New Site

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?

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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 :)

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

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 :(

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.