Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Recipe: Banana Bread

Several years ago I found the recipe this
one is based on. I thought I lost it since
the last time I moved. I was bummed. It
was so delicious...everyone loved it.

Fortunately I found it, and now I get to
share it with you. :-D

I hope you enjoy it!


Banana Bread

2/3c. Organic Sugar
1/4c. butter
1 egg
2 egg whites
1c. very ripe mashed banana
1/4c. water
1 2/3c. flour
1t. baking soda
1/2t. salt
1/4t. + 1/8t. baking powder

Beat softened butter with sugar. Beat
in egg and egg whites, bananas and water
until well blended. Stir in remaining
ingredients until moistened.

350/45-60 minutes

Cool 10 minutes, and remove from pan.
Cool completely before slicing
(24 slices)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Perspective: Easy Chicken Nuggets

(ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ONLY USE WITH PERMISSION.)

Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Breasts
Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Egg
Garlic Powder
Olive Oil

Cut breasts into nugget sized pieces. Depending on the
size of the breast, each breast could be 6-8 pieces.

Coat pieces with egg, and then place into a plastic bag
with bread crumbs and garlic powder, and shake to coat.

Place on cookie sheet and sprinkle with olive oil.

Bake 325 for approximately 40 minutes, or until chicken
is fully cooked.

If making a large batch, you can cool and freeze for
later use. They freeze very well.

Enjoy!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Perspective: Chicken Parmesan Recipe - Wanna Come For Dinner?

(ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ONLY USE WITH PERMISSION.)

This was done the cheater's way. I put sauce in a pan, placed
chicken on top, and covered it with sauce, and sprinkled it with
Parmesan Cheese. I baked it at 350 for approximately 40
minutes.

However, if you have the time to make it from scratch,
here is a delicious recipe:

6 boneless chicken breasts
2, 8oz cans tomato sauce
1/2t. basil
1/2t. oregano
1/4t. garlic powder
1T. butter
1/4c. parmesan cheese
8oz. mozzarella

Flatten chicken. Quickly brown on both sides. Remove
to shallow baking dish.

Mix tomato sauce and spices and bring to a boil, and
simmer 10 minutes. Stir in butter. Pour over chicken.
Sprinkle with Parmesan, and cover.

Bake 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle with
mozzarella, and bake for 10 minutes, until cheese melts.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Perspective: Blueberry Muffin Recipe

(ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ONLY USE WITH PERMISSION.)

Blueberry Muffins
3/4c. butter
1 3/4c. organic sugar
6 eggs
1T. vanilla
1T. lemon extract
5 1/4c. flour
2T. baking powder
2t. salt
1c. water
1/3c. non-fat dry milk
3 1/4c. blueberries

Beat softened butter until creamy. Mix in sugar.
Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon extract. Beat until
thoroughly combined.

Add dry ingredients alternately with water.

Fold blueberries into mixture.

Distribute in muffin pans/cups and sprinkle with
cinnamon and sugar mix.

Bake at 350 45 minutes.
Makes 24 Delicious Muffins

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Perspective: Baking Chocolate Meringues

(ALL WORKS HERE ARE COPYRIGHTED.
ONLY USE WITH PERMISSION.)

Have you ever wondered how it is that
we know that certain ingredients work
together, or will respond a certain
way?

It would seem somewhere along the way
someone (or ones) had to experiment, and
lay the groundwork for others, and their
experiments.

It's interesting to consider the positive/
negative effects of this way of interacting
with things.

On one hand, it could be good, as you would
have some idea what to expect. However, it
could be potentially limiting if you never
sought to experiment further because what
you had worked.

Yesterday I tried to make Pea Soup without
an established recipe. All I can say is,
oh well. Maybe I will try again another day,
or maybe next time I will consider using
someone else's foundation. I have had some
flops. Some even laughable.

Fortunately, these meringues are anything but
a flop or laughable. Enjoy!

