Sushi Cake

http://foodbeast.com/content/2012/11/01/sushi-layer-cake-from-france-proves-not-all-of-them-despise-american-gluttony/

This is going to be dinner, well the concept of it will be. Basically this is another lazy way of not having to roll sushi but still enjoy it.

Instead of doing this in the round, we'll do a rectangle (to mimic the shape that the nori is purchased in-- at least the brand I use). I'll layer nori, sushi rice, cucumber, carrots & seared ahi tuna.
For the second one I'll do the nori, sushi rice, avocado, cucumber, & seared ahi tuna...

I'm not totally sold on how I should layer it yet, but I'll let you know how it goes.


UPDATE: I can tell you that the way I did it, was an epic failure. I think I suck at making sushi. Sigh.

Spinach, Artichoke & Bacon Dip

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dan-smith-and-steve-mcdonagh/spinach-artichoke-and-bacon-dip-with-crispy-pitas-recipe/index.html

No, I haven't forgotten about the blog- I just haven't made anything new! I tried this recipe today. I think it was very yummy! I didn't want to add salt because of bacon but, IT DOES NEED SALT!
I served this with pre-made pita chips (plain ones) and this was great. :) No pictures, because IT'S GONE! LMAO!

Homemade Potato Chips

Part of my Too Chicken Poop to Try series... homemade potato chips. Here is the key to it all, a mandolin. If you don't have a mandolin, it'll make your job that much harder. I talked myself into getting one because I wanted to make my apple chips thinner & more evenly cut. I am glad I bought it and I'm even happier that I conquered my fear of  making my own potato chips. Let me tell you, it's SO EASY! Please get a mandolin, do it. They have a more intense potato flavor & I'm excited to experiment with this.

 

Peel the potatoes & cut them in half . Slice on the smallest setting on the mandolin (mine just says 1). Just like making French Fries, you need to wash off the starch off the potatoes before frying them. I just placed the mandolin over a bowl of water & they just plopped right in.

Then I pulled them out of the water & left them in a colander to drain.

 

They were still kinda wet so I put them between paper towels & dried them.

 

Pat pat pat!

 

My first experimental chippie...

 

I did them in small batches. The bubbles become smaller as the chip is "done"

 

I just tossed all my done potato chips in a little salt. Yum, super yum.

 

 

Tips- once the chips are cooked, you'll need to take them out right away. There is a fine line as they are "done" before they become mostly brown. scoop them out quickly.

Also, if you cut them too thickly, they become more like french fries. The outside is done and the inside is more like cooked potato. I found this out when I fried the ends of the potato- they were thicker than my potato slices.

 

 

You'll need potatoes, I HIGHLY recommend a mandolin for even slicing, a pot with enough veg oil to fry. I also used a wooden spoon to slosh my chips around and get an even cook on them.

 

 

Crepes

I made crepes over the weekend. These are filled with strawberry jam... I also serve it plain with just maple syrup OR I change the extract to orange and fill with dulce de leche- SUPER YUM!

Here is a repeat of the recipe I use:

2C- Flour
1/4C- Sugar
1/2tea- Salt
2C- Milk
2- Eggs
1-2T- Butter
Vanilla (or other) extract

VERY QUICK Chicken & Stuffing

1- 8oz Chicken Stuffing
1 Stick Butter
4 large chicken breasts, cooked & chopped
2- 10oz Cream of Chicken Soup
2C- Chicken Broth

Combo stuffing and butter

Put stuffing on the bottom of a 9x13 pan
Arrange chicken on top
Mix the soup & broth and pour over chicken

Bake 350 for 40 minutes

Artichoke & Spinach Pasta

http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/02/spinach-artichoke-baked-pasta/


So I just made this for dinner... I give it a B-/C+. Basically I doubt I'd be making this one any time soon... although it was a really good concept. I'm still dreaming about that Lime/Cilantro/Coconut/Curry Chicken that I made last week.

Red Velvet Mug Cake *Perfected!!*

Ok, a few trials and errors and here it is. If you like red velvet cake-- and a single serving appeals to you (actually, I could only eat about half of this, so share this with a friend)... I've NAILED THE RECIPE!!!

I found the original on a website, but it didn't come out well... After I tweeked it, it's perfect.

Mix together in your mug:

4T- Flour
4 1/2T- Sugar
1/8tea- B. Powder
1 1/2T- Cocoa Powder (I used Ghirardelli)
3T- Veg Oil
3T- Buttermilk
1 Egg
1/2 tea- Red Food Coloring... (I used a red velvet extract)

Pop it into the microwave for about 3 minutes. The cake will pull away from the mug (use a large mug) and take a spoon and take a look at the bottom of the cake. It's ok if it's a little wet, but not a puddle of raw batter...

The topping is mixed in another bowl

1 1/2 oz- Cream Cheese
1T- Butter
1/4C- Sugar

Lime and Coconut Chicken

http://www.pinnedbydani.com/2012/04/02/lime-and-coconut-chicken/


I'm very excited to be trying this recipe tomorrow... will make this marinade tomorrow and will have it tomorrow night over a bed of white rice... I'm thinking a nice salad on the side would be great. :)

UPDATE- OMG! I will totally make this again. It's going into the reliable rotation!!! If lime, coconut, curry, cilantro sound good to you- then MAKE THIS MAKE THIS MAKE THIS!!!

These are the things I did differently.

1T of cumin instead of 1 tea
1T parsley instead of coriander
1T of curry powder instead of 2 tea
3/4 of a can of coconut milk
NO Cayenne or hot chili

I want 3rds, 4ths and 5ths RIGHT NOW! Super yum. Make it, love it, thank me later!

Mug Recipes Part II

Ok, so this weekend I had some successes... Today I tried 2 more mug recipes and both didn't thrill me.

The first recipe was a red velvet cake. I thought my cake was done at a 1 1/2 minutes and it wasn't. I added the frosting and it just went down hill from there. I have to re-test and try to cook the cake the full 2 minutes, make SURE the cake is totally cooked and then put the topping on.

http://kirbiecravings.com/2012/03/red-velvet-mug-cake.html

The second recipe was an "instant" mug of mac & cheese. I REALLY like the idea of this recipe, but i wasn't too thrilled, although I'm going to try it again and see if I can't fix it.

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2012/05/17/instant-mug-o-mac-cheese-in-the-microwave/

SO Both of these recipes don't totally have my stamp of approval yet-- but I have a few ideas... must re-test soon!! ;)

Mug recipes series

I see this all the time, mug recipes. Ingredients that you mix in a mug and then pop into the microwave. The first time I tried it, my son & I made a brownie in a mug. Epic failure. Super gross.. I recently found two recipes that I kinda like! It's prefect to make an individual serving and not have to hang on to a huge cake. With that said- I don't think I would serve it to guests... I think if I just had a craving I would do it...

"Chocolate Chip Cookie in a mug" this is more like a cake- but has a lot great chocolate chip cookie flavor in it. DEFINITELY good for a cookie craving (so you're not sitting on a messy kitchen or having to turn on your oven OR stuck with a ton of extra cookies). Maybe I'll give it an A-...

http://www.pinporium.com/for-those-days-you-just-want-to-make-one-cookie-1-tbsp-butter-melted-1-tbsp-white-sugar-1-tbsp-brown-sugar-3-drops-of-vanilla-pinch-of-salt-1-egg-yolk-14-c-flour-2-tbsp-chocolate-chi


Ok, now the second mug recipe I tried was this morning... it was supposed to be a coffee cake in a mug. I would give this a B.

http://prudentbaby.com/2011/10/entertaining-food/a-cup-of-coffee-cake-in-under-five-minutes-2/

I have a few more recipes that I want to try out (mug recipes)... if you have any mug recipes that are really good or would like for me to try out- just email me at diycookingnation@yahoo.com

Pumpkin "donut" holes

http://cravingchronicles.com/2010/10/11/baked-pumpkin-spice-donut-holes/

I make these minus the butter- cinnamon/sugar mix at the end..

Pumpkin Pancakes

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Shopsins-Pumpkin-Pancakes?cmpid=fb

There comes a point every year that pumpkin something for breakfast just sounds good to me! I make these pumpkin muffins (they are supposed to be doughnuts, but they are really just muffins)... and I may have all these ingredients... so I might try these!! They look SO yummy!

Chicken & Apple- Rice Skillet

http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/bestchicken/Chicken_and_Apple-Rice_Skillet.html

I just posted this recipe because a friend of mine picked a ton of apples & wanted to know what to do with them. I love this dish and I make it every fall.. usually when I'm up to my neck in apples!

