Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Yo! Let's make some Fro Yo!!

What do you do when one of your beautiful friend gives you a fro yo/ice cream maker? Go to the grocery store and immediately buy everything you need and get that bad boy cranking!!
 
Seriously that's exactly what you do!

I did a little Internet searching and sort of kind of winged this recipe and it came out perfect!!

Not too sweet, not to tart! Fro Yo perfection!!

Go get yourself a fro yo/ice cream maker and make batches of happiness!!

Enjoy and Keep on Making Stuff!

Vanilla Fro Yo

2 cups plain Greek yogurt
2 cups low fat vanilla yogurt
1/8 cup of sugar
1 cup of fresh fruit if you want fruit.

Mix yogurts and sugar. Then add to your machine per the directions.
I added a cup of fresh sliced strawberries. You could add anything your little fro yo eating heart desires!

Here I am bare faced and pony tailed excited about my first ever batch!!!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Best Macaroni Salad Ever!!

I had this crazy craving for macaroni salad. But not the goopy mayo-ie kind. I wanted something different, something with new ingredients in it.

And also something that did not involve elbow macaroni. There are only 2 things in this world elbow macaroni should be used for...1 of them is Macaroni and Cheese and the other is crafting. I mean who doesn't love a well made macaroni necklace!

So I did a little poking around the internet and found this recipe. Of course it's from Pioneer Woman. I kinda sorta like her stuff! Her recipes never ever fail me!

This here fancy pants macaroni salad has olives and roasted red peppers and I really gave it a fancy spin by using BOW TIE PASTA!! That’s right I am as fancy as you thought!

Oh man is this pasta salad good. I ate it with every meal for 3 days then sadly it was gone. :( I will for sure be making this again. For my friends who invite me to their next BBQ don't be surprised if I show up with a yummy bowl full of bow ties!!

One more thing...I kind of made the sauce to taste. I'm a add as I mix kind of gal. I'm certain I used more of everything than what the recipe calls for because that’s just what I do!

Sooooo because I was too busy stuffing my face with this salad I forgot about a pretty pic. So serve yourself up some in your fancy "china" and go about your day! My macaroni salad really helped me get through some brutal expense reports. Hehe!

Enjoy and Keep on Making Stuff!!

The Best Macaroni Salad Ever

Ingredients

4 cups Elbow Macaroni
3 whole Roasted Red Peppers, Chopped (more To Taste, Can Also Use Pimentos)
½ cups Black Olives, Chopped Fine
6 whole Sweet/spicy Pickle Slices, Diced (about 1/2 Cup Diced)
3 whole Green Onions, Sliced (white And Dark Green Parts)
½ cups Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Red Wine Or Distilled Vinegar
3 teaspoons Sugar, More Or Less To Taste
¼ teaspoons Salt, More To Taste
Plenty Of Black Pepper
¼ cups Milk (more If Needed)
Splash Of Pickle Juice (spicy Sweet Pickles)
Extra Pickle Juice To Taste
Preparation Instructions

Cook the macaroni in lightly salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool. Set aside.

Mix together mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Splash in enough milk to make it pourable. Splash in pickle juice for extra flavor. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside.

Place cooled macaroni in a large bowl and pour 3/4 of the dressing. Toss and add more dressing if you’d like. (Dressing will seem a little thin, but it will thicken up as salad chills.)

Stir in olives, roasted red peppers (or pimentos), pickles, and green onions. Add more of any ingredient if you’d like more stuff going on! At the end, splash in a little more pickle juice and stir.

Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Sprinkle with sliced green onion to serve!




Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Did you know...

I have all these weird and somewhat use facts and tips stored in the junk drawer of my brain.
Yes my brain totally has a junk drawer. You know like one in the kitchen that's full of totally useful things but when you see it you have no idea what it's for.

Anywho so I'm going to randomly share them with you!

Here we go!

Did you know if you place a wooden spoon over a boiling pot of let's say pasta it won't overflow?
Me either!! But guess what!!! It works!!
Try it!! Store this fact in your junk drawer and I bet you will use it again!!

I'd love to hear what tips, tricks, and tools you have in your junk drawer. Leave me a comment and I'll gladly try yours out!!

Enjoy and Keep on Making Stuff!!

Honeybun Cake vs. Whopper with Cheese

Over the recent months I have noticed something...

I've become a stress cooker and baker as opposed to a stress eater.

When I'm stressed out or really wound up I always find myself in the kitchen looking to make something.

Last night while I was baking this Honeybun Cake it came to me. The feeling of satisfaction I used to get from gulping down a double whopper with cheese combo is the same feeling I get now after I cook or bake something and it turns out delicious.

WEIRD RIGHT!

What happens is I get the urge to be in the kitchen then I have to find the perfect recipe that suits the moment. That in itself is a process! Once I am in the zone there is no stopping me. I have baked 3 batches of cookies for no reason other than I was having a horrible week and for some reason the thought of baking made me happy.

You see the process is this...
Stress
Cook/bake
Have food or baked good I shouldn't eat or don't want
Find someone who will love it and see how happy home cooked food makes them
Stress gone

Before I would eat everything I made. Now if I have a bite or two that's a lot.

I don't know what happened to me but I don't think I mind the change. My waistline certainly doesn't.

So I had a bad week and I saw this recipe and said... I HAVE TO MAKE THIS!!

Tastykitchen.com is a great recipe resource!

So here's here to hoping your week is stress free and if you do get a little frazzled just remember tomorrow is another day.

ENJOY and Keep on Making Stuff!

HONEYBUN CAKE
Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 box (18.25 Oz. Box) Yellow Cake Mix
4 whole Eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
¾ cups Vegetable Oil
1 cup Light Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
2 cups Powdered Sugar
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract


Preparation Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

By hand, blend the cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and oil until well-incorporated. The mixture will be pale yellow; it's okay if it has some lumps! Then set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon until well-blended; set aside.

Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13×9 pan, spreading the batter out into a thin layer. Add half of the swirl mixture to the top, covering the entire layer of batter. Don't be alarmed if it looks like you're over-saturating the cake-it'll taste great! Pour the rest of the batter on top, and spread the batter until the cake is even. Top the cake off with the rest of the swirl mixture. With a knife, swirl the batter until you create a beautiful masterpiece (I always pretend I'm a barista pouring cream into a cappuccino because I'm really nerdy like that).

Place the cake into the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze. In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until glaze is of desired consistency. When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour glaze onto the hot cake. You might have to pick up the cake and tilt it to spread the glaze evenly. Let the cake sit for a few minutes so the glaze can set and serve warm or at room temperature.