Culinary Goods

I made these last week without realizing that Melly had also blogged a very similar peanut butter bar recipe a few days previous. Having never tasted her version, I will probably stick with this one since I cut down the sugar in the frosting by 1 C. and thought they still tasted great. I'm sure you could do the same with hers, though, and get the same result. I loved these. They get an 8. I got the recipe from my Jared 15 year-old niece, who is an impressive cook for her age. Ingredients: 1 1/2 C Flour 1¼ tsp. Salt ½ tsp. Baking Soda ¾ C Butter ¾ C Sugar I used 2/3 C. ¾ C Brown Sugar 1 ½ tsp. Vanilla 1 1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter (split) 2 Eggs 1 ½ C Quick Oats Frosting: ½ C Butter (1 stick) 3 ½ C Powdered Sugar I used 2 1/2 C. 2 T Cocoa ¼ C Milk (I use whatever I have in the fridge) 1 tsp. Vanilla Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream

These were yum. Jared wasn't a fan of them, but I would give them a 7. I got the recipe from melskitchencafe.com. Apple Cinnamon Waffles with Cinnamon Syrup INGREDIENTS Cinnamon Syrup: 1/2 cup granulated sugar I used 1/3 C. 1/2 cup packed brown sugar I used 1/3 C. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup water Cinnamon Apples: 1 tablespoon butter 2-3 large sweet apples, peeled, cored and chopped 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon brown sugar pinch of salt Waffles: 2 cups all-purpose or white whole wheat flour 1/4 cup granulated sugar I left this out 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 3/4 cups milk 1/2 cup vegetable, canola or coconut oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 egg whites DIRECTIONS For the syrup, whisk together the sugars, flour and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Whisk in the water and vanilla. Bring the mixture to a low

  These delightful muffins came from annies-eats.com, and they were very good. I give them an 8. I didn’t like the texture as well as the muffins from last week, but I Loved the apples. The batter was really thick, so I might leave out 1/4 cup of flour next time. Cinnamon Sugar Apple Doughnut Muffins Ingredients For the apples: 5 medium apples, peeled and sliced I used more than this, probably 7 apples 1½ tbsp. unsalted butter* 1 tbsp. granulated sugar I left this out ½ tsp. ground cinnamon I doubled this and also added 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1/4 tsp. cloves Pinch of salt For the muffins: 1 cup oat flour* ¾ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup whole wheat flour I left this out and used white ¼ cup granulated sugar   I cut this in half ¼ cup brown sugar I cut this in half 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda ¾ tsp. kosher salt I used normal salt ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon ¼ tsp. grated nutmeg 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted I used half canola oil ¾ cup milk I used bu

So, I don’t know why we haven’t discovered this recipe sooner. It’s perfect! Cream of chicken soup is full of nasty additives, so this is a fast, homemade version that tastes way better. It is more flavorful though, so if you are looking for more bland flavor, leave the seasonings out. Anyway, it came from the glorious melskitchencafe.com, and I didn’t taste it directly, but I would give it a 7. This came together in seriously 5 minutes, and I didn’t take a picture because I dumped it directly into another recipe. However, you can click the link and it has a beautiful picture. There are no changes because I followed it exactly. She does say on the blog you can add in cooked chicken if you want, but that’s too much for a lazy, vegetarian-ish me. Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup Yield: Makes the equivalent of 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup (about 1 1/3 cups) Ingredients 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning (see note) 1/4 teaspoon onion

This recipe came from melskitchencafe.com, and it was super easy. It also was good. It gets a 7.5. You could swap out brown rice pretty easily for the quinoa. I have noted my changes below in bold. One thing to note is that you do need to stir it as she says (I skipped this step and it stuck to the bottom). Also mine boiled over into the oven, so put something underneath the casserole dish. Creamy Chicken and Quinoa Cordon Bleu Casserole Ingredients 2 2/3 cups (double batch) homemade condensed cream of chicken soup (the equivalent of 2 10.75-ounce cans cream of chicken soup) 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well and drained 1-2 cups cooked, diced chicken I used canned chicken 1 cup chopped deli ham (or leftover ham of any sort) I only used about 3/4 cup 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese 2 cups broccoli crowns, chopped into bite-size pieces if needed I used twice this 1/4 cup s

