Angry Bird Birthday Cake

My very talented daughter made this awesome cake for her son’s birthday party.

Just a simple 3 tier layer cake but it was adorned with Angry Birds!  What is it about those angry, unhappy birds that makes them so popular?

I was so impressed by those angry little creatures that I forgot to take a picture of the “entire” cake in one picture, sorry.

She used fondant for the bird heads.  She rolled it into balls for the heads.

She then cut out the shapes for the other facial features.

She found a package of eyes.  That sentence just sounds strange.

My granddaughter wants a La La Loopsy cake, can’t wait to see how that will be created.

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Grandma’s Chocolate Sauce

My Grandmother used to make my brother and I this chocolate sauce for our ice cream…..  and trust me, she always had ice cream!  She also made it for my kids as well, my oldest son still raves about it.

Like I mentioned before in earlier posts, my Mom was raised on a farm, they were a poor family.  They made do with what they had, lived within their means (unlike most folks today) and were Pennsylvania Dutch.

I watched her make this chocolate sauce many times, she never measured her ingredients.  Must be where I get it from!  And, she only had three ingredients for this sauce, milk, cocoa and sugar.  It was sort of a glorified hot cocoa drink that was instead used for an ice cream sauce.

And since that is usually the only way I make hot cocoa for myself, I needed to try to make this sauce a little differently.  So, in honor of my Grandma I will still use two of her basic ingredients.  I really don’t want to change it too much so I’m going to just “enhance” her recipe.  I’ll be using some squares of chocolate to make it more rich and I’ll be using sweetened condensed milk to thicken it and replace the sugar.  Back in her day, they only had one kind of cocoa powder , not the dark chocolate that I prefer.  I really love using the Dark cocoa when I bake and I decided to give it a try in this sauce and I LOVE it!!

I melted 2 squares of a good unsweetened chocolate and butter in a glass bowl that sits over a pan of simmering water.  When that is completely melted I poured in sweetened condensed milk and blended it well.  I have a little hand whisk for sauces and gravies, it is my favorite kitchen tool!

Then I slowly drizzled in milk (about a tablespoon at a time) and the dark cocoa powder.  And that’s it!  The sweetened milk is sweet enough, so there is no need to add additional sugar (sorry Grandma!), and it also makes it just a tad bit thicker.

Store the sauce in a covered container in the fridge, IF you have any leftover!!  It makes about one cup of sauce.

Here’s the recipe:

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 T butter

½ cup plus 1 T sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup milk (measured by tablespoon at a time)

1 T dark cocoa

With a double boiler or a glass bowl sitting over a pan of water set to simmer, melt the 2 squares of chocolate and the butter.  When completely melted, pour in the sweetened condensed milk and stir gently to blend.  Once the chocolate mixture is heated, add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time to desired thickness.  When the chocolate sauce is heated again, blend in the dark cocoa and stir until blended well.  Cool the unused sauce and keep in the fridge.

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Rosemary Shrimp with a White Wine Sauce

So, I was going to run errands tonight and just eat cereal when I got home but because of the wicked rain, sleet and cold, I just came home and ate cereal.   Then I remembered that I wanted to make this rosemary shrimp.  After I ate the cereal.  Guess I’ll be taking it for lunch tomorrow.

I’m not very talkative tonight, so I’ll just get to the recipe.  Then I’ll just go sit in a corner and read.  And be quiet.

8 large shrimps, tail removed and deveined

1 T butter

1 T Olive oil

1 tsp chopped Rosemary

Salt & Pepper

¼ c White wine

Heat butter and oil in pan and toss in the shrimp, salt and pepper to taste.  When the shrimp are just about done on one side, sprinkle with half the rosemary and turn them.  Slowly add the wine and sprinkle the shrimp with the remaining rosemary.  Cook on a medium high heat until shrimp are done and most of the sauce has reduced.

I like to serve this over Orzo with spinach, pour the remaining white wine sauce over the shrimp and orzo.

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The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!!

I love this chocolate chip cookie recipe!  LOVE IT! 

I love making them for me!  I love making them for family!  I just love eating them fresh out of the oven with an ice cold glass of milk!!! 

Here’s the recipe:

2 cups plus 2T flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Place in a large bowl and set aside.

