf pans, so he used a bundt pan instead (which worked by the way). He forgot to add something, so after pouring the batter into the pan, we had to scrape it back into the mixing bowl, finish adding stuff, and then pour it back in. Imagine me laying in bed thinking - wow, this is taking kind of a long time. Just when I thought he must be done, I hear the mixer turn on again. So I don't have the full story on this recipe, but whatever he did to it, it turned out fantastic!!

Chicken and Brown Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

2009-10-25T17:29:00.000-04:00

So back in the days of garden overflow, Josh was tasked with making dinner. We had LOTS of tomatoes, so he surfed around for a recipe, and found this one for chicken and rice stuffed tomatoes. We made some modifications, but these were actually really good!

Chicken and Brown Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

serves 3-4, easy to scale if necessary

6 large, ripe tomatoes

1/4 c. finely chopped onion
3/4 lb ground chicken or cut up chicken breast
1 c. cooked brown rice

1 Tbsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (provolone slices would work too)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish, large enough to accommodate the tomatoes, with non-stick spray.

2. Wash tomatoes. Cut off tops and scoop out insides into a bowl. Reserve.

3. In a non-stick skillet, brown chicken. Add onion. Make sure you break up the chicken into little pieces (if using ground chicken), it makes stuffing the tomatoes easier. Remove from heat.

4. Add rice and seasonings to the meat and onions.

5. Take the reserved tomato guts, and put into blender. Blend for a moment and pour back about 3/4 of a cup into the meat mixture. Mix well.

6. Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture; place tomatoes in baking dish. Top tomatoes with cheese then bake @400 for about 30 minutes.

REVIEW:
These were quite tasty and filling, I think we each had 2 for dinner. This is great, healthy meal when served with a green vegetable. This meal is also easy to scale up or down, I think we ended up stuff ~8 tomatoes, but some were on the small side, so I would guess this filling would be adequate for 6 normal size tomatoes.

Island Chicken

2009-10-24T09:57:00.000-04:00

I remember seeing this recipe on Annie's Eats last week, and since we needed something quick for dinner, it fit the bill. Josh was able to prep the marinade earlier in the day, and when I got home from work, we tossed it in the oven, did some household chores, and right before it was done we steamed some green beans to serve with it. It worked out quite well, and required very little kitchen time or clean up.

Like Annie, I'm not sure what makes this "island" but its still tasty!

Island Chicken
Serves 2-4, but you can easily scale the marinade to make more or less chicken

½ c. vegetable oil (we subbed olive oil and only used 1/3 c.)

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1½ tbsp. soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

½ tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2-4 chicken breasts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients except chicken in a mixing bowl or large airtight plastic bag. Whisk or shake well until the marinade is well mixed. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl or plastic bag so that they are covered by the marinade. If using a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap. If using a plastic bag, press out all the excess air and seal the bag tightly. Refrigerate and marinate up to 10 hours.

2. When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and pour the excess marinade over them. Bake in the oven until cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165° F, about 45 minutes (exact baking time will depend on the size of your chicken pieces.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

REVIEW:

This chicken was not that special, but it was very flavorful and tasted good! (I will make this again because it was good, there just isn't really a "wow" factor here.) Marinating chicken is one way we manage to have homecooked meals when we are short on time or just don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. (It does require a little planning ahead though.) Serve this with a green veggie, and a carb (mashed potatoes, a roll, or even rice) - we skipped the carb - and you have a great dinner!

Pumpkin Blondies

2009-10-23T17:01:00.000-04:00

I told you there would be pumpkin recipes on this blog!

I really like making blondies - they are faster than cookies, and don't need to be frosted or decorated like a cake. If you haven't tried any before, blondies are essentially a bar cookie with a soft chewy texture (kind of like a brownie). Baking this with pumpkin gave them a little more of a puffy, cake-like texture, but they weren't too crumbly. You can use any combination of chips in yours - I used white chocolate and semi-sweet, but butterscotch would be good too. Also, add nuts to your liking - I omitted them this time around.

A trick from Martha - Line your pan with aluminum foil before baking. In addition to preventing your bars from sticking to the pan, it makes clean up a breeze!

