Basic Creamy Cheese Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk (or cream or half and half, I've never tried it with less than whole milk)
2 cups cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and continue cooking until mixture is lightly golden.  Whisk in milk and bring to a boil.  Once it starts to thicken turn heat to low and add cheese, salt, and pepper.  Once the cheese is melted it's done!

This is the basic recipe I use whenever I need a creamy cheese sauce.  Minor variations make cheesy potatoes with ham, or pasta alfredo.  You can saute garlic and/or onions in the butter.  You can increase or decrease the cheese to your taste.  You can mix different kinds of cheese.  You can serve as-is over pasta straight from the stovetop, or you can mix it into a casserole and bake.

Pina Colada Cake

A couple of weeks ago I randomly decided that I wanted to try to make a pina colada cake.  No real reason other than I had pineapple and coconut milk in the cupboard and I wanted cake.  I tried this cake recipe and made up my own frosting.  The result was very tasty, but not as strongly flavored as I was hoping.  Yesterday I tried again, making minor changes to both the cake and the frosting.  I'm pretty pleased with the result.  I may continue to modify it, but for now I'm happy.

Cake:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon rum flavoring
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cans crushed pineapple, drained

Frosting:
1 can coconut milk
1 stick butter, softened
2 tablespoons rum
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut (or to taste)
toasted coconut for topping (optional)

Butter a 13 x 9 pan (use real butter for that touch of extra richness).  Preheat oven to 350.  Mix dry cake ingredients together and set aside.  In a large bowl (yay, stand mixer!) beat eggs and sugar together for about 2 minutes until light and creamy looking.  Add oil and rum flavoring.  Add sour cream and pineapple, mix thoroughly.  Add dry mix and blend until just combined.  Pour batter into pan and place in oven.  Bake 45-60 minutes (depending on your oven) until top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Allow cake to cool on a wire rack before frosting.  This is a convenient time to toast coconut for the top, since you already have a hot oven.

While the cake is baking, pour coconut milk into a small pot and heat over medium-low heat until reduced by about half.  You should end up with 3/4 to 1 cup of thickened coconut milk.  Cool completely.  Mix together thickened coconut milk and butter (yay, stand mixer!) until mostly smooth.  Add in rum and salt.  Mix in enough powdered sugar to reach your desired consistency/sweetness.  I used about 3 cups.  Mix in shredded coconut.  Frost the now cooled cake in an even layer.  Top with toasted coconut.  Eat!

Cherry Limeade Syrup

This recipe is incredibly simple and wonderfully refreshing for summer.

2 cups lime juice
2 cups sugar
2 cups cherries (I used frozen tart cherries, but you can use whatever you prefer/have)

Mix lime juice and sugar in a medium sized pot over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Add cherries and simmer until the cherries start to soften.  Remove from heat and let cool down to room temperature.  Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate.  When cold, mix 3-4 parts water to 1 part syrup (depending on desired strength).

Variations:
1-We like making ours with soda water.
2-Adjust sugar amount depending on type of cherries or your preference.
3-Strain out cherries before refrigeration if you prefer not to have chunks.
4-Mix in some muddled basil when making a glass.

IHOP Tropical Island Twist

For a while I have been loving the Tropical Island Twist at IHOP.  But I never really thought I could recreate this at home.  Then one night I over heard a new waitress ask another how to make it.  I found out it was simply Sprite, Lemonade, and Mango Syrup.  I could make that!  First step was finding the mango syrup.  I tried my local grocery store and had no luck.  So I turned to my trusty Amazon.com.  That's where I found this: http://www.amazon.com/Torani-Mango-Syrup-750mL/dp/B000AXQI1M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1401663074&sr=8-4&keywords=Mango+Syrup  I figured it would be worth a try.  It arrived Saturday, so I gave it a go.  First put about half an inch at the bottom of my glass.  Then I added half a glass of Minute Maid Lemonade (I had recently bought cans for my fiance) and half a glass of sprite.  It was perfect!  It is a wonderfully refreshing summer drink.  And at Amazon.com you can get just 1 bottle, or 3 or 4 (if you need that much!)  Now I no longer have to wait for IHOP to get my new favorite drink!

