11.07.2011
Post #32: Another Giveaway!
Posted by Sandi at 5:39 PM 0 comments
Labels: giveaway
11.03.2011
Post #31: Awesome KitchenAid Giveaway!
Posted by Sandi at 5:39 PM 0 comments
Labels: giveaway
10.27.2011
Post #30: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
Posted by Sandi at 6:43 PM 0 comments
Labels: cupcakes, dessert, somewhat ass friendly, strawberry
10.20.2011
Post #29: Cheddar Biscuits a la Red Lobster
I made these at dinner time, so no more natural light! This is the best I could do! :( |
Posted by Sandi at 6:42 PM 0 comments
10.05.2011
Post #28: Pumpkin Donut Holes
Ingredients:
For the doughnuts:
3½ cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
2 tbsp. milk
To make the dough, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter and beat until well blended. Stir in the egg, then the egg yolks, and then the vanilla until incorporated. Combine the buttermilk and pumpkin in a liquid measuring cup and whisk together. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Once the dough is mixed, cover and chill for at least 3 hours or until firm. (The dough still seemed quite soft so we did an additional 30 minute chill in the freezer.)
Posted by Sandi at 11:13 AM 0 comments
Labels: donuts, NOT ass friendly, pumpkin
9.21.2011
Post #27: Carmelicious Cake
My pictures seems to be getting worse and worse...I need a new camera! |
Posted by Sandi at 7:10 AM 0 comments
Labels: cake, caramel, dessert, NOT ass friendly
9.12.2011
Post #26: Pop Cake
This is my first try at making a pop cake - a boxed cake mix with a can of pop. :o)
I wanted to make something that tasted like a creamsicle, so I used a vanilla cake with orange pop, topped with a vanilla frosting.
The results were not what I wanted, but still delicious (it tasted like a vanilla cake that was dyed orange...). Since it was my very first time doing this (and I've read reviews saying that sometimes the cake stays gooey in the center...gross) I didn't want to add anything. I just wanted to see if it would work. And it did. Yay!
Next time, I will either add orange extract or zest an orange into the batter, just to give it that dreamy creamsicle taste! Also, the cake, though moist, was really crumby - I think adding 1 egg might help this. I'll let you know. ;)
Another way I'm gonna try it is making the pop cake with a vanilla cake and Sprite, and then making a decadent orange buttercream!
As a side note: I think the reason some people's didn't set up is that they used too much pop. I bought a 20oz. bottle, but you only need 12oz!
Posted by Sandi at 9:07 PM 0 comments
Labels: cake, dessert, experiment, pop, soda
9.05.2011
Post #25: Peach Cobbler (with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream!)
Batter:
Filling:
Posted by Sandi at 7:21 AM 0 comments
Labels: dessert, peach cobbler, peaches
8.29.2011
Post #24: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream...without the machine!
Posted by Sandi at 6:53 AM 0 comments
8.21.2011
Post #23: Coconut Lime Muffins with a Lime Glaze
I almost never have limes in the house. Never. But I needed one the other day, and couldn't find the singles on sale, so I bought a giant bag, removed the one I needed, and gave in to the fact that I would probably just throw the other 37 limes away. I just hate wasting food. So then I figured I'd keep them to put up a show that I would use them, wait for them to rot, and be like "oh man! I really wanted to use those! Shucks!" Then I'd smile as I tossed them into the trash, feeling like a tried, but failed. Har har har...
But, I decided to do an internet search. After sifting through about 5 million recipes for key lime pie, and another 5 million chicken with lime glaze recipes, I found this gem. This muffin really brings the business. Not too limey, not too coconutty - this recipe really meshes the two flavours well. The original recipe did not call for a glaze or frosting, but I really hate a dry muffin. A simple lime glaze was just the ticket.
Coconut Lime Muffins with a Lime Glaze
Posted by Sandi at 1:11 PM 1 comments
Labels: coconut, lime, muffins, somewhat ass friendly
8.14.2011
Post #22: Veal, Spinach, and Portobello Mushroom Stuffed Shells
Posted by Sandi at 12:40 PM 2 comments
8.08.2011
Post #21: Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
Posted by Sandi at 3:39 PM 0 comments
Labels: cupcakes, strawberry, summer
8.01.2011
Post #20: Non-traditional tzatziki sauce
Easy directions: just mix it all up! Tastes best if you put in the fridge for at least an hour before serving!
