tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52700292388816383242024-03-19T05:25:47.128-05:00Can She Bake A Cherry Pie?Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-68290114994190252072012-03-26T20:49:00.000-05:002012-03-26T20:49:58.705-05:00Banana Pudding Cheescake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNFugjIfFtUyajnth5dXqOVZ5lJ-op7qQjx12NNkE6-5T0um1-VnVmzBRAL1xjxky2zLtCsYVnkqcN2pRBWoZqszEWEFi_OLFUoWYFUtCwSToVk4NwwNTA0WmHbXdTQ0hGnqEsSmtZWsl/s1600/03+26+12+098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNFugjIfFtUyajnth5dXqOVZ5lJ-op7qQjx12NNkE6-5T0um1-VnVmzBRAL1xjxky2zLtCsYVnkqcN2pRBWoZqszEWEFi_OLFUoWYFUtCwSToVk4NwwNTA0WmHbXdTQ0hGnqEsSmtZWsl/s320/03+26+12+098.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Normally I stay away from cheesecake. It's usually too grainy for me. But a customer came into the library last week and was showing me this recipe she found in the March 2012 Southern Living and she basically talked me into trying it. It's honestly the best cheesecake I've ever tasted. So creamy, and the crust is amazing. I roasted the bananas so the flavor was intense. I couldn't find my springform pan -- probably still in storage, but it's only necessary if you want it to look nice.<br />
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Banana Pudding Cheesecake<br />
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Makes: 10 to 12 servings<br />
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1½ cups finely crushed vanilla wafers<br />
½ cup chopped pecans<br />
¼ cup butter, melted<br />
17 vanilla wafers<br />
2 large ripe bananas,1 diced & 1 mashed<br />
1 tbs. lemon juice<br />
2 tbs. light brown sugar<br />
2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened<br />
1 (8-oz.) container Mascarpone cheese<br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
3 large eggs<br />
2 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
½ cup coarsely crushed vanilla wafers<br />
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Garnishes: sweetened whipped cream, vanilla wafers, sliced bananas tossed in lemon juice<br />
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Preheat oven to 350°. Place bananas on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove 1 banana, cool completely. Peel and dice. Bake the remaining banana for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully peel and place in a small bowl, and mash with a fork until smooth. Set both bananas aside.<br />
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Stir together first 3 ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. Press mixture onto bottom of a greased and floured 9-inch springform pan. Stand 17 vanilla wafers around edge of pan (rounded sides against pan), pressing gently into crust to secure. Bake 10 minutes at 350°. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 30 minutes).<br />
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Combine bananas and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 1 minute or just until sugar has dissolved.<br />
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Beat cream cheese and mascarpone cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer 3 minutes or until smooth. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Gently stir banana mixture into cream cheese mixture. Pour batter into prepared crust.<br />
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Bake at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove cheesecake from oven; gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake with coarsely crushed wafers. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cover and chill 8 hours. Enjoy.<br />
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Adapted from March 2012 <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/banana-pudding-cheesecake-50400000119918/">Southern Living</a>.Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-91469890304683186972012-03-18T17:00:00.000-05:002012-03-18T17:00:14.241-05:00I Am Such A Bad BloggerWow 2 years and 2 days since my last post. What can I say except life happens...got a job, had some personal issues to resolve, but now I'm back and I've got 2 years worth of recipes to post. Oh and I work at a library so I pretty much have access to every cookbook available...sweet!<br />
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So for today's blog I've got Mexican Stuffed Shells. If you're addicted to <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a> like me, you've probably seen this recipe a lot. If you haven't tried it yet you've got to do it. It is so ooey gooey good and so easy to make.<br />
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Mexican Stuffed Shells<br />
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1 lb. ground turkey<br />
1 package taco seasoning<br />
4 oz. Kraft Philadelphia Cooking Creme Santa Fe Blend<br />
14 - 16 jumbo pasta shells<br />
1½ c. salsa<br />
1 c. taco sauce<br />
1c. cheddar cheese<br />
1c. monterey jack cheese<br />
2 - 3 green onions<br />
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Preheat oven to 350°F.<br />
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In a skillet cook ground turkey, add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add the cooking creme and stir til well blended. Simmer for about 2 - 3 minutes. Set aside. While ground turkey is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to the directions; drain. Set the shells out individually on cutting board or baking sheet so that they don't stick together.<br />
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Spray a 9x13 baking dish with some nonstick cooking spray. Pour salsa on bottom of baking dish, completely covering it. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in baking dish, open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.<br />
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After 30 minutes, add the cheese and bake for 10 - 15 minutes more, with the foil removed. Top with any condiments you'd like...green onions, black olives, etc. Serve with sour cream, salsa &/or guacamole.<br />
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Adapted from: <a href="http://blogchef.net/taco-stuffed-shells-recipe/">BlogChef.net</a>Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-38787206855551268012010-03-16T21:14:00.002-05:002010-03-16T21:18:09.253-05:00Meatloaf To Get Excited About<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQztt1Oml7TOrzTEVQw1kGuaeOEDuJmdm46wT4odFZgjm83Q0Z96mAitN3hGBnntk8N23HpjtN-GTQ7tSiSFYRWuB8AMEB-PYH3gU62vWUbsCG2jDN09ENnwbzvr4lCuvOZqEaojGxIIjr/s1600-h/03+16+10+014+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQztt1Oml7TOrzTEVQw1kGuaeOEDuJmdm46wT4odFZgjm83Q0Z96mAitN3hGBnntk8N23HpjtN-GTQ7tSiSFYRWuB8AMEB-PYH3gU62vWUbsCG2jDN09ENnwbzvr4lCuvOZqEaojGxIIjr/s400/03+16+10+014+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's been a busy couple of weeks which is why I've been so lax on posting lately. We finally got our stuff from Fort Polk and into storage here in town. I've still got to go through everything to make sure nothing's broken and I've got to find my ice cream maker. Big plans for that this summer. I also get to plant a huge garden this summer. No containers this time. My FIL plowed a big plot and told me to go to it. I had a huge scare with my mom last week. She was hospitalized because her doctor thought she might be having a heart attack but luckily she wasn't and all her tests turned out A-OK. WooHoo! </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I haven't really had a lot of time for cooking lately, I've mostly been taking the easy way out and making a lot of frozen stuff but I was in the mood to cook today so I went searching through my mountain of collected recipes today and found a Meatloaf recipe from Alton Brown. I know, who gets excited about Meatloaf but this one sounded really good and I love Alton Brown's recipes. His show <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/index.html">Good Eats</a> on the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/">Food Network</a> has done so much to improve my cooking skills. This meatloaf is really good, it's big time spicy but not hot. The glaze is amazing, it really makes the meal pop. It doesn't take long to put together either. What really drew me in to the recipe was the garlic croutons. I love garlic croutons, I eat them like potato chips. Like right now as I type. Somebody please stop me! </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For this meatloaf you want to start off by pulseing croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and dried thyme until they're a fine powder. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">T</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ransfer the powdered spices to a large bowl.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStoMMoMGHlmrv7-gWpBB0T1sHq7YZUAXFhPTJvrG9ukeQJ89S_ZH3C8mwnMIwNkkAsYNXPoeL6Xk5GvF-jucMhvpA1Q3dY0IQMBepgPZCSlRlI-DiTPF3Le7VcIqFVeG207ZaWG-_KEfy/s1600-h/03+16+10+004+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStoMMoMGHlmrv7-gWpBB0T1sHq7YZUAXFhPTJvrG9ukeQJ89S_ZH3C8mwnMIwNkkAsYNXPoeL6Xk5GvF-jucMhvpA1Q3dY0IQMBepgPZCSlRlI-DiTPF3Le7VcIqFVeG207ZaWG-_KEfy/s200/03+16+10+004+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next pulse onion, carrot, garlic and red bell pepper until they're finely chopped but don't puree them. Transfer the veggies to the bowl with the spices. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOlFAT5PSKHzW3PKk5tAczI6jj9cx1_ZUjThoWIkCIfNC4bUX-IbVDbFEL8nj17dxyiph-qD9-ijQKXx75y-Q7KZ36vOjCGixgvwG0eL9MXU6b83DERWCGZFkZzZbEzsTxIlKbAugM1Ei/s1600-h/03+16+10+005+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOlFAT5PSKHzW3PKk5tAczI6jj9cx1_ZUjThoWIkCIfNC4bUX-IbVDbFEL8nj17dxyiph-qD9-ijQKXx75y-Q7KZ36vOjCGixgvwG0eL9MXU6b83DERWCGZFkZzZbEzsTxIlKbAugM1Ei/s200/03+16+10+005+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add the meat, salt and 2 eggs. The original recipe only calls for ground chuck and sirloin but I added ground buffalo too. Time to get dirty. Start mixing the mixture with your hands until it's nice and combined. Don't overwork the meat (yeah, i'm not really sure when that point comes either) and don't squeeze the meat. Once it's combined pack the meat down into a 10-inch loaf pan that you sprayed with cooking spray. I didn't do this and had to get creative to get the meat out of the loaf pan. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoSf1UZzjdKX5xg7uCcR5jwrAaNLlezboghLda22YR4S0RblodNpX8T3KWRDuGCGVGIG0AXzqy6lvxaZLgPjxJjelhUYPajXgBpcjYhX52ybdHd5YlfWhicCFpWo9kd3adSOoSnfkSf5q/s1600-h/03+16+10+006+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoSf1UZzjdKX5xg7uCcR5jwrAaNLlezboghLda22YR4S0RblodNpX8T3KWRDuGCGVGIG0AXzqy6lvxaZLgPjxJjelhUYPajXgBpcjYhX52ybdHd5YlfWhicCFpWo9kd3adSOoSnfkSf5q/s200/03+16+10+006+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">You're going to turn the loaf out onto a baking sheet that you've lined with parchment paper. Put into a 350°F oven and start the glaze. You've got 10 minutes...GO!</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeX9hW9m-IVkRq3vTKm5uNBSRgB5sRXo735r5LRf10LUClKt9GbpD-Wpy9Nd6wu9vjLD3WZ2qu_y7leOxvUB-yh2A8TfGidVWL8Javdf600M8cwcHIfY8H17dIZOiJ5zyw-lq_VJ5sNKdY/s1600-h/03+16+10+008+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeX9hW9m-IVkRq3vTKm5uNBSRgB5sRXo735r5LRf10LUClKt9GbpD-Wpy9Nd6wu9vjLD3WZ2qu_y7leOxvUB-yh2A8TfGidVWL8Javdf600M8cwcHIfY8H17dIZOiJ5zyw-lq_VJ5sNKdY/s200/03+16+10+008+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In a small bowl, mix catsup, ground cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Whisk until thoroughly mixed. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5UjVmIJcyMmI6rb5Hu2s7ytvdTu4Akhr_kipFpVYd_wJpMo-w6xOW34uxdp0fzHfZkA7CTMrvWkNwGNRZQTTVh203vZc1NNS_uQCMW7tn1bb0AlHGMrR6n-xoddyNTsi_xoJ2wLBt6MQ4/s1600-h/03+16+10+010+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5UjVmIJcyMmI6rb5Hu2s7ytvdTu4Akhr_kipFpVYd_wJpMo-w6xOW34uxdp0fzHfZkA7CTMrvWkNwGNRZQTTVh203vZc1NNS_uQCMW7tn1bb0AlHGMrR6n-xoddyNTsi_xoJ2wLBt6MQ4/s200/03+16+10+010+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After the meat has been in the oven for 10 minutes, you're going to take it out and coat with the glaze. A silicon brush it perfect for this. Save the leftover glaze for later. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Put the loaf back in the oven. You're going to cook the meat until it reaches a temperature of 155°F. I can't give you an exact cook time but mine was ready about 45 minutes after I put it back in the oven from glazing it. Easy Peasy! Nuke the leftover glaze for about 30 seconds. The meatloaf goes great with mashed potatoes. Plus it's a sneaky way to hide veggies. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Alton Brown's original recipe can be found <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-meat-loaf-recipe/index.html">here</a>.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Good Eats Meatloaf</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ teaspoon ground black pepper </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ teaspoon cayenne pepper </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 teaspoon chili powder </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 teaspoon dried thyme </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ onion, roughly chopped </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 carrot, peeled and broken </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 whole cloves garlic </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ red bell pepper </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 lb. ground chuck </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 lb. ground sirloin </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 lb. ground buffalo</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 eggs </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For the glaze:</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ cup catsup </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 teaspoon ground cumin </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Dash Worcestershire sauce </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Dash hot pepper sauce </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 tablespoon honey </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Heat oven to 350°F. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In a food processor bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, ground chuck and ground buffalo with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the eggs and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Set the probe for 155°F. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hope you like it as much as I did. I'm off to find out what you can do with kumquats.</span></span>Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-22898618986982167022010-03-07T21:36:00.001-06:002010-03-16T21:22:15.283-05:00How Do You HuHot?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Sjl47zHtC9qQIOBQKOmMQVzWDfDolRh86_O5J0r13nIQR-YY-_jVws-3DFyqVHTJb8FLXXCpVQnKqoCBKRTGHHrdTqCuvphGxP71uFYLnOQ6JfABqft8PS4nN8udKwf46g5t2buCADTh/s1600-h/03+07+10+005+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Sjl47zHtC9qQIOBQKOmMQVzWDfDolRh86_O5J0r13nIQR-YY-_jVws-3DFyqVHTJb8FLXXCpVQnKqoCBKRTGHHrdTqCuvphGxP71uFYLnOQ6JfABqft8PS4nN8udKwf46g5t2buCADTh/s400/03+07+10+005+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I lived in Kansas one of my favorite place to eat was <a href="http://www.huhot.com/">HuHot Mongolian Grill</a>. I miss it so much and I can't seem to find anything like it where I now live in Louisiana. For those of you who have never been to a HuHot, it's really cool. It's basically a raw food bar and you pile up your bowl with noodles, meat, veggies and sauces and you take it to the grill where it's cooked for you and plated. They have so many different sauces and oils available that it can be really hard to choose sometimes but it's fun to come up with different combinations. My favorite is the Mean Bean Garlic Sauce, Garlic Oil and Ginger Broth. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've been craving it like crazy the last week, so I figured how hard can it be to duplicate. Not hard at all. So here's how I Huhot.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Boil a pot of thin spaghetti according to package directions til just done. Drain the water and run cool water over the pasta to stop the cooking process. Set aside.