broccoli sunflower salad

ok ladies, i'm requesting all the recipes that were brought to the baby shower, (apple salad, potato salad, rosemary bread). they were all so yummy! i'll start it off with my broccoli salad.

(i'll have to take a real picture the next time i make it)

3-4 heads of broccoli

1 bunch of cauliflower

3/4 C. green onions

1 C. salted sunflower seeds

1 lb. bacon fried crisp

2-3 C. red grapes (i added a little more)

SAUCE:

1 C. mayo, 1/2 C. sugar, 1/4 C. seasoned rice vinegar

add sauce, bacon & sunflower seeds right before serving.

Daring Bakers January 2009

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Ok, so I forgot to blog on reveal date last month! The challenge was to make and shape tuiles in the flavor and shape of your choosing and pair it w/ something light. Jamie and Tamsen joined me on Inauguration Day to watch the festivities. And attempt this month's challenge (if you use your imagination the cookie is shaped like an eagle.....I promise :) ). And eat chicken nuggets. And a whole loaf of Tamsen's delicious bread....still craving it T! Thanks for coming girls, we had a great time! Anyways on to the Tuiles:

¼ cup softened butter (not melted but soft)
½ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape.

Daring Bakers December 2008

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand
Whew! This little beauty was by FAR the most challenging challenge to date! The challenge specifically included six elements, each of which was delicious, some of which were tricky, I improvised a little here and there but attempted it all and the end result was a mountain of dishes and a delicious frozen dessert! Find the recipe in all its glory here. Now, pictures and then the play-by-play:







Now for the individual elements, from the bottom up:

Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake): Light and flavorful to begin with, then mine basically absorbed the ganache layer above it so it ended up tasting like chocolate covered almonds. The recipe calls for almond meal, which I didn't bother to find. I just buzzed some thinly sliced almonds in the food processor for a few minutes and it turned out great!

Ganache: Will be showing up in my kitchen again soon! Required you to make a "dry" caramel...melt sugar---then add cream....that was fun, and it turned out surprisingly well!

Chocolate Mousse: Beautiful! I went with the milk chocolate Chantilly option. Never made mousse before, I was surprised how easy it is! Apparently delicate doesn't have to be difficult!

Praline Feuillete: Yummy! Think homemade "Crunch!" bar. I took the shortcut and used rice-krispies instead of the lace crepes....those got stuck on the someday list.

Creme Brulee: Don't get too excited, no blow torch involved. This was more flan-ish. Fresh: good. Frozen: meh. I wasn't a fan of this insert because it thawed more slowly than the mousse so it was all ice-crystal ridden.

Frosting: Yeah. My thought was to use the white chocolate icing to really make my strawberry poinsettias stand out.....no.go. The recipe used gelatine as the thickening agent(never done that with frosting). I was impatient and thought I must have screwed it up. Drizzled some on as a glaze and found the rest all lovely and set up in my sink after the party. :)

Super Easy Braided Bread

- 1 package of quick rise yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and set aside for 5-10 min. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add egg and olive oil to yeast mixture and slowly stir (I use the dough hook on my kitchen aid) into dry ingredients until a sticky but smooth dough is formed. I get impatient and usually add all the liquid, so if it is too sticky just add a little flour until it is manageable enough to knead until somewhat smooth.
Let rise in a greased bowl for 30min. (I put the bowl covered with a towel in the oven with just the light on and I find that makes it rise really well.)
Punch down and separate into 3 even pieces and roll and stretch into tubes about 18" long. Braid pressing ends tightly together. Let rise for another 20-30min and bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 400 F for 15 min.
When done, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Daring Bakers November 2008

This month's challenge was Caramel Cake! We got a head start on this one and I'm so glad Meredith and Tamsen came over w/ babies in tow earlier this month to get a little sweetness in before the holiday madness began! Maybe it was because we were having a baby-fest anyway, or maybe it was just because good things come in small packages but for whatever reason we opted to make cupcakes out of the recipe instead of one 9" round. I'm a sucker for a good homemade cake in the first place, but I love this recipe (don't worry, I've already made them again!) because it makes just one handy dozen. And cause the cake turns out completely delicious.....and because the frosting---is heaven. on. earth. Drizzle it over warm cinnamon rolls sometime. Yow! Check out our hostesses versions here, here, and here. And when you're ready, I've included the recipes below:


CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F

Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light

(recipes above courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon)

