Taco Tuesday: Egg Roll Taco

We love taco nights in our house. That being said, I found a great recipe on Pinterest for Egg Roll Tacos. These things are fabulous and a nice little change from the regular old taco shells. 

Here's how to make them:

 Taco Egg Rolls

Originally posted on awkwardkitchenette.com

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
8-10 egg roll wrappers
1 package Mexican shredded cheese



Step 1: Brown and drain ground beef.

Step 2: Season according to taco seasoning instructions.

Step 3: Turn off heat, and mix in shredded cheese with taco meat.

Step 4: Fill egg roll wrappers.

Step 5: Brush egg rolls with olive oil. 

Step 6: Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, flipping egg rolls at 8 minutes.

Step 7: Serve hot with sour cream!

These things are really good! I think you could even add some re-fried beans and other diced up veggies to really make these things plump. I want to try adding a little rice the next time around. 

Do you have an amazing taco Tuesday recipe to share? I'd love to give it a try. 

As always, thanks for reading.

Take care,
NB 

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 90 - Chocolate Zucchini Bread

 

One of my favorite summer activities is gardening. I absolutely love it. I've been a gardener since I was a little kid. I used to help my grandma and grandpa take care of theirs each summer and I remember watching my grandma make meals with veggies from things she harvested from her backyard. When I was in the fifth grade my mom began a garden. She pulled my younger brother and I out of school two days each spring to get the garden ready. I have also always had a flower garden of my own as well. I think I was born with a green thumb. It's in my blood.

This summer my best friend, Bethany, and I started an organic garden together. I live in town and do not have a large yard by any means. Definitely not large enough for the stuff I wanted to plant. I do have tomatoes, peppers, and broccoli planted in containers, but that's all I could make room for. Bethany's brother lives on a farm and agreed to let us use some of his land for our garden. It's been no small task, but it has also been fun spending even more time with Bethany.

We have already began harvesting veggies from the garden. Bethany went out this past weekend and picked some zucchini that were ready.  They were perfect! Since I have never made zucchini bread (Bethany makes some good zucchini bread), I decided to search Pinterest for a recipe that sounded good. That's where I came across one for Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread pinned from Life Could Be a Dream blog. They had me at double chocolate! When I told my husband I was making some zucchini bread I could see he wasn't excited at all. He doesn't really care for it. I love it and so do our boys . . . we win. I made it anyways.

I started off by grating the zucchini with my handy dandy cheese grater (yeah, my kids used to watch Blue's Clues). This was a messy task, but it went quickly. It only took about five minutes. Then I placed the grated zucchini onto several layered paper towels for about twenty minutes to allow for the moisture to be released.

Once finished with this step, it was on to the batter. As you'll see in the recipe below there are quite a few ingredients. So, get everything out beforehand and don't do like I did and assume you have it all available. I thought I had enough sour cream and I didn't. My husband was in the middle of building some shelves when I asked him to make a trip to the store for me. I had hurt my back a few days earlier and didn't feel like hobbling around a store for sixteen ounces of sour cream. He went and got the sour cream, but of course he had to remind me that I was an old lady with my back issues. After fifteen years together, we're both old in our own ways. He's so awesome for an old man though (back at ya, old fart).

Since I am in love with my little red Corvette, I thought I'd include a picture of her here. Yes, I'm talking about my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. She's pretty, but incredibly useful. If you don't have one, you simply must get one for your kitchen. You can find them on Craigslist, Ebay, and even Amazon. Mine is an Artisan Series in Gloss Cinnamon.

Anywho, back to the zucchini bread. Once you get the batter finished you simply add the shredded zucchini, mix it, add the chocolate chips and you're ready to bake it. This makes two loaves or you can make muffins if you prefer. If you want just one loaf, this is an easy recipe to cut in half.

This is a super simple bread and it's worth the minimal effort to make. Once the bread was finished I couldn't keep my guys away. My oldest smelled it cooling and came in begging for a piece. Half a loaf was gone before the bread even cooled. That's when you know it's good.

My husband, the "I don't like zucchini bread" guy, has now changed his outlook. Today, he took three slices to work with him so that his work friends could try it. Looks like a win for me. Nobody in the man cave can deny chocolatey bread!

Enough small talk. Here's the recipe:

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread  

(originally posted on lifecouldbeadreamblog.com)
 

makes 2 loaves

4 large eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour

4 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini (gently press the juice out)

2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (save 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top of batter)

Preheat the oven to 350*. Lightly grease 2 loaf pans.

Beat the eggs, sugars, sour cream, and vanilla until very smooth. Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and flour, mixing until well combined. Stir in zucchini and 2 cups of the chocolate chips. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips onto the batter.

Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove bread from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes before releasing from the pan. Cool completely before slicing.

I'd love to hear if you have any other zucchini bread recipes to try. I saw one for lemon that I think I'll be working on next. I'm sure it won't compare to this Double Chocolate Zucchini bread though!!

Thanks for reading!

