Shepherd's Pie

So, before you all get your panties in a wad at the fact that shepherd's pie isn't technically a baked good, let me assure you that it is indeed. You bake it in the oven; therefore, it's a baked good.

A delicious baked good. Even though it contains no chocolate or sugar.

For those of you aren't in the know, shepherd's pie is the delightful conglomeration of veggies, meat, and mashed potatoes. In the end, it kind of looks like dog food, but it TASTES fabulous. 

Now, there are a million different ways to make shepherd's pie, but I prefer my own recipe. It's tried and true and super creamy!

Here are the ingredients that you'll need:

1lb of ground meat (I usually use beef for flavor)

1 can of cream of celery

2 baking potatoes

1/2 of an onion 

1 can of corn

1 can of creamed corn

Salt 

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Dollop of sour cream

Dollop of butter

Splash of milk

You start off by cutting up the baking potatoes and boiling them until they are soft and mashable. I leave the skins on because I think it's tasty (and I'm too lazy to peel them). While the potatoes are boiling, I cut the onion into thin slices and sautee them with some butter until they are soft. I also brown the ground meat until it is thoroughly cooked. Once the meat is done, I leave the fat in the pan and mix in the onions and the can of cream of celery. It helps if you leave the heat on for a smidge so that the cream of celery is easier to mix. And that, my friends, is your meat portion of the pie.

Next, take your soft potatoes and drain the water from the pot. Mix in a dollop of butter (I usually put in a rather healthy-sized dollop), a splash of milk, and a dollop of sour cream (again, I do a healthy-sized dollop). Sprinkle in a dash of pepper, a dash of salt, and a dash of garlic powder and mash/mix/stir.  Ok, potato portion done.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Take out a baking pan/dish/whatever. I typically use an 8x8 pyrex dish. Spray that bad boy with Pam or some other non-stick spray.

Grab your meat mix and spread it out evenly on the bottom of the pan. 

Then, open up the cans of corn (I prefer corn, but lots of people use all different kinds of vegetables) and spread those evenly on top of the meat.

Finally, spread the mashed potatoes on the top.

Some people like to jazz up the dish by sprinkling cheese or breadcrumbs on the top, but I'm a fan of less is more when it comes to my shepherd's pie. So, meat, veggies, and potatoes is all that I use.

Pop the pan into the oven for 30 minutes (or longer if you want a crispier crust on the top) and voila! You have shepherd's pie!

Looks kind of unappetizing, right? Except, it's super delicious. I promise.

It doesn't look like a pie. I'm assuming that way back in the day people made it more pie-like, but this is how we've always had it... so, yeah.

**Here's a little something you should try if you haven't ever tried it before: put ketchup on your serving of shepherd's pie. It's SO FREAKING GOOD. Don't get me wrong, shepherd's pie is good on it's own, but somehow the ketchup takes it to a whole different level.**

It's Like Red Velvet in this Grown Woman's Smile

Guess what I'm making!!!

[Hint: Look at the title]

You've got it! Red velvet cake!

What auspicious occasion would require the makings of such a delicious and decadent treat? It's my wedding anniversary today :)

Yep, four lovely (and LOOOOONG) years of wedded bliss for me and the ol' ball and chain. Just kidding! But seriously...

My husband, Eric, isn't really a baked goods foody such as myself. Shockingly enough, he barely gives sweets a second glance. 

I know, crazy, right?

So, when it comes to cakes and whatnot to celebrate our birthdays, anniversaries, etc., it's usually up to me what to make (although he did have me make him that carrot cake for his birthday). For our four year wedding anniversary I thought that some red velvet cake would be delish.  

Odd as it may seem, I never even tried red velvet cake until a few years ago. I think it's mostly because I thought it was some kind of a white cake that someone had dyed bright red. BUT, believe it or not, red velvet cake is a CHOCOLATE cake. Although these days a lot of red food coloring is used to help get that super red color, historically speaking, there used to be a reaction between vinegar and cocoa that would create the reddish hue.  You know, back when they made cakes from scratch all of the time.

Not like this chick. My red velvet cake came out of a Duncan Hines box.

And when I say cake, I mean cuppycakes. And when I say cuppycakes, I mean friggin' HUGE cuppycakes. Mini cakes?

