What Jenn Is Eating

Homemade ham aka Coke Au Vin ham!! So yummy!!!

2011-11-13T18:11:00.008-05:00

*Please excuse the horrible pictures. My digital camera battery is dead and I used my cell. It's also hard to find a good angle to photograph a large ham in a silver roasting pan*

Homemade ham. 2 of my favorite words put together in English language. When I was little my mom would make "homemade ham." Perfectly sweet and moist and . . . well just perfect. Most people look forward to Thanksgiving dinner- me? I looooove Christmas dinner because we have ham. Well Christmas came early this year- I decided to make my first ham. It was AMAZING. My mom came over today, tried it and proudly stated "this tastes like Mom's (my grandma)!!" My heart soared- tasting like Grandma's on my first try? I can't get my meatloaf to taste like her's at all WITH her recipe but I can make her ham without even trying? Oh the irony.

This recipe is technically called "Coke Au Vin ham." This is a very simple recipe- only 5 ingredients. You do need to baste it every 30 minutes or so but it's totally worth it. Here goes:

1 half shank smoked ham (the cheap kind!!)

3 cups Coke

1 cup Marsala cooking wine (found near red wine vinegar)

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Score ham 1/4" deep, a few inches apart in 5-6 places

Place ham in roasting pan. Pour coke and wine over ham.

Bake 2-3 hours on the bottom rack (mine took around 2 and weighed almost 8 lbs. Check with a meat thermometer- it should be between 120 and 130 degrees. Stay away from the bone)

Baste every 30 minutes. (I don't own a baster so I just used a coffee cup to scoop up the juices and pour over.

Cover lightly with foil for the last hour to prevent dark browning too soon)

Mix brown sugar and mustard.

Remove ham from oven. Turn oven up to 450.

Brush brown sugar and mustard generously over the ham.

Return to the top rack of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Mike is the one who cut up the ham so I don't have directions for how to do that BUT if you google it, it's easy to find detailed instructions. He just kind of winged it.

Gravy: I made a gravy with the left over drippings in the bottom. Simply place in a skillet on high, bring to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir. Turn down and let reduce and thicken slightly. Absolutely yummy :)

Lastly: My 2 latest cakes (both Thomas the Train)

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin . . . amazing and super easy!! Crock pot dinner! Also 2 cakes . . .

2011-10-10T19:06:00.007-04:00

*Photo and recipe courtesy of C+C Marriage Factory because my camera battery is permanently dead*

This happened recently. It was amazing. Beyond amazing. And super easy. What more can a girl ask for? Mike loved it and requested I triple the recipe next time. This is a great weeknight dinner because it is so easy to make but it tastes so amazing that it would be great for a holiday dinner as well. Next time I cook for my family this is what they are getting (you hear that Mom?)

What is it you ask? Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin. I'm obsessed with cooking pork tenderloins in the crock pot right now. There's literally no end to what you can do with them and in the crock pot they literally just fall apart after a few hours. Here's the recipe to my latest discovery. *side note* (I'm not sure what the tenderloin size was- 1 to 2 lbs definitely- you want a long and skinny one. I get mine at Aldi. They have original, teriyaki and peppercorn. They are all great. You want the original for this recipe)

1 pork tenderloin
1 tsp Italian Seasonings (the original recipe called for Sage. I didn't have Sage but assumed (hoped) it might be in my Italian Seasonings. It worked great)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1- Combine Italian seasonings, salt, pepper and garlic in a small bowl. Rub over the tenderloin. Get messy. Have fun. Place in crock pot with 1/2 cup of water. Turn on low. Set timer for 5-6 hours. Put the lid on and walk away. Seriously. Leave it alone and let it work it's magic.

2- About an hour before it's done combine ingredients for the glaze in a small sauce pan. Heat and stir on medium high until the mixture thickens. Make sure you stir. Don't walk away. It will stick and it will bubble and overflow. Be patient. It doesn't take very long.

3- Brush tenderloin with glaze several times for the next hour.

4- Shred. Drizzle with glaze after plating. Enjoy!!

So easy. SOOO EASY.

I know I haven't been writing much lately BUT I really am going to make an extra effort to blog more. I have several friends who ask me for recipes on a frequent basis so I'm going to try to start focusing on easy but amazing tasting recipes. Lately I've been doing a lot of crock pot recipes so look forward to seeing many of those as well.

On a different note- here's a few cakes I've made lately.

*L's 8th birthday cake . . . Super Mario big man mushroom

baby shower cake "Cute as a Button"

My week in pictures . . . confetti cake cookies, muffins and jams, fascinators

2011-07-04T16:34:00.011-04:00

Hello. I hope you're enjoying your summer- I just realized I can't use an exclamation point on this keyboard anymore :( I love exclamation points- what am I going to do? Luckily this is more of a picture blog today- My last week in pictures :)

L and I made these wonderful cookies: Confetti cake cookies. I can't remember exactly how to make them- it's on the side of a confetti cake box. You mix, roll into balls and then flatten with the bottom of a glass (we used a shot glass) dipped in sugfar. Cook for like ten minutes, slightly cool and then ice. L choose yellow. They were super soft, super yummy, super easy, and super cheap (insert exclamation point here.) He loved them (take note of tiny spot of icing beside his mouth- haha)

We took a drive one night and the sky went from this:

to this:

to this: It was absolutely beautiful, especially considering it looked like it was going to really really storm for a while.

I've cooking with berries a lot in the past few weeks. I made blackberry ice cream for Father's day, (it was okay- a little too soft) blackberry muffins (delicious) and blackberry and strawberry jams. (cook your berries down with sugar and the juice from one lemon- delicious)

Saturday was the bridal shower of Amber, one of my oldest friends. The theme was "glamtastic" and we were all supposed to wear a hat and heels. I chose to wear a fascinator. It was awesome.
Why is that only a British thing? *sigh*

Okay I'm off to enjoy my 4th of July- last night we went to the lake and watched the fireworks- they were so amazing (much better than they will be tonight- I'm pretty sure the firefighters put on the show here so you can imagine the difference between pros and not) Hope everyone enjoys their holiday :)

Challah (Braided) bread! My birthday Part1!

2011-03-30T22:35:00.011-04:00

I made fancy bread again! Yesterday at school we were reading about braided bread and my students seemed really interested (amazed even) at the pictures. I decided to make some and take it to school today. They loved it. They begged for seconds. I was shocked (in my experience most kids are weary of trying new food) Even the one I thought would refuse to try it loved it . . . "this is the best bread ever!!" shouted from across the room. According to them it looked like a "giant pretzel." I'll have to remember this next year!

Here's the recipe for a bread machine . . .

(The dough turned out much tougher than I anticipated. I didn't think the bread was going to actually turn out at all. I was pleasantly surprised.)

Challah (braided) Bread

Dough:
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp water
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter softened
3 1/4 cups Bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Glaze:
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp water
Sesame Seeds

1. Add ingredients in order to the bread machine. Make a well in the middle for the yeast. Run dough cycle.
2. Remove the dough from the pan and let rest on a lightly floured surface. Cover for ten minutes. Grease a large cookie sheet.
3. Divide dough into 3 even sections. Roll each third into a long thin rope (13") and braid the ropes onto the cookie sheet. (google it and you can see detailed pictures) Pinch and tuck ends under.
4. Cover with greased saran wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until double in size.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Mix egg yolk and water. Brush onto bread. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. (I did 25 minutes and mine came out a bit darker than I wanted so watch it)

This bread is beautiful, fun and pretty easy to make. It does take a while but most breads do. It's totally worth it trust me!!

My birthday was fun! We went to the casino and walked around the West Baden Springs Hot el. It was built in 1902 and was known for it's "healing" mineral waters aka stinky sulfur water. At the boat we both won playing roulette on my birthday number!! It was a good day- I even found a great pair of boots for 8 bucks!

Part II of my birthday coming soon . . . martini glass cakes made by my mom, wii fit and more!!

Have a great day!! ~Jenn

Day 3! Spinach and Tomato Pasta Bake! Elizabeth Taylor!

2011-03-24T13:08:00.006-04:00

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I missed day 2. Oops. Actually I skipped it. Day 2 called for "a picture of you and someone you have been closest to the longest" . . . I don't have any qualifying pictures on my computer and no access to a scanner until work next week. Oh well.

Day 3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

My So-Called Life. Obviously. I was like 12 when this show came on and it changed my life. I immediately dyed my hair reddish purple and embraced all that was flannel and grunge. I also thank it for my love of gay boys and wild friends. Don't even get me started on Jordan Catalano and how many guys I've briefly dated because they resemble him and have long hair in their eyes. Sigh. I still love it. Thanks to my wonderful Mom (who I think actually introduced me to the show) I own the one and only season (boo) on DVD and love to spend a day off torturing Mike and watching it.

Moving on: We have been trying to eat healthier in our house. I recently created this fabulous pasta salad and wanted to share. It's super yummy, super easy and vegetarian friendly!!

Spinach Tomato Pasta Bake (pictured above)

-Baby Spinach leaves (I usually use half a bag and de-stem them)
-1 can of Roasted Onion and Garlic diced tomatoes (14.5 oz by Red Gold undrained)
-1/2 can of tomato paste (smallest can you can find- I sometimes just use a bit of tomato sauce)
-1/2 can of water (I use diced tomato can)
-2 cups rotini (I use tri-color because it makes it pretty! but whole wheat would be great!)
-3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
-2 Tbsps grated Parm

1-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2-Cook rotini per instructions on box. Drain.
3- In a skillet add tomatoes, water and spinach leaves. Stir and cook on medium heat. Cover and let spinach wilt down. Add water.
3- In a glass pan, pour rotini. Add spinach and tomato mixture. Stir. Add paste or sauce just to wet the noodles a bit. NOT A LOT. (a Tablespoon or two will do) This is not a saucy dish.
4- Add mozzarella and parmesan to the top.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!! We love this dish! You could easily add meat to it but I think it's great without it! You can also make it healthier by reducing the cheese. Fresh tomatoes probably wouldn't work as well because you really need the sauce and water in the can. Super easy and so pretty!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their day! It was so nice out yesterday (except for about 15 minutes of rain and a 30 freak hail storm) but today it is cold and spitting snow. Boo! Looks like it's going to be cold on my birthday tomorrow :(

PS- Was sad to hear about Elizabeth Taylor yesterday. She was so beautiful and talented and I believe she was the last of the great movie stars. I like to imagine that Richard was waiting for her and they are happy together now :)

100 day challenge!! Happy Anniversary! Stonewall Kitchen!!

2011-03-22T09:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Spring Break :) Mike and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary last Wednesday. He made a picnic for us and we went to the lake. It was a beautiful day and we had fun. This week I'm on Spring Break and my birthday is Friday. I'll be 28- how the hell did that happen? I feel 30 creeping around the corner and I do not like it! How can I be this old??

Sunday we spent the day in Bloomington, walking around Kirkwood and the square. It made me miss college. We ate at Trojan Horse- they have yummy chicken gumbo (who knew?) We also bought this super yummy sauce by Stonewall Kitchen- Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce. It's slightly sweet and even though I'm not a big fan of onions, I love this sauce! They have several more I'm looking forward to trying!

In an attempt to motivate myself to write more often I'm starting the 100 day photo challenge.

Day 1: A picture of yourself (see above) with 15 facts about myself.

1.) I was on "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" in the 5th grade.
2.) I stopped drinking soda 2 weeks ago and I feel great. I let myself have 1 a day and most times I don't even finish it. If you know me you know this is a big deal. (soda addict anyone?)
3.) I answer to Ms. Flynn, Potato and Flip-Flop Flynn at school. Long Story.
4.) I dream of moving to New Orleans. I don't exactly know why. I just want to.
5.) I love crossword puzzles but only the ones in Sundays paper.
6.) I don't like basketball. I know I know- I'm from Indiana. I don't care.
7.) I won 200 dollars on a 5 dollar lottery ticket once. I haven't been lucky since.
8.) I want to live in a cottage with a huge garden. I blame the Secret Garden.
9.) I'm waiting for grunge to be popular again so I can break out my flannel shirts.
10.) Almost Famous and Across the Universe are my favorite movies.
11.) I miss my college friends. A Lot. There's no one like them here.
12.) I have to go to grad school and I don't want to.
13.) I would like to write childrens books someday.
14.) I'm afraid to have children. Not like actually having them or raising them- just to bring them into this world. It's not a very nice place and it's only getting worse.
15.) I fell out of the car once when I was like 10. I thought Mom was fully stopped and she wasn't and I just kind of rolled out. She still denies this happened btw.