Daring Bakers-October 2008

Let me add another pizza dough recipe to our repertoire, only this time, I think it's fitting that we toss it! It is, after all, our Daring Baker's debut! (more on that below). Our challenge this month was to "toss pizza like a real pizziaolo".....and post pictures. I have to confess, while I'm not crazy about those pics (look at the top of the middle picture for the dough in action, actually capturing it was a little tricky), the tossing was more fun than I'd anticipated! And much easier than I imagined. This dough was so soft and elastic it expanded in the air as easily as a balloon does when you blow into it! Tasty and amazing! You can find the recipe here. I chose to keep my toppings basic: one pepperoni and one hawaiian style, both turned out delicious! My one disappointment was that the tossing made the dough a bit uneven in thickness, but I'm sure with a little practice that glitch could be ironed right out! Maybe next time we'll practice with friends ;)





So ladies, we're now official members of the Daring Bakers. I stumbled on this fabulous group of several hundred food fanatics while reading this blog, got more curious when they made eclairs from scratch a while ago, and decided to join on behalf of all of us! Originally, i planned to post the monthly challenge recipe at the beginning of each month; then we could each try it and post our comments when and if we wanted to. However, the blog rules outlaw any posting of the recipe previous to the reveal date. On to "Plan B": How about I let you know what the challenge is each month via email. Everyone interested in that month's selection will set a date, pick a kitchen, test the recipe, chow down and then do a team post. Whattaya say?

Pumpkin spice cookies

It seems like all I ever post on here are short-cut recipes, no brainers or minimal ingredient foods. Well, just to stay true to the my 'quickie' stick-a-fork-in-it identity, I've found another speedy one. Two ingredients, that's it! One of my favorite discoveries in cooking has been the joys of cake mix. The possibilities are endless!

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin puree

Mix the two ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon the mixture into little heaps on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. I made a little cream cheese icing to go over the top. So low in fat too, no eggs or oil! Kristen, these remind me of your yummy cookies.

Popovers

So I made these last week and have been meaning to post. Most of you probably have no idea what these are as they are very British/Canadian. They are also known as yorkshire pudding. I grew up with these puffy, bread like things. They are soooooooo good with a roast beef dinner, filled with beef gravy.
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Put all ingredients into a blender, blend until smooth. Put in fridge until ready to use (for some reason they turn out better if the batter is cold). Heat oven to 400. Spray a muffin tin with pam or wipe well with oil. Pour batter evenly among all 12 cups and bake for 30 min. or until golden brown. Do not open oven while baking, they will flop!

goodbye september!

yes you should officially be done trying all recipes and votes must be cast by midnight!

:
NOT

:

just kidding. i still have 5 recipes left to try myself. but sad it's already the last day of september. i loved our weekly recipe challenge, it helped me cook dinner better and try lots of new yummy foods. so don't stop posting! like i said before, our husbands should really be so madly in love with us by now. and didn't this make the month go by so fast?

let's try and make a deadline for votes to be in. try and finish up those last couple recipes and cast your vote by...

::friday . october . tenth::

does this sound fair? that gives us about a week and a half to complete our challenge. votes are getting close!! don't forget to email any extra votes. oh and one last request... can everyone email me WHAT you voted for. i bet everyone is curious what the favorites were. it would be cool to find out. also let me know when you're available for our final dinner night out with each other, and any requests on restaurants. thanks ladies!

90 Minute Bread

I never got this up last week! This is my go to recipe when I want fresh bread. It's super low maintenance and hot out of the oven by the time I've got the rest of dinner ready!

2 c luke warm water
4 T sugar
2 T dry yeast
2 t salt
2 T melted butter
2/3 c scalded milk
4 1/2 - 5 1/2 c flour

Mix water, yeast and sugar together. Let stand 10 min. Add salt, butter and milk. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough forms a ball. Knead for 5 min., cover and let rise for 30 min. Knead again and separate into 2 loaf pans. Let rise for about 30 min. more and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.

Favorite Pizza dough

So I'm breaking up the challenge as I've been very excited to put my first entry in. Kristen said she wanted the recipe, so here it is. It is actually the recipe that came with my bread maker which I sold before moving so I now do it by hand. If you have a bread maker, just put all ingredients in order listed, choose the dough setting and press start.

1 ½ cup water

1 ½ tsp salt

1 Tb sugar

2 Tb olive oil

4 ¼ cup white flour

2 tsp yeast

Stir salt, sugar and yeast into water and let sit about 5-8 min until it's a bit bubbly. Put flour in a bowl (I use my kitchen aid). Add olive oil to yeast mixture and add all at once to flour. Mix with dough hook or wooden spoon until it all comes together. Put on floured surface and kneed until smooth. Put in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for about an hour or until about double in size. Punch down and spread out on pizza pans. It makes 2-3 pizzas depending on how thick you like your crust. I like to make sure there is cheese on the crust, so you get that great bubbly, crunchy, cheesy crust. I'll post a photo the next time I make it.

