He Cooks And She Bakes

2012-02-14T08:00:00.005-05:00

Chile Rellenos

2012-01-11T20:51:00.001-05:00

There is nothing like homemade Mexican food. I was completely spoiled growing up. When it came to Mexican food, I had it made! Many of our Gomez family gatherings included homemade Mexican dishes that were absolutely delicious. Cooking husband and I are attempting to learn the recipes and we were lucky enough to help my mom make chile rellenos not too long ago. They were sooooooo very scrumptious. Take a gander...

Chile Rellenos

Source: Kitchen of Grandma Gomez

Servings: makes 5 rellenos

For the Chile Rellenos:

5 fresh poblano chile's, peeled and seeded (or 1 large can peeled green chile's)

1 lb ground beef

1 tablespoon onion, chopped

1/2 packet taco seasoning (or a little more than 2 tablespoons if using from container or homemade)

1/2 lb cheddar cheese (or Queso Oaxaca - a white Mexican cheese), cut into 1/2 inch thick strips

4 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

Vegetable oil to coat griddle

For the sauce:
2 eight ounce cans tomato sauce

8 ounces water

2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or a little more than 2 tablespoons if using from container or homemade)
1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

Peel pablano's by roasting skin over an open flame or burner until it bubbles and blackens. Do this on both sides. Place in plastic bag for about 30 minutes. When pablano's have steamed and cooled, rinse and remove skins. Pat dry. If using canned chile's - drain, rinse and pat dry. Slit poblano's on one side, remove seeds and set aside.

Cook ground beef, onion and taco seasoning. Drain and set aside. Cut cheese into 1/2 inch thick strips, making sure they are a little shorter than the poblano's. Stuff poblano's with 1 heaping tablespoon ground beef mixture, 1 strip cheese and bring edges together. Place in fridge for 20 minutes.

Separate egg whites from egg yolks and place each in their own bowl. Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Beat egg yolks with salt until combined. Gently fold yolk mixture into egg whites.

Coat griddle with vegetable oil and set to medium heat. Place 5 large spoonfuls of egg mixture on griddle. Place stuffed poblano's in middle of egg mixture. Place 5 more large spoonfuls of egg mixture on top of each stuffed poblano. Cook until each side is golden brown. Place into baking pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all sauce ingredients in sauce pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over chile rellenos and bake for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Step by Step

Peel and rinse pablano's. Pat dry. Slit poblano's on one side, remove seeds and set aside.

Cook ground beef, onions and taco seasoning.

Cut cheese into 1/2 inch thick strips. Tillamook is my favorite brand of cheese. Well, they are my favorite brand of all things dairy! Their dairy is located on the Oregon Coast. Luckily I can still find their cheese here in Georgia. Note: you can also use Oaxaca cheese, a white Mexican cheese that tastes fabulous and melts like mozzarella.

Stuff poblano's with ground beef mixture and cheese. Bring edges together and place in fridge for 20 minutes.

Separate egg whites from yolks and place each in their own bowl.

Beat egg whites and yolks. Gently fold together.

Oil griddle. Place 5 large spoonfuls of egg mixture on griddle.

Place stuffed poblano's in middle of egg mixture.

Place 5 more large spoonfuls of egg mixture on top of each stuffed poblano.

Cook until each side is golden brown. Place into baking pan and set aside.

Combine all sauce ingredients in sauce pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

Pour sauce over chile rellenos and bake for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

2011-12-30T12:13:00.000-05:00

2011-12-23T13:19:00.000-05:00

Iced Green Tea Latte

2011-12-15T18:12:00.001-05:00

Soooo......I've been obsessed with iced green tea lattes for awhile now. I feel like I'm keeping Starbucks in business with the amount I've been purchasing. I have to admit, I can't get enough of them. I even found some green tea latte candies while I was visiting Savannah. I was thrilled!

When we still lived in Portland I decided it was time to start making my own iced green tea lattes at home. I found some Matcha powder (aka green tea latte powder) from our favorite international grocery called Uwajimaya.

I couldn't read most of what the package said (hello!), but after some experimenting, I figured out the right amount of water and milk to create the perfect green tea latte (for me at least!).

If you enjoy green tea lattes and can find some Matcha powder.....give this a try. Your pocket book will thank you.

Iced Green Tea Latte
Source: adapted from Gino packet
Servings: 1

1 green tea latte packet
1/4 cup boiling water
3/4 cup milk

Bring 1/4 cup water to a boil. Pour powder into cup. Pour boiling water over powder and let completely dissolve. Stir well. Add 3/4 cup cold milk. Put in fridge or freezer until desired temperature is reached. If you want to drink right away, just add ice. Personally, I like to put in the fridge or freezer because ice dilutes the flavor. Optional: add some fun flavored syrups like mint, peppermint, vanilla or almond.

Step by Step

It's as simple as that!

No surprise, after looking at these pictures I'm craving an iced green tea latte. I could be headed to the kitchen to make one...

Yukon Gold Mashed Potato Pancakes

2011-12-12T23:40:00.007-05:00

I've been MIA the past few months. We moved to a new house and have been dealing with some personal issues, hence the no posting! Moving is always a huge task. I'm glad to say we are finally settled in and loving our new place. We have our dream kitchen that has granite countertops, a huge island, double ovens and tile floors. We love it! Cooking husband is thrilled with all the counter space and now that I've experienced the joy of a double oven, I'm not sure how I survived with just one.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Paige family. One of the traditions of the Paige family is to make potato pancakes the day after a holiday where mashed potatoes were had! Last Easter I posted our delicious Yukon gold mashed potato recipe. We love them so much that we pretty much make them for any and all holidays. So it's not hard to figure out what happened the day after Thanksgiving at our house. YEP. Potato pancakes!

Yukon Gold Mashed Potato Pancakes
Source: The Kitchen of Mom Paige
Yield: 4-6 small potato pancakes

1 cup leftover Yukon gold mashed potatoes
1-2 eggs
1/4 cup self rising flour
Pinch of salt

Combine leftover mashed potatoes, eggs and self rising flour until fully incorporated. Drop mixture onto a buttered griddle. Cook on medium high until both sides are brown. Serve with butter, ketchup, ranch, sour cream, etc. Note: If you want to get creative and add more flavor try mixing in bacon bits, cheese, chives, onions, garlic, etc.

