Another super easy and yet delicious meal--takes only 25 minutes. My family loves this meal and it is an easy fall back on a busy night, which all we college students have more often than we like to admit. Instead of jumping to fast food have some of these easy fall back on hand.
Ingredients:
Croissants--I use Pillsbury in the can
Cream Cheese (room temp)
2 Medium Chicken Breasts
Season Salt
Boil you chicken until well cooked--allow to cool and then shred with a fork.
Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and add the chicken.
Season with season salt or your preference of seasonings and mix well
You should now have a thick chicken/cream cheese mixture
Place two croissants in the shape of a + on your greased cooking sheet
Repeat with the rest of the can of croissants
Place a half dollar (or more if you like) amount of the chicken mixture in the center of the two croissants and twist the ends together around the chicken.
Sprinkle with a little seasoning on the outside of the croissants
Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 15 minutes until they are golden brown
I like to serve these with mashed potatoes and a side salad-- I like to have starches with my starches hahaha.
This is another momma's favorite that I really enjoy and it is super easy to make. It makes about 25 balls and you can save them and eat them for breakfast for a while.
Ingredients:
Sausage of your choice
Bisquick mix
follow the biscuit recipe on the box
Shredded cheese of your choice
Seriously. So EASY.
Make the biscuit mix fully
Empty the sausage in the the mix and knead it all together
Knead in your cheese
Roll into quarter/half dollar sized balls and put on a cooking sheet
Been away from the cyber world for a while preparing for student teaching but I've been preparing recipes all break to post, so there are going to be 4 new ones today! :P
First one today is Sushi. Take it or leave it--I will ALWAYS take it. I love sushi and it is so so much cheaper to make it at home then to try and buy it anywhere.
I'm going to show you today how to make a general role the way that is my favorite--tweek it as you will. :)
Ingredients:
Fish (in this case I used smoked salmon)
Explanation-- Unless you're going to go to Sprout's or something it is really hard and kinda scary to use real raw fish... but real raw fish tastes better. At the end of this post I'll put up some links on how to choose raw fish for sushi, but if you're going to use it--freeze it first. It helps kill a LOT of the bacteria and most sushi chefs freeze it at least for a while before they serve it.
2 cups Rice (I use Botan rice)
1/2 cup White Rice Vinegar
3 cups Water
1 tbsp of oil (olive or veggie)
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of salt
Seaweed Sheets
Crab--imitation or crab snackers. (I uses the snackers--it's a dollar at walmart for enough for several rolls)
Avocado
Jalapeno
The Rice:
Place the rice in a strainer and rinse it until the water runs clear.
Add the rice and the water in a pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot for 20 minutes. Stir sometimes to keep the rice from sticking.
Allow to cool so that it can be touched.
In another sauce pan mix rice vinegar, sugar, oil, and salt.
Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves
Pour over the rice and mix well, the rice will seem damp
Allow to cool again
The Assembly:
This will be the most confusing part and you may suck at it at first.
You will need a bamboo sushi roller. I got mine at World Market for like 4 bucks... it looks like this. :P
Take the cooled rice and spread it over the bamboo roller. Don't completely cover it, just slightly larger around each edge than the sea weed.
Press the sea weed lightly onto the rice until it sticks well.
Cut your crab/avocado etc etc, whatever you like inside your sushi and place it down the middle of the seaweed.
Make sure you do this in the same direction that the roller rolls.
Then take the left side of the roller and begin to roll the sushi into each other until the entire roll is rolled. Do not roll the roller into the sushi, pull the roller up as you are able to.
Squeeze the roll inside the roller gently and keep it rolled for about 2 minutes so that it can maintain its shape.
Remove from the roller and place the fish on the top onto the roll. Place the roller around the roll and squeeze lightly again.
I made these cupcakes for the first time for my choir and they were quite a hit. My friend Casey asked for the recipe a few days ago but they're a little complicated if you can't see the process so I made a few videos and pictures to go along with them this time!
The cupcake:
1 Cup of Butter--Room Temperature
2 Cups of Sugar
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
3 cups of All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Zest and Juice of One Lemon
1 Cup of Milk
1. Place the Butter, Sugar, and Lemon Zest into a bowl and use a handheld mixer (or a kitchenaid if you're lucky enough to have one at your disposal) to blend the ingredients together until smooth and fluffy.