Campfire Cream Puff

Ha, I wasn't going to do it (submit two recipes) but seriously it's torture to just have ONE favorite! I totally apologize for the dirty nasty finger nails in this picture (it's from a website called Yumsugar.com),but please draw your eyes rightward and behold the Cream Puff!



Ingredients:
1 can of frozen biscuit dough (such as Pillsbury Grands)
8 large marshmallows
8 milk chocolate squares
Cinnamon and sugar to taste
2 10-inch by 10-inch squares of aluminum foil

Directions
Makes 8 cream puffs.
Sprinkle a plate with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar.
To make each cream puff, open the biscuit roll and pull off one biscuit. Open it up and stuff a marshmallow and one chocolate square inside. Close the biscuit so you can't see the marshmallow. Roll the biscuit dough in the cinnamon and sugar.
On each square of aluminum foil, place four of the stuffed biscuits; bring the sides of the foil around the biscuits, leaving a small space for ventilation.
Place the foil packets over the campfire for about 10 minutes, until dough is golden brown and marshmallow is melted.

Skor Trifle

And now for my real entry....it's delicious but I have to admit I love making it cause you get to crumble cake with your hands :D Yes. I'm still five.

Skor Trifle

Ingredients:
1 box mix chocolate cake
2 boxes chocolate instant pudding
1 tub whipped topping
2 Skor bars, or Heath bars, or whatever toffee bars you can get your hands on

Instructions:
Make cake and pudding ahead of time. In trifle dish or glass bowl layer crumbled cake, pudding, whipped topping and crushed Skor bar. Repeat 2-3 times, ending w/ whipped topping and Skor bar. Viola!

Baked Alaska

Ok, so I was going to hold myself to just one dessert recipe but I figure since two of us have already overindulged I don't need any more encouragement to jump on the band wagon! I have at least three favorite desserts (more like 15 but...meh). One is Lion House Cheesecake which I already posted here. Then, if you're in the mood for something even more fancy-pants I highly recommend the goodness that is Baked Alaska: cold, refreshing ice-cream floating on a bed of cake and smothered in hot, marshmallowy meringue. The meringue insulated the ice-cream while baking so nothing turns into soup, but when you cut and eat it the flavor/texture/temperature combo is AMAZING so be brave, you won't regret it!
Ingredients:
1 9" round cake (just one layer)
2 pints icecream
2 t cornstarch
2 t water
5 egg whites
1/2 t cream of tartar
1 t vanilla egg whites
2/3 cup sugar

How to:

1. In advance, bake cake of your choosing in 9" round pans. I actually use a glass pie plate b/c it leaves room for a better meringue igloo.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Dissolve cornstarch into the water in small saucepan over medium heat (about 3 min). Remove from heat and let cool 5 min. While cooling, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Then beat in your cornstarch mixture. Then the vanilla. Beat until egg whites start holding soft peaks and start adding sugar 1/3 cup at a time until egg whites are glossy and have tripled in volume.
4. Scoop ice-cream onto cake in a rounded mound.
5. Smother it all in meringue. Seriously, smother it! It works out best if the meringue is evenly distributed and covering all the edges of the cake.
6. Bake for 5-10 min or until meringue has browned. Enjoy!

Thai Coconut-Mango Sticky Rice

This is one of my favorite desserts and I like it so much because it's just different but so addicting. The rice doesn't come out quite as sticky as the kind you'd get in a Thai restaurant but it's still just as good and satisfying!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup jasmine rice or other sweet asian rice
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk (you can use the light kind if you want, it just makes it a little less rich)
1/2 cup sugar
1 mango, sliced
Directions:
1.) Rice: Cook rice according to package directions, but substitute coconut milk for half of the water, and add half the sugar.
2.) It should be fairly dry when you finish cooking it, without any liquid visible in the pot.
3.) Sauce: In a medium saucepan, boil the rest of the coconut milk with the second half of the sugar.
4.) Keep this at a full boil until the rice is cooked, or until it reaches a thick, syrupy consistency.
5.) Presentation: Arrange the cooked coconut rice in a bowl or plate with the mango slices in some kind of pretty formation and pour some of the sauce over the whole thing. You can top it with a few sesame seeds.

peanut butter fudge (my actual submission)

alright. what's the deal with making us choose one? i would just like to say that it is impossible to choose a favorite. so, i also submitted three of my favorites, but not one is the favorite. plus, i thought we needed a little more chocolate in the mix.

