Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake...

Moving Day!

2008-05-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm moving over to a NEW BLOG!

Blogger isn't cooperating at the moment so I can't export all my old entries to Word Press. All entries will stay here for the time being. Hopefully I'll get it all worked out soon.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-05-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

More.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Florida Pie

2008-05-13T10:46:00.001-07:00

I start getting excited every Sunday night, not because the husband goes back to work the next day and I get the house ALL TO MYSELF, but because I know it's almost time for the Tuesdays with Dorie recipe to be posted. The week was extra exciting because the chosen recipe was Florida Pie!

I lived in Florida for quite a few years but I'd never heard of Florida Pie. Weird right? It turns out that it's basically a key lime pie with a layer of coconut cream and some more coconut folded into the meringue. And let me tell you, I love me some key lime pie.

The recipe was chosen by Dianne of Dianne's Dishes and I think this might be my favorite yet. Yeah, I know I've said that at least twice before but this one is seriously the best.

The only bad part about this recipe was all the limes I had to squeeze. I swear I went through 30 of them before I had enough juice. I even tried to recruit the husband but he managed to tune out all my yelling.

I had initially planned on doing whipped cream instead of a meringue because I'm still a little burnt out from the lemon meringue pie I made in January, but I gave the husband a choice between the two and he chose meringue.

The recipe was very simple although I had one screw up. Dorie calls for 1 1/2 cups of coconut DIVIDED and well, we know how this ends. I put all of it into the cream. It turned out fine though. I'm just lucky that my family loves coconut.

Dorie mentions in her recipe that she usually uses a store-bought graham cracker crust and since it's good enough for her, I decided it was good enough for me. I used the tiny ones and ended up with 11 little pies. Luckily my mom's birthday was this weekend so I passed some on to her and my dad.

Thank you to Dianne for choosing a great recipe!

Florida Pie
from: Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs, seperated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:

Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

Florentine Mac & Cheese with Turkey Sausage Meatballs

2008-05-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

This recipe seems to be going around the blogworld lately and everyone's been raving about it. But it's a Rachael recipe.

I decided to give it a chance anyway because it seemed pretty basic. Just macaroni and cheese made with parmesan and spinach, with some meatballs. (She used ground chicken, I went turkey.)

We LOVED it. Landon gobbled up an entire bowl which shocked me like you wouldn't believe. My kid ate spinach! woo. Even Spencer liked it although he did tell me to cut back on the spinach next time.

Just as a warning: it made a ton of food. I filled up two containers of leftover pasta and another container of meatballs. She had to have made her meatballs huge to get only 8 of them!

Florentine Mac and Cheese with Chicken Sausage Meatballs
from Food Network

Salt
1 pound cavatappi corkscrew shaped hallow pasta
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
Black pepper
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano, divided
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs, plus more, if needed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 boxes, 10 ounces, chopped frozen spinach
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place a large pot of water on to boil for pasta. When it comes to a boil, salt it and add the pasta to cook to al dente. Strain pasta reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

While the water is coming to a boil, in a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, salt and pepper, rosemary, fennel seeds, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano - a rounded handful, egg and bread crumbs. *If the mixture seems too wet, add a handful of bread crumbs and mix together.

Form 8 large round balls, about 3 to 4-inches. Coat balls in a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and lightly grease a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange balls on the baking sheet and roast 17 to 18 minutes until juices run clear.

Defrost spinach in microwave 8 to 10 minutes on "defrost" setting depending on the microwave. Place the boxes in a shallow dish to catch any run off.

While the meatballs roast, in a medium sauce pot over medium heat, melt butter, whisk in flour, cook 1 minute then whisk in stock and milk, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and thicken 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 cup grated Parmigiano and reduce heat on lowest setting.

Wring spinach completely dry in clean kitchen towel then separate as you add it to the sauce. Also add the reserved 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Toss pasta with the spinach-white sauce and adjust seasonings.

Polenta Sausage Mozzarella Casserole.

2008-05-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been kind of obsessed with polenta. I keep planning meals with polenta but then I get scared that Spencer will hate it so I forget that idea and order pizza. When I saw this recipe for polenta lasagna on Simply Recipes I promised myself that I'd actually make it. I mean, it has sausage and we love sausage.

This was my first time using my broiler. Scary scary. I had no idea how to even turn it on but I eventually figured it out and all was well. I've even used the broiler a couple times since then so I'd say I successfully conquered my fear.

Once Spencer got over the idea of eating "grits with spaghetti sauce" he liked it. Not enough to eat leftovers, but he didn't complain. Landon and I both enjoyed it and finished off the whole pan within a couple days.

I won't make it again since Spencer wasn't a huge fan but if I was going to, I'd cut back on the polenta. I made my own with 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal and about 6 cups of chicken broth and it was way too much. I think a cup of cornmeal would be a good amount.

Polenta Sausage Mozzarella Casserole

5 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 med yellow onion, halved lengthwise then cut into wedges
1 medium bell pepper (red, green, orange or yellow), cut lengthwise into thin slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 pound Italian sausage (removed from casings), sweet or spicy
2 pounds of prepared polenta, 1/2-inch slices if using prepared polenta in a tube
1/2 pound (8 ounces) fresh mozzarella, 1/4-inch slices

Preheat oven broiler on high. Heat 3 Tbsp of oil in a 2-3 qt saucepan on medium heat. Add tomatoes and oregano, simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.

While the tomatoes are cooking, in a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium, and cook until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, stirring and breaking it into small pieces as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Cover the pan and cook until vegetables are tender and the sausage is cooked through, about 5-8 more minutes. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, coat the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan with a 1 Tbsp oil. Add the cooked polenta (or slices) to the pan. Coat the top of the polenta with the remaining 1/2 Tbsp oil. Broil the polenta about 4 inches from the heating element until golden brown and crispy, about 10-15 minutes.

Pour sauce over broiled polenta, then arrange Mozzarella slices over the top and return the casserole to the broiler. Broil until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Man food.

2008-05-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

In my almost 2 years of marriage I've learned that sometimes I have to cook things that aren't pretty or that I don't think I'll like in order to keep the man happy.

The husband has a strange love of nachos. He gets nachos when we go to movies, he makes special trips to Applebees just for their big basket of nachos (and I sip my strawberry mojito while he eats all of them), and he'll even make his own rotel dip.

This past weekend we went to Chili's because I'm kind of in love with their honey-chipotle chicken crispers and he, of course, ordered their nacho appetizer. Well it came with 8 or 9 "nachos" and it was basically just tortilla chips with melted cheese on top. Needless to say, he was disappointed.

I went on a search for good nachos for him and found a recipe on Tammy's Recipes. It turned out great. I was shocked at how simple and good it was. I will say though that I had to add quite a bit more cumin and chili powder, along with some cayenne. But the end result was much better than I expected and the husband was very excited to come home to nachos.

(I apologize for the picture. Like I said, it's not a pretty dish.)

Morrocan-Style Chicken Phyllo Rolls with Spiced Tomato Sauce

2008-05-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe over on Love and Olive Oil a couple months ago, put it in my bookmarks, and then completely forgot about it. Then last week I was in a big funk and couldn't come up with anything to cook. I stared into my freezer for what seemed like hours and then spotted some phyllo. Ding ding ding! I had everything on hand for this recipe except turmeric (which ended up costing me almost $8! Ridiculous.) so onto the meal plan it went.

The recipe seemed pretty simple to me. I mean, it's just chicken with a bunch of spiced rolled in phyllo. Easy enough, right? Wrong. It took me HOURS. And then I made the mistake of tasting the chicken mixture before I rolled it up and almost cried. It was not good at all. I kept going with it though because I had to have something ready for the husband when he walked through the door.

So Spencer walked in and I immediately warned him that dinner was going to suck and he might as well turn around and hit McDonald's. But he tried a phyllo roll. And then another. And then 8 more. Let me tell you, these things are addictive. They were delicious! The two of us went through almost all of them over the course of the night. The spiced tomato sauce that was served with them was good too but I think the rolls are best alone.

Moroccan-Style Chicken Phyllo Rolls

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Scant teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/4 lb chicken thighs (with skin and bones)
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
8 (17- by 12-inch) phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds

Make filling:
Cook onion in oil along with salt, cumin, ginger, turmeric, pepper, and coriander in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, broth, water, and cinnamon stick and simmer, covered, turning chicken over once, until meat is very tender, about 45 minutes total. Transfer chicken with tongs to a bowl, reserving cooking liquid.

When cool enough to handle, shred chicken, discarding skin and bones, and transfer to a large bowl. Transfer cooking liquid to a 2-cup glass measure (do not clean saucepan) and let stand 1 minute, then skim off fat and discard cinnamon stick. Return liquid to saucepan and simmer over moderately high heat, uncovered, until reduced to about 1/4 cup (liquid will look like a glaze in bottom of pan), about 8 minutes, then stir into shredded chicken along with almonds.

Reserve 2 tablespoons beaten egg in a cup for egg wash. Lightly season remaining egg with salt and pepper, then cook in 1/2 tablespoon butter in an 8- to 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until just set but still slightly soft. Stir scrambled egg into filling.

Make rolls:
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Put 1 phyllo sheet on a work surface, keeping remaining phyllo covered with overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel, and brush generously with some melted butter. Evenly sift 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over buttered phyllo using a fine-mesh sieve, then top with another phyllo sheet and generously brush with butter.

Halve buttered phyllo stack crosswise, then arrange 1 half with a long side nearest you. Spread 1/4 cup chicken filling in a narrow strip along edge nearest you, then roll up filling tightly in phyllo, leaving ends open. Transfer roll, seam side down, to a cutting board set inside a baking pan (to help contain mustard seeds when sprinkling). Make another roll with remaining half stack. Make 6 more rolls in same manner, transferring to cutting board.

Lightly brush top of rolls with egg wash and immediately sprinkle with mustard seeds, pressing lightly on seeds to help adhere. Cut each roll crosswise into 4 pieces and arrange pieces 1 inch apart on 2 baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until phyllo is golden brown, about 12 minutes total.

Transfer rolls to a rack to cool slightly.

Cooks' notes:
• Rolls can be assembled (but not coated or cut) 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Rolls can be assembled and cut (but not coated or baked) 2 weeks ahead and frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap. Coat frozen rolls, then bake (do not thaw) in a preheated 350°F oven about 20 minutes.

Spiced Tomato Sauce

1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of ground cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 (14 1/2- to 15-oz) can whole tomatoes in juice, coarsely chopped (reserving juice)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Cook onion, garlic, ginger, and spices in oil in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in vinegar and simmer over moderately low heat 1 minute. Add tomatoes (with juice) and brown sugar, then increase heat to moderate and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Purée sauce in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Serve at room temperature.

Cooks' note:
Sauce can be made 3 days ahead and cooled completely, then chilled, covered.

Amano Chocolates!

2008-05-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

Look what the Fed Ex man brought me yesterday! Ahh! Now if only I could come up with something amazing to do with them.

Thank you Blake and Amano for being so generous!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Peanut Butter Torte

2008-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

This week Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food chose Peanut Butter Torte as our Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

Unfortunately it just wasn't my week. I was overwhelmed and the recipe just seemed like too much to add to my list. I really want to try this recipe eventually so you might see it on here one day.

In the meantime, head over to the blogroll and check out all the lovely tortes.

(PS. Is "tortes" the correct way to say that?)

Pineapple Coconut Mini Muffins

2008-04-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I was standing in Target trying to decide which kitchen gadget to buy next when I remembered that Joelen's Tasty Tools event this month is about scoops. I used that as an excuse to buy my very first shiny scoop.

Next step was finding a recipe. I initially wanted to do cookies, but couldn't find a recipe that didn't involve me running to the store. So muffins it was.

My baking cabinet is looking pretty thin these days. I had an assortment of dried fruit, a bag of m&ms, and some coconut. Dried pineapple and coconut sounded like a good match so I (gasp) decided to try to come up with my own recipe.

They turned out pretty good. Everytime I use dried pineapple I'm reminded that I really don't like it. But the kid does so he's been eating these for breakfast every morning.

Pineapple Coconut Muffins

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup dried pineapple, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Spray (and line if you'd like) a muffin pan.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add applesauce, egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until just blended. Stir in coconut and pineapple.

Use scoop to put equal amounts of batter into each cup. Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Make sure you check out the Tasty Tools event and get your entry in by May 2!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

2008-04-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have a confession. I was almost a bad baker this week.

Caitlin of Engineer Baker chose Dorie's Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake as this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. I was thisclose to sitting out because I can't even look at ricotta anymore. Eating lasagna twice a week throughout a pregnancy will do that to someone. But I love figs so I decided to go ahead with it.

Well guess what. No one in Mobile, Alabama has figs. No one. So I settled on dried apricots, came home, read the comments on the TWD blog, and decided dates would be better. (Now, what to do with a bag of apricots?!)

