SF Food Bloggers Bake sale is TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come out and see us! I will be at Kiehl's on Fillmore from 3-4pm I would love to see you there! Ok short post must get back to making these yummy Vegan Blueberry muffins!!!

Hope to see you there,

Tiffany

Bake Sale this weekend!

I am so excited about SF food bloggers bake sale this Saturday. Now at 2 that's right 2 locations!! First location is 18 Reasons in the Mission from 10-4 and Second location is Kiehl's on Fillmore from 12-4!! Please come out and support a great cause and get some very yummy baked goods!

Can I just say how awesome this is that all these people putting this together and participating are amazing and I am so lucky to get to be a part of something so awesome!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to see you there!!!

Tiffany

Chile Verde Smothered Burritos

Wow doesn't that look good? Let me tell you it was so delicious!! This was one of those dishes that really intimidated me, but was really easy.

Last week I knew I was going to have company but going to be gone the entire day they were coming over for dinner. So I had to find something that would impress and could be made in the slow cooker. The one thing about cooking in the slow cooker is you really need to be careful of how much liquid you add.

To give the Chile Verde a great flavor I definitely recommend roasting the tomatillos, garlic, and peppers. The roasting process can get messy so I used a jelly- roll pan and lined it with foil (you can also use parchment paper). After roasting I placed a towel on top of the jelly roll pan to "steam" the tomatillos and peppers. The steaming process makes it easier to peel off the skins.

For the pork don't think I'm crazy but I used the country style ribs (boneless). I actually used it because that was all I had but it turned out perfect.

Chile Verde in a slow cooker


Serves 6-8



Ingredients

• 3 lbs. pork country style rib (boneless)

• 1 lb. tomatillos husks removed

• 4 Anaheim chilies

• 3 Jalapenos

• ½ green bell pepper

• 1 yellow bell pepper

• 1 onion

• 4 cloves garlic

• ¼ of a bunch of cilantro (remove stems)

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• 2-3 cups chicken broth

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Oil for searing meat

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 350. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Remove husks from tomatillos, clean tomatillos, chilies, jalapenos and bell peppers. Place all tomatillos, chilies, jalapenos and bell peppers on the foil lined jelly roll pan. Roast in pre heated oven until tops turn brown and they soften. Take out of the oven place a clean towel on top to make peeling the skins off easier. Let cool for 20-30 minutes once cool start peeling off skins being careful to keep juices and to not burn yourself.

2. After removing all the skin off the tomatillos, chilies, jalapenos and bell peppers place in a food processor. Process for about 3 minutes or until it is very smooth. I have found that less than 3 minutes it still has small chunks and it will throw off the taste.

3. Cut the ribs into 2 inch chunks. Pat dry then season with a little salt and pepper. Heat up a heavy bottom sauce pan and place 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Once hot place rib chunks into the pan. Sear on top and bottom for about 2 minutes. Then place into slow cooker.

4. Place processed chilies into slow cooker. Cut onion into quarters place in food processor along with garlic and cilantro. Process until smooth around 1-2 minutes. When finished place in slow cooker.

5. Season with cumin and add 2 cups of chicken broth. Turn on High for 4 hours. Once finished stir and season with salt and pepper. At this point you may want to add more broth or to thicken up turn on high without lid for 30 minutes.

You can also make this recipe on the stovetop by adding more chicken broth.
 
Enjoy,
Tiffany

Happy Earth Day

What Earth Day really means to me.....

I will admit until about 5 years ago I did things here and there but wasn't as "Earth Conscious" as I could be. So I made some changes.

• Composting- this is one of the biggest changes and I will admit one of the hardest. Since I usually cook almost every meal for my family of 4 composting was going to be important to reducing our trash. I have been composting consistently for almost 3 years now and it has been very fulfilling. I won't lie it isn't the most glamorous thing to do but is great for our environment. One thing about composting is you will have to find what works for you and your family. I went through 3 composting pails and buckets before settling on my current form. I didn't like having to wash the buckets, I'll just say it wasn't pretty. What I use now is the bags the loaf of bread comes in and produce bags that I had to put my produce in. This way I am reusing things that would generally just get thrown out. The only downfall is those can't go into the compost bin so we just empty it into the compost bin and throw the bag out. This works for me and my family but, they do make compostable bags so if you are willing or wanting to get those it would make it a little easier. All in all I have to say I love composting!

