The Freshman Fifteen

Fourth of July Cherry Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 15:10:00 +0000

I know I'm a day late and a dollar short on the fourth of July blog posts but this cake is BANGING. It's a recipe my grandma used to make and each year, I'd request it for my big family birthday celebration. This cake is da bomb.

Without further ado, the greatest non-chocolate cake ever:

Ingredients:

White cake (We use a box because we were making a shit ton of other food but you can make homemade.)

1 Box of Cherry Jell-o

1 packet of Dream Whip -OR- one container of Cool Whip

1 can of cherry pie filling

1. Make a cake. Follow the box or the recipe of your choice. It's gotta be a white cake though.

2. Let the cake cool then poke holes throughout the cake.

3. Make Jell-o according to package BUT DO NOT ADD THE CUP OF COOL WATER. Keep the Jell-O double strength.

4. Once Jell-o is cooled to room temperature-ish, pour over cake and place the cake in your fridge over night.

5. Before serving, mix up Dream Whip (my grandma always used Dream Whip but we used reduced fat Cool Whip for our cake) and spread over the top of cake.

6. Cover in cherry pie filling and serve.

7. Keep leftovers (if you have any) in the fridge.

Shit's delicious, isn't it?

Rainbow Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:16:00 +0000

As promised, but very late (of course), here is my little sister's 14th birthday cake: RAINBOW CHEESECAKE.

I also made this cheesecake as my father decided to take a nap in the living room (which is attached to the kitchen) so I woke him up. It sucked. Have you ever tried to use a mixer while someone was sleeping? Not easy.

After surfing the internet for days trying to find a recipe, I open our never before used spring form pan and out pops the Pampered Chef recipe for cheesecake. It was like a gift from Jesus. So I used it. So you don't have to Google it, I will provide it for you here.

Ingredients:

Crust

8 graham crackers (4 1/2 X 2 1/2 inches each, about 1 cup crumbs) - I only needed 5 1/2 or so... 8 was WAY TOO MUCH.
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted - I probably could've used another Tablespoon of butter as well.
1 tablespoon sugar

Filling

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place graham crackers in resealable plastic food storage bag. Crush into fine crumbs using Baker's Roller. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar; mix well. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of Springform Pan fitted with flat base. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven to Cooling Rack.

2. Meanwhile, place cream cheese in Batter Bowl. Whisk using whisk until soft and creamy. Whisk in sugar and flour until well combined. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla; whisk until smooth.

3. TO MAKE IT RAINBOW-Y: Distribute batter into 6 bowls evenly. Stir in GEL FOOD COLORING to get desired colors. (Gel is very important!! Don't use the liquid kind, it'll water down your batter.) Make sure the colors are completely blended and there aren't any streaks. To "splatter," put a spoon of each color in one at a time. Be sure to get around the outside as well as the inside. I didn't have much trouble getting it even, just try not to "smooth" it out because the colors will smear and you don't want an icky looking cake.

4. Bake 50-55 minutes until center is just set.

5. Remove from oven. Cool 20 minutes on cooling rack. Carefully run sharp knife around edges of cheesecake. Allow to cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Release side clamp and remove collar.

Also, look at the Little Mermaid plates. HOLLA at my girl, Ariel. :)

It's My Baby Sister's Birthday! With Rainbow Cupcakes!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:54:00 +0000

My baby (and only) little sister's birthday is today (SHE'S 14!!!!) and guess who volunteered to bake the cake?

THIS GIRL!

Anyway, It's 9:30 in the morning so I obviously haven't done it yet but I've opted to bake her a cheesecake. My very first homemade cheesecake! (We usually just make the No Bake Jell-O one. Which is delicious but not the same as the real thing.) So I went to the store and bought 2 pounds of cream cheese yesterday. BA-BAM!

Even though I haven't made this year's cake, I wanted to share last year's cake because I did a really awesome job and surprised everyone in the house with them.

That's right! RAINBOW CUPCAKES! And they were awesome. I got the idea from Om Noms By Kelly, which gives a full tutorial on how to make them. Granted, they took me ALL DAY to make and I didn't even bake these from scratch. They were just a box mix and 2 cans of frosting. If you do this and are baking 2 dozen cupcakes, get 2 cans of frosting, you will need it. (Although I think the site I found the idea on said not to use canned frosting, it still works. I promise.)

