A few years ago, after I graduated from college and entered the real world, I had this huge itch to become more comfortable in the kitchen. I lived with my family right after graduation, and to help out, sometimes I’d cook dinner or bake. At first, there were a LOT of failures. My mom came home to me essentially boiling chicken, when I was supposed to be simply searing it and making a sauce. Observing my mom, I just remember the part where she added water to the pan (oops), and well, instead of searing then de-glazing to make a sauce, I just started cooking the chicken in water.

Y’all. My mom is a patient woman. I’m pretty sure we ordered pizza that night.

Things were gradual for me, and I ended up watching a LOT of Food Network to better understand recipes. Braise? Saute? Sear? HUH?!

When I started to get a little more comfortable with cooking, I decided to have a little fun and enroll in Wilton classes. I took 3 courses, and in the process, I accumulated over 100 piping tips. Seriously. I only use maybe 10 of them nowadays…all round tips for cookies and a couple of obnoxiously large tips for cupcakes.

When I went to Food Blog Forum, I saw these adorable Monsters Inc. cupcakes (scroll down in Julie’s post to see them) and got inspired to fork out the grass tip for the first time in AGES. I happened to be in a Pinterest wormhole (You know where you look at random categories, find a random pinner and then end up looking at all their boards? No? Just me?), and saw these adorable fireworks cupcakes. However, it was sadly just a picture, but I had a feeling I could recreate them.

This is a simple tutorial, and all you need are 24 cupcakes, a double batch of frosting (I used cream cheese for these), piping bags, couplers (only necessary for the grass tip), a large tip for cupcakes (I used the Wilton 1M) and a grass tip (mine is the Wilton 233).

First, you’ll use about 1/2 of the frosting to pipe a simple swirl on your cupcakes, using a piping bag and the 1M tip. Don’t put too much on them to where the swirl has height…just a flat swirl (leaving a tiny bit of cake along the edges), and it doesn’t have to be perfect…this is just to give the fireworks part a little height.

Then, you will divide the remaining frosting into three bowls, dying one bowl of frosting red, leaving one white and the other, dyed blue. Whatever color you’d like on the bottom (I used red), put it in the piping bag with the coupler and 233 tip. Starting at the outside edge, pipe straight lines towards the center, repeating as you rotate the cupcake. You can leave the center of the cupcake without red frosting, since that will eventually be covered anyway.

I think I can draw it better than I can describe it, so here goes…. Warning: I was a geography major in college. Didn’t take a single art class.

Repeat this using the next color frosting (I went with white…using a separate piping bag, of course), making sure to leave some red frosting showing on the outer edges.

Then, repeat one more time for the last color (which was blue for me).

See? Not too bad, right? It’s actually pretty fun, once you get the hang of it, and they’re just so festive!

For a fun finishing touch, I put a few sprinkles in the very center of the cupcake. I imagine something like edible glitter would work, too! I think I’m definitely making these for our 4th of July party. I’m already brainstorming more ways to use the grass tip now!

A while back, I decided to go to a new local spice store, called Red Stick Spice Company. I remember seeing them on Groupon, and thought…oh gosh…this could be a very good thing. Every time my husband and I go to Houston, we usually drive to Penzey’s, because the quality of spices and blends there are just amazing. I’m like a kid in a candy store there, so I was hoping this new place would be similar.

It turns out that this little spice store was one of the most GENIUS ideas for home cooks. A spice store where you can buy as little or as much as you want (sold by weight), instead of buying things by the bottle. I mean…how many times do you need a tsp. of a certain spice, and you never use it again? Genius, I tell you!

I was sold. The last time I went was around the holidays, so I bought some blends for gifts, a TON of cinnamon & nutmeg and a few random spices that caught my eye. A few months later, I peeked into the disaster that was my spice cabinet, and saw a bag of Za’atar. Um….yeah. Could not remember what recipe I bought that for, so I googled recipes and stumbled upon this recipe for eggplant fries. (I STILL don’t remember what I bought this spice for…it’s really bothering me lol!)

