Merry Christmas!!

I haven't been this happy on Christmas in a long time. Usually there is one gift every year that I didn't want or have a use for. This year, everything made me happy. Especially my (cheap Wal Mart) espresso maker. I even won $40 with two lottery tickets. Now I get to spend that money tomorrow on coffee supplies.

Any recommendations on what to buy or recipes for coffee syrups? I found a recipe for gingerbread syrup, but I can't make it just yet because I used to last of my molassess last night, making gingerbread cookies.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. What was the best you got this year?

Here's a video of Murray, eating the plant I got him. He was so excited.



And here is a picture of what I got.

One of the Many Christmas Cookies

Ugh. I try so hard to make fudge, but it never turns out perfectly. My thermometer just wouldn't reach 232F, yet it started to burn so I had to turn it off. I'm hoping that letting it chill in the fridge will help it solidify. I really need to test my thermometer.

While I wait on the fudge, here's a cookie that's easy to throw together. It's originally a cookie mix jar recipe, so all the dry ingredients are added together before the wet ingredients. It still came out ok. You can add a festive touch by using red and green MnMs, like I did in my picture.


Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies




1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup candy-coated milk chocolate (such as MnMs)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and oats. Add butter, water, vanilla, and egg. Mix until combined. Fold in candy.

3. Spoon dough by rounded teaspoons on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 5 minutes; remove from sheets and place on cooling racks. Makes 3 dozen.

Source: Betty Crocker's Holiday Cookies 2007, p. 72

A Very Busy Moose

Don't worry. I haven't completely dropped off the face of the internet. I've just been busy reading books from the library (novels not textbooks! yay!), baking goodies, cooking dinner, catching up on Scrubs (now halfway through season 6), or out driving like a maniac with the holiday crowd. I'm glad I chose not to go back to work at my seasonal job in the mall until after Christmas. I go back Thursday night *sigh*

Some advice for those making homemade syrup - it is hotter than boiling water and when it gets on your skin, it stays there. I have the blister on my finger to prove it. I can't reveal why I was making it because it's one of my entries for Betty Crocker's cookie contest. I have a few more ideas to try until the deadline in February.

I also bought another cookbook - Southern Living's The Cookies and Candy Cookbook. I haven't used it yet, but since I have leftover evaporated milk, I'm looking into fudge.

Anyway, here's one of the cookies I baked the first night I came home from school from Land-O-Lakes. Enjoy!!


Snickerdoodle Pan Cookies




Bars
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Topping
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 375F. Grease 9x9 pan. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat at medium speed sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add remaining bar ingredients. Beat until well mixed.

3. Spread batter evenly into pan. Sprinkle with topping mixture. Bake 11-13 minutes or until light golden brown and bars begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool 5 minutes. Cut into squares.

Source: Land-O-Lake's 5th Annual Holiday Cookies, 1998 p. 122

Not What He Was Looking For, But Still Delicious

My dad has been trying for the longest time to recreate his mother's recipe of fruit-filled crescents. The recipe she left behind listed three ingredients. That's it - no directions, nothing. I tried my best to recreate the dough, but it was too crumbly. Before I went home for Thanksgiving, I noticed a picture in one of my cookbooks, so I made kolacky for him. Turns out that although they taste very good, I misunderstood my dad. He said they were closed crescents with filling, not kolacky (below) or rugelach. So pretty much I need to make homemade crescents and fill it with fruit preserves. Back to the books.

Anyway, kolacky is a sweet dessert that originated from central Europe (Czech, I believe) and is filled with cheese or fruit fillings. You take a square piece of dough, fill the middle with filling, and pinch two opposite corners together. Although I made the wrong cookie, these lasted 30 minutes in the house. Next time, I want to try adding lemon to the dough because I have poppy seed filling at home.


Golden Kolacky




1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup flour
Fruit preserves (usually found in jars in the baking aisle)

Beat butter and cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Gradually add flour, blending until soft dough forms. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about an hour (do not freeze).

Preheat oven to 375F. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 2-in squares for smaller but more cookies, 3-in squares for bigger but fewer cookies. Spoon 1 tsp. preserve in center of each square. Bring up two opposite corners to center; pinch together to seal. Fold sealed tip to one side. If dough becomes too soft, place in refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely. Makes roughly 2 dozen, depending on size of cookies.

Source: Favorite Brand Name Recipes Grandma's Christmas Cookies, 1997 p. 78

Not Your Typical Pasta

Pasta is one of the cheapest and easy meals any college student can make. All you do is boil water, cook pasta until soft, drain, and sauce. Voila!! You have a meal. Now, what do you do when you eat pasta at least three times a week? Change the sauce. You can go traditional with garlicky basil and tomatoes, classy with stroganoff, spicy with habanero pesto, or crazy with pumpkin sauce. Hmm which reminds me - I should add my creamy garlic sauce and garlic butter sauce soon.

Here are two more pasta varieties. I only recommend the pad thai only if you absolutely love peanut butter. By love, I mean sitting there with a jar and a spoon and happily eating away. I love PB, but the taste was a little intense. However, it tasted better the next day, so maybe it just needed time.

The Mediterranean pasta I made myself. To be traditional, you would use kalamata olives. However, I only had a can of black pitted olives.


Pad Thai with Creamy Peanut Sauce




8 oz rice noodles (or substitute linguine or spaghetti)
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 chicken breast, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup peas

Sauce
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/8 cup peanut butter
1 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp ginger

1. Place sauce ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth, about 30 sec. Set aside.

2. If using rice noodles, soak them for 30 minutes in hot tap water; drain. They should be flexible but not soft. If using linguine or spaghetti, cook in boiling water until done.

3. Combine water, sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, chili powder and lime juice in a small bowl.

4. Saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add garlic and onions; cook until tender. If using rice noodles, add to pan. If using linguine or spaghetti, do not put in pan. Pour ketchup mixture over chicken.

5. Push chicken mixture to side of the pan. Add egg, stirring until cooked. Add peas. If you are using linguine or spaghetti, add to pan as well. Mix in peanut sauce. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Cooking with Carnation Evaporated Milk, 2006 p.14


Mediterranean Pasta



8 oz. pasta, your choice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 small can tuna, drained
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped and drained
1/2 cup olives, sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese

Bring water in a small saucepan to a boil. Cook pasta until soft. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in oil until tender. Add tuna, tomatoes, and olives. Cook until warm. Add to cooked pasta. Sprinkle with feta. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Recipe by me



Sorry for the horrible lighting, but my dad took a video of Murray being impatient for Christmas.


