Ok gang. If you havent noticed I havent posted in awhile. I'm super busy with tons of OT at work and trying to purchase a house so I havent had anytime for anything but that.
I will be back though so dont give up on me! My goal is to be back by September 1st.
Mwah!
Anya
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Coconut Delights
Cookies are soooo bad for me especially ones that have sweetened condensed milk. These little cookie bars were so decandent and yummy! mmMm. I brought some to work for Darlene and Patty (my official taste testers) and they were scarfed down before I could blink!
Coconut Delights
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 325F.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in a small bowl and mix well. Lightly butter 13x9 inch pan. Press mixture firmly into bottom of pan.
Pour sweetened condensed milk over crumb mix then top with chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Next sprinkle coconut and pecans over the top.
Bake 25 minutes or until browned lightly. Cut into bars once cooled.
Coconut Delights
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 325F.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in a small bowl and mix well. Lightly butter 13x9 inch pan. Press mixture firmly into bottom of pan.
Pour sweetened condensed milk over crumb mix then top with chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Next sprinkle coconut and pecans over the top.
Bake 25 minutes or until browned lightly. Cut into bars once cooled.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Lemon Bars
My gosh I love lemon! My mom used to tell the story about when I was little and we went out to eat they would have me in my high chair with a plate full of lemons and I was happy as can be. I still love lemons!
Today I made Lemon Bars and they are sooo good I want to devour the whole pan! I'm not going to though. I'm going to take some to work and munch the rest! heh.
Another happy thing is that I have a new camera!! My dear friend Dawn over at Eat, Play, Live, got a new camera and was kind enough to give me her old one since I have been having such camera drama lately. Thank you, Dawny!! (Now I just have to learn how to take good pics! *LOL*)
Anyway, on to the yumminess! I found this recipe via Bakerella who always has the best darn treats on her site! Be sure to check her out and I guarantee you are going to get a massive sugar craving.
Lemon Bars
Found via Bakerella
Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for dusting)
Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan.
To make crust:
* In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner's sugar
* Cut in butter until combined and crumbly. (I got to use my new pastry blender! YAY!)
* Press mixture into bottom of pan.
* Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
To make topping:
* While crust is baking, prepare topping.
* In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
* Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
* Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
* Bake for 20-25 minutes.
* When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.
* Cut into bars and enjoy them cold! (I had one warm and it was delish!)
Today I made Lemon Bars and they are sooo good I want to devour the whole pan! I'm not going to though. I'm going to take some to work and munch the rest! heh.
Another happy thing is that I have a new camera!! My dear friend Dawn over at Eat, Play, Live, got a new camera and was kind enough to give me her old one since I have been having such camera drama lately. Thank you, Dawny!! (Now I just have to learn how to take good pics! *LOL*)
Anyway, on to the yumminess! I found this recipe via Bakerella who always has the best darn treats on her site! Be sure to check her out and I guarantee you are going to get a massive sugar craving.
Lemon Bars
Found via Bakerella
Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for dusting)
Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan.
To make crust:
* In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner's sugar
* Cut in butter until combined and crumbly. (I got to use my new pastry blender! YAY!)
* Press mixture into bottom of pan.
* Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
To make topping:
* While crust is baking, prepare topping.
* In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
* Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
* Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
* Bake for 20-25 minutes.
* When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.
* Cut into bars and enjoy them cold! (I had one warm and it was delish!)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Pace Picante Sauce Giveaway
There is a great giveaway going on over at $5 Dollar Dinners y'all should all check out!
5 jars of their speciality salsa! *drool*
Rush on over and get that entry in! The deadline is Wednesday, June 10th at 5 pm EST.
$5 Dollar Dinners
5 jars of their speciality salsa! *drool*
Rush on over and get that entry in! The deadline is Wednesday, June 10th at 5 pm EST.
$5 Dollar Dinners
Spotlight Sunday!
I've decided that on the first Sunday of each month I am going to spotlight a food blogger that I admire. My first spotlight is shining on Michelle over at Big Black Dog. She may have only had her blog for a bit over a year but she's got food blogging down. The format is clean and easy to follow and not cluttered with a million different ads. The recipes are...well the recipes are all so wonderful I dont know where to begin.
I had a few questions that Michelle was kind enough to answer!
1. How long have you been cooking/baking?
I’ve been baking for at least 30 years now but cooking is rather new for me. I never really enjoyed cooking until we finished our 2 ½ year renovation project and my new kitchen was completely finished. I always say I’m a baker not a cook. Now that I am experimenting with cooking I really do look forward to it every day.
