valentine’s day week means chocolate finds its way into breakfast everyday.  this is a not-so-subtle way of getting your chocolate fix in.  i’m all for chocolate in the morning because it means you have all day to burn calories!

source: bake at 350

• 1/2 c salted butter
• 1 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 2/3 c cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 c semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 1 c milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp white vinegar

1. line a muffin tin with 12 paper cups.  spray lightly with cooking spray.  pre-heat oven to 425º.
2. melt the butter, set aside to cool.
3. in a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips.
4. in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and vinegar until blended.  stir in the butter.
5. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  stir with a rubber spatula, just until blended.
6. divide evenly between prepared muffin liners.  the cups will be full.
7. bake for 20 min. until the muffins bounce back when pressed with a finger.
8. cool on a wire racks for 5 minutes.
9. remove from pan and let them cool for while longer.  serve warm

enjoy!

it’s mid february and i’m ready for grilling season.  here in wa, we’ve only really had one week of true winter, and the rest could just be called late fall/early spring.  it. is. awesome.  our grill is in the garage for “winter”, but i am ready to bust out the patio furniture and get our porch ready for summer.

think she’ll try to steal anything from the grill?

also, i’m really excited for awesome sunlight to come pouring in through the kitchen skylights.  it will be awesome for blog pics.   this getting dark early business is for the birds.  c’mon summer nights!

source: food network - the source also has great ideas for shrimp and chicken!

• 1 lb. sirloin steak, cut into 1″ cubes
• bell peppers
• onions
• zucchini
• other veggies not pictured (mushrooms, baby potatoes (boiled until cooked through) and corn on the cob

marinade:

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard (or regular mustard)
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 c evoo
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. whisk together all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
   
   
   
2. place steak in the bowl and toss until evenly coated.  cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least two hours.
   
   
   
3. cut veggies into bite-sized pieces.  i made additional marinade and set it aside for the vegetables.  use this to baste the vegetables when grilling them.
   
   
   
4. assemble skewers.  i keep veggies and meat separate, but do whatever works for you.
   
   
   
5. grill for 10-15 minutes, turning 1/4 rotation every 2-3 minutes until meat is cooked throughout.
   
   
   

enjoy!

this dish is a hybrid of mexican food and italian.   it was another pinterest find and it has definitely found a permanent spot on our dinner rotation!  i originally halved the recipe (as shown in the pics below) but now make a full batch, because it is great for lunch leftovers.

source: the way to his heart 

• 1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 pkg taco seasoning
• 6-8 oz. cream cheese
• 16 jumbo pasta shells
• 1 1/2 c salsa
• 1 c taco sauce
• 1 c cheddar cheese
• 1 c pepper jack cheese
• garnish (green onions, sour cream, olives, onions)

1. preheat oven to 350°.
2. in a large pot, bring water to a boil for shells.
3. in a medium pan, brown the ground beef, drain and add taco seasoning.  cook according to package directions.  add cream cheese and stir until cheese is melted and evenly distributed.  set aside and allow to cool.
4. when water reaches a boil, add shells and cook, according to package directions.  drain and rinse with cool water.  lay shells out individually, so they do not stick together.
5. pour salsa into the bottom of a 9×13″ basking dish.
   
   
   
6. stuff each shell with the meat mixture.  place the shells in the pan, open side up.
   
   
   
7.  cover shells with taco sauce.  cover with foil and bake for 30 mins.
   
   
   
8. after 30 mins, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 additional minutes, with the foil removed.  garnish with any condiments/veggies you’d like.

enjoy!

we have finally found our favorite b’ham restaurant.  it sure did take a while.  the archer ale house is an english style pub house, in the basement of an old fairhaven building.  the food reminds us of one of our nashville favorites: the flying saucer.  tom loves their pizza, i’m a huge fan of their pot pie.  it is very spicy and just warms you all of the way through!  they make it to order and it is well worth the wait.

but pot pie shouldn’t just be saved for when you go out.  it is easy to throw together and even anti-pot-pie tom loves it.  i used frozen thanksgiving turkey leftovers, but feel free to use any chicken or turkey that you may have on hand.  chunked, shredded, whatever you prefer.  just try this pie.  do it.  now!

source: the pioneer woman

crust:

