My Kitchen Adventures

New Site

2010-05-05T15:40:00.002-02:30

I've transported my site to wordpress, I am planning on starting a professional blog as well as keeping this one and I can manage them both pretty well there and I have more options than here as well. You can follow me there at: www.jessicasbaking.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading and I hope you continue :) pls comment on the new blog and tell me what you think :D

Well, when are we ever going to get summer?

2010-05-04T10:23:00.002-02:30

I woke today to the sound of the rain beating off the house, the bedroom window to be exact. I am feeling uninspired. I would love to make something new but there is nothing that I have seen that I just need to make and need to taste.

I threw together a mini lasagna last night for supper but that was not worth making a blog about but I suppose I have brought it up so I can post a picture(when I get them uploaded). The man was in a rush last week and had to run back to work almost as soon as he was home so I threw together a meaty spaghetti sauce so we would have a nice meal. There was still some sauce left over so while at the supermarket he suggested that we have lasagna with the leftovers. Sure! I said, why not? so that is what I did yesterday. I usually mix spinach in with my cheese layer but we didn't have any, but we did have spinach noodles so I used those and a cottage cheese, parmesan and cheddar mixture for my middle layer. All in all it was pretty tasty, the flavours settle in better when you leave a sauce for a few days, the spices get spicier just the way I like them.

Back to my original topic... I need some inspiration! Something that makes me want to bake up a storm. Is there something that inspires you? is there one recipe you see that makes you just want to smell the particular item baking in your kitchen all throughout your house? If there is, please share I would love to be inspired by your inspiration :)

What to do when your loaf pan is too small? Make Mini Muffins :D

2010-04-29T11:28:00.006-02:30

Well I haven't written in a long time, but last week I made a banana bread in the loaf pan my mother gave me for Christmas, once I put all the batter in the pan I knew something was wrong, but I put it in the oven anyway. It wasn't cooked in the middle when it was taken out which I mostly blame on the loaf pan being too small, but maybe a few more min in the oven would have cooked it enough.

This lead me to another Christmas gift from my sister! A mini loaf pan, because I love mini things! well I started to make another banana bread and a lemon poppy seed loaf as well. The extra batter made a dozen mini muffins which made me want to make batter for banana bread and make nothing but mini muffins they were so good.

The banana bread recipe is the same as in a previous post

Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf came from the Joy of Baking

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup (60 ml) milk

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour, sifted

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin of the lemon)

3 tablespoons (30 grams) poppy seeds

13 tablespoons (184 grams) unsalted butter, softened

Lemon Syrup:

1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (8 x 4 x 2 1/2 inch) (20 x 10 x 7 cm). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and milk.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and poppy seeds until combined. Add the softened butter and half the egg mixture and mix on low speed until moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about one minute. (This aerates and develops the cake's structure.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating about 30 seconds after each addition. (This will strengthen the structure of the batter.)

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may have to cover the bread with buttered foil after about 30 minutes if you find the bread over-browning.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

When the bread is done, remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Pierce the hot loaf all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick and then brush the top of the loaf with about half the hot lemon syrup. Cool the loaf in the pan for about 10 minutes then invert onto a greased wire rack. Brush the remaining syrup onto the bottom and the sides of the loaf. Reinvert the bread so it is right side up and then cool the bread completely before wrapping. Store at least overnight before serving to allow the lemon syrup to distribute throughout the loaf.

Makes 1 loaf.

Peanut Butter Fudge Crispies

2010-04-01T11:19:00.006-02:30

Well, I didn't take any pictures while I was making these, so I will add some pictures later of the few that I kept for myself.

[Edit: So they all got eaten before I could take a picture...... but they were yummy! :D...I am seriously considering getting a table at the Avalon Mall Flea Market....any thoughts?]

{Edit 2: I found one lol a picture of the very last one eaten lol}

My Commerce class had a bake sale today!

And of course I made something that I could not keep a whole pan of in the house cause I would gain 100 pounds lol

Here is the recipe that I did screw up a little:

Peanut Butter Fudge Krispies

(Inspired by Joy the Baker)

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

(Adapted from the back of the box)

3 T unsalted butter
1 10-oz bag marshmallows
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup roasted salted peanuts
6 cups crispy rice cereal

Line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment or foil. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, add peanuts and crispy rice cereal and stir until well coated. Using a buttered spatula or a piece of wax paper, evenly press mixture into prepared pan. Set aside as you prepare the peanut butter fudge.