2. While still blending the butter mixture add in one egg at a time until all the eggs are blended well and then add the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and the salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture and blend it with the hand mixer again. (Don't be a dunce like me when I made them the first time and accidentally set the speed too high and spewing flour all over the place haha). Then add in the lemon juice and the milk--blend it again. Finally, add the rest of the flour and blend well.
4. Fill the muffin tins with 24 muffin liners and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
5. Once the cupcakes are cooled place them in the freezer or the fridge until completely cold so that they won't melt the icing and will be easier to work with.
Raspberry Icing:
1 Cup of Fresh Raspberries
1 Cup of Butter (Room Temperature)
3 Cups of Confectioners Sugar (a fancy word for powdered sugar haha)
This is really just a standard fruit icing.
1. Puree the raspberries in a food processor until smooth. If you're worried about the seeds you can strain them out but I normally just leave them and it works just fine. :)
2. In another bowl mix the butter and the sugar until smooth and fluffy.
3. Add in the raspberries a little at a time so that you don't make the frosting too runny.
4. Place in the fridge until ready to ice the cupcakes.
Lemon Curd:
3 Eggs
3/4 Cups of Sugar
1/3 Cup of Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup of Butter
1 Tbsp of Lemon Zest
1. Place a large pot on the stove with water in it until it boils.
2. In a metal bowl mix together the three eggs, sugar and lemon juice until blended like scrambled eggs.
3. In another bowl off to the side of the stove cut the pieces of butter into small pieces and add the lemon zest. Place a strainer off to the side as well.
4. Place the entire metal bowl on top of the pot of boiling water and continue to mix the mixture for EXACTLY 10 minutes. More or less will result in epic failure. :P
Today it's the homemade fries that so many of my friends rave about--yes another unhealthy post. However, you can make this a healthier dish by swapping out the potatoes for sweet potatoes and the canola oil (which technically is better than vegetable oil) for olive oil. It's all in the way you want to cook it ladies and gents.
On a side note, I had a request from a good friend of mine to put up my recipe for Lemon Cupcakes filled with Lemon Curd with a fresh raspberry icing. I started writing it up and realized that you really need some pictures to understand how I went about making them--it's a little complicated. So I decided I'd made them for my family some time over the holiday and post it then! Sorry Casey, I promise you'll appreciate the photos though!
Back to today's recipe which is my mom's famous french fries. Yes, this is not my recipe, but my mom has been making these fries for burger night as long as I can remember and I love them... SO MUCH.
Ingredients:
Potatoes (I normally use one medium potato per two people--unless you have really hungry people)
Onion (optional, I don't use it because of the allergy thing but my Momma does)
Lawry's Season Salt (or your favorite season salt)
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper
And if you like things a bit spicier-Tony's Cajun Seasoning
(If you're going the sweet potato root try cinnamon sugar at the END of cooking them. If you do it before then you'll get caramelized awkward fries)
Step one... again... CLEAN YOUR POTATOES WELL. Don't make me have this rant about dirt again--haha.
Slice your potatoes into fries. I normally cut my potato in half long ways then talk the half and cut it long ways as well. Afterwards I thin them out as needed.
Prepare a bowl of warm salt water and place the cut fries in it for about 20 minutes. Honestly, I have no idea what this does--Momma says that it removes some of the starch from the potatoes and makes them more tender. I don't know if that's true or not--but there is a definite difference if you don't soak them.
After the 20 minutes have past empty the bowl and use a paper towel to dry off your fries a little bit.
COAT your fries in your seasonings--you don't have to season them the way I do, that's just how I like it, but if you think you're putting too much it's probably just enough. Remember a lot of the seasonings won't stick in the oil.
Fill your skillet or frying pan about half way full with your chosen oil. Warm your oil--when it is warm enough it will fizzle a little if you put a few drops of water in it.
Add the fries a few handfuls at a time. You don't want to over crowd the pan for they'll take a long time to cook and come out soggy.
Cover the skillet with a lid and allow them to cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Move them around with a spatula occasionally so that they don't stick to the bottom.
