Thursday, July 31, 2008

Back to the Grind

So I'm finally back from my month of vacationing. My husband and I just got back from New York/ Montreal. We visited the Saratoga/Lake George region in New York.
While in New York we stayed at a bed and breakfast. The owners gave us excellent recommendations on places to eat in the area. One place we chose was called the 132 Glen Bistro. It was a small little place but the food was great!
Chad chose the filet mignon and I chose the cowboy pork chop. It was huge. Both meals came with excellent mashed potatoes and vegetables.

While in Montreal. We also had some great food. I was dying to get a good crepe. We found this cute little restaurant in Old Montreal. Our table was placed right in front of this cute open window. I got a strawberry crepe that was served with whip cream and two delicious scoops of ice cream.



So now that we are back we've gotta get back to work. Hopefully I can get back in the kitchen considering I only cooked 2 real meals this entire summer!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Louie Giglio - Laminin

Found this video on another blog. Hope you like it.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Charlotte

Every year at Christmas my grandma makes a Charlotte Russe. The way she prepares the Charlotte Russe is with a custard and ladyfingers on the outside.

Well this weekend we went to my grandma's for her big derby party she has every year. I found this recipe for a charlotte and thought she would be interested in it.

Her friends always make such great and decadent food for this party and I thought I should make something to go along with it all. This recipe was actually pretty simple to make. It tasted great but unfortunately I think it came out dry.

Orange Layer “Charlotte” with Buttercream Frosting and Berries
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier (I just used the juice from the orange I zested)
1 Tbsp Orange zest
4 large egg whites

For the frosting:
1 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier(Used the OJ again)
1/4 tsp lemon extract

For assembly:
Ladyfingers (approx 36 for an 8-inch cake)
1/2 pint of blue berries
1/2 pint of raspberries
1/2 lb strawberries
Ribbon (approx 2 yards)

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of two 8-inch diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; spray parchment. Dust pans with flour, tapping out any excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 3/4 cups sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla, Grand Marnier, and orange zest. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating until well blended between additions. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining sugar. Beat egg white mixture until stiff glossy peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold egg white mixture into batter in 3 additions. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack; remove parchment paper, turn cakes over, and cool completely. Level the cake layers, if necessary.

For frosting: Cream cream cheese and butter on low until smooth. Turn the mixer off and add all powdered sugar at once. Turn mixer on “Stir” until the powdered sugar is mostly incorporated and increase speed to low. Add Grand Marnier and lemon extract; mix until smooth (approx 4 minutes). Thin the frosting with water or milk, if necessary (I added about a Tbsp of milk).

For assembly: Rinse the berries and pat dry. Cut the top from the strawberries and slice thinly. Spread approx 3/4 cup frosting on bottom layer, top generously with raspberries and blueberries, lightly pressing the fruit into the frosting. Top with second layer. Frost tops and sides of cake liberally.

Sift powdered sugar lightly over the top of the ladyfingers. Pipe a line of frosting onto the back of the ladyfingers and apply to the side of the cake, allowing about 1-inch of the cookies to stick up over the side of the cake. Press onto the cake. Arrange remaining blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries over the top of the cake, as desired. Tie with a ribbon. Refrigerate overnight if not serving the same day.

Notes: The amounts above are half the original recipe, which makes 2 10-in cakes.

Yields: 1 8-inch, 2-layer cake
Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2006

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Cheesy Chicken Roll- ups

This recipe was delicious and extremely easy! It's from my Kraft food and family magazine.


8 flour tortillas
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups lettuce
1 targe tomato, chopped

Preheat oover to 350
Top each tortilla with salsa and chicken. Fold in opposite sides of each tortilla, then roll up burrito style.
Arrange tortillas seam side down, in 8 inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 15 min. or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with lettuce and tomato.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Who Am I Casting Crowns

My husband showed me this video the other day. I thought it was pretty awesome!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Biscuits and Gravy


A week ago I went to a cooking class offered by my husband's aunt and uncle's appliance store. The theme of the night was diner food. We learned some great recipes and it all tasted SO good! Biscuits and Gravy was one of the many recipes we learned. Chad loves biscuits and gravy so I knew I would have to make this for him. The biscuits turned out great. I also didn't ruin the gravy which I was so nervous about.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Servings:12
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons of butter
1 cup buttermilk (full fat)
1/3 cup yogurt
1 egg
Preheat oven to 450
In a medium size bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Using a box grater, grate the butter on top of the dry ingredients and using your hands cut the butter into the flour.