• Reusing-  So I must say I have about one hundred reusable bags, ok not really but I'm sure it's closer to 40. Anyways I have a lot! I try really I do to always remember to bring my bags with me when shopping I hate when I forget them. Right now I have tons of plastic bags but I also reuse those I use them for my trash and the paper for my recycling. I don't buy plastic garbage bags. But all that aside I think the biggest thing I have done is purchase the reusable water bottles. I found some really cute ones and we take them everywhere. I honestly can't remember the last time I bought a bottled water. Not only am I doing something for the Earth but also saving my family money at the same time! Now it is second nature for us to grab our water before leaving the house.

• Reducing- One of the biggest way we have reduced is by buying less packaged foods and junk ( I know the good stuff). Also we only have one car, of course one car will not work for everyone. Since we live in the City and I stay at home we don't need two cars. I love to walk so I tend to walk to the store but, my biggest downfall is I get way more than I need. So I have been slowly cutting down and trying to use everything I buy. Sometimes I fail but I am determined to not waste food which in turn equals money.

I know there are many other things you can do celebrate Earth Day everyday! These are just a few of the things me and my family do, I would love to hear feedback about what you do to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

For more information on Earth Day and things you can do go to http://www.earthday.org/

Happy Earth Day,
Tiffany

Lemon Bars

What can I say about these delicious lemon bars but woweee! I love lemon bars but for some reason I have never made them before. I am thinking these would be great for the bake sale too!

I have realized lately that I have many foods that I love but have never made them. I seem to keep the same rotation of foods going not daring to make something new. So for now on I am not going to be afraid to make something new even if I fail! So here I go.....

So about these lemon bars. I halved the recipe because I wasn't sure how well they would be (well also so I don't eat an entire 9x11 pan full of them, which by the way I almost did!). The one thing I would change is to make more filling not quite double but maybe one and a half times the original recipe. I like more filling. I also changed the crust of the original recipe by adding almond flavoring. This is an excellent recipe I really recommend you try it

Here's the recipe.......

Lemon Bars

Makes 24 bars



Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 ¾ cups unbleached flour

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar plus extra for dusting

• ¼ cup cornstarch

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons almond extract

Lemon filling

• 4 large eggs, beaten lightly

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

• 3 tablespoons unbleached flour

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 2/3 cup lemon juice

• 1/3 cup whole milk

• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and line with one sheet parchment paper.

2. Put flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and mix until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Place the mixture into the lined pan and press firmly with fingers into an even layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

3. While the crust is baking; whisk the eggs, sugar and flour in a medium bowl, then stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, milk and salt to blend well.

4. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir the filling mixture just before pouring into warm crust. Bake until the filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Let cool for about 30 mins, dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar and cut into bars.



(Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated and Brown Eyed Baker )

Enjoy,
Tiffany

Baked Kale Chips



I have been hearing about Kale chips for awhile now and wanted to try them. I was a little skeptical about making them because well I mean it's kale how good could it possibly be.......Well boy was I wrong they are so good! This is definitely one thing I would say don't knock it until you try it you will be pleasantly surprised. Besides the yummy flavor they are much better for you than regular potato chips, and it really satisfied our craving for something crunchy and salty. 

I used 2 bunches of Organic Kale (the curly one). I would recommend starting off with one bunch first to make sure you like it. I actually had to go to 3 different stores to find Kale which I was surprised, I assumed you would be able to find it at most stores. I also found it at the farmer's market.

Here's the recipe:

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of Kale

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Wash and dry Kale, remove stems and middle rib. Place dry kale, olive oil, and salt in a bowl. Mix well.

3. Line a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lay out kale so that it is a single layer over the parchment.

4. Place in oven bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Enjoy,

Tiffany

San Francisco's food blogger bake sale

Come join us and support a great cause Saturday May 14, 2011 @ 18 Reasons 3674 18th Street San Francisco.

I am really excited to be participating in this event! This will actually be my first bake sale and I can't wait to see what it's like and meet all the other great people involved and all the awesome supporters that will come out.

Hope to see you there!

Tiffany

Waffles

For our wedding we registered for a waffle maker and now that I have one I don't know what took so long to get one. Waffles are one of my favorite things for breakfast and very easy to make just as easy if not easier than pancakes. I love when waffles have a little crunch to them. The great thing about waffles is you can make them with a little crunch or just soft.

