Culinary Goods

So, my  mom used to make this when I was a kid. It’s super good and relatively easy. If nothing else, it’s festive. Here is what you do. Cut about 1/2 a 9x13 pan of white cake into small cubes (I use a homemade white cake recipe from cookingclassy.com (it’s on the blog under strawberry shortcake) 2/3 batch of pastry cream 2 cups whipped cream Raspberry jam Berries of your choice. In a trifle bowl, I  layer cake, pastry cream, cream, jam, and berries. It’s delightful!

These were really good, but I learned a couple of things. First, I love buttermilk in pretty much everything except waffles. Secondly, these are more like dessert. It was a big hit overall though. This recipe came from halfbakedharvest.com and I personally wouldn’t eat them for breakfast because they’re too sweet, but everyone else loved them. Churro Waffles 2 cups buttermilk 3 eggs 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted I did half oil 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoons salt 4 tablespoons salted butter melted (or unsalted with a pinch of salt) Ours didn’t use all the butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon whipped cream or ice cream for serving warm chocolate sauce Dulce de Leche or maple syrup, for serving I melted chocolate with half and half until it was runny and it made great chocolate syrup The instructions can be found at the link below: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/churro-waffless/

So, I thought this was good and would be perfectly happy eating it again, but half of us didn’t like it and half of us did. It tasted a whole lot better than it looked though! This recipe came from carlsbadcravings.com and I followed it super closely. We served it over garlic mashed potatoes. Chicken Divan INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast chopped into bite size pieces 1/4 tsp EACH salt, pepper, paprika 1 16-20 oz. bag broccoli florets 3 tablespoons unsalted butter divided 2 tablespoon olive oil divided 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 2 cups low sodium chicken broth divided 2 cups milk 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp EACH onion pwdr, garlic pwdr, dried parsley 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese divided 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup sour cream Panko Topping (optional) 3/4 cup panko breadcru...

I looked at a bunch of recipes online and then combined it together to form this. I needed homeless lunch cookies, so this made a ton. Additionally, the kids love them and say they are like chocolate chip blondies. You can see we have 3 different colors from the 3 different oven racks, haha. Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars This was a triple batch, which was 3 sheet pans. 5 cubes butter 1/2 cup olive oil 3 1/2 cups brown sugar 2 1/4 cups white sugar 4 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 2 Tbs. vanilla 1 Tbs. salt 1 Tbs. baking soda 7 1/2 cups flour Chocolate chips to taste (1 did one small bag of milk chocolate and 1/2 bag of butterscotch and then about 3 cups of semisweet) You mix this together and press into 3 greased jelly roll pans. They bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or so. The edges turn slightly brown.

So, I tried a new tart crust recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. The texture was better, but I think I like the taste of the original recipe better. Pate Sucree 375 grams flour 46 grams powdered sugar 94 grams powdered sugar 47 grams almond flour 225 grams unsalted butter 1/2 vanilla bean (I just used about 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract) 56 grams eggs So, you sift the flour, almond flour, and the 46 grams of powdered sugar into a bowl. Then, you cream the butter well, add the remaining 94 grams of powdered sugar, and then  beat about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and then the dry ingredients in 2 different additions, combining everything. Add the eggs and mix on low for about 30 seconds. Wrap it and put in fridge for 2 hours. I got 14 tartlets out of this, and I baked mine at 350 for 30 minutes and then 15 minutes. As soon as the tops brown, take out the rice or pie weights or whatever you use to weigh it down. I’m a genius and used a muffin wrapper with pie weights an...

So, this is good. I know, it sounds disgusting, but this is not the tater tot casserole from our childhood. This one probably gets an 8. Every single person at our house liked it, which is saying something. This is probably the best version for what it is. And, I made it up, so good for me. 1 lb. ground turkey 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced 1 onion, chopped Brown this together, and then add: 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 cup-ish red wine Cook this down a bit, then add: 2 Tbs. flour Cook for about 1 minute, then add 1 T. Beef Better than Bouillon 1 1/4 cups milk Bring this to a boil, then add: Tomato paste, small can A few big spoonful's of sour cream 1 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning 1/2 t tsp. rosemary 1/2 tsp. oregano Once this boils, add: fresh green beans, to taste fresh or frozen corn, to taste Put this in a big skillet, then add cheddar cheese on the top and then tater tots. Bake at 350 for 30  minutes.

So, this was good but I don’t like the chow mein noodles John used. I think this would be much better with glass noodles or pad thai noodles. He said he doubled the sauce with the exception of the chili garlic, and I thought the sauce was a bit too much, so maybe 1 1/2 times would be better. KUNG PAO CHICKEN NOODLE STIR-FRY 8 ounces (uncooked) noodles of your choice (I used linguine) 2 tablespoons peanut oil or olive oil, divided 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 small white onion, thinly sliced 8 ounces baby bella or white button mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 large zucchini, spiralized (or chopped into bite-sized pieces) 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 1 batch Kung Pao Sauce (see below) toppings: chopped peanuts, thinly sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds KUNG PAO SAUCE INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce 1/4 cup natural peanut butter 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (or sriracha) 1 tablesp...

My sister Brittny really liked this recipe, so we tried it out. it was fine. I just think the Cowboy cookie recipe we use is so good it’s not getting any better. Although I do love me some cinnamon in chocolate chip cookies. DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe Makes 26 cookies ½ pound butter, softened (2 sticks) ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar ¾ cup packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 ¼ cups flour 1/2 cup rolled oats 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt Pinch cinnamon 2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts