I made a version of this tonight. I used that al fresco chicken sausage and I skinned the potatoes. I also used a few splashes of Tabasco sauce. It was easy and good, however, it could definitely still use something — I’m just not sure what. Oh, and I did not use the bacon grease — I used the olive oil.
The flower cupcakes are so easy!
A little time consuming but I actually found it calming and fun
Just cut mini marshmallows on a diagonal and arrange them with the sticky side up—start from the outside.
They look best with 3 circles of marshmallows.
Put mini chocolate chips in the center, then sprinkle on sugar crystals of your color choice!
If you make the flowers with only 2 circles, trying your best to lay them flat, then make a big center of chocolate chips, and sprinkle yellow—they look just like sunflowers!
I’d like to start a literary/pop culture-themed cookbook for my Cooperating Teacher
She has recently adopted a gluten-free diet and I would love to collect some geeky/pop culture/literary-referenced recipes that are gluten-free already or can be adapted to be gluten-free.
To get some ideas flowing, we’re teaching One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Kite Runner, Jane Eyre, Big Fish, In Cold Blood, myths (including Hercules, Gilgamesh, Ramayana) if you can think of anything. I will also be changing names for recipes to make them more literary-themed.
For example, I’m adapting a Lembas Bread recipe for her. I’m interested in multicultural recipes, desserts, breakfast, snacks — EVERYTHING! I’d also be willing to send out the completed cookbook file to anyone who wants it!
Any ideas?
Hey, I’m a little late posting this. Annie has always been a good friend to me. If you can help her out, I’d appreciate it!
~PPT
I made these this week. Delicious. It is worth chopping the garlic fresh IMHO. Picture used with permission.
Click on the link for the recipe!
Any favorites you care to share? I’ve been trying to look for easy freeze recipes since school starts back for me next week (and as a 1st year I KNOW I won’t be eating well if I have nothing prepared ahead of time)
The following are recipes I’ve tried, like, and freeze well.
Skinny Taste Chicken Nuggets - So good, taste just as good heated up as they did the first round.
Breaded Pork Chops — not exactly the healthiest, but so yummy. I let the meat sit and dry for a bit after flouring it. Chops with the bone in are juicier.
Tangy Beef Turnovers - this is my favorite meal to make, except I use Smoked Gouda cheese because I don’t like Swiss. I think a few different cheeses would work. 1 serving equals 179 calories, so make sure to pair it with some vegetables.
Kielbasa freezes well. I boil them until they are cooked. Freeze them like that. When I am ready to eat it, I heat it up on a frying pan till I can cut through it. Then I slice it up, put it back in the frying pan and put about 1/3 cup of orange juice it. Cook on medium until the orange juice is almost all gone. Make sure to turn the pieces over every now and then.
Sour Cream Chicken - this is really good. I changed it slightly after the first time I made it — it is healthier / easier. I use Plain Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream — and I used as much that is needed to cover all the parts of the chicken that is covered. This is what makes the dish. Also, sorting out the seasoning from the stuffing is annoying, so I use half Italian panko bread crumbs and half regular Italian bread crumbs. Tastes about the same and is a little healthier.
I also freeze my mom’s pepper steak recipe, and a lot of different casseroles. But I don’t have those recipes on me.
Also, I reheat things either in a sauce pan, the oven, or a toaster oven (depending on the recipe). I don’t like what the microwave does to food when I am reheating.
Cooking with Tomes Away: Cheese Night edition
(It might be stretching a point to call this cooking, but I melted the cheese on the bruschetta, so it works)
The key to a good cheese night is a variety of two things: cheese and the cheese delivery system (crackers). Everything else is just accessories.
On the plate above, there’s a round of triple cream Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery (available at Whole Foods), raw milk sharp cheddar (from Zingermans mail order), a Dorset raw cow’s milk rinded cheese, and a chile-rich cheddar.
The brands don’t matter as much as a variety (in flavor and color, since you want a pretty looking plate), and most grocery stores have a pretty decent selection nowadays.
You should get:
- A brie (double or triple-cream) and leave it at room temperature for at least an hour before serving. You want it to be spreadable. You can also impress guests by cutting off a hunk, dipping it in a beaten egg and bread crumbs, and “frying” it in a warm skillet with butter until the insides are all runny, gooey, and perfect.
- A good sharp cheddar. My go-to cheddar is the Cabot extra aged block you can get at the deli counter.
- Goat cheese (chevre) adds tang to toast points, and is well-complemented by a few sun-dried tomatoes.
Beyond these three, it’s really just a matter of how many people you’re serving. This will get you started nicely.
Add interesting crackers:
- get a Pepperidge Farm variety pack of savory crackers, or if you’re lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s, get their crackers (they’re better).
- Get a French baguette, slice it into toast points, and put on a cookie sheet in an oven set at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes. Your little toasties will also be nice as the foundation for your…
Bruschetta!