Step by Step

Combine leftover mashed potatoes, eggs and self rising flour.

Drop mixture onto a buttered griddle.

Cook on medium high until both sides are brown.

Gobble these up and enjoy every bite!

Hello Fall

2011-10-02T08:00:00.025-04:00

I love the fall. I love the trees as their leaves change color, I love the cool crisp sunny mornings, I love that thanksgiving is next month and I get to eat loads of mashed potatoes (oh, and of course spending time with family!). Most importantly, I love that fact that I can have my pumpkin spice lattes again. Am I hearing the hallelujah chorus!??!?! Yes. Yes, I am. It could also be that I'm an October baby. In fact, I am celebrating number 35 this very day!

Since I was feeling the fall spirit, I decided to snazz up our blog for the fall season. I found a brilliant web site called Shabby Blogs through my friend Melissa. There are some talented and creative folks at Shabby Blogs. I was impressed! I spent most of last night perusing through all their adorable freebies and changing up our blog. I enjoyed my little makeover project so much that I've decided to change the look of the blog with the change of every season.

If you have some time and need a blog makeover....check them out! :)

Happy fall!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-29T01:26:00.004-04:00

Ok......so I'm not exaggerating when I say these are my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookies in the world. Yes, the whole wide world.

A little dramatic, I know.

But it's so true!

No surprise - we found this chocolate chip cookie recipe in one of our favorite cookbooks - America's Test Kitchen: The Complete TV Show Cookbook. Everyone who has tried these appetizing cookies loves them.

So make them.

Then you can love them too!!!

Let's see if I can entice you with this plate of cookie deliciousness......

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: slightly adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Servings: about 18 large cookies

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or extract)

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside. With a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars at medium speed for about 1 minute until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla bean paste (or extract) and beat on medium-low speed for about 30 seconds until fully incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Divide the dough into 18 portions (each about 1/2 cup). Roll the dough into balls. Pull each ball into two equal halves and join the halves together at the their base, with the uneven surface facing up (when baked, this gives the cookies a rustic and rugged appearance). Place the cookie dough on the baking sheets, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart. Place baking sheets on the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Bake for 15-18 minutes (the cookies should be a light golden brown, the edges should be slightly hard and the centers should be puffy and soft). Rotate and switch baking sheets halfway through baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets.

Step by Step

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

Beat butter and sugars.

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla bean paste or extract and beat together. Helpful Hint: I use Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste. It gives the cookies a gourmet look because of the vanilla bean seeds.

Add dry ingredients and combine.

Add chocolate chips. Helpful Hint: I use Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips. Personally, I prefer the milk chocolate chips. But you can use semi-sweet, dark, peanut butter, white chocolate, etc. I've tried different chips and they all taste good. I added some toffee bits along with the milk chocolate chips once - they turned out fabulous!

Divide the dough into 18 portions (each about 1/2 cup).

Roll the dough into balls. Pull each ball into two equal halves and join the halves together at the their base. Place the cookie dough on the baking sheets. Bake and cool.

Enjoy these beauties with some ice cold milk. YUM!

Fresh Red Salsa

2011-09-06T23:00:00.014-04:00

Believe it or not, I'm a quarter Mexican. My maiden name was Gomez and the blonde hair, blue eyes and light skin usually threw people off. Many times people would ask "Ummmm.....are you married to someone from Latin America or Spain? How do you have that last name?" Nope! Padre Gomez is Mexican and Irish (there's some Spanish and French thrown in there as well). A fun combo I might add. Our family gatherings are always lively!

Grandpa Gomez was from Guadalajara and Grandma Gomez is from Oregon. When Gramps lived in Oregon he could never find any Mexican restaurants that had really good authentic Mexican food. Soooo.....Grandma G, as I call her, started making Mexican at home. She collected some recipes from the family in Mexico and perfected them. This is why I'm a Mexican food snob. Because when I say she perfected them - I mean it! Grandma G's Mexican food is pretty much AMAZING and I can't say enough about it.

Here's a quick pic of Grandma G. She is such a beautiful woman inside and out. I love her dearly......

For Christmas one year we received the family recipe book from Grandma G and I was beside myself. Phily and I have been slowly but surely trying each Mexican recipe. We want to perfect them just like Grandma G has. I have to admit, we are getting pretty good. Especially with the fresh red salsa. We make that pretty much every week.

But still, nothing seems to taste as good as Grandma G's.

Fresh Red Salsa
Source: Kitchen of Grandma Gomez
Servings: 10-12

8 large ripe Roma tomatoes, peeled
1/2 cup water
1/2 small onion, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Salt to taste

Peel tomato skins and dice tomatoes. Add diced tomatoes and water to bowl. Transfer to Molcajete in batches and mash well. Transfer back to bowl. Mince onion. Roast and mince jalapeno. For a mild salsa, take out the jalapeno ribs and seeds. Chop cilantro. Add onion, jalapeno, cilantro and desired amount of salt to bowl. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate.

QUICK VERSION: dice tomatoes into medium size pieces and add to food processor. Mix well. Transfer to bowl and add water. Dice onion and jalapeno into small pieces and add to food processor. Mix well. Transfer to bowl. Add cilantro to food processor. Mix well. Transfer to bowl. Add salt and mix thoroughly.

Step By Step

Peel tomato skins and dice tomatoes. Helpful Hint: for easy peeling, slice a few X's in each tomato, blanch for a few minutes, transfer to cold water and peel.

Add diced tomatoes and water to bowl. Transfer to Molcajete in batches and mash well. Transfer back to bowl. Fun Fact: a Molcajete is the Mexican version of the mortar and pestle.

Mince onion, roast and mince jalapeno, chop cilantro and transfer to bowl. Helpful Hint: roasting the jalapeno brings out the flavor. A quick way to roast a jalapeno is to hold the skin over an open flame or burner until it bubbles and blackens. Do this on both sides.

