Miscellaneous Cooking Adventures

Delightful White Raspberry Muffins

2010-03-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

I know I should make healthier muffins, and I sometimes do, but sometimes a good sweet muffin is the best thing ever. As you might notice from the pictures, this is another different counter top, so yes, I've moved again. Also, my sister took me to Costco and I bought about 600,000 raspberries there.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract (I didn't have any of this, so I think I used 1/2 almond and 1/2 vanilla)
1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries (If you use frozen, don't thaw them first)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, combine the eggs, cream, oil and extract. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raspberries.

Fill 12 greased jumbo muffin cups two-thirds full, or 16 regular muffin cups. Or if you're like me and don't know how much one cup is by sight and add at least double the allotted amount of raspberries, 20 or so large muffins should do it. Pop a raspberry on the top for that touch of love. Bake at 400 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I also brought these on my first day of work, and made a good impression with them :)

Slow Cooker Pork & Black Bean Chili

2010-03-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

4 slices of bacon cut into strips
1 lb pork, cubed (I think I used tenderloin, but the recipe called for roast)
1 onions, diced
1/2 carrot, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp each of dried oregano and ground cumin
1 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup bottled, strained tomatoes
salt & pepper, to taste
Looks like I threw some mushrooms in too, probably because I was trying to get rid of them. But I like mushrooms, so...
Salsa:
1/4 cup chopped cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 of a sweet yellow or orange pepper, diced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp lime juice

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until golden. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Discard all but 1 tbsp of the fat in the pan; brown pork in batches. Transfer bacon and pork to a slow cooker.

In the same skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook onions, carrot, green pepper, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt & pepper until golden, about 10 minutes. Add to slow cooker. Add beans, tomatoes, and about 1-1 1/2 cups of water to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until pork is tender, about 6-8 hours.

Salsa: In bowl, combine tomatoes, yellow pepper, onion and lime juice. Serve with chili.

This recipe I found in Canadian Living while I was waiting for the dentist, and I found it good-ish, but a little bland. I also found a recipe on the CL website for Lemon Lentil soup that was REALLY bland, so I would probably recommend against their recipes from now on.
Overall, good but I wouldn't make it again.

Enchiladas?

2009-08-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

I went to a restaurant in Saskatoon and had an excellent enchilada made with cream cheese and spinach, so this is my attempt to resurrect it.

Maybe 1 cup of spinach
About the same of your choice of meat, I used shrimp
1 brick of cream cheese, softened
pepper to taste
salsa and cheese to cover them

Chop up the spinach and shrimp

Soften up the cream cheese in the microwave, and stir in the spinach, shrimp and pepper. Maybe I added some sage, too, I can't remember...

Wrap, em up and cover with salsa and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
This tastes a little like a mushroom cap bakes with salsa and cheese. I like all those things, and I like them together.

Borscht

2009-08-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

This one takes a bit of chopping or grating, but it's SO worth it.

1-2 beets
1 small onion
1 medium potato
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 cup red cabbage
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
black pepper, to taste
2-3 tbsp sugar
1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (I used balsamic and it was good too)

Grate all the vegetables and place them in a pot with the stock, tomatoes, water, dill, caraway seeds and pepper.
My recipe said to use a food processor to do the grating, which would probably save a lot of time, but alas... I used a little grater for most of it and just chopped up the onion and celery. It was actually kind of relaxing :)

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are very soft, about 25-40 minutes. I let this boil for about 50-60 minutes, because I am easily distracted, but you can never go wrong letting a soup meld longer than it tells you to.
Add sugar and vinegar, and simmer another 5 minutes, then taste to see if you like it, and adjust sugar and/or vinegar if you need to.

Mmm, look at that color! Beets make things red!

Make Your Own Pasta Sauce pt 2

2009-08-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

2 cups white wine
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp basil
1 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup sour cream
small pasta
I used a bunch of seafood cooked in olive oil and garlic also

Bring wine and spices to a boil

When it's boiled for a few minutes (maybe like 5 mins), drop in the sour cream and whisk it around.
This works well because it gives you a creamy texture but doesn't curdle like milk does and you won't have to throw out 2 batches of sauce and start all over. Ahem.

