American Khanna

Grandma's Yeast Rolls

2012-02-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

I always love it when I'm able to get a recipe out of my grandma. She's one of those grandma's who seems to cook by instinct. Nothing is ever measured, and it's all in her head. I did manage to get her to write this down as a birthday gift for me. Her rolls are always the star of the meal at Thanksgiving. You can use this recipe for more than just rolls, it works for sandwich bread and for burger or hot dog buns.

Grandma's Yeast Rolls

¼ c, Warm Water
1 T. Sugar
2 ½ t. Yeast
1 c, Scalded Milk
1 c, Water
¼ c, Crisco Or Oil
1 t. Salt
¼ c, Sugar

Directions:
Combine ¼ c. warm water, T. sugar and yeast.

Combine scalded milk, 1 c. water, oil, salt and sugar. Allow to cool. Add milk mixture to yeast mixture after cooled.

Add 2 c. flour and beat until very smooth. Add 1 more cup, beat, Continue adding ½ c. at a time until dough is very stiff. Then knead on a lightly floured counter top. Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled. Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 even pieces. Take each piece and divide in two, rolling each piece into a ball. Place two balls in one muffin cup. Once pan is full and all rolls are made, allow to rise another 30-45 minutes.

Bake at 375 for approximately 12 minutes, until golden brown. Brush with butter last minute of cooking, if desired.

Pasta in Creamy Garlic Sauce (Chicken and Broccoli version)

2012-02-04T00:51:00.000-08:00

Although this meal is REALLY easy to put together, it does require a little bit of planning ahead. That's because the sauce (which you can make in about 5 minutes) needs to sit for several hours for the garlic to really get nicely infused. Otherwise, your sauce is just going to taste like milk:( But this is a great meal for making all the things ahead of time, and then throwing it all together in a snap later in the day (or even the next day). This is really, really easy to make!

Creamy Garlic Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 c. water, divided
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 c. heavy cream (in India, use 1 c. Amul cream and 1 c. milk. This is not good with 2 c. Amul cream...trust me)
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley (or 1 tsp. dried parsley if you have it...I've made it without this before)
salt and pepper to taste (I also use Tony's creole seasoning)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Directions

1. Pour half of the water into a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the garlic and garlic powder, and boil until the water has almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, parsley, salt, and pepper. At this point (before I add the cornstarch) I take it off the burner and allow it to cool, then put it in the fridge. I usually do this in the morning if I’m going to make this for dinner, or you could do this before you go to bed and let it sit overnight in order to make it for lunch.

2. When you are ready to make your meal, see the rest of the directions below.

Ingredients to add to the sauce:

2 baked chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (I season mine with Tony's before baking)
1 small head of broccoli, cut into small pieces and steamed
3 cups of cooked pasta (macaroni, elbow, etc.)

When you're ready to assemble your meal, remove the garlic sauce from the fridge.

3. Add the cornstarch to the sauce and slowly heat it. Add all your other ingredients (I add the chicken and brocolli first, and then add the pasta so that I don't get too much in there. You want the sauce to nicely coat everything). Heat everything through til you get the sauce to the thickness that you want.

To turn this into a veg meal, leave out the chicken and add a variety of steamed vegetables (carrots, summer squash, etc.).

This goes nicely with French bread and Carrots with Rosemary Butter.

Enjoy!

Carrots with Rosemary Butter

2012-01-30T02:20:00.000-08:00

This is a great savory side dish. I serve it alongside chicken 'n' dumplings, pasta, baked chicken...it goes great with just about anything and it's so easy and fast.

Ingredients:

3 c. carrots cut into sticks

1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. rosemary, crushed

1/2 tsp. parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Steam carrot sticks to desired tenderness. Combine spices with butter. Add carrots and toss to coat. So easy, and so delicious:)

Make your own Sausage (Minced Mutton)

2012-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at a blog post...ever. I hope I do not mess up Megan's wonderful blog! I really appreciate all her hard work in keeping this thing going. I use lots of her recipes (the one I keep making over and over right now is Chicken Soup with Lentils ...with brown rice instead of barley. All of my family, even the picky eater, loves it.)

I'm not a big fan of mutton except in its minced form. If you have a pretty good selection of spices, mostly ones you use for Thanksgiving-type foods, you can easily make your own sausage using mutton keema. This is adapted from a Jimmy Dean sausage copy cat recipe.

1 kg mutton keema
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
3-4 tsp. rubbed sage
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3-4 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. coriander (dhaniya powder)

Combine all the spices with the keema. Mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate several hours (I usually let it set overnight). If your sausage mixture smells really fragrant, then your spices are probably fine. I usually cook just a tiny portion in a skillet to see if I want to add anything else before cooking all of it.

Cook it, then use it to top homemade pizza, make breakfast casserole, put in sausage potato soup, etc. This makes quite a bit of sausage, so after I cook it I freeze it in several smaller batches. Later I will post a recipe for sausage stromboli that my family loves. Enjoy!
Rachel R.

Chicken with Roasted Pears and Rice

2011-11-30T06:50:00.001-08:00

This dish calls for wild rice, something I've never been able to find here. So I just used a plain short grain rice. This would be really nice served with some sauteed green beans or steamed broccoli. You will need some craisins/cranberries that we can't typically find here. I wasn't sure how I would like this, because I normally go for more savory main dishes, but this was really good, and the whole family loved it, especially the kids! Also, I labeled it 40 minutes or Less, because it's less than 40 minutes of prep time, but 30 minutes of inactive baking time. From start to ready, it's more than 40 minutes.

Chicken with Roasted Pears and Rice
3 pears, cored and cut length-wise into 1/2" slices
1 1/4 c. apple juice
3/4 c. water
1 cube chicken bullion
1 c. uncooked rice
1 lb chicken breast, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c. dried cranberries, or dried tart cherries
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450F/220C. Arrange pear slices in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake for ten minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven, and reduce oven tempt to 400F/190C.

Combine apple juice, water, and chicken bullion in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add rice, cover, reduce heat, and cook until rice is tender, 15-20 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Combine rice, chicken, cranberries, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Spoon mixture in a a large baking dish. Arrange roasted pear slices over chicken mixture. Cover and bake at 190C for about 30 minutes or until chicken is done. 5-6 servings.

Luke liked this so much, he had a very clean plat. And he wanted a pear slice with cranberries he dug out of the leftover neatly perched on top for dessert. : )

Thanksgiving 2012

2011-11-21T21:52:00.001-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year! It's been a great year in South Asia, our kids are growing and are healthy, and God has provided for our family in so many miraculous ways this year.

This year, our Thanksgiving celebration is turning out to be a lot smaller than in years past. I'm okay with that. : ) We'll have five adults and our kids. So my menu is pretty scaled down, and I haven't started cooking yet. That's only because my husband is out of town, but coming back today, and I've not been feeling well. Hopefully I'll be up to starting tomorrow.

So, this year, my menu looks like this:

-Baked Brie with maple syrup and pecans, crackers for appetizer
-Apple cider

-Roasted Rosemary Chickens
-Grandma's Stuffing
-Baked Winter Squash Gratin (I'm using kaddu)
-Mashed Potatoes
-Bay Scented Lentil and Red Cabbage Salad with Bacon
-Grandma's Yeast Rolls
-Iced Tea

-Pecan Pie
-Pumpkin Pie

This all sounds really good to me, but my only hesitation is that there's nothing really green on the table. If I have time, I might do some bacon-wrapped green beans. But I also have to remember that I'm working around a 2-hour morning power cut from 9-11. That will throw a kink in my planning, I think. : )

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Greek Chicken Casserole

2011-10-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick and easy meal in a dish! I love baked dinners, because I can clean up while dinner cooks in the oven. : )

Greek Chicken Casserole- from Barefoot Con Terra
1 T. Olive Oil
2 c. Chopped Onion
2 T. Dried Thyme
1-2 t. Black Pepper
10 cloves Garlic, Minced
6 c. Cubed potatoes (1/4 kg)
2 c. Cut Green Beans (1/4 kg)
½ c. Water
2 T. Finely Chopped Olives (optional)
2-3 c. Diced Tomatoes

8 Skinned, Boned Chicken Thighs, Or Breasts
½ c. Crumbled Feta Cheese

Salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add potato; sauté 8 minutes or until potato begins to brown. Stir in green beans, water,and tomatoes. Salt to taste, adjusting seasonings to your liking. Remove mixture from heat. Nestle chicken thighs into potato mixture. Top with feta cheese. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes.

*I might be a little more generous with the feta cheese. : )

Mexican Chocolate Cake

2011-09-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine, who is a fantastic cook, once told me that putting cinnamon in a chocolate cake is common in Mexico. I didn't know that, but grew up eating this chocolate sheet cake. I've started calling it Mexican Chocolate cake, just to differentiate it from other chocolate cakes I make. This one might be my favorite.

Mexican Chocolate Cake
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
100 g. butter
1/2 c. dalda or vanaspati
4 T. cocoa
1 c. cold water
1/2 c. milk
1 t. vinegar
1/4 t. salt
1 t. soda
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs

Icing
1/3 c. milk
4 T. cocoa
1 t. vanilla
100 g. butter
3 1/2- 4 c. powdered sugar

Combine the milk and vinegar and let sit. Combine sugar and flour in a large bowl. Bring butter, shortening, cocoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour boiling mixture over flour and sugar. Beat well. Add the milk and vinegar combination, salt, soda, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs. Grease a 9x13 cake pan and pour the batter in. Bake for 20 minutes at 375/190.

To make frosting, put milk, cocoa and butter in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add vanilla and sugar. Beat. Pour it over the hot cake. The icing will set very quickly.

Bruschetta

2011-09-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in a Top Secret Restaurant recipes cookbooks. It claims to be a Cheesecake Factory recipe. Wherever it's from, it's great!

Bruschetta
1 1/2 c. chopped roma tomatoes
2 T. diced red onion
1 large garlic clove
2 T. chopped fresh basil (if you can't get this, substitute 1/2 t. dried basil)
1/2 t. red wine vinegar
1/4 t. salt
dash of pepper
loaf of French Baguette (use the Classic French Bread recipe!)
1/4 t. garlic salt

Combine the tomatoes, red onion, garlic, and basil in a medium bowl. The tomatoes and onions should be chopped uniformly.

Add 1/2 T of oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and mix well. Cover the bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour. (Sometimes I don't do this because I don't plan ahead).

When you are ready to serve the dish, preheat your broiler and slice the baguette in one inch slices on a 45 degree angle. Combine the remaining 1 1/2 T oil with the garlic salt. Brush the entire surface of each slice of bread (both sides) with the oil until the surface of the bread starts to turn brown.