Enjoy your day- I'm spending mine with Gismo (my brother's dog) . . . hoping the rain stays away!! :)

Jenn's chili!! Pineapple Upside down cake!!

2011-02-22T21:26:00.008-05:00

Is anyone else over winter? I am. We had 3 days of sunshine and then it turned cold and rainy and I'm pretty sure I saw some light snow flakes earlier. Yuck. I am ready for sunshine and warmth!!

Now that winters ending I've finally perfected my chili recipe (well I think so- last time my noodles got soggy but I'm pretty sure that was my fault- I left the crockpot on warm too long- oops!) I'm not a big chili person- until this winter I'd actually never made it. Mike loves it (super spicy, super runny and no noodles) I prefer it mildly spicy, thick and with noodles. I think I've found a compromise. This chili is spicy (super spicy day 2), slightly runny but has noodles. It seems to make both of us happy and on day 2 I just add crackers to lessen the spice. This feeds us for days and is usually given away to family members as well so plenty for a family of 4 or 5!! Here goes:

Jenn's Chili

Step 1:
1lb beef (cooked and drained)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 c onion minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Add garlic, onion and seasonings to beef in skillet. Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Step 2:
1 can crushed tomatoes (22 ounce? I think- whatever the big one is)
2 cans diced tomatoes (I've been using Red Gold's Roasted garlic and onions 14.5 ounce cans)
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp chipolte powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp tabasco sauce
2 cups water
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1TBsp Worcestershire sauce

Add to crock pot. Add meat mixture. Stir. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Enjoy the wonderful smell that fills your house. Your welcome.

Step 3:
Cook 1 and 1/2 cup macaroni. Add to crockpot with 45 minutes left to cook.

Super creepy picture of the boys playing with glow swords from the Dollar Tree . . . best 3 dollars I ever spent. Mine was purple.

I've been cooking like crazy lately- we are trying to eat at home a lot. In the past month we've had meatball subs (my new favorite thing to make), Spinach and Prosciutto lasagna rolls (my signature dish), bbq ribs (they never turn out like Moms- what am I doing wrong!?), and TGIFriday's Sesame chicken strips with Jack Daniels sauce (homemade- soo good but a definite high maintenance recipe- will post soon) I also made a pineapple upside down cake and found out the answer to the question- can you make a cake with bread flour? (Answer: Yes but it is extremely dense- actually worked really well with pineapple but probably not for a normal cake)

Parenthood's on so I'm off- If you haven't watched this show, you should! It's so good!!

Have a great week!! ;) ~Jenn

New Years! 2011 so far . . . not so great!

2011-01-07T17:13:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year!! Okay I'm 7 days late. Oh well! We spent New Years at the boat, drinking Jag-bombs, Long Islands and Budlight. and dancing and gambling. I wore a beautiful red dress and heels and spent HOURS getting ready.

My resolutions for this year?
-Get healthier- I need to get in shape and lose some weight.
-Be nicer to Mike- I'm working on nagging less and choosing my battles. So far I think I'm doing good- I feel like Christmas break was really good for us and I'm trying to make him feel more appreciated everyday.
-Be more optimistic.

So far 2011 isn't turning out to be a great year though. My baby brother has been missing for almost 2 weeks now. He took off and we aren't sure where he is. It's scary and sad and I just keep picturing all these horrible things happening to him. Mike has been great- we spent several nights last week drinking and talking about it and playing Wii.

2 days ago I fell on the stairs at school and totally hurt my foot- it's bruised from the bottom of my toes to my ankle. I fell in front of 2 other teachers and was totally mortified. It feels better today but I'm still limping and the other places I landed when I fell are super sore. The working out and getting into shape is going to have to wait for another week. I've spent the past two days in bed watching Parenthood season 2. Now I need to watch season 1 (I try to do things backwards?) Mike bought me a chocolate rose and a little stuffed Snoopy that says I love you on the night I fell. A little cheesy but totally sweet right?

I didn't make Christmas goodies this year- I just didn't feel like it. I enjoyed my time off with the boys and it felt nice just to relax. I did receive several kitchen goodies for Christmas: a stand mixer, lots of pots and pans and a crock pot!! I've used it once so far (I made ribs on Wednesday) and came home to my house smelling AMAZING!! Mike also bought me a beautiful ring with a huge flower on top of it- I tried to take a picture but my lighting was horrible. We also got a Wii so I spent most of break getting beaten by a 7 year old at Mario Kart.

I hope everyone is having a great 2011 so far! Here's to hoping mine gets better!

Thanksgiving Desserts!!

2010-12-06T18:20:00.001-05:00

For Thanksgiving I am always in charge of rolls, mash potatoes, and desserts. I was originally going to make a carrot cake roll that the bf and I were super excited about but my mother vetoed that idea (apparently not a carrot cake fan) so I ended up going more traditional.

I made an apple pie (nothing fancy because I am not a pie fan- I used premade dough and canned apple pie filling.) Shh don't tell my dad. He always thinks it's from scratch. Apparently it tasted good and I thought it was cute with the apples in the middle. It got a bit darker than I wanted but oh well.

I also made a 4 layer dark chocolate cake. I used a honey and cinnamon cream cheese icing and added chocolate curls to the top. It was SUPER rich but definitely yummy.

All in all it was an okay Thanksgiving (especially considering it was the 4 year anniversary of my Grandma's death)

Unfortunately I'm not in the mood to make this post funny or interesting at all. I am tired and grumpy and wore a new pair of heeled boots to school today so my feet hurt. I apologize to anyone reading. The holidays make me grouchy. Last year I was excited for them, this year not at all. Quite honestly I'd rather just take the money we spend on Christmas and go out of town with the bf for a while. (I realize how selfish this sounds which is why I would never do it but goodness it's tempting!!)

I finally uploaded a bunch of pictures so now I don't have the excuse "my cameras in the other room" so I should be updating more often (and hopefully more cheerfully) . . . plus Christmas goody time is coming up. I've got all but one of my cookies picked out. That should get me into the Christmas spirit right?

New family member!! :)

2010-11-02T22:38:00.000-04:00

Let me start out by stating that this entry will probably have nothing to do with food or baking. I haven't been doing much of either lately (I've been feeling super lazy since school started- I have done a few cakes but all repeats- lots of Thomas and another pink castle)

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the new member of our family . . .

I am proud to introduce Saint Knight . . . named after the great Bobby Knight of course.

We recently spent a few days in Indy, visiting with friends and eating some good food. We ate amazing sushi at Naked Tchopstick and yummy sandwiches and beer at Chatham Tap. What? You want to see pictures of our trip? . . . about that . . . I, after taking the time to fully charge my camera, took one picture. Of the sushi. For some reason I never got around to taking any pictures of us. Oh well I guess. And the camera is in the kitchen and I don't feel like uploading it. Lazy blogger- I told you.

On the plus side- Christmas cookie planning has begun!! :)

Oh! Also- we got a new car today :) Super excited!!

Homemade BBQ Chips!! Thomas the Train cake!!

2010-09-20T22:22:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was football day in our house :) The bf actually had the afternoon/evening off and we spent the day cooking, eating, drinking beer and rooting on the Colts. We played much better this week than last and I'm proud to say our Manning won :) Did anyone see the Peyton/Eli commercial advertising the game? Hilarious.

The best thing we ate yesterday? Homemade BBQ chips. This is my second attempt at making them (I tried baking last time) and this time turned out so much better! They were a bit too spicy because I went a bit crazy with the Cayenne pepper (instead of a dash I just shook it a couple of times- oops!!) but that just makes the beer go down quicker!

Super Spicy BBQ Chips:

-2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced very thinly with a vegetable peeler (watch your fingers!) placed in a bowl of cold water, chill in fridge for 30 minutes

Frying:
-Pat potatoes dry
-Heat 1 1/2 inch of oil in pan
-Fry the potatoes in small batches, until hard and slightly brown
-Remove from oil, drain on paper towels

Seasoning:
In a large zip lock bag combine:

-1 tsp smoked paprika
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-1/4 tsp sugar
-1/4 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp chipolte chili powder (or any chili powder you have on hand)
- dash Cayenne pepper

Add chips, fill with air and seal. Turn bag over repeatedly until all chips are coated. Enjoy!!!

Have I shown off this cake yet? Thomas is made out of rice crispy treats and covered in fondant. I actually hand carved his face :) I have a smaller version coming up next month.

Patriotic bikini cake? Wizard of Oz! King's Island!

2010-07-15T19:53:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked to make a "boob" cake for a guy the bf works with. This cake was so much fun!! We decided to go with a 4th of July bikini since it was the same weekend. I was a little nervous about how to make the cake but it wasn't hard at all- I baked a rectangular cake, cut it into a curvy body shape and added the "boobs" baked in small Pyrex prep bowls (covered in non-spray, flour and parchment paper strips because I was terrified they would be stuck- I worried for nothing) . . .

My biggest problem? My icing would not harden up . . . it was so frustrating! I put some gold dust on it to make it look like it was laying on the beach and all glistening. He loved it and only let people eat the stomach! Haha. Again- super fun, I just wish I'd had better icing because it looks a bit sloppy to me.

I also did a graduation cake recently (same colors- red, white and blue)

I'm doing a Thomas the Train cake next week that I'm super excited about but also nervous cuz I'm making the trains and I'm terrified I'm going to mess it up but I've already got it all figured out and I'm going to work on the trains starting this weekend so I have plenty of time if things go wrong. I think I can . . . I think I can . . .

We recently took a little road trip to King's Island. It was super hot (ugh) and to be honest- I've never been a big roller coaster fan. I'll ride them but I don't particularly find being hurled down a hill at 100 miles per hour and then flipped upside down so hard you just feel sick to be that fun. That being said the Mike is the opposite. He wants the front seat, he likes the scariness of it. He made me ride this from the front seat.

Looks harmless right? Don't let it fool you. No matter where you sit, for half the ride you are backwards. Your feet dangle, you go upside down: it's nauseating, dizzily, horrifying and scary but thankfully it only lasts a minute or so. The worst part is the beginning (they bring you backwards slowly up a very very steep incline, then you stop so your staring straight down and then your rushing towards the ground to your death) and then you do it again but backwards and going upside down backwards is NOT something my body is meant to do. It was a crushing feeling.
I survived thank goodness but I was mean to Mike for a few minutes afterward. He tried to hold my hand and I told him not to touch me (we were still on the damn coaster and I was much meaner) but the rest of the day was better. We spent most of it laying in the wave pool in the water park. We won't be going back anytime soon though- we only went because we had coupons and got in for pretty cheap but we didn't ride enough rides for it to really be worth it and if we just want to lay in a wave pool we can go to the lake. Plus Holiday World is closer and has free drinks (everything was so expensive at King's Island- $3.50 for a coke??!?) so IF we go again it will be to there!

Lastly, we introduced the Wizard of Oz to L (Mike's 6 year old) this week and he LOOOOOOVED it . . . his thoughts at the beginning "It's kinda like Alice (in Wonderland- he is obsessed) except she goes up into the sky. That's the opposite of going down the hole." He watched it at least 3 times I think. We also made Oobleck which he loooooved as well so now it's my job to come up with more messy science-y things to do. He keeps begging to make cookies but I'm saving that for a rainy day. He did help me make waffles (he poured everything in and mixed it up) and he helps make "Chicken and Rice" (Rice-a-Roni- he's very picky) so I think there's hope that he'll be a good cook like his dad.

That's it . . . enjoying my last few weeks of summer! A month left!!

Peanut butter Icing Heaven!!! General Tso's chicken!! Spicy Pork Tenderloin!

2010-07-02T23:50:00.001-04:00

I am a bad blogger. I am. I'm actually pretty bad at keeping up with everything right now- summer just makes me lazy. It doesn't help that we finally gave in and got digital cable (we've had only about 20 basic channels for over a year now) and all I want to do is watch Anthony Bourdain and Iron Chef, which of course just makes me hungry.

I have managed, somehow, to make chocolate cupcakes with Peanut Butter icing a few times. Probably because I imagine they taste what heaven tastes like. Seriously. You can't eat just one. I love them because the icing is perfect for piping and I can experiment with all my different piping tips.

Since I have all this extra time on my hands I thought I'd try out some new recipes too . . .

Like this pork tenderloin I made for Mother's Day . . . covered with a rub of smoked paprika, chipolte chile powder and some other spicy stuff. THEN it's basted with a molasses, brown sugar mixture- So good!! Everybody loved it and it actually was super easy!! It had a nice kick of spice and sweet and could feed an army (unfortunately my family eats like an army and I'm not sure there were many leftovers but I can imagine all kinds of yummy sandwiches I could make with this) This is definitely a keeper for future holidays!!