Triple Ginger Snaps

Last year my awesome sister-in-law, Rachel, introduced me to Trader Joe's triple ginger snaps.  I was hooked.  But the nearest Trader Joe's is an hour away from me.  I decided to make my own.  My final result is more gingery and chewy than Trader Joe's, but I'm happy with them.  My family is too!

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground ginger
6 ounces crystallized ginger
2.5 ounces fresh ginger


Chop the crystallized ginger in a food processor, you want small chunks.  Peel the fresh ginger and chop in the food processor, too.  (I may puree it in the blender next time for a more even texture.)  Both gingers can go in the same bowl and be set aside.

Mix together the brown sugar, butter, molasses, and egg.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and ground ginger.  Add the fresh and crystallized ginger to the molasses mixture, then stir in the flour mix.

I like to let my dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour, but you can bake your cookies right away.  Either way, preheat your oven to 375.  For proper ginger snap appearance, roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Personally, I just dropped small spoon-fulls--not as pretty, but still tasty!  Bake for 10-12 minutes, then cool on wire racks.

French Toast

I love French toast.  It's pretty much the perfect breakfast.  Today I tried a new recipe, and we were all happy with the results.

1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
sprinkle of ginger (to your taste)
sprinkle of cinnamon (to your taste)
3 medium eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup half & half
1 loaf of crusty bread (my local grocery makes an awesome sourdough baguette!)

Slice bread thickly (1/2 to 1 inch) and set aside.  Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl, breaking up clumps of brown sugar to the best of your ability.  Mix in eggs, then vanilla, then half & half.  Get your skillet hot and add butter/margarine/cooking spray (whichever you prefer).  Submerge your slices of bread and let them soak for at least 10 seconds.  Place the bread in the skillet and brown on both sides.

Yogurt

Last week I decided to experiment with homemade yogurt.  Disclaimer: it wasn't a complete success.  Taste was fine, but texture was a bit odd.  I think my kitchen was too cold for the bacteria to complete the process.  Next time I'll try letting it sit in the oven (turned off, pilot light on) to stay warmer.  Now for the recipe and procedure!


1/2 gallon milk (I used whole, but 2% is fine)
1/4-1/2 cup powdered milk (optional)
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (must be active culture!)

Heat milk (and powdered milk) in a crock pot until it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  This kills any bad bacteria that may have somehow gotten into the milk.  In my crock pot, this took about 2 hours.  Once at 180, turn off the heat and allow the milk to cool down to 110.  At the same time, put the yogurt out to get to room temperature.

At 110, gently! mix in the yogurt.  Cover and wrap the crock pot with towels or blankets and leave it sitting in a warm corner for 4+ hours.  The longer it sits, the more lactose will be digested by the bacteria and the tangy-er the taste will be.  Most recipes seem to call for 6-8 hours.  I left mine 8, but like I said, my kitchen was cold.  After your desired aging time, move the crock pot (still unopened, try not to slosh it around too much) into the refrigerator.  Let it sit for at least 4 hours, then stir and put into smaller containers.

I put mine in half pint jars with cherry pie filling, vanilla, and a bit of sugar.  The yogurt should be fine in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

Chipped Beef Cheeseball

This is sooo yummy!

You will need:

- a jar dried beef( i used one can and it was fine, just chop those babies up, and reserve some to roll the ball in after you put the other stuff in it!)

-1 (8oz) cream cheese-softened 

-2 bunches green onions-chopped

-Worcestershire sauce-to your liking (the dried beef is pretty salty, so just add a lil and taste) 

-Then i do add a lil garlic powder and some chopped celery too! It is really good!

