Check to see if your lamb is done with a cooking thermometer, and then let it sit and rest for about 20- 30 min.
Enjoy!
Potatoes
4 yellow russet potatoes
4 red russet potatoes
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Peel potatoes and cut them into bite size pieces.
Place potatoes in a gallon size baggie and add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Let the baggie of potatoes marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
After marinating, remove the potatoes from the baggie and place them in a large Pyrex backing pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and back for about an hour, until potatoes are soft. (If backing with the lamb, place the potatoes on the bottom shelf of the oven after you have reduced the heat to 350 degrees)
Enjoy!
Check out my video on how to make this delicious dish below!
For the basic tomato sauce: cover the bottom of a sauce pan in olive oil, and add your chopped onion. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
Add the cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and stir the mixture.
Let the sauce simmer on low heat for about an hour.
Start a pot of boiling water, and add your pasta once it starts to boil.
In a sauté pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and butter.
Once the butter starts to melt, add shrimp, cooking them for about 2-3 minutes on each side.
Remove the shrimp from the pan and set them aside on a plate.
Add your Bay Scallops to your sauté pan, cooking them for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Add your shrimp back to the sauté pan, and add about 2-3 cups of your basic tomato sauce to the seafood. (Note: If you prefer you can use a pre-made tomato sauce)
Add your pasta to your seafood mixture.
Enjoy!
Check out my video on how to make this delicious pasta recipe below!
Holiday Brownie Bites Preheat oven: 350 degrees F.
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer or large bowl.
Add vanilla extract and eggs to the mixture and stir again.
Add baking powder, and cocoa powder to the mixture and stir again.
Add flour and stir on high for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture becomes a lighter brown color.
Butter and flour a baking dish and add the brownie mixture to the dish, spreading the batter evenly.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.
Test to see if brownies are baked completely by inserting a clean knife or tooth pick to the center. If it comes out clean the brownies are done, if not put them back in the over for an extra few minutes.
Once your brownies are cool, gently remove the crust and roll the brownies into balls with your hands.
Roll the balls into confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, sugar, or sprinkles .
Enjoy!
Check out my video on how to make these delicious Brownie Bites below!
Peppermint Swirl Cookies Makes: 2 dozen cookies Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
1 cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
30 drops of artificial food coloring
Cream together butter and sugar in a mixer.
Add peppermint extract and the egg.
Add 1 teaspoon baking powder and 2 1/2 cups flour, stirring after each cup.
Divide the dough in half, placing one to the side and the other back in the mixing bowl.
Add 30 drops of red artificial food coloring to the dough in the mixer and mix well.
Roll out the white portion of the dough on a floured countertop with a rolling pin (If the dough it too warm and sticky, cover it in Saran Wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour).
Loosely roll the white dough into a roll and set aside.
Roll the red portion of the dough onto a floured countertop mimicking the size and shape of the white portion of the dough you previously rolled out.
Unroll your white cookie dough on top of your red cookie dough, fixing any crack or tears with your fingers, then roll the two layers of dough together with a rolling pin.
Gently, but tightly roll both layers together, creating a swirl shape.
Place a pile of sprinkles on a cookie sheet or tray and roll your cookie rolls into the pile, covering the dough with sprinkles.
Wrap the cookie rolls in Saran Wrap and place in the refrigerator for a couple hours of over night.
Once the dough is cool, cut the cookies with a piece of dental floss or a sharp knife (It is important to use a sharp knife and cold cookie dough, so the swirl pattern does not get smushed).
Place cookies on a cookie sheet and back in a 350 degree F over for 7-11 min.
Check out my video on how to make these delicious Christmas cookies below!
Okay, so fudge is definitely not a cookie, but it's just not Christmas without this amazingly delicious fudge! Plus, it would make a great addition to any holiday cookie package or potluck. In order to make this fudge, you will need a good candy thermometer, since you will need to heat up the fudge mixture to 234 degrees F. and then cool to 110 degrees F. Hitting these marks is incredibly important with this recipe since the sugar has to re-crystalize after it has been melted to create the perfect creamy fudge texture. Christmas Fudge
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
Stir milk, sugar, cocoa, and salt together in a saute pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
Once the mixture has starting boiling, stop stirring, and let the mixture boil until it reaches 234 degrees F.
Once the fudge is 234 degrees F., remove the pan from heat, and add the butter and vanilla extract without stirring it into the mixture.
Let the mixture cool to 110 degrees F.
Once the mixture is at 110 degrees F., start stirring the mixture until it loses its gloss. Once the mixture starts to become dull, quickly transfer the mixture to a buttered tray or dish before it starts to crystalize and harden.
