The World According to Jiggle

Buttermilk Syrup

2012-01-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how crazy busy I've gotten in the past couple of months. It feels like I'm never home and when I am I'm too tired to think about anything more complicated than pancakes or waffles. Fast and easy kind of dinner. It's an additional bonus that it's not a repeat because who actually has time for breakfast in the morning??? Not me, or anyone else that lives with me.

One thing that makes breakfast for dinner a bit more special and makes it feel like mom cares about you is homemade syrup. Don't get me wrong, there will always be a place for Mrs. Butterworth but sometimes it's nice to takes a few extra minutes and do something without all the preservatives that's rich and buttery and totally not good for you in an oh, so good way. This syrup is one that pops up all over the place. Most everyone I know has a version of it and they are all good. This is the one I use. Take that for what it's worth. :) It's good over all breakfast foods and I have to stop myself from just eating it with a spoon out of a bowl!

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cup sugar
1/2 c. buttermilk (or 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice and enough milk to make 1/2 c. let sit for 5 minutes)
1 cube butter (don't use margarine)
1 T. Karo syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil for 1 minute in a small saucepan stirring constantly. Add soda and vanilla. Serve warm.

Samoa Cupcakes

2011-12-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

I swear this isn't going to turn into a cupcake blog...although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've not had a lot of cooking time and it seems that having to take something to someone or to a function is the only thing that inspires me to actually do it of late.

You know the Samoa Girl Scout cookies? They are my favorite ones. I have been known to knock out a whole package in no time at all with little to no help. This is a sort of cupcake version. Well the batter tastes like Mounds if I'm entirely honest and it's too cakey to actually be a Samoa but the toasted coconut and caramel definitely give you that kind of feel. And really, how wrong can you go with chocolate, caramel and toasted coconut? I'm thinking you can't. Unless you burn the coconut, which is always a possibility at my house...The frosting has some salt in it to kind of cut the sweetness, I would start with 1/2 tsp and if you're going for the whole "salted caramel" thing increase it by taste from there.

Samoa Cupcakes
1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix
1 cup coconut
2 tsp coconut flavoring

Prepare mix according to package directions. Stir in coconut flavoring and mix well. Fold in coconut. Fill cupcake liners and bake. I did mini cupcakes and they took 12 minutes. Adjust your bake time accordingly.

Caramel Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks butter; softened
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. caramel topping
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2-1 tsp salt

Cream butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and caramel. Mix well. Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy and the right consistency. Add salt and mix well. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

After frosting the cupcakes top with drizzles of caramel and chocolate ice cream topping and a little toasted coconut. You could probably make the chocolate sauce from scratch if you prefer but Hershey's was pretty good in a time crunch!

Tie Dye Cupcakes

2011-11-26T14:14:00.000-08:00

Soooo, I'm not dead, just crazy busy. I got a new job at work and it's kicking my butt. If it doesn't look like a frozen pizza or corn dog it pretty much hasn't happened at our house this month. This is where B steps in and takes over in her alter ego as "The Jigglette".

We needed to take a treat to some neighbors but have been putting it off because I'm always running out of time so this morning B took pity on me and did it all by herself. She's kind of hooked on Pinterest (like mother like daughter) and decided to try a tie dye cupcake that she saw there.

These are a basic yellow cake mix. She divided it into 5 bowls and tinted them fun colors.Then she filled the muffin tin with spoonfuls of the different colors. She didn't swirl anything together, just dropped the different colors in and they came out awesome! The frosting is chocolate buttercream that I do actually have a recipe for!

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 c. special dark cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
4 T. heavy cream

Cream butter in mixer until fluffy. Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa, mix with the butter on low speed until absorbed into the butter. Add salt, vanilla and cream and beat on med for approx. 3 min or until fluffy. Adjust thickness with either more sugar or more cream depending on how you prefer it.

Pot Roast Love

2011-10-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

I think I've mentioned in the past that Sunday dinner at my house growing up was pot roast with carrots and potatoes nearly every Sunday. It still is, actually. It's one of my mom's best meals. Somehow that pot roast magic skill didn't managed to transfer into my brain before I left home. I know, SHOCKING! I had Mom write down what she did shortly after we got married and I followed her instructions to the letter only to discover that either I was roast challenged (very possibly) or that same level of goodness could only be achieved by my mom. I satisfied myself with inviting myself to dinner every week that we lived close enough and really enjoying the weeks we made the trek after we moved. I didn't really attempt it again until several years later...largely because we couldn't afford to actually purchase anything more expensive than ground beef but that's a tale for another day.

I'm a huge fan of putting roast in the crock pot and do that most often. It's pretty hard to mess things up in a crock pot because it does all the work for you. That said sometimes I am not a good enough planner and don't get it started in time. I have this lovely red Dutch oven that I got for my birthday a couple of years ago and although it's not Le Crueset it's pretty darned good. I did the research between Lodge and Le Crueset and decided that the end result was so close to the same that I couldn't justify $250-300 on one pan. Lodge has served me well with my other Dutch ovens so that's what I got and guess what....it makes a roast that is on a par with my mom's! Finally!

Depending on how much time I've got I like to brown the onions and carrots as well as the roast before I start them all together in the oven. It works without that step but the flavor it is a bit richer if you do it. Sometimes I cook the potatoes in the same pot but usually I do those separately on the stove. I just like the texture better with gravy. So, here's the secret so that you can have some pot roast love at your house too!

Pot Roast Love

1 large roast (we like chuck usually)
1 onion; cut into eighths or quarters
1 1/2 lbs baby carrots
Johnny's seasoned salt
black pepper
Herbs of your choice
olive oil
2 c. beef broth

Heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil in the Dutch oven over med high-high heat.

Quickly brown the onions in the olive oil and set aside. Brown the carrots until you start to see little brown marks and set them aside as well.

Season the meat with seasoning salt and pepper. Sear your roast on all sides until it's nice and brown. A good pair of tongs will help you get the sides without burning yourself. Set roast aside.

Deglaze your pan with 1 c. beef broth. Scrape the little bits off the bottom of the pan. Put the roast, carrots and onion (and potatoes if that's the way you are cooking them) back in the pan and add enough broth to cover the roast approx halfway. (you are braising the meat in case you are interested)

Add whatever herbs you like or just season well with salt and pepper. Rosemary and thyme are good as is a bay leaf or two. Cover.

Cook low and slow until the meat is falling apart. 275 degrees for 3 hours for a smaller roast (3 lbs.) add another hour for a 4-5 lb roast. You can do 350 for a little less time but it isn't as fall apart tender. It's all about time people.

Let meat rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Frosting

2011-10-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

This is the second cupcake of the cupcake palooza I had the other day. Again I started with a spice cake mix and embellished it to suit my tastes. This version I liked better than the apple one and it was beautiful to decorate. The cupcakes were all pretty and rounded so they looked as yum as they tasted.

Again, the cake is merely the tool that allows me to have copious amounts of frosting without any weird looks. This frosting was seriously good. I wasn't expecting that level of yum when I was throwing things in the bowl and hoping that it would actually thicken up without 2 lbs of powdered sugar but holy cow it was good. I licked both beaters and won't even think about the amount I ate after the cupcakes were all frosted and there was a little left in the bowl....

The fam all liked this one and it made a great birthday cupcake for my cute adopted daughter. Considering I'm a slacker on the shopping front a cupcake had to be a birthday token today. I even found a candle!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Frosting
2 doz cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 spice cake mix
4 eggs
1 c. pumpkin
1/4 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Frosting:
1 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
4 T. buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
tiny dab orange food coloring (opt)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with 24 cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl mix cake mix, oil, buttermilk, and pumpkin until well blended. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each. Add pumpkin pie spice and stir until blended.
Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c. batter and bake 20 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove to a sheet pan and refrigerate 10-15 minutes until cool.
Beat butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1 c. at a time with 1 T. buttermilk at a time until all sugar is added.
Add vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and beat until fluffy. Add a bit more powdered sugar if needed. Color with orange food coloring if you choose.

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-10-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

I made cupcakes today to take to work as a bribe. Who knows if it will make any impact but if I were the one being bribed I would pretty much be a slave to this frosting. The cake was ok but compared to the frosting it was just cake. I feel like that much of the time however so I had to eat a cupcake plain to decide whether or not I actually liked them. I will definitely do apple chunks next time instead of shreds but over all it was a decent apple cake and considering that it started with a spice cake mix that makes me pretty happy. I have much better luck jazzing up a mix than I do from scratch. Maybe when I grow up I will figure out consistent results from scratch.

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
2 doz cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 spice cake mix
1 cup applesauce
1/4 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk
2 tsp apple pie spice
2 apples; chopped

Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese
2-3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. caramel ice cream topping
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with 24 cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl mix cake mix, oil, buttermilk, and applesauce until well blended. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each. Add apples and apple pie spice and stir until blended.
Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c. batter and bake 20 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove to a sheet pan and refrigerate 10-15 minutes until cool.
In large mixing bowl cream together butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and caramel until fluffy. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until incorporated, well blended and the consistency you prefer. I like mine to hold peaks so that it doesn't slide off the cupcake when it's piped on.