In a small bowl combine the buttermilk, yogurt and egg. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry mix and carefully stir just to combine, over mixing will yield tough biscuits.
Using a scoop or spoon drop the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and for about 15 minutes until nicely browned. (I baked mine about 12 minutes as the bottoms started to become dark.)
Sausage Gravy
Servings:4
1 pound pork sausage. sage works well
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 quart milk (I used about 2 1/2 cups)
black pepper and salt to taste
In a large pan over medium low heat fry the sausage until fully cooked trying not to brown it too much. When the sausage is cooked add the butter and cook until melted, dust with the flour turn the heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes. Slowly add the milk about one cup at a time until you have achieved your desired thickness. Season heavily with the pepper and salt if desired.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Chicken Piccata

So like I said in an earlier post I needed to go through my google recipes. This recipe I have been wanting to try for awhile I just never did. I have always thought this chicken recipe sounded good but most recipes were made with some type of wine. Since I don't drink wine I thought it pointless to buy a bottle to cook for just this recipe. I also am afraid if I ever did cook with wine I would blow my kitchen up somehow!I was so happy when I found this didn't require any wine. This chicken was extremly simple and I always have the ingredients on hand and of course it tasted wonderful!
I was so hungry I scarfed it down and forgot to take a picture!
I found the recipe from here.
Chicken Piccata
Source: Allrecipes.com
Ingredients-
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 egg
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1/2 cup boiling water
Directions-
1. In a small bowl, beat the egg together with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Set aside.
In a shallow bowl or dish mix together the flour, garlic powder and paprika. Dip the chicken in the egg/lemon mixture, then in the seasoned flour.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter/margarine and brown the coated chicken pieces.
3. Dissolve the bouillon in the boiling water, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour liquid into skillet. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, turning chicken pieces after 10 minutes, until chicken is tender. Garnish as desired and serve.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Birthday treat!

My sister-in-law just celebrated her 21st b-day! I decided I would make her something she really enjoys! She loves carrott cake. This was the first cake I have made from scratch and it was really easy. I don't know why I ever thought it wouldn't be! I made her cupcakes so that she wouldn't have to eat a huge cake and eat it quickly so that it wouldn't go bad. I iced about 6 cupcakes and gave her the rest to freeze!I found this recipe from all recipes. It had a ton of reviews which gave many different tips. I did change the recipe as a a lot of the reviews said to do 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup sugar. I also added a tbp. more of vanilla. I don't
care for carrott cake so I didn't try it but I hope she approves!
I don't have any pictures as the two I took came out blurry :(

Carrott Cake III
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Easter Dessert


I decided I would contribute something to Easter this year. I have found this blog group. This group makes a different recipe each week from this cookbook. When they posted this apple dessert I knew I wold have to make it sometime. It is really simple to make. The dough seemed like a basic cookie dough to me at first. The recipe calls for raisins but I chose not to use them. If you love apple desserts as I do this really is a great new way to use them!

Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie-Cake
(Source: Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours” pages 310-311)
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 used Fuji)
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 9×12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking shee tlined 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.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Something New!

So it may seem like I haven't really been "dishing up' any meals lately but really I have. Recently I have stuck to old favorites so I haven't really had anything blogworthy. I decided though recently that I have so many great things starred in my google reader that I need to start going through and using it for ideas as I have felt totally out of ideas of what to fix. This is one of those starred recipes.I got it from this blog.

I didn't totally like it. I like some spicy things but I still played it safe and drizzled just a little bit over my chicken. I didn't feel like it really had any flavor unless maybe I had dunked it in the hot sauce. Chad still hasn't eaten any as he got sucked into playing b-ball with some neighborhood kids so we'll see once he has tried it what he thinks!

Buffalo-Style Chicken Strips with Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed cornflakes
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
Cooking spray
1/3 cup hot sauce (such as Crystal)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing
4 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 x 3-inch sticks
4 carrots, cut into 1/4 x 3-inch sticks

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Place cornflakes in a shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken strip at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip in egg whites; dredge in cornflakes. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken strips, flour mixture, egg whites, and cornflakes.

