Carly's Kitchen

Saturday Pancakes

2012-01-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

I guess I am making a tradition that every Saturday morning I make a "fun" breakfast. It's been unofficially decided, because that is what I end up doing most Saturday mornings. Saturday breakfast usually involves pancakes or French toast (btw, I have got to share with you my vegan french toast-to die for!). I found a recipe online for kamut pancakes and changed things around a bit to make it egg and dairy free. I think I have expressed my love for kamut before-but I will do it again. I love it. So healthy and nutritious without having the "wheat" flavor, which I don't mind and actually like, but for those of you who want a healthy alternative to white flour but don't like the taste of wheat, kamut is your grain.

These pancakes turned out super yummy. Almost dessert like actually:) The lemon juice from the "soy buttermilk" makes it really tasty, a slight lemony flavor paired with the slight flavor of the coconut oil. Amazing! This could be our new family favorite pancake recipe. Unless I find something better next week :)

Vegan Kamut Pancakes

1 cup raw kamut

1/2 cup raw oatmeal

1 1/2 cups soy butter milk** (directions bellow)

1 flax egg (1 T ground flax+3 T water)

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons honey or 2 tablespoons maple syrup (I used honey)

1/2-1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

In a blender put the milk, the flax egg, the oil, the vanilla, the kamut and the oatmeal.

Blend for 3 to 5 minutes or until very smooth.

Get the griddle hot (or the pan if that is what you will be using).

Just before you are ready to bake them add the baking soda, salt, and baking powder.

Blend for a few seconds.

Cook the pancakes on a griddle, turning when they bubble, until they are slightly golden brown.

**To make 1 1/2 c. soy buttermilk, put 1 1/2 T lemon juice (can use vinegar, but I like the flavor the lemon gives) in liquid measuring cup, then fill up with soy milk to the 1 1/c cup line. Let sit 10 minutes.

Unsweetened Cinnamon Oatmeal

2012-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

Oatmeal-I've been lovin it lately. It's been over a week since I've had my green smoothie for breakfast because my body is craving something warm and comforting since winter is here. This cinnamon oatmeal is just that-warm, comforting, delicious, and filling. There's been one thing that's always bothered me with oatmeal. I have always felt that I need a spoonful of brown sugar in every bite of oatmeal to make it yummy. I've been trying to cut back on the sugar, so I gave oatmeal a try without the heaping mounds of brown sugar I usually use. I boiled it with some cinnamon then finished it off with a touch of vanilla. I piled it high in a bowl and topped with the most delicious blueberries and raspberries. I was so surprised at how delicious it was! Never again do I need to bust out the brown sugar when making oatmeal. The pops of blueberries and raspberries in each bite gave it the perfect amount of sweetness.

It's an interesting thing when you cut out sugar in your diet. Healthy food tastes better, fruit tastes so deliciously sweet, and you don't want as much of the other sweet stuff. Not that I didn't eat a whole pan of my favorite vegan cookies last night...but hey, it's fun to indulge sometimes ;)

This is hardly a recipe, you can always add more or less cinnamon depending on what you like....

Cinnamon Oatmeal
serves about 2

1 cup old fashioned oats
2 cups water
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

Boil all ingredients together for 5-10 minutes. For me it usually takes about 5. Add 1 tsp vanilla. Top with berries, or for special fun occasions, some chocolate chips :)

Tuscan White Beans With Kale

2012-01-11T10:47:00.001-08:00

Like I promised, here's Kale. Kale has been a frequent star in our house for many reasons. It's one of the most amazing superfoods. I was afraid of Kale for a while. I could only tolerate a couple leaves in my green smoothies, but lately I have been enjoying it cooked in soups or placed on top a bean dish. Kale is one of those foods that gets more nutritious when you cook it. I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten's tuscan white beans. She doesn't call for Kale and she adds fennel to hers. But I would highly recommend throwing kale in this. This is such a comfort food, the flavors are so rustic, this is a new favorite in our home.

Tuscan White Beans

Adapted from Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?”

Serves 6

1 POUND DRIED WHITE CANNELLINI BEANS (OR ABOUT 4 15.8-OUNCE CANS)

1/4 CUP OLIVE OIL

1 YELLOW ONION, CHOPPED

2 CUPS CHOPPED CARROTS (4 CARROTS)

1 TABLESPOON MINCED GARLIC (3 CLOVES)

1 TO 2 CUPS VEGETABLE STOCK OR NO-CHICKEN CHICKEN STOCK (JUST CHICKEN STOCK, IF YOU’RE NOT GOING MEATLESS)

1 TABLESPOON MINCED FRESH SAGE LEAVES

1 TABLESPOON MINCED FRESH ROSEMARY LEAVES

2 TEASPOONS KOSHER SALT

1/2 TEASPOON FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

BUNCH OF KALE

The night before, soak the beans in a large bowl with water to cover by at least 2 inches. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, drain the beans, rinse well, and place them in a large stockpot. Add twice as much water as you have beans, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes, until the beans are very tender. Skim off any foam that accumulates.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add the fennel and carrots, and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more.

Drain the beans, and add them to the vegetables.

Add 1 cup of the stock, sage, rosemary, some chopped kale, salt and pepper, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 12 to 15 minutes, until creamy. (If the beans are still hard after 15 minutes, add another 1/2 to 1 cup of stock, and continue to cook until the beans reach your desired consistency. Longer tends to be better.)
Optional, but this is what we like to do. With the extra kale, roughly chop and boil for 2-4 minutes. Top off the beans with boiled kale.

Did you know...and Kamut Gingerbread Pancakes

2012-01-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

Did you know that this is my 200th post?? Well...it is! I can't believe I have done 200 recipe posts. I have high hopes for 2012. I invision many plant strong recipes. Kale will probably be the star of many of them ;) I have made many yummy, delicious and nutritious soups and stews so far and can't wait to share them with you. I also invision many more posts for 2012. After having my baby girl I kind of neglected this blog, for a good cause of course:) She keeps me busy and I find very little time to do much else. However, I feel like I am at the point where I can start dedicating more time to this blog. Mainly because I want to share the many recipes I have been making. I have really focused on trying to nourish and feed my family the best I can, and while doing so I have been finding that eating that way can be the most delicious way to eat. That being said, let me introduce you to these kamut gingerbread pancakes.

First of all, they are delicious. Such a fun breakfast especially for this time of year. I love that they are made with kamut. Kamut has more protein than wheat and less gluten. In fact, some who are gluten intolerant can tolerate kamut. If you don't have kamut on hand I'm sure you could sub whole wheat.

Enjoy!

KAMUT Vegan Gingerbread Pancakes

1 ½ Cups KAMUT® flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground dried ginger (or gingerbread spice)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 chia or flax egg*

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup molasses

1 ½ cups water

Optional – sprinkle of walnuts on top

Method: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside. Prepare the chia egg in a separate mixing bowl and let sit for a few minutes before mixing with the vanilla and molasses until smooth. Whisk in the water until completely incorporated. Stir the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until just combined. Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook unitll bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip and cook until browned on the other side.

*Chia or flax egg

This recipe makes the equivalent of 1 egg.

3 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon white chia seed meal or flax seed

1) Grind the seeds into a meal in a blender or spice grinder.

2) Add the water to a small bowl or cup. Add the seed meal and mix together with a whisk or fork. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes so it develops a goopy texture similar to a raw egg. Warm water will speed up the process.

Cookie Dough Oatmeal

2011-12-20T06:33:00.000-08:00

Mmmm, doesn't that sound good? Well that's exactly what this oatmeal tastes like! A gooey bowl of cookie dough. I've been loving looking at the site Chocolate Covered Katie, she has a lot of fun ideas for putting healthy twists on desserts. I decided to give it a try and make a super yummy oatmeal. It turned out better than I expected. Yummy, chocolatey, gooey, warm.....and healthy! This recipe is a keeper, I'm planning on making this Christmas morning. Every time I have made this I didn't measure, so here is the recipe but you can always add a lil more of this or a lil less of that to your taste :)

Cookie Dough Oatmeal
serves 2

1 cup old fashioned oats
2 cups water
pinch of salt
1-2 tsp raw cacao powder (different than cocoa powder, cacao is really good for you, you can use cocoa powder, just would need more )
1 tsp vanilla
1 T agave nectar (little more if you want it sweeter)
1 T maple syrup (same as agave, more to taste:) )
semi sweet chocolate chips to sprinkle over top (or dark chocolate, to keep with the healthy theme)

Add oats, salt, and water in pan. Bring to boil and boil uncovered about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla, cacao powder, agave, and maple syrup. Dish out in bowls, sprinkle on chocolate chips while it's hot (this is key so they will get gooey and melty). Add a little milk, almond milk, or soy milk to thin it out if needed. Sit down, dig in with a spoon and enjoy how delicioushly good this big bowl of oatmeal is for you!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

2011-10-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

A few months ago when we visited Utah, my moms friend had us over to make some whole wheat pita's. It was so much fun. I have great memories in her kitchen, she taught me how to make cinnamon rolls, chicken noodle soup, and now pitas are on the list. These pita's are so easy to make and so much fun. There's just something about making some sort of bread that makes you feel like a super homemaker. The great thing about these is you can make a bunch and then store them in the freezer. The other night I made these for dinner along side some lentil and vegetable soup. I lightly drizzled the pita's with melted butter, then topped with garlic salt and oregano. Hello deliciousness! It was so yummy, I see a lot of pita's in our families future:)

first, we need to start with some good yeast, I use saff instant (can get it at costco)

dump it with everything else in mixer, and smile for the camera because let's face it,
you are super cool making pita bread:)
Now we pat one of our ten balls of dough flat into a disc before rolling,
this makes it easier to make a round pita.
Cover with flour
Let rise 30 min....
Turn over before baking and bake 5 min at 500 degrees, and viola! We made pita bread!
Imagine the possibilities of things we could stuff in there, peanut butter and apple,
greek salad, or just eat it right out of the oven warm. Mmmmmm

Yummy Pita's to use later, or store in freezer to have on hand all the time!So go ahead, take a whack at it! These are easy peasy, and I guarantee you will love them!
And like I said, you will feel like a star homemaker once you break out the yeast and
you have flour on your cheeks. And just think of the healthy goodness you are feeding
your family! :)

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

3-4 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c. hot water (hotter than warm, but not too hot)
1 T. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt

mix together in bread mixer. Dough will be heavy-divide into 10 pieces. Roll each piece flat. Let rise 30 min. Turn over before baking. Make sure both sides are covered with flour. Turn over before baking. Bake at 500 for 5 min. Store while warm in plastic bread bag.

Unbelievable Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I said I was going to post about my banana bread french toast-but I just made these cookies today and couldn't wait another second before sharing them. These cookies are unbelievable!!!! Seriously so amazing. I adapted my favorite chocolate chip cookie a bit and added some kamut flour and replaced the egg with a flax egg (to make a flax egg you just mix 1 T ground flax with 3 T water). I couldn't believe how delicious these cookies were. The kamut made them a little crispy on the outside, but on the inside, an amazing gooeyness that is almost impossible to acheive when making a cookie. I can't wait to make these for my little peanut who is allergic to eggs. My guess is no one would ever think theses were a vegan or "healthier" cookie. They are just simply delicious. So delicious that I may have eaten 4 right when they came out of the oven....and have lost track after my last few....oops.

Enjoy!

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup coconut oil
2 flax eggs (2 T ground flax mixed with 5-6 T water, start with 5 then add more if you need to, 5 was perfect for me, let sit for a few minutes to thicken)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspon baking soda
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup kamut flour

3/4 cup flour
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 shredded coconut
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together coconut oil, eggs, and brown sugar until very well mixed. Add remaining ingredients, mixing together until all are incorporated. Use a cookie scoop and place on cookie sheet, 6 to a sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 9-11 minutes, or just until the outside of the cookies have browned ever so slightly around the edges. Remove, cool slightly, devour.

Back from Utah and Some Changes...

2011-09-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

We got back about a week ago from a two week stay in Utah. Sorry for the long absence, but it's been really good to visit with family and come back and try and catch my breath from the long vacation. But since I have been back, there have been some exciting things happening in my kitchen!! Let me explain... :)

While I stayed with my mom in Utah we watched the movie "Forks Over Knives" it's a documentary that encourages a plant based diet vs the high intake of dairy and meat that we normally eat in our western diet. It was an amazing documentary. Very informative and very inspiring and encouraging. I think I discovered I had a passion for health when I was in high school. I also have always had a passion for the sweet things in life so I often found myself conflicted. My mom always instilled within us kids a good foundation of nutritional principles. We never had "junk" around our house and when we did it was when my mom made a special treat. Now that I have started my own family my passion for health has increased because I feel such a sacred responsibility to provide the best for my child. And to me, one thing that means is giving my child the best nutrition possible so she can have the best chance at a healthy and long life.

I have read many nutritional books, my favorite being "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Furhman, and after watching "Forks Over Knives" I feel like I know too much to keep eating the way I have been eating. After gaining this knowledge I feel it would be completely irresponsible for me to not do the best I can to live what I feel to be right. I hope everyone is picking up on how I keep saying "to me" and "I feel". This is a personal realization and I in no way shape or form am forcing what I think upon anyone:) So....what does this mean? Well I have eaten the past week a vegan, very high plant based diet. And I'd love to share with you what that experience has been:)

First of all, it's been FUN! Micah and I don't really drink milk, we also don't eat a lot of cheese, and we have a child with an egg allergy so it's been a pretty easy transition. I've taken Eleni off of milk, which I have been giving her at least 18 ounces a day since she was 12 months since I stopped nursing, because that's what the Dr advised me to do. After learning what I know about milk I am sad I've given her so much for so long. But now that has changed. I have made some of the yummiest food I have ever made this week. Micah and I have had so much fun talking about how yummy everything has been and how good we feel! One of the biggest changes I have noticed, in just a week, is how much peace I feel in my body. I would say I have struggled with anxiety for the past 5 years, if not more. I have never taken medication for it, just dealt with it. However, after filling my body with such good food this week and after cutting out much sugar, my anxiety levels are little to none. Which is like finding a pot of gold! If anyone has ever struggled with anxiety you know what a prison that can feel like, I feel like I have broken out of that foggy prison and my mind is seeing clearly and I feel so much peace of mind. So that's very exciting.

I haven't posted about this yet until I knew I was going to be serious about eating this way. Does this mean I will never have cheese? No. Does this mean I will never eat a cupcake or indulge in some cake bites when I visit Utah? Absolutely not:) BUT, it does mean I will cook this way at home. No meat, almost no dairy, maybe very little amounts of cheese here or there. And when we go out with friends or eat at others houses, that's where I will bend a little bit if I have to or want to. I will probably still make deserts from time to time, so when I post a yummy, indulgent treat, please don't call me a hypocrite:) I believe in moderation. However, after eating this way and learning a lot about what kinds of foods are best for the body, my desire to eat the things I used to has naturally fallen away, without me restricting myself and forcing myself to "Go Off Sugar", which I have done I don't even know how many times.

I know I will have good moments and bad moments, like all of us do. And I may fall off for a little bit, but what's important is that I always get back on. I think another aspect that has helped me eat this way with ease is learning about where our dairy and meat comes from. I will not be joining the PETA group any time soon:) but I have been saddened to learn what cows have to go through to give us the milk we drink and the burgers I used to love. I think I have always wanted to "not know", but after knowing it makes me rethink what I want to eat. Again, I still may have a burger on a very rare occasion, just not how I used to.

