Tis the season...

...to be baking! And eating, and Cranberry Sauce making! Specifically, one of my absolute favorite recipes for the holiday season, my Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce. Its been a popular recipe with Thanksgiving guests, clients, and friends, and now I'm sharing it with you (maybe it will keep me from having to make so many batches this year lol). This is the perfect recipe to go with that Thanksgiving turkey or ham. The orange juice is the perfect partner for the fresh cranberries, the brown sugar gives it depth, and the spices add a lovely little twist. You use the same concept you would for making any other kind of fruit jam, and if you're really being ambitious, you can even can it (I don't, because it doesn't last long enough to matter lol) So here it is, and to make this post even better, I have pictures! Yay pictures!

Kara's Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

24oz fresh cranberries (2 of the little bags, or 2/3 of the big one)
2c orange juice (I personally like the high pulp)
2c brown sugar (by the time I finish the recipe, its more like 3c, but to each his/her own)
spices (I use pumpkin pie spice, but cinnamon will work too)

You'll also need a large pot and some Kerr jars to keep everything. So now you're ready. Awesome. Dump everything into the pot and turn it on medium-high heat.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. As the berries start to heat up, they'll burst, which is exactly what you want. The sugar and juice mixture should be nice and bubbly, and it should all look like this:

Take the back of your spoon and crust the berries against the side of the pot. You can even use a potato masher if you'd like, to make sure you don't have whole berries left in the sauce.

Let the mixture continue to bubble and thicken, and let it turn a pretty red color like this:

Let the sauce cool for a few minutes. This is the time to do your taste testing (be careful, its hot). Add some more brown sugar if you don't like it that tart, or some nuts, orange zest, etc. I don't, personally, but feel free to make it your own and add something special. When you get it just like you want it, use a ladle to transfer the sauce from the pot to the sterilized Kerr jars.

Make sure you leave a little space at the top of the jar, and take a clean rag and wipe the edges and rim of it before putting the lid on. If you're canning the sauce, now is the time to start processing and you should follow the general canning rules.

All done! See, that wasn't so hard. I promise, it will be a million times better than having the gelled stuff from the can. Just a few more steps, but its sooo worth it. Give it a try this Thanksgiving, and stay tuned for more Turkey Day recipes from Kara's Kitchen.

As always, happy baking!

Clam Chowder...stopping the madness before it starts lol

Tis the season to be baking...and for crock pots, stews, and cinnamon. And the best way to kick off the season is with a giant pot of clam chowder. By giant, I mean that we ate it for dinner last night, I sent it with two clients today for lunch, and there is plent for dinner tonight. I've already been asked for the recipe twice, so in order to stop the madness before it starts, I'm posting it here for your enjoyment. This is a recipe I altered (duh, do I ever follow a recipe? Recipes to me are like the Pirate Code - they're more like "guidelines") from one I found on my all-time favorite recipe site, Allrecipes.com.

Clam Chowder

Ingredients
4 (6.5 ounce) cans whole clams
1 cup minced onion
4 large stalks celery, diced
8 - 10 medium potatoes, cubed
4 medium carrots, diced
1 qt vegatable broth (or seafood broth, if you can find it)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1.Drain juice from clams into a large pot over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add broth to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.
2.Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Add to pot with vegatables and broth. Heat through, but do not boil.
3.Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

I hope you all get a chance to make this as the lovely cold season approaches (haha, yeah I know everyone in Texas is rolling in stitches right now, but let's speak metaphorically and try to pretend), because it is totally worth it.

Banana Nut Bread

Its classic, but that's because its so darn good. We are constantly buying bananas for their fantastic nutrition at a budget price, but sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and they don't get eaten. So the perfect excuse for me to whip out my KitchenAid hand mixer is banana bread. My favorite recipe for a perfectly moist, sweet banana bread is an adapted version from Allrecipes.com, which was originally Janet's Rich Banana Bread. Here's a link to the original recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/janets-rich-banana-bread/detail.aspx

And here's my take:

Kara's Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice, for a really great flavor)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped pecans
4 medium bananas, pureed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

And here's the final product. Happy Baking!

