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I love the idea for the checkered cake. It even has a video to show you how to do it!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Meal Ideas
Sometimes coming up with ideas for meals can be difficult. I hate getting stuck in a rut and cooking the same thing over and over. I constantly come up with new things too, but I have a very picky husband that can be hard to please. I know that this is a common problem among a lot of my friends as well as I'm sure it is with many couples across the world. What I would like to do is ask for comments from people of meal ideas for picky eaters. I'm hoping that this will help people out and give them something to make for their picky eaters. I am also willing to take requests for meals. If you have an idea for a meal, but don't know how to pull it together jot it down and I can see what I can come up with. For example, if your man likes chicken and rice, but you are tired of the bland meals chicken and rice meals bring I can give you a great chicken gumbo recipe that I make all the time. I really look forward to the possibilities for meals. I hope to hear from you soon!
Friday, June 22, 2012
MMM Comfort Food.
So last night I was in the mood for some delicious comfort food, so I made homemade mac and cheese and fried pork chops.
Fried Pork Chops
4 Boneless Pork Chops
1 cup flour
2 TBS seasoned salt
1/2 TBS pepper
1 egg
splash of milk
vegetable oil for frying
In a small bowl mix egg and milk together. In a separate slightly larger bowl mix together seasoned salt, pepper, and flour.
Take your pork chops and dip in egg wash. Next coat with flour. Set on lined baking sheet to dry. Wait about 2 minutes then repeat process for each pork chop. Let set for 15 minutes so breading adheres to the pork chop and doesn't come off during frying.
Next fry pork chops for 10-15 minutes on either side until golden brown and meat thermometer reads 165F
If your breading gets browned before your pork chops are completely done cooking and you are afraid of burning them, pop them in a 350F oven for 10 minutes and they will cook through perfectly.
Homemade Mac and Cheese
3 cups uncooked macaroni
1 pound colby and montery jack cheese (I use blocks of cheese for this)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded colby and montery jack cheese
1 egg
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces of bread toasted and made into bread crumbs
1/2 stick of butter
First you need to boil your water and get your macaroni cooking. Then drain macaroni and add the pound of colby and montery jack cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, the egg, milk, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat until all of the cheese is melted through.
Next you want to get a baking dish out. I use a 9*9 pan. Spread your breadcrumbs across the bottom of the pan and mix with the butter. Press down to create a crust. Then sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella cheese. Pour in the macaroni and top with the shredded colby and montery jack cheese. Bake at 350F for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
This is extremely cheesy and delicious. I love to add new cheeses every time I make it and sometimes for the crust I use Ritz crackers instead of breadcrumbs. It really depends on if I have them or not.
Fried Pork Chops
4 Boneless Pork Chops
1 cup flour
2 TBS seasoned salt
1/2 TBS pepper
1 egg
splash of milk
vegetable oil for frying
In a small bowl mix egg and milk together. In a separate slightly larger bowl mix together seasoned salt, pepper, and flour.
Take your pork chops and dip in egg wash. Next coat with flour. Set on lined baking sheet to dry. Wait about 2 minutes then repeat process for each pork chop. Let set for 15 minutes so breading adheres to the pork chop and doesn't come off during frying.
Next fry pork chops for 10-15 minutes on either side until golden brown and meat thermometer reads 165F
If your breading gets browned before your pork chops are completely done cooking and you are afraid of burning them, pop them in a 350F oven for 10 minutes and they will cook through perfectly.
Homemade Mac and Cheese
3 cups uncooked macaroni
1 pound colby and montery jack cheese (I use blocks of cheese for this)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded colby and montery jack cheese
1 egg
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces of bread toasted and made into bread crumbs
1/2 stick of butter
Next you want to get a baking dish out. I use a 9*9 pan. Spread your breadcrumbs across the bottom of the pan and mix with the butter. Press down to create a crust. Then sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella cheese. Pour in the macaroni and top with the shredded colby and montery jack cheese. Bake at 350F for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
This is extremely cheesy and delicious. I love to add new cheeses every time I make it and sometimes for the crust I use Ritz crackers instead of breadcrumbs. It really depends on if I have them or not.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Where Has The Time Gone?
