Picture numero uno:
Here's another shot.
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Pizza Pictures
As promised, a few pictures of my homemade pizza. YUMMY!
Picture numero uno:
Here's another shot.
Picture numero uno:
Here's another shot.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Break, and other things...
Well, I'm on Spring Break... and I'm enjoying it quite a bit! I've pretty much caught up on my DVR stuff (YAY!) and started off my break with a busy weekend. Dustin's 4th birthday party was Sunday... I agreed a while back to make cake for it. So, Thursday and Friday I spent my evenings making icing. I made a total of 5 batches (4 white, and 1 colored black) I was going to be icing nearly 100 cupcakes shaping them as 2 black/white checkered racing flags. I'm happy to say that they turned out REALLY great!
We had a blast! His NASCAR birthday was a big hit, and the kids all had a great time racing the course Damian mapped out in the power wheels that were there! One of his Tball teammates (the only girl) even wore a hot pink racing outfit! lol It was adorable!
So, yesterday (Monday) I spent the day recouperating from the weekend... which was a whole day pretty much comprised of baking cupcakes and then a day doing the party! Monday my internal alarm clock went off bright and early at 6am... I managed to get myself back to sleep...! And then proceeded to nap on and off all day in between watching shows on the DVR and reading my book!
Today my cousin is coming over to play Wii and have dinner with my parents and I! I had initially planned on making chicken parmesan... but he apparently gave up all meat (other than fish/shellfish) for Lent! So, I asked him if homemade pizza would be good, because it's easy to make one veggie! So, here I am... I've mixed my dough... it's in the refridgerator resting. I'll pull it out of the box around 3pm so that it can rest/rise and then I'll get it ready along with the sauce and the pizza stone around 5:30. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! This is my first time using a pizza stone... usually I use pizza pans, but a pizza stone gives a crunchier crust... I'm excited to try it out and hope it bakes well! I even splurged and got fresh mozzarella and basil! haha I'm trying to baby him right now (this is my cuz that's like a baby brother to me... we grew up more like siblings because my mom watched him while his parents worked til he was about in middle school) because he and his girlfriend just split up about a month ago. They had been dating about 3-1/2 years... so he took it hard. She's just not at the same place in life as him (she's about 3 years younger than him... just turned 21). Anyhow... hopefully it'll keep his mind off things... although, he's already talking about dating again! I guess I'm more set in the single life than he is...! I like not dating and all LOL
Anyhow... perhaps I'll take some pics of my pizza later and post them... if I'm proud of it, that is!
We had a blast! His NASCAR birthday was a big hit, and the kids all had a great time racing the course Damian mapped out in the power wheels that were there! One of his Tball teammates (the only girl) even wore a hot pink racing outfit! lol It was adorable!
So, yesterday (Monday) I spent the day recouperating from the weekend... which was a whole day pretty much comprised of baking cupcakes and then a day doing the party! Monday my internal alarm clock went off bright and early at 6am... I managed to get myself back to sleep...! And then proceeded to nap on and off all day in between watching shows on the DVR and reading my book!
Today my cousin is coming over to play Wii and have dinner with my parents and I! I had initially planned on making chicken parmesan... but he apparently gave up all meat (other than fish/shellfish) for Lent! So, I asked him if homemade pizza would be good, because it's easy to make one veggie! So, here I am... I've mixed my dough... it's in the refridgerator resting. I'll pull it out of the box around 3pm so that it can rest/rise and then I'll get it ready along with the sauce and the pizza stone around 5:30. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! This is my first time using a pizza stone... usually I use pizza pans, but a pizza stone gives a crunchier crust... I'm excited to try it out and hope it bakes well! I even splurged and got fresh mozzarella and basil! haha I'm trying to baby him right now (this is my cuz that's like a baby brother to me... we grew up more like siblings because my mom watched him while his parents worked til he was about in middle school) because he and his girlfriend just split up about a month ago. They had been dating about 3-1/2 years... so he took it hard. She's just not at the same place in life as him (she's about 3 years younger than him... just turned 21). Anyhow... hopefully it'll keep his mind off things... although, he's already talking about dating again! I guess I'm more set in the single life than he is...! I like not dating and all LOL
Anyhow... perhaps I'll take some pics of my pizza later and post them... if I'm proud of it, that is!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
New Gmail
I have to say, I'm loving the new and improved Gmail (more than I'm loving the new, "improved" Facebook that they FORCED everyone to use)! They now have color themes you can pick from and some of them are REALLY cute!
