Cooking with Cocktails

Pizza and wine and beer...oh yes

2011-01-11T18:42:00.004-05:00

Well hello there blog. It's been awhile. (which might explain forgetting to take pictures) And do I have an alcoholic treat for you. First the cocktails. It was a beautiful snowy day here in Louisville and I opted for an after work run in its fluffy white glory. A run to the wine shop that is...where I picked up a bottle of 6th Sense Syrah, on sale because I knew the Facebook special deal. I must say it reminds me a lot of bacon. Or maybe I'm just hungry for bacon.

However, to settle my pizza craving, and because I have no bacon, I made that instead. Only there was a problem. No yeast. Hmmmm, beer has yeast.

The Crust

3 cups flour: I used 2 cups white and 1 cup whole wheat
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 can frothy, wholesome, delicious, yet cheap beer (Miller Lite in this case)
a dash of your favorite spices (oregano, basil, garlic, and black pepper)

Mix all together, flop onto a floured surface (tip: oil your hands first, this dough is sticky). Kneed into a ball and work it out to cover your baking pan/pizza stone/etc. If you're using a pan, I would suggest oiling it first. *Read the rest before topping with sauces, I suggest pre-cooking your crust a bit to avoid sogginess.

The Sauce

8 ounce can tomato sauce
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
A splash of vinegar

The Toppings
Do as you wish. I chose veggies for this one: Mushrooms, green pepper, tomato, pineapple, and pepperoncinis. Topped with standard Mozzarella. Nothing too fancy since this was a last minute, pull shit from the cabinet/fridge decision.

So to cook this sucker. I started by preheating my oven to 400 and using a pizza stone for my crust. I went ahead and pre-cooked my crust for about 10 minutes since it was a little thicker than normal.

The Verdict: Not to shabby for a Tuesday night on the couch watching Working Girl. It was quick, simple, and the flavors aren't like the typical Spinellis slice I spring for. The crust is a tad doughy in the middle, but that can be fixed. It's a shame Upstairs Megan filled up on potatoes.

homemade clothes soap aka laundry detergent

2010-07-27T11:29:00.000-04:00

i started making my own clothes soap earlier this summer. its so simple and much cheaper. plus, its better for the environment.

3 ingredients

1 55 oz box of arm and hammer washing soda

1 76 oz box of 20 mule team borax

10 pack of 4.5 oz ivory bar soap

(you dont have to use ivory. you can also use bar soap that is specifically made for the laundry such as zote or fels-naptha)

the recipe

1 bar of soap

1/2 cup borax

1/2 cup washing soda

using whatever you have, you will need to shave down the bar of soap. you can use a hand grater or even a food processor. i used my ninja mixer. it made the process quick and fairly simple. i added the soda and borax at the same time which made the soap a little drier and easier to break down.

once everything is pretty well mixed, i emptied into a container and stirred until having a power like this...

i usually make larger batches so i dont have to do this so often. today i used 5 bars of soap, 1 1/2 cup soda and 1 1/2 cup borax.

you only need to use 1 tablespoon per load, depending on how nasty the clothes are. :)

this can be used in front loading machines too since this detergent is very low suds.

homemade ravioli... semi-fail

2010-07-20T14:40:00.000-04:00

i tried. i put forth a good effort. it wasnt a total fail but it wasnt a success either...

so, ive had this pasta maker for a good year now. this was the first time i used it :) it was much easier than i thought it would be but having an extra pair of hands would have been nice when rolling out the sheets of dough.

ravioli ingredients

4 eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup water

filling ingredients

1 green pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon basil

1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, drained WELL

1 egg

(ok, the filling ingredients were just random things i had around the kitchen. i didnt follow a certain recipe)

1. in an electric mixer, first mix together eggs and gradually add flour and water. continue mixing until formed into a ball. on a lightly floured surface, form the dough into a ball and kneed until elastic and smooth. set aside in a covered bowl.

2. in a small bowl, combine filling ingredients. make sure all ingredients are drained well or it will make your ravioli slimy and impossible. (trust me) :)

3. take dough and divide it in half and divide in half again. take each section and make into a rectangle.

4. on the widest setting, roll each rectangle through the pasta machine 3 or 4 times.

5. dust the counter with flour before laying out sheets of dough. brush each sheet with an egg wash. (oops, forgot to mention youll need another egg for that. i added just a little milk also)

6. ok, so this is the part that got tricky for me and where i slowly started failing. my filling wasnt drained as well as i thought it was. i (literally) did step 5 and 6 four times. you take a tablespoon full of filling and drop it on half of the sheet of dough. space out each tablespoon of filling about 2 inches apart and then fold over the other half of the dough to cover the filling. note: there are no pictures of this process. this part turned into a disaster for me and i was so messy and frustrated that i couldnt pick up the camera. i ended up scraping off the filling and having to reroll the dough because the filling wasnt drained enough, it was a big sloppy mess.

(fyi - this is what its supposed to look like)

7. this is how mine turned out.

no, not horrible but not how i wanted them to turn out.

8. cook the ravioli in boiling water for 10-15 mins.

i chose an alfredo sauce and honestly, they werent too bad. since they were enormous, i only ate two. maybe i will know better next time and be able to make these with a little more ease.

(hahaha, yeah... right)

banana cake with fudge frosting

2010-07-16T15:06:00.000-04:00

it just sounds amazing, doesnt it?

this recipe i found on the better crocker website. it sounded too good to pass up so i thought, why not?

banana cake ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter (i used applesauce)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large)

fudge frosting

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter (again, used applesauce)

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. heat oven to 350ºF. grease bottom and sides of rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. in medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.

2. in large bowl, beat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup applesauce with electric mixer on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. (i used my kitchen aid. btw, i hope you dont think im bragging about my amazing, beautiful kitchen aid mixer. im just letting you know... trying to be very specific.) :) beat in eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk until smooth. stir in bananas. pour into pan.

3. bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. cool completely.

(at this point, the pups were very bored with my running around the kitchen. they were not impressed with my skills.)

4. meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, mix 1 cup granulated sugar and the cocoa. stir in milk, 1/4 cup applesauce and the honey. heat to boiling, stirring frequently. boil 3 minutes, keep stirring; remove from heat. beat in powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla with spoon until smooth and spreadable. spread fudge frosting on cooled cake.

ok, ill be honest. i put the cake in the fridge for about 15 mins and then decided to dump the frosting on it before it totally cooled. i put it back in the fridge and it seems to be just fine.

there is just as much frosting as there is cake!!! :)

whole wheat veggie calzone

2010-07-16T14:38:00.003-04:00

so, the other day i was a little frustrated with not having a job. while im still not thrilled about being unemployed, days like today make it worth it. even if its just for a little bit....

ive found a new food blog that ive become quite fond of. tammys recipes is the blog of a stay at mother who just started blogging about what she is making. she has a lot of great recipes and i have a feeling i will be making a few more of her creations.

the recipe i tried out today were the calzone. i figured calzones couldnt be that difficult and i was correct :)

Calzone Dough Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 to 3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon dry yeast

Filling Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup pizza sauce (i didnt have pizza sauce so i used tomato sauce with some basil, rosemary and garlic thrown in)

1/3 cup roasted red pepper vinaigrette

1 package morning star meal starters chicken strips

1/2 cup yellow corn

1 large carrot, finely shredded

1 green pepper, chopped

2 cups shredded mexican blend cheese

Instructions:

1. prepare whole wheat calzone dough by putting ingredients (in order listed) into a large bowl (i used my kitchen aid), using about 2 cups of the flour. stir to combine; continue adding flour and knead mixture. knead 5 minutes. let dough rest while you prepare the filling.

2. in a skillet, cook the chicken strips. remove from heat.

3. in a large bowl, mix filling ingredients.

4. divide dough into 6 equal pieces. roll each piece into a 7-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. (dont break out the ruler... i just rolled mine out to be thinner than a pizza crust but thicker than a tortilla)

5. top half of each circle with about 3/4 cup of the filling mixture, spreading to within one inch of the edge. fold dough over filling and crimp edges to seal, leaving a half-circle.

6. place calzones on greased cookie sheets. bake at 375 degrees until bread is cooked and filling is hot, about 25-30 minutes. cover loosely with foil part way through baking if calzones start to brown too quickly.

mine are still in the oven as we speak. i probably will wait until richard is home to eat anyway.... i did have some leftover which wasnt a problem at all. i took some of the pita bread i made a few days ago and put the filling inside. it was quite tasty!! :)

red bean lasagna

2010-07-14T15:01:00.000-04:00

for the record.... being unemployed was fun at first but now it is really starting to suck. im bored, broke and about to pull my hair out. i can only clean the house so much and its too damn hot to be outside actually do something productive. im not a big tv watcher so i rarely turn it on during the day. argh.

sooooo... lasagna. really simple and a little different. it doesnt require too many ingredients either.

1 15 oz can of red beans, drained
1 clove garlic, minced (i used a little more)
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained (i used diced tomatoes with onion and green pepper)

1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (i didnt have this so i used a shredded mozzarella and provolone mix) its safe to say you will probably use an 8oz bag for the entire recipe.
6 no-boil lasagna noodles

1. preheat oven to 350.