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 sticks margerine

3/4 cup evaporated milk

cook on medium heat stirring constantly to 234 degrees or soft ball stage. remove from heat and add to mixture:

1 cup cream peanut butter

7-9 oz jar marshmallow cream (fluff works, too)

1 T vanilla

beat the mixture until it becomes thick. pour into buttered 9x13 pan. while the fudge is still warm, not hot, drop peanut butter cups into the fudge. cut into squares after refrigerated when ready to serve. (there should be one pb cup per piece) only leave in fridge to set the fudge. you can also use small snickers.

french silk pie

i would probably submit this to be voted on but since kristen is weird about pies and since i obviously want as many votes as possible, we'll make this as second best. although, i'm gonna make this sometime, kristen, and you will love it.

(double this recipe to put into 9" pie plate)

1/2 cup butter, not margerine, cut into 8 equal pats and 3/4 cup sugar, creamed

1 (1 0z) square unsweetened baking chocolate melted and cooled OR 3 tbsp cocoa + 1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

beat cocoa and vanilla into creamed butter until blended.

2 eggs- add one at a time, beating until nice and creamy...no taste of gritty sugar. if you overbeat and it becomes too runny, don't worry! you can put it into the fridge and let it set up and then beat it again. put into a baked pastry shell. serve chilled with whipped cream on top.

peanut butter chocolate rice krispy treats

(one of travis' favorites)

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup creamy peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies

12 0z chocolate chips

12 oz butterscotch chips

in a large pot, cook over medium heat corn syrup and sugar until it's nice and smooth, not boiling. stir in the peanut butter (keep the heat on). add 6 cups of rice krispies. put into a 9x13 pan. melt butterscotch and chocolate chips on low heat, stirring constantly. pour mixture over the rice krispies. put in the fridge to harden. after they start to cool a little, cut them into the pieces because it will get too hard to cut once they are completely cooled.

oh, and just a p.s. they do not look like the picture, but don't those look good?!

lemon cake {my actual submission}

ok ok i promise i'm done after this one. so checking bavarian dessert off the list, my second all time favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake. unfortunately everyone knows how to make that AND it's not really strawberry season so i'm on to my third favorite dessert. wow good thing i came up with this idea! this cake is from a good family friend. it is so yummy and stays moist for a long time. i'm not a huge cake person but i LOVE this lemon cake!

CAKE

lemon cake mix {yes... gasp... the box kind}

small lemon pudding

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water (i've also heard you can use sprite in place of water)

3 eggs

GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

mix all the ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees (shoot i don't have the time written down... i'm pretty sure you follow the time on the cake box for whatever kind of pan you use. i always use a 9x13)

poke the top with a fork and frost warm so the glaze oozes down into the cake.

berried delight

and then as if you couldn't get enough of these "layered" desserts i found this one too! a berry version which i LOVE!

thanks to kraft foods i'm going to say follow this link.

oh and anyone up for trying THIS moist caramel apple cake? YUM!

bavarian dessert

{amazingly i found this picture on the internet and this is EXACTLY what it looks like!}
so funny. so jamie's all time favorite dessert happens to be almost the exact same as my favorite dessert! which makes me so happy. so no i don't expect you to make hers and mine (since they are practically the same) but i had to add my version on here too. mine just has no bananas and chocolate pudding instead of vanilla. my mom makes this every year for holidays and it's our family favorite! i could eat a whole pan to myself.

1 stick butter

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup flour

1 8 0z. pkg. cream cheese (softened to room temp)

1 cup powdered sugar

12 oz. cool whip

1 large box chocolate instant pudding

melt butter (i zap it in the microwave) and mix with 3/4 cup nuts and flour. pat into 9x13 pan and bake 15 min. at 350 degrees. let cool.

mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 cup cool whip. spread on the cooled crust.

make the pudding as directed on the box and spread over the cream cheese layer.

top with left over cool whip. sprinkle on the left over pecans.

i cut it up into squares and serve just like the picture. YUM!

Banana Cream Cheese Delite

OK ladies I have been slacking but you know I couldn't pass up on my favorite course Dessert!! This is my most favorite dessert I beg my mom to make it whenever I am home. I made it not to long ago, it makes a lot so make sure you are hungry. The recipe I have is written so I will put all the ingredients in Red so you know what to buy.

melt 2 cups margarine
add 2 cups flour and 1 cup chopped nuts, mix together
press into a 9 X 13 pan.
bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes until brown

soften 2 8oz packages of cream cheese in a bowl
add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, cream well and
add 1 cup cool whip (buy the big tub)
spread over the cooled crust

Mix 3 cups milk with 2 small packages of instant vanilla pudding, beat at low speed for 2 minutes
then let it stand for 10 minutes.
pour over the cream cheese filling

top with 3 sliced bananas arranged evenly over mix
spread 1-2 cups cool whip over the bananas

chill at least 2 hours until it sets
cut in squares and enjoy!