He's still waiting.

A Nice, Warm Breakfast

What better way to start a snowy, weekend morning than with a warm breakfast? I decided these past two weekends, I would make pancakes. I've never made pancakes before *gasp* My family usually buys the frozen kind, and if we were to make them homemade, my dad would make them. Just like I never learned how to make scrambled eggs (I don't like egg yolk, so I would never make them for myself anyway). I used the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box (which I bought on sale with a coupon for $1) and made eight pancakes each time (to last me all weekend). For those of who not familiar with Bisquick, it's pancake and baking mix in a box. It's typically made up of dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, etc.

The first weekend, I made chocolate chip pancakes. So good you don't need to add butter or syrup. Two things I learned - always make sure your burner is level (3 out of 4 are crooked on our stove) and never, EVER put water in the hot skillet right after the last pancake is finished. I always do that everytime I make dinner so it is easier clean up later. Let's just say there was so much steam/smoke I was this close to setting off the smoke alarm *cough* I posted below Bisquick's recipe. When I run out of Bisquick, I'll be looking at pancakes totally from scratch.

The second weekend (yesterday) I made gingerbread pancakes. I've been craving gingerbread ever since the holiday season started. I didn't think these had enough gingerbread flavor, but then again I didn't have cloves to add. If I can find a reasonably-priced bottle of cloves, I'll have to try this recipe again. If you make this with cloves, let me know how it tastes.


Chocolate Chip Pancakes




1 cup Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips (feel free to use nuts, raisins, blueberries, etc.)

In a bowl, mix together Bisquick, milk, and egg. Fold in chocolate chips. In a heated skillet, pour 1/4 cup batter in a circular motion. Pancake is ready to flip when bubbles form on the surface. Repeat until batter is gone. Makes 8 pancakes.

Source: Back of Bisquick box


Gingerbread Pancakes




2/3 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup Bisquick
1/8 cup molasses
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Powdered sugar, for dusting

In a bowl, mix together Bisquick and spices. Add milk, molasses, and egg. Let chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes. In a heated skillet, pour 1/4 cup batter in a circular motion. Pancake is ready to flip when bubbles form on the surface. Repeat until batter is gone. Dust with powdered sugar. Makes 8 pancakes.

Source: Recipe Zaar

Is it Friday yet??

One week from today, I'll be in my nice, warm bed cuddled with a nice, warm furball. Actually, he sleeps in odd places, so he'll probably be on the floor while I'm on my bed. That's right - the end of fall semester is near. Every year it's the same - I have a crapload of work due BEFORE finals week, and finals week is relaxation (except for my chem final). Why comm. majors do it backwards? Beats me. All I know is my ten-page research paper on minority representation in prime time programming is done. I'll get my grade back Thursday *cough* I'm hoping for a B+. And that's pretty damn good, considering what we are doing in one class is what grad students do throughout grad school. Thank goodness I have no plans for grad school.

Anyway, I've been too busy writing my paper to do anything in the kitchen. However, I do have another recipe to post from Thanksgiving break. Enjoy!!


Pumpkin Raisin Bread




1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp ginger)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, spices, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and water in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in raisins. Spoon batter into pan.

Bake 60-65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Source: Very Best Baking

New Blog On The Web

Who here doesn't have an addiction to either coffee, tea, or both? I'm a huge coffee person, although I do drink tea occasionally. If I wasn't so worried about my caffeine intake, I would drink coffee everyday! My favorite coffee chain is Dunkin Donuts because they give me coupons all the time, and let's face it - I'm a broke college student who can use all the coupons she can get. I almost always get a latte (the exception is when I have a free coupon for an iced coffee), whether it's hot or iced. Someday I'll learn how to make my own lattes and stop buying from corporate chains. I also love going into coffee houses, but I do that occasionally because they can be quite expensive for my budget.

There was a recent consumer report on the news about how decaf coffee does not mean caffeine-free. I actually knew that decaf coffee still had about 10% of the caffeine. But did you know there is no regulation of how much caffeine can be put into decaf coffee? Researchers took the smallest size of decaf coffee from six famous coffee chains and determined how much caffeine each cup had. Although most had less than 5 mg, Starbucks had 21 mg, Seattle's Best had 28 mg, and Dunkin Donuts had 32 mg. Although those numbers are significantly less than a caffeinated coffee, which is roughly 100 mg, you have to be careful you don't drink too much decaf.

So why the fuss about coffee and tea? Because of the recent grand opening of Kettle and Cup, a blog solely dedicated to all things coffee and tea. Marye and her husband are so obsessed, they have their own brand of roasted coffee! Damn, I wish I was that lucky!! What's the next best thing? Winning a pound of their roasted coffee. Head on over to Kettle and Cup for more details on the grand opening give-away.

Bake-Off Challenge With Megan

Whenever I sent Megan an extra copy of Pillsbury's 15th National Bake-Off Cookbook, we agreed to pick a recipe and bake it. Some can call it our own mini bake-off. Megan sent me a list of several recipes she picked, and I picked which one we would do first. I chose a recipe called Apple Harvest Squares, which was entered by Rex Pippin of Alabama.

I decided to bake these while I was home for Thanksgiving break. The base is very similar to a pie crust. Normally you would use a pastry cutter. I remember reading in Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home To Yours, you can also use your hands to cut butter, so I did. The result was fine, although I would suggest pressing it into the pan with the bottom of a glass. The topping didn't make enough to cover the entire base, so next time I would increase it just a smudge. I put the adjustments into the recipe below. These taste best when served warm.

Megan, we need to do this again :)

EDIT - Oops, there has been a misunderstanding!! Megan ended up doing Sweet Applets instead. Oh well, at least they both have apple. Now we can switch recipes and see if we get the same results. Hopefully so, because her applets look good!


Apple Harvest Squares



Base
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
2 cups chopped apples (I used Granny Smith)
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease the bottom of a 13x9 pan.

2. Sift together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until particles are fine. Press into bottom of pan. Arrange apples on top. Combine 1/8 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle on top. Bake for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup sugar, milk, vanilla, walnuts, and coconut. Spoon over baked base. Bake for another 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: Pillsbury's 15th Grand National 100 New Bake-Off Recipes, 1964 p.43



Murray getting ready for the holidays

Christmas Give-away Announcement

This Christmas give-away is not sponsored by me but sponsored by Baking Delights. She is giving away a cookbook filled with wonderful Christmas recipes called I’m Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas by Marcel Desaulniers and Ron Manville. Just what I need, another cookbook, right? heehee For contest details, please read her contest announcement.