I halved the recipe and used three small tart pans. All three of them overflowed. I didn't expect them to puff up nearly as much as they did.

It turned out pretty good, but nothing like I expected. I thought it tasted like really, really, really sweet cornbread. The dates kind of melted into it and you could hardly tell they were there. It's not something I'll make again, but neither of my boys had any complaints about it.

Now go see all the other Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cakes at Tuesdays with Dorie and then visit Caitlin's blog for the recipe.

Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread.

2008-04-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

We love bananas in my house. I bought a big bunch of 8 or 9 yesterday and we're down to 1 already! When I saw that Not Quite Nigella was hosting a banana bread event I knew I had to join in the fun.

I had trouble choosing a recipe. It seems that everyone in the world has a banana bread recipe that they swear by and I think I looked at hundreds of them trying to decide. I finally settled on a bran version but when I went to the store to pick up wheat bran, I changed my mind and went with blueberries.

The original recipe comes from Cooking Light and includes a glaze made from cream cheese. I ended up leaving that off when part of my bread decided to stick to the bottom of my pan. Grr. That's also why I don't have a picture of the full loaf.

Besides the whole sticking-to-the-pan issue, the bread turned out really good. The lemon isn't really noticeable but I think that's because the blueberries are so strong. I have a feeling that once Spencer tries this he'll be asking me to make it again.

Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread
from: Cooking Light

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the banana bread, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until mixture is well blended (about 1 minute). Add mashed banana, egg substitute, sour cream, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Gently fold in blueberries and lemon rind. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the bread 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove the bread from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Honey Wheat Crescent Rolls

2008-04-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

I saw these crescent rolls over on Tracey's Culinary Adventures a few days ago and immediately bookmarked it. Spencer loves crescent rolls but I hate the idea of the canned rolls so I won't buy them for him. I wish I had known they were this simple to make!

The recipe says to use a food processor to bring the dough together but I used this as an opportunity to break in my BRAND NEW STAND MIXER! Woo! It came together within minutes and rose just as the recipe said it would. In my (very limited) bread making experience, this has been the simplest recipe I've used.

Now, my crescent rolls aren't pretty. Like I said I've never actually made any and actually had to be shown how to roll them by my mother-in-law at Christmas. But they were surprisingly delicious so I can overlook their ugliness.

Honey Wheat Crescent Rolls
from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

1 cup warm (105-115 F) water
2 tablespoons honey
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the water and honey; sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour and salt. With the machine running, pour the yeast mixture through the feed tube; pulse until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until smooth.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray and put the dough in the bowl. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in volume, about 35 minutes.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Punch down the dough. Sprinkle a work surface lightly with flour. Turn the dough onto the surface; cut in half. Roll each half into a 10-inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Roll each wedge, from the wide side, and form into a crescent. Place, pointed-end down, on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, arranging the rolls 1 inch apart. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until they double in size, about 35 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake the rolls until they are golden brown and sound hollow when lightly tapped, about 15 minutes. Remove the rolls from the baking sheet and cool on a rack.

Makes 12 rolls.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Bill's Big Carrot Cake

2008-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like since I joined Tuesdys with Dorie my luck hasn't been very good. My lemon cream tarts fell apart, the gooey chocolate cakes weren't gooey, and my marshmallows just weren't very pretty.

But if there's one thing I can do, it's cupcakes. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was when Amanda of Slow Like Honey chose Bill's Big Carrot Cake as our recipe for the week. As soon as it was announced, I ran out for carrots and cupcake liners and got to work.

The husband likes to frequently remind me that carrot cake is his favorite cake so I end up making it for him every couple of months. I try a different recipe each time but I think I'm going to make this my go-to carrot cake. The recipe called for coconut and dried cranberries which isn't something I'd normally add to a carrot cake, but both ingredients were perfect.

The lemon cream cheese frosting was delicious! I'm a fan of just plain ol' vanilla frosting for carrot cake but the lemon went really well. I topped the cupcakes with toasted coconut and walnuts.

Bill's Big Carrot Cake
from: Baking: From My Home to Yours

For the cake:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:

Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:

This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing:

The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Yup.

2008-04-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm playing around with my blog right now. I can't seem to come up with a good name so it's been changing every few hours. I'm kind of attached to my web address so I'm going to keep it but I want a new title.

I also started a new blog over here to separate the food from the little boy.

I hope to have a good name for this blog within the next... umm, year.

Fish Tacos.

2008-04-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

I love TGIFridays fish tacos. Love them. But, you know, they don't really fit into my new healthy lifestye since they're covered in an amazing nacho crust and fried.

And well, I'll admit to another reason I won't be having their fish tacos anytime soon. My friend Johanna and I were (not so) politely asked not to return to TGIFridays. Sigh. To make a long story short, a hostess there dated my husband and Johanna's fiance forever ago and she refused to give us a high chair last time all of us went together. I should've let it go, been the bigger person. But I couldn't. So yeah...

Okay, last night I wanted fish tacos. Healthy fish tacos. And where did I turn? Everybody say it together. COOKING LIGHT!

It's basically just fish (they called for red snapper, but I used grouper) covered in spices, baked, and thrown into a tortilla with cabbage (err... lettuce in my case) and a cilantro-lime crema. But it was so good! My only complaint is that the lime in the crema was a little too strong for me. Other than that, perfection.

Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema
from Cooking Light

Crema:
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Tacos:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 pounds red snapper fillets
Cooking spray
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cabbage

Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare crema, combine the first 8 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

To prepare tacos, combine cumin and next 5 ingredients (through garlic powder) in a small bowl; sprinkle spice mixture evenly over both sides of fish. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 9 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place fish in a bowl; break into pieces with a fork. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each with 1/4 cup cabbage and 1 tablespoon crema.

Apple-Cranberry Turnovers

2008-04-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Since I'm working through all my food issues right now I decided to treat myself to Ellie Krieger's book. I'm actually not a fan of Ellie's show on Food Network and I can't think about her without feeling a little ill about the time she made a chocolate sauce for her beef tenderloin, but the book was recommended to me by more than one person.

I figured the best thing to do was start off with something sweet. I mean, that's hard to screw up. I settled on her apple-cranberry turnovers. Not too long ago I fell in love with Dorie Greenspan's apple turnovers so a lower calorie substitution would be nice for me to have.

These turnovers aren't too different from Dorie's except that they are made with phyllo instead of a yummy, buttery pastry crust. I like phyllo, but not for turnovers. Luckily I was smart and halved the recipe. Even with halving it, though, I ended up with way too much filling. Landon's been slowly getting rid of it for me.

My other issue is that the recipe calls for crushed ladyfingers. In my mind ladyfingers are soft cookies, but since it specifies crushed I assume she means a crunchy cookie. I couldn't locate crunchy ladyfingers and even thought about maybe using shortbread but ended up going with the soft ones. I couldn't really taste them but it was kind of strange looking if you cut into them.

I think if you're one of those people who eat fruit turnovers for the filling, you'd enjoy these. But if you're like me and only eat them for the crust, stay far away from this recipe.

Apple-Cranberry Turnovers
from The Food You Crave

4 Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
3 tablespoons canola oil
4 ladyfinger cookies, crushed
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large nonstick skillet, combine the apples, cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook until the juices in the skillet thicken, another 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Lay a sheet of phyllo on a large cutting board and brush with the oil. Top with a second sheet and brush with the oil. Sprinkle half of the crushed cookies on top. Add another sheet of phyllo and brush with the oil. Cut the layered phyllo into 4 long strips. Put a small mound of the apple mixture about an inch from the bottom of one strip and fold the phyllo over the mixture into a triangle-shaped pocket. Continue to fold the strip up in the way to maintain the triangle shape so a turnover is formed. Repeat with the other three strips. Repeat the whole process again with the remaining three sheets of phyllo so that you wind up with 8 turnovers. Be sure to reserve a little oil to brush the top of each turnover.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, place the turnovers on the sheet, brush the tops with the remaining oil, and bake until nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Serving Size: 1 Turnover
Calories: 200
Total Fat: 6.5 G
Protein: 2 G
Carb: 35 G
Fiber: 2 G
Chol.: 20 MG
Sodium: 82 MG

Tuesdays with Dorie - Marshmallows

2008-04-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that I was a little terrified when Judy of Judy's Gross Eats chose marshmallows as this weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe. I've always read that you absolutely must have a stand mixer in order to make them and I just don't. (I've been promised one for Mother's Day though! woo!) But I decided to give them a try anyway.

Yeah, they aren't pretty. The whole hand mixer thing didn't work out for me. I'm not coordinated enough to pour hot liquid and run the mixer at the same time. So my meringue mixture deflated completely. I also wasn't very happy with how thin they were. In Dorie's book they were big and fluffy and amazing! Ehh. I guess if I had used a smaller pan it would've worked out better for me.

Part of the fun of making these marshmallows was that we could use Dorie's "Playing Around" section and make raspberry, cappuccino, or even pumpkin spice marshmallows. I wanted pumpkin spice but as I was standing in the grocery store looking at canned pumpkin I remembered a jar of chocolate maple peanut butter that my grandmother had brought back from Vermont. I've had it sitting in my fridge for months now not knowing what to do with it (besides eat it with a spoon of course) so I decided to try it out. It's not nearly as thick as regular peanut butter so I wasn't too worried about it weighing the marshmallows down.

Everything turned out okay. Unfortunately we aren't marshmallow people so Spencer and I each had two and they've been sitting on the counter ever since. But I'm glad to have learned something new and I plan on making marshmallows again when Christmas rolls around.

Marshmallows

Makes about 1 pound marshmallows

About 1 cup potato starch (found in the kosher foods section of supermarkets) or cornstarch
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

GETTING READY: Line a rimmed baking sheet -- choose one with a rim that is 1 inch high -- with parchment paper and dust the paper generously with potato starch or cornstarch. Have a candy thermometer at hand.

Put 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup -- without stirring -- until it reaches 265 degrees F on the candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

While the syrup is cooking, work on the gelatin and egg whites. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining cold water (a scant 7 tablespoons) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it is spongy, then heat the gelatin in a microwave oven for 20 to 30 seconds to liquefy it. (Alternatively, you can dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan over low heat.)

Working in the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until firm but still glossy -- don't overbeat them and have them go dull.

As soon as the syrup reaches 265 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and, with the mixer on medium speed, add the syrup, pouring it between the spinning beater(s) and the sides of the bowl. Add the gelatin and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, so that the syrup and the gelatin are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.

Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, laying it down close to a short end of the sheet. Then spread it into the corners and continue to spread it out, taking care to keep the height of the batter at 1 inch; you won't fill the pan. Lift the excess parchment paper up to meet the edge of the batter, then rest something against the paper so that it stays in place (I use custard cups).

Dust the top of the marshmallows with potato starch or cornstarch and let the marshmallows set in a cool, dry place. They'll need about 3 hours, but they can rest for 12 hours or more.

Once they are cool and set, cut the marshmallows with a pair of scissors or a long thin knife. Whatever you use, you'll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining potato starch or cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you'd like -- into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they're cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you've got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.

SERVING: Put the marshmallows out and let everyone nibble as they wish. Sometimes I fill a tall glass vase with the marshmallows and put it in the center of the table -- it never fails to make friends smile. You can also top hot chocolate or cold sundaes with the marshmallows.

STORING: Keep the marshmallows in a cool, dry place; don't cover them closely. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 week -- they might develop a little crust on the outside or they might get a little firmer on the inside, but they'll still be very good.

Playing Around

RASPBERRY MARSHMALLOWS: Fruit purees are excellent for flavoring these candies.

For raspberry marshmallows, you'll need a generous 1/3 cup of puree; reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon. After the batter is mixed, gently fold in the puree with a rubber spatula. You can use the same measurements and technique for other purees, such as strawberry, mango and passion fruit.

CAPPUCCINO MARSHMALLOWS: Sift 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon together into a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water and mix until smooth. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon, and add it to the espresso mix. After you add the sugar syrup and gelatin to the meringue, beat in the espresso mixture and continue.

LIGHT CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS: Melt 3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon, and after the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the chocolate mixture with a large rubber spatula.

PUMPKIN SPICE MARSHMALLOWS: Whisk together 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground allspice. After the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the spiced pumpkin with a large rubber spatula.

MIA.

2008-04-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

I'm still around. I promise. Just got a lot going on around here.

I haven't been cooking many new things lately, mainly Spencer's favorites. I'm currently attempting to beat a really nasty eating disorder that I've had for the past 10 years so I've been subsisting on veggie burgers and apples. Hopefully soon I'll figure out the whole eating thing and get back into a cooking routine.

