the thing is...: recipes

Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Grand Pickle

In my opinion, cucumbers are the lemmings of vegetables. The guys that no one really notices and take on the flavor of whoever they're hanging out with. If the onions want to jump off a cliff, so will the cucumbers. I guess it's safe to say that God created cucumbers to take on strong flavors in order to make them actually enjoyable.
That being said: I think it is important to confess that I will eat just about anything if you put enough vinegar on it (insert joke here).
Also, I have hated plain cucumbers my entire life.
So...when I lost my marbles and planted two cucumber plants in the garden this spring, it became necessary for me to figure out to do with all these cukes.
Obviously, the answer is to pickle whatever cukes I can pry out of my husband's greedy little fingers. I found a recipe for Spicy Refrigerator Dills on allrecipes.com and knew they were the pickles for me!

Everything I need...

Chop!

Stir!

Let sit at room temperature for two hours.

Fill jars.Cute, huh?
Label and refrigerate for ten days.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

New Recipe

Erin: I think that was probably the worst dinner I have ever made us.
Richard: No comment.
E: Ha! I know it. [longpause] Wait. Are you saying 'no comment' because you can think of something worse? Or are you saying 'no comment' because you don't want to hurt my feelings my not agreeing with me?
R: No comment.
E: No! You have to tell me. I can't think of anything worse than what we ate tonight, but if I'm wrong, I need to know!
R: [longpause] I just don't ever want to have that again.
E: Ok.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Steamed veggies, anyone?

Directions: Cut down vegetables (preferably a kind that no one likes) to bite sizes. Fill pan with approximately one inch of water. Place steam tray in pan and pile with veggies. Boil over high heat. Forget on stove.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Are we at a different altitude?

Apparently baking cookies in Wausau requires actual measuring as opposed to my patented "Willy Nilly Bake Method" that has been so successful at home.
For the record, I'd like to point out that every. single. cookie. disappeared off this tray after I took the picture.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Iron Chef Roseville

Last night, after reading an FB post that a friend had been eating a lot of spaghetti, I HAD. TO. HAVE. spaghetti.
Of course, we didn't have any sauce...so I made my own.
In the time it took for the water to boil and the pasta to cook, I created a masterpiece:
-One can diced tomatoes
-Lots of salt
-Lots of garlic salt
-A tiny bit of minced garlic
-A dash of basil
-A very large amount of oregano (who took the oregano shaker top, by the way?)
-Some onion powder
-Lots of cayenne pepper
-A dash of black pepper
-A splash of olive oil
Simmer and stir while pasta cooks.
DELICIOUS! FANTASTIC! WONDERFUL!
I rule.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Shortbread for Dummies

These cookies are nice and easy because they don't require any rolling or cutting. Therefore, it's not traditional shortbread, but oh so delicious.

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Slowly add flour. Dough will be stiff.
Roll into 1/2" balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Flatten with the bottom of a glass "dunked" in sugar.
Bake 9-10 minutes at 350. (Until barely brown around the edges.
When slightly cool, flip off of cookie sheet face down into sugar.
Eat standing over sink and hide from the children and your husband.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Great Apple Bread Debauchle

Well.
Last week Gertrude brought Richard a loaf of homemade pumpernickel bread. (YUM!) Not liking to send home an empty pan, SJ and I decided to make Katie's Prize Winning Apple Bread yesterday. I opted to double the recipe and make a loaf for us and for Gertrude.
Well.
Lauren says to always follow the recipe exactly the first time you make it. Good advice.
I mis-measured (of course) the apples and had nearly two cups extra of chopped fruit.
Richard suggested making a third loaf.
So I did.
Well.
Not one of them turned out. NOT ONE. They all fell. Totally caved in.
Did I discover this before I took Gertrude her loaf? No.
Did I have to call Gertrude and tell her that her loaf was mushy inside? Yes.
Did Richard and I eat the ends that were baked properly and throw the middles away? Yes.
Were they DELICIOUS? Yes.
Will I be trying again? Yes, but not before my pride recovers.
Well.
Note to self: when Katie says to bake for 55-65 minutes, and you're doing three loaves, 60 minutes is N.O.T. enough baking time.
Der.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Thanks, Carla!

For the best cookie recipe EVER!
Really. They took longer to bake than they took to mix up.
And they're delicious.
And strangely satisfying.
Next time? I will press chocolate chips into the warm cookies as they come out of the oven.
Next project: Cinnamon Streams.

See the grease spots on the paper? Yeah, I just couldn't help myself. Please excuse the messy kitchen. : )
Note to self: the cookies hardly change shape, if at all. Eat the ugly ones barefoot in the kitchen at 3am, and send the pretty ones to McClain in Little Rock for Christmas.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Flip Rolls

Flip Buns?
I made up a recipe tonight. At least I think I did. I can't decide to call them Flip Rolls or Flip Buns.
I guess I'm leaning more toward Flip Rolls because it sounds like a command that would really confuse Pedro. Thoughts?

Turn Hawaiian sweet rolls upside down in a pan.
Don't bother greasing.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter with 1/2C brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove.
Stir in a dash of cinnamon and a drop or two of vanilla.
Stir, stir, stir.
Pour mixture over rolls.
Sprinkle with a little extra brown sugar.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until you can't take it anymore.
Let cool (if you want) and eat.

I couldn't even get a photo before we had eaten half the pan.

These are very healthy and calorie free.
I

swear.
A word of caution: Turn off your burners.
Oops.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Holy Christmas Cookie, Batman!

Somebody sent this to me at work today. I hope the links work. Some of these look pretty fun.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Thank the Good Lord for Cream Cheese

OK, friends.
I found a recipe on a different blog for Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese "Muffins."
OH. MY. STARS.
They will make you thank the good Lord for cream cheese. I'm not kidding. Although, let's be honest. I do that every day.
I had everything in my cupboard to make them. Go for it. You won't regret it.

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar (I used a titch more because I wanted them sweet)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or use paper liners. Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Beat in egg, cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into cream cheese mixture until flour is moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups filling them 3/4 full. (Batter will be thick.) Bake in preheated oven until tops are golden, about 20 minutes.

You can thank me after you thank the good Lord.