Recipe 13 - Chicken Pot Pie

Well kiddos, I must say the irony in this post just kills me. I go allll semester with a streak of amazing meals and posts that made my mouth water when just thinking about what I had eaten, but here I am to report a completely failed cooking adventure. I debated whether or not to post this here, but I think this semester has been as much about our failures as our successes, so I suppose I will.

I tried to make a chicken pot pie using a combination of what I vaguely remembered my dad telling me about cooking one and the knowledge I had gained this semester. What I got was a soupy mess that my boyfriend tried to fix when I was in class and even with his help, it wasn't very good. I think I had a few problems:
1) Apparently I should have added flour to the milk before I added it to the mix, so that the filling would would thicken up.
2) I think I put too much filling in the pie and it made the dough soggy.
3) I should have tried to cook the vegetables/chicken broth/milk in a large skillet (which we didn't have anyway) rather than a pot. But, there wasn't much I could do about this anyway.

So you can understand what happened, I am going to leave a series of pictures and the advice to not try to make chicken pot pie with little to no help. =] As this is the only recipe this semester that came out as less than stellar, I feel this project could rightly receive a 13/14. =D

Recipe 12 - Chocolate Covered Fruit

I didn't really use a recipe for this, but I did get the idea to cover them in nuts from bettycrocker.com. =]

First I microwaved a big bag of semi-sweet morsels for about 4 minutes in a bowl, then stirred it up.


I poked each fruit with a toothpick, dipped it in the chocolate, sprinkled nuts if desired, and then set it on wax paper to harden.


The fruit hardens much faster (and better) if put somewhere cold, like a refrigerator. Or, since it is the arctic outside, I put one tray in the car. ahaha.

You guys seemed to love these, I guess they were a hit! =]

Recipe 11 - Potatoes

This is my boyfriend's recipe, and it was totally baller and super easy. Perfect to have with those turkey burgers. =]

Spices (any/all are optional, this is just how we did it)
Crushed Red Pepper
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Ground Thyme
Parsley Flakes
Seasoned Salt
Paprika

You start with a can of 'whole new potatoes' like these and cut them in half or fourths, depending on their size and your preference. Put in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Then, add dashes of the spices listed above - do so to taste/smell. Specific quantities are difficult. Mix throughly so spices are even and potatoes even lined in oil and spices.


Then, put on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees, rotating the pan 180 degrees about halfway through.


ALL DONE! Serve with ketchup if desired and eat happily! =]

Recipe 10 - Grilled Parmesan Turkey Burgers

This recipe I found from bettycrocker.com, but I changed it a decent amount.

1 lb ground turkey
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 hamburger buns, split

I started with a pound of ground turkey meat, put it in a bow with the salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese (I didn't want to buy chives) and mixed it thoroughly with mah hands. I also added dashes of red pepper flakes, parsley flakes, and seasoned salt for extra flavor.


I then pulled balls of meat apart and smushed them into patties, about 3/4 inch thick. Here is a cool trick: if you make the center of the patty a little thinner than the outsides, it will cook evenly. =] They cooked for about 6-8 minutes on the grill (flipped occasionally) before they seemed to be done. The inside temperature should be about 165 degrees when they are fully cooked.



Lastly, I garnished them with honey mustard, mozzarella cheese, and diced tomatoes on a hamburger bun. DELICIOSO!


This recipe was really easy, and absolutely amazing. I really like turkey burgers, but adding the parmesan cheese and spices into the meat was just brilliant. SO GOOD SO GOOD. It made four burgers, and one mini one.

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Recipe 6 - Halloween Brownies

Clearly, I am waaay behind with this (my scanner has been giving me muchos problemas, but I have it fixed now and can add the recipe I used!), but here is the recipe I used for those brownies I brought to class. =D You guys can review - I thought they were pretty tasty, but I guess when cooking it is really the masses that count!