But I just baked the cakes and used my mom's Pampered Chef decorator to make the swirled colored frosting. The site I found it on uses a pastry bag though. I just felt this tool was easier (only had to refill once!). And be sure you buy gel food coloring to get the vibrant colors you want without making your cake batter/frosting runny!

Sorry I only have a couple of pics. I didn't have a camera and just had to take cell pics at the time. Oh well. I'm still super proud of these. Will post pics of the cheesecake today (or tomorrow)! Enjoy!

Oven Baked Potato Fries

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:32:00 +0000

I made these the same night as the deviled eggs with some chicken barbecue and baked beans. Oh man. Food coma. But these are definitely a new staple in this apartment because they were so damn good and we didn't even have to fry them-- so they're healthy! WOOP!

We used one potato for the two of us because we already had A LOT of side dishes and that was plenty.

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato
Vegetable oil (I used the spray kind)
salt
pepper
Red Pepper flakes (totally optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel and cut the sweet potato into "fry sized" bites.
3. Spray baking sheet with oil and place the potato strips in a single layer on it.

4. Spray the tops with cooking spray and then sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if you like a little kick.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Watch them the last couple of minutes, some of mine got a little more "blackened" than we desired because I didn't watch them close enough at the end.
6. Enjoy! OM NOMS.

We just ate ours with ketchup because, in my opinion, nothing compliments the sweetness of the sweet potato fries like the salty and slightly tart taste of ketchup Plus, I just love that shit.

Easter Leftovers: Deviled Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:46:00 +0000

The other day, I made the boyfriend dye Easter eggs with me because he'd never done it before. I went all out and got the Paa's pack with 9 different colors so we had a blast. We even marbled them!

However, with all the fun comes A LOT of hard boiled eggs. What's a girl to do? Deviled freaking eggs, that's what. Since we didn't have them at our MASSIVE Easter lunch, I decided that I'd make them for just the two of us. Well, they're mostly for me because I don't think the boyfriend will touch them. At all. Despite my promises that they are especially delicious.

Also, I feel like a grown-up now because I eat them with pickle relish. When I was little, I used to only eat deviled eggs without pickles-- I always had my own little container of deviled eggs at big family dinners. :)

So without further adieu: Deviled eggs. A classic. They're not fancy. Get over it.

Ingredients:

Hard boiled eggs (I used 4)
Yellow Mustard (I used French's)
Mayonaise (I used Duke's Light Mayo)
Sweet pickle relish
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Peel your cooled hard boiled eggs.
2. Cut the hard boiled eggs in half length wise and empty the yolks into a bowl.
3. Mash up the yolks and add in mayo and mustard until creamy.
4. Add in about a tablespoon pickle relish. (If you don't like pickles you can skip this step or just throw in a teaspoon of the juice instead of the actual pickles.)
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember that the condiments have a lot of salt so you may want to taste the mixture before adding salt.

6. Fill your eggs using a small teaspoon or a piping bag with a large star tip for those who are really into presentation or whatever.

Enjoy!

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:46:00 +0000

After a super long hiatus, I am back! And I'm bearing muffins! I didn't stop cooking, I just kept forgetting to blog... for several months at a time. Oops. But I have muffins....

As you can see, I ate one before deciding to photograph.

Sorry my photos are so shit. But at least they're not from my shitty Samsung phone anymore.

And they are TASTY! I've never been a big blueberry muffin fan for some reason but I'm super out of groceries and was in need of a tasty breakfast that wasn't from the Chic-Fil-A below my apartment. Alas, the blueberry muffins were born!

I used a recipe I found at Cooking Classy while surfing FoodGawker again (orgasm). Seriously, check out this awesome recipe. It's amazing. I didn't do the topping because I ran out of ingredients.

Not kidding. I halved the recipe and STILL ran out of flour so I had to improvise and use pancake mix. They still turned out fine! And I used frozen blueberries from the frozen berry mix I used to make my Berry Merry Sangria because I just never knew what to do with my leftover berries. Hey. The muffins turned out fine. Not all of us have fully stocked kitchens. I also had to make my own buttermilk, but the original blogger gives you how to do that (or you can Google it if you're like me and don't have lemon juice). I'm so college it hurts sometimes.

Don't worry, I made six. The boyfriend and I just ate two before I could take pics. Oops.

Speaking of college, I graduate in May. So hire me. I will write things for you.