My face also had a run-in with the floor today:

Thanks to the aforementioned eating disorder I have crazy low blood pressure and even the tiniest adrenaline rush makes me pass out. I now have a black eye and the whole right side of my face is in pain.

I did put my waffle maker to use this past week. I made Banana-Cinnamon Waffles for me and Landon to snack on. They were really good and I love that they included whole wheat flour, buckwheat flour, and ground flaxseeds.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll definitely be back on Tuesday for TWD. Marshmallows this week!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Lemon Cream Tart

2008-04-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Mary of Starting from Scratch. Mary chose The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart.

We were given the option of either doing this tart or Dorie's Fresh Orange Cream Tart. I had originally planned on doing the orange tart since I just made a lemon meringue pie for the Daring Bakers a few months ago, but after looking over the ingredients I decided I'd prefer the lemon.

It really wasn't a difficult recipe, but two of my tart shells fell apart anyway. As I was making the crust I knew it needed some moisture but I was too scared of screwing it up so I ignored my gut.

My lemon cream came together perfectly. It never got to Dorie's suggested temperature of 180 but it still thickened up beautifully and tasted great. And since two of my tart shells were ruined, I was able to make some strawberry cupcakes for the husband and use the lemon cream as a frosting. He seemed to enjoy that as much as the tarts themselves.

The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

For the crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick + 1 tbsp unsalted butter, very cold, cut into pieces
1 egg yolk, lightly whisked

For the lemon cream
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 lemons
4 eggs
3/4 cup lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
2 sticks + 5 tbsp (10.5 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

For the crust:

To make the crust, put the flour, icing sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is coarse, around the size of oatmeal and/or peas. Add the egg yolk a little at a time, pulsing after each addition and then processing in 10-second pulses once the whole egg has been added until the dough forms clumps. Turn the dough onto a flat work surface and lightly knead the dough until all dry ingredients are just incorporated. Butter a 9 inch fluted removable-bottom tart pan. Press the dough into the pan evenly. Freeze for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit it tightly against the crust. Bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil, and press the dough down gently if it has puffed using the back of a spoon. Return it to the oven for another 8 minutes, or until it is beautifully golden brown.

For the cream:

Before you start the lemon cream, have a candy thermometer, a strainer and a blender at hand.

Simmer a little water in a saucepan. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a large heatproof bowl. Off the heat, rub the mixture together with your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and aromatic. Whisk in the eggs and then the lemon juice. Set the bowl over the pan of water and whisk continuously until it reaches 180°F. As it gets close to temperature it will start to thicken. This can take up to 10 minutes, so be patient!

Remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the blender. Discard any solids. Let the cream stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes, or until it cools to 140°F. Turn the blender on high, and add the butter a few pieces at a time.
Scrape down the sides to incorporate the butter. Keep the machine on for 3-5 minutes once the butter is in to ensure a perfect lemon cream. Pour into an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (it will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days).

Assembly:

When you are ready to assemble the tart, whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell.

Serve the tart or refrigerate as needed.

Wordless Wednesday - Angry Face

2008-04-01T22:04:00.001-07:00

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tuesdays with Dorie.

2008-03-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

Look at that! Tuesdays with Dorie has a brand new avatar! And it's beautiful! I also want to take a quick second to thank
Laurie for all the hard work she puts into the group. You're amazing Laurie!

Okay, so on to this week's recipe...

Leigh of Lemon Tartlet had the tough task of choosing the recipe this time around.

Gooey Chocolate Cakes

Yum. This recipe sounded delicious. I was hoping for a gooey, almost-molten, center that would just ooze out when I cut into it. But no luck. In the recipe Dorie instructs us to bake it for exactly 13 minutes and I did but my cakes had no goo. I'm blaming my oven, but I know a lot of the other TWDer's had the same problem.

Mine also looked exactly like muffins when they came out of the oven. I didn't like that. So I took a small biscuit cutter to them and then sliced off the muffin tops. If I try this recipe again I'll make them in ramekins in order to avoid the muffin look.

I'm not a chocolate fan so I'm probably not the best judge of these cakes, but I will tell you that the husband loved them. We had planned on sharing them with some friends that were coming over but by the time they got here the cakes were gone!

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours pp. 261-262

Ingredients:

1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 t salt
5 oz bittersweet chocolate (4 oz coarsely chopped, 1 oz finely chopped)
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 large egg yolk, at room temp
6 T sugar

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter (or spray) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water (we used a double boiler), put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted–you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on teh baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3 minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to life the cakes onto dessert plates.

Spicy Hash Browns.

2008-03-31T19:07:00.000-07:00

I was pretty much stumped when it came to finding a side to go with our waffle sandwiches. I guess it really didn't need a side since it had the eggs and bacon already on it but I don't like serving just one thing. Eventually I thought about hash browns. Duh Amanda. Isn't that the standard breakfast side dish?! Geez.

These were super simple since all I had to do was dice the potatoes, season them, and throw them in the oven. By the time I was done making all the waffles they were coming out of the oven. I also halved the recipe and it was the perfect amount for me and the hungry husband.

I'll definitely be making these again but next time I'm making them much spicier. You really couldn't taste the spice at first but after 3 or 4 pieces a little hint of spiciness came through.

Spicy Hash Browns
from Cooking Light

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 1/2 cups diced baking potato (about 2 1/2 pounds)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Add potatoes; stir well to coat. Place potatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until browned.

Cheddar Waffle Sandwich.

2008-03-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

I got a waffle maker! Finally! I've wanted one for awhile but couldn't justify buying one since I wasn't sure how often I'd use it. But then Coke added it to their list of Coke Point rewards and I jumped on it. So yay! A waffle maker!

I've had this recipe in my favorites for quite some time now. It's by the lovely Andrea back when she'd post over at Breakfast Blogger. I finally got a chance to try them out.

The waffles were delicious! I've only had sweet waffles before this so I was shocked at how much I liked these. Spencer gobbled two down as soon as he walked through the door and then told me he wanted me to use the leftover waffles for breakfast tomorrow. For his sandwich I did bacon, scrambled eggs, and a slice of cheese. I tried to make the egg in the waffle iron like Andrea did but it just didn't work out for me.

My sandwich wasn't quite as exciting.

Open-faced with Morningstar "bacon" and a scrambled egg white. Still delicious though!

I look forward to making these again very soon (...tomorrow morning apparently) and I see this becoming one of those meals that Spencer requests a lot.

Cheddar Waffles
from Never Bashful with Butter and Breakfast Blogger

1 cup milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter (I used margarine.)
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheddar (any cheese will work, depending on your taste)

Whisk together the liquid ingredients. Add the salt and baking powder to the flour, and then stir the flour mixture into the liquid mixture. Lastly, add the cheese a quarter cup at a time, stirring lightly between each addition. Cook according to your waffle iron's directions.

Morning Glory Muffins.

2008-03-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Mommy size and Landon size muffins.

I've been making a real effort to eat breakfast lately. It's really hard for me because I'm used to drinking 3 or 4 cups of coffee in the morning and then not eating until late afternoon. But I'm trying.

I tried oatmeal for a few days but the Kashi vanilla oatmeal that I loved during college just doesn't do it for me anymore. I don't like milk so cold cereal is out. Pop-Tarts, granola bars, anything like that is just too sugary first thing in the morning. So I went on a search for a muffin.

I wanted something with dried fruit, whole wheat flour, and flax seeds. And you know what? Cooking Light once again came to my rescue.

These muffins are pretty amazing. I'd never had a date before these and I think I actually like them! Weird. The original recipe calls for walnuts but I didn't want the extra fat so I left them out. I must warn you though: They're addictive. I've been eating them for lunch and my night time snack lately.

The recipe made a ton so I stuck some in the freezer. The recipe says it makes 18 but I ended up with 12 normal size muffins and 18 mini muffins. I guarantee they'll get eaten eventually though.

Morning Glory Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light

Cooking spray
1 cup whole wheat flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
1 cup regular oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon wheat bran
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2)
1 large egg
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed (about 2 tablespoons whole)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 18 muffin cups liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, banana, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in dates, walnuts, and pineapple. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with flaxseed. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.

Daring Bakers.

2008-03-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

When it was first announced that Morven had chosen Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake as the March Daring Bakers challenge I thought "Eeeeeeasy!"

I'm sure it was easy, and probably enjoyable for most of the DBs, but me... yeah, not me. I just suck at following directions. So when Dorie told me to layer raspberry jam and buttercream in between the cake layers, I listened. But then I couldn't stop. I was on a roll and put raspberry jam ON TOP of my cake. I did. Sigh.

Oh, and besides that, my buttercream wouldn't spread. Well it would spread but it took the jam with it which just turned the buttercream pink and made me cry a little. So I called in the husband because he puts floors in for a living so surely he could level out my pink buttercream.

At this point I has given up all hope. I was ready to start another cake but Spencer kept at it and eventually got it looking semi-normal. Even if it was pink.

(Shortly after he had fixed my screw ups Spencer said to me "Why didn't you just put the jam on one layer and the buttercream on another and smush them together?" Where was he with that advice when I really needed it?!)

We ended up taking the cake to Spencer's mom's for Easter and pretended it was supposed to be pink in honor of the holiday. Unfortunately, I married into a family of buttercream haters so this cake was not their favorite. And I understand, because I won't eat buttercream either. The cake part was really tasty though so I may try the recipe with a cream cheese frosting or something.

So thank you Morven for choosing this recipe and for indirectly teaching me that I need to follow instructions better from now on.

Go check out the Daring Bakers blogroll to see what the cake is really supposed to look like. There are some gorgeous ones out there that made me want to try this cake one more time.

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream

1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Chicken, mushroom, and goat cheese burrito.

2008-03-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

I bought a jar of green salsa a week or so ago just because it was there. See, down here in southern Alabama we don't get "weird" food items very often so I take them whenever I can get them. I was dying to use the green salsa since I'd never had it before but I didn't want to just do boring tacos or anything like that.

Yesterday as I was going through my blog reader I found the perfect recipe over on Other People's Food. It was for a chicken, mushroom, and goat cheese burrito. Mmm. It's originally a Martha recipe which, of course, means it's amazing.

They were really good. And so filling! After half of one I was done. Spencer managed to eat four though.

Chicken, mushroom, and goat cheese burrito
from: Everyday Food

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed for less heat), minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
10 ounces white button mushrooms, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), skin removed and meat shredded (about 4 cups)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
1 cup prepared green salsa, plus more for serving
6 burrito-size (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach, thick stems removed (3 cups)
1 log (5 ounces) soft goat cheese, crumbled

In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil over medium. Add onion and jalapeno; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms; cover, and cook until they begin to release their liquid, 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to brown and skillet is dry, about 5 minutes more.

Add chicken, corn, and salsa. Cook, stirring, until heated through and mixture is saucy, 4 to 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat tortillas according to package instructions. In center of each tortilla, layer spinach, chicken mixture, and goat cheese.

Wrap burritos one at a time: Fold side of tortilla closest to you over filling. Fold right and left sides toward center, and roll up. Halve if desired; serve with additional salsa.

Wordless Wednesday - Asleep.

2008-03-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, we were parked.

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Cowboy Spaghetti.

2008-03-25T19:36:00.001-07:00

I've been searching for canned fire-roasted tomatoes for a couple months now but, as with everything else, Alabama was slow to get them. I finally found some last week, bought a couple cans, and realized I had no idea what to do with them. I searched AllRecipes, Epicurious, Cooking Light and then I finally turned to Food Network because I knew Rachael Ray has about 476 recipes that call for fire-roasted tomatoes.

It's no secret that I'm not Rachael's biggest fan but this one had good reviews. It has bacon and cheese on top so I knew Spencer would like it. And I even had all the ingredients on hand.

We really enjoyed this one. . Spencer ate two huge bowls of it even after turning his nose up at the mention of Rachael's name. It made a ton of spaghetti so Spencer will be eating it tomorrow night and he's just fine with that.

Cowboy Spaghetti
adapted from Food Network

1 pound spaghetti, cooked to al dente
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup beer
1 (14-ounce) can, chopped or crushed fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce

Optional toppings: cooked crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, green onions

Cook turkey and onion in olive oil until turkey is no longer pink and onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute. Season mixture with salt, pepper, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Add 1/2 cup beer and deglaze pan. Cook 5 minutes before adding tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Add cooked spaghetti to sauce and toss together. Garnish with optional toppings.

Tuesdays with Dorie.

2008-03-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

It's Dorie time again!

This week Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon was up to bat. She chose Caramel-Topped Flan which is listed as a spoon desert in Dorie's book.

I've had very limited experiences with flan. By that I mean I saw a flan once. I took Spanish 2 in my freshman year of high school and we'd have "parties" every Friday where we were all supposed to bring in food and our teacher was free to roam around the hallways flirting with anyone who would flirt back. We had one kid from Puerto Rico in our class and he was always bringing in a traditional food, flan being one of them. Well after watching my classmates faces after they tried the flan I decided then and there that I would never in my life put flan in my mouth.