Posted by Sandi at 12:00 PM 0 comments
7.25.2011
Post #19: Nanaimo Bars
Directions
Posted by Sandi at 4:10 PM 1 comments
Labels: bars, custard, Nanaimo bars, squares
7.19.2011
Post #18: White Chocolate-Vanilla Raspberry Filled Cupcakes w/ a Milk Chocolate Glaze
I adapted the recipe from Cupcake 29 at Ming Makes Cupcakes. This blog is a wealth of delicious looking, albeit complicated cupcake recipes. Ming's look way better than mine, but mine are also quite delicious!
Posted by Sandi at 12:13 PM 1 comments
Labels: cupcakes, dessert, raspberries
7.12.2011
Post #17: Homemade salsa...so easy, a caveman could do it!
I have decided to rejoin the wonderful world of blogging after a (too) long hiatus - partially because of work, and partially because I got lazy. But let's not dwell on the past. I'm here now, and that's what matters. (Also, I have a lot of time on my hands now that I am the trophy wife of the recently graduated Dr. Pirate!)
If you have never tried your hand at homemade salsa, I would definitely urge you to do so! Yes, it's easy (and delicious!) to buy a jar of Pace, but where's the satisfaction in serving that to a guest? Besides, it's so easy to make salsa that there's no excuse not to! Plus, you have so many choices! This is how I made mine:
Posted by Sandi at 12:09 PM 1 comments
Labels: salsa
3.19.2011
Post #16: Raspberry Oatmeal Scones
Posted by Sandi at 12:00 PM 2 comments
Labels: butter, dessert, raspberries, scones
3.12.2011
Post #15: A Sweet Blog Compilation
Think you have a great idea for a weekend sweet? Link it here, and see what other fellow food lovers have to offer!
Posted by Sandi at 3:34 PM 0 comments
3.10.2011
Post #14: Brown Butter Jam Bars (aka Failblog)
Some tips that probably would have prevented this culinary flop:
Even though I seemed to screw this up a little, I will definitely try it again. I will buy regular, unsalted butter. I will follow all directions to the letter (which I sometimes get scatterbrained and forget to do), and I will resist all urges to cut into them before they are cold. I promise!
Yeah, and out of about 50 pictures, this was the best one. Fail. |
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup jam or jelly
Allow to cool completely, or you'll be in a jam! (I'm so funny!) No really, the jam will scald you! Also, I cut mine when it was cooled, but not completely cold. It fell apart. I salvaged what I could for photos...and pretty much ate the rest like an animal. Liz Lemon style.
Posted by Sandi at 6:55 AM 0 comments
Labels: bars, brown butter, dessert, squares
3.07.2011
Post #13: Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Brownie Bars (feat. Brutus and Lucky!)
Not the best picture, but I thought it was high time y'all met my dear friend Brutus! |
And then Lucky slunk into a few shots! I love my cats! |
Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Brownie Bars
Adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker :o)
1 batch of your favorite brownie recipe for a 9×13-inch pan (I used this recipe, which I tweaked slightly, or you could use a box mix, I won't tell anyone! Just make sure it's for a 9x13!)
½ cup salted peanuts (Funny side story: I actually forgot these and ended up tearing into a bag of trail mix and picking out the peanuts.)
8 Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped
1½ cups milk chocolate chips
1½ cups creamy peanut butter (or crunchy, whatever)
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
1½ cups cripsy rice cereal (yeah, I buy knock offs for baking, what of it? :P)
1. Prepare the brownies according to the directions and bake for about 5 minutes less than the recipe states. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with the peanuts and chopped peanut butter cups. Return to the oven and bake for 5 additional minutes.
2. While they are finishing baking, melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the cereal to evenly coat. Remove the brownies from the oven and evenly pour the chocolate and peanut butter mixture over top. Spread to cover evenly. Refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting and serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These last a long time (if you don't eat them all right away!) I was still chowing down about a week later, and they still tasted awesome!
Posted by Sandi at 12:00 PM 4 comments
Labels: brownies, dessert, NOT ass friendly, peanut butter