Take care,
NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 87 - The Bully and a Depression Cake Recipe

I can't believe I'm on day eighty-seven of my '100 Days of Pinterest' challenge. When I first started this, I was trying to come up with something that would help take my mind off of my Multiple Sclerosis. I didn't want to do therapy, because I talk too much and figured I'd rack up a lot of bills in therapy time. For those who know me, they'll agree that talking is my strong suite. I don't like to talk at people, but I love a good conversation. One where both sides get to share, laugh, or vent. My best friend, Bethany, is a good conversationalist. I think that's why we have been the best of friends for so long. Other than having things in common, we both like to laugh and have fun. That's what matters in life. Don't you agree? 

One thing Bethany has taught me in the past decade is that I'm just fine the way I am. I was always called weird in school and was picked on for being me. I think it was because I was intelligent, quiet, and good at sports. I'm not super model gorgeous either, just plain old me. I don't really know. I do have an odd sense of humor, so maybe that's it. I don't really dwell on such trivial things, so I'm not going to start now. I'm telling you all this, because as a person who was bullied it took me a long time to accept myself. I never really thought I was good enough for anything. I let other's insults affect my self-esteem. I couldn't see past their words to the person that was me. Not until I had my sons and made such good friends as Bethany. I know that's sad, but it's real. I think we've all felt that way at some point in life or been treated like we weren't good enough. If you haven't, then go you! Keep on rocking that super self-esteem.  

I know discussing this is off topic, but I ran into my high school bully the other day at the grocery store. Even at thirty-five years old, that feeling I used to get in high school resurfaced and I felt like that worthless teenager again...only for a moment, but it still consumed me. I saw her walking in my direction pushing a shopping cart. She had a young boy with her who was about the same age as my oldest son. She noticed me and smiled. That's when my heart sank. All of the anger and rejection that I had gotten over suddenly reappeared. I put myself in check and smiled back at her. That must have been the invite for her to stop and talk to me. Great! She began the conversation asking how I've been, the normal small talk. Did she not know that because of her I felt like high school was the most awful period of my life? I continued the conversation asking how life was treating her. All was good. I was secretly hoping she was struggling with life as much as I have. I know that's mean, but that's what I felt. 

What happened next changed my view of her for the rest of my life. She asked her son to get a box of cereal from the aisle we were standing next to and once he left she said, "I know I treated you bad in school and I wanted to apologize for that."  What the hell?! I heard her say it and just sort of stared at her a moment. I didn't know if I wanted to cry or kick her ass (I've never been in a fight, so I'm not going to start now). All of that pent up anger and vulnerability I had experienced finally came to a peak. Here was my chance to lay into her and tell her about the feelings I experienced due to her lack of common human decency. I'm no stranger to Depression and she was one of the main reasons I wanted to give up on life in high school. 

Now, here she is admitting that she knew what she did was wrong. I looked down for a moment, trying to gather my emotions. Immature me was saying laugh in her face and walk away, but the grown-up me looked at her and said "I appreciate the apology. I don't think you understand how much you hurt me, but I forgive you." She smiled and then I realized she had been carrying that guilt around as long as I'd been carrying the rejection. She hugged me and when she backed away I could see in her face just how relieved she was. Her son returned and looked at us with that "can we go now" look that kids love to give. We parted ways and what she said to her son really helped me forgive her completely. He asked, "who was that lady" and she responded by saying "I was mean to her when I was younger and I just apologized."  Her son responded with "that was nice." It was nice. I wasn't sure her apology was genuine, but she admitted to her son that she had done something wrong and chose to make it right. That changed my view of her and helped me genuinely forgive her. I'm not going to 'friend' her on Facebook or go out of my way to chat with her when I see her again, but I can finally close that chapter of my life off. It feels good. Score one for me!

I know that was COMPLETELY off topic from my Pinterest challenge, but I had to share it. Maybe one of you bullied someone at one point, or maybe you were in the same shoes I was. I hope you get this moment too someday, because it is an amazing feeling. Since I shared my Depression issues with you, I figured I'd end this post with a recent Pin I tried for Depression Cake....how fitting, right? It's simple and there are no eggs, milk, or butter!! That's right, those lactose intolerant family members can eat cake too!! I know, this isn't a feel sad, boo hoo Depression Cake. This was a cake they made back during the Great Depression when it was difficult to come across eggs, milk, and butter due to finances. Money was tight and women got creative in their kitchens. 

Not only is this cake super moist and delicious, you can make the whole thing in the dish you cook it in. I decided to make a layered cake, so I put it into a bowl to mix it and then split it into the two cake pans. If you were going to use an 8x8 pan you can mix the whole thing in there and throw it in the oven. To make the two cake pan layered cake, split the batter evenly into two cake pans and then cook them for about twelve minutes. It really just depends on your oven. Check them with a toothpick to make sure they're done. If you poke a toothpick into the center of the cake and it comes out clean your cakes are ready to be taken out of the oven and placed onto a cooling rack. Easy peasy!

Here's the recipe (originally posted on sweetlittlebluebird.com):

Depression Cake  (Also called Crazy Cake)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups flour (all-purpose)
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
• 1 Cup sugar (All purpose sugar - Granulated Pure Cane Sugar)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp.  salt

• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp.  pure vanilla extract
• 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil 
• 1 Cup water 

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8" square baking pan.  Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients - two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third larger depression.  Pour water over all.  Mix well until smooth.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes.  Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.  Cool.  Top with your favorite frosting.  Enjoy!