Lightly coat chicken strips with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until done, turning once.

Combine hot sauce, pepper sauce, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Drizzle hot sauce mixture over chicken. Serve with ranch dressing, celery, and carrots.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

A Favorite

For one of my bridal showers everyone was asked to bring a recipe for me. This recipe came from Chad's mom as it is one of his favorites. Which is really surprising since he is so picky. I never would have thought he would have liked something like this. It is really easy and super yummy!

Chicken Pasta
1 pkg. linguine
1 pkg. chicken strips fresh or frozen ( I cubed 2 chicken breasts)
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. water
1 TBLS chicken bouillion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp lemon grind
Vegetable Spray

Brown chicken in large non stick skillet coated with vegetable spray. Add rest of ingredients except linguine. Simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through. Toss with hot, cooked linguine.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Cream Biscuits


Nothing really special here. I was just trying to use up some cream I had and ran across this recipe. I got the recipe from this food blog.They are incredibly easy and really yummy!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead the dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 or 2-1/2″ biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet. The baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Yields: 1 dozen 2″ biscuits

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Memories!


So tonight for dinner I made Chicken Francais. This meal is so delicious. One of my best friends from college,Nicole, gave the recipe to me. Throughout college we would go over to her aunt's house and we actually had access to a real kitchen we could cook in or receive food cooked in it! I received so many great recipes from our trips over there. So this is Nicole's favorite and I know why. We have made it many times together. Such as when I visited her in Texas and the best time in her apartment when she made the fire alarm go off!! Luckily I made it over after the alarm went off and the chaos was over! So enjoy this recipe and make your own memories.
This is when we made it in Texas with some other friends visting.

So this really isn't a complete recipe but when she wrote it down for me she didn't really know exact measurements. It can't really be messed up so just enjoy!

Ingredients
-boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 per person)
-white rice
-chicken bouillon
-lemon juice
-flour

Pound chicken, cut into pieces
Flour chicken, brown in olive oil (just until golden)
Put chicken in glass pan
Add 2-4 cups of water with 1 TBSP lemon juice and 1 TBSP bouillon
to pan you cook chicken in, stir then pour over chicken
Bake for at 350 for 40 min.

When measuring water for the rice add 1 TBSP lemon juice and 1 TBSP bouillon to taste.
Serve the chicken over the rice and add some of the water mixture over the rice.

Monday, February 18, 2008

A day off


Yeah for a day off from school! I thought I would make stuff I usually don't have time to make today. I started off making homemade noodles for dinner tonight. I can't wait for that. Then I made waffles for the first time. I got a waffle maker for Christmas and I have been anxiously waiting for the right time to use it.
I have looked and looked for a waffle recipe and found so many. I finally decided on this one. These were really good. The waffles were HUGE! This batter made 3 1/4 waffles on my maker. Just eating that one 1/4 would have been enough! I did add a little cinnamon to the batter but I really coudln't taste it. I would love to make these again with some sauteed apples on top!

Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, separated
2 TBSP butter, melted

Directions:
Sift all of the dry ingredients together (I just whisked them all in a large bowl). Beat the egg whites until they reach a stiff peak. Mix together the milk, egg yolks, and butter together. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the egg whites until combined. Place batter in your waffle maker until done.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Blueberry Muffins


After making my fruit pizza I had some blueberries leftover. For weeks I have been wanting to make homemade blueberry muffins so I finally got the chance. I used a recipe I found on all recipes. They turned out pretty good and I really like the streusel on top.
* The original recipe made 12. I cut it in half and that is what I posted here. This made about 9 muffins for me.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, chilled


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.
Stir the flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over unbaked muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.p

Saturday, February 16, 2008

V-day dessert


For Valentine's day we didn't really do much. Our bible study group had our own dinner and the girls were to bring desserts. I thought I would make it simple since I had been sick earlier in the week. The fruit pizza is something I haven't had in forever but its so simple and yummy I think I might have to make it more often!
I didn't really follow a recipe but allrecipes.com has one that is pretty much what I did.

