Source: Our Best Bites
Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I love it with 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/4 cup all-purpose)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup buttermilk (I never have buttermilk, so I always do the 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + add milk to a cup and let it sit for 5 minutes trick)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Doubled for easier maths in the morning:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
2 Tablespoons lemon juice mixed with 2 cups milk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
Directions:
Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until combined. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. (Or, if you don't have time, you can just cook them up right away.)
Heat a Belgian waffle iron. Make waffles by ladling a generous 1/3 cup of batter into the waffle iron and cooking until golden brown. Serve with desired topping (fruit, syrup, whipped cream - or all three!).
Makes 5-6 waffles (more like 4 plus a teeny tiny one in our waffle iron).
Notes:
I'm not a huge pancake fan, but I've always really liked waffles for some reason. Except I'm kind of picky about them, and I'd much prefer the smaller holed "regular" waffles to a Belgian-style big-holed waffle. The problem is that all we've got is a Belgian waffle maker at our house. So it hasn't been used too much because my favorite waffle recipe that my dad used to make on Saturday mornings growing up, when cooked in our deep-holed waffle cooker, is just too heavy and dense for my liking. Enter the "light and crispy" part of this recipe title that caught my attention. Since this morning was a rather lazy, slow, holiday morning, I decided to put this recipe to the test. Turns out they are indeed light and crispy . . . and oh-so-tasty. I have a feeling we'll be having waffles a lot more often around here!
Update 1/13/14:
We have been making and loving this recipe for months now. On a whim, thanks to inspiration from this recipe from Laurel, I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 cup chopped pecans to this recipe. Our kitchen smelled heavenly as they cooked - just like Cinnabon. Simply put, they were amazing.
Update 10/21/14:
Still loving this recipe - we have waffles a ton now. I tried a new variation last week with my brother: Pumpkin Spice. I added 1/4 cup canned pumpkin and a few shakes of cinnamon, ginger and cloves to the batter. Tonight with the missionaries, I made an Apple Cinnamon version. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg as well as about 3/4 of a smallish gala apple, chopped finely. Both were very fallish and delicious. The possibilities are endless once I get a little brave in the kitchen!
Monday, May 27, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Chocolate Cream Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie
I needed to make a chocolate "something" for some of the helpers that served at our stake activity and found this pie recipe, as I licked the spatula I couldn't believe how yummy (especially when warm). I put it into graham cracker crust and topped with cool whip.
INGREDIENTS:
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup frozen whipped topping,
thawed
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a
large mixing bowl, cream together egg yolks and sugar. Mix in cornstarch, cocoa
powder, and salt. Add milk and stir gently.
2. Pour
mixture into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly,
until boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in butter or margarine and vanilla
extract. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into pastry shell. Chill before
serving. Garnish with whipped topping.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Rice Pilaf
Source: Laura Coleman, a sister of my very good friend, Christine McClung
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup uncooked rice (not minute)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup celery, minced
3 cups hot chicken broth (I used 2 14 oz cans, so a little more than 3 cups)
1 Tablespoon parsley
1/4 cup slivered almonds (didn't have these, so just left 'em out)
Directions:
Melt butter then add rice, onion and celery. Stir until brown. Then add chicken broth, parsley, and almonds. Bring to a boil for a minute or two. Simmer, covered, on low for 20 minutes, till rice is cooked.
Notes:
I was looking for some sort of side dish to go along with our grilled chicken on Mother's Day. I wasn't crazy about any of the potato options that I was coming up with, but I suddenly remembered rice. Of course, rice! Why not? And then I remembered a long time ago, while visiting Christine's sister, Laura, in St. George, we made this yummy rice pilaf dish one evening. I hadn't made it since, but I remember thinking it was so good. A quick look at the recipe encouraged me that it was indeed quite easy to make and I had everything I needed to do so at the last minute (minus the almonds, which I'm sure would be great, but it was fine without). The great thing about this was that I could make it all in my rice cooker with my handy "saute then simmer" mode. Perfect! It came out lovely and fluffy and totally delicious. And I will for sure not let this recipe retreat into the dusty memory file again.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup uncooked rice (not minute)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup celery, minced
3 cups hot chicken broth (I used 2 14 oz cans, so a little more than 3 cups)
1 Tablespoon parsley
1/4 cup slivered almonds (didn't have these, so just left 'em out)
Directions:
Melt butter then add rice, onion and celery. Stir until brown. Then add chicken broth, parsley, and almonds. Bring to a boil for a minute or two. Simmer, covered, on low for 20 minutes, till rice is cooked.
Notes:
I was looking for some sort of side dish to go along with our grilled chicken on Mother's Day. I wasn't crazy about any of the potato options that I was coming up with, but I suddenly remembered rice. Of course, rice! Why not? And then I remembered a long time ago, while visiting Christine's sister, Laura, in St. George, we made this yummy rice pilaf dish one evening. I hadn't made it since, but I remember thinking it was so good. A quick look at the recipe encouraged me that it was indeed quite easy to make and I had everything I needed to do so at the last minute (minus the almonds, which I'm sure would be great, but it was fine without). The great thing about this was that I could make it all in my rice cooker with my handy "saute then simmer" mode. Perfect! It came out lovely and fluffy and totally delicious. And I will for sure not let this recipe retreat into the dusty memory file again.
