Busy in the kitchen

Well, not really but I did have a good productive day in the kitchen this past weekend. It felt like it had been a while since I've had a chance to bake something new. It was wonderful!

First on the list were some homemade granola bars. I found the recipe online and can't find the link to it anywhere. I'm hoping that it's on my printout at home.  It was a super easy recipe--quick cooking oats, crispy rice cereal mixed with honey, butter and brown sugar. I love that i know exactly what ingredients are in them and that I can customize it to suit my tastes.  I decided for a s'mores bar so I added mini chocolate chips and mallow-bits to my bars.  Next time I'm going to add peanut butter chips and peanuts for Joe.  The options are endless! 

I cut them up into bars and wrapped them in plastic wrap so that they were easy to grab-and-go.

Next up were some adorable mini meatloaf cupcakes. I have seen variations of this all over the place so you can use any meatloaf recipe that you prefer. I put them in silicon cupcake molds but you could just put them straight into a greased cupcake pan.  Next time I'm going to try them in my mini cupcake pan. I want to see if they'll hold up well enough. If they do they would make adorable appetizers.  It was a fun and festive way to serve a somewhat boring meal.

If I do this again I'd take the time to put the mashed potatoes in a piping bag so that they would look pretty swirled. 

It was fun to try something new.  I have a few more things on my list to try courtesy of Pinterest.  The homemade Greek yogurt very much intrigues me. That may be a weekend project.  If it's cheaper and tastes just as good--I'm sold!

Happy cooking.
Kc

Spring means strawberries

March was warm. Unseasonably warm. I'm kind of nervous about what that means for August. Until then I am going to enjoy the benefits of a warm spring. Strawberries--they're here. They are plump, juicy, and delicious. I decided to make my Aunt Carolyn's strawberry pie for Easter and it was delicious.

The recipe is from Taste of Home.  Go get some strawberries and make this pie!

~Kc

Are you ready for some football...or basketball?!

I can't wait for this weekend.  Sadly, not so much for the super bowl as for the fantastic basketball games that are on TV but I'll take football too.  UNC is playing, the DOokies are playing and we've got the granddaddy of them all with the Kansas vs. Missouri game on Saturday night.  For those that know my family, this is the big one (my mom is from Kansas and my dad is from Missouri).  This is the pre-game to the UNC/Dook game that will be taking place next week (oh my marriage...).

Anyways, with exciting sporting events comes the need for yummy foods.  At least, that's what it means in my world. I have a bunch of recipes that I plan to try this weekend.


Spinch, goat cheese, chicken quesadillas with an avocado sour cream.
Does that not sound delicious (and somewhat healthy)? I am obsessed with goat cheese.


From Sugar Cooking

Garlic chicken puffs.
These looks yummy and easy! I like snacks that I can just pop in my mouth.

From Tidy Mom

Vegetable Sushi
LC got me hooked on veggie sushi a few years ago. This is going to be my short-cut version.

From Live Love Pasta

I'm sure I'll throw in a few more of my standard appetizers this weekend but I'm excited to give these newbies a try.

~Kc

Success stories!

As you all know, I love Pinterest.  I've been so proud of myself for actually doing some of the things I've discovered on that site and not just wasting time browsing it.  Here are some of the recipes that I've made after finding them on Pinterest.


Crispy Cheddar Chicken
This was delicious! Super easy to make and very yummy. We will definitely be making this again (and variations of it) soon.



From Jamie Cooks it Up!



In real life!


Zucchini, Black Bean, and Rice bowl
This was a delicious and filling meal. I really liked it. I can see changing this depending on veggies are in season or what you have in your pantry. 



From Ready Set Eat!


Slow Cooker Buffaloe Chicken
It's my goal for 2012 to use my slow cooker as much as possible. This was so easy it is kind of ridiculous.  It's three ingredients.  Seriously. Three ingredients.  And absolutely delicious. I used some of the leftovers to make a buffaloe chicken salad the next day. Yummmmmmmm.



From My Kitchen Apron


Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings
I had some garlic wings at Buffaloe Wild Wings a few months ago so when I saw this recipe I had to try it.  My husband and sister-in-law loved them so I say they were a success!



From Steamy Kitchen

 Seven Layer Tortilla Pie
I've made this recipe twice. It's great for a big group.  I took pictures of mine but they didn't come out nearly as appetizing as the picture form Let's Dish.  If you do make this recipe, use a springform pan. I have no idea how she uses a pie plate. It's a tall pie so it'll serve a lot of people. We love it for leftovers though. 


From Let's Dish


Here's to discovering new recipes!
~Kc

Crockpot Love

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I have a budding relationship with my crockpot and, who knows, by the end of winter, maybe we'll be monogamous. It's getting hard to juggle my time between the oven, stove and microwave anyway. And my poor toaster oven just sits in the corner...waiting to be loved.

My list of "need-to-try" recipes is growing and a coming out on top is:

• Shirley J Beef Stroganoff
• Pork Chops for the Slow Cooker
• Coq au Vin

Do you have an awesome crockpot recipe to share? Let us know!

xo,

Kate

Platte County Pie

Joe and I stopped at the cutest little restaurant in Liberty, MO for a quick bite to eat.  I loved all the quaint memorabilia that was spread around the store.  It was nice to find a unique restaurant in the sea of familiar chain restaurants. 

I desperately wished that it had been Wednesday though so I could try the Platte County Pie.  Can you read the description? If a chocolate chip cookie could be a pie, it would want to be this pie! I neeed to get my hands on this. So, I did what any good research librarian would do. I found the recipe!