Mix all, shape into ball, roll in leftover dried beef, then put in fridge to harden up a bit, then add to a cracker and savor the goodness :) 

Ole!

Beef Jerky

I love beef jerky, but it can be so expensive!  I have, however, discovered that it is fairly easy to make at home.  It's a bit time consuming, but worth the effort!

Marinade
*per pound of beef

1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

This is the recipe I started with, but I did make some changes.  I discovered I was about a third cup short of soy sauce, and had no red pepper flakes.  I increased the Worcestershire sauce to make up for the lack of soy sauce, and added more liquid smoke (because I like it).  You can also add garlic, ginger, teriyaki sauce, or whatever you like.  Some people don't use Worcestershire sauce due to fish allergies.  This recipe is just a general idea, not the one greatest recipe ever!  Mix up the marinade in a large glass or plastic bowl and set aside.

Take your meat: thick steak, roast, brisket, whatever you prefer.  I used a flat brisket.  Trim off as much of the fat as you can.  Cut against the grain (it'll turn out tough if you don't, ask me how I know...) into about quarter inch thick strips.  Put strips in the marinade and press them down so they are completely covered.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.  Place in the fridge overnight to 24 hours.  The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor will be.

When you're done marinating, preheat your oven to 200 F or as low as it will go.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.  Put an oven safe cooling rack on the cookie sheet.  Use a fork or tongs (I prefer tongs) to place the meat strips on the cooling rack.  I like to sprinkle on some more pepper before I put them in the oven, other dry spices would also work.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, and prop the door open a crack.  If you have a spare fan lying around, you can point it toward the oven for more air flow.  The idea is to dry the meat more than cook it.  Leave meat in the oven for 6+ hours until it reaches the desired texture.  Times will vary depending on oven temp, air flow, and meat thickness.  I like to flip the meat strips every couple of hours for more consistent drying.

An easy way to check whether the jerky is done:  take a piece from the oven and let it cool to room temp.  Bend it in half.  If it tears more than bends, it's done.  If it just bends, put it back in the oven!

MoNsTeR CoOkIeS

I love cookies and anyone that knows me knows I LOVE LOVE LOVE Monster Cookies, in my opinion, Monster Cookies are the best cookies in all of cookie land! I was looking all over for a Monster Cookie recipe and I came across this one and tried it out and loved it! I found this recipe from "Cooking with K"

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon corn syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (4 ounces, or 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups chunky peanut butter
4½ cups rolled oats
½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup chocolate chips ( I only added a few of these)
¾ cup Reese’s Pieces ( I used Reese's Peanut Butter Chips instead)
¾ cup M&M’s ( I used much more than this)

**I also added a ton of butterscotch chips as well. It was a fantastic touch!

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, both sugars, vanilla extract, corn syrup, baking soda and salt. Then stir in the melted butter and peanut butter, followed by the oats and flour. Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips, Reese’s pieces and M&M’s. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. 

3. Drop the dough by ¼ cupfuls onto baking sheets. Use your fingers to flatten the dough slightly. Baking for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown. Cool on a rack and then store in an airtight container at room temperature. ** I baked mine for about 7-8 minutes so they were nice and gooey! 

Beef Stroganoff

This post is more about my process than a recipe.  You can find beef stroganoff recipes all over the internet, and there are several different ways to prepare it.  This is the method I use, and I'm pretty happy with it!

 First, our ingredients!  You can use any sort of noodles, rice or potatoes that you want, but we've recently become hooked on these frozen egg noodles

 I start by pouring the stock into my crock pot and turning it on to warm up.

Out comes my handy cast iron skillet.  Melt some butter.

Throw in your onions, mushrooms, and garlic.  Saute!  For best results, use high heat and stir frequently.  I usually add some salt and pepper in this step.

 When the veggies are sufficiently cooked, I put half in the crock pot and half in a bowl which goes in the fridge for now.

Return to the now gently used skillet.

 Melt some more butter.

 Throw in your stew meat, plus some more salt and pepper.