Chocolate Meringues

2 egg whites
1/4t cream of tartar
1/8t sea salt
2/3c sugar
3T unsweetned cocoa
1t pure vanilla

Place baking parchment paper (or brown shopping
bag) on cookie sheets. In bowl, combine egg
whites,cream of tartar,and salt. Beat on high
until foamy. Add sugar, and beat until stiff
(the whites have peaks that stand on their own)
and glossy. Add vanilla and cocoa. Use a
teaspoon to drop onto cookie sheets. If it is
stiff enough, it'll hold its shape.

Bake 300/25-30 minutes, or until meringues feel
firm to touch.

Makes approximately 2 Dozen

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Pancakes Anyone?

I grew up with pancake mix and Bisquick for pancakes.
I'll never forget the first time someone made me
pancakes from scratch. I couldn't believe how simple
it was AND, better yet, delicious! (I am also going
to guess better for me as well).

If you've never made them from scratch, do yourself
a BIG favor, and do it. Mmm. Mmm.

(ALL WORKS HERE ARE COPYRIGHTED.
ONLY USE WITH PERMISSION.)

Chocolate Chip Wheat Pancakes

1/3c. dry milk + 1c. water
1/4c. shortening (or 1/2 stick melted margarine)
1 1/4c. wheat flour
2t. baking powder
1T. sugar
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
Mini Chocolate chips (to taste, but not too many -
you'll get a gooey mess!)

Stir together until just mixed.
To get relatively uniform pancakes,
use 1/3 cup measure on skillet which
is buttered, and warm enough on medium
heat that water sprinkled on it dances.

You can cook mix all at once, and freeze
extra pancakes, or you can make a couple
a day for up to 3 days, and leave the
uncooked mix in your refrigerator.

Makes 6 large pancakes.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Chocolate Wheat Waffles

(ALL WORKS HERE ARE COPYRIGHTED.
ONLY USE WITH PERMISSION.)

Sift together:
1c. wheat flour
1t. baking powder
1/4t. salt
1/4t. baking soda
1T. cocoa powder

Mix the following with dry ingredients:
1c. milk
2t. lemon juice
1 egg
2T. melted butter

Cook in waffle iron and enjoy.

Makes approximately 3 waffles.
Any remaining can be frozen.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Perspective: Recipe for NYC Style Bagels

Recently I made bagels. I attempted several years ago to make
NYC Style Bagels, and was quite disappointed.

However, since it is one of those foods I miss from home, I
figured I would see if I could find another recipe.

The NYC Bagel Recipe I found came up close. The only
differences in what I did versus the recipe was to substitute
molasses where it called for malt syrup, and used quick rise
yeast (in place of dry active).

For the fun of it, I documented the essence of the process
in a short YouTube video. What took over 2 hours (more
or less) was condensed into approximately a minute.



If it's not something you're inclined to do, and curious
about what all the fuss is about, you can order NYC bagels
from H&H Bagels in NYC. I know first hand that those
bagels are delicious!

PS If you're interested in a recipe for NYC style pizza,
check this blog entry.

PPS Need to do some cooking conversions? I have never
tried it, but this site might be helpful.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Perspective: Recipe for Success

I am not sure where I got this from, but I have had it for
several years. According to the originator,
"The following recipe was written by my great-great-
grandmother, updated and passed down through the
generations."

Ingredients
Gather equal parts:
Love, play, laughter
Appreciation of beauty, within you and around you
Self-discipline while striving to meet your goals
Intelligent, caring friends to share life with
Respect for yourself and others
Ability to give of yourself unconditionally
Compassion and tolerance
Honesty, loyalty and integrity

Directions
In a large container, combine first six ingredients.
Blend until the ability to organize, analyze, compile,
coordinate and prioritize a variety of life's tasks is
very smooth. Add compassion and tolerance.

Pour into a nonstick pan. Sprinkle honesty, loyalty,
and integrity over top. Bake at a low temperature,
constantly testing for success.

Serve warm. Have daily.

Connie Moore, Tucson, Arizona

Friday, August 14, 2009

Perspective: Pizza (NY Style - Sort of)



Different parts of the United States have different
ideas on what different foods should taste like.

I suspect that many people favor the version that
tastes like "home." For me, one of those things is
New York City style pizza (which extends to Long
Island, and possibly parts of New Jersey).

I have tried pizza in other places, even some
labeled as "New York Style," and sadly it is nothing
like the pizza from home.