Shared with:
Church Supper Sunday Melt in Your Mouth Monday Sweet Indulgences Sunday Sweets on a Saturday Tasty Tuesday Two Maid a Baking Foodie Wednesday Cast Party Wednesday Made it on Monday These Chicks Cooked Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Mac and Cheese

2011-10-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

We are kind of mac and cheese snobs at our house. Well....maybe the truth is I'M a mac and cheese snob. I just can't bring myself to get on board with the blue box of yellow death that is the staple of newlyweds and students everywhere. This tendency I blame squarely on my mother. I didn't ever have box mac and cheese until I was in high school...or maybe I was even married...at any rate I don't like it and avoid it at all costs.

I've made many variations of mac and cheese over the years and haven't ever really found the perfect recipe. They are all good and most have been made more than once but I am still always looking for the perfect combination. This could be the one. It was good creamy, straight out of the pot and also after being baked. That is huge in my book. It was even pretty good reheated when most mac and cheeses are at their leftover worst.

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe so I wasn't consumed with tweaking it to death. I haven't made anything from her book or blog that wasn't good. This recipe falls into that category as well. Yum. Try it, you may not eat yellow death voluntarily again either!

Mac and Cheese
The Pioneer Woman-Food Network

Ingredients

4 cups dried macaroni
1 whole egg
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
1 pound sharp Cheddar, grated (not pre-grated cheese), plus more for baking
Salt
Seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional spices: cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the macaroni until still slightly firm. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the egg. In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook for a couple of minutes, whisking constantly. Don't let it burn. Pour in the milk, add the mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Whisk together until smooth. Pour the egg into the sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth. Add in the cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt and the pepper. Add any additional spices if desired. Taste the sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in the drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Serve immediately (while it's still very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese and bake until bubbly and golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

Raspberry Peach Jam

2011-10-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

I have always loved raspberry jam. Strawberry is OK, but if I have a choice I will choose raspberry without hesitation. Peach has always been eh in my book so I've never actually made a whole batch of peach jam. I like it if someone else gives it to me, like my mother in law, but I never do it on my own.

A few weeks ago I had a few peaches that weren't really enough to do much of anything else and I was completely peached out on the treat front so I decided to do a raspberry peach jam combo. I'd talked about it with my neighbor and hers turned out so good I needed some of my own. Of course, I made this decision late at night without any prior planning or actual fresh raspberries so I had to improvise a little. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that jazz...

I couldn't find any pectin in my pantry, I had a bag of raspberries that was a little freezer burned and a few peaches. Throw in a some sugar, a box of raspberry Jello and see what happens! It was jam magic I tell ya. Seriously. Magic. Yum. Can I eat this stuff with a spoon...wait, I did that. It is good on toast, would make fabulous syrup or ice cream topping and is good just straight. :) An added bonus is the easy. I did it again the next week and used frozen peaches given to me by a friend and it worked like a charm. I may never make straight raspberry jam again. I have a bag of strawberries that are going to be the next peach ___ combination. Maybe this week. Or the next. Or sometime in December. You know, when I have a spare minute.

Raspberry Peach Jam
3 pints

5 c. white sugar
4 c. peaches; peeled and sliced
1 10 oz pkg raspberries (fresh would also work)
1 small box raspberry Jello

Combine peaches and berries in food processor and pulse until chopped. (I like it fairly smooth but if you wanted chunks you could just put them in your pot and mash them with a potato masher while you cooked it.)

In a large heavy pot combine fruit and sugar. Bring mixture to a steady boil. Stir constantly to avoid scorching and cook for 25 minutes until mixture is medium thick. Remove pan from heat and add Jello. Stir well until Jello dissolves. Pour into pint jars. Cover with parafin or process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

What I've been doing....

2011-10-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

I've been crazy busy at work and haven't seemed to find the time to cook anything blog worthy for weeks. You have to be able to give cooking longer than 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there for it to turn out. So...I've been crafting instead. I've made some infant hats that are pretty darned cute and finished this wreath for my office door this afternoon. It's a terrible picture but in real life it makes me happy. :)

Maybe next week will be a better cooking week!

I didn't take pictures of the process but here are the super easy instructions:

Supplies:
8" Foam wreath form
3 spools of tulle from the wedding or floral department (I think they were 25' each)
Flowers or whatever decorations you decide to use
Feathers
Hot glue gun
Ultra fine glitter
Elmer's glue
Spray glitter (I used glitter hairspray because it was cheaper)

Cut lengths of tulle 18" long. I cut everything and stacked it by color. I used 2 black spools and 1 purple but you can obviously do whatever color combination your heart desires.

Visually divide your wreath into quarters. Take 2 lengths of tulle and stack them together. Tie them to your wreath form at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions. Depending on how you like the knots tie either a square knot (right over left, left over right) or 2 half squares (right over left, right over left). I tried both ways and ended up doing a square knot. Tie them tightly, so that the tulle doesn't slide all over.

Now just start filling in the spaces with ties. I'm kind of OCD and counted how many ties I was doing in each section but you can slide them around if you just tie without counting. I did all the black and then added the purple at the end.

Once you have all the ties tied, fluff it out and see if it's even. You can trim it up at this point pretty easily.

Lay out your decorations and arrange them on your wreath. Once you have everything where you like it pull out your handy, dandy, glue gun and start gluing. For glue gun novices I would recommend looking for a low temp version, it will save your fingers from being permaburned. Not that I have experienced that or anything.

If you can find pre glittered flowers you can skip this step but I couldn't find any so I carefully edged the petals with Elmer's and sprinkled ultra fine glitter over the glue. If you goof and it looks scary you can pull the flower off and wash the glue off under running water and start over. Or glitter before you glue it to the wreath. I wasn't sure how much I actually wanted so I did it after it was all glued.

Fill in with feathers. Spray with glitter spray. Hang with a chunk of ribbon!

Easy!

Mock KFC Potato Bowls

2011-10-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of replicating restaurant and fast food dishes at home for less money. This dinner is one of those kinds of recipes and it's waaay cheaper than if you were to buy them at KFC and honestly tastes very, very close to the same. There's nothing super gourmet about this one, you probably have all the ingredients hanging out in your freezer and food storage. The kids love it and even the big kid likes it to eat as lunch the next day. If you wanted to be all super, Holly Homemaker you could absolutely make your mashed potatoes from scratch but to really duplicate the KFC experience you need to use instant. I admit that growing up in Idaho I had no idea that such a thing existed. Instant potatoes...what will they think of next?!?

This is seriously easy dinner. I can't even call it a recipe. Add the elements you like to your bowl and if you are B leave the corn out. Start with everything warm and just microwave for 20 seconds just before eating and you will be thinking you just left the KFC drive thru. An added bonus is your wallet won't be in sticker shock! Woo!

Mock KFC Potato Bowls

Popcorn chicken (we cook the whole bag)

Enough mashed potatoes to feed your family

Brown gravy; Cambell's tastes really close to KFC's but the kind in the packet works well too.

Corn

Cheese

1. Bake the chicken according to the package directions

2. Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the package directions.

3. Layer potatoes, gravy, chicken, corn, gravy and cheese.

4. Zap the bowl in the microwave to melt the cheese a little bit before serving.

Game Day Chili

2011-10-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

Football season is upon us and I'm starting to feel like cooking for fall, even though the temperature outside is still hanging out in the upper 80's this week. Once fall hits I like to make lots of soups and chili's. I love the convenience of dumping stuff in my crock pot in the morning and coming home to a hot dish of whatever after work. This is good the first day but superb on the second day so I try to cook it on a day that I'm home and able to fix something else for dinner so that I can eat this the next day. Serve it with warm bread or cornbread and some Fritos.

You can mix up the bean to meat ratio to fit your family and I usually just use whatever I can dig out of the pantry. Don't feel locked into the chili beans if that isn't what you normally buy, it's fairly spicy even without the seasoned beans. The ingredient list is kind of lengthy but everything is probably something that you already have in your kitchen. Don't be scared...it's worth it! I promise. :)

Game Day Chili
Serves 12

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb Italian sausage
3 cans chili beans; drained
1 can spicy chili beans
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1/3 c. ketchup
1 large yellow onion; chopped
3 stalks celery; chopped
1 green bell pepper; chopped
1 red bell pepper; chopped
2 jalapeno peppers; chopped (seed them if you don't want the heat)
1 T. bacon bits
4 t. beef bouillon
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. chili powder
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. dried oregano
2 t. cumin
2 t. Tabasco
1 t. dried basil
1 t. salt
1 t. group black pepper
1 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. sugar

1. Brown meat in a large skillet and drain off fat.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large (6 qt) crock pot.
3. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 12 hours. (If you are around to stir you can do so but you don't need to watch it like carefully. Walk away people and enjoy your day. Or work. Bleh.)
4. To serve ladle into bowls and top with grated cheese and sour cream. Serve chips on the side.

Entered in The Texas Star Chili Cook Off 2011 Check it out!!

Blackberry Peach Cobbler Bars

2011-10-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

I love the end of summer when the peaches and berries are all juicy and ripe. I used to pick raspberries to earn money for school clothes and there were lots of mornings that my sisters and I were guilty of standing in the patch and eating as many berries as we put into our buckets. I didn't have raspberries this morning but I did have some blackberries and thanks to my awesome neighbor I also had fresh peaches. I've eaten most of the peaches she brought over just by themselves so I thought it might be nice to make something that I could share out of some of them. These bars fit the bill perfectly.