These were good- the ratings ranged from 8-8.8, so they were tasty, needless to say. When I cooked the bars in the oven, I actually cooked them for 25 minutes instead of the suggested 10. I got the recipe from melskitchencafe.com. Also, I did not swirl in the orange food dye. Orange Cream Bars YIELD:  MAKES 16 SQUARES INGREDIENTS Shortbread crust: 1 ¼ cups flour 2/3 cup confectioners sugar I used 1/2 C. Pinch of salt 10 tablespoons cold butter cut into chunks Orange Curd filling: 2 large eggs 4 large egg yolks ¾ cup granulated sugar I used 1/2 C. 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest Pinch of salt ½ cup butter, softened Sour Cream Topping: 3/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla DIRECTIONS Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil so that the foil extends 2 inches beyond two opposite

First, the picture does not do this pasta justice. The picture looks bland, the pasta is not. Anyway, Stef got me addicted to a new, fabulous food blog. It’s called damndelicious.net, and my first recipe attempt from the blog was actually really, really good. John’s parents came over and tried this, and they LOVED it. It probably gets an 8.3. I noted my changes below in bold, and in addition, I added the zest from about 1 small lemon and about 1 tsp. of lemon juice. I think this is a great addition. This only serves about 3-4 adults, just FYI, but it comes together super fast. Anyway, here is the original recipe: Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta Ingredients 8 ounces fettuccine I used linguine 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined I used the frozen Costco kind Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided I cut this WAY down. I used about 2 Tbs. of butter and 1 Tbs. of olive oil, although I did add in another 2 Tbs. before Jo

This was okay, but not great- I would give it a 6. I got the recipe from melskitchencafe.com. It calls for sun-dried tomatoes, which I'm not a fan of, so substituted petite tomatoes. Creamy Tuscan Pasta Sauce YIELD:  SERVES 4-6 This would be delicious with grilled or cooked chicken thrown into the mix. Also, you can use lowfat cream cheese and lowfat milk; the sauce is more creamy and smooth the higher fat content you go but I usually stick with 1% milk and less fat cream cheese and we love it. If you have fresh basil, scrap the dried basil and add in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil at the end of cooking (or do a combination of dried and fresh for maximum basil flavor). To maximize how quickly this meal comes together, start the noodles cooking at the same time you start the sauce. INGREDIENTS 4 tablespoons butter I used 2 TBS. 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press 1/2 tablespoon dried basil 8 ounces cream cheese, softened

  This could really be any fruit tart, but this one had strawberries. It’s awesome.The average rating was a full 9, and I would personally give them a 9.5, but I have a strange addiction and fascination with tart crust. I have no control, so my rating will be seriously skewed. Either way, this is a keeper. My glorious pasty chef friend Rebecca kind of made it up, because, hey, why not just make up a tart recipe? Now, when I tried it, they did not turn out as well, and it had to do with the thickness and the baking time. I will note my proposed changes in bold. Here is the recipe: Tart Crust 270 grams butter This is about 2 1/2 cubes butter 140 grams sugar This is about 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg 400 grams flour This is about a generous 3 cups flour Cut this recipe in half for 6 tarts. Cut the dough in 6 equal parts and roll them out one at a time. Mix butter and sugar together, like a cookie, then add egg, mix in flour. This is crackly dough, like rolling out sugar cookie dough.