200 Student Recipes- Chicken Burritos

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:05:00 +0000

I went on a mission to find a cookbook to go through and found a gem: 200 Student Recipes from Hamlyn all color. Perfect, right? I'm a student. This is a blog for students and people just starting out on their own, it's a perfect match! Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.

This book is awful. It's not for students at all. It may be marketed for students but what student in their right mind is going to buy lamb? Hmm? LAMB! No one. No one on a student's budget should be buying lamb. It's just absurd.

The Boyfriend took pictures of me looking at the cookbook, trying to decide how lamb is suitable for students.

But I'm still planning on going through the book but with a bit of a twist. I'm planning on going through the book and fix the recipes, but make them slightly more student friendly as far as technique and your wallet goes.

I usually cook on Saturday nights because it's something relaxing and I have more time to devote to a meal. Tonight I made chicken burritos, although, I don't think it can really be called burritos because there's no rice, but the book called them burritos, so whatever.

The book had originally called for pork in this recipe, but buying a pork roast to make this with is definitely more expensive than chicken breasts, which I can buy a pack of 5 (one big breast is a whole meal for us) for a little over 8 dollars. Take that, student cookbook. The book does give a quick blurb at the bottom of the recipe stating that it can be made with chicken but... the directions were super vague so I just followed the instructions listed for the pork.

Overall, I really liked this recipe and I will definitely be making it again, although I think I needed to let the sauce simmer for longer than the book said, my taco-things got a little soggy. Loved serving it with the avocado too. I'm not a big avocado fan but it paired really nicely with the acidic tomato sauce so good on them. Hopefully the other recipes I try from this book will be just as successful.

Anyway, the cookbook isn't terrible. It's not an expensive book and it's got a little bit of everything in it. Who knows if I'll make every recipe like I intended (LAMB, really?) but it's fun to try something a little different. --The soup section looks GREAT.

Songs about Food: When you're in a cooking mood

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:15:00 +0000

Because I have a nasty stomach ache and really don't want to look at pictures of food right now, in lieu of an Awesome Website Wednesday post this week, I'm putting together a little playlist for you of songs to play in the kitchen while whipping up something tasty. I promise I'll have a recipe for you tomorrow. I have pics to upload and new food I've made I've just been busy starting class and cleaning my filthy apartment.

Anyway, here's a top ten list of songs to shake yo' ass to while stirring that pot. There really isn't any order to this though. I just found food songs and made a countdown. Enjoy or whatever.

10. Alice's Restaurant Massacre - Arlo Guthrie

Not going to lie, I saw this guy in concert. It was my first concert ever and I thought I was a little hippie punk. Basically, if you've got to time to devote to this one, listen to it. It's pretty funny. There's also a really shitty low budget 60's movie (starring Arlo Guthrie) that is based off the song-- I have it on DVD. Don't hate.

A close second is his "Motorcycle Song." But for the sake of not torturing everyone with two Arlo Guthrie songs, I will move on.

9. Les Poissons - The Little Mermaid

It's my favorite movie on the planet. I know every word to this song and can sing it on cue. It's hilarious.

8. Diet Mountain Dew by Lana Del Rey

You may not be shaking it too hard but if you've had a bad day, here you go. A little something to take the edge off.

7. Styrofoam Plates - Death Cab for Cutie

Here's a song by my favorite band. Keeping it low key and beautiful.

6. Cherry Bomb - The Runaways

Who doesn't like a little girl rock? Enjoy the real thing, not the Kristen Stewart version (Dakota Fanning's cool though-- I like her).

5. Lollipop- Lil Wayne

I'm posting the Framing Hanley video instead of Lil Wayne because the boys in that band... damn. This song kind of makes me want to take my clothes off which probably isn't the best thing to do in the kitchen but whatever. Enjoy, ladies.

4. She Don't Use Jelly - The Flaming Lips

This girl right here (that's me) LOVES jelly. But the Flaming Lips may be able to persuade me otherwise. Check it.

3. Sour Cherry - The Kills

I don't know if I want to party with them or ran away from them but The Kills nail it with "Sour Cherry." Love this song.

2. Rock Lobster - B-52's

I also saw this band in concert. Do not judge me, the B-52's are awesome and I'd see them again any day. They put on a FANTASTIC show. Also, who doesn't like this song? It's fabulously weird and quirky.

1. Milkshake by Kelis.

Get it girl!