2. Why did you start a food blog? I started my food blog in February 2008, so it’s relatively young. I’m a Rottweiler owner and my blog, Big Black Dog, was actually supposed to be about my dogs. But I started posting a few recipes and well, my blog sort of took on a life of it’s own from there!
3. Do you have any tips for newcomers to food blogging?
One of the reasons people have a blog is to share something they love to do. But it’s difficult to get people to visit your blog so it’s up to you to do a bit of marketing and why not have some fun in the process.
And one of the best ways to market your blog is to enter some of the food blogging events that are available. Some are monthly events like Sugar High Friday, My Legume Love Affair, Bread Baking Day, Grow Your Own. And then there are weekly events like Presto Pasta Nights, Weekend Herb Blogging, Bookmarked Recipes. And then there’s some once a year events like Pi Day which is great fun. I belong to 2 weekly events Whisk Wednesdays, http://www.whiskblog.com/2008/01/join-me.html, and Tyler Florence Fridays, http://tylerflorencefridays.blogspot.com, and I thoroughly enjoy both of them. You can find many events listed on the blog, Is my Blog Burning http://ismyblogburning.com/food-blogging-events.
But then there are other aspects of dining that many times are over looked by food bloggers. Wine, cocktails and presentation are very important. I just started learning about wine and am fortunate to have a wonderful local wine store, Discount Wine Center, that is more then willing to coach me. I can even contact them via e-mail or twitter, quote my recipe and they will recommend a wine for my dinner that evening. And ten minutes later I’m at the store purchasing my wine. It’s so much fun.
Also I try to enter Tablescapes Thursday hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch, http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com. I’ve only been participating in Tablescapes Thursday for 2 months now but it is great fun and I’m learning quite a bit just visiting the other blogs and studying their entries for the week.
Mixology Monday. http://mixologymonday.com, is a monthly cocktail party and open to anyone that wants to mix up a new cocktail or two. I thoroughly enjoy reading the Mixology blogs and have learned so much about making syrups and other concoctions. I wish I had more time to devote to experimenting with beverages!
4. What's always in your fridge?
Some items that are always in stock are oranges, lemons, parsnips, radishes, green onions, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, Dijon mustard, anchovy paste, light cream/heavy cream, Kefir, sourdough starter and of course lots of butter. I usually keep at least 6-8 lbs of butter at any given time. And I always have 2-4 dozen eggs. Our cheese drawer is out of control and has been this way since I can remember. My husband and I both love cheese and our cheese selection over-floweth at our house.
5. Any funny (and/or embarrassing) cooking disasters you'd like to share?
Oh my, more then I could ever list here. I’ve made many mistakes and had some doozy disasters. Bread that never rose to just last week I had bagels that were rising to the point they were like 6” mini pizzas instead of bagels. Oh they were huge! Tasted great but they sure did not look like bagels.
Just last summer I was trying a new chocolate frosting out and I don’t know what happened but I had chocolate frosting everywhere. Frosting was up and down both my arms and there was even frosting on the dog’s head. I am a very neat cook. I measure everything out in prep bowls and line it all up. So for me to have a mess in my kitchen was highly unusual and very frustrating for me. There was so much frosting on just me that finally I put everything I could in the dishwasher, changed clothes and called it a day.
Be sure you check out her blog at Big Black Dog!
I had a few questions that Michelle was kind enough to answer!
1. How long have you been cooking/baking?
I’ve been baking for at least 30 years now but cooking is rather new for me. I never really enjoyed cooking until we finished our 2 ½ year renovation project and my new kitchen was completely finished. I always say I’m a baker not a cook. Now that I am experimenting with cooking I really do look forward to it every day.
2. Why did you start a food blog? I started my food blog in February 2008, so it’s relatively young. I’m a Rottweiler owner and my blog, Big Black Dog, was actually supposed to be about my dogs. But I started posting a few recipes and well, my blog sort of took on a life of it’s own from there!
3. Do you have any tips for newcomers to food blogging?
One of the reasons people have a blog is to share something they love to do. But it’s difficult to get people to visit your blog so it’s up to you to do a bit of marketing and why not have some fun in the process.
And one of the best ways to market your blog is to enter some of the food blogging events that are available. Some are monthly events like Sugar High Friday, My Legume Love Affair, Bread Baking Day, Grow Your Own. And then there are weekly events like Presto Pasta Nights, Weekend Herb Blogging, Bookmarked Recipes. And then there’s some once a year events like Pi Day which is great fun. I belong to 2 weekly events Whisk Wednesdays, http://www.whiskblog.com/2008/01/join-me.html, and Tyler Florence Fridays, http://tylerflorencefridays.blogspot.com, and I thoroughly enjoy both of them. You can find many events listed on the blog, Is my Blog Burning http://ismyblogburning.com/food-blogging-events.
