Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
March 11th, 2010
No, you’re eyes haven’t failed you. That there is hot dog fried rice. My kids had a hankering for hot dog fried rice today so I happily obliged. All you need is 2 -1/2 cups cooked rice, 2 hot dogs, 1/2 tbs. butter and garlic salt.
- Chop 2 hot dogs in small pieces and place in frying pan
- Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Not too much
- Boil until all the water evaporates.
- Add butter and brown the hot dogs a bit. Lower heat
- Add cooked rice ( I like to use left over rice) and mix with hot dogs
- Move the rice and hot dog mix to one side of the pan to create space for the egg
- Crack 1 egg onto the cleared side of the pan as if you were going to cook them sunny side up. Let cook until the whites are almost cooked.
- Once the whites are slightly cooked, mix the white and yolk together (still on the cleared side) until the egg solidifies and is cooked
- Mix the eggs into the rice and add garlic salt (to taste) and cook for another couple of minutes
who knew hot dog fried rice could look so divine…
December 8th, 2009
I love baking cookies during the holidays, don’t you? Cookies are made with love and should be showcased not stuffed in a box or placed on a paper plate. This year, think outside the box-the cookie tin box that is! Here are some festive solutions to make your baked goods stand out.
November 16th, 2009
My son’s 6th birthday party was coming up and I usually buy cakes from Costco (big, cheap, fast) but this year, I tried my hand at cupcake decorating. I picked up this cute cupcake book, “Hello, Cupcake!” Great book for starters out there-no special equipment or expensive tools neccesary! I told my son to pick out any cupcake in the book and I would make them for his party. He picks out the Shark Attack on page 81- perfect for his shark themed party. Looks easy enough. I plan this for weeks-bought blue cupcake liners online since they’re hard to find anywhere else, got my twinkies (4 boxes of them!) and even found the elusive Famous Chocolate Wafers by Nabisco at the local Giant grocer. So the day of the party, I try to make the shark cupcakes but I couldn’t get them to look presentable. 2 hours before the party and all I had were 10 shark cupcakes and only 5 looked good enough to share. Did I mention I had to make 24. I really should have practiced before hand! No time to panic, I had to think fast! I ran to the nearest bakery and picked up a half sheet of chocolate cake with white frosting. I scrape off the small amount of white flowers and some frosting from the top to make room for my blue frosting. I then added 3 of the best looking sharks on top. As you can see, it doesn’t look bad. My kids liked it so much my 3 year old daughter insisted I make her a special cupcake from the book. I made her cute little Westies. These to me were so much easier so I made 10 of them for the little girls at the party. Not too shabby. Although, I clearly need the practice.
Here are some inspired cupcake sites I found. Click on the photo to link to the blog.
Hello Cupcake Blog
Cupcake Bake Shop by Chocylit
Cupcakes Take The Cake
Cupcake Activist
Cupcake Journal
October 27th, 2009
Get a load of these very creative sandwiches by Funky Lunch. They may look too good to eat. Very fun foods for kids and adults. Great for theme parties, don’t you think? Check out the rest of their creations in their gallery. They’re trying to generate enough interest to launch a recipe book so check them out.
October 25th, 2009
I recently ordered a package of Dutch Process Black Cocoa from King Arthur Flour . I eagerly awaited my package each day like a child on Christmas Eve . Sad, really. As soon as it came in the mail, I high-tailed it to the kitchen so I can bake my absolute favorites – homemade Oreos. I’ve made these cookies before using the recipe from Smitten Kitchen (super awesome cooking blog!) but I wanted the cookie wafer to be really dark to resemble a real Oreo and wanted a richer flavor. Adding the black cocoa achieves just this and adds a depth of flavor. Just thinking about this cookie makes me salivate kind of like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Okay, maybe not that much but you get the gist-this is incredibly yummmmy! Here’s the doctored Smitten Kitchen recipe for all you Oreo cookie lovers out there. You won’t be disappointed. Get your milk on!
What you need:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa
1/4 cup dutch process black cocoa. Using more than 1/4 cup of the black cocoa will create an overpowering, bitter taste.
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar-if you want a sweeter cookie, you can add more (1/2 cup). 1 cup will suffice if you’re after the not too sweet Oreo cookie. Remember, the sweetness is in the filling.