2. heat a skillet with some olive oil and add garlic.

3. mix in beans, tomatoes and green peppers. cook for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

4. in another pan, melt butter and gradually add flour.

5. slowly add milk and then the cheese until slightly thickened.

6. in a 7x11 pan (you can use a 9x9 pan as well) lay 1/2 of the bean mixture on the bottom of the pan. top with 3 of the lasagna noodles and then add another layer of bean mixture.

7. before topping with the remaining noodles, sprinkle on some of the shredded cheese mixture that was used earlier.

8. after topping with the remaining noodles, cover with sauce and add some more shredded cheese. (you can never have too much cheese) :)

9. bake for 20 mins or until slightly browned.

so, to be honest... i havent tasted this yet. instead of baking it, i put it in the freezer for later. the day i decide to cook it though, i will let it thaw in the fridge first before putting in the oven.

puppy dog treats!

2010-05-17T12:29:00.003-04:00

ive been wanting to make homemade dog treats for awhile now but i had never gotten around to it. well, finally today, i did!!

have you met charlie? she is a yorkie poo and one of the sweetest little things i have ever met. for a little dog, she is very calm and hardly ever barks. she loves taking rides in the car and in my basket on my bike :) for being four pounds though, she has tons of energy. she will run and run and run until she makes herself sick... and then she will run some more. haha. she is a very good pup though and follows me around no matter where i am going.

these treats were really easy to make and more than likely, you have all of the ingredients in your house already.

peanut butter honey drops

1 cup rolled oats
1 egg
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup shortening (i used butter since its all i had)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. heat the honey and peanut butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
3. combine the rest of the ingredients with the honey and peanut butter mixture.
4. drop by 1/2 teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 10 mins.
5. turn off oven but leave cookies in for about 5-7 mins. longer.
6. take out and leave on cookie sheet. let totally cool.

this makes about 40 treats so i would recommend freezing some and keeping the rest in the refrigerator.

i tried one... they arent too bad. charlie likes them too :) if you have any dog treat recipes, id love to try them out!

the one meat recipe i will actually eat

2010-05-17T12:09:00.001-04:00

as you know, i am a vegetarian. i was never a big meat eater to begin with and i definitely didnt eat seafood. i found this recipe though as i was looking for something easy and quick that richard could take for lunch. turns out, i like this a lot and found myself snacking on it too :)

ingredients are...

1 loaf french bread
1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced
1 (12 ounce) can tuna, drained
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise (which of course i made from my own recipe)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
in a mixing bowl, combine sweet onion, drained tuna, mozzarella, and mayonnaise. mix well.
spread tuna mixture on slices of french bread.
bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

super simple and quite delicious.

mary mary quite contrary, how does amanda's garden grow?

2010-05-06T21:47:00.003-04:00

After a weeks of alternating between peanut butter and strawberry sandwiches and peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, I think it's safe to say, I'm sure not cooking a damn thing. So here's what's happening in the garden.

The lettuce is still alive and thriving. I keep trying to convince people to pluck one of those little guys and let me know if it tastes like lettuce, but not takers.

There's a fungus among us! In this container we have one random green bean sprout and a heck of a lot of okra. And what's that, fungus, how'd that get there?

Green beans!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure they're smiling.

And look at those dancing snap pea plants tango-ing with the tomatoes.

And last, but not least my peppers.

Cooking, Crafting, and Cropping with Cocktails? Hmmm...

2010-04-07T20:17:00.007-04:00

I guess we'll have to call it Cooking, Crafting, and Cropping with Cocktails. Or perhaps just Amanda and Megan drink and do cool things.

Well, as part of my spring resolution to eat healthier, I've started a tiny container garden on my tiny back deck, with the added fun of pumpkins in the front yard (don't tell my landlord this).

This past weekend I invited my handy father to drive to Louisville to construct my garden while my mom and I shopped. It was a great plan and he fell hook, line, and sinker. We started out at the Home Depot and purchased some seeds, pots, dirt, screws, twine, and some tools that he was sure he needed and constructed this beauty!

I have lettuce, basil, rosemary, sage, parsley, peas, green beans, okra, tomatoes, and peppers. So far I've only planted up to the peas in that list. Just 5 days later and I've got sprouts! I feel like I've birthed my first child (it's obvious I have none, nor the intention of having any). I'm just that excited to see their new faces.

For their first debut, my peas.

And the little lettuces. How cute are they? Of course the next step is thinning the lettuce out, which will make me severely sad. What if I pluck the wrong ones?

And last but not least, the herbs. I bought these as plants so I could begin using them asap.

If you too would like to start a garden, or just pretend to share mine if your Megan, I suggest you check out the book "The Bountiful Container" by Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey. It's packed full of tips and tricks of the trade.

Pea Parley Pesto Pasta....Please

2010-03-21T18:21:00.002-04:00

(Pictures to be added soon)

After a weekend spent gardening and running a gorgeous 10K, I should be finishing up the work I was too mindless to finish Friday afternoon, proofreading, oy. If it’s waited this long, why not let it sit til morning, I’m sure my boss will understand I was busy cooking and blogging.

Before my love for Martha Stewart turned into pure hate after botching batch after batch of her dainty little delicious looking cookies, I subscribed to Everyday Food. 2 months after said incident, I have finally decided to give some of her recipes a try, today’s being: Pea and Parley Pesto with Pasta (Linguine to be exact but wanted to continue with alliteration of P). So I gathered my ingredients, put on my apron, cranked up my Pandora (an entire station dedicated to the sound of Harper Valley PTA) and got to work.

After processing the Pesto ingredients in my Magic Bullet I took a big heaping spoonful and remembered what it was like to be a child of one eating that jarred mush for the first time. Man oh man did I cringe.

Pea and Parsley Pesto with Linguine: From Everyday Food
I halved this recipe because one can only eat so many leftovers, the recipe shown has not been halved

-2 cups frozen peas
- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted (I didn’t see the toasted part until just now, mine weren’t toasted)
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for later
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
-1 package Linguine

1. Cook 1 cup of peas according to directions on package. In food processor, or Magic Bullet if you’re lucky enough to own one, combine cooked peas, parsley, walnuts, Parmesan, garlic, and 1 tbs water (not listed in the ingredients, I assume you do have water). Pulse until a paste forms, add oil, salt, and pepper until you’re satisfied with texture and taste.

2. This is where I forgot I even had instructions to begin with, so yours will no doubt turn out that much better than mine, although mine was pretty darn good. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to direction on package, unless you’re Jeralyn from Glorified Lunch Lady and you’ve made your own pasta. Add 1 cup of peas 20 seconds before end of cooking. Drain pasta and peas reserving 1 cup water. Return pasta and peas to pot, toss ¾ cup pesto adding enough to pasta water to create a sauce that coats the pasta. Top with more Parmesan.

Eat up, remembering to pour yourself a glass of wine first.

Since I wasn’t in the mood to work or watch the boilermakers get destroyed and my bracket fall to pieces, I decided to go ahead and roast some garlic and whip up the ingredients to make pizza. Now that I’ve finally begun the art of freezing, it’s super easy to make the dough and sauce ahead of time, place it in the freezer, and have it ready for any pizza craving that may pop up.

Roasted Garlic:
- Chop heads of garlic off, sprinkle with salt, pepper, your favorite Italian seasoning and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in roasting pan and top with foil. Roast at 400 for about an hour. Store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. Use on toasted french bread, crackers, or eat it by the spoon. I just might.

Pizza:
- Scroll down and read previous pizza blogging. Both Megan and I have some good, easy recipes.

Winter Crafts, Spring Produce

2010-03-19T19:56:00.005-04:00

Cooking...and Crafting with Cocktails, I'm so happy to be back. Winter was a rough one in the cooking world, but boy oh boy did I bust out some crafts. Megan did also. I guess we could official change the name of this blog because like cooking, the crafting was indeed done with cocktails in hand. Shouldn't everything be like that?

I've been hibernating all winter long not cooking one lick of wholesome goodness. Instead, I've been knitting and sewing up a storm. Not one, but two sets of pillows.

It all came to an end Thursday, when Megan and I needed a cooking/crafting night. Since Easter is right around the corner, what's more cheerful than grilling and coloring Easter eggs. No real recipes on this one, just thrown together delights.

Bruchetta:

Spray bread with oil and place on grill being careful not to get sidetracked. It took two tries. The first was so blackened the birds turned their noses, err beaks, up. Top with tomato, basil, garlic, and feta. In this case, lots of feta.

Grilled Vegetables:

Drizzle your choice of fresh produce with olive oil and basil. In this case, I chose broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and red pepper. Wrap in foil and place on grill for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and continue to grill for 5 more minutes. Enjoy.

Grilled Pineapple:

My favorite and a last minute addition to the dinner. Slice and grill. We were going to add brown sugar but it's sweat enough on it's own.

Post grilling, color eggs!