Lessons in Food Safety

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:08:00 +0000

As a food blogger for college students, I feel it's my duty to do a little PSA on how to store food safely, since in my experience, there are lots of people my age who don't know a thing about storing food. For example, my roommate last year stored yogurt out on her desk. I would throw it away after a day because I didn't want to deal with a roommate sick with food poisoning. Not happening. Do yourselves a favor and learn how to store food correctly so you don't wind up with your head in the toilet. No one wants food poisoning. It's not fun and a day off of classes in a school with an attendance policy could be the difference between passing and failing.

I did some research after discovering for the fourth or fifth time that one of my roommates was storing her Progresso soup in the can, in the fridge, with a plastic bag over it. First of all, it doesn't sound safe. Second of all, it isn't safe.

proof.

I did some research and this is what I found:

While the United States' FDA lists the regulations that canned goods manufacturers must abide by, the United Kingdom's NHS seems to have the best advice regarding storage of canned goods after they have been opened, "Never put open cans in the fridge as the metal of the can may transfer to the can's contents. Transfer the contents into a storage container or covered bowl."

This statement pretty much sums it up. However, I dug a little more and found some more reasons and cautions against storing canned goods in the cans they came in.

North Dakota State University states on their food safety website that "for all opened canned foods, transfer foods in cans to glass or plastic storage containers. Tightly cover and refrigerate. If left in the opened can, off flavors of some foods may develop."

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia says that:

"The contents of freshly opened cans and packages should be treated as though they were freshly cooked at home. Contamination is possible as soon as the container is opened. If not eaten at one meal, the remainder should be refrigerated.

Once cans are opened some foods, especially fruit, fruit juices, and tomato products, should be placed in a clean plastic or glass container, covered and stored in the refrigerator. When these foods are stored in the opened metal can, tin and iron will dissolve from the can walls and the food may develop a metallic taste.

Food containing high concentrations of tin can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, abdominal bloating, fever or headache. These symptoms pass quickly and there seem to be no long term effects of high tin exposure. However, repackaging food once a can is opened is a good practice to adopt for all foods packaged in metal cans.Throw out the contents of any can which has an unusual colour, or odour. Do not taste."

So seriously, buy some tupperware. If you have an Amazon student account, which you should get because it's FREE, you can order some super cheap. Just don't leave your canned goods in the can. Steal some Rubbermaid containers from mom and store it right.

Chicken Parmigiana

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:35:00 +0000

Well, aren't we fancy?

It's my last night at home before heading back to my apartment school for my LAST SEMESTER at college. Terrifying. I'm also only taking four classes, one of which is online, so there's lots of time for cooking and making the most of my last semester. Hello no classes on and Thursdays! Nice to meet you.

Anyway, my last dinner before heading off to the middle of nowhere is Chicken Parmigiana. Fancy.

Here's how to make this quick and tasty dish:

This fed 5 but can easily be adapted for a smaller group.

Ingredients:

3 boneless chicken breasts, halves
1 jar pasta sauce
1 cup grated Parmigiana cheese
oregano, black pepper, salt
Oil to grease pan
1 box spaghetti noodles

1. Grease 9x13 inch baking pan and place chicken in side by side.

2. Season chicken with pepper, a pinch of salt, and some oregano.

3. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees or until chicken is done.

4. While chicken is baking, boil water and prepare spaghetti as directed on the box or whatever.

4. Drain the excess liquid off chicken or else it'll be soupy like ours turned out. Oops.

5. Cover in spaghetti sauce and approximately 3/4 cup cheese.

6. Put back in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melty and yummy.

7. Put chicken over spaghetti with some extra sauce and eat it. Yummy!!!!!!

Chillin' with Julia: Croissants

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:26:00 +0000

After watching Julie and Julia, I wanted to try out a Julia Child recipe myself. It actually wasn't that hard! Julia breaks down how to make croissants perfectly. If I didn't have her instructions, I probably wouldn't have been able to do it. Her cooking show not only broke it down step by step but it gave me a chuckle too. Meryl Strep definitely played a more refined Julia in the movie.

Here's how I made them. Oh yeah, I just watched this amazing video.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
4 tablespoons oil (if using all purpose flour) 2 tablespoons oil if using pastry flour (Julia explains this)
1 package yeast (dissolved in 1/4 cup hot-to-the-touch water with 1 tsp sugar and 1/8 tsp salt)
1/2 cup tepid milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

THAT'S IT! Just follow Julia to make 12 croissants.