Ok, is that long enough of a post for ya?? I can't wait to start sharing with you all of the yummy recipes I have been making! I decided not to post one today because this is a very long post, but I can't wait to share with you the AMAZING vegan french toast I made today! It's really been a joy for me to cook this way, it's brought a level of happiness to me that I can't explain. Perhaps because of how good I feel inside, and how right it feels to feed my family this way. It's also made me start thinking about perhaps getting a nutrition degree.

If anyone is interested in watching "Forks Over Knives" you can stream it instantly from Netflix.

Happy, Healthy, Cooking:)

Black Bean Tacos

2011-08-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Can we just pretend that the picture above is a beautiful, nicely arranged plate of tacos? Can we just pretend that I didn't take a picture of them in two seconds right before I scarfed them? Because let's face it, sometimes by the time I make dinner I don't have the will power to wait on eating my plate of food before I can arrange it for a photo. This was one of those times-but now that all of our imaginations are in gear, let's talk about these super yummy black bean tacos!

I am always looking for ways to make vegetarian versions of things (by the way, if any of you have good vegetarian main dish ideas please pass them my way!) I am not a vegetarian by any means, but I do try to cook with meat only once a week, sometimes less. I've seen tacos made with TVP, but never thought that sounded very good (but I could be wrong!) So I decided to replace the meat called for tacos with black beans. I get the big spice jar of taco seasoning from costco and just followed the directions but replace the black beans for the meat. I didn't know how these would turn out, I guessed that they would be decent, but I never would have guessed that they would be amaaazing! They were seriously so good that I am excited to say I have my vegetarian version for tacos that I think I will stick to forever. They are better for you, cheaper, and just as good if you ask me. Little Eleni loved the beans, which is always nice:) I will post the recipe that I kinda made up, but it really is a "add a little bit of that, maybe a little more of that " recipe:)

Black Bean Tacos
makes 4-6 tacos

1 can black beans
1/2 cup water
2-4 tablespoons taco seasoning (I did 2ish because I didn't want it too spicy for Eleni, but if I didn't have to worry about that I would have done more)

*simmer black beans, water, and seasoning about ten minutes. Then it's ready to stuff into your taco shells! Top with your toppings and give it a fresh squeeze of lime:)

Toppings (of course you could do whatever you liked, but this is what I did)
lettuce
avocado
red onion
queso fresco (i used feta but queso fresco would be better)
thinly sliced red onion
fresh cilantro
lime

A Peanut Butter Pie For Mikey

2011-08-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

This peanut butter pie is to honor Jennifer Perillo's husband Mikey, who recently passed away. You can read what she said on her post here. I just stumbled upon Jennie's blog through Bakerella. I saw so many within the blogging community making peanut butter pie's for Mikey, because that was his favorite. Jennifer on her blog said so many people were asking what they could do and she told them to make a peanut butter pie for someone they loved, and hug them like there's no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on. So one peanut butter pie for Mikey, and a big hug to my Micah. I can't imagine what Jennifer is going through, it breaks my heart to know that in this life she wont be able to hug her sweet husband and her little girls wont be able to see their dad. But I have faith and believe that they will be together as a family one day.

Big Hugs and Kisses to all of my family and friends, especially my family in Utah who I love so much!

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

Serves 10 to 12

8 ounces chocolate cookies

4 tablespoons butter, melted

4 ounces finely chopped chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup creamy-style peanut butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well. Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Pour over bottom of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner's sugar. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream). Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan. Drizzle the melted chocolate on top, if using, and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

2011-08-18T16:16:00.001-07:00

I have a confession. I hate bananas. I just can't get around their mushy texture. I've tried to like them-I really have, but to no avail. However, I LOVE banana bread. This sometimes presents a problem for me. For example, why don't we take a look at the last few weeks. I bought a bunch of bananas and waited for them to get nice and ripe so I could make banana bread. The day finally arrived when they reached their perfect "ripeness", so I decided to make this coconut banana bread recipe I've wanted to try. Well, I started mashing a banana and couldn't do it anymore. It literally made me sick! I'm not kidding-I know I am sounding like a five year old but dry heaves were in the air people! I don't know why their mushy texture makes me so sick....anywho....

I decided to give it another try. Bought more bananas, waited till they were ripe, and gave it another go. Even though I got a little gaggy mashing the bananas I pressed on! And boy am I glad I did! This banana bread rocks! It's so delicious and of course I have a love affair with coconut so the coconut made it that much more delicious. It was my first time using kamut and I loved it. No one would ever have guessed it was made with anything but white flour. I can't wait to use kamut a lot more. Why use kamut? A few fun facts about it is that it has less gluten than wheat and more protein. I hope you have a chance to make this delicious bread, I know you will be more mature about it than me and not get grossed out by your bananas...

A couple things I did differently: I used coconut milk instead of buttermilk, I used half butter and half coconut oil because I was almost out of coconut oil, and I omitted the lime glaze because I didn't have limes.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
from Unconventional Kitchen

2 C flour, I used kamut, but whole wheat would work as well
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sucanat** (or raw sugar if you don’t have sucanat yet)
1/4 C coconut oil, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)
1/4 C plain yogurt
3 Tbs buttermilk (or any type of milk, almond, rice dream etc.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C coconut, unsweetened

Topping: 2 Tbs additional coconut
Glaze: 1/3 C agave with 2 T lime juice

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl cream together coconut oil and sucanat.
3. Add in eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and apple juice (or milk) beat until smooth.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt, and coconut, mix until smooth.
5. Mix together the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, do not overmix.
6. Fold in the mashed bananas.
7. Pour into a greased 9×5 loaf pan and sprinkle with remaining coconut.
8. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes (if coconut starts getting too brown, cover with tinfoil the last 15 minutes of baking).
9. While bread is baking whisk together agave and lime juice.
10. Drizzle over the hot bread and go ahead and eat a piece right out of the hot pan, you deserve it!
11. Then let it cool 15 minutes and slice it.

Quinoa and Peas side dish

2011-08-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

I love Quinoa. We eat it all the time. My little one eats it just about every day. I am always looking for new ways to jazz it up and serve it as a side. The other night I thought was a definite take out night. I felt like I had zero food options at home. However, I decided to be creative and save money and just try to make something with what I had. So, I created a quinoa and pea dish with red onions. I then served it with a side of broccoli. Ok-not the most exciting dinner, but I didn't' spend any money on take out and I felt so proud of myself! I would normally serve this quinoa dish as a side but it also made a great main dish with another side of vegies. It's quick, easy, yummy, and healthy. Those four words usually don't go together so I would say my creation was a winner:) I will do the best I can to re-write the recipe. But it's not an exact recipe so just use as much onions or peas as you want. Enjoy!

Quinoa and Peas

1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
1/4 - 1/2 cup of red onion, diced
About a cup of cooked peas (more or less if you want)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Place quinoa and liquid in pot. Bring to a boil. Cover, and let simmer for fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, cook onion over medium heat in a little bit of butter. Cook until onions are translucent. When quinoa is cooked, add onions and peas. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

Healthified Scotcharoos

2011-08-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or is it the best thing ever when you find a "healthified" version of a desert and it's even better than before?! I honestly get so excited when I make better for you treats and they are delish! This desert is one of my favorites I have made in that regard. I got the recipe from unconventional kitchen-I think Desiree is a genius in the kitchen. These have no high fructose corn syrup, just honey and brown rice syrup to sweeten them. I made them for a little dinner I hosted last night with some friends and everyone was raving, I even got a comment that they were better than original scotcharoos! The only problem with them is I started picking at them for breakfast, and one little bite led to another and before I knew it I was down to one last piece! So I quickly snapped a picture of the last piece so I could post this wonderful recipe. Can't wait to make these for my kiddies and put them in their lunches for school! :)

Scotcharoos Made Healthy-ish
from the Unconventional Kitchen

1 1/2 C peanut butter – I use Costco organic brand, or Adams without added sugar and oils
1 C honey
3/4 C brown rice syrup (you can get this at the health store)
6-8 C crisp brown rice cereal (you can get this at the health food store, or substitute your favorite healthy cereal)
2 C dark chocolate chopped or dark chocolate chips

1. Melt peanut butter, honey,and brown rice syrup over low heat.
2. Once all of the mixture is all melted and mixed together well add the cereal.
3. Mix all of it together and press it into a 9×13 pan.
4. While the rice krispie part is cooling, melt the chocolate chips over low heat. I just use the same pan for this part, I hate doing dishes.
5. Spread the chocolate chip mixture over the rice krispie base, put in the fridge to let cool and soften.
6. Try not to eat the whole pan!

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies

2011-07-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

I am always on the look out for the best sugar cookie. In fact, this is probably my third or fourth sugar cookie recipe on my blog. I guess I am always on the hunt for the perfect soft sugar cookie, and thanks to annie's-eats for posting this recipe, I think I have found it!

These cookies are everything a sugar cookie should be: soft, flavorful, easy, delicious. Probably not the best cut out sugar cookies, but that's another thing I like about this recipe, you don't have to worry about cutting them into shapes, scooping them onto the sheet is good enough. This recipe definitely ranks up there with one of my faves. I really think I should make every sugar cookie recipe I have one day, do a taste test and really see which one is my favorite:)

I did a few things different. I am out of vanilla (I know! Blasphemy!) so I had to be creative. Instead of vanilla I added a half-teaspoon of butter-vanilla bakery emulsion and a half-teaspoon almond emulsion (emulsions are more flavorful than extracts and don't cook out when baked). I also halved the recipe, which was a smart move on my part because it probably would have been scary how many I would have eaten if they were around. One day I will have self-control when it comes to sweets. One day:)

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies

Yield: about 2 dozen large cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
5 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
7-8 tbsp. milk (plus more, as needed)
Food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop a scant quarter cup of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake about 10-12 minutes or just until set. (Do not overbake! The edges should be no more than very lightly browned if at all.) Let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To frost the cookies, place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and milk to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Whisk in additional milk as necessary, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired. Use an offset spatula or spoon to frost the cooled cookies. (If the frosting begins to thicken as you decorate, just continue to whisk in small amounts of milk to keep it workable.) Top with sprinkles if desired. Store in an airtight container.

Source: adapted from Hostess with the Mostess

5 Years and Counting...

2011-07-21T05:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 5 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been 5 years! Since we live in Chicago away from family, it was a little difficult to try to find a baby sitter. So, our little rug rat was the third wheel on our anniversary date, same as last year:) But it ended up being really fun. We went to my favorite restaurant here, Tasso's. I've been a little obsessed with Greek food lately. I think it's safe to say it's my favorite kind of food now. I've eaten such good Greek food here that I'm completely hooked, I think my husband is getting a little annoyed because every time we want to go out to eat I suggest a Greek place and he always reminds me how the last place we ate at was Greek. I just tell him that if we lived in Greece, we would eat it for every meal:) But if you are in the Naperville area in Illinois at all, you have got to go to Tasso's! They have this appetizer called flaming cheese-it's pretty much the best thing in this world! They take a big chunk of the most amazing cheese, pour ouzo on it and then light it, and viola-flaming cheese! They then squeeze lemon juice over it. It's really so good. The waiters there are so friendly and sweet.

Here are some pics of our anniversary night-filled with-none other than lots of yummy, yummy food:)

Flaming Cheese! Our waiter Jimmy was awesome:)

You can tell what a joy Eleni was to have at dinner:)

Happy Anniversary Micah! Love ya:)

Hello, I'd like you introduce you to something...

2011-07-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

...your new, tastiest best friend. With a marshmallow center, coated in creamy caramel, then smooth white chocolate, and finished off with a sprinkling of jello powder-yes-jello powder. My mom tried these bad boys at a baby shower she went to a while ago, she gave me a call and told me about them and I knew I just had to try them! Neither my mom or I are big marshmallow fans, but we love these! I mean....just look at them!

Ok ok, so they don't LOOK perfect, I had some issues with the dipping. My sis in law helped me dip them for a baby shower we made them for. It was a boy baby shower, but we didn't like the blue jello powder as much as pink strawberry powder, so they turned out pink but I don't think anyone minded:) I hope next time I try these they will look more appealing, it was a little tricky trying to keep them upright after dipping them in the caramel.

The caramel I used for this is soooo yummy! You can use it to dip pretty much anything in it. So here's the recipe, and I'm off to have my third marshmallow pop for breakfast....is that bad?? Ok-it might be kiiiinda bad but it tastes o so good!

There's one problem, I haven't found any recipes for this type of caramel covered marshmallow pop with the jello powder on them....so they don't technically have a name...so let's call them...Heaven on a Stick!

My sis in law and I at the baby shower we displayed the pops at,
wanna know a secret about her?? She's got two babies in her tummy! :)

Heaven on a Stick Marshmallow Pops

INGREDIENTS:

10 oz bag regular marshmallows
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag (14 oz) caramel candies, unwrapped
1 bag vanilla candy melts in your choice of color
About 20 lollipop sticks
Box of jello powder (the best flavor I have found so far is strawberry, but you can use any color/flavor you want)
Parchment paper
Cut lollipop sticks in half and insert into marshmallows.

Combine condensed milk, butter, and vanilla in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until the butter melts and combines with the milk. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in the caramels and cook, stirring constantly until the caramels melt and the mixture is smooth. Reduce heat to low and simmer the caramel, stirring one minute longer.
Remove from heat and dip the marshmallows in the caramel, covering about 2/3 of the marshmallow. Place dipped marshmallows on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until caramel is hardened and is easily lifted from parchment paper.
Melt candy melts in a bowl according to instructions and dip the caramel marshmallows in the melted candy. Immediately sprinkle on the jello powder.

Sunday Dinner: Rosemary Garlic Salmon

2011-07-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

Last summer Micah and I were on a grilling kick. We tried grilling everything, but our best creation we ever grilled was a rosemary garlic salmon. I got Micah a grill for Father's Day so we decided to try out our salmon again. It's so super easy to make, we have even made them on our panini press before. It's really a fool proof recipe because you wrap the salmon up in foil and put it on the grill, so you don't have to worry about it falling apart. We like to serve our salmon with grilled zucchini and onions. I also cooked up some boiled potatoes and made a rosemary butter to toss them in. So good! This meal has such yummy, fresh, summer flavors. We may have to make this once a week:)

Now this is now an exact recipe since we just made it up, so I will do my best to figure out the portions of everything:)

Garlic Rosemary Salmon

Samon fillets
few cloves of garlic
few sprigs of rosemary
oilve oil
salt
pepper
lemon slices

Set a salmon fillet in a sheet of tin foil. Drizze with olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste. Mince a couple cloves of garlic and spread on salmon (you can do as little or as much as you like, I probably do 1 1/2-2 gloves per fillet, depending on size of garlic cloves). Then lay a few sprigs of rosemary over garlic, then top with a few slices of lemon. Wrap up well in foil, making sure edges are sealed so no juices get out. Throw on grill for about 10 minutes, depending on thickness of salmon. Like I said, you can also throw it on a panini press, check after 10 minutes also.

Grilled zuchini and onions

Coat with olive oil, then salt and pepper. Cook on grill a couple minutes each side, they don't take long to grill. We've also done asparagus before, cook same way:)

Rosemary Butter
(this is the recipe I use to toss my boiled potatoes in, this butter would also be amazing on steak or lamb.)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbl fresh rosemary leaves, removed from the stem
1/2 tsp orange or lemon zest (I used lemon)
1/4 tsp crushed red chili pepper
1 stick butter, softened

Combine all of the ingredients. Make a log by spreading the mixture across a length of waxed paper. Roll the log back and forth to make a smooth tube about 1 1/2 inches thick. Twist the ends and store in the refrigerator or wrap airtight and store in the freezer. *If you are going to use this to toss with potatoes, I'd recommend melting it a little before tossing. After dumping potatoes in a collander to drain, just put the butter right in the bottom of the hot pot so it melts a little before putting potatoes back in.