Arrange the slices like a star or spokes of a wheel on a serving plate. Pour the chilled tomato mixture in a neat pile onto the bread slices where they meet at the center of the plate. Garnish with Italian parsley.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

2011-09-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

These are just like Cinnabon. Really, really good... Don't be afraid of cinnamon rolls! They're not as hard as they seem. I always make these and roll them out, put them in a pan in the evening and put them in the refrigerator to do their second rise overnight. In the morning, pull them out and set them on the counter for 30-45 minutes to get to room temperature while you let the oven pre-heat. Then, bake them up! Cinnamon rolls are best eaten hot and fresh. (I'm sorry this picture is so terrible, it does NOT do these justice!) I've been wanting to post this recipe for a long time, but have been holding off for a picture... this is better than nothing, I guess! : )

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
2 1/4 t. yeast
1 c. warm milk (110 degrees)
1/2 c. castor or breakfast sugar
1/3 c. butter
1 t. salt
2 eggs
4 c. flour

Filling: (I almost always double this part)
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 T. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, softened

Icing:
8 T. butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. cream cheese
1/2 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, margarine, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.

Knead the dough into a large ball. Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approximately 21 inches long by 16 inches wide. It should be about 1/4 inch thick.

To make the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the melted butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface. You want the cinnamon mixture to go all the way to the edge of on three sides of the rectangle. On the side that will be the outer edge, leave about 1/4-1/2 inch of dough uncovered by cinnamon. Make sense? You will roll toward this edge.
Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the dough into approximately 2 inch wide slices, and play in a lightly greased baking pan. At this point, you can refrigerate it over night. OR
Bake ten minutes or until light golden brown. (It usually takes me a bit longer then ten minutes).

While the rolls are baking, combing the icing ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

Oh. My. : ) Delish!

Keralan Honey Lemon Chicken

2011-09-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, I found some lime powder at the grocery store. A big huge bag of it. I thought I could find something interesting to do with it, so I bought it. I found this recipe online, and even though it didn't call for lime powder, the whole family loved this. It was really tasty! : )

Keralan Honey Lemon Chicken
4 Chicken breasts
1/2 c. corn starch/corn flour
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Oil – sufficient for frying
2 T. light soya sauce
2 T. hoisin sauce
1/4 t. red chilly flakes, optional
Salt to taste
2 T. lemon juice
4 T. honey
1 T. roasted sesame seeds

Mix 2T cornstarch in 1c. of water and keep the remaining corn starch. Finely chop or press the garlic. Heat the oil over a high heat. Cut the chicken breasts into one inch cubes. Dredge the chicken pieces in the corn starch, coating them thoroughly. Fry the chicken in the hot oil, 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken and drain on a paper towel. In a separate skillet, heat 2 T. oil. Fry the chopped garlic, and add soy sauce, hoisin, chilly flakes, salt. Stir to combine. Add the fried chicken pieces to the sauce, and add the cornstarch/water solution and stir well. Reduce the heat and add the lemon juice and honey. Stir continuously until the sauce is thickened. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to finish. Serve over steamed rice or noodles.

Marriot Meusli

2011-09-14T00:07:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, a new Marriot hotel opened in our city. They have a buffet breakfast that is a great price, especially considering kids eat free. We tried it out a few weeks back, and of all the amazing food they had, one of my favorites was their homemade meusli. I've thought off and on about attempting to make granola or meusli, but I didn't really know how I would like it until I had the meusli at the Marriot. I studied and took note of what was in it, and came home and re-created it today. This is the best meusli I've ever had! I could eat it every day. : )

Marriot Meusli
2 c. Oats
2 c. Cornflakes
1 c. Dessicated Coconut
1 c. Chopped Pistachios
¼ t. Salt
½ c. Coconut Oil
¼ c. Maple Syrup
¼ c. Honey
½-1 t. Cinnamon
½ t. Vanilla Extract
1 c. Golden Raisins

Combine oats, cornflakes, coconut, pistachios, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut oil (or butter), syrup, honey, and vanilla. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it's all evenly coated. Bake in a 300/145 oven on a lined/greased baking sheet for 20-30 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack. After completely cooled, stir in raisins. YUM! This makes about five cups. I think I'll double it from now on. : )

Note: After eating a big bowl of this with milk, I think next time, I will not add the dessicated coconut until after it's baked. It had a strange after taste, which I think was from the cooked/baked coconut.

If there's an element in here you don't care for, you can easily swap it out. Like almonds for pistachios, or nutmeg for cinnamon. Also, I used just regular oats, (I think the quick cooking kind) because to my knowledge, you can't easily find rolled oats here. It worked fine. You can also substitute butter for the coconut oil, but I would do coconut oil if at all possible. : ) If you do butter, melt it on the stove top first, then stir in the honey, syrup and vanilla. It's easy to make this your own!

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

2011-09-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

I got this from my friend Terra's blog. Quick and easy pasta dinner!

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

3 c. uncooked ziti (I used penne)

1/4 kg spinach leaves

1 lb. of chicken, cut into pieces

1/2 t. each of oregano, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder

3 diced tomatoes

2 oz. cream cheese

2 T. parmesan cheese (you can substitute cheddar)

1/2 c. mozzarella

2 boxes tomato puree

1/4 c. bacon bits (optional)

oil

Cook pasta according to package directions. One minute before it’s done, add spinach leaves. Drain.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add chicken and all seasoning and saute in skillet until done. Add tomato puree and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Simmer 3 mins. Stir in cream cheese. Toss in spinach and pasta. Toss in 1/2 c. mozzarella. Pack into baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Bake at 375/180, covered lightly for 15 minutes. Remove foil for the last five minutes.

Make Your Own Maple Syrup

2011-09-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Simple recipe, but you do need maple flavoring from the states. It comes in a small bottle and is usually found in the baking aisle with the vanilla and almond extracts. Have someone stick a couple in your next package!

Make Your Own Maple Syrup
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar (you can totally use homemade brown sugar!)
1 c. water
1/2 t. maple flavor, or more, as you like
1 t. vanilla extract

Combine the sugars and water in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the syrup coats the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful, it will thicken as it cools, so you don't want to wait too long and get it too thick in the pot. If it's not getting thick enough, add 1/4 c. more brown sugar at a time. Turn the gas off, and add the maple and vanilla, give it a good stir. You're done! :) I usually do this as I'm cooking pancakes, because I never plan ahead. : )

Perfect Pancakes

2011-09-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

These are our favorite Saturday morning pancakes!

2 c. all-purpose flour
4 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 c. buttermilk (2 T. vinegar, fill to 2 c. with milk)
2 T. vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk, oil, and eggs. Add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.

Spoon about 1/4 c. of batter onto a hot nonstick griddle. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Makes about 15-16 pancakes.

Sometimes, I add 1/4 c. flour if the batter looks too runny. I like a nice thick batter that will set up into thick, fluffy pancakes. You also want your pan nice and hot, so that the batter starts cooking immediately instead of running all over the pan. But not too hot that they burn before cooking through! : )

Easy Drop Biscuits

2011-08-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

These are quick and easy, and so light and fluffy. I'll often make some up to go with soup, pasta, or for breakfast. So yummy and fast!

Drop Biscuits

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4-1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. (6 T.) butter, cut into small squares
1 c. milk (even better with homemade buttermilk!)

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter til mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I've also found I can do this with my hands, just rubbing the butter into the flour until it's mixed together). make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Add the milk all at once. Using a fork, stir just till moistened.

Drop dough onto grease baking sheets. I normally fill a 1/4 c. or 1/3 c. with batter, and spoon it out onto the baking sheet. Makes about 8-10, depending on how big you make them. : )

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Mama Jantz style

2011-07-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

These are the only chocolate chip cookies I remember my mom making when I was a kid. I always thought they were so much better than ones I had elsewhere. When she gave me the recipe, I realized why. There is a secret ingredient that makes them extra soft and moist, and they NEVER dry out or get hard, at least, not before they're completely scarfed up by everyone. : )

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
200 g. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. castor sugar
1 package (small) Jello Instant Vanilla pudding
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
1 bag of chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts, optional

Mix flour with soda in a bowl and set aside. Combine butter, sugars, jello mix, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture, then stir in chocolate chips and nuts. You want a stiff batter. Drop by tablespoon fulls onto an ungreased baking sheet, about two inches apart. Bake at 375/190 for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 2 1/2-3 dozen.

I'm planning to toy around with making vanilla pudding powder from scratch, so if it's successful in this recipe, I'll post that as well, so you won't have to import anything for these!

My Favorite Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2011-07-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have tried dozens of baked macaroni and cheese recipes and just had never found the perfect (to my taste) recipe. When we were back in the states last summer, I picked up a box of macaroni pasta at Winn Dixie. On the side of the box, it had a recipe. So I tried it in my quest for the perfect recipe. And I found it! : ) Who knew it would be on the side of a Winn Dixie box? : )

Macaroni and Cheese
16 oz. macaroni (about 500 grams)
1/4 c. (50 g) butter
1/3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
3 c. milk
2 c. shredded Cheddar
1 c. shredded swiss cheese (or just use all cheddar, or any other cheese you have)

Preheat oven to 375 (190C). Cook macaroni in boiling water, drain.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Stir with a whisk and gradually stir in milk. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Add 1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Stir in macaroni.

Spoon half of macaroni mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. top with Swiss cheese, remaining macaroni mixture, then remaining cheddar cheese. bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Gooey Butter Cake

2011-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is my husbands favorite dessert. He's not a big fan of chocolate desserts (which are MY favorite!) and so I like to make this for him. This is one of the main reasons I was so excited when my import store here started carrying the Britannia cream cheese! : )

Gooey Butter Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 c. milk powder (I use EveryDay by Nestle)
100 grams butter
2 beaten eggs

Melt the butter and drizzle in the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan. Combine the dry ingredients and sprinkle over the butter. Pour the beaten eggs in the pan and mix together with a fork until it's all moistened. Mash it into the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.

1 1/2 boxes of Britannia cream cheese
2 eggs
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Combine and mix with a mixer. Pour on top of cake mixtures. Bake at 350F (175C) for 30 minutes. Don't over bake it, even if it doesn't look done!

Monthly Meal Rotations

2011-06-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

When we were studying language when we first arrived in India, life was intense. Cooking, and thinking about meals, grocery shopping, was just something that was on the back burner. So I made a monthly rotation of meals, four weeks of different dinners every night. I created a grocery list for each week, and just rotated them so that i didn't ever have to think about what to buy, what to make...

A friend today suggested I post these meals, and I thought it was a great idea! I can't guarantee there are recipes for every meal on here, but hopefully they'll be helpful if you're in that season of life that is just busy and you need more structure for meal planning.

28 Meals:

1. Jambalaya and cornbread

2. Moroccan Chicken, couscous, and green beans

3. Bean Tacos, Mexican rice (make extra beans and tortillas for meals later in the week)

4. Cracker Barrel Veg Platter/or Chili and biscuits

5. Caribbean beans and rice

6. Burgers and fries (lamb, chicken, veg, whatever)

7. Spinach and Bacon quiche with fruit salad or muffins or both : )

8. Pav Bhaji

9. Breaded Ranch Chicken, roasted potatoes and corn

10. Pasta and bread (it varied what kind) with veggie sticks and ranch dressing

11. 7-Layer Tortilla pie, chips and salsa

12. Indonesian meatballs and rice, salad

13. Shepherds Pie

14. Stuffed potatoes and salad

15. Broccoli Alfredo pasta with Italian bread

16. Grilled chicken salads

17. Kushiri, crunchy pea salad

18. Enchiladas, mexican cream corn

19. Chicken pot pie

20. Homemade pizza

21. Falafal and pita sandwiches, fruit salad

22. Barbecue Chicken Hash, biscuits

23. Tortilla soup/Potato Soup

24. Butter Chicken, Rice

25. Fried Rice and momos (I didn't make the momos!)

26. Barbecue Cups, Mac and cheese, Baked beans or peas

27. Cream Tacos

28. Mojo Chicken with fried bananas and garlicky rice

This list is about two years old, so we have added a lot of things to our recipe index since then that we eat more often than some of these things. But they're mostly pretty easy meals! If you see anything on here that you want the recipe for, let me know!

