My Perfect Chocolate Chips

For as long as I can remember... my Achilles Heel in the kitchen has been Chocolate Chip Cookies. I can't make them without burning them, adding to much of something or too little of another, or putting in the chocolate chips with hot butter and turning the cookies in to Chocolate Chocolate Chips... which were pretty good but still, I was going for classic Chocolate Chips.

Well I finally did it. I just found out my dad needs heart surgery and I wanted to do something to get my mind off it. Baking is always a great way for me to do that. So I pulled out some ingredients and my mixer and got to work. I finally made some perfect chocolate chips.

My definition of perfect in this case is delicious and NOT burnt and not extra chocolaty. So anyway, here's the recipe for some great cookies.

Hershey's Classic Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups (11.5 oz. pkg.) Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. *Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. 

* I used my Large Bar Pan from Pampered Chef and it took about 14 minutes. So it may take longer than directed. 

(Pan recipe: Spread batter into greased 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 48 bars.)

So there we go. I found this recipe on the back of the package of Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips so if you by those for this recipe you can cut the recipe out on the back and keep it forever and evers.... yea, they are that good. 

Birthday Angel Food Cake

Okay... so it isn't my birthday... not really close either. But I'm feeling nostalgic so I pulled a recipe out of one of my few cookbooks and put it to the test.

Every year on my birthday... for as long as I can remember, my Grandma made me an Angel Food birthday cake with strawberry icing. She'd do it for almost everyone in the family on their birthday. Mine was special though because she would leave the nuts off the top. So it really was just mine.

Anyway, I wanted to try and make one from scratch. I started taking pictures of the process but I forgot to take some. So i'm just going to put the end picture up and the recipe and leave it at that. I mean... you all know how to cook I'm sure, your all here for the food anyway.

So here is the recipe that I followed for classic Angel Food cake. I used a tube pan, not a bundt pan but you can use either. And a quick lesson in kitchen equipment.  This is a bundt pan.

Which is different than a tube pan.

So here is the different and yea... there is a difference. A tube pan is generally used for Angel Food Cakes or other sponge cakes. It's often made with Aluminum which cooks differently than cast aluminum, what bundt cakes are often made of. A bundt pan is great for denser cakes; like pound cakes or coffee cakes because the fluted sides allow for more crust which is desirable in those times of cakes. Another different between the two is that a tube pan often comes in 2 pieces and some times with 'legs'. The detachable bottom lets the cake come out easily and the legs allow you to turn the pan upside down to cool. But one similarity between both is that the inside tube allows for even and quick baking.

So now that I sound incredibly smart, I'll give you my recipe using the Tube pan.

Angel Food Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 12)
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• *Strawberry Frosting or some fresh strawberries and sugar, etc

*Frosting - I used a store bought Strawberry Frosting because I do not mess with homemade frosting. There's just something about frosting a cake and using my finger to get the leftovers out of the container that takes me back to Momma's kitchen. 

1. Let egg whites stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Sift flour and confectioners' sugar together twice; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla and salt on medium speed until **soft peaks form. 

**Beating egg whites was my greatest fear. It looks so difficult on TV or in recipe books because if you aren't paying attention you can miss the stage. But honestly, this is a great recipe to try whipping egg whites for the first time. That is because if you miss the soft peak and go right into the 'middle peaks', you still have time to fix it because you'll end up with stiff peaks. I've attached this link of another blog that kind of walks you through each phase but I also have a tip or two I learned while doing it from my cookbook. 

- Make sure the bowl and beaters are completely clean; any fat or yolk will keep the egg whites from forming peaks. 

- The egg whites will expand 6 to 9 times their size so make sure you have a big enough bowl. 

- When testing for peaks, don't trust the mixer beaters, use your own spatula  and dip it into the mixture. I went off my beaters at first and they had to much egg whites on them to really tell. 

2. Gradually add sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gradually ***fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time. 

***Folding is really important and is mostly used with fragile batters such as egg whites when you fold a lighter mixture into a heavier one. The proper technique is by cutting through the batter using a rubber spatula. Than you move across the bottom of the bowl and bring up part of the mixture. Repeat the circular motion until all mixed.

3. Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in tube pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on the lowest rack at 325 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched and cracks feel dry. ****Immediately invert baking pan; cool completely. 

****You have to immediately invert the baking pan because the cake will deflate if you don't. My mom uses a bottle but mine has 1 inch legs I can use. 