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a small bowl mix some Sesame Seed Oil, Sweet Mirin, Soy Sauce and a spoonful of Black Bean Garlic Paste and mix it well. Sorry, I can't give exact measurements but I just threw this together. You do need to make sure there's enough to well coat the pasta and veggies so they don't burn while cooking. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I like salmon in mine but you can use any kind of meat. I cut up 2 slightly frozen salmon fillets up into bite size chunks and set them aside.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">For the veggies I like spinach leaves, shredded carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, bean sprouts. Cut the broccoli, mushrooms, onions and bell pepper up into large chunks and put it all in a large bowl and add the salmon. Pour about ¾ of the sauce over the veggies and toss. Heat up a large nonstick skillet on medium high. Throw in the veggies and cook stirring often. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Throw the pasta into the bowl that held the veggies and toss in the rest of the sauce. Once the veggies are nice and tender add the pasta and let it heat through. Garnish with sunflower seeds.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Check out the menu on the HuHot webpage to see how you HuHot.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-1398790116270974412010-03-06T19:43:00.001-06:002010-03-16T21:23:00.217-05:00Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9CRG-kzO7D89ryyEl-x1BHoI8YOv-8EBIV8_WyiRDjCueJJTK3_R1u2FUHv4yL2Hj7mLlSiFtAR2YlNofVJ1j0O_eIr0_wXY8SYZWkhyphenhyphen90_SvmvVOlSV27F8ejXlfzMw_7kyUTlZ2DZw/s1600-h/03+06+10+017+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9CRG-kzO7D89ryyEl-x1BHoI8YOv-8EBIV8_WyiRDjCueJJTK3_R1u2FUHv4yL2Hj7mLlSiFtAR2YlNofVJ1j0O_eIr0_wXY8SYZWkhyphenhyphen90_SvmvVOlSV27F8ejXlfzMw_7kyUTlZ2DZw/s400/03+06+10+017+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, they are as Yum as they look! I came across this little gem of a recipe watching Giada de Laurentiis' Everyday Italian a few years ago. The recipe she gives is absolutely fab on its own but you can also make lots of changes in ingredients that come out just as good. Giada uses hazelnuts but you can use anything you want. I've also used macadamia nuts, walnuts and pecans. The cookies come out crispy, but if you change the ratio of brown sugar to granulated sugar you get crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. And to top it off, they have bits of toffee in them. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QMPJH7BXw_3UiXz8wjWSOTVruWNyJIvlQ78gX4vM3LHFn7Sz1HCukfFEqvR2GFPX0SaeiU_NdqZxFl-eQ6DNh9rdjy-ew00xjZTYPx4YuNrvdMhlS3X53oBoj4Nz3c83ysppPslBIh0y/s1600-h/03+06+10+004+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QMPJH7BXw_3UiXz8wjWSOTVruWNyJIvlQ78gX4vM3LHFn7Sz1HCukfFEqvR2GFPX0SaeiU_NdqZxFl-eQ6DNh9rdjy-ew00xjZTYPx4YuNrvdMhlS3X53oBoj4Nz3c83ysppPslBIh0y/s200/03+06+10+004+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>You start off by taking ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats and finely chopping them in a food processor. I make these cookies so often that I made "oat flour" out of a whole canister of oatmeal, now all I have to do is measure out what I need.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z0LCXvMrZcOKUrDkp6gXq1125r7DI5qC1S-INpr3ktHwTDuhZHgfptx9Ni4xnniS2jLFlpJzlyak_2bxBgtEx3fgwxmKbvspAR8PAvZzeIMTlV-XholeB-_PuyR8X5hUXsffeLNOS4IZ/s1600-h/03+06+10+002+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z0LCXvMrZcOKUrDkp6gXq1125r7DI5qC1S-INpr3ktHwTDuhZHgfptx9Ni4xnniS2jLFlpJzlyak_2bxBgtEx3fgwxmKbvspAR8PAvZzeIMTlV-XholeB-_PuyR8X5hUXsffeLNOS4IZ/s200/03+06+10+002+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>Next, you chop up and toast whatever nuts you decide to use. I love those already chopped little 1 cup bag of nuts you can get in the baking aisle. If I do use hazelnuts, I don't worry about skinning them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcxtiFrpBe66vKfchO2b2EwXBhxdDyHI6DSKHYqSRz3V-3Kvvxl4TnaKPkWz5X51T3YmumZbnxrDgiGu9PSjwa3xv3mGY2YdIBXI7Jy1HNr8nbWRR1HLzR1z6oSWzQvQ9xxhyphenhypheni2QUfh7j/s1600-h/03+06+10+005+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcxtiFrpBe66vKfchO2b2EwXBhxdDyHI6DSKHYqSRz3V-3Kvvxl4TnaKPkWz5X51T3YmumZbnxrDgiGu9PSjwa3xv3mGY2YdIBXI7Jy1HNr8nbWRR1HLzR1z6oSWzQvQ9xxhyphenhypheni2QUfh7j/s200/03+06+10+005+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Giada's recipe doesn't call for cinnamon but I love it so I add ½ teaspoon to the dry ingredients.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lq6aZrjYYM-hiL3Doh4eEd6sag8IgYQ0MqvNz-HjWFBzCOUGB5wIIZzAFP_8DXhAaLIXuqneZ9im8WzzH_HvNwajIvSOxD2AZY0eBeA8Mw2SVoL1qg25hl6YbR0anwz_Go9zauE6fhqF/s1600-h/03+06+10+006+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lq6aZrjYYM-hiL3Doh4eEd6sag8IgYQ0MqvNz-HjWFBzCOUGB5wIIZzAFP_8DXhAaLIXuqneZ9im8WzzH_HvNwajIvSOxD2AZY0eBeA8Mw2SVoL1qg25hl6YbR0anwz_Go9zauE6fhqF/s200/03+06+10+006+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>Now you add the butter and sugar to a mixer bowl and mix til light and fluffy. When I want crispy/chewy cookies, I use 1½ cups brown sugar and ½ cup granulated sugar. The mix won't really look light and fluffy just make sure it's mixed thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ38TWKG0ckQV5T6Qt1h5n6Ypl-HbwTT-1r_93PbxPMviAlzQU-NyTFSObcSTK0SnKLI13ez37GrBrZ9RmvRL-mX7RiCdXSFORKXcn3NR6JIjAlOEuBqnAoSCXRAKgRQYXFImw1TfbG5QK/s1600-h/03+06+10+009+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ38TWKG0ckQV5T6Qt1h5n6Ypl-HbwTT-1r_93PbxPMviAlzQU-NyTFSObcSTK0SnKLI13ez37GrBrZ9RmvRL-mX7RiCdXSFORKXcn3NR6JIjAlOEuBqnAoSCXRAKgRQYXFImw1TfbG5QK/s200/03+06+10+009+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>Add the flour mixture in and mix just until blended. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSqQ0eNAKeFe2PrcagLO1KXWyWcPnDLWHOcnhPoLOTNIOEMTIA6yBfT0BmiPSJqERS2DIoYwFOVhybCqqGkqxsbJDtdbt3U_IUv_3AyAILMPd0WMsPIZKXENnJwdYs2EKeDS6oJdqgpbT/s1600-h/03+06+10+012+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSqQ0eNAKeFe2PrcagLO1KXWyWcPnDLWHOcnhPoLOTNIOEMTIA6yBfT0BmiPSJqERS2DIoYwFOVhybCqqGkqxsbJDtdbt3U_IUv_3AyAILMPd0WMsPIZKXENnJwdYs2EKeDS6oJdqgpbT/s200/03+06+10+012+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>Stir in the toffee, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies in a rounded tablespoon about 1-inch apart onto a heavy baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325° for 12 to 15 minutes. I like mine at 12 minutes. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfXEzWX2xTfbjFvBpXUjVEqnZbLFzWCTI493XZxHFYf6EyIN7AIP9qIyYzwuq_NyYasLj_q6tyrBeo6yJBIvF5Ktlma-gQhqs3pAXSZDaeWZW17eb98NS3ODWcupgX1xlJYXpLnmYU6bf_/s1600-h/03+06+10+015+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfXEzWX2xTfbjFvBpXUjVEqnZbLFzWCTI493XZxHFYf6EyIN7AIP9qIyYzwuq_NyYasLj_q6tyrBeo6yJBIvF5Ktlma-gQhqs3pAXSZDaeWZW17eb98NS3ODWcupgX1xlJYXpLnmYU6bf_/s200/03+06+10+015+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Then pour yourself a glass of moo juice and try not to bogart the whole batch. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">The recipe says it makes 4 dozen but mine always comes out to almost 5 dozen. I usually make 2 or 3 dozen and then put the left over dough in a plastic container and store in the fridge until it's time to bake more.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/hazelnut-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe2/index.html">Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 cup old-fashioned oats </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 teaspoon baking powder </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 teaspoon baking soda </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 teaspoon salt </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 cup (packed) light brown sugar </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 cup sugar </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 large eggs </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">4 ounces English toffee candy (recommended: Heath or Skor bar), finely chopped </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Preheat the oven to 325°F. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the oats in a food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1-inch apart (do not flatten dough). Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will flatten slightly), about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) </span></div><br />