Not so Cheesy Mac and Cheeze

2011-07-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I just got back from Utah a couple days ago for about a two week visit. It was a blast! But, now life goes in, we are back in Chicago and I am back in the kitchen:)

I bought some nutritional yeast a while ago for a RAW dip I made...I actually should post the recipe because it was really good! Ok, making a mental note to post that next:) Anyways, a couple days before we left for Utah I wanted to make something simple, use ingredients I already had, and make something both my 14 month old and husband would like-that seems to be a challenge sometimes. I found a vegan mac and cheese recipe on the internet that called for nutritional yeast. I have been wanting to use up my nutritional yeast because it is so good for you but just haven't known how to use it so I thought this would be a good experiement. I made this cheezey sauce and put it over whole wheat pasta. I decided not to tell Micah that it in fact didn't have any cheese in it and just wanted to see how he would act:)

Micah came home from work and saw me making the mac and cheeze, he got so excited and said "You're making homemade mac and cheese!" O boy- I thought, this better be good! He took one bite and said "this is so good!" Micah hates whole wheat pasta and he said "This sauce even makes me like whole wheat pasta!" I kept bugging him and asking "Do you really like it? I mean really?? Or are you just saying that?", he finally caught on and said "Is there something secret about this mac and cheese, like there's no cheese in it or something?" I caved and told him, he couldn't believe it. The best part of all is that Eleni loved it! I'm excited to have a new staple in my home, and if I raise my kids eating this mac and cheese they will never know the diference:)

A happy baby makes a happy mom:)

O-and I didn't bake mine, just put the sauce right on top of the pasta! Yum!

Mac and Cheeze

from vegweb.com serves 8

2 cups elbow macaroni
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
pinch paprika
2 pinches mustard powder
1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened nondairy milk (I use soy)
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar, optional (makes it saltier) (I left out)
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard (I left out as well-Micah hates mustard so we never have it)
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegan margarine (I actually used regular butter, so mine wasn't 100% vegan)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray baking dish, if baking. Cook pasta according to package directions. In the last 4-5 minutes of the pasta cooking, start making the sauce. Combine all dry ingredients (flour, nutritional yeast, salt and spices) in a medium pot. Do not turn on heat yet.

2. Add the milk and veggie broth. Whisk to incorporate all ingredients and get all the lumps out. Now turn on the heat to medium high. Keep whisking/stirring as the sauce heats because it will start to get thick pretty fast. Once it gets nice and thick. turn off the heat and add the umeboshi vinegar, mustard, soy sauce and vegan margarine.

3. Mix well. If you didn't use the umeboshi vinegar, you can add more soy sauce if you think it needs it. If your sauce ends up too thick to your liking, just add a little more milk or veggie broth to thin it out. When pasta is finished cooking, drain it and put it back in the pot that it was cooked in.

4. You have 2 options to serve this. You may go ahead and pour all of the cheese sauce on the pasta (there will be a lot!) and stir until everything is combined. Serve the cheesy goodness as is.

5. Or, you can mix about 3/4 of the sauce with the pasta, put it in prepared dish, and then pour the remaining cheese sauce on top. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and bake for 15 minutes, until browned.

Angel Hair Pasta Primavera

2011-06-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Even though, here in Chicago, it doesn't look or feel like summer (we have had a few good days, but a lot of gloomy, rainy days as well), I am still excited to start cooking with summery flavors and ingredients:) When I think of summer, I think of fresh basil, crisp vegies and gorgeous juicy berries. I also like to make summer pasta dishes, loaded with summer vegies, fresh herbs, and pesto. So I decided an angel hair pasta primavera would be perfect for our Sunday dinner.

This recipe we really delicious. But let's be honest, any recipe involving a half stick of butter and a half cup of heavy cream is destined for yumminess:) Hope you have a chance to make this, it's great way to use up some of that fresh basil I know you have growing in your yard and I'm sure I'm the only slacker who hasn't started on their herb garden yet. Any other slackers out there?? :)

Classic Pasta Primavera Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 pound angel hair pasta or spaghetti
1 small bunch broccoli, about 1 heaping cup of florets
1 small zucchini, diced
4 asparagus spears
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup snow peas
3 minced garlic cloves
3 Roma or other paste tomatoes, seeded and diced
12 basil leaves, chopped
4 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt

Method

1 Get a large pot of water boiling. Salt it well. It should taste like the sea. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Boil the broccoli for 1 minute. Add the asparagus and boil another minute. Add the snow peas and boil for 30 more seconds. Remove all the vegetables and plunge them into the ice water. Once they’re cool, drain in a colander.

If you want, you can boil your pasta in the same pot you boiled the vegetables in, or you can start over and boil new water; I use the same water.

2 In a large sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, add the garlic and zucchini and sauté 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté another 2 minutes, stirring often.

3 Pour in the chicken or vegetable broth and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil. Add the cream and toss in all the vegetables you boiled, plus the peas. Stir to combine. Turn the heat down until the cream-chicken broth mixture is just simmering, not boiling.

4 Add the parmesan cheese and stir to combine. If the sauce seems too thick – it should be pretty thick, but not gloppy – add some more chicken broth, cream or water.

5 Boil the angel hair pasta. Note: If you are using spaghetti, you will want to start cooking it before you begin sautéing the garlic and zucchini. Angel hair will only need 1-2 minutes to cook, vermicelli or spaghetti can take 8-12 minutes.

As soon as the pasta is done, transfer it with tongs into the sauce and stir to combine. Add the basil now, and taste for salt. Add salt if needed. Grind some black pepper over everything and serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 4.

The Birthday Cake

2011-06-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since Eleni's first birthday-and I still haven't posted about it! The reason? Ok I have to be honest-I took a lot of pictures and I am a little intimidated to go through them all and pick my favorites to put up! But I shouldn't be so picky and should just post about it already:) But because I am still a little indecisive, I decided to show you her birthday cake. I've always wanted to make a ruffle cake, I think they are one of the cutest things ever;) And since I think my little girl is one of the cutest things ever I thought it would be perfect for her own little personal cake she could dive right into. This cake was not only cute, it was delicious too. Bellow are directions for making the ruffles, or you could check out this lovely video, it explains how to do the ruffles really well:)

O-and my ubber talented sis in law Kori is responsible for that darling "E" on top of the cake, sooo cute!!!

Tender Lemon Cake

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan. Line with parchment; butter; dust with flour.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 minutes. Add sugar; beat well. Reduce speed to medium; add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Reduce speed to low; alternately add flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Stir in zest.
Pour batter into pan; bake, rotating halfway through, until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Remove; let cool completely right side up on rack.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy and pale. Transfer to small bowl.
In double boiler over simmering water, whisk sugar and egg whites until warm and sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to clean bowl of electric mixer; beat on high with whisk attachment until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes.
Reduce mixer to medium-low; add butter a scant 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
Switch to paddle attachment; beat on lowest speed 3 to 5 minutes. Leave at room temperature if using same day. Or store airtight in refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature; beat until smooth.

Directions

Trim bottom layers; stack on cake round, with 3/4 cup buttercream spread over top of each. Add top layer; spread 1 cup buttercream over entire cake. Refrigerate 40 minutes until firm. Tint half remaining buttercream pink.
Place cake on rotating stand. Lay flat a 12-inch pastry bag with #103 tip. Fill half of bag from tip to top with pink buttercream, other half with white. Hold bag vertically, slot of tip perpendicular to cake; use swift back-and-forth motion 1 inch wide to make ruffle, pulling tip up side.
Turn cake stand slowly, piping circular ruffle over top.

Healthy Vegetables over Quinoa

2011-05-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

We are starting to see signs of summer here in Chicago. The weather teases you though, one day it will be beautiful and it makes you think summer has finally arrived! Then the next day it's gloomy, windy, and rainy. O well, I'm hanging in there and can't wait till it's consistently nice!

One of the warm, summery days we had got me in the mood to make a light and fresh summery meal. I have been making a lot of quinoa lately and am constantly trying to find new ways to incorporate it into a meal. This recipe is great for using up left over veggies in your fridge. It's light, fresh, and delicious. I didn't stick to this recipe exactly because I didn't have all the veggies it called for. Instead of green onions I used red onions, and for the vegetables I used red and green peppers, zucchini, and corn. So it really is full proof and you can throw in whatever you want! A tip: make a bunch of quinoa the beginning of the week, keep it in a tupperware in your fridge and then you can pull it out for a quick meal like this:)

Quinoa with Veggies

Ingredients

* 1 cup quinoa
* 3 cups water
* 1 pinch salt
*
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup corn kernels
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa, water, and 1 pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Once done, drain a mesh strainer, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until the garlic softens and the aroma mellows, about 2 minutes. Add the red pepper, and corn; continue cooking until the pepper softens, about 5 minutes. Season with cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook for 1 minute more, then stir in the cooked quinoa and green onions. Serve hot or cold.

New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe-Seriously

2011-05-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

So I guess yesterday was National Chocolate Chip Day-without even knowing this I got the urge to make some chocolate chip cookies. It must have been some sort of inspiration:) I wanted to try a new recipe though. I've had some coconut oil for a while and haven't used much of it yet, so I searched for chocolate chip cookies made with coconut oil. I found a winner! Seriously, these cookies turned out so yummy I really think they will be my go to chocolate chip cookie from now on. Now, for those of you who know me you know how big of a deal that is because I swear by my cookie recipe and am very faithful to it. I like how easy these cookies are to make, and I also love that they are made with a good fat-coconut oil. I've always hated that the chocolate chip cookie recipe I use calls for shortening. I always try not to use any shortening in my baking. So now I think I have a win win-a cookie recipe that's just as good as my old recipe and is better for you!

The coconut oil I used was Nutiva extra virgin organic. It has a mild coconut flavor which I LOVED for these cookies. Some coconut oil has no flavor which is what I like to use for sauteing, but this coconut oil is great for baking if you like a little coconut flavor. If you want to learn about the health benefits of coconut oil go here. The texture of these cookies were soft, chewy, and gooey. The key I found is to take them out when they look pretty under done. They harden up pretty quickly. I got three batches of 6 larger cookies and the batch that turned out the best was the one where I baked it for 9 1/2 minutes. But everyone's oven is different so you may need to find out what works best for you:)
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Cheeky Kitchen

1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspon baking soda
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
8 ounces mini chocolate chips
8 ounces large chocolate chips

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together coconut oil, eggs, and brown sugar until very well mixed. Add remaining ingredients, mixing together until all are incorporated. Roll into massive balls (I made my cookies from 3 tablespoons of dough. That’s just how I roll.) and place 6 on a cookie sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 9-11 minutes, or just until the outside of the cookies have browned ever so slightly around the edges. Remove, cool slightly, devour.

Someones birthday is coming up:)

2011-05-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is Eleni's birthday. I can't believe it! I have been flooded with so many emotions this past week. I've been thinking a lot about this past year. First of all I can't believe it's already been a year. I've been thinking about the ups and downs. The countless hours Micah and I spent pacing the floors with Eleni during her colicky days, and then my mom and dad coming to the rescue when I was spent and taking a turn to hold Eleni. Finally at about 5 1/2 months Eleni getting over her colic, I was so happy for her that she wasn't in pain anymore and she became such a happy baby. I think about her little quircky ways, some things she doesn't do anymore and some things she still does. Like her crazy, twisting hands (those of you who know my baby know what I'm talking about;) ) These memories make me so emotional. I'm not sad that my baby isn't staying a baby. I'm actually really excited to see her grow and to see her at new stages. Maybe some of my sadness comes from not having family around to help me celebrate her birth. I wish so bad they were by me right now!

But on a more positive note:) I'm so excited for the little party I am planning for Eleni! Even though her birthday is tomorrow, the party will be Saturday. I can't wait to share with you the pictures from her little party. I can't wait to see what Eleni does when I give her her little cake. I wonder if she will go right at it or be a little tentative. I can see it going both ways:)

I can't believe she used to be this small!

O how I love my little Leni, leni pie, lenard, lens, lenners, lenekins. She has kept this year busy, not a dull moment. Micah and I both feel so blessed to have received such a sweet little spirit...well a sweet and spicy spirit:) I love our little family. I couldn't imagine doing anything else right now with my life other than being a mom. It's so rewarding. Greatest joy I have ever felt.

A personal blog is in the works, so I don't have to keep mixing personal life and cooking:) Sorry for those who come to this blog expecting a recipe and instead you get a long post about my baby girl:) It will happen-soon:)

Painting, Family, and Best Ever Rice Krispie Treats

2011-04-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have been sooo busy! I will quickly sum up what I have been up to...painting. And lots of it. A week before our carpet was scheduled to be installed I decided I wanted to try and paint our upstairs before the carpet was put in. So within 6 days we painted 3 bedrooms, our upstairs hall and ceiling, our bedroom ceiling, the baseboard thingy's going up our stairs, and part of our banister. My life for those 6 days consisted of waking up before Eleni to get some painting in, take care of Eleni till her nap-paint during her nap, repeat for 2nd nap, then as soon as she went to bed I would paint till 11-12, then repeat the whole process the next day! It was such an exhausting week and I am so glad it's over! Our upstairs is painted and I am excited to start painting our main floor, but I will take my time and not rush this one:)

I really wanted to blog the past couple weeks but painting took it out of me and I didn't have one second to do anything else, and this past week my family came to visit. It was so much fun to have them here! It broke my heart to see them go, but I am starting to get back into the swing of things and I am realizing once again that things will be ok even though we live quite a ways apart.

So, I finally have a recipe for you! A few weeks ago I wanted to make rice krispies, but I started thinking how I could take them to another level. I thought, what if I browned the butter? So I googled to try to find a recipe that used browned butter, and I found one that called for browned butter and sea salt. I decided to try it out, but also add a few things of my own. I added 1/4 tsp. almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla, and I added white chocolate chips and drizzled the top with dark and white chocolate. Wooooaaah baby were they good! Kinda ridiculously good, best rice krispies ever! There's no way I can go back to plain old rice krispies ever again:) Make these for your next pot luck or friendly gathering and you will sure to impress.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

from smitten kitchen

Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

My additions:

1/4 tsp, almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
about half cup of white chocolate chips
white and dark chocolate for the top

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth. Add white chocolate chips at this time if you want.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan.

Drizzle with white and dark chocolate:)

Chicago!

2011-03-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

So we're here! Well...we've been here for about a week and a half:) Things have been so busy and I am so happy I finally have a chance to sit down and write about what's going on! There's been a lot of trying to settle in, trying to find my way to the grocery store, and a lot of trying the yummiest foods this place has to offer! We sure have been eating well and I can't wait to make a post about my favorite yummy places so far...I'm getting a little worried though I may gain a few lbs while I'm here:)

So far, I love it here! I was really worried how I would do at first because leaving Utah (mostly leaving my family and friends) was really, really hard for me. But as soon as I got here I started loving it. I am really busy which leaves me very little time to get homesick:) The first weekend we got here we went down town and were able to go to my favorite, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and we had dinner at Gibsons. Wow-best steak I have ever had in my life. Ever. I didn't even know steak could taste like that!!