The base was similar to shortbread and next time I am going to add some oatmeal to give it a little more texture but the flavor was awesome. The peaches and blackberries complemented each other perfectly and didn't make the crust too soggy. By the end of the day it was pretty soft but it still tasted good. I think this recipe is a definite keeper. I want to try it with raspberries next time and I would imagine that you could use frozen fruit as well and it would still be fine.

Hurry and make this one before all the peaches are gone!!

Blackberry Peach Cobbler Bars
24 bars

3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
1/4 t. salt
1 c. cold butter
1 large egg
2 t. pure vanilla extract
3 peaches; pitted and thinly sliced
2 c. blackberries
Coarse sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and spices. Add the butter and cut into the flour mixture. You can use a couple of knives, a pastry blender thingy, your food processor or just your hands. Mix together until you have pea sized chunks of dough.
3. Add the egg and vanilla. Stir to combine.
4. Press 3/4 of the dough into the baking dish and set the remaining dough aside.
5. Add the sliced peaches over the dough (if you are a little bit OCD line them up all nice and straight...cause I would never be so crazy). Sprinkle 2/3 of the berries over the top of the peaches.
6. Mash the remaining berries in a bowl and drizzle evenly over the baking dish.
7. Crumble the remaining dough over the top. Sprinkle top with coarse sugar.
8. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top and sides are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

Shared on:
Church Supper Sunday Sweet Indulgences Sunday Sweets for a Saturday

Cookies and Cream Brownies

2011-09-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's been at least a week since I added any Oreos to anything so I decided while making brownies that I should give them an Oreo infusion. I'm not sure if they were more brownies with Oreos or Oreos with a brownie binder but at any rate they were delicious. I topped them with some cream cheese frosting that I had sitting in the fridge but I think I would have liked a vanilla drizzle better. Or, maybe I should have just thinned the cream cheese down so it wasn't so thick....next time right?

I just used a boxed mix because I've honestly not found a brownie recipe that can beat Betty Crocker. Add an extra egg and you're golden.

Cookies and Cream Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker brownie mix (13x9 recipe size)
2 1/2 c. crushed Oreos
frosting of your choice if desired.

Mix the brownie mix together according to package directions using 3 eggs.

Crush the Oreos and mix them into the batter well.

Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 28 min at 350 degrees.

Let cool completely. Add a frosting drizzle if you like. It's good both ways.

Shared on:
Turning the Table Thursday Two Maids a Baking Melt in Your Mouth Monday Cast Party Wednesday Full Plate Thursday Whisking Wednesdays Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Dorm Room Fudge

2011-09-21T06:20:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest, I've never actually lived in a dorm. My sisters all did and from what I can remember, cause let's be real that was a long time ago, the amenities are pretty sparse as far as kitchens go. That said, most college students have access to a microwave so even they could make this fudge. And it really is that easy. I kid you not.

Randy came home last week and out of the blue requested fudge. I looked at him and thought...."OK, random much?" but decided to humor him and throw some fudge together yesterday after work. This came together really easily, almost too easily if you are concerned about your weight. It was seriously a dump, microwave and stir kind of deal and it is YUM. Smooth and silky texture, rich flavor, no weird granulated sugar. Quite possibly the best basic fudge I've ever made. I can see this with nuts or marshmallows added, this is a great jumping off point to get creative. Or, it's good just like this, pure, chocolatey goodness.

Dorm Room Fudge
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
1 T. Butter
1 T. cream (I used milk)

Place chips and milk in microwave safe bowl. (You can use just the one package of semisweet chocolate chips, or add the milk chocolate chips for a fudge that is slightly sweeter and creamier.)
Microwave on medium power for 2-3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Microwave, stirring at 1 minutes intervals, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth and thick. Stir in butter and cream until combined.
Pour into greased 8" square pan and cool. You can also melt the chips and milk in a heavy saucepan over low heat.

Linked to:
Whisking Wednesdays Sweet Indulgences Sunday Foodie Wednesday Cast Party Wednesday Made It on Monday Melt in Your Mouth Monday Pot Luck Tuesdays These Chicks Cooked Two Maids a Baking

Meatloaf a'la Jiggle

2011-09-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a meatloaf recipe that is supposedly the best. Mom, Grandma, Aunt Louise, they all swear theirs in the best. I've tried many and am not convinced that any one is significantly better than another. It really all boils down to your own taste and that of your family. My family won't eat it if they can see oats in it and they don't like the texture of crumbled bread. If I add carrots in an effort to up the healthy it's just understood that I will be eating the whole thing by myself. Not always a bad solution but maybe more meatloaf than I really need...

This version is super easy and tastes like steak. That probably has something to do with the generous amount of A1 that I dump in and I'm totally ok with that. My family likes it and that's the important part right?

Meatloaf a'la Jiggle
serves 6 (4 if you are feeding starving boys)

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 large egg
1/2 c. milk
2/3 c. seasoned bread crumbs (crushed Ritz crackers would be good too)
3 T. yellow mustard
1/4 c. A1 steak sauce
2 T (ish) Canadian Steak seasoning

1. Mix all ingredients with ground beef in a large bowl. Don't over mix, just kind of smoosh it altogether until it's mixed.
2. Turn into a 9x9 baking dish and loosely shape into a loaf.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 45 minutes. At this point you can add a ketchup or BBQ sauce to the top if you like. Bake another 15 minutes.
4. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Fan Cut Spuds

2011-09-13T05:53:00.000-07:00

With Mr. Jiggle in India we've kind of slacked on the cooking. I know I've said that in previous posts but seriously, we've all lost weight. Now why can't that happen and still eat good treats and dinner?? If someone knows the secret please let me know cause I'm still looking for the "silver bullet of weight loss".

I saw these potatoes on Rachel Ray a while ago and just kind of stashed them in my "remember for someday in the future" section of my brain. Today in straightening up my kitchen I discovered a bag of forgotten russet potatoes (spuds if you grew up in Southeastern Idaho) that needed to be used immediately if not sooner but didn't want to do baked potatoes and I was too rushed to peel anything. So Fan Cut Potatoes here we come.

Although these take a while to cook the prep is easy and fairly quick. We just cut them, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled them with seasoning salt and pepper. Add a little shredded cheese the last 10 minutes and they are yum. Crispy on the outside and steamy and soft on the inside with the deep flavor that roasting vegetables gives them.

A nice change from baked potatoes!

Fan Cut Spuds
adapted from Rachel Ray

1. Scrub potatoes well.
2. With a sharp knife cut slices partway through the potato about 1/8 inch thick. Don't slice through the bottom.
3. Drizzle with good olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. I used Johnny's seasoning salt instead. Sam's Club has a giant bottle and it's the best seasoned salt I've tried.
4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Sprinkle shredded cheese on the top and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Cherry Tomato Orzo Salad

2011-09-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

I had a family reunion the other day and had every intention of baking some super cute cupcakes to take. Then I tried to chop my finger off with some sewing shears and had to have a tetanus shot. That really cramped my style with the whole fever, finger glued back together on the left side and crippled shot arm on the right side. Stupid scissors anyway! Maybe someday I will learn how to use big girl scissors but that's not any time soon apparently. :)

I still needed something to take to the luncheon so I rummaged through the pantry in a panic. My mom would have frowned on showing up empty handed, a "gently smiled on the outside but you know she's rolling her eyes on the inside" kind of mom frown but the guilt would have killed me...I don't know how she does it. I've obviously not perfected that look because my kids would totally show up without the assigned dish and be alright with it. Maybe what I haven't perfected is that "Aw shucks mom I know I didn't do what you asked but I'm cute and so you love me anyway" look. I'm thinking if I haven't figured that out by now I should just stick with doing what I'm told.

I found some Orzo pasta that I had bought one day thinking I was going to attempt something Greek, I don't even remember what, but it obviously never actually happened. That was intriguing and I had some grape tomatoes in the fridge. I ran out to my neighbor's garden (Hi Alice!!) and "helped" her pick some of her cute orange cherry tomatoes cause I know she likes to share and I was in business. This was a super easy salad. It had a really clean, not too fussy taste and for those at my house that don't care for Italian dressings this was a good alternative. B doctored hers up with Salad Seasoning when she ate it at home and it was good that way as well. Definitely a do again!!

Cherry Tomato Orzo Salad
Serves 10

1/2 box Orzo pasta cooked to al dente.
1 pt grape tomatoes, halved
1 pt orange cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large cucumber, diced
2 T. chopped fresh oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c. olive oil
Black Pepper
1 c. Feta cheese

1. Cook pasta and drain well.
2. Add tomatoes and cucumber and mix.
3. In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice, oil and pepper to taste.
4. Drizzle over the pasta and mix in gently.
5. Just before serving fold the cheese into the salad.

Zesty Lemon Salad Dressing

2011-09-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever eaten a particular food so often that you finally get to where you just can't make yourself gag it down any more? That's kind of where I'm at with salads. I did that diet a couple of years ago that you eat lettuce until you are sure you are going to sprout bunny ears and start to hop and I honestly can't force myself to eat green salad now. Part of that is I got used to having only vinegar on it instead of gloppy salad dressing but who am I kidding...I'm not going to only eat vinegar unless there's some kind of guaranteed, ginormous weight loss payoff involved and at the rate I consume treats weight loss is not anywhere on my horizon. So, I've kind of gotten into the habit of eating salads that are mainly spring greens or spinach and trying different combinations for homemade salad dressing. It just takes a minute to whip up and there is just no comparison to that goop in a bottle. I may never go back. Remind me to post the strawberry vinaigrette that I concocted a few weeks ago. Yum!