• 1/2 c crisco
• 1/4 c butter
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 egg, whisked
• 2 1/2 tbsp cold water
• 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt

pie:

• 1/4 c butter
• 1/2 c finely diced onion
• 1/2 c finely diced carrot
• 1/2 c finely diced celery
• 2 c turkey or chicken meat, cubed or shredded
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 c chicken broth
• splash of white wine
• 1 c heavy cream
• fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp paprika (the real hungarian kind)
• 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. prep your pie crust.  you can use a store bought one, but this pie crust is pretty simple to throw together.  cut the flour, crisco and butter together, using a pastry cutter, until it resembles a coarse meal.
2. in a small bowl, whisk your egg, dump half out, and then add water, white vinegar and salt.
3. add to the flour mixture and stir until combined.  form the dough into a ball.  wrap in saran wrap, pat out into a disc and place in the freezer until you’re ready for it.
4. pre heat oven to 400°.
5. melt butter in a dutch oven, add onions, carrots and celery and cook until translucent.  note: i picked up a new spatula in vancouver and LOVE it.  it doesn’t get all separated on the end and works well with my non-stick pans and dutch oven.
   
   
   
6. add turkey and stir.  sprinkle flour over turkey/veggie mixture and stir to combine.  cook over medium heat and continue to stir constantly.
7. pour in the chicken broth and then splash in the vino.  pour in cream.  bring to a slow boil and let the mixture cook and thicken for a few minutes.  add thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste.  don’t be too shy.  taste it, to make sure it’s right and set it aside.
   
   
   
8. remove crust from freezer (you’re ready now).  un-wrap the dough and leave on the saran wrap, dust the top with flour.  roll out crust onto the saran wrap, working from the center out.  roll out to the size of your dish.
9. pour pie mixture into your baking dish.  flip pie crust on dish, saran wrap side up, and remove the saran wrap.  (wasn’t that easy?)  cut vents in the pie crust.  see the chunks of butter in the crust?  they make things nice and flaky.
   
   
   
10. place on a pan, to catch any extra drippings and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
    
    
    

enjoy!

we’re snowed in.  and i LOVE every second of it.  we’ve both been working from home, which is awesome.  not any different for me, but it is very nice to have tom around!  we’ve also been loving on our new puppy, lucy… and so now i must do the obligatory new dog bragging: 

isn’t she just adorable?

ok, so back to the recipe.  i did run out of caramel sauce for my coffee.  i’m one of those people that fills my coffee with a bunch of sweet and creamy stuff, to ensure that it doesn’t taste much like coffee at all.  no amount of snow is going to keep me from a proper caffeine fix sugar buzz.

source: bakingdom

*please note, we are not the kind of people that keep our christmas tree up year round… i just happened to make this recipe at christmas time, too.

• 1 c sugar
• 1/4 c water
• 1 tbsp corn syrup
• 1/2 c heavy cream (i was a bit shy of 1/2 c and added some half and half to make up the difference)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt, crushed (optional)

1. combine sugar, water and corn syrup in a small saucepan.
   
   
   
2. without stirring, bring to a boil over high heat, swirling the ingredients occasionally.
   
   
   
3. continue boiling until the mixture reaches an amber color.  too light, it won’t taste like caramel, too dark and it will taste burnt.  there’s a fine line and it may take some practice to find the right flavor.
   
   
   
4. remove from heat and VERY CAREFULLY add cream to the sugar mixture.  wear an oven mitt on your pouring hand and use a long handled spoon or whisk to combine the cream.  it sputters and steams and you really don’t want to get burned by this stuff.  it caught me off guard the first time, hence the numerous warnings.  don’t be like me.
   
   
   
5. once combined, add the salt and butter and continue to stir until combined.
   
   
   
6. cool to room temp.  do sneak a taste while it is warm.  place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for whenever the need arises for caramel sauce.
   