The recipe can be found at Allrecipes.com. I will be testing this out soon!
~Kc

Grown-up jello shots

When I first saw these I was instantly taken back to college. I remember first being introduced to jello shots and I'm so excited to bring them back in adult form.  If you haven't heard about this yet, the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen is an amazing idea of making jello shots tasty, chic, and perfect for entertaining.  I have to get my hands on this cookbook soon!

Here are some that intrigue me.

Mimosa with Orange Flower Water

Courtesy of Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

Santa's Hat Cocktail (how perfect would that be for a Christmas party?)

Courtesy of Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

Blow Pop Martini

Courtesy of Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

Cosmopolitan

Courtesy of Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

Yum, yum, and yum.  When is my next party going to be?

~Kc

Let's make whoopie...

Whoopie pies, silly!

I am a baker. I love everything about it. Cakes, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, truffles....they are all wonderful.  Yet, I have never made a whoopie pie.  They are clearly the "it" thing in the baking world right now. This is ironic because my family has lived near Amish country for nearly 20 years now and it's claimed that the Amish women created whoopie pies from leftover cake batter.  And, my brother and his family live in Maine where the whoopie pie is the official state treat (and South Portland, ME made the largest pie at over 1000 pounds earlier this year).

Anyway, I am seeing a lot of fun recipes out there for whoopie pies. I may have to give it a shot one of these days to see if they are worth it.

Courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker



Courtesy of Epicurius

Anyone have experience with these? Any good recipes I should try?
~Kc

yum yum yum.....

I made the most delicious item ever this weekend. I seriously think this may be new go-to treat.  If you remember an earlier post of mine about future baking projects, this was one of them.  Oreo truffles.  How can you go wrong?  Who doesn't love Oreo's?

As I had mentioned in that post, I bake for a variety of reasons.  This weekend I did a lot of baking.  I needed the distraction.  Unfortunately, I was up at the crack of dawn so I finished with all of my errands and many baking projects by 1:00 pm on Saturday.  Since our house is on the market I didn't have any cleaning to do either.  Not good.  Especially when the by-product of my baking frenzy were these lovely little treats.

Remember these?

Photo courtesy of Bakerella

It really is an incredibly simple recipe--just three ingredients!

Crush all but seven of the Oreo's in your food processor.



Yum! Then add a brick of cream cheese.  This is when to get your hands dirty. It was much easier and faster.  I bet kids would love to help with this.

Then you roll them into little balls.  I liked bite size but you could adjust to your preference.  Then, I put them in the freezer to harden for a bit.

Lastly, you dip them into candy coating.  Some of them I dipped into the reserved seven Oreo's.  This was much easier--the candy coating didn't have to be perfect.  You could probably use a bunch of things to coat them in if you'd like.

I brought them into work today. Based on how many I have left, I'd say they were successful.  I'm going to try them again with the blonde Oreo's, the mint Oreo's and maybe Nutter Butters.  I wonder what other combos I can do?

Yum yum yum.
~Kc

Sugar Free

I gave up refined sugar for Lent and it's pretty much all I think about now. Well, yes, I did eat pie on Monday but c'mon, I had to celebrate Pi day. Had to.


I stumbled upon this gorgeous sugared fruit display (thanks, Martha) and I've become a little obsessed with crystalized goodies.



And even more beautiful than that, are these amazingly beautiful candied orange peels.



They will be my first post-Lent indulgence.

And, I know what I'll be dreaming of tonight...sugar plum fairies.

xoxo,

Kate

The luck of the Irish

I know it's not quite St. Patrick's day but I will be in class the remainder of this week so I had to do my "celebrating" a little early.  And, maybe this will give our readers a chance to enjoy these delicious treats for themselves on Thursday.

So what do you get when you mix chocolate cake mix, Guiness Extra Stout and Bailey's Irish Cream?

Deliciousness, that's what.  I took the chocolate cake mix and replaced the water with equal parts Guiness.  You really don't taste the beer but apparently beer acts a bit like coffee when paired with chocolate--it enhances the flavors.  Joe claimed he could get a little taste of it but I couldn't.  The cupcakes results in very moist and tender.  I'm sure there's a chemistry lesson invovled but they didn't rise in the normal dome fashion--maybe something to do with the carbonation?

Then, I decided to top them with an Irish Cream icing.  I do have a recipe for Guiness frosting but I've had Irish Cream icing before and it's so yummy that I couldn't pass it up.  It's a super easy recipe.  One cup of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of Irish Cream, and 1/4 teaspon of vanilla.  For this, I quadrupled the recipe but I probably could have gotten by with tripling it.

It's such a thick/sticky icing that you can't pipe it on pretty so I just put a dollop on each cupcake and let the icing spread. 

Oh, and completely random but I used these adorable little measuring spoons for the green sprinkles. 

I love that they say 'dash, pinch, and smidgen'.  Thanks Mom!

So there you have your St. Patty's day treat.  Next year, I'll be more prepared and make gum paste clovers or something cute to top the cupcakes. For my first time going "off" recipe, I'm pleased with the results!  Enjoy!

~Karissa

I heart s'mores

I really do. I love s'mores.  I love graham crackers. I love marshmallows. I love chocolate. When you combine them together it's like heaven on earth.  I think I also love them because of the memories they bring.  Making s'mores is a process.  I will always remember looking for that perfect stick at camp over a bonfire. Or making them at Mindy's house. They bring me back to summer nights and I can almost hear the crackle of the fire.

So what brought up my declaration of love for s'mores? I think I just fell in love all over again.  I found this recipe for s'mores bars at a blog called Let's Dish. I love this blog. They always have great ideas. I've made this recipe three times now and it really is amazing. It gives you everything about s'mores that's amazing in a bar form.  Dying.

If you have the same love affair with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallow that I do then you have to make it.  And enjoy every sticky bite.

I have to go cheer for the Tar Heels and work off all the extra calories I have now eaten.