Peanut Butter Fudge

(Adapted from Alton Brown)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Spread evenly over rice krispy layer and refrigerate bars while you prepare the frosting.

Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Heat over medium-low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Spread evenly over peanut butter fudge later.

Allow bars to cool until frosting sets, about 30 minutes (or 15 minutes in the fridge if you’re as impatient as I am). Remove from pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch squares.

Makes about 50 1-inch squares.

After being at MUN from 9-8 paper writing from 9-5 and Memorial Ambassador training from 5-8 I was exhausted and starving.....and screwed a few things up.... but the end result was still good

My peanut butter layer wasn't right because I didn't add enough powdered sugar the recipe called for 1/2 lb and I thought I was using a 1/2 cup measure and I was using a 1/4 cup measure so I changed the recipe here to 1 cup so nobody does what I did ...anyway it was runny and seeped into the rice crispies, and I didn't add the peanuts to the rice crispies because I just used crunchy peanut butter because that's what I had in the house.

Best Brownies Ever

2010-02-08T00:47:00.004-03:30

My mom made brownies today from my Grandmothers old cookbook. They were the best!

I found one on Ebay that I hope to get soon, it is the same book but in a little better condition, i'll write out the notes that are on the inside of my grandmothers so it will be almost the same :)

With some light cool whip of course lol not that light matters after eating these.

I dont even need to type up the recipe, I took a picture :)

Snow Day = cookies!

2010-02-05T20:56:00.005-03:30

Well, here in Newfoundland today we are getting 40+ cm of snow, which means we are all stuck in our houses, going crazy! So instead of doing school work, I made cookies, played mario in my Wii, and watched movies with Gregory. It was a good day, but I really should have worked on my courses.... oops. But I guess I can do that for a portion of the day on Superbowl Sunday.

Well back to my baking lol I made browned butter chocolate chip cookies today, and they were much better than I imagined. They stayed soft after they cooled so yay! :) But of course they were better just out of the oven with a cold glass of milk :)

Pictures to come after I get them uploaded to my computer, I am waiting to take lots of snow pictures before I put them on here.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2-3/4 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose, half whole wheat)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1-2 cups chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until melted. Keep cooking, swirling the pot occasionally, until it starts to turn brown and smell nutty. Remove it from the heat, pour it into a bowl (scrape out all the nice browned bits at the bottom) and stir in the sugars. This should cool it down somewhat, but wait a few minutes anyway before stirring in the eggs and vanilla. Then add the flour, baking soda and salt and stir with a spatula until almost blended; add the chocolate chips and stir until the dough comes together. Refrigerate for at least an hour or two, or overnight.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Scoop out walnut-sized balls of dough and space them an inch or two apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray or lined with parchment or a silpat mat. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden around the edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Meatballs and Spaghetti :D Yum!

2010-02-04T17:35:00.006-03:30

Meatballs and Spaghetti has to be one of my favourite meals, well and curry pretty much anything, and when ever greg comes home from being away for a long time for work I usually make him something home cooked and yummy, this time I made one of my favourites, Spaghetti and Meatballs. The meatball recipe comes from my dad he got it from The Bon Appetit Cookbook

Meatballs

Ingredients:

2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

3 tbsp milk

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tbsp fresh basil

1 large egg

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used hot)

2 tbsp pine nuts toasted

2 tbsp dried currents

Directions:

Preheat over to 350, lightly oil a large rimmed baking sheet (I just used parchment paper). Mix breadcrumbs and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 min. Mix in parmesan cheese, onion, basil, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add sausage, pine nuts, and currents; blend well ( I had to mix with my hands..messy) Using wet hands, form mixture into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake until meatballs are lightly browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add meatballs to sauce.

My sauce consists of one med to large onion finely chopped, as much garlic as I can... 5 cloves maybe ... this time I added most of a green pepper, all added to a pot with a little E.V.O.O. until they were soft and yummy. Then I added two cans of spicy red pepper sauce (hunts I think), and a can of condensed mushroom soup and the spices I like until it smelled and tasted yummy :)

I also made some shortbreads for him because he has been asking for them since before christmas but I was so busy that I never got to make them with all the other cookies I made. These were not melt in your mouth like but they taste good.