I've been pondering the idea of using nothing but items which can be purchased from local farmers this spring/summer/fall. I think it would make for some challenging eating, but with the abundance of local markets held various days of the week, it can easily be conquered. Expect many many more posts.

If you're feeling up to a real cooking challenge, check out my friend Jeralyn's blog, Glorified Lunch Lady. She too is quite funny, although not quite as funny as Megan and I, but man can that girl cook.

mexican + italian = taco pizza!!

2010-01-31T16:43:00.018-05:00

after i finished knitting my fingerless gloves, sunday i stuck in the house with nothing to do. i wasnt about to go out in the snow and didnt really feel like getting dressed to do so anyway. i was hungry and pizza always sounds good. after amanda and i's thursday night mexican adventure didnt live up to its expectations, i was still craving mexican food. i remember having taco pizza from pizza hut when i was a kid and though... what the hell? why not give it a shot!

before i get started... have i mentioned the newest addition to the family? this is eleanor rigby!! she is a maltese and the cutest damn thing i have seen in awhile. sometimes i think she might be retarded since she runs into stuff a lot and the house training thing isnt all that great but she is lovable and cuddly... even her puppy breath kisses make me all warm and fuzzy inside. hahah. :)

ok, so pizza. i made the crust from the cookbook that came with my kitchen aid mixer. what? i didnt mention her either?! geez... im really slacking on this blog thing huh?

here she is... mean, green and an absolute beauty! she fits in quite nicely in my andy warhol kitchen :)

crust

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups flour

1. dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixing bowl. add salt, olive oil and 2 cups flour. attach bowl and dough hook to mixer and mix at speed 2 for about a minute.
2. continue on speed 2. add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of the bowl. kneed about 2 minutes longer.
3. place dough in oiled bowl, turning to grease top. cover and let rise in a warm place free from draft for an hour or until doubled in bulk. punch dough down.

while the dough was rising, i prepared everything else for the pizza. there are 3 different recipes i used in making this. the first one is for the actual taco pizza itself. the second one is for the taco sauce and the third is for the pizza sauce. i sure am glad i had everything needed in making my own sauces from scratch. its so much better that way :)

im not going to walk you through every single step but ill walk you through how i put the pizza together.

after punching the dough down, i spread it out on a greased cookie sheet. i like square pizza and i didnt have a round pizza pan. i followed the directions from the recipe above pretty much exactly. i combined the pizza sauce, the taco sauce and the refried beans. i added more than 1/4 cup because 1/4 cup didnt seem like enough. (it wasnt and im glad i added almost a cup instead of 1/4) after mixing all of that together, i spread it on the dough. i of course didnt use real meat, i used the morningstar ground beef crumbles instead. i didnt even have to cook them, i just added the taco seasoning and water in a bowl and mixed it all together. i spread that on top of the sauce mixture and then added a generous amount of pizza cheese and chopped onion. i put it in the oven at 475 for about 20 minutes. once i let it cool a little and cut it into squares, i topped it with a little lettuce and tomato.

not the greatest picture in the world since i took it with my camera phone but it will have to do.

the pizza turned out excellent and i will be making it again at some point. :)

just the best party dip ever

2010-01-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

i'd been wanting to make this dip for awhile now and finally had an excuse to! now, there arent any pictures but trust me... the recipe alone speaks volumes!

blt dip

1 cup mayo (my recipe)
1 cup sour cream (low fat)
4 ounces cream cheese (neufchatel cheese)
bacon (morning star)
lettuce (pre shredded)
tomato (cherry tomatoes)

so, i used my own mayo recipe (made in my new artisan kitchen aid mixer) once the mayo was done, i added the sour cream and cream cheese into the mixer and mixed well. i (of course) used fake bacon and i used about 2 packages of morning stars brand. the first time i made this, i cut up the bacon using a pizza cutter thinking that was the simplest way.... no. it wasnt. the second time i used my ninja. duh... i dont know why i didnt think of this the first time!! once the bacon was chopped up, i added it to the mayo/cheese/sour cream mixture and mixed well. i also used the ninja to chop up the tomatoes. i didnt drain them after chopping, and now i wish i would have. once those are chopped up, layer those along with the shredded lettuce on top of the bacon mixture.

viola! yumminess!!! i wasnt expecting this great of a dip but it really really was! i used triscuits for the crackers and when those ran out, i just used saltines.

i plan on making this dip again this weekend. this will be the third time in 2 weeks. this time, i am thinking about mashing an avocado in with the mayo. :)

because everyone loves cupcakes

2010-01-02T11:49:00.001-05:00

just a little reminder to be fabulous at all times... :)

hello!!

2010-01-01T18:47:00.004-05:00

wow, it sure has been awhile since ive posted something worthwhile on here. i apologize for neglecting this blog for so long.... let me try and make it up to you! :)

ok, lets see. its 2010 (crazy) so that means the holidays are over! woo hoo!! im not a big fan of the holidays. i hate cold weather. i dont like the crazed shopping (or shoppers) and all the typical holiday stress that comes along with this time of year. but i will say, the past few months havent been too bad and i have actually enjoyed it. so, whats been going on you ask?

... lets start with thanksgiving. i stayed in town instead of going to my moms like i usually do. richards bff, bobby, came down from cleveland and stayed with us for awhile. there was a massive amount of cooking going on and it was awesome!! bobby is a chef so it was a lot of fun.

this is most of the food that was made for thanksgiving dinner.

i made a very excellent pot pie-ish type dish. it was basically a pot pie that wasnt pie shaped and i used biscuits for the crust. it was awesome. so awesome in fact, i made it again for christmas :)

not the greatest picture in the world but i promise you... looks are deceiving. it was sooo yummy!!

i used a recipe from my friend johanna and made my own modifications. this such a simple dish and it is so versatile. and simple and versatile are two of my favorite words in cooking :)

so, i cut up green, yellow and red bell peppers. (nicer dicer style) i also used some frozen veggies i had like green beans, corn, broccoli, carrots... probably some other stuff that i cant remember. i put all of that in a baking dish and threw some olive oil and a little seasoning on them. i roasted them for about 15 mins or so. now, the sauce is really the best part. i think there are a million ways to make a sauce/gravy but this is how i made mine.

i melted a little over a half a stick of butter in a cast iron skillet. i added some flour until it was kinda pasty. i added about 2 cups chicken broth (veggie) and some shredded cheddar cheese. after mixing all of that i added quite a few different seasonings and that is what made it so good. a little salt, black pepper, oregano, rosemary, basil, garlic, thyme... no set amounts, just adding a little here and a little there. once you have that all mixed in you have to make sure it is a good consistency. i usually add more flour or broth depending on how thick it is.

i like pot pies with a crust on top and bottom. so on this one i used biscuit dough in the can. i had to stretch those out to cover the pan and honestly, that was probably the worst part about making this dish. next time i will know better...

so, once i had the dough spread out i covered it with the veggies and then covered those with the sauce. i threw some cheddar cheese on top and then once again, stretched out more dough to cover the top.

i did make two of these but only because i had too much to put into one dish. (i froze the smaller one for later)

i put them in the oven for about an hour at 350. just check on them every once in awhile to make sure the "crust" isnt getting too brown.

well... there you have it!! i guess it is a pot pie casserole :) i also made a pumpkin roll, blueberry lemon cheesecake bars, mashed potatoes and gravy and a few other goodies. but, those will have to wait until another time... i feel the wii calling my name :)

well... i must have drank too much.

2009-11-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

i had a great blog. really... i did.

i cant figure out how to post everything i want, in the order i want without going crazy. i tried using the new editor but its just not working out for me.

i promise i will try again soon. i am sorry i have been gone so long... i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!

It's not delivery, it's Dig....HOME MADE PIZZA!

2009-10-19T21:29:00.005-04:00

Well what few of you readers are left after months of non-posting, we're back, or at least I'm back and I have a new friend whom you'll meet soon. After much traveling back and fourth from Louisville to Evansville with a spectacular 30th birthday to celebrate in New York (Wild as Mink, it was by far the best party I've been to), I finally had the chance to hang out in my own tiny kitchen where I cooked to my heart's desire. The menu was pizza, delicious, thin crust, tangy sauce pizza. And boy was it amazing. And with a side of O'Fallon Pumpkin Ale, what a Sunday.

I got the hankering for some thin crust and being far to stubborn to order out, I decided to whip up my own. I had all the ingredients for the crust but lacked the tomato base for the sauce, so I hopped in my car and drove to the Target. The newly remodeled Target that I had to go an entire year without. I was so excited, I actually went there twice on opening weekend.

Now to the good stuff. I suggest getting your beverage of choice ready, you're going to be kneading that dough like no body's business. You'll probably work up a sweat.

The Crust:

1 1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup cornmeal

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in water. Add oil and flour to bowl and stir like you mean it for 1 minute.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press into a circle. Sprinkle yeast evenly over dough and knead for 12 minutes. Luckily, I had the help of 'Lil Homie.

Divide dough into portions 3 equal portions. Place dough balls in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours in a warm location.

Now is the time to refill your drink, clean up your mess, and begin making your sauce and planning your toppings. I also suggest you begin preheating your pizza stone as to not waste time getting this pizza into your stomach.