I got my recipe from a betty crocker magazine and obviously I changed it somewhat, but what else is new? =]

First, I mixed the brownie batter just like the box said to, also adding white chocolate chips in the batter (the recipe called for peanuts but I don't like them and didn't know about allergies in the class, so I went with more chocolate instead). I then baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.



Then, once the brownies were just about done, I pulled them out and dumped a buttload of mini marshamallows on top - you literally couldn't see brownie underneath them. =] I put it back in the oven for about five minutes, pulled it back out once they had puffed up a lot, and then stuck candy corns everywhere in the mallows.


There were a few things I did differently from the recipe - 1) I didn't use peanuts, as already stated. 2) I didn't microwave frosting and tint it green with food coloring, then drizzle it over the marshmallow. This part was not of my choosing. Are you ready for an amazing fact that broke my heart? THEY DON'T SELL LIQUID FOOD COLORING ANYMORE. Anywhere. I looked at several different stores - nothing. All they have is this dumb 'gel coloring' that I wasn't sure would work/taste good, so I had to forgo this step in the directions. =[ 3) I used candy corn instead of candy pumpkins. Because, well, I wanted to. haha.

Anyway, judging by how few of these I had left, I am assuming they were a hit. I certainly liked them. =]

Also, I didn't get a good picture of them finished, so the caption pictures is just the one from the magazine.

Recipe 9 - Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas (with Shrimp)

MY SCANNER WORKS!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAYYYY!!! coughcough. On to the recipe. =]

Walmart has these really cool little sets of spices you can buy, that come premeasured and with a recipe to use them in. I found one a few weeks ago for Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas and decided to buy it. Last night, I cooked it and it was absolutely amazing - maybe my favorite thing I have cooked this whole semester.




First, I mixed the salt, spices, oil, lime and oranges juices in a bowl and stirred with a fork.


I cut up the chicken and then put it and the shrimp (just the frozen kind from walmart - be sure to dethaw first) in a large ziploc bag with the marinade. Then I put the bag in the fridge for about a half an hour.


Then, I dumped everything onto a skillet on the stove, cooking it on medium heat until it was clearly done cooking. The red peppers and onions had been cut and I added them the same time as the chicken/shrimp/marinade. I stirred it sometimes, but mostly just let a top on it to stay moist.



That's all it took! I put it on a tortilla with sour cream, moz cheese, diced tomatoes, and lettuce and NOMNOMNOM it was done and delicious!!


There were only a few things I did differently than the directions. I read them wrong at one point about the marinade and didn't keep 1/4 of it to the side to cook in, but it was still DELICIOUS. Obviously, I also added the shrimp.

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Recipe 8 – BBQ Shrimp

This is the second half of the BBQ shrimp recipe I did; how to make the shrimp! nomnom!

Ingredients:
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Neelys BBQ dry rub seasoning, recipe follows
1/2 lemon, juiced, plus lemon wedges, for garnish
1/4 cup BBQ sauce, recipe found here

First, the dry seasoning was really simple. Just mix the following ingredients in a bowl (basically you are making old bay, with a little less spice):
1 1/2 cups paprika
3/4 cup sugar
3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder


Then I took my shrimp, washed/dethawed them, and dumped them in the bowl with the dry rub, then added a decent amount of BBQ sauce.


The recipe said to let them marinate, but I was too hungry, so I just threw them on the george forman then. =]


They were pretty much done after that, so then I ate and they were super yummy! =D


The shrimp were really good, but cooked down to smaller than I would have liked. Also, I didn't cook all the shrimp and instead let some marinate for a day or two before cooking them. Those were really not good at all and I would not recommend it.

This was part of a BBQ Shrimp recipe that was featured on the food network's website, and it had a video to go with it! Here is the video, so you can really see what I did, haha!

Recipe 7 - BBQ Sauce

These two recipes I made together, but I will still have them in two posts. I made some BBQ sauce that I found on the food network here.

Ingredients:
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

I mixed all the ingredients together in a pan, and then put it on the stove to boil.