This lemon based dressing came from thesisterscafe.com. I'm pretty sure that I'm their biggest fan, I've praised their blog several times before and I'm sure it will happen again. I didn't fiddle with their formula much at all and it was great. I would maybe double it if you are taking salad to a potluck or something that you needed a bigger version for. And, I'm not a big "dress the whole salad" fan as there are too many people in my family that don't like the same dressing so I just drizzled a little on after plating my salad. I'm sure the end result was the same.

The salad was we ate it on was baby spinach, sliced strawberries, toasted almond slivers and a little bit of feta cheese. Again, we let everyone do their own here so that they can leave the undesired components off if they want. Cuz, you know, I'm a cool mom like that. :0)

Zesty Lemon Salad Dressing
adapted from www.thesisterscafe.com

Juice of 1 lemon (about 3-4 T.)
3 T. sugar
1 T. Dijon mustard
Zest of 1 lemon (about 1/2 Tish)
Pepper to taste
1/4 c. light olive oil

In a blender mix all ingredients until well blended and sugar is dissolved. Drizzle onto salad just before serving.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

2011-08-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have a confession. I have an unhealthy addiction to all things Oreo. I'm pretty sure that if I had purchased stock in Nabisco while I was a teenager I would be a millionaire now. I've eaten bags and bags of the chocolatey goodness; with milk and just straight out of the bag. I've added them to ice cream, pies and banana bread. Homemade versions are snarfed up as fast as I can put the filling in them. So, as I was pondering what treat to make and I realized that I had not only a bag of regular Oreos (I swear they are diet) but a bag of Double Stuff and a bag of Mini Oreos in my treat cupboard as well it was fairly obvious that they needed to be used. Sure I could just eat them but yum, there has to be another use for them right?

As usual I was in a time crunch (work is really cramping my style) so I started with a boxed Devil's Food Cake mix and jazzed it up a bit. The really yum part is the frosting. You just can't go wrong with cream cheese anything. You could also do a straight up vanilla buttercream and that would be good too. The addition of whipping cream in place of the milk ups the richness factor in either version. Real butter and good vanilla and you are in business. These were pretty quick to finish and quick to disappear. I shared with the neighbors so that I didn't OD on them. Cause you know, I would NEVER do anything like that!!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
21 cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 Devil's Food Cake mix
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. oil (you could also use melted butter)
3/4 c. sour cream
3 eggs

Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
1 lb powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 T. butter
6 Oreos smashed into bits

1. Prepare cupcake batter and divide into 21 cups. Bake 18-22 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
2. Cream cream cheese and butter together. Add milk, vanilla and powdered sugar. Blend well adding sugar until spreading consistency. I like to make it a little bit stiffer if I'm piping it than if I'm just spreading it with a knife.
3. Mix cookie crumbs into frosting and frost cupcakes. EASY!!

Recipe shared with:
Sweet Indulgences Sunday Sweets for a Saturday Melt in Your Mouth Monday Church Supper Sunday Tasty Tuesdays Whisking Wednesdays Foodie Wednesday Cast Party Wednesday Made it on Monday Totally Tasty Tuesdays These Chicks Cooked 2 Maids a Baking

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

2011-08-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks at the Jiggle household and quite frankly cooking has fallen to the bottom of the priority ladder. Mr. Jiggle is off working overseas for a month, school started for the younger Jiggles and Jiggle herself had to give up the cushy, working from home in her jammies gig and go back to the office every day. That's really cutting into the meal/treat planning, like a lot. Anyway...

Today I had to take dinner to a neighbor and was cruising The Sisters Cafe, as that is one of the very few websites that I can access at work stupid big brother anyway, and this casserole appealed on 2 levels. First it was easy to put together and all the ingredients were already happily residing in my panty and second it was touted as a good freezer meal. I used to be all kinds of organized and regularly did freezer meals for those days that my life was crazy or that I needed to run a dinner somewhere unexpectedly. I've kind of fallen off that wagon with WalMart moving in down the road and really need to get back on it. The planning wagon and the weight loss wagon have both left me laying in the road wondering what exactly happened. Maybe someday I will find the will power to flag them both down and haul myself back up on there. Maybe.

I doubled what was listed and easily got 2 9x9 dishes and a very full 9x13 dish. This is an extremely generous recipe. I froze a small one, took the other small one to the neighbors and baked the bigger one for dinner and lunches. Other than the doubling of the recipe I followed it faithfully. I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake
thesisterscafe.com
servings 10-12

2 generous cups cooked chicken; diced
3/4 lb deli ham; sliced in strips
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1 cup Swiss cheese; shredded
2 cups Cheddar cheese; shredded and divided
2 boxes chicken flavor stuffing mix; prepared

1. Prepare baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spread chicken in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with pepper (I just used Johnny's seasoning when I cooked the chicken so I skipped the pepper).
3. Layer ham, Swiss cheese, and 1/2 of the Cheddar cheese over the chicken.
4. In a small bowl mix soup and milk until blended. Pour over everything.
5. Spread prepared stuffing over the top and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top.
6. Bake covered for 40-45 min; remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 min.

Linked to:
Tasty Tuesday Whisking Wednesday Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Foodie Wednesday Cast Party Wednesday Made it on Monday
Totally Tasty Tuesdays These Chicks Cooked 2 Maids a Baking
Melt in Your Mouth Monday Turning the Table Thursday

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

2011-08-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

Still waiting on my camera to come home so this is just a quick, easy kind of dinner. I always have these grand plans when I wander through the meat department that rarely happen like I see them in my imagination when it is actually time to fix dinner. I bought a pork tenderloin last week and was going to do this great new thing with blackberries and jalenpenos but someone ate the blackberries and my jalenpeno was sketchy when I pulled it out of the fridge so I was forced to consider plan B...I didn't really have a plan B. Great. So, I stood in front of the fridge perusing all the contents and there was a little dribble of teriyaki sauce but not enough to actually do anything. Surely I can concoct something similar that will keep me away from Wal-Mart. I'm a smart, capable, innovative (sort of) kind of cook. Right?

I put this all in the crock pot and walked away but I think the sauce would be good cooked on the stove until it's thick and used as a grilling sauce as well. It turned out pretty well for an experiment. Randy was firmly in the do it again camp so I'm sure we will see it again in the not too distant future.

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

2 lb pork tenderloin
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 c. water
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger root
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 c. + 2 T. brown sugar
2 T. honey
2 1/2 T. cornstarch mixed in 1/4 c. water

Spray crock pot with non stick spray. Place pork in crock pot; salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all sauce ingredients together and pour over pork. Cover and cook on high 4 hours or low 8 hours.

Remove meat from crock pot and pour sauce into small saucepan. Bring sauce to a boil. Cook down until it reaches desired thickness (3-4 minutes). Shred pork. Mix it all together and serve it over rice.

Post linked to:
Melt in Your Mouth Monday; Your Recipe My Kitchen;

P-P-Potato Salad

2011-08-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I survived a week's worth of girls camp without any lasting ill effects! I am sunburned and stiff from all the hiking but it was totally worth it. Now I just need to figure out how to get myself invited again next year!

It was my mom's birthday this week and we had a family birthday dinner in her honor. My assignment was salad but because I was gone all week the normal choices like pasta salad, fruit salad and spinach salad were already snapped up by my sister and sisters in law. That left me deciding on what to bring that didn't duplicate anyone else and would still be eaten. Bri suggested potato salad so that's what we decided to do. She actually did most of the work while I directed her like the good little sous chef she is. It turned out yum, no real surprise as this is a family recipe that my mom has made for years. There are so many versions of potato salad that I had to reign myself in from trying out something new and different...I got a 50 potato salad recipes insert in my Food Network magazine this month that is just begging to be tried but today it was the old standby.

Everyone has a different twist on this salad. The way we like it uses green onions and pickle juice rather than actual pickles. No one in my family will eat dill pickles except for me so this way we get to have the flavor from the pickles without the little green chunks. I prefer the green onions over yellow or white onions simply because they are milder but you could certainly use whatever you have on hand.

My camera is still in the shop...I'm beginning to think I may never see it again...so the picture was taken with B's point and shoot. It's better than nothing right?

Potato Salad

10-12 med red potatoes, halved and cooked
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
4 T. white wine vinegar
1 1/2 c. Miracle Whip (I used light but will remember to do regular next time so it's gluten free) Sorry Dave!!
1/4 c. dill pickle juice
1/4 c. milk or cream
2 tsp mustard (either prepared or dijon work)
4-5 green onions chopped
5 hard boiled eggs, chopped or smashed
salt and pepper to taste
paprika

Peel and cube potatoes while still warm. Season with onion powder, salt, garlic salt and vinegar and set aside. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Mix Miracle Whip, pickle juice, milk and mustard together until smooth. Stir chopped green onions into dressing and mix well. Add half the eggs to the potato mixture. Toss with dressing until well coated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turn into serving bowl. Top salad with remaining eggs and a sprinkle of Paprika. Chill well before serving.

Linked to:
Melt in Your Mouth Mondays Totally Tasty Tuesdays Tasty Tuesday Tasty Tuesdays
Foodie Wednesday Cast Party Wednesday Made it on Monday These Chicks Cooked

I haven't died...