Pumpkin Blondies
adapted from Martha Stewart; makes 24 bars

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. canned pumpkin puree

2 c. chocolate chips (I used 1 cup white choc chips and 1 cup mini choc chips)

1/2 c. chopped, toasted nuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips you are using (and nuts, if using) with a rubber spatula.

3. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.
To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

REVIEW:

Love these! So yummy, they were gone in no time!

Vegetable Stock

2009-10-22T20:59:00.000-04:00

You can call me cheap, that's ok. Yes, I made my own vegetable stock from veggie scraps that I have been saving in the freezer for a few months.

In the past I have tried making chicken stock, and I will do so again next time I buy a whole chicken. But during that process, I also read about making your own veggie stock - its even easier!

I got some tips from Stock Making 101 - the veggies you add will alter the taste a little, but it sounds like everything except broccoli and cauliflower are a go. Tomatoes can give a very strong tomato flavor, so I skipped those as well. Don't limit yourself to whole veggies - start saving scraps while you cook, and you will have a bag in no time! Over the past few months I had a large Ziploc in my freezer where I tossed (clean) veggie scraps: Onions/onion skins, garlic (the skins left after pressing), celery, bell peppers, zucchini, summer squash, butternut squash rind, mushrooms, green onions, a couple carrots. I even tossed in a few stalks of asparagus and a few green beans that I had on hand. This is also a great use for veggies that are about to go bad but you can't use in time. (You can also toss in herbs, and even some fruits - apples and pears are said to be tasty.)

Vegetable Stock
yield depends on how many veggies you have

Veggie scraps / chopped up veggies
Water
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp whole peppercorns
Salt - optional (I prefer to leave my stock bland and season the dish I am using it in)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put all veggies in a large stock pot. Fill with water until veggies are covered. The rule of thumb is half solid ingredients to half water.

2. Add bay leaves and peppercorns, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a couple hours (~2-3). The longer you let the stock simmer, the more concentrated your flavors will be.

3. Strain the stock - I strain mine twice. First use a colander to separate the large scraps, then I line my colander with a paper towel and strain again to remove any smaller pieces left behind.

4. Cool and store - this is good in the fridge about 1 week, or in the freezer about 6 months. I store mine in ~2 cup portions. This batch yielded 14 cups of stock for me! (Only 12 are pictured since I used 2 cups in a recipe that day.)

REVIEW:
This is very easy, and I highly recommend making your own soup stocks at home! I thought this stock turned out pretty good - the flavor tasted a little bland to me, but I'm pretty sure that's

because there was NO salt added. I used some to make a broccoli cheddar soup that evening, and it tasted great! Other than making soups, stocks can be a great way to add a depth of flavor to rice (use stock instead of water, or half stock half water); or can also be used to poach chicken or fish.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2009-10-22T20:24:00.000-04:00

With the temps getting chilly here, there was nothing more comforting on a Sunday afternoon spent watching football than broccoli cheese soup. I saw this on Lindsay's blog last week, and since I had the ingredients on hand, it was on the weekend menu!

I'm slightly ashamed to admit, but I had the Velveeta on hand that the recipe suggested. I also added in a little Swiss, but Lindsay just used a bunch of varieties of shredded cheese she had on hand, so I'm sure that would work as well. Also - the entire recipe is posted below, but that is enough to feed an army! I made a third of it - and it was still plenty for dinner for Josh and I, with leftovers for lunch the next day.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

originally from allrecipes.com; serves 8 (or more) as written

3 (~10 oz) packages frozen chopped broccoli

3 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth (I used homemade veggie stock)

6 tbsp margarine

1 onion, chopped

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. milk (I used skim and it turned out fine)

1.5 lbs processed cheese food (i.e. Velveeta), cubed (about 12 oz of cheese total, see notes in review below)

1 pinch ground white pepper (who has white pepper? I used regular!)

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, simmer the broccoli in the broth for 15 minutes. In a separate skillet over medium heat, melt the butter or margarine, add the onions and saute for 5 minutes, or to desired tenderness.

