Archive for the ‘recipe’ Category
Homemade Frappuccinos……
This summer, we’ve been having WAY too many of these! They are much cheaper to make yourself than going to Starbucks..especially when you are having 3 at a time! I normally don’t let my children drink coffee..but hey, it’s summer time!
I just add ice, coffee, chocolate syrup, some milk and a tiny bit of sugar…..mix it up in the blender….top with whip cream and add a bit more chocolate or caramel sauce…and you have it….a yummy summer treat!
Ciabatta Bread with a bread machine……
I’m into making bread…but using my bread machine. I’m trying to make all different kinds of breads. I have perfected my plain rolls and my french bread recipes.
I decided to try Ciabatta bread. The first recipe I tried is considered for beginners…..next, I will have to try the more complicated version….supposedly using sour dough or “sponge”…..I will keep you posted on the outcomes.
The recipe was incredibly easy…it did say that the dough will be incredibly sticky and runny…and it was! The bread turned out flat…I don’t know if that was due to the high humidity that day…or just my baking skills..but it was tasty..and as always, much better when eaten fresh!
Ciabatta Bread – Bread Machine Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 1/4 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
Directions
- Place ingredients into the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle, and Start.
- Dough will be quite sticky and wet once cycle is completed, resist the temptation to add more flour. Place dough on a lightly floured board, cover with a large bowl, and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Lightly flour or use parchment lined baking sheets. Divide into 2 pieces, and form each into a 3×14 inch oval. Place loaves on prepared sheets, dimple surface, and lightly flour. Cover, and let rise in a draft free place for approximately 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Dimple dough for a second time, and then place loaves in the oven, positioned on the middle rack. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. During baking, spritz loaves with water every 5 to 10 minutes for a crispier crust.
In: Bread, Uncategorized, recipe
Shark Cupcakes…..
I had to bake a dessert for a bake sale for my childrens swim team….I couldn’t make something simple..I had to make something fun…..so I did a search on the internet and found these on the Martha Stewart website:
So, I made my own version. For the cupcakes I used my Simple Cake Recipe, which is one of my favorite recipes! I wanted to make really fluffy icing….so I find a fluffy white frosting recipe. It worked out pretty well. The icing tasted more like a meringue.
I made the shark fins by melting white chocolate and adding a tablespoon of light corn syrup and some food coloring. I let it refrigerate for about 3 hours and then cut out the shapes. All in all, I think they turned out pretty cute and they were a hit….I’d definitely make them again…..though I think I would try to make these from Hello Cupcakes:
FLUFFY WHITE FROSTING (taken from Coleen’s Recipes)
In a large bowl, put two egg whites, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract…set aside.
In a saucepan, mix 1 cup of granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, dash of salt and 1/3 cup of water. Cook and stir until it just comes to a boil and sugar dissolves.
Start beating your egg whites and extracts on HIGH while you slowly drizzle in the hot syrup. Keep beating on high until stiff peaks form.
With a hand held electric mixer, this can take up to 7 minutes, but with my stand mixer it only takes about 4 minutes. Recipe makes enough to frost a 9″ two layer cake or a 10″ tube cake or 24-36 cupcakes.
Peppermint Pattie Chocolate Brownie Bars……
So I wanted to make something new and yummy for dessert. I went through my recipes and couldn’t find anything.
So, first I made my favorite home made brownie recipe.
Then, I went to the store and saw Peppermint Patties…I had to get those….so, I thought I would cut up the brownies and insert a Peppermint Patty into each one…..
Then I found some delicious Belgium chocolate that a friend had given me….so I melted that…..and began to dip all the brownie things into the chocolate..but that didn’t work..so I ended up just spooning the chocolate over the brownies….
And that seemed to work out pretty well. Then I stuck them in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate……They were quite yummy! Have a great weekend!
Deep Fried Oreos…..
Well, I finally did it…my kids have been wanting to make deep fried oreos for a long time…and we finally made them! They are one of those things that you know, before you even eat them, that you are going to have a stomach ache when you are done! I made them with Oreos this time, but next time…I’ll use my favorite Oreo substitute…..Late July Organic Vanilla Bean cookies. These are one of the best cookies out there! I think they are better than Oreos and they don’t have all the artificial flavors and colors or preservatives. Oreos have so much scary stuff in them..but I caved and used them this time….to see if we had the flavor right….but next time……!!