A Berry Princess Tea Party

So being the cool mom that I am (I'm sure my girls will think differently in a few years, but I'm cool for now) I decided to let my girls have some friends over for a real, big girl tea party. The girls all dressed up like princesses, I let them wear some of "Mommy's special jewelrey," and used the good dishes. To add to the affair, I wanted to create a menu fit for afternoon tea at the Plaza. While I may not have quite accomplished that, the spread was certainly better than their usual fare of imaginary cookies and water tea. Here is what we had:

Berry Green Tea (with sugar in a sugar bowl)
Tea Sandwiches (cucumber, egg salad, and peanut butter & blackberry jelly)
Carrot and Celery Plate
Strawberries with Whipped Cream (piped into them, of course)
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Raisin Scones with Raspberry Jam and Mock Devonshire Cream (since the real version is insanely expensive and very hard to find)

Here is a picture of our lovely tea party table:

My absolute favorite part was the Raisin Scones. I had never, ever made scones before, but I wanted the girls to have something extra special for their tea (the little one is now asking if we can have "stones" for breakfast, as she can't quite remember how to say "scones") so I decided to give it a shot. Hey, if I failed, I failed. Its very rare that I have a complete and total flop, but I usually try to avoid using a new recipe when I have company coming, just in case. But alas, if you don't take risks, you end up with just PB&Js for lunch...

So here was the scone recipe that I found at Allrecipes.com, with a few alterations:

Raisin Scones

Ingredients
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raisins (optional)


Directions:
-In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
-In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or hand mixer. Stir the sour cream mixture, egg, and vanilla into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in the raisins.
-Kneed dough briefly in bowl a minute or two, till it can be gathered into a flaky ball (like pie crust). Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
-Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Raisin Scones

It was a very lovely tea party. I think the girls had a lot of fun, and so did their friends. And Mommy got to have some adult time, so it was a happy day all around. Just a few more highlights:

Tea Sandwiches

Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Ah yes, before I forget...speaking of whipping cream, a fantastic addition to the scone recipe is a Mock Devonshire Cream recipe. Of course, its not like the original or clotted cream, however it is a pretty darn good substitute, and quite simple all you do is this:

Mock Devonshire Cream

Ingredients
3oz cream cheese(room temp, very important)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c heavy whipping cream

Directions
Simply add these ingredients to a bowl, and using a hand mixer (or a whisk, if you're feeling old fashioned), and whip like you would standard whipped cream. The addition of cream cheese makes this a thicker, richer version that is perfect for spreading on scones - with raspberry jam of course. Happy Baking!

Is summer over yet? Craving winter foods...

The past couple of weeks have been an interesting change. I've had to move out of the office I've had for about five years now, and transitioned into a home office. After three weeks of hard work, the house finally came together and my office has appeared out of the mess. One of the big upsides to this work-from-home experience is that I've had more time than usual to do what I do best - baking.

So with this extra time, I felt the need to turn on my oven (yes, in 105 degree August Texas weather) because I had a hankering for some good old-fashioned bread pudding, done my way. I've adapted the recipe that Paula Deen uses (simply because hers has entirely too much sugar, even for a sweet-tooth like mine) to create my own, and I'm quite proud of it. Here it is, for your enjoyment:

Texas Style Bread Pudding

Bread Ingredients
3 cups (about one loaf) cubed Italian bread, allow to stale overnight in a bowl
1 tsp spices (any combination - pumpkin or apple pie, cinnamon and nutmeg, etc)
1 cups granulated sugar
5 large beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
6oz cup chopped pecans

Sauce Ingredients
1/2 bag individually wrapped caramels
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream (you know I don't really measure - start with the 1/4, then if you need more, add some)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Leave cubed bread in large mixing bowl to stale overnight. Toss with spices to coat cubes before making the pudding mixture, then add raisins.

Mix together granulated sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla. Pour over spiced cubed bread and raisin mixture; let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter, and pecans.

Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Press brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set (a knife should come out clean). Remove from oven.