Take a peek at these puppies:

No, my cupcakes are not bleeding, I'm just a messy baker. Also, check out the ginormous-ness. Just for reference, they box said it should make 24 cupcakes. I was only able to make 11.

I apparently bought the world's biggest cupcake liners. Who knew that there were different sizes? It was tough trying to keep them from folding in on themselves when I put the batter in. Ooops.  

Due to the fact that the were so large, I had to bake them for a full 24 minutes. Then I placed them on a rack to cool thoroughly before frosting them with a cream cheese frosting (which is apparently the typical frosting for red velvet).

As a final touch, I added semi-sweet chocolate chips to the tops of the cupcakes. The chocolate chips help to set off the chocolate flavor of the red velvety chocolateness.

The final product!

I just ate one. With a fork. It was too tall to fit into my mouth.

Needless to say, I won't be having another after dinner tonight (ribs! yum!). Pretty sure I've had my fill for the day. But that's ok. I'll watch Eric eat his :)

Hot Strawberries

For some reason, the idea of hot strawberries doesn't seem appealing. Maybe it's because I tend to eat my strawberries raw--right out of the fridge (washed, of course). 

The only baked good recipe that I have EVER used strawberries in is pie. The ever famous and delectable Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. 

You see, I had hurriedly gone grocery shopping when I arrived home from my trip up to Connecticut to visit with family and friends. I didn't leave much in the house, save for some microwaveable meals for the husband, and was in desperate need of some snacky foods for the kid as well as for myself.  I had only meant to do some light shopping, but I stupidly went shopping while hungry. Which leads to copious amounts of purchasing. Like, a cart full. Ugh.

Anyhow, in my hunger-induced shopping frenzy I managed to pick up a bunch of fruit (yay for healthy choices!)...too much fruit (boo for over-buying). We managed to eat nearly all of the grapes as well as some bananas (some had to be frozen for future banana bread making!). Sadly, the container of strawberries remained untouched.

Like any smart momma who has learned from past experiences, I was well aware of the havoc that cut up strawberries can wreak on a cute baby outfit. So, I tend to only give them to her if I feed them to her myself or if I strip her down to a diaper and bib.

Well, the strawberries were definitely no longer in their prime, if you know what I'm sayin'. So, I figured that it would be best if I cut them up and baked them into SOMETHING. I thought about trying out the scone recipe again, this time substituting the blueberries for strawberries. But, I was in the mood for something different. A muffin, perhaps.

I had recently acquired a muffin tin and thought that some strawberry muffins would be good for breakfast the next day. 

Baking commenced.

I used a recipe from allrecipes.com, as usual. I used the actual recipe as more of a guide and made some modifications based on the reviews of the original recipe:

1. Added a dash of vanilla

2. Added a dash of cinnamon

3. Added a 1/4cup of brown sugar

4. Cut back a bit on the white sugar

The final product!

I have to say, I'm not really all THAT impressed. I mean, it tasted good, but there was a bit of a funny aftertaste. Bleh.

The hot strawberries were definitely more appetizing than they sound (to me). 

I think that I won't make this particular recipe again. I'll have to hunt down something more to my tastes.

Something New and Different

Whoa. I've been slacking. Sorry for the lack of updates! I've actually been trying to sit and write this post for a few days now, but I've been busy preparing for a big trip to the Northeast! Ev and I are going to visit friends and family (and a real mall! and a Dunkin Donuts!).

But, you don't care about that stuff. You only read this blog for one reason and one reason alone. FOOD.

It's totally ok. I completely understand.

The baked good to be highlighted in today's post has been baked by millions of people the world over. In fact, I've even posted an entry already about this classic treat--the ever-scrumptious Chocolate Chip Cookie.

You're probably thinking, "Good Lord, this chick is ridiculous with the chocolate chip cookies." And, you'd be right. BUT, it's always good to have a secondary (read: backup) recipe on hand in case you find yourself in the very predicament that I found myself in the other day.

See, the way that I usually make my cookies involves using a box of vanilla pudding. Sadly, when I felt a hankering coming on for some cookies I scrounged around my pantry for all of the necessary ingredients and found myself pudding-less. *gasp*

The baby was asleep and it wasn't like I could just run out to the grocery store right then and there and I was fixing to pitch a royal fit when I remembered a conversation that I had with another wife on base. Amy has been on a quest to find what she deems the perfect chocolate chip cookie. She prefers a large chewy cookie (as opposed to the soft cake-y ones that I typically make). She mentioned in our conversation that she found a recipe that works for her and she had posted it to her blog (she has a cute blog about her life as a military spouse).