Moroccan Stew with Couscous

2011-06-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is a new favorite recipe. My husband totally loves it, and I do too. It's a bit too spicy for the kids though, so I have to tone it down by either removing some for them before adding all the curry powder, or reducing the curry powder. So good, though!

Moroccan Stew
2 T. olive oil
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 large green bell pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 medium red onions
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. curry powder
10 ounces of tomato soup
1/2 c. golden raisins
1 c. cooked chick peas (optional)
1/3 c. toasted slivered almonds (optional)

Heat oil in a large wok or saute pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until well browned on both sides.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add onions, pepper, and garlic, and cook five minutes or until tender crisp. Add cinnamon and curry and cook and stir one minute. Stir in soup and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 15 minutes.

Add raisins and chickpeas to saucepan. Cook ten minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in almonds.

For couscous: boil 1 1/2 c. water with 1 T. butter and 1 block of chicken bullion. When water is boiling and everything is melted, add 11/2 c. couscous. Shut off the heat and cover the pot and let it sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve. If you don't have couscous, serving with rice would be good.

Notes: I usually omit the chickpeas because I don't plan enough ahead. But you could easily make this an all veg. meal by omitting the chicken and doubling the chickpeas. If I have slivered almonds, I use them. If not, obviously, I leave them out. : )

Also, for the tomato soup, you can use either leftover tomato soup, or just two boxes of tomato puree and season it a bit with salt and pepper and maybe some basil and cumin. If it's too thick, thin it down with some water. I've done both, and both come out great.

Italian Fried Paneer Sticks

2011-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

We had this at June G's house several years ago, and I thought it was such a great idea! So easy, and a great side item for Italian meals, especially for a vegetarian pasta meal.

Italian Fried Paneer Sticks

250 grams paneer

2 t.. salt

1 1/2 t. garlic powder

1 t. black pepper

1 t. onion powder

1 t. oregano

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

Combine all spices in a bowl. Cut the paneer into strips. Pat them to dry on a paper towel. Next, dredge them in the spice mixture. Melt the butter and olive oil in a pan. Get it nice and hot, barely smoking, then put the paneer strips into the pan. Cook on one side until browned, then turn. Try not to move them around much if possible to keep them in one piece. If the pan is not hot enough, they will not sear on the outside and will crumble.

Remove to a plate and serve! Easy, peasy! You can mess with the seasonings until you get it just the way your family likes it!

Donuts!

2011-05-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

Donuts are something I love to eat, but I tend to only make them two or three times a year. But since I found this recipe, I'll be making them more often. : ) Especially since I figured out I can make the dough the night before, stick it in the fridge to have it's first rise over night, pull it out and cut them in the morning and fry them up. With a few minutes work the night before, they turn into a pretty quick breakfast, relatively speaking. : )

Dunkin Donuts

2 ¼ t. Yeast
2 T. Warm Water
¾ c. Warm Milk
2 ½ T. Butter, Softened
1 Egg
⅓ c. Granulated Sugar
1 t. Salt
2 ¾ c. Flour
3 c. Vegetable Oil
Glaze:
⅓ c. Melted Butter
2 c. Powdered Sugar
½ t. Vanilla
⅓ c. Hot Water
1 c. Chocolate Chips (For Chocolate Glaze)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
Add the milk, butter, egg, sugar, and salt, and blend with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add half the flour and mix for 30 seconds.
Add the remaining flour and knead the dough with flour-dusted hands until smooth.
Cover the bowl of dough and leave it in a comfy, warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. You can tell that the dough has risen enough when you poke it with your finger and the indentation stays.
Rollout the dough on a heavily floured surface until it's about ½ inch thick.
If you don't have a donut cutter, and don't intend to buy one, here's a way to punch out your dough: you can use a standard 15 ounce can. Be sure to wash out the can very well, and punch a hole in the opposite end so that the dough won't be held inside the can by a vacuum. However, here in South Asia, you can usually find a cutter for those veda things from South India that they put into sambar. That's what I have and it works great!
When you've punched out all the dough (you should have about a dozen unholed donuts), it's time for the holes. Find the cap to a bottle of lemon juice or Worcestershire sauce, or any other small cap with a diameter of about 1 ¼ inches. Use this to punch out holes in the center of each of your donuts.
Place the donuts on plates or cookie sheets, cover, and let stand in the same warm, comfy place until they nearly double in size. This will take 30 to 45 minutes.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Bring the oil to about 350 degrees. It is easily tested with scrap dough left over from punching out the donuts. The dough should bubble rapidly.
Fry each donut for about 30 seconds per side, or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on paper towels.
For either the plain or the chocolate glaze, combine the margarine or butter with the powdered sugar in a medium bowl and blend with an electric mixer.
Add the vanilla and hot water. Mix until smooth.
If you're making the chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds. Stir, then microwave another 30 seconds and stir again until completely melted. Add to the plain glaze mixture. Blend until smooth.
When the donuts have cooled, dip each top surface into the glaze and then flip over and cool on a plate until the glaze firms up, about 15 minutes.

Mango Chicken Pasta

2011-05-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

Here is another recipe from DebbieR! I've had this before, and it looks interesting, but it is really great!

Mango Chicken Pasta
16 oz. uncooked rigatoni pasta
1 T. olive oil, divided
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 c. fresh cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 T. grated cheese, or more! : )

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rigatoni pasta, cook for 8 minutes until almost done. Drain.

Heat 1/2 the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in the skillet and cook 10 minutes, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet, and cook the onion and green pepper until tender. Mix in the garlic, and mango, and continue to cook and stir five minutes, or until mango is soft. Gradually mix the heavy cream into the skillet, and cook five minutes, until thickened.

Return the chicken to the skillet. Cook and stir 2 minutes, until ingredients are well blended. Mix in the cheese. Serve over pasta.

Enjoy!

Fried Okra

2011-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorites! I can't resist them, I have no will power when a place of fried okra is sitting in front of me. I even open the fridge and eat a few cold for a snack! : )

2 pounds Okra, Well Rinsed
1 Egg, Beaten
2 t. Water
2 c. Buttermilk
4 t. Salt
1 t. Cayenne Pepper
2 c. Flour
2 c. Smashed Saltine Crackers or Ritz-like crackers
Black Pepper
4 c. Vegetable Oil

Cut the stems off and slice the okra ¼ inch thick. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, water, buttermilk and 2 t. salt. Add okra. In another bowl, mix together the flour, cracker crumbs, remaining salt, and the cayenne and black pepper. Remove okra with a slotted spoon and add to flour mixture. Toss and remove to a rack to shake off excess flour. Heat the oil to 350˚. Add the okra by spoonfuls and fry to golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Keep warm while you fry remaining okra. Serves 8-10.

One way I love to serve this is on "Cracker Barrel Veg Platter" night. : ) We have fried okra, mashed potatoes, cinnamon apples and biscuits as our meal. Yes, it's good. : )

Frozen Mango Dessert

2011-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to try this! It's from a friend living in Eastern Europe. Her husband grew up in Africa and his mother used to make this for him. She says:

We can't get graham crackers so I just bought some British style butter cookies (they are called Petit Buerre here), crushed them in a food processor, and sauteed them with enough butter to bind into a thin crust that I could press in the bottom of the pan. It turned out pretty good.

Frozen Mango Dessert

2 mangoes (for an 8 inch baking dish) or 3 mangoes (for a 9x13 dish)
3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if you use 3 mangoes)
1 egg white
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup chilled whipping cream

Cut the mangoes up and process them in a blender or a food processor. Add the sugar, egg white and lemon juice, and blend for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. In a chilled bowl, beat cream until stiff: fold mango mixture into cream. Pour into a baking dish. Cover and freeze until firm.

My container of whipping cream had about twice as much as I needed, so I just added a layer of plain whipped cream on top. My kids are crazy about whipped cream. The whole family really liked it.

Enjoy!

Megan's Notes: I made this yesterday, and it is really tasty! I used the pie crust recipe on the cheesecake recipe, only all hobnobs, no gingernut cookies. One thing to be aware of is that in my freezer at least, it was not frozen after six hours! I made it in the afternoon and had it in the freezer by 2:30. At 8:30 when we pulled it out to eat it, it was still very jello-ish and not frozen at all. This morning, it was frozen stiff and was perfect for cutting into. So plan far enough ahead! : )

Key Lime Pie

2011-05-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

From RachelR:

My brother made this for me when we were on STAS. It was great. You can get all the ingredients locally, so that is a definite bonus! And those little lime/lemon things are going to be everywhere soon.

This is a Paula Deen recipe. I’m giving the recipe as is, and then below I’ll tell you a few things I usually do differently.

Ingredients:

Crust

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1-1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (or Hob Nob crumbs...I don’t recommend Marie Gold b/c they don’t stick together very well)

1/2 cup slivered almonds (or chopped almonds...I usually toast these for a few minutes, but they will also get a little toasted when you bake the crust)

Filling

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (this is one 400 g can of Milk Maid sweetened condensed milk)

1/2 cup Key lime juice

2 teaspoons grated lime zest

2 eggs, separated

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (for meringue)

1/4 cup sugar (for meringue)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, combine ingredients and pat down into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the milk, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon zest; blend in the egg yolks. Pour the filling into the crust.
For the meringue, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar and remaining teaspoon zest until the mixture is stiff. Spread the meringue over the filling; spread it to touch the edge of the crust all around. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.

The key lime pie should be chilled before serving, and it is best after it sits for a day (or overnight). A great summer dessert!

Shish-Ka-Bobs

2011-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

My mom used to make this growing up, and it was one of my favorites. I just loved grilled pineapple!

Shish-Ka-Bobs

¼ c. soy sauce

¼ c. cider vinegar

2 T. honey

2 T. vegetable oil

2 green onions, minced

4 chicken breasts, cubed

1 pineapple, cubed

1-2 green peppers, cut into squares

1 white or yellow onion, cut into squares

Combine soy sauce, cider vinegar, honey, oil and green onions in a large bowl. Marinade four chicken breasts, cut up or whole. Marinate for four hours or longer. Skewer with green pepper, onion and pineapple. Grill.

I do these on my stove top grill. You could also do them in the oven if you need to! They are so tender and wonderful! I served it with a jamaican-y rice with peas and watermelon slices. Quick and easy!

For the rice: I simply took some leftover white steamed rice from lunch, melted some butter in the skillet and added 1/2 t. cumin seeds, or thereabout. I let them sizzle, then added about 1 t. of jamaican curry powder (that I had brought from the states, yes, sorry, but it's mostly turmeric and a few other spices...). I threw in some frozen peas and the white rice and stirred it up, little salt and pepper. Done!

