Birthday!

Jax turned three, so I made him some birthday treats.

1. First I made some apple pie/tartlet thingies - diced apples tossed with some cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour, baked in puff pastry squares in muffin tins. But they looked really good, and really, what three year olds want gourmet apple pie/tartlet thingies?
2. So I made some yummy yellow cupcakes and took those to daycare, still warm from the oven. There were a few extra (I sent two dozen, not knowing how many floaters would be around for birthday snack time), and I asked Jax if he wanted to give them to the office people. No, he said, he wanted to take them home and eat them. Smart boy.
3. The best, however, was his cake. I asked Jax what kind of cake he wanted, and he said blue cake. The next day, muffin cake. Finally he said chocolate race car cake. Sure, I can do that. My grandma gave me a ton of old Wilton cake pans, so in addition to race car I also have a semi, jeep, old model T Ford, station wagon, van, and coupe. The race car pan was really big, so I decided to go for the coupe, because, as I see it, anyone can make a race car cake - it takes someone special to make a 1976 Datsun 280Z cake. And oh yeah, I'm that special. Jax said he wanted it to be yellow, so I made it retro '70s yellow. Pure awesome. And delicious, of course, but that goes without saying.

Spicy vodka plum chicken

I'm usually hesitant to try out a new recipe, and when I do, I don't follow it exactly. I have some oranges and plums to use in the next few days and was searching for an orange-glaze chicken recipe when I came across this. It calls for green onions, but I didn't have any so I left them out. I wasn't sure about it until I took a bite - delicious! And of course I made enough sauce (mixed it together in a dish before adding some to the drippings) that I can freeze some and marinate chicken in it later. This was a wonderful combination of sweet and spicy, plus the addition of the vodka in the jam I think made it even yummier.

Spicy vodka plum chicken
some Chinese five spice powder
several pieces of chicken
1/2 c plum jam (I made my own in the bread machine, of course - 4 plums, 2 tbsp pectin, 1 c sugar, and 1/2 c vodka)
1/2 c chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat a little oil in a skillet. Coat the chicken in the Chinese five spice powder. Cook the chicken in the pan until done; set aside. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan drippings and cook until thickened. Put the chicken back in, coat it in the sauce, and cook for a few minutes. Serve over rice.

Roasty risotto

Recently I've been trying to stretch our food budget without resorting to eating crap (something I will never ever compromise on - I will let my family starve before I allow ramen into our house, no matter how cheap it is). Some of my useful methods:

• Look through all the weekly ads, make a list of what's on sale, and stock up.
• Discount meat! We have an extra freezer, so if I see a good deal I grab it and save it for later.
• Freeze leftovers for lunches.
• Reuse leftovers in creative ways - for example, meat can be thrown into chili or a casserole.

Last night we had a crockpot roast for dinner (I usually don't buy these unless they're discounted or on sale - this one was BOGO). What little meat is left will be made into chili tomorrow, along with some pulled pork from the freezer from another past dinner. But what about the broth? I'd cooked the roast with carrots, potatoes, a packet of Lipton's onion soup/dip mix, and some water. Since I didn't make gravy, I had about 2-3 cups of liquid left. Sure, I could've thrown it away, but it was really flavorful. So, I used it for roasty risotto!

Usually I make my risotto with white wine and chicken stock. This time I used red wine to compliment the beef flavor. Once cooked, I mixed in a jar of mushrooms. I think a cheese like gruyere or provolone would've been best, but all I had on hand was Italian 5-cheese blend (mozzarella, Romano, provolone, Parmesan, and Asiago), so I mixed that in as well as an additional half cup or so of Parmesan. Yum!!

More awesome jam

I'm on a jam kick right now, ever since I realized how incredibly easy it is to can my creations.

Today I made banana butter (like apple butter, only with bananas). Yum!

Banana Butter
7-8 ripe bananas, mashed
5 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/5 c sugar
1 tbsp rum
cinnamon
ginger
allspice
nutmeg

Put everything into the bread machine and set for jam. Wait 1 hour 20 min. Eat.

Filled 9 4-oz jars.

Awesome jam

Plums were on sale at the grocery store, so I bought a bunch. What to do with them? Make jam - strawberry plum vodka jam, to be exact. Yum! I also canned it, in cute little 4 oz jars, to give out for Christmas presents. They're cooling right now, so I'm really hoping they seal right - this is my first time ever canning anything.

Here's the recipe (I actually measured things this time!):

Strawberry Plum Vodka Jam
1 lb strawberries, washed and cut into chunks
5 large plums, peeled and cut into chunks
1 c sugar
2 tbsp vodka
1/2 tbsp pectin

1. Put the fruit into a food processor and pulse until it's in small chunks.
2. Throw everything into a bread machine.
3. Cook on jam setting.
4. Can.

I ended up with 10 4-oz jars of jam, plus a little left over to eat immediately.

Sourdough starter

When I was in St. Louis last winter I bought a sourdough starter that I've just started using. I've made three types so far and have vowed to never buy commercial bread again, because with a bread machine it's sooooooo easy to make delicious varieties. I started out with a recipe from a sourdough bread machine book, with cheddar, garlic, and chives added, to make rolls. They were good but not exactly what I'd wanted.