Lentils & Pasta

You'll need prepared ditalini pasta to toss in at the end- so whenever you want to do that... go for it!

(You'll need a very large pot)

For the Lentil Soup:

1 Large Onion (fine chop)
4-5 ribs of celery (fine chop)
4 Garlic cloves (fine chop)

1/4C- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Saute the onion & celery in the olive oil. Then add the garlic- cook for about 2 minutes until golden but NOT brown.

Add the sautéed veggies into your large sauce pot.

Add a bag of lentils &

6C- Chicken Broth
4C- Water
Salt & Pepper

Let this simmer for 1 hour.

(This is the color it should look like when it's done)

When ready to serve combine lentil soup and toss in pasta... everyone likes this differently. I like more lentils so there is more liquid in my bowl with pasta- my husband likes more pasta with the lentil soup so it's more like PASTA and lentils... LOL! This is such a staple we can have these minor preferences... ;)

I HIGHLY recommend this- especially if you're tired of the same old chicken soup if you're sick. Either way, around here- it's a big treat to have lentils & pasta (even though it's easier than sin to make!)

Enjoy!

OH! I forgot to add- when I made this for just my husband & I- we liked to add some red hot pepper flakes... it gives it a LOVELY taste to the soup... but since we have kids, I just go as far as the ground pepper...

Ropa Vieja

http://icuban.com/food/ropa.html

Ok, so the literal translation is Old Clothes... This is BY FAR the BEST dish (in my humble opinion) that Cubans can hang their hats on. It makes me all giddy inside when it's served. I was a little nervous about serving it to my little kids... but they LOVE it.. let me repeat.. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
The only change I've done to this recipe is that it says to discard the veggies and I HATE and WON'T do it. So, I leave them in there. Ahem... better than my grandmothers....

Picadillo

I am half Cuban (the half that counts- lol) and these guys BY FAR have the most authentic Cuban recipes. I'm planning to make a few recipes of theirs that remind me of home (actually-- shhh... BETTER than home)

http://icuban.com/food/picadillo.html

Beef with Apples & Sweet Potatoes

This is a slow cooker dish

2#- Boneless beef chuck shoulder roast (cut into 2" pieces)
1 can (40oz) sweet potatoes, drained
2 small onions (I'm going to bump mine up to 1 large)
2 apples, cored & sliced
1/2C- Beef Broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tea- Salt
1 tea- dried thyme leaves
3/4tea black pepper
1/4tea- cinnamon

Add all and put on low 8-9 hours

make a slurry of:
1T- cornstarch
2T- water

mix together and add to the slow cooker after the 8 or 9 hours
Cook on high for 15 minutes until the juices thicken.

Serve sauce with beef, sweet potatoes & apples

Rack of Ribs

Well, tonight's dinner is a full rack of ribs. I don't cook ribs often... but I'm going to make that Asian marinade (see previous post) & cut the rack in half, put everything into a zip lock bag & let it sit.
I also have tri color peppers (red, orange & yellow) and asparagus that I'm just going to brush a little with olive oil before we put everything on the grill.

Blueberry Tea Cookies

http://theyearoflivinghealthfully.blogspot.com/2012/08/blueberry-shortbread-cookies.html

Um, yea.. don't let the phrase living healthfully bother you-- lol... these cookies are made with butter! I'm having a friend over for tea tomorrow. She's bringing a blueberry tea and I thought I'd make these to go with them... I'll let you know if I finally do make them. ;)

Game Day Menu Week 2

I'm going to make Nachos tomorrow for game day. These have been my signature nachos for almost 10 years... very little has changed.


Take a large baking pan and put a small layer of tortilla chips on the bottom (you'll need the majority of the bag to eat with- will explain later).

Then I usually take ground beef, saute it and add a taco seasoning... as soon as the ground beef is prepared, I pour it over the layer of nachos.

I chop up tri color peppers (yellow, orange & red) and fresh tomatoes and scatter them on top.

Then I take a Mexican cheese blend (I use Sargentos) and cover the top.

I pop it in a 350 oven until the cheese melts.

To serve I scoop out a portion but need additional tortilla chips to actually eat it.

It's really really simple... you can add sour cream or guacamole-- but since my husband doesn't really like either I usually don't include it.

Cinnabon Clone

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clone-of-a-cinnabon/

After an entire week of NOT cooking breakfast, lunch, or dinner... I find myself scrambling to get back into it. Wrapping my head around WHAT to cook and the sad reality that I'll have to start cleaning everything after I've done something in the kitchen... has me dragging my feet. I have a few NEW recipes on deck starting with this one... I'm going to try it tomorrow for breakfast. I heard, it's better than sex. Yes... my eyes got a little bigger when this comment came from a very close and reliable friend. So, I'm ready for the experience... I wanted to make it this morning... but the reality that it would take almost a full hour from beginning to end, I chose to sleep in instead. Tomorrow I'm going to get up nice and early to try it out.

9-16-12 UPDATE: WHEW! Ok, finally sitting down to eat these bad boys. I woke up at 6am & we didn't start eating them until 9:15am... and I was hypersensitive from the get go what needed to be done and when and worked as quickly as I could. I think they are pretty good. I would give them, hm... maybe a B+/A-. It didn't rate higher because 1. the time it took to make these was REDICULOUS... and 2. the frosting was ok... I think I would have liked more of a cream cheese flavor OH and 3. some of the brown sugar/cinnamon filling actually started to get stringy and sticky and crunchy... I made a LOT of cinnamon rolls in my baking career and the filling should be more like a smear than this... So, it is possible that I would go through all this trouble if I had to, but if I don't have to... I probably won't do it again... The recipe is a keeper- unless something else better came along...

UPDATE Part II- I realized as I was driving over to the grocery store... you need to take the butter, cinnamon & sugar and beat that together as a paste and smear it on... Also, For my taste, I would cut back on the butter a bit and increase the cream cheese... ;) If I made those tweeks, I'd rate it higher- like an A, maybe even an A+

Game Day Menu

Week 1 Game Day Menu:

Lunch

Wings, two ways... an Asian Garlic & Buffalo Wings

Dinner

Giordanno style: Deep Dish, Stuffed Crust Pizza with spinach & sausage

Yeah, I can't wait until dinner!

Cake Batter Popcorn

I sort of swore off doing this... I was curious at first... then dismissed this whole idea of loading up popcorn with other "stuff" but, as I stared at the pictures for about the billionth time on Pinterest... I thought, why not do a popcorn assortment for the holidays as gifts? Like Cake Batter, kettle corn, cookies & cream, orangesicle.. then the idea wasn't so crazy anymore...


http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2012/03/birthday-cake-batter-popcorn/

I'll have to let you know how it comes out....

Chicken Potpie Pockets

I saw this the other day in a magazine and I'm TOTALLY going to make it!

http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/chicken-potpie-turnovers-recipe-clv0912

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

http://janessweets.blogspot.ca/2010/03/strawberries-and-cream-muffins-i-do.html

I just made these muffins... A+! Would make them in a second without thinking. Someone says... I have fresh strawberries- love to see them in a muffin, I'd send them this recipe.
I made them and failed to read the last instruction which was to put another layer of muffin batter on top (I used the extra batter for mini strawberry muffins- just muffin batter and a sprinkling of strawberries on top- STILL excellent). I just happened to have a little less than 4oz of cream cheese lying around AND strawberries that looked like I had until today to figure out what to do with. VOILA! Our breakfast and a very yummy one at that. The kids were not complaining that they were getting fresh strawberry muffins this morning! :)

Stromboli

Bring on the first football game of the year!! Once a week during football season- I planned on a special snack... a dip, a special dinner-- SOMETHING to look forward to while we watched the game.

My MIL makes 2 kinds of stromboli... one which is a mozzarella & pepperoni and the other is a spinach and feta. My husband hates feta, so I make the mozzarella & pepperoni one.

I make my favorite pizza dough (ahem, nods to the bread machine)...

1 1/3C- Hot water
1tea- Sugar
2tea- Salt
2T- Olive Oil
3 1/4C- Bread Flour
3/4C- Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/4tea- yeast

This makes 2# pizza dough.