I figured that I could deal with a large chewy chocolate chip cookie. And, after all, beggars can't be choosers (you know what I'm sayin'?).

I quickly searched her blog for the recipe and once I had it in my hot little hand I got down to business. In no way did I alter her recipe as far as mixing ingredients--I did however shorten the refrigeration time. There was no way Ev was going to let me take the time to shove cookie dough into a 1/4 cup measuring cup and smack it out onto the tray for 10min. So, I only chilled the dough for 30min--which turned out to be fine because the dough was firm and not sticky at all!

I'm going to be honest with you, when I tasted these warm out of the oven, I wasn't really all that impressed. It was hard to actually taste a flavor (if that's possible). So, I decided that perhaps once they cooled the flavor would be more discernible. And I was correct!! In fact, these cookies tasted AWESOME the next day! AND they stayed chewy and fresh for a while--three or four days after baking.

Although it was a switch up from my normal recipe, I'm glad I took the dive and tried it out. They're a great cookie and completely different from my other go-to recipe.

I'll definitely be making them again!

As for the recipe, I'm unsure if Amy is ok with me linking to her blog, so I've copied and pasted her recipe here (prepare to be entertained! She's a funny gal!):

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie I Ever Done Made
(Found on Allrecipes) 

Ingredients: 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups chocolate chips (I used a whole bag. I love me some choco chips.)

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Grease your baking sheet or use parchment paper or whatever floats your boat.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Add the vanilla, egg and egg yolk and beat until light and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Stick the batter in the fridge and forget about it for an hour or so. The dough is pretty wet, and sticking it the fridge allows it all to come together and work as a team to become the best darn choco chip cookie on earf.
5. After an hour of pacing around the kitchen and snitching cookie dough, drop the cookie dough by 1/4 cup full (YES 1/4 cup! These are big ol' cookies). Press them down just a bit. Space the cookies apart by 3 inches.
6. Pop the pan in the oven for about 15 minutes. Check them towards the end and pull them out when the edges are starting to become golden. They might not look quite done, but don't overcook these little buddies or you will cry. Take them out and let them cool for a few minutes on the pan before you put them on a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Eat at least one while still warm and gooey and consider starting a new religion designed upon reveling in the glory that is a perfect chocolate chip cookie.



And, of course, the obligatory photo!

See my new cooling rack? No more cooling on paper towels for this chick!
I'm movin' up in the baking world ;)

It Ain't Called the Best Banana Bread for Nothing!

Purchasing bananas always sounds like a good idea...but then I remember that I'm not a huge fan of bananas. And poor Evie has trouble properly digesting them. Oh, and my husband detests them.

Yet, somehow, I always find myself bringing home a couple every now and then...and inevitably they end up ripening to a nice brownish hue on my countertop. Ugh.

I've been hearing about this banana freezing phenomenon for a few months--my MIL does it, my friend Rita uses them for homemade smoothies, and I've read on the recipe sites that it's a common technique for preserving bananas until you want to use them. So, I started to freeze my brown uneaten bananas.

Yesterday I had a hankering for something homemade and tasty. I didn't have enough butter to make cookies and I'm kind of over brownies right now (this tends to happen if I make brownies too often, gah! It's ok though, I'll be back to my brownie-loving self in a couple of weeks). What's a girl to do??

For some strange reason I decided to look in the freezer, of all places, for possible ingredient ideas and there were four bananas shoved off to the side near the back. Now, I've always liked banana bread. However, I'm constantly on the hunt for The Ultimate Banana Bread Recipe. In general, you really can't bake a terrible batch, but I want to find the recipe that will always be my go-to banana bread recipe. Something simple, easy, and tasty.

Friends, I must confess. I think that I found it!!

Seriously. Not only did it smell like pure unadulterated HEAVEN in my house while it baked, but the taste and consistency were perfect. Not too heavy, just a tad sweet, and just the right amount of banana flavoring.

You see, usually I would go for the recipe on the website that has the most saves and the most reviews (with as close to five stars as the recipe can get). But, I've made that recipe before and I wasn't all that impressed. I kept scrolling down the list of banana bread recipes and I found one that still had a lot of reviews and it seemed SO simple. As usual, I read through the reviews and picked up some tips on what people did to spruce up the recipe and then I got down to business.