In other news, today at work we had a Thanksgiving Potluck for all the faculty and staff... of course there was WAY too much food to choose from...! We had about 4 and a half long tables full of food...! One whole table was desserts.... and that's just not easy at all for ANYONE! I made my Extra Special Banana Pudding (the recipe I got from Amy, Damian's sis)... it's SO GOOD... it's layered crushed shortbread cookies, sliced bananas, and a "filling" (which is a mix of instant vanilla pudding, milk, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and cool whip)... then you top it with melted chocolate drizzled over the top... I have to take about 8 copies of the recipe tomorrow for people that loved it... I didn't even take the leftovers home... the nurse took it! lol
Tomorrow is the last day of school for a WHOLE WEEK! I'm SUPER psyched about that... I'm hoping I can get some more Xmas shopping done next week on Monday and Tuesday... and I need to get a good amount of housework done before Rob, Kathy, and Conner come to town for Thanksgiving... I also need to call up my aunt and see if she'd like me to make yeast rolls for Thanksgiving day or not. Okay, well... I'm going to go back to my relaxation... maybe I'll watch Juno...! Until next time...
Tchuss!
In other news, today at work we had a Thanksgiving Potluck for all the faculty and staff... of course there was WAY too much food to choose from...! We had about 4 and a half long tables full of food...! One whole table was desserts.... and that's just not easy at all for ANYONE! I made my Extra Special Banana Pudding (the recipe I got from Amy, Damian's sis)... it's SO GOOD... it's layered crushed shortbread cookies, sliced bananas, and a "filling" (which is a mix of instant vanilla pudding, milk, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and cool whip)... then you top it with melted chocolate drizzled over the top... I have to take about 8 copies of the recipe tomorrow for people that loved it... I didn't even take the leftovers home... the nurse took it! lol
Tomorrow is the last day of school for a WHOLE WEEK! I'm SUPER psyched about that... I'm hoping I can get some more Xmas shopping done next week on Monday and Tuesday... and I need to get a good amount of housework done before Rob, Kathy, and Conner come to town for Thanksgiving... I also need to call up my aunt and see if she'd like me to make yeast rolls for Thanksgiving day or not. Okay, well... I'm going to go back to my relaxation... maybe I'll watch Juno...! Until next time...
Tchuss!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Potluck
I will blog when I get home later... right now I gotta go mix up the filling for my dessert that I'm taking to the Thanksgiving Potluck tomorrow... :)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Taste of Home and SUPER AUNTIE to the rescue!
Well, there really hasn't been all that much to report on lately. The most recent happening is that my best friend Daughn's little sister (Danae) got married last weekend. So, there have been a LOT of things going on during May leading up to that event. Also the end of school has come and gone... I helped my friend April chaperone a 2nd grade field trip to the Witte Museum here in town, and then the following week I had made a yummy sheet cake for their "2nd grade graduation." I've been doing a LOT of cake baking... Complete with homemade buttercream icing and decorating with piping bags and the whole lot... I'm strongly considering doing cakes as a side-hobby for low prices... probably mostly only for friends/family/church people... etc.
Anyhow, I've also been doing a great deal of cooking and experimenting with recipes new to me. At Christmas my G-ma got me a Taste of Home Cookbook and I have just recently begun making recipes out of it. I had found a recipe for a basic pizza crust, and I had been longing for "real" pizza since I've been dieting (started in Jan. remember... still doing okay... haven't gained anything... haven't really lost a WHOLE lot more, though... but largely because I need to get back in the gym on a more regular basis!!!) Anyhow, I made pizza a couple weeks ago and it was really good... It was a yeast dough... and I haven't worked with active dry yeast all that much... but I knew I wanted to try some other yeast-requiring recipes... so I got extra.
Well, yesterday I got ambitious and had found this recipe for a Raspberry Coffee Cake... it sounded SO good... I had to try it out. The recipe is below.
Raspberry Coffee Cakes:
1 TB active dry yeast
1/3 C. warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1/2 C. warm sour cream (110-115 degrees F)
1/4 C. butter, melted
1/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
2-1/4 to 2-1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
Filling:
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. raspberry (or your favorite) jam
Glaze:
1-1/4 C. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 TB milk
1- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt and egg. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.