Note:  Oven cooking times may vary, be sure to check your cake to make sure you do not over bake.

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As I mentioned before I am posting pics of the antique dresser my husband re-purposed into our new entertainment stand. It's so nice and it's one of a kind. He did an amazing job. He removed the middle drawer and the top two drawers, then added the material to make them shelves. I found some of those fabric totes at the Dollar Tree and they fit perfectly. We left the bottom drawer in, because it had these amazing glass handles. Look at those claw foot legs, so unique! The pictures don't do it justice, but you get the idea. It looks so good. Way to go, love!








As always, thanks for reading.

Take care!
NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 84 - Homemade Tortillas

The fourth of July weekend went as fast as it came. It was a whirlwind of projects and painting. My husband and I finally painted our bedroom. We officially have a grown-up looking room. It was this Easter egg purple that drove me nuts and now it's a rich, warm, burgundy color. MUCH better.

My husband also re-purposed and antique dresser we purchased off of one of those Facebook rummage sale sites. It went from old to new in less than a week. I'll post pics of it in my next post. Today, I'm stuck on the couch. I did something to my back and I can barely walk. Oh the life of a 35 year-old!

This weekend, I worked on some more food pins. Since I have become a foodie (or maybe I've always been one, but just didn't know it), I have been searching Pinterest for recipes that fit my finicky eaters requests. Of course, since we have taco Tuesdays it only made sense to make homemade tortillas for our taco night. The recipe I found, which was originally posted on The Cafe Sucre Farine (thecafesucrefarine.com), was so simple and turned out much better than the store bought, processed discs of flour that I normally have been buying. I couldn't keep my guys from eating them. My oldest son's friend loved them too. He said they were good without anything on them. They are!

If you're like my family and love bread and tortillas, then I suggest you give these a try for your taco night. The recipe makes 16 tortillas and can be easily made in a few hours. If you start them around lunch time, they'll be more than ready for dinner.

Here's the recipe:

BEST EVER! HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

PREP TIME

20 mins

COOK TIME

40 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour

These are so simple and unbelievably delicious!

Author: Chris Scheuer - http://thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/08/best-ever-homemade-flour-tortillas/

Recipe type: Bread

Cuisine: International

Serves: 16

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the dough hook attached mix dry ingredients until well combined. Add oil and water with mixer running at a medium speed. Mix for 1 minute, stopping several times to scrape the sides of the bowl. After about 1 minute, or when mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.
2. Transfer from mixing bowl to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough in half, then in half again. Continue until you have 16 fairly equal portions. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand as much as possible. If dough is sticky, use a bit more flour. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.
3. After rest period, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will get soggy.
4. When pan is very hot, place one dough circle into pan and allow to cook about 1 minute or until bottom surface has a few pale brown spots. The uncooked surface will begin to show a few little bubbles. If tortilla is browning too fast, reduced heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on underside of tortillas, increase heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for about 30 seconds. You want the tortilla to be soft but have a few small pale golden brown spots on surface. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag till all tortillas are cooked. This will keep them soft and pliable.
5. Wipe out the pan in between tortillas if flour is started to accumulate.
6. Serve warm or allow to cool for later use. When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. Microwave, uncovered for 15-25 seconds (start with 15) or until warm, then cover to hold heat while serving.
7. The tortillas will keep well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag at at room temperature for 24 hours or can be frozen indefinitely. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in freezer.

That's it! Simple enough, right?  I think you'll love these as much as I do. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can knead these by hand. It will just take a bit longer. I'd love to see more recipes for homemade tortillas. These claim to be the best, but are they?  You let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Take care,
NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 76 - Ropa Vieja Recipe

Twenty-four days until my Pinterest challenge is over. I've learned a lot about food in these past seventy-six days. It's been a real eye-opener. I went from buying boxed everything, to making most of what we consume. I know where things come from and I like that. It's a good change.

In the past week I've been working on perfecting my homemade dog bones. My dogs don't mind a bit. They sit there and watch me, waiting for their chance to 'test' their new treats. I think they are really enjoying my Pinterest challenge too. Enough about them though. Let's get on to the good stuff.

My favorite recipe from the past week has got to be the Ropa Vieja.  It's an amazing Cuban inspired dish. I originally saw it prepared on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and couldn't wait to find the recipe on Pinterest. I had a difficult time finding one that seemed worthy of my kitchen time. I did find one though. I tweaked it a bit to resemble the way I saw it prepared on TV. I added Creole Jambalaya Sauce...by the way if you haven't tried Dee Felice Foods Creole Jambalaya Sauce, you don't know what you're missing. Good stuff! I was able to find it at my local grocery store. If you can't find it, you can purchase it on the Dee Felice website.


The original recipe from Pinterest wanted me to make my own sauce, but why waste time when you can get some Dee Felice sauce (no preservatives either - bonus!)?!  The way it was prepared on TV was with creole sauce. I think I found a winner with the creole jambalaya sauce. I did add a pinch of chiptole powder to add a touch of heat. It was amazing. By the way, I'm not being compensated by Dee Felice . . . I just really love this sauce.