Soon after we got here my best friend from Wisconsin came to visit. We have been friends since we were about 3 and have stayed in touch all these years. It's really fun to only be a couple hours away from each other now:)

We have been really busy since the move, that I think we are all getting a little run down. Me, Micah, and Eleni have bad colds, and last night while I was cutting a grape fruit I sliced through the top of my thumb and even through my finger nail! It was super ouchy, and I am realizing how helpful thumbs are because it is making everything 10x harder today trying to work around it! So I am excited to get over our colds, get my thumb healed, and continue to try and settle in, and hopefully be back to my regular food blogging!

We are going to paint the inside of our house soon, and I have been trying to find the perfect robin egg blue paint. Does anyone have any ideas??

Going to try and rest/get some things done while Eleni is napping. I will be posting again soon! :)

Would you forgive me if I lied to you???

2011-03-03T10:02:00.001-08:00

So remember when I said I was going to post about ribolita??? Well, that's not going to happen I decided until I move :) So sorry, but things have been craaazy! Micah's been gone, leaving me to pack pretty much the whole house by myself, with a darling 10 month old baby who wont sit still :) It's been a challenge, but it has been possible because of my amazing mom who wins the mom and yia yia of the year award!!! It seriously overwhelms me with how much she has done, can't put it into words how grateful I am for such an amazing mom who is seriously the hardest worker I know, and who will do absolutely anything for her children.

Packing has brought up a series of emotions. Last night my mom and I took a break to watch some American Idol, soon after we both found ourselves crying, for no specific reason. Just a lot of emotions came up. It's hitting us both that I will soon be gone. But the tears weren't all sad tears, I would say they were mostly not sad tears. I could maybe describe them as tears of something new if that makes sense. A new and exciting part of my life that is waiting. Definitely a new part of my life that will have different challenges, but many wonderful things as well.

My mom and I worked all day yesterday, as we had been doing since Sunday. My mom left around 9:30 and I continued to work until 12:30. After feeling like I had accomplished a lot I got ready for bed and knelt for my evening prayer. After I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I found myself crying again!-this time by myself :) I was feeling something I hadn't felt for a while. I moved a lot growing up, and each move made me draw closer to the things I love most, which are my faith and my family. I had such a gratitude last night for my faith, it is truly the one constant in my life that is there wherever I go. I peeked at Eleni while she was sleeping, she looked so precious that my heart skipped a beat. I know that as long as I am with my little family and draw near to my Heavenly Father everything will be ok.

I had a huge realization last night that if I don't experience change, I wont draw as close to the things that are so dear and special to me. I am excited and grateful for this new chapter in my life. A new chapter that is only 6 days away! I better get back to packing, I think the end is semi in sight :)

Pro Bieber

2011-02-18T19:36:00.001-08:00

This is going to be a very odd post for my blog :) This is probably the last thing anyone would expect to find on my blog-a post about Justin Bieber :) And I know there has been a shortage of cooking posts lately on my blog and for that I'm sorry, I promise one is coming soon! But for now, I want to share some thoughts about Justin Bieber :)

Justin Beiber- I don't follow him much but certainly can't get away from news about him because he is the hot thing right now, so certainly I am hearing the huge uproar people are having about his comments he made to Rolling Stone about his feelings on abortion. His words exactly ""I really don't believe in abortion … It's like killing a baby." When asked about situations in which women become pregnant after being raped, Bieber said he believed "everything happens for a reason," but noted, "I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that." That's his opinion, so no big deal, right? Well a lot of people think it's a big deal and I just have some comments I'd like to share.

What really got me to sit down and write this post were the comments made on the Joy Behar show. She had a panel of people, all slamming the Biebs and one lady made some pretty creepy comments, even going so far to say "why wasn't he aborted?" My stomach got sick. I was in awe while I was listening to this, how is that considered to be an ok thing to say? I am grateful for blogging, it's a wonderful ability to share with others many things including the things you believe, I love these words regarding the sanctify of life, I believe them very strongly, I am entitled to my beliefs, so is Justin Bieber, and so is Ms Behar who disagrees. I will not type in lenghth my opinions about the matter because they are much more eloquently expressed here.

They also commented on the show how young Justin was and how could he have an opinion about such a grown up issue, but if his opinion was the opposite would we even be talking about this? Or would they have said he had such a mature mind? Possibly, who knows. I normally don't interject my personal opinions on my blog much :) however, I have been so unsettled with what I have been hearing that I just felt like getting my opinion out there :)

I am so grateful for the precious little life I have been blessed with and entrusted with. I saw my little Eleni's heart beat at just 6 weeks. It was amazing.

Again, never would I have thought I would be posting about Justin Bieber hehe, but I feel very strongly about this issue. I promise a post will be coming very soon of a lighter topic :) How does ribolita soup sound??

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I hope you have a great day :)

Still Alive... :)

2011-02-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Wow it's been a while! So sorry but I have been pretty busy. I have also been living with my mom and don't have my computer so it hasn't been the easiest to blog. But I will try to keep you all updated the best I can until we move. It looks like the big move will take place second week in March. Yikes! I can't believe it's so soon!

So this is how the past 3 weeks have been. Micah had to go through training for the job in Dallas for two weeks. He was able to come home for a weekend and then straight to Chicago to start the job. He was able to come home this past weekend again but is now going to be gone for two more weeks. Not fun! I was talking with a girl in my neighborhood about my husband being gone and she said "I know how you feel my husband has been in Iraq for 6 months." Now the two situations aren't even comparable! I felt pretty dumb acting like being apart for a couple weeks was hard, these military families are amazing to me.

Eleni hasn't been sleeping the best at my moms (she's nine months now, has anyone else had babies who didn't sleep through the night till they were older?) She gets up every couple hours and wont go back to sleep till I nurse her a little. She's also gotten in the habit of sleeping with me at my moms, she wont sleep in her crib at night. So fingers crossed things change! I would even be happy with a 3-4 hour stretch at night:)

So that's what I've been up to, taking care of my child who wont sleep at night while daddy's away. Cooking/baking and taking pics of my creations hasn't been that much of a priority because sometimes I feel like I am just in survival mode :) But I really wanted to update everyone and I promise I will start blogging again! I have made a few yummy things that I really want to try to get up in the next week.

This is a crazy, stressful, wonderful new stage of life :) Moving is beyond stressful, the thought of leaving my family is beyond stressful as well :) but there is a certain excitement that comes with all of this thinking about the new memories I will be making with my own little family in the wonderful city Chicago, have I mentioned how much I LOVE the Midwest? And I know when we go through changes, especially changes that are hard we grow, and we all need some of that:)

Stressed. Tired. Still no Sugar. Peanut Butter Balls.

2011-01-18T20:56:00.001-08:00

Started packing a little today. We are still going to be here a few more months but wanted to get a head start on things. We just started in the office and I am quickly realizing I am a bit of a pack rat. There was a lot of throwing away to be done. I felt overwhelmed. So overwhelmed that I just froze and sat on my couch and played angry birds while I watched "The View". I'm feeling tired, my baby girl is over 8 months now, still not sleeping through the night. I sure wish she would :) And I am still off sugar, but I really want a cupcake. Having a weak, stressful, especially tired day. But we all have those:)

These little peanut butter balls, or "Snowball Cookies" have saved me since I've been off sugar. Yes they have honey and brown rice syrup in them, but they are natural sweeteners and they sure make a yummy little snack. Even if you aren't on some "no sugar" diet you will still love these. The Chia seeds are optional, but they sure are good for you :)

Off to snuggle up on the couch, watch Biggest Loser, snowball cookie in hand :)

Snow Ball Cookies
by Desiree from Unconventional Kitchen-I've fallen in love with her site!

1 C peanut butter
1/2 C honey
1/4 C brown rice syrup, or more honey
2 1/2-3 C cereal, I used a brown rice cereal from Good Earth that is like rice krispies
1 C puffed millet cereal, also found at the health food store, again any puffed grain cereal would do, or you could do 1/2 C of oats (I just used the brown rice cereal, couldn't find puffed millet
2 T chia seeds, or flax, or both

Mix all of the ingredients together and scoop out with a mini ice cream scoop, or you can press the mix into a baking pan to make bars, they will soften as they sit. After lettting them soften for 1-2 hours cut into bars.

Feel free to add coconut, wheat germ, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips, really whatever your heart desires. You can also make them with almond butter instead of peanut butter.

Best Meal. Ever.

2011-01-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

Seriously. This is a good one. And I know this wont surprise any of you that it is an Ina Garten recipe. I'm sure if you follow my blog you are getting the jist that I LOVE Ina's recipes. I recently saw her make this steak with bernaise sauce on her show for her and Jeffrey's 35th anniversary. Don't you just love Ina and Jeffrey? I think they are so cute:)

So first of all, I have never made a Bernaise sauce before. But it looked so divine I was so excited to try it. After reading the reviews of this sauce online many people said it tasted way too vinegary and they would next time completely leave the vinegary out and just use all white wine. That's exactly what I did and I have to tell you, this sauce was one of the best things I have ever had. I made this meal for my family for Sunday dinner and everyone's eyes were practically rolling in the back of their heads-it was so good! We couldn't get enough of it-we were dunking our potatoes in the sauce and I ate way too much steak because I wanted to keep eating the bernaise sauce! It's so so good. I'm excited to make this meal some sort of family tradition of mine, maybe I will make it for every Christmas Eve or something.

I served the steak with green beans and shallots and garlic roasted potatoes. It was all so very yummy. The recipes for everything is bellow. Bernaise, where have you been my whole life?! You are my new favorite thing:)

Steak with Bernaise Sauce
by Ina Garten
Ingredients
For the sauce:
• 1/4 cup Champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good white wine
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 extra-large egg yolks*
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 6 (1-inch thick) rib eye steaks
• Olive Oil
• Coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
For the sauce, put the Champagne vinegar, white wine, shallots, 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to a few tablespoons. Cool slightly.
Place the cooled mixture with the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon salt in the jar of a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With blender on, slowly pour the hot butter through the opening in the lid. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves and blend only for a second. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of white wine to thin. Keep at room temperature until serving.
Season the steaks liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steaks on each side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low and cook the steaks for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with the bernaise sauce on the side.
Note: To make the sauce in advance, prepare an hour before serving and allow it to sit in the blender. Before serving, add 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water and blend for a few seconds.

String Beans with Shallots
by Ina Garten

Ingredients

* 1 pound French string beans (haricots verts), ends removed
* Kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 tablespoon good olive oil
* 3 large shallots, large-diced
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 1/2 minutes only. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.

Heat the butter and oil in a very large saute pan (12-inch diameter) or large pot and saute the shallots on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Drain the string beans and add to the shallots with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, tossing well. Heat only until the beans are hot.

If you're using regular string beans, blanch them for about 3 minutes, until they're crisp-tender.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes
by Ina Garten
Ingredients

* 3 pounds small red or white potatoes
* 1/4 cup good olive oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan and spread out into 1 layer. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking in order to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, toss with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

My Big News

2011-01-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

Remember a few posts ago when I said I had some big news I was going to share soon? Well it's time to unveil the secret :)

Here it goes....we're moving!!!

And to where you ask?? Here's a hint, their deep dish pizza tops all and they don't call it the "Windy City" for nothin....

...yep...Chicago! Actually, I hear the true reason they call it the "Windy City" is because if the "windy" politicians, none the less, it is wiiiiiindy!

I can hardly believe we are moving. It's all happened really fast. The reason why we are moving is because Micah got a job out there. He couldn't be more excited. Me-I have more reservations but am really trying to be more positive. I will be honest, I wasn't too positive at the begining. I love where I live, I love that my mom is just 20 minutes away and we can see eachother whenever we want. I am very close with my mom and it is because of that why this move has been very challenging for me. But-I know we don't grow when we don't change and don't go through hard things. When there's change, there's growth. I moved around a lot growing up, each move was very difficult but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Each move became a part of me and has made me a stronger person. I know the same will happen with this move, I try to think about that every time I get sad we are leaving :)

But we both are so grateful he has gotten a job when things are so hard right now. I also LOVE the Midwest. Especially the Chicago/Milwaukee areas. If we were to move anywhere I would want it to be there. Why? I spent most of my childhood in Milwaukee and my best friend for over 20+ years still lives there. I can't wait to be close to you again Lindsey! :) My brother and his wife and darling little girl also live in Chicago, we will be very close to them so that will be really fun.

It's looking like the big move will take place in April. I will keep you posted. :)

So sorry there's no recipe with this post, but check back tomorrow for a humdinger of a recipe. Seriously, this one is good. It is one probably one of my top 3 favorite things I have ever made. So check back tomorrow for that one! :)

Ultimate Chicken and Dumplings

2011-01-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

Operation no sugar has been going ok. After today I will have finished up my 5th day. Yay! I actually made a really yummy sugar free treat today. I will share that with you soon. But first...let's talk Chicken n'Dumplings.

A while ago I remember watching Tyler Florence's show "Tyler's Ultimate" and I saw him make Chicken and Dumplings. They looked amazing. I finally got around to making them about a week ago. They were de-e-li-ciouos!!! I was a little intimidated to make the dumplings but they were easy peasy. To cut a lot of the work and time out of this recipe I just used a store bought rotisserie chicken and used store bought stock. I did discover something interesting about the recipe though. After I was done making the sauce it looked so yummy I couldn't wait to try it. Luckily I did before I served it because it had no flavor! It was so bland. I knew I had done everything right, but just to make sure I re-read the recipe over and over. I finally realized-he calls for no salt in the sauce! It has to be a mistake. So I added salt and it was fine. But next time I am going to saute the carrots and celery with the salt, I think it gives dishes a much better flavor when you layer the salt in, as opposed to just throwing it all in at the end, which sometimes gives the dish just a salty flavor.

Hope you are all having a wonderful beginning to a new year and are sticking to your resolutions :) So far I'm sticking to mine-which is crazy cause we all know how I like me some cupcakes:)

Chicken and Dumplings
by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Chicken and Stock:

* 1 (3 to 31/2 pound) whole organic chicken
* 2 bay leaves
* 6 sprigs thyme
* 4 to 5 black peppercorns
* 1 head garlic, split through the equator
* 2 tablespoons salt

Directions

Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup chopped chives
* 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

Sauce:

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons oil
* 2 carrots, diced
* 2 stalks celery, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 6 cups chicken stock
* 1 cup frozen peas
* 1 cup frozen pearl onions
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
* Chopped chives, for garnish

For the stock:

Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large Dutch oven and cover with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks.

When done remove the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces - the stock will be used for the sauce and the chicken will be folded into it.

For the dumplings:

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and buttermilk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.

To prepare sauce: In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas and pearl onions.

Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.

Toffee Gooey Butter Cake

2010-12-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

Wow-I have so much to post about! So many yummy and fun recipes I want to share, however, I think this recipe takes first priority. So I'm deciding to do something drastic-very drastic for me. I am going off sugar for the whole month of January! Yes, I know, crazy for me, right? Is that snickering I hear from those of you who think I wont make it one day?! Well, I will prove you wrong! Yes it will be hard, I may have the shakes for a few days but I have been eating way too much the past month I think it's going to feel good to cleanse a bit. So since in just a few short days sugar wont be an option, I decided to go out in a really big way, one last hurrah. Everyone, meet the Toffee Gooey Butter Cake.