Reduce until it makes a sauce.
I would add some cayenne or something next time around, even with all the curry powder, it was a little bland. Hmm.

Best Cake Ever (The Pioneer Woman)

2009-08-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

I made this cake and took pics and everything, but it's the Pioneer Woman's recipe, so just go check out hers.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/12/make-this-cake-today-trust-me/

Some Kind of Fish

2009-08-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Peanuts, crushed
Honey
Salt & pepper

Crush up a bunch of peanuts, enough to cover the fillet
Drizzle with honey, just till it starts to drip over the edge.
Salt & pepper, to taste.
Bake as usual

Black Bean and Mango Salad

2009-08-14T15:53:00.001-07:00

1 can black beans
2 cups mango
1 cup sweet red pepper
1/2 cup tomato
2 cups lettuce (you could probably use spinach too)
1/2 lb shrimp
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
salt & pepper

I cooked the shrimp for a few minutes to heat it, and the black beans.

Chop the veggies up, combine ingredients. Eat.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2009-08-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
1 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Butter or spray or line cupcake tins.
In a small bowl, stir boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth, let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat only until just mixed. Then add cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

As a side note, this recipe seems to be excessive, like there's too little dry ingredients, then too much, then too little again. But it evens out in the end, and tastes great :)

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 16-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Buttercream icing
This is the easiest thing ever, if you are too lazy to make your own icing, you shouldn't be baking. Period.
1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup icing sugar
(opt) 1/3 cup cocoa

Mix together. That's it.

You can decorate these cupcakes any way you want! Whee!

Shrimp Salad

2009-08-14T15:28:00.001-07:00

1/2 lb shrimp, cooked.
1/2 cup avocado chunks
1 med tomato, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Mix oil & lemon, salt & pepper , stir in shrimp, tomato and avocado.
Serve on a bed of romaine or spinach.

Asparagus and Shrimp Risotto

2009-06-01T15:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently the new things I've been making lately require a lot of reductions. I didn't notice until I posted 3 of them on one day. Hmm.

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
1 pound fresh asparagus spears, diagonally sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 lb shrimp, cooked and peeled
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked Arborio Rice (I used jasmine, it's my rice of choice)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat water and broth in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat; add asparagus and cook until tender crisp. Remove asparagus; set aside.

In same saucepan, cook onion in remaining 1 tablespoon butter until soft. Add rice and stir 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine; stir until absorbed. Increase heat to medium-high; stir in 1 cup water-broth mixture.

Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until liquid is absorbed. Continue stirring and adding remaining water-broth mixture 1 cup at a time, allowing each cup to be absorbed before adding another. Cook until rice is tender and mixture has a creamy consistency, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir in shrimp, asparagus, cream, cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until mixture is creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

I didn't find this all that fabulous. I was at the stove reducing for almost an hour, and it came out with very little flavor. I could have just put rice and asparagus and shrimp together. Anthony ended up smothering his in hot sauce.
So if you're looking for something that LOOKS impressive, but if for some stodgy English family who don't like spices, this is the recipe for you. Otherwise, not worth the effort.

Shrimp Scampi

2009-06-01T14:58:00.001-07:00

This recipe is supposed to be for appetizers, but we had little baby shrimps, so I just put it on top of some rice.

2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup olive oil
1.3 cup vermouth
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 tsp salt
1.2 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon

Heat oil over medium low heat in a large skillet. Sauté shrimp; add vermouth, garlic, salt, and pepper; simmer until liquid is almost evaporated.
Ha ha, you're supposed to put the parsley in later, but I don't read so good. It turned out good anyway.

Sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice. Gently stir and serve with toothpicks as an appetizer. Or over delicious fluffy jasmine rice. Thanks rice cooker!

Make Your Own Pasta Sauce pt 1

2009-06-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

The ingredients in this recipe are approximations.
2 tbsp butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
Basil
Parsley
1/2 cup white wine, mine was pretty sweet, but you can use anything
1 tbsp hot sauce, I used sriracha because it's nice and hot
1 cup milk or 3/4 cup cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

I was bored one day and decided to rummage around in my fridge and use up some ingredients to make my own pasta sauce. What could possibly go wrong, right?

I started with the butter and garlic. Let the garlic brown for a minute and the butter get a little bubbly and frothy.