I cut it in half and use my cutting board as a guide. I stretch and roll out the pizza dough into the size of a square. I lay out my sliced mozzarella (I use 1/2 pound in each stromboli log) and I get about a 1# to 1 1/2# of pepperoni. I prefer boar's head pepperoni. I split what I need for both and evenly lay out mozzarella and then pepperoni.
I roll the dough- mozzarella/pepperoni up into a log... much like you would for a jelly roll cake. I make a couple of slits on the top (not too deep, but if you don't it'll burst out). Then I just bake it off until the crust is golden brown... I would check after 15 minutes to gauge how much longer it needs to stay in.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

So, today I'm making fresh cinnamon raisin bread so I can include it in my son's lunchbox for his first day of school tomorrow. I've made this a few times... last time I ran out of butter and had vegan butter instead. It turned out to be the best loaf I'd ever made. 

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/bread-machine-cinnamon-raisin-bread/b42228f5-4f6e-454a-9186-c67c0d7686c9

This is the 1 1/2# loaf recipe- I believe. I make the 2# loaf recipe. I highly recommend it. I love the way it makes the place smell and it tastes wonderful, seriously.

If anyone needs the larger recipe, please email me at diycookingnation@yahoo.com

Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo with Cornbread

So, in my slow cooker I have:

1#- Sausage, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped/sliced
1 can of crushed tomatoes (35oz?)
1-2T- Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper

I'll let it go for about 6 hours then I'll add:
1 package frozen sliced okra
1T- White vinegar
red pepper sauce (1/2 tea?)
& raw shrimp (no shells, deveined)

That'll go in for about another 1/2 hour or so (until the shrimp is cooked and I'm satisfied everything has thickened up.

I'll be making cornbread as well...

3 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix
5oz (or so) of canned creamed corn
1/3C- Milk
3ea- Eggs

375 Oven for 22- 25 minutes... you do NOT want to over bake the cornbread.

Eclair Cake

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/eclair-cake/

I'm not a big fan of semi homemade stuff... but this cake is SO kid friendly and, quite frankly- YUMMY if I didn't already have it on the blog, it should be here. I follow the recipe exactly EXCEPT that I don't add a chocolate layer- I add fresh berries. I usually add blueberries and strawberries for a great patriotic flag cake..  Since I got some really yummy raspberries on sale- this Labor Day I'll be making mine with raspberries and strawberries.

Labor Day menu

So, I just picked up steak tips-- that I'm going to marinade in that UK marinade. Super Yum.
We'll also grill corn on the cob...
I'm going to make that 3 bean salad as my other side dish...

For dessert I think I posted the recipe for it- it's a no bake eclair cake and INSTEAD of using chocolate I'm going to top it with raspberries and strawberries. That also is super yummy.
If I didn't post that no bake eclair cake I'll post it here.

Mexican Taco Pasta

Ok, I've never made this one before.. I always thought... well... that it looked a little gross. But since it said it's a big hit with kids & I've got two of them, I thought I'd give it a shot.

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/07/taco-pasta.html

I may make some changes, but if I do-- I'll post them here PLUS if it was good or not! ;)

UPDATE: This was a crowd pleaser!!!! Here are my alterations from the original recipe above:
I used minced onion and powdered garlic instead of fresh
I used a large can of diced tomatoes
I used dried cilantro
I used about a 1/4 of a bag of Sargento's Mexican Cheese blend...

Everyone liked it.

Thai Chicken Noodle dish.

Yes, a few posts ago I wanted to make a soup dish... but this version ended up having so much STUFF in it that it's more of a noodle dish than soup. Here is the final version...

2T- Sesame Oil
5 cloves garlic, sliced
powdered ginger generously poured over
chicken thighs- cut into cubes (I think I used about 2#)

I browned the chicken (just until the pink was all gone) in a VERY large soup pot
I added

1/2C- Peanut Butter
1C- Tomato puree
6C- Chicken Broth
2T- Fish Sauce
1 large coconut milk (24oz?)
1T- Thai Curry Paste
1tea (approx) soy sauce

Brought all to a boil

added 1 package of rice noodles & cooked for 5 minutes

added 1 small cabbage that I HIGHLY recommend gets shredded (I chopped mine and regret it)- cook that for 5 minutes

add juice of 2 fresh squeezed limes
1 can of rinsed and drained bean sprouts
1/4C- scallions
cilantro
Cooked that for about 5 more minutes and killed the heat.


I would give it a strong B+ but since my husband is a pretty picky person-- I'll put his feedback of the whole thing later after he has some... ;)

8-29-12 UPDATE: I sold it to him as a noodle dish instead of a soup... my husband bought it and REALLY liked it. I would say from his perspective, it was an A dish. I think it would have been an A dish if I shredded the cabbage instead of chopped it up.

Pork Chops with Apples and Bacon Cheese Grits

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/08/pork-chops-with-apples-and-creamy-bacon-cheese-grits/

I am super excited to try this one... Pork & apples- glazed with maple syrup... Grits with bacon, cheese & heavy cream!!! I think this one is going to be a win win situation... I'll update after we've had it. I expect great things from this one though.... ;)

8-28-12 UPDATE I made this dish... 2 days ago... I thought it was pretty good.. my husband hated it. I think the grits reminded him of potatoes au gratin and he HATES au gratin potatoes... I thought my kids FOR SURE would like it.. they BOTH turned their noses to it. I was the only one who liked it and now am the only one eating the leftovers... sigh. Overall B+.

Green Chicken Chili

http://www.womansday.com/recipefinder/green-chili-recipe-122693

I'm making this instead of the Thai Chicken Soup because I realized this morning I didn't have enough ingredients for it.

The ONLY change I make to this green chicken chili recipe is that I add a can of black beans (rinsed)... The recipe is really good...

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/soups/thai-chicken-noodle-soup/

I'm going to try this recipe today for dinner... Given the last failure of the Thai Chicken Salad, I'm going to study a few other recipes I have squirreled away and may add to this recipe... I have a fear that this recipe will be a little flat... if I add anything to this recipe, I'll update after I'm done!


UPDATE- I just found this:
http://chefmichaelsmith.com/Recipe/thai-coconut-curry-soup/

This recipe I think is going to be a better one... It has some KEY additions: coconut milk, Thai curry paste, lime, lemongrass... ALL are really big flavors that I think would help the soup... Since I don't have any of those ingredients... I'm putting this one off to the side, going to make another recipe instead... I'll probably make this on Sat. instead...

White Chocolate-Blueberry Muffin Top (Cookies)

This recipe comes from "The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook". Although many of the recipes seem like they would turn out well, there are strong acusations of plagerism. It did give me pause to buy the book, but since I had a list mile high of recipes I wanted, I bought it anyway...
I made a cobbler and a lamb/plum stew and both came out pretty good. I have high hopes for this one..

2 sticks Butter
1/2C- Sugar
1/2C- B. Sugar

Cream- then beat in:

3 Eggs
2tea- Vanilla

Add:

2 1/2C- Flour
1tea- B. Powder
1/4 PLUS 1/8tea- B. Soda
1tea- salt

Mix until just combined, add:

1C- White Chocolate Chips
1C- Fresh Blueberries

400 Oven... 12-15 min. It's ready when the edges turn brown.
*The longer they bake, the less cakelike they will be
*These are drop cookies


I'll let you know how these turn out!!! :)  I LOVE cookies!


8-21-12 Update. I made them... I LOVE them.. VERY GOOD. 2 thumbs up!! NOW, I needed to cut back the baking time... maybe because my scoop was smaller than the author intended (then again, it wasn't specific the size they were going for).. I used (what I think) a standard cookie scoop and I think maybe 9-11 minutes.. Bottom line is. Whatever size scoop you use-- watch the oven and once you see the rim of the cookie darken-- take it out. They are cake-like. The blueberries and white chocolate compliment each other.

Apple Cinnamon Chips

I want to give my dehydrator a nice big ole hug! Yesterday I started to test dehydrating fruits as snacks. The apples came out the best! I sliced them up thin and rubbed a thin coat of cinnamon & nutmeg... my house smelled like I was baking an apple pie the whole time. :) They were fantastic. I can't wait until apple season comes around at the local farm... They have these gigantic honeycrisp apples that I really like to go pick. I am totally making a ton of apple chips when they become available. Great for my kid's lunchbox & my husband's 10 o'clock snack.
I also dehydrated banana slices & strawberries. The bananas were about to "go" and they also came out amazing. I highly recommend getting a dehydrator for the only reason that it doesn't add as much heat as your oven would and it frees up your oven if you want to use it for other things (like dinner). My dehydrator also came with trays for fruit leather. From my previous posts that is a little hit or miss... the strawberry recipe came out really great though.
I can't wait to continue to experiment with fruits, vegetables & leathers on my dehydrator.