I mean, the name says it all. It's got toffee, it's ooey and gooey and it's definitely got butter! This is such a yummy, finger licking good dessert, and so so easy! It's one of those desserts where you don't have to think about. It's a sinch to throw together and you know everyone will love it. No it's not as gourmet as some desserts, but I appreciate all desserts, the gourmet that takes hours maybe days to throw together, and the simple which consist of lots of sugar and butter and you just can't go wrong. It's one of those desserts where when you eat it with a group of people you may find yourself saying "My, isn't this rich!" but you are THINKING "I could quite possibly eat this whole pan by myself! Today was snowy, the roads were bad and I was stuck inside with this dessert all day. I should be in trouble for how much of this dessert I ate! But who cares, in a few days it will be a big no no so I am off to eat some more gooey butter cake, here's the recipe, and if you are planning to go on a new years diet, try this baby out for one last hurrah!

TOFFE GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
by Paula Deen
Ingredients

Cake:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 (18.2- ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (1 pound) box confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup toffee bits
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, confectioners’ sugar and butter. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Fold in the toffee bits with a spatula.

Pour the filling over the cake mixture and spread it evenly. Bake until the center is just a little bit gooey, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into pieces and serve.

One of My New Favorite Things...

2010-12-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

So I've been on a little baking hiatus, I think it's having a 7 month old who still isn't sleeping through the night, so it makes things like baking sound exhausting and impossible. But finally the other day I baked! I made two things, one was a failure and one was a giant success! The failure, well, I will make it again and post when it's a success so let's not even go there. But my success, well let's talk about it:)

My past few posts have been of sugar cookies. I've been tying out a few different recipes trying to get just the right one. However, all of them have been good in their own delicious and different way. I found a recipe for cream cheese sugar cookies which had 8 oz of cream cheese in the batter-in the words of Ina, "How bad can that be?!" Well it wasn't bad at all, in fact, it was absolutely delicious, so delicious that I think it will be my new go to recipe. The recipe calls for baking powder but the cookies still held their shape pretty well. Now here's a few twists I added to the recipe...

The recipe calls for a teaspoon of almond extract. I've had for a while a bakery emulsion called "Princess Cake and Cookie". It adds a light citrus, buttery, nutty taste. It's delicious. So I added a teaspoon of that instead of the almond and I made a cream cheese frosting. I will add the frosting recipe below-it turned out really good! I made these for a get together with the girls on my mom's side, I had a cousin tell me they were the best sugar cookies she's had. They are pretty dang good. They would be great cookies to leave out for Santa or to take to a cookie swap!

Cream Cheese Cookie Cut-outs
from Karen's Cookies

1 cup butter
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
3 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Beat butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract; beat well. In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to cream cheese mixture; beat until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours.

Preheat oven to 375°. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness. Into desired shapes and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. (very large cookies may take longer to bake)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick of butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese
4-5 cups of powdered sugar
pinch of salt
vanilla bean paste
couple tablespoons heavy cream

Blend cream cheese, salt, and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar to desired consitency. Add vanilla bean paste (or just vanilla). After everything is all creamy and yummy add a little bit of heavy cream. Don't whip it, just mix it in on low speed until mixed in well.

A Yummy, Easy Dinner

2010-12-03T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was really nice, a fun day with fabulous food surrounded by wonderful family. I will share pics later, but first, here is a very quick dinner recipe!

Life has been pretty busy, I have some news to share, I will probably post about it within the next week. A couple weeks ago my house was full of a couple of sickies. Micah got really sick with the stomach flu and Eleni got her first cold. It wasn't fun. One night I decided to go over to my moms and have dinner over there with them to get me and Eleni out of the house and so Micah could rest. My mom and I that day had watched "Ten Dollar Dinners" with Melissa d'Arabian. I have to say, I have never really watched her show, but the meal she was making this day really intrigued me. She made Crispy-Skinned Chicken a l'Orange. It seemed so easy and so yummy, so my mom and I decided to make it! My mom watched Eleni while I made the chicken, it was such a nice break! The chicken turned out great, very flavorful and moist, and so quick and easy. This is a great, inexpensive meal, and you probably will have most, if not all of the ingredients already in your fridge/freezer!

So now I am going to have to give some more of Melissa's recipe's a chance, because this one was a winner! Go here for the recipe

Until We Meet Again

2010-11-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon my husbands family suffered a great loss. His aunt Deanne had passed away from breast cancer, after battling and fighting against the horrible disease for over 7 years, when they only gave her 6 months to live upon diagnosis. My heart goes out to my husbands family and to anyone who was privileged to know such an amazing woman. I loved her so much.

I married into my husband's family 4 1/2 years ago. And during that time I was so very blessed to get to know Deanne and to learn of what an amazing woman she was. She was the most darling mother. She has 3 daughters who are all mothers themselves, they are the sweetest mothers and that is truly a testament to the type of loving mother Deanne was. She was so full of life. You would never know she was battling a horrible disease or in pain. She never complained and never worried about small or petty things. I am so grateful for her example of living life to the fullest, and not letting anything hold you back from experiencing life and being happy.

I am going to miss her big hug and kiss on the cheek she would give me as I left our family dinners. I am going to miss her pulling out her African Beads and having all of us girls dive right in and make beautiful jewelry with them. I am going to miss her getting excited over the desserts I would make. I am going to miss her beautiful smile and contagious love and positivity she brought to every room she entered. She has taught me to be more relaxed with life, and not worry about the little things, but live life to the fullest. I am so grateful I married into such an amazing family full of amazing people. Deanne was truly amazing. It will be hard to imagine this life on earth without her.

It's hard to get through such a loss, my heart especially goes out to the Krieger family at this difficult time. During this time of Thanksgiving, I am truly reminded of the many precious things I am grateful for. I am so grateful for family. I am grateful for my belief that family's will be together forever, and that I know Deanne's family will all be together again one day, and I will get to see her again. I am grateful for the gospel I believe in, it is the one constant in my life that makes it possible for me to get through hard things. Many have something in their life that helps lead and guide them, it is my belief in this gospel that gives me guidance and strength, especially during such an impossible time. This message brings me comfort. And I believe this message with all of my heart. Love you Deane, will miss you so much. Thanks for all you've taught me without even knowing it.

Sausage Cauliflower Spaghetti...er...penne :)

2010-11-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Well I am back from our six day trip. We first made a stop in Dallas for a few days and then finished off in Chicago. I will share details about why we went on the trip later, but first, let's get cookin!

Some of you may know that I am also apart of another blog, "and it's good for you too". This blog was created by me and some of the women on my mom's side of the family. I come from a family who loves to cook, but we also try to give our families good healthy meals. This blog was a way for us to motivate each other to cook healthy, as well as providing an array of healthy recipes for us all to try. My cousin Melissa posted about this sausage cauliflower spaghetti and I tried it right away!

It was such a yummy, easy, simple, and healthy dish! I used whole wheat penne instead of spaghetti because that's what I had. It felt so good to have a healthy, homemade meal after eating out for nearly a week. I'm excited to get back in the swing of things and start cooking healthy meals..of course I have a cream cheese sugar cookie I have on my list to try soon as well:)

Sausage Cauliflower Spaghetti

Kosher salt

12 ounces whole wheat spaghetti

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

12 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets

1 bunch scallions, chopped

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook as the label directs. Reserve 2 cups cooking water, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Clear a space in the pan, add the garlic and cook until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook until the edges are browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water, cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 8 more minutes. Uncover and boil over high heat until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 2 more minutes.

Add the spaghetti to the skillet along with the scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Toss for a minute or two to wilt the scallions and coat the pasta with the sauce, adding up to 1 cup cooking water, if needed, to loosen. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the cheese and toss. Divide among shallow bowls and drizzle with more olive oil, if desired.

Delicous Apple Pie...So I Hear...

2010-10-26T18:58:00.001-07:00

Ok, this is embarrassing. I am posting about this delicious apple pie...and guess what...(do I dare even say it???) Well...I don't even like apple pie! Gasp! Yes, yes, I know, I am an avid baker and cook and I don't like apple pie. To be honest, I don't really like any fruit that's been cooked in a dessert, except maybe berries. But no peach cobbler or apple pie for me. It's unfortunate, I know, I really wish I liked it, on the other hand, I pretty much like every dessert out there which presents a problem when I want to try to keep my girlish figure. So when there is a dessert I can easily pass up, I'll take it! However, what I DO like to do with apple pie is this: scoop up some of the cinnaminy apple pie juice, pour it over vanilla ice cream, then sneak a corner of the crust and crumble it over the top. My mom chastised me for stealing some of the crust, but I couldn't help it! Super weird I know, but that's how I like my apple pie..or my un-apple pie....anyways, here's the recipe for all of you apple pie lovers out there! I know you will like it! Would also make a great additions to your Thanksgiving feast:)

My mom makes hands down the best pie crust I've ever had, and I love
watching her make it! There's something about her hands working with the dough.
I've always loved my mom's hands, I feel they tell a story. They are hard working hands
that took care of her family by cooking yummy foods and rocking her babies to sleep.
I love them. May sound cheesy, but it's how I feel :)

(That's right, smile and stir those apples! Smile like your going to
love the pie when it's done, but in reality your only going to steal
it's lovely pie juices and crust and put them over ice cream!)

Finished off with a nice sprinkling of vanilla sugar

And the finished, beautiful product. I have to say even though I don't like
apple pie, I always think it looks beautiful.

I hope you all have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!
Go here for the apple pie recipe

Trick or Treat?! Is that really even a question!?

2010-10-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

I mean seriously, during Halloween, when treats are flowing abundantly I think the "Trick" part of that phrase is meaningless:) And have I got a "Treat" for you! After making these sugar cookies for last month's Daring Baker's Challenge, I've been in the mood to make some more sugar cookies, but wanted to try a different recipe. I stumbled across the site Karen's Cookies, it's a great site to look at if you want to see cookie decorating tutorials and is also a great site for different cookie recipes. I decided to try her Basic Rolled Sugar Cookies, the recipe had butter, sugar, almond flavoring, and an extra egg yolk, how could that be bad? It was absolutely delicious. The only thing is, it's not the BEST recipe that holds the shape of the cookie cutter. This recipe is much better for that. But it's still ok, it holds the shape pretty good but not perfectly. These cookies will turn out to be a softer sugar cookie, which I like.

Now for the frosting. I love the look of cookies decorated with royal icing, but I love the taste of buttercream. I found on Karen's Cookies a recipe for Meringue Powder Buttercream, it's supposed to harden on the top of the cookie so you can still stack them if needed, but have less of a crunch than royal icing. Here's my review of this buttecream: I felt it didn't harden much more than a regular buttercream, but it tasted great. I'm kind of torn as to whether or not I will make it again, I don't see the point with going to the trouble making it when I could just make a simple buttercream. But we will see-maybe I will make it again and like it better the second time around.

Now as for the look of these cookies-don't judge me:) I only had peach food coloring as opposed to a bright vibrant orange, so these cookies weren't' the most appealing Ive ever made, but they certainty tasted great. And with a fussy almost 6 month old begging for my attention, I did the best I could at making them cute :) So if you are going to a fun Halloween Party this week these would be great cookies to take!

Basic Rolled Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar, or granulated sugar, processed in blender or food processor for 30 seconds
½ tsp. Salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
½ tsp. Almond extract or emulsion, optional (I added 3/4 tsp. almond emulsion)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour.

Cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed . Add yolk, beat well. Add whole egg, vanilla and optional almond extract and beat until well-incorporated. Add flour; beat at low speed just until flour is mixed in; do not overmix. Divide dough in halves or thirds and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least one hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dust work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll dough to 1/4" thick, sprinkling with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into desired shapes and place on parchment or silicone-lined pans. Bake in preheated oven until cookies appear dry on the surface and are light golden brown on the edges, about 10 minutes (very large cookies may take up to 12 or 13 minutes). Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating.

Meringue Powder Buttercream

1/3 cup water
3 T. meringue powder
½ cup shortening (I used butter, I am a firm believe the shortening should never be used in a frosting!)
4 ½ cups powdered sugar (1 lb. 3 oz. If you have a scale)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white icing)
¼ tsp. almond extract

Place half of the powdered sugar and the meringue powder in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk together well. Turn on mixer (use whip attachment) and, while motor is running, slowly stream in the water. Mix until everything is incorporated. Turn mixer to high speed and whip until stiff peaks form. Add flavorings and mix well. Change to paddle attachment (for stand mixer) or dough hook (for Bosch). If using a hand mixer, use the same beaters you were using before. Add remaining powdered sugar and shortening and whip for 2-3 minutes more.

Note: Don't skimp on the whipping time after adding the shortening. You really need to whip it well to prevent separation later.

National Chocolate Cupcake Day!!!!

2010-10-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

(cupcakes I made for my grandma in laws 80th birthday)

Did you know that today is national chocolate cupcake day?! So run out and grab a chocolate cupcake to celebrate! :) I think I am going to run over to the new cupcake chic and get one. Have a wonderful day!! :) :)

Bakerella :)

2010-10-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today Bakerella came to a Williams Sonoma in Salt Lake City to do a book signing for her new book "Cake Pops"!!! My three darling cousins and I went, it was such a blast. Of course, the line to see her was CRAZY! She truly is so talented. She was so sweet and darling. She definitely is THE celebrity within the blogging world. I'm still in awe that I was able to meet her and she personally signed MY copy of "Cake Pops"!! I can't wait to try some of those cute pops out. Here are some pics of the fun day :)

Us with Bakerella:) So much fun!

Eleni sported a cake shirt in her honor

Yay! Me with my signed copy-now it's time to start making
cupcake pops!!!

Pumpkin Dessert Squares

2010-10-13T12:23:00.001-07:00

So this is not a new recipe to this blog, but one that needed to definitely be updated with better pictures. The pictures I used to have for it just didn't make this dessert look as amazing as it really was. Seriously-this could be my favorite pumpkin dessert I make during the fall. I was at my local Williams Sonoma store the other day and they were passing out samples of it which reminded me that it was time to start making it again! I've been trying to eat pretty healthy, and I've been surprisingly been doing a good job! ...that is until I made these bad boys. With this dessert I can't just stop at one square, I will keep piecing and piecing at it until all of a sudden a whole row is gone!! O00pps :)

The only downfall to this recipe is you have to use Williams Sonoma's Pumpkin Pecan Butter, which is almost $10 a jar. However this dessert is so good I think it's worth getting. I want to try to make this dessert with a substitute so it's not as expensive to make. Making I could substitute it with some canned pumpkin mixed with spices?? Who knows, but I will definitely give it a shot so I won't alwasy have to rely on using the Pumpkin Pecan Butter, but for now that's what I'll use:) Hope you have a chance to try this one out :)

Pumpkin Dessert Squares

1 box yellow cake mix

1 jar Pumpkin Pecan Butter (williams sonoma or other kitchen store)

3 eggs

1 TBSP flour

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

3 TBSP Milk

1 tsp cinnamon

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix and set aside.

Mix remaining cake mix with 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1 egg. Press mixture lightly into the bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan.

Mix 1 jar of Pumpkin Pecan Butter with 2 lrg eggs and 3 TBSP milk and pour over cake mixture in pan.

Mix to a crumble reserved cake mix with 1 TBSP of flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of soft butter and 1 tsp of cinnamon - crumble over the top of the pumpkin layer.

Bake 35-40 minutes and 350 degrees or until golden.

Cool and serve!

