Tag Archives: baking

Got a Minute? Make Dinner!

Posted on by
Reply

This week has been full of all things fun and festive, an attempt at squeezing in all those final Christmas-y things that we wanted to do before time runs out before the big day. Things like decorating gingerbread houses, last minute shopping and wrapping, baking for our neighbors and a last minute visit to the big guy in the red suit.

Maybe you are busy doing the same things and if you’re like us it’s difficult to find time (and sometimes even energy) to get a good dinner on the table. Last night we had leftovers and tonight it might be cereal… ha! So, I thought this would be a perfect time to share my all time favorite roast recipe… it’s super quick and super easy… a fix-it and forget-it if you will.

But first a little disclaimer — I had no idea when I started this blog that I would end up sharing so many recipes but, as a woman and a mom I spend a lot of time in my kitchen and as people in general we spend a lot of time eating right? And I for one am always on the lookout for new, good recipes and I’m sure you are too… so hopefully you are enjoying all the recipes and such that I’ve been sharing… by the looks of it, you will likely see more in the future! :)

Over time I’ve tried several roast recipes, some have turned out wonderful the first time and then when I’ve gone to make them again they’ve turned out dry. And some never turned out in the first place. I’ve never quite understood why and it’s been kind of frustrating. I LOVE well cooked roast, but when it’s tough and dry and has to be cut with a knife, I’d almost rather go hungry. That’s one of the reasons I love this recipe, it’s turned out wonderful every-single-time! And, even better… it’s so quick and so easy… you are not going to believe the only ingredients in this roast.

Roast… Onion Soup Mix… Hot Sauce… and Coke. Yup, that’s it! Put your roast in the crock pot, add 1 package of the soup mix, a can of coke and about 6 ounces of hot sauce. Cook on high 8-10 hours, depending on the size of your roast and voila… moist, delicious and flavorful roast… every time! (The recipe is from momswhothink.com, they have entire menu plans with recipes you can print for free, it’s a great site!)

 Mmm… mmm… good! Now, just whip up some mashed potatoes and some veggies like green beans or carrots, pull out the bread and butter and your set!

Now, if you are feeling a bit more adventurous or get a burst of energy you could bake up some homemade cornbread… I promise, it’s easy too. You could grab a box of Jiffy mix at the store but, for just a bit more effort you could make a much tastier batch. I found this great recipe on Food Network from the Neely’s and it’s fabulous!

 So, are you gonna try it out? (It’s fabulous, I promise!) Do you have any go to recipes that are quick and easy for this busy time of the year? Do you like to make cornbread from scratch or from a box? Do you ever get lazy like me and have cereal for dinner? What’s your favorite “feeling lazy” meal?

Five Things Friday & A Shop Update

Posted on by
5

First, a real quick shop update:  This… was the scene on my desk last night! I was working on six projects simultaneously! It was so much fun! Several of these are custom pieces I’m working on, once those are complete I’ll be moving on to some more pieces to add to my shop, so keep checking in  as there will be new pieces popping up in the next week and maybe… just maybe there will be a special Christmas sale next week too… so stay tuned! ;)

Moving on…

Have you noticed the popularity of all things “salted caramel”? I had not heard of salted caramel anything until this Summer when Hubby & I went on a date to Paciugo, an italian gelato spot and heard that the salted caramel gelato was their most popular flavor. So, we tried it and yes, it was delicious. Then a couple months ago I discovered Starbucks’ salted caramel mocha, and I must admit, I’ve not gotten any other drink there since… it’s that yummy! And, recently I’ve noticed a lot of salted caramel recipes out there, so I thought for my benefit & yours I’d do a little round up list of 5 salted caramel recipes I’ve come across on the  web recently. Now, a disclaimer: I’ve not tried any of these recipes, so I don’t know if they’re good or not, but I’m thinking that as good & as popular as salted caramel seems to be, you probably will not go wrong with any of these! :)

 {Source: Everyday Occasions}

1. Salted Caramel Chocolate Sandwich Cookies… YUMM-O!

{Source: How Does She}

2. Or how about Salted Caramel Shortbread Squares… don’t these just look divine, I can almost taste the caramel chewy goodness just by looking at the photo!

