New Favorite Chocolate Frosting

As these uneven cake layers tell you, I would not consider myself a serious pastry or cake baker.

I am not precise, and generally rush my way through the steps so as to get the finished product in my mouth sooner. 

Think Kevin from The Office.

All that being said, I have found that my favorite cake personally is not from scratch but store bought boxed cake. 

Gasp. I know. 

It just tastes better to me, is more moist, and the crumb is something that has yet to be beat, in my book. Duncan Hines Classic White is my all time favorite. 

HOWEVER, you could hand my a $10 bill and a free tub of store bought icing and I still would not frost my boxed cake with it. I can't stand the thought or the taste of the stuff. I also feel like it rips your cake super easily anyways. 

I will say once you start making your own buttercream it becomes simple. I have stopped measuring when making the basic recipe I use, and just go by texture and sight. 

Chocolate Frosting however is another story.

 I've never quite found a good Cocoa Powder one that I have just loved.

Two weeks ago while flipping through Pinterest looking for a Chocolate Buttercream,

 I came across Barefoot in The Kitchen's Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

The concept of melting chocolate chips for your cocoa base sounded so good.

Again I am not a perfectionist when it comes to baking and cake decorating but the flavor made up for it entirely. The texture was so creamy, it tipped on the verge of a whipped cream frosting. 

I did swap out a 1/2 cup of the butter for room temp Cream Cheese just to see.

It was out of the World fabulous. 

I creamed the butter and cream cheese a ton per her instructions, and at that step alone I had to fight the urge to dip my finger in for a taste. :D Gross haha. 

 Baby Boy seemed to approve. I shared a slice with some fam and they said it was the best ever. I didn't pry and ask if the meant that as a figure of speech or if they like really, really meant it. :D
I kinda really, really mean it though when I state it IS my new favorite Chocolate Frosting!

Vintage Soured Heavy Cream Sugar Cookies

I recently have started attending MOPS

and have really enjoyed it. A friend I recently made from there, named

Jessica, was talking about this recipe. She also spoke a little bit about her husbands ancestry 

and needless to say I was rather enthralled. I also just had to make these cookies. 

These cookies were her Great Grandmother-in-laws recipe.

I just love things with a little history. Not too long ago Jessica was looking through a book of her husbands genealogy and noticed that down the line one of the Great Great Great(?) Grandparents, when coming over from Germany started a candy store. Jessica apparently couldn't help but giggle because they are all wonderful bakers with a bit of a sweet tooth. 

Now that you have the back story here are these dang good cookies...

Vintage Soured Heavy Cream Sugar Cookies

My Notes: 

1) ITS 2 Cups Sugar NOT 2 cups of SUGAR Cookies haha

2) This recipe makes around 6 dozen cookies so I cut when making I 

cut in half

3) The flour you end up adding is around 6 cups

4) Feel free to sour your heavy cream yourself with mixing 1 TBL of vinegar to your cream, let sit for 15 minutes

5) mix your softened butter and sugar first for one minute or two (AKA cream your butter and sugar), then add wet ingredients, lastly mix dry ingredients separately then add little by little to wet ingredients in stand mixer

6) you must chill your dough in the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight to make rolling easier

This is the texture of my dough before I chilled it for 4 hours

I made some fun alligators with my daughter :) and then some more traditional ones 

For the frosting I used BHG Butter Frosting 

 which was so yummy and creamy. I did substitute cream for the milk because I am naughty like that. creamy...

My husband could not keep his hands off of these things and he is a self proclaimed anti-cookie and cake person. These babies are a winner

Pillowy French Bread

So I have been baking bread now for 7 years now and this is The Best Recipe Yet. 

The kneading process in this one has to be what makes the difference.

My husband keeps complimenting me on it.

The soft texture is so beautiful haha

My son is sick today so during the last 10 minute rest I let it rest for more like 30 minutes

I also cut the recipe in half and just made one loaf.

Happy baking

Kuddos to The Baker Upstairs 

My Husband took a bite out of the top for no apparent reason. 

I am just as confused about this as you are.

No Stir Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Ingredients:

2 TBL pumpkin pie mix

1 TBL brown sugar (+or- to taste)

1 to 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon) or to taste

Whole Milk or half and half

Recipe:

Add first three ingredients to pint sized mason jar. Fill 3/4 of the jar with Milk. Add lid and shake for 20 seconds.