1 cup butter (2 sticks) melted

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (( I have been known to throw in an additional 1-2 T))

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add the melted butter tot he sugars and whisk well, set aside to cool.  When cool, add the eggs and vanilla.  Transfer butter and sugar mixture to the flour bolw and mix by hand until ust combined.  Don’t over mix!

Add 2 cups of chocolate chips

3/4 cups walnuts chopped (optional)

Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if using to the cookie batter.  Cover and refrigerate for and hour or two, or overnight which is what I typically do.

Preheat oven to 325.  Drop balls, a little smaller than a golf ball onto your cookie sheet.  Bake for about 12-14 minutes.  Allow to cool on your cookie sheet for about 5 minutes or so, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.  I bake mine on a baking stone and they bake up perfectly every time!  Store in an airtight container….if they last that long!

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Grande Couscous with Greenbeans and Sundried Tomatoes

I prefer to take my own homemade meals to work for my lunch.  Cafeteria food just doesn’t cut it for me in sooo many ways!  And many nights I’m kinda busy with trying to get some exercise in, errands, Domestic Goddess duties or spend time with family and friends.  So I need something that whips up fast and is delish, this couscous recipe pretty much takes care of it!

I like to alter this recipe too, I have thrown in shrimp, changed the veggies, its awesome with aspargus tips or grilled red peppers and zucchini or squash.  I’ve also thrown in some frozen corn that I wanted to use up.   Go ahead and try different herbs and spices too, you really can’t mess this up…..unless you burn it!

Here’s the recipe:

2 T Olive Oil

½  cup Grande Couscous

2/3 c Green Beans, frozen pieces

¼ c Sundried Tomatoes, chopped

1-1/4 to 1-1/2 c Chicken Broth

Salt & Pepper

2 dashes of Turmeric (optional)

1 dash of Cayenne Pepper (optional)

 Use a large sauce pan for this.   Add the oil to a pan that is over a medium to a medium-high heat, add the couscous and stir almost continuously to toast..  You may have to turn your heat back so as not to burn the couscous, this should only take about 3 minutes.

Add 1-1/4 cup of chicken broth and reduce the heat to a low simmer.  Add the green beans and the chopped sundried tomatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add the turmeric and cayenne if you are using.

Stir occasionally.  When the broth is just about absorbed, taste the couscous.  If you would like it just a little more tender, as I do, add another ¼ cup of the broth.

This makes two large servings.  I like to sometimes top with a grated parmesan cheese but it is just as delicious without the cheese.  You could also serve this as a side alongside fish or chicken but I prefer to make it my main dish.

Grande Couscous is also called Israeli Couscous, or at least that’s what I’ve found.  Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, its so versatile.

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Lentil Soup for Two, Crockpot Style

I love to make my veggie lentil soup!  But…. There have been times where the lentils weren’t all that good.  They were sort of hard.  Do I soak them?  Cook them longer?  Hmmm… Crockpot soup!!

I have this small crockpot that is great for dips at parties, a half of a chicken breast, and now for soup!  I love throwing all the ingredients in before I leave for work in the morning, and when I get home I have delicious soup waiting for me!!

The first time I made this soup in the crockpot, I didn’t put any meat in the soup as I don’t usually eat that much meat.  But if you want meat, I suggest using cooked meat.  I’ve used sausage (my fav) or shredded  chicken (from leftovers).  I’m also not a huge fan of beans so if you want to add a little more lentils, go ahead!

Here’s what I did:

¼ cup green beans, frozen in 1 in. pieces

¼ cup carrots, sliced (either frozen or fresh)

1/4 cup lentils

2-1/2 cups chicken or beef stock

A scant ¼ cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

½ -3/4 cup diced tomatoes, canned, undrained

Salt & Pepper

Dash of cayenne pepper or any other spice/herb that you typically like to cook with. 

Toss all the ingredients in the crockpot, season to your taste. Turn on the lowest heat selection.  I wouldn’t do this on a day that you wouldn’t get home longer than 6-8 hours.  Depending on the size of your little crockpot, you may have to adjust the amounts so it doesn’t cook over while you are away.  I always sit my crockpot on a plate before I add anything to it.

This recipe made 2 big bowls of soup for me. And,  I really love a good slice of crusty bread along with this soup.  Or any soup for that matter.

Cheers!