But Dorie's picture of the flan is just so gorgeous. I couldn't not make this. So I devised a plan to have people over the day I made it in order to push it off on them. They canceled. So I was left with all the flan. That night I flipped a flan out onto a plate and sat it down between Spencer and I. We stared at it for awhile but finally gave it a try.

It was quite possibly the best dessert either of us have ever had. I had no clue it was going to basically be a custard pie without the crust. And I love me some custard pie. Spencer even told me that he wants me to make it atleast a couple times a month, maybe once a week!

The recipe was really simple and it seems to be pretty much foolproof. I suck at reading directions so I, of course, screwed up. I ended up adding the heavy cream into the egg yolks before I realized it was supposed to boil with the milk. So the milk boiled on it's own. Everything seems to be fine though. Then again, I've never tried a flan so I wouldn't know the difference.

I suggest doubling the caramel sauce, especially if you're doing individual ones. I doubled it after reading the reviews on the TWD blog and it was the perfect amount.

I did have trouble actually making the caramel. I get scared so as soon as the caramel started changing colors I took it off the heat. So it just looks like yellow goo but it was still tasty. Next time I'll face my fear.

Now you must go check out all the other yumminess. I looked at a few first thing this morning and let me tell you... it made me wish I still had some flan sitting in the fridge. But sadly, we ate it all.

Caramel-Topped Flan
from Baking : From My Home To Yours

For the Caramel
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the Flan
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1-1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.

To Make the Caramel: Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.

Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.

To Make the Flan: Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.

Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don't worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

Chicken Enchiladas.

2008-03-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

These are one of Spencer's favorites and it just occurred to me that I haven't posted about them.

We love Mexican food but it seems that we're always disappointed when we go out to a Mexican restaurant. Once I got my rice recipe perfected I started a search for the perfect enchilada recipe. This one is so good. It's not like the ones I normally find in Mexican restaurants but I prefer it. It's saucy and cheesy and you can add jalapenos or other peppers to bump up the spice.

Chicken Enchilads
adapted from All Recipes

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 pint sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
8 (10 inch) whole wheat tortillas
1 (12 ounce) jar taco or enchilada sauce
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Over medium heat saute the onion. Add sour cream, cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in chicken, salt, tomato sauce, chili powder, and garlic.

Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Cheddar Dill Scones.

2008-03-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

I have a horrible, horrible fear of fresh produce. I'm fine on the day I bring it home and even the next day, but after that I won't even touch it to put it in the garbage. But after my Greek-inspired meal the other night I had a mountain of dill that I didn't want to waste.

I remembered that episode of Barefoot Contessa where Ina admits to being a liar. According to her she only had one type of scone in her bakery (a fruity one, I believe) but when I potential buyer inquired about other types of scones she lied to the poor man (err.. woman?) and told him/her about her cheddar dill scones. Luckily Ina's amazing and came up with a cheddar dill scone for this person.

So off I went. With my Target after Valentine's Day clearance cookie cutters. They're cute though, right?

They were everything I hoped for and more. The buttery taste was a bit overwhelming to me at first but after a couple (or ten) scones I got used to it and kind of love it now. These would be a great addition to any brunch and I'm really looking forward to making them again soon.

Cheddar Dill Scones
source: Food Network

4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, beaten lightly
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 pound extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, small-diced
1 cup minced fresh dill
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Mix the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss together the Cheddar, dill, and 1 tablespoon of flour and add them to the dough. Mix until they are almost incorporated.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it for 1 minute, until the Cheddar and dill are well distributed. Roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 4-inch squares and then in half diagonally to make triangles. Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.

Wordless Wednesday - Playing With the Big Boys.

2008-03-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes For Mom.

Tuesdays with Dorie.

2008-03-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie challenge was Brioche Raisin Snails chosen by the amazing Peabody. I, unfortunately, had to sit out.

I could list all my excuses. I could go into detail about Landon's pinkeye and the wonderful mood he's been in the past few days. Or I could tell you how Spencer took most of last week off and we spent that time doing family things. Or I could just tell you that I've been super bored with kitchen related projects lately.

But I'd just be making excuses.

My real reason is that I hate raisins. And last week's challenge had already pushed my limits when it comes to the little feet-smelling things. Sure I could've used one of the 5 bags of dried cranberries I have sitting in my pantry but even those are a little too raisin-like for me.

I'll be back next week though. I promise.

Greek Burgers and Pasta Salad.

2008-03-17T20:08:00.001-07:00

I've been so uninspired lately. I've just been in a rut. A big, nasty, can't-come-up-with-anything-to-cook rut. I can't even tell you the last time I cooked anything new.

But last night, long after I had decided to just stick with Spencer's favorites this week, I was checking my blog reader and saw this post over at Culinary Infatuation. I wanted to make them immediately.

They were so good. Spencer bumped something off his "Top 10 Meals" list in order to make room for these. Yes, he keeps a running list of his favorite meals. I can't keep track of them but at any given moment he can name each one.

I didn't do the ground up pita shells though because my main man has pinkeye at the moment and spent most of the day in my arms. I'm sure it would make these burgers even better. I did stuff them with blue cheese though. I would've preferred feta but I ended up using all my feta for the side dish and I always have a ton of blue cheese in the fridge. Yum. And the tzatziki... amazing. And this is coming from someone who hates cucumbers.

I wanted a simple side to go along with the burgers and somehow decided that pasta salad would be perfect. I browsed a few recipes and finally came up with this. It turned out really good. Spencer didn't even put up a fight about the artichokes.

"Greek" Pasta Salad

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon sugar

3 cups cooked pasta
1 jar drained artichoke hearts, quartered
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup crumbled feta
3/4 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup sliced green onions

Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, dried oregano, pepper, and sugar. Add pasta, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, feta, black olives, and green onions. Gently toss to combine. Refrigerate for atleast an hour before servings.

Pot Roast.

2008-03-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Since I'm not a fan of huge pieces of beef, I normally make my roasts in the crockpot. That way I don't feel like I wasted any time on a meal that isn't any good anyway. But last week I it occurred to me that maybe if I spent a little time working on a good roast recipe, I'd actually like it. Hmm.. brilliant or what?

So today we tried The Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast. Her recipes are just so fun. I think it's because I take my computer into the kitchen and try to make every step I do look exactly like Ree's pictures. And this time I even got to put a pot in the oven for for the first time ever.

It was exciting ya'll.

I'm sad to say that I still do not like huge pieces of beef. But I will say that this was the best pot roast I've tried. I think it was the rosemary. It made the apartment smell amazing and even though I couldn't taste it, I knew it was there.

Spencer loved it, of course. And shortly after cleaning his plate he started talking about the sandwiches he's going to have for dinner tomorrow. Bread, pot roast, and ketchup. Makes me a little sick just thinking about it but he loves them.

Thank you!

2008-03-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

I want to thank Brooke of ...and a cookie for dessert for giving me the E for Excellent award. It's hard for me to believe that someone out there not only reads me blog, but enjoys it too. So thank you Brooke!

Now I shall search for other blogs to pass the award on to.

Tuesdays with Dorie.

2008-03-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesdays with Dorie time again!

This week Natalie of Burned Bits chose Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie-Cake and for some reason I was dreading it. I don't like a lot of fruit and the only time I've ever liked apple pie was during my pregnancy. Luckily, we were allowed to use Dorie's "Playing Around" options which included turnovers.

I put off making my turnovers until yesterday because I assumed, without reading the recipe, that these turnovers were going to take all day and be really tough. They were so easy. The hardest and most time consuming part was waiting for my dough to come to room temperature since I let it sit in the fridge overnight.

For some reason I couldn't use all my apples. I peeled and chopped 10 apples like Dorie said and ended up throwing over half of them away. I used all of my dough and stuffed as much apple mixture as I could in them without tearing the dough so I'm not really sure what I did wrong. Maybe I should've chopped the apples smaller.

I think these are pretty amazing. Spencer thinks they don't have enough apple in them but I blame myself for that. Landon, however, gives them two thumbs up:

Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie-Cake

For The Dough

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice of 1 lemon

3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For The Apples

10 medium apples, all one kind or a mix (I like to use Fuji, Golden Delicious and Ida Reds; my grandmother probably used dry baking apples like Cordland and Rome)

Squirt of fresh lemon juice

1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting

To Make The Dough: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine. Add the lemon juice - the dough will probably curdle, but don't worry about it. Still working on low speed, slowly but steadily add 3 1/4 cups of the flour, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough is meant to be soft, but if you think it looks more like a batter than a dough at this point, add the extra 1/4 cup flour. (The dough usually needs the extra flour.) When properly combined, the dough should almost clean the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)

To Make The Apples: Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cut the slices in half crosswise if you want. Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lemon juice - even with the juice, the apples may turn brown, but that's fine - and add the raisins. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly. Taste an apple and add more sugar, cinnamon, and/or lemon juice if you like.

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter a 9x12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Remove the dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll and it cracks, either let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin to get it moving. Once it's a little more malleable, you've got a few choices. You can roll it on a well-floured work surface or roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. You can even press or roll out pieces of the dough and patch them together in the pan - because of the baking powder in the dough, it will puff and self-heal under the oven's heat. Roll the dough out until it is just a little larger all around than your pan and about 1/4 inch thick - you don't want the dough to be too thin, because you really want to taste it. Transfer the dough to the pan. If the dough comes up the sides of the pan, that's fine; if it doesn't that's fine too.

Give the apples another toss in the bowl, then turn them into the pan and, using your hands, spread them evenely across the bottom.

Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples. Cut the dough so you've got a 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang and tuck the excess into the sides of the pan, as though you were making a bed. (If you don't have that much overhang, just press what you've got against the sides of the pan.)

Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle sugar over the dough. Using a small sharp knife, cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced slits in the dough.

Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the juices from the apples are bubbling up through the slits. Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cool to just warm or to room temperature. You'll be tempted to taste it sooner, but I think the dough needs a little time to rest.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-03-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

More!

Landon's Birthday Party.

2008-03-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Whew... the party is finally over and now, two days later, the house is finally clean. I, of course, put everything off until the last minute. I seem to think I work better under pressure but I've proven (once again...) that I'm wrong.

My first disaster of the day was The Case of the Missing Tomatoes. Landon and I got up early on Sunday and went to Winn Dixie for last minute shopping. I know I bought 4 tomatoes. I know this because it says so on my receipt. But I didn't come home with any tomatoes. So in the middle of prepping my avocado feta salsa I had to run to Bruno's.

I came back home, diced the tomatoes and then went to chop the avocados. I couldn't even get my knife to go through them. I knew they weren't super ripe when I bought them but I had no idea this was going to happen. I enlisted Spencer to help and his first cut went all the way through the avocado, cutting even the pit in half. Yeah, thanks for that. I tried to dig the pit out but just couldn't do it. Off to the store I went. Again.

The Fresh Market is our closest store. I spent $10 on three avocados! And I practically destroyed their bins trying to find the ripest ones. Thankfully those worked out for me.

On to the cakes... I got one cake done with no problems. I was all gung-ho about the second one. I figured that since I was using the exact same cake pan, nothing could go wrong. But as I went to flip it out, it completely tore in half. I cried. A lot. After that I gave up on my cute cake pan and threw together the french chocolate cake that I made not too long ago.

When our first guests arrived Landon was in the bathtub, I was sitting next to him straightening my hair, and Spencer was icing the impromptu cake.

And to top everything off, our air conditioner chose that very moment to stop working. Ya'll, March is practically summer in Alabama. And with the oven going. It was HOT.

Oh, and Landon didn't nap at all that day.

That's the cake that actually turned out. The party was football themed so I was super excited when I found out that Wilton makes a football cake pan. Spencer did the decorating of the cake and he was very proud of himself.

I did a plain yellow cake that I found over at Blonde Ambition and cut the football in half to make it layered.

Chocolate Buttercream

1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir together butter and cocoa powder. Beat in powdered sugar and milk alternately until you reach desired consistency. Stir in vanilla.

This is the only food picture I managed to take. We had a ton more. The big hit of the day was the sweet lil' smokies from Amber's Delectable Delights. I think I made close to 50 of them and we had 4 left in the end, all of which got shoved in my mouth as soon as everyone was gone.

I also made spicy roasted chicken legs from The Pioneer Woman. They didn't make it into the picture because I believe my grandfather was hoarding them. He loved them. And he's a picky man.

My favorite buffalo chicken dip also made an appearance but for some reason it didn't go over well. It's okay though. I've got it in the fridge waiting for me.

The flat red thing is a "cheeseball" that my mom made. My dad told her it looked like a meatloaf when they were driving over and she wasn't happy with him.