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

2011-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you don't like shrimp or can't find it or don't trust it, you can just use blackened chicken instead!

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

½ c. chopped red peppers

½ c. chopped green peppers

½ c. chopped purple sweet onion

2 T. butter

1 packs of frozen jumbo prawn, thawed and patted dry

1 T. flour

1 t. Garlic powder

1/2 t. Black pepper

1/2 t.Seasoning salt

1 t.Creole Seasoning

1 1/4 c. cream

1 1/4 c. milk

250-300 grams pasta (spaghetti or fettuccine)

Chop the peppers and onions into large pieces. Fry the peppers and onions in butter til almost tender. Sprinkle cajun seasoning/Tony Chachere's/or seasoning salt over the shrimp, on both sides, coating it pretty well. Add the shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Stir the spoonful of flour into the shrimp and add the milk and cream. Season to taste with pepper, garlic, seasoning salt, and creole seasoning. Let the sauce simmer gently for about five more minutes till thickened. Serve sauce over pasta.

Mango Coconut Muffins

2011-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm loving mango season! :) Can ya tell? When I made these, I'm pretty sure I added some regular milk at the end, maybe 1/4 c. to make the batter the right consistency. But I can't remember exactly. Do what you think is best!

Mango Coconut Muffins

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. fine salt

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. butter, softened

2/3 c. sugar, plus more for topping

2 large eggs

1/2 c. coconut milk (1 juice box size box)

2 mangos, chopped into small bits

1/2 c. sweetened shredded coconut, plus more as the batter needs

1/2 c. slivered/chopped almonds (optional)

Brush muffin tin with butter. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold the flour in 3 parts into the butter mixture, alternating with the milk in two parts, until just combined. Fold in mango, coconut, and almonds if using. Do not overmix. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin and sprinkle tops with sugar. Baked about 25 minutes. Cool muffins in pan on a rack. Serve warm. This made 11 regular size muffins.

Mango Chicken

2011-04-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's Mango season! I'll be trying to come up with lots of different recipes to share using mangos in the next few months. Here's one we love that's quick and delicious!

Mango Chicken

4 Chicken breasts, cubed

1 red pepper, coarsely chopped

1 yellow pepper, coarsely chopped

1 mango, cubed

1 c. pineapple bits

1 c. Orange juice

1 T. cornstarch

Hot Sauce

Tony’s

Rice

Chicken bullion

In a large skillet, cook sliced chicken and peppers. Add Tony’s to taste. Whip together juice, hot sauce, and some flour or cornstarch and pour over chicken and peppers. Cook on a low heat until it’s a gravy like consistency. Add fruit to skillet. Serve over rice.

How to Slice a Mango (and Kitchen Gadget Must-Have)

2011-04-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

I never bought mangos before moving to South Asia. But here, we eat them weekly, sometimes daily. A friend from the US sent me this mango slicer, and I'm tellin' ya, it's worth the $15. : )

It was always hard to find the pit when I was trying to slice the sides off with a knife. This thing, it doesn't matter the size of the mango, the bulk of it, or anything. It just slices right down the sides of the pit in no time. I. love. it.

So, I learned how to remove the flesh of the mango from a Slice! bill board. No joke! When we first arrived, we had lunch with some field veterans who sliced their mangos in half, like around the "waist" of the mango, popped the top half off the pit and ate it with a spoon out of the skin. I thought there surely had to be a different way to do it, but always struggled to slice the flesh out. Then I saw the Slice! bill board with the cubes cut into it, like so:

and inverted, like so:

From here, you just slide your knife under each cube to cut it out. Easy, easy. I'm sure everyone knows this already, or has their own method, but since I was sharing the mango slicer, I though, why not? : )

Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza

2011-04-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of our favorites. :)

2 1/2 t. yeast

1 t. sugar

1 c. warm water (100-110 degree F)

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. cornmeal/makka atta/corn dalia

1/2 t. salt

1 T. olive oil

1 recipe Pizza Hut pizza sauce (it's right here)

1/2 c. barbecue sauce of your choice

2 chicken breasts

1 ball Amul mozzarella cheese

1/2-2/3 block of Brittania cheddar cheese

Jalapenos (optional)

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

For the dough:

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in a measuring cup. Let the yeast proof. Meanwhile, spoon the flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Place flour, makka atta and salt in a food processor, pulse 2 times or until blended. With processor on, slowly add the yeast mixture and 1 T. oil through the chute. Process until a ball forms, and let it knead in the machine for one more minute. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly four to five times. (You can do it all by hand if you want too). Put the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray, and turn it to coat the top. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place (in the microwave with a cup of warm water?) for 45 minutes, it should double in size.

Now, make the sauce, chop the onion, cook the chicken, shred the cheeses.

When it's doubled, punch dough down with one good blow. Let it rest five minutes. Prepare 2 9 inch cake pans by coating them with butter and sprinkling some sooji (semolina) around the bottom and sides. Divide dough in half. Shape dough into a ball and then press into a disc with your palm. It should be about six inches wide and an inch or so thick? Place the dough in the prepared pans and smoosh it to the edges and up the sides, making the base even.

For the sauce:

Make the pizza hut pizza sauce. Mix it with 1/2 c. barbecue sauce. Voila.

Toppings:

Rub chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grill or saute in a bit of olive oil or butter until cooked through. Shred, chop, or slice. However you like it. (We usually shred it).

Combine the shredded mozzarella and shredded cheddar and mix it well.

Spread the sauce evenly between the two pizzas. Sprinkle with some chopped onion. Divide the chicken between the pizzas. Add half the cheese to each pizza. Top with jalapenos if you want. (Makes it taste a bit like Schlotzsky's!!) Bake at 245 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 190 and bake another 10 minutes.

Some notes: I have always used makka atta for this, but recently ran across "corn dalia" at a store. It is in the jar on the right in the photo below. The middle jar is makka atta. The jar on the left in the picture below is corn dalia that I "mixee-eed" for a few minutes to get it finer. The corn dalia just looked like dried corn kernels that had been pounded and broken up a bit. I thought if I put it in the processor I could get it to be more like actual corn meal. It did get finer, and I tried it in the dough, but it was still too chunky, and the bits were too hard. I either need to let it go longer, or not use it.

Also, this does make two pizzas, so I usually do one barbecue chicken pizza and another one that's just cheese for the kids. I alter the sauce a bit , using less barbecue sauce and half the pizza hut sauce recipe for our pizza, and the other half for the kids cheese pizza.

Apple Barbecue Chicken

2011-04-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have a new commitment to try to post more quick and easy recipes for dinner... because I need to work on trimming my meal prep time and because I know most of us love quick, simple meals that taste great. Here's one we tried this week and all really liked! Nothing fancy, just simple and good (and fast!)

4 chicken breast halves, boneless

1/2 t. pepper

1 T. olive oil

2/3 c. chunky applesauce

2/3 c. spicy BBQ sauce

2 T. brown sugar

1 t. chili powder

Sprinkle chicken with pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil on both sides. In a small bowl., combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook 7-10 minutes longer.

I served this with garlicky brown rice (recipe in next post), and buttered peas. I think it would be better with steamed broccoli, but I didn't get to the market that day, so frozen peas it was! :)
*borrowed my from my friend Terra's blog: Barefoot con Terra

Garlicky Brown Rice

2011-04-07T06:00:00.001-07:00

1 T. olive oil
1 c. uncooked brown rice
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 c. water
2 c. chicken broth
1/4 t. salt
1/8 c. thinly sliced green onions (optional)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add rice, and saute one minute. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes. Stir in water, broth, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook over medium low heat until liquid is absorbed. (About 30 minutes?) Fluff with a fork and top with green onions. 4-5 servings.

Kitchen Gadget Must-Have: Garlic Peeler

2011-04-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

I can't remember how I first learned about this little doo-dad, but I can't live without it now. I lost mine in our move, and have been without one for several months. My sister in law just brought me a new one, and I'm so thankful to have it back! You must go over to Pampered Chef and get one, it will save you so much time! And save your fingers from smelling like garlic for days!

You put your garlic cloves, just plucked off the bulb, inside, give it a couple good rolls, and your garlic comes out sans their papery, sticky, smelly skin! A-mazing.

Pampered Chef Garlic Peeler here!

Chocolate Pudding

2011-04-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a microwave pudding recipe from DebbieM!

Quick Chocolate pudding (for the microwave) (from Allrecipes)

1/2 c. castor sugar/bura

1/3 c. cocoa powder

3 T. cornstarch

2 c. milk

2 t. vanilla extract

1 T. butter

Chopped chocolate bar (optional)

In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Whisk in milk a little at a time so the mixture does not have any dry lumps.

Place in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. Stir, then cook at 1 minutes intervals (important!), stirring between cooking times for 2-4 minutes, or until shiny and thick. Stir in vanilla and butter. If you want a little more richness, add a chopped chocolate bar.

Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator. Or, if you like warm pudding, eat it right away! 4 servings.

Whole Wheat Banana Waffles

2011-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Whole Wheat Banana Waffles

These are very filling, and very good. My family loves them, and we have them about once a week since we have strawberries in our city. The bananas in the batter will make these waffles a little on the darker side.

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1 ½ c. milk

¼ c. applesauce (I make my own by peeling and chopping an apple, then place it in a pan and cover the bottom with water. Let it boil, then simmer til the liquid is evaporated. Mash with fork.)

3 Tbsp. sugar

1Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix all other ingredients in separate bowl. Mix wet ingredients into dry just until incorporated.

Cook waffles according to waffle iron instructions. Top with fresh fruit, syrup, peanut butter, powdered sugar…we’ve done it all.

My waffle iron makes two square waffles at a time, and this recipe will make 10-12 waffle squares. The best thing is you can freeze leftovers and then pop them in the toaster when you want one.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

2011-03-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

One thing I often ask for people to bring/send when they come are those packs of Real Bacon bits from Hormel. They're just great for throwing in some eggs in the morning, on a salad, or in this quiche. I usually use about 1/2 c. for this if substituting for the fresh bacon. You could leave it out, but it would definitely be missing a little something...

6 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Salt and pepper

2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach, packed

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch glass pie plate

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.

Walmart-like Sugar Cookies

2011-03-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe from a new contributor, Julie M! Welcome, Julie! I'm excited about this recipe for sure! I just can't resist those soft buttery sugar cookies at Walmart. :) This recipe makes an estimated 5 1/2 dozen 2 1/2 inch cookies. So beware. :)

Cookies:
2 c. butter, softened (or 500 grams)
2 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. sour cream (or fresh cream, heavy cream)
1 T. vanilla extract
1 t. almond extract
6 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

Preheat oven to 215C. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla and almond extract. Beat very well till mixture is light and fluffy.

Mix all dry ingredients together in separate bowl. Slowly blend dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Only mix until blended, do not over blend. You can either refrigerate overnight and then roll out and cut. Or, you can just drop by cookie scoop onto cookie sheet.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-9 minutes until just barely tan around the edges.