Tastes great in hot or iced coffee

Stores for two weeks in fridge

Enjoy the yummy goodness! 

Crustless Coconut Cream Pie

This recipe came from the Jan Can Cook blog. 

Every year I make a C-C-P for my husbands birthday and this year I remembered pinning this recipe months back. The crust was made from shredded coconut and butter that's it. Sounds weird but it really is no different from a graham cracker crust in the idea.

image: Jan CAN Cook

The pie was wonderful and the crust added to the coconut flavor but next time I won't do the shortcut, I'll just slave away and make a crust :) 

A Yummy Way To Save @ Starbucks

You're reading that right. $1.95! 

That's pocket change really.

I found out about this "trick" from my sister, who can and will get anything for cheap, free, or marked down. When I still lived at home it embarrassed me but now  that it's my money im spending and not Daddy's I get it.

Here's how you can get a drink for that cheap.

1) You order whatever coffee they are brewing that day

2) you asked for it iced w/milk 

3) you pick whatever syrup you want, vanilla, caramel, peppermint, exct. 

That's it! You get a yummy iced coffee. Cheaper then the specialty "iced cafe vanilla" too. 

You're welcome 'Merica 

Thick & Creamy Frappe at Home

I love dessert

I love coffee flavored dessert

Tiramisu, coffee flavored ice creams, java chillers at Sonic. You name it.

So when I saw a holiday mint frappe recipe I was intrigued. I already make my own iced coffees (weekly) at home so I was excited to see how frappes come together.

Well I wasn't digging the recipe that I saw but it taught me the main idea of how to get the frappe texture at home and not some runny mess.

Coffee frozen in ice cube trays!

Genius

So here's my recipe. I have been waiting to put it up on here until I was able to make it again/perfect it but I just haven't gotten around to buying more ice cream so be looking out for updates to this version.

Thick & Creamy Frappes

Serves 1-2

6-8 frozen coffee ice cubes

2-4 TBL of milk or half and half

1/2 cup ice cream of your choice. I used coffee flavored. Vanilla or chocolate would be way yummy too

1-2 TSP sugar (or to taste)

Add all ingredients to blender.

Blend, stir, blend, stir, until all ice chunks are small and ground down fine.

If mix is too thick add more milk (TBL at a time) 

Top it off with whipped cream and or chocolate syrup (ice cream topping)

If you are wanting more variation in flavor omit sugar and add flavored creamers in lieu of milk. Pumpkin spice, hazelnut, the combinations are endless :)

Happy blending!

Chicken Alfredo and Bonus Chicken Alfredo Pizza Recipes

So way back in the day my sister in law lived with us for a few months while she went to college. My husband and I were newlyweds and I was still learning how to cook. Brick oven baked roasts and thrown out batches of brick bread that refused to rise. Most coming with lessons learned, like roasts are best slow roasted (crock pot preferably) and yeast wants warm water not scaulding hot :). Anyways she made this recipe and I loved it. So much so I remember sorta awkwardly sneaking bites of her leftovers...

It also makes me think of her late husband who she was newly dating at the time. 

Never fails when I make this I think of her haha. Love you Nik! 

Adapted a little

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
  2 tbls flour

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
  1/2 cup milk

• 1 tsp minced garlic

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  1 tsp salt
  1/2 tsp pepper
  1/4 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat, when melted add minced garlic. Let cook for one minute. Next add flour to butter. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add milk/cream, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stirring constantly. Stir in oregeno/Italian seasoning. Turn off heat then add cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Pour over drained noodles in the noodle pan and stir together.

Top with pan cooked chicken 

Great with extra Shake Parmesan cheese ontop (the pizza topping kind) 

Speaking of pizza this is a great recipe for  Alfredo pizza! Top your crust with this sauce and minced chicken and onion then ontop of that add mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15-20 min or until golden brown.

Asian Shrimp Rice Noodles

Bam! 

This recipe took me around 10-15 minutes to complete. Its yummy, It's light, It's fresh,

and it's all like organic or something.

Okay well it could be if you made it that way.

I didn't.

I'm sure it's like -2 Weight Watchers points ;)

Serves: 4

Cook Time: 10-15 min

Okay anyways Heres what you need for the sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 C stir fry veggies (I used frozen)
3 C medium shrimp
1 tsp minced garlic
salt to taste

1 Package of Rice Sticks
(found in asian section of grocer, not walmart, a grocer)

3-4 Tbl Soy Sauce
3-4 Tbl Rice Vinegar
2 Tbl Sesame Seed Oil (- + to taste)
2-3 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbl Hot Garlic Sauce
1 Tbl Honey

Prepare Rice Sticks to packages instruction.

