musings in food

Best summer desert EVER!

2010-07-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

This started out from this recipe in July's Woman's Day. (find it online here) I originally made the recipe as called for using the frozen whipped topping. While shopping for ingredients to make it for the 4th of July I came across mini angel food cakes. A light began to shine & these deserts were born. Yeah, I know the little brown slug things don't look so good & my camera doesn't take very good photos in the near dark but work w/ me here. Use your imagination & I promise you that you will LOVE (as long as you like the ingredients - *g*) this desert. Bonus? Quick & EASY!

Mini angel food cakes

Frozen orange sherbet (the commissary by us only stocks the orange cream variety)

Using a teaspoon, stuff the softened sherbet into the center of the angel food cake.

I smashed it around on the bottom a bit too, to give it a little more flavor throughout.

Put the filled cakes back in the cartoon & cover w/ plastic wrap. Place cartoon in freezer for 4 hrs or overnight.

Take the frozen cakes out of the freezer & place on plate. I just happened to have leftover small blue plates. Very 4th of July, yes?

Whip up some heavy cream until nice & frothy. Add sugar to taste. Then top frozen cake w/ as much whipped cream as you'd like. (those aresol canned whipped cream won't do. Make the good stuff!)

These little orange squiggles are amazingly awesome. Trust me when I tell you that they help to make the cake perfect. Put these on top of the whipped cream & then enjoy heaven.
For a little extra awesomeness (& don't photograph the chocolate once it's been in the fridge for a few hours. It gets pretty solid), drizzle some chocolate ganache on top.

Recipes -

6 mini angel food cakes
orange sherbet
heavy cream
sugar to taste
ganache * recipe follows
candied orange peel** recipe follows

Stuff mini angel food cakes w/ orange sherbet. Stuff as much sherbet in as possible. Put cakes back into cartoon, cover w/ plastic wrap (tightly) & place in freezer for 4 hrs or overnight.

Take cakes out of freezer 5 - 7 min before using. Whip heavy cream until stiff. Add sugar to taste. Top mini cakes w/ whipped cream, chocolate ganache & candied orange peels. Serve & await the applause!

*ganache -

1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup 60% cacao Ghiradelli chocolate bar broken into small pieces.

Pour cream into glass bowl. Put bowl in microwave for 1 minute or until cream is bubbly. Take from microwave & add chocolate pieces. Let cream & chocolate set for 1 minute. Whisk cream & chocolate until smooth. Pour over mini angel food cakes. If any ganache remains, place in bowl w/ tight seal & refrigerate. Next time you use it, take it from the fridge & let set for a minute. Then stir w/ spoon until smooth.

**candied orange peel - from Woman's Day Creamsicle cake recipe

Using a citrus zester, remove the peel from 1 orange in strips. Or use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel from the orange in vertical strips, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible; cut into smaller strips. Bring 2 cups cold water and the peel to a boil in a 2-qt saucepan; drain. In the same saucepan, whisk 1 cup water with 2 cups sugar until sugar dissolves. Add the peel and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer the peel 10 to 15 minutes until tender and translucent. Drain; let cool. Toss the peel in 1/2 cup sugar. Using a fork or your fingers, remove peels, gently shaking off excess sugar. Store in an airtight container for 1 week.

Hanae's Birthday Cake

2009-05-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hanae's birthday cake

To make you'll need either the Wilton Wonder Bowl or the Pampered Chief bowl (not certain which one but I'll find out & post it.)

All I can say is follow the directions on the insert. I know, this is a cooking blog so please give the directions. Can't do it. Sorry. No way. Ah, who am I kidding? Actually I've already put the pan away & it's up pretty high in the pantry. It's also kinda late tonight & I have no one to climb up & get it! See I'm afraid of heights. Even getting onto a step stool can do me in. Sad, isn't it.

I do remember that it took 1 & 1/2 prepared cake mixes to fill the wonder bowl. I used the remainder to make a 10" round that I stuck under the dress mold. Just follow the pictures & I'll explain as best I can.