Now on to my latest challenge . . . General Tso's Chicken. My favorite. I dream of it. It's our go to dish when we want Chinese but not the fat ass buffet (because let's be honest- buffets are just making us all fat asses- All you can eat? Yea that's always a good idea) and it's the dish we ate in our hotel (picnic on the floor anyone?) at like 2 am in New York. Anyways- I love it. And I recently bought a bunch of chicken marked down so our freezer is bursting (I think I figured it out and I paid 83 cents per chicken breasts- I was so excited!!! ) I found a recipe that looked good but a bit time consuming but it turned out super good! You make a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch, egg and soy sauce) that reminds me of oobleck ( kids always make it at school during science time- it's a mixture of a liquid and a solid and it's super fun) that you coat the chicken in. The sauce is super good, although instead of adding dried chiles I went with a bunch of different spices. Super spicy, super yummy and actually pretty darn easy to make once you know what you're doing. Between this recipe and the mandarin beef recipe we really never actually have to go out for Chinese food again.

Now if I could just learn how to make sushi . . .

Princess Castle Cake! Softball cake!! Reds game!!

2010-06-10T13:10:00.000-04:00

I'm back!! First my camera broke, then I got a new one for my birthday, and then my computer's power supply went out. Now that it's summer and schools out I'm not working so here I am! I finally fixed it- all by myself (it wasn't as hard as I thought thank goodness!)

I love this cake!! It was made for a 5 year old little girl and she loved it! I used ice cream cones for the towers, with waffle cones on top. I used marshmallow rope around the bottoms of the cakes.

I also made this softball cake for a graduating 5th grader. It was half chocolate half vanilla which I finally tried for the first time. My mom and I created a "wall" and then poured both batters in at one- it worked well! The "sand" is brown sugar and the bases are made from fondant. It was pretty easy other than shaping the cake- I never did get it exactly like I wanted.

*My first successful half and half*

Since I'm not working this summer I'm trying to line up a bunch of cakes- I have a graduation one for 2 seniors in a week that I'm excited about!

Mike and I went to a Reds game a few weeks ago! It was so fun! I'd never been to a professional baseball game before and I loved it!! We were two rows in and right by the outfielders so we yelled at them a lot (so much that one turned around and looked at us)

*first ball park hot dog!!*

The Reds ended up losing but we had a blast and last I checked they were Number 1 in their division! We plan on going to a playoff game if they make it!!

Crazy food story!! BF mind reader?! Hmm.

2010-04-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

Today begins day 1 of eating healthy in our household. I hope he's doing better than me. I've had half a coke and a peanut butter egg that one of the sweet ladies I work with brought in. It was a gift, I have to eat it right? Ugh.

My birthday was last week so I finally have a new camera (mine died tragically) so I can finally post again. Expect pictures soon.

This is short and sweet because I'm at work and have to be downstairs in 10 minutes but we had a food episode in our house the other day and I have to share!

I woke up after a loooong nap, still groggy and starving. I look in the fridge (which is pretty empty since we hadn't been grocery shopping since last week was Spring Break and we were out of town) and think about making Sausage and Cheese biscuits and tater tots (as close to hash browns as we had) but than decide I'm too lazy. I mention to the bf that I'm hungry and later he goes into the kitchen. Guess what he ended up cooking? Sausage and Cheese biscuits AND tater tots!! We have become the same person possibly? I never once mentioned what I had thought about cooking and he magically made the very same thing!? CRAZY!!!! and freaking scary. We are not married and therefore should not be the same person yet!

Trip to Louisville! Great BBQ!!

2010-02-10T20:01:00.001-05:00

2 snow days in a row. 2 hour delay tomorrow. I've cleaned the house, started scrap-booking and am bored out of my mind. Plus my printer is out of color ink so I can't really do much more on the scrap book.

A few weeks ago for the bf's birthday we went down to Louisville. We walked around Bardstown road, went down to the river and walked to where we wrote our names into wet cement last year (his shows up much more clearly than mine) and went to Molly Malone's. I picked out several places to eat (a Cuban place that I'm still dying to go to, the sushi place we love, etc) but we settled on Mark's Feed Store, a local BBQ place. I got my usual- pulled pork sandwich and fries- he chose a 1 pound pulled pork sandwich and corn on the cob. His sandwich was HUGE (see above) and he devoured it. He also ate part of my fries and my salad and proclaimed he was still kind of hungry when done. Seriously?! He also somehow managed to get none of it on his white t shirt. I am such a slob I would have been covered in sauce. The pork was good- I believe they used a rub instead of sauce so it was a bit drier than I'm used to but really good. The corn on the cob was grilled which is always yummy. Plus some nice gentlemen gave us a coupon while we were there! People in Louisville are always so friendly!

Christmas Goodies!!!

2010-02-09T10:49:00.000-05:00

*pretty sure this picture was taken after this plate had been eaten from (especially considering the snowman has a bite taken out of him) but it shows you a few of the things made

It is almost Valentine's day and I'm just getting around to posting my Christmas goodies blog. I'm the worst blogger ever. And I'm only doing it today because it's snowing and school was canceled so I can't go anywhere and am stuck at home (literally- it's almost 11 am and my road doesn't even look like anyone has attempted to drive on it)

Before I talk about my baking I’d like to talk about Christmas. Given the circumstances, the holidays were actually pretty okay this year. My mom bought me several baking items including 2 cake carriers (1 round, 1 rectangle), a decorating kit with every kind of icing tip you could ever want plus a fabulous new skillet and a great knife that is so sharp I worry about a trip to the ER while using it.

This year’s goodie basket list included several things from past years and several new things (click for recipe):

Buckeyes

Chocolate Cookie Bark

Vanilla Bean Snowmen

Oreo Truffles

Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies (no nuts)

Red Velvet Cake Balls with White Chocolate

Chocolate dipped pretzel sticks

Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallows

Buttery Spritz Christmas Trees

Pinwheels

The pretzels and marshmallows were just dipped in chocolate- yummy (especially the pretzels). I then drizzled white chocolate on the pretzels and covered the marshmallows in peppermint chunks.

These are a few of my favorite things . . . throwing kitchen appliances?!!? Go Colts!!

2010-02-04T09:57:00.000-05:00

"If you had to pick your top favorite foods what would they be?

Let's say... top ten. Top five favorite foods would be too difficult, I think. If you could only have these ten food items for the rest of your life, what would they be?" (stolen from Emily at SugarPlum)

10. Lasagna
9. Fresh baked bread
8. Chocolate Milkshakes (if you think this shouldn't be considered as food, you're not eating your shakes thick enough)
7. Grandma's Meatloaf
6. Cheeseburgers and fries
5. Fried Green Tomatoes
4. Spinach and Corn salad
3. Fresh buttery seafood (crab and lobster yummy!!)
2. Sushi (King Roll from Asuka is my favorite- Inside: ebi (shrimp), asparagus, cream cheese. Outside: spicy king crab with tobigo)
1. Pulled pork BBQ

This was really hard . . . I don't think these really are my ten favorites but I'm at school and it's all I could think of. The top 3 were really hard to decide. Why? I love most food! It's hard to pick out just ten!

Could be looking at a 3 day weekend . . . we're supposed to be getting lots of snow late tonight/ early tomorrow morning so everyone at school is acting like we won't be here tomorrow so I may have a free day to experiment with food tomorrow.

Spooky story from last night (I wish I'd taken a picture) . . . I'm making bread and I'm in the bedroom and I hear this huge boom come from the kitchen. I, of course, am a bit freaked out and assuming the worst. I run in there and what do I see? My bread maker is on the floor, lid unattached and crumbs everywhere. It looked like someone had thrown the machine. The ghost in my kitchen perhaps? (a fan of bacon but apparently not bread??) Luckily the bread was already doughy and stayed in the machine or the mess would have been really bad. I went ahead and plugged it back in and the machine seemed fine so who knows. I baked my rolls (they seemed a bit tougher than normal- perhaps from their abrupt tumble to the floor?) and had no more problems for the rest of the night.

Side note: Go Colts!! My boys will be playing Sunday and I can't wait!! My last excuse to wear my Manning jersey and drink lots of beer!! Woohoo!!

Jungle cake!!

2009-12-09T20:22:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I never posted this cake. I thought I had until I looked for the entry yesterday and it wasn't there. This was my best friend's little boys 1st birthday cake. We went with the jungle theme because he growls like a lion. It was super fun to make- jungle animals are as easy as farm animals!!

What's a 1st birthday party without a smash cake?

One more week of school . . . then it's Christmas baking time!!! I think I've finalized my list down to ten things for my goodie baskets. My gift shopping is basically done (I need to get my father something else) and they are wrapped and under the tree. I will be updating lots while I'm baking so I'm looking forward to that.

Punky Brewster! Fall Cake for Cole's Crusade, Honey Spice Buttercream!!

2009-11-07T18:21:00.000-05:00

I have spent the afternoon watching Punky Brewster. Man I miss the days when it was okay to wear pigtails and mismatched shoes- everything was so much easier back then. It's been a stressful few weeks- sometimes I wish I were still 9. Sometimes. Then I go to work and spend the day with 9 year olds and remember that it wasn't so great after all.

Speaking of 9 year olds, I was recently asked to make a cake for Cole's Crusade, an auction and dinner for a local family with a little boy who has cancer. I was originally going to make a Halloween cake but since the event took place at a church I didn't want to offend anyone so I went with a fall cake instead.

I made a 2 layer round chocolate cake with fudge textured icing on the sides and top and then an extra layer of honey-spice buttercream on top with handmade fondant pumpkins and leaves. I think it came out super cute and received an email from the winners saying it was delicious. The auction ended up raising 36,000 dollars which I think is awesome! This cake was super fun and pumpkins are super easy to make!

Back to Punky for me (it's the one where she paints her bedroom all those crazy colors!) . . . I had a crazy and drama filled night last night so I'm laying low today. Plus I went to the eye doctor Friday and I have a scar on my eyeball. That's right. I, the klutziest person on the planet, have managed to permanently wound my eyeball. Luckily it is out of my line of vision.

Random thoughts on my mind right now:
1- I am a super LUCKY person.
2-I wish I lived in a city so I could eat different ethnic food everyday (among many other reasons)
3- Don't eat anything spicy when your lips are slightly chapped. Trust me. Not worth it.

Game 1! Stuffed Pork chops- so good!

2009-10-28T23:00:00.001-04:00

*appears larger in picture. I'm not kidding- no way were these things that stuffed. I mean it was possible to fit your mouth around it.

Did you see that crazy behind the back catch the Phillies pitcher made in the 8th just now?? (game 1) I was impressed. Anyways . . .

Going through my camera I realized how behind I am on posting . . . I've got some amazing dinners, a new cake, and the end of cake decorating class to discuss. Plus this weekend I'm making a cake for a charity auction so I'll have that to post soon as well. (Cole's Crusade, Saturday First Baptist Church, 12-3) The only reason I bring this up is because I'm torn on what to share tonight . . . I want to show off my latest cake BUT tonight's dinner was so easy and amazing I think I have to talk about it.

The bf requested stuffed pork chops when he saw a picture one night. So I created this little super easy recipe!!

Preheat oven to 425.

-2 butterfly pork chops
- 1 box Sage stuffing (follow directions on box)
-2 pieces of Maple Syrup bacon
-Seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, onion, oregano, Mrs. Dash)
-2 Tablespoon butter

To make:
1- Prepare stuffing, let cool a bit
2-Fry bacon, degrease and chop up
3-Cover pork with salt and pepper on both sides. The side with the fat seam is the inside. Season the outside (side with no fat)
4-Fat side up, cover one half with stuffing and a layer of bacon. Bring other half onto top (looked like a fish taco to me- we even picked them up and ate them like tacos) and pin down slightly with toothpicks. Place in a dish (I used a glass pie plate) with butter in slices in bottom. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

Eat (like a taco!)

Super easy, not real messy and super tasty. The sage stuffing and the seasonings really work with the bacon and pork. The bf loves anything he can pick up and eat with his hands plus pork stuffed with bacon? Okay- not even necessary but I only used 1 slice per serving so it's not too excessive! Definitely will be making again!!

The cake decorating class is over. What a joke. 2 classes and all I realized is that her icing has a different consistency then mine and therefore pipes much better. And I kind of learned how to make a rose out of buttercream. Yea. Oh well. I'm excited about the cake I'm making this weekend- all proceeds go to a local little boy with cancer and his family so it's a good cause.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Stuffed Chicken Florentine! Cake decorating class!!

2009-10-16T00:28:00.000-04:00

Had some amazing chicken last night . . . stay tuned for details.