Back From Thanksgiving Break

Hope all you U.S. cooks had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Mine had a disasterous start when I realized I left my box of baking stuff at the apartment. Fortunately most of it was "what if I bake this?" ingredients, so I only had to buy baking soda, powder, and powdered sugar. My family doesn't bake; therefore, I have the baking supplies at my apartment. Besides that, it felt good to be home for a bit. I took advantage of being home and made some recipes I wouldn't make while at school. The first thing I made was the infamous pumpkin roll. Who hasn't made this pumpkin roll yet? The cream cheese filling is good enough to eat out of the bowl. I was surprised this cake was flexible enough to roll. Obviously I knew that because it is a rolled cake, but you expect it to break at any second. Next time I will try to make the roll a little tighter haha


Pumpkin Roll Cake



Cake
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin

Filling
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (for dusting)

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with wax paper. Grease paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmgeg and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

4. Filling: Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Source: Very Best Baking

Thanksgiving Season is Upon Us

Only 19 hours and 45 minutes until my dad picks me for Thanksgiving break. Weeeee!! I'm excited to see my baby, although he isn't going to talk to me when he gets his annual booster shot at the vet on Wednesday.


Shh!! Murray's sleeping


I'm in such a good mood right now. I'm done with class for today, I don't have to work until next Monday, and I got a package from wonderful Anj, who generously gave me 16 cookbooks for my collection.


Thank you so much Anj!! I will let you know what I make with them!



I was bored this past Saturday afternoon, so I baked muffins. The muffins originally called for blueberries, but I hate blueberries and I didn't have any, so I subbed dried cranberries and raisins. I didn't taste the oats, so next time I would increase it to 1 cup. Enjoy!!

Oatmeal Cranberry-Raisin Muffins




1/2 cup rolled oats (may need to use 1 cup)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup blueberries, cranberries, and/or raisins
1 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line muffin paper with paper liners.

2. In large bowl, combine oats and water. Add flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, oil, and egg. Mix well. Stir in fruit.

3. Fill paper liners 2/3 full. Blend 1 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon together; sprinkle over batter. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then remove from pan.

Makes 12 muffins

Source: "Muffins and Cupcakes" by Larry Rosenberg, 1986 p.16

When Two Cravings Attack

I told my friend to pick a recipe for us to bake last weekend. She wanted these chocolate chip cookie bars I made once, but then she also wanted brownies. She had the brilliant idea of putting the two together, so I googled some recipes. I chose a recipe from About.com because it involved cocoa powder (which I had) and not unsweetened bars (which I didn't have). We tried cutting the amount of butter in the recipe because it totaled 3 sticks. We had enough brownie batter but not enough cookie batter, so I would cut the butter in the brownie layer (which I adjusted in the recipe below) but keep the butter amount for the cookie layer. All my roommates and us enjoyed these brownies. Too bad the Brownie Babe Contest isn't running now because I would definitely enter these.


Double Decker Brownies



Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer:
12 tablespoons butter, cut into slices
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Brownie Layer:
8 tablespoons butter, cut into slices
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 13x9 pan.

2. Chocolate chip layer: Melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature, but still liquid.

3. Brownie layer: Melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder. Scrape into medium-sized bowl with a spatula. Add sugar, whisking to combine until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until blended, adding vanilla with the last egg. Using a large spoon or spatula, mix in flour just until blended. Pour into prepared pan, and gently spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

4. Chocolate chip layer: Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Combine with cooled butter mixture until smooth. Whisk in 1 egg and vanilla until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Space spoonfuls of cookie mixture over the brownie layer. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with small gooey bits. Do not overbake. Cool to room temperature.

Source: About.com

Comfort Food For A Cold Day

I am a meat eater, but I do enjoy the occasional vegetarian meal. I had a can of black beans, so I was looking for a good recipe. I came across this chili recipe, so I gave it a go. I didn't have any carrots or rosemary, so I left those out. I also added shredded cheddar cheese on top. You can even add other types of beans, such as kidney or pinto. Serve this chili with your favorite cornbread recipe.


Vegetarian Black Bean Chili




1/4 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cupo sweet green pepper, chopped
1 cup tomato, chopped
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, saute in oil garlic, onion, mushrooms, jalapeno, and green pepper, stirring often, until softened. Stir in tomatoes, beans, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve garnished with grated cheddar cheese.

Source: Recipe Zaar

When It Comes To Dinner, I Am Not Your Average College Student

I think my roommates have accepted that I am not normal. While they are eating mac and cheese or hot dogs, I am making something hearty. "You're making curry again?" "Butternut squash?! EWWW!" I even had the maintenance guy ask me while he was fixing our sink what smelled so good. I bought three winter squash at the store awhile ago when they were on sale - sweet dumpling, acorn, and butternut. This is what I made out of them.


Stuffed Sweet Dumpling Squash




I bought three random winter squashes on sale because I've never had them before. I love summer squash, so why not winter squash? The first one I tried was a sweet dumpling squash. Very similar to an acorn squash, so if you're having trouble locating a sweet dumpling squash recipe, just substitute it for acorn squash. Now, I must admit this wasn't a scratch meal; I used a box of premade stuffing because I had it and needed to use it. It was an ok meal. I think the squash needed some sort of sauce. If you enjoy squash plain, then this would be a good recipe. The plus side was it smelled good when it was first cut opened. Save the seeds and toast them like you would for pumpkin seeds. After all, they are all part of the squash family.


Stuffed Acorn Squash



Round two of cooking with winter squash. Not my favorite squash either. I think it needed more sauce because the squash itself was plain. The filling was amazing - sweet potatoes mixed with orange juice and ginger. The original recipe is very confusing, so I rewrote it.

1 small acorn or sweet dumpling squash
1/8 cup brown sugar
2/3 tsp orange zest
1/8 tsp ground ginger
2 small sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 oz. orange juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/16 tsp nutmeg
1/16 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Cut squash in half; remove seeds and pulp. You can toast the seeds later.

2. Coat the inside of each squash half with 1/8 cup brown sugar, orange zest, and 1/8 tsp ginger. Place in deep pan and fill with enough water so the halves (cut side up) are sitting in water. Bake for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, peel and boil the sweet potatoes for 30 minutes. Drain and let cool until able to handle. Cut into cubes and mash. Add butter, 1/8 cup brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/16 tsp ginger.