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- You can use a food processor or mix with a spoon (requires elbow grease). Mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. If using a spoon, use your hand mixer to blend flour and egg. If using a food processor, add the butter and then the egg a little at a time. Continue until thoroughly mix. The batter will be thick.
- Best to use a 1 1/8 in. ice cream/cookie dough scoop. If you don’t have one, use a teaspoon. Take spoonfuls of the batter and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Use damp hands to flatten the dough into circles. Bake for 10-12 minutes. This comes out really soft so let cool before handling.
Filling (great without it too):
You can use any white/vanilla ready made cake frosting if you don’t have time to make the filling.
Or use the filling recipe from Smitten Kitchen but the ingriedients are a bit daunting and can cause your arteries to clog by just reading it. I kid, I kid. The filling is tasty. How can you go wrong wiht both butter and shotening? I know, like the ready made frosting is a healthier alternative, right?
- 1/4 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Mix until fluffy.
Dab filling in the center of one cookie, place another cookie on top and press down gently creating a sandwich.
Look at that beautiful rich, deep brown, almost black color of the dutch process black cocoa
October 4th, 2009
We had one of the best seafood dinners last night! No, we weren’t at a five star restaurant, not even a quaint hole-in-the-wall. We were at home! I remember a while ago my husband read an article in a magazine on how to get your kids to eat new things. One idea was to bake meals in parchment paper and to call them presents. That would be enough to get kids to unwrap their “present” and happily eat them. At least that’s what I imagined. So, we tried it once and to be honest, I don’t even recall what we cooked. Must have been an unremarkable meal. What I do remember is that my kids were happy enough to open the meal wrapped in parchment, but were none too keen about eating it. I was disappointed as I had high hopes that my picky eater would devour his dinner due to its presentation alone.
I guess that experience didn’t scare me off because we tried this again last night but we took it a step further. The kids assembled their own meals! I chopped up all the ingredients ahead of time, placed them in small bowls and sprawled them all on the counter. The main course-tilapia. With the tilapia placed on parchment, the kids were able to choose ingredients they wanted on their fish. My 5 year old initially pinched his nose because he did not appreciate the fish smell but he got over it and had fun prepping. Although he doesn’t like cilantro, he added this along with lemon, salt, pepper and a dollop of butter. I was happy to see this but I was still a bit wary that he wouldn’t eat his own creation. To make a long story short, I am happy to say everyone ate their fish dinner. Even my picky eater! I am thrilled about this of course but also, the fish and shrimp were really tasty! From my son’s concotion to adding everything on the ingredient list, you will not be disappointed. Here’s the recipe of what we found to be the tastiest. I’m craving some right now and it’s only 9 am!
Here’s what you need:
- Roll of parchment paper
- Tilapia fillets (6-8)
- Shrimp tails (1 lb)
If you’re cooking with kids, prep the ingredients below and place each in a bowl.
- Olive oil
- White wine
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger
- 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic
- 1 onion- sliced
- 1 tomato – sliced
- Petite carrots
- 2 cups of chopped cilantro
- ½ of a lemon, sliced in wedges
- Butter – softened
Use large piece of parchment paper for each fish - approx 20″ long. Fold parchment in 1/2 and open back up. Using the center folded line as a guide, center tilapia and 3-4 shrimps on one side.
- drizzle tilapia and shrimp with just a touch of olive oil
- optional, but highly recommended- teaspoon of white wine
- add salt and pepper
- sprinkle with chopped ginger
- sprinkle with chopped garlic
- place sliced onion on top
- add 2 slices of tomatoes and a few carrots
- top with cilantro
- juice a wedge of lemon over everything and add the wedge on top
- take small dollop of butter and place on top of the pile
- fold the parchment paper over to cover the fish and roll the edges inward to seal.
- Place on a cookie sheet and cook on a grill or oven for 5-10 minutes.
May 2nd, 2009
Wow, are these good! Super tasty, super easy and everyone will be asking for the recipe.
2 -8-ounce cans of Pillsbury Refrigerated Garlic Crescent Dinner Rolls (Ive also used Pillsbury Regrigerated Garlic Bread Sticks)
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese – softened
3 large eggs
1/2 onion – diced
1 -9 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach – thawed and drained
pinch of salt
dash of pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup cooked & chopped bacon or ham- Optional
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 16 regular-sized muffin cups with a a coating of cooking spray.