I started off getting a pot of water to a boil and then I cut the flank steak into large chunks. I put them into the water and lowered the heat to a simmer. I let it simmer with some bay leaves, cumin, and salt for an hour and a half. When the flank steak was done simmering I pulled it all apart by hand. I cut some peppers and onions up, put them in the pan I had the flank steak simmering in previously (of course I drained it first - don't leave the water in it) with some olive oil and then put the shredded flank steak on top of the pile of onions and peppers. After a few minutes, I then poured the Dee Felice sauce, a pinch or two of cumin, a clove of minced garlic, and a bit of salt on top of that and mixed it all up. I let this simmer for about forty minutes, long enough so the peppers and onions were soft.

Then I served it with some black beans and rice. After I placed it on top of the rice and beans I squeezed some lime on top of the dish. Freakin' awesome!! I think this is going to be a recipe that we'll add to our family cookbook. I mean look at the pic of this stuff! You know you're going to be trying this one. It was amazing. You really can't go wrong with this. It's all about what sort of taste you are trying to achieve. You can make it spicy, sweet, or a combination of both.  I know I didn't make it authentic Ropa Vieja, but I think I did a pretty good job at my version.

As always, thanks for reading and check back for more of my Pinterest challenge. Also, don't forget to find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Take care,
NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 64 - Copycat KFC Coleslaw and Orange Julius Recipes

Hello again. I hope you all are enjoying your summer. The temperatures in Ohio have finally started to hit that summer time high. It makes it difficult to have my oven on for long periods of time, but I still try to bake in the evening.

Since summer is upon us, I've been working on making things that don't involve long oven times. I have even attempted to make some soft caramels. This was a challenge. I ended up making them three times, because I failed the first two times. I have learned that I need a lot of practice with candy making. I used the Good Housekeeping Beer Caramels pin I found for the recipe. The first attempt was runny, because I obviously didn't get them to that 'soft ball' stage correctly. Instead of throwing the batch out, I put it in a mason jar and stuck it in the fridge to be used for ice cream topping. It is actually really good. The second batch was ridiculous. It was at that "almost soft ball" stage and I ended up just tossing it out. I don't like to waste things, but I don't like to hold on to things that irritate me either. I tried one more time, because I'm one of those people who likes to drive themselves nuts by doing it over and over until I get it right or somewhat right. The third and final attempt came out better, but they weren't soft and chewy. They were a little harder, but chewy once you got them warmed up. Sort of like those Riesen candies. Good enough for me. My husband enjoyed them and he took them to work to torture other people with. They liked them too. If only they knew they were supposed to be soft caramels. Oh well!

Since grilling out is not an option during the summer I also made some Copycat KFC Coleslaw to go along with our burgers and hot dogs. When I was pregnant for my younger son, I ate a lot of KFC coleslaw. So, I'm a KFC coleslaw connoisseur of sorts. When I was making this, I kept thinking "this better be good", because I had already had my share of fails with the caramels. I used my Ninja Ultima to get the head of cabbage to the right coleslawy (no, that's not a word...but I'm using it) perfection. I had to put three separate portions through, because I couldn't fit the whole cabbage in at once. It did the trick perfectly though. I got the right consistency. If you don't want to hassle with the cabbage chopping process, you can certainly buy the bag of coleslaw cabbage that is already prepared at the store in the bagged salad section. It would work just as well, but you may want to chop it up a bit more. 

The slaw dressing recipe from the Pin came from Everyday Mom's Meals. It's super simple, but worth the effort. Here's the recipe:

KFC Coleslaw  From Everyday Mom's Meals
1 head cabbage, finely diced
1/4 c. finely diced carrots
2 TBS minced onion
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. mayo
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 TBS white vinegar
2 1/2 TBS lemon juice

In a large bowl combine cabbage, carrots and minced onion. To prepare dressing, combine sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayo, buttermilk, vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk until combined. Pour over cabbage mixture.  Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until serving, or overnight. Before serving, garnish with parsley if desired.
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I let the coleslaw sit overnight and when I went to test it the next day it was a little dryer than I'd like. So, I whipped up another batch of the dressing and poured it on. Worked like a charm! Good stuff!

I know buttermilk is not a common item in regular people's refrigerators. If you buy some for this recipe, you can always make buttermilk pancakes with the leftovers or you can try some Oven Baked Buttermilk Chicken Strips. I'm making these tonight, so I can't tell you if they are good yet, but I'm sure they will be yummy. I mean, it's chicken for pete's sake! When is chicken not good?

Since it's hot outside, I also whipped up some Orange Julius drinks in my Ninja blender.  I had one from Burger King the other day (except they call it an Orange Freeze). Since then, I've been hooked. I know the sugar levels in these are high. So, I've been limiting my intake. I am not a big soda drinker. Water is my thing, but it's nice to splurge on these little gems every once in a while. This recipe is super easy to make and a lot cheaper than buying them at the fast food joints. Here's the recipe I used. I'm sure there are better ones out there. If you know of one, please pass it along to me.