When cooked (They'll be ready when they're a light brown color and they "smush" when you poke them with a spatula) move the fries from the oil to a plate with paper towels on it to soak off the excess oil. Add more seasonings if needed.
Homemade fries. :)
I like to put some chili and cheese on mine but that's just me. :P
Day two! Thank you everyone who read or even just looked yesterday. I had a lot of fun writing the blog and hope you liked reading it.
Today we're gonna talk about making stuffed chicken and oven potatoes. This recipe is for Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Spinach, but you can really substitute any kind of cheese or herb etc inside it. Keep in mind though, if you use a less moist cheese then goat cheese it is likely that you Chicken could dry out--so keep a close eye on it. This dish is super easy to make and impressive to almost anyone... great for when you're trying to show off for your boss or in-laws. :P
The Chicken:
Chicken Breasts--I use about 4 to feel about 5 or so people (I also use kroger brand)
Salt--I prefer sea salt
Pepper
Goat Cheese
Fresh Spinach--you can use canned or frozen, I just like fresh better.
First thing you have to do with chicken breasts it clean it up with a simple steak knife. Cut off blood clots, fatty tissue, etc. I'm super picky about chicken--if there are tendons then they're coming off before they go anywhere near my stove/oven.
Once you've cleaned them up to your liking cut the breasts in half vertically so that they're a little thinner and easier to work with. Take the halved breasts and put them one at a time into a ziploc bag and hammer them even flatter with a frying pan--yes I use a frying pan. Be sure not to completely mutilate the chicken, it's not like beef so it isn't super durable. Two or three medium strength hits should do it.
Next take the chicken and sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on both sides of the breast and then lay them on a cookie sheet covered in foil.
Once each breast has a thin coating of salt/pepper, we prepare the stuffing. In a microwavable safe bowl place a few handfuls of spinach (more than you think because when you cook it it won't seem like as much) and about 2 tsp of water. Microwave for one minute until cooked. (Skip this step if you used canned or frozen). Drain the excess water and place in the fridge or freezer until cooled.
Open your goat cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer) and begin to break it up into another bowl. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste. When the spinach is cooled dry it gently on a paper towel and then add it to the goat cheese mixture. Mix all the ingredients well.
Now take about a table spoon (or more if you'd like, just be aware that the stuffings may leak out) of the stuffing and place it in the center of your chicken breast. Roll one end over the top of the stuff and place the breast on the pan with the folded edges down. If it won't stay you probably have too much stuffing--if you want that much stuff then adding a couple tooth picks on each end will fix the issue in a snap. Repeat for all the chicken breasts.
Preheat the oven to 400 and bake for about 25 minutes--may vary depending on your stove so I would check on them at 15 and 20 minutes. I always say be willing to cut the breast open. Just give the cut one to yourself when you serve--better to have a chicken breast with a tiny slice in it than to have it be undercooked and give your guests food poisoning.
The Potatoes:
3 Medium Potatoes
2-5 tbsp Olive oil--I like a lot of oil, some people don't
Crushed red pepper
Sea Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder or Garlic Salt
First--wash your potatoes very well. Use soap if you have to. You know how when you cut potatoes and they get kinda dingy looking? That's dirt that you didn't get off when you where cleaning them... gross. :P
Cut the potatoes into pieces as large or as small as you prefer. I like to dice mine into bite sized triangles to make them easy to eat but that's just me.
Take a casserole dish or a brownie/cake tin and place the potatoes and add the olive oil. Coat the potatoes well in the oil.
Add seasonings to taste. I added the ones that I like to add. You can add in a few onions etc, but I'm mildly allergic to onion so I use them sparingly.
Preheat the oven to 400 and cook for about 35 minutes--again this may very depending on the size that you left the potatoes and your oven and you can check the tenderness of the potato by poking it with a fork.
I usually serve this with a spinach salad topped with black berries and Annie's Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette.
Because so many people asked me to, I have started this blog to share my exciting recipes and things. Please leave comments, let me know if you liked the recipes, let me know if you didn't, let me know if you want me to post a specific recipe or want me to invent one just for you. I love cooking almost as much as I love writing and singing... so this is probably more of a treat for me than for you! If you're in the DFW area and want me to cater an event/recital/dinner--whatever you need I'll do it for the cost of ingredients and labor (aka I'll do it for cheap).