Andd my dad made this awesome supper on Monday and I will make it sometime soon, here is a picture of my leftovers I had for supper the next day. Yummy spicyness :)

HELP

2010-02-01T13:39:00.002-03:30

Sooo does anyone know anyone who can or want to help me make a better layout for my blog, if your near me I'll bake you something :)

I love muffin Sundays :)

2010-01-31T23:16:00.003-03:30

I really really really wanted some banana muffins so I searched for a recipe that was good and I found one that sounded good, and looked good .... and when I made it it was GREAT yum yum yum!

Banana Chocolate chip Muffins :)

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt (I used Activia yum!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large, very ripe bananas
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a muffin tray with cooking spray or line with muffin tins. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, white sugar and brown sugar until well combined. In another bowl, mix the egg, oil, yogurt, vanilla and mushed bananas until mixed thoroughly. Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients without over mixing. Add the chocolate chips and fold them into the batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and a tester inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Cool on a rack then serve with butter. Enjoy!

This is the cooling rack that Gregory gave me for Christmas, there are 3 in the set and they stack! how fun! :)

These were probably the best banana muffins I have ever made, this recipe is a keeper!

Ohhhhh Cuteness

2010-01-31T00:02:00.000-03:30

I have also decided to start taking photos when I am out to supper too. Like a restaurant review of the food. I will never review service here because if you know me at all my track record for good service is not very good .... well Gregory and my track record sucks lol

Here is a dessert I had over christmas when a bunch of friends went out for Louise's Birthday

This was at the Yellowbelly Pub and Eatery. Chocolate cheesecake and this cute little ginger bread men. I fell in love, it was so cute!

Long time, No pictures :(

2010-01-30T23:34:00.000-03:30

I have been away from my blog for some time now.. Sorry.

I did make a lot of things this Christmas, and found numerous new recipes that I want to try.

I made :

Gingerbread Men

Sugar Cookies

Melting Moments

4 different kinds of alcoholic truffles

Peppermint bark

Cherry Cake

and Banana Breads for gifts

I have no pictures :( ... I was so busy I didn't even think about taking a picture for my blog until after the fact.

But today I did take pictures :D

Lemon Poppy seed cookies.... you know my love for Lemon Poppy seed anything

Recipe

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. lemon zest
1 large egg

For the glaze:
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest and egg until blended. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated.

Drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are set and just beginning to brown at the edges (do not let the tops brown). Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack set over wax paper to cool a bit before glazing.

To make the glaze, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add more lemon juice if necessary, just until the glaze has reached a consistency good for drizzling over the cookies. Glaze the cookies and let the glaze set before serving. Store in an airtight container.

I also made Honey Ginger chicken last week.. I didn't save the recipe as it was not very appetizing .... it was kinda too lemony for me ... I need to learn to not add as much lemon juice as anything calls for but I think I can remember the jist of the recipe.

1/2 cup Honey

1/3 cup of something (cant remember)

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 thumb size pieces of Ginger minced (I added some garlic too because I add garlic to everything)

1 cup of water

4 chicken breasts

Cut up the chicken to your desired size, mine was bite sized.

Boil water in a wok.Put chicken and into boiling water and add fish sauce. Leave for 15-20 minutes. then add honey, thing I cant remember and ginger(and garlic) to the wok. Let thicken, stirring frequently so the sugar doesn't burn.

Banana Bread x 2 and Goulash :)

2009-11-16T22:20:00.000-03:30

Sooo I wanted banana bread so I can have something for a quick breakfast.

So I made a regular for my dad :) and a Chocolate Chip for me :D

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teasp baking powder

½ teasp baking soda

½ teasp salt

½ teasp ground cinnamon

½ cup margarine, softened

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 medium, ripe DOLE® Bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

¼ cup sour cream

1 teasp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat margarine and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Beat in bananas, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Add in flour mixture; beat until just blended. Stir in nuts.

Pour into 9 x 5-inch baking pan sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 350°F., 55 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes.

Now that it is cooled, I am going to go cut a piece :)

And I need supper/lunch for the week so I made Goulash Yum!!! it just needs a little more ketchup

Goulash ( recipe from my mom)

Cook some ground beef, and garlic.....I just cooked as much as I thought would be appropriate for the pan size. I cooked up two cups of elbow pasta, and put half the pasta in the pan, then the ground beef garlic mixture, and lots of ketchup! Then the rest of the pasta and I mixed. I kept adding ketchup till I thought it was enough, grated some cheese on top and then stuck it in the already 350 degree oven for about 20 min. It was delish! and hopefully it stays yummy for the week.