The last week has been extremely busy. I feel like the time has gotten away from me. My husband, my son and I have been out of town at my parents' house for quite some time. They live in the middle of the country so sometimes the internet access is not the greatest and sometimes, quite honestly, its nice to get away from the outside world. Needless to say we enjoyed our time there. My mom and sister wanted me to stay because I cooked for them. One night I made chicken kabobs and baked potato rounds with peppers and onions. Oh it was so good. I marinated the chicken and grilled the kabobs. Unfortunately I didn't think to take any pictures! Oh well I will surely make them again someday. I also made chicken Parmesan before we left for my parents' house. Again delicious, but my camera was mia so there are no pictures of that either. Hopefully I will get the recipes for them and put them up soon.
Just a note: most of the things I cook don't have actual recipes. I just make them up and don't measure anything out. I am struggling to find the exact measurements to tell all of you so you can hopefully make these again one day if you like. I promise to measure the next time I make something. I'm hoping homemade mac and cheese will be on the menu in the next couple days. I'm in the mood for some delicious comfort food! Yum!
Just a note: most of the things I cook don't have actual recipes. I just make them up and don't measure anything out. I am struggling to find the exact measurements to tell all of you so you can hopefully make these again one day if you like. I promise to measure the next time I make something. I'm hoping homemade mac and cheese will be on the menu in the next couple days. I'm in the mood for some delicious comfort food! Yum!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
MmmmMmmm Meatball Subs
So my lovely husband decided he wanted meatball subs, which he has a big part in making. So I decided that if he made the meatballs I would get the bread and sauce all mixed up.
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers
1Tbsp garlic powder
1tsp salt
1tsp ground black pepper
You can add an onion to it if you like
First mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then roll out the meatballs to the desired size. Place the meatballs in a large skillet, its ok if they touch.
Brown the meatballs at a medium high heat on all sides until cooked through.
While the meatballs are cooking you need to preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your bread. I took a plain Italian loaf from the bakery and cut in half. I spread butter and garlic on the inside and baked it until crispy then flipped the bread where the top was showing. I put shredded cheese and herbs on the bread and baked another 5 minutes.
I also got my sauce together while the bread was baking. I took a can of tomato sauce and added 2tsp of garlic powder, 1tsp onion powder, 1 tsp of oregano and salt and pepper to taste. I simply let the sauce cook to a boil then pulled it off the burner.
After all of your ingredients are cooked you need to put the sub together. I put the meatballs directly on the bread, then spooned the desired amount of sauce and topped with my choice of cheese. I used provolone and my husband used pepperjack. I then put the subs back in the oven until the cheese was melted. I spooned an extra spoonful of sauce on both of our subs, but we really like sauce. All that's left to do is enjoy! Be warned they are messy.
Italian
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers
1Tbsp garlic powder
1tsp salt
1tsp ground black pepper
You can add an onion to it if you like
First mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then roll out the meatballs to the desired size. Place the meatballs in a large skillet, its ok if they touch.
Brown the meatballs at a medium high heat on all sides until cooked through.
While the meatballs are cooking you need to preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your bread. I took a plain Italian loaf from the bakery and cut in half. I spread butter and garlic on the inside and baked it until crispy then flipped the bread where the top was showing. I put shredded cheese and herbs on the bread and baked another 5 minutes.
I also got my sauce together while the bread was baking. I took a can of tomato sauce and added 2tsp of garlic powder, 1tsp onion powder, 1 tsp of oregano and salt and pepper to taste. I simply let the sauce cook to a boil then pulled it off the burner.