2. Add the flour to the onions and stir well, forming a pasty substance. Gradually add the milk and stir until thick. Add this mixture to the broccoli mixture in the pot and stir well. (It might not look appetizing at this point, but keep going!) Then add the cheese, stirring until melted. Finally, add the pepper. (Note: Be careful not to let the soup boil, or the cheese will break down.)

REVIEW:

This was really good, but I thought it was a little too cheesy, to Velveeta-y actually. Next time, I will either sub half of the Velveeta for shredded cheddar, or not use Velveeta at all (since I rarely keep it on hand and it was kind of a fluke this time) and use a combo of shredded cheeses. I think cheddar and 5-cheese Italian would be good.

Chicken Pot "Pie" Soup

2009-10-21T22:30:00.002-04:00

I had a hankering for chicken pot pie, but was not craving all those calories! I searched around a little, and decided to skip the crust all together, and just make a soup. I served with reduced fat crescent rolls, and it was delicious!

Chicken Pot "Pie" Soup

adapted from Recipe Zaar; serves 4

1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. reduced-fat chicken broth (I used homemade chicken stock)
1 12 oz bag frozen mixed veggies (I used Valley Fresh Steamers green beans/carrots/peas/corn)
1 (10 oz) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom)
1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
~1 lb. chopped cooked chicken breasts (I poached mine, then cut them into bite sized pieces)
1/4 tsp dried basil (or sub fresh)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large saucepan (or stock pot) over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and veggies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12 minutes, partially covered.
2. Combine condensed soup and flour in a small bowl. Add to vegetables, along with chicken, basil, thyme and pepper. Stir well.
3. Continue to simmer soup for ~15 minutes, until it has thickened slightly and flavors have melded. Prepare biscuits if serving.

4. Serve and enjoy!

REVIEW:

This was quite tasty, for a creamy chicken soup. It was actually really thick, like the inside of a chicken pot pie, which is what I was going for. And by skipping out on the heavy cream and pie crust, we definitely saved a few calories (all in all, it wasn't too bad health-wise). You can certainly add whatever veggies float your boat (including fresh or canned), as well as potatoes if you choose (just cut them up small enough, add with the other veggies in Step 1 and simmer until they are fork tender before movign on). Some fresh parsley would be good in here too, if you have any.

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

2009-10-20T21:46:00.005-04:00

Its fall, and this is one of many pumpkin treats bound to show up on this blog. I just love the stuff! Pumpkin is very versatile, and is great in sweet and savory dishes. While its available all year round, I generally only cook/bake with it in fall just because it seems most appropriate.These cookies were great - two to three bite treats that are greatly complimented with the butter-sugar frosting. You could spread the frosting on, but I put mine in a Ziploc and cut off the corner to drizzle it over the cookies. To make clean-up a breeze, leave the cookies on a cooling rack, and slip some wax paper (or paper towels) underneath. The paper will catch any frosting drips, and you can simply throw it away!

Pumpkin Cookies (frosting recipe below)
source: Betty Crocker, via Carrie's Sweet Life
makes ~3-4 dozen cookies (I can't remember exactly)

2/3 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls. (I flattened my cookies ever so slightly with the back of a spoon. This batter hardly spreads while baking.)

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

Browned Butter Frosting

3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 to 4 tbsp milk
1/3 c. butter (do not use margarine or spread; it will burn)

DIRECTIONS:
1. In medium bowl, place powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 tablespoons milk. In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/3 cup butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until light brown.

2. Pour browned butter over powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Gradually add just enough of the remaining 1 tablespoon milk to make frosting creamy and spreadable. Generously frost cooled cookies.REVIEW:
These were yummy! I especially liked the frosting, it was a great compliment to the cookies. Treats with pumpkin are generally more cake-like in texture, and these were no exception. They weren't crumbly, but if you are looking for a cookie with some bite to it, these aren't it- they are very soft cookies.

Garden Season is Over

2009-10-20T21:21:00.005-04:00

... for this year anyways! Here is the last of our haul this year - we managed a few bell peppers, a couple more jalapenos, and a bunch more tomatoes. We put the green ones by the window to see if they would ripen - but we ended up tossing most of them (it looked like they actually got frostbit - oops!)We even had one little surprise - a tiny little watermelon! I didn't even taste it since it was so light inside, but just maybe we will get a good size one next year.Next year, we plan to add a second garden, right by this one. Our major problem this year was over-crowding. We are looking forward to trying most of the same things again. I am still undecided on the bell peppers though - only because the yield was so low. But then again, they were right next to the tomatoes, and we have to wonder how much that hindered their growth since the tomato plants got SO big! All in all, it was quite a successful year!