   
   

enjoy!

the super bowl is just around the corner, and these definitely need to find a spot on your spread.  they’re basically a dinner roll, made with pizza dough and filled with cheese and pepperoni.  i tried a new pizza dough recipe for this, and the key ingredient is honey.  it’s a different dough than my chicago style dough, but it is perfect for rolls.  next time i want to add a bit of rosemary to change things up.

slightly adapted from: the doctor’s kitchen

• 1 c warm water
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 packet yeast
• 2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• mozzarella cheese, cubed
• pepperoni slices
• evoo, to top rolls
• italian seasoning, to top rolls
• parmesan cheese, to top rolls

1. combine honey and warm water in a bowl.  sprinkle with yeast and allow to foam.
2. put flour in a bowl and stir yeast mixture in.  add oil and salt, in the end.
3. put mixture on a floured surface, and knead for ten minutes, until smooth.
4. oil dough ball and place in a covered glass bowl.  allow to rise until doubled, for about two hours.
   
   
   
5. when ready to make rolls, pre-heat oven to 400°.
6. divide dough into twelve equal parts.
7. fill each ball with a cube of mozzarella cheese.
   
   
   
8. seal dough around the cheese and place seam side down, in a pie dish.  repeat for remaining dough.
   
   
   
9. combine oil and spices and brush over dough.  sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
   
   
   
10. allow to rise again, for another 3o min.
    
    
    
11. bake at 400° for 16-20 minutes.  serve with warm pizza sauce or ranch dressing.
    
    
    

enjoy!

there are a lot of things from my kitchen that are never shown on this blog.  some nights, we have digorno pizza.  or freezer chimichangas… pronounced chim-ee-chang-guhs, cause the freezer section makes me feel classy like that.  or hot dogs and kraft macaroni and cheese.  or leftovers.  or tom picks up something on the way home.  i truly do enjoy cooking, but sometimes it is nice to just have a break.

other times, things just don’t work out as they are pictured on the interwebs.  they don’t taste right or look right. sometimes we eat it, sometimes we make a run for the border.  here’s a few of my recent kitchen blunders:

blunder 1: cake batter rice krispie treats

i first found this recipe on pinterest and got really excited about the idea of cake batter flavored anything.  the ingredients seemed pretty straight forward:

just throw some cake batter mix and sprinkles in regular rice krispies… ok, sounds simple enough.  they looked just fine, i really liked how the sprinkles dressed them up.  the problem was that they tasted just like plain ol’ rice krispie treats.  not a single hint of cake batter in them.  at all.  reading it up on it (after the fact, per the usual) i found that a lot of people have encountered the same problem with the cake batter recipe trend.

the moral of the story: adding cake mix does not make something automatically taste like cake batter.  try some baker’s mystery flavor, which adds a true cake flavor.  or just stick to making plain and simple rice krispie treats. make them festive with sprinkles, because looking pretty was the only thing to set these treats apart.

blunder 2: yule log

i chopped up the chocolate to melt down for the batter… it was pretty.  see?

everything seemed to be going according to plan, the cake even looked great when it came out of the oven.  it was nice and springy, just as it was described in the recipe.  see?

i followed the cooling instructions, covered the cake in cocoa powder and rolled it up.  then things went south. after it cooled, i attempted to unroll it and it just came apart.  it seemed to have chemically bonded with the tea towel that i used.  in an attempt to salvage the roll, i ended up scraping pieces of cake off the towel.  the roll just barely came together.  i called it rustic, after eating a heaping spoonful of the whipped cream filling.  that made things much better.  it ended up tasting great, but definitely was not festive or pretty.  because it had whipped cream in it, that would have surely collapsed by the next morning, we each had a slice.  then i gladly threw it away.

so there you have it.  one recipe that looked pretty and tasted mediocre.  another that looked awful and tasted wonderful.  just goes to show that things can go downhill when you least expect it.  then you try again.

this dish is very simple to throw together, but tastes like it took all day.  it is another dish that i have made a few times before blogging about it.  the most recent time, i used my new favorite kitchen “thing”… my dutch oven. swoon!

i was always anti dutch oven.  oh, they’re so expensive… oh, i can do the same thing in a crock pot… oh, i can do the same thing in a pyrex dish with foil over the top.  i’m here to say that i’m a believer in the dutch oven now and am trying to find as many dishes to make in it as possible.  thanks, hubby for the awesome christmas gift!

this dish is best served up with some garlic smashed potatoes.  the sauce can be poured over the dish.  (you will have a lot leftover!)

source: the pioneer woman

• 6 whole chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on.  (i used boneless, skinless this last time and it turned out just fine.)
• 1 tbsp evoo
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 3/4 c whiskey (i used a mix of jack and honey jack)
•  6 oz. bbq sauce
• 1/2 jar peach preserves
• 1/4 c water
• 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• green onions, sliced to garnish

1. preheat oven to 300°.
2. heat oil and butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  place chicken thighs, three at a time, in the pot, skin side down.  brown both sides, the move to a plate until all chicken is browned.
   