After removing from oven, begin making caramel sauce. Unwrap caramels, and place in small sauce pan with heavy cream on medium to high heat. Constantly stir until caramels are melted into a sauce that is thick, yet thin enough to drizzle. Using your spoon, drizzle sauce over pudding, either the whole pan, or individual servings for a pretty effect if being served immediately.

Happy Baking!

Too many strawberries!

Tis the season for fresh berries. I found a quart of strawberries at HEB for $3 yesterday afternoon, and it didn't take me long to figure out what to do with them...

That's right, Strawberry Pie! I decided to go a different route today, not wanting to go through the normal hassle of my Strawberry Apple Pie, plus, I didn't want to run my oven for very long (its 108 degrees in Texas), so I decided to make a fresh pie that only required me to pre-bake a pie crust. So here's the recipe I came up with after reading and not liking a few of them:

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ingredients
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 quart fresh strawberries
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons flour
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Quarter and arrange about three-fourths of the strawberries in baked pastry shell. Puree (food processor or blender) remaining berries with sugar, water, flour, and vanilla, then pour into saucepan. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Allow to boil about two or three minutes, until thickened. Carefully pour mixture over berries in pastry shell, and toss berries lightly with spoon to coat. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Top with whipped cream if desired. Happy Baking!

Happiness in a ramekin...

When answering a friend's Facebook question regarding what to bake to keep her from losing her skills, my suggestion was creme brulee. She claimed it was too complicated, but I disagree. Thanks to Debbie Puente, the Queen of Creme Brulee, and her fail-proof recipe, this elegant, decadent dessert can be as easy as...well...creme brulee. I've made this on several occasions, typically following a meringue when I don't feel like wasting my egg yolks to the garbage disposal and have some additional heavy cream on hand. So here it is:

Classic Creme Brulee

8 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated white sugar (for the caramelized tops)

Preheat oven to 300ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add cream and vanilla, and continue to whisk until well blended. Strain into a large bowl, skimming off any foam or bubbles.

Divide mixture among 6 ramekins or custard cups. Place ramekins in a water bath (large pan filled with 1 or 2 inches of hot water) and bake until set around the edges, but still loose in the center, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in the water bath until cooled. Remove cups from water bath and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. When ready to serve, sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of sugar over each custard. For best results, use a small, hand-held torch to melt sugar. If you don't have a torch, place under the broiler until sugar melts. Re-chill custards for a few minutes before serving.

Serves 6

http://cremebrulee.com/creme.htm

Here is a picture of one of my attempts:

This is a magically easy, creamy and smooth, beautifully elegant, horribly fattening dessert that is a perfect use of those extra egg yolks.

Thanksgiving in May and Strawberry Apple Pie

Whew, last week was horrible. I didn't cook, I didn't blog, I didn't even watch TV. I did homework. Massive amounts of homework. However, the silver lining is that last night I completed the last assignment of my Associates degree. Yay me!

So now that done, and I can get back to more important things...like tomorrow night's dinner. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday (I think its cause I'm a foodie), and I really can't stand to eat Thanksgiving dinner only once a year. So during the summer at some point (I'm actually a little early this year) I get a craving for cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce and make Thanksgiving dinner early.

The difference between this Thanksgiving and my November one is that I try to do something a little different. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, and although I try to mix it up a little bit (particularly the desserts) I typically stick to the basics, because that's what I like. So for my middle of the year dinner, I try to do something a little different. I haven't decided what that will be yet, but I wanted to share with yall last year's dinner, because it was truly fantastic.

Stuffed and roasted Cornish Hen with steamed snap beans, whipped sweet potatoes (yes I piped them...be proud), and cranberry relish. Yum!

So the weekend after Thanksgiving 2010 we decided to switch to eating organic. For the most part we eat a pescetarian diet, which is vegetarian but it includes fish. We'll eat other types of meat, but it has to meet certain standards, such as being vegetarian fed, sustainably farmed, no added hormones or genetic modifications, organic, no preservatives, etc. Watch Food, Inc. You'll understand.