Place a dough ball on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle a light coating of flour on top. Working from the edges to the center, press dough into a paper thin circle (or at least into the size of your pizza stone).

Coat a large cutting board with cornmeal and place the flattened dough onto the cornmeal. * A tip from my cousin: Cook your dough on the pizza stone for about 10 minutes before topping to ensure your crust gets crisp while your cheese stays un-blackened.

The Sauce

8 ounce can tomato sauce
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
A splash of vinegar
Secret Ingredient: 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir together.

Since this recipe makes about 3 pizzas, I opted for some cheesy garlic toast, a pepperoni, and a ham, green pepper, tomato, and pineapple (this one was by far the tastiest). Go crazy, it's your own creation!

Making Whoopie...pies, pumpkin whoopie pies

2009-09-19T22:28:00.003-04:00

My sister is on her way to Louisville which can only mean one thing, I have to whip something creative up for her judgemental taste buds. While on a run earlier this week, which just happens to end at the Wine Rack no matter the millage or the day, I noticed pumpkin beer in the window, a favorite between the sisters. I came home and begin looking for that extra special pumpkin recipe when I stumbled upon one of my favorite blogs. After reading the list of ingredients, there was no way I could compete to make it my own so I present you with Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, from Erin's Food Files.

While you're there, check out her other amazingly delicious treats. Erin is a good friend of Megan and from what I hear, quite the chef. My whoopie pies are in the cooling stage but from licking the bowl throughout the process, I can already tell these are going to be a hit!

* This is not a picture of the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies as my camera is toast. However, this is my jack-o-lantern from last Halloween, so it counts.

For you meat lovers

2009-09-13T19:05:00.004-04:00

So, I am by no means a vegetarian. I just have a strong distaste for touching raw bloody carcass prior to gnawing on its bones, that, and I do feel bad for the little guys. However, I am a huge huge huge fan of bacon and bison. Thus I present you with this:

If you haven't tried bison, it is much less fatty and greasy than beef and is huge here in Kentucky, that and fried green tomato blt's which I will attempt one of these days. Back to the bison, simply season with salt and pepper and throw it on the grill with some potatoes and veggie kabobs and you have yourself a well balanced meal. I prefer mine medium to medium well, but if charred is your thing, by all means go and ruin it. Now to the veggie goodness, I opted for eggplants and squashes from my CSA basket, added in green pepper and tomato with minced fresh garlic. Mmm mmm good.

Veggie Burger Deliciousness

2009-09-13T18:57:00.004-04:00

So this one I totally stole from Megan, but since she's much too busy to entertain you, I am taking the credit. While I have not quite mastered the stability of these yet, the taste is there and that's really what counts.

2 cans black beans (rinsed, drained, and mashed)

1 onion

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

2 eggs

1 ear corn, off the cop

3-4 garlic gloves minced

1 package saltines

salt

pepper

chili powder

cumin

squirt hot sauce

small handful shredded cheese

Finely chop up the onion and peppers and drain them as much as possible. Wrap them up in towels being careful not to spill them on the floor to soak up some of the moisture. Mix all the ingredients with the mashed black beans and make yourself some patties.

Tips

Things you can add to help keep the patties as patties: flour, oats, cooked rice, sweet potatoes. egg whites, etc. etc.

If you plan on grilling these, which is by far the tastiest method, freeze them in patties first.

Basically throw everything together and make patties.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

2009-09-13T18:46:00.006-04:00

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooo blog world, I'm back, camera or not. After many weekend away, I have decided to spend this one indoors cooking, except for that little stint with blogging buddy Megan in which we drank champagne and visited the many Louisville festivals. My favorite of the recipes was French Onion Soup. I mean, come on, who doesn't love a delicious bowl of tasty goodness and wait until you see the soup crocks I bought in Chicago.

After much google searching for the perfect recipe I came across the following from Cooking Light. I halved this recipe and substituted fake beef broth for the real deal. At Whole Foods I discovered Vegetarian Better than Bouillon fake beef paste stuff in a jar. To make a long story short, it's delicious. So here it goes:

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups thinly vertically sliced Walla Walla or other sweet onion
4 cups thinly vertically sliced red onion
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dry white wine
8 cups less-sodium beef broth (I used the fake stuff, no cows for me)
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
8 (1-ounce) slices French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 (1-ounce) slices reduced-fat, reduced-sodium Swiss cheese (such as Alpine Lace)

Preparation
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high, and sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is golden brown. Stir in wine, and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours.

At this point I divided my recipe into the cute little crocks shown above and placed them in the fridge for individual indulgences.

Before Service

Warm soup in oven. Remove from oven.

Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute. Or if you're me the bread is already stale and you can skip this step.

Place bread on top of soup and layer with cheese. Broil 3 minutes or so or until cheese begins to brown. You might place a pan underneath these so you don't burn the dripping cheese.

Enjoy, it's delicious

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

2009-08-23T20:42:00.003-04:00

As I celebrated the big 26 this weekend in Evansville, I remembered, I have a blog. A very very sad blog with lack of posts. So what if I don't have a camera, if it's worthy enough, it can be visually described.

My late birthday weekend was filled with food. I had a delicious angel food cake (made by Betty Crocker herself) topped with the freshest of fresh berries. And my mother has apparently been keeping up with my food blog because I received a brand spanking new rolling pin for my birthday. Yes, you heard that correctly. Goodbye empty Svedka vodka bottle, hello delicious wood rolling pin. I also got a hand mixer, can opener, and mixing bowls. Who knew a 26 year old would be so thrilled over such commodities.

We also ventured out to take in the new flick Julie and Julia. If you haven't gone, you should. It is fabulous. If I only had the blogging/cooking skills as portrayed in the movie. Well, for one, I'd be enormous. The main ingredient in each dish is butter. But honestly, quite a good film.

Since I can't simply post about my fabulous weekend, that did come complete with the best 60 minute massage ever, I have posted a new favorite snack.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
You make these the traditional way, bag of marshmallows, stick of butter, small box of krispies. However, try adding about 1/3 cup - 1/2 cup peanut butter while melting the marshmallows and butter. Your taste buds will thank me, your gut, not so much. I could have eaten 1/2 the pan the first night. Luckily these were going to the local Gilda's club, so none stayed in my kitchen!

Enjoy, and I promise to not abandon you anymore poor blog.

Goulash, or something like it

2009-08-05T20:53:00.002-04:00

First and foremost, I apologize for the picture. My camera bit the dust shortly after the upload. Thank goodness I have a birthday coming up, hint hint.

Growing up, everyone has that one food that they hate, well, I had many, but the one that you hate, and then as you get older, you love. Mine was my mom's goulash.

Goulash, well, sort of, kind of goulash. Each member of my family makes this completely differently but for some reason it all has the same name. This is my version.

My Version

Small Onion

Clove of Garlic

Green Pepper

Half bag veggie crumbles

Big can diced tomatoes

Cooked elbow macaroni (use your best judgement, I went with half the package)

Salt

Pepper

Cut up vegetables and cook with veggie crumbles until they are no longer frozen(the veggie crumbles that is). Add diced tomatoes, 2 pinches salt, 2 pinches pepper. Stir until hot. Add to cooked, drained noodles and season to taste.

You can use ground beef, but, I don't like to touch it so I opted for veggie crumbles. You all missed the bison steaks I cooked up this weekend, hehe.

*Note, there is no mention of the corn, it tasted like earth.

homemade mayo!!

2009-08-01T15:20:00.004-04:00

i dont eat it very often so there is really no point in buying it. but, while bobby was here for the 4th of july i was cooking like a mad woman and realized that i needed some for the coleslaw i was making. i didnt want to go to the store and richard and bobby had downed an entire bottle of jager in 30 minutes so they werent going either....

hummm... what is a girl to do???

make her own, of course!!! :)

this recipe is so so so simple!!

ingredients:

1 egg

1 tablespoon mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon white vinegar

2 teaspoon powdered sugar

1 1/4 cup canola oil

mix everything except oil together in a blender. NOTE: ALL INGREDIENTS NEED TO BE ROOM TEMP! slowly add oil while continuously blending. i actually doubled everything because i was making avocado ranch mayo. (hence the empty avocado and ranch packaging) for that i used 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 avocado and 1 packet of hidden valley ranch dry mix. mash up the avocado and mix everything else in with it. it is really really good :)

comfort food

2009-08-01T14:41:00.005-04:00

i dont know what my deal has been lately but ive been craving carbs! i didnt exactly know what i wanted but i know i wanted to feel full. so, while richard was playing with his toys (aka turntables) i decided to make something yummy and this is what came about....

i took this recipe and made my own little version of it.

ingredients:

12 ounce package dry gemelli (its pasta... use whatever you want)

small onion

1 pound fake sausage

1/2 cup white wine

1 15 ounce jar spaghetti sauce

6 ounce can of tomato paste

14.5 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes

shredded cheese... the more, the better :)

preheat oven to 400. you will also need to start boiling water for the pasta and get that going.