Then I added Worchestershire sauce, a little handful of both basil and parsley, and white wine. Let that simmer a couple of minutes, until it comes to a rolling boil.

Add hot sauce and let the sauce cook for a few minutes. Everything should be melding together, except the butter tends to skim along the top, but that's fine.

I added the milk, but cream would have been better, probably. This isn't about going out to buy things, though. So there.
Also, you can add lemon juice at this point, too. DON'T ADD LEMON JUICE BEFORE MILK. If you do, it'll congeal and be a giant mess and you'll have to pour it down the sink, like I did on my first batch.
I threw in parmesan too. Do what you feel like.
The key to reducing a sauce with milk or cream in it is to watch for the color to change. It takes a long time to boil down milk, but if you just keep whisking, it'll happen. When the color actually changes to a kind of yellowy-er color, it's almost done. Take it off the heat immediately when it's thick enough for your liking.

This sauce was good. I didn't stray too far from what I knew would be good in a pasta sauce, but the hot sauce in there was just enough to give it a little kick.

Donairs

2009-05-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

Everyone from Canada knows that donairs are delicious, but they are super bad for you. Well, the home made version is probably a lot better, especially if you use ground round, like we do :) Enjoy!

1 lb ground beef or 1 pkg ground round
1 heaping tbsp cayenne
4 tbsp garlic
salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning or oregano
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
lettuce, chopped
tomato, chopped
onion, chopped
cheese, shredded
pitas

Mix beef, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano and cook 1 1/2 hours on 350, or cook ground round for 1/2 hour on 350.

Chop up your onion, lettuce, tomato and cheese

Mix milk, sugar, garlic and vinegar with an electric mixer until thickened.

I found that the pitas wanted to tear when I put the stuff in them, so I made a hilarious steamer of a sieve and a pot of boiling water, then throw them in there for about a minute with the lid on and -wallah- easy to work with.

Anyway, thrown beef, cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato and a lot of sweet sauce in the middle of the pita and wrap up. Eat. Yum.

Creamy Beef & Potato Bake

2009-05-11T16:39:00.001-07:00

1/4 cup butter, divided
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 zucchini, sliced OR
2 cups peppers, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 cup prepared tomato pasta sauce
2 cups milk, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375
In a skillet, melt 2 tsp butter and oil. Add potatoes and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until almost cooked through.
Seriously, I didn't cook mine long enough, thinking they would cook in the oven, but they were hard in the middle. Boo.
Add peppers or zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook until tender

Spoon vegetable mixture into a 9'x13' baking dish. Set aside.

In skillet, cook onion and Italian seasoning until onion is tender. Add ground beef, cook and stir until meat is cooked through. Stir in tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of milk. Spoon meat mixture over vegetable layer in the dish.

Melt remaining butter, stir and cook for one minute. Gradually whisk in remaining milk. Cook and stir until sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Stir in cheese.

Pour sauce over meat layer. Cook 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Yorkshire Pudding

2009-05-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 400.
Melt a little bit of butter or bacon fat in muffin tins in the oven, and mix other ingredients together in a blender. I suppose a hand mixer would also be fine for this. Pour batter into muffin tins and bake for 30 mins.

It's really that easy. I was expecting a trick here, but you can impress your friends with minimal work by making them Yorkshire pudding. Plus, if you pour a little syrup or honey on them, they're a good dessert, too.

Indonesian Chicken

2009-05-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

1 cup cooked rice
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
2 tsp canola oil
1 lb chicken breast, cubed
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp red chile paste
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp peanuts, chopped

Cook green beans until crisp tender. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook chicken 5 minutes on a side, or until juices run clear.

Mix chicken broth, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, chile paste and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.

Mix chicken, sauce and green beans and serve over rice.

Chicken Tortilla Bake

2009-05-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

1/2 cup mayonnaise (bear with me, it's good)
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 lb chicken, cooked nd cubed
1 pkg taco seasoning
1/2 cup salsa
12-16 flour tortillas, 6-inch

Mix dressing and flour in saucepan. Over medium heat, slowly add milk and cook until thickened.

Add taco seasoning and mix well again. Then add all the cheese but 1 cup, chicken and salsa.