Little Help :)

2009-10-19T21:33:00.000-02:30

**I love baking for many reasons. It's therapeutic, creative, cerebral. Chemistry meets artistry. And then there's the sharing and eating of the results, and well, that just makes you feel good all over. A great recipe is more than just a formula, it's like a character in a great story. Sometimes you stumble across a new recipe that helps you create your own stories and memories with people you love, and sometimes you're lucky enough to be given a recipe that you just know has made memories for people you'll probably never meet. I love that most of all.**

I am searching for the perfect shortbread recipe for Gregory for Christmas .... So this week I am making shortbreads ...if you have any recipes that you think are wonderful pass them along, and when I find the perfect one in my own opinion, I'll post it :)

Thanksgiving

2009-10-11T10:49:00.000-02:30

Well for Thanksgiving this year I made two things, one for my sister and the other just because it was so pretty I couldn't resist.

One was Kraft's Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake most everything I make from kraft turns out amazing, other than the things that call for boxed mix, which I usually don't even try cause that's not how I bake.

Ingredients:

18 Peek Freans Ginger Crisps (Crushed, About two cups)

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup butter melted

3 pkg Cream Cheese softened

1 Cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3 eggs

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Dash ground cloves

Method:

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COMBINE cookie crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

BEAT cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Remove 1 cup plain batter. Stir remaining sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter.

SPOON half the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers; swirl with knife.

BAKE 45 min. or until centre is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours.

The Second was an Apple Tart Cake, it was just so pretty when I stumbled upon the website that I had to make it. I got the recipe and saw the wonderful pictures on Food Loves Writing's blog, here is her recipe and pictures.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into a few pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored and sliced as thinly as you can into similar-shaped slices (if they’re too thick, they’ll be more noticeable in the finished cake, rather than soft and caramelized)

For topping:
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.

Combine the sugar, flour and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitting with a steel blade attachment (did I tell you I got a food processor for my birthday?? I LOVE IT SO MUCH). Pulse to mix, then add the butter, and pulse until no large lumps remain. Add the vanilla and the egg, and blend well—mine looked a little like cookie dough, but the original recipe likens it to cornmeal, so I’d imagine either is fine. Plop this mixture into the prepared springform pan and spread it evenly around the bottom. Try to form the edges to curve up a little on the sides, like the rim of a very low pie crust.

Starting from the outsides (this is the only way that works for me, and yes, I’ve tried starting from the insides), arrange the apples in a tight, circular pattern. You will feel like there are way too many apples to fit, you really will, but just fit them in there as tightly as you can. It will work.

Slide the pan into the oven, and bake for 45 minutes. While the cake bakes, you can make the topping: Combine the ingredients in a small bowl, and whisk to blend well. Then set it aside.

After the cake has baked for 45 minutes, remove it from the oven and spoon the topping evenly over it. Bake for another 30 minutes or so, until the topping looks set. Transfer the pan to a wire rack, and cool for 20 minutes. Then run a thin knife around the edge to release any areas that may have stuck, and remove the sides of the pan. Feel free to swoon at how beautiful it looks—I sure did. Cool completely before serving.

Note: This cake is a perfect make-ahead recipe, which is what I did Friday night, planning for dinner with a friend Saturday. Just wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature until you’re ready to eat it. Oh, and, by the way, it was wonderful with vanilla ice cream on top.

Yield: One cake, about 8 servings

Muffin and Cupcake madness

2009-09-14T21:39:00.000-02:30

This is my stand mixer, that is right my very own kitchen aid stand mixer, not my mom's mine :) and it's the pink breast cancer one :) I loooove it, so the very first thing I created with it had to be for someone I love, who else but my friend Erin :)

Soo since my workterm started I have been making alot of muffins... I just love them. But before I get into the muffins I will give you some pictures of the Chocolate mint cupcakes that I made for Erin one of my good friends :)

Adapted From Martha Stewart's Cookbook Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup of Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 lg eggs

3/4 cups buttermilk

3 tbsp veg oil

1 tsp peppermint extract

3/4 cup warm water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat on low speed until smooth and combined, scraping down sides as needed.

2. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 min. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks to cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

I didn't make the icing because I made so many cupcakes I didn't want to screw up the icing and have to make more, I bought icing from the supermarket and added peppermint extract to it. The purple and green sprinkles I got at the bulk barn for a pretty good price I will definitely buy them again and use them for other creations, like the rainbow star cake I will be making for Krystle soon :)

I don't have any muffin pictures uploaded yet but I will Post the recipes just because i want you to go make them now and love them so much :)

Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

ok well the crumble is good and makes it more like a mini coffee cake.....but isn't necessary the second time I made these I just sprinkled some sugar on top and it was scrumptious.

what I have done for different variations....

Blueberry Banana Variation:

I add some vanilla, as well as a banana and substitute in brown sugar for the white and use buttermilk instead of regular milk. I also cut down the amount of oil from 1/3 to 1/4 because it left a oil puddle on the bottom of my muffin pans.

Apple Cinnamon Variation:

I left out the blueberries, and added one cup of chopped apple that I had coated in cinnamon sugar and added about 1/2 tsp or less of cinnamon to the batter. As well I made the same substations that I did for the blueberry banana (buttermilk, brown sugar, cut the oil and a splash of vanilla)

The base of this recipe has so many things that can be done to them .... I think next sunday I will make strawberry chocolate :) yummm

Go make some muffins :)

Smmores Cookies! YUM

2009-09-01T09:52:00.000-02:30

Ingredients:

¾ cup of butter room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar*

2 lrg eggs*

2 teasp vanilla extract

2⅔ cups all purpose flour

2 cups graham cracker crumbs*

2 teasp baking powder

½ teasp salt

3 giant sized milk chocolate bars (I used Hershey's)

1 7.5 oz jar of marshmallow fluff (or more if you want a thicker layer of marshmallow)

*Healthy Swaps: I used 3/4 cup of sugar as opposed to 1 full cup, egg whites instead of whole eggs , and I crushed Low Fat graham crackers for my graham cracker crumbs. (2 egg whites per egg called for)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate medium sized bowl whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix until combined (use low speed on electric mixer).

Divide dough in half. Press half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place the chocolate bars in a layer on top of the dough. I fit two giant Hershey bars side by side and then almost all of the third one, I had to take off one column of squares on the third Hershey bar and then laid it next to the other two. Whatever kind you use, if necessary break the chocolate to get it to fit in a single layer over the graham cracker. Spread marshmallow fluff over chocolate layer. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough with your hands into small square shingles and laying them together).

Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

I don't know how many bars the recipe makes because we started digging in before cutting them with any organization...oops! My guess is it makes around 28 depending how big you cut them.

List for after Finals

2009-08-05T22:17:00.001-02:30

Soooo I have been studying for exams and haven't had time to make anything ... well I made s'mores cookies but haven't uploaded the pictures yet soo they will also come after finals when I make more things again.

On the list so far is:

-Pumpkin cheesecake for my sister

-Rainbow star cake for my Krystle :)

-Red velvet cheesecake for Agusta

-Red velvet cupcakes for me ( or maybe Greg's house warming)

-Spinach Laced Brownies...I need to know if you can taste the spinach!

-Lemon Poppy seed pound cake ( cause I forgot to take pictures before and I loooove lemon and poppyseed)

I'm sure there are more I just cant think of it at the moment :)

Hopefully that makes you want to come take a peek after the weekend of the 15th :)

New Ceramic Muffin Pans + Lemons and Poppyseeds= Lemon Poppyseed Muffins :)

2009-07-23T15:31:00.000-02:30

So yesterday I was having a bad day and decided to go to winners and look around. I was really hoping for a new Matt & Nat purse I wanted to be there but there was nothing in the way of purses :( not that I need another one, but still lol. While there I saw these beautiful ceramic muffin pans, but there was no price on them. I picked up one and walked around and got some other little things.... got to the cash and said I don't know how much this is, but if it's less than 10$ I'll buy two cause there is another one there without a price as well.