chop up that onion. i cant get enough of my nicer dicer. it is the best thing i have in my kitchen right now... until i get my kitchenaid standing mixer. dont worry nicer dicer, i will still love you equally.

you will need to brown the meat. obviously, you dont have to use fake sausage but sausage is needed for this recipe. so, for you meat lovers... go ahead and eat little wilbur. anyway... once you start to cook the sausage, add the onion and cook until evenly brown. (if you are using real meat, once the meat is finished cooking make sure to drain that nasty, greasy fat) then add the wine, spaghetti sauce, fire roasted tomatoes and tomato paste. simmer for about 10 minutes. stir occasionally. (are you jealous of my cast iron skillets? its ok, you can be) :)

next toss pasta with the sausage mixture. from this point, you can do what you like. you can throw this is a greased 9x13 pan, cover it with cheese and bake it or you can layer it. one layer pasta, one layer cheese, one layer pasta, one layer cheese... you get the point. (layering is what i did)

bake for about 20-25 minutes and then enjoy!!! :)

it was really really really good.... this recipe is very versatile and super easy to make. you can add and take out whatever you want. since it is just me and the boy, this dish lasted us all week. well, i also make eggplant parmesan so between the 2 of those dishes we were set! :)

Homemade Tortillas

2009-07-27T21:12:00.003-04:00

Literally, I'm cooking with cocktails. I was in the mood for a cheesy quesadilla but had no tortillas. I whipped up some real quick. However, I lack one important thing, a rolling pin. Thank goodness for vodka bottles, and have you tried Svedka? Cheap, delicious, and look how cute that little bottle is. Goes great with pineapple juice, cranberry juice, or even pink crystal lite!

Tortillas

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup Crisco

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup warm water

Work Crisco (or any vegetable shortening) into the flour until crumbly. Dissolve salt into water and add too flour mixture. Mix until goopy.

Knead dough for 3 minutes and then divide into 12 small balls. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.

Heat skillet, no oil. Roll balls of dough into flat, very thin shapes (I couldn't get circles for the life of me, I went with blobs). Cook for about a minute on each side watching carefully not to burn them.

Let cool between paper towels, store in an airtight container.

Fill with your choice of wholesome goodness. I opted for cheese this evening, but cooked up a delicious vegetable mixture for tomorrow's lunch. (Squash, green pepper, onion, garlic, and some vegetable that looks like a cross between a squash and a cucumber. Sprinkled with some black pepper and Italian seasoning and topped off with juicy pepperoncinis, sure to make the coworkers jealous).

"they melt in your mouth" (thats what she said)

2009-07-26T00:21:00.003-04:00

ok, sorry... i couldnt help myself on that one. but the quote is real and she really did say that :)

4 words

honey chocolate chip cookies

yes. they are amazing. you might not be ready for it....

i found this recipe and decided to make a little bit of a twist to it. i really had been wanting to use the honey i had recently bought at the farmers market and thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

ingredients -

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda (i didnt have baking soda so i used baking powder. i used about 3 tsp)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup crisco (melted and cooled)

2 cups chocolate chips

1/2 cup honey

in medium mixing bowl, mix sugars, crisco, eggs, honey and vanilla until combined.

in a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder until combined. then add sugar mixture to the large bowl and fold into the flour mixture. add chocolate chips until it looks amazing and you want to eat all the raw cookie dough :)

i let the dough cool for a few hours before baking it. actually, in all honesty... this was the night amanda came over with her wine charms. i let the dough sit for about 5 hours and then made the first batch. (i only have one cookie sheet) then i realized it was almost midnight and i needed to go to bed. i ended up waking up at 6am (which came entirely too early) and made the rest of the cookies.

but, all in all.... it was worth it. these cookies are pretty damn amazing and everyone at my work (and richards) ate them right up. i will be using this recipe again because its a no fail kinda deal :)

moms taco salad

2009-07-25T23:15:00.003-04:00

when i was younger, my mom made this amazing taco salad. as ghetto as it is, you are going to love it too. if you dont, you suck and im telling my mom on you. :)

ingredients:

doritos

1 pound meat (and as you all know, mine was fake)

taco seasoning

cheese... lots of it

i also put green peppers and onion in the "meat" while it was cooking but you dont have to.

first, smash up a bunch or doritos. this is the fun part... and i had a lot of fun making it after a long day at work last week. just beat the crap outta those chips!! :) once you have done that, make a layer on the bottom of a greased, 9x13 pan.

next, take the taco "meat" and make a layer on top of the chips. (obviously, you know how to make taco meat... cook the meat, add taco seasoning and shazam!! taco meat!!)

after the taco "meat" layer, throw on a bunch of cheese. the more, the merrier. repeat these layers until you can layer no more. then add more cheese...

i love cheese. i dont know if you all knew that or not :)

then, during all of this tedious work, you get someone awesome to do their part. *que richard* my lovely stepped up and made cocktails... even though he doesnt blog, he does his fair share :)

ta da!! of course i ate it before i took a picture of it... when food is calling my name, i dont hesitate to answer. :)

just bake this sucker for 15-20 mins at 375 and you are good to go. add whatever you like on top. i put lettuce, tomato, onion, salsa and of course, more cheese. richard did all of the above minus onion plus sour cream. it was yummy in the tummy!

Simply Cocktails

2009-07-24T07:21:00.003-04:00

This being a blog about cooking and drinking, I have to show you the newest addition to my collection. My dear, sweet, loving aunties made me my very own wine charms. And yes, you are reading those correctly, they aren't nice, but are very appropriate.

I immediately showed up at Megan's house with not one, but two bottles of wine so we could test out each one.

Iced Oatmeal Blueberry Bars

2009-07-18T17:53:00.004-04:00

Once again, instead of doing things like running and filling out those same IRA forms, I opted for cooking. This time I stuck to baking, it's not has hard to ruin a good dessert recipe. I was searching for a good blueberry oatmeal cookie recipe when I stumbled upon a recipe for Oatmeal Blueberry Bars, so I decided to whip that up instead. After removing them from the hot hot oven, they weren't as pretty as imagined so I drizzled with a little glaze.

My parents and I have decided to take a hike through Brown County tomorrow and enjoy the spring like summer air. They are bringing the lunch, I'm in charge of the dessert. Let's hope these taste as delicious as they sound!

Cookie Ingredients
1 3/4 cup pats
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter; melted
2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen if fresh aren't in season)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and grease up that 11x17 baking dish.

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, almonds, baking soda and salt. Add melted butter and mix until crumbly.

Pat 1/2 of mixture into greased pan, reserving 1/2 for later. Bake for 10 minutes

While baking, bring blueberries, 2 tbs water, and sugar to slow boil. Simmer 2 minutes. Combine 1 tbs water, cornstarch, and lemon juice and gradually stir into blueberry mixture. Cooke about 30 seconds while stirring until thickened.

Spread blueberry mixture over partially baked portion of oats (watch out for the edge of the pan). Pour remaining oat mixture over blueberry portion and carefully pat down.

Bake 22 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Let cool and drizzle with icing.

Icing
This might possible be the easiest icing I've made.

1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbs soy milk (could use water, milk, juice, etc)
1/2 tsp vanilla (or if you had a little left over blueberry sauce, this would be delicious)

i love goat cheese

2009-07-17T18:13:00.004-04:00

this really isnt too exciting of a post. for one, i had to use my camera phone and two, there really isnt much to it.

i decided that i needed to eat cheese last night and since i had goat cheese just hanging out, i though to myself... "mmm, goat cheese sticks!" so, here is how it came about.

this is the cheese, yum. :) i chopped it up and then mixed it up with some basil, minced garlic and parsley. i obviously got carried away and forgot to take a picture of the mixture.

speaking of add, i had cherry tomatoes that were calling my name so i chopped one in half, scooped out the inside and threw some of the goat cheese mixture inside. it was yummy :)

i took about a half a teaspoon of the cheesey happiness and rolled it up in a wonton wrapper. to be honest, i found this recipe a long time ago when amanda and i realized that we couldnt/werent allowed to go to spinellis every single night. the only difference that im making to this recipe is that im using goat cheese. any other time ive made them, i use string cheese.

prepped and ready to hit the oven!!

and this is the outcome.... nothing fancy but then sure tasted good. :)

baked cheese sticks -

wonton wrappers

string cheese (as previously mentioned, i just sub-ed the goat cheese mixture for this certain creation)

thats it. thats the ingredient list.

basically, just roll the cheese into the wonton wrapper and pop in the oven on 350-400 for about 10-15 mins. when using string cheese, cut them in half and they fit in the wrapper perfectly. :)

because they are adorable...

2009-07-17T18:06:00.003-04:00

this is aryah. she is 6 but you can tell she is going on 16. michelle sent me this picture last night and i was soooo excited to see that she accessorized herself.

this is emery. i think this could be the cutest think ive ever seen... well, until the next cute thing she does. (hello!! do you see that red hair!?)

michelle made some damn good babies if i do say so myself :)

Summer Quiche with Potato Crust

2009-07-15T20:09:00.004-04:00

It didn't take long after opening that first beer to realize that tonight was not the night to transfer a looming IRA into a Roth IRA. So, I cooked. Today was CSA today which means more potatoes and more zucchini. After scanning through many zucchini dessert recipes, I opted to make something for lunch/dinner to last the rest of the week. The result, was a summer quiche with potato crust.

