Snickerdoodle Bars Today is Baby Boy’s 5 month birthday. He celebrated by going to bed at 7pm (What a good boy!). We celebrated by having the rest of the Snickerdoodle Bars I had made earlier in the week using a delicious recipe Miss posted on her blog Miss in the Kitchen. Miss makes these cinnamon sugary delicious bars for her boys, so it seemed fitting that for this week’s Taste Test Thursday we share her recipe with you. Eating our Snickerdoodles, we reflected on our first five months of parenthood. Four months ago we thought we would never sleep normally again. Baby Boy was not collicky. **Rachel’s note: Can you tell we no longer have a newborn? Putting Baby Boy down to sleep was like disarming a bomb. Baby Boy goes down now, knock on wood, so much easier. Five months have gone by very quickly. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter1 cup sugar1 egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 1/2 cups all purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda2 tablespoons sugar1 teaspoon cinnamon Directions Cooking time: 20 – 25 minutes
Pancakes and Strawberry Butter In my opinion, pancakes are the most perfect of breakfast foods. However, not all pancakes are created equal and I’ve been on a lifelong quest to find the perfect pancake recipe. My ideal pancake is thick and cakey, yet still maintaining a light fluffiness. My friends, I think my quest is over. I started with Ian’s dad’s traditional Saturday morning recipe and adjusted the baking powder, salt, and egg ratios until somehow I stumbled onto this combination that makes a great thick batter that puffs up into beautiful fluffy pancakes. Perfect Pancakes Makes about 8 medium sized pancakes, enough for about 2-3 people with good appetites 1 1/2 cup flour 2 Tbsp sugar 4 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 2 eggs 1 1/3 cup milk, at room temperature 1 Tbsp butter, melted 1 tsp vanilla In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside. Strawberry Butter Combine all in a blender or food processor.
How To Make The Creamiest Nacho Cheese - The Huffington Post - StumbleUpon Have you ever wondered how the pros at restaurants make cheese nachos? It always seems the cheese sauce is creamier than anything else. That's because the cheese they use is top-quality and the recipe starts out as a sauce. Don't get us wrong, there's nothing wrong with melted cheese on nachos. The secret to making great cheese sauce to top your tortilla chips is first by making a roux, which is basically whisking flour into melted butter (see our how-to on making roux). Watch the video and get the recipe below. 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk, warmed 8 slices cheddar cheese 1/2 teaspoons salt Tortilla chips Jalapeno peppers, optional 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
encyclopedia of spices @ The EpicentreThe Epicentre Spice Advice – how to make the most of spices, which spices to use with particular foods, when to add them, grinding, storage and more. Herbs and Spices Fight Disease — Most of us look at spices as a way to perk up the plate but are you aware of their potential to fight disease? Look here for some recent findings. All about Vanilla – and then some… history, curing, varieties, vanilla extract, essence, powder – even vanilla salt. Cooking with Thyme – Getting the most of thyme in your cooking – including varieties of thyme, preparation, infusions, fresh vs. dried and many suggested uses for cooking with thyme.
Liege "Sugar" Waffles Buttery, hot, doughy, soft, crunchy and sweet. The only problem I have with these waffles is that I will never enjoy any other waffle again. My husband doesn’t have ongoing hobbies that he follows with extreme intensity but rather he seems to have spurts of acute interest that burst forth like an itch that must be scratched. Lucky for me, his most recent “obsession” was a quest to recreate the hot sugar waffles (Luikse Wafels) you find for sale on the streets of Belgium. After internet research, a purchase of a new specialty waffle iron and an ingredient hunt, he accomplished his mission this weekend. The above waffles transformed the way I will think about waffles forever. Not to be confused with Belgian waffles, the Liege waffle is made with a yeast dough instead of batter and is spotted with large bits of sugar. Though he read that you can break up sugar cubes as a substitute, I would suggest you purchase Lars Belgian Pearl Sugar here. You should use a Belgian waffle iron.
