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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

French Omelette

My family Sunday afternoons are not like most Sunday afternoons around the United States.  Am I or my husband sitting around in our sweatpants watching football, drinking beer, eating chili, and smashing corn chips with cheese into our mouths?  No. Well, we might be in our sweatpants, but football is not the only thing on the tv.  And I am for sure not "smashing" anything into my mouth. 
Most likely you will find us watching "The Test Kitchen" on MPT/PBS.  We're dorks, I know.  But before you judge, it is the best show!!  This week they tested omelette pans and the one in a good price range ($20) was the one I currently own!  Then of course, they showed how to make an omelette like the professionals (or I should say, the professional, Julia Child). 
This morning, I was not in the mood for the normal cereal or granola and raisins on yogurt.  So, I decided to give the omelette a whirl.  I will try my best to describe how to make one, because it all happens to quickly, there was no time for pictures (except afterwards).

What you will need:
2 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. butter
fillings-I used pre-cooked/crumbled turkey sausage and white cheddar cheese

Make sure your fillings are ready to go.  ie: cheese grated, veggies/meat cooked, etc.

Cut the Tbsp butter in half setting one half aside.  Cut the other into small cubes and place in the freezer (very important).
Set the omelette pan on burner over medium high heat.  Beat the eggs and yolk 80 strokes (sounds crazy, but works).  Place other half (unfrozen) butter in pan, turn heat down to medium low and once butter no longer looks foamy (3 seconds), pour eggs into pan and add the frozen butter.  Lightly scramble the eggs with fork.  Once the eggs look slightly set, add toppings and cover the pan with lid.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes depending on how done you like your eggs.  Uncover and raise heat to medium high for 1 minute.

Now, here is the tricky part-folding the omelette.  On the show, they suggested placing a paper towel folded in half on your plate.  Place the omelette circle on to the plate, using the towel to help fold. 
That didn't really work for me, so I just used a spatula to help fold it into thirds right in the pan, then lifting to the plate.  Not exactly the French way, but it all turned out the same!

You can see a little sausage sticking out!!

Mmmmm, light and fluffy on the inside!

Buon Appetite!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Merry Christmas!

So a very merry Christmas to everyone out there!  I know I am a few days behind, but you know how the holidays are!  Plus, we have been dealing with some illness here in our household, so I was unable to get to some posts I promised (sorry!).  Hopefully all will be forgiven??
Any-who, I did make a gingerbread house, but unfortunately, due to me feeling under the weather, I will only be posting the finished product with a few tips, instead of a tutorial.  It took all the effort I could muster to just put the darn thing together.  I just wasn't in the mood to document the whole thing, also.  If you want the recipe and full directions, visit http://www.marthastewart.com/.  That's where I got my recipe.  So here we go!!

All of my pieces baked and ready to go.  I actually used half of the recipe and it made a decent sized house.  I'm not into constructing a large house, so this worked perfectly for me.  Also, I had plenty of dough left to make plenty of gingerbread men for dunking in hot apple cider (since the dough is dense, they can be pretty hard).

Instead of icing to "hold" the house together, I followed Martha's idea for using a sugar syrup.  It works really well, though it hardens soooo quickly, I had to be really quick to assemble the pieces.  But once they are together they don't move.  Just be careful...it's HOT!

And the finished product:
I used almond slices for the roof (starting at the bottom to get the "stacked" effect), and added batting for the snow, though you could use cotton candy to make the whole thing edible! 
I was pretty happy with the results and it looks cute on our little shelf, especially at night when I stick a little electric candle inside and the light glows out the windows!
I hope next year you can be inspired to make a creation of your own.  And I hope I will be feeling better and can get even more creative!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls


These ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls will quickly become a staple at your breakfast table. Whether it's a ladies' brunch, family gathering, or Christmas morning treat, these rolls are sure to please!


This post contains affiliate links.  Please read my disclaimer statement.

Rolled dough

They look almost as yummy before they are baked!  I love the cinnamon-brown sugar swirl!

Rolled dough

These rolls coated in a sweet, slightly thick icing will just melt in your mouth.  I like to whip up the dough in my bread machine which makes the mixing and rising steps a snap.  I can just set it and go while it works it's magic!