 

Orange Julius

Author: Desiree at The 36th Avenue

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 6 Oz Frozen orange juice concentrate
• 2 Cups of Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• ¼th Cup Sugar (more if needed for sweetness)
• 6 to 9 Ice Cubes

Instructions

1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

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Simple enough, right? I ended up adding a little more sugar, because the orange juice concentrate was super bitter. I'm not one to add loads of sugar to things, but this sucker needed sweetening. I would really like to find a better recipe. So, pass them along if you have them.

I hope you continue to enjoy your week and as always find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. I'd love to get to know you better and share some recipe ideas.

Take care.

NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 62 - Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe

I think I may have found the best homemade pizza crust ever. Once you try this, you won't go back to the frozen stuff or prepackaged type. It's light, fluffy, and just plain amazing.

My husband asked me to make a breakfast pizza for Father's Day, so I did some Pinterest searching and came across a dough recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. So, I gave it a try. Glad I did too. It was a hit with all of my guys. My oldest son asked me to make this from now on instead of buying pizza from the local dives. Here's the dough recipe...trust me, you'll want to give it a try:

Homemade Pizza Crust
From: Sally's Baking Addiction
(visit this link for more detailed instructions if needed: Homemade Pizza Crust on Sally's Site )

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Red Star Platinum yeast (1 standard packet)*
• 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (105-115F degrees)
• 3 and 1/2 cups (440g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, plus more for brushing crust
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
• cornmeal, for dusting

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes of until the yeast is foamy and dissolved. This is called "proofing" the yeast. If the yeast doesn't dissolve, your yeast is dead. Start again with active yeast. Add flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar. Mix by hand or with the dough hook on low speed for 1 minute.
2. Once all of the ingredients are mixed, knead for 7 minutes by hand or with your dough hook on low-medium speed. If your dough is too wet, add up to 1/4 cup more flour. After kneading, your dough should be smooth and elastic. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
3. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large mixing bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn it over to coat all sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment (about 75F-80F).
4. For the warm environment, I heat up my oven to 200F. Then, I turn the oven off and keep the door slightly ajar (I opened it wide for this picture). This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, I close the oven door to trap warmish air inside with the rising dough.
5. Depending on your type of yeast, your dough will have doubled in size in about 1 - 2 hours. I use Red Star Platinum and my dough took 1 hour, 20 minutes.
6. Punch the dough down to release the air.
7. Divide the dough into two. Roll each half into a ball and let rest in two separate bowls lightly covered for 15 minutes. You may freeze one of the dough balls at this point to use at a later time. Please read above in the post for freezing instructions.
8. Preheat oven to 475F degrees. Allow to heat for at least 30 full minutes. Every inch of your oven needs to be very, very hot. Grease and dust 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray or with olive oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal (preferred for flavor and texture) or flour (not preferred). Please read above in the post for why cornmeal is preferred.
9. Prepare your favorite toppings. May I suggest my recipe for a simple extra cheese pizza?
10. After 15 minutes, flatten each ball of dough 1 at a time on a lightly floured surface or on a silicone baking mat. You could also do this directly on your cornmeal lined pizza pan. Flatten into a 12-inch round circle, flattening and stretching the dough. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker's peels dusted with cornmeal.
11. Lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinched the edges up to create the rim like this. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest for 15 minutes before topping.
12. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 12-15 minutes. For the last minute, I move the oven rack to the top rack to really brown the edges. That's optional.
13. Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Store leftover pizza covered tightly in the refrigerator and reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices may be frozen up to 1 month.

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Since my husband wanted a breakfast pizza, I used my own breakfast creation. I made some homemade white sausage  gravy. This is as simple as combining 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of flour in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted (this is called a roux)....once the butter has melted add one cup of milk. Stir continuously until thickened. In a separate pan, fry up some ground sausage. Add one cup of cooked sausage to the white gravy mix as well as 1/4 - 1/2 tablespoon of pepper (depends on desired pepper flavor you want). Stir and keep warm over low heat until ready to use. 

I used this gravy in place of the pizza sauce (set a little aside for placing on top of the pizza if desired). I topped the sauce with some of the sausage, some small cubes of Canadian bacon, and some freshly grated mild cheddar cheese (quit buying the bag of cheese...grate the block of cheese, it's more moist and contains less preservatives...we're not Debbie Snacks, we don't need preservatives). Then I stuck it in the oven for 12-15 minutes. I pulled it out once I noticed the cheese was melted and the crust was a nice golden brown. I have a pizza stone from Pampered Chef, so I only had it in for the twelve minutes. Yours may vary...just watch it and be the judge.

My oldest son liked the breakfast pizza, but he prefers an all-American meat pizza. Since the dough recipe makes two pizzas worth of dough I made a sausage, pepperoni,and ham pizza with mozzarella as well.  He LOVED it! This is the first time we've had pizza in the house and it was all eaten the same day. This is certainly a go-to recipe for a great pizza crust in our house from now on. Let me know if you try it. I'd love to see what sorts of toppings you use.

Take care.