Julie says, "I rolled out the cookies w/o refrigerating and it worked out fine. If you want a sturdier cookie, then add a bit more flour. The trick is to not over-bake them. In my oven it only took about 4 minutes to bake. :) The second time I made these cookies, I did refrigerate them first for an hour or so before rolling out, and I thought it made the outside of the cookies more like the bakery sugar cookies. :) Also, I think that the almond extract in both the cookie dough and the frosting is the key to making them taste like the bakery ones. I also used butter paper (same as parchment paper) on my cookie trays while baking and I think it helped them bake more evenly. Oh, one more thing, so the bakery sugar cookies are pretty thick, so I rolled them out to about 1/3- 1/2 inch thick."

Frosting:

about 1/2 c. shortening (or vanaspati or butter)

500 g icing sugar

about 1/4 cup fresh cream

1 t. vanilla flavoring

1 t. almond flavoring

Cream shortening and 1/2 of sugar together, add in rest of sugar, cream and flavorings. Cream till light and fluffy. Add food coloring if desired.

7-Layer Tortilla Pie

2011-03-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

1 T. olive oil
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
3/4 c. chopped green bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. chopped seeded green chile OR 1 t. chopped pickled jalapenos
2 T. minced fresh cilantro
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
2 c. tomato juice
2/3 c. dried kidney beans
2/3 c. dried pinto beans
2 c. shredded cheddar
7 8-inch tortillas

1. Combine beans in a pressure cooker. Cover with 3-4 c. water. Cook 45 minutes if not pre-soaked.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add bell peppers, onion, and chiles/jalapenos. Saute. Add spices. Cook a total of five minutes. Add tomato juice. Cook 8 minutes or until reduced to 2 1/2 cups.

3. Drain beans and add to the tomato mixture.

4. Grease the bottom of a round 2 quart casserole dish, or some thing else you can bake it in with high sides. Place one tortilla in the bottom of the dish. Place 3/4 c. bean mixture on top of the tortilla. Top with some cheese, about 1/4 c. Repeat layers, tortilla, beans, cheese. Finish the final layer with the rest of the cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 150 oven. Serves 6.

Chocolate Cobbler

2011-03-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is a nice dessert...kind of like a lava cake. And so easy to make. No eggs or butter needed, and you can serve to your vegetarian friends. This makes a spongy chocolate cake and forms a chocolate sauce underneath. The only ingredient you can't get here is brown sugar, but since Megan has figured out how to make that, you should be good to go!

Ingredients:
1 c. self-rising flour (or place 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt in a measuring cup. Add all-purpose flour to measure 1 c.)
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. plus 1/4 c. baking cocoa
1/2 c. milk
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups hot water
vanilla ice cream, optional (but I'd highly recommend it)

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and 2 Tbsp. cocoa. Stir in milk and oil until smooth. Pour into a greased 8 in. square baking pan. Combine the brown sugar and remaining cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Do not stir this together. Pour hot water over the top. Again, don't stir! Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until top of cake springs back when lightly touched. (I usually cook mine for about 40 min. The cake might seem done before that, but if you take it out too early, the sauce on the bottom will be way too thin. YOu want it to get a little thick, like hot fudge sauce.) Serve warm with ice cream if desired.

Skillet Rice

2011-03-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick and easy recipe from DebbieM. I pretty much always have these things in my kitchen, so it's a good one to go to when you don't know what to make for dinner!

Skillet Rice

¼ cup oil

½ medium onion

½ bell pepper chopped

½ lb. ground beef or chicken (or 1/4 kg.)

1 cup rice uncooked

2--8oz. Cans tomato sauce (2 boxes tomato puree)

1 ¾ cup hot water

1 tsp. salt

Dash pepper

1 tsp. prepared mustard

Cheese for topping

Heat oil in skillet and add onion and bell pepper. Cook for several minutes then add the meat. Stir on medium high heat until browned. Add rice, tomato sauce, water, salt, pepper and mustard. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Cheese can be added just before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Pav Bhaji-Indian Street Food!

2011-03-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Shortly after we arrived in India, we began big fans of pav bhaji. It's our Indian sloppy joe. : ) And because it is, we eat it with a slice of cheese on it. :) (At least, I grew up eating sloppy joes with cheese...)

Pav Bhaji
3 small potatoes
1 small head of cauliflower
2 carrots
Handful of fresh peas (200 grams)
1 onion, chopped
1 t. garlic paste
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 T. pav bhaji masala
1/4 t. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
Fresh cilantro
8 pavs (dinner rolls)
Cheese slices, optional

Chop the potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots, and place it all with the peas in the pressure cooker. Add about a 1/2 c. of water and cook for 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 t. oil in a skillet. Add the garlic paste and fry a minute. Add the onions and fry till soft. Add the tomatoes and fry until softened. Once the vegetables are done, drain water if there's a lot, you want a little bit, but not more than 1-2 tablespoons. Mash the veggies with a potato masher until, well, mashed. :) Add the mashed vegetables to the onion and tomato mixture. Add the pav bhaji masala, chili powder and salt. Stir to combine and cook until no longer soupy, but holds together. Turn the heat off and add the chopped cilantro.

Next, slice the pavs in half. Throw some butter on your tawa, and grill each tawa until nice and brown on the inside.

Eat 'em up! :)

Make Your Own Brown Sugar!

2011-03-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yes! It is possible here in India!! : ) First, you need to get Gur or Sheera from your dukan. It looks like this (the caramel colored balls in the bag):

You'll also need either some breakfast sugar or, some bhura, which is just really finely granulated sugar. Both work. : ) Here's my two bowls, one with breakfast sugar, one with bhura.

Next, you want to melt the gur/sheera. For one cup of sugar, use about two balls. Double as needed. (You can do this in mass and store in in a ziploc.)

It will melt and start to bubble like in this picture. Keep the heat low. When there are no more lumps and the syrup is smooth, you need to add just a bit of water, like maybe 1 Tablespoon? I think this is like slightly dehydrated molasses. Adding the water makes it a good consistency to mix and coat the sugar. Otherwise, it will clump with the sugar. So make sure you do add the water!

Next, stir it slowly to help the bubbles and foam subside. If you need to scoop the foam off with the spoon and toss it until you're left with a dark yet clear syrup.

Now, have your hand mixer ready, and start adding 1 T. at a time to the sugar/bhura and mix it to coat the sugar granules. Mix it until it's a good consistency. For one cup of sugar, I added about 4 T. of syrup, and by then it was about the right color and consistency. It packs great! It tastes slightly different from American brown sugar, but feels the same.

This is made from breakfast sugar.

And this is made from bhura. The bhura didn't get quite as caramel colored, but it tasted the same and had a good texture.

The true test, I made chocolate chips cookies with it. And they were perfect!

See how it packed in the measuring cup? Perfect!

Here's the cookies! Just like normal, no alteration in taste as far as we could tell, nice, soft and moist!

YAY! No more hauling 10 pounds of brown sugar back! : ) (And, it'll save you quite a bit if you use bhura!)

Remy's Ratatouille

2011-02-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, the kids watched Ratatouille for the first time in a long time. Afterwards, they were begging to eat Remy's Ratatouille. I looked for a recipe online and found it! Here is a link, and a picture of what I did, just so it's documented, because I'm never doing it again. :) And after all that work, after a few bites, my daughter said, "Mom, I only like ratatouille at Gusteaux's restaurant." Niiiice. :)

http://www.grouprecipes.com/15255/remys-ratatouille.html

Recipe Index

2011-02-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hey! Our family has been out of country on a much needed break. We returned a few days ago and I hope to get back to blogging in a few days. But in the meantime, I wanted to introduce you to the new Recipe Index. See the tab up there under the picture? There is a linked list of every recipe on the blog! I was getting annoyed at how hard it was to find a recipe, click a category, scroll... scroll... scroll. No more! Check here for every recipe on the blog! You're welcome. : )

PS: If you find a link that's not right, please comment here and let me know. I double checked, but ya never know... Thanks!

Meatball Marinara Subs

2011-02-15T03:43:00.000-08:00

These things are so huge, you don't need to serve anything with them. But if you want, a salad would be a good idea. :)

Meatball Marinara Subs

1 kg chicken keema

Seasoned salt

Garlic salt

2 T. worcestershire

1/2 packet onion soup mix (you can leave this out if you don't have it)

1 egg

1/2 c. grated parmesan

1/4 c. bread crumbs, italian flavored

3 T. italian seasoning

4 garlic cloves

Marinara:

12 roma tomatoes

6 garlic cloves, chopped

Olive oil

Salt

Sugar

Black pepper

Basil, fresh or dried

Combine all ingredients for meatballs. Form 1-1 1/2 inch meatballs. Place in a skillet coated with olive oil, turning to brown all sides. Once brown, cover and cook in skillet (or place in an oven, about 150). Cook until no longer pink.

For Marinara:

Saute garlic in olive oil. Cut tomatoes in half and puree in mixee till smooth but still chunky. You want to break up the skins, because that's where the flavors at! Add to garlic in pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid burning or sticking. Pour in a bit more oil, according to taste. Now this part is not at all specific. Just do it a little at a time 1/4-1/2 t. and keep tasting, tasting, tasting. Add salt, heavy dusting of black pepper, and 1-2 t. sugar. Lower heat and cook uncovered, stirring regularly, until all fluid is thickened, about half an hour. Remove from heat and add lots of fresh chopped basil. (If you don't have fresh basil, you can use dried. Just add it with the salt and pepper, maybe 1 t. to start with...)

Once the marinara is finished, add the cooked meatballs and coat. Place the meatballs in the buns. Top with mozzarella cheese and toast 4-5 minutes in oven, until cheese is melted. This makes 6 huge subs, 30 meatballs. Easily cut this in half for a family of four. Also, this recipe also goes great over spaghetti. You might want a more sauce to less meatball ratio for spaghetti though. :)

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bars

2011-02-12T03:19:00.000-08:00

A favorite in our house, for a husband who doesn't always love all things chocolate...

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
3/4 c. butter, softened (150 g.)
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (3 medium)
1 t. vanilla
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 c. chopped walnuts, optional

Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan, or thereabouts. (I have one that came with my oven that's deep enough that fills the oven, like a jelly roll pan that works).In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg, bananas and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in the chocolate pieces and, if you want, nuts.

Spread in the prepared baking pan. Bake in a 170 degree oven about 20 minutes or until golden on top. Cool on a wire rack, and cut into bars.

These are not really firm bars, more of a cake-like consistency. Best straight out of the oven. :)

Caribbean Beans and Rice

2011-02-09T03:04:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe I relied on during our first few months in South Asia. Easy. Simple. All the ingredients on hand, or easy to get.

Caribbean Beans and Rice
1 1/2 c. uncooked rice
2 t. vegetable oil
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 chopped green peppers
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. coarsely chopped tomato (about 2-3 tomatoes)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. red pepper (lal mirch)
1/2 t.+ ground cumin
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3-1/2 c. dried kidney beans
1/2 c. mozzarella or cheddar cheese, shredded

Boil water for rice and cook it till it's done. Duh.