I also added about 10 chocolate chips to the end of my croissants, giving them a yummy, chocolatey center. YES!

Awesome Website Wednesday: Cooking in College with Paige

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:39:00 +0000

I've really been blog-slacking lately, but I swear I have content for you! I've officially made the croissants I promised to make, I just need to write up a post about them. It'll happen, I swear. But in the meantime, here is an awesome video blog to check out.

Okay, it's not really a blog, it's a low budget cooking show. But it's a low budget cooking show that applies to us broke ass college students. Right? Right. It's Cooking in College with Paige.

Paige takes us step by step on how to make delicious and affordable meals for college students who are short on time and DEFINITELY short on cash. She even has a video about pastries-- namely, CROISSANTS. Which is relevant to my latest endeavors as a college student. And trust me, making croissants is not only cheaper but much more satisfying than buying them at the local Walmart. (Ew).

Anyway, check Paige out for some new ideas on how to feed your rumbling tummy. In the meantime, I'll write up that promised blog post. Eventually.

Also, I go back to school Sunday so expect the blog posting to kick up and the cooking to be cranked up!

Picking a Cookbook to Work Through

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:25:00 +0000

I'm at a bit of an impasse. It's the beginning of a new year and, damn it, it's going to be a great one with great food and great memories! It's my last week at Bath and Body Works, where I've worked since my senior year of high school on breaks from college and this week marks the first time I'm booking a little romantic getaway (!). I'm more than excited about how this year is looking already with old doorways closing and new opportunities awaiting.

I say that because I spent my entire day applying for jobs. A real job! Not a part-time on break from college job but a real, full-time job doing something (hopefully) in the editorial field. But after several hours hitting the job boards and editing a book for my FIRST freelance editing gig, I'm exhausted and ready to bake. However, instead of making food, I got lost in episodes of The French Chef and buried myself ankle deep in the cookbook I got my mom for Christmas, A Lifetime of Cooking, by Julia Child.

After determining that I will bake croissants next week to take with us to Colonial Williamsburg next week on our getaway, I surfed the net (aka Food Gawker) to find something to cook for dinner. Needless to say, I kept coming across year end recaps of all kinds of food blogs and saw how tons of other bloggers had gone through cookbooks in the last year. That gave me the idea: I need to do this too. But I don't have a wide range of cookbooks at my disposal. So you're going to pick which one I should work my way through this year. Give me something challenging. I'm not vegan or gluten free so my options are wide open. I'll be checking all my local bookstores/thrift stores (because they have cookbooks too-- and they're SUPER cheap!) for all kinds of cookbooks worth exploring but I want to hear what suggestions you have. Who are some chefs I should look out for? I'm keeping away from Southern food because that's what I grew up with and that's what I'm already (kind of ) good at.

Bring it, 2012! Let's see what kind of cookbooks you've got!

Celebrating New Year's in Style: Peach Mimosas!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:24:00 +0000

I should have posted this yesterday but I was exhausted and hungover AND I had to work. So I sat around, watching weird documentaries, took a nap, then went to retail hell for a while. So basically, I didn't blog. My bad.

But I celebrated New Year's Eve with a couple of friends, which is much more my style than going out to a crowded bar full of slutty girls. I'm not into fighting for a seat, fighting for overpriced drinks from the bartender, and getting hit on because I don't have a guy attached to my hip 24/7 (they boyfriend is still in England-- he'll come back on the 10th and we're going on a mini vacation. I can't wait!) But anyway, it was a small get together and I got a little drinkity drunk off these:

PEACH MIMOSAS! Freaking fabulous and so easy to make it's stupid.

Ingredients:

Peach Sparkling Wine (It's only champagne if it comes from Champagne, France, remember?)
Orange Juice

1. Pour some sparkling wine into a glass.

2. Pour just enough orange juice to give the wine some color.

3. ENJOY.

I mixed up a whole bottle of this stuff at one time. It was just easier since I planned to (and did) drink the whole bottle that night. Needless to say, I was hungover and ate cold pizza for breakfast. Win.

Anyway, here are some shots of how I look after a bottle of champagne and another couple of glasses of wine. Be prepared, I'm too attractive to be real.

What up, 2012?

Here's to a fabulous New Year full of fabulous food!