WEEK 4

{ps... don't you love how gummi bears are a "dessert?"}

can you guess, can you guess? our last week is going to be FREE REIGN...

:::DESSERTS:::

i'm posting this now because i'm going to be out of commission tomorrow. (see my blog later). and i really want you to think long and hard about this, or if you're lucky you don't have to! i want you to submit your all time favorite dessert ever. one that you make of course, and that hasn't already been submitted to this blog. this is so hard for me as i love dessert, and i'm guessing all of us do. so get thinking. what dessert will win you this competition?

{and sadly, if you submit a pie... i probably won't make it, meaning you probably won't get my vote. i'm so mean aren't i!?}

good 'ol banana bread

i have been debating all week which recipe i want to add. i am a bread junkie and have so many great recipes i would love to share and also a lot i still want to try. but, i thought i would stick to a classic. this is one of those recipes that i have memorized and could easily whip up anytime with a good batch of old bananas. i promise, this is a no fail banana bread recipe.

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup mashed ripe banana

cream together shortening and sugar; add eggs and beat REALLY well. sift together dry ingredients. add to creamed mixture alternating with banana, blending well after each addition.

pour into well-greased loaf pan. bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until done. remove from pan; cool on rack.

a few of my secrets: once you've added the flour, mix as little as possible. if you mix a quick bread too much, it doesn't turn out as well. i also add more than a cup of banana to make it a little more moist. and my biggest secret is that i usually add about a cup of chocolate chips. do it, you will be so happy you did.

voting

just a little update on the

:voting situation:

i thought everyone could just go into the settings and edit our little voting pole to vote for your favorite. turns out i'm the "administrator" or rather, "queen of this blog" so no one has those options. just throw me an email when you know who you want to vote for in each category and i'll fix it for you. 2 votes have already been cast! i'm getting excited! keep cooking/baking/testing/stealing from your neighbor, whatever you have to do to try these recipes!

pretzel hugs

for liz...
this has nothing to do with our challenge. i just want to addict the rest of you like i have addicted liz...hehe.

1/2 bag pretzels (about 80) the square snyder's grid looking ones work the best
1 bag of herseys hugs
m&m's

line pretzels on baking sheet and place a hug in the middle of each one. place in oven at 200 degrees for about 5-6 minutes. they should just be shiny not melted.

remove from oven and squish an m&m down into the hug (like above). place in fridge for awhile to let harden. enjoy!

i just used halloween m&m's yesterday... totally festively cute.

downeast maine pumpkin bread

i wasn't originally going to post this for our fabulous "breads" category. so let me back myself up first. i felt like it was too soon for pumpkin anything, even though i've been totally into talking about halloween costumes, shopping for fall decorations, making halloween bows, etc. i love fall so much though and never want to waste the fall months. i was sitting in starbucks at the airport on tuesday staring at their new "pumpkin spice latte" sign and totally got excited. (not to drink it... just that it's that time of year again). so after a brisk morning of buying a few halloween items i decided it is NOT too early for pumpkin anything! it did remind me of this post though. (please try that recipe, you will not be sorry) hopefully you'll love this bread as much as i do!

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 stick butter melted and cooled

2/3 cup water

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1 cup chocolate chips (i usually add some extra!)

preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

in a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, butter, water, and sugars until well blended. in a separate bowl, whisk together the flower, baking soda, salt, and all spices. stir the dry ingredients (along with the chocolate chips) into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. pour into the prepared pans.

bake for about 50 min. in the oven. loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Chocolate Croissants

Ladies if you can't handle this recipe, please seek help NOW! It doesn't get much easier than this one. So, the recipe came from the magazine Real Simple...I mean it is freshly torn from the magazine hence the wrinkled paper and bowl mark. I just love it when a recipe is completely spelled out for me with pic's and I though you'd appreciate the authentic visual.

1 8-count tube refrigerated crescent rolls

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate

Heat over to 375 f.

Unroll the dough and separate into 8 triangles.

Place about 115 chocolate chips on the bottom third of each triangle and roll up around the chocolate.

Transfer the croissants to a baking sheet.

Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp.

Enjoy!

WEEK 3

yum! these recipes are awesome! i'm so excited to keep trying them all. are you ready for this week? i've been brainstorming out here in orlando with my excellent cook friend sarah and i've decided...

:::BREADS:::

{this of course includes: scones, muffins, waffles, donuts, rolls, or anything with DOUGH}

so get your little bake on ladies! again... our husbands have got to be madly in love with us by now.