And that's exactly what the chicken I got for tomorrow's Thanksgiving in May dinner is. Yes, I know, non-traditional. But hey, neither is Cornish Hen and that was amazing. Either way, this will be the first time I've made chicken since November of last year. I know, crazy. Its not that I can't find or afford the meat that meets our standards - its just not been something we've missed. But tomorrow the chicken will fly again...figuratively. Technically it will be baked under a pile of dressing and served alongside mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. I had vowed to never again eat canned cranberry sauce, but I'm limited on time and couldn't find fresh cranberries anyways (just wait till November and I'll share that recipe).

For today however, I wanted to share the recipe for my absolute all-time most popular Thanksgiving pie. I've been debating posting this, just because its a specialty of mine, as is my pie crust (which you'll have to wait for, lol). I made eight of these pies this past Thanksgiving, and more of them for Christmas. Now that the berries are in season its an ideal time to break out the pastry cutter and make you a...

Strawberry Apple Pie

Ingredients
6 small granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced with a Pampered Chef "Peeler, Corer, Slicer" tool (yes, this is my secret for the perfect apples in apple pie)
1lb fresh strawberries, sliced
1c sugar
5tsp instant tapioca
1tsp cinnamon
9" double pie crust
1 egg (for egg wash)


Preparation
Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl, mix first five ingredients. Allow to sit for 20 minutes to pull juices out of fruit. Roll out bottom crust, and line bottom of 9" pie pan. The crust with an egg wash before filling with fruit. Cover with top crust (I like to lattice my top crust, but a whole crust is fine too, just make sure you put a few slits in it). Brush top crust with more egg whites, or my personal favorite, use about 1/3 stick of butter, and then sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 50 minutes.

Happy Baking!

I suppose there's a first for everything, but I can't believe it...

...I have found a cream-cheese based recipe that I don't like. I'm shocked... the concept sounded so good. It all started with a free tub of Philadelphia Cooking Creme...

I'm not one to buy something just so that I can get another item for free, however I was already buying the two bags of Kraft Naturals Shredded Cheese that was the required purchase for the free item, so I figured why not? I picked up the Cooking Creme in Original Flavor (which I'm glad, because the reviews I read about the Italian are horrid), and last night I decided to make it into a cream sauce to put over spinach fettuccine with shrimp and crab meat. So I added my half n half and milk to the Cooking Creme and stirred until smooth on a low heat. Some of the other reviews I had read complained of a gritty texture to the Cooking Creme after it was heated, but I figured that they had possibly heated it at too high of a temperature and I believe I was correct. It melted into a smooth cream sauce easily. The texture was perfect. I added Italian seasonings, a little salt, and some Italian shredded cheese. Again, texture was perfect. It even tasted pretty good. Not what I had in mind, but good nonetheless. I threw in my shrimp and lump crab meat, and gave it a stir. It was even good at that point. Actually, a lot better than I expected at that point, due to the bad reviews of it (although to be fair, the bad reviews I found were for the Italian flavored variety).

Then I put it over noodles. That's when my opinion changed. It wasn't that it was bad. It just wasn't what I wanted. I was looking for more of an Alfredo flavor, hence the cheese being added to the sauce, and that just wasn't it. It would have probably been fine if I had used it for a shrimp and crab dip, and just left it like that. But as soon as I poured the sauce over noodles, my opinion of it changed. And I was amazed - I have finally found a place where cream cheese flavor doesn't belong - and that is in Alfredo sauce. Ugh.

So to make it all better I think I'm going to have to make some real Alfredo soon. The recipe I use is less of an "official recipe" and more of a "lets throw things together" recipe, but I usually use...