4. Run a knife around sides and center tube of pan. Invert cake onto a serving plate; frost top and sides. Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired.

So there you have it. My homemade Angel Food Cake. I love it so much, I've decided to share a piece with you!

Easy Fettuccine

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo. Possibly one of my favorite comfort dishes. Love to eat it with a good loaf of French Bread... maybe some Olive Oil bread dip as well, but I digress. This dish is so easy, you'll love to make it for date night or family night. which ever.

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• Sprinkling of ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
• pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Cook pasta, drain, and set aside. 
2. Melt the butter in a large saute pan over low heat and add noodles. 
3. Add heavy cream and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add the Parmesan, nutmeg, and half the chives and continue stirring until the cheese is melted. 
4. Sprinkle the rest of the chives on top and serve. 

My favorite kind of cheese to use is a 3 Cheese Shredded Parmesan, Asiago, and Provolone mixture. It can be found right next to the Parmesan cheese and made by the same company. It really steps it up a notch. Anyway, that's my conquest today. What's yours? 

One Last Project In Ohio

So I have one more project before I pack everything up. I have to make this quick as well, the Dish guy will be here soon to disconnect everything. So anyway, I know I don't normally blog about my projects... I blog about food. However, I was so excited about this simple project I had to share it. I found it on the net.. of course... and tried it myself. Here is what you'll need:

A Reader's Digest Book - This books are great and can always be found at Goodwill. They have great patterns on them. As you can see... mine is a blue pattern that will go great with my decor.

Reader's Digest - $1 at Goodwill

A picture of a bird. - Google is a great place to find bird images. I wanted to find a picture of Ohio's state bird... which believe it or not is a Cardinal... same as Indiana. So that was a neat piece of information that will be stored with other useless information in my brain. I wanted two birds on my project (yes I'm intinally saving the end project for last) so I just cut one picture out and just flipped it over so the two are facing different directions.

A black permanent marker and a pencil - Most people have these laying around. I know I have ton's of permanent market... never have too many.

So that's it! That's all you need. Now, I'm going to show you my finished project:

Cardinal (male and female) Silhouette

 Isn't that awesome!? Here are a few easy steps on how to do this with the best outcome.

1) Draw the branches first with a pencil. This way you can get it perfect. Than color it in with a black marker.
2) Place the bird (or birds) where you want them on the branch. Than you can trace the bird in pencil so you can erase any thing  you need to.
3) Finally, color in the birds and set out in a place where it can be enjoyed.

So, my goal is to do this for every state that I live in. So far, that's Indiana, Ohio, and now Missouri. I bought this book in Ohio so I figured this could be my Ohio book. I'll work on others later but I love the way this turned out.

For all my dogs out there... No really...

So this post is for my dog Dee. We spoil her way to much but that's another story. Regardless, there is a home made dog treat that we made. It's really easy to make and our dog loves them so maybe yours will too. Here is what you need for these Peanut Butter Dog Treats:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1 cup Peanut Butter (smooth only)
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Quick Oat Oatmeal

Directions:

• Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees and lightly greasing a baking or pizza pan.
  
• In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder and oatmeal. Once that's mixed, add the peanut butter and milk. Stir it together until a dough forms.
  
• Turn the dough out into a lightly floured surface, knead it and then roll it out until it's about 1/4" thick. Break our you cookie cutter of choice or a pizza cutter and cut the dough into desired size and shape.

• Bake those on the lightly greased baking pan and cook for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

• Once cool, let your favorite pup enjoy before storing in an airtight jar (or resealable freezer bag).

So... Dee loves this things. Lucky for me, the only cookie cutter I had was a kitty cat cookie cutter that my grandma gave me. Usually it rests on the back of the stove but I felt it was ironic. Anyway, if you love to spoil your dog as much I do than try this recipe out.

I'm Back and I have Butterbeer!

"Why don't we go and have a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, it's a bit cold, isn't it?" - Hermione Granger

So I've taken a hiatus but I'm back now and have a few recipes up my sleeve. I'm sorry to keep my small fan base waiting but never the less...

My mom came and stayed with me last week for one night. I love my hubby and wouldn't trade him for the world but I love a good girl's night. So... mom and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 before going to see the second part the next day.

You know how there are Twi-mom's? My mom is a... um... well she loves Harry Potter. I'm not sure if there is a catchy name for that or not but I digress. Anyway, my step-dad surprised her this summer with a trip to Universal Studios to see Hogwarts (lucky...) and came back wanting to make her own Butterbeer. Which is the basis of today's (err... tonight's) culinary conquest.