Fried Green Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 5 green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 cup crushed saltine crackers
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup butter
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt and pepper. Place the crushed saltine crackers in another bowl, and the beaten eggs in a third bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip each tomato slice in the egg to coat, then in the flour mixture. Dip the floured tomato slice back into the egg, and then into the cracker crumbs. Place the coated tomato slices in the hot skillet, and fry until golden brown on each side, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add more butter to the pan, if necessary. Serve hot!

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Loaded Baked Potato salad

I haven't made this one yet but I can't wait, it looks so yummy and easy. It is suppose to serve 20 so you will want to cut back on the the servings sizes.

Ingredients
7 pounds baking potatoes
extra virgin olive oil fro brushing
2 pounds bacon, cut crosswise into 1 inch pieces
2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter, softened
2 pints sour cream
salt and pepper
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the potatoes with a fork; brush with oil. Bake until tender, 1 hour. let cool, then cut into bite size pieces.

In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp about 10 minutes, drain. ( the microwave works just as well, about one minute for every piece.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sour cream; season with salt and pepper, stir in the potatoes, bacon, scallions and cheese. Serve at room temperature.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

If you're a wimp and when you hear 'Jalapeno' are immediately turned off because you don't like hot things...listen up! These puppies are not hot at all. They are super simple with only THREE ingredients and absolutely addicting. My sister just gave me some fresh jalapenos from her garden, so I only had to get two things at the store. Check out the link to Pioneer Woman Cooks on my blog.

Fresh jalapenos 2-3 inches in size

Cream cheese softened

Thin regular bacon sliced in thirds

1.) Cut jalapenos in half, lengthwise. With a spoon remove the seeds and membrane (this part is what makes it hot, so if you like a little HEAT, leave a little in there). Smear the softened cream cheese in each of them and wrap in bacon, secured with a toothpick. (At this point you can freeze them, uncooking in a ziplock back for the next get-together!)

2.) Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 min. Make sure they are crispy, serve em' HOT!

fiesta ole dip (aka seven layer dip)

ok. so this is definitely a christensen family fav that we make at least once a year. perfect for any party and always a hit. (especially for all you mexican food fans out there) mmmm, so delish.

2 medium sized ripe avocados

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 c sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

1 pkg dry taco seasoning

1 can refried beans

1/2 c chopped green onion

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 can pitted black olives, drained and chopped

1 c grated cheese

combine sour cream, mayo, and taco seasoning-set aside. peel, pit and mash avocados-salt and pepper. to assemble: spread refried beans on platter. top with seasoned avocado mixture. add sour cream mixture, chopped onions and tomatoes. top with grated cheese and olives. serve chilled or at room temperature with tortilla chips.

(hint from my mom, mother teresa: prepare a few hours ahead of time to let flavors soak in) also, if you only want a 6 layer dip or want to add one more of your favorites to make it an 8 layer dip, go for it!

homemade saLsA

(yes this is really a picture of the real thing when i made it last year)

so this recipe comes straight from the cupboards of sister erickson. i tried it at their house last year in september and immediately had to get the recipe. promise you won't be disappointed!


1 can black beans
1 can shoepeg corn (sweet, white corn)
1 green pepper
1 red onion
2-3 tomatoes
1 jalapeno pepper


dice up all of those yummy veggies and add together with this sauce:


1/3 cup lime juice (about 2 limes... promise fresh squeezed is way better)
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil (i'm not a fan of olive oil so i use 1/4)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumen
dash cayan pepper
cilantro to taste (again not a fan, but it was good with a few sprinklings)


yum yum yum! so fResH!

WEEK 2

alright ladies. i hope you are making these yummy dinners. i've already tried a couple and am almost ready to vote! i'm loving trying your new recipes. are you pumped for week 2? have you guessed from the picture yet?

drumroll please....

:::APPETIZERS:::

a.k.a.

:::hors d'oeuvres:::

i thought this would be a fun one for the holiday season coming up. it seems like you always need a good appetizer or party platter to take to those get togethers. good luck!

our husbands are going to love us...

White Chicken Chili

Ok, I know, I know, it's just like me to decide I'm playing at the last possible second :) Just try the recipe and I promise you'll forgive me!

White Chicken Chili

Saute these together:

2 tsp olive oil

1 lg. onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

Add these, and simmer 5-10 minutes:

2 cans chicken broth

1 pkg. frozen white corn

2 cans diced green chilis

1 tsp cumin

2 cans great northern beans

juice of 1 lime

cilantro

Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheese, green onions, chopped cilantro, salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges.

loaded "baked potato" soup

ok girls. i'm completely going out on a limb here. i've never tried this recipe so don't hate me if you hate IT! but come on... microwaved soup? i said easy, but i guess we'll see! yum. i'm just ready for soup. it's legal in september right!?