I defrosted the bananas, but not all the way. If you defrost them all of the way they get SUPER goopy, so mine were still a bit firm (and absolutely freezing! my poor fingers...) and I cut them up into slices.

I also followed the recipe for the most part only switching the sugar to 1/2cup of white and 1/2cup of brown (I used dark brown).  Oh, and I added a teaspoon of vanilla. And I used all four bananas, not sure how many cups that equates to...

After the recommended hour of baking time had passed my bread was still a bit liquid-y in the middle. Luckily, while reading through the reviews a person had posted that should your bread not be finished after an hour that you should put aluminum foil over the bread (shiny side down) and let it bake for another 5-10min.

I put it in for another 7min with the foil over the top and it came out perfectly! I guess they don't call it the Best Banana Bread for nothing ;)

This recipe is definitely a keeper! You can find it here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Best-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

Fancy a Scone?

I can not recollect having ever eaten a scone before.

I've seen them on the racks of places such as Starbucks, Panera, and Dunkin' Donuts (oh, how I miss thee); but never really felt inclined to try them. I'll be honest, when it comes to baked goods I'm a little wary of BREAKFAST items. This is because they tend to lack flavor. And by flavor I mean sugar. By their very nature they should be less sugary...it is breakfast after all, but lack of sugar in a baked good is not necessarily a good thing in my book. Thus, I have heretofore never even tried a scone. 

You're probably asking, why now? What would even possess you to bake one this late in the game?

I'll tell you. I was bored. Hence the name of the blog. Get it?? Bah!!

I also had a bunch of blueberries in my fridge that I didn't want to go bad. Ev and I could only eat so many at a time.

As usual, I went online and looked for recipes that included blueberries. Sadly, I don't own a muffin pan, so muffins were out of the question. I was thinking of a coffee cake or maybe even muffin tops, but the scone recipe sounded super quick, easy and, even better, I had all of the ingredients! 

The bebe refused to take an afternoon nap today, so the fact that the recipe was easy to follow really helped. She hates to watch me bake. *sigh*

I'll have you know that I started off using the countertop as most people would do, but then Ev started to fuss right as I was supposed to create the 6" rounds and cut them (to create the triangle shape). So, I did what any good mother would do... I put everything on the floor in front of her so that she could watch. See?

Notice the pizza slicer. I thought it was a great idea to use that to cut up the circle into triangles, like a pizza... but I really should have floured it first (or something). It ended up sticking to the dough and it made it difficult to make the pieces look like triangles.

Aren't some of them funny looking? Especially that wormy one in the middle. Gah!

To make them sweeter, I added a half of a cup of white sugar and also sprinkled some sugar on the top of the scones :)

This is the prettiest one! 

I cautiously nibbled on the wormy looking scone (best to not show off my ugly ones) and turns out that I LIKE scones!! They're WAY lighter than I had anticipated. They always looked like they'd be dense/heavy, but they're light and fluffy! The sugar on top was definitely a nice bonus.

I found the recipe here (at allrecipes): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Scones/Detail.aspx

I highly recommend this recipe! I plan on enjoying one tomorrow morning with my coffee.

Laziness Leads to Deliciousness

Friends! I have some great news! I found out yesterday that a lurker (read: one who reads this blog but does not follow) of Boredom and Baking was inspired by one of my entries! He was OBVIOUSLY impressed by the Magic Middles. I mean, who wouldn't be, right?

Anyhow, he baked up a batch and brought them into work for my sister and their other co-workers to enjoy! How fun is that!?!?

My little blog is bringing joy to others :)

Alrighty, back to business.

Yesterday I was feelin' like eating massive amounts of chocolate. Like, I wanted to shovel copious amounts of brownies into my face until I found myself in a chocolate induced coma. I didn't have the time nor the motivation to make something from scratch; so, I poked around the pantry and found a box of brownies that I did not recall purchasing. I typically buy Duncan Hines and this was Betty Crocker. Not that I'm picky, but there is a certain consistency that I prefer when consuming a brownie and I'm pretty familiar with how long I need to cook a Duncan Hines batch in order to obtain said perfect consistency. Get it?