So, this recipe was good and has the potential to be super amazing. I got the recipe from annies-eats.com. As they were, the rating averages out to be an 8. I cut things down significantly, which you can see by noting my changes below in bold. If I had to make this for company and needed them to be super impressive, I would leave the recipe as is, use all white flour, and then just take out 1/4 cup of brown sugar. The topping is what makes these muffins, just FYI. Oh, and I only used half of the topping, so it makes more than you need. Gingerbread Doughnut Muffins Ingredients For the muffins: 2¾ cup all-purpose flour (or white whole wheat) I used 3/4 cup of wheat, and I am leaving this out next time and doing all white. 2½ tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. salt 1 tbsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground cinnamon ¼ tsp. ground cloves I did a generous 1/4 tsp. 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature I did half oil/half butter ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. light brown sugar I left this out entirely,

This is the best chicken curry I have personally ever tasted. My picture is very small because I was just tasting it before I left to go to dinner with John, but it’s very good. It get an 8.7. Anyway, my fantastic friend Jackie taught me how to make this. 3 chicken breasts, cut up 1 T. coconut oil Cook the chicken until the liquid is gone (she added about 1 tsp. olive oil before the seasonings because it was a bit too dry). Then, add 1 tsp. smoked paprika and about 3/4 tsp. curry powder. Add 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 cup finely diced onion, 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger, 1 Tbs. Better than Bouillion paste (chicken), 1 cup coconut milk (the kind from the can, not the box), and 2 T. tomato paste. Stir until sauce has formed, then shake kosher salt liberally on top, and add pepper as well. Add in about 3-4 T. golden raisins and 3-4 T. cashews. My friend serves this over rice. She says she basically sautés jasmine rice in oil until it is toasted (I think she also said she adds garlic),

These were way good. Jared and I gave them an 8, my mother-in-law gave them an 8.5 and my father-in-law gave them a 10. My father-in-law is one of those rare individuals who is always happy and finds fault in very few things, so his rating didn't surprise me. Anyway, this recipe is definitely a keeper. I got the recipe off of annies-eats.com. When I made the chocolate the way she noted in the recipe, it didn't melt, so I threw it in the microwave for about 15 seconds. When I pulled it out, it was thick and grainy, so I put it in a stainless steel bowl and put it over a saucepan with boiling water in it and melted it that way (thanks, Melly). This helped it become smooth and glossy. Also, it is absolutely essential to run the cream filling through a sieve because there were quite a few chunks in it after it cooked from the eggs and the cornstarch. Chocolate and Coconut Cream Pie Bars YIELD:  MAKES 16 BARS Note: To toast the coconut, place it in a single la

This picture is way blurry, but you get the general idea. These were good- I gave them a 7, I think Melissa gave them a 7.5 and Jared gave them a 4. He's not at all generous in his ratings and he doesn't like a many meals without meat, so we won't take his rating into consideration. I really liked the chipotle ranch in this. I got the recipe from damndelicious.net. Burrito Bowls 1 cup uncooked rice  1 cup salsa,  homemade  or store-bought  3 cups chopped Romaine lettuce  1 (15.25-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained  1 (15-ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed  2 Roma tomatoes, diced  1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced  2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves  FOR THE CHIPOTLE CREAM SAUCE  1 cup sour cream  1 tablespoon chipotle paste*  1 clove garlic, pressed  Juice of 1 lime  1/4 teaspoon salt, or more, to taste  INSTRUCTIONS To make the chipotle cream sauce, whisk together sour cream, chipotle paste, garlic, lime juice and salt

This recipe was originally sent to me by an old friend from graduate school, and she said the original came from Tyler Florence on the Food Network, so that might be the original source. However, I used this version, and made quite a few changes. Please note that is very time consuming. It’s not hard, but it takes a ton of time (a great friend pointed out that my version of an “easy” recipe is skewed, so I am making a note of that). Anyway, this gets a 9, but only if you let it sit for about 5 hours. We ate it fresh, and it wasn’t the same. My friend described it perfectly when she said it was light and refreshing; it’s the perfect dessert for Spring. Also, we added fresh berries to the top, which I liked. Finally, everything came from melskitchencafe.com, but I swapped out the lemon curd recipe with one from my Fine Cooking magazine, and she says that the cake recipe originally came from Martha Stewart. As always, my changes are in bold.   Lemon Berry Trifle Yield: Serves 8-10 Not