2 medium baking potatoes, unpeeled
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled, and divided
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. sliced green onions, divided
1/4 cup sour cream

pierce potatoes; microwave on HIGH 5 min., turning over after 2 1/2 min. cut potatoes into chunks. combine potatoes, broth and milk in large microwaveable bowl. microwave on HIGH 6 min., stirring after 3 min. Slightly crush potatoes with a potato masher.

reserve 2 Tbsp. each of the bacon and cheese and 1 Tbsp. of the onions for topping; set aside. add remaining bacon, cheese and onions to soup.

serve topped with reserved bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

Makes 4, 1 cup servings.

shepherd's pie

this is definitely a staple in our house. i realize that this is a classic mormon dish but we love classics! and, like meredith's recipe, you usually have most of the ingredients on hand. i made this for landen one night when kristen was out of town and he loved it. so you better make this one soon, kristen (and everyone else too!)

brown 2 lbs of hamburger

add 1 chopped onion

put in a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 can tomato soup, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and 1 can green beans (you can add any veggie you like).

pour in a large baking dish. top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Potato-Crusted Baked Chicken

I got this recipe from a cookbook on my shelf called, 'Great Chicken Dishes'. I was in need of a chicken recipe with only the ingredients I had in my pantry and fridge. I am excited to share a recipe that includes ingredients most of us have on hand. I am all about using everything I have in the cupboard before taking yet another trip to the grocery store. It went over really well and tastes best with ranch dressing, then again most things do!

1/3 cup grated Parmesean cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried sage (didn't have it, I used some Mrs. Dash seasoning)
2 large eggs
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves ( about 1 1/2 lbs.)
2/3 cup dried instant mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil

1.)Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a shallow bowl or pie plate mix parm cheese, salt, pepper and sage. In another bowl beat eggs w/ 1 tablespoon of water. Dip your chix into parmesean mixture and press into chicken. Dip chix in egg mixture then into potatoes, pressing them into chicken.

2.)Lightly grease baking sheet. Place baking sheet in over for 5 min. Place chicken on preheated baking sheet; drizzle olive oil over chicken. Bake for 10 min, turn chix and bake for 10-15 min longer or until crusty and golden and chix is done.

3.) All out of instant mashed potatoes? Use crushed potato chips or Cheez-its. Both taste yummy!

homemade oreos

i think we might have a recipe on here for these already, and i've always tried to figure out the yummiest one... i think i finally found it!! don't ask me why i was inspired to do yellow and teal frosting... it was just the mood i was in ok? i'm not even the biggest fan of these cookies but THESE ONES are IT!

cookies:

1 box fudge chocolate cake mix

1/2 C. veg. oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

{mix all of these ingredients together and bake for 8 min. at 375. cool completely and then sandwich frost with...}

frosting:

3 C. powdered sugar

1/3 C. soft butter

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 T. milk

{mix the powdered sugar and butter, then mix in the vanilla and milk. beat until smooth. oh and please color according to your mood. ;)}

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

ok as the official "starter" of this fabulous food blog, i think it's time i make a little challenge to all our contributors out there (jen/liz/jam/mer). i'm going to start a little

september weekly recipe challenge!

it's hard saying goodbye to summer, but now that we are getting back into the routines of school/work maybe we can get back into the routine of cooking! hello! i know i do much better in the fall/winter. something about being stuck inside...

so. here are the official rules:

1. each week will be a new "genre" to contribute a recipe to. (i.e.: dinner, dessert, appetizer)

2. each contributor needs to really really try (just kidding... this is totally MANDATORY) to add just ONE new recipe to this genre. try and keep them super simple so we can make them! i don't care if you get them from yahoo foods... just share!

3. throughout the month of september you need to try making all the recipes at least ONCE so you can VOTE!

here comes the fun part...

4. by the end of the month you get to vote for your favorite recipe from each genre (i'll make a poll on the sidebar). you can NOT vote for yourself. and whoever is the winner will be treated to dinner (split by the rest of us) at a girls night out! sound good? please tell me you're all in! i need some serious spice in my life... you know what i mean.

*so that's 4 votes a person

*i realize it's a lot of recipes to try, but only 4 dinners, 4 desserts, 4 something and 4 something isn't too much to handle in 30 days right?

let the recipe sharing begin!

monday.sept.1st: dinner

Iced White Chocolate Terrine

Whenever Emily comes to town I pretty much make her whip up this deliciousness. At least I did until she shared the recipe, and now I'm passing on the goodness!