If you forgot to soak the beans like I always do, you can do a quick soak before dinner by boiling some water, throwing the beans in (after the gas is off) and covering the bowl or pot with a lid for an hour. Or, if you forget to do that, then put the beans in the pressure cooker, and put a whole lotta water in. Like four to five times as much as the beans. So, 3 cups or so. Then cook them and listen. Check after 20 minutes or so to make sure there's still water in there. (I usually pick it up and slosh it to see if I can still feel the water moving around. If so, keep cooking.) Beans that are totally dry usually take about 45 minutes to cook. Ugh, I know. :) So don't forget to soak them, is the moral of the story.

On to the recipe.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add onions, green peppers and garlic. Saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add chopped tomatoes, red pepper and cumin. Saute another couple of minutes. Add the cooked beans and stir to combine, adding water if you need to to get a good consistency. Add the chopped cilantro and cook one more minute. Serve over rice, topped with cheese. Easy peasy! :)
*adapted from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook

Aloo Shimla Mirch (Potatoes and Green Peppers)

2011-02-06T02:52:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite lunches for our helper to cook, even though I taught her how we like it! :)

Aloo Shimla Mirch

6 potatoes

2-3 green peppers, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 t. cumin seeds

1 T. dania (coriander powder)

1/4 t. turmeric

3/4 t. salt

1 1/2 t. garam masala

1/4 t. pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into bite size pieces. Boil until soft to the bite, but still hold their shape. Drain the water off and keep aside.

Heat 1-2 T. oil in a wok. Add cumin seed and saute till it starts popping and smelling great! Add chopped garlic, onion, and green pepper. Saute 5-7 minutes till pepper is softening. Add potatoes and stir fry, with a bit more oil if necessary. Then add dania, turmeric, salt and pepper, and about 1-2 T. water. Stir to combine and coat. Last, add garam masala and stir to coat, adding a bit of water as needed to get a good consistency. Serve with chapatis.

Breaded Ranch Chicken

2011-02-03T02:44:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe I grew up eating. It's quick and easy, and really yummy. I usually serve it with mashed potatoes and some kind of green vegetable for a balanced meal... I admit it does use some imported ingredients. You'll have to forgive that... we try to always have parmesan cheese on hand. My husband always says barbecue sauce and parmesan cheese are his two favorite foods. I always say, Neither of those are real foods. :)

I admit, I serve this with mashed potatoes and corn this time, two starches! :) I was out of anything green... oh well.

Breaded Ranch Chicken

3/4 c. crushed cornflakes

¾ c. grated Parmesan cheese

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix, or 3 T. of ranch powder, if you get it in those tall cylinders

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lbs.)

1/4 c. (50-60g, 1/2 a 100 g. box) butter or margarine, melted

In a shallow bowl, combine cornflakes, cheese and mix. Dip chicken in butter, then roll in cornflake mixture to coat. I mean, really get it coated, push it in, mash it down... Place in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake, uncovered at 350˚ for 45 minutes or until chicken juice runs clear. (It almost always takes less than 45 minutes in my oven, more like 30.) I'm marking this 40 minutes or Less, because it's way less than 40 minutes of active kitchen time. The cooking time may take it over...

Shredded Chicken Burritos

2011-01-31T02:43:00.000-08:00

When we went to the capital a few weeks ago, I picked up some packages of pre-made tortillas, just for a quick and easy meal sometime. It's always nice to have something like that around for manic days that get away from you. I was really craving a shredded chicken burrito, even though I've never made one before. It's one of my favorite things at restaurants. I looked for a recipe online, and not finding one that I thought sounded good, did my own thing. Here's what ended up happening. This will be a keeper for us! : )

Shredded Chicken Burritos

3 chicken breasts

3/4 c. uncooked rice

2 small onions, chopped

1/2 green pepper, choppped

1/2 yellow or red pepper, chopped

5 garlic cloves

3 T. butter

1/2 c. water

1/2 block (1 t.) chicken bullion

1 t. cumin

2 t. chili powder

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. oregano

6 10 inch flour tortillas

1/2 block Brittania cheddar, shredded

Toppings: cilantro, sour cream, salsa

Boil 1 1/2-2 c. water and cook the rice.

In a skillet, melt 1 T. butter. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and saute, whole, in the skillet. Once finished, remove to a plate. When cooled, shred the chicken using two forks to pull it apart.

Add 1 T. butter to the same skillet. Add onions, peppers, and garlic. Saute until soft. Add the cooked rice and stir to combine. Add water, chicken buillion, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and oregano. Stir to combine and cook until water is absorbed. Add the shredded chicken and stir to combine, coating chicken with seasonings. Remove from heat.

Spoon a heaping 1/2 c. into each tortilla. Top with 2-3 T. cheese. Fold both ends over, then roll the burrito up. Place on a butter grill or skillet and grill until brown and golden on each side. (If you'd rather, you can bake them in the oven for a few minutes, or pop them into the microwave to get a more "taco bell" like feel to the tortilla. :)) Top with whatever you want!

Make Your Own Croutons

2011-01-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

We occasionally like to make spinach salads, and more and more, we've been able to find lettuce in our city. I even have a friend who's grown lettuce on her balcony in pots! When you love salad, there's not much you won't do. :)

But for a great salad, you must have croutons. They're so simple to make that I'll never buy them again, not even when we go back to the US.

Homemade Croutons

2 slices of bread

1/4 c. butter (or more, depending on how buttery you want them)

Cut the bread into one inch cubes. Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl. You can season it with garlic powder or roasted garlic, onion powder, pepper, ... Get creative!

Dip each piece of bread in the butter, then place on a baking tray, buttery side up. Toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until they're hardened but not burned.

These are so good! We all fight over the last ones!

Indian Lunch Ideas

2011-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have a house helper who cooks lunch for us. I think this is an indispensable thing for me as I'm homeschooling, since there are no quick and easy lunches here besides PB&J and grilled cheese. We want a little more variety than that. :)

It has taken us some time, though, to figure out a good variety of Indian meals we all like that we can have for lunch. Here's a list of some of our favorite meals to have our helper make for us! I usually do subji (veggies) and chapati (wheat flat bread) on M-W-F and Daal Chawal (lentils/beans and rice) on T-Th. Just to change it up! :)

Subji and Chapati:

-Bindi Masala: Sauteed okra with tomatoes and onions

-Aloo Shimla Mirch: Potatoes and green peppers sauteed with spices (We like it dry, no gravy)

-Aloo Gobi: Potatoes and cauliflower with onions and tomatoes

-Aloo Parantha: We like this just by itself. Our helper made the best paranthas we've ever had. I can post the recipe if anyone wants it.

-Loki Masala: loki is a long pale gourd that looks kind of like a zucchini when it's cut, but cooks totally differently. We like this with lots of onions, tomatoes, and dania powder.

-Kajar Mattar: carrots and peas sauteed in spices

-Bund Gobi Mattar: cabbage and peas

Daal/Chawal:

-Lobia Masala: black eyed peas in a tomato-y gravy

-Rajma Masala: kidney beans or pinto beans (or a mix) in a tomato gravy

-Channa Masala: chick peas (we like to eat this with Puris, deep fried wheat bread)

-Mixed Daal: pretty self explanatory.

This is just off the top of my head. I'll come back and add to this if I think of anything else we really like. I'll try to post the recipes for some of these things in the coming weeks as well.

Cake Decorating Basics

2011-01-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

I am by NO means an expert at this, and there are lots of websites and resources out there with all kinds of instructions and tips for making beautiful flawless cakes. But I thought I'd share what I've learned in the last couple of years anyway. :)

I started with a basic kit of supplies:

-Three Wilton piping bags, one extra large

-Two straight line tips in different sizes

-Two star tips in different sizes

-A grass tip

-Some kind of a wide flat attachment to the extra large bag for piping wide flat lines of frosting onto your cake to spread out as the base frosting layer

-Wilton food coloring box of 8 colors

-Frosting spatula

Preparing your cakes:

-When your cakes have cooled, the first thing I do is look at the tops. Usually they're uneven. This is due to my oven being uneven, or my counter top. Who knows. :) I usually take a long bread knife and get at eye level with the top of the cake, and then slowly shave off a little bit at a time until it looks more level with the edges all the way around.

-Then I place one cake on the serving platter, bottom down. Next, I put about two cups of frosting on that cake, and smooth it out with the frosting spatula. If my cake is still a little high in the middle, this means that I'll work hard to distribute the frosting to where it's thicker on the outside and thinner in the middle, in an attempt to level it out again.

-Next, I place the second cake, top down, on top of the frosting. I want the bottom on top so there is a nice smooth edge to the top of the cake. I'm not sure if you're "supposed" to do this, but it always works well for me. I pretty firmly but evenly push on the cake top to mash the frosting out to the edges evenly. If you don't get the frosting to fill in the full gap between the edges of the cake, it will sag and then the middle will be much higher than the edges. Add some frosting and fill it in if you need to.

Once you've got the cake stacked:

Brush the top and sides with your fingers lightly to remove any loose crumbs. You don't want them getting stuck in your frosting.(If they do anyway, you can pry them out with a toothpick). I put about 2 cups again of frosting on top of the cake. With the spatula, I smooth it out to the edges. You want to hold the spatula or knife at an angle and either push or pull the frosting so it's moving evenly and smoothing out. If you end up with too much on top, just push it down the side. Once the top is smooth and even, add some more to the sides if necessary. Take a glob (about 2 T?) and stick it to the side. Then hold the spatula, handle up, at an angle and pull it toward you as you turn the platter or cake base. This takes some practice. If the frosting is getting dry and difficult to smooth, grab a bowl of water and dip your spatula or knife into the water and start again. Keep dipping in water and scraping off the excess frosting on the edge of the bowl.

-If you're doing a design on the cake, I always take a tooth pick and kind of sketch it into the first layer of frosting, then pipe the border, then fill it in.

-Once you're done frosting, for a nice finished look, take a paper towel and fold it into a sharp point, and run it around the platter to pick up any frosting spills, make it clean, and give a nice edge to the bottom of the cake.

Confectioners Frosting

2011-01-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

About two years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to decorate cakes, just in a basic way. Nothing too fancy, but I wanted to be able to make fun things for my kids birthdays. My sister-in-law is an amazing cake decorator and so she put together a beginner's kit for me of things I'd need. More on that in my next post on basic decorating techniques. But I had a hard time coming up with a frosting recipe that I could work with. Most buttercreams use a lot of shortening, and the dalda/vanaspati is NOT good for frostings. :) Fondant was out of the question because it uses marhsmallows. For a long time I've used a cream cheese buttercream. But recently I ran across this recipe, and it worked great for Kiryn's recent birthday cake. So much cheaper and easier than the cream cheese buttercream, plus I got my smoothest result yet! The amount of this recipe will fill and frost a 9 inch round two layer cake.

Confectioners Frosting

5 c. icing sugar

250 g. butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 t. vanilla

3-4 T. cream or milk

Beat the butter with an electric mixer til it's nice and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat til combined. With the mixer on a low speed, add the icing sugar, about a cup at a time, and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula often to keep it well mixed. Once you've added all the sugar, add about 2 T. of cream. Beat on high to combine. If the frosting looks dry, add another T. of cream and keep beating. You want it to be shiny, but to stand up on it's own and be a bit stiff. If you get it too wet, just add a little more icing sugar. Keep going back and forth until you get it right!