Thai Chicken Broccoli-Slaw Salad

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/shredded-thai-chicken-salad/da18cb65-e062-4110-9e6b-17f71982bd43?nicam4=SocialMedia&nichn4=Facebook&niseg4=BettyCrocker&creativeID4=Post

So I'm going to make this salad today for dinner. I think I'm going to up the ingredients so that it can be our main meal for tonight.

I'm also thinking of making these blueberry/white chocolate muffin-top cookies (I'll post the recipe later).


8-22-12 I made this yesterday for dinner and it was NOT very good. It didn't taste very Thai... It was the kind of dinner that it didn't turn my stomach and make me gag, but I wanted it to be over. I would give this a D-.

Engagement Chicken

So, today I'm making Engagement Chicken

http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2006/07/engagement-chicken

I bought a 4 pound chicken... We'll have it tonight and then the leftovers, I'll make a Thai Chicken Noodle Soup and a Shredded Thai Chicken Broccoli Slaw Salad...

I've decided on baked potatoes for one side, but I haven't decided what else we'll have with it.
I also need to go through my kitchen and decide which things have to go... and go soon. I think I'm going to make Blueberry/White Chocolate Muffin Top Cookies soon... I think I'm also going to make some strawberry fruit leather and possibly some banana & cinnamon apple chips...

None the less, lots of new cooking this week-- I'll keep everyone posted!!! Let me know if YOU have a recipe you'd like me to try and email me at diycookingnation@yahoo.com


8-21-12 I made this Engagement Chicken yesterday... the run off juices were pretty good. I'm not into herbs being used for garnishes so I omited them. For a family of 4, I ended up with just enough chicken for one of my recipes today... Would I make this one again? I suppose if I just had a few lemons laying around and I had a whole roaster and I didn't know what else to do with it, I would... I probably wouldn't go out of my way though...

Strawberry Muffins

http://www.food.com/recipe/fresh-strawberry-muffins-375759

I made these strawberry muffins.. they were kinda dense. But, I was happy that the whole wheat kept the structure of the fresh strawberries in the muffin.

I'm not sure if I would make these again...

Today I'm making steak tips and using the UK steak marinade that I posted last month. I'm also going to make the cheese pusher's creamy garlic pasta as a side dish along with some broccoli I think... Since the garlic pasta is a new recipe, I'll let you know how it turns out. :)

8-20-12 The Creamy Garlic Pasta was VERY good. When I was in college my roommate got me addicted to Pasta Roni's Angel Hair Pasta and Herbs... this tastes JUST LIKE IT. I would even deem it a copy kat recipe of that product. Very happy to have it and would definitly make it again!!!

Also, used the UK steak marinade again... it is still fantastic. :)

Menu planning...

I have to do some serious menu planning... I've been skating by since I got back from my mini vacation and now I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get down and dirty. Here is my rough list of things I'm interested in trying over the next few weeks...

Pioneer Woman's Pork Chops with Apples and Bacon/Cheesy Grits
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/08/pork-chops-with-apples-and-creamy-bacon-cheese-grits/

Green Chicken Chili
http://www.womansday.com/recipefinder/green-chili-recipe-122693

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/soups/thai-chicken-noodle-soup/

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-tikka-masala-recipe-00100000072578/index.html

Mexican Taco Pasta
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/07/taco-pasta.html

Creamy Garlic Pasta
http://thecheesepusher.tumblr.com/

Hibachi Chicken & Vegetable Fried Rice
http://www.food.com/recipe/hibachi-chicken-and-fried-rice-408318

Shredded Thai Chicken Salad
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/shredded-thai-chicken-salad/da18cb65-e062-4110-9e6b-17f71982bd43?nicam4=SocialMedia&nichn4=Facebook&niseg4=BettyCrocker&creativeID4=Post

Engagement Chicken
http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2006/07/engagement-chicken

Other dinners I'm thinking about are:
- My signature pasta salad
- Beef Stew
- Chicken and shrimp gumbo & cornbread

Asian Steak Marinade

This marinade made my steaks taste the BEST they've ever tasted before. It got a "please write this recipe down" nod from my husband!

Here it is:

I took a pound London Broil, put it in a large ziplock bag and added:

Soy Sauce
Sesame Seed Oil
1tea- Toasted Sesame Seeds
1tea- Minced Garlic (dried is fine)
1tea- Minced Onions (dried is fine)
3/4tea- Ground Ginger

FANTASTIC Marinade... we grilled the steak off and it was delicious. It did NOT have an in your face Asian taste at all... in fact, I was serving baked potatoes as well.. I put mine over the leftover steak juices on my plate and wiped it clean with the potato. VERY GOOD MARINADE!

3 Bean Salad

So, my FAVORITE recipe that I made over my week away was this 3 bean salad. Seriously yummy and I'm still thinking about having some more and I last had it a week ago...

Here's the recipe:

red onion, small dice
Red Pepper, small dice
Celery, small dice
Drained chickpes
Drained Red Kidney Beans
Drained Black Beans
drizzle extra virgin olive oil
drizzle Balsamic Vinegar
Parsley, Basil, Oregano, garlic
Fresh cilantro 

Salt & Pepper
drizzled apple cider vinegar

(Optional: additional veggies, pictured is grape tomatoes because I just happen to have some)

Rinse all of your beans very well under a cold tap. 

Chop your veggies 

Add all your spices (fresh is always better and the cilantro must be fresh), vinegars, evoo...

Mix all together and adjust spices to taste. Holy YUM! ;)

It's raw, it's vegan & if I had to eat this for the rest of my life, I would.

Canning

I'm very excited, I'm going on a mini vacation and I'm staying with my IL's. One thing that is planned to do (I think) is to go picking blueberries-- but what I'm more excited to do and learn is HOW to can and make jams. I've never made jam or canned anything... in fact, that's on my too chicken poop to try list! If I actually get the opportunity to do it- I'll post my experience and "recipe" here!

8-16-12 We had every intention to can while I was there... but when we called the guy who grew the blueberries, he said he was done for the season... so there went my canning lesson. :( 
I did, however, come back with a FANTASTIC 3 Bean Salad recipe!!!

Romantic Dinner

I've been thinking it's been a long while since my husband and I went on a romantic date... Since we have 2 little kids and no sitter- I think I want to start planning a very sexy menu for us to have after we get the kids to bed. ;) I think I want it to include a cheese fondue as a main course.. I can add that to the "too chicken poop to try" list. I've made chocolate fondue, but never a cheese fondue--- I think it would be fun and different for us. a real change of pace. An appetizer and dessert should be equally sexy, I just don't know what those will be yet. Any suggestions??

Near East Herbed Chicken Couscous

I love Near East Herbed Chicken Couscous- but as I am quickly realizing.. for my family of 4, 1 box isn't enough. I looked at the ingredients and realized I'm going to give this a shot making it homemade. Here are the ingredients:

Couscous
Carrots (I'm going to shred a small quantity)
Salt
Onion (I may go the dried minced route here)
Parsley
Garlic
Chicken Broth
Celery (fresh grated)
Turmeric
Butter

SO I'm going to try a combination of this tonight when I make couscous for my Indian Curry. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Strawberry Cheesecake EASY

When I had my second child, I signed up for this Mom's meals service- where moms would come by and drop off a 3 course dinner for your whole family. It is volunteer service... Out of it I got a few really great recipes. This one apparently is on the internet and super easy..

She brought me a "Chocolate Eclair Cake"

2 (3oz) Instant Vanilla Jello Pudding
3C Milk
1 (8oz) frozen whipped topping

Then you have graham crackers separating the layers SO it would be:

Graham Crackers layer
Pudding Layer
Graham Cracker layer
Pudding layer
(you can keep layering if you have more)
The woman who brought this "cake" topped hers with chocolate frosting out of a can.

I didn't want to put the chocolate on top so I put fresh fruit of mine.
SO tonight's dessert will have the pudding/graham cracker layer (actually I have instant cheesecake pudding I believe, if I don't vanilla is fine) and then I have fresh strawberries that I'll put on top.

The graham cracker layer softens into the pudding and is SUPER yummy! I generally am not into things that are semi homemade but this is one to keep on file as something really quick to whip up. :)

Aloha Pork Chops

This recipe comes from the Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook. Here is what I did:

Almost 3# Pork Chops
sprinkled a little salt and pepper on them

1- 20oz crushed pineapples
1/4C- B. Sugar, packed
1T- Cider vinegar
1T- Soy Sauce
1T- Curry Powder (a bit more than the original, but we love curry)
1/2tea- ginger

I put all this in the slow cooker-- low for about 8hrs, halfway through I give the whole thing a stir...