The baby was sitting happily in her new baby jail (a caged off section of the living room, she just learned how to crawl and manages to get herself into trouble if I look away for even a millisecond) and so just then was as good of a time as any to whip up the brownie mix and shove it into the oven.

I opened the fridge to grab the eggs that were needed for the mix and....what is this I see?? An unopened package of cream cheese?? Say it isn't so!!

CREAM CHEESE BROWNIES!

You better believe that I went onto the Interweb and found a recipe for those bad boys.

As it so happened, when I searched for the recipe on Google, the Betty Crocker website was one of the top results. I figured that if I was making Betty Crocker brownies, it might be best to use one of her recipes.
[I was once told that companies who publish recipes on their websites/packaging have thoroughly tested the recipes for taste...why risk their product on a craptastic recipe, right?]

WELL, I followed the instructions. It clearly stated to pour 3/4 of the brownie batter into the baking pan, then spoon the cream cheese mixture on, and then pour the remaining 1/4 of the batter.

Um, wrong.

Look what happens when you do that:

It looks kind of gross. I was kind of upset because I even tried to make the pretty swirls that you would typically see in cream cheese brownies, but it just wasn't going to happen. Ugh, what a hot mess of brownie batter and cream cheese mix.

I tried to be optimistic about it...maybe they'd look a bit better after baking?

Nope.
*sigh*

I'm pretty sure that if you're going to make this recipe that you should do half of the brownie batter, cream cheese mix, then the other half. Or maybe even 2/3 batter, cream cheese mix, then 1/3 brownie batter. Something other than what the recipe called for...or your brownies will look gross too.

Despite the fact that they are not aesthetically pleasing, the taste, good Lord, the TASTE is absolutely fabulous. Sinfully fabulous. The consistency was PERFECT. I baked mine for a total of 46min at 325 degrees.

Oh, and the brownie mix that I used was Ultimate Fudge (it came with a Hershey's packet and melt-away chocolate chips in the batter).

Here's the recipe: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cream-cheese-swirl-brownies/868896b5-84a3-4c64-af34-58fb5a00470d

A Summer Staple

Alright, so it's not exactly summer yet, but down here in the desert it certainly FEELS like summer. The forecast for the next week includes triple digit temperatures every day. Yikes.

Anyhow, last week some time (I don't really recall the exact day, they all kind of seem the same, lol) the kid and I made what should have been a quick run to Wal-Mart. I needed some household items along with a few grocery items.

OF COURSE, I had to start meandering around looking in sections that I had no business being in, which consequently resulted in me spending more than I should have (once again). I'm pathetic. I even put Evie in her stroller  to help curb my incessant shopping because there's less room to put stuff... *sigh*

One of the items that I purchased was this enormous container of strawberries. First of all, they smelled DIVINE--like they were fresh off of the farm. Second, this large container (which is the size of two of those rectangular ones that I usually see strawberries in) was on sale for $2.48.

It would have been a crime for me to pass it up!

So, with the strawberries purchased, brought home, cleaned and cut up, I was left to decide what to do with my tasty purchase. Then, it came to me...

Strawberry shortcakes!!

I scoured the internet for a recipe that was
A. Tasty (meaning that there were good reviews)
B. Only contained ingredients that I already had on hand because after the shopping trip to Wal-Mart, I in no way needed to add even MORE items to my pantry

And I stumbled across this bad boy: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Perfect-Berry-Shortcakes/Detail.aspx?prop31=4

(I only used the recipe for the cakes, not the fruit topping)

What was really interesting was that the recipe called for freezing a stick of butter and then grating it into the cake mixture. I think this helped to keep the mixture from getting too liquid-y (if it was room temp). Anyhow, it was an interesting way of adding butter and it was far easier to do than grating baby carrots (like in my attempt to make carrot cake: Who Eats Carrot Cake? )

The mixture came out WICKED sticky and although the recipe didn't call for flouring your hands or your work space, I would suggest doing so.

I popped the cakes into the oven and cooked them for ten and half minutes.

Which turned out to be a tad too long (I'm inclined to believe that gas ovens cook 'hotter' than electric). The bottoms were a smidgen TOO golden brown.

See?

Not burned, per se. And still edible. I think that I may use some parchment paper next time and cut down on the baking time by a minute or so.

As you may have surmised, a little golden brown color on the bottom wasn't going to stop me from eating a delicious strawberry shortcake! I plopped a cake into a bowl, added the fresh strawberries and a few spoonfuls of cool-whip (yes, I eat partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and I think it's freakin' delish).