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My Mom’s Waffles & Dressing

This is a recipe that my Mom used to make for us kids, it’s a recipe that she learned to make from her childhood as a poor farm girl in the 40’s and 50’s.  I remember her telling me that as a teenager, she was so embarrassed by the condition of the house, that she never invited friends over.   I even remember her telling me that she stayed at the local YWCA for a little.  I guess growing up that poor, made her ashamed of the way she lived, sad for the things she didn’t have and eventually she became, and Mom I don’t mean this to sound as ugly as I think it will but, Mom got a little materialistic.  If you think about it, aren’t we all?  We like new things, pretty things, shiny things…I do and I’m not ashamed to admit it.  I even understand how being deprived of things makes you want those material things even more!  I’ve been there too!

Mom had some fun memories too, she didn’t have a father but she had an Uncle that she was extremely fond of.  He was so special to her, and he became special to me.  She glowed when she spoke of him. 

I remember her telling me about some baby ducklings at the pond on their farm.  On a cold and chilly night she feared for their safety.  Mom gathered the ducklings and put them in a shoebox and tucked them under the wood stove. Yea, not a smart move, but as a small little girl, she didn’t know any better!  You know what happened don’t you?  She was so sad at the roasted baby ducks the next morning and felt really bad.  I remember my Dad howling with laughter when she told us that story.

Mom was also raised by her Mother that was PA Dutch.  Remember my food post at Easter?  The Hog Maw Easter dinner?   And, they had to be creative with the food that they did have.  One of the things she made me as a child was  “Waffles and Dressing”.  It’s a simple sauce made from milk, flour, butter and cinnamon and it’s poured over toasted waffles.  I LOVE IT!  However, mine doesn’t turn out quite like hers, at least I don’t think it does but then everything our Mom’s make always tastes better right??

 

Here is what I do:

First, I set a picture of my Mom as a child on the counter so she can watch me cook and I can remember her cooking this for me.

Then I gathered my ingredients and realize again that I will never ever get this to taste as delicious as my Mom did!

The recipe: 

2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of light Brown Sugar (start with 2 and don’t make mountains out of the “heaping” part)

1 heaping tablespoon Flour

1 T butter

1 c Milk

About ¼ tsp of cinnamon

I have to warn you, this is not healthy or waistline friendly but I do promise you it is absolutely delicious!!

Okay, back to the recipe…..

Use a small saucepan and have all your ingredients ready.   I put the brown sugar and flour in the pan as it was heating over a medium heat, and used a small whisk to blend together.  Then I added the butter and continued to whisk until it melted, only a few seconds.  Next, I gradually added the milk, about a ¼ cup at a time.  Continue whisking, as it starts to thicken add another ¼ cup of milk.  When all the milk is added to the sauce, turn the heat on a low heat so that it continues to do a low simmer, keep an eye on it stirring occasionally.  Add the cinnamon and stir well, remove from heat.  Pour over toasted waffles and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Or even some cinnamon whipped topping!!!  YUM!

You can probably feed about 4 people with 2 waffles each.  I like a lot of this sauce over my waffles, I’m crazy for it!!!!

Hopefully soon, I’ll post the chocolate sauce that my Grandmother made for me when I was growing up.  She also made it for my kids and my son still raves about it!

Hugs to all!

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Thanksgiving (and Christmas) Dinner

WOW it’s been a long time since I have last posted anything!  Guess a new job and physical therapy will keep a girl busy.  I’m kinda tired of grilled cheese, guess it’s time to start cooking!!  And man oh man do I have some idea’s so stay tuned!

I was hoping to post this before Thanksgiving so you could see what delicious dishes I was serving my family, but yea, that new job and PT changed my plans a little…  BUT this will also be my Christmas dinner!

I heard someone talking at work about making mashed potatoes the night before and then baking them just before dinner.  Hmm, I can do that.  I found “butter potatoes” at the store so I thought I’d give them a try.  So Wednesday night I peeled and cooked them, mashed them with a masher (not the mixer as I usually do).  Add about half a stick of butter and mix them in well.  This time I added some softened cream cheese too, it just made them a little more creamier, I wanted to use sour cream but since I forgot to put that on my shopping list…. I improvised and used the cream cheese.  I greased a casserole dish, poured in the mashed taters and in the fridge they went.  This can be baked at 275 till warm, but first dot the top with butter and cover.