Sprinkle on some flour.

You're not trying to get the meat completely cooked, just mostly browned on all sides.  Again, high heat and frequent stirring.

 Put the browned meat in the crock pot.

Look at the mess you've made of your skillet!  Isn't it beautiful?

Turn on the heat and pour in some wine!  I call the next step "simmer and scrape."

You'll wind up with something a lot like this.

Add it to the crock pot, cover, and let cook.  I usually add some parsley at this point.  I start my crock pot on high until it boils, then turn it down to low.

This is what it looks like after a few hours.  It's basically done, the meat is nice and tender.  This is a good point to do a preliminary testing and make flavoring adjustments as needed.  I added a splash more wine.

Once you're almost ready to eat, make your noodles according to package directions.

Add the rest of the veggies.

 And the sour cream.

Mix it all together and do final seasoning adjustments.

Serve over the noodles and enjoy!

Jalapeno Pillows

So my boyfriend LOVES spicy stuff.  I found another recipe from Pillsbury called Jalapeno Pillows.  Made those as part of lunch today and he loved them.  I'll give the recipe as they do, then tell you how he would change them. 

Ingredients

• • 12 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz)
  • 1/2 cup diced fresh jalapeño chiles (or to taste)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Garlic powder to taste
  • 1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
  • 1 egg
  • Water

  Steps

  • Step 1 Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, chiles, salt, pepper and garlic powder until well combined. Set aside.
  • Step 2 Separate dough into 8 biscuits. With rolling pin, roll out each biscuit into about 1/8-inch-thick round. Spoon about 1 tablespoon cheese filling onto center of each. Bring up dough around filling; pinch to seal tightly. Place seam side down on ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Step 3 To make egg wash, beat egg with splash of water. Brush tops of stuffed biscuits with some of the egg wash. Sprinkle tops with additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.  Add a small slice of jalapeño for garnish if you’d like.
  • Step 4  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Serve warm. 

   
  Now here's how we would change it.  When he diced the Jalapeno's he gutted them, then washed them off, then diced them.  But then they lost most of their hotness.  So he would next time just gut them and dice them leaving some of the seeds on the inside.  In addition he said it needed some bacon.  Also we put a piece of Jalapeno on top like it indicated and it didn't come out so well.  Under that piece it didn't cook at all.   So we would leave that off.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the process for this one.  We were making 3 different things at once.  But the link to the website with the recipe is here: Jalapeno Pillows

Apple Pie Twists

So I found on Pillsbury's website a recipe for Apple Pie Twists.  It looked easy so I figured I'd try it.  It called for using Pillsbury's bread sticks, some apple pie filling, and some seasoning.  They came out really good though some adjusting was required.  It called for chopping up the apple pie filling into a rough dice.  Then laying out the bread sticks, and putting the apple pie filling on 6 of them.  I couldn't quite figure out how to do that as the bread sticks were skinnier than I had planned for.  But my wonderful co-cook (my boyfriend) came up with the idea of using a shot glass to smash them out, making it possible.  Then you top it with another bread stick (which he also smashed thin) and twist them.  Next brush on an egg wash, then sprinkle with seasoning.  It called for cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little salt.  We decided after trying it this way that the salt was too much.  Next time I think I'll just use cinnamon, nutmeg and a little sugar.  After that you bake them at 350 degrees for approx. 20 minutes.  Mine took 20 min to look done.  After that let them cool a bit (They will be molten hot inside).  Then enjoy!

Ingredients laid out

My assistant helping while I took pictures!

Finished product!