4. When squash halves are done, remove from oven. Fill cavities with sweet potato mash; return to oven. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Source: Melissa's (rewritten by me)


Butternut Squash Curry



This is the curry I made when the maintenance man was fixing our sink. He said it smelled good, but I have the worst sense of smell. It can be a gift because that means I don't cry when I cut onions (mwahahaha). It also means if I can smell it, it has a super strong odor, and that can be good (such as baking brownies) or bad (such as chlorine). My one roommate just made a face when I told her it was squash. I'm starting to cook curry a lot now because the ingredients are so versatile.

3 Tbsp oil
1/2 lb. stewing beef, cubed
1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 small jalapeno, chopped
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp honey
1 cup cooked white rice

1. In a skillet, brown beef in 2 Tbsp oil. Remove from heat and pat off as much grease as possible.

2. In another skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil and saute onion and garlic until onions are soft and brown. Add cooked beef and tomatoes. Add curry powder, ginger, and jalapeno. Add beef stock and squash. Simmer for 30 min. or until squash is soft.

3. Add in jam and honey. Serve on top of cooked rice.

Source: Recipe Zaar


Butternut Squash Soup



I was hesitant on making this soup because our blender is so loud, but I needed to use up my remaining squash. If you love butternut, you'll love this soup. I left out the milk because I don't like my soups very creamy.

1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 cup milk (optional)

1. Saute onion in butter until tender. Add broth, squash, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cover and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to pan. Stir in milk, if desired.

Source: Recipe Zaar

Cookie Contest!!!

I subscribe to a bunch of different food-related emails. In my Betty Crocker email, they announced the Bake Life Sweeter Cookie Mix Recipe Contest. If you were following along last year, you may know it as the Mix It Up with Betty! Cookie Mix Recipe Contest. What you do is take one of Betty Crocker's cookie mixes and use it as a base for your own recipe. I'm determined to enter this year, although my inspiration is a little dry right now. You can send entries between 12:00 a.m. on November 5, 2007 and 12:00 p.m. on February 1, 2008 (central time). Hopefully the holiday season will be enough inspiration!!

Is anybody else planning on entering? Has anybody entered last year's contest?

Also, Recipe Zaar hasn't been loading properly the past weekend, so I'm going to go back and hopefully post recipes instead of just links. That way we don't have to rely on RZ.

Thanks Megan!!

Special thanks goes out to Megan for the awesome package!! For those of you who don't know, we decided to do a cookbook exchange. Not only did she mail me "Mercy's Favorites" from the Mercy Medical Center Redding, she also included Betty Crocker's "Fun Summer Appetizers" and a bag of Kraft caramel bits. I think she was spying on me when she bought the caramel bits because I wanted to try them but couldn't find any at my local store LOL I can't wait to try those out!!

A New Favorite

WARNING - This is the most amazing beef dish I've ever cooked/eaten. This is definitely a meal I could make weekly. You must marinade the beef in order to get the flavor factor. The recipe called for 4 hours up to overnight, but I marinaded it for an hour. Tasted amazing to me. It also says to grill or broil; I fried it in a skillet. Not the healthiest, but hey. As far as changing the ingredients, I adjusted the amount to one serving and forgot to add the sesame seeds (which I do have). I also left out the green beans.

Thai-inspired Beef and Pasta



3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 curry powder
1 cup uncooked penne
1 beef eye round steak (I have no idea what kind of beef I had)
1/4 cup thinly slice onions
1 cup red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/8 cup sesame seeds

1. Mix together 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice, 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 1/2 Tbsp oil, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp ginger, and 1/8 tsp curry powder. Place beef in a freezer bag. Pour marinade into the bag; cover the meat as best as you can. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight. The longer it sits, the better the flavor.

2. Once the meat is ready, pour some oil into a skillet and fry meat until no longer brown. If you're having trouble getting the middle to be brown, cut the meat into chunks. Once the meat is brown, cut into bite-size chunks (if you haven't done so already).

3. While the meat is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until done.

4. Pour remaining lime juice, soy sauce, oil, sugar, garlic powder, ginger, and curry powder into a second skillet. Saute onions, red pepper, and sesame seeds. Add browned beef. Add in cooked pasta. Sprinkle the top with feta cheese.

Makes two servings

Source: Recipe Zaar

Spontaneous Brownies

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, my friend and I eat lunch at my apartment before going to our 1:00 class. We were talking about baking and she goes "Let's make some brownies." "Now?" "Yes, now!" I was a little flustered because I had to search for a recipe (The one I use is back home in a binder. Remind me to grab that over Thanksgiving break.) and of course my laptop decides to go so slow that I could've driven home, grabbed the recipe, and driven back and it still would've been loading (exaggeration, of course). Finally, I got a recipe and we baked one hour before class started. This means we had to leave by 12:45. Uh yea. If the brownies would've baked the 25 minutes it called for, we would've been fine. Nope, it decided to take an extra 10 minutes. Thank goodness my one roommate was here to watch it while we power-walked to class.

I usually don't have eggs on hand, so I've been reading up on egg substitutions. Yay for vegan recipes!! I used butter, so these brownies aren't 100% vegan. However, they use bananas to replace the egg. I didn't realize until after the brownies were baking that there was no baking powder in the recipe!! The reasoning was that eggs can serve as a levening agent, and since I substituted with bananas, I lost that effect. As you can see by the picture, they still came out fine. I subbed chocolate chips for the bittersweet chocolate, two bananas for the eggs, and left out the espresso powder. I didn't bother letting the chocolate cool to room temperature.

I used leftover cream cheese frosting. The brownies are good enough without frosting, so feel free to leave it off to cut on calories. Then again if you're eating brownies, you probably don't care about calories at the moment. I didn't.

Chocolate Banana Brownies



1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs or 2 ripe bananas
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish or line it with foil.

2. In medium saucepan, stir chocolate and butter together until just melted. Remove and set aside.

3. Mix eggs/bananas, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla together. Add chocolate and mix well. Fold flour into batter until just incorporated.

4. Pour batter into baking dish and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool completely before cutting.

Source: Recipe Zaar

A Giant Can of Pumpkin Goes a Long Way

When I was home for fall break, I found a 29 oz. can of pumpkin on sale for $1.50. That's a pretty good bargain for so much pumpkin. For the past two weeks I have been trying all those wonderful pumpkin recipes out there.

Before I get to the recipes, I want to thank Megan for doing the cookbook exchange with me.