Separate the crescent dough, you should get 16 triangles. Press while you shape one triangle onto the bottom and up the side of each muffin cup.
In large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until it’s smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the onion, spinach, salt and pepper until well blended. Fold in cheese. Fill each cup to the top with the egg mixture.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the dough on the edges are golden brown. Remove and serve warm.
April 7th, 2009
Photo from recipetips.com
Long squash soup is one of my faves and having a bowl of it always takes me back to my childhood. Growing up we had a vegetable garden and long squash was always always part of our yearly summer crop. I always marveled at how long they can grow if you allow them to. I haven’t encountered them at the corner Safeway and they’re not a staple at Whole Foods…yet. Long squash can be found at your local asian market. They are also often called opo or upo. If you’ve never had long squash and are feeling adventurous, give them a try.
What you need:
- 1 tsp. cooking oil
- couple cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 20-25 chicken wings and drummettes OR 1 whole chicken, (remove skin and fat and cut into serving pieces)
- 1 tbsp. salt
- pepper
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (Patis)
- 1 medium long squash (peeled and chopped)
- water
Sauté the garlic and onion in 1 tsp. oil. Place chicken in pot and add salt. Sprinkle with pepper. Stir to distribute salt and pepper. Once the chicken starts to lightly brown, add water enough to cover.
Boil and simmer for approx 1 hour or until chicken is very tender. Next, add the fish sauce. This is very salty so add it a little a time to desired taste.
Remove the chicken from pot. Add the chopped long squash and cook until it’s somewhat transparent and soft. Add the chicken back into the pot and let cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve hot. It’s yummy with rice!
March 31st, 2009
This recipe was hanging next to the Andes Mints at the grocery store. I’ve actually had the receipe for maybe a year and finally made them today. The cookie shell is pretty much a sugar cookie which goes well with the surprise mint center. I love chocolate mint so I’ll be baking this again…in the near future!
Ingredients
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 49 Andes Crème de Menthes Thins
Pre-heat oven to 400 F. In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, butter eggs and vanilla. Use electric mixer at medium speed to beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms.
Divide dough in half. On well floured surface, roll half of the dough into a 14 x 9 in. rectangle. Arrange mints evenly on dough forming 7 rows of 7. Between 2 sheets of wax paper, roll remaining dough into a second 14 x 9 rectangle.
Remove one sheet of wax paper. Carefully turn second rectangle over mint-topped dough, matching edges. Remove remaining wax paper. Using a pizza cutter or scalloped edged pastry wheel, cut dough evenly between mints. Gently press edges of pillows to seal.
Place pillows 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool completely before storing. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Check out www.tootsie.com for other great recipes using Andes.
March 21st, 2009
This frittata is definitely a family pleaser. It’s so easy to make and all you need is anything you can find in the fridge, really. If you\’re not familiar with frittatas, they\’re an italian omelet that you fill with meats, cheese, vegetables. It\’s similar to the French omelet but the frittata is cooked on the stove-top then placed in the oven to grill. You can also fill with spaghetti and other pastas which doesn\’t sound too appetizing to me.
I love , love, love this because I can make one huge omelet that will satisfy everyone in my house. I tailor one side with ingredients the kids like (usually just meat and cheese) and the other I load up with veggies for me and my husband.
What you need:
- An oven safe, non stick skillet
- 6 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of water-makes for fluffy eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/4 cup of chopped onions
- Breakfast sausage
- Fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped bell peppers
- 1/4 cup chopped bell mushrooms
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix together eggs, water, salt and pepper
- Saute onions and bell peppers in olive oil for about 2 minutes or until onions are tranluscent. Remove from pan (my kids don\’t like onions and bellpeppers so it goes on the grown up side)
- Brown the sausage and set aside
- Wipe the pan clean and add oil just enough to coat the bottom and sides
- Set heat to low and pour egg mixture in the pan
- Distribute sausage over the eggs
- On half of the mixture, the grown up side, distribute mushroom then then the onion and bell pepper mix
- Top the grown up side with fresh spinach. Gently press the spinach into the eggs ever so slightly with a spoon
- Let the mixture set half way then place the pan in the oven.
- You can either broil on low or bake. Either way you have to keep a close watch making sure you take the frittata out when the top has set and before too much browning occurs.