Again, I altered various recipes and came up with the following.

Potato Crust

I don't usually say this, but use a store bought crust, you're welcome to try the potato crust recipe below but mine was a bit oily and undercooked. The rest of the quiche was mighty delicious though so I scraped it off and ate it like an egg scramble!

3 cups grated potatoes (thanks to the Magic Bullet, this step was easy)
2 tbs canola oil

Grate the potatoes and mix with oil. Pat along bottom/sides of 9" pie pan and bake for 20 minutes at 425 until lightly brown. Add the following (feel free to add the ingredients of your choice)

Quiche Filling
2 small zucchini (you could use 1 large, 2 mediums, 1 small, whatever your liking)
1 small handful cherry tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup (or more) cheese of your choice, I opted for mozzarella

Fill the pie crust with the quiche filling and prepare the egg mixture

Egg Mixture
3 eggs
3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Poor over vegetable mixture. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce heat and bake at 350 for 25 minutes, cool before serving.

Veggie Pot Pie, hold on to your hats, this one's my own creation

2009-07-13T21:40:00.007-04:00

Veggie Pot Pie

You've probably noticed, that's not a picture of pot pie. My camera was having a bad day and the rest of the picture aren't this pretty. This is a gorgeous flower from my very own front garden. It has made my apartment smell so fresh and clean, I almost hate to leave it.

Now on to the food. I was sitting at my kitchen table, staring upon a mound of potatoes. Potatoes of every shape, size, color, and dirtiness that you could imagine. I knew I wanted to create a good Sunday 'Mom' meal, those meals that always made me cringe when I was younger. I opted for pot pie. After searching through websites and cookbooks, I gave up and attempted it on my own. While it's not quite perfect, it is worth sharing and asking for your suggestions. It definitely needs some more spice and TLC, but I was nursing a pretty bad vodka hangover, Megan's fault.

The veggies (part 1)

2 cups diced potatoes (straight from the ground to my table, I'm liking this CSA)

1 cup diced carrots (again, still covered in fresh dirt)

1 cup diced green beans (these came from Abbey's (my sister) garden)

2 cloves fresh garlic diced to your liking

1 small onion

Once chopped, drizzle the veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper and saute until slightly browned. This is where I made the first mistake (I might suggest to cook the potatoes for just a little bit prior to sauteing, but once reheated, they were perfect).

Place cooked veggies in a well greased pie dish of your liking.

The gravy (part 2)

2 cups veggie stock (homemade, I'll post this recipe, or your favorite store brand)

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

In one pan bring your vegetable stock to a slow simmer. In a second pan melt your butter and flour, whisking to create a rouge. Once to your liking, slowly add the vegetable stock. Once combined, add to your veggies, and mix well.

At this point, I added some additional spices. A pinch each of salt, pepper, thyme, sage, and parsley. I probably should have added 2 or 3 pinches to kick it up a bit.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (do this sooner if you have an electric stove.

The biscuit crust (part 3)

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbs unsalted butter

3/4 cup soy milk

Combine the dry ingredients, add the butter and fork until you get that corn meal texture. Add the soy milk and mix well, knead in bowl 3-5 minutes.

This is where I got lazy and just plopped the dough onto the veggie/gravy mixture. It worked well.

Heat in oven about 30 minutes. Watch the biscuits to ensure they don't burn. I was hesitant to post this upon first taste, but I must admit, it's one of my favorite lunch box meals I've had this year. It needs some work, but it's not to shabby if I do say so myself.

Grandma's Recipe

2009-07-13T21:29:00.002-04:00

Sweet Summer Slaw

This week I'm determined to use all the veggies from the CSA possible. So what else is there to do with red cabbage besides slaw, unless you're my mother and you boil it into eternal nastiness. Not much to this recipe, I didn't even have time to uncork the wine.

Ingredients

1 cabbage (red came in the csa this week)

1 carrot (I opted for 2 medium size carrots, they still had the dirt on them)

1 green pepper (nothing special here, just a pepper)

Grandma's trick is to sprinkle the cabbage with tone tsp salt and let sit for an hour.

Dressing (mix and boil for 1 minute)

1 cup vinegar

2 cups sugar

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp mustard seed

While your dressing is boiling for that whole minute, chop your veggies into oblivion, or however you may like them. I shouldn't have made fun of Megan's 'Nicer Dicer', it would have come in handy.

Boil the dressing for one minute and let cool, add to veggies, grab a fork. Easy, aye?

i promise im still around... and still cooking :)

2009-07-12T15:37:00.002-04:00

my new (pink!!) house :)

so, excuses excuses. they are my middle name. im sorry for my absence but have you really noticed? :)

the past month has been crazy for me... moving out of my first louisville apartment (*tear*) and into a new house is quite an adventure. we are all moved in and the place is coming along quite nicely. although i havent had much time for blogging, i still have made time for a little bit of cooking in my new (huge) kitchen! dont hate me, but unfortunately there are no pictures. my camera is dead.... actually its just the batteries which are dead but ive been to lazy and forgetful to buy new ones.

i just wanted to check in with you all and let you know that i will return... but not right now. right now im supposed to be cleaning... but i will post up the recipes that i have attempted. (and to be quite honest, they have successfully turned out) very delish!! :)

hope all is well in your world and you have been enjoying the summer!!

Holy Canoli, This Was a Crazy One

2009-07-07T21:32:00.011-04:00

Get your glass ready, you're going to need it. This is definitely a two drink recipe. Oh man did I not prepare myself for this undertaking. Lasagna rolls, has to be easier than lasagna, so wrong. I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website. I have a thing against Kroger, we don’t get along, they gross me out a bit. So I try to stick to the farmers markets as much as possible. Gets kind of tricky, that’s when I take a trip to Evansville and visit Schnucks, the friendly neighborhood store.

To get started, poor yourself your favorite cocktail, I opted for Sam Adams Summer Ale pictured with my new Grand Canyon pint glass compliments of mother and father. A good choice.

8-10 lasagna noodles (cooked to your liking and slightly cooled, you have to roll them you know)
Ricotta Cheese

Marinara Sauce (I usually have my own, or whip it up quickly, there’s a recipe on here somewhere, if not, pick the sauce of your choosing)

Baby Spinach (again, I happened to have frozen CSA spinach in the freezer, I’m sure fresh would be delicious, but this was cheaper)

Mozzarella

While boiling your noodles, you can heat your oven to 400 and grease up a roasting pan.
This is where it gets tricky, note the multiple cocktails. Lay one noodle flat. Spread ricotta cheese, then spread marinara, followed with spinach. Roll up and place in dish. You may think more is better, wrong. They ooze all over you and are hotter than heck if not cooled.

Repeat this process until all your noodles are rolled. When placing them in the pan, make sure they are close enough together, they don’t unroll on you. Once complete, top with remaining marinara and sprinkle with mozzarella to your liking.

I didn’t include measurements on this one because it’s kind of to your liking. I took a few pictures along the way to guide you a bit.

I opted for a side of steamed summer squash sprinkled with cinnamon. Delicious.

Jenny Lewis made me eat egg salad, twice

2009-07-06T23:11:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning with no food in my fridge and 30 dollars in my wallet. I had plans to see Jenny Lewis with opening band the Heartless Bastards, there was no spare cash for lunch money, as mentioned before, I'm on a New York City, singing Elvis budget. I quickly scrounged to create something delicious, yet nutritious for my lunch that would leave me with enough leftovers for day 2s lunch.

Mmm mmm mmm egg salad. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing terrible about this creation, other than my mother. When we were wee children traveling on spring vacation to visit my brother in Georgia, my mother made us stop for a "picnic" of egg salad. The only problem, the picnic was in the parking lot of Hardees. Yes, egg salad in the parking lot of Hardees. No, we couldn't go in for french fries. We had to sit there and eat it while all the other kids got fries and soda. Talk about tragic, and a swarm of painful memories.

This creation is quite easy to make. I already had 2 boiled eggs from a previous week's CSA. I say previous because I'm not sure when I boiled them. I'll let you know tomorrow if they were spoiled. I chopped them up and mixed them with a spoonful of mayo, 2 squirts of mustard, 3 shakes of dill, 2 shakes of paprika, and a shake each of salt and pepper. Placed on sliced bread with a side of raw cabbage made for a delicious lunch. It was helped by the fact that a coworker bought me a bag of Doritos.

Jenny Lewis was well worth eating egg salad for, I suggest you do the same if she comes to your town!

Cheapskate Summer Squash Cooking

2009-06-23T20:43:00.002-04:00

In an attempt to save some green for an October outing to New York, I'm cooking on a budget. One of the ladies at work was kind enough to bring in some extra Zucchini, right on, I took one and made this delicious sandwich.