Spoon mixture into tortillas, roll and place into a large baking dish. Don't forget to spray the dish with pam first, like me. Top with remainder of cheese and bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

I found this made a LOT, and it was really runny... Next time I make it, I think I'll add some rice to thicken things up. It was sloppy, but tasted really good, so I'm okay with it this time too :)

Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

2009-03-30T13:08:00.001-07:00

1/4 cup Catalina dressing
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup red pepper flakes
3 tsp canola oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut in strips
4 cups fresh or frozen vegetables
8 ounces pasta or rice
2 green onions, sliced (optional)

Start the rice or pasta cooking.

Mix dressing, peanut butter, soy sauce and pepper flakes in a bowl, set aside. It seems like a strange recipe for peanut sauce, but it worked and tasted pretty good. Easy to remember too. Plus I had some Catalina dressing left over from taco salad one night, so everything was just perfect.

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan. Add chicken, cook on medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and place in large serving bowl.
Cook vegetables in remaining 1 tsp of oil for about 5 minutes, or until crisp tender.

Toss pasta, chicken, vegetables and sauce. Sprinkle with green onion.

Double Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes

2009-03-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 pkg white chocolate chips
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Icing:
1/2 cup butter
1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tbsp milk or 1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with Pam, or line with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.

Mix in cranberries and white chocolate chips

Lick beaters.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. A wire rack is really a must when it comes to cakes and cupcakes, because of the icing. You can probably get away without one for cookies or muffins.
These turned out really good, I like the combination of sweet white chocolate and tart cranberries, and it just make a little something different for a chocolate cupcake :)

Instructions for making icing, beat everything together. Commence licking once you're finished.

Caribbean Turkey Wraps

2009-03-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
3 tbsp minced parsley
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp Caribbean jerk seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil (Maybe, see step #1)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Tortilla wraps
Shredded cheese
Lettuce
Diced tomato
3 tbsp chopped green onion
Diced mango or apple
Hot sauce (optional)
Cook turkey over medium heat. You may or may not need to put olive oil in the pan first, because ground turkey is drier than some other meats.

Add parsley, Worchestershire, salt and pepper, jerk seasoning, and green onion (which I omitted, stupid Anthony).
Cook turkey thoroughly and until the liquid is absorbed.

While the meat is cooking, chop up a tomato, mango or apple, shred some cheese, chop or rip up lettuce if you'd like, get everything ready for the wrapping.
When the turkey is done, mix it up with some mayo.

Layer it up and wrap away. This is the part I make Anthony do; I suck at wrapping.

You can also make burgers out of these by changing the recipe slightly:
Mix together turkey, salt, pepper, Worchestershire, green onion, parsley, Jerk seasoning as well as one egg and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, then make into patties.
You can add sweet red pepper rings, mango slices and lettuce leaves to your burgers. It makes about 4 thick ones.

Laziness

2008-09-26T13:18:00.001-07:00

I have had a few things I've created and not taken pictures of, a few that I didn't care for and a few I made and took pictures of with the intent to share in my blog, but I didn't get around to it until today. So, here's a few new recipes and I'll try to be a better blogger in the future :)

-Nicole

Baked Scallops in sparkling wine and butter, with potatoes

2008-09-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Scallops:
2 tbsp butter
1 small shallot, finely chopped (I omitted this ingredient - my bf hates any kind of onions)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup sparkling wine (or if you're trashy and broke like me, use the champagne of ginger ales - Canada Dry!)
1/4 tsp paprika
cayenne, to taste
10-12 large scallops, patted dry
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsp freshly chopped parsley

Potatoes:
3-4 red potatoes, sliced into rings
A bit of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
A bit of butter
A bit of shredded cheese

Normally, this kind of potato is made on the BBQ, but I live in an apartment with no balcony, so I had to use the next best thing:
It actually worked really well.

Chop up your potatoes and throw them in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, just to speed up the process. Most of the cooking should happen on the Foreman, but potatoes take a long-ass time to cook, and we're improvising and experimenting here, right?

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook 2 minutes. Mix in wine, paprika and cayenne and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.

Put the scallops in a small baking dish, or if you're really adventurous, use large scallop shells.

Spoon or pour the butter mixture over the scallops.