In bowl Mix together sauce ingredients, set aside.

Heat olive oil (or any other cooking oil) in medium skillet

add veggies, cook for 2 minutes, add shrimp, salt and garlic,

cook until shrimp is done (about 3 minutes)

Add the sauce you made to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes.

In a serving Dish pour the mixture over the Noodles

Eat

Corn & Black Bean Salsa

I had never Canned before and thought it was super technical and hard but this woman made it sound really simple so I just had to try it! It turned out beautifully, and fairly simple. Its the time of year here in Kansas that people give you loads and loads of sweet corn which was he case here. I just love free Stuff! I'm really glad I found something creative to do with it too.
Enjoy!

http://emilysoven.blogspot.com/2008/10/black-bean-and-corn-salsa.html

Tai Chicken Salad

photo source: Taste of Home

So my new obsession is Asian Salads, I just cant get enough of them!
Im really not a huge salad person so that shows you how good they are. I love how easy they
are and how with meat they make a whole meal, no sides necessary.
This weekend while garage sale-ing I came across a bunch of "Taste Of Home" magazines for free, this recipe immediatly caught my eye.
Tai Chicken Salald
It worked out so great for a saturday lunch, I just hate spending the weekends cooking the whole time so an easy recipe is always welcome. This one definatley hit the mark!
I used Krafts "Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing" which is soo yummy

Party Inspiration

So my little girl is turning 1! Im so excited and have LOVED planning her birthday so far. Heres a sneek peak of some of the ideas. Not exactly how im going to do everything but I cant exactly go in time and take photos so these will do for now. Its crazy how things you think of on your own have either been done or been done like it! I was able to type in some of my ideas and found these. The cake I didnt think of though, I found it in a magazine back in '07

1) Ice Cream Cake
2) Pink Tube Orange Drinks
3) Pink & Orange Decor
4) Pink & Orange Table Runners

Thats all for now, just a little teaser!

Home Sweet Home Biscuits

I love these babies. They are seriously close to tasting as good as KFC's which are my favorite, close but not quite. I love bread with my meals. When I'm running low on time and letting bread take its sweet time rising for 2 hours is out of the question, I run to these quick fixes. They are soft and savory. Let me know what you think. Pictures are always welcome.

________________________________________________

Ingredients:

2 Cups Flour
2 Tsp. Sugar
1 Tsp. Salt
2 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/3 Cup Shortening
3/4 Cup Milk

Preheat oven to 450 deg.
Pour first 4 ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix together.
add shortening

mix shortening into flour mixture with hands or pastry blender.
mix until crumbles are on the small side, like so.

make well in the center of the mixture and add milk into it. mix.

mixture should look a little something like this. if its too soppy add another tablespoon of flour

turn dough out onto floured surface. knead to make mixture come together.
with a floured rolling pin roll dough out until its around 1 inch thick or around a milk cap high. do not roll too thin or you'll wind up with wimpy thin biscuits. roll less for thicker ones if you like yours a little meatier :)

cut biscuits out with floured biscuit cutter or heck use a floured drinking glass. whatever you have works. Try and get as many biscuits out of your mix as you can, so cut close together. When cutting these puppies out use an up and down motion. Dont twist your cutter while cutting these out, you'll pinch the edges closed and your biscuits wont rise up in the oven :(
Now that would be a drag

Place biscuits on greased baking sheet. if theyre stuck to the work surface try and pry them up with a thin, floured plastic spatchula.
Pop the tray in the preheated 450 oven
for 10-15 min or until golden brown
keep an eye on them

Vwoaalah-- golden brown, warm from the oven, homecooked biscuits.
spread some butter and jelly on 'em, honey and butter, or heck make
them into a meal...

biscuits and gravy,yummmm :P

Recipes




Asian Shrimp Rice Noodles

 

No Stir Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Fail Proof Chicken Alfredo Sauce

 Pillowy French Bread

Crustless Coconut Cream Pie

Thick & Creamy Frappe at Home

Home Sweet Home Biscuts


Tai Chicken Salad
(photo source: Taste Of Home)

Corn & Black Bean Salsa

For Canning or just to eat right away