Our garden, all cleaned up for the year:

Canned Tomatoes

2009-10-19T21:16:00.000-04:00

More garden surplus! Even after making homemade marinara sauce, we still had a lot of tomatoes from the garden. I really wanted to try canning, and it turns out tomatoes are pretty easy to do in a water bath. I was a little worried because I don't have any canning equipment (besides the jars), but we made do with a large stock pot, and makeshift foil "grate" to separate the jars and keep them off the bottom, and tongs and hot-mitts. It might not have been pretty, but for 4 jars of tomatoes, it worked for us.

I have included the procedure as written below, courtesy of Frank, found on Tasty Kitchen.

Canned Tomatoes
very easy to scale based on how many tomatoes you have (we canned 4 pints, but I don't know how many tomatoes we used - it seemed like a lot though!)

INGREDIENTS:
21 pounds Ripe Tomatoes
7 teaspoons Salt
14 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
water bath canning pot (I used a large stock pot)
canning jars (pints or quarts)
lids (round metal lids with a gum binder)
rings (metal bands that secure the lids to the jars)
jar lifter (to pick up the hot jars) (I used tongs and hot mitts)

METHOD: Sterilize the Jars and Lids

1. Fill the canner with water until it is half full and put it on medium high heat.
2. Fill the jars partially with water and place them on the rack in the canner for sterilization.
3. Bring the water to a boil.
4. Boil the jars for about 10 minutes.

Note: Jars can also be placed in the dishwasher and run through the high heat cycle. Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap!

5. Fill the canner about ½ full of water and start it heating (with the lid on).
6. Put the lids into the small pot of boiling water for at least several minutes.

METHOD: Processing the Tomatoes

1. Wash tomatoes.
2. Cut shallow in non stem end to aid peeling.
3. Remove the tomatoes’ skins.

• Dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split, then dip in cold water.
• Slip off skins and remove cores. Leave whole or halve. (I removed most, but not all, of the seeds. I roughly chopped the tomatoes, primarily to help with packing them in the jars.)

4. Fill jars with raw tomatoes, leaving ½ inch headspace.
5. Press tomatoes in the jars until spaces between them fill with juice.
6. Add salt to the jars.

• 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of tomatoes
• ½ teaspoon of salt per pint of tomatoes

7. Add lemon juice or citric acid to the jars.
• 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon citric acid per pint of tomatoes

Note: Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling with product; in fact, this is recommended to be sure you get the acid in each and every jar. (I added the salt and lemon juice to empty jars, then filled with tomatoes.)

8. Using a flat plastic or wood utensil, free trapped air bubbles by gently sliding it up and down around the inside edge.
9. Put the lids and rings on.

Note: Just screw them on snugly, not too tight. If there is any tomato on the surface of the lip of the jar, wipe it off first with a clean dry cloth or paper towel.

10. Put the filled jars in the canner and keep them covered with at least 1 inch of water.
11. Process the jars in a boiling-water bath.

• 85 minutes for quarts.
• 85 minutes for pints.

12. When processing is complete, lift the jars out of the water and let them cool in a draft-free place. (Once they are cool, you need to check the lids to make sure they have sealed. You should not be able to depress the "bubble" on the top. If any did not seal completely, you can stick in the fridge, but should use within a week or so. In general if you are not familiar with canning safety, do a little research. I checked out Canning for Dummies from the library, and it gave a decent overview for someone who was completely new to canning.)