But then there are other aspects of dining that many times are over looked by food bloggers. Wine, cocktails and presentation are very important. I just started learning about wine and am fortunate to have a wonderful local wine store, Discount Wine Center, that is more then willing to coach me. I can even contact them via e-mail or twitter, quote my recipe and they will recommend a wine for my dinner that evening. And ten minutes later I’m at the store purchasing my wine. It’s so much fun.
Also I try to enter Tablescapes Thursday hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch, http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com. I’ve only been participating in Tablescapes Thursday for 2 months now but it is great fun and I’m learning quite a bit just visiting the other blogs and studying their entries for the week.
Mixology Monday. http://mixologymonday.com, is a monthly cocktail party and open to anyone that wants to mix up a new cocktail or two. I thoroughly enjoy reading the Mixology blogs and have learned so much about making syrups and other concoctions. I wish I had more time to devote to experimenting with beverages!
4. What's always in your fridge?
Some items that are always in stock are oranges, lemons, parsnips, radishes, green onions, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, Dijon mustard, anchovy paste, light cream/heavy cream, Kefir, sourdough starter and of course lots of butter. I usually keep at least 6-8 lbs of butter at any given time. And I always have 2-4 dozen eggs. Our cheese drawer is out of control and has been this way since I can remember. My husband and I both love cheese and our cheese selection over-floweth at our house.
5. Any funny (and/or embarrassing) cooking disasters you'd like to share?
Oh my, more then I could ever list here. I’ve made many mistakes and had some doozy disasters. Bread that never rose to just last week I had bagels that were rising to the point they were like 6” mini pizzas instead of bagels. Oh they were huge! Tasted great but they sure did not look like bagels.
Just last summer I was trying a new chocolate frosting out and I don’t know what happened but I had chocolate frosting everywhere. Frosting was up and down both my arms and there was even frosting on the dog’s head. I am a very neat cook. I measure everything out in prep bowls and line it all up. So for me to have a mess in my kitchen was highly unusual and very frustrating for me. There was so much frosting on just me that finally I put everything I could in the dishwasher, changed clothes and called it a day.
Be sure you check out her blog at Big Black Dog!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Perfection Pound Cake
I actually squee'd when I was at the library the other day and saw they had "Baking from my home to yours" by Dorie Greenspan. As soon as I saw it I snatched it (well as much as you can snatch this large heavy book) off the shelf and new I was going to be doing some baking! My gosh this book has some heavenly recipes. I'll be buying my own copy at Border's very soon hopefully!
I've been craving pound cake so I flipped through and found her recipe for "Perfection Pound Cake" and it was exactly that. Perfection. I cut it into slices and brought some to work because I definitely would eat the whole thing if left at home. That would be a bad bad thing!
Perfection Pound Cake
from Baking from My Home to Yours pg 222
2 cups all purpose flour or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Note: I am not posting the entire ingredient out of respect for Ms Greenspan's hard work on her cookbook. Since I dont even own a copy of the book yet it wouldnt be right for me to post her recipes for free.
I've been craving pound cake so I flipped through and found her recipe for "Perfection Pound Cake" and it was exactly that. Perfection. I cut it into slices and brought some to work because I definitely would eat the whole thing if left at home. That would be a bad bad thing!
Perfection Pound Cake
from Baking from My Home to Yours pg 222
2 cups all purpose flour or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Note: I am not posting the entire ingredient out of respect for Ms Greenspan's hard work on her cookbook. Since I dont even own a copy of the book yet it wouldnt be right for me to post her recipes for free.
Menu Planning Monday! 5.25.09 to 5.31.09
To join in on menu planning, join me and all the others over at Menu Plan Monday. Laura hosts this weekly shindig on her blog, I'm an Organizing Junkie.
I have been quite a slacker when it comes to menu planning lately. I am going to try my best to rectify that! So here we go again!
Monday:
Baked Herb Chicken
Rice
Tuesday:
Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Fries
Wednesday:
Pancakes
Thursday:
Papas con Juevos
Friday:
Spaghetti w/Sausage Sauce
Saturday:
Ham & Potato Casserole (Sandra Lee Mag pg 35)
Sunday:
Pot Roast
Baking:
Allspice Crumb Muffins
Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops
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