Tada!

Enjoy!

National Chocolate Chip Day!

In case you all were unaware, May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Day.

I was in the dark about this auspicious day until the Base Housing office dropped of a newsletter indicating that they would be giving away free chocolate chip cookies today (the 16th) to celebrate NCCD. While I still plan on going down to the housing office to go and get myself a free cookie, my mouth was watering at the thought of scarfing down a few dozen cookies, so I made some for myself yesterday.

The recipe that I used is my go-to recipe. It is aptly named the Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (that my twin sister found on allrecipes.com). It's freaking delicious!! The cookies are the perfect consistency and remain soft for at least two days after you bake them.

Despite the fact that it was chocolate CHIP cookie day, I decided to switch it up and use not only chocolate chips (dark chocolate, at that!) but also semi-sweet chocolate chunks.

Remember how in the last post I wrote about how much of a mess I make while baking? Here is an example of my messiness:

Forgive the bumbo on the counter. The kid can actually no longer sit on the counter in the bumbo because she will bend and twist dangerously in that thing and can't be trusted to keep herself safe. Instead, she sits eating puffs in her high chair. Not for this baking venture, though...she napped instead! Also, how 'bout our sweet cabinetry? Gotta love that lowest bidder!

Anyhow, just so you all know, I follow this recipe to the T. Definitely no need to deviate. They truly come out perfectly.

However, I do recommend using a scoop of some sort or at least rolling the balls of dough when placing them onto the cookie sheet. I use the medium sized scoop from Pampered Chef.

When they bake, they don't rise or spread out too much, so feel free to put them fairly close together.

I baked mine for 10.5 minutes and let them sit on the tray for 2-3min before moving them to a cooling rack (or in my case, paper towels because I have no idea what happened to my cooling rack during my move down here).

Perfection!

Warning! This recipe makes about 72 cookies, so if you aren't looking to eat cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a few days I suggest halving the recipe :)

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Magic in the Middle

It seems like eons ago, but once, maybe a few years ago at this point, my twin sister made these delicious cookies. They weren't your typical run of the mill cookie. They were magic and housed a tasty surprise. I've been thinking about them for quite some time and finally got the gumption to get my rear in gear and make some.

I'll be honest, I actually made these cookies last night and didn't take any pictures. BUT, there was a good reason behind it. You see, I made The Biggest Mess you ever saw while trying to make the darn things. SO MUCH work was involved, but I was hell bent on having some as a Mother's Day treat to myself.

The cookies are called Magic Middles. They are a cocoa cookie with a peanut butter middle. Hence the mess. Thank the good Lord that the baby was napping; otherwise, it would have been a nightmare to bake, clean up, and keep her entertained.

I started off making the peanut butter filling first. I made certain to read though a bunch of reviews of the recipe to see if there were any suggested alterations and I learned a few tips. The first of which was to freeze the middles. So, I whipped up the peanut butter (all I had was extra chunky) and confectioner sugar and then formed them into 30 balls (my hands STILL smell like peanut butter). The balls were sealed into a container and then placed in the freezer while I made the outside portion of the cookie.

In the midst of trying to make the cocoa portion, I managed to get cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda EVERYWHERE. It was sad. I think I try SO HARD to NOT make a mess, that it backfires somehow. *sigh*  It was at this point that I decided to keep my camera out of the kitchen.

I pretty much followed the recipe, however I did add about a tablespoon of sour cream to make the cocoa mixture a bit more moist (it was some advice that reviewers had mentioned) so that it wouldn't break while encasing the peanut butter balls.

Luckily, I ended up with a lot of extra cocoa mixture (and therefore not enough peanut butter balls) and I was able to recreate some pictures for you all this morning when I whipped up yet another batch of peanut butter middles to use the rest of the extra cocoa mixture!

Here are the hand rolled peanut butter balls!

An example of how I rolled the balls up into the cocoa mixture:

All rolled up!  And then flattened out (with a sprinkle of sugar on top)!

Aaaaaannnnnnnnnnd...... the finished product!!

Clearly I took a bite out of it for you to see the delicious and magical peanut butter middle.