Below is the box & part of the directions.

This is the baked product in the bowl. It comes in a few pieces that you have to put together. Basically you have to screw the base into the bowl.

Eureka! A baked product that didn't fall apart & that was done in the center. Yes, I did use the heating rod the first time but it still wasn't done. That's what makes the hole in the top. The heating rod.
Just a different view of the cake after I had put the 10" round under the dress. @ this point though I wrapped the whole thing up w/ lots of plastic wrap & threw it in the freezer. Okay, I didn't "throw" it in but I was tempted. Not kidding.

This is what Hanae wanted. This is not what she got. No, she didn't want the dolly w/ the black hair. She wanted the blonde dolly, which she got. Actually it was the dress style that she wanted only she also wanted pink & white dots on the dress. I can tell you right now that it didn't happen cause her momma hadn't decorated a cake for over a year! Sad, isn't it.
I did my best which was sad enough & I have vowed to start practicing. I've told Hubby that he'd darn well better make friends in the breakroom since he's gonna be taking cakes in!

I was trying to be fancy & I shouldn't have. I just haven't practiced enough in the last year. I know, I already told you that I haven't done any @ all!

Basically I smoothed the dress the best I could which is to say I made stripes w/ the spatula in the icing down it. Then I put ruffles on the bottom & up the side a bit. After that I started in w/ the smallest star tip I have (16 I think) & went around the skirt & all over the front & the bodice. I was trying to make her shirt more of a blouse but well, I didn't. Then I was going to wipe the bodice & start over but my daughter didn't make it onto the school bus. This meant that I had to go get her. Not enough time. So she got her doll the way she got her. Period.

Whew! I'm glad that one's over. Ready for the bad news? My son wants this one for his birthday next year! Guess I really need to start practicing!

Ocean cupcakes

2009-05-05T14:51:00.001-07:00

Hanae's ocean cupcakes

Ingredients -

1 batch prepared cupcakes any flavor
1 recipe buttercream icing (see recipe below) colored blu
blue colored sugar sprinkles
Goldfish crackers or other substitute

They were studying oceans & sea life during her birthday so she wanted a water theme. I think I saw these in a Family Circle magazine once & decided to make my own version.

I iced the cupcakes w/ a crumb coat as they were very moist. Then I went back & put more icing on smoothing it in a circular direction. Next I took the back of a spoon & touched it to the the iced cupcake & pulling it away in a smooth motion to create a wavelike look.

Pour some blue colored sugar sprinkles on a plate & gently roll the edges in the sugar. Top off w/ Goldfish crackers or even swedish fish depending on who it's for & what they prefer.

My Fav Buttercream Icing

2009-05-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

I won't lie. It's been quite awhile but finally I have some new posts! No photos of the first recipe but a few of the others.

My Favorite Buttercream Icing

1/2 C solid white veg shortening (don't use the butter flavor, ick!)

1/2 C butter (I use salted but can use unsalted. If using unsalted add a pinch of salt to icing while mixing)

1 tsp Flavoring (I prefer butter but can use almond or vanilla. Also I like to buy them from Wilton or online)

2 T canned milk (this is regular canned milk NOT sweetened condensed milk)

4 C (1 lb) pure cane confectioners sugar

1 T Meringue powder (buy in hobby stores in the Wilton aisle - store in fridge & will last almost forever!)

Cream shortening, flavorings & milk. Add dry ingredients & mix on med speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Now mix on low speed for 10 min. This will make icing light & fluffy. Once recipe will ice a double 8" round cake.

To thin icing I add a little milk or lite corn syrup. Only add about a tablespoon @ a time until desired consistency is reached. To make it thin enough to ice a cake add about 2 tablespoons of liquid. The recipe as made is wonderful for making flowers & borders etc... on the cake.

Can make this using a hand mixer however a stand mixer works best as the icing is quite stiff.