My kids both love waffles so I try to make them often. I think the biggest challenge at first is to not put too much or too little batter in the waffle maker. I usually use 1/3 cup to measure it. You can also change it up a little add some chocolate chips or blueberries. Or top with whipped cream and strawberries.

Here's the recipe:

Waffles


Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 3/4 cups milk

• 1/2 cup applesauce or canola oil

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 4 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract



Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, oil or applesauce, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.

2. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.



Enjoy,
Tiffany

Awesome Lasagna

Wow it has been awhile since I have been on my blog. These last 2 weeks seem to have been so busy for me and now that I think about it I really couldn't tell you why, but I feel like I have been going non-stop.
Maybe it has something to do with all this crazy weather! It's been rainy, windy, and thunder stormy  (is that even a word?). Tree's are falling down all around us and last night it looked like all the tree leaves in the entire city were strewn all over our street.
So as I'm sitting here writing I am eating Oreo's with my son. He hands me an Oreo without the top because as he says he doesn't like the tops only the milk part with the bottoms. So I really need to figure out which is the top and which is the bottom.....otherwise we might be in trouble.

Now on the the real reason you are probably reading my blog......

I really need to take food photography classes. I promise this recipe is much better than it looks, of course Lasagna isn't the prettiest food.The ingredient list does seem daunting but it's actually a easy recipe but a little time consuming. I usually tend to make this when we have company or for a group and it gets rave reviews every time.

Here's the recipe....

Lasagna

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 Lb. sausage (spicy)

• 1 Lb. lean ground turkey

• 1 lg. minced onion

• ½ Lb. mushrooms thinly sliced

• 8 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

• 2 6 oz. cans tomato paste

• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

• 2 Tbl. white sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh chopped basil

• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

• 4 Tbl. chopped fresh parsley

• 12 lasagna noodles

• 16 oz. ricotta cheese

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3/4 Lb. mozzarella cheese shredded or sliced

• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese



Directions

1. Cook sausage, ground turkey, onion, mushrooms, and garlic over medium heat until meat is fully cooked. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving

Adapted from: Allrecipes

Loaded Potatoes

When I first saw these I was hesitant to make them I wondered how good could they really be, what really sets them apart from mashed potatoes? Well once I made them I realized the real difference. These were so good much better than they look., chunky yet cream and oh so delicious. Try them I know you won't be disappointed. Next time I'm going to try some sour cream and chives on the top I think that would make them perfect.

Loaded Potatoes


Serves 8

Ingredients

• 8 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed

• 8 strips bacon

• 3 shallots, finely chopped

• 3/4 cups milk

• 3 Tbsp. butter

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley, optional

• 2 scallions, optional



Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the potato skins all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for about 45–50 minutes, until tender.



2. Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat until fully cooked. Dice bacon. Add the shallots and cook until they soften, about 1 minute more.



3. Slice off the top third of each potato, horizontally. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Reserve the hollowed-out skins and place in a lightly oiled baking dish.



4. Mash the potato with a potato masher. Add the milk and butter, and beat until smooth. Stir in the cheddar, bacon and shallots and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.



5. Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and golden on top. Serve hot with extra chopped parsley, cheddar or scallions sprinkled on top, if desired.

Adapted From: The Comfort of Cooking

Enjoy,
Tiffany



Cinnamon Roasted almonds

Sorry it's been a few days since I have posted a new recipe on here. So to make up I am posting a very yummy, fast and easy recipe.

Ever since I went to New York and had the warm and toasty cinnamon almonds from the little carts outside I have been wanting to make them at home. I was worried they would be too much work or just too hard to do. Boy was I wrong and I don't know what took me so long to work up the courage to make them.

Fair warning these are addicting you will want more! They are so good when they are still warm but cool enough to not burn yourself. It's been a few days since I made these and now I'm craving them again. Time to go to the store and get more almonds. But first here's your recipe....

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of unsalted almonds

• 1 egg white

• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/3 cup white sugar

• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Spray baking sheet (preferably with sides) with oil.

2. Place the egg white and vanilla into a bowl then beat with a whisk until nice and foamy. Add the almonds to the foam and toss to coat evenly.