Add salt and mix thoroughly.

Enjoy with tortilla chips!

Eats and Treats: Seattle

2011-09-01T23:46:00.002-04:00

Seattle is one of my favorites cities. It has been for quite some time.

I went to Seattle Pacific University, so I was lucky enough to spend 4 amazing years in the Emerald City. Even though I have traveled and lived all over, it always seems to stay at the top of my list.

Seriously, you can't get much better than Seattle. Well if I'm being completely honest I think it could get much better if there wasn't so much rain (being the sun lover that I am). Then it would be my personal heaven here on earth!

But then it wouldn't be Seattle would it?

Anyways....there's mountains, lakes, sounds, islands, parks with gorgeous city views, fabulous food, amazing coffee and I could go on and on. I won't though because I'm getting a little weepy just thinking about it.

Take a gander and you'll know why I have such fond memories of this city......

Why am I getting all sentimental about Seattle? Because I have put together a snazzy list of all my favorite Seattle restaurants, cafes and coffee shops. My list is pretty small compared to what the city has to offer, but I imagine it will keep growing each time I go back to visit.

If you happen to be in Seattle and need a place to eat or need a caffeine fix - check out some of these places!

Eats & Treats: Seattle

Disclaimer - I'm not a food critic, just a gal who loves food!

{Asian}

Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant & Satay Bar
Web Site: http://www.wildginger.net

Thoughts: beautiful restaurant with wonderful food.

{Burgers}

Dick's Drive In

Web Site: http://www.dicksdrivein.com

Thoughts: greasy yet delicious burgers and fries. Great for late night hunger attacks (they are open late).

Kidd Valley

Web Site: http://kiddvalley.com

Thoughts: juicy burgers, hand-made fries and shakes. The shakes are really tasty.

Red Robin

Web Site: http://www.redrobin.com

Thoughts: started in Seattle, now have locations all over the U.S. and Canada. They serve up some fantastic gourmet burgers. Love, love their fries - really thick and crispy and are heavenly when dipped in ranch. Tasty appetizers as well.

{Cafes & Pubs}

Belltown Pub

Web Site: http://www.thebelltownpub.com

Thoughts: good breakfast and lunch. Nice outside seating for when the weather is warm and sunny!

Beth's Cafe

Web Site: http://www.bethscafe.com

Thoughts: well known for it's breakfasts - especially it's omelette's.

Blue Star Cafe & Pub
Web Site: http://www.bluestarcafeandpub.com

Thoughts: another delicious breakfast place.

Boka

Web Site: http://www.bokaseattle.com
Thoughts: Fun appetizers and desserts. The molten chocolate cake is to die for. Good breakfast too!

Five Spot

Web Site: http://www.chowfoods.com/five
Thoughts: friendly Queen Anne neighborhood cafe with good old fashioned American cuisine. Also known for it's breakfasts.

J & M Cafe

Web Site: http://www.jmcafeseattle.com
Thoughts: one of the oldest cafes/bars in Seattle. Awesome burgers.

Queen Anne Cafe

No Web Site. Address: 2121 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 / p 206.285.2060

Thoughts: another Queen Anne neighborhood cafe. Great breakfast and lunch.

{Caribbean}

Paseo

Web Site: http://www.paseoseattle.com

Thoughts: absolute best Cuban sandwich I have ever tasted (I lived in Miami for a few years, so I have tried many Cuban sandwiches!). If you live in Seattle or are visiting - you MUST go to Paseo. It's well worth it!

{Coffee Shops}

Thoughts on all these coffee shops: I love them all! I went to all of these except El Diablo over and over during college. Great for coffee dates, studying, reading, etc. I discovered El Diablo after college during one of my visits. It's a unique coffee shop - it has a little Latin flair!

The Bahaus

Web Site: http://www.bauhauscoffee.net

Caffe Appassionato

Web Site: http://www.caffeappassionato.com

Caffe Ladro

Web Site: http://www.caffeladro.com

El Diablo Coffee Company

Web Site: http://www.eldiablocoffee.com

Seattle's Best

Web Site: http://www.seattlesbest.com

Starbucks

Web Site: http://www.starbucks.com/

Tully's

Web Site: http://www.tullyscoffeeshops.com

Uptown Espresso

Web Site: http://www.uptownespresso.net

{Desserts}

Gelatiamo

Web Site: http://www.gelatiamo.com

Thoughts: impressive gelato. The flavors, the texture - pretty much perfect!

Trophy Cupcakes

Web Site: http://www.trophycupcakes.com

Thoughts: fabulous cupcakes. I can't say enough about Trophy - the cake, the frosting, the flavors - all excellent.

{Doughnuts}

Top Pot

Web Site: http://www.toppotdoughnuts.com

Thoughts: amazing, amazing doughnuts. The old fashioned chocolate is to die for.

{Greek}

Costas Opa

Web Site: http://www.kostasopa.com

Thoughts: enjoyable Greek. Went here again and again during college!

{Mexican}

El Puerco Loron

Web Site: http://www.elpuercolloron.com

Thoughts: I tend to be a Mexican food snob because of my maiden name (Gomez). But, this restaurant has exceptional authentic Mexican. Tamales are awesome. Chips and salsa too!

Galeria's

Web Site: http://galeriasgourmet.com

Thoughts: another great Mexican place. I enjoyed a few birthday's here - sombrero and all!

Taco Del Mar

Web Site: http://www.tacodelmar.com
Thoughts: started in Seattle, now have locations all over the U.S. and Canada. Great burritos and tacos.

{Seafood}

Anthony's

Web Site: http://www.anthonys.com

Thoughts: I enjoy the Pier 66 location. You can enjoy a view of the sound and fresh and fantastic seafood.

Athenian

Web Site: http://athenianinn.com
Thoughts: gorgeous view of the sound if you sit by the windows. Good clam chowder. Fun Fact: they filmed a scene from Sleepless in Seattle at the Athenian.