Anyway, I looked up a bunch of recipes on the internet. Most of them said to use Bisquick, which I don’t ever use…so I just used my own buttermilk pancake recipe.
The recipe said to freeze the cookies for three hours ahead of time….so we did that. Then you heated up the oil (I used about a cup of oil in a small sauce pan) and started dipping the battered cookies into the hot oil…..I did this part..since hot oil is always a bit scary!
Nothing like frying up some cookies! Each one had to cook for about a minute on each side. They instantly looked delicious and disgusting all at the same time! My kids were so excited..they wanted to instantly start eating them……but of course, I wouldn’t let them!
After we were done frying them all up, to add even more disgusting-ness..you sprinkled them with powdered sugar! Needless to say, my kids loved them! Though we aren’t sure how they are going to taste the next day…I wasn’t sure how to store them..in an air tight container or leave them out…..I’ll keep you posted on how the left overs are….
I cut this recipe in half. It made about 25 cookies.
Favorite Buttermilk Pancakes
2 ½ cups Flour
4 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 Eggs, beaten
2 2/3 cups Buttermilk
2 Tbsp Oil
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Combine bowls together and stir, but do not over-mix.
In: Cooking, Family Fun, Quinn, Tuesday, Uncategorized, recipe
My new favorite lunch…..
My new favorite lunch is: organic whole wheat tortilla, tons of fresh organic spinach, some cheese, tomatoes….microwave it for approximately 40 seconds..then add a vinaigrette of fat free organic plain yogurt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar! Wrap it up like a giant burrito…and yum!!!
********And don’t forget to enter my latest giveaway*********
I’m giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to my Etsy shop!!!
Multigrain Bread…
So the other day I went to Whole Foods Market (gotta love that place!) and in the bulk section, I found organic 7 grain cereal. It was only thirty-nine cents a pound! It looked perfect for making multigrain bread.
Of course, I wanted to use my bread machine, so I used the recipe from the bread machine recipe book..I figured I would start with that and see how it turned out….well, I think it turned out really well.
As soon as it came out of the oven, we all wanted a piece, which I think is always a mistake..it seems like those types of bread always have to sit for a bit…at least twenty minutes.
Multigrain Bread (large loaf bread machine recipe)
1 ¼ cups water
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/3 cups white flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup 7 grain cereal
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons regular active dry yeast
In: Bread, Cooking, recipe
Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi…..
For a wedding gift, almost 15 years ago, we received a past maker. Honestly, I used it ONCE in all these years….but recently I’ve been giving it another try. The one time I tried it, I didn’t have much luck..but hey, it’s been 15 years..why not give it another try!
So, the other night we had some left over sweet potatoes..and they were delicious and I thought..what can I do with one sweet potato? Well, why not make some sweet potato gnocchi? My daughter loves gnocchi…..so I got out the pasta maker and within an hour we had fresh pasta!
It wasn’t hard at all….a bit noisy, but not hard at all! And hey, who doesn’t love fresh pasta?
I’m sure you could make it even without a pasta maker…but I took the easy route. The recipe was five ingredients: 1 egg, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 4 cups of flour, 6 ounces of water, and the sweet potato….that’s it…I put all the ingredients into the pasta maker and it mixed them all up and out came gnocchi! And of course, I had to make a loaf of homemade french bread!
I think I’m a believer in fresh pasta. This might become dangerous!
Food for friends…..
Lately, I’ve been cooking a meal every now and then for a friend in need. It is hard to come up with something that you think someone will like…and that can easily be reheated or cooked without any fuss. Also, you never know what the person may like or dislike. And since we are vegetarian, it always throws an extra bit of difficulty into the mix. So far, I have cooked lots of soup, upside down pizza, macaroni and cheese, vegetable pie…and a few others that I can’t recall.
Today I decided to cook one of my favorite recipes. It is from Rachel Ray….”You won’t be single for long” vodka cream pasta. It is reasonably easy to make and incredibly delicious and filling. It is definitely a “comfort” food.