THEN at the end I pull out any bones and sort of mash up the pork
I whisk

Water + 2T- Cornstarch together and then dump the slurry into the slow cooker- give it a stir and cook for 12 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.

I also make coconut sticky rice.
Pretty simple, I put a sushi rice in my rice maker and dump a large can of coconut milk in there as well. I normally make 3C rice with (up to my rice maker's instructions) 3 servings fill line with water. If the can of coconut milk doesn't satisfy the water requirements then I fill the rest up with water- trust me, a large can of coconut milk will impart enough coconut flavor into your rice!!

Then I just serve the two together!

Kettle Corn

Want to make your own kettle corn??

(Not photographed is my two pot holders- you will need a pot holder to help you shake the pot)


1/4C- Oil (I used veg) toss a few kernels in the pot. It will alert you that the oil is hot enough when your testers start to pop

1/4C- Popcorn kernels

 The testers are starting to pop! Add your popcorn!

 

2T- sugar

As the popcorn starts to pop, add the sugar and with your hands protected- shake the covered pot until all the kernels pop & the sugar is thoroughly swirled & mixed into to popcorn.

1/4tea- salt

This is it all poured out & waiting for the salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to evenly incorporate the salt in the popcorn but place a 5 minute timer on it. The popcorn has hot sugar and you could burn your fingers ( and mouth ) if you don't let it sit. Resist the urge-- it's worth the wait!

Chicken and Dumplings

Thank you America's Test kitchen for putting this beloved classic into slow cooker ease... I'm trying this one out for the first time... Here's the recipe:

3#- Skinless bonless thighs
3T- Veg Oil
Lightly brown thighs

2 onions minced
2 Celery, sliced 1/4"
6 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tea- Thyme
1T- Tomato Paste
Cook until veg is lightly browned

1/3C- Flour
Add to vegetables

1C- Chicken Broth to deglaze the pan

Add all the above to the slow cooker and add:
4C- Chicken Broth
4- Carrots (I'm using a bag and a half of baby carrots)
2 Bay Leaves
1C- Frozen Peas
3T- Parsley


On low for about 6 hours THEN add the dumplings

2C Flour
1T- B. Powder
1 tea- Salt

1C- Milk
3T- Butter
Microwave this for about a minute and then mix into your flour mix.
Form golf sized dumplings and put on top of the chicken stew... cover it back up and cook for another 35 minutes.

YUM I can't wait!!

Balsamic- Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Thanks to Pinterest I got the idea to make a grilled balsamic- garlic crusted pork tenderloin. With my pork defrosted I plan on rubbing this on the pork tenderloins this morning and grilling it up later today if the weather holds out. If it doesn't I'll have to prepare it in the oven.

http://kitchenconfidante.com/if-you-cant-stand-the-heat-part-ii

7-24-12 UPDATE We had this last night for dinner. I thought it was REALLY good BUT I would have cut back on the salt-- it was WAY too salty. BUT, the pork tasted really good and so did the marinade. ALSO I loaded it up with lots of cloves of garlic, not just the 3 or 4 it called for. I also did not end up with a paste, it was more of a liquid but that was ok because I just put the pork in a ziplock bag in the marinade and it was still really good. :)

Lamb Stew with Dried Plums

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Katnisss-Favorite-Lamb-Stew-with-Dried-Plums-395189

I made this recipe last night. I put it (almost all) in my 6qt slow cooker and HA it didn't all fit! I had to omit the 2 diced onions, 1/2C of celery and until most of it cooked down-- I had left out 2C of plums until I had more room.

I was given this recipe by a friend. She raved about it and I thought it sounded good, but I hate lamb. She said it was so good- the lamb doesn't bother you-- she's not a lamb fan either.

She was TOTALLY right! First of all, the plums make the sauce very rich and dark. All the vegetables and meat came out so tasty! For someone who isn't a fan of lamb, I have to admit the dish is good. That being said- I think it's more of a stick to your ribs kinda meal and would probably think about making it in the winter AND would skim about a 1/4 off the recipe. I like the amount it made-- but I had to leave out ingredients to put it in my slow cooker. OH yea, I know the original calls to do this on the stove- but the slow cooker (on low, over night) works well too! I would say that within 12 hours it was done, but since I added the 2 missing cups of plums, I left it in for 2 more hours.

If you want to give it a try and want to ask me any questions, email me at:

diycookingnation@yahoo.com

Kettle Corn

I just had kettle corn for the very first time. OMG! I always saw kettle corn at fairs and thought- what a waste of money... I'm going to go for the cotton candy or something... it is just popcorn... HA! Today I went to a fair and it was slim pickins for the food but they had kettle corn. My stomach was a little uneasy and I wanted something dry to snack on. I figured buying a small bag would be a good idea, I pop plain popcorn all the time at home. Well, all I can say was I bought this kettle corn and we (meaning my entire family) couldn't stop eating it. We were still stuffing our faces with it and we decided to buy a large bag to bring home with us. I have it in the closet (for now- ha ha ha) but I can't help but think- I MUST MAKE THIS STUFF! There has to be a super delicious DIY recipe for kettle corn and I think I'm determined to find out how.

I know it's not on the exact subject BUT a very good friend of mine (and her mother) make AWESOME Caramel Corn... She was so generous to give me the recipe, but I've been too lazy to make it at home :P But, seriously- it is REALLY good stuff! :)

With every fiber of my being I am going to try to hold off on eating the kettle corn until my husband gets home but I must find out a DIY way to make kettle corn! Any suggestions?? diycookingnation@yahoo.com

If I find anything I will post it here! ;)

BTW- Kettle corn is popcorn mixed with sugar and salt... Caramel Corn has more of an even dark caramelized sugar that is like cracker jack popcorn... Kettle corn is lighter- Caramel Corn is more like candy


7-23-12 UPDATE- So, I have pulled up a few recipes and today I figured I'd give one a try. http://tipbusters.com/2012/microwave-kettle-corn-in-a-brown-paper-bag/ Failed, in every way. The bottom kernels burned... Nothing tasted really salty or sweet enough. I have a few other recipes to try... sigh. I still have the large bag of kettle corn that we really like. I sadly tried it afterwards... not even close yet...

7-19-12 German

My husband and I are learning German for fun (GUTEN TAG!) and we are having a great time learning it. We're still on lesson one, but it makes me want to try spaetzle again.. anyone have any great German recipes out there?? I know I have a few German readers! :)
diycookingnation@yahoo.com

Moroccan Chicken with Dried Apricots and Chickpeas (Slow Cooker)

 I just put the following into my slow cooker:

3# skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 large can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
2 chopped onions
3 chopped cloves of garlic
chopped up dried apricots
1 1/2 tea- paprika
1/4 tea- cayenne
1/4tea- nutmeg
1/4tea- allspice
2 bay leaves (I used crushed dried equivalent)
1 Cinnamon Stick
3T- Tapioca
1 1/2T tomato sauce
5C- Chicken Broth
a dash of brown sugar
a dash of dried cilantro
a dash of sea salt
1T- Veg Oil

I put it on low in the slow cooker for about 8 hours... Veggies need to be soft and chicken needs to be fork tender.. If after 4 hours I give it a stir... if it seems like everything is still too firm and won't cook quickly enough, I'll crank it up on high for the remaining time. :) I serve this over a bed of chicken flavored couscous... this is a family favorite!

Slow Cooker Lamb & Plum Stew

I just got this recipe from a friend and as much as I hate lamb, she says that it's a must in this recipe... So, I'm going to give it a try...

5# Lamb (filet, shoulder, or leg) cut into 2" pieces
Coated with:
Salt, pepper & 1/2C- Flour

2T- Olive Oil- Saute lamb until brown on all sides and then put into slow cooker
in the same pan saute:
3 cloves- garlic, minced
1 large- onion, chopped
until golden and then add to the slow cooker
use a 1/2C- water to deglaze the pan and add it to the slow cooker

Add to the slow cooker:
4C- Beef Stock
2tea- sugar
3tea- B. sugar
3C- Carrots, diced
3C- Zucchini, diced
1 1/2C- Celery, diced
2lg- Onions, diced
3- potatoes, cubed
5C- dried plums
2tea- thyme
3tea- rosemary
2tea- basil
1tea- parsley
1C- Ginger Ale

on low for 12-14 hours.