3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter
1 33oz carton of Central Market Organic Free Range Chicken Broth (usually a low sodium variety)
1 - 1.5c heavy cream
1 bag of Kraft Naturals 5 Cheese Italian Blend shredded cheese
garlic powder
onion powder
Italian seasonings

I make a roux out of the butter and flour, just enough to thicken the chicken broth. I realize that traditional recipes are mostly cheese and heavy cream - and they are deathly fattening. I actually find that using the chicken broth adds a certain depth of flavor while making it lower in calories and fat, and the low sodium variety is perfectly fine because the cheese adds enough saltiness to the sauce. Thicken the broth slightly (till it starts to bubble and coats the back of a spoon), and add your cream. Add all of your cheese at once, and stir constantly till incorporated and smooth. Add more cream (or milk if you want to cut the calories) if necessary, and then finish off with your seasonings to taste. Use over roasted chicken and spinach, shrimp and broccoli, or with just fettuccine noodles if you want to forgo the extras. Its also a great sauce for dipping bread in, if you want to half the recipe and serve as an appetizer. Here's a picture over roasted chicken and wilted spinach:

(A tip: to wilt spinach, simply rinse your leaves under cool water, and then transfer while wet into a saucepan or pot. On medium heat, gently toss the spinach until it just begins to "wilt.")


Happy Cooking!

My torrid love affair with cream cheese...

So there is no way I can have a blog about the goings-on in my kitchen and not discuss this comical addiction to the creamy happiness that is Philly. If I could put cream cheese on everything I probably would. I'd also probably weigh 300 pounds, but I'd be happy. This cream cheese obsession is entertaining to many, and the cause of a lot of recipe requests, which I am more than happy to share. I will say the same thing I always say - its not the recipe, its the chef. Like, 90% of my success in the kitchen is due to technique, which isn't something I can convey on a recipe card. Hmm, maybe blogging about it will work...we'll see. However, some secrets are best kept in my kitchen; if a magician doesn't have to tell, why should I? Lol.

I will be nice and share one of my favorite recipes that involve cream cheese - Cheesecake Brownies. They're so easy to make that I don't even feel the need to post pictures of the process (which I will have to do for some of my future recipes).

Step 1: Take any box of brownie mix...wait, let me pause...

YES, I sometimes use a brownie mix. Shh, its a secret. It has just gotten to the point where I know I can make them from scratch - you know I can make them from scratch - and I don't feel like I have to go all out to prove it every time I want to whip up a batch of brownies. AND...sometimes I'm just that lazy. My favorite mixes are the Ghirardelli line of brownie mixes. Any of them are great, just pick one. I usually have to use two boxes in a 13x9 pan for best results.

Okay, so back to Step 1: Take any box of brownie mix, and mix according to directions. Grease your pan (I love love LOVE to use Baker's Secret spray, a combination of oil and flour...perfect results) and pour about 3/4 of the batter into the pan.

Step 2: Using one 8oz block of cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/4c sugar, and 1/2tsp of vanilla, make your "Cheesecake" batter. Beat ingredients in small bowl on medium speed (careful not to over beat) until smooth. TIPS: The cream cheese is easiest to beat smoothly when close to room temp. Also, if using a 13x9 pan (because you doubled your Ghirardelli brownies because you think I'm smart) also double this recipe.

Step 3: Dollop your Cheesecake mixture over the pan of brownie batter. Using a butter knife (or a steak or chef's knife if you're feeling edgy) swirl the Cheesecake mixture a little, until fairly evenly distributed. Pour the rest of the brownie batter over this concoction, and use your knife again to swirl and make pretty designs. Bake as directed. Cool. Fridge the leftovers (yes, cream cheese is a dairy product - you might want to stick it in the fridge).

And voila! You have easy, yummy, creamy cheesy brownies to take to your next book club, kid's soccer game, quick dessert, or to sit on the couch and watch sappy movies all night while feeling bad about yourself because you're eating a whole pan of brownies alone. Actually, if that were my kitchen, the brownies would have never made it to the oven. Straight out of the bowl works just fine to watch The Notebook...


Happy Baking!

Amish Friendship Bread

The subject of friendship came to me this evening when I realized that one who I considered a dear friend back in the day has now become one who only calls or talks to me when something is needed. I never hear from this friend just to go hang out or go to lunch or whatever, but only when they need a service or something from me. It didn't used to be this way...what happened? Its actually kind of annoying...

Okay, that was my little tirade.