I brought the mixture to boil, then reduced it to a simmer for about an hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.


When it was done, I just refridgerated it until I was ready to use it!


I ended up adding more of the spices, sugars, and vinegar about halfway through simmering because it was still really ketchupy and peppery. It turned out pretty yummy, but I don't know that I would do it again. It was just as good as store bought BBQ sauce and a lot more messy to make. =]

Recipe 5 - Brunswick Stew

The original recipe I found here at Simple Daily Recipes and it both looked delicious in the picture and reminded me of my mam's homemade Brunswick Stew which I LOVE. As soon as I saw it, I wondered if it could be made in a crock pot rather than a dutch oven, and I am glad to say it worked wonderfully!

First, I washed and cut up all the vegetables (carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, corn, and also lima beans, even though they weren't in the recipe) and put them in the crock pot with some italian seasoning, rather than the ones listed. I also put the chicken and some water in a pot on the stove on boil until it was cooked all the way through.


I soon realized that the veggies were going to take too long to cook in just the pot, so I threw them in on the stove for a little while until they were tender. Afterwards, I put them back in the crock pot.


Next, I added the bay leaf and a can of crushed tomatoes rather than chopped ones.


Then, the chicken was taken out off the stove, broken apart, and added to the pot. The chicken broth was also added.


Lastly, everything was stirred together and left to sit in the pot for about 2-3 hours (though next time I will definitely let it sit all day) on med. Oh, and then I ate it and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!! The proportions were a little different than the recipe called for (more chicken and veggies) because of how I halved the recipe, but that was all to taste. =] I think this is a great example of how blogs can affect other people - I got this recipe from someone else's food blog, and now I have a recipe I know I will be using for a loooooong time.



Next post will be about the brownies I brought to class, and hopefully soon I will have a video post about a recipe I make. Once we stop using video in class and I have time to do so. ;]

Recipe Sources Investigations

Due to an overload of work and a racking cough, I have not cooked anything yet this week, figuring I should save that for when I can do so without infecting everyone who eats it. ;] However, I have been spending some time finding new recipes to add to my already long list. But, I have been finding all of my recipes from magazines or bettycrocker.com and I wanted to see who else out there is blogging about food just like I am. Maybe they will have ideas for me, or recipes, or suggestions for how to make cooking posts engaging and entertaining, rather than just posting pictures and a detail of what I did.

Guilty Kitchen has been a fantastic find. The layout is so appealing, right from the beginning - her photography is amazing and I love the header font. But her posts are what really capture me. Each post has at least one, though usually two or three, recipes with only one picture of the final product. But each post also has a story behind what she has made and why she has made it. There are pictures of her husband and child, stories of life with them, and personal connections to the food she has made for or with them. This is by far the most endearing blog I have found, and though her recipes sometimes (okay . . mostly) outstrip my budget (and sometimes my taste - she is super fancy sometimes!), I know I will continue reading it just for the connection her outside of her cooking.

Simple Daily Recipes has been another great read, and not only because the layout is similar (though far more sophisticated and appealing) to mine. ;] It is very clearly laid out in terms of categorizing and how to find specific types of recipes, and plus soooo many of them look absolutely delicious. Lastly, I think what I love the most about this blog are the comments. Prof. Groom has been talking to us a lot about commenting on other people's posts, and I can see the positive effects of that right in this blog. One post about blueberry muffins has 46 comments alone, some with general feedback but others have changes they made to the recipe, and a few have entire variation recipes posted for others to try as well. So not only does each post give you a recipe, but also all the responders add new ones as well. Obviously, a sound reader/comment base takes time and a series of legitimate posts to acquire, but she really shows what hard work can lead to.