Crab Pot

Web Site: http://www.thecrabpotseattle.com

Thoughts: you can feel like a kid when you eat here. Get one of the Seafeasts and they dump all the food on the table and you dig right in. You even get a bib. Outstanding seafood!

Franco's Hidden Harbor

No Web Site. Address: 1500 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle, WA / p 206.282.0501
Thoughts: cute little restaurant on lake union. When the weather is nice you can sit on the deck and enjoy your seafood and the view of the lake.

Ivar's

Web Site: http://www.ivars.com
Thoughts: Ivar's has been around for years - since the late 30's. Excellent fish and chips.

Pike Place Chowder

Web Site: http://www.pikeplacechowder.com

Thoughts: no surprise, they have magnificent and award winning chowders. Perfect on a cold day.

Ray's Boathouse & Ray's Cafe

Web Site: http://www.rays.com

Thoughts: spectacular view of the sound and the Olympics. Great food as well.

{Japanese}

Shiro's

Web Site: http://www.shiros.com

Thoughts: authentic Japanese food. Awesome sushi and sashimi.

{Indian}

Cedar's

Web Site: http://www.cedarsseattle.com

Thoughts: I adore this place! Food is delightful and Chai is bottomless. Which is good for me because I drink it the moment I get there until the moment I leave.

{Irish Pubs}

Thoughts on all these Irish Pub's: like the coffee shops, I love them all! It's probably the Irish roots. :) I love the food, the drinks (hard ciders are my fav), the live music, all of it!

Fado

Web Site: http://www.fadoirishpub.com

Kell's

Web Site: http://www.kellsirish.com/seattle

Owl & Thistle

Web Site: http://www.owlnthistle.com

T.S. McHugh's

Web Site: http://www.tsmchughs.com

{Italian/Pizza}

Alibi Room

Web Site: http://www.seattlealibi.com
Thoughts: very cool restaurant and bar. Delightful appetizers. A variety of pizza's. The spicy mac is splendid!

Buca di Beppo

Web Site: http://bucadibeppo.com/

Thoughts: lively atmosphere and large portions. Great food!

Il Bistro

Web Site: http://www.ilbistro.net
Thoughts: charming little romantic bistro - candlelight and all.

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Web Site: http://www.osf.com

Thoughts: this restaurant started in the Northwest and is now all over the U.S. They have a wide variety of pasta. A few of my favorites - angel hair pasta with marinara sauce (or meat sauce) and a side order of pesto sauce mixed in (sooooo good!). Also, angel hair pasta with mizithra cheese & browned butter. The Italian soda's are very refreshing.

Pagliacci's

Web Site: http://www.pagliacci.com

Thoughts: over all really good pizza - can't wrong on any of them!

Zeek's

Web Site: http://www.zeekspizza.com

Thoughts: same as Pagliacci's - just plain old good pizza.

{Sandwiches/Wraps}

Sisters European Snacks

Web Site: http://www.sisterssnacks.com

Thoughts: serves tasty grilled focaccia sandwiches.

World Wraps

Web Site: http://www.worldwrapps.com

Thoughts: delicious wraps with an international flair - you can find Thai wraps, curry wraps, teriyaki wraps - you get the idea!

Rocky Road Cake for a Rockin' Dad

2011-08-20T16:12:00.003-04:00

Today is a great day. Why you ask? Well, let me tell you. My precious Padre Gomez is celebrating his birthday today. I bet you are wondering how old he is...

60.

Yep. The big SIX ZERO.

Let's throw some streamers around, blow up some balloons and put on our party hats. It's time to celebrate! That's exactly what we did a few weeks ago. We had an early birthday celebration. My sister and our hubby's headed to Arizona so we could all be together. We went to Disney and then spent some time at my parents house. They have a gorgeous backyard with a pool, so we spent most of our time there, soaking up the hot and intense Arizona sun.

For the record, dad doesn't look like he's turning 60...

I mean, look at that young face! Anyone who knows him would say he is young at heart too. Speaking of that heart of his, he's got a big one! He loves so many things with all of his heart.....

I could list many, many more. We'll leave it at that for now.

Oh....and how could I forget, he has a BIG HEART for Rocky Road Candy Bars. That's how we came up with his cake for the big 60th birthday celebration. He requested a chocolate malt cake with white frosting that wasn't too sweet and rocky road candy tied in some how. Mom and I did some brainstorming and here's what we came up with...

Rocky Road Cake

Chocolate malt cake source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: two 9 inch cakes

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cup malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temp
1 cup sour cream, room temp
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda & salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until dissolved.

With mixer on medium-high speed, beat flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl. Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among two 9 inch baking pans. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cake tester comes out clean or baked about 30-35 minutes. Cake can be stored up to 3 days at room temp, or frozen up to 2 months in airtight container. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers.

Step by Step

Combine flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda & salt.

In another bowl combine Ovaltine and milk.

Combine flour mixture, milk mixture, oil, eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

Pour batter into two 9 inch cake pans. Bake and let cool.

Rocky Road Filling

Source: adapted from My Recipes
Yield: 2 3/4 cups

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/3 cup cola soft drink
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Desired amount almonds & marshmallows

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Let cool for a few minutes and add desired amount of almonds and marshmallows.

Step by Step

Once saucepan mixture is cooled, add desired amount of almonds and marshmallows. Helpful Hint: make sure the filling is cool enough so it won't melt the marshmallows.

Spread filling on the first cake. Helpful Hint: the filling should be easy to spread but firm enough that it won't drip down the sides of the cake. If the filling isn't firm enough, slowly add more powdered sugar. If that makes it too sweet, slowly add more cocoa.

Whipped Cream Frosting {Sans Whipped Cream}
Source: Kitchen of Mom Gomez
This will frost one 9 inch cake

2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Mix flour and milk until smooth, then cook over low heat until a thick paste is formed. Be sure to stir constantly. When thick and smooth, set aside to cool. Cream together butter, shortening and sugar until creamy, light and fluffy. It should have the appearance of whipped butter. Gradually add the flour/milk paste and continue beating with an electric mixer for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat for another minute.

Step by Step

Heat flour and milk mixture.