I plan on getting some of my missing ingredients on Friday and trying it out--- will let you know how it turns out! :)

Patak's Chicken Curry

When my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I got into curries I didn't know how to make them. In fact, a co-worker would bring in this curry that she made and it smelled amazing. She told me how easy it was to make and that she used Patak's Mild Concentrated Curry Paste and followed the recipe on the back. I found a jar and made it. It was our go to recipe if we wanted curry for a while.

It's 1 onion that you saute in some veg oil.
Chicken (1 to 2 breasts) cooked until lightly browned (I usually cube mine)
4+ T- Patak curry paste (this is really to taste)
1/2- 1C- diced canned tomatoes
(Water, which I omit)

Today I'm going to substitute the canned tomatoes for fresh ones because I have a whole bunch.
And I'm going to add chickpeas to it.

I have been making my curries from scratch and not from a paste for a long while now, but I ran across a jar of this stuff and I'm making it because it's nastalgia food for us. In fact, I'm really excited to "go there" tonight! LOL!

7-17-12

Starting next Tuesday I should have a whole bunch of NEW stuff on here... I still have to figure what that is... :P

Sweet Potato Fries

I made a Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Fry & a Sesame Lime Sweet Potato Fry. I have to say that the curry one was much more intense in flavor. My son & I liked the curry fries & my husband and daughter liked the sesame lime flavored one... So-- I can't say which one won over the other!

Here is the Coconut Curry Sweet Potato recipe I try (I did not make a dipping sauce)
http://peasandthankyou.com/2011/07/13/my-french-fry-soulmate/

And here is the the Sesame Lime recipe (didn't make the dipping sauce either)
http://peasandthankyou.com/2011/07/06/name-that-summer/

UK Steak Marinade

I found this recipe online because I'm obsessed with this English pub that makes DEVINE marinaded steak tips & fries with curry dipping sauce. I SO want to make it at home, but can't figure out how they make it (AT ALL). So, I have steak tips for tomorrow's grilling festivities-- I think I'm going to try this steak marinade recipe:
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/15532/super-steak-marinade.aspx

4th of July Menu

Here is what we'll be making for the 4th:

- Marinated Steak Tips
- Veggie Burger
- Corn on the Cob
- Either Mashed Potatoes (maybe even wasabi mashed potatoes) OR Homemade French Fries OR Sweet Potato Fries-- obviously undecided there... LOL

Dessert will be EITHER:

Brownies & Vegan Cookies OR
Pineapple Angel Food Cake

Strawberry Fruit Leather

So, I made strawberry fruit leather yesterday with my brand new dehydrator. It went really well. I sort of made up the recipe... I had 1 1/2 large pints of strawberries that, don't ask me how I timed this one, that were on the cusp of going bad-- but none of them did!

Over ripped strawberries- washed and tops off
1 small individual container of Mott's Applesauce (Natural)
1T- local honey

I put all in the blender and pureed it all. Then I poured the sauce through a strainer to take out the excess seeds. Poured it onto the trays- dehydrated it 6-7 hours & it was delicious! Needless to say, it's all gone now.

So today I went though my fridge & noticed that my bananas were on the verge of going bad-- immediately I thought- No they aren't!!! I pureed the bananas, put a small individual container of Motts applesauce, a squirt of lemon juice (so they don't brown) and 1T- local honey. It's in the dehydrator now & I set the timer for 7 hours... I don't use recipes, I just figure I need to be happy with the taste before it gets dehydrated or I won't like it after it's done. :)

Let ya all know how it goes!!


PS- The banana fruit leather came out HORRIBLE! :( I did not put a coating of veg oil on the tray so the whole thing stuck. :( I also was not impressed with how it tasted after it was dried. It was good going in, but not so good going out-- Guess that one is a work in progress. :P

General Tso's Tofu

http://vegweb.com/recipes/general-taos-tofu

So, this is the recipe I'll be making today for the entire family. I'm a little nervous because I'm not sure if the kids will like tofu... but, my husband reminded me that not every dinner needs to be one that has meat in it--- so, there we go. Everyone will be trying something new today!! :) The only thing I'm omiting is going to be the crushed red pepper and sherry. Need to make this one kid friendly--- Will post later how it all went & if everyone liked it or not... Crossing fingers.

Falafel

Part of the "Too Chicken Poop to Try" I think I'm on number 4 at this point, I'm adding falafel. I read this recipe: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/recipe-of-the-day-falafel/ and thought, I can do this! I have always had this pre-conceived notion that falafel was one of those out of reach foods for me to make. I get it at this greek place we go to... I think it's delicious. I even went so far as to buy a pre-packaged mix (that ended up tasting HORRIBLE). I was convinced that I couldn't make it by myself. SO- it's on my special list.... my, I'm afraid up front but am determined to give it a try list. LOL!

I am going to make this recipe soon & will definitly update as to how it all went.

If anyone tries this before I do-- please email me at diycookingnation@yahoo.com and let me know how it turned out!!!

Dehydrator

I am SO excited that my dehydrator is coming TODAY! First of all, I'm sitting on some strawberries that we haven't been able to get to through the week & I need something to do with them. I have NEVER dehydrated anything before in my life- BUT since my son is going to school next year I wanted to start making fruit leather, dehydrated fruits and veggie chips. I also didn't want to have to buy any pre-packaged stuff because they usually add a lot of salt and other ingredients when it should just be the fruit or vegetable without any additional ingredients added. I've never done this before--- so once I get it, I'll definitly let everyone know how it turned out!!

Microwave Air Popped Popcorn

A great DIY idea. I read this article a week ago by Mark Bittman http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/microwave-popcorn-minus-the-ripoff/ About how you don't need "magic" bags to pop popcorn in your microwave. I already had kernels that I had been popping on the stove- but I was tired of cleaning the pot, lid & the bowl I poured it in. Although oil popped popcorn only has 55 calories AIR popped popcorn has 35. I looked into buying a popcorn maker but then I remembered a rumor that you could do it in a brown bag. That article was what I ran into. This is what I did.

I bought the jumbo sized brown bags (in the grocery or dollar store) used for lunches.
I put 1/4C of kernels in the bottom of the bag.
I handle tuck all of my bags: http://www.origami-resource-center.com/brown-paper-bag.html
I stood the bag standing up and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes.

The first time I did this I ended up with a small quantity of popcorn that didn't pop AND I had burned popcorn. I didn't end up with burned popcorn when I cooked it on the stove with oil... so I tried it a second time.

The method that works is:

** Put 1/4C kernels at the bottom of a bag.
     Give it a handle fold
     Put the bag in standing up in the microwave
     Put it in for a minute
     Open the bag and pour out all the popped popcorn
     Reclose the bag with the un popped kernels and put it in for another minute- stopping the microwave when it stops popping.

In the end I ended up with all but 3 kernels popping- no burned popcorn, no oil, I used LESS than 2 minutes to pop it all and that is significantly less than if I did it on the stove, and I didn't have to clean any oily messes. In fact, I probably could have re-used the paper bag I used to do it!

DO NOT use staples to close your brown bag. It isn't necessary and that would scare me to death if you set your microwave on fire!

Portobello Mushroom burger with Sweet Potato Fries

So, tonight I'm going to grill a portobello mushroom cap (slight brush of extra virgin olive oil), grilled onions, baby romaine & fresh tomato and put all of that on my "burger".
I'm going to try a oven baked sweet potato fry recipe that I found here:
http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/guaranteed-crispy-sweet-potato-fries-sriracha-mayo-dip/

I'll let you know how it turns out! :)

PS- I am almost in tears... for ME the sweet potatoes didn't turn out. It burned & stuck and before I could flip it over-- the sweat potato tore off the bottom just leaving a soggy sweet potato stick. Sigh. Maybe I did something wrong, but this recipe didn't give me my desired results...

Bolognese Sauce

I'm working on a new recipe. I've used plain ground beef.. I've used meatloaf mix.... and what I found was that a bolognese is wonderful because I can achieve the same wonderful- rich taste without having to have to brown tons of different meats (meatballs, veal, pork ribs, sausages).
So, tentatively, I have planned:

2 Large cans of Tutteroso tomato sauce
fresh Basil
fresh Garlic
ground beef
meatloaf mix
sausage that I will uncase and chop up
oregano

I'll let you know, once I play around with this-- how it turns out. :)

Deep Dish Stuffed Crust Pizza

I was born and raised on the East coast-- I knew nothing of this deep dished stuffed crust pizza... until I took a trip out to Chicago to visit a friend. Then I was introduced to Giordano's... As much as I love my NY thin crust pizza-- the deep dish stuffed crust pizza rocked my world! On my quest to make anything and everything I'm ever in the mood for I worked on nailing my deep dish stuffed crust pizza recipe and I GOT IT! Not, close-- I'm saying as exact as humanly possible without having worked there. Ok, here's what I do.