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</div>Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-71907269907572145672010-02-20T22:57:00.000-06:002010-02-20T22:57:06.629-06:00Crawfish Etouffee...Pizza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I have my first follower! Hi Michelle, thanks for following my blog. I'm all giddy now. I'm also nervous because somebody's actually reading this thing! </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last night the guinea pig and I were watching "<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-best-thing-i-ever-ate/index.html">The Best Thing I Ever Ate</a> - Pizza" on <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/">Food Network</a>. He wasn't impressed with anything the chefs talked about (he's not really a "foodie"). So I asked him what would impress him. "Crawfish Etouffee Pizza," says he. "Hmmm, okay, that's different." We've had crawfish pizza before, nothing new there, but never an etouffee based pizza. So I pull out my trusty Crawfish Etouffee recipe, look over the ingredients and come to the conclusion that this could work. I figured I could make the etouffee for dinner and make a small 8-inch pizza to see how it tastes. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, was it any good? Yes and no. It was okay but next time I'm going to do a couple things different. The etouffee however, was great. This is my father-in-law's recipe and it's the best I've ever had. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwgsVuSa7cvMPeofhWeD58WY8y9eOEQtYK_1F0z7_bu0KlSXaz1TPP3uCw4Xz9IAmg4OWg3jDP_mQ1dlV2_BSiPJ1sSfd1q8euu6sg91iIeXhzAp-6-aNflfMBQDPBdKPU3b2GvyiOgxC/s1600-h/02+20+10+003+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwgsVuSa7cvMPeofhWeD58WY8y9eOEQtYK_1F0z7_bu0KlSXaz1TPP3uCw4Xz9IAmg4OWg3jDP_mQ1dlV2_BSiPJ1sSfd1q8euu6sg91iIeXhzAp-6-aNflfMBQDPBdKPU3b2GvyiOgxC/s200/02+20+10+003+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First you start off by chopping up your veggies and sauteing them over medium heat in a stick of butter. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I know it's a lot of butter but you do need ½ cup for the sauce. If you must, you can use olive oil, scaredy cat! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Let the veggies turn a golden color, takes about 5 minutes.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYp7f3FaMZd2-ncMztuy7Nh6rB3uHyUGMt1lfFon4rdgykGsNlPiSniY4Qitc-somxD4LE5-iVZOYh4gRs64pMI26v3i5cYzXOh9rJf1q9lHAJslPxJU6OGLTsmHCgtsXR5pJ5EFvRqtce/s1600-h/02+20+10+005+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYp7f3FaMZd2-ncMztuy7Nh6rB3uHyUGMt1lfFon4rdgykGsNlPiSniY4Qitc-somxD4LE5-iVZOYh4gRs64pMI26v3i5cYzXOh9rJf1q9lHAJslPxJU6OGLTsmHCgtsXR5pJ5EFvRqtce/s200/02+20+10+005+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then add a heaping tablespoon of all-purpose flour. Let that cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoBkBtmMvAghV_Ybn7zXaE-tDEGiQ1vqJsfao3aKhO9v1QASD-3WARPwfeKdsUbLW1BIRiMz-Ix0UmJbt9OZykrfUHLPVFF9zCNTZuMmr4WCzZANNRG8XBzWVd5D0Ybc_VCin8fOjxA3Q/s1600-h/02+20+10+006+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoBkBtmMvAghV_Ybn7zXaE-tDEGiQ1vqJsfao3aKhO9v1QASD-3WARPwfeKdsUbLW1BIRiMz-Ix0UmJbt9OZykrfUHLPVFF9zCNTZuMmr4WCzZANNRG8XBzWVd5D0Ybc_VCin8fOjxA3Q/s200/02+20+10+006+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add a cup of chicken stock (or water) and cover. Drop the heat down to low and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While the etouffee simmers, make some rice. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Super easy...except I had a DOH! moment. Yeah, after the etouffee was done and I turned the heat off, I started working on the pizza and questioning the guinea pig and trying to figure out what it needed and didn't need and got caught up in a stoopid! episode of Cheaters and yelling at the crazy fools on the tv and an hour and a half later I realized my etouffee was still simmering! I didn't turn the heat off. NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lucky for me it didn't burn. It just turned a deeper brownish color, but the flavor was still good, a little more intense than usual. I just pretended it was supposed to be that color.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLtyNTu6WQ-W03YIPqKMOXEP5EP_mDRyPAsi1Gyks0aK_Ygqand-87PSaBOpsQwKjpwFHCMBa490I6_YzWCYnfRcOWtrAMaab5U8TZo6R0Ocpd1PW8LgRze1sFOXKDwNYBL_wIKezSik-/s1600-h/02+20+10+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLtyNTu6WQ-W03YIPqKMOXEP5EP_mDRyPAsi1Gyks0aK_Ygqand-87PSaBOpsQwKjpwFHCMBa490I6_YzWCYnfRcOWtrAMaab5U8TZo6R0Ocpd1PW8LgRze1sFOXKDwNYBL_wIKezSik-/s200/02+20+10+007.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So for the pizza, I took the easy way out and bought an 8-inch ready made crust. I used the sauce from the etouffee and spread it over the crust. Next I put on some shredded mozzarella. I found some smoked mozzarella at the store so I thought that would be really good on it too. Wrong - the smoked mozzarella was too strong and you could barely taste the etouffee. I only used a little bit but next time I'll just stick with the plain mozzarella. Then I put on the crawfish and veggies and sprinkled on the Tony's. Since crawfish season is just now starting up, I used frozen crawfish. It's okay but not nearly as good as crawfish that comes from the crawfish boil and that would've made a big difference on the pizza.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's not my favorite pizza but I'd definitely make it again. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So I'm putting the food away and cleaning up the kitchen and the guinea pig comes in and says "Hey, do you think you could make Crawfish Etouffee Ravioli?" Hmmm...I think I'll try that one after the first crawfish boil.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 lb crawfish tails</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 stick butter</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 large white onion, chopped</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">¼ of a bell pepper, chopped</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 stalk of celery, chopped</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1-2 garlic cloves, chopped</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 tablespoon all-purpose flour</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup water or chicken stock</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">salt & red pepper, to taste</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning, to taste </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Saute onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic in butter until golden. Stir often. Add flour, stirring continuously for 5-10 minutes or until well blended. Add tails and mix thoroughly. Season to taste. Add 1 cup water or chicken stock and cover. Simmer about 20-30 minutes until meat is tender. Add or cook off water until gravy is consistency desired. Serve over rice.</span></span><br />