Lentil Sausage Soup

2010-10-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Fall is now upon us, and I am so excited to start making yummy soups and stews. Here is the first soup I've made this fall season. I wanted to make something healthy, and yet something different-something I haven't made before. I stumbled a crossed Ina Garten's Lentil Sausage Soup. Yes I know- another Ina Garten recipe, but I am never disappointed with her recipes and I didn't want to risk trying something new and having it turn out bad. I just knew this soup would be amazing-and it was. It's really filling and extremely flavorful. I did change a couple things, I left out the sausage and red wine vinegar. I didn't have the vinegar and even if I did I'm not sure if I would have added it, it was still delicious without it. I know I will be making this soup a few more times this fall and winter. Next on my to do cooking/baking list is to make something pumpkiny-mmmmm can't wait:)

Lentil Sausage Soup

by Ina Garten

Ingredients

nocoupons

1 pound French green lentils (recommended: du Puy)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
4 cups diced yellow onions (3 large)
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (2 leeks)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
1 tablespoon kosher salt black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium diced celery (8 stalks)
3 cups medium diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock or canned broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 pound kielbasa, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick
2 tablespoons dry red wine or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Add the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the kielbasa is hot. Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan

Bachelorette Cupcakes

2010-10-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

My sister in law asked me to make some cupcakes for her friend’s bachelorette party. She wanted me to match the colors of the party, which were a turquoise blue and pink. Of course I was so excited to do it, I love any excuse to bake.

I used my all time favorite chocolate cupcake recipe- well my all time favorite for now, I have yet to come across a recipe I like better. The cupcakes always come out just right, very moist and a slightly denser cupcake than most. I used my extra brutte cocoa powder this time in the cupcakes and it made these cupcakes even better. I frosted them with a cream cheese frosting. I never really follow a frosting recipe, but the general rule I follow for a cream cheese frosting is equal amounts of cream cheese and butter, creamed together, then I add just enough powdered sugar so that it taste good but isn’t too sweet. For this frosting I used a half pound of cream cheese and a half pound of butter, and I probably added about 5-6 cups of powdered sugar, I didn’t really count but that is my estimate. I always add good vanilla, like a Madagascar vanilla, it makes a big difference. O-and a pinch of salt,makes a big difference I think.

Since my last 3 posts have been sweet things, how about something savory?? How does a lentil sausage soup sound?? Check back tomorrow for the recipe :)

Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Mousse Buttercreammm...

2010-09-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

So are you ready for the best devils food chocolate cake recipe ever?? The most delicious, moist cake piled high with the most unbelievable chocolate mouse buttercream??? You are! Are you sure???...K here it is!!!

My bday was a week ago, and on Sunday I made myself a chocolate cake to celebrate my birthday with my fam (yes, I like to make my own birthday cakes :) ). I've had the wonderful book "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey" for a while, and I love it! Not only is it so much fun to flip through and look at the delicious pictures, but the recipes I have tried so far taste just as good as they look in the book. I highly recommend this book, it's a winner :)

A reason why this cake is so good is because of the chocolate mousse buttercream. It's so creamy and chocolaty and not overly sweet. But if you decide to make this, do me a favor. When it comes to adding the butter to the mouse, just close your eyes and put it in! Yes, all 1 1/2 pounds of it!!! I mean, it is a cake, no need to try skimping on calories. It will seem like an incredible amount of butter, but trust me, it's worth putting it all in, this buttercream is o- so good:)

I found the recipe online, and you can find it here!

Daring Bakers: Decorated Sugar Cookies

2010-09-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Hello there! I am so excited for this post! One - because it's a post!! And I have been on a little hiatus with my redesigning of my blog 'n all... And two - because it's a Daring Baker's Challenge!! I haven't completed a challenge in a while because it got really hard to while I was pregnant and even harder after I had Eleni. But I was so excited for this challenge I just had to find a way to complete it. I've had Peggy Porschen's book "Pretty Party Cakes" for a while now, and every now and then I flip through it and marvel at the adorable cakes, cookies, and goodies that are in there. I've always wanted to try her sugar cookies and decorate them all cutesy with royal icing but have always been a little intimidated, and after completing them I don't know what for. Each individual step is very simple, however, they do take some time to complete depending on how serious you are about your decorating. But I definitely suggest giving it a try and let your creative juices flow, it's really fun to see how they turn out!!

To the basic sugar cookie recipe I added a teaspoon of almond extract, they turned out super yummy! And I doubt you will ever find an easier sugar cookie recipe, I mean 5 ingredients?! In the words of Ina Garten "How bad can that be?!" I also used royal icing for the piping on my cookies, and then this icing recipe for the flooding. You can use the royal icing for flooding as well, I just wanted to try both of them out. Next time I will probably do either or because it made extra work on my part making both types of icing. The royal icing gives the cookies a more matte look than this icing, which leaves the cookies looking glossy and perfect.

I hope some of you get a chance to try this out, it was really fun, however my kitchen does look like a bomb went off with royal icing and piping bags everywhere!..not looking forward to cleaning that up :) I will definitely be trying this again.

And please check back tomorrow for an outa this world chocolate cake recipe!!!

A great thing about this recipe is that because there is no
leavening agent, the cookies will come out exactly like
the cookie cutter you use.

Basic Sugar Cookies:
Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies

200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Directions
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
• Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during
baking, losing their shape.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid
flour flying everywhere.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an
hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and
then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
• Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
• Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in
some cookies being baked before others are done.
• Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.
• Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated
cookies can last up to a month.

Royal Icing:

315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ - 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted
2 Large Egg Whites
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

Directions

• Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.
• Tip: It’s important that the bowls/spoons/spatulas and beaters you use are thoroughly cleaned and
grease free.
• Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.
• Tip: I’ve listed 2 amounts of icing sugar, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.
• Beat on low until combined and smooth.
• Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.
• Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.

Decorating Your Cookies: Flooding
“Flooding” a cookie is a technique used when covering a cookie with Royal Icing.
1. You outline the area you want to flood which helps create a dam
2. Then fill or flood inside the area you’ve outlined

Decorating Your Cookies: Royal Icing
The most important thing when it comes to decorating with Royal Icing is the consistency.

There are two ways of flooding your cookies. Some like to do the outline with a thicker icing and then flood with a thinner icing. Some like to use the same icing to do both which saves time and you don’t have to have two different piping bags for each colour you’re using.

The Same Consistency Method
Consistency:
• Mix your royal icing according to the recipe/instructions
• Drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing and count to 10
• If the surface becomes smooth between 5 & 10 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency
• Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, do the 10 second test, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc.
• Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 10 second test

Two Different Consistencies Method
Consistency:
• Mix your royal icing according to the recipe/instructions.
• Separate into 2 different bowls, one lot of icing for outlining, the other for flooding.
• For the outlining icing, drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing.
• If the surface becomes smooth at around 10 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency.
• Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, count to 10 seconds, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc.
• Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 10 second test.
• For the flooding/filling icing, drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing.
• If the surface becomes smooth at around 3-4 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency.
• Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, count to 3-4 seconds, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc.
• Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 3-4 second test.

Listen up people!! I've got a seriously good cookie recipe for ya!

2010-08-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

Ok-so I may have already posted this recipe before...but I made them again and this time they are extra good! I mean Extra EXTRA good! They are Kathleen Kings Double Chocolate Almond Cookies (again i left out the almonds-not a huge fan of nuts in my cookies-sometimes they are ok). Wanna know why they were EXTRA good this time?? K I'll tell ya!

For the cocoa powder I used my new dutch process cocoa, Extra Brutte Cocoa Powder. This stuff is awesome. Such a deep, chocolately flavor. It took these cookies to another level. Can't wait to make them again!

they made lovely little gifts too:)

I've also decided I'm going to move away from cupcakes for a while and start making cookies. It was so nice yesterday when I made them to not have to worry about making an icing for them, not have to worry about decorating them...and quit frankly I would rather have one of these cookies than a cupcake. Gasp! I know! Crazy right?

Well tomorrow we are going on our first family vacation with out little one! Guess where we're going...I'll give you a hint...

our first stop will be to visit Lou Malnati's Pizzeria...
then the next day we are going to take a little drive to what I considered my home-where I grew up to get a delicious butter burger from Solly's Grille. This place is the birth place of the butter burger and I haven't had one in almost ten years so it's about time I go back and get me another!

If you haven't guessed, figured it out, or if you haven't gone to my lovely links :) ...You'll just have to wait till I post some pics tomorrow:)

I've posted the recipe for Kathleen cookies on my blog before, so you can look for it under "cookies" or you can go here for the recipe:)

Unbelievable, Amazing, Whopper Cupcakes

2010-08-22T12:59:00.001-07:00

This one is for all of those who love malted milk balls and who love malt in general. I mean, who wouldn't like malt?! It's simply the best! And when you put that delicious malted flavor into a cupcake..well your just pushing all the right buttons. I've made these cupcakes twice now, both times I have gotten rave reviews, especially about the frosting. It's quit possibly one of my favorite frostings ever. I got this recipe from the wonderful blog our recipe club.

The only thing I do differently with the recipe is the way I mix the ingredients together. I don't know why but the way this recipe says how to incorporate the ingredients together makes me nervous, even though I'm sure they would turn out just fine! But I am kinda weird in that when I make a cake I always add the dry ingredients into the butter/egg mixture alternating with the wet. So what I do is blend the oil, eggs, and vanilla together and I add the sour cream into the milk/malt mixture. After the eggs are blended into the oil mixture I add the dry and wet ingredients, begining and ending with the dry (I do 1/3 of the dry at a time, so you will do 3 additions of dry ingredients). So you can make these cupcakes with my mixing instructions if you are super anal like me, or just use the directions listed bellow in the recipe, because they will probably turn out just as good. Enjoy!

{natalie's super yummy Whopper cupcakes}

2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, oil and eggs to flour mixture, beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating just until combined.

Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 15-17 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely on racks.

Frost and garnish w/malted milk balls if desired

Malt Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup malted milk powder
6-7 cup powdered sugar

Blue food coloring

In a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

In a small bowl, combine cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed to combine. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth. You may need to add more or less powdered sugar depending on desired consistency. Add 6 to 8 drops of food coloring, mix well. Add more if you would like a deeper color. Frost cupcakes, top with a Whopper-malted milk ball & enjoy!

Outa this world Peanut Butter Caramel Swirled Brownies

2010-08-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

(photo courtesy of food network)

Ok, so since it's been a while-AGAIN- I decided to treat you guys to a yummy recipe:) A SUPER yummy recipe! For a while now I have been wanting to try Bobby Flay's peanut butter caramel swirl brownies he made for a throw down against Vermont's brownie company. The Vermont Brownie Company won with their dark chocolate chevre brownies (how good does that sound?!) However, after finally trying Bobby's recipe I am wondering if there should be a re match cause this recipe is a winner!

I have never been a fan of dark chocoate, but over the past year I have started to like it more and more. These brownies definitely have a rich, dark chocolately flavor. However, instead of using bittersweet chocolate I did use semisweet. I just thought the bittersweet would have been too dark for me. The peanut butter caramel is outa this world. My only complaint with this recipe is I wish there was more of the caramel. Next time I make them I am going to double the caramel and use about 3/4 of it for the brownies. I also would suggest not over doing it on the swirling-it's best when you have bigger globs of the caramel:)

One last note-the recipe says to bake the brownies at 325, but I did read one reviews of the recipe and they said you should bump the heat up to 350. Well I just baked them according to the recipe at 325, and after 22 minutes they were no where near to being done, so I kept them in the oven bumpepd it up to 350 and they were perfect in about 6 minutes. So maybe try baking them at 350, but don't over bake! They are supposed to be a very fudgey brownie! Enjoy!

o-and one other thing, I sprinkled a little bit of fleur de sel over the top of the brownies-to die for!!

Peanut Butter Caramel Swirled Brownies

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
Pinch sea salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
6 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, plus 4 ounces
1 teaspoon espresso powder
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown muscavado sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions

Bring the cream to a simmer over low heat in a small saucepan. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat and cook, without stirring until amber brown. Slowly whisk in the warm cream until smooth and let cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, corn syrup, sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let cool until thickened at room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on the narrow ends. Spray the foil and pan with nonstick spray.

Combine the butter, unsweetened chocolate, 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate and espresso powder in a medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Let the chocolate melt over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, both sugars, vanilla and salt until smooth. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour in 2 additions (the batter will be thick). Stir in the remaining 4 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Using a tablespoon, drop dollops of half of the peanut butter caramel every 2 inches over the top of the batter. Carefully add the remaining batter and smooth over the caramel. Smooth the top and dollop the remaining caramel over the top. Use a butter knife to swirl through the batter to get a marbleized effect.

Bake until the top is set but still soft and the edges are puffed and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 23 to 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out still gooey (be brave!--underbaking the brownies is one of the secrets to their fudgy texture). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the neatest cuts, refrigerate the pan for about 20 minutes before cutting the brownies. Using the foil, lift the brownie slab out of the pan. Carefully peel off the foil and put the brownie on a large cutting board. With a large sharp knife, cut the brownies into 48 squares. (The brownies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days; they can also be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.)

4 years and one day ago....and lesson learned

2010-07-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 4 year anniversary. 4 years! Wow-time flies when your having fun:) I remember on our last anniversary I was doing my lupron shots, and this year we have our little Eleni with us, I feel so lucky and blessed.

My parents, who are also our baby sitters, are out of town, so Eleni came on our date with us. We decided to just have a fun Salt Lake day and hit our favorite spots. First lunch at Trios. We got the rosemary flat bread which is my favorite! For my meal I got the butternut squash ravioli and Micah got the carbonara. They were both delicious.

Next we went to Hatch Family Chocolates where I got my favorite vanilla creams along with some raspberry cream chocolates and their coconut caramel. Now, I had heard that chocolate can make babies fussy if you eat it while breast feeding, but I thought "oh no it will be fine", so we then took off to minis cupcakes to grab some of my favorite cupcakes.

We got the Diva and Twisted Sister. Both full of chocolate and I ate them up. Hey it was my anniversary I could eat anything I wanted! We hung out in their Retro Cafe for a bit. It was so much fun, Eleni was in the best mood.

We then went to Orson Gygi and I grabbed a few things, then on our way home. So maybe not the most romantic annivesary but it was sure fun with our little peanut. Well...it was fun up to that point.

About 7:30 rolled around and Eleni started getting fussy so I started rocking her to sleep. She would fall asleep but fight it-start arching her back and kicking her legs, after an hour of this I just set her on the floor and she freaked out. And that's where it all began. Constant, horrible crying and screaming. It was awful. She has been so good, she has actually started to sleep through the night the past few nights and haven't had one freak out, so I knew it was the chocolate, darn it! I could tell she was in pain, that her tummy hurt. Then my tummy hurt cause I was sick to see my baby like this. I tried everything. She was screaming like I had never heard before, it was heart wrenching, finally at 11:30 (3 hours of straight crying/screaming) I told Micah he should give her a blessing, I couldn't think of anything else to do, so we said a prayer and he gave her a blessing.

He asked that her tummy would feel better and that she would calm down. I then laid with her in our bed and cuddled her up. After about 10 minutes she fell asleep. I don't know what I would do without the power of prayer and the miracle of priesthood blessings. I fell asleep too and Micah woke me up at 1:00 am because I was still in my clothes and everything. I put her in her crib and she slept till 6:30, and right now she is happily playing on her play mat.

So lesson learned, no more chocolate! That will definitely be an anniversary to remember. I'm hoping that the chocolate is out of my system and that we wont have another repeat today.