For the next batch I just modified the recipe that came with the starter. I threw in a cup of Asiago cheese, which canceled out some of the sourness of the bread and made for a loaf that will be great for sandwiches. I've also been using milk instead of water.

Next I tried for brioche. I'd made a bunch of jam - strawberry cherry jam and nectarine jam, also in the bread machine - and needed something to put it on. I added half a cup of sugar and some cinnamon. It's good toasted with jam, but not as sweet as I'd like, so I'm going to try it again today with more sugar and possibly honey or molasses.

Any other combination suggestions?

Take that, bakery competition!

Here in Fargo there's one bakery that I consider my competition. Fortunately my stuff tastes much, much, much better than hers. It's not that hers is bad; it tastes pretty good. But mine is different and, in my opinion, better.

Case in point: at the street festival a couple weeks ago, she had a booth selling strawberry parfaits. We got one and were disappointed when it was just whole strawberries with vanilla ice cream on top. C'mon, anyone can make that. James remarked that it would've been a lot better with custard on top.

So, here's my recipe: strawberries with zabaione on top.

Ingredients
5 egg yolks
12 tbsp sugar
8 tbsp Marsala
drop of vanilla

1. Whisk the yolks and sugar together.
2. Stir in the other two ingredients.
3. In a double-boiler over low heat, stir mixture until it's thick.
4. Let cool, then pour over sliced strawberries.

If I had enough eggs on hand, I would have made an angel food cake and plopped it all together. Yum!

Cinnamon rolls

I've recently fallen in love with my bread machine. Is there nothing it can't do? Yes, actually, there is - making non-bread machine-sized loaves. But fortunately there's the dough setting, which has allowed me to make the AWESOMEST cinnamon rolls ever. They were really easy and really delicious. James and I ate half a pan as soon as they were out of the oven, and I got Jax some extra love from his teachers by sending a pan to school.

Cinnamon Rolls
(Used this recipe) In your bread machine, combine the following: 1 c milk, 1/4 c softened butter, 1 egg, 3 c flour (I threw in some gluten too because I didn't use bread flour), 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tsp yeast. Set to dough setting.

After the dough is done, combine 3/4 c brown sugar, 1/4 c flour, 1 tbsp cinnamon, and 1/3 c chopped cold butter until it resembles course crumbs. Divide the dough in half and on a floured surface roll out to a 12"x8" rectangle. Sprinkle half the brown sugar mixture on each and roll up, starting with a long edge. Cut into 12 pieces and arrange in a greased 9" cake pan. Cover both pans and allow to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp softened butter, and 3-4 tbsp milk. Pour on top.

January craft night

January's craft night theme was bar food: mozzarella sticks with marinara dipping sauce, potato skins, and mini cheesecakes. The mozzarella sticks didn't turn out stick like at all (we dipped cheese sticks in the egg and rolled them in the mixture, then fried them, and they became a huge gooey mess), so we put them in a pan and baked them. Yum!

Mozzarella Sticks
Chop up half a bag of croutons in a blender or food processor. Mix with 1/2 c cornstarch, salt and pepper, and 1/2 c flour. Mix in 1 beaten egg. Spread half on the bottom of a pie pan or square casserole dish. Top with a cup or two of shredded mozzarella (depending on how cheesy you want them to be). Top with the rest of the crouton mixture. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Marinara Sauce
Heat 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce in a saucepan. Mix in some dried onions, garlic, and Italian herbs, to taste. Simmer for 20 min-2 hours.

Potato Skins
Wash 10-12 small potatoes at bake at 350 until soft. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp paprika, salt and pepper, and 1 tbsp parmesan cheese. Remove potatoes from oven and let cool. Heat oven to 400. Slice in half lenghwise, then scoop out the innards leaving about a 1 cm shell. Brush the olive oil mixture onto the potatoes, then top with diced chives, bacon bits, and shredded cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes, until crispy. Top with sour cream.

More freezer food

My freezer is looking kind of empty, so I'm replenishing it with more frozen casseroles. This weekend: baked spaghetti and enchiladas.

Baked Spaghetti
Tomato sauce (I made some with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, some spicy chili seasoning, vegetable flakes, Italian seasoning, and Italian sausage)
1 box spaghetti or other pasta, cooked
Mozzarella cheese

Mix the sauce, pasta, and a handful of cheese together in a 9x13 or 2-9x9 pans. Top with generous amount of more cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-60 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and it's heated through. One of the easiest recipes ever.

Enchiladas
12 flour or corn tortillas
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup corn
2 cups white rice, cooked with 1 packet taco seasoning added while cooking
1 large jar salsa
1 bag Mexican-blend cheese

Mix together the beans, corn, and seasoned rice. Spread a layer of tortillas on the bottom of a 9x13 or 2-9x9 baking dishes. Spread 1/4 the bean mixture on top, followed by a layer of salsa and cheese. Repeat, then top with a final layer of tortillas, salsa, and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-60 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and it's heated through. Another very easy recipe.