You can find the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Magic-Peanut-Butter-Middles/Detail.aspx

The Most Inconsiderate Pie Eater

My mother-in-law and I were in the commissary (that's military talk for grocery store) this weekend and my keen eyesight spotted a rare find---rhubarb! For those of you unfamiliar with rhubarb, it's a stalk-y plant that resembles a thick magenta colored stalk of celery. Like this:

I never had the opportunity to ever taste rhubarb until I was about 20 years old. That was when my husband's grandmother, Nani, made her famous strawberry rhubarb pie when we were visiting her down in Florida.

Oh. Mah. Gawd.

It was like heaven on a plate. I loved it SO much, that I ate the last slice for breakfast--much to the chagrin of Eric's brother, Tim, who for the rest of the vacation referred to me as the Most Inconsiderate Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Eater. I didn't care. That slice of pie was worth it!

Anyhow, it took YEARS, but Nani finally relinquished her sacred recipe to my MIL so that I could try baking it on my own. Since receiving the recipe, the results have been hit or miss. The misses being a disgusting soupy mess. Ick.

Well, when I saw the rhubarb in the grocery store I decided it was time for another try (practice makes perfect, right?). So, I packed up the kid, picked up some strawberries, rhubarb, and pie crusts (the pre-made kind because I'm not THAT dedicated to a 'homemade' pie).

We returned home with the goods and I plopped her in her high chair with some rice puffs to entertain her whilst I chopped up the rhubarb and strawberries. I chopped the strawberries and rhubarb into bit-sized pieces:

Here's the kid! See, she's happy while momma bakes!

After you cut up the strawberries and rhubarb you mix them with the other ingredients: tapioca, sugar, and flour to make the filling and let it set for 30min.  While the filling is setting you break out the pie crusts and put one into the bottom of the pie tin/plate/whatever.  After the thirty minutes is up you can definitely see a difference.

            Before                                                                          After

The tapioca is key in making sure that the filling is gelatinous instead of a soupy mess.

Once the filling has been spooned into the pie, place the second pie crust on the top and edge the pie with milk and press the crusts together with a fork. Then put some butter on top and sprinkle some sugar. Don't forget to cut some vent holes on the top!

It's best to put a cookie sheet under the pie...just in case the filling bubbles out (I lined my cookie sheet with tin foil for an easy clean up).

Bake for 50min and you're done!!

I bet you're asking yourselves, was this pie a hit or a miss?

The answer is, it was a DIRECT HIT!! Right on the bullseye!

Here it is ladies and gents! The most fabulous pie you will EVER eat in your ENTIRE lives!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
1lb rhubarb (about 3.5 - 4 cups)
2 pints of strawberries (about 3.5 - 4 cups)
1 1/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of flour
3 tbsp of tapioca
1/4 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of milk
**

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix together sugar, flour, tapioca, and salt. Then mix strawberries and rhubarb with mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes. Get pie crusts ready (9"). Spoon filling into crust. Place pieces of butter on top of filling. Put top crust on. Edge with milk. Drop butter and sugar on top of crust.

*I personally enjoy this pie cold, so once you've had a slice, put the rest into the fridge and enjoy a piece for breakfast!

**Also, I left out the most secret ingredient...my husband insisted, it is HIS Nani's special recipe. If you'd like to make this recipe, email me and I'll tell you after I've sworn you to secrecy!**

The Perfect Combination

It is my personal opinion that God smiled down on the Earth the day that some genius decided to put chocolate and peanut butter together.

Seriously.

It must be the saltiness of the peanut butter mixed with the sweetness of the chocolate--it somehow creates a symphony in my mouth. My taste buds rejoice!

Yesterday, my daughter, Evelyn, and I were invited to go to a scrapbooking get together that's taking place this afternoon. I do not have the patience nor the motivation to scrapbook, but I'm a huge fan of hanging out with other adults (other SAHMs know what I'm talking about).  To me, a get together is a perfect excuse to bake something delicious.

Last night the baby decided to stay up late (which she's been doing a lot of lately), so I didn't have the alone time necessary to bake up something from scratch. So, I made these instead:

That's right!
Q: What's better than regular fudge brownies?
A: DOUBLE fudge brownies!

I know what you're thinking...why was this chick jabbering on and on about chocolate and peanut butter when all she made were lousy brownies out of the box?

Oh ye of little faith...
Q: What's better than double fudge brownies?
A:  How about double fudge brownies with bits of Reese's peanut butter cups in them?!??!?!?