Awesome Website Wednesday: Tasty Lies

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:54:00 +0000

While surfing Reddit, as I do on a regular basis, someone posted a link in a comment about their website, Tasty Lies: The Truth Behind the Food. This website is for all of you starving college students: full of reviews on frozen dinners, a staple in the dorm life. When all else fails, including the dining hall (on a consistent basis), there's always Lean Cuisine, Marie Callendars, Banquet, and Michelinas. Even though I have a kitchen, I usually have an arsenal of frozen dinners in the freezer, for those times I don't feel like cooking (or just don't have the time to). For those moments of culinary weakness, Tasty Lies is perfect.

No one is left out of here, either. From Stouffer's (the high brow of the frozen food world) to store brands, this website has reviews and photos. The photos are perhaps the best part, comparing the photo on the box to what it really looks like on the inside, something us college students secretly dread when we purchase our stock piles of frozen delicacies for our late night drunken escapades or whatever.

For instance, here's a picture of what Banquet's Boneless Pork Rib meal should look like:

And here's what it REALLY looks like:

This review gave the meal 0.5 stars out of five. I don't blame them. But this one isn't the worst. I'll let you peruse the website to figure out which frozen meals you'll never waste your money on again, and which ones you might try next time you make a trip to the closest grocery store.

Fudge is much easier than I thought it would be

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:42:00 +0000

My sister and I were told to make fudge the other day for our little get-together and we reluctantly accepted, thinking it would be a challenge. However, the recipe we have takes about 15 minutes, if that, of actual work. That's right. For 15 minutes of work, you get a pan of fudge to feed an army. Here it is. If you've seen this recipe before, it's because it came off of the back of the Jetpuffed marshmallow fluff container. We thought the recipe was a family secret, or at least my sister and I did... then we read the bottle. I feel so cheated! Anyway, make some fudge, it's delicious.

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 jar marshmallow fluff
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup walnuts
1 small can evaporated milk

1. Bring sugar, milk, and butter to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

2. Allow it to boil 4 minutes, still stirring.

3. Add in chocolate chips, marshmallow fluff, walnuts and vanilla. Stir until well blended.

4. Pour into a baking pan and let cool until hard.

5. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve.

Delicious.

Remember to store it in the fridge so you can eat it for like a week. Let's be real, you can only eat one piece at a time so it lasts forever.

Snacking Away the Holidays: Krispix Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:17:00 +0000

Sorry I've been slacking on the blogging, but I'm going to be doing a party food feature for the next five days, getting you ready for your New Years Celebrations. (Not that I'm going to eat as much as I'll be drinking on New Year's Eve, let's be real.)

We threw a little get together on Christmas Eve for some family friends, but I waited until today to post about it because I FINALLY got a camera for Christmas!! YAY! I can finally post some quality pictures of the foodstuffs I make (or helped my mom make, in the case of all these party foods).

I've been getting a run down on party food prep the last few days. Lots of yummy food in such a small amount of time, I hope you're ready!

My mom's made like 8 batches of this stuff already, and we're probably going to need another one before New Year's Eve because we eat it so fast. Here's the recipe for Krispix mix. It's the original recipe, cut from the inside of the Krispix box, but it's so great. I can't take credit for it, but I can spread the word. Om nom.

Ingredients:

7 cups Krispix cereal
1 regular sized can salted mixed nuts
1 1/2 cups mini pretzels (We use Snyder brand-- they're the best!)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons Worcester sauce

1. Combine cereal, nuts and pretzels in a 13x9 baking pan.
2. Stir together wet ingredients separately, stirring in the seasonings into the lemon, butter, and Worcester sauce mixture.
3. Toss gently into the pan with cereal, nuts, and pretzels. Be sure to coat cereal well.
4. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
5. Spread on paper towels to cool and store in airtight container.
6. EAT IT.

There are microwave directions for the college students out there: DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU ARE NOT LIVING IN A DORM, YOU LAZY FUCKERS.

To make in microwave, prepare steps 1-3 in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in aittight container.

But seriously, do this in the oven unless you live in a dorm and need a snack. The oven makes it better.

Rekindling My Love Affair With Blackberry Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:49:00 +0000

I haven't posted in a while because finals are a bitch, I was spending time with the boyfriend before he went back to England for a month, and I've been working A LOT. So sorry for the delay. And this post isn't anything awesome anyway. I just want to share my love of blackberry jam while I eat my midnight snack:

Bagel with plain cream cheese and blackberry jam. As you can see, I still don't have a good camera and I couldn't make it upstairs without biting it.