Cream butter, shortening, sugar.

Beat with electric mixer.

Frost cake and decorate!

We decorated the cake with some fun colorful edible letters we found at Michaels. The cake itself turned out wonderful - nice and moist and full of chocolate flavor. The rocky road filling was delicious - it had a chocolate fudge flavor and the almonds and marshmallows gave it a great texture. The frosting turned out perfect - light, airy and not too sweet!

The cake (and the whole birthday celebration) turned out just how dad had wished!

Happy 60th birthday pops! I love you...as you would say...more than the water in ocean, the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore!

Tea Time: Black Tea & Saffron Rock Candy

2011-08-17T23:12:00.004-04:00

I love tea. I love the smell, the taste. Especially in the mornings when I have my quiet time.

Perfect quiet time for me = my prayer journal, my Jesus Calling devotional and whatever Bible study I'm doing.....and of course tea! Oh, and my sweet doggie Putter. He usually sits on the chair with me. He's very spiritual. ;) By the way, I am LOVING the Jesus Calling devotional by missionary Sarah Young. It's a daily devotional that doesn't take a lot of time to read, but packs a punch! It's very unique - it's basically Sarah Young's prayer journal entries - she wrote down whatever she felt like the Lord was saying to her. If you are searching for a devotional - check this one out.

OK, back to the tea. So I also love adding saffron rock candy to my tea. It makes the tea perfectly sweet and oh so sugary and saffrony (that's probably not a word!). Our friend Maney introduced me to this stuff and I'm happily addicted. You can be too.....as long as you have a grocery store where you can find them. I'm guessing any international grocery store would have them. Or even the international section in a regular grocery store. We found ours at Shahrzad International near a Persian restaurant in Atlanta called Persepolis.

Black Tea & Saffron Rock Candy

Source: Kitchen of He Cooks & She Bakes

Servings: 1

1 black tea bag or 1-2 tsp loose leaf black tea

8 ounces hot water

1 saffron rock candy stick

Bring water to instructed temperature. Steep tea bag or loose leaf tea for instructed amount of time. Stir saffron rock candy until dissolved.

Step by Step

Choose your favorite black tea. Right now my favorite black tea is Awake made my Tazo. They are based in Portland, Oregon - my hometown!

Steep for instructed amount of time.

Here's a look at the Golchin saffron rock candy.

Close up! Check out that saffron.

Stir in the sweetness until it's dissolved.

All done. Time to savor the liquid happiness!

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2011-08-13T18:05:00.006-04:00

I had no idea how much I LOVED brussels sprouts until a few years ago.

Cooking husband and I were at a restaurant in Portland and brussels sprouts came with my meal. I wasn't too excited at first.

I was thinking, ewwww, brussels sprouts!??!?!

But, I am willing to try anything. They were surprisingly pleasing to my palate. They were nicely caramelized and the red chili pepper flakes added some heat. Absolutely delicious.

I announced right then and there that cooking husband had to figure out how to replicate them.

He did and we have them quite often because...

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Source: Kitchen of He Cooks & She Bakes

Servings: 4-6

1 package brussels sprouts (about 1 lb)

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

red chili pepper flakes to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Rinse brussels sprouts. Bring pot of water to a boil. Blanch for a few minutes. Rinse off again in cold water. Pat dry with paper towel. Slice in half. Place on baking sheet. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over the brussels sprouts and toss. Make sure the baking sheet and brussels sprouts are completely coated and have a good sheen. Sprinkle desired amount of red chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Toss. Bake for 10 more minutes or until desired tenderness and caramelization are achieved.

Step by Step

Rinse, blanch, rinse again and pat dry. Helpful Hint: be sure to dry off the brussels sprouts - this will help them caramelize instead of steam.

Slice in half and place on baking sheet.

Pour extra virgin olive oil over brussels sprouts. Helpful Hint: make sure the baking sheet and brussels sprouts are completely coated. This will also help them caramelize well.

Sprinkle desired amount of red chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

All coated, sprinkled and ready for the oven.

Roast to perfection and eat right up. You can pat yourself on the back.....you are eating your veggies!

Mom's Meat Lasagna

2011-08-10T19:55:00.003-04:00

My mom makes a pretty amazing meat lasagna. Every year before my birthday mom would say...."so, what do you want this year for your birthday dinner?". Two seconds later I would dramatically answer......

What I love about mom's lasagna is that she uses cottage cheese rather than ricotta cheese. I know, I know. The "real" Italian way is to use ricotta cheese. Luckily our family has no Italian roots, so we're off the hook. We can use cottage cheese and not feel guilty (three cheers for cottage cheese!). I remember one year she made it with ricotta cheese and my sister and I were devastated. The conversation went something like this:

Daughters (in sweet yet panicked voices): Uhhh...mom...what's going on with the lasagna? It tastes different. It's not the same ol' lasagna we're used to. I mean, it's not bad, it's just not the same. Why is it different?

Mom (in sweet yet cautious voice): Oh. Well, I used ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese. I thought I would change it up this time.

Daughters (in sweet yet demanding voices): Ahhhh! Yep, that's it. How about you never change it up again? What do ya say?

I imagine mom wrote a quick note on her recipe card: NEVER use ricotta cheese when making for high maintenance yet lovely daughters.

Let's get to the recipe already......

Mom's Meat Lasagna

Source: Kitchen of Mom Gomez
Servings: 8

For meat sauce:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic
3 six ounce cans tomato paste
3 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 sweet basil leaves or 2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 tsp oregano

In large sauce pan, cook onions until soft, but not brown (about 2 minutes). Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain any excess fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes. If using basil leaves, remove from sauce.

For main dish:

10 cooked lasagna
3 cups cottage cheese
3 cups mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9 x 12 baking dish layer 5 cooked noodles, 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese, 1 cup mozzarella and half of the meat sauce. Repeat. Bake for 45 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella on top of lasagna and bake for 15 more minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting.

Step By Step

Cook onions and garlic.

Add ground beef and brown.

Add remaining ingredients to sauce pan.

Sim, sim, simmer!