Plum and Radish was the third site I found that I have particularly enjoyed, but not so much for the recipes. Joanne, the poster, encompasses the entire kitchen in her posts, not just the food, and I find it so helpful. She has very detailed posts about different cooking utensils and their uses, different kinds of dishes and their pros and cons, different styles of cooking (like gluten free and their choices/limitations), all sorts of things that are actually important aspects of cooking that I have yet to see on blogs related to cooking. It's just a simple blogspot blog with ads from other places, but what she has to say is very helpful to those of us who don't have a lot of guidance other than the internet. She uses videos from youtube of famous chefs and posts about fun pop culture like food in the shape of faces. It's a blog about cooking in its entirety, not just the actual act of making food.

Also, there was one last blog that I didn't like as much, but at the bottom of each post there were links to other posts that were related and if you liked that post, then you might like these other recipes. I thought that was very clever and reader friendly, and would be interesting to see how much people that like the original post actually like the related ones.

Clearly, I have found new sources for recipes to cook for class, and a lot of guidance on how to make a good, reader friendly, entertaining food blog that also helps show my personality. As such, the attached picture is of the 75 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I had to make last summer when I was in charge of food organization at a summer camp. It should be noted that I cannot STAND even the smell of peanut butter and therefore I chose to focus on the jelly aspect of these sandwiches. haah.

Recipe 4 - Marbled Stuffed Potatoes

First, I ignored the directions to put the potatoes in the oven and instead microwaved them until they were quite warm and cooked through. This meant a little longer for the russet potatoes than the sweet potato.


Then I peeled the sweet potato and squished it up in a small bowl.


The russet potatoes had a slice taken off the top, and then were shelled out with a spoon. The insides were scooped into a bowl, where the cheese, nutmeg, sour cream, and butter were all added and mixed. The sweet potato was also added here and stirred some more.




I personally do not really like sweet potatoes, so we had one with and one without. The mix of potatoes and other ingredients were scooped back into the shelled russet potatoes, then rubbed down with EVOO, and put in a pan into the oven at 400* for about 15 minutes.




then . . YOU EAT!!! Clearly, they were absolutely delicious, and gargantuan, and probably could have been a meal in of themselves. The potatoes took about an hour and a half to make and the original recipe is here, from a food network magazine. Again, I don't think I changed too much in the recipe except mine didn't have the sweet potato, but the other one did. Also, I halved this recipe as well and still had way too much food.

Recipe 3 - Chicken Parm

Go from to

First, I opened the chicken and rinsed it off. I broke up and whisked an egg in a small bowl. The chicken was then dipped in the egg, and then rolled in a mix of the italian seasoning, garlic powder, and 3/4 cup of bread crumbs. I used Progresso Panko lemon pepper and it turned out wonderfully.


The chicken then went in a greased pan and stuck in the oven at 400* for about twenty minutes. I then took the chicken out, poured half a jar of Ragu Old World Style marinara sauce in the pan and covered the chicken in mozerella cheese.


The chicken then went back in the oven at 400* for another 15ish minutes. The cheese then came out a little overcooked, but I just added more mozzarella cheese on top that melted and then I couldn't tell at all. I had meanwhile also made a half a box of angel hair pasta. Once it was all done, I got some pasta, added a piece of chicken and cheese, and scooped up some extra sauce. Delicious!




This meal was absolutely delicious both the first time and also reheated as leftovers. The original recipe (here) is from a food network magazine and I actually just halved it since I was cooking for two people. It made so much food, but I have had many tasty meals this week and so it was definitely okay! The chicken was a little dry, but that may have been just my preference - I like dark meat more anyway. My boyfriend likes white meat and he said he thought it was just fine. In the future, I would probably try to have smaller breasts so they don't have to cook as long and therefore overcook the cheese. But I couldn't really tell anyway. The lemon pepper coating was brilliantly delicious, especially mixed with the mozzarella. It did take about an hour and a half to make the chicken and the baked potatoes (see next post) and so it was a time intensive meal, but it was totally worth it.

As to the recipe, I didn't change too much, except halving the recipe. Word! To see all the pictures I took while cooking, go here.