Since I look for recipes that could mimic what I like,
I found one that sort of resembles the version I love,
but since it still is not it, I decided to amend it in
a few ways.

This is my version of New York Style Pizza:

1 1/3c, warm water (110-115 degrees)
2t. sugar
1 pckg of yeast
2c. wheat flour
1 1/2c. bread flour
1t. salt
1T. basil
1/2T. oregano

Combine water and sugar in a bowl, stir until sugar
is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top, and stir to
combine. Leave ingredients for 5-10 minutes, or
until you see the mixture foam.

Combine the flours, salt, and spices, and mix into
the yeast mixture. Combine until mixture forms a
soft dough, adding any additional flour to get the
soft, elastic texture. Ball should be smooth and
elastic before moving onto next step.

Place ball on counter, or in bowl, place in a warm
place,and cover until doubled in size (approximately
30 minutes).

Punch the dough down (it will remove the air) and
then knead an additional few minutes. Cut the
dough in 1/2 (it will make two 12"-14" pizzas).

Let dough rest a couple of minutes, and then roll
out to the size of your pan (which should be coated
with oil to prevent sticking), and stretch to fit,
if necessary. (I find pans with holes - like this
one
- to be the best type to use, or a pizza stone).

Next layer with your favorite cheeses and
pizza toppings.

Layer 1: cheese
Layer 2: other toppings
Layer 3: cheese

Bake in a pre-heated 500 degree oven, on the bottom
shelf until you see toppings cooked, and cheese
melted. (Depending on the topping, you may want to
pre-cook before baking). Approximately 8-10 minutes.

(Best pan is one that has holes in it like this one,
or a pizza stone.)

Watch closely,
and then...

Enjoy!

If there is left over pizza, you can freeze it, and
reheat to eat at a later time. I put individual
slices in aluminum foil, and when ready, bake it at
350 for approximately 45 minutes (if frozen).

In addition, the second crust can be frozen without
baking it, until you are ready to have your next
pizza. Just allow the dough to defrost before
attempting to roll it out.

PS If you ever get a chance to experience the real
thing, you might be amazed. There is a place in
NY that will actually ship you a NY pizza,
http://iwantnypizza.com/ You really have got
to want to splurge, cause it ain't cheap. But odds
are, it will be worth it. Just looking at the
pizza on the page, mmmmm.....

PS Need to do some cooking conversions? I have never
tried it, but this site might be helpful.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Perspective: Applesauce and French Toast

When I was growing up, my family always
had French Toast with applesauce and
cinnamon and sugar.

If you are anything like most anyone I
have ever told that to, you're probably
like, "really?!" or maybe even "yuck!"

Funny thing is that was my reaction as
a child to putting syrup on French Toast.
I couldn't imagine it, and yet no one I
knew outside of my family had ever heard
of such a thing.

(It was my understanding that it is a
German way to make it).

Now I have even had French Toast with
strawberries on it, and used a different
type of bread, and even baked it. I have
learned, too, that refrigerating the bread
and egg over night can help to puff the
bread up.

Mmmm. I'd be making some now, if it
wasn't for the fact that I just had some
for breakfast.

It occurs to me that the way we interact
with food and recipes is a lot like life.

Different recipes have different ingredients,
and different amounts of ingredients, and
prepared different ways.

How many times can life be handled in
different ways, some more preferable than
others, some better for others.

Interestingly, though, we don't often judge
other's recipes as much as we judge their
choices. And, often we are more accepting
of ingredient choices in a recipe than we
are with the ingredients that make up others'
lives.

We have our favorites, but there are other
options. If I never was willing to have
anything different than what I grew up with,
it certainly would have limited what I have
had to eat, and the fact is, that I never
choose traditional French Toast if all I
can have on it is syrup. For me, syrup is
for pancakes. However, I never stop anyone
else from making that choice.

In the same way, I can limit my options in
life. I can choose to refrain from certain
things and people. At the same time, I may
not always agree with the choices others make,
and it many not be for me, but I choose to
respect what others choose for themselves.

Having said that, one of my favorite recipes
for French Toast that I haven't made is years
is very sweet, and almost like a dessert
rather than a meal.