NOW FOR THE FUN LAYERING......

Layer and bake.

Then enjoy all the meaty, cheesy goodness!

Our Garden = Epic Fail

2011-08-01T22:08:00.003-04:00

Our dreams of a beautiful and plentiful garden have been crushed.

When we lived in Oregon we didn't even have to try and our garden was lush and green and perfect. We had raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, cilantro, potatoes, sweet peas and a few herbs.

This year, Putter (our sweet Bichon-Poodle) and I faithfully watered our garden. I would water away while he sniffed around. We only had tomatoes, potatoes, cilantro and basil this year. A small garden compared to our others. Thank goodness it was small - considering how it all turned out! We did get a few basil leaves and some cilantro, but the tomatoes produced nothing and the potatoes....oh the potatoes. We had two big green bags full of potato plants and all we have to show for it is this little pitiful excuse for a potato. I might be a little bitter....

Oh well. We will try again next year. Apparently we need a subscription to Georgia Gardening. Or maybe I just need to talk to my Mom-In-Law, her garden was overflowing with vegetables.

Original Hummus

2011-07-26T00:01:00.006-04:00

Not too long ago I posted a Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus recipe. I wanted to post the original hummus recipe as well. We have been making this pretty much every week. Very tasty!

Hummus

Source: Adapted from the Around the World in 450 Recipes Cookbook

Servings: 4-6
Note: if you have a small food processor, you may have to make this in two batches

1 cup canned chick-peas

1/2 cup Tahini

3 garlic cloves

2-3 lemons, juiced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse canned chick-peas. Save extra chick-peas and liquid. Set aside for later. Combine chick-peas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper and blend well in food processor. Add olive oil and paprika and blend well (or instead of blending olive oil and paprika into the hummus, pour olive oil and sprinkle paprika over hummus). Transfer to serving bowl. Serve with vegetables or pita chips.

Step by Step

Rinse off those chick-peas and add to food processor.

Add tahini.

Add garlic.

Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend well. Helpful Hint: start with the juice from 1 1/2 to 2 lemons and if you need more lemon flavor, add juice from a 3rd. Also, if you are using small lemons, you will most likely need 3. If you are using large lemons, you will most likely just need 1 1/2 to 2.

Add extra virgin olive oil and paprika and blend well. I was excited to use the paprika that my good friend and world traveler Kara got me in Istanbul, Turkey. Alternate Instructions: instead of blending the olive oil and paprika into the hummus, you can transfer hummus to serving bowl and pour olive oil and sprinkle paprika on top of the hummus. I personally like the method of blending everything together. When you blend in the olive oil it creates a smooth texture. When you blend in the paprika it adds more flavor and a little color!

HELPFUL HINT ABOUT FLAVOR AND TEXTURE AFTER ALL INGREDIENTS ARE BLENDED TOGETHER: if lemon flavor is too strong, add more chick-peas until desired flavor is reached. If you desire a smoother texture, add more liquid until desired texture is reached (start with 1 tablespoon liquid from canned chick-peas or 1 tablespoon olive oil).

I like a little extra texture in my hummus. I took some of the extra chick-peas, cut them in half and folded them into the hummus. Helpful Hint: be sure to remove the shell. Once you start cutting them the shell will start to come off naturally.

Transfer to serving bowl and serve with veggies or pita chips. I chose the pita's....

Tie-Dye Cupcakes

2011-07-16T14:31:00.001-04:00

My precious cousin Tara turned 21 a few weeks ago. We were in Florida visiting when the big day happened. We had a fantastic birthday dinner and a ladies night out! Some of our Oregon family members were visiting as well, which made it even more special. The Gomez family (my dad's side) is very close, yet we live all over the country and overseas. We all started out in beautiful Oregon...

...but some of us have moved to Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Japan. So needless to say, we love it when we can be together!

My cousin Tessa and I made cupcakes for the occasion. Tess and I are both pretty creative and artistic, so we were having a lot of fun trying to figure out what to do. Tara wanted vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting - and SPRINKLES! Tessa mentioned tie-dye cupcakes (her good friend Megan had recently made them) and I had just seen tie-dye cupcakes on a great blog called Can You Stay For Dinner? We decided on multi-colored frosting as well (her friend Megan had done this on her tie-dye cupcakes and they looked oh so snazzy!). For the love, we had found our cupcakes!

This is Tess and Megan by the way....

Tie Dye Cupcakes

Source: Martha Stewart Vanilla Cupcakes & Can You Stay For Dinner?
Yield: 3 dozen cupcakes

For the vanilla cupcakes:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until well blended. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk in two batches, beating until combined after each.

My Uncle Warren and I did!

The birthday girl wanted sprinkles, so we added some sprinkles to the batter!

Time for some color! Divide batter evenly into 4 bowls. Fold in desired food coloring. Helpful Hint: don't stir too much - you will end up with a bread-like cupcake texture.

Layer spoonfuls of each colored batter into the cupcake liners until 3/4 full (we did a bit more).

Use a toothpick to swirl the batter a few times. Helpful Hint: use a clean toothpick every time and don't swirl too much or the colors will blend together and create an overall brown color.

Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

Quick disclaimer: I normally make homemade frosting. But every once in a while, I use the store bought kind. This was one of those times! :)

For the frosting:

Four 16 oz. containers vanilla frosting

One 13 oz. container marshmallow creme

Combine frosting and marshmallow creme in electric mixer. Adding marshmallow creme is a nifty trick I learned from Paula Deen. It pretty much makes the frosting taste divine and gives it a great texture.

Divided the frosting into 3 bowls and added food coloring. Layer the colors in a pastry bag and frost cupcakes.

The cupcakes turned out wonderful...

And the birthday girl looked gorgeous...

My Cupcake Past

2011-07-05T23:25:00.007-04:00

For my birthday last year my thoughtful mom gave me the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook. I was so excited! For a couple months I was a crazy cupcake baking lady. So far, every recipe I have tried from this book has been awesome. I made these before I started blogging, so I don't have step-by-step pictures. Luckily I took pictures of the finished product! Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we?