Eat it. No seriously, it's incredible.

Blackberry jam is also better than grape jelly on peanut butter and jelly. BETTER THAN GRAPE. It's also kick ass on toast with a little bit of butter. Basically, anything you put jelly on, start using blackberry. It's better. Really.

That is all.

Lemon Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:59:00 +0000

The boyfriend has been obsessed with making this recipe he found on the BBC Good Foods App for AGES so I finally caved and we went to the store to buy some shit to make this chicken.

The downside: We don't have a grill. And he forgot to get honey.

So we improvised. As I do all the time.

Here's how I made our lemon chicken for two:

Ingredients:

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts (We just cut a really big one in half)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 Tablespoons Dried Thyme
1 Lemon

1. Grease your pan with some cooking oil so the chicken doesn't stick and preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

2. Season chicken with salt, pepper sugar, and thyme.

3. Cut Lemon. We did 2 thick slices to lay on top of the chicken, then I juiced half of the lemon over the breasts for extra flavor. Save the other half for lemon water. :)

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the juices are clear.

5. Enjoy.

I served ours with fried potatoes and onions and some salad. Yum!

Chocolate Chip Nutella Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:25:00 +0000

I haven't been making a lot of dinner since I've been slowly stock piling my freezer with different dinners all semester, gearing up for finals so I wouldn't have to cook. So I've been making a lot of breakfast foods to drool over... I'm sure you've caught on. Today, as I woke up PMSing and in need of chocolate (I ate a Snickers while waiting for the water to boil for m tea, for example), I decided to make Chocolate Chip pancakes. Then I took them a step further and put some Nutella in there.

I only made enough for me because the boyfriend doesn't eat pancakes for some reason (although he tried one of these-- he can't resist chocolate!). So keep in mind this is only for one serving.

Ingredients:

Pancake Mix
Water
Nutella
Chocolate Chips

I used pancake mix because I bought a huge box of it for a dollar at the beginning of the semester. I'll post a pancake recipe for you a little later (adapted for one person of course!).

1. Prepare pancake mix as directed (I used 1/2 cup mix, 1/3 cup of water), but use just a tiny bit less water than required. I just didn't fill up the 1/3 measuring cup to the very brim. Just add the ingredients. Don't stir yet.

2. With the spoon I was using to stir, I scooped out approximately 1 tablespoon Nutella and placed in down in the mix.

3. Throw in a handful of chocolate chips. It doesn't need to be too many, just enough to get a couple of chips in each pancake. Don't overdo it. Even I, the PMSing pancake eater, didn't want to overload the pancakes with chocolate chips... I did, however, eat some while I made the pancakes. :)

4. Stir until the nutella is completely off the spoon and the batter is smooth.

5. Drop tablespoons of batter onto a hot griddle to make silver dollar pancakes (I only like pancakes if they're tiny for some reason).

6. Flip with a spatula once little bubbles form on the uncooked side. REMEMBER: The second side doesn't take much time to cook. Do not abandon the pan!

7. Enjoy with some syrup on the side. Om nom.

Italian Bread French Toast

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:41:00 +0000

Since I got up this morning at the ass crack of dawn to edit a paper that's due in about three hours, I treated myself to a breakfast I have probably once ever six months or so. I don't know why, I just never remember that french toast exists. And I made it with Italian bread because m boyfriend and I have discovered that buying loaves of fresh baked Italian bread from our grocer store is actually cheaper and yummier than that nasty sliced bread-- even cheaper than the store brand sliced bread! Really, it's the only way to go. I will never turn back.

Makes enough for two pieces of toast, just my size!

Ingredients:

2 Slices Italian bread
1 egg
Splash of milk
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon (I like it super cinnamon-y)
Syrup.

1. Mix egg, milk, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Beat lightly with fork until all ingredients are blended.

2. Dip 1 slice of bread into mixture. Coat evenly.

3. Place on non stick pan on medium heat until that side is slightly browned, then flip and repeat.

4. Repeat for other slice.

5. Coat with syrup and eat!

They were delicious.

Easy Nutella Hot Cocoa

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:35:00 +0000

It's a gross day in my tiny college town-- rainy and cold-- and what makes a shitty day awesome but a cup of hot cocoa. I know-- I bet you were waiting for me to say tea.