Mom and I had our first cake decorating class last night. It was fun. Did I learn a lot? No. I really didn't learn much and I feel more insecure about my piping skills now than I did before. I think piping is something that just takes a lot of practice, constant pressure and patience. We'll see if I improve next week. It was fun though and I got to spend some time with my Momma so that's always nice!

After class I came home and baked the chicken I'd stuffed before class . . . yesterday was a very long and tiring day! But it was totally worth it!! It was yummy!

Stuffed Chicken Florentine (I didn't actually measure anything so this will literally be a guestimate!)
Preheat oven to 425.

-3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 3 and had plenty of stuffing left)- pounded flat

Filling:
-1/2 cup spinach chopped
-5 strips of bacon, fryer and cut up into smaller pieces (not too small- you want to see them!)
-1/2 bar cream cheese, warmed
-1/2 cup ricotta
-1/3 cup parmesan
(looking back I probably should have added an egg but I didn't- if I were you I'd add an egg!)
If you want add some diced tomato or red pepper-(I was going to but with all the rain lately my last few tomatoes are gross or not ripe)

1-Mix. Spoon onto one end of chicken and roll. Tie with strings on both ends.

Seasoning: (small amounts- teaspoon or so)
-salt
-pepper
-basil
-garlic powder
-onion salt
-paprika

2- mixed together. Roll chicken in. (This was the bfs job)
3- Brown chicken in bacon grease for a few minutes on each side.
4- Place in baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

We used a gravy made from white wine, chicken broth, cream, garlic and the left over brown bits from browning the chicken but later decided it probably didn't need it with the seasoning. Either way amazingly good!!

Question: I have 3 rather large jars of pie filling (cherry, apple and blueberry) in my kitchen . . . any ideas on what to do with them other than pie and cheesecake?!

Farm cake! IU game! Pork bowls!

2009-10-10T12:57:00.001-04:00

I recently had the honor of making a birthday cake for 3 year old twins! This cake was super fun and they loved it which is what really matters! The animals are made out of fondant and were actually pretty easy (except for the horse- he was a bit tricky!!)

The bf and I also went to the IU/OSU football game last week . . . we played horribly but it was fun! We tailgated so I saw old friends from college and we used the opportunity to make pork bowls (our new favorite fair food!!)

Fritos, Pulled Pork (from Smokin' Jacks- the best place in Bloomington to get BBQ), sour cream, cheddar cheese and barbeque sauce drizzled- soooo amazing!!!

Batman cake!

2009-09-11T14:28:00.001-04:00

My brother's birthday was yesterday and he loves him some Batman so I made a fairly simple Batman symbol cake for him!! I was originally going to make the icing black but that leaves your mouth all gross and stained and it's sooo hard to turn icing that dark so I just left it alone. I used this cake to practice my piping skills because they definitely need some work (I would love to take a class!)

It was definitely a yummy cake- looove chocolate icing!!

Spongebob Squarepants!!!

2009-09-11T13:54:00.000-04:00

This has been a very busy week! The bfs son's birthday, my brother's birthday, job interviews and friend drama (silly boys!!) It's also been an exciting week because I am officially employed!! I start working at an elementary school on Monday!! It's a bit of a bittersweet feeling because while I am thrilled to be working again, I'm going to miss not working. It's definitely going to be an adjustment- my sleep schedule is completely out of whack!!!

On to the fun part of the week- L turned 6!! We had a silly string fight and a water balloon fight which he loved and said we have to do every year- haha. We also of course had cake!!

I searched high and low for little Spongebob and Patrick figures- I wanted to put them on top of the cake and then he could keep them to play with. Our Walmart had exactly one Spongebob toy that I saw and it was a coloring toy! I thought Spongebob was still really popular but I guess not!? So I ended up making the figures out of fondant- Spongebob was actually super easy except for the arms (anyone know the trick for getting fondant to stick to tooth picks?) I think they came out really well and I know feel like I could make almost anything out of sugar if I really try!! I went with the beach theme on the cake because it's the end of summer and brown sugar sand is simple but fun! I used the drum because I needed an easy way to arrange Spongebob's arms. They are missing teeth but oh well!!!

In the end it was a fun birthday and he's already talking about what he wants to do next year!!

PS- Note to self- Water Balloons are horrible to fill up. Please remember this before you buy them next year!

Homemade Tomato Sauce- yummy!!

2009-08-28T22:32:00.000-04:00

I decided to attempt to make my first homemade tomato sauce this year. I always use store bought sauce and add a million things to it and I was making my own sauce yesterday I realized that I won't have to do that anymore!!! I did a little internet research in regards to the tomatoes but pretty much just seasoned with whatever I thought would taste the best. I have made two batches now (We have two huge tomato plants and people are still giving us tomatoes!!) and while I probably broke some rules and didn't really know what I was doing, I like what I created as does the bf. This post is basically so I can remember what I did in future years but feel free to recreate at home :) I will warn you that this is a sweet sauce- we like it that way.

Onions, Banana Pepper, Red pepper, Green Pepper and garlic. Add more or less per your choice (I would have used more red and green pepper but that's all I had at the moment!)

Add some oil to the bottom of a large stock pot- just enough to cover the bottom- Add garlic and saute till your kitchen smells yummy (don't let it brown up- it will be bitter) Add other veggies and cook on low till soft- You can season with basil leaves, oregano, salt & pepper, paprika, etc- whatever you want

Tomato wise I used roma and big boy tomatoes (maybe some beef steak- I'm not sure what was given to me) The first time I made the sauce I used 2 yellow tomatoes also to give it a different taste. The last time I used 6 large tomatoes and about 10 little romas. To peel the skins I cut the ends off, cut into the skins a bit and placed in boiling water for 1 minute then into an ice bath then placed the peeled tomatoes (cut them into halves or fourths) into a colander to drain the water.

After the tomatoes have drained, add them to the large stock pot on low for several hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes. Add some brown sugar (less than a handful) and stir.

The last part is up to you- If you like chunky sauce then leave it alone! If you do not then you can pour it into a blender and sauce it up a bit more!

I canned mine to save for winter and I can't wait to use it!! So far I have 2 and a half jars and it might become a Thursday night ritual until tomato season is over! It seems like a lot of work but its basically chopping up veggies and stirring occasionally and I did find the second time it went much easier and faster!!

Stay tuned: In the next 2 months I have several cakes to make: 3 birthdays and a baby shower!!!

Mom's birthday part 2 . . . finger foods!

2009-08-22T01:37:00.000-04:00

I threw my mom a surprise luncheon for her birthday. Friends, laughter and cute little bite size foods!! Soo much fun- way too many cute and fun options to chose from- so I picked a theme: Garden. Our tomatoes are coming in by the ton (I made my first tomato sauce tonight and it came out amazingly!!!!) and my father is constantly offering me things from things from his garden so I decided to take advantage of it for several reasons- it's healthy, it's cheap (crazy cheap!!) and I made unique things that I've never had before!

My menu consisted of (from the left side and moving clockwise): Chocolate cups with chocolate moose and berries, italian bread and sandwich meat (okay not from the garden on this one), tomatoes, pasta salad with tomatoes, red pepper and cucumbers, zuchinni fries, fried green tomatoes, cucumber bowls with cream cheese filling and in the middle are zuchinni wraps.

Cucumber Bowls (from Design*Sponge )
These are fun because you can literally put almost anything in them.

1-Peel several cucumbers, leaving a few thin stripes of peel.

2-Cut into slices and use a small spoon or melon-baller to scoop out some of the seeds, creating little cucumber cups. (I used a little teaspoon measuring cup and it worked perfectly!)

3-In half my cups I placed a small ball of cream cheese and then put some bacon on top.

4-For the other half, I used soft cream cheese, herbs (basil, oregano- whatever you have), a bit of lemon juice and topped with tomato and red pepper. Chill cream cheese mixtures overnight before putting in cups for best results.

Zucchini Rolls

The bf looooooved these. Ate several and would have asked for more but we were out of zucchini! Again- these can be filled with almost anything (I've seen bacon and smoked salmon ones)

1-Cut a zucchini in half long ways. Taking a peeler, create thin zucchini strips (took me a few tries before I got a usable one!)

2-Using the herbed cream cheese from above, along with tomatoes and red peppers, place on one end of the slice and roll. Use a dab of cream cheese to glue end together. Chill before serving.

For the fried green tomatoes and zucchini fries I used the same basic batter, except I added parmesan to the bread crumbs for the zucchini fries. Remember: milk, flour, egg, bread crumbs!!! You have to do all 4 or they won't be any good (listen to me Mom!!!)

All in all it was a very fun day AND we managed to surprise Mom!!! I think I'm right in assuming that Mom's 50th birthday didn't suck as bad as she originally thought it would and dare I say she actually might have enjoyed it!? ;)

Garden Cake . . . Mom's 50th Birthday!

2009-08-16T19:02:00.000-04:00

My mom celebrated her 50th birthday this week. She is so difficult to make a cake for . . . I never know what to do. For this birthday I decided that I was finally going to learn the art of gum paste flowers. Well . . . I mastered the ribbon rose and basic flowers but I didn't expand much farther than that. I think it went fairly well considering. I do have to say that using gum paste feels a bit like playing with bubble gum!! I can't wait for my next reason to play- I may try to take a class so I can really learn- it's hard for me to create them by following directions in a book.

5 flowers for 5 decades!!! I know she's sad about turning 50 but a lot has to be said for making it to 50 and still looking 30 after raising 3 rebellious children!!

Blueberry Apricot Porkchops

2009-08-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

*This entry is for my mother who always reads and mentions it the next time I talk to her :) She's been asking about this recipe for sometime!

Pork chops. Cheap. Easy. Boring!! I grew up on pork chops and have long felt the urge to groan when they are served. But they are cheap right? I bought 5 pork chops for 59 cents the other day (pretty sure it was an fluke error made by the meat department) . . . you can't beat that!

Enter this recipe- Blueberry Apricot Porkchops- created these after experimenting with a Martha Stewart recipe and I think she'd like these better then hers! The boys love them and they are super easy and fast!!

Ingredients
-Boneless porkchops
-Apricot jam
-Bread crumbs (I usually make my own out of stale bread for these- just make sure they aren't seasoned crumbs)
-Jiffy Blueberry muffin mix (I've had the same box for months- 59 cents and lasts forever for this recipe!!)

1- Preheat oven to 425.
2-Trim fat from chops, cover tops with apricot jam
3-In a mixer, combine bread crumbs and 1/4 cup blueberry mix (more or less depending on how many pork chops you are making)
4-After mixing, generously layer over the jam.
5-Bake 20ish minutes (depending on thickness) and be prepared for blueberry goodness!!!

In Search of the Perfect recipe . . . Try #1

2009-08-03T16:03:00.000-04:00

I am a cheeseburger girl. Love them. Especially when I've been drinking. 1 beer, 3 beers or 6 beers I generally get cravings for a cheeseburger afterwards. But there are a few places in town where I go for another kind of sandwich. A sandwich, that after a bit of research, I discovered is a mid-west thing- some people even refer to them as the Hoosier sandwich because it was created in Northern Indiana. What could I possibly be talking about?

The Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwich. It consists of a pork tenderloin, flattened, (The good ones are generally HUGE and about twice the size as a normal bun) marinated and covered in the perfect combination of bread crumbs. Here in lies my search . . . the right breading.

My first try was yesterday- I marinated in milk and seasonings for a couple minutes (I plan on marinating over night next time- this may be the secret to perfectness) and then dipped in a mixture of saltines and cornmeal. It was okay. I think I should have used my deep fryer and it would have been better. But I still feel I'm missing something in the breading. There are so many different recipes online and I'm determined but it might just be easier to walk down the road to Snows and have them make me one since they already know what they are doing. Anyone have any hints?

Super Mario Cake

2009-07-27T16:59:00.000-04:00

I love this cake. Is it my best cake? No. Did I rush to make it? Yes. So why is it my favorite? Because it was made for the BFs 5 year old son for his fake birthday. He was so patient and helped make it but couldn't take another 5 minutes of waiting so I could write a bit neater and clean up the edges. That's what happens when you make a cake with a 5 year old in the room isn't it? He loved it- that's all that matters!!!

"It's so awesome! Can we eat it now? I want a piece of his face!!" . . .

It all started when we called him the day before to see what he wanted to eat- He wanted a birthday cake. His birthday isn't for another month and a half but I probably won't have a chance to make him a cake then so I thought why not? Yea Yea . . . so I spoil him. :) It's totally worth it!! Plus- it gave me an excuse to make a cake!