Fresh Parsley

2009-02-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

This might be totally shocking but I had no idea for years that you could buy fresh parsley, wash it, chop it & freeze it. When I found out I was in heaven. Yes, I'm really not that great of a cook. There I admitted it. But I do love the idea of having fresher herbs than the dead ones in my cupboard. So now I chop them up & throw them in the freezer. Great idea, yes? I also do this w/ onions & red, green & yellow pepers because sometimes it's nice to have the work done plus there's times when peppers are so very expensive. I typically keep them for about 2 - 3 months after which it is all gone & time to cut more.

Here's how I cut parsley.

New addition

2009-01-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

My sister has recently been given a large box full of my paternal Grandmother's recipes. Trust me when I tell you that just hearing about those darn things makes my mouth water to the point where I want to drool! I can still taste Grandma's rolls & pies. They are/were amazing! Mmmmmmmm.

Anyway the going will be slow as my sister has to transcribe them after work & well, Grandma wrote everything in pencil! Aghh!!! Don't write recipes out in pencil! Too hard to read after many years have gone by!

You are welcome to stop by & visit anytime you might be looking for something fun. No idea when the roll recipe will be up but I'm sure it will @ some point!

Grandma's recipe box

Kitty Litter box cake!

2008-10-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

So what is this gross monstrosity you might ask? Well it's actually a cake. A pretty good cake to be honest. Notice the "poopies"? Realistic, aren't they? Everybody @ school was pretty grossed out but know what? The cake is GONE! Of course I did make this for my son's 6th grade class & it turned out awesome. They were all properly impressed!

kitty litter box cake -

1 spice or German chocolate cake mix
1 white cake mix
1 large pkg vanilla instant pudding mix
1 pkg vanilla sandwich cookies
Green food coloring
12 small Tootsie Rolls
New, cleaned litter box
New, cleaned litter scooper

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box. Use any size pan. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature.
Prepare the pudding mix and put it in the refrigerator for now.
Crumble the white sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor (scrape often to get every little piece) or by hand. Set aside all but about 1/4 cup.
Measure 1/4 cup of cookie crumbs and add a few drops of green food coloring to it. Mix with a fork or shake everything in a jar.
Crumble the room temperature cake into a large bowl. Toss it gently with half of the remaining white cookie crumbs and enough chilled pudding to moisten (not soak) the crumbs.
Put the cookie crumbs and pudding mixture into a brand new, clean litter box.
Heat three unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and until they're soft and pliable. Pinch the ends so they are no longer blunt--you want them to look convincingly like what cats put in the litter box, right? Repeat this process with as many Tootsie rolls as you'd like to add, microwaving them in batches of three.
Bury the shaped Tootsie rolls in mixture and sprinkle them with the other half of the cookie crumbs.
Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly over the top. This will mimic real litter, where many of the grains are often blue or green.
Shape 3 more Tootsie rolls and scrape them on top of the cake. One can hang over the side of the litter box. Sprinkle them lightly with cookie crumbs.
Place the box on a newspaper and sprinkle a few of the cookie crumbs around. Serve with a brand new, cleaned litter scooper for that extra touch!

This is a very fun cake that most people will have a great time w/. Hope you enjoy!

Halloween cake balls

2008-10-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here are my cake balls. Didn't they turn out great? I was a little concerned about melting the white bark to dip the balls in but it was all good.

So the recipe is easy. Make any cake mix. After it's cooled crumble it w/ either your hands or a fork. Then add (yes, I know it's pretty disgusting!) 3/4 can vanilla frosting. Mix well & take about a walnut size amount of mess & roll into a ball. You will need to wash your hands every so often in order to keep the balls smooth. Place the balls on a cookie sheet & place in the freezer for about an hour. Next melt some vanilla bark & add desired food coloring (the gels & pastes work better than the liquid). Dip the balls in the chocolate & place on the cookie sheet. Let set. Easy, peasy!! Oh & I put lollipop sticks into the balls for easier dipping & eating!

Now if you'd like a better recipe form check out the Pioneer Woman & see what I mean!

Ground Beef Tacos

2008-10-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

Time to make an old favorite @ my home. Tacos. Not your average tacos but maybe better than you think. I'm afraid that the ingredients are according to taste!