If you want to color your frosting, set aside the amount you want in a separate bowl, and add your color to it. Probably went without saying. :) Happy Baking!

*taken from joyofbaking.com*

Classic Birthday Cake

2011-01-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

This week was Kiryn's birthday, and I had such a fun time making this cake for her! Here's a classic white cake recipe that makes one 9x13 or two 9 inch round cakes.

Classic Birthday Cake

2 ¾ c. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

¼ t. salt

12 T. (or 1 1/2 sticks, 150 grams) butter, at room temperature

1 ¾ c. granulated sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 t. vanilla extract

1 ¼ c. buttermilk

Preheat an oven to 350˚. Lightly butter the bottoms of two 9 by 2 inch round cake pans and sprinkle with flour. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Set aside.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. (If you forgot to set out your butter like I always do, just pop it in the microwave for a minute or two until it just barely starts to melt). Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until well blended and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour, beating with each addition. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and spread it out evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake pan comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Run a small knife around the inside of each pan to loosen the cakes. Invert onto the rack and lift off the pans. Let the cake layers cool completely before frosting.

Pita Bread

2011-01-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

So I had posted a recipe previously that I found on a blog somewhere that I'd been using for pita bread. But my success with it kept deteriorating to the point where I would maybe get one out of 8 or 10 to puff correctly. I decided to start over and figure out a new recipe. Here is what I came up with, that resulted in 100% puffing! :)

Pita Bread

3 c. flour

1 T. yeast

2 t. salt

2 t. sugar

1 1/4 c. water (110-115 degrees)

2 T. olive oil

Dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. While the yeast proofs, measure the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Once the yeast is nice and foamy, add it and the olive and stir with a wooden spoon until it gets combined and shaggy looking. Turn it out on to a floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes. Longer the better. Set it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat it with oil, to rise for 1 1/2 hours. (I always put a cup of warm water in my microwave, cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and shut it up in the microwave.)

Once dough has doubled, punch it down and turn it onto the floured surface. Divide into 8 portions by splitting it in half over and over. Keep them covered while you roll one out with a rolling pin. The pita needs to be about 6 inches in diameter and not too thin. Place each pita on a piece of foil (about 6x10 inches, so you can pick it up on each side and move it), and stack them on top of each other. When they’re all rolled and stacked, cover them with a towel for another 30 minutes. (Place them next to the oven to keep them warm and rising while the oven preheats!).

Preheat your oven to 250C while the pitas are rising. Place two at a time in the oven directly on the grill rack. Bake until they are fully puffed and just starting to brown. Remove them and peel the foil off the bottom and place them in a bowl lined with a towel or fabric and cover them to steam while the others cook.

Blackened Chicken

2011-01-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

Blackened Chicken is something I often order in restaurants and never realized how easy it is to make at home. It's also easy to customize it to your tastes! Here's a simple recipe you can use over a salad, with fettuccine alfredo, or any number of other ways! If you don't have some of these spices, just substitute what you do have, or leave them out. The most important parts are the salt, pepper, and butter and oil.

Blackened Chicken

4 average sized chicken breasts

1 1/2 T. salt

1 1/2 t. garlic powder

1 t. black pepper

1 t. onion powder

1 t. cumin powder

1/4 t. ground cayenne (reduce or omit if you're afraid it will be too spicy)

1/2 t. paprika

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

Pound the chicken breasts until they're an even thickness, about 1/4-1/2 inch or so. Pat them dry with a paper towel on both sides. Combine all the spices. Rub the spice mixture hard into the chicken breast on top and bottom and both sides, covering all the surfaces. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a skillet. Wait till it's smokin' hot. Place the chicken breasts in the skillet for about 2 minutes, then turn to cook the other side for two minutes. Remove them to a baking dish and bake at 200C for about 10 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Daal Makhani

2011-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another Indian recipe, daal makhani. This is my absolute favorite daal! Wonder why, with all the cream and butter! : )

Dal Makhani

1 cup black lentils (kaali sabut dal)

1/2 cup red kidney beans (rajma) (Pressure cook dals together for about 45 minutes)

2 T. ghee

1 t. cumin seeds

2 big onions, finely chopped

1 t. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder

1/2 t. turmeric powder

salt to taste

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped

¼ cup butter

1+ tsp garam masala powder

2-3 tbsp malai (fresh cream)

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Pre-heat ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add cumin seeds and let them saute for a minute or two. Add the chopped onions and sauté the onions till pink.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 mts. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt and combine.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-6 mts. Now add the pressure cooked dals along with a cup of water and mix well till they are well coated with the masala mixture. Cook covered for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add water if necessary to get the consistency you'd like.
Add butter, combine and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add malai and garam masala and mix well. Serve with hot rotis or steamed rice.

Grilled Moroccan Chicken

2011-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

I don't remember where I got this recipe, but it's been a part of our menu rotation for a long time! It's one of our favorite meals. I usually serve it with couscous and sauteed green beans.

Grilled Moroccan Chicken

1/2 c. olive oil

1/8 c. red wine vinegar

2 T. ground cumin

1 T. ground coriander

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. salt

1 t. sugar

¼ t. cayenne pepper

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

¼ cup minced fresh parsley, optional

Whisk first 8 ingredients in large glass baking dish. Add all chicken, turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill 4-6 hours.

Prepare barbecue over medium heat. Place marinade-coated chicken on barbecue. Grill chicken until just cooked through, occasionally brushing with any remaining marinade, about 10 minutes per side for breasts and about 12 minutes per side for leg and thigh pieces. Transfer chicken to platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

If you don't have a barbecue as most of us in South Asia don't, you can also cook this in the oven. I line the baking tray (that came with the oven) with foil, and place it in the bottom of the oven. Then I place the chicken on the wire rack in the center and cook them until they're done and juices run clear.

Paneer Butter Masala

2011-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Living in South Asia, I think it's a good idea to have a handle on at least a few traditional South Asian recipes. Friends and neighbors here are always so impressed that I'm even trying to make Indian food! Here's one of our favorite recipes... (I usually double this recipe to feed our family served with rice). You can also substitute chicken for the paneer if you'd like, just don't soak it in water after you cook it.

Paneer Butter Masala

250 g. paneer

2 big onions

1 T. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder (I usually do about 1/4 teaspoon)

3 big ripe tomatoes

1 t. coriander powder

Pinch of huldi (turmeric)

½ t. kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Garam masala powder(about 2-3 teaspoons?)

Salt to taste

3 T. butter

2 T. fresh cream

Cube and sauté paneer in a T. of ghee til golden brown. You want them to be nice and crispy, like this. If they loose water as they're cooking, just let it cook off... eventually they'll start to brown. Remove into a dish and add a cup of hoter water to the fried cubes and let them sit in it for 5 minutes. Then drain the water and keep aside.

Blanch the onions for ten minutes and then puree. Blanch tomatoes as well, remove skins and puree. I usually just do this together, throw them all in a big pot and boil for a few minutes to get the cooking started. Them remove and peel them all. Puree the onions first, then the tomatoes.

Heat 2 T. of butter in a pan, add the onion paste and sauté til brown. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for three minutes. Add chilli powder and combine, followed by the cashew paste and combine.

Add tomato puree, crushed kasuri methi, coriander powder, huldi, garam masala, and salt. Stir and let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add the paneer and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and let it cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or till you get the desired curry consistency. Remove from fire, stir in remaining butter and fresh cream.

Let the curry sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve hot with rotis, naan, paranthas or simple steamed white rice.

The Best Baked Beans Ever

2011-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

I grew up eating these baked beans, they're my mom's recipe. They always get rave reviews, even leaving out a few of the key ingredients we can't get here. I'll post the whole recipe, so that when you are in the US you can try them and see how good they really are...

Baked Beans

½ lb. bacon, diced (obviously omitted in SA)

½ lb. sausage, crumbled (obviously omitted in SA)

1 lg. onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

6 cloves garlic or 2 t. garlic salt

3 16 oz cans Pork n Beans (I use either Heinz or American Garden, I think!)

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. liquid hickory smoke (if you don't have this, you can leave it out, but it's a great thing to bring over)

¼ t. cayenne pepper or lal mirch

¼ t. black pepper

2 T. mustard (like French's)

¼ c. brown sugar

3 oz. tomato paste or ketchup

Cook bacon and sausage. Saute onion and green pepper with meat. Add all other ingredients in a deep round dish. Bake 2-3 hours at 325ºF.

Guava Ice Cream Cups

2011-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Being inspired by the Masterchef finale last week, I bought some guavas at the market. They're in season right now and so cheap, about Rs. 25/kg. I've got a few things I want to try, but this was a quick dessert we had tonight...

Guava Ice Cream Cups

1 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. lemon juice

2 guavas

2 t. cornflour

Red food coloring

Vanilla Ice cream

Boil the water, sugar, and 1 t. of lemon juice. Cut the guavas in half and scoop out the seeds, making a bowl in the center. Place the guavas cut side down into the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the guava is tender and easily cut through. Remove the guava halves and chill them in the fridge.

Keep the water on the gas. Remove 1 T. of the water and dissolve the corn flour in it. Add the mixture back to the water, and add remaining lemon juice. Whisk until it forms a clear thick syrup that will coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and add a bit of red food coloring, stirring to combine.

Place ice cream in the bowl of the guava and top with syrup.

Here's my husband feigning pretentiousness due to his sweater vest and eating a dessert like this out of a crystal bowl. :) We all really enjoyed it!

Double Chocolate Chews

2011-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is like food therapy. Cookie love. Chocolate heaven. Just be warned: you'll want to eat the whole batch by yourself. They are not for the fainthearted. This is not an easy cookie recipe...

Double Chocolate Chews

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. sifted powdered sugar

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

2 1/4 t. baking powder

1/8 t. salt

1 c. semisweet chocolate pieces, chopped into 1/4 inch squares(like Bournville bars) (or mini chocolate chips)

3 T. vegetable oil

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 1/2 T. light colored corn syrup or golden syrup, or honey

1 T. water

2 1/2 t. vanilla extract

3 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 175C.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, powdered sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

3. Combine 3/4 c. chocolate morsels and oil in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Pour melted chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and cool 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla and egg whites to chocolate mixture; stir well. Stir in flour mixture and 1/4 c. chocolate morsels.

4. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 175C for 8 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cooies from pans; cool on wire racks. Yield 4 dozen. (Is it just me, or do cookie recipes never make as much as they say they do??)

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Copy Cat Recipe

2011-01-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

Pizza is an easy dinner to make. Lots of places in India have delivery, for sure. But it's much cheaper (and healthier!) to make it at home!

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Pizza Crust

3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1-1/4 tsp. yeast (Solar brand works great, but keep it in the freezer between uses)
1 Tbs. sugar
2-1/4 cups bread flour (I always just use Maida)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil

Preparation for the Crust:

First prepare the dough for the crust. You might want to prepare the crust one day prior to baking the pizza. To get the best dough, you need to allow it to rise in the refrigerator overnight. This procedure will produce a great commercial-style crust.

Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup, and stir until the yeast and sugar have dissolved. Let the mixture set for approximately 5 minutes. Foam should begin building up on the surface. If it doesn't, either the water was too hot or the yeast was dead. Throw it out, and start again.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and the salt. Make a depression in the center of the flour, and pour in the yeast mixture. Add the olive oil. Use a fork to stir the liquid in the center of the flour. Slowly draw in more flour, a little at a time, until you have to use your hands to completely combine all the ingredients into a ball.

Dust a clean, flat surface with flour, and with the heel of your hands, knead the dough on this surface until it seems to have a smooth, consistent texture. This should take approximately 10 minutes.

Rub a light coating of oil on the dough, then put it into a tightly covered container and in a warm place to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size. When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down, put it back into the covered container and into the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have time for that, you can use the crust at this point. Without the long rest, however, it won't have the same texture as the original.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

One box tomato puree
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf (called Tej Patta here)
dash onion powder
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 ball Amul pizza cheese or 2/3 package of Flanders Mozzarella

Preparation for the Sauce:

You can prepare the pizza sauce ahead of time as well, storing it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pizza. Simply combine the tomato sauce with the spices and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for 30 to 60 minutes until it reaches the thickness you like. When the sauce has cooled, store it in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

When ready to assemble, spread the dough out in the rectangle pan that came with your oven. You can grease the pan with butter, and if desired, throw a handful of sooji (which is semolina in the states) on the pan, which will make it taste a little bit like Uno Chicago Pizzeria pizza. Fork the dough after it's spread out a few times to prevent air bubbles. Spread sauce on top. Spread one ball of shredded Amul PIzza cheese on top. Top the pizza with whatever toppings you want!

Bake at 225 for 15-20 minutes, till crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.

(If you want a thicker crust, make the recipe using 1.5 times the ingredients, or double the recipe, and freeze half, wrapping it in plastic wrap and sealing in a Zip Pouch to use next time for a really quick and easy dinner!)

Recipe taken from Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken with Basmati Pilaf

2011-01-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a recipe from a new contributor, StephanyW. Thanks so much for joining the fun, Stephany! We look forward to more of your recipes... this sounds delicious, and I'll be trying it this week!

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken with Pilaf

1 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed

2 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/8 t ground pepper

1 t minced garlic

1 T lemon juice

3 pomegranates

1 T + 2t olive oil

¾ t salt

2 bone in skinless chicken breast halves (Tricia used non bone breasts and it was quite a few, but maybe she doubled recipe. I am not sure.)

1 c finely chopped onion

¼ t ground cumin

¼ cup walnuts coarsely chopped

1 large scallion

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine rice, chicken broth, and bay leaf in medium pan. Season with 1/8 t ground pepper. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Discard leaf.

Preheat oven to 450. Put garlic and lemon juice into heatproof bowl, cut pomegranates in half. Remove seeds. Set ¾ cup of seeds aside. Extract juice from remaining 4 halves with a citrus juicer or reamer. Strain into small saucepan. (yield should be about 1 cup juice)

Cook pomegranate juice over med heat until syrupy and down to about ¼ cup about 10 minutes. Stir into lemon juice and garlic.

Brush 2 t oil over bottom of 9x13 dish. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Put chicken into dish; brush all over with glaze. Roast, brushing with glaze every 10 minutes. And add ¼ cup water if needed. Cook approximately 35 minutes.

Brush chicken with pan glaze.

Heat remaining T oil in skillet. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent. Stir in cumin and cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring 5 minutes. Stir in nuts, cilantro, saved pomegranate seeds, and ¼ t salt. Remove from heat. Serve with chicken.

Hot Chocolate Mix

2011-01-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a great recipe from DebbieM:

"We love Hot Chocolate this time of year. The kids really like those little packets but they are SO expensive here. So, I searched and tried many kinds of recipes. Most have powdered milk and creamer in them. Creamer is not always available and powdered milk like Everyday or Milkado have added sugar. (There is a kind without sugar called Anik Spray but it is not easy to get.) Here is an EASY recipe that passed my kids taste test! : )"

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons fine castor sugar (also called Bura)

¾ cup cocoa

1 tsp. salt

Mix together. Store.

Microwave or heat a cup of milk (about 1 to 2 minutes). Add two tablespoons of the mix and enjoy!

If you like the recipe, you can triple it:

3 ½ c. sugar

2 ¼ c. cocoa

1 Tablespoon salt

The Disappearing Cheesecake

2010-12-27T03:10:00.000-08:00

So remember when I said I found the new local cream cheese, and it was so good I'd make a cheesecake with it? I did.

And it was so so delicious. I mean, it was the real deal. 16 slices disappeared in 24 hours. Here is what I did, because it is so easy to reproduce.

Crust:

1 c. crumbed Gingernut cookies

1 c. crumbed HobNob cookies

1/4 c. breakfast or castor sugar

1/2 c. melted butter

Filling:

1 kg cream cheese, room temperature (that's 5 1/2 boxes of the Britannia Cream Cheese)

1 c. breakfast sugar

3 T. flour

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 c. Amul cream

1 T. lemon zest (this made a fairly strong lemon flavor, use less if you want)

1 t. vanilla extract

Topping:

1 c. sour cream (or 1 T. vinegar mixed with 1 c. Amul cream)

2 T. breakfast sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Grease the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Place pan on a larger baking sheet to catch any leakage while the cheesecake is baking. Preheat oven to 177C. with rack in center of oven.

Crust: In a medium sized bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling: In a large bowl, place the cream cheese, sugar and flour. Beat on medium speed (I did this with a hand blender) until smooth (about 2 minutes, DO NOT OVERBEAT!), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 120C and continue to bake about another 1 1/2 hours or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the warm cheesecake and return to oven to bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside of the pan to loosen the cheesecake. This helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools.

Let cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. Tastes best after being refrigerated for at least a day.

Tips: Sometimes the surface of the cheesecake cracks. To help prevent this from happening do not over beat the batter, especially when creaming the cheese and sugar.

Another reason for cracking is overbaking the cheesecake. The cheesecake is done when it is firm, but the middle may still look a little wet. Also, make sure the springform pan is well greased as cracking can occur if the cheesecake sticks to the sides as it cools.

Only slightly adapted from www.joyofbaking.com

Classic French Bread

2010-12-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

This is probably the easiest, fail-proof bread recipe I have. Four ingredients. Maybe five. : ) All of which most of us have on hand at any given time. This bread takes about 15 minutes to put together. Just give it a try! :)

Classic French Bread

2 1/4 t. dry yeast

1 c. water water (100-110 degrees, very important it's in between there!)

3 c. flour

1 t. salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water. (I put the water in a liquid measuring cup, heat it in the microwave until it's the right temp, then dump the yeast in, stir, and let it sit till it starts to bubble and foam). Let stand about five minutes.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups: level with a knife. Place flour and slat in a food processor and pulse two times to blend. WIth processor on, slowly add yeast mixture through the food chute; process until dough forms a ball. Process 1 additional minute. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 4-5 times. (Kneading means pushing the dough, folding it in half, turning, pushing again, then folding, turning, etc. One push-fold-turn sequence is one knead).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with oil, turning to coat top of dough. Cover dough, adn let rise in a warm place free from drafts for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size. (I cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel, then put a small cup of water in the microwave, heat it up, then put the bowl inside and close it up. Keeps it nice and warm.)

Punch dough down and shape. You can either shape it into approximately a six inch round loaf, or you can make a baguette. For a baguette, gently roll the dough out into a 18x9 inch rectangle. Roll it up tightly along the 18 inch edge (so you'll have a 9 inch baguette), pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets. Pinch the seam to seal.

Either way, when dough is shaped, cover and let rise another 30 minutes or until double in size. (I just do this rise on the kitchen counter).

Preheat oven to 230C. Uncover dough and make 3 diagonal cuts, 1/4 inch deep. Combine 1 T. water and 1 egg white and brush mixture over the top of the loaf. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

It's really easy, especially if you have a mixer. I use my Bajaj Food Factory. :) If you don't have a mixer that will do this, you can do it by hand, it just won't be quite as easy. Just add the water/yeast mixture a little at a time and combine thoroughly before adding more.

Gingerbread Men

2010-12-15T08:59:00.001-08:00

We've never done Gingerbread cookies in our house before, but we tried it this year, and it was a lot of fun! I turned into a whole unit for homeschool. The cookies topped it all off. Here's a good recipe that turned out great!

Gingerbread Cookies

3 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

3/4 t. baking soda

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnaomn

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. allspice

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/3 c.maple syrup

1/3 c. honey (if you don't have syrup, just use all honey)

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, syrup and honey and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 177C and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with butter paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch apart. You can make ornaments or gifts by making a hole at the top of the cookie and baking longer till hard and brown.

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For frosting:

2 c. icing sugar, sifted

1/2 c. butter at room temperature

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 T. milk

In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk if too dry. Place in a decorating bag to dress up your gingerbread men. If you don't have a decorating bag with tips, you can place it in a ziploc and cut just a tiny bit of one corner off.

This is adapted from The Joy of Baking website.

Merry Christmas!

Caramel Almond Popcorn

2010-12-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

Caramel Almond Popcorn

1 cup (2 sticks, 250g) butter, plus more for pans

3/4 cup corn kernels

2 1/2 tablespoons oil

2 cups almonds, lightly toasted

2 cups packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup or Golden Syrup (last year I tried this with liquid glucose and it worked pretty well)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I omit this... do NOT use almond flavor from India. Way too strong!) :)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Butter 2 baking sheets; set aside.

Place corn kernels and oil in large pot, partially covered, over medium heat. Once popping begins, shake pan frequently; when popping slows down, about 3 seconds between pops, remove pan from heat and uncover. Transfer popped corn to a large bowl; add almonds. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup over medium-high heat; stir to dissolve sugar and melt butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches 255 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove pan from heat; stir in extracts, salt, and baking soda. Working quickly, pour over popcorn and almonds; toss with wooden spoons while rotating the bowl. When completely coated, divide evenly between prepared baking sheets. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour and 20 minutes; popcorn will crisp when cooled. (I don't usually bake it this long... just watch it and keep tasting it until it tastes crunchy and just right.

Chocolate Bon-Bons/Oreo Truffles

2010-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is a seriously simple recipe for chocolate bon-bons. Also, recently I asked my shop keeper for wax paper. He didn't know what I was talking about of course, but when I described it, he said, "Oh, that's butter paper." I bought a few sheets, and it's not exactly like wax paper, but it functions the same way for baking and candies, etc. So, ask for it next time you're at the shop! :)

Chocolate Bon Bons

1 box of oreo cookies/3 rolls here

8 oz. box cream cheese softened (or 11/2 tubs of Britannia cream cheese)

2 c. chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bars, milk, dark, whatever you want

2 T. plus 2 t. shortening/vanaspati

White chocolate for drizzle, optional

In a food processor, combine oreos and cream cheese. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place chocolate and vanaspati in a large bowl that will fit over another bowl. Place warm water in the second bowl, and place the first bowl in the warm water. Stir the chocolate and shortening with a rubber spatula continuously , allowing the water underneath to melt it. If the water cols off, replace it with warm water. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Using a fork, lift each ball, dip it in the chocolate mixture, then place on butter paper to cool. Drizzle with the white melted chocolate if desired.