This cheeseball was always my favorite growing up and after my dad dropped it at one of my birthday parties it became known as "Cheese-on-the-Floor" among my family. A few years later my college roommate and I started referring to it as "that thing we lived on during a week long drunkfest".

Cheese-on-the-Floor

8 ounces shredded cheddar
8 ounces shredded monterey jack
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch green onions, chopped
pecans (a cup or so, finally diced)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
strawberry jam

Mix all ingredients except strawberry jam. Form into ball (or whatever shape you like). Spread strawberry jam over top.

Avocado Feta Salsa

1 avocado, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces feta

Toss together avocado, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and parsley. Gently stir in red wine vinegar and olive oil. Stir in feta. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Once everything was finally done the party ended up being a lot of fun. Landon walked from person to person the whole time and I think he enjoyed himself even though he was obviously exhausted by the end of it. He got way too many toys and a lot of practical things that I was more excited about. I still can't believe my baby is one though.

Tuesdays with Dorie.

2008-03-04T09:13:00.000-08:00

Amidst all the craziness that was last week I managed to take some time out to do my Tuesdays with Dorie baking. Lucky for me it was a quick and easy one.

Erin of Dinner & Dessert was given the opportunity to choose this week's recipe and she chose Snickery Squares.

I'm not a big candy bar fan, or really chocolate in general, but I figured I could manage a little chocolate if it included dulce de leche and caramelized peanuts. The recipe also called for a shortbread crust and anyone who knows me know that I love some shortbread. A few months ago I think I was making a batch of shortbread cookies every other day!

Jarred dulce de leche is nowhere to be found in good ol' Mobile, so I used this recipe. I don't know if it's just my oven or what but I had to leave it in for almost 3 hours to get it to a good color. It was quite tasty though and well worth the wait.

Overall the squares were okay. I think there was too much chocolate. I mean, 7 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in an 8 x 8 pan in a lot! Especially for someone who doesn't like chocolate, especially the bitter kind. Bleh. I ended up pulling the chocolate off the piece I tried so I could eat the center and crust. Both of those were amazingly yummy.

Snickery Squares

For the Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Filling:

½ cup sugar
3 TBSP water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:

7 ounces bittersweet, coarsely chopped
½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Getting Ready:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To Make the Crust:

Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball.
Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven.
Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To Make the Filling:

Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.
Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature.
When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.
Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.

To Make the Topping:

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate.
Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you’d like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.

Cut into 16 bars.

I haven't looked at next week's recipe yet but I'm thinking it doesn't have chocolate in it. I can't wait to get started on it.

If you want to see the other Snickery Squares that were made hop on over the the TWD Blogroll.

Daring Bakers Challenge.

2008-02-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

My second challenge! woo!

This month Mary of The Sour Dough and Sara of I Like to Cook were given the difficult task of choosing the recipe that would be this month's challenge. They chose Julia Child's French Bread.

I cannot even tell you how terrified I was when I printed the recipe and my printer wouldn't stop spitting out pages! I ended up with 14 pages of french bread instructions! For a brief second I considered bowing out of this one but I couldn't do it. I wanted to prove to myself that I could try a difficult recipe even if I failed.

And boy did I fail.

That was attempt number one. *sigh* They were hard as rocks. The inside was actually tasty but you had to crack open the concrete-like shell to get to it. I realized after they were done that I never moved the oven rack to the top third of the oven and I guess since they were so far away from the heat they didn't want to brown, so I just left them in. For way too long apparently.

The next day I woke up early, handed my motherly duties over to Spencer, and got started on attempt #2.

They aren't pretty, but they were edible!

If you're wondering why I only have two small loaves, well, it was about midnight when I was getting them ready to go in the oven and one piece of dough just really pissed me off. Yeah, that piece never made it to it's final rise.

My dough didn't rise well either time. It rose, but not to the great size that was talked about in the recipe. I'm still not sure what I did wrong either.

Overall the (edible) bread was really good but I don't think I'll attempt it again. It was a lot of fun but I don't think I have the patience to go through it ever again. I did realize that I do enjoy making bread and since then I've made some white bread and a couple loaves of (simpler) french bread.

I am looking forward to next month's challenge though. I bet it's gonna be a good one!

For anyone who wants the recipe, go check out Mary's blog.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-02-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

And this, my fellow bloggers, is what a one year old looks like:

Happy birthday my sweet baby boy!

For more wordless wednesday, go check out 5 Minutes for Mom!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

2008-02-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

I finally got my Baking: From My Home to Yours book in the mail and the little person who wanders around my house all day has taken quite a liking to it:

I'm so excited to get to participate in Tuesdays with Dorie this week and I'm even more excited because Ashley from Eat Me, Delicious chose pecan sour cream biscuits!

I love biscuits. I really, really do. Infact, the kid and I are sharing a Chik-Fil-A chicken biscuit right now (I had a free coupon, get off me.). But unfortunately my biscuit making skills don't extend past popping frozen biscuits in a high powered microwave for 2 minutes and then an oven for 5. Oh the joys of working fast food.

Back to Dorie's biscuits.

These biscuits came out more like scones, but I think I may have overworked the dough slightly. Next time I'm going to try grating frozen butter into the dough instead of using a pastry cutter. See? My first week participating and I learned something new.

The biscuits were really good though. Like, really really good. I'm not ashamed to admit that Spencer and Landon each had one biscuit and I ate the rest.

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Makes about 12 biscuits)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cold whole milk
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between-- and that's just right.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading-- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.

Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits ca be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting-- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)

Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket.

Meal Plan Monday.

2008-02-25T10:35:00.001-08:00

Busy, busy week. Landon turns 1 on Wednesday so we have pictures, doctor appointments, not to mention cleaning the house for his party on Sunday. Eep.

Monday: Spencer is on his own. Landon and I are going to see my mom since she just got back from Vermont.

Tuesday NY strip steaks, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and caesar salad

Wednesday Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff

Friday: Chicken and stuffing casserole.

Saturday: Leftovers/out.

Sunday: Pork chops and rice (using this recipe but using boneless pork chops instead of chicken

For more MPM, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Olive Oil Crackers.

2008-02-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

I didn't know it was possible to make crackers. Well... of course I knew someone, somewhere makes crackers but I didn't think I could make crackers. But 101 Cookbooks told me I could!

So I did.

They aren't pretty. Some of them got puffy and weird. Some got a little burnt. But they were really good! Spencer and I both decided that our favorites were the ones I sprinkled with adobo seasoning. Yum!

King Ranch Casserole.

2008-02-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago there was a lot of talk about king ranch casserole over on the Nest boards and since I'd never heard of it, I was intrigued. I hear "ranch" and think dressing. It's the southern girl in me. I was all, "Ooh! A casserole with ranch dressing?! How did I live 22 years without this?" The lovely Nesties posted a link to Homesick Texan and my dreams came crashing down.

BUT it still sounded good.

As a general rule in our house, Spencer likes anything that contains a can of cream of whatever soup. (He's even been known to eat an entire "family sized" can of cream of mushroom soup. Ick.) So, of course, I chose to go with her "old school" version.

We freakin' loved it. Spencer has started calling it "mexican casserole" (I guess he doesn't get the whole ranch thing either) and has already requested it again.

French Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting.

2008-02-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know what possessed me to make this cake. I don't even like chocolate that much. But I got bored and started looking through Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters again and it called out to me. Plus I had some buttermilk that I needed to use up.

It's probably the best chocolate cake I've ever had. It was light and moist and not too chocolate-y (is that even a word?). The frosting tasted just like a mocha.

French Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting
Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters

2 oz. bitter chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
12 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans or three 7-inch cake pans.

To make the cake: Dissolve chocolate in boiling water and let cool.

Sift together flour and baking soda in a bowl.

Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat in. Add chocolate mixture to batter. Add vanilla to buttermilk and combine with batter. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour batter into cake pants. Bake 40 minutes (for 3 cake) or 50 minutes (for 2 cake), or until a tester inserted into middle comes out clean. Set on racks and allow to cool completely.

To make the mocha frosting: Heat heavy cream and coffee in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat. Pour mixture oven chocolate, let sit 5 minutes, and stir to combine. Chill frosting in the refrigerator 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until it is thick enough to spread. Assemble the cake layers, spreading frosting between the layers and on the top and sides. Store wrapped in wax paper in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature half and hour before serving.

Tuesdays with Dorie.

2008-02-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

I recently joined Tuesdays with Dorie which is a group of bloggers who are baking their way through Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Last Tuesday they baked this amazing looking brown sugar-apple cheesecake and after seeing it on quite a few blogs that I read I had to join. Right then. But I didn't own the book and since Spencer had (once again) taken my car to work I couldn't just go to the bookstore. And we all know how impatient I am. I ordered it from Amazon and it's still not here! So I didn't get to make the Almost-Fudge Gateau but I'm stalking the mailbox today waiting for the poor mailman to get here.

If you wanna see the Almost-Fudge Gateaux that did get made this week, check out the blogroll and be prepared to drool a little.

Meal Plan Monday.

2008-02-17T22:01:00.000-08:00

I don't think I followed my meal plan at all last week. The week was just too crazy. I didn't eat much of anything last week and poor Spencer was left to fend for himself.

So I have a couple of carry-over dishes this time around. And I hope they actually get made this week.

Monday: King ranch casserole

Tuesday: Leftovers.

Wednesday: Baked sausage, tomatoes, and pasta.

Thursday: Leftovers or pizza.

Friday: Meatloaf, hashbrown casserole, and peas.

Saturday: Chicken and biscuits.

Sunday: Out.

For more go visit I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Shrimp Alfredo.

2008-02-17T21:03:00.000-08:00

My mom got me a subscription to Taste of Home for Christmas so now I have access to all their online recipes. Yay! I've spent many nights browsing their collection instead of sleeping and that's how I decided on alfredo for last week.

I don't really like alfredo sauce. The only kind I've ever had was either jarred or frozen and both of those are a bit lacking to say the least. But for some reason I decided to make some alfredo sauce.

I didn't like it. At all. Spencer loved it though and polished it all off. I had some cooked shrimp in the freezer so I threw those in. It was such a quick meal. It took all of about 10 minutes for the whole thing to be done so it's kind of disappointing that I didn't like it.

Shrimp Alfredo
adapted from Taste of Home

8 to 12 ounces fettuccini
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1-1/2 cups milk
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cooked shrimp

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute garlic in oil until lightly browned. Stir in the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper and basil until blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Reduce heat; whisk in cream cheese and Parmesan cheese until smooth. Add shrimp; heat through. Drain pasta; add to sauce and toss to coat.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

2008-02-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

I've never had gumbo.

It's true. I live in Alabama, I have a very Cajun uncle (who I stayed with every summer), and I've never had gumbo. It's not that it hasn't been offered to me... I just don't like dishes with a lot of stuff in it. Plus I'm anti-seafood unless it's covered in batter and fried.

But gumbo just sounds so fun. Say it. Guuuumbbboooo. See? It's fun.

I turned to Cooking Light when I decided to make a gumbo and it turned out great. I didn't like it at first but after it sat overnight it was delicious.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 of an onion, diced
1/2 of a green bell pepper, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into pieces
2 small cans diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
3 cups hot cooked rice

Place flour in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook 20 minutes or until light brown, stirring constantly with a whisk. (If flour browns too fast, remove pan from heat; stir constantly until it cools down.) Remove flour from pan, and set aside.

Add oil to pan. Stir in onion and bell pepper; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove onion mixture from pan; set aside.

Increase heat to medium-high; add sausage to pan. Cook 4 minutes; return onion mixture to pan and add chicken. Remove pan from heat. Sprinkle reserved flour over chicken mixture; stir well. Return pan to medium heat. Drain 1 can tomatoes; stir in 1 can drained tomatoes and 1 can undrained tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth, Worcestershire, and bay leaves; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves. Stir in salt, black pepper, and hot sauce. Serve over rice.

Coffee Cake.

2008-02-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

When my father finally decided to call me about my mom going in the hospital I, of course, went straight to the kitchen. I needed to bake. It needed to be sweet and possibly chocolate and really, really bad for me. But then I realized I only had one stick of butter and no vanilla! I turned to Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters and those two crazy ladies didn't disappoint.

It's actually supposed to be covered in a streusel topping but the streusel recipe made very little and it didn't occur to me to just make more. Hmph. I had to substitute almond since I was out of vanilla but it turned out really good. Even Spencer liked it and he's not big on coffee cake.

I also decided the cake needed some icing so I just mixed up milk and powdered sugar until I got a good consistency and drizzled it on.

Mary Williams' Coffee Cake with Streusel
from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters

For streusel:

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Place brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Work in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add pecans and combine.