You will need:

Hamburger (I used a large family pack this time so that I could freeze some)
1 onion - chopped
salsa
chili powder
cumin
corn tortillas
canola oil
cheese
lettuce

So let's start our tacos by putting the ground beef in a frying pan. I used an electric one because it holds more

While the ground beef gets started cooking, I peel & rinse in COLD water a yellow or spanish onion.
Rinse
Rinse
Rinse

Now chop that onion & add it to the ground beef making sure that you are stirring the meat.

After it is cooked until it is no longer pink you are left w/ some juice. You can do one of three things.
a) leave juice in meat
b) drain juice
c) drain & Rinse w/ warm water cooked ground beef.

I go w/....

Option c)! I really like to get some more of that grease out even though I used 91% lean ground beef. Then I take it a step further & rinse the meat. I know, I know but to each her/his own I say!

After the meat has been drained I add some salsa. Usually whatever I have on hand although I had this stuff from Costco & it was actually pretty good. Please remember though that organic salsa won't have any preservatives & so won't last in the fridge as long as regular salsa.

Remember when I said that it was made according to your tastes? Well here it is. I typically just dump some in. It should have enough that when you stir it you can still see it. I actually didn't have quite enough but we'll pretend that I did. 'Kay?

After you stir in the salsa it's time to add the chili powder. Again this is according to taste. We like it to have a little kick so I add a bit, maybe try a bit & then add more. I'm a firm believer in trying while you cook. That way you know the flavors & amount of spice your family & friends can handle.

But wait! There's more! Don't forget the cumin! It too, is an integral part of the flavoring process. If you have never used this before add in a 1/2 - 1 tsp per lb to begin w/. You can always add more. Don't forget to taste, taste & then just because, taste again!

Looks pretty yummy, yes? If @ this point it looks a little dry add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water. Replace the lid on the pan & let it all simmer for a bit. Actually just while you fry the corn tortillas will be good.

Time to fry the tortillas! Ummmm.

Using a small skillet pour enough oil in to cover the bottom of the pan.

Turn the burner on med - high. While the oil is heating up get your plate ready.

Put about 4 paper towels on the plate. Don't fold up. You'll need them to blot the excess oil off of the tortillas.

These are corn tortillas not to be confused w/ flour. They are typically smaller than a flour tortilla.

When the oil is warm (maybe a minute but you can add a little piece of the tortilla to the oil first. When it starts to sizzle you'll know that the oil is plenty hot.)

Take a hold of your tortilla w/ a pair of tongs & gently slide it into the oil. Please be very careful as it is extremely easy to burn yourself on the oil.

Fry the tortilla for about 10 - 15 seconds on each side. You'll know when it starts to darken & the tortilla will bubble up.

Turn the tortilla over & cook for a few more seconds on the other side. Pick it up using the tongs. Try to let the oil drip for a minute & slide another tortilla in. Meanwhile take cooked tortilla & place on prepared plate w/ paper towels. Can you see the difference in the cooked tortilla (on plate) & the uncooked that was just put in the oil?

Put two on the plate in opposite corners & place paper towel over top. Bloat some of the excess oil away.

Now for the good part. When you have fried enough tortillas for each person take a tortilla & put on plate.

Typically I like to put the meat on next but these tortillas were a little too soft & the meat kept "bustin out". So I put the cheese on first. It really helped.

Next comes a spoonful of the meat. Yummmm.

And of course what taco is complete w/o the lettuce.

Now @ this point I would love to show you how I actually eat a taco but my daughter came along & wante this one so I gave it to her. And the next one? Well..

snarf, chew, snort, chomp, chomp, chomp...

And that, my friends is how I make tacos. Enjoy!

Tenderest, moistest ham ever!

2008-10-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

Ham. Let's face it. It's just plain good. Well through desperation I found a way to make it better as long as you like a sweet ham. No brown sugar, no extra salt. Just plain ham.