REVIEW:
I can't quite review these yet - we haven't used them! But we will soon enough. I see some chili in our future!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

2009-10-08T20:47:00.000-04:00

I have probably made this dish at last 3 time since I started this blog, maybe as many as 5. It is simple, delicious, and relatively healthy. Yet, I've never posted it. Why? Because every picture I take of it looks like a pile of crap. Ok, a shredded pile of crap.
See, I told you so. Please, don't let the picture deter you! This is super yummy, and we make it a lot because I often have the ingredients on hand. I recommend eating this over rice or in a tortilla, or even with tortilla chips.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken
From sparkrecipes.com, via Foodislove's blog
serves 4-6, depending on what you serve with it

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, frozen
1 cup salsa (we use about 1.25 cups)
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup condensed (you can also use cream of chicken)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

DIRECTIONS:
1. Add frozen chicken to the crockpot…I promise it is ok to put it in there frozen!
2. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken
3. Mix salsa and soup in small bowl, then pour mixture over chicken
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (time will vary, mine is generally done in ~6 hours, but I have left it in there for 10-12 and it is still fine too)
5. When ready to eat, remove from heat and stir in sour cream. At this step, I prefer to shred the chicken with a fork… it always shreds really easily. (Remove each chicken breast from the crockpot, then I usually use two forks and just keep pulling it apart, then add back to the crock and stir.)
6. Serve on tortillas, over rice, or however else you want. Enjoy!REVIEW:
Like I said - we LOVE this. I even eat it plain when I'm trying to limit my carbs for the day, and J will either wrap it in a tortilla or use it as a dip for tortilla chips (scoops work best). Very yummy, and easy to throw together in the morning before work!

UM vs. MSU: GO BLUE!!!! (aka fondant cupcakes)

2009-10-02T22:44:00.007-04:00

Its rivalry weekend, time again for my University of Michigan Wolverines to take on the cross-state rival Michigan State Spartans!

We have an annual tailgate party at work, and I knew I wanted to make a UM/MSU themed dessert. I kind of settled on sugar cookies with royal icing, until I saw Annie's post about fondant earlier this week. It had been on my list of things to try, so that was it. I went for it!

Annie's tutorial is great, so I won't even go there. A few comments about the process:
-I made the fondant (1 batch of the below recipe for 24 cupcakes) a few days ahead and stored it in a Ziploc bag, which worked out great. I suggest making it the day before because it took me about an hour to color the fondant - I used 4 different colors, and it took quite a bit of kneading to evenly distribute the color.
-I do not suggest intricate shapes - I think I spent 3 hours cutting out the M's and S's from a card stock stencil. Next time I will either do easier shapes, or search for cookie cutters beforehand!
-Transport carefully! My fondant got a little sticky in my carrier, and the cupcakes bumped into each other leaving a little of the coloring on other cupcakes - hence why you see some blue on the edges of the white.
-I actually did like this fondant, but not as much as I enjoy buttercream! You pretty much need a stand mixer to make it, no guarantees how it would turn out otherwise!

Because I knew I would spend a lot of time decorating these, I just made a box mix of spice cake cupcakes, and a batch of this vanilla buttercream to go under the fondant. (I made 4/5 of the batch, but would easily have had enough if I only made 1/2 the batch.) I made 1 batch of the fondant recipe below.

Marshmallow Fondant
from Confections of a Foodie Bride

16 oz bag plain marshmallows (I used jumbo and they worked fine, but you need 16 oz)
2 Tbsp water
shortening, for greasing bowls
1-2 tsp flavoring (I used almond extract)
2 lb confectioner’s sugar, divided
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grease a microwave safe bowl, a spoon, the dough hook, and the bowl of your stand mixer with shortening (grease it well).

2. Place the marshmallows and water in the greased microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 60 seconds. Stir with the greased spoon. If all the marshmallows have not melted, microwave for 30 seconds more. Stir in flavoring.

3. Place confectioner’s sugar and salt in the stand mixer bowl, reserving 1 cup, and make a well in the center. Pour in the marshmallow mix and turn the mixer on to the lowest setting. When it sounds strained, increase the mixer speed up one setting. Turn off the mixer once all sugar has been incorporated. If the fondant is sticky, add the reserved confectioner’s sugar 1/4 cup at a time. (My mixer was sounding a little strained, so once the sugar was just incorporated, I kneaded it by hand for a while - I covered my hands in Crisco first.)