Slice up some squash, brush with Olive Oil and sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasonings of your likening and a hint of crushed red pepper. Pop it in the broiler, flip once, remove when broiled, whatever that is.

I placed mine on some flat bread and sprinkled with a little goat cheese from my CSA basket. Instant delicious with cash to spare to tip that singing Elvis.

Cooking with Cocktails, and Dave's Mom!

2009-06-22T21:53:00.010-04:00

I inherited this amazing cookbook "Home Cookin' with Dave's Mom" by David Letterman's mom Dorothy. It's my favorite. Inside I found many delicious, wholesome goodies including Coca-Cola Cake. Megan will agree, this recipe is a must.

I volunteer each month to make goodies for the Louisville Gilda's Club. They are an amazing non-profit organization, you should check them out. So, I have altered the recipe to make 2 dozen cupcakes.

To start, a cocktail. I opted for the summer refreshment of a Gin and Tonic with a splash of lime.

Now don't pay too much attention to these ingredients, these cupcakes aren't for the strict dieters or the diabetic.

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallow (plus 24 for later, and a handful to eat at your leisure)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup Coca-Cola (I really want to try Vanilla or Cherry Coke, don't bother with diet)

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together sugar and flour (again, just whisk it). In a medium saucepan heat butter, oil, cocoa, and the Coke. Remove from heat and pour over the sugar/flour mix. Add in buttermilk, baking soda, eggs, and vanilla. Dance around while you mix well. Pour into lined cupcake tins (makes about 24).

Icing

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons cocoa

6 tablespoons Coca-Cola (be adventurous, try the cherry)

1 box powered sugar (that's confectioners)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat the butter, cocoa, and Cola. Bring to a boil and add the powered sugar. Remove from heat and blend it like you meant it. Add vanilla.

Ice cupcakes immediately and place 1 tiny marshmallow on top. Be sure and try one before you share, you don't want to miss out on these!

Because you've been neglected...

2009-06-11T21:15:00.005-04:00

So, Megan and I haven't posted in awhile. She's moving and I'm, well, I'm just lazy. So here's an LOL cat to amuse you for now. Visit Icanhascheezeburger.com to see how I pass my time not blogging.

yummy yummy... csa time is finally here!!

2009-06-02T21:19:00.004-04:00

hooray!!!

for the next 6 months, amanda and i will be receiving a fresh bushel of produce every week!! and then, every other one of those weeks we will be receiving goat cheese and eggs. this is a preview of what we got last week... sorry i was a little delayed in the postings. we get our next bushel tomorrow so i will be more prompt on the upload :)

What to do with fresh greens?

2009-06-01T20:07:00.002-04:00

Megan and I are first time participants in a CSA (community supported agriculture). Each week we get a bushel of goodness that sometimes leaves me speechless. What to do with fresh greens. I ended up cutting up my asparagus and chard and doing a quick stir fry in olive oil, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, fresh garlic, and a splash of honey.

I must say, it's quite delicious. I'd post a picture but really, it'd just be green on white (the steamed rice).

- Amanda

my kitchen disaster...

2009-05-25T13:31:00.004-04:00

pictures first...

this last picture here is a little smokey... if you couldnt tell.

so, i was going to make a pie for my mom. a banana carmel pie to be exact. i was very excited about it and found this great recipe. the recipe called for one 14 oz can of sweet condensed milk (unopened) to be boiled for 3 hours. yes, unopened. boiled. for 3 hours. so, one hour down i get a text from amanda. "happy hour at dark star" long story short... went to happy hour and left the unopened can of sweet condensed milk boiling knowing that i wouldnt be gone too long. as soon as we pull up to the apartment, amanda calls it. you can smell something burning from outside... and i was just praying i wouldnt open up my apartment to flames. luckily, this was all i found.

i ended up making my mom a pie but it did not involve boiling unopened cans of any kind. and yes, ive learned my lesson. alcohol does not trump leaving the oven on. hahaha.

The powers of champagne and mother combine to bring you, PIES.

2009-05-24T22:01:00.006-04:00

My mom and I opted for not 1 but 2 pies this Memorial Day Weekend. The first, a delicious apple pie, the second being a mixed berry.

Homemade Crust:

Makes 2 nine inch crusts

2 cups all purpose flour (not wheat, this is pie, suck it up)

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tbs shortening

4 to 5 tbs cold water

Measure flour and salt into bowl, mix in shortening. Sprinkle with water, 1 tbs at a time mixing until dough almost cleans side of bowl.

Gather dough into 2 even balls. Roll out on floured surface.

Berry Goodness:

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 orange zested

pinch salt

1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbs butter, cut into bits

2 cup fresh blueberries

2 cup fresh blackberries

2 cup fresh raspberries

Line 1 pie pan with crust. Mix together sugar, orange, salt, lemon juice, and butter. Add berries. Toss until coated. ( Our berries were slightly runny and we are pondering adding a bit of flour to this, let me know if you try it)

Kindly dump into pie crust. Lattice second crust over top, crimping edges. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Place pie in oven and bake 15-20 minutes at 400. Reduce to 350 and bake an additional 40-50 minutes.

Apple:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour (again, it's a pie, go for the white)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash salt

6 cups granny smiths (peeled and sliced)

2 tbs butter

Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with apples until coated (try one, they're good). Place into pie crust and dot with butter. Lattice top with 2nd crust. Bake 40-50 min. at 425. Prepare for great smells!

super amazing (and easy) muffins

2009-05-23T13:22:00.003-04:00

i have this bulk muffin mix that is very handy. i use it quite a bit since its already made up and you can always add something different to it.

for the dry mix:

6 cups flour
2 cups oats
3 cups sugar
3 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
3 Tbsp. baking powder

ingredients for the muffins:
1 c milk
1 egg
1/2 c applesauce, unsweetened
2 3/4 c of the dry muffin mix

in a huge bowl, mix together all the dry muffin mix ingredients. i use a whisk to mix it all together until well blended. store in a container with a lid until used.

to make the muffins, combine 2 3/4 c of the muffin mix with the wet ingredients. spray muffin tin or use the muffin cups. fill half to 2/3 full. bake in a preheated 400 degree oven. 16 minutes for regular sized muffins. 12 minutes for mini muffins.

thats it :)

ive put things from chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dried fruit and nuts into the mix when im making these muffins. theyve all turned out awesome!!

slow cooker chili

2009-05-23T12:33:00.010-04:00

i recently went home to surprise my mom on her birthday and acquired a few new cooking goodies. (i also forgot my camera there so youll have to deal with the camera phone pictures) one of the things i was very excited about was the slow cooker aka crock pot! :) the day i returned to louisville, i was in the kitchen cooking. this was the result...

mmmmmm.... chili :) i made the concoction that night and put it in the refrigerator. the next morning i turned it on low and let it cook all day while i was at work. i was so excited to come home and walk into my apartment!! the wait was torture but it was worth it...

ingredients:

(basically a little bit of this and a little bit of that)

28-ish ounces of diced tomatoes

(i used one can of diced tomatoes with onions and chilies in them and one can of fire roasted diced tomatoes)

1 can black beans

1 can of dark red kidney beans

(drain both cans)

1 onion

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

(the green peppers were ginormous!!!)

i got to use my nicer dicer. i love this product... like, a lot! amanda makes fun of me for it but i think its amazing and use it as much as possible!!

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

i think thats it. you can add more of anything or add less. you can also add other things like carrots and celery but i dont really like those in my chili.

enjoy :)

Hippie Loving Tree Hugging Granola Bars

2009-05-16T11:42:00.003-04:00

So, in an attempt to make a cheap snack, I concocted some granola bars. Wine optional, but recommended.

Ingredients:
2 cups oats
3/4 cup wheat bran
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 ground flax
1 cup slivered almonds
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkle of cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 handfuls dried cranberries
shaved semi-sweet chocolate (or chocolate chips if you're Megan)

Toast the wheat, sunflower seeds, oats, flax, and almonds for 10-12 minutes at 400.

In the mean time, line a baking dish with waxed paper and lightly spray or drizzle with olive oil and prepare for great things.

Bring brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to a slow simmer.

Dump cranberries and chocolate into large mixing bowl. Add toasted goodness and the beautiful syrup you just made. Mix well or you're going to have granola crumbles.

With a spatula, spread across waxed paper. Cover with remaining waxed paper and press down as hard as you possibly can without grunting. You want these suckers to stick together dang it.

Let cool for 3 hours. Mine are currently cooling, I'll let you know what to do next...

jumbo stuffed shells with broccoli and spinach

2009-05-13T22:18:00.012-04:00

im not good at taking pictures yet... i always seem to forget some part of the preparing or cooking process or the finale. sorry. i swear im trying to be better....

yummy. these are soooooo awesome. :)

so, on this one i just threw some stuff together... ill list what i used and you can configure to your needs. this recipe is pretty versatile so you can add or remove whatever you like.

this makes a lot!! i baked some and froze some for later.