After all of your ingredients are cooked you need to put the sub together. I put the meatballs directly on the bread, then spooned the desired amount of sauce and topped with my choice of cheese. I used provolone and my husband used pepperjack. I then put the subs back in the oven until the cheese was melted. I spooned an extra spoonful of sauce on both of our subs, but we really like sauce. All that's left to do is enjoy! Be warned they are messy.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Fun Filled Weekend
This weekend was jam packed with lots of fun. My husband, my son and I went to my parents' house for the weekend to celebrate an early father's day. We also celebrated my parents' 25th wedding anniversary and my baby boy officially turning 2 months old!
My sister recently bought a pool for my parents' house, so part of our weekend consisted of swimming. We were joined by my cousins and my sister for our pool party. My mom grilled us hotdogs and we all just hung out in the sun for the day. That evening we all headed down to my Grammy's house to have a barbeque. We had barbeque pork steak, grilled corn on the cob, salad and delicious smashed potatoes. The entire weekend consisted of hanging out and having fun. We laughed and told stories and tried to stay cool in the pool. Definitely a weekend worth repeating.
Tonight my husband and I are relaxing with my baby. We took him to the doctor today to get weighed and measured and to get his shots. He cried so much when he got his shots and I felt really bad. He is growing like a weed though. He is already 13lbs 12oz and 24.5in long! I'm gonna have a big little boy. My husband is helping me make dinner tonight, because its a recipe he grew up with. We are having meatball subs! Yum! I will be sure to post more about those later. For now I hope everyone has a great evening!
My sister recently bought a pool for my parents' house, so part of our weekend consisted of swimming. We were joined by my cousins and my sister for our pool party. My mom grilled us hotdogs and we all just hung out in the sun for the day. That evening we all headed down to my Grammy's house to have a barbeque. We had barbeque pork steak, grilled corn on the cob, salad and delicious smashed potatoes. The entire weekend consisted of hanging out and having fun. We laughed and told stories and tried to stay cool in the pool. Definitely a weekend worth repeating.
Tonight my husband and I are relaxing with my baby. We took him to the doctor today to get weighed and measured and to get his shots. He cried so much when he got his shots and I felt really bad. He is growing like a weed though. He is already 13lbs 12oz and 24.5in long! I'm gonna have a big little boy. My husband is helping me make dinner tonight, because its a recipe he grew up with. We are having meatball subs! Yum! I will be sure to post more about those later. For now I hope everyone has a great evening!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Help! Too Many Choices!
When I was in college I had a lot of different jobs. One job was at the JCPenney Home Store where I worked in the Housewares Department where I heard a lot of questions about cooking and products because people said there were too many choices. Some of the most popular questions were: What brands are the best?, What's the difference in knives?, What's the difference between stainless steel skillets and non-stick skillets?. I was able to help people out because of my classes in the Hospitality program at school and my own personal experience with cooking. I figured that since a lot of people have these questions I would try and answer some of them here and maybe it will help you out.
What Brands are the Best?
This really depends on your preference. Some people want to follow a specific brand and other people don't care, but if you really cook and you want your cookware to last you should invest in some good quality stuff. Some brands that I really love include Farberware, KitchenAid, Cuisinart and T-Fal. Most celebrity chefs have their own brands of cookware as well and they are generally good quality. Something to really look for is that your cookware is going to last a long time. I personally have Farbeware, which is what my Grammy has as well and she has had hers for 30+ years and it still works fantastically. Some people that would come into the store thought these brands cost more than they wanted to spend, which I can understand, but you have to think of it from a long term perspective. If you buy a cheaper brand it has the potential to get destroyed a lot sooner. I once decided I was going to buy cheap cookware because I was a poor college student and needless to say I wore the pans out in just a couple months. If you seriously cook then you need to invest in a product that will last you for years to come. As I told all of my customers, you need to choose the brand that's right for you, which may mean you need to do a little research and shop around, but in the end its definitely a money saver.
What's the Difference in Knives?