4. Turn fondant out onto plastic wrap. Rub a bit of shortening on the outside of the ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, place in a Ziploc bag, and let rest for at least 2-3 hours. Keep unused portions covered when not using. If the fondant becomes stiff, place in microwave for 20 seconds at a time until pliable. (I used this microwave trick quite a bit - it doesn't hurt it at all.)

As for the game, well, I'm banking on my team to come out on top. Watch out Sparty!

GO BLUE!

Tilapia Parmesan

2009-09-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

Josh was in charge of dinner tonight, so he found this recipe on allrecipes and put it together. We used 1 lb of tilapia fillets but Josh still made all the sauce - it was definitely too much topping, but it was delicious! Good job babe!

Tilapia Parmesan
adapted from Allrecipes; serves 4 as written

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese (we used reduced fat)
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise (we used light)
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. dried basil (we recommend fresh if you have it!)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
2 pounds tilapia fillets

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pan fry the tilapia fillets in a little olive oil over medium heat for a couple minutes on each side. (You could also broil them if you prefer)
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice, dried basil, pepper, garlic powder and salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Cover the tilapia with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

REVIEW:
This was very yummy, and quick to put together since we paired it with a bag of microwave veggies. We cut the butter in half from the original recipe and used low fat mayo and cheese to make it a little healthier. You could certainly play with the spices a little more to get other flavors you enjoy in there. Heck, if you don't like fish, try this topping on some chicken breasts.

Protein-Packed Pumpkin Pancakes

2009-09-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

I had a can of pumpkin in my pantry that I have been anxious to use, and since fall has pretty much set in, it was time! After a long run or workout session, I try to eat a good helping of protein to repair my muscles. I don't usually crave eggs, so these pancakes are a great substitute. I adapted an oatmeal pancake recipe slightly by adding pumpkin to it.

Pumpkin Pancakes
adapted from the South Beach Diet Cookbook, by Dr. Arthur Agatston

1/2 c. old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 c. low fat (or fat free) cottage cheese
4 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp.pumpkin pie spice (OR add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg)
1/2 c. pure pumpkin puree

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat griddle.
2. Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
3. Cook 1/4-1/2 c. at a time over medium heat, flipping half way though, until lightly browned and cooked though.

REVIEW:
Love these! This whole recipe serves 1 - so it is VERY filling, and contains 328 calories and is packed with 30 grams of protein, plus 10 grams of fiber. Since this recipe contains virtually NO sugar (just a tad from the pumpkin), I topped with some light Cool Whip and sugar-free syrup to satisfy my sweet tooth. If this isn't your style, try adding some pumpkin puree to your favorite pancake batter - the puree is a little think, so thin your batter slightly if necessary.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

2009-09-29T22:08:00.006-04:00

Shhh..... I have a secret to share with you. My Dad makes this fabulous spaghetti sauce, though its actually a meat sauce with meatballs. The meatballs are the really special part, but the sauce isn't so shabby either. I'll save the meatballs for another day.We had such a surplus of tomatoes from the garden, I needed to do something with them. I whipped up a batch of the family-recipe-sauce (minus the meat) to freeze, replacing the canned tomatoes with fresh romas from the garden. If you want to use fresh tomatoes, you will need to skin and seed them first. This task was a little tedious since my romas were so small - I had so many to do! To make peeling the tomatoes easier, place them in boiling water for a couple minutes until the skins start to crack, then move them to a bowl of cold water. The skins should peel right off. I then cut them in half and thumbed out the guts/seeds, and dropped them in the blender.

The seasoning below is approximate - my dad doesn't know exactly what quantities he adds, and I just estimated based on the below amounts. So season to your own tastes! This recipe made 12 cups of sauce for me - I froze them in Ziploc bags, 2 cups per bag. I'll be submitting this recipe to Joelen's Tasty Tools Event for September, which features stock pots!

