Culinary Goods

Since it's almost summer time, I've been putting my VitaMix to good use and making a lot more smoothies. This one was good and basic. It was a bit tart since I used Greek yogurt, but the Greek yogurt only had 10 g of carbs in 1 C. versus 30 g. of carbs in the regular yogurt I use. 1 1/4 C. water 1/2 C. greek yogurt 1 banana 2 (small) peaches 1/4 tsp. allspice cup of ice

All right, the picture kind of sucks because I had to use my phone. Also, I didn’t actually taste these. I had half a bite, and I judge it as a 9.  Here is this fantastic dessert: This is fairly easy in the realm of a really decent dessert. It just takes a lot of steps. Step 1: Buy a Pepperidge Farm puffed pastry box from the store. Do not attempt to make your own. Unless you are Rebecca (a pastry chef). Please see my earlier post about turnovers to read how I feel about homemade puff pastry. Step 2: Make pastry cream. Here is the recipe I always use, which came originally from my Dad. I have no idea where he got it.   Pastry Cream   3/4 cup sugar I cut this down slightly, maybe 2 Tbs. 1/2 cup flour 1/4 tsp. salt 3 cups milk It needs to be whole 4 egg yolks 3 Tbs. butter 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla I increase this to 2 tsp. and Watkin’s brand is a must in my opinion Combine dry ingredients and stir. Add milk and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, bring to a nea...

The picture might not look great, but that’s because I used my phone: The Ballards in my ward made this awesome meal for an enrichment activity, and it was very tasty. It gets an 8-8.5. Here is the recipe they used: 3-4 medium russet potatoes, cubed 1 lb. chicken, diced 4 slices bacon, cut small 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 4 green onions, green part too 1/2 tsp. salt pepper to taste 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 T. butter Layer in Dutch oven. Potatoes, chicken, bacon, cheese, green onions, and alternate. Pour cream over top and dot with butter. Bake at 350 until it’s done. It probably would take 1 1/2hours. Oh, and in the version I tried, he added a can of cream of chicken soup as well.

I am shocked that I liked this recipe. I mostly tried it because I had to get rid of some potatoes, but I would absolutely make this again. It gets a 7.5. I found the recipe originally on melskitchencafe.com, and I noted my changes below in bold. Also, we serve it with sautéed zucchini and some broccoli. If you don’t serve broccoli with it, it would be awesome in the actual sauce. Chicken Pot Pie Baked Potato Yield: Makes 6 baked potatoes Ingredients Chicken Pot Pie Sauce: 3 tablespoons butter I used 1 T. butter and 2 T. olive oil 1/2 cup small diced carrots I increased this to 1 cup 1/2 cup small diced celery 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper I only used 1/8 tsp., and I also added poultry seasoning, dried rosemary, and thyme. 1/3 cup flour I decreased this to 1/4 cup 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth I used milk instead plus 1 tsp. Better than Bouillon 1/2 cup milk We used 1% an increased it (see note a...

So, my mom served us this lasagna a month ago, and it was the best I have ever had from a non-restaurant. It gets an 8.5. I finally got the recipe, but I didn’t grab a picture. It looks like lasagna. Use your imagination. Sauce: She sautéed normal Jimmy Dean sausage in a pan, and then added onion, and used a jar of Ragu as a base. She then added diced tomatoes, fresh garlic, tomato sauce, 1/2 can of tomato soup, salt and pepper, and some sugar. Then she added fennel, Herb de Provence, Italian herb from the grinder, and fresh parsley (not too much). If you don’t have the grinder, Italian seasoning would work too, I’m sure. She didn’t give me amounts. Once again, use your imagination. Cheese mixture: ricotta cheese, some cottage cheese, 2 eggs. Then, she layered with mozzarella, and added a bit of fresh parsley on top before baking. I will also add parmesan because I like that. So, here are my thoughts with lasagna. I prefer sausage over beef. I also like vegetables, so I will like...

I thought I blogged this forever ago, but I forgot it was in my drafts folder. First, the picture doesn’t do this justice. Second, I have a great friend named Lisa who makes awesome food. And she doesn’t always have recipes. And we laugh about this because it drives me crazy. One weekend, I totally cornered her and had her tell me how to makes this lasagna. And, she is so awesome that she volunteered to make all of it for Hadley’s birthday dinner the next day. Score! Here is her vague recipe. Also, it’s as good of lasagna as I’ve ever had, so it gets an 8. 1-2 lbs. hamburger, 1 lb. mild Italian sausage (I don’t like hamburger, so I’m leaving this out) big costco mushrooms 1 large onion 4-5 cloves garlic 28 oz diced tomatoes double packet small spaghetti sauce mix (I have no idea what this is, so I am assuming it’s a flavoring packet. I’m a psycho about packets, so I’ll just the traditional spaghetti sauce spices, such as Italian seasoning, oregano, etc.) I’m sure h...

So, I found this recipe on annies-eats.com, and it was very good. However, I am not convinced it’s that much better than my original, but keep in mind, I did alter this a ton. I put my changes below in bold. These get a 7.8. Now, the taste is amazing. It’s the texture that is such a beast with oatmeal cookies. It’s jut not thick like a normal cookie. Anyway, here you go. the ultimate oatmeal raisin cookie Yield: about 2 dozen cookies Ingredients 1 cup plus 1 tsp. (144 grams) all-purpose flour This needed WAY more flour. Like 1/2 cup more flour. My first batch was totally flat 1 tbsp. (7.7 grams) ground cinnamon I cut this in half and it was great 1½ tsp. (7.4 grams) baking soda 1¼ tsp. (3.6 grams) kosher salt I used normal salt, and reduced it to probably 3/4 tsp. 11 tbsp. (5.5 oz or 155 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature I used about 25% canola oil ¾ cup (140 grams) light brown sugar I reduced this by 25%, but added in 2 T. molasses 5½ tbsp. (69 grams) granulated sugar I...