Mongolian Beef- Yummy!!!!

2009-07-04T00:49:00.000-04:00

Oh Joaquin how I miss you so. Can you please lose the crazy beard and dream to be a rapper please? Do it for River- what would he think? You were so cute in Signs (which I'm only watching because NOTHING else is on and I can't really remember how the movie ends- Aliens and water right?) . . . what made you change? Too many bad M. Night movies? Did you channel Johnny a bit too much?

on a side note . . .

I love Chinese food!! Looooove it!! Could eat it everyday, all day, for the rest of my life (unfortunately it's so sodium packed that if I did my life would end tragically short and disastrously fat) Chinese food can be rather expensive and lets be honest- doesn't keep you full for very long. Solution? Homemade Chinese food!!! I discovered this recipe a few weeks ago and we've had it every week since (I have played around with it and changed it a bit over the weeks- some results better than others- I think I accidentally replaced the soy sauce with teriyaki last week-didn't have quite the right affect) . . . Beware- you're house will smell amazingly good and will be torturous for anyone who is extremely hungry!!!

Ingredients
-1 lb steak (flank or round) thinly sliced crosswise
-cornstarch
-Vegetable Oil
-1 Large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
-1/2 cup water
-1/2 c soy sauce
-handful of brown sugar (probably 1/4c)
-red pepper flakes (depends on how spicy you like)
-1 large green onion or pepper

1. Heat 1 and 1/2 teaspoon oil in large wok or non stick pan over med-high heat. Add ginger and garlic, stir until fragrant. Add soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes, stirring occasionally and cooking until sauce becomes thick. (couple minutes) Transfer to bowl.
2. Coat steak slices with cornstarch, shake off excess (I use a strainer doing about 5 slices at a time and then shaking strainer)
3. Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoon oil (will probably have to add more as you go) to wok and turn heat on high. Add the beef and cook until brown on all sides (I do mine a few at a time until just brown on outside- dont worry about middle yet- will cook longer in sauce)
4. Pour the sauce back into empty wok and add all steak slices. The sauce will thicken up and slowly carmalize onto the meat (I use tongs and make sure all sides are coated- be careful- will stick if not turned in time) Add green onions or green peppers, stir (flip?)

I usually cook up some quick 5 minute rice- I start it as I'm carmelizing the meat- takes around the same time.

Prepare yourself for deliciousness!!!

Pretty!!!

2009-06-30T21:40:00.000-04:00

Look what I got today!!!

Stained Glass Windows by Jenn

2009-06-29T21:11:00.000-04:00

I like to think I'm artistic. or at least crafty. I cook. I bake. I make crazy cakes. I paint. I try to use these talents around the holidays, especially when I need a gift for someone who is into arts or crafts as well. For Mother's Day I had two mothers to celebrate- mine and the bfs. My mother always appreciates a homemade gift for Mother's Day and his mom is rather artistic- she does pottery and paints (which just put even more pressure on me!!)

I found two old windows in my backyard, left over from when they replaced the windows. They were a bit beat up but the glass was fully intact so I created two stained glass looking windows from them. The one above is now hanging on his mother's porch, he remembered that she always had red roses in her front yard when he was growing up and she doesn't at the house she lives in now so I used roses so she could enjoy them all year!

My mother loves tulips so I used lighter colors for hers and it's now hanging up in her kitchen.

This project started out fun and exciting . . . and almost ended with me in tears. I put way too much pressure on myself- they are old windows and will never ever look perfect and that is part of the neatness about them right? In the end they turned out very well and I think I'm the only one that notices the imperfections in them. Everyone keeps saying I should start selling them which I may consider. Right now I've got two more to make- one of my bff who just bought her first house with her fiancee and one for me. We've decided on peace signs for hers but I'm a bit stuck at how to design it. Mine is going to have bright crazy mushrooms on it. I just need some motivation and inspiration!!

Chicken Chilaquiles

2009-06-25T18:37:00.000-04:00

I cannot eat spicy food (It's not that I don't like it- it doesn't like me.) No Mexican, no Thai, no Indian. I'm Irish- what can you do? Even pepperoni gives me heartburn. It's a curse. Usually I just avoid anything hot (not just food wise- the sun hates me as well!!!) - I always make an exception with sushi and wasabi but I've had to slowly work up to that and I drink tons of water the entire time.

The bf however loves spicy so I do attempt to make some spicy meals- the good thing about this recipe for Chicken Chilaquiles is you can make it spicier depending on your taste. I use 2 chipolte chiles in adobo sauce but you can always add more- next time I might try 3 because he still says it not spicy (I think it is!) I've made this twice now- the first time I used tortilla chips and it was a bit too runny. The second time I used tortilla shell bowls (so fun and easy to make!) and let it thicken up more and liked it much better!

Ingredients
-1 1b boneless skinless chicken (I bought thin chicken tenders last time- you can use chicken breast as well I assume)
-1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
-4 Garlic clovers, chopped
-1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatos (cut into fourths)
-2 Chipolte Chiles in Adoba Sauce, finely chopped + 1 Tablespoon Adoba Sauce
-Coarse Salt
-Tortilla shells (8-10 inches)
-Sour Cream
-Feta Cheese

*The first picture includes cilantro. The second does not because I didn't have any around the house

1- Fill large pot with water. Boil. Cut up chicken into pieces and place in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain chicken, shred.
2-Combine oil and garlic in large pot. Cook over medium heat, stir occasionally until garlic is fragrant and sizzling. (1-2 minutes)
3-Add the tomatos with thier puree, Chipoltes and Adoba sauce and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil. Season with salt. Reduce heat, simmer rapidly 6-8 minutes until thick.
4-Add shredded chicken, cook and stir until hot. Remove from heat.
5-Scoop with SLOTTED spoon into tortilla bowls (see below), top with feta and sour cream.

Tortilla bowls
Preheat over to 350.
1- Spray four oven safe small glass bowls (I use the small dishes that come in a Pyrex set) with cooking spray
2-Place 4 tortilla shells into microwave, cook 30 seconds.
3-Press shells into the bowls and on a baking sheet.
4-Place on bottom rack of oven, bake 8-10 minutes or until firm. Remove from bowls, return to baking sheet and place on middle rack of oven for 3-4 minutes (watch carefully!!! Trust me- I over browned my first ones!)

Repeat until have enough to feed everyone!!

2009 Book List Update

2009-06-14T18:46:00.000-04:00

If I read 18 more this year I'll have read 100 books this year!!!

November
1-The Weight of Silence- Heather Gudenkauf
2-Mistress Shakespeare- Karen Harper
3-The Time Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
4-The Haunting of America- William J. Birnes and Joel Martin

October-7
1-Official Book Club Selection- Kathy Griffin
2-Same Kind of Different as Me- Ron Hall and Denver Moore
3-Love Stories in This Town- Amanda Eyre Ward (good!)
4-Betrayed (#2 House of Night)- PC Cast
5-The White Queen- Phillipa Gregory (super good- first of new series!)
6-The Last Queen- CW Gortner
7-The Eleventh Victim- Nancy Grace

September-6
1-Marked- PC Cast (#1 House of Night)
2-Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl- Shauna Reid
3-How Do I love Thee- Nancy Moser
4-Sarah's Key- Tatiana de Rosnay (amazing book!!)
5-Shakespeare's Landlord (#1)- Charlaine Harris
6-The Country of Young- Lisa Carey (good book!)

August-8
1-American Wife- Curtis Sittenfeld (once I actually got into this book it was really well written and interesting- the last 50 pages were hard to focus on though)
2-Then She found Me- Elinor Lipman (ugh- not very good at all)
3-The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane- Katherine How (so very very good!!!)
4-April and Oliver- Tess Callahan
5-The Forgotten Garden- Kate Morton (very good!!)
6-The Awakening- LJ Smith #1
7-The Struggle- LJ Smith #2
8-The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder- Rebecca Wells (easy, interesting read!)

July-10
1-Rises the Night- Colleen Gleason #2
2-The Little Giant of Aberdeen County- Tiffany Baker (really good book!!!)
3-Before the Season Ends- Linore Rose Burkard
4-How to Make an American Quilt- Whitney Otto
5-Dark Places- Gillian Flynn (good!)
6-The Road- Cormac McCarthy (finally read!!! has been on my list for years!)
7-Sing Them Home- Stephanie Kallos (really good!!)
8-A Reliable Wife
9-It only Takes a Moment- Mary Jane Clark
10-The Lucky One- Nicholas Sparks

June-7
1-Nemesis- The final Case of Eliot Ness- William Bernhardt
2-Emergency- Neil Strauss
3-Ghost Hunting- Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson
4-With Violets- Elizabeth Robards (really good book- about the Impressionists artists!)
5-The Lost Hours- Karen White
6-The House on First Street- Julia Reed
7-Testimony- Anita Shreve (made me cry!!! so good!!)

May-10
1-All Together Dead- Charlaine Harris (#7 Sookie Stackhouse series)
2-The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman
3-Murder By Family- Kent Whitaker
4-Scandal of the Season- Sophie Gee
5-No One You Know- (can't remember author right now)
6-From Dead to Worse- Charlaine Harris (#8 Sookie Stackhouse series)
7-So Long at the Fair- Christina Schwartz
8-Dead and Gone- Charlaine Harris (#9 Sookie Stackhouse series)
9-Belong to Me- Marisa de los Santos
10-Leaving November- Deborah Raney #2

April-9
1-The Virgin's Lover- Phillipa Gregory
2-The Rest Falls Away- Colleen Gleason #1
3-Dead As a Doornail- Charlaine Harris (#5 Sookie Stackhouse series)
4-The Starter Wife- Gigi Levangie Grazier
5-Innocent Traitor- Alison Weir
6-The Children's Blizzard- David Laskin
7-Definitely Dead- Charlaine Harris (#6 Sookie Stackhouse series)
8-The Boy in Striped Pajamas- John Boyne
9-Remember to Forget- Deborah Raney #1

March-7
1-One Thousand White Woman- Jim Fergus (this book has been on my list for years- I'm so glad I finally read it. Starts out a bit slow but soooo good!!)
2-The Boleyn Inheritance- Phillipa Gregory (good once I actually got into the book- didn't like at first)
3-Club Dead- Charlaine Harris (#3 Stookie Stackhouse series)
4-Dead to the World- Charlaine Harris (#4 Stookie Stackhouse series)
5-Out of Captivity- Surviving 1,967 Days in the Columbian Jungle (shocking journey!)
6-Bite- Laurell K. Hamiliton
7- The Apothecary's Daughter- Julie Klasser (really good!)

February-8
1-Living Dead in Dallas- Charlaine Harris (#2 Sookie Stackhouse series)
2-Skinny Bitch- Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
3-Stolen Innocence-Elissa Wall
4-Julie and Julia- Julie Powell
5-Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands- Laura Schlessinger
6-Time of My Life- Allison Winn Scotch (really good book- easy read)
7-Through the Storm- Lynne Spears
8-Painted Dresses- Patricia Hickman

January-7
1-When You are Engulfed in Flames- David Sedaris (kinda funny)
2-Eclipse- Stephanie Meyers (much better than New Moon)
3-Breaking Dawn- Stephanie Meyers (good ending!)
4- Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea- Chelsea Handler (funny- love the DUI story)
5-Multiple Blessings- Kate and Jon Gosselin
6-One Fifth Avenue- Candace Bushnell (horrible- why do I bother with her books anymore?)
7- Sundays at Tiffanys- James Patterson (wonderful book!! easy reading!! very cute story!!)

Stuffed Chicken, Bacon and Cheddar Cornbread! Yummy!!!

2009-06-14T18:30:00.000-04:00

Hello! I have internet again!! So excited!!! After 6 phone calls to tech people today it's finally up and working. I have so many recipe updates to make I'm not entirely sure where to begin- I think I'll start with a recipe that a friend keeps begging me to make again after he tried it the first time!!

Stuffed Chicken with Bacon, Mozzarella and tomatos- soo good!! I've made it twice so far- once for a dinner party, once for Mother's day and it's requested on a normal basis. The first time I made them I had no cooking twine in the house and therefore had to use toothpicks which was ridiculously hard and annoying plus they didn't look as pretty (the pic above is from Simply Recipes)- the second time I was prepared and rolled them a different way and it was much easier (thank God because after the first time I never wanted to make these again!!)!! I also made cheddar and bacon cornbread, stuffed tomatoes and chocolate cups!

*leftovers above- Mike decided to make a sandwich and finish off the cornbread.

Stuffed Chicken
-Bacon Slices- I use 2 pieces of Applewood bacon per piece of chicken
-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
-1 tomato, diced
-1 cup mozerella cheese, shredded
-1 Tbsp Olive Oil
-1/3 c White Wine
-1 clove Garlic, minced
-2 Tbsp butter
-1 1/2 Tbsp flour
-1 1/4 c chicken broth
-1/4 c heavy cream

1- Cook bacon until light brown but still flexible. Preheat oven to 300.
2- Meanwhile place each chicken breast in between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Using meat tenderizer flatten, starting from the center, to 1/8 inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3- Place two strips of bacon, tomatoes and mozzarella in the middle and roll from one side to the other, tying one each end with cooking twine.
4-Heat olive oil on high-medium heat. Brown chicken on all sides about 5 minutes.
5-Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Sauce (Make a few minutes before done baking)
6-Add wine to pan used to brown chicken. Scrape brown bits from pan and boil until reduced to about 1 tbsp.
7- Add Garlic and butter on medium low, stir for 1 minute.
8-Add flour, stir 1 minute.
9-Add broth and cream, bring to a boil, whisking. Simmer for 2 minutes, whisking.

Plate, serve and enjoy!!!

Bacon and Cheddar Cornbread (adapted from Sugar Plum)

-1 box Jiffy Cornbread mix
-1 egg
-1/3 cup Milk
-1/4c brown sugar
-2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
-1 tbsp honey
-1/2 c cooked Applewood Bacon, chopped
-2/3 c Grated Sharp White Cheddar

1-Preheat oven to 375.
2- Mix Jiffy, egg, milk, brown sugar, butter and honey.
3- Spray and flour a non stick cake pan (do this well or it will stick!!)
4- Pour mixture into pan.
5- Top with bacon and cheddar.

Bale 30-35 minutes.

This cornbread is sooo good it should be illegal!!!

Update on life

2009-04-11T13:10:00.000-04:00

I am alive. I moved back in with the bf two months ago and haven't actually moved my computer to the new house or hooked up internet so I haven't been able to post. I've been cooking up lots of goodies though and once I finally get the internet will have quite a few updates. Look forward to blueberry apricot porkchops, crab cakes (the mother of all- HUGE), homemade oreos ("Oh My God" according to bf), chicken stuffed with bacon and tomatoes (was the hardest thing other then some cakes I've ever made- I couldn't find cooking twine anywhere in this town and therefore used toothpicks- soooooo hard!! theres got to be an easier way!!) I tried Emily at SugarPlum's bacon and cheddar cornbread (although I made it a bit differently) and everyone loved it. Soooo good!! There are so many other things too . . . my camera is a bit ridiculous and embarrassing to go through right now because people look at me like I'm crazy with tons of pictures of food on my camera. I also received a deep fryer for my birthday so I've been experimenting with that. Beer battered onion rings are going to be the death of me.

Birthday was last month. I'm officially 26. Bf and I spent three days celebrating- we went to the lake several times, 3 wineries and he bought me a brick of pink cheese which was very exciting for some reason. All in all it was a great birthday spent with the bf and friends.

I'm currently working on decorating our house- it's cute but needs some work. It's 2 bedroom (our friend is staying in the other room to help out with rent) with hardwood floors. The bathroom is recently redone and has a huge tub that I have yet to take time to enjoy. The kitchen is pretty big so theres plently of room for me to make a mess. I'm currently working on the back porch. It's enclosed which bothers me but since it's getting nice out I'm trying to make it pretty so we can sit out back and drink and hang out. The walls leave much to be desired so I'm going to get some old tapestries and sheets and hang them up to cover them. I'm hanging little chinese round paper lanters from the ceiling and entwining them with white christmas strand lights. I'm also going to try to make some origami stars to hang down (I stole the idea from Snow Patrol's new album cover- have you seen it? It's amazing looking!)

Hopefully I'll be back online soon!!! Have a goodone!! ~Jenn

Magic.

2009-03-11T13:20:00.001-04:00

magic.

I had the most magical intense night last night.

I can't say why or what happened and this is mainly just for my rememberance but

Magic.

Truffles

2009-02-14T15:15:00.000-05:00

I decided to make the bf truffles for V-day. The problem? I can't just make one or two kinds of truffles. That would be too easy. I ended up making (not including the outer decoration) 6 different kinds: Avocado-Chocolate, S'mores, Cream Cheese, Cookie Dough, Oreo and Peanut Butter. Some are dipped in chocolate, others are rolled in powdered sugar, granulated sugar, graham cracker crumbs, oreo crumbs, sprinkles, gold dust, or drizzled with white chocolate or caramel.

The box easily weighs 5 pounds and knowing the bf he'll be sick to his stomach by ten pm. Anyways- here are recipes. They were all fairly easy to make as long as you let the mixture chill and keep your hands slightly wet and cold.

Avocado-Chocolate Truffles (makes about 30 I think) *These are absolutely amazing and incredibly rich!!!*
-1 large ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
-1/2 c butter
-1 1/2 ts vanilla
-1 1/4 c cocoa
-2 c powdered sugar (might need a bit more- add as you go)

1-In a large saucepan melt butter on low. Remove from heat. Set aside.
2-In a blender puree the avocado until there are no chunks.
3-Add avocado puree, vanilla, cocoa, and powdered sugar into saucepan with butter. Mix until combined. Refrigerate until hard (about an hour)
4-Roll into balls about 3/4 inch in diameter on baking sheet covered in wax paper. Chill until hardened.
5-Roll into powdered sugar. (I rolled some in sprinkles as well)
6-Chill until ready to serve.

Oreo Truffles (makes about 20)
-1/2 bar cream cheese, soft
-10-15 Oreo cookies, crushed (want the mixture to be dark brown- I added about 8 and it was grayish and ugly- keep adding)
-Chocolate Bark

Mix cream cheese and crushed Oreos. Chill. Roll into small balls. Chill. Dip into melted chocolate. I also rolled some in crushed Oreos, and drizzled white chocolate on top with sprinkles.

Peanut Butter Balls
-2 cups powdered sugar
-1 cup peanut butter
-1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
-Chocolate Bark

Combine sugar, PB and butter. Shape into 1-inch balls. Chill. Dip into melted chocolate. I also rolled some in oreo crumbs.

Cream Cheese Truffles (made about 10)
-1/2 bar cream cheese, softened
-3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
-1-2 cups powdered sugar (add to taste)
-1/4 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)

Combine cream cheese and cocoa. Add sugar until sweet (will be very bitter at first). Chill for several hours. Roll into balls as much as possible. Chill. Reroll if needed. Roll into granulated sugar.

S'mores Truffles (makes 24) (taken from Emily at Sugar Plum)
-2 Tbsp unsalted butter
-1/2 c heavy cream
-2 c milk choc chips
-24 mini marshmellows
-1 c finely crushed graham crackers

1-Melt butter in med sauce pan over med heat. Whisk in cream, bring to boil. Remove from heat.
2- Stir in choclate until melted and smooth.
3- Chill (for about an hour)
4- Roll into 24 balls, stuffing a mini marshmellow into the center.
5-Chill for a few minutes then roll into graham cracker crumbs.
6-Chill until served.

Bad week

2009-02-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

I have had a very bad week- actually the people I care about the most have had a very bad week. My closest friend was arrested Monday night. Another one ended up in the emergency room Tuesday night. My bf broke his arm on Wednesday night. An old friend died Wednesday and while I'm no longer close to him several people I am friends with still are. My family went (and is still going) through a crisis Thursday. I found out I didn't get the job I really wanted on Friday. I honestly don't know how much more I can take. What's the point anymore?

On the plus side the truffles I made for bf turned out wonderfully. The last ones are chilling and then I'll post pics and recipes.

V-Day . . .

2009-02-09T16:45:00.001-05:00

Saturday is Valentine's Day. I normally avoid this holiday. I now have a bf and therefore cannot. I have no idea what to do because next month is our one year anniversary and that seems much more important than Valentine's Day. I told him today that he didn't need to spend much money, just to be romantic and creative. Unfortunately this means I need to do the same. Obviously I'm going to bake something I just don't know what. I don't know when he gets off that day, if we're cooking dinner or going out and that makes it difficult.

So I looked online for some inspiration and Emily at Sugar Plum posted a S'mores truffle recipe today. Maybe I'll make him a box of different truffles. He loved the Oreo truffles I made for Christmas. I found a crazy recipe for Avocado-Chocolate Truffles which just seems so crazy I have to try them. I also saw Cookie Dough Truffles which could be easily made with pre-made cookie dough. I have a feeling I better make a truffle version of Buckeyes as well.

I'm sure he'd just prefer me to make my chocolate cups. Ugh. I dont know. I hate Valentine's Day.

25 Random Facts about Me

2009-02-03T19:02:00.000-05:00

I was tagged to do this on facebook and thought since I put so much time into it I would post it here.

1. I am a chronic list maker. I have to do lists, grocery lists, a list of 50+ books that I would like to read, lists of cds to burn, shows to catch up on, etc. It is a bit ridiculous. The sad thing is- 80% of the time I leave my grocery list at home. With all my list making you think I would be excited about making a list of 25 random facts about me. I am not.

2. I would rather be reading then almost anything. While I have a few television shows that I watch on a regular basis, I generally leave my TV off. My poor bf has to make me put down my book at night to go to bed or when we are planning on watching a movie. I carry at least 2 books with me at all times because I'm afraid I'll finish one and be without something to read if I get bored or stuck somewhere.

3. I clean my ears on a daily basis. It's an annoying OCD thing and I go through Q-tips entirely too quickly.

4. Speaking of OCD, as a child I counted while I walked. I couldn't stop on an odd number. I don't remember when I stopped but thank goodness I did.

5. I love bud light. Offer to buy me a drink at a bar, tell me money is no option and I will still order one. I can drink it all day, every day (no worries- I don't) and never get sick of it. I do prefer draft to bottle and I absolutely hate cans. Funny thing is- I refused to drink beer in college.

6. I love reading about Henry VIII and his many wives. Anne is my favorite.

7. When I'm bored or am procrastinating I go to craig's list and apartment hunt in New York City.

8. I like pumpernickel bread. People seem to find this odd. That's fine with me- I don't have to worry about anyone eating my bread.

9. I am not a vegetarian but I love Boca Burgers. A little teriyaki sauce and cheese and they are extremely yummy.

10. I often remember the names of movies based on their location in the video store. "I know it starts with a W because it's in the 2nd to last rack of 2fers." (A Walk on the Moon- Diane Lane) Never Fails.

11. When I sleep my feet cannot be near the edge of the bed. I had a fear as a child that something was lurking underneath it and would reach up and grab me and it still lingers subconsciously in the back of my mind.

12. I watch the Food Network late at night and then get angry because I'm hungry and cannot cook or bake whatever they are making.

13. I love musicals. Newsies, Rent, Phantom, Marry Poppins- love them all. Except Cats. And yes- I will and DO sing along. Loudly. Deal or leave the room.

14. I do not like feet. At all. Don't talk about them, don't touch mine and don't ever touch me with yours. Foot massage? Gross. Stick with my back please.

15. I can't walk through the purse section without buying a purse. I saw a fabulous green one today and I cannot stop thinking about it.

16. I use to have stick straight hair. Then suddenly, around the age of 12 my hair became crazy curly.

17. I am extremely jealous of easy going relaxed people. I wish I could be more like them but for some reason cannot. Instead I surround myself with these people hoping they will rub off on me. It happens occasionally. I hope one of these days it will stick.

18. I once had purple hair. Fuchsia.

19. I could eat Chinese food everyday for the rest of my life and be completely content. Obviously I'd die much faster because of all the sodium but still.

20. I think Rachael Ray is the most annoying person alive. I hate that I can't even go buy Olive Oil without seeing her face on the shelf and EVOO underneath it. I'm sure she's a perfectly nice person but seriously- Go away.

21. I, embarrassingly, love Britney Spears. Always have, always will. Love her at 16, love her as a hot mess at 25. Love her fat or skinny. I think she's a whole lot smarter then people give her credit for and as a 25 year old who is constantly on the verge of a breakdown I find her relate able. I don't think I would ever shave my head but I've certainly thought about it on bad hair days.

22. I hold the high score on Jeopardy on my phone: 51,200. My bf often tries to beat it but cannot. This makes me extremely happy. The man beats me at poker, softball,and pool. I can beat him at Jeopardy, bowling and Guitar Hero. It's only fair.

23. I love singing old school 80s music when I've been drinking. Loudly. and I will bust out Regulators at any given moment.

24. I love documentaries and history shows. Luckily I found a man who does as well. We just finished watching "Planet Earth" (so amazing) and now have "Life After People" and "Weather."

25. My brothers are two of my favorite people on Earth. I know some people don't get along with their siblings and this makes me sad. While Micah is 17 and a bit difficult at the moment he is completely unique and I'd like to think I had a part in that. Anytime I need someone to drink a beer with I call Jesse- I prefer to drink with him over most people any day.

The cake that almost wasn't!

2009-01-25T18:47:00.000-05:00

Bfs birthday cake. Round. Chocolate. Not exactly the way I'd planned it but you have to be flexible right? The first cake collapsed as I was carving it. Ugh. For some reason it didn't thicken up that much. Literally every time you touched it another part fell off. My dad described it as looking like the earth after an earthquake hit and the ground cracked open. Lovely. So I went the circle 'safe' route and this is the finished product.

I do have to say I thought it wasn't going to happen at one point. The first collapsed and this one kept melting so I had to stick in it in the fridge for a while. Why melting? I was cooking at the same time so I guess that's why. Anyways- it didn't come out nearly as nice or detailed as I planned but quite frankly I was just glad it was in one piece, decent looking and still had icing on it. He loved it and it tasted amazing so that's all that really matters right?

Dinner went well . . . had Lasagna rolls and Crostini with Sun-dried jam . . . the frico cheese bowls kept burning. I tried to make them once before and they burnt as well so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong . . . it's literally cooking cheese. I did some investigating earlier and a lot of recipes call for a bit of flour to be added as well. Plus one mentioned making sure you didn't use too much cheese and that may have been an issue. I'll try again I'm sure.

He enjoyed his presents . . . at midnight he opened his "kid" box . . . candy, silly string, a baseball dvd and a table bowling game. We then had a silly string fight. That stuff stinks horribly!!! I accidentally got a mouthful and it was gross. The next day he opened up his "adult" box . . . batteries, super glue, deoderant, bar soap (boring stuff but little necessities) and then his "real" present . . . work pants and a crazy spot light. Then dinner, cake and poker with friends. All in all a good birthday I think!

Bfs birthday dinner

2009-01-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

Bfs birthday is Friday. My car is officially dead and i will not have a new one until next week (so sad- I've had that car since I was 19.) This makes planning his birthday difficult. Should I make him dinner? He's already said he doesn't want to go out and do anything but I am making him a cake and I did invite a friend of his to come over. Should I cook the very first dish I ever made him (my lasagna rolls)? Why the sudden pressure to decide when his birthday's not till Friday? Well since I'm carless I'm at the mercy of my family and friends. I have a job interview at 11 and will have my moms car so I was planning on finishing up my shopping afterwards- get his presents and ingredients for his cake. So I have about a half an hour to decide. Plus I still need to do my makeup and change. (*update* job interview sucked assss btw . . . I do have another next week for a position that I actually really really REALLY want though)

I think I will make my lasagna rolls (and by mine I totally mean an modified version of Giada's but shhh . . . don't tell him that- it was the first dish I ever cooked for him and he raved and assumed I created it myself and I sooo did not have the heart to tell him he was soo wrong. I'm guessing he's figured it out since then because I'm a much better baker then chef.) Anyways He loves them, I love them, and if anyone comes over there will be enough to feed them. Throw in a baguette made into garlic bread and some veggies on the side and a bottle of wine and I think I'll be good.

okay . . . 7 minutes to go and I've got it planned . . .
Parmasen Bowl Salad
Lasagna Rolls
Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam

and then of course his cake. Thank God for this wonderful blog I discovered the other day.

Gotta go! Wish me luck!!!

Death of an old friend

2009-01-19T00:19:00.001-05:00

I have to go a to viewing tomorrow. For a 25 year old guy I grew up with. My elementary school bf. This makes me extremely sad. Even suckier thing is- I had a chance to hang out with him the night before he died and I didn't. Although that might have made it harder- my brother was with him right before it happened and hes not handling it very well. James is one of the first friends I remember having as a child and even though I haven't seen him in months (he moved away) I'm really going to miss him. He was one of the few people who could call me Jenny and get away with it.

I hate funerals. People aren't supposed to die at 25.

this has nothing to do with the usual but I just needed a moment to be sad. My brother was even closer to him so I can't really talk about it.

:( I hate goodbyes.

Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cookies

2009-01-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cookies (makes about 40)
*adapted from Skinny Bitch in a Kitch

Ingredients
-2 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
-2 tsp baking soda
-3/4 tsp fine sea salt
-1 1/2 c evaporated cane sugar
-1 c coconut oil
-1 c peanut butter
-1/4 c ice water
-1 tbs molasses
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 c coarsely crushed potato chips

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment.
In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, and PB mixing on med-high speed until creamy- about 3 minutes.
Add the water, molasses and vanilla mixing until well combined.
With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture slowly, mixing fully. Add the potato chips mixing until just combined.
Arange 2 tbs sized balls of dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press to about 3/4 inch thick then use the back of a fork to mark with crosshatch pattern.
Bake for 13-15 minutes. Cool on rack.

Christmas Goodie Box finished product!

2009-01-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

2008's christmas cookies was very successful!! Starting at the top corner and going clockwise we have Vanilla Bean Snowmen, Mocha Truffle Cookies, Chocolate Cookie Bark, Chocolate Covered Snow Peaks, Snickerdoodles, Rocky Road Fudge, Chocolate Chip Christmas Trees, Peppermint Bark, Buckeyes and Oreo Truffles.

Notes to self for next year:
Chill oreo truffles over night before dipping in chocolate!!
If using same Snickerdoodle recipe place cookie drops FAR away from each other before baking otherwise it all runs together!
Use a mixture of reg. flour and bread flour for chocolate chip cookies!!

I also included a card with a list of all cookies included inside the box . . . it went over very well!!!

Vanilla Bean Snowmen

2008-11-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Saw these in Rachael Ray's December edition and thought they were so cute!!

Ingredients:

1 vanilla bean, split

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg plus 1 egg white

2 2/3 cups flour

Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

1. In a medium bowl, scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the confectioners' sugar. Add the pod, cover with plastic wrap and let stand overnight.
2. Remove the pod from the confectioners' sugar and discard. Using an electric mixer, beat the confectioners' sugar and butter at high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, baking soda and salt at medium speed. Beat in the whole egg. Mix in the flour at low speed, scraping down the bowl. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into disks and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
3. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. On a floured work surface, roll out one disk to a 1/4-inchthick round. Using a 3-inch snowman cookie cutter, cut out the cookies; using a metal spatula, transfer to the cookie sheets and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
4. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375°. Beat the egg white with a fork and brush lightly on the cookies; sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes; let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring with a metal spatula to racks; let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining disk of dough.

Tilapia Part II

2008-10-17T00:30:00.000-04:00

So I made the tilapia . . . and it was actually good. Bf and I were both nervous about it because neither of us cook or eat fish but we were both pleasantly surprised. He actually said it was the best home cooked fish he had ever had. It didn't really taste like fish but was nice and flaky. It was a bit salty but I'm pretty sure that was my fault somehow.

I also made a pasta salad with bowtie noodles, tomatoes, parmesan, shredded mozzarella, shredded italian cheese mix, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar. It was okay . . . it tasted a lot better when I first made it (I let it set in the fridge for an hour before we ate it.)

Lastly we had cake . . . I used a basic yellow cake mix, put some whip cream in the middle and a chocolate glaze on top. It was crazy moist tonight.

We had a candle light dinner sitting on pillows at our coffee table because we are moving in a few weeks and currently don't have a kitchen table.

Bf after a successful dinner :)

Oreo Truffles

2008-10-16T20:56:00.000-04:00

While searching for a new pasta salad recipe I found this amazing goodie. I cannot wait to make it!!!

2 sleeves Oreos (1 package)
8 oz. softened cream cheese
Handful of white chocolate chips
Handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crush the Oreos in a food processor (should be like crumbs). Pour into a mixing bowl/mixer. Add in the cream cheese and mix until well blended. Roll into balls. In a separate bowl, melt all the chocolate chips together and drizzle over balls.

Hint: Melt the chips in the microwave, along with a teaspoon of Crisco. Once melted, place them in baggie & cut the corner of the bag (a very small hole) and drizzle over the balls. Even better, use an icing bag if you have one. Store truffles in the fridge.

Yield: About 30 truffles

courtesty of Becky Higgins

To Tilapia or not to Tilapia . . .

2008-10-16T19:43:00.000-04:00

I am about to make something that I have never ever made before. I never even thought I would. I've never even tasted it before so I'm a bit nervous because I don't know what to expect or how to tell if things go wrong.

Some frozen tilapia was left in our freezer. Not a big deal right? Except I don't eat fish. Ever (well there was the one Derby weekend.) The thought of eating fish freaks me out. It seems a shame to let it go to waste though. So I found a recipe that I think looks good. My only worry is that it uses a lemon sauce and neither Mike and I are a big fan of that. Unfortunately almost every recipe I find has a lemon flavoring to it. I think I finally found one that looks good minus the lemony flavor.

3-4 tilapia fillets
1/2 tbsp Sea Salt (Other salt fine)
1/2 tbsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
3-4 tbsp Italian Breadcrumbs
2-3 tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano

1. Combine the salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl, mix well.
2. Rub each side of the tilapia fillet with the mixed spices
(I'll be adding egg and flour here)
3. Coat each fillet with breadcrumbs
4. Pan fry over medium heat with some olive oil.
5. When close to finished, sprinkle some cheese on each fillet

I think I'll add some egg and flour to make sure the rub sticks though.

I think I'll fix it with some pasta and make a cake. I'll post pictures and how it went when I'm done! Wish me luck!!

Greek Food Part II

2008-10-05T15:50:00.000-04:00

I recently wrote about a wonderful dinner out at Trojan Horse. I decided to try and make some of the food at home. It went fairly well. I made cheesepa'rer with pitas for the appetizer. I also made Tiropita, Moussaka, and Tabouleh.

Cheesepa'rer (hummus for cheeseheads)

-I couldn't find a recipe for this one so I just guessed and think it actually came out really well and definitely plan on making this often. BF and I loved it.

-Fresh spinach (I bought the kind in the plastic rectangular container and used half of it)
-Olive Oil
-Feta cheese (one container of the crumbled kind)
-Cream Cheese (a heaping spoonful)
-Ricotta Cheese (a heaping spoonful)
-1 Garlic clove

Mix in blender. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with warm pitas.

Tabouleh- it came out horrible and we didn't eat it. It was just so different what we were served at the restaurant. Oh well- you win some you lose some.

Tiropita (cheese filled pastry)

-4 eggs
-Ricotta Cheese (smaller bowl- I think its like 5-7 oz)
-Feta Cheese (1 container of the crumbled kind)
-1 box puff pastry, thawed.

Oven: 350 degrees until golden on top (15-20 minutes)

1. Mix 3 eggs, ricotta and feta together.
2. Roll pastry into a square and cut each sheet into 9 equal squares by making 2 horizontal cuts and 2 vertical cuts.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of mixture into each square. (I think I put too much in mine because they were very hard to close but oh well.
4. Brush sides with a little water and then bring 2 sides together to form a triangle. Press to seal (I hope this goes better for you then me- haha- I thought I was going to have an oozing cheese mess all over my baking sheet but didn't.)
5. Place on baking sheet and brush on top with remaining egg (beat first)

Moussaka (BF claimed mine was better then what we had at the Trojan Horse. I think I used too much cinnamon. He claimed he couldn't taste it. Either way it was really good.)

Oven: 400 degrees for 30 minutes. (I had to cook it for longer because we couldn't tell if it was done- probably at 45 minutes total)

-2 med eggplants, sliced.
-Olive Oil
-2 Tsp salt

-1 lb ground beef
-2 medium tomatoes
-1 small can tomato sauce
-1/2 Tsp garlic powder
-1/2 Tsp salt
-1/4 Tsp oregano
-dash cinnamon

Basic Bechamel Sauce
-2 Tbs butter
-2 Tbs flour
-1 cup Milk
-Shredded Cheddar Cheese (2 1/2 cups- about one bag)
-2 eggs, beaten slightly

1. Slice eggplant into slices long ways. Deep fry and then salt.
2. Brown beef, drain. Add tomatoes, sauce and seasonings (garlic, salt, oregano and cinnamon.)
Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour, remove from heat.
4. Stir in milk, return to heat and stir constantly until thick.
5. Add cheese and stir until melted and smooth.
6. Add small amount to eggs, beating quickly and then return to sauce pan, whisking in quickly.

-The recipe called for a 13X9 dish. I wanted to go for more of a meat pie feeling so I used a round deeper dish instead (which is probably why I had to bake it longer.) Whatever pan you want to use is your choice, just adjust your cooking time.

-Place a layer of eggplant in pan (only use half.)
-Spread meat mixture over eggplant layer.
-Top with remaining eggplant.
-Top with cheese bechemal sauce.

-Let stand for 5 minutes after baking.

Enjoy!!! The last recipe looks like a lot but really it's not, especially if you've made a bechamel sauce in the past. It's totally worth it I promise! Just be careful with the cinnamon!!!

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

2008-10-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

I found a recipe for these cupcakes. I thought it seemed like a neat idea and they were so cute. Alli agreed. We talked about these cupcakes for a week before we finally made them. You could feel the excitement in the air.

Oh how disappointed and grossed out we were. These things were disgusting. In their defense, the actual cupcake wasn't that bad. It was the icing. The icing was horrible. Disgusting. Words can't even begin to describe how bad these were. Honestly- I've never baked anything that went this uneaten. The boys refused to try them. Alli ate a tiny bite and threw hers away. I tried to make myself eat this horrid thing but couldn't. I'm just glad the recipe only made like 8 cupcakes. Because they all went into the trash.

Moral of this story? If you ever see a recipe that calls for flavored icing (other than choc, vanilla, coffee- the usual) be weary. Especially if it involves something sweet.

Chocolate- Hazelnut Gelato

2008-09-26T16:23:00.000-04:00

Chocolate- Hazelnut Gelato . . . yum. I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian with the wonderful Giada and have been making it ever since. It's wonderful!!

2 c Milk
1 c Heavy Cream
1/2 c sugar + 1/4 c
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c Nutella spread

1. In a saucepan warm milk, cream and 1/2 c sugar over medium heat, for about 5 minutes (until sugar dissolves.)
2. Mix egg yolks with 1/4 c sugar using mixer until it becomes pale yellow and thick.
3. Add 1/2 c milk and cream mixture to egg mixture and stir.
4. Add back into sauce pan. Cook over low heat stirring constantly for 7-10 minutes.
5. Pour mixture through strainer.
6. Stir in vanilla and Nutella until it dissolves.
7. Chill completely.
8. Pour into ice cream maker and follow machine's directions to freeze.

-Can top with crushed hazelnuts.

Chili's Chicken Crispers

2008-09-26T16:16:00.000-04:00

I love chili's chicken crispers. LOVE. They are so soft and melt in your mouth. I recently discovered the recipe for them and had to try it out.

Batter:
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c Milk
3/4 c Swanson's Chicken Broth
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 c self rising flour

chicken tenderloins
shortening
1/2 c all purpose flour

1. whisk egg, milk, broth, salt and pepper for 30 seconds.
2. Whisk in self rising flour.
3. Let set 5 minutes.
4. Coat chicken in all purpose flour, dip in batter (I do this twice)
5. Deep fry 7-9 minutes.

Honey Mustard Sauce
2/3 c Mayonnaise
1/4 c honey
2 tbs Dijon Mustard
pinch paprika
pinch salt

1. Mix and chill covered.

Oreo Cake

2008-09-25T16:45:00.000-04:00

My famous oreo cake!! I went a little above and beyond this time and used homemade icing instead of just my normal glaze. Made for a very very rich cake.

Cake:
-Duncan Heinz Swiss Cake Mix
-4 serving Chocolate Fudge pudding mix
-3 eggs
-1 and 1/4 cup water
-3/4 cup vegetable oil

1- Preheat oven 350. Grease two 9-inch round pans.
2- Mix low until combined. Medium-high 30-45 seconds.
3- Pour into pans. Bake 30-33 minutes.

Filling:
-1 stick cream cheese softened.
-1/2 cup sugar
-2 cups of cool whip
-12 crumbled oreos

1- Cream cheese and sugar until combined.
2- Add cool whip, mix for 30-45 seconds on medium.
3- Fold in crumbled oreos.
4- Chill for 15 minutes (I usually chill until the cake is cooled)
5- Cover the bottom layer of the cake with filling. Spread evenly and apply top layer of cake.

Icing: (makes about 2 cups- way more than needed for the top of this cake)
-1 stick unsalted butter, melted
-2/3 c cocoa powder
-3 c powdered sugar
-1/3 c milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-Melt butter, stir in cocoa.
2. Add milk, mix.
3. Add sugar one cup at a time. Beat until fully mixed.
4. Stir in vanilla. Mix.
5. Add small amount of milk if necessary.

Ice top of cake. Pipe if wanted. Garnish with crushed Oreos if desired. Store the rest in an air tight container (do not refrigerate)

Trojan Horse

2008-09-21T17:03:00.000-04:00

Mike and I ate at Trojan Horse, a local Greek restaurant, last night. When we go we normally get the gyros. We decided to be brave last night and ordered the Combination Plate. It was amazing!

It began with 2 appetizers: Dolmasalata (a salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and chunks of feta cheese with a wonderful dressing) and Spanakopita (a dough filled with spinach and cheese- so good- see picture)

Next came our main course: Moussaka, Gyros, Souvlaki, rice and Taboleh.

For those unfamiliar with Greek food here's a break down:

Moussaka: a casserole with meat, eggplant and custard. Amazing.
Gryos: strips of thinly sliced lamb on a bed of rice, topped with onions. Place on pita bread and top it sauce- yumm!

Souvlaki: marinated pork- so smoky!

and lastly Taboleh: bulghur wheat, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, parsley and spices. I'm not going to lie- this was the part I was looking forward to the least. I didn't think it sounded appetizing at all. Boy was I wrong! It was sweet and so good!!!

I definitely plan on trying to recreate certain parts of the meal like the Taboleh and the Spanakopita. I would also like to try to remake the Moussaka. I would also like to make Tiropita which is like the Spanakopita but with different cheeses.

Chocoloate Chunk Cookies

2008-09-21T13:37:00.000-04:00

These may be the most amazing cookies I have ever made. or tasted. Can't take credit for the recipe sadly but sooo good. You should definitely try them out.

Ingredients:
2 c. minus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 2/3 c. bread flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed.
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 lbs. bittersweet chocolate, 60% cocao content, chopped into chunks (I used both Dark Chocolate and Milk chocolate)

1- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
2. Soften butter, add sugars and mix until light and creamy.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly.
4. Add vanilla, nix thoroughly.
5. Add the flour mixture, mixing thoroughly. (I had to split the batter in two and mix in two different bowls because I had a little hand mixer and the batter gets very thick)
6. Add the chocolate 1/3 at a time, folding the batter over it.

-->Now this recipe claims you should chill your dough for 12-36 hours. I went ahead and baked some of the cookie last night and put the remaining dough into the fridge to chill. The cookies were amazing even though I didn't chill them but I'm baking the rest tonight so I'll let you know if there is a different.

7. Roll into balls about the size of golf balls. The recipe asked that you sprinkle sea salt on the tops- I will not be doing this- I don't like to mix sweet and salt.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Recipe taken from the New York Times.

Tomatoes!!!

2008-09-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

I love tomatoes. I do. I love cooking with them. I love cooking just them. My father gives me a bucket from his garden every other week. And by bucket I mean one of those huge ice cream pails.
Lately I have been slicing up tomatoes (or just slicing them in half- it differs), coating them with olive oil, and topping them with a mixture of italian bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, and parmesan cheese. I then bake them for 10-15 minutes on 450 (you want the tops to look crispy and the bottoms to be a little black.) When the picture above was taken I was out of parmesan cheese so I used some shredded cheese after I had baked them and broiled them for a bit. I definitely prefer the parmesan cheese method.

Chocolate Cake with Toffee Bits

2008-09-16T19:14:00.001-04:00

I used a swiss chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding mix. The icing is melted milk chocolate and whipped topping mixed with toffee bits on top. Very yummy and creamy.

Golf cake

2008-09-07T18:15:00.000-04:00

Made a new cake! This one was for my brother's 22nd birthday. He loves golf- works at a golf course so it seemed only natural to make him a golf cake. I love how it turned out. I used brown sugar for the sandtraps and blue gel icing for the pond. I piped all the grass by hand (my first time ever doing something like that.) I made the icing I made for the cupcakes and even though its a total pain to make I love how it decorates.

Cupcakes: Homemade Icing

2008-09-01T22:15:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to bake this afternoon but didn't have any powered sugar laying around to make icing. I discovered a recipe that involved egg whites, sugar, lots of butter and required loads of patience. It turned out pretty well. The icing is nice and light- not to rich or sugary. Alli voted on the pink. It spreads well, and pipes out okay. Had to add some sprinkles of course.

Chocolate Chip pound cake

2008-09-01T13:01:00.000-04:00

So last week I decide to make a cake. Boyfriend says he wants yellow cake. Who wants just a yellow cake? I, of course, couldn't let it be that simple.

Enter the most ridiculously rich cake ever.

Ingredients:
Cake:
One yellow cake mix
One box of vanilla instant pudding/pie mix (4 serving size)
4 large eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag chocolate chips

Glaze:
6 squares of milk chocolate
3 squares of white chocolate
1/2 bag of chocolate chips

Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray and flour bundt pan.
3. Mix cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil, and vanilla extract for 30 seconds on low, then on medium for 2 minutes.
4. Mix in chocolate chips.
5. Pour into pan.
6. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.
7. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert cake onto wire rack or plate (it will need to be flipped back over- chocolate chips should go on the bottom)
8. Cool completely.

Glaze:
1. Melt milk chocolate bars on low- medium, stirring constantly until completely melted and smooth. Let stand at room temperature for a few minutes to thicken.
2. Pour glaze over completely cooled cake. Use a spatula to smooth and cover the top and sides of the cake.
3. Let stand 30 minutes or until glaze is set.
4. Press 1/2 bag of chocolate chips into the side of cake (the hardest thing I've ever had to do- there must be an easier way!)
5. Melt white chocolate bars on low-medium, stirring constantly until completely melted and smooth. (may need to add a bit of shortening)
6. Using a spoon drizzle white chocolate over the top and sides of the cake.
7. Let stand.

Enjoy! My bf and family loved this cake!! The chocolate chips at the bottom were a nice little surprise for them!

Fried Green Tomatoes

2008-09-01T02:45:00.000-04:00

I've been on a tomato kick lately. I blame my father. Once a week I get a phone call asking if I want any of his vegetables. He then sends my mother over with a massive amount of tomatoes. Chels requested Fried Green Tomatoes so I made my first attempt today (making my boyfriend do the frying of course- I'm horrible at frying.) They turned out delicious.

Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
4 green tomatoes, firm (I used 2 small, 2 medium)
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 large beaten eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
Vegetable Oil
salt
pepper

1. Cut tomatoes into slices about 1/2 inch thick.
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and let sit for a few minutes.
3. In seperate shallow dishes (I used round cake pans) place the milk, flour, eggs and bread crumbs.
4. Dip slices into milk, flour, eggs and then bread crumbs covering completely.
5. Heat oil in a skillet or deep fryer.
6. Place slices in a few at a time, cooking for 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Add oil as needed as you cook.
7. Sprinkle with salt.

We served them with Ranch dressing but we eat everything with Ranch dressing in my household.

Cakes: The Crazier the Better

2008-09-01T02:26:00.000-04:00

I bake cakes. If it's your birthday and your my close friend, you're getting a cake. A personalized cake. Here are a few of my more memorable personalized or themed cakes.

My first non traditional cake. Obviously a haunted house. Cute, spur of the moment made out of ghosts, gummy worms and candy corn. Nothing special. Accidentally left the toothpicks in when I took a few pieces to my friend Robs house and apparently almost killed him. Not intentional I swear.

Candy Land: Heidi's birthday cake. Alli and I worked on this one together (if I ever open a bakery she's totally employed.) Probably the most fun cake I've ever made. And the heaviest. Starbursts, Gummy Frogs, Rock Candy, Ice cream cones, gum drops, licorice, skittles, peanut butter M&M's, peppermint sticks, wax soda bottles and so much more.

Electric Guitar: Micah's 16th Birthday. Designed to look like my brother's guitar. He loved it. My first cake that involved cutting out a shape and would have been much easier to do with fondant. I unfortunately hate fondant. It's pretty but tastes like plastic.

Speaking of fondant: My first and only fully covered fondant cake. This was for no special occasion- I was experimenting. I will never again cover a cake in fondant unless it is requested. It has no taste. I now cover cakes in normal icing and use fondant for decorative pieces.

Mom's Birthday cake. Alli also helped make the flowers on this one.

Baseball/Yankees Cake- Braydon's birthday. I made the jersey, glove, bat, etc out of fondant. On the sides of the cake are baseballs, New York Yankee symbols and 9s with Yankee stripes.