INGREDIENTS
1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
On an ungreased medium baking sheet, smooth the refrigerated sugar cookie dough into a single layer approximately 1/4 inch thick. Bake in the preheated oven 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and center is no longer doughy.
In a medium bowl, blend the marshmallow creme and cream cheese. Spread the mixture over the baked crust. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

** I added about a capful of vanilla and about 1/4 tbs. of sugar

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Cupcakes!!


Oreo cupcakes that is! I have really been wanting to make cupcakes. I found this recipe. recently and knew they were a must to make. I am once again taking this for dessert at church tomorrow so luckily they won't be sitting in the kitchen staring at me to devour them!


Cookies-N-Cream Cupcakes
Original recipe from: Cupcakes! By the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn
24 paper liners for cupcake pans
30 Oreo cookies - I used Double-Stuffed
1 pkg plain white cake mix
1 cup sour cream - I used low-fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil - I used ¼ c oil and ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
3 large eggs - I used egg-beaters for 1 egg and 2 regular eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your over to 350 and line the pans with paper liners. Count out 12 Oreos and separate the top and bottom wafers. Make sure each half has some icing on it. Place one wafer, icing side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. (Sometimes icing didn't get on both sides so I just split the icing in half and spread some on both sides)
** After trying a cupcake I didn't really care to eat the cookie on the bottom. Maybe its that I can't really eat a whole oreo as I think its too much chocolate or that baking it changed its flavor a little. I don't know but I just took it off the bottom and enjoyed it without it!**
Crush the remaining Oreos by any means you like.

Place the cake mix, oil, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and beat again on medium about 1.5 minutes more. Measure out 1 1/2 cups crushed Oreos and fold these into the batter. Set the rest of the crumbs aside for garnish.

Fill your liners 3/4 full with batter and place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes for about 18-20 minutes until they are golden and spring back when lightly touched with your finger. Cool in the pan on wire racks for about 5 minutes and then remove cakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Broccoli Cheese Soup


I love Panera's broccoli cheese soup! When I saw this recipe I quickly bookmarked it. I had some extra broccoli left over so I thought I would give it a try tonight. The soup was good but it lacked a real intense flavor. I also never got it to really thicken up. I am sure though as I eat the leftovers it will thicken up.
I got the recipe from here

Broccoli cheese soup
INGREDIENTS
4 cups fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of celery soup (I used 1 can of celery and one can of cream of chicken)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used 3 cups of cheese)

DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot, cook broccoli in broth until tender, about 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together milk and condensed celery soup. Blend cornstarch with cold water, then stir into soup mixture. Pour into the pot with the broccoli. Cook over medium heat, stirring steadily until thick and bubbly. Stir in cheese, and simmer, stirring until hot. Do not boil.
Serve with french bread or sour dough bread

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A new Giada recipe

I saw Giada making this the other day and it looked pretty yummy. I had some extra tortellini so I knew I should make it this week.

Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Olive oil
2 cups marinara sauce
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 pound purchased cheese tortellini
2 ounces thinly sliced smoked mozzarella
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.
Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Happy Birthday!

I'm still here! We were gone for awhile after Christmas and I haven't cooked anything new or blogworthy until tonight! Chad's birthday was Tuesday but we weren't able to celebrate until tonight! I thought I would try something new that I know he loves! The Cheesesteaks were good but lacking a little flavor! I also made some roasted broccoli for myself. It turned out really good but next time I want to try it with some fresh garlic! I got the Cheesesteak recipe from here.




Philly Cheese steak
3/4 - 1 lb sirloin steak, trimmed of fat
2 6-inch sub rolls, split lengthwise
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, sliced
salt & pepper
2-3 slices provolone cheese
mayonnaise (optional)
Cut the meat into 1-inch wide strips. Put on plate and freeze the meat until the exterior hardens but the interior remains soft, about 25 minutes. Do not freeze more than 30 minutes or meat will become grainy. Slice sirloin as thin as possible using a sharp knife or use food processor fitted with slicing disk.
Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread mayonnaise as desired on split rolls on a baking sheet. Bake 5 to 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the onions and saute until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the shaved meat, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and continue to cook until the beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Turn the heat to low, shingle the slice of cheese over the meat, and allow to melt, about 1 minute. Fold the melted cheese into the meat. Divide the meat and cheese mixture evenly among the toasted rolls

For the roasted broccoli I just tossed them in some olive oil, salt and pepper!