Since I finally received a jar of Nutella-- my mom bought it and wasn't sure if she'd ever use it for some crazy reason-- I decided it was high time to try the famed Nutella hot chocolate. And it's delicious.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup hot milk (NOT boiling)
1 packet cocoa mix
1-2 tsp of nutella (just use the spoon you're planning on using to stir)
whipped cream or marshmallows for the top OM NOM!

1. Heat milk on stove or in microwave safe container.

2. Add packet to empty mug and stick your spoon full of Nutella down in there too.

3. Pour hot milk over cocoa and spoon. Stir until dissolved.

4. Garnish with whipped cream or marshmallows and enjoy.

I Did It! I made Crepes!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:47:00 +0000

I've never made a successful batch of crepes. They're either full of holes or ripped to shreds when I'm trying to make them but, apparently, I improved and can officially check something else off my wishlist. Hooray!

I did a lot of preparation before I made them this time, making sure I knew what I had to do rather than just winging it, like I do with most of the food I make, to be honest.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
butter to coat pan

1. Mix up ingredients with a whisk until all lumps are gone. No one wants a big hunk of flour in the middle of their crepe. Set in fridge for an hour-- this gets rid of all the bubbles, decreasing the risk of your crepes tearing.

2. Heat pan and coat with butter.

3. Add a SMALL amount of batter to the center of the pan and swirl to spread it to the edge (or be like me and just use the bottom of my spoon to spread the batter-- not as even but it's SO MUCH easier.)

4. Loosen the edges after first side has cooked for a minute or so (maybe less, use your best judgement, you're a capable human being) and the top becomes doughy. Flip and cook the other side for another 30 second. Here's a video:

5. Slide onto cutting board to cool. While cooking the second side of your next crepe, you can transfer this one to a plate. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP OR YOUR CREPES WILL STICK TOGETHER. Really, they will.

6. Enjoy with your favorite fillings! I used Nutella and "baked apples."

Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:55:00 +0000

Instead of blogging about how to make the typical American Thanksgiving meal, I decided to experiment and find new ways of eating the leftovers because we have A LOT of leftovers from our GIGANTIC meal on Thursday afternoon. But after three days of nothing but leftover turkey, ham, etc, I needed to shake it up a bit.

That where the turkey tacos come in. Not to mention, this is my second taco meal today.

Here's how I transformed my typical turkey into a tasty Mexican treat.

Ingredients:

Leftover turkey (I used both light and dark meat)
Tortillas
Lettuce
Salsa
Sour Cream
Taco Seasoning

1. Shred your leftover turkey into bite-sized pieces, season with taco seasoning, and place into microwave safe bowl. Add a teaspoon of water to the bowl with your turkey to keep it from drying out.

2. Heat in microwave.

3. Heat tortilla shells in microwave.

4. Place turkey into shells and top with lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream.

Easy, fast tacos that make that Thanksgiving Turkey taste completely new. No one will even know it's leftovers.

Berry Merry Sangria

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:04:00 +0000

For our awesome tacky sweater party, which was for the most part BYOB, I decided to make a batch of sangria for me, and the rest of the guests to enjoy.

Opposed to the idea of a red wine hangover, I decided to use white wine instead, knowing that white wine gives me relatively mild hangovers. I also had to take into consideration the season and which fruits would go well in my sangria. I decided against my early idea to use peaches, which would be delicious but inappropriate for a Christmas party and picked up a bag of frozen berries, no sugar added. The bag included blue berries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. I had originally intended to only use the blackberries and raspberries but I ended up using them all.

Here's a downsized version of what I made--mine had 2 1/2 bottles of wine in it.... You probably don't want that much Sangria.

Ingredients:

1 bottle of white wine
8 ounces Sprite Zero--I used zero to cut back on sugar (ginger ale or selter water can be used instead)
3-4 Tablespoons sugar. I didn't want to make it too sweet. The fruits are sweet enough.
1/4 bag frozen berry blend no sugar added. Make sure it's not coated in that sugary syrup--blech!

1. In a big bowl/pot, add the bottle of wine, sprite, and sugar.

2. Stir gently until sugar is disolved.

3. Add in fruits and place in refridgerator for approximately 3 hours.

4. Serve in a punch bowl with your favorite Christmas cookies.