I made these Caramel-Sticky buns a few weeks back because we were having a few couples over one Sunday evening. They. Were. Delicious. When I was making the caramel, it looked so good that I tried to taste it while it was cooking, which led to a burn on my tongue for quite a while. So, I wouldn’t recommend doing that, if you try the recipe.
I think I might have already posted about this, but since I have the pictures now, I’m going to recap. One night I got the idea to make homemade cupcakes instead of buying one from the Cocoa Bean. I found two recipes on Martha Stewart’s website and thought I could do both at one time.
The first batch’s recipe was called Hi-Hat Cupcakes. They looked quite adorable but mine did NOT turn out like Martha’s. At all. First of all, we don’t have a mixer. I really really need one considering I bake all the time. But it’s one of those things where we don’t really need it, so it’s hard to justify to buy one. Anyway, the icing required stiff peaks (I practically made marshmallows by hand). You have to mix the dang sugar and egg whites for more than ten minutes over the stovetop. And since we don’t have a mixer, I used a whisk. I gave up around minute 12, and that’s why mine looked like this:
Instead of this:
Yeah, completely different. And the chocolate never hardened either. But they still tasted pretty good.
Next was a Chocolate-filled cupcake. They were okay. Nothing to brag about though.
The moral of the story is that we should leave the cupcake baking to the professionals. If you think you can make cupcakes better than Cocoa Bean, you’re wrong. If you actually try it, you’re wasting your time.
Wow wow wow.
I came across this Vegan blog today and they had a Halloweegan Index (I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian, but I was intrigued by the post). Here’s what I found.
To view these recipes and more, visit the Wing-It Vegan blog.
Homemade things are better. It’s as simple as that.
It gives items life, charm, and personality.
It turns objects into memories.
And most importantly, homemade food just tastes better.
I made homemade honey-wheat bread this week. It turned out wonderfully. I decided I had the craving at ten o’clock at night, so I was up until two waiting for it to finish. But it was completely worth it. We have been eating homemade bread all week long, complete with honey butter. It’s delicious for sandwiches, perfect for eating really fast in the morning, and a nice little treat since we are out of goldfish.
Make this recipe. You will not be disappointed, plus you will feel good about making something homemade.
| 3 | cups stone-ground whole wheat flour or graham flour |
| 1/3 | cup honey |
| 1/4 | cup shortening |
| 1 | tablespoon salt |
| 2 | packages regular or quick active dry yeast |
| 2 1/4 | cups very warm water (120°F to 130°F) |
| 3 | to 4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour or Better for Bread™ flour |
| Butter or margarine, melted, if desired |
“So the first time you hear the concept of Halloween when you’re a kid, your brain can’t even understand it. ‘What is this? What did you say? Someone’s giving out candy? Who’s giving out candy? EVERYONE WE KNOW is giving out candy? I gotta be a part of this!'” -Jerry Seinfeld
I love Halloween, and most of all I love candy. I love Halloween because you can eat candy and justify because you’re celebrating the holiday! At work, we have a candy jar and usually I try to shy away from it, but this week it is filled with candy corn. And not just ANY candy corn, Brach’s specialty candy corn, with flavors including Caramel Apple, Caramel Corn, and Chocolate. Holy cow. I love candy corn (even though it’s waxy and doesn’t taste that great, it’s my fall favorite and very addictive) but this takes it to a whole new step. Next time you are at the store or on campus, pick up a bag of Caramel Apple-Candy Corn. Best decision you’ll ever make!
While I am writing this post, my homemade Skyline (or Cincinnati) chili is simmering on the stove. For you all who aren’t familiar with Skyline, first of all, you have lived a sad, sad life. But it’s okay, because it’s a dish that’s only in Cincinnati area (although I think it has spread through Kentucky and Ohio).
Anyway, the recipe was originally from a Greek family many years ago, but now it has turned into a chain of restaurants and copy-cats back home. The chili is very unique because it is so sweet. Some say they add chocolate to it, but no one really knows. They feature the original chili spread across a bed of spaghetti noodles and topped with shredded cheddar cheese, garnished with oyster crackers. It comes as a 3-way (which is the noodles, chili, cheese), 4-way (noodles, chili, cheese, beans), 5-way (I don’t know what that is because I never get that). Anyway, it’s delcious, addictive, and a great comfort food on a rainy day.
Back in foods class in high school, our teacher gave us her recipe for Cincinnati chili, it clearly is not the same as Skyline, but it’s pretty darn close! So, I invite you (even if you aren’t from Cincinnati) to give this recipe a shot!
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 t vinegar
1/2 small can tomato paste
1-2 T chili powder (depending on how much heat you can handle)
2 t cinnamon
1/2 ground red pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 t all spice
1-2 dashes worcestershire sauce
2 t salt
2-3 C water
Mom, please don’t read the following post. But because I know you will, don’t judge and don’t worry, I take care of myself and eat a balanced diet.
Today my boss brought in donuts from Sugar and Spice, the bakery on campus. I usually am a die hard old fashioned with sprinkles type of girl, but today I was feeling bold. I tried the maple bar topped with bacon.
That’s right. As if the maple bar wasn’t already unhealthy enough, bacon is added to the top to seal the deal. But let me tell you, although you feel like a heart attack is in the near future when you eat this marvelous wonder, it tastes delicious. It’s like when your bacon would mix with your syrup during a nice breakfast. Nothing gets better than that.
One of the blogs I follow had this cute recipe posted. I haven’t tried it, but it looks great!
7 whole Oreo Cookies
1 oz cold cream cheese
24 square pretzels
1 Cup chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, melted
White Sprinkles
1. Place Oreos into a food processor and process until finely ground. Mix Oreo crumbs and cream cheese until dough forms. Pinch 1 Tablespoon of dough and form into a little square. Place onto pretzel then gently press top pretzel to close. Top with melted chocolate and white sprinkles. Chill until chocolate has hardened and serve.
Makes 12 Pretzel Bites
Well, once again, here is another post about food (how embarrassing). But I promise I don’t eat very much of each recipe make. (I have to say that because my mom is deeply worried that I’m going to come home for Christmas 50 pounds heavier than the last time she saw me.
That being said, today in my cooking class each kitchen made a different cookie or muffin. My group was assigned cherry tarts. They were rather difficult to make considering we had to yield 24 cookies and we lost a few that slipped off the pan into the oven, but in general, they turned out well and simply were delicious (not to mention, adorable.)
I love baking. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to own my own bakery, like the Pie Hole in Pushing Daisies, filled with delicious goodies while I live a flavorful life.
But here’s the thing. I’m trying to lose weight, which causes a slight problem when all I want to do is try new recipes. Yesterday I had a craving for something sweet, so I decided to make some Butterscotch brownies (a.k.a. blondies). Betty says they’re lowfat. One brownie actually just has three grams of fat and 110 calories, so I thought it was a good solution.
When they were baking, I decided to do a Billy Blanks DVD. Little did I know that after the workout the blondies would not sound as appealing. So there I was, with a batch of blondies and nothing to do with them. I decided to bring them to work today and only ate one! (Aren’t you proud, mom?)
Anyway, they were a hit. So, I thought I would share this easy recipe with you.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips (if desired)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
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