Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tuesday Tip- Frozen Cookies

Wouldn't it be great if you could have fresh baked homemade cookies every night after dinner? Sounds like a lot of work doesn't it? Well I have great news for you...you can!


Once you've mixed up a batch of your favorite cookies and baked what you need at the moment, portion out the remaining dough onto a baking sheet as though you were going to bake the cookies (no need for non-stick spray). Instead of popping them in the oven, pop them into the freezer for 15-20 minutes to get them firmed up. Remove them from the freezer and thrown the dough portions into a freezer bag and return them to the freezer. If it's helpful, you can write the name of the cookie along with the baking instructions (oven temp and time) on the bag. When you are craving some cookies, you can pull out what you want and bake them straight from the freezer. You might need to add an extra minute or two the original baking time.

When I want to serve fresh baked cookies for dessert, I put them in the oven when we sit down to dinner and by the time they bake and cool, they are ready to be eaten. It's not uncommon to find more than one kind of cookies in my freezer at a time.

-Erin

Friday, March 25, 2011

Beef and Noodles

 
I love comfort food, especially on chilly, dreary days. We had some amazing spring weather early in the week and but we were plunged back into the chilly weather. I really needed some comfort food and decided to make some beef and noodles and mashed potatoes. This has always been a favorite meal of my. It's super simple but always seems to hit the spot when I make it. If you make the recipe as written, you will end up with quite a bit of beef and noodles. If you are looking for a smaller portion, feel free to half the recipe. Once you've opened the beef and broth, you can combine the two in a container and put it in the freezer. The next time you want beef and noodles, you can pull out the extra from the freezer. Since the recipe uses pre-cooked canned beef, the dish comes together quickly. You could opt to cook your own beef if you prefer.



So, while I'm excited that I got to have some more comfort food, I'm really ready for spring!

Beef and Noodles

1 large can of beef
1 large can of beef broth
16 oz. package of egg noodles

In a large pot, combine beef and beef broth. Bring to a boil. As you are waiting for the boil, you may need to break up some larger pieces of beef. Reduce the heat and add noodles. You may need to add some water to help cover the noodles. Simmer for 15-20 or until the noodles are cooked. Serve with mashed potatoes. I personally like my beef and noodles served on top of the mashed potatoes.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Mint Chocolate Cookies


These are easily one of my favorite cookies. I love the mint and chocolate combination. On a trip down the baking aisle a while back, I discovered Andes Mint Baking Chips. I immediately threw them in my cart and would figure out how to use them later. I found a recipe on the back of the bag for Mint Cookies. Knowing that I love mint and chocolate I thought it would be great to adapt the recipe and make the cookie chocolate. I threw in some cocoa powder and these are what turned out.

Mint Chocolate Cookies
adapted from the Andes Mint Cookie Recipe
makes approx. 3 dozen

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cocoa powder
2 1/4 c. flour
1 3/4 c. Andes baking chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and flour. Set aside.

Cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract and blend well. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in Andes baking chips.

Form ping pong ball sized balls of dough and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Once removed from oven, let slightly cool on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!
-Erin

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Guacamole


It may be weird, but I know exactly when I discovered that I liked guacamole. For years, I stayed away from the "green mushy stuff". Then in the Spring of 2003 while having lunch at the Star Trek restaurant in the Las Vegas Hilton, I decided the "green mushy stuff" wasn't so bad. (Side note: it was not my idea to go to the Star Trek restaurant. The food was great but I could have cared less about the Star Trek atmosphere. No offense to the Trekkies out there.) I ordered a turkey wrap with the intention of having the guacamole left off but I forgot to request it. When the food came to the table, I had totally forgotten about the guacamole and took a big bite of the wrap. It tasted amazing and I looked down and realized I had just bitten into the guacamole. From there on out, I've been eating guacamole.

Las Vegas must be a special place for me and guacamole. While out in Vegas this past fall, I had dinner a couple of times at Cozymel's. It's a fabulous restaurant. One of the best things on the menu is their Tableside Guacamole. When you order it, they bring all the ingredients to the table and make the guacamole at the table. You get the opportunity to adjust the ingredients if you'd like. It was THE BEST guacamole I'd ever eaten. The second time I ate there, I just ordered the guacamole as my meal. I was craving that guacamole a few weeks back and decided to check the web for the recipe. Thank goodness for the Internet because I found a recipe that claimed to be inspired by Cozymel's recipe. I don't know if it's the actual recipe but it sure tasted like I remembered it. The first time I made it, I almost finished the entire bowl by myself! The best part of homemade guacamole is that you can customize the flavor to your liking.

Tableside Guacamole
http://mexican.food.com/recipe/tableside-guacamole-272953

1/3 orange wedge
1/2 lime wedge (the original recipe calls for 1/4 wedge but I liked a little more lime flavor)
1 1/2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced (I use one large clove)
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. red onion, minced
2 1/2 Tbsp. tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 tsp. cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. serrano pepper, minced (I use 1 1/2 tsp. which gives it a nice kick but not too hot)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large avocados

Open the avacados and scoop into a serving bowl. Chop up with a fork and spoon to the consistency you prefer. Use the fork to pierce the orange and lime wedges and squeeze juice into the bowl. Stir well. Add garlic, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, serrano peppers, and salt. Mix well and enjoy.

Note: The serrano peppers can be adjusted to increase or decrease the amount of heat in the dish. If you like it mild, add 1 tsp. of peppers. If you like it medium, add 1 1/2 tsp. and if you like it spicy, add 1 Tbsp of peppers.