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<br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" />Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-3902276981505373522010-02-17T20:41:00.000-06:002010-02-17T20:41:27.699-06:00Batter Fried Scallops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYI5RsfW1UCGLcXRgaXos3oO4HwT0nzm2Bluewa0WgEpcRHIx8SIZqSkGkkGuILO_miD-O11T2tFjHs4mxJCAspmfY5e7UPqbKip5Hid3IsRqeQ8v9VydOqnZPKmJbqwFvey88nOYmmCU/s1600-h/P2171839+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYI5RsfW1UCGLcXRgaXos3oO4HwT0nzm2Bluewa0WgEpcRHIx8SIZqSkGkkGuILO_miD-O11T2tFjHs4mxJCAspmfY5e7UPqbKip5Hid3IsRqeQ8v9VydOqnZPKmJbqwFvey88nOYmmCU/s640/P2171839+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've had this craving for batter fried scallops ever since my mom took me to Red Lobster for my birthday. I got the Admiral's Feast and it had these awesome batter fried bay scallops. I just used a batter for fried shrimp and added a little panko for extra crunch. This is super easy. Serve with tartar sauce.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Wash off the scallops and make sure there are no icky ones in the bunch.</div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Mix the oil, egg, milk, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, tony's & a little panko together in a bowl. Dip the scallops in batter. Sorry, you're going to have to get a little dirty.</div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add some panko to a small dish and dip the battered scallops in the panko. Roll them around a little to get nice and coated.</div><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Batter Fried Scallops Recipe</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 pound scallops</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 tablespoon oil</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 egg, beaten</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ - 1 cup milk</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup all-purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">¼ cup panko crumbs</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 teaspoons granulated sugar</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ teaspoon salt</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice, to taste </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">panko crumbs for dipping</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Oil for deep frying</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Preheat oil to 350°F in a deep fryer or deep saucepan. Whisk together egg, milk and 1 tablespoon oil in a bowl. Mix together flour, sugar, salt, pepper and Tony's. Add to egg mixture and beat until smooth. Add some panko to a small bowl. Dip scallops into batter, shake off excess batter and then dip into the panko crumbs.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Fry a few scallops at a time for 2 to 3 minutes (depending on size) or until golden brown. Turn as needed. Drain on paper towels. Serve with tarter sauce. </span><br />
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</div>Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-83782462862261501042010-02-16T12:04:00.000-06:002010-02-16T12:04:02.895-06:00Shepherd's PieCooking is a little depressing for me right now. For the past year and a half I've been living with most of my stuff scattered across the country. When my husband deployed in 2008 we were living in Kansas. I packed up our house and put everything in storage and moved in with my parents in Louisiana for the year. When he got back in 2009 he only had 2 months left in the army, so instead of getting an apartment we moved into a hotel, stuffless. Now we're back in Louisiana living with my father in law. Some of my stuff is here, some of it is at my mom's and the majority of it is at Fort Polk waiting to be delivered to us. We're going today to rent a storage building close by and get ALL of our stuff in one place. I can't wait! I miss my dishes and my blender so much. Once we figure out where in the world we want to live (Tennessee) and find jobs (stupid bad economy!) we can get our own place again and I'll finally be reunited with ALL my stuff.<br />
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So, what does this have to do with Shepherd's Pie? Not a damn thing, I'm just venting. It's just a little depressing when you want to make cupcakes but your FIL doesn't own a cupcake tin. Sure I could go buy one, but I have a perfectly good one waiting for me at Fort Polk. I don't have kids so owning more than one (ok, I actually own 5, but that's not the point) isn't necessary. Ok, I'm done now...<strike>back</strike> on to the Shepherd's Pie.<br />
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Shepherd's Pie is the ultimate comfort food. It's like beef stew with mashed potatoes. It doesn't get better than that. I use a Rachel Ray recipe that I've tweaked a little bit. You can find the original recipe <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/30-minute-shepherds-pie-recipe/index.html">here</a>. This is a super easy dish to make, the only thing I'm not crazy about is that it takes a lot of pots and pans so hopefully you have a dishwasher. <br />
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I like to add butternut squash to my potatoes. So first thing you want to do is get your veggies peeled and cut up. Cut up the potatoes and squash into small chunks and boil in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimY3QUBQxnWP9zpFmVBVP4rPWA5TGkkuuMiRUOtrmPtghYSWELzVIrVUHNKeTLCw8Ajsv4IZjReQz1h9qYlwl5GMk_SOieituWldMNJ03sqQoHiMC1-gArI7Ka2pkwWxyQTWm9Haa7DSmS/s1600-h/Feb+15+2010+010+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimY3QUBQxnWP9zpFmVBVP4rPWA5TGkkuuMiRUOtrmPtghYSWELzVIrVUHNKeTLCw8Ajsv4IZjReQz1h9qYlwl5GMk_SOieituWldMNJ03sqQoHiMC1-gArI7Ka2pkwWxyQTWm9Haa7DSmS/s200/Feb+15+2010+010+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Start browning your ground beef and drain off fat. Add the onions, garlic & carrots and cook for about 5 minutes. Normally, I use canned carrots, but if you use fresh like I did this time, cut them thin and you'll need to cook this a little longer than 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and Tony's. Add in the sweet peas toward the end of the cook time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrK12mMeCTcdJHNj_KisBvBqPPs-2w2OOZi1kaXZmT7yTTMqd6ZBScs3z_meEcVUDZ0T4VzYBFR0BuXsluSNgL6G0jlbIK43H0ypTOQ64q6MgkaBDKHg8bkMnG902ZbdJF3K1d7WzK9Xz/s1600-h/Feb+15+2010+009+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrK12mMeCTcdJHNj_KisBvBqPPs-2w2OOZi1kaXZmT7yTTMqd6ZBScs3z_meEcVUDZ0T4VzYBFR0BuXsluSNgL6G0jlbIK43H0ypTOQ64q6MgkaBDKHg8bkMnG902ZbdJF3K1d7WzK9Xz/s200/Feb+15+2010+009+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>In Louisiana we use <a href="http://www.tonychachere.com/">Tony Chachere's</a> on EVERYTHING. It's pronounced Satch - uh - reez, but we just call it Tony's. I've never had any problem finding it outside of Louisiana. Walmart carries it in the spice aisle. <br />
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In saucepan #3 over medium heat you're going to melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Whisk for at least 2 minutes, just long enough to get rid of the raw flour taste. You don't need to brown this like you would for gravy. Add 1 cup of beef stock and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce. Let this cook about a minute longer to thicken and then pour over the ground beef mixture.<br />
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Your potatoes and squash should be ready to mash now. Drain off the water in a colander and add the potatoes and squash back to the pot. Mix 1 stick of butter (I'm Southern, it's in my genes... it's in the other jeans too, unfortunately), the cream, a dollop of sour cream and the egg yolk. Mash together til smooth and creamy. The egg yolk will help the potatoes brown under the broiler. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsd4VeJHkuOziY9jWfDVctAqbO4RxnezgmSPhc6B2SE3uM1zogDHBOwwDvGBxFnCictiJXcr-AglWMnkKa0yjZxe5LqYJBPvTFifQTW_JDADhYJJLLEQmHeRqgMExw8UppwQ_ycxQIM_z/s1600-h/Feb+15+2010+016+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsd4VeJHkuOziY9jWfDVctAqbO4RxnezgmSPhc6B2SE3uM1zogDHBOwwDvGBxFnCictiJXcr-AglWMnkKa0yjZxe5LqYJBPvTFifQTW_JDADhYJJLLEQmHeRqgMExw8UppwQ_ycxQIM_z/s200/Feb+15+2010+016+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Preheat your broiler on high. Empty the meat mixture into a casserole dish. Spoon the potatoes over the meat mixture and spread out evenly to completely cover. Sprinkle more Tony's over the top and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until the potatoes are evenly browned. Enjoy!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5aooJ_nkKFJwbQOlVdeE1YzUv4e2RtYrN5u8b8YykCvljemC3NO1Jk7NjzevsOxULfUHHd21thuqRRjCngUzwS0ZoG44IILVMsiuzs2tlvTYxv3TruqCQV7g7hqMDGplkrBlr2M-D3F6/s1600-h/Feb+15+2010+020+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5aooJ_nkKFJwbQOlVdeE1YzUv4e2RtYrN5u8b8YykCvljemC3NO1Jk7NjzevsOxULfUHHd21thuqRRjCngUzwS0ZoG44IILVMsiuzs2tlvTYxv3TruqCQV7g7hqMDGplkrBlr2M-D3F6/s320/Feb+15+2010+020+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center">Shepherd's Pie</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="left">This is my adapted recipe of Rachel Ray's <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/30-minute-shepherds-pie-recipe/index.html">30 Minute Shepherd's Pie</a>.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Shepherd's Pie</div><br />
