Hola! Soooo my new layout is done! Yay! I did not design it myself. That's almost laughable if you thought that. My awesomest friend Lace designed it for me! She's also my #1 Fan ;) I'm glad I could give her something to do that would procrastinate her grad school homework. Thousands of miles away and I still manage to distract her. That's what I call talent, people. Also, as a little teaser...my next recipe is going to be Amish Friendship Bread! It still has a few more days to go so new post coming soon! :)
Again, thanks to my most awesomest friend in NYC for the most awesomest layout!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Dog Food is Delicious!
I mean Puppy Chow is delicious. Chocolate, peanut butter, Chex cereal, and powdered sugar. What could be better? Ooooo I know! Chocolate, peanut butter, Crispix cereal, and powdered sugar. There is a big difference, my friends.
I went and visited my little brother this past weekend at his school. I had never been to Concordia, or Moorhead for that matter, and so I decided to take a little trip. He not-so-subtly asked if I was going to bake anything before I went to visit and I had all the intention in the world to bake something magnificent. Unfortunately I did not have all the time in the world. I had a very busy week leading up to the weekend and I thought that Puppy Chow (or Chex Muddy Buddies) would be a quick, delicious way to get out of baking something time-consuming. I used the recipe right off the Rice Chex cereal box so here it is:
Ingredients:
9 cups rice chex, corn chex, chocolate chex, or combination. (I substituted Crispix cereal because it's both rice and corn. And I think it tastes better than chex).
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Measure cereal into large bowl; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. (I actually melted everything on the stove top. It takes a little longer than the microwave but you don't have to worry about touching a hot bowl or anything.)
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
I made double what the recipe called for and it made a ton. I brought some for Daniel, brought some for the 3 1/2 - 4 hour ride to Moorhead for Andy and me, and I left the majority of it at home ;) Because I made so much, I actually mixed everything in a huge, ginormous tupperware bowl. It worked very well and I even coated the puppy chow with the powdered sugar in the bowl. I just made sure the lid was on tight and shook it! I was a little worried that it might break the cereal pieces but there was so much of it in the bowl that that I really didn't have a problem. I then laid it on wax paper to cool, went to dinner with some friends so there was plenty of time to cool, and came home and put it in ziploc bags. I didn't refrigerate it and I think it's just fine non-refrigerated. I was in such a rush to get this done before my dinner that I didn't even think about taking pictures. Making the puppy chow my way took about 20-25 minutes instead of the 15 minutes the Chex box says it takes. I think it's because I slowly melted everything on the stovetop instead of microwaving it all. Until next time...
Fire Away!
I went and visited my little brother this past weekend at his school. I had never been to Concordia, or Moorhead for that matter, and so I decided to take a little trip. He not-so-subtly asked if I was going to bake anything before I went to visit and I had all the intention in the world to bake something magnificent. Unfortunately I did not have all the time in the world. I had a very busy week leading up to the weekend and I thought that Puppy Chow (or Chex Muddy Buddies) would be a quick, delicious way to get out of baking something time-consuming. I used the recipe right off the Rice Chex cereal box so here it is:
Ingredients:
9 cups rice chex, corn chex, chocolate chex, or combination. (I substituted Crispix cereal because it's both rice and corn. And I think it tastes better than chex).
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Measure cereal into large bowl; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. (I actually melted everything on the stove top. It takes a little longer than the microwave but you don't have to worry about touching a hot bowl or anything.)
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
I made double what the recipe called for and it made a ton. I brought some for Daniel, brought some for the 3 1/2 - 4 hour ride to Moorhead for Andy and me, and I left the majority of it at home ;) Because I made so much, I actually mixed everything in a huge, ginormous tupperware bowl. It worked very well and I even coated the puppy chow with the powdered sugar in the bowl. I just made sure the lid was on tight and shook it! I was a little worried that it might break the cereal pieces but there was so much of it in the bowl that that I really didn't have a problem. I then laid it on wax paper to cool, went to dinner with some friends so there was plenty of time to cool, and came home and put it in ziploc bags. I didn't refrigerate it and I think it's just fine non-refrigerated. I was in such a rush to get this done before my dinner that I didn't even think about taking pictures. Making the puppy chow my way took about 20-25 minutes instead of the 15 minutes the Chex box says it takes. I think it's because I slowly melted everything on the stovetop instead of microwaving it all. Until next time...