NB

 

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 53 - Taco Style Corn-on-the-cob Recipe

The more Pinterest Pins I accomplish, the more crafty I feel. I have made a lot of the meal Pins, but not as many of the DIY ones. So, I am going to try to incorporate more of them as I progress in this challenge. I have a lot of the items I'll need to finish these DIY projects, I just lose confidence in myself sometimes. So, I don't attempt a lot of the ones I'd like to. I'm going to work on fixing that about me.

On a positive note, I have become a better cook and added more variety to our meal line-up just by taking on my 100 Days of Pinterest challenge.  Before I began this challenge, I would run to a fast food restaurant to get dinner. I didn't want to cook, because it was easier to just grab something from a drive-thru. My sons used to ask for food from McDonald's or Burger King every other day. Since this challenge started, my sons have only asked for fast food two separate times. I guess I'm doing something right. I also had no idea I was a foodie until I began all of this either. I hated to cook before, because I think I was bored making the same old things all of the time. By adding variety, I have learned to be a lot more excited about the end product.

Pinterest is like the modern person's cookbook. Our grandparents had the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. You know, the red plaid one that was always on the counter? Now, we have Better Homes and Garden on Pinterest and what seems like an unlimited amount of other recipe sources. It's a great place to turn if you don't know what to make. I like to plan my meals out by the week, so I peruse through the boards and look for meals that seem good and add them to one of the days on my meal planner. Makes life easier and I know what to get at the store when I go. I always buy a frozen pizza or something, just in case there's a day when I can't make one of my planned meals. I save a trip to the store and it helps to eliminate a run to one of the local fast food spots. Overall it's a great resource to mix things up and to learn better kitchen skills.Not to mention it's healthier, because you are regulating the ingredients being used.

Now on to what I have done these past few days. Of course, I made food. I made everything from Crock-Pot Ribs to Denny's French Toast (make sure you use a loaf of french bread instead of the Texas Toast, so good!). I even made another batch of the Magnolia's Buttercream Icing for my youngest son's birthday cake. You know it's good when you make it again!

The ribs would make a great Father's Day meal.  I cooked the ribs in the oven @ 400 degrees before they went into the crock pot, fifteen minutes each side. You knock two hours off the crock pot cook time by doing this. I used a store brand bottle of hickory smoke barbecue sauce to add that smoky flavor and I marinated them the night before using a rub recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Guy Fieri's Righteous Rib recipe. As you can see, I served the crock pot ribs with corn on the cob. I also used one of Guy's seasoning tricks for the corn as well. I subscribe to Good Housekeeping Magazine and in the June 2014 issue there was a spread with a bunch of Guy's recipes.

The corn was seasoned using a super simple mixture creating a Taco Style corn on the cob.




Combine:
4 Tbsp Butter
2 Tsp Chili Powder
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
Microwave until butter is melted, then stir to combine and then drizzle,brush, or dip corn using the mixture.

If you can find the June 2014 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, I suggest you pick it up for some great grilling ideas and to spruce up your summer. Plus, it has some Guy Fieri in it. Score! He has a new cookbook out as well called Guy on Fire, which is a "backyard-friendly cookbook". I think I may just purchase it for my husband for Father's Day.

That's it for now. As always, thanks for reading and find me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter by clicking on the tabs at the top of this page.

Take care.

NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 48 - Peanut Butter Dog Bones Recipe

I am almost halfway to my 100 day challenge. I think this challenge has really helped me refocus my thoughts away from MS. I now find myself thinking about how things would make good Pinterest challenges. It's good to find something to take your mind off of things sometimes. Not necessarily to push things under the rug, but to overcome.

Since summer is in the air, I've been looking for a lot of summery ideas to try. The other day I tried the recipe for the Jello Pudding Pops.  The pudding pops tasted more like a Wendy's Frosty than what I remembered Pudding Pops tasting like. Which isn't a bad thing. Wendy's is my favorite fast food restaurant (okay, other than Taco Bell) and I love Frosty's! I think I seriously need to find better Popsicle trays though. It was a complete pain in the butt getting the pudding pops out of the dollar store Popsicle forms I have. I ended up submerging them in warm water a couple of times before I was able to get them out. Then they were a bit melted.


One of the other Pins I attempted were the Peanut Butter Dog Bones. Now, I should seriously buy stock in peanut butter. My sons, mostly my youngest one, could eat peanut butter every single day if I'd let them. We could be flat broke, but we'd have peanut butter in our cabinet. I usually have to buy the bulk sized Jif to keep my family supplied. I had my oldest son help make these. He said he wanted to be a chef someday so here's his start. Dog bones. He can't go wrong. The ingredients were minimal and I liked that I know what my dog is eating. We buy the boxed dog treats every couple of weeks and I have no idea how they are made or what they are made with. I don't know about your dog, but my dog couldn't care less if he received neat dog bone shaped treats after he does his business in the yard. I have a pug and a pit bull-American bulldog mix, so I had to make different sized treats. So, I simply rolled the dough out and then just cut different sized rows so I could get smaller and larger sized treats. Easy peasy. Once these things were done both of my furry little boys were sitting in the kitchen waiting for a treat. My pug is quite picky and he kept sitting there with his puggy eyes begging me for more. They love these things.