For those of you who are not aware; here is a description of Butterbeer from the Harry Potter Wiki page. And yes... it does exist (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page)

“Butterbeer is served cold in bottles and hot in "foaming tankards". In Hogsmeade, it's sold at the The Three Broomsticks and The Hog's Head, although the fact that the latter pub's stock was described as "very dusty" suggests that it was not sold there very often. In Diagon Alley, the drink has been known to be sold at the Leaky Cauldron.

At the Hog's Head, customers are charged two sickles per Butterbeer, but it is not certain whether this is a universal price for the drink, or if the price of the drink varies from location to location.

It has a very slight alcohol content, which could get house-elves fully drunk, but seemed to have a less pronounced effect on humans. In 1996, Harry Potter wondered what Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger might do at Professor Horace Slughorn's Christmas Party "under the influence of Butterbeer", indicating that it could lower inhibitions. Winky, a house-elf, took to getting drunk on Butterbeer after losing her job with the Crouch family — an addiction from which she never fully recovered.”

So there you have it. Butterbeer! But back to what I was saying. Mom and I made butterbeer in conclusion to our Girl's Night Out and I have documented the progress.

This is a very simple recipe. There are more in depths ones you can find through Google. This is also not Universal Studio’s version. That is probably hidden in the depths of Gringotts. :)

So here are the ingredients:

• Butter - 1 tablespoon
• Cream Soda - 1 1/4 cup
• Whip Cream - 1 cup
• Caramel Topping - 1/4 cup
  

1. Add butter and caramel together in a microwave safe class and heat for 30 - 45 seconds till the caramel bubbles and the butter is melted.

2. Place whip cream in a bowl.
3. Once caramel mixture is ready, pour a small amount into the whip cream and stir. This will create a caramel flavored whip cream.

4. Pour the rest of the caramel mixture into the cup and add cream soda and stir. It will foam up so be ready to catch it. Maybe do it by the sink.
5. Once the foam head is removed, add caramel whip cream as the piece de resistance and enjoy!

So there you go. I haven't tasted the original butterbeer but mom said it was pretty close. I've actually tweaked the recipe a bit. The first time we made it, there was too much caramel and not enough cream soda. So I've fixed that. (I think you'll like this version better, mom, so give it a try.)

So that is my latest culinary conquest and I think it was a success and I hope you think so. Until than... try something new, what have you got to lose?

Chopped Southwest Salad

As some of you may know, I am now a Pampered Chef Consultant. The ultimate benefit of this job is that I get to cook! Try new recipes, new products, make new friends, share the recipe, etc. So the recipe that I'm going to post right now is a Chopped Southwest Salad. It's a really great and easy salad that cost under 10 dollars to make. I forgot to take a picture of what I made, but the picture below uses the same ingredients. So here is the picture, followed by the recipe..

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Black Beans
• 4 Corn Tortillas
• Romaine Lettuce
• 1 Can Corn
• Tomato
• Avocado
• Lime
• Shredded Cheese
• Dressing
• Optional: Chicken
  

Directions:

1. Open, drain, and rinse the black beans. Put 1 cup of beans in a microwave safe dish, add 1 tablespoon of water and microwave for 1 min, 30 seconds. Let cool while preparing other ingredients.
2. Lay out the corn tortillas in 2 stacks of 2. Cut into thin strips with sharp knife or pizza cutter. Spray the strips with Pam, lightly salt, lay on cooking stone or a foil lined cookie sheet and bake 6 – 8 minutes, until crispy, in a 350 degree oven.
3. Slice and rinse a head of romaine lettuce. Pat dry or spin well. Put the lettuce into the bowl.
4. Measure ½ cup of corn rinse and add to bowl. Slice tomato and add to the bowl.
5. Slice the avocado and set aside into another bowl. Squeeze the juice from ½ a lime over the avocado. Toss avocado lightly in lime juice and add to the salad bowl.
6. Add black beans, shredded cheese and tortilla chips. Finish with ranch or favorite dressing.
7. *optional* You can add some grilled or drained canned chicken to the salad for a more hearty salad.

So there it is. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my husband and I did. Sorry this is short as well. But I hope it suffices until next time I try and new dish or a new recipe. Until than: Happy cooking! (lol, that's so cheesy)

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