When buying knives you need to look for a few things. First the best knives are generally a full tang and triple riveted. This means that the blade goes all the way through the handle of the knife and the triple rivets hold the blade in place (see image below). Another thing you need to look for is how durable the knife is, if you can take the blade and bend it back and forth in your hand too easily it probably won't last long. When shopping for knives there is usually a display case, don't be afraid to ask to see the knives and handle them. The brand of knives you buy again completely depends on your preference, but the big names in kitchen cookware also make good knives. I personally have KitchenAid and Farberware knives, but there are lots of wonderful knife brands out there.
What's the Difference Between Stainless Steel Skillets and Non-Stick Skillets?
The main difference between stainless steel and non-stick skillets is the Teflon coating on non-stick skillets. This coating makes it more convenient for cooking sticky foods and makes for an easier cleanup. The drawback however is that non-stick skillets don't last as long because of the Teflon coating. Teflon coating tend to flake off after constant use, which can then end up in your food. It also means you can't use any metal cooking tools, such as spatulas or forks while cooking. Stainless steel skillets are a little harder to cook with because food may stick, but they last for years and years. You have to use more oil when cooking, which could be a factor for some people who want to cook healthier. I personally love to use stainless steel skillets because anything that sticks to the pan can be deglazed and used to make sauces or gravies that have lots of flavor. This is one choice that really depends on you. You have to decide what is more important, easy cleaning or long lasting pan.
These are just a few issues people have when buying cookware and kitchen tools. I hope that it helps some. If anyone has any questions please feel free to comment and ask. I am more than willing to help if I can.
What Brands are the Best?
This really depends on your preference. Some people want to follow a specific brand and other people don't care, but if you really cook and you want your cookware to last you should invest in some good quality stuff. Some brands that I really love include Farberware, KitchenAid, Cuisinart and T-Fal. Most celebrity chefs have their own brands of cookware as well and they are generally good quality. Something to really look for is that your cookware is going to last a long time. I personally have Farbeware, which is what my Grammy has as well and she has had hers for 30+ years and it still works fantastically. Some people that would come into the store thought these brands cost more than they wanted to spend, which I can understand, but you have to think of it from a long term perspective. If you buy a cheaper brand it has the potential to get destroyed a lot sooner. I once decided I was going to buy cheap cookware because I was a poor college student and needless to say I wore the pans out in just a couple months. If you seriously cook then you need to invest in a product that will last you for years to come. As I told all of my customers, you need to choose the brand that's right for you, which may mean you need to do a little research and shop around, but in the end its definitely a money saver.
What's the Difference in Knives?
When buying knives you need to look for a few things. First the best knives are generally a full tang and triple riveted. This means that the blade goes all the way through the handle of the knife and the triple rivets hold the blade in place (see image below). Another thing you need to look for is how durable the knife is, if you can take the blade and bend it back and forth in your hand too easily it probably won't last long. When shopping for knives there is usually a display case, don't be afraid to ask to see the knives and handle them. The brand of knives you buy again completely depends on your preference, but the big names in kitchen cookware also make good knives. I personally have KitchenAid and Farberware knives, but there are lots of wonderful knife brands out there.
What's the Difference Between Stainless Steel Skillets and Non-Stick Skillets?
The main difference between stainless steel and non-stick skillets is the Teflon coating on non-stick skillets. This coating makes it more convenient for cooking sticky foods and makes for an easier cleanup. The drawback however is that non-stick skillets don't last as long because of the Teflon coating. Teflon coating tend to flake off after constant use, which can then end up in your food. It also means you can't use any metal cooking tools, such as spatulas or forks while cooking. Stainless steel skillets are a little harder to cook with because food may stick, but they last for years and years. You have to use more oil when cooking, which could be a factor for some people who want to cook healthier. I personally love to use stainless steel skillets because anything that sticks to the pan can be deglazed and used to make sauces or gravies that have lots of flavor. This is one choice that really depends on you. You have to decide what is more important, easy cleaning or long lasting pan.
These are just a few issues people have when buying cookware and kitchen tools. I hope that it helps some. If anyone has any questions please feel free to comment and ask. I am more than willing to help if I can.
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