With bruschetta, you can do it one of several ways (and endless varieties, which I’ll teach you about in a later post):
- Trader Joe’s jarred bruschetta topping is divine, and super fast. Spoon onto toasts, top with a little shredded mozzarella, and broil till the cheese is melty
- Dice up tomatoes, a little purple onion, basil, a shred of parmesan, and a dollop of olive oil
Serve your cheese and bruschetta with fresh fruit (we had peaches), honey to drizzle on the brie (wow, it’s good) and a nice fizzy wine (we had a bottle of Charles de Fere, a $12 bottle available at Total Wine). If you’re feeling fancy, you can add pistachios, almonds, or a nut of your choice.
You actually have one of those honey things?
(Source: tomesaway)
I’m making fajitas tonight. I can never seem to seed bell peppers right, so I looked it up on Youtube. Yup. Definitely been doing it all wrong!
DIY - fresh basil ice cubes!
yesterday i harvested a HUGE bunch of basil from my container garden - it filled an entire large colander once i removed all of the stems! i harvested the basil because i want to to keep producing for the rest of the summer but i didn’t really want to cook anything basil-y yesterday so i made fresh basil cubes and now i’ll have fresh basil whenever i want it for months!
here’s how you can do it too!
- after you wash your basil start filling your food processor with it - mine is very tiny so i had to keep adding basil, pulsing, and adding more until it was all in there. add a little bit of oil of you want it to get a bit pastier i think i added maybe 2-3 teaspoons of oil to my entire colander of basil.
- puree the basil until it’s chopped as small as you’d like it to be - i didn’t want mine TOO pureed so i left it a little leafy!
- now stir up the chopped basil puree to make sure the liquids are all evenly distributed and get out an ice cube tray - mine is a silicone tray from ikea but any tray should work!
- fill each ice cube mold with basil, making sure to press down so the basil really fills the mold - don’t toss the liquid from the bottom of your food processor, pour a bit into each basil cube, it’s full of good basil-y flavor!
- put the ice cube tray into the freezer! leave it there till your basil cubes are frozen. i left mine over night just because.
- once frozen remove your ice cube tray from the freezer and un-mold the cubes! you can store them in a ziplock freezer bag until you want to use them! and now you have home-grown fresh basil for the winter!
you can do this with any fresh herb! for example if you buy a bunch of dill and only need a few sprigs, puree the rest and freeze it for next time! never waste leftover herbs again!!!
Fortuneandglory, did you see this?
Recipes to enjoy blueberries at every meal
Why regulate blueberries to one meal? Enjoy them throughout the day with these recipes.
This is relevant to my interests.
I call this picture home.
My grandparents were not farmers. They did own a produce store when my dad and his siblings were growing up. They owned several acres of land, and grew most of their produce. By the time my I was born, my grandparents had sold the land, sold the house, and sold the store. On a much smaller scale, my grandpa continued to grow tomatoes, strawberries, green peppers, corn, blackberries, blue berries, red peppers, raspberries, watermelons, and occasionally a few other things. Whatever the extended family didn’t eat he sold to local stores and used the money on trips to Vegas.
My favorites were always the berries. I spent many summers helping my grandpa pick berries and learning about growing plants. I can still remember giving my grandpa the side eyes when he asked me to bring my hair brush with me on our way out to the garden. Human hair, wrapped around fencing can help keep deer from eating fruits and vegetables.
As my grandpa got older, it become harder and harder to keep up with. I think the berries were the ones most enjoyed by family members. I still take freshly washed strawberries and roll them in the sugar bowl, as he taught me to do when my grandma was not looking. So, when he had to stop growing some things, he continued with the berries.
Now, he’s passed. His last homemade berry jams have been eaten. But, the extended family still takes care of the berries. This is (picture) is my favorite snack. Smushed blackberries, milk, and bananas. The variety that my grandpa has always grown are extremely tart, and if you like sour candy, this beats anything you can buy at the store. I eat this in Florida, but the taste of the berries is always disappointing (they just don’t pack that punch). I wish I could pack my suitcase with them.
I’ve been cooking with fresh herbs for a few years now (fresh and dried herbs are a completely different ingredient when cooking and I can’t believe it took me so long to realize this), but it wasn’t until this summer that I took at stab at growing my own. While I eventually will have my own garden, apartment living doesn’t necessarily accommodate such desires. But, growing it in pots is possible and growing fresh basil has been an awesome experience. There is something to be said for cooking a fresh meal with fresh-picked herbs… right off one’s own backyard slab. While my herb “garden” is modest, I look forward to expanding.
If you’ve never grown fresh herbs, Google instructions on how to grow your favorite herb, then just give it a try. It’s incredibly simple and not only will it save you money, you’ll be surprised on how much it will improve your meals.
(Source: fortune-n-glory)
I like breaded pork chops. Every time I make them (instead of my mom), the breading comes off as soon as I cut it apart.
Anyone have any tips or recipes?