   
   
3.  add onions to the pan and stir, cooking for 2 mins, until translucent and slightly brown.
   
   
   
4.  pour the whiskey in.  yum!  take a swig.  yum yum!
   
   
   
5. stir the mixture, making sure to scrape all of the good stuff off the bottom.  cook for a minute or two, allowing the whiskey to reduce.  add the bbq sauce, peach preserves, water and worchestershire sauce.  throw in garlic cloves.  stir until combined.
   
   
   
6. return chicken to the pot, skin side up.
   
   
   
7. cover and put in oven.  cook for 1 1/2 hours and then remove from the oven.
   
   
   
8. serve with smashed potatoes, make sure to put some extra sauce on the chicken and potatoes!  garnish with green onion slices.

enjoy!

christmas time is definitely a time of year for an excessive amount of sweets.  if you’re like me, you usually need a salty snack to immediately counteract a sweet snack, or vice versa.   chex mix does the trick, every time.  make a large batch and package it up to share with family and friends!

this is my mom’s recipe, which was handed down for a few generations.  according to my mom, this recipe comes from the days before store-bought chex mix.  it is much better than the store bought stuff, as most every kind of homemade chex mix is.  it does call for an ingredient called accent… which is pure msg.  i couldn’t not find it in the store (i can’t imagine why! )  i did notice a difference in taste w/out the added msg.  i’m sure it is also a ton healthier.  i did substitute salt, but again, it wasn’t quite the same.

source: mom

• 2 14 oz. boxes of chex cereal (rice, corn, wheat)
• 1 box cheez-its (or cheese tid-bits)
• 1 bag, pretzel sticks
• 1 jar, peanuts
• 2 sticks margarine
• 3 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt (or 1/4 tsp accent)

1. preheat oven to 250°.
2. in a large roasting pan, stir the cereal, cheez-its, pretzels and peanuts until evenly distributed.
3. in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt margarine.  add last five ingredients and stir to combine.  (microwaving works just as well.)
4. pour margarine mix over cereal mix.  stir to evenly coat.
5. bake for 45 mins, stirring every 15 mins.
6. cool and place in an air-tight container.

enjoy!

after stumbling upon this soup, i have made it THREE different times.  THREE.  that is a lot of times for me to make something in a few months time.  just sayin’.  i have modified the original recipe to make it a bit easier to throw together.  the amts below will work for about 4 people.  double, quadruple, as needed.

i have also made a few modifications to the original, mainly with the sauteing oregano in evoo.  for the first time, i didn’t have fresh oregano on hand and used the dried stuff, as a substitution.  it burned and did not turn out all that well.  i never really tried it again and can’t taste that the soup is missing anything.  also, the jalapeño does not add much heat, so don’t be intimidated.  on to the recipe!

source: the pioneer woman

• 1/2 box ditalini pasta (they’re adorable!)
• 2 chicken breasts, par boiled and shredded
• 4 c chicken broth
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 whole jalapeño, diced
• 1 tsp, dried oregano
• 1 tbsp evoo
• 1 14.5 oz can, fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• parmesan rind, if you have one on hand
• 1 c heavy cream
• salt and pepper, to taste
• parmesan cheese, for serving

1. cook pasta, 1-2 minutes shy of package directions.  draine/rinse in cool water and set aside.
2. par boil chicken and shred it, set aside.
3. in your soup pot, saute onions, green pepper, celery, jalapeño and dried oregano with evoo.  cook until golden brown, for about 10 mins.
4. add chicken broth, chicken and tomatoes (with their juice).  if you have a parmesan rind on hand, throw it in the pot at this point, too.  it gives a wonderful nutty flavor to the soup.  bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
5. about 10 min before serving, add pasta, cream and stir to combine.  simmer on the lowest possible range setting until you serve.
6. top with grated parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

enjoy!