When she came back I ended up getting two :)

So I had to test them out today before I pack them away in my hope chest, and they are wonderful. I made my favorite fast breakfast food since my mother decided to introduce me to lemon poppyseed I have just been in love with it. Sooo here are my pictures of my beautiful muffin pans and my yummy lemon poppyseed muffins along with the recipe of course :) Enjoy!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

2 lg eggs

3/4 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla Activia it's so yummy)

the juice and zest of 1 medium lemon (I zested a lemon and used 1 tbsp of real lemon but next time I will use 2 tbsp of real lemon)

2 cups flour

3 tbsp poppy seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar.

Beat in eggs, yogurt and lemon juice and zest.

Combine flour, poppyseeds, salt, and baking powder. and fold into yogurt mixture.

Divide evenly between 12 muffin cups or well greased and flowered muffin pan.

Bake at 350 for about 20 min (mine took 25), until a toothpick comes out with one or two crumbs on it. Cool on wire rack.

YUM!

Pizza on the BBQ :D

2009-07-21T21:34:00.001-02:30

Today and yesterday were sooo nice, I really wanted to Barbecue. Yesterday was too windy, and I had plans to go out to supper and see the new Harry Potter. So the plan for today was to make this for the first time ever, and if I do say so myself it was awesome. And I will probably make it again next week when I'm bored.

Pizza Dough:

1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

3-4 1/2 c. flour

Directions:

In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast (the water has to be this temp to activate the yeast). Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. (I just butter a bowl and cover it with a dishtowel, I also left it in the sun to rise)

Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Remove from bowl and shape into your desired pizza shape.

Greg made a pizza slice shaped pizza, mine ended up looking like PEI I just flattened it.

To Prepare the pizza (I used these directions I got from this site http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/07/cooking-class-bbq-grilled-pizza.html) :

Toppings: I suggest going a little lighter than normal on the toppings for a few reasons.

1. It will keep the pizzas easy to work with and easy to move around, etc.

2. The toppings will cook faster and be sure to be done if they're not piled on heavy.

3. Probably the biggest reason- the grill adds so much flavor and texture that you don't want (or need) to overpower it. Grilled pizza works great sauce-less, or try it with marinara, bbq, orgarlic alfredo.

Alright- let's do this step-by step.

First you need to preheat your grill. This is an important step. The rack needs to be nice and hot so the dough will start cooking immediately and the overall temperature needs to be hot in order to act like an oven when the lid is closed. I set my gas grill to medium-high heat, and leave the lid shut.

Next, get all of your toppings ready. You have to move very quickly while on the grill so everything needs to be prepared and easy to grab. I usually set up a platter with everything I need and keep it next to the grill.

You'll need: 1. Your toppings (cut, sliced, shredded, etc.) including sauce. 2. Some olive oil and a brush to brush it on. 3. A spoon to spread on sauce 4. A large spatula to flip the pizza When your dough is ready, roll it out with a rolling pin, or even just use your hands to press and stretch it. Now listen. Throw all of your preconceived pizza notions out the window. You don't need to make round pizza. No rules! Don't you feel daring??

Size: I find it easiest to make several small pizzas, especially if you're trying this for the first time. If you want to go big, don't go much larger than 2 pizzas per this recipe. That's about a 9-10" max. I like to do 4 small pizzas. You get a good 6-8" pizza that will easily feed one very hungry adult or a couple of hungry kids. Another benefit of doing several smaller pizzas is that you can try out a bunch of different topping combos. Kids love having their own! Once your dough is flattened out, drizzle a little olive oil on one side and brush it around

Now comes the fun part. Toss that puppy (oil side down) straight on the grill and then shut the lid immediately. You'll want the heat to stay inside so it acts like an oven and cooks the dough. The timing all depends on the heat of the grill and the thickness of the dough. But it usually only takes about 5 minutes or less. Have a spatula handy to lift up the dough and check it. You'll want to see nice brown grill marks, but avoid burning it. If you can tell that your dough is cooking too fast and too hot, you may want to use indirect heat. For a gas grill with multiple burners, turn off the burner directly under the pizza, but leave the others on. For a charcoal grill, move the charcoal to one side of the grill and place the pizza on the other side.

As soon as you flip it grab that tray with your toppings and put them on the cooked side right away. Shut the lid again and leave it shut. The second side cooks pretty fast. If the bottom of your pizza is done, but the top still needs to cook, you can place it on an upper rack if you have one.

Take a peek at the bottom crust and as soon as it's done and your cheese is all melty, grab a spatula and pull it off. I like to make a bunch of small pizzas and throw them all on cutting boards in the middle of the table and just let everyone cut into them.