At any rate, that reminded me about Amish Friendship Bread and the many questions I get about it. How many bags starters can you make? What happens if I forget to "squish" my bag? What day is 'Day 1'? Where can I find another starter?

I'm going to start with the last question first, because that's one that I probably hear the most. I listen to sad bakers who let their starter go bad or just got bored of it and tossed it, but miss that happy little loaf of wonderful bread and want to start the cycle again but don't know where to get another one, as all of their friends got bored about the same time. There are websites offering to mail you a starter for various fees. But why would you bother with all of that when the 'magical, elusive starter' can be made in like twelve minutes in your kitchen (and ten of those minutes are waiting for the yeast to activate)?

The magical starter recipe is five ingredients long...and three of those are the ones you already put in on Day 6:

1pkg active yeast (not the quick rise kind)
1/4c lukewarm water
1c sugar
1c flour
1c milk

In a small bowl (non-metal, yes it matters) mix water and yeast and allow ten minutes to "activate." Pour into bowl with the other ingredients, stir, and transfer to gallon sized Ziploc. Voila!! Day 1 is accomplished. Which answers that other question..."Day 1" is simply the first day the starter goes into the bag. No mystery there.

Next comes the squishing part. In most recipes, the directions will tell you to squish your bag one to several times a day to mix the ingredients. Sure. Why not. Squish away. Really, you could let that bag sit there for five days, squish it, and then add the additional ingredients for that day (or "Day 6" in some recipes, whatever), and it would be perfectly fine. However, I would advise releasing the gas that is produced by feeding yeast. You'll notice that your bag starts to expand...yeah, you might want to let that air out, otherwise you may end up with a burst bag. Hasn't happened to me yet, just a warning.

Another question I get is how to tell if the starter has gone bad. Here's a hint: if it turns pink, orange, or has a very icky smell, its gone bad. Other than that, no big deal.

The last big question I get is how many starters is the recipe supposed to make. Apparently some recipes call for removing 3 cups of starter, and others 4. I go with 3, and here's why: There's barely over 4 cups of starter by Day 10. If you remove four cups to make four new starters, you've got this tiny little puddle left in your bowl. A little science lesson - the amount of flour in the final recipe is going to take a lot more yeast than that to rise. Which brings me to another point...

I secretly don't think that the starter actually does anything. Gasp! Blasphemy! I know, I'm sorry. But between the baking powder, baking soda, and eggs required for the recipe, there are more than enough leavening agents in the mixture to produce a perfectly normal loaf of bread. The starter might contribute flavor (which again, would be lessened if you take out 4 cups of starter) to the bread, however I personally think the whole thing is about tradition, fun, and friendship. That's just a theory though.

So there you have it. That's my two cents - more like ten cents, that was a long post - on Amish Friendship Bread. Below is the recipe that I use for my basic loaf. In the future I'll have to write a post about all of the variations I like to use (some of them I've invented, others I've borrowed) because this post is too long already. Please feel free to comment with any additional questions, and I'll be more than happy to answer. Happy baking!


Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

Day 1 - receive the starter (the recipe for the starter is below)

Day 2 - squish

Day 3 - squish

Day 4 - squish

Day 5 - Add 1 cup each flour, sugar and milk.

Day 6 - squish

Day 7 - squish

Day 8 - squish

Day 9 - squish

Day 10 - Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Divide into 3 containers, with 1 cup each for two of your friends and 1 cup for your own loaves. Give friends the instructions for Day 1 through Day 10 and the following recipe for baking the bread.

After removing the 3 cups of batter, combine the remaining cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter with the following ingredients in a large bowl:

2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Using a fork beat by hand until well blended. You can add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nuts (optional).

Grease two loaf pans (or one bundt pan) with butter, sprinkle with sugar instead of flour.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour or so (individual oven temperatures vary). Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans. Makes two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread (unless you used the bundt pan, obviously).

Let them eat cake...