It melts in your mouth.

Decadent French Toast

Mix and cook until bubbly:
5T butter
1C brown sugar
2T corn syrup (*see note below)

Pour into 13x9 baking dish.

Arrange 2" thick slices of French
Bread over mixture.

Beat together:
1 1/2C skim milk
5 eggs
1t vanilla

Pour over bread.

Cover and refrigerate over night.

When ready to bake, bake at
350 for 45 minutes, then invert
and bake additional 5-10 minutes.

Serve with Cool Whip and
strawberries.

*I am not a big fan of High
Fructose Corn Syrup. My
understanding is that the kind
of corn syrup you buy is different
than the manufactured version in
our foods. If, however, you'd
like alternative options, please
see High Fructose Corn Syrup
Substitutions
.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Perspective: Life as a Recipe? And...A Recipe for Pumpkin Bread

Today I made some delicious Pumpkin Bread.

Recipe and picture to follow.

As I was making it, I was looking at a handwritten
recipe which didn't include flour. As that seemed
odd, I went to check the recipe elsewhere to see
that there should have been flour included.

It had me consider how when you know how to
do something, you know when something doesn't
look "right." If it was my first time baking ever,
I may have thought nothing of it, and then
wondered why it came out as it did, as it would
have had no real similarity to any bread I know.

On the other hand, I think sometimes when we
have a "recipe" for life, and follow it exactly, we
can miss out on some wonderful discoveries that
come from experiments and so-called mistakes,
and the joys of discovering something new.

Sometimes it might be best to go a prescribed
way, but we won't always know the possibilities
until we've made a choice to divert ourselves
from the spelled out path.

I would suspect the key is awareness. Being
aware of the possibilities puts us in a position
of being able to choose what we would like to
have/have happen.

Interesting how my mind works, isn't it?
Maybe I should call myself the philosophical
baker.

Without further ado, here you go! :-)


Pumpkin Quick Bread

Makes 1 loaf
Bake 350/50 minutes

7/8c canned pumpkin (w/o spice)
2 eggs
1/2c. olive oil
1/3c. water
1c. white sugar
1/2c. brown sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1t. baking soda
3/4t. sea salt
1/2t. cinnamon
1/2t. nutmeg
1/4t. cloves (ground)
1/8t. ginger

Mix together wet ingredients with sugars. Then stir in, just til mixed, the dry ingredients. Pour into a prepared pan, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mix. Bread is fully baked when inserted toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy.

PS Need to do some cooking conversions? I have never
tried it, but this site might be helpful.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Hollywood, Twitter and Lemonade

A couple of night ago, I met up with Dan Pavlik
(@nominated) and Brian Degan Scott (@bdser)
in Hollywood. It was a lot of fun. If you'd like
to see/hear more about it, and Dan's film
Nominated, see the Nominated Blog.

(Dan Pavlik on Left, Brian Degan Scott on Right)

Some people say that Twitter is a waste of
time. I am not sure I would agree. I met
these two great people because of Twitter,
and am enjoying helping out with the film
where possible. It's likely I would never
have met Dan without connecting through my
time spent there.

Having said that, I bring this up in part
because the meeting is context for this
blog entry. We ate at Hooters. They had
a strawberry lemonade that was out of this
world, and probably because it was full of
sugar, LOL.

(making the important decisions)

So when I got home, I decided to make some of
my own. The following is what I came up with.
It was not as delicious as the Hooter's version,
but it wasn't too bad. Enjoy!

4 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup lemon juice
1 pint frozen strawberries

Blend the strawberries with enough water to
cover strawberries until liquid, and then
mix in the remaining water, sugar, and lemon
juice. Stir and chill.

*******************UPDATE**********************
I have discovered two things since posting
this recipe:

1. White sugar is better for you than brown
sugar (I have replaced the brown sugar with
organic sugar with good result)

2. I have cut the sugar in half, the strawberries
in half, and added twice the water, and it still
tastes good...maybe even better because it's not
so sweet.
**************************************************

If you want a recipe from someone a little more
well known, and a track record, here's Emeril's
Strawberry Lemonade Recipe
.

Have a great day!