If you have never done this, go start now so you can eat it tonight!

M&M Cookies

2009-07-18T21:20:00.000-02:30

I forgot to take pictures :(

I made M&M Cookies for Heidi's birthday but sadly I forgot to take pictures.

But the recipe has been requested by many sooo here it is :

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 10min Bake: 8-10 min per sheet Cool: 2min **Makes: about 4 doz

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

12 ounces of chocolate chips (about 1 3/4 cup or so) ** I subbed in M&M's obviously**

Directions:

-Heat oven to 375.

- beat sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff) stir in chocolate chips ( or addition of your choice).

-drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

-bake 8-10 min or until lightly browned (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 min; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Everyone who ate them enjoyed :) Hope you do too :)

Who doesn't like cheesecake??

2009-07-01T17:11:00.000-02:30

Domino Muffins :)

Recipe from my God Mommy

I made these a long time ago, and remembered I had pictures so I am going to give you the recipe... these are soooo good :) I forgot to put the chocolate chips in the cheese cake, next time I will remember that :D

Ingredients

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ cup cocoa

2 cups water

⅔ cup oil (I use olive)

2 tbsp white vinegar

2 teasp vanilla

2 teasp soda

FILLING

1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz)

1 beaten egg

⅓ cup sugar

⅛ teasp salt

6 oz chocolate chips

Directions

Mix well. (I usually mix the dry then add the wet.) Pour into two greased muffin tins.
Drop small amount of filling (see below) into each. Do not stir. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Mix well except chocolate chips.
Add chips last. Drop into chocolate muffins.

These freeze really well. You can use regular sized muffin pans or the small ones.
I have made up to 36 in the past. Depends on how big you want them to be.
You know they are done when the cream cheese starts to brown slightly.

Banana Day!!!

2009-07-01T15:52:00.000-02:30

I made Banana Bread and Chocolate Banana Muffins

Dole Banana Bread

I accidently forgot the baking soda but it still tasted the same so meh

Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teasp baking powder

½ teasp baking soda

½ teasp salt

½ teasp ground cinnamon

½ cup margarine, softened

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 medium, ripe DOLE® Bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

¼ cup sour cream

1 teasp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat margarine and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Beat in bananas, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Add in flour mixture; beat until just blended. Stir in nuts.

Pour into 9 x 5-inch baking pan sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees, 55 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes

Chocolate Banana Muffins

These were good but a little heavy for me

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

¾ teasp baking soda

½ teasp salt

3 lrg very ripe bananas, mashed well (1 1/2 cups)

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled (3/4 stick)

2 lrg eggs

¼ cup whole or low-fat plain yogurt (I used sour cream)

½ cup cocoa

1 teasp vanilla extract (you can add rum,orange or any other flavoring you want)

*tip if you really like them chocolaty, try folding in about a cup of chocolate chips into the batter.

Directions:

Adjust an oven rack to lower -middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a muffin pan or place muffin liners in pan. Set aside.

Whisk the flour,cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, melted butter, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla together.
Gently fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined(do not over mix).
Fold in the chocolate chips(if using)... the batter will look thick and chunky.
Fill muffin tin 3/4 of the way with the batter and smooth the top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, about 18-20 minutes.

Yum! :)

My Birthday Cake!!!

2009-06-25T17:48:00.000-02:30

Sorry it's been so long since the last post I've been super busy with school and the workterm search and such .... and I kept forgetting to take pictures when I made stuff :(

Anyway I had a birthday since the last post so I made myself a Chocolate Rum Cheesecake .... and if I do say so myself it was scrumptious.

here is the recipe:

(and some pictures)

Chocolate Rum Cheesecake

After sitting in my fridge for a night it looked like this :)

Ingredients

For the crust:

1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 tbsp granulated sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (1/2 stick)

For the filling:

6 oz bittersweet baking chocolate

¼ cup rum (I used dark rum)

1 lb cream cheese

¾ cup superfine sugar

½ cup sour cream

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 extra-large eggs

Yummmmmmm :)

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and cover the outside with aluminum foil, shiny side out.

In a mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar and stir to mix. Add the melted butter and stir until blended. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate and rum and melt, stirring often, about 1 minute; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add the superfine sugar and continue beating until blended. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and set it over a pan of simmering water but not touching the water. Warm the mixture, stirring constantly, until completely smooth and very creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour 1 1/3 cups of the batter into another bowl and set aside. Add the chocolate mixture to the remaining batter and whisk until blended. Set the bowl back over the simmering water and stir until creamy and smooth.