Then I started on the cranberries.   Here’s the recipe:

1 bag of cranberries

¾ cup sugar

½ cup water

½ cup apple cider (NOT vinegar)

1 orange, run thru the food processor

1 tablespoon of Disoranno (optional)

Add the berries, sugar, water and apple cider to a saucepan.  Start with a high heat and as the mixture starts to bubble, you need to start turning the heat down.  You want the heat to be hot enough for a light boil/light simmer so the berries pop.  If you turn the heat too low, they just cook.  Whatever you do, DO NOT walk away.   I also like to cover the pan to keep the mess at a minimum AND so I don’t get splashed either!

Also, you can adjust the sweetness or tartness as your taste prefers.  You can start with just a half of a cup of sugar and add one tablespoon at a time.  Be careful when tasting, its hot!!!

While the berries are bubbling, go ahead and process your orange.  Now, I know we are always told not to use the pith of the orange, its bitter.  But, my Grandmother taught me to use the whole orange so that’s what I do.   I cut the orange up in quarters and toss it in the food processor until it is completely chopped up (smooshed up).    Remember to remove theseeds first!!!  When the berries are popped, reduce the heat to a very light simmer and add the orange and Disoranno if you are using it.

 If you don’t want to do the orange that way then don’t.  Instead you can zest the orange peel and set aside.  When the berries are popped go ahead and cut the orange in half and squeeze all the juice into the pan of berries and add the orange zest.

Cook the berries on low for about 5 minutes or so and remove from heat, transfer the berries to a heat resistant bowl to cool and thicken.

Next, I prepared the sweet potato casserole.  I’m in love with this dish.   And the recipe is:

5-6 Sweet Potatoes

4 T Butter, softened

1/3 cup Sugar

FOR THE TOPPING:

1 cup Brown sugar

1/2 cup Flour

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Butter, cold and cubed

Mash the cooked sweet potatoes in your bowl, add the softened butter and sugar.  Pour into a greased 9×9 casserole baking dish.  In a separate bowl,  add the cinnamon, flour and brown sugar and blend with a fork.  Toss in the butter and cut in with either 2 knives or with a hand-held pastry blender.  When the mixture is all crumbly, place on top the mashed sweet potatoes and smooth over evenly.   At this point I covered the dish with foil and put it in the fridge with the other potatoes.  Bake at about 325 for about 30 minutes, or until heated thru.  About the last 10 minutes I remove the foil.

I made my traditional maple glazed carrots but I made them boozy too! 

1 bag frozen carrot slices

¼ cup water for the steamer

¼ cup Maple syrup

¼ cup Brown Sugar

1-2 tablespoons Whiskey

I steamed a bag of carrot slices in my microwave.  I have this awesome steamer from Pampered Chef that I just love.  When the carrots are tender I drain them, add the butter, maple syrup, and brown sugar and heat in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  Stir in the whiskey and heat again, for about 3 more minutes.  Feel free to add a little more syrup or brown sugar if you want them sweeter.  A little more whiskey would also be delish!

*I didn’t take a picture of the turkey, not quite sure why, guessing we were really hungry and there was no time.  It was prolly more like me forgetting…. sigh

For the turkey, I quartered a large onion and placed that in the cavity of the turkey.  I then take about 3-4 tablespoons of butter cut into cubes and set aside on a plate.  In a bowl I mix up some garlic powder, seasoned salt, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper.  If I am feeling a little daring, I go thru all my spices and herbs and play around with other additions.  Set this aside.  With clean hands, gently slide your fingers under the turkey skin, try to slide them all over the breast meat in down into the thighs if you can.  Then, grab some small amounts of the seasoning you mixed up and begin to spread that under the skin, rub it all over the meat.  When you are finished with that, start to place the butter dots under the skin too.  Tie up the bird and try to pin down the skin so it covers the breast meat.  I couldn’t find my turkey pins this year and I really wanted to cry over that.  I will probably find them next week, after I buy new pins for Christmas dinner.

For my stuffing (not sure why I call it stuffing as I don’t stuff the bird)

3 bags store bought bread cubes

6 eggs

2 tablespoons parsley

1 tablespoons poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon sage

5 cups chicken or turkey stock

1 large onion

½ stick butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

I chopped and diced the onion, melted the butter on the stove and simmered the onions until they were tender.  Remove from heat.  I sometimes use a stalk of celery along with the onion but I omitted it this time around.   Put the eggs in a large bowl and lightly break them up, add the parsley, poultry seasoning and sage and some salt & pepper, whisk until blended.  Pour in about 5 cups of broth.  This can vary depending on how moist you like your stuffing.   Then, when the onions and butter are cool, add them to the egg mixture.