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2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed <br />
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1 half butternut squash, peeled and cubed<br />
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1 stick butter<br />
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2 tablespoons sour cream or softened cream cheese <br />
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1 large egg yolk <br />
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¼ cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth <br />
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Salt and freshly ground black pepper <br />
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1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan <br />
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1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin <br />
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1 can carrots<br />
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1 onion, chopped <br />
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1 garlic clove, minced<br />
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2 tablespoons butter <br />
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2 tablespoons all-purpose flour <br />
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1 cup beef stock or broth <br />
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2 teaspoons Worcestershire, eyeball it <br />
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1small can sweet peas<br />
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1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning<br />
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves <br />
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Directions<br />
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Boil potatoes and squash in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and pour them back into the pot. Combine butter, sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth. (The butter, sour cream, cream and egg yolk are optional and the amounts can be adjusted to your liking.)<br />
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While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef. Season meat with salt, pepper and Tony's. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. Add carrot, onion and garlic to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas. <br />
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Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with Tony's and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-913963345163086402010-02-10T11:12:00.000-06:002010-02-10T11:14:26.521-06:00First Cold of the Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIJEJHG4al_RBcRXCva4FLG1rpxwKBO_mk50YMEnff-O-rM3SrNeqZgfAyqO3HmjP4LQZGT5ymadt_7wkBUXv6IiT-NQ8_KHswGHdmIkDmQn_ULDF8ctMLWSX4MKNWnm9E1NsMx_P6ZvI/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+014+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIJEJHG4al_RBcRXCva4FLG1rpxwKBO_mk50YMEnff-O-rM3SrNeqZgfAyqO3HmjP4LQZGT5ymadt_7wkBUXv6IiT-NQ8_KHswGHdmIkDmQn_ULDF8ctMLWSX4MKNWnm9E1NsMx_P6ZvI/s400/Feb+09+2010+014+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mmm, mmm good!</span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It never fails, I always end up sick on my birthday...I think it psychological! Anyway, I've been nursing this cold for about a week. I feel better now but still have the stuffiness and cough. I'm also sick of canned soup. So yesterday I went on a net search for The Best Chicken Noodle Soup for a cold. Nothing fancy, no bells and whistles, just something to make me feel all warm and snuggly inside. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I found a few cool food sites that I hadn't come across before, but no soup that called to me. Then it happened..."Chicken Noodle Soup for the Sick One" popped up on the search engine. If that's not a sign from above then I don't know what is. Maxine from <a href="http://www.chewonthatblog.com/">Chew On That</a> posted a Chicken Soup recipe that she had adapted from Tyler Florence. It was perfect! This was the best chicken noodle soup that I've ever had. The title says it all. It's quick, it's easy and it's good! I made a few tiny changes but basically stuck to Maxine's version which can be found <a href="http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/quick_and_easy_chicken_noodle_soup.htm">here</a>. This recipe is a definite keeper!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpQufw9eAwSTRgUMuPma1PzMFU45MO5Me4KdyS6kNYXhwmh5EiUPhpcsgHN1tgn5p4HnEiTX16ungaHZ90Umtg8MElIMjZ8IRi0H__KGK4deVathl-dvTIUpPGV4Am2OLhwvP9DsfJadF/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+001+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpQufw9eAwSTRgUMuPma1PzMFU45MO5Me4KdyS6kNYXhwmh5EiUPhpcsgHN1tgn5p4HnEiTX16ungaHZ90Umtg8MElIMjZ8IRi0H__KGK4deVathl-dvTIUpPGV4Am2OLhwvP9DsfJadF/s320/Feb+09+2010+001+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">Yum...Ninja Vegetables</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqcts2hfJGzUTZsbsQ4lnnjZF6z0nT2toe3zTnGjW_UVFfPfQcmCL4gPH8WhDGzksBVGMYwVGBLF62Av1Uu2VW51AV-wfEAVVte1MFfMBh3wsyDeIAzxy5Md8fQmJ4rRvvD9d07ZWt2LR/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+004+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqcts2hfJGzUTZsbsQ4lnnjZF6z0nT2toe3zTnGjW_UVFfPfQcmCL4gPH8WhDGzksBVGMYwVGBLF62Av1Uu2VW51AV-wfEAVVte1MFfMBh3wsyDeIAzxy5Md8fQmJ4rRvvD9d07ZWt2LR/s320/Feb+09+2010+004+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yeah, I'm a big cheater with the celery. I really detest celery so I only used about a tablespoon instead of 2 ribs. But I did use SOME.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6VmQ4-Qr0EPhulhnUFPPjBE3Hb-7GhGI3FXPIx-JgVbUEk6CTpCXkm58duPsiGHwI25tU3OR6j3IK3gIpKMY03LPkj6MfhVpHtDW3a0yayJ4WHkCV6IEH6YF7SPoxxchkXrhr7D_CRyR/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+006_edited-1+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6VmQ4-Qr0EPhulhnUFPPjBE3Hb-7GhGI3FXPIx-JgVbUEk6CTpCXkm58duPsiGHwI25tU3OR6j3IK3gIpKMY03LPkj6MfhVpHtDW3a0yayJ4WHkCV6IEH6YF7SPoxxchkXrhr7D_CRyR/s320/Feb+09+2010+006_edited-1+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How good does that look! I added a tablespoon of butter to the olive oil to saute the veggies cause everybody knows Butter Makes It Better!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpoVbz3s08JfJ5hRm3SdCWgAp1vDlBL6AU_EXCbk946Ao_s3AtJUcQyZBxtiY_U1C9x2zVTitHPbfxhSTpYGPRxuFPVTWNf799Wk4cBeuMHKZfOpd4P2nYqHNWyc0NOQPm4tHAKCqqZvT/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+009+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpoVbz3s08JfJ5hRm3SdCWgAp1vDlBL6AU_EXCbk946Ao_s3AtJUcQyZBxtiY_U1C9x2zVTitHPbfxhSTpYGPRxuFPVTWNf799Wk4cBeuMHKZfOpd4P2nYqHNWyc0NOQPm4tHAKCqqZvT/s320/Feb+09+2010+009+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shredded the meat with a fork and cut it up into bite size pieces. Save the carcass and freeze it. You can use it to make your own chicken stock.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeZ01qS5G_-dTKcX1H7kcXu8_3_BnauI6UCRe74osGBoS9A9g5ceQxEOisgcf6eFwiSE6nU1hyW4fLvamRLw4JpIeB-Losft6dfcdzAbgNL2LA2oJGqWCi1k-lh4ck4Z_du9825QxHjZV/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+019+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeZ01qS5G_-dTKcX1H7kcXu8_3_BnauI6UCRe74osGBoS9A9g5ceQxEOisgcf6eFwiSE6nU1hyW4fLvamRLw4JpIeB-Losft6dfcdzAbgNL2LA2oJGqWCi1k-lh4ck4Z_du9825QxHjZV/s320/Feb+09+2010+019+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I used medium-sized egg noodles and cooked them separately until they were about 99% done. I don't add noodles to any soup while the soup is still cooking. The noodles soak up all the juice and become mushy and the starch in them thickens the soup up and it just becomes one big mess! I let the soup cool just a bit and then add the noodles. This was exactly what I needed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And this was exactly what I didn't need...