2011-07-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

or anything dire like that. I'm getting ready for Girls Camp and it's consuming my life. Add that to the bug in my camera and the Geek Squad that is stymied on how to get him out of there and I've not done much cooking in the last week or two.

Fear not (like anyone really cares!) I'll be back as soon as my life returns to it's regularly scheduled programming.

ChocoNilla Cake

2011-07-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is the birthday cake I made for B's birthday. I found it on the King Arthur website and even though it was a million steps and a little bit excessive I decided to go ahead with it because hey, your baby only turns 16 once right? The second picture is all that was left by the time I managed to get my camera on it.

I'm notoriously bad at slicing cakes into layers so I baked them in 4 different pans for a shorter time. I neglected to write down how long that ended up being...just go by smell. I know, that's a wishy, squishy cop out for instructions but that's the best I've got. Both cakes were really good. They weren't as fluffy as a box cake but the flavor was rich and intense and definitely a do again. I will probably skip the ganache between the layers next time in favor of more frosting or even a preserve filling but that's just me. I used my standby chocolate frosting recipe that is more milk chocolate level in intenseness rather than the one listed with the original recipe.

There were two schools of thought as far as reactions went. The first bunch loved the whole thing, rich filling and all. The second group preferred the Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes because the chocolate was pretty overwhelming. Perfect for the girl that loves a triple chocolate bundt cake as a snack. All in all I'm calling it a success.

ChocoNilla Cake
King Arthur Flour

Vanilla Cake
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or plain yogurt (full-fat is best)
2 large eggs
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup (2 3/8 ounces) vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ½ ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Chocolate Cake
1 1/3 cups (9 3/8 ounces) sugar
1 1/3 cups (5 3/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce) Instant ClearJel® or cornstarch (1/2 ounce)
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (3 ½ ounces) vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water

Filling
12 ounces (2 cups) chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
6 ounces cream (light, whipping, or heavy) or milk, or a combination*
flavors of your choice (see filling directions below)

*Hint: Since you need 4 ounces of cream for the icing, and you’ll most likely buy an 8-ounce container, use 4 ounces cream in the filling supplemented with 2 ounces of milk.

1) To make the vanilla cake: Whisk together the yogurt or sour cream, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, vegetable oil, and vanilla.

2) Stir in the flour, mixing till smooth.

3) Pour the batter into one of the prepared pans.

4) Bake the cake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the cake is beginning to brown on top. It may crack slightly; that’s OK.

5) Remove the cake from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

6) To make the chocolate cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients.

7) Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth.

8) Gradually add the water, beating until smooth.

9) Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

10) Bake the cake for about 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

11) Remove the cake from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

12) Divide the cooled cakes in half horizontally, to make four round layers. Place one vanilla layer on a serving plate.

13) To make the filling: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the cream is very hot, and the chocolate very soft.

14) Stir to melt the chocolate completely, reheating very briefly if necessary. If desired, flavor with 3 tablespoons liqueur (Kahlua, Frangelico, etc.).

15) Spread 1/3 of the filling on the cake, spreading to within about ½" of the edge.

16) Top with a chocolate layer. Spread with 1/3 of the filling.

17) Top with the second vanilla layer. Spread with the remaining filling.

18) Top with the second chocolate layer.

19) Anchor the layers together with cake testers, broom straws, or bamboo skewers, so they remain perfectly centered as the filling cools. It’s best to let the filling set for an hour or so before making the icing and finishing the cake.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting
1 1/2 cubes softened butter
2 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. milk (cream would be good here too)
4-5 c. powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl combine butter, chocolate and milk. Gently add the powdered sugar mixing until the consistency you prefer. Add vanilla and mix well. Spread over cake. Lick the beaters!

Post Linked to:
Sweet for a Saturday and Whisking Wednesdays

Easy Stuffed French Toast

2011-07-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

My camera is in the shop for a couple of weeks. Somehow a little bug managed to get stuck inside the viewfinder and despite my best efforts and a can of air he was staying there forever. Which wouldn't be all bad I suppose, sort of like a bug terrarium but every time I put my eye to the viewfinder to take a picture of a fabulous treat there he was magnified about a gazillion times. It was freaky beyond belief. Roy (B named him and everything) has to go. So while I'm without a camera I was looking through the pics saved on my computer and found this one that is perfect for a Sunday morning.

We love french toast at our house pretty much for any meal. A few weeks ago after a long day it was breakfast for dinner day and we made this stuffed french toast. I only had wheat bread which isn't our preferred slice for this meal but it was still good and "healthy"ish. It's possible the cream cheese and powdered sugar negated all healthy but I'm going to pretend that I don't know that.

This is more of a method than a recipe. I think it would be delicious with PB and bananas or even Nutella and raspberries. Use what you like. If you are super ambitious coat the sandwiches in Cap'n Crunch after they are dipped in egg. Yum.....I may need to have some right now!

Easy Stuffed French Toast

bread (we prefer Texas Toast but anything will do)
2-3 eggs
1/2 c.ish milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
whipped cream cheese
raspberry preserves
1 cup raspberries
1/8-1/4 c. sugar

Make your "sandwiches" with the cream cheese and preserves. In a small sauce pan combine berries and sugar. Heat to a gentle bubble and cook until berries break down and a syrup forms. Set aside.

Preheat a large skillet over med heat. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in the hot pan.

In a medium bowl mix the eggs, milk, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and vanilla. Dip each sandwich in mixture until coated on both sides.

Place the sandwiches in the pan and brown on both sides. Don't walk away and get distracted by something else (this is my normal MO).

Serve french toast with additional berries, syrup or powdered sugar.

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

2011-07-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

OK, I'll admit it. After resisting the cupcake bandwagon for months and months I'm sitting squarely in the front seat at the moment. It's the frosting. There's no other explanation for why I've made more cupcakes in the last month than I've made my whole life to this point. I'm pretty sure that frosting should be it's own food group. I feel a lot like Buddy the Elf with his candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup. Maybe I should find a frosting addiction support group. So many questions, so little frosting....

These cute cupcakes came about because it's B's birthday tomorrow but she is going to be out of town so we celebrated her 16th day of birth (how did that happen?!?) yesterday. She is a chocolate lover to the bone but many of the people that were attending aren't so I did a chocolate birthday cake and these Raspberry Lemonade cupcakes. I debated whether or not to just use a cake mix, everyone knows I am cake challenged at times, but saw lemon cupcakes on My Baking Addiction and decided to give it a shot. I called it my Food Porn Friday challenge for the week.

The cake recipe was super straightforward and easy and only one of the 2 dozen cupcakes came out looking scary so I will definitely do this again. I will also make note to not use foil cupcake liners again, those things are stupid. Just for the record. The frosting is my regular cream cheese recipe with the addition of a sweetened raspberry sauce. I used frozen berries for the sauce and it worked out perfectly.

Lemon Cupcakes
slightly adapted from My Baking Addiciton

2 1/4 c. cake flour
2 T. and 1 tsp cornstarch
1 T. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
Zest from 3 lemons
1 stick butter (I used regular salted) at room temp
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure lemon extract

1. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites.
3. In yet another large bowl (your mixer bowl) mix the sugar and lemon zest with your fingers until the sugar is moist and "lemony fresh". (B's favorite step)
Mix the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the extracts, then add 1/3 of the flour mix.
3. Beat in half the milk/egg mixture, half the remaining dry ingredients, the remaining milk mixture and finally the last of the dry stuff. Beat the batter together on medium for about 2 min so that it's well mixed and kind of airy.
4. Scoop the batter into your muffin tins. Bake 18-22 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
this makes a ton, I usually refrigerate the left over and use it on something else...like chocolate.

2 8 oz bricks of cream cheese
1 stick butter, softened
1 bag powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup sugar.

1. Put the frozen raspberries in a small saucepan with the 1/4 c. sugar. Heat on medium heat until berries are broken down and the mixture is starting to thicken. If you have a lot of ice crystals in your berries and it seems too runny give it a sprinkle of cornstarch and stir well to tighten it up.
2. Press raspberry mixture through a sieve to strain out most of the seeds and set aside.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add the raspberry sauce and mix well.
4. Gradually add the powdered sugar until frosting is the consistency you like. I typically make mine a bit stiffer if I am piping it from a decorating bag and a little creamier if I'm just spreading it.
5. Mix in vanilla. (If you wanted to really add to the "lemonade" aspect of the cupcakes you could also add the juice of one lemon) Adjust consistency with more powdered sugar if needed.

Post linked to:
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Sweets for a Saturday
Cupcake Party
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Your Recipe My Kitchen
Blue Velvet Cupcakes Link Party
Just Something I Whipped Up
Bizzy Bakes
Making the World Cuter Monday
Muffin Monday
Tasty Tuesday
Tasty Tuesdays
2 Maids a Baking Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Cast Party Wednesday
Whisking Wednesdays
Made it on Monday
These Chicks Baked
Foodie Wednesday
Turning the Table Thursday
Full Plate Thursday

Fried Apple Pies

2011-07-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

You know those pies that you get at McDonald's? The turnover type? That's what we're talking about here. I watched the Father's Day episode of Paula's Best Recipes and they did a fried turnover with cherries and walnuts that Bri and I thought looked fabulous with the exception of the cherries and walnuts. Using the McDonald's pie as a guide we decided that we would just try these with tinned apple pie filling rather than spending all day concocting a pie filling from scratch. So, really, this is a "not-homemade" recipe. It's more of a technique. We also did some with raspberry pie filling that I really liked. I would assume that you could use whatever pie filling be it canned or homemade that you prefer. The only real recommendation I have is if you make your own filling it would be easier to use shredded apples than sliced. You only put a small amount of apple in each turnover and the shreds would be easier to work with. We kind of wrestled with the apple slices getting them in the pie crust and covered. Over all they turned out awesomely delicious. We had them for a family night treat with the neighbors. Yummy.