{Source: Bakingdom}

3. Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes… these look a bit involved, but most likely worth the time and work in the kitchen… I’m already licking my lips thinking about that frosting!

 {Source: My Recipes via Cooking Light}

4. Salted Caramel Brownies… mmm, mmm, mmm!

 {Source: Quinces and the Pea}

5. Salted Caramel Corn… perfect afternoon snack!

And… if this isn’t enough, just head to Pinterest and do a search on salted caramel and you will get an endless list of mouth-watering goodies!

Have you noticed all the salted caramel popping up everywhere? What have you tried & do you even like the salted caramel flavor? Which one of these recipes do you think you might try?

Five Things Friday: Family Tradition, Baking Cookies

Posted on by
Reply

TGIF!

I enjoy cooking, but even more than I enjoy cooking… I love baking and my kids love to help; it’s a fun way to spend time together and will hopefully instill in them the skills and desire in them for a long time, that way when they get a little older and are sufficient in the kitchen alone they can bring me breakfast in bed! ;) And… since my daughter has been asking everyday since the day after Thanksgiving if we could make Christmas cookies, and today just might be the day I thought it would be fun to share 5 of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes! So, make sure your printer is full of paper and ink so you can try these treats out for yourselves this year! :)

{Photo: 2009}

1. The basic roll-out sugar cookie, I know everyone has recipes for these already, but there are so many different versions out there so, I thought I’d share my favorite. This one is my favorite for three reasons… 1) they are super yummy, 2) It includes almond extract… love… that’s one of my favorite flavors, 3) It’s no chill, so you don’t have to wait… my kids aren’t very patient and guess what neither am I, we just want to hurry up and get the baking out of the way so we can get to the fun part… the decorating! :)

{photo: 2008}

2. Peanut Butter Nainamo Bars, these were on Food Networks 12 days of Christmas cookies emails a few years back, I LOVE them… they bring out the chocolate + peanut butter lover in me. They take a bit of time because there are 3 separate layers to put together, but they are easy and no bake and oh so worth it.

3.Rudolph Treats, these don’t require any baking skills, just a desire to have some fun… perfect for the kids to do and oh so cute! For an alternative, I found these cute Santa ones that look to be pretty fun & simple too.

4. Gingerbread Men, another classic and this recipe is actually for Gingerbread Sandwich Trees, but last year we just made little men & a few trees without being sandwiched. I’m not normally a big gingerbread fan, but these are good… they aren’t the hard crispy kind, they are soft and chewy and yummy.

{photo: 2008}

5. Ok, so these aren’t Christmas cookies, but they are a family favorite and hands down the recipe I’ve been asked the most for… Chocolate Chip Cookies. We use and love Alton Brown’s recipe from his “I’m Just Here for More Food” cookbook. I cannot find this recipe online, although he does have 3 other chocolate chip cookie recipes (the thin, the puffy & the chewy) on foodnetwork.com, none of them are this one… so, here it is.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled

2 large egg yolks, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 c chocolate chips (I only use 1 cup… unless you like more chocolate than cookie)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (the recipe says 375, but over time we’ve tweaked the baking to our liking)

Mix the flour, baking soda & salt then set aside while you mix together the sugars, butter, egg yolks and vanilla extract. Slowly add in the flour mixture while continuing to mix. Add chocolate chips.

Now, I use a little cookie scoop and scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet. At this stage you can freeze the cookies on the pan and then move to zip top bags; they’ll keep up to 3 months.

Bake for 10 mins (recipe says 15-17 mins, but we like ours a little softer). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Then, once they are mostly cool… gobble them up! ;)

{Photo: 2009}

Now, one last thing about baking… only true cooks make messes right?

No one will tell if you throw flour on yourself so you can brag that you’ve been in the kitchen all day… slaving over a hot stove.

Or… maybe you prefer the grab and press method instead of throwing… the result is a little more dramatic looking.

{Photo: 2010}

After all, a bag of flour is pretty cheap entertainment! :)

So, which recipe do you think you’ll try? What’s your favorite Christmas cookie recipe? Do you plan to get messy in the kitchen this weekend? Let us know, but don’t tell me how you got that flour on your face! ;)