Enjoy!
-Erin

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tuesday Tips- No More Dish Pan Hands

Every Tuesday I plan to give you a little tip on something that I do to make things a little easier or interesting.

Today's tip involves washing dishes. Who likes to wash dishes...I don't. But it's necessary sometimes because not everything can go in the dishwasher (although I try to stuff everything that can go in the dishwasher in there). Since it has to be done, why not turn it into a little spa time as well. The next time you have to do the dishes, grab the following items: your favorite hand lotion and a pair of rubber kitchen gloves.


Before putting the gloves on, slather your hands with lotion. I usually use a little more than I would regularly use. Slide the gloves on and get washing. The hot dish water and the gloves create a little "steam room" and the lotion can be easily absorbed into your hands. When you pull the gloves off, your hands will be extra soft.

While this doesn't make me want to do the dishes, I at least get a feeling of accomplishment for multi-tasking!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Baked Zucchini Coins

Last week, my cousin Rochelle posted a status on Facebook about how she was "in love" with zucchini coins. That was enough to spark my interest. So I headed out the web to find the recipe. Funny enough, the recipe came from Weelicious which is a site dedicated to cooking for kids although I did find the recipe on other sites but it didn't come with the cute name. Plus, I took a quick spin around the site and there were a lot of great looking recipes on there. I plan to spend some more time browsing and hopefully cooking some more recipes from the site.

I've had zucchini bread before but I couldn't think of any other time I've eaten zucchini so I didn't really know what to expect. I got my three breading stations ready and started assembling. The process wasn't difficult, just a little messy. A quick tip when breading: use one hand in the wet ingredients and the other in the dry ingredients. It will cut down on the messy hands a little because you will keep yourself from breading your own fingers.

When they come out of the oven, you will be tempted to grab one and pop it in your mouth...DON'T. Those little things were hot! Give them a moment or two to cool and then chow down. I dipped mine in some leftover pizza sauce. They were delicious! Extra crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. The breading was fantastic. I'm brainstorming to see what else I can bread with it. I'll let you know how those experiments turn out. In the meantime, I highly recommend you pick up a couple zucchini on your next grocery run and give this recipe a try.

Baked Zucchini Coins
http://weelicious.com/2010/06/15/baked-zucchini-coins/

1/2 c. whole wheat panko bread crumbs (I used regular panko because that's what I had)
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated (I freshly grated mine but I bet you could use the store bought kind)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 large egg
1/4 c. flour
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch "coins"

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Whisk the egg in a separate bowl. Place the flour in another bowl. Make an assembly line with the bowls, and first dip the zucchini coins into the flour, then the egg and finally into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly and repeating with all the zucchini coins. Place all of the coins on the baking sheet. Arrange so they’re not touching, spray with oil and bake for 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden.

Enjoy!
-Erin

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Bake Dancing

Ok, I have a confession to make. I have a guilty pleasure. Ok, maybe I have more than one guilty pleasure but we don't need to point out all of my oddities in one sitting.

I absolutely love to dance while I'm cooking and baking. I usually have some kind of music playing while I'm working in the kitchen. Lately it has been a streaming radio station who's slogan is "we play everything you want." It's the ultimate mix tape. I can boogie while my mixer is spinning and slide between the counter workspace and the oven. I'm sure it's a sight to behold. But I swear, it makes whatever I'm making taste even better. No really...it does!

The next time you head into the kitchen, turn on your favorite music and get down with bake dancing. In case you need some music, here's the link to the radio station that I use: www.my1079online.com. Ignore the crazy looks from the people who live with you...they are just jealous that they don't have your moves and style!


Happy Weekend
-Erin

Friday, March 18, 2011

English Muffin Bread


One of my  favorite summer memories growing up was when my mom would make homemade strawberry jam. To go with the WONDERFUL jam, she would make English Muffin Bread. There was no better way to eat the fresh jam than spread on a warm piece of homemade bread. This isn't your traditional bread. It's just like an English Muffin, only in loaf form. It's best to take a slice and toast it and then smother it with butter and your favorite jam.

English Muffin Bread
makes 2- 9" loaves

6 c. flour
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
Cornmeal

With 2- 9" loaf pans, grease with shortening and coat with cornmeal. Set aside. Combine 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and soda. Heat liquids until very warm (120-130 degrees). Add liquid mixture to dry mixture and beat well. Add remaining flour to form a stiff batter. Batter will be very sticky. Divide evenly between the two pans. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal (approx. 1 heaping tablespoon for both). Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool and remove from pan. Loaves can be store in airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Enjoy!
-Erin

Thursday, March 17, 2011

St. Patty's Day and my First Post

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


March 17th is one of my favorite days of the year for a number of reasons. Now I get to love it for another reason, my first blog post!  I've been wanting to start a blog for a while and today seemed like a great day to start. I hope to share recipes, kitchen tips and tricks, and well anything else that inspires and excites me.

I absolutely LOVE the energy that surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Last year, I got the opportunity to spend the day at a local Irish pub listening to great live music, meeting new people and, of course, enjoying a pint or two. 

 Me, my friend Stephanie and the amazing Mickey Finns at 9 Irish Brothers, St. Patty's Day 2010.

Unfortunately I won't be spending the day at the pub this year. However, I'm still participating in the holiday. I've got my Celtic music playing in the background and my Irish Flag cookies for a snack.


I took up cookie decorating a few months ago. I was so excited when I purchased my shamrock cookie cutter. Instead of the traditional green shamrock, I thought I would recreate the Irish flag instead. Plus, I was looking for a reason to make orange royal icing. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on creating decorated cookies. Until then...

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

-Erin