3. Add the cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar, and salt together in another bowl and mix until well combined. Pour the sugar mixture onto the almonds and gently toss to coat evenly.

4. Pour onto the baking sheet and place into the oven. Roast for 25 minutes then flip the almonds over with a spatula then continue roasting for another 25 minutes. Let them cool before eating.



Adapted from: For the love of cooking


Enjoy,
Tiffany

Roasted Garlic Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Disclaimer: This is not a low fat meal so if you are looking for low fat step away from the computer step far away.

Now that we got that out of the way we can begin. If you are looking for a very scrumptious meal with loads of butter and roasted garlic then you have come to the right place my friend.

In our house we tend to eat a lot of chicken probably even too much, I have been trying to make an effort to make more seafood and pork dishes. I also try to keep things budget friendly, so when I found this great deal on shrimp yesterday I couldn't pass it up. Once I started cooking them I realized why they were a great price, they were small. Not really what I envisioned when I thought of making this, I was thinking more of thick juicy prawns. Don't get me wrong I read the package but ugh talk about let down! I would suggest getting large shrimp if possible but then again the small and medium ones taste just as good and tend to be cheaper :).

I have found a new admiration for roasted garlic it just makes the flavor pop! If you haven't tried it yet you really need to I promise you will be happy you did.

How I roast garlic:
Well I am no expert so I will tell you how I did it. I chopped (more like minced) about 5 cloves of garlic. Put onto greased cookie sheet, probably best to line the cookie sheet with foil and then spray that with cooking spray so you don't get hints of garlic in your next cookie batch well unless you want that... which of course I wouldn't recommend.
Preheat oven to 375˚F  Place garlic on your lined cookie sheet and into a preheated oven. Cook for about 10-15 minutes watching carefully not to burn. You want the garlic to be lightly brown.

Oh and I found a great way to get Parmesan cheese "curls", well I'm probably not the first person to figure this out but anyways. I don't have a cheese cutter just a grater so when I bought a wedge of Parmesan I was trying to think of how I was going to get the cheese off without grating it or getting huge chunks. Then it came to me......vegetable peeler hello why haven't I thought of this before. Anyways works great and since I have a small kitchen it's even better because that is one less gadget I need, oh and budget friendly!

Well what am I waiting for? Here's the recipe already....

Roasted Garlic Shrimp Scampi Pasta


Serves 5

Ingredients

• 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

• 1 cube of unsalted butter

• 1 ½ lbs. peeled uncooked shrimp

• 1 tsp. Salt

• 1 tsp. Pepper

• Parmesan cheese for garnish

• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

• ¾ box of spaghetti noodles (or whatever noodle you prefer)



Directions

1. Roast the garlic. Directions above.

2. Prepare the noodles according to the directions.

3. When noodles are almost fully cooked sauté shrimp in olive oil just until fully cooked, pink throughout.

4. To make sauce melt butter in a sauce pan add garlic and salt and pepper to taste.

5. Drain noodles add sauce and shrimp toss to combine. Garnish with Parmesan curls.


Enjoy,
Tiffany

Turkey Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

When I was growing up meatloaf was made out of ground beef, but since we don't eat too much red meat I tend to replace ground beef with ground turkey. If you are wondering yes I do know that beef tastes better but, since I rarely eat it I don't really know the difference. If beef is your preference by all means just replace the turkey with beef I won't mind :)

 

Meatloaf is so good served with mashed potatoes and green beans......

 

 

See doesn't that look yummy together, it's just a suggestion of course.

 

I haven't actually made meatloaf in a while until tonight and I got to say I don't know why because it was absolutely delicious. I made a 2 pound meatloaf and it was enough for 4-5 people.

 

Here's the recipe.....

Turkey Meatloaf

 

Serves 6

 

Ingredients

 

• 2 lbs. ground turkey

 

• 1 egg

 

• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

 

• 1 tsp. garlic powder

 

• 2 tsp. onion powder

 

• ½ tsp. ground thyme

 

• ½ tsp. ground oregano

 

• 1 tsp. salt

 

• 1 tsp. pepper

 

• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

 

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 365°F. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

 

2. Mix ground turkey, Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper until mixed well.

 

3. Place turkey mixture into prepared 9x13 pan. Form into a loaf; this is the part that can be fun. You can make the loaf anyway you see fit, just remember to leave room on all sides. Cover with foil and cook for 25-35 minutes until almost fully cooked.