This is the website I got it from: Spiced Apple Bread sticks! Oh Bite It

Ribs

So last year I remember cooking ribs in the crock pot, but I truly couldn't remember how I did it.  How much sauce did I use, how long ect.  So I asked my dad for advice and he said he cooks his in a tightly wrapped pan in the oven.  Last night I decided to try it and it came out wonderful!  I started by washing the ribs off a little, then putting them in a large throw away pan.  Added a whole bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce (the large bottle).  Then I put tin foil on top and tightly wrapped it up.  I cooked it at 250 for 4 hours then checked it (careful there will be a lot of steam!)  It was basically done but we wanted to eat around 7 (this was 6pm).  I turned the temp to 200 and spread the sauce that had fallen off back on the meat and then re-wrapped it in the tin foil.  Left it in the oven at 200 for another hour.  Paired that with a salad and it came out oh so good, fall off the bone, yummy!

The ribs I used were Bone-in Pork Loin Baby Back Ribs

Yummy ribs, fall off the bone good!

Crock Pot Chicken Paprikash

Chicken Paprikash is a traditional Hungarian stew.  It's spicy, creamy, and even a little bit sweet.  I could eat it every night for a month!  I came up with this crock pot version to make my addiction a little easier to manage.

Note: Hungarian paprika comes in two varieties, sweet and hot.  Most of the paprika sold in the US is the sweet variety.  Instead of hot paprika, I use chili powder (basically the same thing).  You can also use cayenne if you like things a little hotter.

2-3 pounds of chicken (breasts, legs, or a whole chicken)
1 medium to large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream

Put all ingredients except sour cream in the crock pot.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours (6 hours for frozen chicken), or on low for 6-8 hours.  You can't hurt this recipe by cooking it longer than necessary.  It's done when the chicken falls apart and the onions are transparent.  Adjust seasonings to your taste, and mix in sour cream.  Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.

Parmesan Chicken Mini Pies

So tonight I tried a new recipe.  It turned out well!  I found it on Pillsbury's website.  You start with Pillsbury seamless dough.  Cut it into 12 squares.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a muffin pan and then line the muffin cups with the squares of dough.  You can use regular crescent rolls, but it took 1.5 cans.  And you have to cut them and piece them together.  Take Tyson's Popcorn Chicken and microwave enough pieces to to fill them (12-15 depending on how big/small they are) and microwave them for 1 minute.  Put enough in each cup to fill it (1 big piece 2 small pieces).  Then cover it with a spoonful or so of sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Back for 15-18 minutes (or less mine was ready in 10-12 minutes, just depends on the oven.)  Serve and enjoy!

I used crescent rolls so had to piece them together

Horrible blogger I forgot until after I put them into the oven to take a pic!

Finished product!

Link to the original recipe: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/parmesan-chicken-mini-pies/499a7473-42f9-47d4-a47c-2684fa37a7f9

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

My family loves sweet potatoes.  They're tasty, healthy (yay beta-carotene!), and pretty versatile.  We often like to do baked sweet potatoes--just like normal baked potatoes, bake until soft and top with butter, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese, whatever.  That was my plan for lunch today, until I lost track of the time.  Once I realized that I didn't have enough time to bake potatoes (I prefer not to microwave potatoes, I don't like the finished texture.) and get Richard down for his nap at a reasonable time, I decided to do baked sweet potato fries.  The sliced up potatoes cook a lot faster than whole ones, and lunch was saved!

3 medium to large sweet potatoes
Gallon zipper bag
2 tablespoons (more or less) olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400, and coat a sheet pan with cooking spray or parchment paper.  Peel and slice potatoes to whatever size you desire.  (You want your sizing to be consistent so your potatoes are all done about the same time, but they can be thick or thin according to your preference.)  Put potatoes in zipper bag.  Add oil, salt, and pepper; adjusting quantities as needed.  Close bag and toss until potatoes appear to be evenly coated.  Dump out of bag onto sheet pan, and spread them in an even layer.  Bake 15-30 minutes (depending on thickness) or until a fork can be easily inserted and removed.  You may wish to turn/stir your fries about halfway through baking for even browning, but I'm usually too lazy!

As a side, these would probably be good for 4-6 people.  As a meal (because I'm lazy) it works really well for 2 adults and a child.