1 box jumbo shells

2 16 oz ricotta cheese

mozzarella cheese

grated parmesan cheese

garlic

basil

oregano

pepper

frozen spinach and broccoli

speghetti sauce

4 egg whites

cook shells, dont rinse.

cook broccoli and spinach, then chop well.

in mixing bowl, mix all cheese, garlic, basil,

oregano, pepper and veggies.

spread a layer of sauce in a 9x13 pan.

stuff shells with a mixture and place in pan.

i spread a little more sauce over the shells

and threw on more cheese (of course) :)

bake at 350 for 35-40 min.

to freeze shells - dont bake the first. line

them on a cookie sheet, freeze and then

place them in a container for use at a later date.

mmmmm, i love cheese :)

2009-05-13T21:51:00.004-04:00

i will put cheese on just about anything. you name it, ill probably ask if you have cheese that i can put on it. cheese makes everything better. so i decided to make my own alfredo sauce to see if i could pull it off....

i did. :) i made a meal and took it out to richards moms on mothers day since i couldnt be with my mom. she loved it. so did richard.... but he eats anything. i dont have any pictures but of course here is the recipe. (i also doubled everything)

1/2 cup cream cheese (i used neufchatel cheese since its lower in fat)
1 cup milk (i used soy)
3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese (yeah right, i used the shit in the canister you put on your spaghetti)
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp dry parsley

the best way to do this is to use a blender. put cream cheese, milk, parmesan cheese, garlic, pepper and salt in blender. Blend until there are no clumps, pour into saucepan on medium heat, cook for about 10 minutes. while cooking add parsley....

yes, its that easy. it is a little peppery but i like it that way... and so did everyone else :)

not really anything to do with cooking....

2009-05-13T21:46:00.003-04:00

i had a visitor the other day while i was attempting a new recipe....

it might be posted later. im not entirely impressed with it, i just needed to get rid of a few things that were about to go bad.

anyway.... to the good part. :)

How it all started

2009-05-13T21:31:00.002-04:00

I think the cooking/baking all started in mid-April in an attempt to follow an old secret family recipe for Red Velvet Cake. While I can't reveal the recipe at this time. Give me enough cocktails and it will one day be posted.

I really just wanted you to see how pretty they were.

the best best best no bake cookies you will ever have!!!

2009-05-13T21:30:00.004-04:00

basically made up my own recipe... you really cant go wrong with no bake cookies.

1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce (in place of butter)

1/2 cup of soy milk (in place of regular milk)

2 cups of sugar

1 cup mini chocolate chips

2 tablespoons peanut butter

3 cups quick cooking or old fashioned oats (i used a little of each, doesnt really matter)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 teaspoons coco bacardi :)

put chocolate chips, peanut butter (i melted mine a little bit), oats, bacardi and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. combine the applesauce (or butter), milk, and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a rolling boil. boil for 1 minute. combine the hot mixture with the oatmeal and chocolate chip mixture; stir well. drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. let set for a few minutes before shoving into mouth :)

gnocchi? no way!!

2009-05-12T18:26:00.007-04:00

so, i dont know when amanda and i got the idea that we were chefs in hiding but it seems to be working out so far. except for the fact that every time i open my freezer, something falls out.... im seriously running out of room!! but no matter the obstacle, i forge on.... making more food. :)

last weekend i got this crazy idea that i could make gnocchi. i honestly expected it to turn out awful and feel so let down that my cooking streak would be over. boy was i wrong! im happy to say the gnocchi turned out excellent and i will be making it again soon. although i felt like it took forever to make... rolling out the dough, cutting it into bite size pieces, pressing each little piece with a fork... it really turned out to be worth it.

(i guess im going to start having to take more pictures of the actual process, seems like i always forget until i have the finished product... sorry)

(this is for 2 servings)

2/3 cup dry potato buds for instant mashed potatoes (yes!!! instant potatoes!! lol)
2/3 cup boiling water
1 egg, room temperature,lightly beaten with a fork
1/2 teaspoon salt, garlic and parsley
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
put the potato flakes or buds in a medium-size bowl and add the boiling water; stir until blended then let cool.

fold in the egg and salt with a wooden or plastic spoon or spatula.

add flour slowly, folding with the spatula, until you have a fairly firm dough that doesn't stick to the bowl.

turn dough out onto a well floured surface and knead lightly into a ball.

you want just be able to work with the mixture without it sticking unduly- but too much flour will result in gnocchi that are more lead than light.

cut dough in half and roll each half into a long cylinder about the thickness of your thumb. (ok, this did not work for me. i broke these up into several cylinders because it was much easier to handle that way)

cut into bite-size pieces and press with a fork for shape.

to cook - put 6 to 8 gnocchi in a few quarts of boiling, salted water (too many at once interferes in the cooking process).

as the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in a colander over a plate to drain further until you are ready to serve.

you can also freeze them for later use... after forming the gnocchi, place on a lightly floured pan and then put them in the freezer until frozen. once frozen, transfer them into a container and throw back in the freezer.

oh yeah! the cupcakes!!

2009-05-12T18:16:00.005-04:00

the leftover pink lemonade concentrate and leftover strawberry icing.... mmmmm.

the finished product.... pink lemonade and strawberry goodness.

pink lemonade cupcakes with pink lemonade icing... and green sprinkles :)

oh the fun we had making these...

mmmm... tater tot casserole :)

2009-05-12T18:09:00.006-04:00

i love this dish so much... this is the second time ive made it and this time i doubled the recipe. i also used whole wheat flour this time around because its all i had. (the cupcake incident left me white flour less.) :) added broccoli, red pepper flakes and more cheese this time around...

oh, and one day ill figure out how to upload photos in the correct order. that will probably be the day i stop having cocktails :) dont look forward to that day anytime soon....

Frozen Tater Tots or Tater Rounds
Morning Star Grillers Crumbles, 1 bag
Yellow Sweet Corn, Frozen, 0.5 cup kernels
Cream of Mushroom Soup, 1 can
Water, 0.5 cup
Salt, 1 tsp
Pepper, black, 1 tsp
Garlic powder, 1 tsp
Onions, raw, 1 cup, chopped

ok, few variations. i hate mushrooms so i used cream of cheese soup. i also didnt have any cream of cheese soup so i made my own.

Homemade cream of cheese soup
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
10 ounces milk

Heat butter and oil then add flour and salt, stirring to make a roux.
Add shredded cheese.
Add milk and stir until thickened.
-------------------

you can add and take out whatever. being a veggie, i obviously wouldnt use ground beef or turkey but you can sub it for the veggie crumbles. (use a pound of the meat of your choice)

Cook onions in nonstick pan sprayed with vegetable oil spray for 2 mins.

Add Veggie Crumbles and seasonings to onions and cook for 3 - 5 minutes.

Transfer veggie crumble and onion mixture to 9 X 9 pan and layer corn over the mixture.

Mix water and mushroom soup in bowl and pour over the veggie crumble and corn layers.

Arrange tater tots on top and place in preheat oven at 375 to 400 C.

Bake for approximately 25 mins or until tater tots are golden brown.

this was the only picture i had of this delish dish. richard and i destroyed it before i remembered to photograph the food the first time. :)

Veggie Lasagna with Fresh Marinara: We drank, we cooked, we tried it once more

2009-05-10T20:34:00.003-04:00

Megan and I are neighbors. She lives upstairs, I live down. We are full of bad ideas, but this one might be good. Neither one of us was ever good at cooking until something happened. If you're looking for a magical something, stop, we don't know what it was. Last night, while drinking wine, we decided we should share our vegetarian goodies with all of our friends. So here it goes.

This weekend, Megan and I opted for both cooking and baking. It was an Italian theme I guess you might say. I was downstairs making vegetarian lasagna with roasted red peppers and homemade marinara while Megan was upstairs making delicious Gnocchi from scratch (minus the fact the potatoes came from a box). After a delicious dinner, we made cupcakes, Pink Lemonade and Strawberry. By this time we had probably had too much to drink and the icing turned out to be a disaster. Have no fear, we opted for icing on Sunday, sans wine. Megan will post the cupcake pictures.

Vegetarian Lasagna (as found in Velocity)

Cook 9 Lasagna Noodles, set aside

Rub 4 large red peppers with olive oil, roast at 400 for 20 min. turning once, cool 5 min. Place peppers in sealed paper bag for 5 min. Be careful, these suckers are hot, but have no fear if you drop one, you're going to pull the skin off. Remove. Scrape away skin and seeds.

In an 8"x12"x2" baking dish, or whatever size you happen to have, layer as follows.

2 cups marinara sauce, recipe to follow.
3 noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 peeled, 1/2" sliced eggplant
3 noodles
1 8oz package spinach, cooked and drained
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella
roasted peppers

Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with shredded mozzarella and crumbled feta cheese. Return to oven and bake uncovered for 30min.

Serves 6-8. What you don't eat you can freeze, make those Lean Cuisine co workers of yours jealous.

Marinara Sauce:

1/2 cup white wine
1 onion chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 tbs Italian herb
1 tbs apple juice
1/4 tsp black pepper

Poor 1 large glass of wine in glass and drink while preparing.

Heat wine in large pot, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft (5 or so min.)
Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer 20 minutes. Freeze what you can't use.