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblbzaYb3e6-_9hgjTUHdFz7BJohcJdv2tWko0n2RAeCZ3M_F-T2BYx1gz_ugRI3spEsY1OJ_ELspoUd7ZvB9sf7gT0EcQuXmEZQO4siQTukapSHku9WB8hg8_AONK3JV9_FwGVKKaGAEH/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+016+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblbzaYb3e6-_9hgjTUHdFz7BJohcJdv2tWko0n2RAeCZ3M_F-T2BYx1gz_ugRI3spEsY1OJ_ELspoUd7ZvB9sf7gT0EcQuXmEZQO4siQTukapSHku9WB8hg8_AONK3JV9_FwGVKKaGAEH/s320/Feb+09+2010+016+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was BUZZED! This is one of Davey's RC Copters. His new favorite pasttime is buzzing me while I cook. I'm really getting tired of this thing hoovering above my head! The first time it flies into my face, he that's his ass!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Check out what my mom got me for my birthday...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nRuYUeKzg1pEpq7RvRdjHBGeTCXDl0uo46uQMQhFUjTwKQI1VF6uacCy7eZCsssA7SJ20Ht7Utr0VwXkfHsmaG19kJRE_AobvCRUUKeBhA50cX7N8ytXb6_4QKGUnhXaL26WCZCy7ekd/s1600-h/Feb+09+2010+028+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nRuYUeKzg1pEpq7RvRdjHBGeTCXDl0uo46uQMQhFUjTwKQI1VF6uacCy7eZCsssA7SJ20Ht7Utr0VwXkfHsmaG19kJRE_AobvCRUUKeBhA50cX7N8ytXb6_4QKGUnhXaL26WCZCy7ekd/s320/Feb+09+2010+028+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Isn't it pretty! I love it! Thanks Mom! Love ya bunches!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-20004747143038552362010-02-08T12:50:00.000-06:002010-02-08T16:13:07.450-06:00Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez! Watch out for the flying pigs!<div><div><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHTQoT79o2OyEUL2h6CybWeTi40bV1qW_1uC8vpq8iZOYy3L9_BSlNDIw6jfzDWOZkzEtApmFsxZh55DghTeAL4LHorhfp-iBFdXrS41s0PWJNoJhfUi7PAGx83w8Nmh-UZt0-HAlnU9I/s1600-h/Amarula+copy.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-s7j_VyagqFaH12EoD_J4MsmEX4EFLocs5re349qQyL03uf74om_Q89kurKuCbF_KVmZytLszoKamQ_ubNtP3AtY0k-sZYPnlHBWfyRWL59Qgo5yozlYS6eHoVR2qZD2dywI39Llb87A/s1600-h/Amarula+copy.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wVUcemqkwqch3qF0rCJ-l-Z5fipoJXRoJNO3XOSRHYHveE0ZFERHsT6vYyovENGSFUcJrK-yEEtMAbtECwzIQhRnQ_7QOADZQqj32os5jSW4CuYYM0kpYgr3Y1f0H750zqLTrlQJcWPm/s1600-h/Feb+07+2010+009+copyx.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435908035105819154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wVUcemqkwqch3qF0rCJ-l-Z5fipoJXRoJNO3XOSRHYHveE0ZFERHsT6vYyovENGSFUcJrK-yEEtMAbtECwzIQhRnQ_7QOADZQqj32os5jSW4CuYYM0kpYgr3Y1f0H750zqLTrlQJcWPm/s400/Feb+07+2010+009+copyx.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<div><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;">I never thought in a million years the the Saint's would win a Super Bowl. Bourbon Street will never be the same! I guess it's fitting that my first recipe post is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras"><span style="color: #351c75;">Mardi Gras King Cake</span></a>.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: arial;">I was raised in North Louisiana and we really didn't start celebrating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras"><span style="color: #351c75;">Mardi Gras</span></a> in that area until the early 1990's. The one thing I always looked forward to was the King Cake. It is so ooey gooey good. After my husband joined the Army and we moved out of the state we really missed the cake. I looked into having one delivered but it was a little out of our price range. So I figured "How hard can it be to make one?" Well, it's not actually. The hard part is finding a recipe. If you've ever done a search for one on the net you'll find plenty. The problem is that most of these come out tasting bland or too yeasty (is that a word?). It took a few years and a few duds but I've finally got a recipe tweaked to awesome. Oh, there is one other hard part -- the filling. The filling can literally be ANYTHING you can imagine. If only my husband and I had the same taste! He likes a chocolate ganache filling I did one year. It was good but for some reason not my favorite. I like a cinnamon apple filling, but he hates apples. I'd end up making 2 cakes every year but with it being just the two of us, that's a lot of cake. Good thing single soldiers are always hungry. Now that he's out of the army and we've got no soldiers hanging out at the house we're back to that being a LOT of cake. I finally came up with a cinnamon filling that we both love. I've included the recipe but you can do anything you want. You wouldn't believe the different filling combinations I've see lately.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: arial;">The key to the King Cake is that the dough has to have flavor too. You can't rely on just the filling for your flavor factor. A lot of people will use nutmeg or cinnamon in the dough and that does taste great, but after just coming off the holiday season, you tend to get a little burned out on nutmeg. I like to use Mace instead. I'm not talking about the stuff you spray in peoples eyes! If you're not familiar with it, mace is the strange covering you see on fresh nutmeg. It taste similar to nutmeg but is a little more subtle. You can use it in place of nutmeg in any recipe.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm about to do something I swore I would never do. I'm giving away my secret ingredient...and it's only the first post! I'm sure many of you probably already use this too, but it's "so secret squirrel" to think you have a secret ingredient that no one else knows about. It's </span><a href="http://www.amarula.com/"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial;">Amrula</span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"> Liqueur. I use it in place of Vanilla Extract in EVERYTHING!!! This stuff is the Drink of the Gods! If you've never had it you must get some now! Right now! Run along, I'll wait...</span></div><br />
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<div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULtyyPIdYUAZP9lXro9Hub0_JWXR24sFC_gwIWE0Vr-UoYF9csPUgFdt1sXrLEok7AwTxplqkSq3YCTjk6wScbvYgqjkrCJOimlVPtkuBIXpsYtaP23SvM0cshcTXuZLwuzuA0rlB4O48/s1600-h/Amarula+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULtyyPIdYUAZP9lXro9Hub0_JWXR24sFC_gwIWE0Vr-UoYF9csPUgFdt1sXrLEok7AwTxplqkSq3YCTjk6wScbvYgqjkrCJOimlVPtkuBIXpsYtaP23SvM0cshcTXuZLwuzuA0rlB4O48/s200/Amarula+copy.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Amarula is a South African Creme Liqueur. It has hints of caramel, vanilla and CHOCOLATE. How could you ever go wrong with that? It's made from the fruit of the marula tree which only grows on the African plains. Elephants eat the fermented fruit and supposedly get drunk...I'd love to see that! It has recently become popular here in the states and it's a lot easier to find now. I saw it in Albertson's the other day. </span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: arial;">Ok, back to the King Cake. I use Cardamom in the filling. Cardamom cost a fortune at the grocery store so I buy it online at </span><a href="http://www.penzeys.com/"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial;">Penseys Spices</span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"> . It's much more affordable there. You can skip it if you want , but it really does add an extra little umph. The ingredient amounts make a large cake which is good for the braided technique. However, if you'd like a smaller cake just half the ingredients. If you do, I'd recommend that instead of braiding the dough, just roll it tight lengthwise like you would for a cinnamon roll recipe. Make sure it's tight. If it's not, the air trapped inside will make huge caves in the center. Make a circle with the dough and pinch the ends together. I only use the baby (or Mardi Gras coin) if I'm making the cake for a party. You would not believe how many people get freaked out by the baby! Of course my sick little sense of humor never seems to help that situation. Somehow I always ended up the black sheep of the FRG. Don't worry if some of the filling leaks out.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: arial;">Hope you enjoy it!