Fire Away!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Under Construction
I'm getting the itch for a new blog design so please don't mind the non-matching, weird colors, or anything else that might seem off! It's a work in progress :)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
I Fall for Autumn
Hello everyone! So again I'm kind of failing at this baking and blogging stuff. It'd be soooooooo much easier if I had my own place. I could bake every single day if I wanted to. And I would bake a lot more.
My last baking venture was a joint effort with my friend Celia! We decided to make something Autumn-themed because it seemed appropriate. We tried our hand at Maple Cream Cheesecake Bars! I'm going to steal the recipe from her website (www.celiaperry.com) because A) she found the recipe to begin with, and B) we made the same thing so no need to try and find the original website myself. Let's see...hmmm. It's been so long since we've done it that I've kind of forgotten about the details. The recipe comes from the Wolcott Maple Products website.
Crust:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
Cheesecake
(2) 8 oz packages of Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 cups Chocolate Chips, melted
8 oz jar Pure Maple Cream
First cream the butter, then fold in the maple syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and salt and blend. Press into 9″ x 13″ pan. When Celia and I did this, we decided to break the dough apart and press the crust down bit by bit.
Next, pour the melted chocolate over crust. We used a double-boiler to melt the chocolate chips. Spread about 3/4 of the maple cream on top of the chocolate and set aside. Beat the cream cheese until light and completely smooth. Beat in sour cream, then eggs (one at a time). Gradually beat in maple syrup followed by vanilla and lemon juice. Pour over the chocolate and maple cream.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400° F, then reduce heat to 350° and bake for another 30 minutes. Apparently the website recommends chilling the bars before drizzling the chocolate and remaining maple cream on top, we couldn't wait for more than 15 minutes.
We had a bit o' trouble getting the chocolate to drizzle so we dipped forks into the melted chocolate and just kind of...splattered the chocolate on the cheesecake by moving the fork back and forth quickly. Then we ate spoonfuls of the melted chocolate.
As always, there is a learning experience to every baking endeavor. We couldn't find maple cream nor did we have any idea what maple cream was so we went without. We probably should've found some kind of maple cream because the bars were not very maple-flavored...but they still tasted delicious. You couldn't taste the maple but there is nothing wrong with chocolate cheesecake. :) Until next time...
Fire Away!
PICTURES!
Fire Away!
PICTURES!
 |
| Celia! |
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Keeping It Up!
Hello my fellow reader(s). I'm trying really hard to keep up with this blog now that I'm actually kind of baking and plan on baking a little more. I seriously need to get to Michael's or somewhere and get some cool little baking tools...maybe some real pastry bags so I don't have to use my mom's ziploc bags. I'm sure she'd appreciate that too. "Ziplocs don't grow on trees, ya know!" Ok, so she didn't actually say that, but she's the kind of person that would.
My parentals are out of town this weekend so I might try and bake something. I haven't quite decided yet. I may want to use that alone time to revel in my alone-ness and get in some quality "me" time. Plus I've been blessed with a nasty little cold and I'm not sure people will want to eat my goodies. I don't know if I'd want to eat goodies baked by a sick person. My goodies, my goodies, my goodies, not my goodies. I also believe cold medicine makes you weird and messes with your mind. Forget heavy machinery, I shouldn't use mixers or ovens while on cold medicine.
Anyway, I saw the Lion King 3D this weekend. I love the Lion King but don't see the point in making movies 3D. Didn't really see a difference and it cost 3 dollars more than just a 2D movie. 3D is stupid.