Peanut Butter Dog Bones Recipe
Originally posted on:  Arch.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 C. whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 C. natural peanut butter (or regular)
• 1 C. skim milk (I used raw milk, that worked too)
• Cookie cutters (or not, my boys didn't mind their treat squares)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°. In one bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk. Combine mixtures and stir well. 

Drop dough on lightly floured surface and knead. Roll out dough anywhere from 1/8” to 1/4” thick. Cut into desired shapes. Bake on greased baking sheet for 20 minutes.

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Today I tried the Homemade Bread Pin. I like to torture my family by making as many bread recipes as I can. I figure eventually I'll find that one recipe that keeps us coming back. This recipe made four loaves of bread and since I really don't need that much bread I used some to make homemade cinnamon rolls. I rolled the dough out, buttered it, and sprinkled a heavy dose of sugar and cinnamon on the flattened out dough.Then I rolled it up and cut it into half inch cinnamon rolls. I put them in a greased pan, snug in a cinnamon roll cluster and stuck them in the oven for eighteen minutes at 375 degrees (golden brown). When they were done I whipped up some icing with milk, powdered sugar, and a splash of vanilla. These didn't last but ten minutes once they were done. My boys and the neighbor boy ate most of them, leaving only a few for me and my husband.

Now, the bread recipe had WAY too much salt in it for my liking. If you aren't a salt fiend then you may want to reduce the salt used in this recipe. To date, I think the Kitchen-Aid bread recipe is by far the best one I've tried so far. What's your favorite bread recipe? My family loves bread and I'd like to try some different ones. Send me your recipes as womaninthemancave@yahoo.com and I'll try them out.

Through this challenge I have discovered that I am a foodie. I'd love to say that I eat healthy, low fat, all organic foods, but I don't (yet). I make meals and desserts that I know my guys will enjoy. Not only does it help to mix things up, but it also encourages my sons to try things they haven't tried yet in hopes that they will find a new food to call their favorite. It's working, because while taking part in this challenge I have started eliminating processed foods from my home. I think that is one of the biggest challenges to face these days with so many instant delights at our fingertips. Why make cookies when you can buy a pack already made? Why make homemade jam when you can buy a jar off the shelf? Well, simply put, because you know where it came from. You don't know who handled the berries they used before they used them in your jam. Did they wash them first? Were there heavy pesticides used to keep the bugs off? Who knows?

I think the first step in eating better is by eliminating easy and that's one of the successful aspects of the Pinterest challenge. I'm making more of the the items we'd run to the store and buy. No more preservatives or pesticides in my sons. So, I guess this is going pretty well. I'm almost halfway there and I can't wait to see what the rest of my Pinterest challenge brings.

As always, find me on Pinterest at: http://www.pinterest.com/inthemancave/
Or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womaninthemancave
Or Twitter: @NmsBauer

Thanks for reading.
Take care.

NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 41 - Pizza Waffles

This past week has been filled with cleaning and sleeping in. My sons' last day of school was last Friday, so we are taking advantage of being able to sleep in a bit. I don't know about you, but I love to sleep in whenever I get the chance. I'm lucky, because I'm a rep for a HUGE company and I make my own schedule. I pick the days I do visits and I schedule the time I start. It's really nice to have a job that is so flexible. Especially since I am a mom and also because I have MS and there are some days when I just don't feel well. I can reschedule my work for a later date and time.

I'm not sure how homeschooling my youngest son will be this fall, but I am excited for the change. I'm interested in seeing how other parents deal with homeschooling their kids and holding down a job. If you or someone you know does both, I'd be interested in hearing from them (womaninthemancave@yahoo.com). I was going to go with online schooling, but I've done some research and learned that they are following common core educational standards. My son has struggled with the common core learning style, so it doesn't make sense to subject him to that anymore. I'm nervous about the whole thing, but anything is better than watching him struggle. Right?

Okay, as always I've been working on my Pinterest challenge. I tried making butter the other day. That was a HUGE fail. I think the cream was just too cold and possibly too fresh. I am going to try again with some that is closer to room temperature and maybe a few days old. I tried it with fresh raw milk and skimmed the cream off the top the day after I got the milk. I'm thinking I may have to try a few different approaches until I get it. Thank goodness my best friend's family owns a dairy farm.

I also worked on making hummingbird feed (sugar water without dye). I am also making a gnome garden. We had to put the finishing touches on hold until I can find a Hot Wheel tire. What happened to the days when I'd bitch about the little toy cars all over the house? Now there are laptops, tablets, and shoes instead of the Hot Wheels, LEGO's,  and Thomas the Train toys that used to reign supreme (my boys have grown too fast...someone make it stop).

The favorite from this week's Pins has to be the Pizza Waffles. I guess anything pizza is a winner in my house.  A few weeks ago I made the Mini Pizza Cupcakes and those were a hit, so I should have figured these would be just as awesome and Man Cave Approved!