Pumpkin Nut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting




As a good friend of made said when eating this cupcake, "I'm going to marry this!" She requested a dozen of these as her Christmas present. Glad to know she's easy to shop for. I got lots of compliments on how I decorated, but the idea wasn't mine. But I guess if they don't see the original post and picture, then they'll never know. All I did was cut the recipe in half and added walnuts. I suggest if you cut the cupcake recipe in half, also cut the frosting recipe in half. I didn't and there is leftover frosting in the freezer.

Cupcakes
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.

2. In a second bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy; beat in eggs. Mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk until the batter is smooth. Add in nuts.

3. Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin pan cups. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes.

4. In a bowl, beat on medium speed the cream cheese and butter until creamy. With mixer on low speed, make 1/2 cup additions of sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Increase the speed of your mixer between each addition.

Source: Cupcakes: Bake Bake Bake; Frosting: Bake and Destroy


Pumpkin Oatmeal




Another oatmeal recipe, yay! This one is a healthier alternative when you crave pumpkin pie. The first time I made it, I had too much milk. The second time I made, I didn't have enough milk LOL Try to find a happy medium between 3/4 cup and 1/2 cup (for one bowl's worth).

1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup canned pumpkin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon ginger
1/8 cup brown sugar

Microwave oats and milk for 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and sugar until blended.

Source: Recipe Zaar


Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce



Another "what the hell are you making?!" recipe. That's what my one roommate said with disgust when I was in the kitchen. I was being daring and decided to eat pumpkin for dinner. Don't let the pumpkin fool you because this sauce was great! I used cream cheese instead of heavy cream and left out the red bell pepper because I didn't have any.

1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup water
2 oz. cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup uncooked pasta

1. In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until softened. Stir in pumpkin, broth, water, cream cheese, and nutmeg. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

2. While the sauce is simmering, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until done.

3. Add pasta to sauce and cook over moderate heat, stirring and thinning with reserved water if needed, until pasta is well coated.

Source: Recipe Zaar


Pumpkin Pudding



It tastes better than it looks, I swear!! It tastes just like pumpkin pie without the pie crust. I really wished I had Cool Whip when I was eating it. I didn't make as much as the recipe called for because I had a small box of pudding and 5 oz. evaporated milk, so I used 1 cup pumpkin. If my picture doesn't make you crave it, check out the picture on Nestle's website.

1 pkg (5 1/10 oz) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 can (12 fl. oz) evaporated milk
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Whipped topping (optional)

Beat pudding mix and milk according to package directions in large bowl. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; mix well. Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until ready to serve. Top with whipped topping, if desired.

Source: Nestle's Very Best Baking.


Pumpkin Raisin Muffins




Since I didn't have much pumpkin left, my choices were pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread. Muffins are easier to share, plus I had Halloween paper liners I needed to use. I was debating on using white chocolate chips and raisins, and since I don't eat as healthy as I should, I went with raisins. I cut the recipe in half and used all-purpose flour entirely.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper cups.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in medium bowl. Combine eggs and sugar in large bowl. Add pumpkin and oil; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until moistened. Stir in morsels. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.

Source: Nestle's Very Best Baking

A Love I Can't Handle

I love trying new foods. I've eaten some pretty unusual things for the thrill - sushi, calamari, kangaroo, springbok. Habanero peppers aren't unusual, but they are new to me. I went to a local farmer's market (In my college town? I was surprised too) and saw habanero peppers for 25 cents.



I figured, hey I love spicy foods so I'll buy one. Yea, about that. Spicy food is great. My mouth may be on fire, but I'll still eat it. Or at least I thought. While looking for a way to use my pepper, I came across Basil Habanero Pesto. I used my [extremely loud] blender and combined the pesto with some angel hair. I knew habanero peppers were hot, but damn! I never drink a plain glass of milk but was soon forced with this amount of heat. I could only eat 3/4 of my pasta. The combination of flavors were amazing, so if you can handle the heat, give this pesto a try.

My cookbook is still up for grabs. Any takers?

Cookbook exchange, anyone?

I bought 12 more cookbooks from Ebay two weeks ago, 12 Pillsbury Bake-off books to be exact. I ended up with an extra copy of Bake-off #15, so I debated on what to do with it.



I apologize for the picture. The lighting in my apartment is absolutely horrible. It's a red book in fairly good use.


Sell it? Give it away? Donate it? As tempting as it was to sell it on Ebay, I decided to give it away, with a twist. Who wants to do a cookbook exchange? It's pretty simple. Find a cookbook in your collection that you don't want anymore, tell me, then I'll mail you mine if you mail me yours. Anybody who is interested, please email me at mooseymoosecc[at]hotmail[dot]com. If you live outside the US, talk to me and I'll see what my budget allows. As a bonus, we could even make recipes at the same time and compare. If you want to know what recipes are in, let me know and I can give a brief overview.

Just a side note: I have the right to refuse exchanging cookbooks if I already own it, I'll never use it (I do not own a slow cooker or a bread machine. I don't own an ice cream maker either, but I'm going to invest in one for next summer), or it has recipes where 75% of the ingredients cannot be bought in a regular supermarket (for budget reasons).

The End of Zucchini Season

As we progress into the autumn weather, we are coming to the end of summer squash season. This saddens me because I never realized how much I love zucchini. I bought some zucchini and yellow squash at my home town's farmer market when I was home for fall break. I'm just getting around to posting about them now.

I've never made homemade soup before. Ever. Sure, I help my parents make homemade chicken noodle soup, but they did most of the work. I always see pictures and recipes of delicious soup, but I never had a reason to make them. I used to eat ramen noodle all the time, even in the summer. I knew they were high in sodium, but I didn't care. Then for whatever reason when I was studying abroad in Ireland, I became more health-conscious. I never had to worry about buying groceries or cooking for myself. I had the dining halls on campus. Although buying canned soup and ramen noodles are cheaper and more convenient, I think spending the extra money on produce and making fresh soup is worth the health benefits. Plus I know what goes into my soup versus whatever the manufactuer puts in. I'm glad my family never uses our blender because I took it with me to my apartment. So far, I've used it twice and I don't think my roommates have touched it. I hate using it because it's so loud LOL I don't know what encouraged me to make this soup. I think it was because I was searching for zucchini recipes on Recipe Zaar and I came across Zuke Soup. I am not a huge fan of super creamy stuff (which is probably why I don't use milk in my coffee, just sugar), so I thought it tasted better before I added the milk (yes I taste test as I go along). Other than that, I thought it was amazing. I didn't realize until afterwards I was supposed to peel the zucchini haha I apologize for the low quality picture, but I was eating leftovers the next day when I realized I didn't take a picture. It was just that good.