 

4. Take out of oven and remove foil. Pour tomato sauce over the top and place back in oven without foil. Cook for another 5-10 minutes ensuring it is fully cooked before serving.

 

 

Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 2 lbs potatoes peeled and diced

• 1/2 stick butter (unsalted)

• 1/4-1/2 cup of milk

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Boil potatoes until softened. Just until a fork can easily mash one. Strain

2. Mash the potatoes with butter, 1/4 cup of milk, salt, and pepper. If not creamy enough add more milk until desired consistency. At this point you can also change it up a bit by adding garlic if you want.

Enjoy,
Tiffany

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

So the picture below does this bread no justice. I really need to work on picture taking skills, well it could also be my camera is still broken (insert sad face here). Anyways enough about my camera already, well at least until the next post.....

Any time I make anything with chocolate chips my little guy tries to eat all the chocolate chips. He tries to sneak them when I turn my back but I have to admit it is the cutest thing ever.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread




Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas about 5 med bananas

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 Cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 in loaf pan or bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended, add chocolate chips. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.


Enjoy,
Tiffany

Coconut Curry

Just in the last 5 years I have discovered a new love for Indian food. I love to try all the different types of curries to see which ones I like the most, Coconut Curry is the favorite for my family.

Since I have been trying to do more cooking at home and eating out less I have been looking for recipes to mimic what we would be eating if we went out to eat. This is one of the easiest and tastiest recipes I have made. My goal is once a week to make a great dinner at home that would compare to a restaurant meal (except hopefully healthier).

Here's the recipe........

Coconut Curry Chicken


Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

• 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Canola oil

• 2 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

• 2 Lg diced tomatoes

• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• Cilantro (for garnish)



Directions

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 5-10 minutes more. Add chicken and reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.

3. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

4. Serve with Coconut Rice and garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy,
Tiffany

Pumpkin Bars

After posting the Butternut Squash Soup yesterday it got me thinking about other Fall recipes and what my favorites are.....mmm Pumpkin bars. They are so delicious and very easy to make, I will usually make this instead of pumpkin pie for Halloween and Thanksgiving. This is a recipe for a crowd but can be easily scaled down if needed.

So why am I posting this now? Who knows but it sounds really good right now with all this crazy weather. It's so crazy it might snow in San Francisco!!!! I'm really hoping it does, I feel like a little kid wishing for snow but it would be so great.

Pumpkin Bars




Serves 24



Ingredients

3 eggs

1 2/3 cups white sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 (30 ounce) can pumpkin puree

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt



1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.

3. Spread the batter evenly into an ungreased 10x15 inch jellyroll pan. Bake for 25 to 30  minutes in preheated oven. Cool before frosting.

4. To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars.

5. Cut into squares.

Enjoy,
Tiffany

Butternut Squash Soup

I always tend to stick with what I know but I really wanted to try something new. Butternut Squash is something I have never cooked with before so I was a little timid about making it. I took a recipe I found on another blog but put my own twist on it and was really happy with the results.

 

Doesn't that look delicious? Well with this cold rainy (maybe snow too) weather I need to make this again real soon.

 

Butternut Squash Soup

 

 

 Serves 5

 

 

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

• 1 large shallot, chopped fine

 

• 1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds), cut in half lengthwise, and each half cut in half width wise; seeds and strings scraped out and reserved (about ¼ cup)

 

• 2 cups water

 

• 1tsp cayenne pepper

 

• ½ tsp garlic powder

 

• ½ tsp onion powder

 

• 1cup chicken broth

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ tsp celery salt

• 1 cup fat free ½ and 1/2

• 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar\

• Pinch of grated nutmeg

 

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat until foaming. Add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the squash scrapings and seeds, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter turns saffron color, about 4 minutes.

 

2. Add the water and 1 teaspoon salt to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, place the squash cut-side down in a steamer basket,. Cover and steam until the squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, use a large spoon to scrape the flesh from the skin. Reserve the squash flesh in a bowl and discard the skins.

 

3. Strain the steaming liquid through a mesh strainer into a second bowl; discard the solids in the strainer, reserve the liquid.