My parentals are out of town this weekend so I might try and bake something. I haven't quite decided yet. I may want to use that alone time to revel in my alone-ness and get in some quality "me" time. Plus I've been blessed with a nasty little cold and I'm not sure people will want to eat my goodies. I don't know if I'd want to eat goodies baked by a sick person. My goodies, my goodies, my goodies, not my goodies. I also believe cold medicine makes you weird and messes with your mind. Forget heavy machinery, I shouldn't use mixers or ovens while on cold medicine.
Anyway, I saw the Lion King 3D this weekend. I love the Lion King but don't see the point in making movies 3D. Didn't really see a difference and it cost 3 dollars more than just a 2D movie. 3D is stupid.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
What a Shock!
I have news. I actually baked cupcakes! After I realized that this blog was failing, I decided I'd better start baking. I didn't make tropical cupcakes as my previous post implied...I made chocolate cupcakes instead! Let me tell you...these cupcakes were a hit! Everybody at work (plus the Boy) seemed to really like them! Not to brag but one of my managers said they should be illegal. I'm thinking she was exaggerating a bit but I'm still going to feel good about myself. Haha.
The cupcakes that went over sooo well were a chocolate cupcake with an orange cream cheese frosting, topped with a piece of of Lindt Dark Chocolate Intense Orange chocolate. I made the cake part of the cupcakes from scratch (the chocolate part!) and I found a super easy recipe online. Not only was it super easy, it was super delicious! I'm thinking anytime I make chocolate cupcakes, it will be my go-to recipe. I'll never make chocolate cupcakes from a box mix again! Not that I made many cupcakes before but you catch my drift.
The great part about the recipe I found is that there is no eggs or butter. I know it sounds weird to not have butter or eggs but the recipe is so delicious you don't even notice.
The chocolate cupcake recipe:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder)
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups water (I substituted one cup of chocolate milk for one cup of water...so it was 1/2 cup of water, 1 cup chocolate milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (sounds weird but you can't even taste it) plus when it touched the baking soda, it fizzed in the bowl! :)
Mix all the ingredients together until moist and well-blended. Put cupcake liners in a cupcake tin and fill 1/2 - 3/4 full of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Ta-da! all done with that! Now it's just time to let the cupcakes cool.
The frosting was cream cheese frosting from a can. I used Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Cream Cheese frosting and added orange extract to make it..well, orange-flavored. I spooned out all the frosting from the can and put it in a bowl and then added the orange extract and mixed it all together. I just put in 1/2 teaspoon at a time and kept tasting it until it got to an orange-factor that I deemed delicious. I then tried to be a little fancy and scooped the frosting in a make-shift pastry bag (ziploc bag with the corner cut out..lol) and frosted the cupcakes that way. Learning experience: Frosting the cupcakes fancy-like uses a ton of frosting. I ran out of frosting and had to frost the last few normally. Now I know. I was in a little bit of a rush (it being a work night and all), and so I put some of the cupcakes in the fridge so they'd cool faster and it worked very well, I must say. I knew better than to try and frost cupcakes while they were still warm.
Last, I broke the Lindt chocolate bars into the pre-determined squares and just squished the pieces into the cupcakes (one square per cupcake) so they would stay put. I put the bars in the fridge so they would break easier and wouldn't melt. It was 80-90 degrees outside, after all.
The yield for this cupcake recipe was supposed to be 24...however I only got 22 out it. Not a big deal to me because it wasn't for any event in particular. Just felt like baking.
Well, there it is. My second baking attempt, first successful one. Now that I know I'm not a complete baking failure, I have a feeling I'll be doing more baking :) Until next time...
Fire away!
Pictures for you! FINALLY.
The cupcakes that went over sooo well were a chocolate cupcake with an orange cream cheese frosting, topped with a piece of of Lindt Dark Chocolate Intense Orange chocolate. I made the cake part of the cupcakes from scratch (the chocolate part!) and I found a super easy recipe online. Not only was it super easy, it was super delicious! I'm thinking anytime I make chocolate cupcakes, it will be my go-to recipe. I'll never make chocolate cupcakes from a box mix again! Not that I made many cupcakes before but you catch my drift.