You need a deep dish pizza pan.

Preheat the oven to 475.

I make pizza dough in a bread machine & follow the bread machine's pizza dough recipe. It is really good. I make the 2lbs recipe and divide it in two when it is finished.

Use extra virgin olive oil and evenly coat the bottom and the inside walls of the pan.

I evenly roll out or stretch out the dough and make sure the dough comes over the sides (bottom crust).

Then I lay sliced mozzerella cheese on the bottom and then put in my filling.
Today I'm just going to take frozen spinach- defrost it and squeeze out all the water before putting it in. I've also taken bits of sausage and added it... but you can put whatever toppings you want in there.
Then take the second piece of pizza dough- stretch/roll it out on top of your filling and crimp it together with the bottom crust that you (hopefully) pulled up around the sides of the pan.
I make a couple of slits on the top crust to let steam out.
THEN I add tomato sauce- where I sprinkle oregano, basil, garlic, salt & pepper AND drizzle some more olive oil on
Last step- I top it with cheese- grated or shredded.

Bake that off for 30 minutes.

You'll love this one!

If anyone is interested in me posting the pizza dough bread machine recipe I use, feel free to email me at diycookingnation@yahoo.com and I'll be happy to post it!!!

ENJOY!!!

Chicken with Creamy Herb Sauce

So, tonight I'm making one of the first recipes I tried out at home BEFORE I went to culinary school-- to get practice in the kitchen. It's ok. I think more than it being awesome yummy, it brings back a lot of memories... Don't get me wrong- it's a good recipe. :)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-with-creamy-herb-sauce-10000000438480/

I still have it in it's original copy-- a Family.com/Disney Online... Cooking Light recipe. :) (1998?)

I think I'm going to pair it with some wild rice & some green beans.
I defrosted a whole large package of chicken and will use the leftover defrosted chicken for my dinner tomorrow of the Amish Chicken Corn bake...

I'm also making a Vegetable Stir Fry Rice... I have Baby Bellas, green & yellow squash, red peppers, celery, onions, garlic... I think that'll be my dinner for like two days...

Tomorrow the family will have the Amish Chicken Corn bake and I will eat the veg stir fry, but also cook lentils (for pasta) and freeze the entire batch. :) I love cooking and putting aside to freeze... I've got pulled pork & beef barley soup frozen already from previous dinners this week.

Anyone had any success freezing rice?

Father's Day Dinner

At my husband's request I'm going to be making fresh pasta & a quick marinara...

Here are the recipes:

Pasta (thank you Lidia Matticchio's "Rich Man Pasta")

2C- Flour
9 Yolks (or 2/3C)
2T- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2T- Water

I basically do a slow kneed, plastic wrap it until I'm ready to use it-- bring it back up to room temperature & pass it through the pasta machine...


Marinara (mine)
I'm going to use extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan (2T?), about 4 big cloves of garlic (minced).. I'm just going to sweat them before they start to brown &then add Tutterosso tomato sauce. I'll add some salt, pepper, fresh basil leaves (chopped), and some oregano... If I really feel fancy I'll throw in some marjoram... That gets stirred a bit so the herbs & garlic sort of settle into the tomato sauce. I'm actually NOT even going to be using a whole can-- because the pasta comes out so delicate, it doesn't even need sauce! A little butter and grated cheese are excellent on that pasta...

National FUDGE DAY!!!

I love fudge. There really is no two ways about it. I realized that fudge has a lot of history with me. I always associate fudge with my mom. She & I would go to PA and go see Bushkill falls, or New Hope, or Lancaster & I would ALWAYS get fudge as my "souvenir". I usually got rocky road... that was my favorite. If my mother would let me splurge & get a trio or flavors I'd branch out and get a maple fudge or something else... but, the rocky road was pretty standard. It almost always came in this little box, individually wrapped in parchment paper with a plastic knife. I would hold on to that fudge FOREVER. My theory as a kid was that I loved it so much I didn't want it to go away-- so I would literally eat it, a crumb at a time... I would save eating it in large qualities on days I really wanted to indulge, but usually it was my standard crumb. The fudge would last forever, it seemed. It would start to get hard by the end & I would generally make the decision to just finish it off instead of letting it turn to stone. I have to admit that every time I pass by someone or some store selling fudge I get this overwhelming excitement like "I gotta get fudge, gotta get fudge" but truth be told, I haven't bought any in years. I know that I can make it myself (well, first I need to buy a candy thermometer) but I could make it... I think this one goes under the heading of Too Chicken Poop To Try.... One day I will make it... I went to this festival this past weekend & of course someone was selling fudge.. They had blueberry cheesecake fudge & I thought, you know, that would probably be really good!!! I'm always fascinated with how many different flavors are available with fudge... the combinations are almost endless-- like ice cream...
I hope that one day, all these things that I cook and make at home for my kids-- they grow up having fond memories of things their mother made for them... all these yummy things... homemade pizza, homemade pasta, homemade ice cream... and who knows, maybe homemade fudge...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/dummy-fudge-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-time-chocolate-fudge-recipe/index.html

http://cookiesandcups.com/key-lime-fudge/

National Lobster Day...

The only time I ever made a lobster... I wanted to impress a really nice couple- that my husband & I are quite fond of... and I decided to have surf & turf... Lobster & a filet mignon... Well, I had no experience with cooking a lobster & I think I did it all wrong. I tried to shove the live lobster into a boiling pot-- which, obviously- it didn't want to go in.. I ended up having to have the male guest shove the lobster in the pot & hold down the lid to keep from having it jump out. Yeah, as I type-- it's pretty gruesome... I think we all ended up feeling that there had to be an easier way to do this... only until this year did I realize that I should have probably killed the lobster first. Hm. (I should also note that mostly for health reasons, I've switched over to mostly a vegetarian diet-- although as I'm looking up vegetarian websites for cooking inspiration, I remember why I became a vegan many years ago- given how cruely animals are treated & slaughtered... BUT let me also say, this blog is NOT a vegan/vegetarian site- I, not my family, is doing this change in diet... )
Back to lobster though... I live in New England and I have YET to have a "lobstah roll." One of these days I'll have to try one... It's basically a lot of fresh lobster meat, with mayo & maybe some celery on a torpedo/hot dog roll... People love it around here, but like I said, I've yet to try it.
There is this restaurant that on Thursdays sells whole lobsters really cheap. I only got it once. They are chicken lobsters... they are small & mine had a lot of barnacles on it.. I was kinda grossed out...
My MIL usually makes a lot of seafood for Christmas eve & last year I helped her prep lobster tails. Those came out really good-- with butter... My husband doesn't really see what the big deal is about lobster... I enjoy it though... There is another local place that makes lobster pizza which I really like too...
Finally I'm reminded of my FAVORITE Simpsons episode where Homer takes home a lobster that he names Pinchy... Every time Homer looks at the lobster- he sees this loving baby... everytime his wife Marge sees it, she sees this hissing lobster... Homer treats the lobster to risoto & at the end he gives Pinchy a bath- only to have someone point out that he's probably cooking the lobster in the hot water... In the end, Homer is eating his pet... crying and not sharing Pinchy with the rest of his family...

Well, around here- there are rumors that you can go to the docks and buy lobster off the boat. Every time I try to look it up on the internet where to go-- where to park, I find nothing. If I ever go on that adventure in search for lobstah--- I'll definitly update everyone!!

The "Too Chicken Poop To Try" Series..

I'm not sure if I explained this before-- the Too Chicken Poop To Try series came out of all these dishes that I had a preconceived notion that it would be too hard for me to even attempt- so I would just get it at a restaurant if they had it... Things like homemade pizza, pasta, spaetzle, crepes, etc... I thought were out of my reach at home. Since I came to the epiphany a little while back, that the world is my culinary oyster and I can do anything that is out there that I love-- at home, with my own two hands... I keep thinking of things that I've been too chicken to make in the past and put it on my, let's say, bucket list of sorts. Things like, homemade pie crust (I've actually made this a few times, but I haven't made it in years--- again, too chicken poop to try, again... lol), falafel, eggs benedict, etc... are on my ever growing list. Things that I sort of blacklisted in my mind, I sort of trip over again and say- OMG, I was too scared to try this at one point... let me put it on my list. I will conquer it! At the very least, I'll give it a try. :)

If you have anything that you are too chicken poop to try, send me suggestions or recipes at diycookingnation@yahoo.com and I'd love to try it out!!