Fried Apple Pies
15 pies

2 pie crusts (I used Pillsbury)
1 can pie filling
vegetable oil for frying
sugar

Using a 4" biscuit cutter cut circles from the pie dough and set aside. Run a pastry brush with water around the edge of the crust circle. Put 2 tsp pie filling in the center and top with another circle. Seal closed with a fork.

Heat oil to 350. Carefully drop each pie into the oil and fry until golden brown. I found that a couple of minutes per side was just about the right amount.

Remove from oil and sprinkle with sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Post linked to:
Turning the Table Thursday
Full Pate Thursday
Foodie Wednesday
These Chicks Cooked
Pinch of This, That & the Other
Cast Party Wednesday
Tasty Tuesday
Tasty Tuesdays
Two Maids a Baking
Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Your Recipe My Kitchen
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Sweets for a Saturday

Chocolate Chip Brownie Cupcakes with Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

2011-06-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

It was a crazy week last week at the Jiggle household. Why? Heck if I know but I feel like I just ran around and accomplished nothing. I even had a day off in there but still didn't manage to cook anything. So, I decided to take advantage of being by myself tonight and bake some cupcakes. Yum.

I have a sister in law that brings brownies with chocolate chip cookie dough baked in them to family functions and they are delicious. And, if you use a brownie mix and premade chocolate chip cookie dough they are easy too. I saw this combination in cupcake form on Confessions of a Cookbook Queen about a week ago and was completely entranced by the frosting. Like "I really wanted to just make the frosting but I couldn't justify it to myself without the cupcakes" entranced. I'm not even a really marshmallow fan but this frosting looked like it was out of this world. It was. I licked the bowl after frosting the cupcakes until I was slightly sick but I still wanted more. It was that good.

Chocolate Chip Brownie Cupcakes
adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
1 box brownie mix prepared for cake like brownies
1 tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 21 muffin tins with cupcake liners

Slice cookie dough into slices and smoosh into the bottom of the muffin tins. You'll probably have some dough left over...just eat it. You know you want to.

Spoon approx 1/4 c. brownie batter over the cookie dough. Fill the cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting
2 sticks butter, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2 T. milk
3 c. powdered sugar
1/4 powdered cocoa
3 T. chocolate syrup
7 oz jar marshmallow fluff

In a mixing bowl whip the butter, vanilla and milk together until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and cocoa, mix until combined. Add chocolate syrup and increase mixer speed to high. Beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

Using a wooden spoon fold in marshmallow fluff, just until swirled through the frosting. Don't mix it in completely. Pipe or frost cupcakes.

This post linked to:
Cupcake Party
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Your Recipe My Kitchen Sunday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
2 Maids a Baking
Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Tasty Tuesday
Made it on Monday
These Chicks Cooked
Cast Party Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday
Everyday Sisters Sharing Sunday

Soft Pretzels or Pretzel Dogs

2011-06-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have a confession. I have an addiction to gas station deli counters. I know, that's so, so not gourmet or even a little bit healthy. I can't help it. I love their pigs in a blanket. Something about the bread just sucks me in every time. I prefer them with sausages but hey, a hot dog will do in a pinch. I also like soft pretzels from the mall. I used to work for an insurance company that had their offices in the mall. I would wander to the food court almost every day for my morning break to watch them make the pretzels and get one of the first pretzels of the day. Today I decided to combine my two loves for lunch. It. was. awesome.

I've fiddled with soft pretzel recipe combinations for a few years now. I made my first one for a youth activity and was hooked. I have found that I prefer them cooked on a stone rather than a baking sheet. I prefer brown sugar in the dough as opposed to granulated sugar and that it's pretty hard to ruin a pretzel as long as you have cinnamon sugar and cream cheese frosting to dip them in. That said we focused on the savory today.

This recipe makes enough dough for 12 good sized pretzels so I did 8 dogs and the rest we just cut into chunks to dip in mustard. (If you are twist challenged this is a zero risk variation on the pretzel theme). So YUM!~

Soft Pretzels or Pretzel Dogs if you prefer....
12 Pretzels

2 1/2 tsp yeast
2 heaping T. brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. warm water
4 c. flour
Melted butter
Coarse Salt (we like sea salt)

Brine
2 heaping T. baking soda
2 c. water

1. In your mixer dissolve yeast, brown sugar and salt in warm water. Let yeast bloom for a few minutes.
2. Mix in flour. If you are kneading by hand mix with wooden spoon until a cohesive dough ball forms then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 7-8 minutes. If you are using your mixer just let it go until it's smooth and has completely cleaned the sides of the mixing bowl. Cover and let rise for about an hour.
3. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces. Let dough rest for a few minutes. Roll each piece of dough into a 2 foot long rope.
4. Twist into pretzel shape or cut into nuggets if doing only pretzels. Twist each rope around a hot dog or sausage making sure to seal the ends of the ropes securely.
5. In a large saucepan bring the brine mixture to a simmer over med heat.
6. Dip each pretzel or pretzel dog in the brine for approx 30 seconds. Place on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Let rise for 20 min.
7. Bake at 450 for 9ish minutes or until golden brown. Nuggets will take a little less time, watch them fairly closely so they don't burn. Seriously, go by smell I'm a terrible timer.
8. Brush with butter and sprinkle with salt or whatever topping you prefer.

S'More Cupcakes

2011-06-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today was a redo of my cupcake fail from last week. Last week I was high on my last from scratch cupcake success and decided I needed to have S'More Cupcakes ala Martha Stewart. Epic.Fail. They exploded and then crashed into hollowed out, strangely textured, brownie cups with an odd graham cracker bottom. It was humbling to say the least but didn't dampen my desire for a cupcake that tastes like a s'more. I love s'mores but am not particularly fond of smelling like campfire and am decidedly against sleeping on the ground so I don't get them very often. I have a S'more cookie recipe that is great but the cupcake version had become a personal quest. I stewed about it all week trying to figure out where I ran amok and was unable to pin down where I made the mistake.

This morning I decided to heck with Martha, I was going to do a "Jiggleized" version that I was more likely to do more than once. Enter the lowly cake mix. Love the cake mix. It's pretty hard to mess up Betty Crocker, there is a reason she's Betty Crocker after all! I wasn't willing to spend the dough on high end chocolate today either so regular chocolate chips and broken graham crackers sufficed. This was yum...the frosting was awesome and I got to use my butane torch. There aren't many things in my cooking repertoire that require a flame thrower so if I can find one I usually try it out. It worked like a dream. Creme Brulee' watch out!

S'more Cupcakes
24 cupcakes

1 package graham crackers broken into pieces
Semi sweet chocolate chips
1 chocolate cake mix, whatever one your like best. I used German Chocolate

Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Place graham cracker pieces in the bottom of each cup. Just smoosh them in. I didn't cover the whole bottom with graham.

Sprinkle chocolate chips (8-10 chips) over the graham crackers.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill each cup 2/3 full.

Sprinkle tops with crushed graham crackers and a few more chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 min. Cool completely on wire rack.

Marshmallow Frosting
8 egg whites
2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla extract.

In a heatproof mixing bowl combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Place bowl over a small saucepan filled with simmering water. Whisk egg white mixture non stop until egg whites are warm and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.

In electric mixer add vanilla to egg whites. Starting at low, gradually increasing speed to high whip egg whites 7-10 min or until shiny, glossy, stiff peaks form. Use frosting immediately.

Toast tops with torch or in the oven for a few minutes. If you use the oven watch closely to avoid burning.

This post linked to the following Blog Parties:

Your Recipe My Kitchen

SweetIndulgences Sunday

Sweets on a Saturday

Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Totally Tasty Tuesdays

2 Maids a Baking Tuesday

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays
Cast Party Wednesday
Made it on Monday
These Chicks Cooked Wednesday

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

2011-06-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have a recipe for Pasta Fagioli soup that is delightful but it kind of requires babysitting while it cooks. Today was a "hurry up and get it thrown together" day and pot watching was definitely not on my list of things to do. I had this crock pot version saved in my "to be tried" recipe file so I pulled it out and ran with it. An added bonus is Bri is gone for a couple of days so she will miss this one, she's a staunch Pasta Fagioli hater. Why you ask? Personally I think she's bean prejudiced but I can't really say for sure. She just doesn't like it. That's fine, I don't really like broccoli so I get it.

I used ground beef from my stash of precooked meat so that was super easy and fast and everything else was really straightforward. If you were a plan ahead kind of gal you could pick up the carrot shreds in the produce dept and cut down your prep time even more.

Add a quick green salad and a roll and you are in business with a quick, hearty, HEALTHY meal!

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans (Canelli or northern) drained and rinsed
4 cups beef broth
1 jar pasta sauce
2 tsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. Tobasco
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup dry pasta (to be added at the end of cooking time

Brown hamburger. Mix hamburger and all other ingredients except the pasta in the crock pot. Use a bigger one or consider cutting the recipe in half so it doesn't overflow. After about 6.5 or 7 hours, add your rice or other pasta.