Zuke Soup




I didn't change anything except made it into two servings. I would advise tasting before adding the milk to see if you should add it. Recipe from Recipe Zaar.


Zucchini Curry




I just want to show off one my favorite cookbooks. Ever. I think it's because I absolutely adore squash, and this book dedicates 140 pages to it. I wanted a dinner using my summer squashes. Since I bought curry powder, I decided to make zucchini curry. I added in carrots, yellow pepper, and broccoli. You can use my chicken curry recipe and sub in the vegetables and vegetable broth.

I found a copy of the cookbook on Ebay. It's called "Garden Way's Zucchini Cookbook and Other Squash" by Nancy C. Ralston and Marynor Jordan.

Since the end of summer squash for the year is near, I bought some winter squash. I bought a butternut, an acorn, and a sweet dumpling squash. I'll keep you updated with that.

Sugar High Friday - My First Time

Challenges are awesome to enter because they give you another excuse to bake (or cook). For this month's Sugar High Friday, I had to bend the rules a tiny bit. You see, the theme is drunken apples. Given that I'm only 20, I can't go out and buy any alcohol. My parents don't keep any alcohol in the house, and they weren't going to buy me a bottle just for this challenge (damn it). I decided to use the next best thing - rum extract. I ended up baking this cake at home during my fall break two weekends ago after I went to a local apple festival. I was going to sub the vanilla extract for rum extract, but my mom is very picky and isn't crazy about rum. No worries; I used it in the glaze. Since my mom didn't want the rum extract, I made a little bit of glaze for about two pieces of cake. Let's just say the extract is really strong for such a little bit of glaze. I think if you made an actual bowl of glaze, the milk and sugar would balance out the strongness of the rum. I suggest only adding 1/8 tsp and then add more for taste.

Also, I learned an interesting fact while baking this. I thought the title was Apple Streudel Cake, not Apple Streusel Cake. The streusel is the crumb topping usually baked on top of baked goods. In this case, it's in the middle. A streudel (or strudel) similar to a pocket pastry.


Apple Streusel Cake




Streusel
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped apples (I used Golden Delicious)
1 cup nuts
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, melted

Cake
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk

Glaze
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1/8 tsp. rum extract (add more if needed)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease bundt pan. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, apples, nuts, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter.

2. In another bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and baking soda. In a third bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk.

3. Spoon half of the batter mixture into pan. Spread all of streusel on top. Top with remaining batter. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.

4. For the glaze, stir all ingredients together. Add more sugar if it's too runny; add more milk if it's too thick.



Source: Creative Cook's Kitchen handout, Cakes and Pies group 1 card 3




When I'm home from school, I have a little sous chef. Unfortunately, he was a little occupied when I was baking.

Sometimes Being Stubborn Pays Off

Ever had a food that although you enjoy the taste, for whatever reason your stomach rejects it? For the longest time, oatmeal and my stomach have never gotten along. I used to eat those instant oatmeal packs from Quaker Oats, mainly the fruit and cream kind. Shortly afterwards, my stomach churns. All these years later, I buy quick oats to use in cookies. I was looking online for other ways to use oats, and I came across a bunch of homemade oatmeal recipes. One called for peanut butter. I'm a huge fan of peanut butter, and for whatever crazy reason, I decided to give oatmeal one more chance. I made it, ate it, and waited...and waited...and waited. Then I went to work. Still nothing. My stomach seems to like this oatmeal, and what a comfort food it was. Nice, hot peanut butter with a spoonful of brown sugar mixed in with the oats. This makes me wonder if instant oatmeal has some kind of artificial ingredient that shouldn't be in natural oatmeal. I'll need to look at the ingredient list next time I'm at the store. In the meantime, go make some oatmeal and enjoy its warm comfort. The best part? It's the perfect snack for small budgets.


Peanut Butter Oatmeal




1/2 cup water
1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter

Microwave oats and water for 1-2 minutes or until oats are soft. Stir in sugar and peanut butter until blended. Makes 1 bowl.

Source: Jif Peanut Butter

What I've Been Up To This Semester

Taking 17 hours of classes plus 12 hours of work gives me limited time to update my blog (although I do work in a computer lab, so when I'm not busy I surf the web. Yay food blogs!) However, that didn't stop me from cooking and baking. I'm going to put it all in one post so I can be caught up.


Chicken Curry




Only once in my life have I had curry, and it wasn't even from a restaurant. While in Ireland, I bought a jar of curry sauce because it was on sale. I mixed it with rice and tuna, and it was absolutely delicious! When I came home, I wanted to buy curry powder, but it isn't the cheapest spice around, so I waited. When I was grocery shopping for college, I decided to give in and buy a jar. I found a recipe for chicken curry online awhile back and saved it into an online recipe box. That makes this dish #3 towards my goal.

1/4 cup flour
2 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Chicken breast
1/4 cup onion
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup white rice, cooked
Veggies, such as carrots or peas

If time permitting, bake chicken at 375F for 35 minutes. Otherwise, chop and fry in skillet. In a bowl, mix flour, curry, ginger, and sugar. Sauté onions in butter until tender. Once tender, add flour mixture. Slowly add broth and milk. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add lemon juice, chopped chicken, and veggies; cook a few more minutes. Serve on top of hot rice. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Recipe Zaar


Garlicky Pasta with Basil and Tomatoes




I found this recipe from Laura Rebecca's Kitchen and knew I had to try it!! I'm 50% Italian, so of course the more garlic, the better. I used canned tomatoes and vegetable oil since I'm on a budget. This is a must for garlic lovers.

8 oz uncooked pasta
3 tablespoons oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Add pasta, seasoning, and cheese, tossing gently to combine.

Source: Laura Rebecca's Kitchen


Carrot Spice Muffins




During the summer, I borrowed Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home To Yours" from my library after hearing so many posts about the book. I was making a list of recipes to try, but that turned out to be 3/4 of the book!! I had a 3 week limit on it, so I copied about 10 recipes. Last weekend, my parents visited me for the afternoon. I decided to make them French toast and Dorie's carrot spice muffins. Mmmm one of my favorite muffins!! Plus I love carrots. I didn't have any nuts or raisins, so I omitted them. I did have the coconut it called for, so yay.