Green Juice Sorbet I can honestly not tell you how long I have been a vegan. A couple of years, at least. I can tell you, however, that I was very late to the green juice bandwagon. A drink that I often feel is a vegan staple item. Everyday, I would find someone on Twitter talking about their latest green juice recipe. Kale, this. Then I got a juicer. I think I have had my juicer for four months and I have been green juicing everyday since. I cannot say the same about some members of my family. Truth be told, I do not know how effective the greens are in this form (versus fresh from the juicer). I think any combination of your favorite green juice would work. Just have fun and make things interesting and people will be willing to try!
Garlic Knots When I was in High School, I thought garlic knots were the best things on earth. I guess I still kind of think that, but often I’m disappointed by the garlic knots I buy. I’m not sure if the quality of garlic knots has gone down in NYC or if I’ve become harder to please. These days, they are often hard and dry, probably from being left around too long. As with all bread-based goodies, the freshest way to get it is out of your own oven. These really are a reasonable amount of work, and easily doubled, tripled, or quadrupled for even more return. I’m assuming that pizzerias make their garlic knots with the same dough that they make pizza with, so use any pizza dough that you like. Garlic Knots~12-13 knots 3/4 cup +1 tablespoon all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon sugar1/2 teaspoon instant yeast1/2 teaspoon table salt1/3 cup water at room temperature (70 to 90 degrees)5 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, divided4 large cloves garlic, minced1/4 teaspoon kosher salt1 packed tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1.
50 Smoothies : Recipes and Cooking 1. Banana Blend 2 bananas, 1/2 cup each vanilla yogurt and milk, 2 teaspoons honey, a pinch of cinnamon and 1 cup ice. 2. Strawberry-Banana Blend 1 banana, 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup each vanilla yogurt and milk, 2 teaspoons honey, a pinch of cinnamon and 1 cup ice. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Sticky Balsamic Ribs OK, Folks. No joke, these are the best ribs ever!! I always look at reader reviews when I choose a recipe. They help me decide whether a recipe is worth it, or not. Well, this one had rave reviews...many calling the ribs award-worthy, contest winning, etc. Those words were the truth. Begin with some fresh rosemary. Finely chop 2 tablespoons worth & put it in a mixing bowl. 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar & 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper {I cut back on this a bit, as I was serving this to kids}. Next, peel 8 cloves of garlic. Mince them up & add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt {right on top of the garlic}. Add this to the mixing bowl, along with a 1/2 tablespoon of kosher salt & 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir everything up. Next, you will need 4 racks of baby back pork ribs. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover tightly with foil & roast the ribs until the meat is very tender, about 1 3/4 hours. Add 1 cup of water to the pan & using a wooden spoon, scrape up all the brown bits.
Cinnamon Bun Pancakes When two people tell you that these are the best pancakes they have ever eaten, then you know that they are good. These pancakes are exactly what you want when you are craving a cinnamon bun but do not have the time to make them. These are sweet, cinnamony and fluffy. To make something delicious over the top, instead of maple syrup (which is also delicious), top them with cinnamon bun icing. Nothing short of amazing. This recipe is indeed a treat, but it is also a great recipe to try experimenting with whole wheat flours. *adapted from this recipe from Tasty Kitchen* 1 1/2 cups flour 3 Tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup milk 2 Tablespoons maple syrup 1/4 cup melted butter 1 Tablespoon vanilla Put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and whisk together until well combined. Preheat a griddle or large saute pan over medium heat. To make the frosting:
One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes For Two Let’s face it: sometimes we all need a dessert that only makes two servings. Sometimes we just can’t handle 12 servings. Sometimes we eat them all by ourselves. Sometimes we eat them all by ourselves in two hours. Sometimes we eat them all by ourselves in a matter of minutes. FYI: I have no idea what that is like. Haven’t you always wished you could make just enough dessert for yourself? Or… just yourself? Me too. But more often than not, I’ve found it to be a hassle to drag out the mixer, cream the sugar and butter, sift the dry ingredients and all that fun stuff for a measly two cupcakes. What can I say? Well, I was lazy. It is definitely your typical white cake; fluffy and soft, full of vanilla flavor, and the perfect vehicle for some fluffy white frosting. And it only takes one bowl! I think what I love most about these cupcakes is their customizability. [print_this] One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes for Two serves 2 1 egg white 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup flour