Along with the pasta dish, I love to make bread..but I don’t love all the time it takes. So, I love my bread machine. I usually make rolls in my bread machine…..but I have been trying to experiment with different types of bread. One of my first experiments is making crusty french bread. I got the recipe from the BreadExperience.com site. The recipe worked out great and it was sooo delicious!! Though, it did take a long time….so much for the bread machine saving time…..lots of waiting and rising and more waiting and rising. But it was worth it..though it tasted like french bread, it had more of a sourdough texture…I am going to try it again!!! This time I think I may purchase one of those LaCroche things!
There will be a salad, but then there will also be dessert….just good old chocolate chip cookies. I mean, what is better than a good ol’ chocolate chip cookie made from scratch! To me, that is heaven! When I make chocolate chip cookies, I just use the Nestle Tollhouse recipe. It has been my favorite.
Here is the recipe for the pasta:
“You Won’t Be Single for Long” Vodka Cream Pasta
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 cup vodka
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
- Coarse salt and pepper
- 16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
- 1/2 cup heavy cream ( I actually use 1/2 1/2)
- 20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic and shallots. Gently sauté shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan (3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup). Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add veggie stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.
Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Pass pasta with crusty bread.
And here is the recipe for the bread machine crusty french bread!
Bread Machine Crusty French Bread
This French Bread recipe is from Linda Rehberg’s and Lois Conway’s The Bread Machine Magic Book of Helpful Hints. According to the authors, this method produces a wonderful loaf of bread that is comparable to the ones baked in
Ingredients: (medium-size loaf)
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cups Water
3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
Directions:
1. Place dough ingredients in bread pan, select Dough setting, and press Start.
2. When the dough cycle ends, the machine will beep. Set a time and allow the dough to rise 1 more hour. Open the machine, punch down the dough, set the time again, and let dough rise another hour in the machine.
Turn off bread machine, remove bread pan, and turn out dough onto a lightly floured countertop or cutting board. Form into a smooth, round ball then flatten it with your hands.
Note: If you want to bake your bread in a La Cloche, follow the steps listed under Variation. If you prefer not to bake your bread in a La Cloche, follow steps 3 – 5.
3. Place a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) in a round wicker basket that’s at least twice the size of the dough. Dust the towel liberally with flour. Place the round dough in the center of the basket. Place basket in a warm place and let dough rise, uncovered, about 45 minutes until doubled in size.
4. Gently turn dough out of basket upside down onto a greased baking sheet. With a very sharp knife held almost parallel to the loaf, carefully slash the top of the dough at sharp angles in a # pattern.
5. Preheat oven to 450°F. Carefully place a small pan on the floor or bottom shelf of the oven. Add at least 1 cup boiling water to the pan. Place dough in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cake rack to cool 1 hour before slicing. To preserve the crisp crust, do not store in plastic wrap or bag. Bread can be loosely covered or left out for up to 2 days before it dries out completely.
VARIATION: To make French bread with a crust so thin and crispy that it crackles when you remove it from the oven, try baking this bread in a La Cloche clay cooker.
1. Omit steps 3 through 5. Liberally cover the base of the La Cloche with cornmeal and place the rounded dough onto the base.
2. Slash the dough as indicated in step 4 and place in La cloche (without lid) to rise. Cover it with a clean towel (again, not terry cloth), or use plastic wrap, then place it in a warm oven to rise until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
3. While the dough is rising, soak the lid of La Cloche upside down in a sink of water. (Cushion the handle with a dishcloth or sponge.)*
* The manufacturers of La Cloche do not recommend soaking the lid before baking because the absorption factor of stoneware is less than 1 percent. However, the authors preferred the way the bread turned out when they soaked the lid so we decided to try it this way as well.
4. For a dark crust, preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the wet lid over the dough; bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until dark brown.
5. For a lighter crust, preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the wet lid over the dough; bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Banana Cream Pie….
I am not a huge Banana Cream Pie fan..but some people in my family are…so it is a tradition to make it ONCE a year….The recipe is quite complicated. The first time I made it, I tried to make the caramel drizzle sauce..but I ruined my sauce pan. Now I just buy caramel sauce.
The other problem is that it only stays fresh for about two days….so you must eat it ALL within two days…not an easy task!
It requires about a dozen bananas!
I got the recipe on Good Morning America. It is by Emeril Lagasse. The link to the recipe can be found here: Emeril’s Banana Cream Pie Recipe.
In: Uncategorized, recipe