2-Turn onto a floured surface; knead 20 times or until smooth. Place in a greased bwol, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. (The cookbook suggests turning your oven onto its lowest setting just for 45-50 seconds and then turning off and shoving your covered dough to rise in there. It worked well for me!)
3- In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth; set aside. Punch dough down (you know that it's ready for this by poking your 1st and 2nd finger into the middle of the risen dough... if the indention stays, it's ready to be punched). Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.
4- Roll each piece into a 12 in. x 8in. rectangle. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Spoon jam lenghtwise over half of the filling. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side with the jam. Pinch seams to seal; tuck ends under.
5- Place loaves seam side down on a greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut shallow slashes across the top of each. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
6- Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cakes.
Yields: 2 loaves (10 slices each)
**Reheating options**
If you make a coffee cake in advance but want fresh-from-the-oven flavor when you serve it to guests, try this trick: Wrap an unfrosted coffee cake in foil. Reheat at 350 degrees for a few minutes or until warm.
Now... during all this fun, I had gotten a call from my brother. He had called a few nights ago to let us know that my sis-in-law's grandpa had passed away. He lived in Utah, and we figured she'd probably be going to the funeral... Rob had called me to see if I... or my Mom and I could come over to Spring, TX to help him with my nephew Conner b/c she wasn't taking him with her. And my brother really needs to work so that he doesn't fall behind on all his paperwork and such. SO... I'm going to be there from tomorrow to Weds. I'm taking the other coffee cake with me for all of us to have for breakfast/dessert... whatever. Anyhow... I will possibly update from there... but will likely wait until my return. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Anyhow, I've also been doing a great deal of cooking and experimenting with recipes new to me. At Christmas my G-ma got me a Taste of Home Cookbook and I have just recently begun making recipes out of it. I had found a recipe for a basic pizza crust, and I had been longing for "real" pizza since I've been dieting (started in Jan. remember... still doing okay... haven't gained anything... haven't really lost a WHOLE lot more, though... but largely because I need to get back in the gym on a more regular basis!!!) Anyhow, I made pizza a couple weeks ago and it was really good... It was a yeast dough... and I haven't worked with active dry yeast all that much... but I knew I wanted to try some other yeast-requiring recipes... so I got extra.
Well, yesterday I got ambitious and had found this recipe for a Raspberry Coffee Cake... it sounded SO good... I had to try it out. The recipe is below.
Raspberry Coffee Cakes:
1 TB active dry yeast
1/3 C. warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1/2 C. warm sour cream (110-115 degrees F)
1/4 C. butter, melted
1/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
2-1/4 to 2-1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
Filling:
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. raspberry (or your favorite) jam
Glaze:
1-1/4 C. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 TB milk
1- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt and egg. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.
2-Turn onto a floured surface; knead 20 times or until smooth. Place in a greased bwol, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. (The cookbook suggests turning your oven onto its lowest setting just for 45-50 seconds and then turning off and shoving your covered dough to rise in there. It worked well for me!)
3- In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth; set aside. Punch dough down (you know that it's ready for this by poking your 1st and 2nd finger into the middle of the risen dough... if the indention stays, it's ready to be punched). Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.
4- Roll each piece into a 12 in. x 8in. rectangle. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Spoon jam lenghtwise over half of the filling. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side with the jam. Pinch seams to seal; tuck ends under.
5- Place loaves seam side down on a greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut shallow slashes across the top of each. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
6- Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cakes.
Yields: 2 loaves (10 slices each)
**Reheating options**
If you make a coffee cake in advance but want fresh-from-the-oven flavor when you serve it to guests, try this trick: Wrap an unfrosted coffee cake in foil. Reheat at 350 degrees for a few minutes or until warm.
Now... during all this fun, I had gotten a call from my brother. He had called a few nights ago to let us know that my sis-in-law's grandpa had passed away. He lived in Utah, and we figured she'd probably be going to the funeral... Rob had called me to see if I... or my Mom and I could come over to Spring, TX to help him with my nephew Conner b/c she wasn't taking him with her. And my brother really needs to work so that he doesn't fall behind on all his paperwork and such. SO... I'm going to be there from tomorrow to Weds. I'm taking the other coffee cake with me for all of us to have for breakfast/dessert... whatever. Anyhow... I will possibly update from there... but will likely wait until my return. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
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