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Yield: 24

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted

2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color

1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste (or extract)

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard tin with cupcake liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla bean paste. Cooks Note: Gel-paste food color is much more concentrated than the supermarket liquid variety; if you substitute the liquid, you may need to add an entire bottle (1.5 ounces) to achieve the desired shade.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (have no fear when it foams!); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

Divide batter evenly, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before frosting. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: 4 cups

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste (or extract)

1 seven ounce container marshmallow creme

Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Add marshmallow creme until combined.

Frost cupcakes and ENJOY!

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Yield: 36

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 1/4 cup malted milk powder

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs, room temp

1 cup sour cream, room temp

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard tin with cupcake liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda & salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until dissolved.

With mixer on medium-high speed, beat flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl. Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling halfway. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester comes out clean or baked about 20 minutes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temp, or frozen up to 2 months in airtight container. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: 4 cups

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste (or extract)

With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium-high. This process should take about 5 minutes. Frosting should be very pale and fluffy. Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Frost cupcakes and pop 'em in your mouth!

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Yield: 36

3 cups cake flour, (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard tin with cupcake liners. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: 4 cups

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Frost cupcakes and Eat 'em up!

Source: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Yield: 36

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
12 small chocolate covered peppermint patties, such as mini York Peppermint Patties

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard tin with cupcake liners. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over, not in, a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally just until melted, 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove bowl from heat. Whisk in sugar and salt until mixture is smooth; whisk in eggs to combine. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa just until smooth (be sure to not over mix).

Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined cup. Place 1 peppermint patty on top, gently pressing into batter. Top with 2 tablespoons batter, covering patty completely. Bake, rotating tin halfway though, until a cake tester inserted halfway in centers comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Don't hit the mint patty when you insert tester. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight container.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I still bake cupcakes, just not as frequent these days. I plan on baking my way through that book though!

P.S. I had to share this picture. It's my first batch of cupcakes. I made them for Christmas a few years ago. I had glorious visions of a rich green color and a deep red color. They turned out a little different!

Chicken Paprikash

2011-07-01T19:06:00.000-04:00

It's a miracle. I cooked dinner and it turned out pretty amazing! Normally my cooking husband cooks the dinners around here. In our 5 years of marriage I have only cooked dinner 2 or 3 times. So it really was an exciting night for me. So what did I make? Well let me tell you....I made chicken paprikash. Ever since my trip to Eastern Europe this last March, I have been obsessed with Hungarian food. When we were in Budapest we had chicken paprikash and I knew I had to figure out how to make it. We found a simply delicious recipe from Simply Recipes. WOW, WOW, WOW. A thousand times WOW! We loved it. We will be making this again.

Chicken Paprikash

Source: Adapted from Simply Recipes
Servings: 4-6

2-2 1/2 pounds of chicken pieces, preferably thighs and legs
Salt
2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 pounds Vidalia sweet onions (about 2-3 large onions)
Black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp sweet paprika, preferably Hungarian
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup sour cream

Salt the chicken pieces well and let them sit at room temperature.

Slice the onions lengthwise (top to root). The original recipe called for yellow onions. Vidalia sweet onions are in season here in Georgia, so we decided to use them instead. I'm glad we did! They were a great contrast to the hot and spicy paprika.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. When the butter is hot, pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and place them skin-side down in the pan. Let the chicken pieces cook 4-5 minutes on one side, until well browned, then turn them over and let them cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. Be careful not to tear any skin when turning them over. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Add the sliced onions to the sauté pan and cook them, stirring occasionally, scraping up the browned bits from the chicken, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

Add the paprika and black pepper to the onions and combine. I was a little giddy because I used the paprika I bought in Budapest. So fun.

Add the chicken broth to the onions, again scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and then nestle the chicken pieces into the pan, on top of the onions. Cover and cook on a low simmer for 50-55 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken pieces). If you don't want the chicken falling off the bone (which who wouldn't!?!?!), you can cook for 20-25 minutes instead.

When the chicken is done to your taste, remove from pan. Allow the pan to cool for a minute and then slowly stir in the sour cream and add salt to taste. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce. Helpful Hint: If the sour cream cools the sauce too much, turn the heat back on just enough to warm it through.

Serve with dumplings, rice, egg noodles or potatoes. We chose Spaetzle egg noodles. That's how we had it in Budapest. Someday I would like to make this homemade Spaetzle recipe from Smitten Kitchen to go with this dish. This would make it even more mouth watering!

Tada! The delicious dish!

Colorful Funfetti Cupcakes

2011-06-20T22:27:00.000-04:00

In my last post I mentioned we were on Hilton Head Island. What a wonderful time! We are back home now and attempting to unpack and do laundry and get back to normal life.

Before vacation I was thinking about what type of cupcakes to bake and bring with us. I came across a post on a food blog I LOVE LOVE LOVE called How Sweet It Is. The fabulous lady behind this blog is named Jessica. I love everything she makes and her posts are absolutely hilarious. If you are a food blog lover and you haven't come across her site yet - check it out! Anywhooo, the post was about funfetti cupcakes. I had an aha! moment and realized these were the cupcakes I needed to make. The aha! moment went something like this: it's summer and the sun is shining (therefore we need light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes) AND we are celebrating my nephew's birthday (therefore we need colorful sprinkles in our cupcakes). I decided to add color to the cupcakes to make them extra special for my nephew. I'm glad I did - he had fun choosing which color he wanted. Actually, I did too!

Colorful Funfetti Cupcakes

Source: inspired and adapted from How Sweet It is

Yield: 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 whole eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar in mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients.

Fold in assorted sprinkles.

Divide batter into 6 small bowls. Fold in desired food coloring or gel. I had a lot of fun with the colors - felt like I was back in art class! Helpful Hint: don't stir too much - you will end up with a bread-like cupcake texture.

Pour batter into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

2 sticks butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 seven ounce container marshmallow creme

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)

1/2 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles

1 tablespoon of milk, if needed

Cream butter in mixer until completely smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, slowly add powdered sugar. Gradually increase mixer speed and add marshmallow creme. Add vanilla, then beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl.