Pour the chocolate batter into the prepared pan. Gently pour the plain batter over the top and make swirls in the batter with a fork.

Bake until the cake is set around the edges and the center is still a little loose, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature, remove the rim from the pan and refrigerate overnight. Serves 10 to 12.

Cake with my candles on it :)

I'll look for the lemon poppy seed pound cake I made for my mother for mothers day and post that recipe too...but I forgot to take pictures :( sorry it was very yummy though

Melting Moments

2009-04-25T23:34:00.000-02:30

I usually only make these at Christmas time but Friday was the last day of my first work-term at Service Canada so I decided that I would make something as a thank you to all of the people that I will miss there and those that have helped me throughout my work-term.

Ingredients

3/4 cup of Butter cut into chunks

1/3 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup Flour

1 cup Pecans

Pecans crushed into little pieces with

Yummy dough

All ready for the oven

Yummy cookies out of the oven.

They are called melting moments because they literally melt in your mouth ...yum :) sadly there are no more of these in my house until December.

*Note* This recipe can be doubled as I doubled it this time when I made it and it turned out just as good when I make one batch at a time

Brioche Surprise

2009-04-18T15:11:00.000-02:30

I was bored so I poked around the internet and found a recipe for bread with a surprise in the middle .. a surprise that most everyone would like Chocolate :)

The only annoying thing was the waiting but remember "Good things come to those who wait" :)

These are all my ingredients and my mothers stand mixer, mine is pink and packed away.

And yes Gregory that flower in the back ground is the one you gave me before you left it hasn't died yet :)

Ingredients

1 pkg active dry yeast (7g)

⅓ cup warm milk

2 tbsp raw sugar

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

80 g unsalted butter, softened and cut into small cubes

2 eggs

a pinch salt

8 pieces of dark chocolate about 5-10g each

GLAZE

1 egg for glaze

1 teasp milk

Ball of Dough :)

My little loaves in the oven. (I forgot the glaze..oops)

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm milk. Allow yeast to activate for a minute or two. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface then it is ready.

Meanwhile, in a bowl of a food processor or mixer (with dough hook attached) combine flour and salt.With the motor running slowly add the yeast mixture. Then add the butter one at a time waiting for each piece to be blended into the dough.

Then add the eggs one at a time and mix until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm area to prove for 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

When the dough has doubled in size, knead the dough for a few minutes and divide into eight portions. Take a piece of chocolate and wrap each one in the middle of a portion of dough. Place the portions into greased tins or paper moulds and cover and allow to prove for another hour. (I didnt use any mold, i just separated them and put them into a bowl for an hour).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk the egg and milk together to make the glaze. Brush the tops of the brioche with some glaze and then bake for 10-15 minutes or until the tops are browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes then unmould

Just out of the oven

Yumm :)

First one cut open .. Surprise!!

Last Bite ... I will make these again

Hope you enjoyed :)

Jess

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies

2009-04-13T16:37:00.000-02:30

I found these on another blog on the internet and they looked so good I just had to make them ...... (yes Gregory I will make them again when you get home)

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1 twelve-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Skor toffee bits

Adding the Skor Bits

Ready for the pan :)

In my cookie scoop

Ready for the oven

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. Combine butter, and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Add egg, and continue beating until well combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits.
4. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing scoops 3 inches apart. Bake until just brown around the edges, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans between the oven shelves halfway through baking. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before removing cookies from the sheets. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Just out of the oven.

Yummmmyyy Cookies and Milk :)

Yummy Spinach Dip

2009-04-11T23:33:00.000-02:30

Some Ingredients to look at :)

This is the best spinach dip I have ever had, and I was invited to a bridal shower for my lovely cousin Nadine so this is what I made to bring with me.

These are the ingredients:

1 cup Miracle Whip

10 oz spinach (I use fresh spinach and cook it myself)

1 cup shredded cheese ( a little extra never hurts)

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic

½ sml onion very finely minced

How to make this wonderful dip yourself :)

Mix everything together and place into a pie plate or oven proof dish and sprinkle some cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with multigrain tostitos.

Finished Product :) before cooking