Season with salt and pepper. As you can see, I like freshly ground pepper. As you can also see, I was in a real picture-taking mood this day. This goes in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the scallops are just cooked through.

Those potatoes are out of the microwave, so thrown them in some tinfoil (it has to be enough to go all the way around and make a little envelope) and put a bit of butter in there so they don't stick to each other, the foil, etc. Add your salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Hey, what's that in the background? Sparkling wine? Champagne? Canada Dry?
Fold the tinfoil over and put this on the Foreman for about 7 minutes.

When they come out, add a bit of shredded cheese and close the tinfoil again, so it melts. These are really like barbecued potatoes - they even have the crispy browned bits around the edges...
Just about now, your scallops should be done cooking....

There they are. Top them off with parsley and serve.

Yeah, show me the good stuff, baby.

New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp

2008-09-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Another Allrecipes experiment... I have no idea why this is called "New Orleans" or "barbecued" but it's good anyway.

1 pound shrimp, heads off and peeled
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
A loaf of French bread or garlic bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash shrimp and drain well.

Melt butter in a one quart casserole dish, or use a saucepan, which I prefer.

Add salad dressing, lemon juice, black pepper and garlic powder.

Add shrimp to the casserole dish. Stir gently to cover the shrimp with the mixture. Or pour the mix over the shrimp, then you don't have to do any stirring! Cover and bake, stirring occasionally for 25 to 30 minutes or until shrimp are pink.

Serve the shrimp hot on a large platter and place the sauce in individual bowls so that you can easily 'dunk' bread in the sauce!

Those Peanut Butter Marshmallowy things everyone remembers from being a kid...

2008-09-26T12:29:00.001-07:00

That's right, a real live recipe for those peanut butter marshmallow squares. You won't believe how easy these are, whch is probably why everyone used to bring them to barbecues and picnics and potlucks.

2/3 cup butter (real butter works best here people)
1 cup-ish peanut butter (I prefer smooth)
1 pkg butterscotch chips
1 pkg little colored marshmallows

Put your marshmallows in a baking tray first. There's some timing issues here. also like to use those disposable trays because then can take them to someone's house and they just get left there or thrown out when they're done.

Melt the butter in a medium-sized pot. I don't really measure out a cup of peanut butter: a big scoop usually works just fine. Melt and stir these together until smooth.

When those are all melted together, throw in the package of butterscotch chips. You have to keep these well-stirred - the little suckers tend to clump up and want to burn.

ps, like my action shot here?

When everything's melted all together, pour the mixture over your marshmallows.

Mix it all around. You'll probably want to put this in the freezer for about 1/2 hour (I always make ths RIGHT BEFORE I have to be somewhere...) or the fridge for a bit would probably work too. Yum.

Apple Pie

2008-09-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

I got ths recipe from All Recipes and made a few slight modifications... To die for! This will make you a hit with the new in-laws, trust me.

recipe for a pie crust, store bought pie crust, depends how much time you have.
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
Enough Granny Smith apples to fill a pie crust - I used about 4, but they were pretty big.

I was too lazy to make my own pie crust, even though I know they're easy. I used this:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste.

Add water, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and bring to a boil. I used about 1 tsp oif nutmeg and maybe 2 tbsp of cinnamon... I didn't measure. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. I clearly suck at taking pictures, but my sister and friend are coming over today to make one of these with crabapples, so will try to do a little better...

Put this thing on a cookie tray or something! There is some runoff once it starts to bake and heat up and you don't want that in your oven.

Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Tuna Casserole

2008-04-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

This may not be the most helpful recipe in the world, because I've made it so many times, I don't measure anything anymore... But I'll try.
A couple of handfuls of bite-size pasta
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
2 cans of tuna
1 can of mushroom soup
cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350, put the water on to boil and throw the celery in a bit of oil to cook. Celery takes longer than it seems like it should. I usually salt & pepper this during cooking - it seems to help draw some of the water out.

Add the onion when the celery is bright green and mostly soft, cook both until they're soft.

The water will probably be boiling by now, throw in the pasta. Put the tuna and mushroom soup in a big bowl, add vegetables and salt & pepper. I use a lot of pepper, because I find it doesn't overwhelm the other ingredients and, well, I like pepper.