Cola Chicken Marinade
Source: here, after some quick googling
Ingredients:
2 cups (16 oz) Coke or Pepsi (I just used one can - 12 oz)
1/3 cups soy sauce
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon lime juice (my lime was old and moldy, so I ended up using lemon juice instead)
6 chicken breasts (we had four - but one was double the size of the others, so it was probably closer to five - and I didn't feel like reducing the recipe to fit the number of chicken breasts I had, so I just used it all, but there was plenty of juice for another piece of chicken had we had one to marinate.)
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients but the chicken in a medium sized bowl. Stir to incorporate well.
2. Place chicken in a large gallon sized Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the chicken. Seal tightly and store in the fridge for 4-24 hours.
3. Discard marinade and grill until cooked through.
Notes:
We had a random can of Pepsi hanging around since Gregg went to a conference where a buddy bought it (instead of a beer) for him (nice friend). Unfortunately, neither Gregg nor I drink Pepsi, so it had just been sitting in the cupboard for a few months. Then I remembered that you can marinate chicken with pop, and I began searching for a recipe. This is the one that popped up on multiple blogs in my quick google search, so I decided to give it a go. I whipped up the marinade Saturday night and let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight and all day Sunday. Then we grilled it up for Mother's Day dinner and it was delish! Very quick and easy meal, and perfect for grilling season.
Ingredients:
2 cups (16 oz) Coke or Pepsi (I just used one can - 12 oz)
1/3 cups soy sauce
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon lime juice (my lime was old and moldy, so I ended up using lemon juice instead)
6 chicken breasts (we had four - but one was double the size of the others, so it was probably closer to five - and I didn't feel like reducing the recipe to fit the number of chicken breasts I had, so I just used it all, but there was plenty of juice for another piece of chicken had we had one to marinate.)
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients but the chicken in a medium sized bowl. Stir to incorporate well.
2. Place chicken in a large gallon sized Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the chicken. Seal tightly and store in the fridge for 4-24 hours.
3. Discard marinade and grill until cooked through.
Notes:
We had a random can of Pepsi hanging around since Gregg went to a conference where a buddy bought it (instead of a beer) for him (nice friend). Unfortunately, neither Gregg nor I drink Pepsi, so it had just been sitting in the cupboard for a few months. Then I remembered that you can marinate chicken with pop, and I began searching for a recipe. This is the one that popped up on multiple blogs in my quick google search, so I decided to give it a go. I whipped up the marinade Saturday night and let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight and all day Sunday. Then we grilled it up for Mother's Day dinner and it was delish! Very quick and easy meal, and perfect for grilling season.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Lemon Bars
Source: the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (14th Edition)
Ingredients:
for the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
for the filling:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel (I didn't have any lemons, so I skipped this)
3/4 cup lemon juice (I used bottled stuff, but I bet fresh would be even better)
1/4 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk (I used milk)
Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch pan. In a bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Using a pastry blender (or a fork or two knives - or a combination of forks and knives, like me), cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Press mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until edges are golden.
Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium bowl stir or whisk together filling ingredients. Pour filling over hot crust and return the pan to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes more, or until center is set.
Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Sift with powdered sugar. Cut into bars. Cover and store in the fridge.
Makes 36 bars (if you cut them really tiny - I think we'll get more like 18 out of this pan).
Notes:
I've been noticing lemony recipes popping up all over lately and finally decided today after Kim's post of lemon cookies that I couldn't just let them pass me by any more. I settled on these lemon bars mostly because I wasn't in the mood for cookies, exactly, and I didn't have all the ingredients required for the roughly twenty other recipes for things like cheesecake lemon bars and such that I considered. These hit the lemony-dessert spot just fine, though. And bonus - they didn't taste and/or smell like the hot pots in Yellowstone*!
(*Background story: The first time my sister and I attempted to make lemon bars years ago resulted in a complete disaster of sulfuric proportions. To this day we still don't know what we did wrong to create such an awful stench, but it has taken me till now to attempt making homemade lemon bars again.)
Ingredients:
for the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
for the filling:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel (I didn't have any lemons, so I skipped this)
3/4 cup lemon juice (I used bottled stuff, but I bet fresh would be even better)
1/4 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk (I used milk)
Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch pan. In a bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Using a pastry blender (or a fork or two knives - or a combination of forks and knives, like me), cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Press mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until edges are golden.
Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium bowl stir or whisk together filling ingredients. Pour filling over hot crust and return the pan to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes more, or until center is set.
Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Sift with powdered sugar. Cut into bars. Cover and store in the fridge.
Makes 36 bars (if you cut them really tiny - I think we'll get more like 18 out of this pan).
Notes:
I've been noticing lemony recipes popping up all over lately and finally decided today after Kim's post of lemon cookies that I couldn't just let them pass me by any more. I settled on these lemon bars mostly because I wasn't in the mood for cookies, exactly, and I didn't have all the ingredients required for the roughly twenty other recipes for things like cheesecake lemon bars and such that I considered. These hit the lemony-dessert spot just fine, though. And bonus - they didn't taste and/or smell like the hot pots in Yellowstone*!
(*Background story: The first time my sister and I attempted to make lemon bars years ago resulted in a complete disaster of sulfuric proportions. To this day we still don't know what we did wrong to create such an awful stench, but it has taken me till now to attempt making homemade lemon bars again.)
Lemon Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup butter,
softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
roll into balls, place on cookie sheet. Bake about 11 - 13 minutes or until done
For the frosting:
1/4 cup butter,
softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
pinch of salt
fresh lemon juice
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
pinch of salt
fresh lemon juice
These are wonderful cookies! Of course anything with butter and lemon is yum! I didn't have cream cheese for the frosting, so just made a thick lemon, butter and powdered sugar glaze and they were great! I put it on while they were still warm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)