Ingredients: 2 Tbsp sugar

5 Tbsp water

10 1/2 white chocolate

3 eggs, seperated

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Directions:

• Line loaf pan w/ foil or plastic wrap, pressing out as many creases as possible
• Gently heat sugar and water in heavy-based pan until sugar dissolves, bring to a boil for 1-2 min. until syrupy, remove from heat
• Stir in white chocolate, let mixture cool slightly
• Beat in egg yolks, let cool completely
• Lightly whip cream until just holding its shape, fold into chocolate mixture
• Whisk eggs whites until holding soft peaks, fold into mixture
• Pour into prepared loaf pan and freeze overnight

Remove terrine from the freezer about 10 minutes before serving. Slice and serve w/ fresh berries and chocolate drizzle. Bon Appetite

Cookies n' Cream Torte

I tend to leave the cake MAKING to the experts, I just do the BAKING. It's so hard to make a cake from scratch and make it taste moist.(If you've got a secret, please share). As for me and Betty Crocker, we have our own secret. I was in a jam about what to make for a dessert to bring to a friends house for dinner. I scanned the Betty Crocker website and found a winner.

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist devil's food cake mix
8 Oreo's crushed
1 container Betty Crocker Whipped fluffy white frosting
8 Oreo's cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and lightly flour or spray. Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour into pan.
2. Bake 30 min. or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. I stuck it in the freezer to speed it up and make it more firm.
3. Fold crushed cookies into frosting. Put a cookie sheet on top of your cake pan and flip the cake out. Cut the cake crosswise in half. Gently place the other half aside. Spread cake with half of the frosting mixture.

4. Put the other half on and spread the remaining frosting. Spread the Oreo's on top as a garnish before you serve it.

This comes out really moist and is just as good two days later, just keep it in the fridge.

I apologize to all of you faithful 'stick a fork in it' readers out there. Thanks for tuning back in to our little abandoned blog here. It's not that we havn't been cookin' just not sharin'!

crispy coconut chicken

this one and the previous one are both new recipes that i tried last night and tonight. i liked them both and had to share. although, this one is a lot more involved. yes, i was actually good and made two "real" meals two nights in a row! i have one happy husband. enjoy!

chicken:

1 C flaked coconut

1/2 C flour

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves (however much chicken the mixture will allow)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 C butter or margerine melted on bottom of pan.

heat oven to 400 F. mix coconut, flour, salt, and pepper in medium bowl. dip chicken into egg, then coat with coconut mixture. place in buttered pan. bake 25 minutes or until chicken is browned and cooked through. serve with rice and...

red lobster pina colada dipping sauce:

1/2 C coco lopez cream of coconut (found in the grocery store by the daiquiri and colada mixes)

1/2 C pineapple juice

1/4 C water

2 T crushed pineapple (drained)

1 T sweetened coconut flakes

3 T + 1 t. powder sugar

1 1/2 t. corn starch

3 t. cold water

mix coco lopez, pineapple juice, water, crushed pineapple, coconut, and powder sugar in a sauce pan. heat on medium low temperature until sauce begins to simmer, stirring frequently. let mixture simmer slowly 10-12 minutes. mix corn starch and water together, add to sauce and blend well. let mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes longer while stirring during and after adding cornstarch. remove from heat and bring to room temperature.

this dinner is also really good with these rolls!

samoan sweet rolls:

1 12 oz package frozen dinner rolls, thawed

1 10 oz can coconut milk

3 T sweetened condensed milk

3/4 C white sugar

coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. coat your hands with cooking spray or shortening, and roll the dough balls in your hands so that they have a light coating. place in a prepared dish. set aside and let rise until doubled. (i used pillsbury frozen rolls and didn't have to let them rise at all, fyi). preheat oven to 350 F. in a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk and sugar. pour this mixture over the top of the rolls as evenly as you can. bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. let cool for a few minutes before separating and serving.

whew, that's all, i promise!

quick king ranch chicken

we ate this tonight. it really is so good and so easy.

1/4 cup margarine

1 medium green bell pepper, diced fine

1 medium yellow onion, diced fine

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cans Milder Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (i use the canned chicken)

12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces

2 cups shredded cheddar or velveeta cheese

preheat oven to 325 degrees. in a large saucepan, saute the bell pepper and onion in the margerine until tender (about 5 minutes). add both soups, the rotel and chicken pieces and stir until the mixture is well-blended. in a 10x10 lightly oiled casserole dish, start making thin layers with the corn tortillas first, then the cooked chicken mixture and last the cheese. repeat about 3 times with the cheese on top. bake for 40 minutes, covered, or until hot and bubbly.

serve over rice with sour cream on top.