Add pasta.

Put in a casserole dish, cover with cheese and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Voila! Look at that cheesy, tuna-y goodness. Makes great leftovers too.

Easiest and Best Taco Salad Ever

2008-04-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning mix (Taco Time's is the best, but if you're not in Canada, you might have a hard time finding this...)
1 head shredded iceberg lettuce (I know, I have romaine, but I had some that needed to be used up!)
shredded cheese (I dunno, a couple of handfuls)
1 bag tortilla chips, crushed
Catalina dressing

Brown the meat in a frying pan. Add taco seasoning and cook according to directions on the package.

Put lettuce, cheese, meat and dressing in a big bowl, or big pot if you don't have a bowl, ha ha.

Add chips last - they get soggy!

Mix. That's it, not rocket science. Yummah. Or Yummo, if you prefer.

Creole Shrimp and Pasta Meuniere

2008-04-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

2 (8 ounce) packages angel hair pasta
7 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
hot pepper sauce, to taste
jalapeno pepper sauce, to taste
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp fine herbs
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp corn starch

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over very low heat. Add Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauces to taste; mix well. Stir in lemon juice, herb mix, bay leaf, and thyme. Keep warm, but do not simmer.

Heat oil in large skillet. Saute shrimp in oil for 3 to 4 minutes, or just until shrimp turn pink. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon liquid from skillet. Remove and discard bay leaf. Add butter sauce, and stir well. Stir in parsley.

I found the sauce to be too thin, so I took the shrimp out and added the wine mixed with corn starch and let it reduce for about 5 minutes.

Serve over angel hair pasta.

Seafood Chowder

2008-04-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to eat a lot more seafood as opposed to red meat, so I'm trying a bunch of new seafood recipes and have leftovers that aren't enough for a meal, so I threw everything together and made chowder.

*Update August 09 - I made this again and took pics! Hoorah!

4 pounds haddock fillets , cut into 3/4 inch pieces (I had miscellaneous fish pieces: orange roughy, monkfish, sole, halibut, basa - all white fish - but I just threw them all in)
1/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 pound bay scallops
4 bacon strips, diced
3 medium onions, quartered and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
maybe 1/2 cup cheddar (I used marble) cheese

Place fish in a Dutch oven; cover with water - like lots of water. I had to add more halfway through. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes longer. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid; set liquid and seafood aside.

In a soup kettle, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; drain on paper towels.

In the drippings, saute onions until tender.
Since Anthony hates onions, I took them out and saved them to add later, then we could get the taste and he wouldn't have to *gasp* put an onion in his mouth.

Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat.

Add potatoes; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Add the milk, seafood, butter, parsley, salt, lemon-pepper and pepper; heat through. Add most of the cheese and it will get nice and melty and thicken things up a bit.

Sprinkle with bacon and cheese.

Pho

2008-03-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

This was a recipe I adapted from a couple I found online. It worked out pretty good, but as a warning, my measurements might be a bit wonky.

2 litres (or quarts) broth (I used beef broth)
1/2 white onion, sliced into rings
3 slices fresh ginger root
1 lemongrass (I can't find this in my town, so I used a bit of lemon juice, but I'd recommend the lemongrass, if you can find it)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 package rice noodles
lots of shrimp
bean sprouts
cilantro leaves
lime, cut into wedges
jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings (optional)

In a large soup pot, combine broth, onion, ginger, lemon grass, cinnamon, , fish sauce and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.

Soak the noodles in hot water to cover for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain.

I put shrimp into bottom of bowls, but in retrospect, I should have put them on top of the rice noodles.

Place equal portions of noodles into soup bowls.

Place bean sprouts on top.

Add a little cilantro, jalapenos (if used) and a lime wedge.

Ladle hot broth over noodles and shrimp. Don't forget the sriracha!

Spaghetti a la Homer

2008-03-11T00:55:00.000-07:00

This is one of those indulgent recipes, but it's simple and so good...
I do things in a very specific order, so get ready for detailed instructions. You'll probably get your own rhythm going after a try or two, but it takes a little bit of trial and error to get down.