I usually work with one bag of bread cubes at a time.  Pour one bag into a very large bowl and start ladling the egg and broth mixture over the bread.  Mix with your hands, add more as you need it but don’t make it so wet that it is all mushy, it is bread after all!! When you have that bag done, add it to your baking pan ( I use a very large foil pan ).  Repeat with each bag.  If you are noticing that you are running low on liquid and you are on the last bag, add some more broth and another egg to liquid bowl.  After you get all the bags done and into the pan mix them together too.  Now, My Mom used to kinda make large balls of stuffing.  You can if you want but I just bake loose.  I cover with foil and put it in the oven with the sweet potatoes.  When the potatoes are done I remove them from the oven, uncover the stuffing and bake for about 15 more minutes or until it is completely heated thru.  Or longer if you prefer your stuffing a little more….. Crispy?  Toasted?  Crunchy?

The only other thing I made was buttered corn and heated some store bought rolls. 

My 9 year old grandson said that it was the BEST Thanksgiving EVER!   These recipes fed 4 and I had enough leftovers to send home with my kids.  I love doing that!!!  Christmas will pretty much be a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner, my kids love it and refuse to let me try new dishes.  Warms my heart that they love our traditional dinner (sigh)

Happy Holidays everyone!!

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Apple Pancakes

I have been making apple pancakes for years!  In fact, I prefer my pancakes with either blueberries or apples.  But it’s usually apples. 

 

 I’m not sure I remember exactly which one of my family made them for me that got me hooked, but when I say I’ve been eating apple pancakes for years, it does date back to my childhood.

And my very favorite way to make pancakes is with Bisquick.  I’ve tried other brands, and made them from scratch, but there’s something about this mix that makes them turn out perfectly. 

You can make your favorite pancake batter too, just try reducing the milk/water/liquid part by ¼ cup for the applesauce.

So, here is how I make mine:

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup milk

1 egg

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

½ tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

A dash each of nutmeg and ground cloves

Mix gently until nicely blended.

And finally, enough sliced and diced apples to make sure you have a piece of apple in every bite!!!  But since you’ll most likely want to measure for the first time, start with one heaping cup.  I like a lot of apples so I definitely use more than that!

Heat your pan on a medium heat, grease the pan with either a spray oil or a light coating of vegetable oil (just enough to coat the pan), you don’t want to deep fry these babies!!

Carefully ladle the apple pancakebatter mix into the pan, when the cakes start to bubble they are ready to flip and cook on the other side.  Please be careful not to burn them, they are so delicious!

The pancakes will be a little denser and heavier but they will have much more flavor.

You can serve with your favorite syrup or you can do what I do, and it is SO not healthy (like the syrup is)!  I smother the pancakes in butter and then add a sprinkle of sugar.  For some reason, when I was little, the only thing I could put syrup on was French toast, syrup on pancakes made me cry.   I was a strange little girl.

I hope you give these a try, and I really hope you love them as much as I do!!

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Pumpkin Spice French Toast

I love French toast!  And I love Autumn, so why not combine pumpkin & spice to my French toast?  Sounds reasonable to me!

I had a loaf of Italian bread…..yea making “French” toast with “Italian” bread, I’m silly that way!!  I sliced half the loaf about ½” thick. I like to let the bread sit on the counter so it can start to dry out a little while I prepare the batter.

In a bowl place 3 eggs and whip them a little.  Add ½ cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, a dash of salt, ground cloves and nutmeg.  Mix together well and then add 3 HEAPING tablespoons (or a ¼ cup) of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie although I’m sure it would work).  Blend well.

Here comes the fun part, soak the bread, bathe it in that wonderful pumpkin batter!  Let the bread absorb but not get mushy, and then toss it in a preheated pan.  I usually do a medium low heat and flip the toast numerous times to make sure if gets heated thru completely and toasted nicely.  

With this batter I was able to make about 7 or 8 slices of toast.  Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon, your favorite syrup and a very tall glass of ice cold milk!

Enjoy!

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