The great part about the recipe I found is that there is no eggs or butter. I know it sounds weird to not have butter or eggs but the recipe is so delicious you don't even notice.
The chocolate cupcake recipe:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder)
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups water (I substituted one cup of chocolate milk for one cup of water...so it was 1/2 cup of water, 1 cup chocolate milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (sounds weird but you can't even taste it) plus when it touched the baking soda, it fizzed in the bowl! :)
Mix all the ingredients together until moist and well-blended. Put cupcake liners in a cupcake tin and fill 1/2 - 3/4 full of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Ta-da! all done with that! Now it's just time to let the cupcakes cool.
The frosting was cream cheese frosting from a can. I used Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Cream Cheese frosting and added orange extract to make it..well, orange-flavored. I spooned out all the frosting from the can and put it in a bowl and then added the orange extract and mixed it all together. I just put in 1/2 teaspoon at a time and kept tasting it until it got to an orange-factor that I deemed delicious. I then tried to be a little fancy and scooped the frosting in a make-shift pastry bag (ziploc bag with the corner cut out..lol) and frosted the cupcakes that way. Learning experience: Frosting the cupcakes fancy-like uses a ton of frosting. I ran out of frosting and had to frost the last few normally. Now I know. I was in a little bit of a rush (it being a work night and all), and so I put some of the cupcakes in the fridge so they'd cool faster and it worked very well, I must say. I knew better than to try and frost cupcakes while they were still warm.
Last, I broke the Lindt chocolate bars into the pre-determined squares and just squished the pieces into the cupcakes (one square per cupcake) so they would stay put. I put the bars in the fridge so they would break easier and wouldn't melt. It was 80-90 degrees outside, after all.
The yield for this cupcake recipe was supposed to be 24...however I only got 22 out it. Not a big deal to me because it wasn't for any event in particular. Just felt like baking.
Well, there it is. My second baking attempt, first successful one. Now that I know I'm not a complete baking failure, I have a feeling I'll be doing more baking :) Until next time...
Fire away!
Pictures for you! FINALLY.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
I need to hop to it!
Wow, this blog has been a large failure. I'm really hoping that I'll get back on track and that this blog won't just sit and take up space.
Imagine my surprise when I signed on for the first time in over a month and saw that I had TWO whole followers! :) I'm not even being sarcastic! Now I have two people that I can't let down. The pressure is mounting.
I think the reason I haven't done any baking is that I couldn't figure out what I wanted to bake. The cake balls were disheartening, to say the least. And seeing that it's already September, the holidays will be upon us sooner than we know it and the holiday season is the perfect time to bake and I'd like to come up with some holiday treats. BUT FIRST! I need trial runs for my baked goods (apparently).
I think I might try something simple now like...cupcakes. Maybe some kind of tropical cupcake? I think I'm on to something there...my brain is starting to envision it...
On a side note, I'm pretty sure Bloody Mary's are going to turn me into an alcoholic. I'm going to start trying to create the best Bloody Mary and if I do, I will most definitely share the recipe. :)
Fire away!
Imagine my surprise when I signed on for the first time in over a month and saw that I had TWO whole followers! :) I'm not even being sarcastic! Now I have two people that I can't let down. The pressure is mounting.
I think the reason I haven't done any baking is that I couldn't figure out what I wanted to bake. The cake balls were disheartening, to say the least. And seeing that it's already September, the holidays will be upon us sooner than we know it and the holiday season is the perfect time to bake and I'd like to come up with some holiday treats. BUT FIRST! I need trial runs for my baked goods (apparently).
I think I might try something simple now like...cupcakes. Maybe some kind of tropical cupcake? I think I'm on to something there...my brain is starting to envision it...
On a side note, I'm pretty sure Bloody Mary's are going to turn me into an alcoholic. I'm going to start trying to create the best Bloody Mary and if I do, I will most definitely share the recipe. :)
Fire away!
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