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1/3 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray or line a 12-cup muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Stir in brown sugar. In another bowl, whisk oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour the wet into the dry and quickly stir to blend. Add carrots, coconut, raisins, and nuts. Divide evenly among the pan. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins

Source: Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home To Yours" p.14


Zucchini Casserole




Since my favorite vegetable is squash, I bought 4 of them to eat. One of the 12 cookbooks I got was dedicated completely to zucchini. I decided to make the zucchini casserole. My version is slightly different, so here is my adaptation.

1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped (I used canned but fresh works too)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Enough beef for two servings
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used pepper jack)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Chop and cook beef until brown; drain grease and set aside. In a small casserole dish, put a layer of zucchini slices. Top with 1/4 cup tomatoes, 1/4 cup onions, 1/2 clove garlic, 1/4 cup cheese, and 1/2 the amount of beef. Top with squash slices. Top with remaining tomatoes, onions, garlic, cheese, and beef. Top with any remaining squash and zucchini slices. Top with bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until squash slices are tender. Makes 2 servings

Source: "Garden Way's Zucchini Cookbook" 1977, p.104



I also made stuffed squash with oriental stuffing and stuffed pepper with a garlic alfredo rice mixture, but I forgot to take pictures of them! Oops!

Now that I am all caught up, what was the last homemade meal you made for dinner?

I Love a Good Bargain!

As summer is coming to an end, certain vegetables stand out at farmer's markets - pumpkins, yellow squash, zucchini, the list goes on. My favorite vegetable to eat has to be squash, whether yellow or zucchini. Next year I'm bugging my dad to plant zucchini along with his tomatoes. While our annual Friends and Family weekend was happening at my university, farmers set up stands to sell produce. I bought a baby squash for 50 cents. It also happened that the one church was having a rummage sale with books 6 for $1.00. I bought 12 cookbooks!!! I'm not talking only those thin ones you buy at the grocery stands. I'm talking those plus a few thick books that are 300-some pages long. Boy were my arms tired from carrying that load across campus! That brings my collection up to 103 books plus my huge binders and online recipe boxes. Obsessed? Just a little ;) With that being said, I picked up a vegetable cookbook at the rummage sale, so I decided to find a recipe for my newly-purchased squash. Being a college kid, I didn't have a lot of ingredients on-hand, but I did find Kate's Pan-Fried Summer Squash to be pantry-friendly. If I had time to read more than the recipe, I probably would've discovered who Kate was. All I know is this dish was amazing!





In honor of the Weekend Cookbook Challenge, which is "Show and Tell" a cookbook in your collection, I am entering this recipe. I chose to feature this because it's more than just recipes; it has little anecdotes and tips for cooking and purchasing each vegetable. Even though I just bought this cookbook, I believe it is going to be my vegetable Bible to both me and my roommates. I tried not to overwhelm them with my collection, so I only brought the ones I know we could use being in college. I'm also starting to make The College Cookbook binder where I place recipes I have found online, in magazines, or have photocopied that are easy to make with a college budget. Suggestions for college recipes are welcome and encouraged :)

In regard to the recipe, I hate really soft squash, so mine definitely didn't cook for the 40 minutes it calls for. I ended up draining the broth rather than have it be completely evaporated. If you want a vegetarian version, sub the chicken broth for either vegetable broth or water. The water won't give it as much flavor but will still cook the squash. It also called for fatty bacon drippings, but I omitted that since it also called for butter.


Kate's Pan-Fried Summer Squash




1 pound yellow squash, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 Tbsp fatty bacon drippings (optional)
2 Tbsp butter

Combine squash, broth, and onion in skillet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to medium. Cook uncovered until broth has evaporated, about 10 minutes. If you don't like your squash super soft, you may need to cut that time in half and drain the broth later. Add butter and cook uncovered over low heat until tender to your liking (recipe calls for 30 minutes but mine only took another 10 minutes).

Source: "Greene On Greens" 1984 p. 325

What is your favorite end-of-summer meal?
I think this fried squash is my favorite side dish. I haven't had too much experience making dinner from squash, so I'll have to stock up at farmer's markets and experiment.

Chocolate For Breakfast?

Having early classes means not getting up until the last possible minute. Because I enjoy my sleep, I sacrifice time for eating breakfast. Usually it's just a granola bar to last me until I eat lunch, usually 11 or 12. I wanted to eat something on the go when I don't want a granola bar. Muffins, if prepared with the correct ingredients, can be a healthy alternative. I was getting antsy in my relatively new apartment, so I decided to bake for the first time this semester. I wanted to try out my orange extract I bought but never opened. I love the combination of chocolate and orange, so I searched for an orange chocolate chip muffin. After a few minutes of searching on Recipe Zaar, I found one. Now, these aren't the healthiest because of the chocolate, but it's still better than a Pop Tart or sugar cereals (which I cut out of my diet since I eat enough junk throughout the day). These muffins tasted fantastic, but they could've used a little more volume. Maybe next time I will try adding oats. Or I may have overmixed the batter. If you have an orange available, I would add orange zest and cut back on the extract to 1 Tbsp. I used 1 cup chocolate chips, but there was way too much chocolate in one bite (not that it tasted bad or anything ;) ) so I would go with 1/2 cup. As a side note, I don't buy eggs unless I plan on using alot, so I subbed for it and it turned out fine. I included that in the recipe below.

And if any of you have been paying attention, this is recipe #2 towards my goal.


Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins




2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg (or use 2 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp oil + 2 tsp baking powder)
2 Tbsp orange extract (or 2 Tbsp orange zest + 1 Tbsp orange extract)

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips. In another bowl, whisk milk, oil, egg,and extract. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together for 20 seconds, or until just moist. If you see lumps, it is OK to leave them. Lightly grease muffin pan or use paper liners and fill each 2/3 full with batter. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Best served warm. Makes 12 muffins.

Source: Recipe Zaar


What do you eat for breakfast?
I eat Quaker chocolate and peanut butter granola bars or Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. Occasionally I'll have french toast, waffles, hash browns, sausage, biscuits and gravy (!!!), leftover cake, or a banana.

Royalty Chicken

There is no definite origin to the dish chicken a la king. After doing a bit of research, it was made by some chef in some restaurant and was named after some guy with the last name of King. Why did I decide to make this dish? Simple - I have milk to use. Plus I wanted to do something with my peas. I didn't make the traditional dish because I didn't have mushrooms, sherry, or pimentos. I remember a frozen dinner long, long ago that was chicken a la king with carrots and peas, so that's what I think of. Here's a college version of the recipe. This makes 2 - 3 servings, depending on how much you put on toast.