Start w/ one large crockpot that is sprayed w/ cooking spray. No need to make a bigger mess than you'll already have, eh? (Yes, I did clean the lid before I used the pot! & the pot!!)

Next I used canned crushed pineapple. I have to admit that fresh would probably be tastier but canned it was! I think I was actually on the phone w/ one of my sisters @ the time. Hi, sis!

The Ham. Beautiful, isn't it? I thought it was a lovely big ham. Nice & pink. Do not buy a flavored ham. Just do a plain ham. Trust me when I say that you don't need anything but the ham!

After spraying the crock pot w/ cooking spray (I used butter flavor) open a can of crushed pineapple & dump it in!

I went to put the ham in but it was too big. So cut it up I did & in the process I cut out some of the fat. Don't worry, you won't miss it. As I put the ham in I layered some pineapple w/ it. I think I ended up using 4 cans. That was one big ham!

Guess what? Everybody loved it so much that I forgot to get some pix. Trust me when I tell you that this is the best way ever to prepare a ham. It literally fell off the bone. Now that can be somewhat bad when you want to make sandwiches but the flavor is such that no one seemed to mind. I'll remember to take a pix @ Thanksgiving. How's that!

Ingredients:

Ham
Crushed Pineapple
Cooking Spray

Use large crock pot. Spray w/ cooking spray. Dump in 1 can of crushed pineapple. Add ham & as much pineapple as needed. Cook all day until tender. Eat.

Sharon's Jalapeno Poppers

2008-08-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

Simple, simple, simple. Once you've made these you'll never want to eat anything else! Well, okay, you will but these are delicious & you can choose to make them wimpy or Macho so that everyone can eat them.
Take 2 cups of bisquick & add 4 cups of grated cheese (I used sharp cheddar because that's what I had) plus 1 lb of cooked sausage.

When I buy hamburger or sausage I tend to cook some of it up so that I don't have to do so later. Unfortunately this meant that today I didn't have a sausage roll to show but that's what you use. Spicy (hot) or mild rolled sausage.

The above shows what it looks like once you stir it up. This is just the dry ingredients.I forgot to show you that you will need gloves. Always use gloves when working with chili peppers. Otherwise it can & will burn your skin not to mention anything else (like eyes) that you touch!

Look. I glow!

I asked a very nice hispanic woman (who was also buying peppers) which jalapenos were the best & she said to use this brand.

Not certain what happened to this photo because it looks fine in my photo file. But if you look closely you will see that I've added water to the white tupperware bowel & the mix looks different. You want to add enough water so that the mix forms a dough that can be easily shaped.

Take a pepper & cut the top off. Just my personal preference. I mean I want to be able to eat the whole thing not have to throw some away! So you've cut the top off. I usually cut it in half lengthwise & then I slice it in half horizontally.

Take a teaspoon of cream cheese & top the pepper.

Next take some of the dough mix & form a walnut in the shell sized ball.

Flatten the ball out.

Take your pepper with cream cheese & place on top of flattened dough. Take dough & wrap around pepper. Don't put too much as it will take longer to cook.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375F oven for 15 - 20 minutes

Voila! Yummy! This has got to be one of Hubby's favorite things that his sister has ever made. The woman is a seriously awesome cook who likes to recreate things she's had in restaurants. Me? I just like to copy her cooking! Mmmmmm

Sharon's Jalapeno Poppers

Bake in 375F oven for 15 - 20 min

2 C Bisquick
1 lb grated cheese (use any kind you like)
1 lb sausage (she uses Jimmy Dean, hot) cooked & some of the juices drained off but save some to add to dough.
Jalapeno peppers (can use fresh but canned works just as good & is much faster!)

Combine first 3 ingredients. This makes wrapping for peppers. Take peppers & pop the tails off & de-seed. If you leave seeds in this will make for a much spicier popper. ALWAYS WEAR THICK RUBBER GLOVES WHEN DOING THIS. You can also halve the peppers if you don't want them too hot or big.

Using spoon put amount desired of cream cheese in/on pepper.