For cake:

1 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg, beater
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 pan with foil, shiny side up. Coat with butter or vegetable spray.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add sugar. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into dry ingredients. Add egg, milk, and vanilla and combine. Place half of batter in pan. Sprinkle half of streusel on top of batter. Add rest of batter to pan and top with remaining streusel.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until tester inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool on rack completely before cutting into squares.

One year ago.

2008-02-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

One year ago today, not only did I look like this:

...but I went to work for the last time. That's still so weird to me.

Two years ago if someone had told me that I'd be a 22 year old stay at home mom I would've told them to bite their tongue. And possibly hit them. In the face. Now I honestly can't imagine doing anything else with my life.

My little lovebug has taught me so much about life, and sometimes I think I depend on him more than he depends on me. I don't know what I did in my life to deserve this little guy but apparently I did something right.

And I'm so proud of Spencer. When I met him he was a looooser. I can say this because I married him. Duh. He had a suspended license thanks to about 11 tickets, was living with his ex-stepdad, made $8 an hour, and was doing things that I'm not even going to mention. Two and a half years later he's got his life together. He's found a career that he loves and luckily he makes really good money at it. I'm so lucky that I found him and even luckier that he put up with me.

I can't figure out how to embed the video of Landon walking but if anyone wants to see it, go here. It's sideways, dark, and Spencer's talking to his dad in the background but at least it's a video, right?

Just random.

2008-02-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

I just want to explain why I haven't been around much. It's not that I haven't been cooking because, believe me, that's what I do when I'm stressed. So when I finally get time to sit around and make posts I'll probably make 14 of them.

My mother was put in the hospital on Tuesday for chest pains. My mother is a 46 year old woman who runs at least 10 miles a week and is in better shape than anyone I know so it shocked and scared everyone. After keeping her there for almost 48 hours they decided it was a hernia in her esophagus and they think medication will correct it. So she's back at home, back at work, and will be gracing the beautiful state of Vermont with her presence within a matter of days. Watch out Vermont. I'm not joking.

And now I must brag. Landon is officially walking. His new favorite game is to pull up on the coffee table, walk over to whoever happens to be in the room, beg them to pick him up, and then cry to get down. He then crawls back to the coffee table and starts all over again. It goes on for hours.

Yes, he's manly enough for pink. And hearts. And wearing women's clothing.

Meal Plan Monday.

2008-02-10T22:11:00.001-08:00

Last week's meal plan went pretty well. I got to everything but the chicken and sausage gumbo. The Shepherd's Pie lasted us much longer than I expected so we just didn't have time for the gumbo. Hopefully it'll get made this week.

Monday: Garlic cheddar chicken, twice baked potatoes, and asparagus.

Tuesday: Leftovers.

Wednesday: Chicken and sausage gumbo with cornbread.

Thursday: Shrimp Alfredo.

Friday: Leftovers.

Saturday: Baked sausage, tomatoes, and pasta.

Sunday: Out.

For more MPM, check out I'm an organizing junkie!

Bacon Pinwheels.

2008-02-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

Mmm.. bacon, cream cheese, green onions, crescent rolls...! Does it get any better?

These are so bad for you but oh-so-good. There wasn't a single one left after Spencer and I got done with them. They were so good, in fact, that I might be adding them to my menu for the little Lovebug's first birthday.

I originally saw the recipe over at Blonde Ambition in the Kitchen but since we're all about the fatty goodness around here I went by the original Kraft recipe. Except I substituted green onions for regular onions because the thought of regular onions in this made me feel kind of sick. And I made them into pinwheels because the ones on the Kraft website aren't very fun looking.

Shepherd's Pie.

2008-02-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

I've never had shepherd's pie. Never. And up until a week ago I couldn't even begin to tell you what it was. Weird, right? But mashed potatoes on top of meat (with some veggie hidden in the middle) sounded like Spencer's kind of meal.

I obviously went for the biggest potatoes I could find...

We were both really shocked at how much we liked it. Normally will eat leftovers once and then I'll give the rest to the dog but there was nothing left of this one. And there was a ton of it!

Shepherd's Pie
adapted from: AllRecipes

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. In a small saucepan melt butter; add milk and allow to warm. Pour butter and milk mixture slowly into potatoes until they reach the desired consistency. Add 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside. Preheat oven to 375.

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Cook onion and turkey until onion is translucent and turkey is fully cooked through. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup. In a separate bowl whisk together water and brown gravy mix; pour over turkey mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread the ground turkey in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Layer veggies on top of turkey. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-02-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

(The beast is going after the toy. Just to clear that up.)

For more WW, go here.

Orange Hoisin Chicken.

2008-02-05T22:14:00.000-08:00

I get that my chicken looks disgusting. Believe me. Atleast you didn't have to smell it cooking all day. I always forget how much I hate the smell of sesame oil so I keep cooking with it and get sick each time.

But let me tell you... it was pretty good. And it was so tender. I thought it had overcooked since it was so dark but it was perfect. The chicken itself was good but I left the sauce off the tiny piece that I tried. I realized this morning that I was out of honey so that may have contributed to the weirdness of the sauce. I just kinda made a simple syrup and hoped for the best.

Orange Hoisin Chicken
From: Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

2 tablespoons Frozen orange juice concentrate -- thawed
1/4 cup Honey
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
3 slices Ginger 1/4 inch thick
3 clove Garlic -- minced
1 tablespoons Sesame oil
6 Chicken breasts skinless, boneless -- DO NOT THAW
2 teaspoons Cornstarch
2 teaspoons Cold water
1 tablespoons Sesame Seeds -- Toasted

In a zippered top plastic bag, combine the orange juice concentrate, honey, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. One at a time, put the chicken pieces in the bag, seal, and gently shake to coat with the sauce. Transfer the coated chicken to the slow cooker, then pour the remaining sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on LOW until the chicken is tender and cooked through 5 to 6 hours. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a small saucepan. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and cold water. Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat, add the slurry, and cook, stirring a few times, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken and pass the rest on the side. If desired, sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top.

Crab rangoon... YUM!

The recipe came from fellow Nestie Joelen. These were far better than any I've had in a restaurant.

I baked mine instead of frying (because Spencer used all my oil on his shrimp). I just put them in a 400 degree oven for 6 minutes, flipped then, and back in for another 6 minutes.

Buttermilk Pound Cake.

2008-02-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

Spencer's obsessed with strawberries. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it... but he is. So I wanted to make him a strawberry shortcake but with fresh, food homemade pound cake.

I used this recipe but left out the lemon extract since I didn't have any on hand. It was my first time using my brand new green bundt pan! Yay! It turned out really good. Spencer even took some for breakfast this morning.

Meal Plan Monday.

2008-02-03T22:51:00.000-08:00

I think I skipped Meal Plan Monday last week. We had a hugely busy week and I hardly cooked anything at all. All of Spencer's family came down from Michigan, Illinois, and Texas for a funeral so we went out to dinner with them 27 times. Or so it feels like.

Things are finally back to normal and I'll hopefully be able to get back into a routine. I'm no good unless I'm following a schedule.

Monday: Chicken and Biscuits

Tuesday: Orange Chicken on Rice with Crab Rangoon

Wednesday: Shepherd's Pie with bacon pinwheels

Thursday: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with cornbread

Friday: Leftovers/out

Saturday: Nacho Mac & Cheese

Sunday: Leftovers/out

For more MPM check out I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Superbowl.

2008-02-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

When I asked Spencer what he wanted to eat during the superbowl he said shrimp. That's all. I had expected a long list of appetizers but he just wanted some fried shrimp. AND he said he would going to fry it himself. All he wanted me to do was make the batter, some coleslaw, and cornbread.

Spencer and Trevor hard at work.

We had five pounds of shrimp and the batter was 2 cups of beer, 2 cups of flour, and a tablespoon of salt. I think it could've used more salt but the boys had no complaints.

Coleslaw

bag of Coleslaw mix
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup mayo

Whisk vinegar, sugar, and mayo together. Mix in coleslaw mix.

I'm ashamed to say that the cornbread was Jiffy. I have a deep love for Jiffy cornbread and no matter how many I try I always go back to it. I just can't help myself.

Chicken and Rice.

2008-02-01T08:29:00.000-08:00

This is one of Spencer's favorite meals. And I like it because it's easy to throw together on busy days and because it's really cheap!

Chicken and Rice

1/2 cup butter
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can chicken broth
packet Lipton onion soup mix
whatever chicken pieces you want

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Once melted add rice, broth, and soup mix. Lay chicken pieces on top. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-01-30T07:33:00.001-08:00

More!

Turkey Noodle Soup.

2008-01-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

Best. Soup. Ever. The end.

No, but seriously, I've never liked broth-y soups and I've never even tried chicken noodle soup. This soup though... amazing.

I got the recipe from Elly Says Opa! and it's supposed to be chicken noodle but I had turkey breasts. I also left out the celery (it's hated in this household) and added extra carrots but everything else was perfect.

I'm actually in the process of making another pot for my lunches this week. But this time I'm leaving out the meat and adding a ton of carrots. Yum!

Empanadas.

2008-01-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

Have I ever mentioned my love of Weight Watchers magazine? I've been buying it since I was 18 because I love the success stories and the recipes usually sound so good. I tend to clip out their recipes and then worry that Spencer won't like them since they're "diet" food but with this one I knew he'd enjoy it.

Mine got a little burnt... I left them in much longer than the recipe says because the tops weren't getting golden so that's the bottoms you see in the picture. They were still awesome though.

I served it with my beloved mexican rice.

Empanadas
from Weight Watchers magazine

Preheat oven to 400. Brown 1/2 pound ground turkey and 1/2 onion, chopped, in a nonstick skillet. Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 teaspoons chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes. Cool. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Brush edges of 30 wonton wrappers with egg white. Spoon 1 tablespoon filling into the center of each; fold in half and press to seal. Place empanadas on sheet. Bake 8 minutes.

Daring Bakers Challenge.

2008-01-28T03:43:00.000-08:00

This month I participated in my first Daring Bakers challenge. I asked to join back in the middle of December and anxiously awaited that first assignment. I had so much fun and can't wait to see what the next challenge is!

So anyway... this month was hosted by Jen of The Canadian Baker and she chose lemon meringue pie.

The pie was done in three parts: crust, lemon curd, and meringue. There wasn't a particular difficult part about it but it was time consuming and I loved every minute of it.

I didn't expect to like the pie because I always tell myself that I don't like lemons (what kinda person doesn't like lemons?!) and meringue has always sort of scared me, but I really enjoyed this pie. I even had *gasp* two pieces.

Lemon Meringue Pie
From Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:

¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces

2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour

¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar

¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt

⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:

2 cups (475 mL) water

1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar

½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch

5 egg yolks, beaten

¼ cup (60 mL) butter

¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:

5 egg whites, room temperature

½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar

¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt

½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract

¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust: Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling: Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.

Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-01-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

More!

A big thank you!

2008-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:00

I want to give a big thanks to Heather at Freebies 4 Mom.

A few days ago I was lucky to be one of the first people to email her about getting a Pledge coupon and rebate. I got them in the mail today and I'm super excited to put them to use!

So go check her website out if you're interested in freebies, samples, coupons, rebates, everything related to saving money on things you buy everyday!

Moonpie Bread Pudding.

2008-01-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

It's Mardi Gras time again!

And I actually get to participate this year! Last year I was a week away from giving birth so I decided it probably wasn't the best idea to drag my pregnant ass downtown for the parades. Especially since I was hoping and wishing for a Mardi Gras baby. But this year... oh this year...

For anyone who doesn't know, Mardi Gras was started here. Yes, right here in Mobile, Alabama. According to my free copy of Zalea magazine, in 1866 a man named Joseph Cain dressed himself in Chickasaw "Indian" (in honor of them never being defeated in the just ended war) clothing on Fat Tuesday and decided to call himself Chief Slacabamorinico. He decorated a wagon pulled by a mule and he and his friends went through the streets celebrating in front of the remaining union soldiers.

Now, 142 years later, we honor Joe Cain on the Sunday before Mardi Gras which is, of course, known as Joe Cain day. And throughout the year, you can't go by Joe Cain's grave without seeing beads and black roses surrounding it.

Anyway...

To kick off Mardi Gras, the best friend and I decided to make moonpie bread pudding. Megan saw our local weatherman make it a few days ago and immediately asked if we could attempt it. The recipe was crazy big and I ended up using three big dishes to hold it all. Now I have no idea what to do with all this bread pudding!

Ignore my dirty dish. I learned today that bread pudding isn't fun to clean.