1/2 cup butter (no subs)
1/2 cup shredded Myzithra cheese
Spaghetti

I always make sure the water is boiling and chuck the spaghetti in to cook before I do anything else. It doesn't take long to brown butter, but it's labor intensive, so you need to make sure you can pay attention to it alone.

Melt the butter over medium heat. Seems obvious enough, right? I went with 5-6 on my stove.

When it gets just a little foamy, get ready to do some whisking! I had fun whisking constantly and taking pictures at the same time tonight :)

You just have to stand and whisk for a few minutes until the butter starts to change color. Once it starts to change, it goes fast, so pay attention.

I think it took me from 6:21 to 6:26 to get it the right color.

You'll notice it get darker, so keep it over heat until it gets just darker than the color of caramel - it should have a slightly nutty scent to it. Take it off the heat immediately!

Pour butter over drained spaghetti and drain once more, so you don't have a pool of butter at the bottom of your plate.

Sprinkle with myzithra - I sprinkle some on and stir, then sprinkle more on top. Some recipes call for the cheese to be added to the hot butter, but I've found it melts too fast and makes a gloppy mess, so I just add it after.

Caribbean Fish with Pineapple Salsa

2008-03-08T18:52:00.001-08:00

I finally decided to take pictures of something I cooked... This recipe calls for swordfish, but I used shark instead, plus it's for 4 fillets, and I had one, so I just improvised, but I"ll post the real recipe and you can do as you please :)

Marinade:
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Caribbean jerk seasoning (I used a lot more, I like jerk seasoning)
4 (6oz) swordfish, halibut or tuna steaks, 3/4" thick

Pineapple Salsa:
2 cups diced pineapple
1/2 cup finely diced red onion (I used white, which tasted good, but the red makes it look nicer)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (can be adjusted to taste)
Salt to taste

Combine all marinade ingredients (except fish, duh) in a blender, blend until smooth.
I am lazy and didn't blend anything, LOL. It still tasted fab.

Place fish in resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over fish, close bag securely, turning to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour (I actually marinated mine all afternoon, the shark was a little denser than most fish)

Combine salsa ingredients in medium bowl, let stand about 30 minutes. Adjust ingredients to taste, if you want.

Drain fish and discard marinade. Grill or broil 6 to 8 minutes, or until cooked as desired. Serve with pineapple salsa.

I had asparagus as a side - boil 1/2 cup water, throw the asparagus in with the lid on, let cook 3-5 minutes, depending on your taste, throw a little butter on there and top with fresh parm. Yum.

My bf was too much of a weiner to try shark, but I liked it. Very un-fish-like consistency, but still good. I wouldn't use this recipe unless you have a meatier fish - it would overwhelm a little white fish. Last time I made it, we grilled the swordfish, and it was better, but cooking it on the stove was fine too.

Easy Banana Bread

2008-01-28T17:42:00.000-08:00

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1 egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup milk
3 mashed bananas

Measure the first five dry ingredients in a large bowl (I normally don't use chocolate chips, but I only had 2 bananas, so I threw them in). Mix thoroughly and make a well in the center

Beat egg until frothy

Mix in oil, milk and bananas

Pour into well in dry ingredients. Stir only enough to moisten. Batter will be lumpy.

Fill greased loaf pans 1/2 full (or muffin tins 3/4 full). Bake in 400F oven for 20-25 minutes. A trick that Alton Brown taught me to make muffins rise is to preheat the oven to 25 degrees lower than what you bake at, put them in and turn the oven up to full heat. They get a blast of heat right at the beginning and rise up nicely :)

This bread would take 5 minutes if not for the baking time. So easy, and so good.

Chicken & Dumplings

2008-01-24T17:58:00.000-08:00

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 cups chicken broth
spices (See note)
3-4 potatoes
1 tbsp butter
2 cups baking mix (bisquick, I am lazy)
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cold water
frozen veggies

In a large pot over medium heat, simmer chicken in 6 cups broth until no longer pink. I had no chicken broth, so I used onion broth (I would normally add onion, but I had none of those either and been to the store twice today already, boo).

Remove chicken, cool and shred.

Hack up some potatoes and throw them in way before any other vegetables - they not only take longer to cook, but everyone loves a nice soft potato that's soaked up all the juices from a stew. Yummo.