Caramel Pecan Candy Bar Cookies

2011-06-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's Food Porn Friday again and that means TREATS!! This recipe was chosen by Denise and I was so happy to see that when I looked it up I already had it marked to try. Surely that was a good omen, right? Yes indeedy it was a good omen for sure.

These cookies were super easy to make (love it) and were super easy to eat more than you should (also love...sort of) so approach with caution. It is baked in a small 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish so if you were taking these to a pot luck you would probably want to double the recipe. I loved how crispy the shortbread crust got with the caramel on top. I'm not always a shortbread fan but this was just the right ratio of cookie to topping. Next time I think I will add a little sea salt to the caramel. Randy discouraged me from that today but I think it would be truly awesome. The only suggestion that wasn't included in the original recipe that I would include would be to line your pan with parchment. The caramel really sticks to the edges of the pan and it's kind of difficult to get them out, parchment paper would solve that problem.

You should try them. Really.

Caramel Pecan Candy Bar Cookies
Baking in America-Greg Patent

4 T. butter (the recipe says unsalted but I used regular and it was fine)
1/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. all purpose flour
40 caramels (I used a bag of Kraft caramel baking bits)
2 T. evaporated milk
1.2 c. finely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, salt and 1 tsp of the vanilla with a mixer on medium speed 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flour thoroughly. The dough will be crumbly. Press dough firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and gently pat the crust back in place with a pot holder to level it. (Leave the oven on)

Meanwhile melt the caramels with the milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth. Stir in the remaining tsp of vanilla.

Scrape the caramel mixture from the pan and pour over the cookie crust. Tilt pan gently to level the caramel. Sprinkle the pecans evenly across the caramel. Bake for an additional 13-15 min or until the caramel topping is bubbly and puffy. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars with a sharp knife.

Featured on the following blog parties:
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Sweets on a Saturday

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes

2011-06-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

I got Kaiser rolls at the bakery for our burgers the other day and there are still some sitting on my counter. I have a hard time just letting them go to waste....they are delightful....so I needed a plan. I also had mushrooms in the fridge and some hamburger that needed to be used. There was no plan jumping from my head so I hit the Cooking Light magazine for some inspiration.

Cooking Light is one of my favorite sources for healthy recipes. I haven't ever had a true bomb from a Cooking Light source so I didn't have any trepidation in my heart when I decided to do the Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes from the June 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine. I did have to make a few adjustments as I didn't have everything in their version (cause you know that NEVER happens) but overall it turned out really well. I liked the zip from the hot sauce and the overall flavor. I think the only thing I would do differently next time is swap the tomato paste for tomato sauce and have written the recipe below to reflect that change, the filling seemed really thick for our taste. And, as expected they were yummy on those good rolls. Yay!

I think it's time for a dessert recipe next....

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes
Serves 5ish
adapted from Cooking Light magazine June 2011

1 T. olive oil
1 lb ground beef
16 oz chopped mushrooms (I used white because that's what I had but cremini would be good too)
1 c. chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp oregano
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp hot sauce

Heat a large non stick skillet over med-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until onions are tender.

In another skillet brown the hamburger stirring to crumble. When onion mixture is done add to the ground beef. Add tomato sauce, oregano, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and salt to pan. Cook approx 5 min. Stir in pepper and hot sauce. Spoon about 3/4 c. on your bun and eat.

Cal. 439; Fat 14.7g; Protein 27.3g; Carb 49.2g; Fiber 4g

BBQ Ribs and Sauce

2011-06-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

Do you have a "signature" recipe? One that you find yourself sharing over and over and people seem to think it requires super human cooking skills to achieve the end results? This is that recipe. This is the recipe people ask me for every single time I make it. This is the recipe that spawned the annual Hansen Family Ribfest event that my brothers reminisce about all year long until it's time to do it again. This is the recipe that when I couldn't host Ribfest 2010 those same brothers took it upon themselves to figure out how to make their own. Yes, this is THAT recipe.

Now don't misunderstand me....it's all smoke and mirrors. There is no super human cooking skill here. Just a little bit of patience, a lot of tin foil, and a really dirty oven at the end of the day. In fact, if you embark upon a ribfest (or should it be ribquest) of your own please, please, please remember to put foil in the bottom of your oven before you start. The sauce WILL drip. You will probably not think through the whole "when I flip the oven to clean there isn't a way to open the door once it gets going" thing and you will manage to start your oven on fire, have smoke billowing from the windows and necessitate your children answering questions about when they became chain smokers. Not that I know anything about that but that is my cautionary tale for the day. I'm fairly sure that that could actually happen....to someone else of course.

My son hosted a mission reunion with several of his former companions and some of their "women folk" yesterday. Ribs and Bacon Stuffed Burgers were on the menu. They didn't want salads or veggies, just meat, chips and something to wash it down with. In my head I was thinking there is no way they will eat all of that...well they did. I am still in shock. They all enjoyed it though and are looking forward to doing it again next year. I may have recovered by then. These people look like they are enjoying themselves, right?....

Because of the mass quantities of ribs I cooked yesterday I didn't make my own sauce but when I cook on a more reasonable scale this is the recipe I use. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks so I make a little extra to have on hand.

Dude, I'm way wordy today. On to the recipe!

BBQ Ribs and Sauce
serves 2-4 as an entree

4 lbs baby back pork ribs
BBQ sauce, lots of it.

Honey BBQ Sauce

1 c. ketchup
1/2 c. dark molasses
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce, or to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan and whisk together. Bring to a boild. Reduce heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes until reduced down and as thick as you like it.

Ribs
Cut ribs into sections of 4-6 ribs (I usually just cut the rack in half). Coat with BBQ sauce on both sides. Place on a large, doubled thickness, heavy duty foil and wrap tightly, like you are making a tin foil dinner or a packet to cook in the fire. Let marinate in the fridge overnight, it makes them very tender and tasty. Place the rib packets seam side up (critical hint right there) in a 300 degree oven and let bake for 2-3 hours. When you see the meat pulling back from the bone it's done. You will be able to tell by smell as well.

Heat grill up on med high. Grill ribs on the hot grill for 2-4 minutes per side or just until you get those nice blackened streaks. Baste with some reserved sauce.

Dig in!

This post is linked to the following linky parties:

Melt in Your Mouth Mondays
Made it on a Monday
This Chick Cooks
Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Sweet Home Spaghetti

2011-06-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

We aren't real spaghetti eaters around here...I don't know whether it's the shape of the noodles or what. We like lasagna so the basic taste doesn't seem to be the problem but at any rate it isn't a dish that we eat very often. I saw this variation on Taste and Tell and thought it looked interesting and like something that maybe would go over better than the traditional spaghetti for a change.

Randy and I liked it, Jeff was not sold on it at all so I'm going to chalk it up to it really comes down to your own individual taste. I have a feeling it will be making a reappearance because honestly I really, really liked it and am looking forward to the leftovers....sorry Jeff. :) I loved the easy prep. Use whatever spaghetti sauce you have on hand, I had Hunt's Traditional so that's what we got. I did adjust the proportions a bit to fit the size of our family from the original recipe but that was the only change I made.

Sweet Home Spaghetti
adapted from Taste and Tell
from the Reluctant Entertainer

1 pound ground beef
1 med sweet onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 (24 oz) jars Italian spaghetti sauce*
1/3 cup sugar, to taste
1 pound dry pasta
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Cook the meat until browned and cooked through and drain, if needed.
In a separate pan, saute the onion in the olive oil. Add the cooked meat, the sauce and the sugar. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
In the mean time, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain. Mix the sauce with the pasta in a large bowl. Serve with grated Parmesan.

BBQ Pasta Salad

2011-05-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Once again I found myself needing a salad for a family dinner this morning and I wanted to do something different. I know, the ABC Shrimp Salad is a perennial favorite but I just wasn't feeling it today. I was watching Food Network again while I was sick this past week and the Neelys made a version of this salad on their show. I was intrigued with the dressing, I love BBQ sauce on just about everything so how wrong could it be on pasta?? It was actually very good. Next time I'll make a bit more sauce so that it's more moist but overall this was a very, very good salad. I can see lots of options to customize it to your individual tastes. They used pulled pork on the show. I had baked chicken in the fridge so I used that instead of the pork. I also added corn and bacon. I can also see a vegetarian version using black beans being very good. I'm also going on the assumption that you can add about any vegetable that you like and it would work. The sky's the limit.

BBQ Pasta Salad
Adapted from Food Network-Down Home with the Neelys
8-10 servings

1 lb curly pasta
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup mayo
1/2 c. BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
2 ribs celery, chopped fine
2 green onions, sliced thin
8-12 oz chicken
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup corn
Salt and pepper

Bring 4 qts water to a boil in a large pot. Salt water and cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse and cool. Transfer to a large bowl.

In another bowl combine vinegar, hot sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, mayo and BBQ sauce. Whisk together until smooth. Add chopped vegetables and toss to coat. Pour dressing over pasta and mix well. Add chicken and bacon. Stir in if desired.

Cheesy Potatoes

2011-05-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Party potatoes, funeral potatoes, cheesy potatoes...all names for essentially the same dish. This is another staple at church functions and big family dinners here in Utah and there are more variations on the basic recipe than there are names for it. Seriously. Not kidding. There are also differing opinions on topping; yes you should have one, none is better, cornflakes or potato chips or maybe buttered bread crumbs. I've even used Chex cereal in a pinch so as far as that goes do what makes you happy. Cornflakes make me happy.