So I was meaning to post all about our anniversary yesterday but when Eleni started freaking out I just didn't have any time. But I'd like to give a quick shout out to my Hubby to tell him how much I love him:) I remember the day of our wedding like it was yesterday, one of the best days of my life. I'll never forget dancing the night away at our reception, and then later having people tell me after we left the DJ stayed because everyone still wanted to dance! I've heard stories of my dad (who is 6 foot 10) who started break dancing on the floor...wish I could have seen that:)

We've been through a lot the past 4 years, have traveled the world and have had many fun and amazing experiences, but I don't think anything we have ever done will compete with what lies ahead for us. Having a baby has been challenging and hard but also amazing. All we did yesterday was constantly take pictures of Eleni on our phone and camera, we couldn't take our eyes off of her, and when she would smile or make a cute face we would nudge eachother and say "hurry, look! She's making the most precious face!". She has brought both of us so much more joy than I think either of us could have imagined. I'm glad we got to spend our annivesary day with our little Eleni, I would have liked the later portion of the day to turn out a little differently but trust more, I've learned my lesson, no more chocolate!

Love you Micah and Happy Annivesary (yesterday:) ) Can't wait to celebrate many, many more with you!

some of my favorite pictures of our special day:)

Hey! I'm back! And with a great enchilada recipe:)

2010-06-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

Well I can't believe it's been almost a month ago since my last post! I bet most of you are sure sick of seeing my birth story every time you stop by:) There are a couple other blogs I check out and the girls running them have had babies about the same time as me, and they all have like 15 posts up! Why can't I keep up on my posting? Or keep my house from looking like a disaster? I often think what's wrong with me that I don't have energy like these other women or why don't I have order in my life like they do. I have been feeling like I've been in survival mode these pasts couple months, it's been difficult with a colicky baby who demands all of my time. She is getting better though. I think one day my house will be spotless, and one day I will post every single day, and one day I will have time to blow dry my hair and make it look pretty:)

Eleni had to get some shots today. I still have a knot in my stomach from seeing her so upset. I gave her some infant Tylenol and she loved it. She is snoozing right now-but I know not for long, but hopefully long enough for me to share with you guys this amazing recipe...

A few weeks ago I saw Tyler Florence make enchiladas. I have been obsessing over them ever since and finally got a chance to make them. They are delish. The roasted tomatillo sauce is so yummy and really makes these enchiladas special. They are on my make again list. Go here for the recipe.

Wow! I can't believe I was able to get a post up! Finally! I'm back! Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things and you will be seeing a lot more recipes on here:)

And just cause I can't help it, here are a few pics of the little one..
Eleni loves being in this sling!

and I caught this precious photo of Eleni and her daddy-these are the moments
that make living off of no sleep ok:)

birth story

2010-06-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Exactly a month ago I gave birth to Eleni, and as promised here is her birth story:) It's only taken me a month to get it up! I do what I can these days and when I can:) It's kinda long, but here it is.

Eleni’s Birth Story

As my due date of May 2^nd past I grew anxious to meet my baby. On May 3^rd I decided to have my membranes stripped, I was already 4 cm dilated and the Dr said it would most likely put me into labor within 72 hours. I went to my moms house after the stripping and walked around. A couple hours after I got my membranes striped I started getting mild and irregular contractions. I was hopeful something would happen that night but it didn’t. The next day came and I was still having mild and irregular contractions. My mom came over that night to watch American Idol with me. We began watching and my irregular contractions became a bit more regular and closer together. We decided to go for a walk. As I started walking the contractions sarted coming every 5 min. I was in complete denial. My mom insisted I go to the hospital and I kept telling her “this isn’t it, they are just going to send me home”. My mom talked to my husband and the two of them forced me to go to the hospital. So off we went.

We got our bag and I put on my I Pod listening to my hypnobabies birth guide track in the car on the way to the hospital. I was very relaxed, and excited, hoping this was it. Once we got there they brought me in a room where they would determine if I was in active labor-and I was. I wasn’t feeling any pain though from the contractions, just pressure and tightening. Sometimes the tightening and pressure took my breath away a bit, but still no pain. They got me settled in my room and I kept listening to my hypnobabies tracks. I lied there and reseted a while, almost napped working through my contractions. I walked the halls of the hospital for a few hours alternating with my mom and husband. It was such a special experience having my mom and husband there while I was laboring. I was very peaceful. I was the only one there doing a natural child birth so it was very quiet and I had the halls to the hospital all to myself:)

After hours of walking I had them check me. I didn’t want to know how dilated I was but they told my mom I was about 6 ½ cm. I walked again. After a couple more hours I was checked again, no progress. I decided to have my water broken. Right after it was broken my contractions picked up. Much more intense this time. It was so comforting to have Micah right by my side, holding my hand. It gave me great strength. I’ll never forget one contraction that kept building and building and right when I though it couldn’t get more intense it built even more. I used my peace cue that I was taught in hypnobabies and it kept me focused. During these intense contractions I kept repeating in my head “I’m that much closer to seeing my baby”, over and over. It kept me focused and calm.

I finally felt like I had to push, but I still had a lip of my cervix left. The nurse told me to lie down with the next contraction while she pushed the lip of the cervix out of the way. That could have been the most intense moment of my whole birthing process. I still knew I could do it, because I was doing it.

working through a contraction during transition

After I was fully dilated I was ready to push. The most intense urge to push came over me, I couldn’t believe I was there, I was almost ready to meet my baby. I pushed for 20 minutes, the pushing was intense, I don’t think I have ever exerted that much energy into anything, ever in my life and I don’t ever think I will ever again, unless it is at my next birthing time. I was so surprised at the strength I had. During those 20 minutes the nurse said “the sooner we get this baby out the better, her heart rate is dropping”. I don’t think I have ever been more scared in my life. The Dr ended up putting a monitor on her head, after that her heart rate looked fine.

After 20 minutes I asked the Dr how much longer, I didn’t know how much longer I could do it. He told me I had a choice, I would probably have another hour of pushing or else he could do something, I instantly yelled “just cut me!” And so it was. A few contractions latter I gave the biggest push, and then the biggest relief came over me, and I heard a cry. My baby was out, I couldn’t believe it! She was immediately put onto my chest, skin to skin. I grabbed her, wrapped my arms around her, it was the best moment of my life up to that point. It was so surreal, I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. I looked up at my husband and the look on his face was just as special to see as seeing my baby for the first time. He leaned down and whispered to me how proud he was of me, and how he will do anything for me for the rest of our lives because of what I just did. I’ll keep reminding him that he said that:)

I look back at my Eleni’s birth and I can’t believe that I was able to do it, naturally, with no drugs. It was such and is such an empowering feeling to know that I did it. I had such an adrenaline rush after the birth, it was an amazing feeling. My Eleni was so alert, I am really proud of myself that I followed through with bringing her into this world how I wanted to. I feel through birthing my baby I am so much closer to my husband, and it was very special to have him help me through the birh. I definitely don’t regret doing it natural, and I will absolutely do it again.

Anyone interested in hypnobabies in Utah, and I would highly recommend it, go here

Amazing Lemon Fusili Pasta and Key Lime Tart

2010-05-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a fun day. We went up to my moms and had dinner. She made Ina's lemon fusilli pasta. It was delicious! So yummy, I can't wait to make it again. For dessert I made a key lime tart (however, I just used limes). I love this tart recipe, it's so delicious and so easy. We threw some whipped cream over the top and some raspberries. I think the raspberries really took it to another level, we are making this tart again for Sunday dinner tomorrow:) You can find the recipe for it here. Pasta recipe is bellow.

I have some great news! Eleni slept from 12-5:15 last night! It was a miracle! Her sleeping increments at night have only been about 2-2 1/2 hours, and then when she gets up I have to feed her then try to get her back down for 45 minutes or so. I've felt like I've been running on fumes, but I know it comes with being a new mommy. But she was such a good girl last night and gave me a decent nights rest! I feel like a new person today, much more rested:) I had energy today to clean my house so it no longer looks like a war zone. Cross your fingers that she will do it again tonight! :)

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

Ingredients

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 cups heavy cream
3 lemons
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch broccoli
1 pound dried fusilli pasta
1/2 pound baby arugula (or 2 bunches of common arugula, leaves cut in thirds)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest from 2 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli in florets and discard the stem. Cook the florets in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula, Parmesan, tomatoes, and cooked broccoli. Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4-inch thick crosswise, and add it to the pasta. Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.

O little Eleni, please sleep like an angel tonight! :)

A chicken pot pie recipe that will solve anything...

2010-05-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

I wish I could post more, I was hoping to have Eleni's birth story up by now with pictures and everything, but my recovery has been harder than I thought it would be. I'm hoping things will turn up soon. Micah is taking a huge load at school so it's been a bit stressful, but luckily I am blessed with the best mom ever-she has been taking such good care of me. She has slept over and allowed me to sleep through the night and she would stay up with Eleni. She get her when she cried, bring her to me when she needed to eat, then I could go back to sleep and she would take care of Eleni. I am so grateful to her I don't know how I could make it through these times without her.

My mom has also been making us dinner, and one night she made us Ina Garten's chicken pot pie. Talk about amazing! With each bite I took out of this amazing dish, it lifted my spirits and made me forget my stresses and the pain I was in. I can't wait till I am feeling better so I can make this myself. So here's the recipe, and be patient with me, I promise I will be blogging more soon:)

O...and just cause I can't help it, here are some pics of Eleni's first bath, which she hated by the way. She screamed bloody murder the whole way through, I don't think she will be getting too many baths:)

Ina Garten Chicken Pot Pie

my mom made this into two regular sized pie pans

Ingredients

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the pastry:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot

Happy Mothers Day to all you Wonderful mothers-especially mine:)

2010-05-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this mothers day I am actually a mom! It's so sureal I can't get over it. Now that I'm a mom I am realizing everything that mothers do for their children. I am very new to this mom thing, I've only been a mom for 4 days but am already realizing the sacrifices mothers make for their children. I am so grateful to have a mom who has always put her children first. I am amazed at how much she does and has done for me. I'll never forget her walking up and down the hospital floors with me while I was in labor. I'll never forget her staying up all night with me while I was laboring and telling me I could do it and how I was doing amazing. I'll never forget her helping me push my baby out, and just looking at her gave me the strength to know I could do it. Since I've had my baby she has already made my husband and I dinner, did my laundry, and slept over to take care of our little Eleni so Micah and I could get some sleep. She is sleeping over again tonight so we can catch some shut eye. Isn't she amazing? Anyways, just had to express my love and gratitude for my mom on this mothers day. I love you so much mom! I appreciate everything you do for me.

There's someone I want you to meet...

2010-05-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

She has the most precious hands

the cutest little tootsies

the sweetest head

and the most alert, beautiful eyes,

her name is Eleni Mae Lisonbee, and she decided to come
May 5th, Cinco de Mayo!

She is perfect, last night was her first night home and she
even slept through the whole night! I love
my little girl so much. Full birth story coming soon:)

Hello due date...and operation get baby out!

2010-05-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

So today is my due date, I can't believe it's here! I remember first finding out when I was pregnant and finding out my due date would be May 2nd...I never thought it would come! But it's here, and I can't believe it:) Still no baby, but hopefully anytime:)

Yesterday I went to Salt Lake with my mom, dad, and little sis to grab some lunch. But not just any lunch, my most favorite meal ever! Fish Tacos from the Red Butte Cafe, I figured I should eat something a little spicy to try to get her out:) After fish tacos we went to Hatch Family Chocolates to grab something sweet, I don't think chocolate has anything to do with natural induction, but it was yummy:) I've been watching "The Little Chocolatiers" on TLC, and it's fun to be able to go to the actual chocolate shop and see the people on TV in the shop. Both Steve and Katie were there working yesterday and they both are so sweet. My favorite chocolates there are the coconut caramels and peanut butter truffles. I also had a raspberry truffle that was delish!

Fish Tacos from Red Butte: these are seriously the most amazing fish tacos
ever. I have yet to find any other fish tacos that can even compare.

I've been going on lots of long walks, eating lots of pineapple, pretty much doing anything in the book to try to get her here. Hopefully she will decide to come soon:)

Still Pregnant...and Reflecting:)

2010-04-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

Ok-so don't hate me. This is yet another post having nothing to do with food and with no recipe. Sorry! Maybe if I am up to it today I will make something to keep my mind off of having this baby!

So only 3 days away from my due date, still pregnant, although all signs point to this little girl wants outa there considering how dilated I am and how low she is (according to my Dr she is REALLY low). I keep telling her it's ok she can come out already, but guess she wants some more time in my belly. Guess I am just going to have to practice motherly patience for the first time:)

As I am nearing my due date, and getting so close to holding my precious baby girl, I am looking back at the road it has taken to get her. I look back to the first lupron shot I had to take, the many moments of emotional break downs cause my hormonies were outa wack, the many moments of "what if" thinking which nearly drove me crazy, and the very special moment when I was given pictures of the two ebryos they were going to implant. I remember looking at those pictures thinking one or both of those embryos could make a pregnancy and eventually be my child. It was such a crazy moment, I was blown away by both science and my Father in Heaven, I truly felt like this was such a miracle. I remember after the implantation lying there just hoping and praying this would work. I am so grateful that my Father in Heaven felt it was the right time for me to become a mommy. I know everyone's time in life is different for everything, and I am so grateful that this is my time, and I can soon hold this little girl who has been kicking up a storm in my belly:)

right after implantation
(for my whole IVF story you can go here)

A quick funny story:)
Yesterday, this was a little conversation I had with my sweet heart, it went like this:
Me: "Micah, do you want to see our baby's coming home from the hospital outfit?"
Micah: "She can wear clothes already?"
Me: "What do you mean? What do you think she'll come home from the hospital in?"
Micah: "just naked in a diaper cause won't she still be all gooshey?"

My sweetheart was dead serious as these words were coming out of his mouth. I still don't know what he meant by "gooshey". Anyways, I thought it was pretty funny:) I think he's pretty nervous to meet her and I can see why if he thinks she is going to be all "gooshey" :)

6 days till due date...

2010-04-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

I am 6 days away from my due date! I am so anxious to meet this little girl, and I would really appreciate it if she came on time:) I kinda feel like I am walking around today like a zombie even though I have so much I could still do. I am getting to the point where I am tired of preparing and planning, I just want to do this already! So no recipe for now, just some random thoughts:) I haven't been cooking or baking a lot lately, take out has become my new friend, tonight we are going to In-n-Out, I can hardly wait!

Baby bump and baby cupcakes

2010-04-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the other baby shower I had yesterday. Thanks mom and Kori for throwing me such a beautiful shower, and to all of you who made such amazing food for it! It was so much fun:)

I made mini cupcakes for it as well as cupcake pops. I thought the cupcakes turned out really cute, I had so much fun dolling them up with cute sprinkles and gems:)

Just two weeks to go....although I wouldn't be mad if she came early, I'm ready for her!

This is just one of the darling dresses my mother in law sent me from Italy,
she and my father in law and living there at the moment serving an LDS mission.
I think my little girl is going to be super fashionable with all of the adorable clothes
I got!