Now, I don’t eat eggplant very much, because I always seem to forget about this veggie. I love eggplant, however, my husband does not. So, the week he went out of town, I decided to make these fries happen with my sous chef (the dog) standing below, waiting hopelessly for me to drop something.

These fries were flavorful, crispy and very simple to throw together. I forgot how much I love baked eggplant, and they were perfection when dipped in hummus.

Just to note: Red Stick Spice Company or Penzey’s didn’t compensate me to write this post. They probably have no idea I exist.

Baked Za’atar Eggplant Fries
Source: The Kitch’n

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 3 tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup za’atar spice blend
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 large eggs
• flaky salt, to finish
• hummus, for dipping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place a wire cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet (to ensure that all sides of the fries get crispy) and set aside.
2. Slice the eggplant into 1/2″ thick rounds, and then slice each round piece into 1/2″ thick “fries”. Set aside.
3. Take out three bowls for the batter process. Fill one with the flour, another with the eggs (well beaten), and the third, combine the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, za’atar, salt and cayenne.
4. Using one hand, dip the eggplant fries in the flour and make sure they’re evenly coated in flour. Then with another hand, grab the fries and dunk them in the egg, making sure that all sides are coated in egg, and place in the third bowl. With the hand that dipped the eggplant fries in the flour, roll the eggplant fries in the panko mixture. This ensures that you don’t end up with a clumpy egg-y panko mix all over your hands…use one hand for dry…one hand for the wet.
5. Lay each eggplant fry close to one another on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake the fries until they are golden brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the fries with flaky salt right as they come out of the oven, and enjoy with hummus!

When I was a kid, my Mom used to make the infamous Wilton cakes. I’d watch in awe as she made gorgeous roses out of something as simple as Crisco and sugar, meticulously turning a simple cake into a work of art. For our birthdays, she’d spend hours working on the infamous bear cake (or other character pans), and after all of that work, within 20 minutes, the cake was gone. My siblings and I used to stand by the mixer and wait for the batter bowl. It was the best! Or even better…when Mom would level her cakes, she’d give us the extra cake pieces. Such a treat! To me, the cake was the best part.

However, when it came to the icing…blech. That nasty decorative icing…I was never a fan of it. However, in Louisiana…you kind of need the Crisco if you want things to remain in their decorated state. This made birthday cake eating a task for me…I always ate around the icing. ALWAYS. To this day, decorative buttercream is disgusting to me. I really don’t like it. To note: I can deal with buttercream (made with real butter), but I can’t eat a lot of it…I usually find it too sweet. Swiss Meringue Buttercream is my jam.

Anyway…

I remember one year in high school, my Mom purchased a whipped icing cake for me for my birthday. I was eating around the icing as usual, but Mom told me to give this icing a try…it’s supposed to be lighter and fluffier. I was hooked! I’m sure what they use in the grocery store bakery is full of chemicals, so I just figured I could never replicate this icing…until now.

A while back, my coworker (who LOVES Pinterest just as much as me) found a frosting recipe featuring pudding mix. I didn’t know what this would do to the icing, but I was willing to give it a try. This was it. It had that light, fluffy texture…the not-too-sweet flavor…it was perfect! I got the recipe from her, and decided to try it with chocolate pudding mix. Yup…still perfect. I could eat this stuff out of the bowl…it’s that good! (I usually pour dish soap on the bowl and super hot water to avoid the temptation…I seriously could make a happy bowl ha!)

Note: If you make this, PLEASE pay close attention to mixing times. The pudding mix is sort of grainy, and you need to mix it adequately for everything to dissolve together.

Whipped Chocolate Pudding Frosting
Source: adapted from Cooking with Carrie

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
2. Turn the speed on low, and add in the pudding mix and salt. Once it’s all mixed, add the cream slowly. Once those ingredients are fully incorporated, turn the speed on high and beat the frosting for 5-7 minutes.
3. Turn the speed on low, and add 1/2 cup of the confectioners sugar. Once it’s mixed, give it a taste…if it’s not sweet enough (it was for me), add the extra 1/4 cup. Beat for another 5 minutes on high speed. Scrape down the bowl, and add the vanilla extract. Beat the frosting on low for a minute for the extract to be well-mixed in the frosting. Enjoy!