Make small ball with some of the Bisquick mix & coat the peppers with it. Do not make the coating thick. Just enough to go around the pepper.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 15 - 20 min @ 375F.

If using fresh peppers, broil peppers for a few min until skins start to crinkle. Makes de-seeding a lot easier. Also try holding pepper under cold running water (fresh or canned) when de-seeding or taking the tails off.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-08-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

Yummy! I'll have to redo this photo the next time I make them but as of now they are all gone! I have actually cut & cut this recipe. The original calls for 10 cups of flour etc...

400F oven for 8 - 12 minutes depending upon oven.

1 1/3 C shortening
2 C white sugar
4 lg eggs
2 C mashed ripe (not dead though!) bananas
2 tsp vanilla

Cream above ingredients together & then add:

5 C flour
8 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 C chocolate chips ( I use half semi sweet & half milk chocolate)

Mix together & drop by spoonful on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 400F for 8 - 12 min. Then watch them disappear!

Tasty fruit dip

2008-08-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

The world's easiest, best tasting, loaded with calories fruit dip. This recipe is from my Mom. Mom's always have the best stuff!

Combine above two ingredients with a hand mixer.

Dip in fruit & voila!

I love to dip:

strawberries
fresh pineapple
cantaloupe
grapes
blueberries
bananas
apples

You get the pix!

Candied Almonds

2008-08-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

This is one of the easiest things I know how to make & yet it packs quite the punch in salads.

1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup slivered almonds

place in frying pan on medium heat. Stir constantly. As sugar is melting it will get "harder" to stir. When sugar is melted it will be easy. Don't burn!

Turn out almonds on heat proof surface. I like using silicone cutting pads. Let almonds cool. Then serve.

Cookie Schnitzel as told by H

2008-08-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

My two wonderful children decided to make cookies yesterday (which they never did, by the way!) & H came up with her own recipe. I had a very hard time keeping a straight face while I was writing this down but then I decided that I really need to do more baking with her as some of her ingredients are a bit questionable!

Cookie Schnitzel by H

3 C milk
2 C water
1 C sugar
a little bit of chocolate (so that it will taste better)
4 C powder (she wasn't certain what powder was but I suspect she means flour)
just very, very lite sugar (because you don't want it to taste bad)
1 bit of flour

crumble up and bake it for 3 min. Then eat!

H was so excited to have come up with this. I'm not certain if I should let her make this or not. It all boils down to whether she'll be too upset after making them & realizes that they didn't work! lol Gotta love kids. They are so wonderful!!!

First post! - Yummy breakfast pizza

2008-07-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

My first recipe that I decided to use is Breakfast pizza! It is quick & easy & relatively not too bad for you!

Yep, made out of the "Good Stuff"!

What it looks like in the dish before putting on the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 (12-oz) package reduced fat sausage
1 (8-oz) tube reduced fat crescent rolls
1 Cup frozen shredded hash browns (can also use refrigerated hash browns)
2 oz. (1/2 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tlbs milk

Heat oven to 375F. Cook ground sausage until no longer pink. Drain.

Separate dough into 2 long pieces. Place in lightly greased 13x9 inch pan. Press over bottom & up the sides to form crust making sure that there are no holes. Try to spread it as evenly as possible.

Spoon sausage evenly over crust. Sprinkle with potatoes & cheese. Beat eggs well & then add remaining ingredients. Mix well & pour over cheese in crust.

Bake @ 375F for 18 - 23 minutes or until center is set (touch lightly with finger) & edges are deep golden brown. Serve hot with cold green salad & fresh fruit.

*This is one of my "fall back upon" recipes. To make it easier I buy 4 or 5 tubes of sausage & cook it. I rinse it in warm/hot water & drain. Then I divide it into 4 or 5 freezer bags & freeze. Voila! The only real work to the meal is done.

**You might have noticed that there is no salt in this recipe. I don't like salt very much so I omit it if possible & if not I use low sodium salt. You might be surprised by how good it is without the additional salt!

The finished product.