(Not So Red) Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies from Cooking Classy
I really enjoyed baking these cookies from Cooking Classy! I only made a couple adjustments when I made my own version of the cookies. I didn't add as much food coloring since I don't like the taste of the artificial flavoring and I didn't add the white chocolate chips this time, but I think next time I make these cookies I will definitely add them!
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes: 3 dozen cookies Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
8 drops green food coloring
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 package Nestle Winter Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels
1. Combine butter and sugars until creamy. 2. Beat in eggs and vanilla. 3. Add flour, and baking soda, stir till blended. 4. Add the Nestle Winter Dark & Mint Chocolate Morsels. 5. Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. Check out my video on how to make these cookies on YouTube!
Fall is officially here and so is apple picking! I love going apple picking with our dog, Claude, who we adopted two years ago this year. It was one of the first outings we took with him and it has now become a family tradition. He is also turning 10 years old this October, so I would like to try out some home-made dog biscuits for his birthday! For future posts, I would like to add more photos of the cooking process, since I really enjoy other bloggers and cookbooks who do the same. I tried filming cooking videos for these past three recipes, but my laptop is, unfortunately, not cooperating with posting them online. Of course it isn't fall until you've eaten your fill of apple and pumpkin desserts! Last week, I tried making Martha Stewart's Apple-Cherry Cobbler recipe. I tried the cranberry version of the recipe, so I used a bag of frozen cranberries instead of cherries. I found this recipe incredibly easy and adaptive. My husband and I also enjoyed how it wasn't too overly sweet.
One of my newest favorite meals to make for dinner are these stuffed bell peppers. I created this recipe after looking at a bunch of other recipes online and then added my own touch. As a side note: this recipe uses Emeril Lagasse's Essence Creole Seasoning, which is one of my favorite spice mixes to date! I love this mix because you can make it yourself with many common pantry spices. Usually, I mix a big batch of it and store it in a recycled glass jar for use later on. I have found that it works incredibly well in so many recipes including stews, roast rubs etc. I also love it because it makes a great foolproof method of seasoning for my husband who often requests that I mix up another batch of the Creole Seasoning when we a running low.
Ingredients 1/2 cup Basmati rice 1/2 cup water 1/2 pound ground beef 1 egg 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1 tablespoon Emeril Lagasse's Essence Creole Seasoning 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 4 bell peppers cleaned and cut in half 1 cup of your favorite cheese, shredded (I used a combination of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar cheese) 1. Add rice and water in a small pan and cook on low until all of the water has been absorbed by the rice. 2. Preheat the over to 375 degrees F. 3. In a large bowl, add beef, rice, egg, bread crumbs, Essence Creole Seasoning, and worcestershire sauce and mix with hands until combined. 4. Once the bell peppers have been cleaned and cut in half (make sure to remove seeds and ribs inside), fill the peppers with the beef mixture. 5. Add shredded cheese to the top of the stuffed peppers. 6. Place peppers on baking sheet and place in preheated oven, cook for 25-30 min. depending on size of peppers.
Hi everybody! Welcome to my first blog post! I am so excited to start my foodie adventure and I hope everybody will enjoy the ride with me. So, here's a little about me. I'm just your average twenty-something finally making time for what I love to do: cooking and baking. I'm definitely not a professional, but I've always been the person in the group to cook for everybody else and enjoyed it. In college, I loved getting together for potlucks and later at my job, I was always the one to bring in homemade cookies or brownies. I hope to use this blog (and perhaps some vlogs) to share my passion and to learn some new recipes along the way. I would really like to blog about some of my own recipes/adaptions as well as "test out" some great recipes I have pinned on Pinterest. So, if you have any suggestions fell free to leave me a comment! Without further a due, my first recipe is for my own Pico de Gallo. I started making this salsa when I fell in love with a similar pre-made Pico de Gallo at a local grocery store. I wanted to make it myself as a less costly alternative and now, almost seven years later and after many trials, I think I have perfected my own adaptation of the recipe. This is definitely one of my most requested dishes and I make it for pretty much every summer family function or potluck party. The leftovers can also be used as a filling for omelets, which is super delicious. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients 4 large tomatoes or 6-7 smaller tomatoes 1 cucumber 1 green bell pepper 1 red bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper (optional) 1/2 red onion 1 garlic clove 1 lime or about 1/4 cup of lime juice Salt and Pepper to taste Instructions 1. Cut up all vegetables into small chunks 2. Stir vegetable, add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste 3. Ready to eat immediately or store in refrigerator over night