Fold in assorted sprinkles.

If frosting is too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. If it’s too thin, add sugar gradually until it thickens.

Frost cupcakes and enjoy......

Family Fun and Fresh Seafood

2011-06-16T13:53:00.003-04:00

We're having a wonderful time here on Hilton Head Island. It's hot and sunny and fabulous. We've had fun celebrating my nephew's birthday...

Frolicking on the beach...

Fishing...yep that's a shark and yep that's a dolphin!

And eating delicious food. Speaking of delicious food, we bought fresh seafood from Barnacle Bill's here on the island yesterday. We bought oysters, scallops and jumbo shrimp. We cooked those suckers right up and enjoyed every bite!

We shucked the oysters...

Cooked the scallops in butter...

And boiled the shrimp with Old Bay Seasoning.

Everything tasted oh so fresh and full of flavor!

We have a few more days of bliss. We plan on enjoying every last minute!

Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus

2011-06-07T08:06:00.015-04:00

For Christmas my parents gave Phily a snazzy cookbook called Around the World in 450 Recipes. It's awesome. We are finding all sorts of unique and delicious looking international recipes. One of the recipes we found was Hummus. I thought we should spice it up a little and add some jalapeno and cilantro to the recipe. I recently saw hummus with jalapeno and cilantro at the grocery store and I have been wanting to make it ever since. AND...can I just say I'm glad we added the jalapeno and cilantro...sooooo very good!

Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus

Source: Adapted from Around the World in 450 Recipes Cookbook
Servings: 4-6
Note: if you have a small food processor, you may have to make this in two batches

1 jalapeno (ribbed and seeded depending on desired heat level)
1 bundle cilantro
1 cup canned chick-peas
1/2 cup Tahini
3 garlic cloves
2-3 lemons, juiced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch salt and pepper
pinch cayenne pepper

Rib and seed jalapeno (depending on the heat level desired). Cut stems off cilantro. Add both to food processor.

Blend together. Set aside in bowl for later.

Drain and rinse chick-peas. Save extra chick-peas and liquid. Set aside for later. I was glad to find the Goya brand at Kroger. I have been happy with the Goya products I have bought so far.

Rinse off chick-peas and add to food processor.

Add tahini. You should be able to find tahini at most grocery stores. I found this at Fresh Market.

Add garlic.

Add juice from lemons. Helpful Hint: start out with 1 1/2 to 2 lemons and add 3rd lemon if needed.

Add extra virgin olive oil.

Add cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.

Add jalapeno and cilantro mixture and blend together until smooth.

Enjoy with some pita chips!

Check out the original hummus recipe as well!

Sweet Tea

2011-06-01T16:31:00.002-04:00

Now that I live in the South I drink a lot of sweet tea. I mean a lot. I'm starting to think I have a problem. It's everywhere around here. Every restaurant, every church function, every house (well probably not EVERY house), every fast food chain. You get the idea. Being from the Pacific NW I didn't grow up drinking sweet tea. However, I did drink a lot of hot tea and hot cocoa and hot coffee. So it seems I'm making up for all the lost years without my precious sweet tea. I'm starting to sound like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Uh-oh. Now that it's a million degrees outside I'm craving ice cold sweet tea even more. I decided to make some here at the house so I can have it any time (this will not help my sweet tea addiction). Here is what I came up with...

Sweet Tea
Source: The Kitchen of He Cooks & She Bakes
Servings: 2 quarts (1/2 gallon)

2 quarts cold water
10 tea bags
1 and 1/2 cups sugar

I use all sorts of tea....tea with flavors, tea made specifically for iced tea, etc. It all works! Choose whatever tea you like best.

Bring water to a boil. Add tea bags to boiling water. Take off stove and steep for 8-10 minutes. Helpful Hint: steep time depends on how strong you want the tea flavor to be.

Remove tea bags and add 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. Stir sugar until dissolved. Taste to be sure it's exactly how you want it. Helpful Hint: this amount of sugar will make the tea very sweet (just how I like it!). If you don't want it as sweet, start with a cup and go from there.

Pour into pitcher and put in fridge until nice and cold. Then pour in a glass over ice. DELISH!!!

Baked Sweet Potatoes

2011-05-28T11:45:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, my mom was just here and shared some recipes with us. The second recipe she shared was a baked sweet potato recipe. She had made this recipe at home and loved it. We decided to give it a whirl. The original recipe called for Oregano, but mom thought Rosemary would taste better with sweet potatoes. She was right! These were so simple and tasted excellent!

Baked Sweet Potatoes
Source: adapted from All Recipes
Servings: 4

3 large sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 pinches rosemary
2-3 pinches salt
2-3 pinches ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom of baking dish with olive oil.

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes.

Cut them into medium size pieces.

Coat the sweet potatoes with olive oil. Helpful Hint: an easy way to make sure they are evenly coated is to put them in a plastic bag and shake them up.

Move the sweet potatoes to baking dish and sprinkle the rosemary, salt and pepper.

Bake 60 minutes or until soft. Then enjoy!

Once again, thanks to Ma for this one! We miss you already. Your granddog Putter misses you too.

Greek Salad

2011-05-27T21:45:00.001-04:00

My sweet Ma was here last week. Her and my sister Aunie came for a visit to see our life here on the lake. We enjoyed our time together - of course it went too fast. Ma had a few good recipes she shared with us while she was here. One of them was a Greek salad recipe. It was hit! We've had it twice since she left. The dressing is delicious. Here is the fresh and fantastic recipe......

Greek Salad

Source: Adapted from the South Beach Diet Cookbook

Servings: 2-4

Salad

1 small package romaine lettuce

1 large cucumber, sliced

1 small package cherry tomatoes

1 cup red onion

1 cup Kalamata olives

1 cup feta cheese

Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 small clove garlic

2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1 teaspoon salt

Combine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, olives and cheese in large bowl.

Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and salt in a small bowl. Pour over salad and toss until covered.

Thanks Ma for sharing this recipe. We will be using this one again for sure!