 

My husband and I are huge fans of warehouse club shopping. The only one out here is Sam’s Club, but we’re getting a Costco soon, and I couldn’t be more excited to check that place out!

Even though there’s just two of us in the house, we buy a lot of staples there. To name a few, we like to buy cheap spices, baking ingredients, frozen fruits, meat (we use our FoodSaver religiously), dog treats and a lot of times, even clothes!

Clothes are a new thing, for sure. Before my weight loss journey began, I barely fit in the shirts they would sell there. It’s very odd to now go to Sam’s, and purchase jeans/shirts/cardigans from there. It all fits now! It’s awesome, because it’s dirt cheap and most of the time, they offer fairly classic pieces.

The nemesis of warehouse club shopping, however, are the impulse buys. Whew…can’t tell you how many times random things just hop in our cart! In fact, just recently, there was a bulk box of Reese’s mini cups (the already unwrapped kind) that somehow found its way in our cart.

Since I had a plethora of Reese’s cups to now use up, I decided that cookies would be an awesome idea. I searched the Internet, and found these giant cookies. I was immediately smitten. These were so good…they have the classic chewy peanut butter cookie flavor with Reese’s all throughout. Can’t go wrong here, folks!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Source: Real Mom Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 32 mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, quartered

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer, and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the bowl, and add the peanut butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix until well-combined
2. With the mixer on low, add in the baking soda, salt and flour. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and Reese’s cups using a spatula.
3. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheet. For me, 6 cookies fit on each sheet. Slightly flatten each scoop with your hand, and then bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes.
4. Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes, then place them on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

My husband and I really love bread. Before our weight loss journeys began, we could easily put away a loaf of bread between us, especially if it was warm right out of the oven. Oh man.

We’ve avoided that bread for a while now, until crawfish season was in its prime a few weeks ago. See, my husband likes the bread b/c the crawfish boiled garlic cloves are just perfection on it. While I love the garlic myself, I mainly use the bread to tone down the spices. I’ll hold a piece of bread in my mouth for a minute or so to give my taste buds a break LOL!. I’m such a wuss…

Since we were having friends over for crawfish, I decided to take the opportunity to face my fear of yeast. Yeast and I aren’t the best of pals. I usually add water that’s too warm, and I kill it. Our relationship isn’t healthy…I’m a yeast killer.

This time, I was super careful about my water temps….since this bread takes a LONG time to be oven-ready, I wanted to make sure that water temps weren’t the culprit. It worked out beautifully. The bread is VERY crusty (I sprayed water like crazy on it before placing it in the oven), with a nice soft interior. It’s not like the french bread out here (which is usually for po’boys), but it’s a wonderful bread nonetheless. While it takes a while to come together, the actual work time on this couldn’t be quicker. It’s very simple to throw together the dough (especially if you have a stand mixer)…you just need some patience for the rising times.

French Baguettes
Source: King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

For the starter:

• 1/2 cup cool water
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

For the dough:

• All of the starter
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. instant yeast

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients for the starter, until everything is well mixed and smooth. Cover the starter with a kitchen towel, and allow the starter to rest at room temperature overnight.
2. The next day, mix the starter with the remaining dough ingredients, and knead the dough (by hand or using a mixer), until the dough is springy but not completely smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled/greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and allow it to rise for 3 hours. After the first hour of rising, gently deflate it and turn the dough over, and then do the same thing again the next hour.
3. Divide the dough in half, and shape the halves into a rough oval. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then fold each oval lengthwise (carefully sealing the edges) and using cupped fingers to gently roll each piece into a 17″ log. Transfer the loaves onto a lightly greased or parchment/silicone lined pan. Cover the loaves once again, and let them rise until they’re puffy, but not yet doubled (this will take 2-2.5 hours).
4. In the last 15 minutes of rising time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Gently make three diagonal 1/3″ deep slashes in each loaf of bread, using a sharp knife or razor blade. After the rise is done, mist the loaves liberally with warm water. Bake the baguettes for 22-28 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Turn the oven off, crack the door open a couple of inches and allow the baguettes to completely cool in the oven.