Moonpie Bread Pudding
from the local news website

10 Double Stack Moon Pies, or 15 Regular Moon Pies (any flavor), diced
1 loaf french bread, small diced
15 Eggs
32oz. Whole Milk
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 stick butter

In one bowl, combine eggs, milk and seasonings. In a separate bowl, combine bread and moon pies. Pour liquid ingredients over bread and gently fold to combine. Butter baking dishes and divide mixture evenly between the two. Refridgerate for an hour and a half. Cube butter and distribute evenly over top of each dish. Bake in a water bath at 350 degrees uncovered for 45 minutes, or until toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Serve with a traditional bread pudding sauce (use your leftover Mardi Gras whiskey!).

I'd like the world to know that banana moonpies still rock my world.

Meal Plan Monday.

2008-01-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

I basically sucked at last week's meal plan. I never even got around to the spaghetti or the chicken and rice. I'll get around to them eventually I'm sure.

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Chicken Spaghetti

Wednesday: Empanadas and Mexican rice

Thursday: Cubed steak with gravy and mashed potatoes

Friday: Leftovers.

Saturday: Turkey Noodle Soup.

Sunday: Out.

There's more MPM over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Stuffed Shells.

2008-01-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, we like cheese. A lot.

I'm afraid this is going to become a regular dinner in our house. Spencer ate it for lunch and dinner the day I made it and then requested that I make it again soon.

The recipe came from Two Novice Chefs. I used ground turkey and made my own marinara sauce but left everything else the same.

I think this is one of those dishes that just about anyone would like. I mean, the shells are like a bunch of tiny lasagnas. Or something.

Apricot Lambchops and Mushroom Orzo.

2008-01-20T20:27:00.000-08:00

I've gotten in this really bad habit of not eating what I cook which is why there hasn't been a blog spot in a few days. I just get so tired of looking at whatever I'm cooking so by the end, I don't even want to taste it.

I decided to post this even though I didn't try to lambchops. Spencer said they were amazing and had no problem eating both of the lambchops that I made. I did try the orzo and I didn't like it at all. I think it could be good with a little doctoring but I doubt I try it again.

The lambchop recipe came from Cooking Light. I used two big lamchops instead of 8 but left the sauce the same because I didn't feel like dealing with it. The sauce ended up being just enough for the bigger chops.

The orzo recipe came from a lovely book called America's Favorite Brand Name Old-Fashioned Favorites. Oh yeah, it's one of those. You know... a bunch of brands get together and put out a cookbook so you'll use their product in the recipes. But I had really good luck with this book once so I figured I'd have another success.

No such luck. It was super bland. I ended up adding a ton of salt and pepper at the end just to make it edible. I must say that Spencer loved it and ate all the leftovers for lunch the next day. But he's a weirdo.

So that's my disclaimer on this recipe.

Mushroom Orzo
from America's Favorite Brand Name Old-Fashioned Favorites

2 tablespoons butter
1 clover garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3 1/4 cups water
6 ounces white mushrooms, sliced

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and cook garlic with orzo, stirring constantly, 2 1/2 minutes or until golden. Stir in onion soup mix blended with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Add mushrooms; do not stir. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Place in serving bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.

Burrito.

2008-01-17T07:39:00.000-08:00

This recipe has been circulating around my parenting board so it was only a matter of time before I tried it. I'll admit... I didn't expect to like it. Beans and meat are generally too... thick(?) for me. But it was really good! We won't discuss how many I ate last night...

CHICKEN & CHEESE BEAN BURRITOS

1 pkg tortilla wraps
1 lb boneless chicken (I used ground turkey)
1 small can goya tomato sauce
1 pkg shredded mexican cheese blend
1 can red kidney beans (Used refried)
1 can corn (I still can't stomach corn...so left out)
1 pkg Sazon (Left out because I'm not really sure what it is)
1 tbsp Adobo

Slice chicken into thin strips. Put chicken, tomato sauce, beans, corn, sazon, adobo in fry pan. Cook about 20 minutes until chicken is done. Warm up tortillas and put filling in tortilla and add cheese. Fold and roll and put in baking pan. Use toothpicks to hold together if needed. Sprinkle rest of cheese on top. Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes. Serve with rice and sour cream.

I made the amazing Mexican rice to go with it. I think the burritos would actually be good with the rice mixed into the beans and chicken. I may try that one day.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-01-15T22:39:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday.

Meal Plan Monday.

2008-01-13T21:35:00.000-08:00

I look forward to Meal Plan Monday every week now. I do all my shopping on Sunday afternoon/night so MPM forces me to sit down and plan my week a little bit.

Monday: Spencer will have leftover Cheesy Chicken Fondue Casserole. I'll have a Lean Cuisine or cereal.

Tuesday: Stuffed Shells and Olive Cheese Bread

Wednesday: Apricot Lambchops, orzo, and a salad.

Thursday: Buritos and mexican rice.

Friday: Zesty Spaghetti.

Saturday: Out.

Sunday: Chicken and rice.

For more MPM, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie.

More Pioneer Woman Recipes.

2008-01-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

I guess this week was Pioneer Woman week for me because today's dinner was recipe number 3 from her.

My crappy picture does not do The Marlboro Man Sandwich justice. Spencer was practically pulled the plate away as I was trying to take a picture. So why didn't I just take a picture of my sandwich? Because I chose to pile the steak and onion on a place and eat it with my fingers. I did. And it was amazing.

This one is her Chicken Spaghetti. As soon as Spencer took his first bite, he told me he would like to eat this atleast once a month. I'm not a casserole person but I think I, too, could eat this once a month.

My only beef with the casserole was the "veggies". I can't stand the texture of peppers or onions so it was too much for me. I used only half an onion and half a bell pepper but it still made my stomach turn when I'd crunch into one. So next time I'll either leave them out completely or saute them a little before adding them.

BBQ Chicken Pizza.

2008-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Spencer and I ate this entire pizza. Within 15 minutes. I'm not even joking. It made me start thinking about what I'm going to have to do once Landon starts eating everything we do. Am I going to make two pizza? Or give up on my homemade pizzas and start ordering the biggest pizza I can find? Geez. Why do boys eat so much?

Anyway...

Growing up we didn't eat a lot of pizza but when we did we'd get the BBQ chicken pizza from Papa John's with the pineapple. Mmm. So good, but I don't know if they have it anymore. I decided to make something similar tonight, minus the pineapple because I didn't know if Spencer would pitch a fit about it.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

refrigerated pizza crust
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 cup mozzarella
thinly sliced red onions (I only put it on Spencer's part)

Prebake the pizza crust according to package instructions.

Spread a light layer of BBQ sauce over crust. Mix the rest of the sauce with the chicken. Spread over crust. Add onions. Sprinkle mozzarella over top. Bake 8 - 10 more minutes until crust in browned and cheese is melted.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-01-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

Just a cute picture.

Wordless Wednesday.

Baked Ziti and Olive Cheese Bread.

2008-01-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

My new goal is to update my blog on the nights I actually cook instead of waiting until I have time to do an entire week at once. So far, so good.

I made my baked ziti tonight. It was just as good as the first time I made it. I really love the sour cream and provolone... it's a nice change from the super heavy ricotta mixture that I put in my lasagna. Spencer ate two huge plates, and blamed it on the fact that Landon was helping him eat it. My eyes are rolling incase you were wondering.

I made olive cheese bread to go with it. You'll notice that mine's not nearly as pretty as Ree's, partly because Ree is just amazing and everything she does is perfect. But partly because Spencer and I both hate green olives. And Spencer would like you to know that he especially hates green olives stuffed with pimentos. Once again, my eyes are rolling. I also forgot to add the green onions which I specifically bought for this. Urgh... don't you hate when that happens? $1.18 down the drain.

Okay, so I obviously made it using only black olives but it turned out delicious. I'm not a huge fan of black olives because they have a weird metallic taste that kinda freaks me out but I couldn't really stop myself from eating this. I ended up freezing half (using Ree's instructions) and I wish I had gone ahead and baked the whole thing.

Be prepared for more Pioneer Woman recipes this week. I've got atleast once more coming, maybe two if we run out of leftovers. If you get a chance, go read Ree's entire cooking blog. And then read every page of her personal blog. Amazing I tell you.

Meal Plan Monday.

2008-01-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

Last week I managed to follow (I just typed "follar". Is living in Alabama finally getting to me..?) my meal plan almost exactly. I didn't make the pork roast and ended up throwing out the meat. I had pulled it out of the freezer to use half for the pulled pork and then we went out to eat the next day so I was too scared to use the roast after that. Kind of sucks because I really love those huge pork tenderloins. Oh well, I'll catch them next time they're on sale.

This week I'm making a bunch of casserole-ish dishes. I think it's because the weather's cooler and I'm craving comfort foods. I also bought some pumpkin butter so I'm hoping to make some fun muffins this week. We'll see if that actually gets done.

Monday: Baked Ziti and Olive Cheese Bread

Tuesday: Leftovers/cereal

Wednesday: Honey BBQ Pizza

Thursday: Cubed Steak Sandwiches

Friday: Lisa's Cheesy Chicken Fondue Casserole

Saturday: Leftovers.

Sunday: Out.

For more MPM, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Macaroni and Cheese.

2008-01-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

I tried a new mac & cheese recipe tonight. Spencer loves the one I make but I'm kinda over it.

I am not a huge fan of this one. It tastes like the frozen Stouffer's ones I used to buy when Spencer would be out of town. I like those and everything, but it's not what I was going for. I also didn't like the bread crumb topping. It got soggy! I prefer the crushed up crackers that I put on my regular macaroni and cheese.

Spencer loved it, of course, because what doesn't he like? He did comment that the mustard flavor was a little strong but it didn't stop him from eating an entire plate full.

Macaroni and Cheese

16 ounces macaroni, cooked and drained
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
4 ounces cream cheese
salt & pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used probably 1/2 cup, maybe less.)
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 400.

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook one minute. Add milk, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and dijon mustard. Cook until slightly thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Stir in macaroni.

Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Spread bread crumbs over top and dot with butter. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken.

2008-01-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

I got a roaster oven for Christmas so it was time to test it out. I joined the Yahoo group Nesco Roasting because I had no idea what to do with it. I wanted to make a whole chicken since it seemed to be the simplest idea but even after reading all the group emails and going through their recipes, I had no ideas. I finally turned to AllRecipes.

It turned out pretty good. It just had a hint of lemon which was nice because I'm not a huge lemon fan. Spencer just assumed I'd put lemon pepper on it. I ended up shredding the majority of the chicken for a dinner next week.

This is definitely how I'll be making all my chicken from now on. The meat was so tender! I tried to pull a leg off and the bone came right out of the meat, leaving everything else intact. I will never, ever boil a chicken again.

Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken
from AllRecipes

3 - 4 pound chicken
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried thyme
sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all seasonings and set aside. Rinse and dry chicken. Rub 1/2 the seasoning inside the chicken and 1/2 outside. Place chicken in roasting pan.

Squeeze the juice from two lemons and combine with olive oil. Drizzle over top of chicken.

Roast for 1 1/2 hours or until juice run clear.

Spencer's Half Birthday.

2008-01-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

Spencer turned 22 1/2 on December 29. It took him long enough. I mean, geez, I was 22 1/2 for ten whole days before he finally got there. In honor of his half birthday, my slow cooker was kind enough to make his alltime favorite meal: stroganoff.

I'd never ever heard of stroganoff before Spencer. I guess my family is full of freaks or something because we just didn't eat that kind of stuff. I'd tried to make it once before for him and it sucked. It was awful! But I had to give it another try for him.

It turned out really good! I'm shocked that I liked it. And I'm even more shocked that Spencer said it was better than his mom's!

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 pounds chuck roast, in cubes
2 cans golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup onion, minced
1 tablespoon worchestershire
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 pack Lipton onion soup mix
salt & pepper to taste
can mushroom pieces
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream

Combine meat, soup, onion, worchestershire, beef broth, onion soup mix, and seasonings in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in cream cheese and sour cream. Serve over hot egg noodles.

I also made him a carrot cake, which he claims is his favorite cake. I say he claims that it's his favorite because shortly after taking his first bite he asked me if there were real carrots in carrot cake. Yup. He did.

I used this recipe from AllRecipes and it turned out perfect! The only change I made was using walnuts instead of pecans in the actual cake, and I didn't use any nuts in the frosting.

I think Spencer enjoyed his half birthday, even though he thinks I'm a weirdo for even acknowledging it. I just look for excuses to celebrate I guess.

Resolutions.

2008-01-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

Resolution #1: Get rid of unnecessary clutter.

Landon and I hate phonebooks. We think they are nothing but a waste of space. So he will demonstrate the proper way to dispose of a phonebook if you live somewhere that doesn't recycle. *cough* South Alabama. *cough*

Make sure you have all important numbers written down. Okay, done?

Rip those pages out!

Keep tearing.

Just like that.

The final and most important step, you must cry when your mommy takes the phonebook away from you.

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-01-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

More Wordless Wednesday?

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T05:21:00.001-08:00

That looks kinda like fireworks, right?