Tonight is a lazy night for me... It's been a long week and the thought of cooking an exquisite meal for dinner is really just... exhausting. So tonight--pizza. Yes, I'm a college kid so this has always been an easy go-to meal, but ordering out for pizza gets expensive really fast if you want something that doesn't taste like cardboard.
So I came up with this recipe to make my life easier, to save money, and make the pizza worth eating. The best part of it is that I can normally get a huge amount of homework done while the dough rises and while the pizza cooks. This makes a pizza that's large enough for me to feed myself, my fiance, and two male friends (all who have big appetites.)
The Dough:
Bread is really what got me into cooking at first--AND IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO DO... plus it tastes better.
For this dough you'll need:
3-4 cups of all-purpose flour (depends on the humidity) 1 tbsp of yeast 1.5 cups of warm water (straight from the sink is fine) 1/2 a tsp of salt 1 tbsp of sugar Garlic Salt
1. Combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let it stand for about 10 minutes. The yeast will become frothy. After 10 minutes add the salt and stir all the ingredients together. Here's where it gets a little different than most pizza dough recipes. Without a little garlic salt in the mix the dough gets really bland tasting. I add a small sprinkle of garlic salt across the the top of the water and then stir it in with the other ingredients.
2. Add in the flour--I prefer to do it half a cup at a time to make sure that they the ingredients get mixed in evenly and that way you can gauge the consistency of the dough. I normally use about 3.5 cups of flour--but it really does depend. While the dough is still sliquid-y I stir it with a spoon but once it gets denser it is vital that you knead it for about 10 minutes. Dough will get stuck to your hands--no matter WHAT anyone else says, it will. It's fine. Let it build up so that it doesn't continue to re-stick, scrape off what you can and wash off the rest in the sink. The dough should still be a little sticky to the touch but be firm like playdough.
3. Cover the dough with a towel or paper towel and allow it to rise for 45 minutes.
4. After 45 minutes sprinkle the counter with flour and put some flour on your rolling pin. If you don't have a rolling pin a sturdy plastic or glass cup will work, it will just take a bit longer. Roll the dough out as thin or thick as you like it and place it on a pizza pan or a cookie sheet (whatever you have). I use a pizza pan I got at kroger for $8 and it makes all the difference in the crispy-ness.
5. I sprinkle a little bit of garlic salt across the top of the dough and pat it in the dough lightly.
The Pizza Sauce:
I'm going to give you guys the recipe I use for my pizza sauce when I want to make it from scratch but I'm going to be honest with you--Sometimes I don't feel like making it from scratch. I like to use Hunt's Four Cheese Pasta Sauce when I'm in a hurry.
For the sauce you'll need: 2 cans of Italian tomatoes(diced or whole)-drained (comment if you want a fresh tomato recipe and I'll add it.)
Crushed Red Pepper Salt Pepper
Minced Garlic Parmesan cheese (yes the kraft kind is fine)
Put the tomatoes in a food processor/blender until it is the thickness you prefer. Only pulse it a few times if you want it to be chunky, etc.
Add salt and pepper to taste. (You can also add Italian seasonings such as oregano etc)
Put the minced garlic in a skillet and let it simmer for about 15-20 seconds before adding the tomato mixture--cook on low heat until warm.
Now here's a trick you want to keep in your back pocket for future sauce excursions--crushed red pepper and Parmesan fix everything. The biggest problem with sauces is that they taste too tomato-y. If you like it that way-cool. I don't. So instead of adding garlic salt and making it too salty you add Parmesan and crushed red pepper. I normally add more red pepper than anything else because I like the spice, but that's just me.
When the sauce is to your liking allow it to cool.
The Toppings:
This part is easy (and obvious). The best cheese I've found is kroger brand "pizza" cheese... who'da thunk it? It cooks just like cheese from a real pizza joint. I use a whole bag, but that's really up to you. Then add whatever else you like on it--I'm just a pepperoni girl... sometimes I add jalapenos. :P
To Cook:
Put the sauce on the uncooked dough followed by your favorite toppings.
Preheat the oven to 425 and cook the pizza for 20-25 minutes... viola! Homemade pizza. :)
