Dessert Experimentation

I experimented with a dessert possibility last night, and I was very happy with how it turned out. Here's what I did, and what I would change.

Ingredients:

- 3-4 bricks of melting chocolate bars

- 1 can sweetened condensed milk

- 3 or 4 graham crackers

- caramel sauce

Directions:

1. In a double-boiler, melt chocolate bars and condensed milk together until smooth

2. In a greased 8 x 8 glass pan, break graham crackers into smallish pieces (don't crush); sprinkle about half of the graham cracker pieces onto the bottom of the plate

3. Pour about half of the chocolate mixtures onto the graham crackers

4. Sprinkle the other half of the graham crackers onto the chocolate mixture

5. Dribble about 2-3 tbsp of caramel sauce over the mixture

6. Pour the rest of the chocolate mixture into the pan

7. Top with melted caramel sauce

8. Freeze for 2-3 hours.

To vary this recipe, substitute caramel sauce for crushed peppermint candies or marshmallows. You could pretty much throw in whatever you'd like, I'm sure. :)

Pineapple Soufflé

I made this recipe this past Tuesday for a BBQ. It was, admittedly, a bit out of place with all the chips, hamburger fixins, and pop, but it was still pretty good. It could have almost passed as a dessert, it was so sweet. The best part was how easy it was to make. I was almost scared off by the "soufflé" part, but it isn't your typical, puffed soufflé. I'm glad I tried it!

Ingredients:

- 2 cans pineapple chunks

- 5 tbsp. flour

- 1 /2 cup sugar

- 1 stick of butter

- 1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

- 1 1/2 cup crushed buttery crackers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Drain pineapple and pour chunks into a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray

3. Heat pineapple juice, flour, and sugar in microwave until thickened (about one minute)

4. Pour over pineapple

5. Sprinkle cheese on top

6. Put crackers on top of cheese

7. Pour melted butter over crackers

8. Bake for 30 minutes

Serves 6-8

Taken from Cooking with Grace: A Cookbook from Point of Grace, with Julie Adkison

Quick and Easy Appetizer

Tonight I made something ridiculously easy (and, admittedly, not very good for me). It would be an excellent idea if you had people over and needed a quick appetizer.

- 1 frozen thin-crust pizza

- 1 bottle of home-style marinara sauce

- 2 tsp parsley

- 2 tsp oregano

Bake the pizza as directed on the box.

For the sauce, heat the marinara sauce until warm. Add parsley and oregano.

Crock Pot Desserts

I never thought of making dessert in a Crock Pot before tonight, but I saw this recipe in my Crock Pot Five Ingredients or Less cookbook, and thought I'd give it a try. I brought this to my small group tonight. The result: they loved it! And so I am passing it along to you. Enjoy!

Easy Chocolate Pudding Cake

Ingredients:

- 1 package (6-serving) instant chocolate pudding and pie filling mix

- 3 cups milk

- 1 package (18 1/4 oz) chocolate fudge cake mix plus ingredients to prepare mix

- Whipped cream topping or ice cream (optional)

- Crushed peppermint candies (optional)

Directions:

1. Spray 4-quart Crock Pot slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place pudding mix in Crock Pot slow cooker. Whisk in milk.

2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Carefully pour cake mix into Crock Pot sow cooker. Do not stir. Cover; cook on High 1 1/2 hours or until cake is set [Note from Sarah: I set mine for 1 1/2 hrs, and wished that I had had another additional 20-30 minutes or so before serving]. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream and crushed peppermint candies, if desired.

OR, the Alternative recipe: Tonight I didn't have any of the ingredients for the chocolate cake. I'll admit, too, that I'm not a huge chocolate fan. This recipe sounds a bit too rich for my tastes. So tonight I made the same recipe, but I substituted the chocolate pudding for vanilla, substituted the chocolate cake mix for spiced cake mix, and substituted crushed peppermints for gingersnaps. The result: amazing. It was a big hit.

If you try this recipe using different ingredients like I did, will you post a comment about what you used and how it turned out? I'd be curious to know how everyone else has tried this recipe.

The Joys of Crock Pots: Pot Roast Alternatives

Let me be frank for a moment: if you don't have a Crock Pot yet, GO GET ONE!! Seriously, a Crock Pot dinner practically makes itself! You just put the ingredients in, and wait. It's really easy. So go buy one now (my recipes will still be here when you get back). Costco has a nice stainless steel one for a reasonable price (and, if you're a member, there is usually a coupon in their monthly coupon book):

Phew. I'm glad I got that out of the way. I have two alternative recipes if you'd like to try something different than your average pot roast.

Ranch Pork Roast

Thanks to my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook for this recipe!