This is certainly not the only way to make these potatoes but it's without question one of the best that I've tasted. I am asked for the recipe every time I take them somewhere. An added bonus is that it's super easy and fast to put together and stick in the oven so that you can concentrate your energy somewhere else...like dessert. You know, the important stuff!

I typically use low fat sour cream and fat free soup in an effort to make it just a bit less artery clogging. I'm not sure that it is actually working but the effort is placating the skinny chick trapped inside me. It's all about the mind games people.

Cheesy Potatoes

1 pkg frozen hash browns (my family prefers shredded but the diced works fine too)
1 cube butter
2 c. sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/3-1/2 c. dehydrated onion
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese (cheddar or a colby jack blend work well)
2.T. melted butter
2 c. crushed cornflakes

Microwave hash browns on high for 2-3 min. Dump them in 9x13 baking dish.

In a med. saucepan melt butter. Stir in sour cream, soups and onions and mix well. When mixture starts to bubble add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and mix together until evenly distributed.

Combine cornflakes and melted butter and spread over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour until hot and bubbly all the way through.

Peanut Butterscotch Chews

2011-05-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

This was the Food Porn Friday recipe for the week. It was my turn to pick and I confess I forgot so this was more of an impulse choice than an informed wish to increase my baking skills. I was totally sucked in by the butterscotch in the title and the fact that I had everything I needed to make it in my pantry already, always a bonus.

These were more peanuty than butterscotch in my opinion but were still pretty tasty. Easy to put together, held together well when cut into bars, overall a good bar cookie. I think that the next time I will drizzle a little semi sweet chocolate over the top to balance some of the peanut taste but they were still good without. I did have to adjust the baking time and temp and have written the recipe to reflect those changes. Maybe it was my oven so take that under advisement.

Peanut Butterscotch Chews
Baking in America-Greg Patent

1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 T. (1/2 cube) butter
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/3 c. dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8 in square baking pan and set aside.

Sift the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter in a med. saucepan over med. heat. Add the brown sugar and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 1 minute or until the mixture starts to smell kind of toasty. Add the evaporated milk and blend well. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook while stirring constantly for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool to warm.

Beat the egg with a fork in a cup; add to mixture and blend until smooth. Add vanilla and blend well. Stir in the flour mixture only until incorporated, then add the peanuts. Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake for approx 30 min, until a toothpick comes out moist with a few crumbs sticking to it. Do not overbake-bars are intended to be very moist. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes, them tamp down the sides of the cake with your fingertips to level it. Cool completely and cut into squares.

Shannon's Gammie's Lemon Bars

2011-05-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

Woo! Food Porn Friday rises again! Hopefully. If we can get our acts together.

This week rather than choosing a recipe from our books Shannon was kind enough to share a family recipe from her Gammie with us. It is so fun to see her grandmother's handwriting on the recipe card. It reminds me of my own Grandma's handwriting and the good memories I have of awesome deliciousness coming out of her kitchen for the long car rides home from her house. I imagine that her recipe cards looked very similar...well that is if she actually wrote things down. Her chocolate chip cookie recipe is lost forever. Flashlight Girl (Julie, my sister) actually has come close to duplicating them but they are still slightly different. ANYWAY...

Lemon Bars. I love them but have had poor luck finding a recipe that I liked enough to do more than once so I usually content myself with indulging when they are brought to me as a gift or I find them at pot lucks. This recipe is quick and easy enough that I will probably just do my own now. :) This makes me very, very happy!

Things I learned:
1. Pyrex shatters into dust when tapped just right with a lid from another pan. My favorite frog dish is now just a fond memory.
2. Always double check the recipe if it doesn't seem quite right, you may have omitted something vital like sugar.
3. If you have an heirloom like a recipe card written in your Grandma's handwriting take care of it. It can never be replaced, it's truly priceless.

Shannon's Gammie's Lemon Bars

1 c. butter
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. flour
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
4 T. flour
4 T. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Mix powdered sugar, flour and butter with mixer until crumbly. Press into bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of 9x13 buttered baking dish. Bake 20-25 min in 350 degree oven.
2. Beat eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt together. Pour over baked crust. Bake 25 minutes in 350 degree oven.
3. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar while still hot.

Chicken Pot Pie

2011-05-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

I'm always at a loss when I'm asked to take dinner to someone for what to take. I know that when I was in bed for months I ate more Chicken Broccoli casserole than I had ever eaten before and I can honestly say I haven't eaten it voluntarily since then...15 years ago. So, I try to figure out dishes that are a little bit different than your standard CB casserole or lasagna but that are still universally appealing enough for everyone.

This is a dish that my family likes a lot. It's filling and homey tasting and it's pretty hard to mess it up. You can certainly make this with store bought pie crusts...I went to buy some today and couldn't find any. Is this a Thanksgiving kind of deal that I wasn't aware of?? At any rate, I made my own crust from my Perfect Pie Crust recipe and it was definitely better tasting than Pillsbury would have been.

If you have lots of time and don't mind chopping veggies you can certainly chop your own but I used a bag of mixed veggies from the freezer section with some hash browns and it worked great. I think I may need a second helping...

Chicken Pot Pie
1 10 inch pie

2 pie crusts

Filling:
2 c. water
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1 onion diced fine
1 bag mixed vegetables
1 c. Southern style hash browns
2 T. chicken bouillon granules or soup base
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
4 T. cornstarch
1 T. flour
1 c. heavy cream

In a lg saucepan combine onions and chicken (include carrots, celery etc if you chopped your own). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 5 min stirring occasionally. Add veggies, hash browns, bouillon, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch and flour in cream. Stir into chicken mixture; simmer an additional 3 minutes until thickened. Set aside.

Assembly:
Put bottom crust in pie pan trimming crust even with the edge. Pour filling into bottom crust. Roll top crust on top, cut slits for steam (if you are Bri write your name). Fold top crust under bottom crust edge. Seal well and flute edge. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 min or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. (I usually shield the pie with tin foil for the first 20 minutes of bake time)

Let stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Caramel Frosting

2011-05-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Mmmm, cupcakes. They are the perfect ratio of moist cake to frosting all wrapped up in a pretty paper liner so that you can eat it on the go. It's the perfect solution for those of us that will never eat a whole cake in sheet cake form. I don't know why it's different but it is. I know, one of those things that makes you go hmmm.

I'm a big fan of cake mixes because I'm kind of a sketchy baker from scratch but I decided that it was silly to be afraid of the scratch cake and jumped right in to a recipe I found in "The Joy of Baking". It's a book that I've had a long time and have made very little out of because the recipes appear to have 7 trillion ingredients and I always mentally check out about half way through the recipe.

The cupcake batter came together quickly and easily. I baked the cupcakes for 17 min so that they didn't dry out, the liners peeled off without pulling the cake all to pieces and the frosting was delightful so I'm calling this one a "WIN". Oh, the frosting is just your basic vanilla butter cream drizzled with caramel. You could either make your own caramel or use ice cream topping if you have one that you prefer. I did sprinkle just a very light sprinkle of sea salt on the caramel...I love salted caramel. :) Definitely a do again.

Chocolate Cupcakes
16 cupcakes

1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 c. boiling water
1 1/3 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir together the cocoa powder and the boiling water until smooth. Let cool to room temp. (I just stuck it in the fridge while I finished everything else up)

In your mixer beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla.

Add the flour mixture and beat only until flour is incorporated. Then add the cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup with approx. 1/3 c. bake batter. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched or a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Caramel Vanilla Frosting

1/2 c. caramel cut (I used the Kraft caramel bits)
1/2 c. heavy cream.
1/2 c. butter softened
4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 T. milk or cream

Stir the caramel and cream together over med heat until melted and mixed together. Set aside to cool to room temp.

Beat the butter until fluffy in your mixer. Carefully add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and beat until fluffy and spreading texture.

Frost cupcake with a knife or with a pastry bag and large tip. Drizzle caramel over the tops. If desired sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt on the caramel.

Post linked to:
Themed Baker's Sunday

Honey Poppy Seed Fruit Salad

2011-05-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I love the most about spring is the fruit. I love that I start to see the prices in the store inch down to where I feel like I can actually eat fresh fruit again without feeling like I need to get a second job. I'm pretty sure that I could live on fruit salad if it came right down to it.

Bri had to take a salad to a church activity the other day and we both had busy days right up to almost the time she needed to walk out the door. We needed something fast and easy and this definitely qualified and was deliciously yummy to boot.

We used fresh strawberries and bananas with frozen blackberries and blueberries because that is what we had at home that didn't require a special trip to the store. Personally I think that fresh raspberries and pineapple would be particularly good as well. Use the fruit you like and that your family will enjoy the most. The dressing is super mild and just enhances the flavor of the fruit rather than overpowering it so what ever you choose to use will be fabulous!

Honey Poppy Seed Fruit Salad
servings 8-10

3 cups sliced strawberries
3 largish bananas
2 cups blackberries
1 1/2 cup blueberries
5 T. honey
2 tsp lemon juice
1 T. poppy seeds

In a large bowl combine the bananas and berries. In a small bowl combine the honey, lemon juice and poppy seeds. Pour over fruit and toss or stir gently to coat.