Individual Roll

Wanna kick your icing up a notch?  Just 2-3 drops is all it's need to be the most delicious icing you will ever eat.  Sweet, orangey...#drool!
Roll with Orange Vitality Essential Oil


yield: 15-18 rollsprint recipe

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

prep time: cook time: total time:
These ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls will quickly become a staple at your breakfast table. Whether it's a ladies' brunch, family gathering, or Christmas morning treat, these rolls are sure to please!
Adapted from www.moneysavingmom.com

INGREDIENTS:

Dough (place in your machine per instruction manual)
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. milk, warm but not scalding
  • 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1 egg, beaten plus 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 cups flour plus more for mixing (I like 2 cups bread flour and 2 cups whole wheat)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbsp. yeast
Filling
  • 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Icing
  • 1 tsp. milk
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 Tbsp butter, softened
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2-3 drops Orange Vitality Essential Oil, optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Place all ingredients in your bread machine according to your specific machine's instructions.
  2. Select "Dough" cycle. Add more flour, as needed until dough is no longer sticky.
  3. Remove dough once finished and place on a well-floured countertop. Roll dough into large rectangle.
  4. For filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread the melted butter onto the rolled out dough then sprinkle with sugar mixture.
  5. Tightly roll up the dough so the roll is long and skinny. Using dental floss or sharp knife, slice rolls into 1" thick slices and place in a lightly greased baking dish.
  6. Bake rolls at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.
  7. While rolls are baking, combine icing ingredients in small bowl with hand mixer. Spread on rolls immediately after removing from the oven. Serve warm.
Created using The Recipes Generator

You can also freeze the uncooked rolls on a sheet pan for 10 minutes, then place in a ziploc bag to be baked at a later date.  Just bring rolls to room temperature before baking!

Individual Roll


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Thanks for reading!





Thursday, December 9, 2010

Bread machine

If you don't have one...ask Santa or a very nice family member to get you one for Christmas!  It is the best tool (maybe even better than the crock pot?) and makes you feel like a professional baker without all of the work!
Then you can make bread that looks like this:
I'll be posting a wonderful roll recipe I got from http://www.moneysavingmom.com/, that works great in the bread machine, soon!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal



It's nice and warm in my tummy thanks to my Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal!

I know it looks very brown and mushy, but this recipe is better than instant and tastier than stovetop and it's all prepared the night before so it's hot and creamy when you wake up in the morning!

Mix in a small crock pot (a small crock pot will prevent the oatmeal from burning or drying out):

2 cups milk
1 cup oats (not instant or quick)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

Plug it in and in the morning you have hot oatmeal ready to warm up and fill your rumbling tummy!
I like to sprinkle mine with granulated brown sugar after serving.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

I love cookies with jam...

Carousel Cookies
Though I can't take credit for the recipe (not sure where my mom got it from), I love these cookies!  Love might not be a strong enough word...I am blown away by them!!  I make these cookies every year and they would be eaten up in about a day, if I let that happen.

1 cup butter (and real butter makes all the difference)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, seperated
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
Preserves-whatever flavors are your favorite

Preheat oven: 375
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Blend in egg yolk, vanilla, and salt.  Add flour; mix well until dough is stiff, but able to be formed into balls.

Beat egg whites until frothy:

Shape dough into teaspoon size balls.
I like to shape all of the dough instead of doing each step individually.  That way nuts and egg whites don't mix into the dough.

After rolling the dough, dip each ball into egg whites and roll in nuts.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Indent centers using your thumb::

Fill with preserves and bake 10-12 minutes, or until slightly brown.  They will not get very brown, but the nuts will become toasted.

Enjoy!  I hope they become a favorite in your house as much as they are in mine!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Turkey Rice Soup with Dumplings


You had me at dumplings...

I remember as a child my mom making soup and putting dumplings on top.  I thought it was so neat that you could make bisquits in like 3 minutes on top of soup.  I didn't care about the soup underneath, all I wanted to do was eat the dumplings!

So when I woke up this morning to gray skies and pouring rain, I knew today would be a soup day!  And with leftover turkey staring back at me from the refrigerator, I had to come up with something (because let's face it, we all love turkey on Thanksgiving, but the other 364 days of the year, no thank you).  So Turkey Rice Soup with Dumplings it was!

Dumpling How-to:
2 cups of your favorite bisquit mix (I like Bisquick or Jiffy)
3/4 milk

Mix it up (should be really wet) and once your soup is cooked through, boiling, and you are ready to serve, dollop tablespoon amounts of dough on top of the soup.  Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.  The bisquits will rise to the surface and become puffy, but still appear slightly uncooked/shiny on top.  Sprinkle with pepper and you're done!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

How to chippity-chop an onion...don't cry, it's not that hard!

Chopping an onion can be one of the most frustrating, teary-enducing steps in cooking.  For me, it was a time consuming task that I couldn't ever seem to master.  Luckily, that all changed once I saw a step-by-step guide with pictures! (Very important!!)

First, cut the "stalk" or "leaf" end off of the onion (the part that would stick out of the ground).  Then cut the onion in half, through the root end, leaving the root end intact.
Peel the onion.
Using a sharp knife, make a cut parallel to the cutting board at the top of the onion:

Make two more cuts parallel to the board towards the middle and bottom of the onion:
Now make cuts from the top of the onion with the tip of the knife facing the root end slicing several times across the onion.
Then, finally make cuts across the onion, letting the chopped onion fall away from the knife until you cut through to the root end. 
After a few times, you'll be chopping onions like a pro!
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