Ingredients:

- 1 2 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast

- 1 pound new red-skinned potatoes, halved

- 1 10.75-oz can condensed cream of chicken soup

- 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened and cut up

- 1 0.4-oz envelope ranch dry salad dressing mix

Directions:

1. Trim fat from meat. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat skilled over medium heat. In hot skillet brown meat on all sides. Remove from heat.

2. Place potatoes in 3 1/2-4 quart slow cooker. Place meat on potatoes. In a bowl, whisk together soup, cream cheese, and dressing mix. Spoon over meat and potatoes in cooker.

3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or on a high setting for 4 1/2 to 5 hours. [Note from Sarah: I cooked mine on low for 9 1/2 hours, and I thought it was almost too much. Next time, I'll lower it to 8 - 8 1/2 hours.]

Tip: I like to serve this with either steamed carrots or a side salad with vinaigrette, avoiding a creamy salad dressing that might make for too rich of a dinner.

Cranberry-Onion Pork Roast

This recipe comes from my Pillsbury Fast Slow Cooker Cookbook, found here on Amazon: 

Ingredients:

- 2 1/2 to 3-lb boneless pork shoulder roast, trimmed of fat

- 1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce

- 1 package (1 oz) onion soup mix

Directions:

1. In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, place roast. In small bowl, mix cranberry sauce and soup mix; spread over roast.

2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting for 8-9 hours or until pork is tender.

3. Remove pork and cut into slices; serve with sauce.

Tip: Try serving this roast with a green vegetable and mashed potatoes.

Two Quick and Easy Chicken Recipes

Cranberry Chicken

This recipe is stolen from my former roommate, Berina.

Ingredients:

- 1 can of cranberry sauce (I like the jellied kind, but you can use the whole cranberry kind if you prefer)

- 1/2 bottle of Catalina dressing

- 1 package of dry onion soup mix

- 4 or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

- In a pan, brown chicken (I've included directions for this after both recipes)

- In a medium bowl, mix the cranberry sauce, Catalina dressing, and onion soup mix (it looks and smells funny, but don't worry; it will taste amazing later

- Cover the browned chicken with the sauce mix

- Cover the chicken with aluminium foil

- Bake for an hour

Tips: I like to serve this with brown rice, a green vegetable, and a glass of chilled white wine.

Mango Salsa Chicken

This is my best friend's favorite! And it's one of my mom's recipes.

Ingredients:

- 4 or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

- 2 cups (approximately) of mango-peach salsa from Costco

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

- In a pan, brown chicken on both sides

- Cover browned chicken with the salsa

- Cover and bake for an hour

Tips: I like to serve this with white rice and a side salad with vinaigrette.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Directions for browning chicken

If you are new to cooking, you might not know what "browning" chicken is, so here are my directions:

- In a good-sized pan, heat about 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil over medium heat

- When the pan is hot, place thawed (not frozen) chicken in the pan (Be careful: the oil sometimes spits back at you)

- I like to have a small glass of water handy, and put about 2 tbsp in at a time. This keeps the chicken from burning on the bottom

- When one side of the chicken turns a whiteish-light brown, use utensils to flip it over and brown the other side

- The chicken doesn't have to be cooked all the way through; the oven will take care of that for you

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you enjoy these two quick and easy chicken recipes! And stay tuned for new recipes to come!

And so it begins: The inaugural cooking blog entry!

Hi folks!

The crowd has spoken: I have made an "official" cooking blog to share the recipes I steal from other sources and claim as my own. (To be fair, I'll be citing each of my sources as I go. That way, you can search for the fabulous cookbooks that I use for other recipes I may not have listed here.)

I thought it would be appropriate to begin this blog by mentioning what has brought me here. To be honest, I never thought of myself as a cook. My mother is an exceptional cook that never needs a recipe for anything, so I let her do all the work. Add in a few years of college and grad school, and I had no time to learn about cooking. Frozen meal? Check. Chicken helper? Check. That was the extent of my cooking. Let me tell you, folks, that's no way to live -- and certainly no way to eat, especially if you are cooking for more than just yourself.

Hence the introduction of my blog.

On this site, I'll be posting dinner recipes that I like, basically. As my best friend/roommate can attest to, I don't often cook the same meal twice, or in the same way. Unlike my mother, I NEED a recipe in order to produce something. But I'm not afraid to embellish the recipe a bit. I am, as some of you know, still a picky eater in many ways. I despise onions, so if a recipe calls for onions, I'll definitely omit them. And guess what? It still tastes amazing.

I have already had requests for quick and easy recipes, so I'll definitely make that my focus here. The bottom line here: if I can do it, so can you. I've really only been cooking for the past two years or so, but I have learned in that time that I love it. I hope you do, too. And that is why I am sharing these recipes...