 I love waffles, so I have a waffle maker in my kitchen arsenal. I know not everyone has one, so maybe you could experiment with a George Foreman grill or something like that. I'm not saying it will work, but it may. These things were super simple. You just cut a slit in biscuit dough, put the ingredients you want into the center, pinch the dough shut, and then put them in the waffle maker until they are nice and done. I noticed the ones that were lighter brown were not fully cooked, so let them get a little darker. Not burnt, but more done. Once they're done you can dip them in pizza sauce or ranch dressing.  I made pepperoni pizza, cheese pizza, and ham n' cheese ones. The pepperoni pizza ones were the overall winner.  Who knew?  (I did. My guys love pepperoni)

I think next time I make these I'm going to try cinnamon and sugar or fruit filled waffles. I have a feeling they will work, but I won't know until I try them. How will you stuff these? I'd love to get some more ideas for these waffles.

Don't forget to find me on Pinterest:  Woman in the Man Cave
Or on Twitter: @NmsBauer

Take care,
NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Days 24-26 - Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells Recipe

I know. I slacked this weekend. I just had to get my garden going. I did follow through each day and do at least one Pinterest challenge for the day. My husband even did one too. He re-purposed a skid into a wall-mount wine rack for our kitchen. He even stained it a reddish color, because I love red! Above is a pic of his little bit of awesomeness he created.

I didn't have enough wine to fill it up with, so I improvised with some pictures of my sons and some decorative glass. I am one of those women who LOVES glass. I have some in every single room in our home. If I find a unique piece at a garage sale or auction I buy it (as long as it's not pricey and is unique).

As for my Pinterest attempts this past weekend, I found some delicious winners. Here's what I tried.

Saturday:

 I made Easy Pepperoni Calzones.  These things were awesome. I didn't just make pepperoni ones either. I made a few ham, cheese, and green pepper ones too. They did not last long. I had a little extra dough as well, so I rolled up some pepperoni bread sticks. As you can see from the pic on the right, I also sprinkled them with a little parmesan for that added flavor. They were really good and super easy to make. I just flattened the dough into an oblong shape, laid pepperonis down the middle and then twisted it up. Of course, you'll need to pinch the dough together to keep it from coming apart. They're good and you could basically put any meat or cheese that you want into them.

Sunday:

Beef Teriyaki Sticks and Homemade Teriyaki Sauce were on the menu for Sunday. Since my husband has a cold and I didn't feel like firing the grill up without him, I decided to make the beef sticks inside and cook them under the broiler. It only took about three minutes under the broiler before they were ready. When they came out I brushed them with some of the Homemade Teriyaki Sauce and sprinkled a little Smoked Hickory Salt on them. My youngest son saw them and grabbed one right up. He loved them and expects me to make these again in the future. I paired the beef sticks with some of my favorite, Basmati rice. This was a good one, but I think next time I'll marinate the beef in the teriyaki sauce before I cook them.

Monday:

 Monday night's meal was by far my favorite one so far. I made the Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells.  If you haven't figured it out yet, Mexican food is my favorite! I love it. I could eat it every single day. These shells were so simple to make. I started off by browning a pound of ground chicken. Like I said, I don't rely purely on beef. Plus, the ground chicken was on markdown. The cheaper the better and who likes to see a good chicken go to waste? Not me! After I combined the bean, chicken, and cheese mixture I diced up some cilantro and added it to the salsa. Cilantro is a magical Mexican food herb that is a must! It's great added to salsa.  I followed the rest of the recipe as it was and these suckers came out SO good. I whipped up a batch of rice with Red Gold tomato sauce, some fresh cilantro, and some ground cumin to pair along with it. What?! Rice again? Yep. I liked this one so much I added the recipe from Somewhat Simple's website below.

Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

• 1 box of dried jumbo pasta shells, cooked according to package directions, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound ground beef, turkey, or chicken
• 1 package (1.25 ounces) Taco Seasoning Mix
• 1 cup of water
• 1 can (16-ounce) can refried beans
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese – divided
• 1 jar chunky salsa – divided
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• Sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread 1/4 cup salsa over bottom of casserole dish.
   
2. Cook beef in large skillet until brown; drain.
   
3. Add seasoning mix and water; cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened.
   
4. Add beans and 3/4 cup cheese; mix well.
   
5. Fill pasta shells with beef mixture; place on baking dish, filled side up.
   
6. Spoon remaining salsa over shells; top with remaining cheese.
7. Cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with green onions and remaining cheese. Serve with sour cream.

I did not need to make the whole box for a family of four. Especially since I added a rice side dish. You'll have to figure out how many each person will eat and then make a few extra. If you have a large family, make the whole freakin' box, plus some. I ended up refrigerating about six leftover shells. Can't wait to see how they taste for lunch this week.

To end my post I want to welcome my new Ninja Ultima Blender to the family. I have been in search of a blender that can keep up with my family and I feel confident that the Ninja Ultima can do just that. Not only does this thing blend, it can also puree, grind meat, grate cheese, mix cake batter, and many other things. The Ninja will come in handy with my Pinterest challenges and I can't wait to put it to work. We broke it in today by making some mango, orange, and peach smoothies. This thing is amazing. It crushed the ice so perfectly. So, if you're looking for a kitchen item that can do more than just blend, you need to look into the Ninja Ultima Blender. I love this thing!

Find me on Pinterest: Woman in the Man Cave


Take care!

NB