Behold!

Of course, I simply HAD to taste test them fresh from the oven last night. They were fabulous. All I did was simply use the recipe on the back of the box, cut up the peanut butter cups like they were mini pizzas, and them shoved them into the batter. I only cooked it for 33min (as opposed to the 35min the box suggested) and VOILA!

Who Eats Carrot Cake?

I'll admit, if someone were to ask me what kind of cake I'd like for my birthday, I'd probably respond with, "Nothing fancy. Probably one of those chocolate cake mixes with chocolate frosting."  It clearly doesn't take much to please me. Just throw some chocolate at me and I'm a happy woman.

My husband, on the other hand, decided that he'd like a carrot cake for his birthday. Um, gross? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against carrot cake other than the fact that it sounds so....healthy. In my world of delectable desserts, carrots and cake do NOT mix.

It wasn't my birthday though. So, carrot cake was on the dessert menu for the night of April 26th.

I began looking for recipes a little while back and found that carrot cake is NOT healthy. The frosting alone contains obscene amounts of cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Luckily, I am a subscriber to Cooking Light. In general, I hardly ever find a recipe worth using in the magazine--it's all a little to fancy-pantsy for me. However, they just so happened to publish a recipe for a carrot cake that reduced the calorie count from nearly 1,100 per slice to about 290 calories per slice. Score!

I made up a list of ingredients, packed up my kid, and headed 15min down the road to our local Wal-Mart (it's one of those super Wal-Marts with a grocery store).

Did I mention that it was the day after Easter? Have I ever mentioned that I'm a sucker for clearance items?

Needless to say, I walked out of Wal-Mart with many items that were most definitely NOT on my grocery list.

Oh, and I forgot to buy the carrots. You read that right. I went shopping for ingredients for carrot cake and walked out of the store WITHOUT the darn carrots.  As it happens, I ended up having a bag of baby carrots stuffed in the back of my vegetable drawer that I decided to use.

Unfortunately, using baby carrots on a grater is not the best idea--as evidenced by this picture:















Forgive my nasty dry hands (I'm obviously in desperate need of a manicure) and just focus on the small scabs on my knuckle. That would be the result of grating short and stubby little baby carrots.

There may or may not have been trace amounts of blood in the cake batter.

In the end, the cake was...ok. Let's recall, I'm not a huge fan in the first place. My husband and his buddies said that it tasted great and everyone cleaned their plates; therefore, I shall deem the carrot cake a success!





















[My husband, kid, and the cake!]


Recipe used from Cooking Light April 2011 issue, pg 172

Carrot Cake
Cake:

• 10 1/10 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 cups)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated carrot
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Cooking spray
• Frosting:
• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 ounce fromage blanc (if you can't find fromage blanc, use more cream cheese)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
• 2. To prepare cake, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add 2 cups grated carrot, tossing to combine.
• 3. Place granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 6 tablespoons butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spread batter into a 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake completely on a wire rack.
• 4. To prepare frosting, place softened cream cheese and next 4 ingredients (through 1/8 teaspoon salt) in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at medium speed until combined (don't overbeat). Spread frosting evenly over top of cake. Sprinkle evenly with toasted pecans.

Link to the Recipe

Kathy Kitchens Downie, RD, Cooking Light
APRIL 2011

The Beginning

I've never been much of a baker. I AM, however, a big fan of eating baked goods. I would often find myself munching away on the delicious treats that co-workers would bring in for various office parties or even swinging by the local bakery after work for one of those GINORMOUS m&m cookies (you know the ones!).

Sadly, I am no longer employed NOR do I live near a halfway decent bakery. It's by choice. Not necessarily MY choice. But, what's done is done. 

You see, I am currently living in Texas. And by Texas I mean the border of Mexico. Seriously. The closest city is three hours away. Why am I in the desert of Texas by choice? Well, I'm trying very hard to be a supportive wife to my husband who is currently fulfilling his dream of being a pilot in the USAF.

So, what's a girl to do when she wants to eat baked goods but has no one to bake them for her? Simple, that girl needs to find a decent recipe website (I'm a huge fan of allrecipes.com) and start working on her baking skills.

That's what this blog will be about. My forays into the baking world. I will showcase every triumph and every disaster as well as provide you with the recipe so that you can try it out as well--not that you'd want to try out the failures, per se. But, you never know!