So I made cupcakes for the little one's preschool class this week. They were Easter themed (yeah, I know, I was two days behind on that...but its a Tuesday/Thursday school, so what can you do), and kinda cute. I borrowed the idea from a cupcake article, and I think they turned out pretty good, although 3 year olds and coconut aren't the best combination. Here's a picture:

For these cupcakes I used by absolute favorite chocolate cake recipe. I take that back, the one my grandmother used that my mother now uses is my favorite, but mine never turns out the same, so I leave that one for her to do. The recipe I like to bake with turns out a very moist, chocolately cake that goes perfectly with the Cream Cheese Fudge icing I paired with it underneath the coconut and candies.

This recipe was submitted to AllRecipes.com (my all-time favorite recipe site) by shirleyo, but may have originated elsewhere. I love it because its easy, only uses one bowl (as the title may suggest), and I've never messed it up. Here it is:

One Bowl Chocolate Cake III
Ingredients
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
2.In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
3.Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.


The one thing that might throw people off about this recipe is how thin the batter is. Its thin. Really thin. Like, practically chocolate milk thin. Don't think you've done something wrong, because you haven't, and I promise it will turn out perfect. Happy baking!

Mexican Cornbread Casserole - My most shared recipe

So the inspiration for this blog comes from the fact that I get so many requests for certain recipes that I am tired of rewriting them when I can't find the last person I sent it to (which I could copy and paste and save so much time). My most requested recipe is, as you might guess, Mexican Cornbread Casserole. This is an amazingly easy recipe that is quick, inexpensive (like, under $10 usually), can be made kid friendly (depending on the type of Rotel and seasonings), and can feed a large family (our family of four eats it for two nights). So here it is:

Mexican Cornbread Casserole

4 pkgs cornbread mix (i use the Texas Yellow Cornbread, because its less sweet; additional ingredients for mixing the cornbread batter will likely include 1 egg and 2/3c milk )
1 lb ground beef (can be made vegetarian by using drained and rinsed black beans)
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can sweet corn
1 can ranch style beans
1 -2 pkgs shredded cheese (I like the mexican blend, 1-2pkgs depending on how much cheese you like)

Follow directions on the back of the pkg to mix up the cornbread. (I usually do two first, to use for the bottom, and then do the other two together for the top)
In an oiled 13x9 pan pour 2 pkgs worth of cornbread batter. Brown and season (to taste) beef. Drain cans of tomatos, corn, and beans. Add to pan. Scoop combined mixture over first layer of cornbread. Cover with cheese. Top with remaining cornbread batter. (A tip for that is to dollop several spoonfuls and then try to spread it over the cheese. It doesn't spread well if you just pour it on top - tried that too many times.)

Bake as directed on the back of the cornbread package.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins

Hope you enjoy!

Hello world! Welcome to my kitchen!

After amazing a few with my genetically acquired cooking ability, I've decided its time to start a blog. This way, when asked for the recipe to something, or asked how I did it, I can just refer them to this site. Hey, it beats typing up the same recipe a billion times.

So first, a little bit about myself:
I am 22, own a massage therapy business, am about to finish my Associates in Business (then move on to my Bachelors), and am a very busy woman. I have two kids, ages 5 and 3 years, named Alexa and Elizabeth (Lizzie) respectively. I'm engaged to a wonderful, hardworking man who I looove to cook for. We all live together in Georgetown, TX, and have been here for three years.

What I discovered when we first moved into this house that I now had my own kitchen. This discovery brought about the realization that I can actually cook, and pretty well. Having your own family, even at a young age, means that you have other people to feed, and that those other people would most likely prefer something other than Ramen noodles for dinner. Well, not entirely. My fiance is a corn-fed country boy who loves such back-of-the-pantry finds as Ramen noodles, corned beef hash, and potted meat (bleh!). The thought of any of these just turns my stomach, so I decided to learn to cook, and it has now become my passion.


This blog will be more than just recipes. I plan on sharing with you, my audience, about my entire kitchen experience - from me cleaning my oven (that was last week, but my sweetie did most of it, so it wasn't too bad) to me getting up early to bake cupcakes for my kids' school snack (which will be in about four hours), and everything else in between.

So welcome to my kitchen. Sit down, have a glass of sweet tea, and stay awhile. Hope you enjoy!