Christmas Blog.

2007-12-31T19:15:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you guys have noticed that I have a post about dear sweet Dukie's Christmas but not one for Landon. Well, if you happened to be reading my blog at about 1 AM on Friday night, you would've seen a Landon post.

I get really paranoid when I don't sleep. So at 3 AM that night as I was stretched out on the ottoman (I try many ways to get some sleep...) I started freaking out about posting so many pictures of Landon.

I tore myself away from whatever Nick at Nite show happened to be on and deleted the entry. Got back on the ottoman and thought "Wow, I should probably delete my Dukie entry too or everyone's gonna think that I love the dog more than my child." But I just couldn't get up again.

I guess the story of Duke and the Christmas tennis ball will remain on the blog and maybe one night I'll get brave enough to post a bunch of Landon pictures.

Meal Plan Monday.

2007-12-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

I skipped last week's mealplan because of the holidays. We were so busy! Luckily my parents sent us some with a ton of ham and turkey for sandwiches.

Things are finally getting back to normal around here though. Although I can't wait for the whole New Year's ordeal to be over. I'm also sick this week (and probably will be for weeks thanks to my not-so-great immune system) so I can't promise I'll stick to this plan exactly.

Monday: Football Snacks: Sticky Chinese Chicken Wings, Pizza Bread (both here), and Guacamole.

Tuesday: Black Eyed Peas and Ham.

Wednesday: Roasted Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, and Asparagus.

Thursday: Garlic Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, and Carrots.

Friday: Leftovers.

Saturday: Rootbeer Pulled Pork.

Sunday: Out.

For more MPM, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Honey Chicken.

2007-12-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

I wasn't excited to try this recipe. It was one of those recipes that got thrown on my mealplan when I couldn't think of anything else. I put off making it until I had absolutely nothing else left in the house, and I only used two chicken breasts because I knew we were going to hate it.

But I was wrong. What else is new, right? It had such a weird (but good) flavor. Spencer was very upset with me that I had only made two pieces. Mainly because that meant he had to fill up on veggies, but still. He liked the chicken.

I cut it up into bite-size pieces and baked it for about 17 minutes. After it was done, I put the sauce on the stove and thickened it up a little.

The corn casserole that's in the back of the picture is my Aunt Pat's recipe. I decided not to post a picture of it by itself because, well, it just wasn't pretty. It's so good though.

Aunt Pat's Corn Casserole

2 cans Mexicorn
1 small package Mahatma saffron rice
1 stick margarine (or I guess you could use butter...)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Prepare rice according to package instructions. Add margarine and soup. Stir until combined. Add corn and cheese. Combine all in baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes at 355.

Duke's Second Christmas.

2007-12-27T21:17:00.001-08:00

Look at how excited Duke is!

Now let me tell you the story of why Duke is so excited.

Duke is only allowed tennis balls twice a year, on Christmas and his birthday. You see, Duke can't control himself around tennis balls. It's like he forgets that he mother was a shih-tzu because those pitbull jaws take over and that tennis ball is lucky to stay whole for three minutes. Now I will spend the next week fishing tennis ball pieces out of Landon's mouth no matter how many times I vacuum.

And that is all that remains of that poor red tennis ball.

Cauliflower Gratin.

2007-12-27T20:53:00.001-08:00

A few days before Christmas I was informed by Spencer that his mother wanted me to bring something to her Christmas Eve dinner. I briefly considered mashing up an avocado, throwing in a jar of salsa, and calling it guacamole but I decided I better behave myself.

I turned to Ina.

I love Ina. I love everything about her. I love that she only owns one style of shirt and only in dark colors. I love that she has the strangest assortment of friends. I love that in Ina's kitchen everything is "fabulous". I love that her husband has curly hair.

I didn't, however, love her cauliflower gratin.

I'll go ahead and apologize for the photo. I felt slightly stupid standing over my mother-in-law's stove trying to get a picture of some cauliflower. I did it quickly and without anyone noticing... I think.

Onto my issue with the fabulous cauliflower gratin.

I spent $15 on cheese. Yes, $15 on a little gruyere and a little parmesan. All I tasted was cauliflower.

Maybe that could be blamed on me forgetting the nutmeg. Maybe the nutmeg is what makes them go "hmm".. oh wait, that's Rachael Ray, right? Nevermind.

But geez. I'm glad that I had some gruyere left to snack on because I was super disappointed that I couldn't taste it more in the dish.

Cookies.

2007-12-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

Can I tell you how glad I am that Christmas is over? I was so stressed out by the time the big day rolled around that I felt like curling up in the corner instead of going anywhere. Okay... got that out...

My cookie tins were well recieved. I was so proud when I got an email from my grandma saying that she finally had to take the tin away from my grandpa so he wouldn't eat everything at once! And let me tell you my grandpa is honest to a fault and would tell me straight up if my cookies sucked.

These are Caramel-Brittle Shortbread Thumbprints. Whew. That's a mouthful. I'll admit to not even trying these. By the time I was finished baking, sprinkling, and drizzling I never wanted to look at these cookies again. Spencer said they tasted like a candy bar so let's all pretend to believe him.

I don't really know where the recipe came from. I clipped it out of some magazine and of course, I forget to write down which magazine it came from. Geez Amanda, get your priorities straight.

Caramel-Brittle Shortbread Thumbprints

22 caramels, unwrapped (I'm really glad it said that because I was gonna throw the caramels in the pot completely wrapped. I was.)
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup crushed peanut brittle
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
2 teaspoon shortening

Preheat oven to 372. Heat and stir caramels and 3 tablespoons whipping cream in a small saucepan over low heat until mixture is melted and smooth. Set caramel mixture aside.

Beat butter in a large bowl for 1 minute. Add brown sugar and vanilla. Beat until combines. Add half the flour and 1/4 cup cream. Beat in the remaining flour until just combines. Stir in 1/3 cup crushed peanut brittle.

Shape the fough in 1 1/4 inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Use your thumb to make a large indentation in the center of each cookie.

Bake in preheated oven about 10 minutes or until edges are set. Re-press centers if necessary. Spoon about 1 teaspoon melted caramel into each cookie center. Spinkle cookies with remaining 1/3 cup peanut brittle. Let cool on wire racks.

Heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening in another small saucepan over low heat until chocolate mixture is melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over tops of cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set.

Well those sure are some ugly cookies. But they were good. Recipe came from here. I followed exactly except I didn't roll them in sugar and orange zest because I threw away my orange without getting all the zest off! Urgh! These cookies were seriously amazing though.

My not-puffy Snickerdoodles. They were basically just sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar but I guess they pass as snickerdoodles. I used this recipe from AllRecipes and according to one of the reviewers, I need to see if my baking soda has expired.

I love white chocolate and I think anyone who doesn't is a freak. (Yes Megan, that means you!) This bark was really simple and really good. My grandma asked for the recipe and I was kinda embarassed to tell her how simple it was.

White Candy Bark
from Quick Cooking

1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 packages (10 - 12 ounces each) vanilla or white chips
1 1/2 cups walnut halves
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Line a baking pan with foil and brush with butter. Set aside. Place the chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, for 3 - 4 minutes; stir until smooth. Stir in the walnuts, cranberries, and nutmeg. Spread into prepared pan. Chill until firm. Break into pieces.

Wordless Wednesday.

2007-12-26T06:10:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday.

Peanut Butter Cups.

2007-12-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

I've officially started my holiday baking. Okay, I'm a liar. I didn't bake these. But I've started my holiday... goodies?

I've put everything off until the last minute because, well, for one Spencer would eat everything. And two, I'm one of those people who prefer to get everything done at once. I can't stand to spread a task out over a few days or weeks. Today my boredom got the best of me and this is what resulted:

Recipe came from here.

They were so simple! I was actually pretty shocked. I thought I was going to have a hard time "painting" the chocolate on the wrappers because my pastry brushes are all pretty massive but I got it to work.

Spencer was very excited when he saw these chilling in the fridge but I had to break the news that they weren't for him. You should've seen the look of disappointed. So after dinner (Whattaburger, what?) I let him try one. They were just "okay" so I gave him another and he said, "WOW! This one tastes like a Reese's cup!" Really Spencer? They're the exact same thing!

I've got lots of baking to do tomorrow but who knows when I'll get around to updating. I suck at that.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna.

2007-12-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

This post should probably be called "A Bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce with a Side of Lasagna" but we'll all agree to overlook that.

A few weeks ago the Nest had a bunch of posts about buffalo chicken lasagna and it made me want to try it. The recipe floating around the boards was a Weight Watchers version and since Spencer would never let me get away with that, I went on a search for a recipe. And came up empty.

I did manage to come up with something that's pretty good. Spencer loved it, because seriously, what doesn't he love? We both agreed that we couldn't eat it to often though.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1 bottle Frank's Hot Sauce (scale down if you need to!)
15 ounces ricotta
1 egg
2 cups mozzarella
1 cup blue cheese
lasagna noodles

Cook garlic in olive oil for one minute. Pour in crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add garlic, oregano, and bay leaf. Let simmer 15 - 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and stir in hot sauce. Add shredded chicken.

Combine ricotta and egg in medium bowl.

Cover bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish with sauce, just enough so noodles won't stick. Layer in the following order: noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella. Repeat twice and finish with an extra layer of noodles and then sauce.

Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Sprinkle with blue cheese and bake uncovered for about five minutes, or until cheese melts.

What My Fridge Says About Me...

2007-12-19T07:49:00.000-08:00

Kacie is hosting a really fun little thing over at her blog, Sense to Save. The idea is to post a picture of the outside of your fridge and talk about what it says about you. So here goes!

Crappy picture, much?

Okay... the two bigger pictures are my cousins, Jon and Michael. I was the only kid in my entire extended family until Jon came along so they're like the brothers I never had. They live in the New Orleans area which means I only see them a few times a year. Of course I have to have pictures of them around!

The smaller picture is of Spencer when he was, maybe 14 or 15. He hates the picture because he was overweight and had thick glasses but I love it. He just looks so cute and innocent and it makes me wish I had known him back then.

The tiny sticker in the upper left corner is from a deck of cards. My best friend Megan and I spent many days playing cards after Landon was born since there wasn't much else to do with a newborn and sometime in there we decided we wanted to be the people that put the tax stickers on cards. I'm still not sure why the sticker is there or why it's stayed there as long as it has but I'm not taking it down. It reminds me that no matter what crazy idea I come up with, Megan will always understand me. And vice versa.

The pictures are held up by Starbucks magnets. You know the "Coffee of the Day" sign in every Starbucks? Yeah you do. It's the one that lists the decaf, bold, and mild coffees that they're offering. Okay. Well next to the name of the coffee is a magnet with a picture that represents that coffee. I liked to collect things related to our seasonal coffees. So when it was time to get rid of the seasonal stuff and throw away the magnets, I'd grab them. No reason to waste a perfectly good magnet.

I don't like a lot of clutter on my fridge. This is the most I've ever had on it and that's because I just recently recieved of the pictures of Jon and Michael. I keep meaning to buy a cork board to hang next to the fridge so I can take everything off it. Hopefully I'll remember to do that soon.

Head over to Sense to Save if you wanna join in on the fridge fun!

Wordless Wednesday.

2007-12-19T06:08:00.000-08:00

I guess if you're gonna save a cheddar bunny for later you've gotta make sure it's really out of Duke's sight.

And yes, Duke is on the coffee table. I don't lie when I say he's out of control.

Want more Wordless Wednesday?

SheeShee's Christmas Snack Mix.

2007-12-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

My mom's made this mix every Christmas for as long as I can remember. I used to get so angry when most of it got packed up as gifts. I don't know where the recipe came from or how long she's had it so I'm just gonna call it SheeShee's Christmas Snack Mix.

My mom is SheeShee obviously. Her name's Sharee but it got changed to SheeShee when my cousin Jon was a baby. We were in Vermont one summer and Jon was 2 1/2 or so and he'd just started talking. He was told not to go near "Sharee's cup" because it had coffee in it and he pointed at it and said "SheeShee bup!" It was the first time he'd ever put two words together and the name SheeShee stuck. That was just over 9 years ago. So I'm 22 years old and still call my mother SheeShee. Yup.

SheeShee's Christmas Snack Mix
(straight from a SheeShee email)

3 c. Cocoa Puffs
3 c. rice cereal squares (or any of the square cereals)
1 1/2 c. small twisted pretzels
1 c. dry roasted peanuts
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. vanilla

Combine cereals, pretzels and nuts in 9x13 baking pan (metal works better). In medium sauce pan, cook brown sugar, butter and light corn syrup over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cream of tartar, baking soda and vanilla. Pour over cereal mix in 9x13 and stir gently to coat. Bake in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring after 15. Spread on foil to cool. Keep in covered container.