 

4. Puree the squash in batches in a blender or food processor, pulsing and adding enough reserved steaming liquid to obtain a smooth consistency. Transfer the puree to the pot and stir in the remaining steaming liquid, cream, spices, chicken broth, and brown sugar. Warm the soup over medium-low heat until hot, adjust the seasonings, adding salt to taste. Serve immediately.

 

adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker

 

Enjoy,
Tiffany

Banana Cheescake with Caramel Sauce

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

For my hubby's birthday I wanted to mix the two things he loves banana's and cheesecake. Making this cheesecake was really fun, my 3 year old son mashed the bananas. He loves to help in the kitchen.

This was actually one of the easiest cheesecakes to make, it has a long ingredient list but don't let that fool you.

I made everything from scratch but you can do some shortcuts to save you time, instead of making the crust and caramel sauce you can buy them pre-made.

Banana Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cube butter (unsalted)

3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Cheesecake:

3 (8oz) packages cream cheese (room temperature)

3/4 cup white sugar

4 medium mashed bananas

3 eggs (room temperature)

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Caramel Sauce:

1 cup sugar

6 Tablespoons butter (next time I will try only 5 Tablespoons)

1/2 Cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325° F

2. Butter a 9 in springform pan

3. For crust mix grahamn cracker crumbs, melted butter and brown sugar until well combined. Press firmly into springform pan going 3/4 of the way up on the sides. To get it pressed firmly around the bottom and edges use a cup.

4. Mash bananas

5. Combine your room temperature cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of your mixer, mix until light and fluffy.

6. Add one egg at a time, mixing well between each egg.

7. Finally add mashed bananas and vanilla, mix well.

8. Pour into prepared crust.

9. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour and 5 minutes

10. Once finished turn oven off and don't open the door for an hour this helps the cheesecake set and not crack.

11. Refrigerate for about 3-4 hours before serving.

12. About 30 minutes before serving prepare caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce

1. Heat sugar in a heavy bottomed pan over medium to high heat. Being careful to not burn the sugar. Once sugar starts melting stir continuously until all sugar granules are melted.

2. Once sugar is completely melted add butter stir until butter is also completely melted. Take off heat.

3. After about 30 seconds add heavy cream. Stir to ensure everything mixed well.

4. Let cool a little before serving.

5. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Serve cheesecake with sliced bananas and caramel sauce drizzled over the top.....and don't worry about the calories it is worth it!

PS sorry the pictures are not that great my camera is out of commission and needs to be repaired so I will be using my daughters camera until then.

recipes adapted from  Simply recipes and Allrecipes

Enjoy,

Tiffany

Garlic Bread

So why did I decide to make my first food post one of the easiest things to make? Well probably because it is one of my favorites. I absloutly love garlic bread....to tell the truth I love all things bread sometimes I feel like it's a problem but I will address that at a later time. Ok looking at this picture is making me want to make it again problem is it's only 8 am.

Ok doesn't that picture make you want to have some yummy garlic bread now. The best way to make this even better is good quality fresh sourdough bread. Ok enough already here's the recipe.

Tiffany's Garlic Bread

serves 8 (or 4 if you're hungry)

Ingredients

1 lg loaf Sourdough bread

1 stick butter softened

1 heaping Tablespoon garlic

2 tsp finely chopped parsley

Directions

Heat oven to 350,

Mix together butter, garlic, and parsley until thourghly mixed,

Cut loaf in half lengthwise, spread both sides evenly with garlic butter mixture

Place loaf back together and wrap with foil, put in oven for 7-10 mins until soft

Take out of foil and place in boiler unitl slightly brown,

Once cool enough to handle cut into 1-2 in strips and serve!

Enjoy,
Tiffany

My first post.....About my blog

This post has been a long time coming. I started this blog in October of 2010 but somehow my first post isn't taking place until February 2011 talk about procrastination central. When I think of how long I have been meaning to start this blog and try to figure out why I haven't done it yet I think it's because I didn't know what to say or how to say it. So I'm just going to be me. 

Most of my recipes come from inspiration from a family recipe, blog, or something I've seen somewhere If I have adapted my recipe from a blog or other source I will include a link in the post. I try to put my own personal touch on most recipes but some are already perfect the way they are.

Thank you for coming over to my blog and I hope you enjoy cooking with me and my family.

Enjoy,
Tiffany