DIY slow cooker pulled pork (EASY)

A really great friend of mine made this for us one night when both families got together.. I begged her for the recipe. NOW my husband is so in love with the recipe that I has convinced at least 2 other people he knows that didn't have slow cookers to get one JUST for this recipe!!

I use about a 3# Pork Butt
1-2 Large Onions (Vidalia usually)
A 20oz bottle of specifically A&W root beer (I HATE HATE HATE root beer, but read the note at the end)
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Hamburger Buns
(my friend also served this with her favorite coleslaw)

OK, in the slow cooker/crock pot... put your pork butt, slice your onions (dump those in too) and fill the slow cooker to the top with A&W root beer. Slow cook it on low I usually leave mine in over night-- I'm sure I don't have to leave it in that long... When the meat falls apart at gentle touch- strain out the entire mix into a colander. Pick out the bones and put all the meat and onions back into the pot. Shred (or I just really gently push the meat apart with a wooden spoon) and then dump as much BBQ sauce as you'd like. We use almost an entire bottle of BBQ sauce...

Serve it on buns... & add coleslaw if you like...
I've actually found the recipe on the internet... but it'll always be my friend Ms. Nicole's recipe! :)

Random Ramblings...

It's 7am. It's pouring outside. It's felt like fall for the past few days instead of spring/summer. Last night it was so cold- I pulled out the blanket I had put away from the winter & snuggled up with it. For tonight's dinner I already have the pulled pork cooking in the slow cooker (I'll post the recipe next)... I have some salad & the last of my sushi bowl in the fridge for my dinner. My kitchen is littered with all the "dry" goods that I haven't put away yet since I went grocery shopping late last night. Because I have so many meals already planned out, I'm so tempted to just snuggle in and have a cooking marathon & freeze everything-- except, my freezer is full :(
A friend on a group I run suggested to do a very easy recipe for my 3 year old son to make. You take an Angel Food Cake box mix that calls for water only to be added & instead, you add a can of crushed pineapple to it (20oz I believe). This would be great for him because he likes to "cook" and he loves to eat what he makes... LOL!
Of all the things I'm a little nervous about (although i shouldn't be) is the eggplant lasagna. I've never made a lasagna-- well, wait, I have... just with no cook noodles (which taste like poop if you ask me). Here is my mini rant of the day. Store bought dried pasta tastes like cardboard. It has absolutely no taste. The only taste you get is whatever else you've made-- a marinara, cheese, etc... It's like filler for your stomach. Once I started making my own pasta from scratch-- I felt like the best sauces I make are wasted on such an inferior product... ALTHOUGH that being said... I have two kids UNDER 4 so I don't always have time to make dough, let it rest & roll it out. That & the supermarket had a sale where each box of a Barilla was a dollar. I usually use a lot of egg yolks in my pasta dough that make it so delicate & delicious--- but I bet I'm putting in more than a dollar into the ingredients. :P
Well, that's my rant for the day.... and my morning ramblings... I haven't finished my coffee so my thoughts tend to be jumbled  before I finish...

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day!!

Here is the BEST peanut butter cookie recipe. I actually don't like peanut butter cookies because they tend to be dry & crumbly. These are, by far the best I've ever had.

1 1/2C- Butter
1 1/2C- Peanut Butter
1 1/2C- Sugar
1 1/2C- B. Sugar (packed)
3 Eggs
3C- Flour
1 1/2tea- B. Soda
1 package of Peanut Butter Chips

Cream the butter through the eggs... Combine it with the Flour & B. Soda... Fold in the PB chips.

350 oven (I forgot to write down the time- so you'll have to keep a watchful eye on the first batch to figure it out)

Menus 6-12-12

I've planned a bunch of things in the up coming weeks, here is a list of all the dinner ideas I have for my family:

Beef Barley Soup (+ homemade bread)
Hamburgers
Lentils & Pasta
Amish Chicken & Corn Bake
Black Bean Burgers & Rice Balls
Chinese Fried Rice (Vegetable)
Pulled Pork
Chicken with Creamy Herb Sauce
*Father's Day surprise of NY Style Coffee Crumb Cake
Chicken Riggies
Homemade pizza
Bolognese Sauce
Marinara Sauce
Eggplant Lasagna
Chicken Chili (modified- without the chicken)
Sushi Rice Bowl
Angel Food Cake with Pineapple
Ice pops/pudding pops (There is definitely going to be a chocolate banana pudding pop in our future!)

Amish Chicken & Corn Bake

I have a huge respect for Amish cuisine. It's hearty & stick to your ribs goodness. This recipe I got out of one of my many Amish cookbooks is SUPER yummy and a favorite at this household!

2C- Macaroni, cooked
2T- Butter
2T- Flour
Salt & Pepper
2C- Milk
1C- Chicken Broth
3C- Chicken, diced
2C- Corn

4T- Butter
1C- Bread Crumbs

In a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes (grease pan)

Melt Butter. Stir in flour & seasonings. Gradually add milk & chicken broth. Bring to the boiling point- stir constantly until thickened.

Mix together the macaroni, white sauce, chicken & corn. Pour into greased dish.

Stir bread crumbs into melted butter & sprinkle over casserole.


YUM YUM YUMM-O!

Don't forget to write to diycookingnation@yahoo.com OR post a comment if you try it out!!

Father's Day Breakfast

My husband is from NY and I know he LOVES NY Style Crumb Cake with coffee... so that's what I'm planning on making for him for Father's Day morning...

http://www.food.com/recipe/new-york-style-crumb-cake-americas-test-kitchen-360198

That's the recipe I'm going to try... will let you all know how it turns out!!!

6- 16-12 UPDATE: I can tell you that making this "crumb" topping took a VERY long time... It has finished baking... I can also tell you that the smell is AMAZING! I upped the cinnamon to 1 full teaspoon instead of 3/4tea. I haven't powdered sugar it yet or tried it... that'll be for tomorrow morning... :) I would NOT have been able to make this tomorrow morning before breakfast... It also took the full 40 minutes to bake.

Father's Day update: Ok, so we finally tried it. Here's the final feedback. 1. I think I made the crumbles too big & I would have pressed them down into the cake before baking it off. 2. The cake is a bit dry... the ones in NY are very moist. Overall I give it a B+ The flavor in the crumb I thought was spot on, but the cake lacked moisture and a little bit of flavor. Overall it was pretty good.

"Too Chicken Poop to Try" Part 3: Crepes

I had a lot of crepes as a child & as I grew up I would almost always order them at restaurants. When I got married I decided I wanted a crepe pan and there is stayed, unused because I was too chicken poop to try and make them myself. I thought it was too difficult and didn't even attempt it, until one day I gave it a try.
Here is the recipe I use:

2C- Flour
1/4C- Sugar
1/2tea- Salt
2C- Milk
2- Eggs
1-2T- Butter
Vanilla (or other) extract

The key to this recipe is trying to leave the batter alone for a minimum of a half hour- you could make this the night before too!

The hardest part of making a crepe is pouring it in the pan and swirling it around. Use a flat pan (you don't have to necessarily have a crepe pan, but you need one that is flat & a decent size- maybe an 8" nonstick pan), pour your batter in the middle-- off the heat, twirl it around until you've spread it out to the outsides of the pan. I use a rubber spatula to flip it over once (I usually like mine beginning to brown). Serve it hot-- with, gosh the fillings are limitless (fruit, jam, syrup, powdered sugar, butter, etc...).

DIY Bread Dipping Sauce

1T- Fresh Basil, minced
1T- Fresh Parsley, chopped
1T- Fresh Garlic, minced
1tea- Thyme
1tea- Oregano
1tea- Black Pepper
1/2tea- Salt
1/4tea- Crushed Red Pepper

Olive Oil & Fresh Lemon Juice

Ok, there are 2 ways you can do this. You can take all the above (minus the thyme) and put it into a food processor- mince it all, put it into a jar... leave it in your fridge and use a teaspoon full when mixed with Olive Oil & Lemon Juice.

You can make this all out of dried herbs & powders and keep it in a jar... it'll last longer AND it's easier to give as a gift.

I would try to use the fresh lemon juice as well as the olive oil if I'm using fresh herbs.