I have a lot of spices, and the last time I made this it wasn't exactly bland, but not as spicy as I would have liked, so I added a bunch of spices just because I wanted some heat and flavor - jerk spice, cayenne, thyme, sage, oregano, allspice. I'm sure you can add whatever spices suit you when you're making it :)

Return shredded chicken to pot, add chopped potatoes and stir in butter. Cook until chicken reaches desired tenderness, 15 to 60 minutes. (I went with about 45 today)

In a bowl, stir together baking mix and milk until smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together flour and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Stir flour mixture into soup; bring soup to a rolling boil. Add vegetables - I would normally use celery and onion too, but like I said, I wasn't going to the store again today. I liked my little combo of carrots, peas and corn anyway.

Drop baking mix mixture by tablespoonfuls into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. Then cover and cook 10 minutes more. (Sneak a spatula under the dumplings to prevent chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot - this is something I'm bad at.)

Voila! It was good, but in retrospect, I probably didn't need jerk and cayenne - very spicy this time around! But seriously, I'd rather have a little too much spice than too little, wouldn't you?

Asiago Hash Browns

2008-01-21T17:02:00.000-08:00

1 (30 ounce) package hash browns
1 1/2 cups shredded asiago cheese
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
paprika to taste
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350

I didn't have any hash browns, and I was too lazy to go to the store, so I used mashed up tater tots :)

In a medium casserole dish, mix the hash browns, Asiago cheese, onions, sour cream, heavy cream, butter, paprika and salt & pepper.

Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until hash browns are fully cooked and the top is lightly browned. In retrospect, I think I cooked it a bit long - I'd check after 45 and see...

The original recipe called for the spices to be added last, which I thought was silly because there's a crust on the top, so I put them in before baking, and also added green onion, because I figured it needed a little color.
This was my first time trying this recipe, but I had some asiago cheese in the fridge that had been there a while, and also an onion that needed to be eaten, so I figured, hey. I like all those things mixed together.

All in all, it was good, but it was missing... something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I will.

Pasta with Bacon, Onions and Peas

2008-01-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

I actually got this recipe off the back of the Gemelli box, but I liked it and it's one of the few recipes I don't alter, barring a couple of little things...

You need
2 cups of pasta, I like gemelli because of the informative recipe, and it's fun swirly shape
1/2 cup of pancetta, I subbed bacon because I had some in the house, about 4 strips, plus I cut the fat off.
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 cup of frozen peas
1-2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil, except I live in Canada and it's January, so the fresh herbs suck, so I subbed the freeze-dried kind. I use fresh in the summer and fall (parsley can be subbed too)

salt & pepper to taste

You can cook the pasta at the same time as the rest of the ingredients, they end up taking almost exactly the same time. But DON'T FORGET to turn the water on before you start cooking the rest of the stuff! I forget this all the time and it's really annoying to have to cook the noodles when the rest is done. Also, I use a fairly big pot because I can mix everything in it at the end.

While the water is on, chop the bacon and heat it up on medium-ish (think 6-7) for a couple of minutes. If you use pancetta, you'll probably have to put a little oil in the pan.

Then add onions and cook until they're soft

The water should be boiling around this time, so throw the pasta in

Add peas, pepper flakes and basil, sometimes I'll have to add a bit of water - no more than 1/4 cup, but judge for yourself whether you need it. Sometimes the bacon can be greasy, or you've added oil with pancetta, so it will be "saucy" or something similar. Cook this until the peas are tender, maybe 2-3 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste, I find you don't need very much salt because of the salted, cured meat already in there.

Drain pasta, mix together and voila! Easy peasy, and tasty

And it looks nice on a white plate :)

Dr. Meta told me there wasn't much nutritional value in this meal, but if you drink it with a glass of milk, you've got all your food groups. Plus, if you cook for one, like me, you'll have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

Intro

2008-01-17T17:29:00.000-08:00

I am joining the OG Housewives club, of which I am the best, being the only one who is a woman, and currently, a housewife.
Too bad, I just made some really good new recipes that I could have posted, most recently, chicken & dumplings, but it was good, I'll definitely be making it again. Maybe I'll start with my favorite fattening pasta that I can't make when the bf is home, because he hates onions. This really cramps my style.