Absolutely Delicious Molten Chocolate Cake

2010-04-05T16:26:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend full of yummy Easter treats:) This year I wasn't feeling too ambitious to make something creative for Easter, so I decided to make one of the simplest desserts but that I knew would be a crowd pleaser. I got this molten chocolate cake recipe from a friend a while ago, I wish I knew the source of the recipe but I don't. I haven't made them for a couple years and decided to make them for Easter. They are so easy and yet so impressive. People will think you spent forever making such a delicious dessert, when it only took you minutes:)

Individual Molten Chocolate Cakes

4 T. butter, at room temperature
1/3 c. sugar
3 eggs
1/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled a little (I used dark chocolate and I thought it was perfect, but if you want a more intense chocolate flavor and less sweet, go with the bittersweet)

Preheat oven to 400.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Slowly add the flour and salt, then add melted chocolate.
Butter muffin tins and dust with granulated sugar. Pour batter into tins (I got 7 little cakes). Bake 8-10 minutes, or until when pans shake they don't jiggle (I baked mine for 8 minutes and it was perfect, you want the edges just cooked but the center still gooey). Dust with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

What a wonderful day:) and peanut butter bar recipe

2010-03-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my cousin in law and a few girls from my ward threw me the most amazing baby shower ever. I can not thank them enough for all of their hard work. They made it such a fun and memorable day for me. Thanks to all of you who came and made it such a fun day for me:)

Tanya, my cousin in law went all out with the cutest decorations! And talk about the most amazing spread of food! My mom helped out also with the food, thanks mom!! Here are some pictures from the fun day, but I don't even think the pictures due justice as to how cute it was! Over the next few days I will give you all the recipes of the yummy food that we had there. Today I will give you the recipe for my yummy peanut butter bars that I made for the shower:) I might be one of the only people who would want to make food for her own shower, but it's so fun for me:) I have been making these peanut butter bars for a few years now, I got the recipe from a girl in my old ward, they are absolutely delicious! If you are a fan of peanut butter, you will love these.

Tanya getting the delicious punch ready, isn't she gorgeous!

I also made cupcake pops:) No baby shower is complete
without cupcake pops

Ina's delicious lime curd, this is one of my favorite things.
And for the peanut butter bars, these are always a crowd pleaser

Peanut Butter Bars

Cream together:
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. crunchy peanut butter (I always use smooth)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

After creaming add:
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp soda
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. oatmeal

Stir and put into a 10x15 cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Sometimes a bubble will rise in the middle-don't worry it will go down

Spread 1 c. whipped peanut butter on top of slightly cooled bar. Cool about ten minutes, then spread on frosting

Frosting:
1/2 stick butter
3-4 c. powdered sugar
1 T. cocoa (I add a bit more, like 3-4 T)
1 tsp vanilla
milk to consistency

Fudge Filled Brownies

2010-03-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

These delicious yummy bars are a favorite of the hubs. He always begs me to make them, and when I do he can't stay out of them. Which I like, because he has such great will power that it's actually quite annoying. When I make cookies, I can easily pound 6-7, AFTER I have already had my fair share of cookie dough, my little sweet heart can stop at one cookie and be off. I don't get it, but I guess I should just stop wanting him to stoop to my level so I don't feel so bad:) Even though the name of these bars are "fudge filled brownies", they are more like a fudge filled oatmeal cookie bar. I have been thinking that I want to try making these bars again but somehow incorporating nutella in the filling. I have been on a nutella craze lately, I put it on everything, and sometimes I don't even put it on anything, just a nice big spoon does the trick and I dive right into the jar. It's bad...

On a more personal note, I am 32 weeks pregnant! I can't believe I have 8 more weeks to go, I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am so excited to have my baby girl I can hardly stand it. I almost feel like it's impossible for me to have my own little one, it's so crazy and such a miracle that I will actually be experiencing it. My husband and I have been taking a hypnobabies class. We love it...yes...we! I thought he would hate it but he thinks it's fun. I think it's fun for him to be part of the process:) These classes have been teaching me such great skills to relax during my pregnancy and to prepare for the natural childbirth I want. When I used to think about birth I would get anxiety, now I am excited! I occasionally get scared thinking about the blessed event because I don't know what to expect, but most my feelings about it now are excitement. Excitement to see my baby! I can hardly wait:)
Fudge Filled brownies
filling:
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips (I think using semi sweet is important, using milk chocolate is a little too sweet when combined with the sweetened condensed milk)
1 tsp vanilla

Put the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a bowl and microwave on hte deforst setting 1-5 minutes or until just melted. Stir in vanilla. Set aside.

1 c. soft butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 c. quick cooking oatmeal

In a large mixer bowl cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla. In a small bow sift baking soda, salt, and flour together. Add to creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Spread half of the dough into a greased 9x13 pan. Spread with chocolate mixture. Drop remaining dough by spoonfuls. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool for several hours, then cut into bars.

The Ultimate Sugar Cookies

2010-02-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

I love Tyler Florence's show "Tyler's Ultimate", and I think if he was doing a show about the ultimate sugar cookies, he would use this recipe. If you are looking for a sugar cookie that bakes up soft without a cakey texture, this is it. The only downside to these cookies is that you wont be able to stop yourself at just one, two, or even three! They are simply irresistible. I also love the almond flavor they have, everything is a little better with some almond extract I always say:) You can pair these cookies with your favorite frosting. I made a simple buttercream with almond extract and vanilla bean paste. Another perk to these cookies is that they really maintain the shape of the cookie cutter you use. Have you ever made sugar cookies with your favorite cookie cutter and found that after they baked the shape of the cookies ended up being nothing like your cutter? Well that wont happen with this recipe...at least it didn't happen when I made them:) Hope you have a chance to try this one out!

See how perfect it kept the heart shape?! I made mine about 1/4 of an
inch thick, maybe they would have spread a little more if I made them thicker, I'll
try it out and let you know how it turns out:)

Special Occasion Sugar Cookies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softenend (I used 1/2 c. butter 1/4 c. butter flavor crisco)
1 egg
3 T. Whipping cream (I used half and half because that's what I had)
1 t. vanilla
1 t. almond ext.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Granulated sugar

Combine sugar, butter, egg, whipping cream, vanilla and almond ext. Beat at
med. speed until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and salt at low
speed until soft dough forms. Cover and chill until firm.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. on floured surface roll dough 1/4 in. thick, cut
desired shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle lightly with
granulated sugar (I would only sprinkle with sugar if I wasn't frosting them). Bake 4-6 minutes.

Cute Carousel Cake!

2010-02-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my little nieces first birthday. I can't believe she is already a year old! My sis in law threw the cutest lil birthday party for her, and I made her cake:) I saw a picture of a really cute carousel cake and decided I wanted to duplicate it but make it a little different. I found some of those candy sticks with sugar dinosaurs on them and used those for the carousel poles. For the cake itself, just 2 8" round cakes. To make the carousel top, cut a 9" circle out of paper, made a cut to the center of the circle then overlapped the cut a little and tapped it together. Pretty simple, and it turned out really cute. I might have to make this for my little girl when she is one, I have a while to think about that though, considering she wont even be here for about another 10 weeks:)

So no recipe for this post because I just used a cake mix for the cake. But tomorrow, I will post a recipe for the best sugar cookies ever! So get excited:)

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

2010-02-12T15:44:00.001-08:00

If you haven't made a fun Valentine treat yet, this is a good one to try out. I saw these on Annies Eats a little while ago and knew I had to try them out. I thought they would be fun to make for any occasion, but just perfect for Valentines Day. The texture of these were amazing, just like a whoopie pie should be. To be honest though, I didn't care too much for the red velvet pie by itself, but once I added the cream cheese icing it took it to another level. You can make these into simple round whoopie pies but they sure are cute as hearts. To see some great step by step pictures check out Annies Eats.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Printer-Friendly Version
For the cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 oz. red food coloring

Ingredients:

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

*I added a little almond extract to the frosting

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.

Using a heart template cut out from card stock, trace evenly spaced hearts onto pieces of parchment paper sized to fit two cookie sheets. Place the parchment on the cookie sheets so that the side you have drawn on is facing down; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk, beating each addition just until incorporated. Repeat so that all the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of dry ingredients. Do not overbeat. Blend in the food coloring.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper using the heart tracings as a guide. Bake 7-9 minutes or until the tops are set, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets at least 10 minutes, until they can be easily transferred to a cooling rack. Repeat with any remaining batter. Allow cookies to cool completely before proceeding.

To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.

Transfer the frosting to a clean pastry bag fitted with a plain, round tip. Pair the cookies up by shape and size.

Pipe frosting onto the flat-sided cookie of each pair, leaving the edges clear. Sandwich the cookies together so the flat sides are facing each other and press gently to help the filling reach the edges. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container.

Source: cookies adapted from Dinner and Dessert , originally from Better Homes & Gardens, December 2008; frosting frosting adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Clearing up the Confusion!!

2010-02-08T13:51:00.000-08:00

Ok-so pretty much disregard a lot of what I said in my last post. I just went online to food network and read some of the comments again about Kathleen Kings cookies, and Kathleen herself posted a comment saying that 1 1/4 cups of butter is CORRECT! She also uses salted butter as well as adds salt to the recipe. Feels good to get that confusin cleared up:)

Kathleen Kings Double Chocolate Almond Cookies

2010-02-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was watching Ina's new episode yesterday and she had a friend on showing her how to make chocolate almond cookies. They looked so amazing that I got up and started making them. I looked up the recipe on the food network and was surprised to see that it only called for 1 1/4 c. of butter online, when I was certain that she used 2 1/4 cups on tv. O well-I just proceeded and started making them from what the recipe online said. As the first batch was baking I decided to read some reviews about the recipe. Every review that was posted so far was saying how "the cookies turned out horrible because the butter measurement is off". I decided to rewatch the episode and find out for certain how much butter she used, and sure enough, it was 2 1/4 cups! I was expecting the cookies to turn out horrible, but they didn't! Quite the opposite actually, they were one of the best homemade cookies I have had. They had such a dense yet moist texture. If I didn't know it was missing a cup of butter I wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with these cookies. I am however going to make these cookies again this week with the proper amount of butter. I think they could be even better, because they did get a little dry the second day, and I think if I used 2 1/4 cups of butter they would be more "gooey". Anyways here's the recipe, after I make them again with the full amount of butter I will do another post and let you know how they turned out:)

Kathleen King's Double Chocolate Almond Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups salted butter, softened to room temperature (I just found out for certain 1 1/4 c. is correct, disregard all of talk about 2 1/4 c. :) )
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/2 c. semi and 1/2 c. milk)
1 cup almonds, chopped (I left out because I didn't have any)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (Recipe on tv also says to preheat oven to 375, I baked mine at 350 and they turned out fine, but I also used a cup less butter)

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix together. Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined.

Add the chocolates and almonds and mix until combined. Using two tablespoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop the dough two inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes. (Mine were perfectly done at 12 minutes, check at 10 minutes)

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets. The cookies should be very soft when they are removed from the oven. They will firm up as they cool.

Copy Cat Panda Orange Chicken

2010-02-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

During my pregnancy there have been a few things that I have been craving, and one of them is Panda Express' Orange Chicken. I love the stuff! I just can't seem to get enough of it, but I have been trying to cut back:) A few months ago I saw a bottle of Panda Express Orange Sauce at the grocery store in the Asian aisle. I have resisted getting it, but last week I just couldn't resist any longer. I was excited to try it out and see if it really resembled Panda's orange sauce. I found this copy cat orange chicken recipe online, tossed it with the orange sauce, and it was delicious! My husband loved it. It was such an easy meal as well. And I figured that it is so much cheaper to make the orange chicken from scratch using the bottled sauce rather than buying it from Panda Express. I will definitely be making this again! :)

"Panda Express" Orange Chicken

2 lbs. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 egg
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 T. oil
1/2 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. flour
Oil for frying
1 bottle panda express orange sauce

Coat chicken in egg, salt and pepper and 1 T. oil; mix well. Stir cornstarch and flour into the chicken. Heat oil in a wok (about an inch deep in a wok) over medium heat, and add chicken in batches, frying until crisp and browned on the outside. Heat up some of the orange sauce and toss with chicken.

Nanaimo Bars

2010-01-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I must say I was very excited for this months challenge. I have never had nanaimo bars, but they sounded delicious! I was also very excited to make homemade graham crackers. What a fun challenge!

What I loved about this challenge was that it wasn't very time consuming or difficult so I could easily make them again. I loved the different layers, my favorite was probably the middle custard layer, which was more like a thick layer of buttercream! The first bite I took out of these bars I though they were ok, the second bite I thought they were good, then the third bite I was hooked! They were the type of things that just kept getting better and better with each bite. Thanks Lauren for a great challenge and be sure to check out how the other daring bakers did here.

Preparation time:
• Graham Wafers: 30 to 45 minutes total active prep, 2 ½ hours to overnight and 45 minutes inactive prep.
• Nanaimo Bars: 30 minutes.

Equipment required:
• Food Processor
• Bowls
• Parchment paper or silpats
• Cookie sheets
• Double boiler or pot and heatproof bowl
• 8 by 8 inch square pan
• Hand mixer or stand mixer (You may use a wooden spoon, but this makes it much easier!)
• Saucepan

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

My homemade grahams:)

Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

German Chocolate Cake Take #2

2010-01-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

Over the summer I made "The Most Amazing German Chocolate Cake", using David Lebovitz'recipe, everything except the cake itself which I used a cake mix for. My Grandma's birthday was this past week and I decided to make the cake again, but this time put all the effort in and make the cake from scratch using David's recipe. First of all, this cake was a lot of work. If you make this cake, be prepared to dirty every bowl in your kitchen, but also be prepared to taste the best cake ever! Honestly, this time I can truly say it was the most amazing german chocolate cake. I am always nervous to try out a new cake recipe from scratch. Some are too dry, don't rise enough, too dense....but this cake was absolutely perfect. So moist, best texture. I can't wait to try this cake recipe out in a cupcake. My mom has requested this cake for her birthday in March. I think for that cake I am going to double the coconut filling. That filling is to die for! And I would have loved more of it in the cake. This cake is also a bit time consuming, but worth it. And one suggestion, I am not a dark chocolate fan so sometimes in recipes I am tempted to use milk chocolate where it calls for dark or semi sweet. But for the chocolate icing, you must use a semi sweet chocolate, at least, if you like a darker chocolate use darker. But I thought the semi sweet was perfect because the rest of the cake is pretty light and sweet it really does need something a little richer to bring it all together. Enjoy!

Looking at these pictures make me sad that I don't have a piece
of this cake to eat right now!

German Chocolate Cake
David Lebotiz

One big, tall 9-inch cake; about 16 servings

For the cake:
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped (I used semi sweet)
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons water
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ cup + ¼ cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
3 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

For the syrup:
1 cup water
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum (I left out)

For the chocolate icing:
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used semi)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 ½ ounces unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream

1. Butter two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Melt both chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water. Use either a double-boiler or a microwave. Stir until smooth, then set aside until room temperature.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 ¼ cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the egg yolks, one at a time.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

5. Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, then the rest of the dry ingredients.

6. In a separate metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, droopy peaks. Beat in the ¼ cup of sugar until stiff.

7. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there's no trace of egg white visible.

8. Divide the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool cake layers completely.

While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup, and icing.

To make the filling:

1. Mix the cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the 3 ounces butter, salt, toasted coconut, and pecan pieces in a large bowl.

2. Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the spoon (an instant-read thermometer will read 170°.)

3. Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature. (It will thicken.)

To make the syrup:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum.

To make the icing:

1. Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with the corn syrup and 1 ½ ounces of butter.

2. Heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Let sit until room temperature.

To assemble the cake:

Remove the cake layers from the pans and cut both cake layers in half horizontally, using a serrated bread knife.
Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush well with syrup. Spread ¾ cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top.

Repeat, using the syrup to brush each cake layer, then spreading ¾ cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top.

Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.

(It may seem like a lot of chocolate icing, but use it all. Trust me. You won't be sorry.)