Chicken a la King




1 chicken breast, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1/8 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup carrots, chopped (I didn't have any to add)
2 slices bread

Fry chicken in skillet until cooked; remove and pat off grease. Clean skillet; place back on stove. Fry onions in butter until tender. Add flour; stir. Gradually add milk and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add chicken, peas, and carrots. Place bread in toaster. Serve chicken mixture over toast.

Source: About.com

What is your favorite chicken dish?
I love flavored chicken wings. We buy a bag, dip in various marinades such as buffalo or terriaki, and bake until done.

It's All About The Seasoning

I was recently browsing through numerous cookbooks and recipe sites, looking for dinner ideas. I had lettuce and tortillas that I needed to use before they went bad, but I didn't want to make quesadillas (again). So I eventually stumbled across a chicken fajita taco salad. Found my dinner idea! However, the recipe called for fajita seasoning mix, and I wasn't going to spend any more money than I had to. I googled for a fajita seasoning recipe, hoping that I had all the spices; I did. I put my salad together without following the recipe except for the seasoning, so the recipe is half mine (inspired, of course)


Chicken Fajita Salad




1 chicken breast, chopped
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp powdered chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup lettuce
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 tortillas, torn into strips
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Ranch dressing

Fry chicken breast in skillet until cooked. Add chili powder, bouillon, garlic salt, cumin, and lime juice; toss to coat. Place 1/4 cup lettuce onto plate. Top with 1/8 cup onions, 1/4 cup tomatoes, 1/2 of the tortilla strips, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/4 cup cheese, and ranch as desired. Makes 2 servings

Source: Me; Fajita seasoning from About.com


What is your favorite type of salad?
I love the buffalo chicken salad they serve at my campus. I also enjoy a chicken caesar salad and the chicken bbq ranch salad from The Cheesecake Factory.

1 Recipe Down, 9 More To Go

There is a website called 43 Things where you can keep track of your goals in life. I got bored one day and just kept thinking of random things to add. I ended up with more than 43 goals, so I moved it to Lists of Bests. It's the same account as 43 things except you can add as many things as you want. They don't have to be goals; they can be book lists, movie lists, places to see, etc. You can view my list here. Probably 25% of my goals are food related, if not more. One of the goals I have is "create 10 recipes I've saved in online recipe boxes." I have an obession of creating an account, saving countless recipes, and never make any of them. Now I'm forcing myself to use these online accounts, even if I have to tackle 10 recipes at a time (in case you're wondering why I don't use online accounts as often as I save recipes, please note my cookbook count is at 91 books. I bought two more over the weekend. Would've been more if the one flea market table wasn't selling them for $1 ^_^;;).

As I was choosing a recipe, I decided I wanted to use my mint chocolate chips that have been sitting in the drawer since December. I wanted chocolate chip cookies but didn't want to make something so easy. I came across a chocolate chip pie recipe. Now, I thought this was going to be a giant chocolate chip cookie but in a pie plate. Turns out it's more of a cake than a pie. Still delicious nonetheless and I would definitely make this in the future.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Cake




Although the recipe calls for swirled chocolate chips, you can use semisweet ones. Recipe is posted here.

What is your favorite recipe for using chocolate chips?
I still enjoy the classic chocolate chip cookies.

Skip The Deep Fryer

I actually made these before I made the pie and stuffed shells. I just never got around to posting about my wonderful french fry making. I googled several recipes for baked french fries and put the results together. Honestly, I don't remember where I got the recipes from, so there's no definite source for this recipe. I experimented with baking them. Most of the recipes said to spray the cookie sheets. I did that for one tray. It just made the french fries A LOT darker on the bottom, but really no texture difference. Then all of the recipes said to cover the fries themselves in oil and seasonings before placing on the cookie sheets. Now, I wasn't sure if the oil was there to help the french fries bake or if it was to keep the salt on, so I did two batches. Personally, I think dipping in the oil makes them a little more crispier.


Baked French Fries




Potatoes
Oil
Seasonings

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Peel potatoes if desired. Place in boiling water for three minutes so they are easier to cut. Drain; let cool enough to handle. Cut using either a french fry cutter (which I did) or make even chunks with a knife. Once cut, place in a bowl of cold water to help remove more starch.

3. Put some oil into a bowl large enough to dip french fries. Roll each french fry into the oil; sprinkle with desired seasonings.

4. Place fries onto an ungreased cookie sheet(s). Bake for 15-20 minutes. If you care about presentation, flip fries over throughout the cooking time to ensure browning on all sides. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Source: Unknown

I'm trying to think of ways to get more people to comment. I saw this idea on a blog, so I'm going to try it out for now. What I do is ask a question each time I blog. Sounds simple, no? Here goes:

What do you like to use as dip for your French fries?
I like to use ranch dressing and ketchup (not at the same time though). However, when I'm at Wendy's, I so use a Frosty as a dip.

A Good Way To Eat Your Greens

In order to spark more interest in the LJ community, Arty Chokes is holding a recipe contest. What you need to do is prepare and submit a vegetarian recipe using mainly greens. I knew I had jumbo shells, frozen broccoli, and a block of cheese in the house. What does that get me? Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Shells!!! Probably not my best recipe because it was dry due to the cheese. Plus I'm not a huge cheese fan. Also, don't always trust the first recipe you get online. I got a cheese sauce recipe from Recipe Zaar where you add the cheese first then the other ingredients. Big no-no. Luckily, I had milk and a giant chunk of melted cheese in the pan, so I used a colander and poured the milk into another saucepan. Then I googled and found several recipes with the same steps. Here you added the cheese last. That Recipe Zaar person got a bad review on her/his recipe.


Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Shells




12 jumbo shells
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
8 oz cheddar cheese, cubed
8 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 tsp garlic, minced
Desirable spices, such as black pepper, chili powder, etc.
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1. Boil water for shells; cook for 10 minutes. Drain and run under cold water. The cold water will keep them from cooking further. This is important because you will be baking the shells later.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour; stir. Gradually add milk. Add a few cubes of cheese at a time until fully melted. Stir in broccoli, garlic, and spices. Remove from heat.

3. Assemble shells in the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Fill each shell with cheese mixture. If you have any leftover cheese mixture, fill the gaps between the shells. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on each shell.

4. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

*If you want your broccoli to be soft, cook for a few minutes before stirring into the cheese sauce. Otherwise, they will be hot and crunchy in the shells (the way I like it).

You can also add various veggies to the broccoli - red pepper, carrots, zucchini, etc.

Source: Me! (Cheese sauce - don't remember)