Homemade Marinara Sauce
family recipe, makes approx. 12 cups

1 large + 1 small can tomato paste
1 large + 1 small can water
4 large cans whole tomatoes, blended (I used ~14 cups fresh roma tomatoes)
2 Tbsp. italian seasoning
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil (I had fresh on had, so I tossed in a few tablespoons)
2 bay leaves (remove before freezing/serving)
2 tsp. parsley
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Optional: add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese to sauce
Optional: saute some onion/garlic/green pepper in a little olive oil and add if desired

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine tomato paste and water in a large stock pot and stir over medium heat for 30 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes and spices. Cook uncovered over low heat for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (I placed the lid kind of half-on to try and minimize the sputtering mess this can make...)
3. Remove bay leaves. Add parmesan cheese, and garlic/green pepper/onion if using.
4. Serve or freeze. (This probably could be canned also if you look up directions for canning a similar type of recipe.)

REVIEW:
There is nothing quite like homemade marinara sauce! The only think I added to this batch was the parmesan cheese, but you can always add some sauted veggies or meat/meatballs before serving. Also, if you like a chunky sauce, only blend half the tomatoes and leave the other half diced. Enjoy!

Squash and White Bean Soup

2009-09-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

I saw this recipe in a Real Simple magazine, and it was perfect for the cooler, overcast day we had today. I really like incorporating seasonal fruits and vegetables into my meals, and butternut squash were already on sale at my grocer. The flavors in this soup we kind of subtle, and Josh found it a little bland, but I really liked it and am looking forward to the leftovers!

Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup
source: Real Simple; serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I roughly chopped about 2 cups fresh tomatoes from my garden)
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (~4 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
5 c. water
2 15-ounce cans cannellini (great northern) beans, rinsed (I used a 24 oz jar)
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed (~4 cups)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (or stock pot) over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the squash, thyme, 5 cups water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes (mine took about 25 min to be tender enough for me). Stir in the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

REVIEW:
Since Josh thought this was a little too bland, next time I will try subbing at least half the water for vegetable stock to see if that helps. I served with imitation Red Lobster biscuits, though real Simple suggested some parmesan biscuits. I liked the fact that the soup itself was quite healthy and contained lots of veggies!

We have a WINNER!

2009-09-19T11:47:00.004-04:00

and the winner of a copy of Ron Douglas's America's Most Wanted Recipes is...

#3 Lindsey!

Congrats! I will be emailing you to get your address for shipping :) Thanks to all who entered and especially those who are now following my blog!

Last chance!

2009-09-18T09:39:00.002-04:00

Today is the last day to sign up for my GIVEAWAY of a copy of

America's Most Wanted Recipes by Ron Douglas.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

2009-09-16T20:41:00.004-04:00

Josh asked for a Red Wings cake for his birthday. Hmmm..... I got to thinking, and really, I didn't want to make this too complicated. I settled on just putting the winged wheel on top of a layer cake - which was tricky enough. To do this, I printed out a copy of the logo, and traced the reverse outline with some piping gel. I then flipped this over on the cake the get the outline, and filled in the design freehand. I started with a white background, then filled in the detail with red and outlined the whole design in red. I think I used a #2 tip for the design, and used Wilton buttercream for the red and white icing. I thinned it a bit too much - the red started to bleed a little when it got warm.

As for the cake - Josh loves Reese's, so I knew I wanted to find a chocolate-peanut butter recipe. I settled on this one from Smitten Kitchen, but only used the cake and peanut butter filling parts, since I needed a firmer icing on my cake. I went with my stand-by chocolate frosting to pack in as many calories per slice as possible ;) It was absolutely delicious. Small slices and glass of milk required.

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Filling
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
I made a 9" double layer cake; serves 12 to 16

For the cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper. (I just buttered and floured the pans.)

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. (Whisk is an interesting verb here - it is thick at this point!) Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 2 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)

For the Peanut Butter Filling:
(Makes about 5 cups - I only made 1/2 this recipe since I only used it as the filling between layers)
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 c. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 c. smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

For the frosting:
1 recipe Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Frosting, or Frosting of your choice
** For the piping design, I used 1/4 recipe Wilton buttercream icing, thin consistency with a little piping gel mixed in

5. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate frosting.

6. Decorate the cake as you wish!REVIEW:
Yes, this cake is rich. Yes, I know this cake is not healthy. It is a special birthday treat. And it was very good. And in some ways I am glad my in-laws didn't take seconds and left Josh and I with plenty of leftovers. Happy 29th Birthday babe! Sorry I ate so much of your cake!