</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Mardi Gras King Cake</b></span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: arial;">1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/3 cup milk</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 teaspoons salt</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 teaspoon mace</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">4 teaspoons dry yeast</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/3 cup warm water (110° - 115°F)</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">4 eggs, room temperature</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">6 cups bread flour (All-Purpose can also be used)</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Filling</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Glaze</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Colored Sugar: Yellow (Power), Green (Faith), Purple (Justice)</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">In a saucepan on low heat, combine butter, milk, 1/3 cup sugar and mace. Stir until butter melts. Take off the heat and let cool to lukewarm.</span></div><br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZS6ekpuASfnwzkcRUN0o7Lgmt7UYpTUZBjfAIuuZzZYAsuBKqb2Q_AXy5VVavbeL5UU9oINtgrHfIWGNTOdV606Nl6slM194NKvtNFVuOluMGR6T6TQPRZohHVhGbdXBmRNS_x13i_ED/s1600-h/Feb+07+2010+002+copyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZS6ekpuASfnwzkcRUN0o7Lgmt7UYpTUZBjfAIuuZzZYAsuBKqb2Q_AXy5VVavbeL5UU9oINtgrHfIWGNTOdV606Nl6slM194NKvtNFVuOluMGR6T6TQPRZohHVhGbdXBmRNS_x13i_ED/s200/Feb+07+2010+002+copyx.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">In a large mixer bowl combine 2 tablespoons sugar, yeast and water. Let stand until it gets spongy, about 5 to 10 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Beat eggs into yeast and add milk mixture. Stir in 5 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Use reserved cup of flour for kneading surface.</span></div><br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU_ii4Kam6Dyh7IszB2aNus4Q89Fl_TSo6q0hw0ZH9a5MPfQBy10K0oa7BAIRgzIqyaI5VlUWKW-2krbo5mhJQnCBxQ5mdQCkYrouHCB8QBc_R2QMThpeMdOrldfo3rBOvEUy0-ue8CE1/s1600-h/Feb+07+2010+005+copyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU_ii4Kam6Dyh7IszB2aNus4Q89Fl_TSo6q0hw0ZH9a5MPfQBy10K0oa7BAIRgzIqyaI5VlUWKW-2krbo5mhJQnCBxQ5mdQCkYrouHCB8QBc_R2QMThpeMdOrldfo3rBOvEUy0-ue8CE1/s200/Feb+07+2010+005+copyx.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Knead dough until smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes. It will probably take the whole cup of reserved flour. (If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to knead the dough, it goes a lot faster.)</span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAAsDodDkd2QQw3v83Y9EK6TytmJbYwzNr7jwcCUZnqYFy3RAeL5j-EQ1iR88M6eZ2vGQdZJadARbWtodBMc41aA61PE20CeheHS7dDMspY_cagRTWyrlBVwUjrjNsju4T7QtMUkPFdGt/s1600-h/Feb+07+2010+006+copyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAAsDodDkd2QQw3v83Y9EK6TytmJbYwzNr7jwcCUZnqYFy3RAeL5j-EQ1iR88M6eZ2vGQdZJadARbWtodBMc41aA61PE20CeheHS7dDMspY_cagRTWyrlBVwUjrjNsju4T7QtMUkPFdGt/s200/Feb+07+2010+006+copyx.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Place the dough in a large bowl greased down with nonstick spray, turn once to grease the top, cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.</span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Make the filling while the dough rises.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Preheat oven to 350°F.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">On a flat surface, punch down dough and divide in half. Turn 1 portion of dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to a 20 by 10-inch rectangle. (Just eyeball it.)</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Spread half the filling lengthwise down one half side of the dough. Fold the other half over the filling side. Roll it with the rolling pin to flatten it a little more and get any air pockets out. Take a pizza cutter and cut lengthwise into 3 equal strips. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the strips to the baking sheet and braid the 3 strips together, leaving both ends loose. Form into a half circle. Now repeat the process for the other half of the dough. Connect the end pieces by pinching them together and finish the circle.</span></div><br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8lRwLQ9FT0xIOwsqRRhIX3AIQKiiy_cPYme2kCLTSCeyRSo86wDDAlp4dBsCBbO1CWGx32AfJVEUrO5Nis6wWYdzv4d5USaWGB78L-3Q8quFBY-KTCeKtfSQ_H2-0bKH1e00HnE_Xo3J/s1600-h/Feb+07+2010+007+copyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8lRwLQ9FT0xIOwsqRRhIX3AIQKiiy_cPYme2kCLTSCeyRSo86wDDAlp4dBsCBbO1CWGx32AfJVEUrO5Nis6wWYdzv4d5USaWGB78L-3Q8quFBY-KTCeKtfSQ_H2-0bKH1e00HnE_Xo3J/s200/Feb+07+2010+007+copyx.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, til golden brown. Start checking it at 20 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">While the cake bakes, make the glaze. Let the cake cool for about 10 to 15 minutes and then pick a spot to hide the baby. Do NOT bake the baby! Drizzle all over with glaze.Sprinkle the colored sugar over the glaze, alternating colors all the way around.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Cinnamon Sugar Filling</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/3 cup granulated sugar</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/3 cup brown sugar</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 1/2 tablespoons Vietnamese Cinnamon</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 teaspoon Cardamom (optional)</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 stick unsalted butter, softened</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mix well with a fork.</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 cups powdered sugar</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 teaspoon Amarula Liqueur or Vanilla Extract</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted</span></div><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Stir until smooth. If it's too thick just add more condensed milk. Use a fork to drizzle it all over the cake.</span></div><br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2VNntVciKIVs8fMPCU1imGADFuI-5XniC3y8xUM0v_Qfuc9sPqEhX059mxgW2bIssdxDaZsTkDNrWnIMSuWD-J15QqG9wQL4TIQDBZRgHZWZOXTcRosANevnJbi4Lwrbrn66HWWklefj/s1600-h/Feb+07+2010+003+copyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2VNntVciKIVs8fMPCU1imGADFuI-5XniC3y8xUM0v_Qfuc9sPqEhX059mxgW2bIssdxDaZsTkDNrWnIMSuWD-J15QqG9wQL4TIQDBZRgHZWZOXTcRosANevnJbi4Lwrbrn66HWWklefj/s200/Feb+07+2010+003+copyx.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">To make the colored sugar, you'll need 3 ziplock bags. Add about 1/4 cup granulated sugar and a few drops of gel food coloring in the desired color to each bag. Close bag and scrunch up sugar by hand to mix the color in. Keep adding more color til desired shade is reached.</span></div><br />
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<div></div></div></div>Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5270029238881638324.post-33281318913499134672010-02-06T17:32:00.000-06:002010-02-08T16:11:15.887-06:00The First Step Is Always The Hardest!WooHoo!!! My first post. Welcome to my blog. After lurking for years in the many wonderful food blogs on the net, I've finally worked up the courage to share some of my favorite foods with you. I developed my love of baking from my mom. I started out helping her in the kitchen when I was a little kid...somebody had to lick the bowl. I think I was four when she bought me a Holly Hobby oven for Christmas; who knew baking with a light bulb could be so much fun.<br />
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My food heroes are my mom, Alton Brown and Paula Dean. I'm a die hard chocoholic and always have a cup of coffee nearby (if you can call 20 oz. a cup). I love to create and experiment with food and I'm not above using my husband Davey and family as my little minion guinea pigs.<br />
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Ok, I'm off to go shop for the ingredients to my first food post. I can't wait to share it with you. I hope you enjoy the blog and thanks for stopping by.Terihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479403508953317758noreply@blogger.com0