Candied Pecans…

February 26, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 1 Comment

I haven’t posted recently in my tips and tricks section so today I thought I would add a little tidbit into that category. This little trick is a great way to enhance the flavor of any salad – candied pecans.

The recipe came about when I recently hosted a Super Bowl party. Being that my home town team (the Denver Broncos) was in the game I wanted to have a menu that would allow me to actually watch the game but still serve food that was quick and easy but also special. For one of my dishes I decided to have an apple, cranberry spinach salad and decided that adding candied pecans would dress it up nicely. Needless to say, they were a hit. One guest said she wanted to forget the rest of the food and just eat the pecans. So next time you want to dress up a salad try this recipe. They’re so good and you can make them ahead of time which is always a good thing when you’re having a party.

So let me share a couple of quick reminders when making candied pecans…

Lesson Learned 1 – Make sure you line your baking pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper: Otherwise you will wind up with a sticky mess that will be very difficult if not impossible to clean.

Lesson Learned 2 – It is important to stir the pecans every 15 minutes: If you don’t they will all clump together and not roast evenly. The sugar mixture will harden so you want to regularly loosen it up and prevent having big globs of pecans stuck together.

Other than that, this recipe is very easy to make. But let me warn you, you’ll need strong will power in order to resist gobbling them all up yourself. Enjoy!

CANDIED PECANS…

Servings: Several
Time: 55 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 Tbs. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

8 ounces pecan halves, unsalted

1 egg white

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large walled baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. (I used parchment paper and it worked just fine).

Combine sugars, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together till combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg white, vanilla and water until the mixture is frothy. Add the pecans and coat them thoroughly in the egg white mixture. Add the sugar mixture and toss until the pecans are completely coated.

Spread the pecans in a single layer onto the baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes making sure to stir the pecans every 15 minutes.

Leave the pecans on the baking sheet until completely cooled. Store in an airtight container.

Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots…

February 23, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

This recipe could not be any more basic but it produces a side dish rich in flavor. Whenever you caramelize something it produces a sweetness that is awesomely delicious. And because this blog is dedicated to those beginning to feel their way around the kitchen, this recipe is perfect because it produces spectacular results with very little effort. If you’re looking for something to boost your confidence in the kitchen, this one’s is for you!

So let’s talk garlic butter roasted carrots…

Lesson Learned 1 – Use lots of garlic: I used 4 big cloves of garlic in this recipe and you can even add more if you want. Just be aware that the garlic will turn dark in the oven but that’s ok. It will still infuse the carrots with great garlic flavor.

Saute the cloves in the butter for a good 3-4 minutes and just when you start to see some slight browning on the edges, remove the mixture from the heat and pour it over the carrots. Make sure the carrots are evenly coated with the butter/garlic mixture. Use your hands if you have to to make sure they’re coated all over.

Lesson Learned 2 – Cut the carrots in one inch chunks on the diagonal: One inch chunks work well for this roasting time. Cutting them on the diagonal makes them look prettier.

Lesson Learned 3 – Make sure you flip the carrots during the roasting process: You want to make sure the carrots caramelize on all sides so check them after 15-20 minutes and flip them over so the other side can caramelize as well.

When I first took these carrots out of the oven I thought perhaps I had browned them too much. I was wrong. These carrots had such a wonderful sweet flavor and the darkened areas were rich and sweet. The main thing to remember is to flip them so they caramelize on both sides.

I have to say I could not believe how sweet and delicious these carrots were. This is a great recipe for when you want to impress but also want something insanely easy. Enjoy!

Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots

Servings: 4-6
Time: 50 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

4-6 large carrots, cut in 1 inch lengths on the diagonal

5 Tbs. butter

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Flat leaf parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook for 3 – 4 minutes being careful not to burn the garlic.

Put the carrots in a large bowl and add the butter/garlic mixture. Toss until all the carrots are completely covered.

Spread the carrots out on a prepared baking sheet (I covered my sheet with aluminum foil and sprayed it lightly with olive oil cooking spray), making sure they are not crowded and that all the butter/garlic mixture is poured onto the sheet.

Roast for 30 – 40 minutes making sure to flip them half way through the roasting process. Remove the carrots from oven and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with flat leaf parsley and serve. Enjoy!

Savory Scallion And Cheese Bread…

February 16, 2016February 21, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

The other night I just wanted to try something different. I know I can always whip up an artisan bread loaf but I wanted to try a more savory type of bread and decided to make this one. I will admit I made it twice because the first time something just did not seem right and I’ll explain why in my lessons learned. The second time, with the adjustments I made, I nailed it!

I love this bread for a variety of reasons. It is not designed to be a sandwich bread that’s for sure. This bread is a great accompaniment to almost any dinner you serve and it is fabulous reheated. So let’s talk savory scallion and cheese bread and I’ll share what I learned making it…

Lesson Learned 1 – Be very picky about the olive oil you use: The first time I made this bread with off-the-shelf Bertoli extra virgin olive oil. Big mistake! Now I’ve got nothing against Bertoli’s olive oil and I use it on a regular basis for my basic cooking needs. But the olive oil used here is designed to help enhance the flavor of the bread and so a basic cooking olive oil does little for that. As a matter of fact I felt it gave an unusual, almost borderline bitter flavor to the bread.

The second time I used garlic infused olive oil that a I got from a specialty shop – what a difference! This oil enhanced the bread and made a big difference in the flavor. So make sure you are using a good flavorful olive oil when making this bread.

Pepper Jack Cheese Cubes

Lesson Learned 2 – Choose good melting cheese: The first time I made this I used gruyere. I like gruyere but I didn’t think it did much for the bread. The second time I made the bread I used emmenthaler cheese. Now what’s emmenthaler you ask. Same here, I had no idea what emmenthaler was before I made this bread. Emmenthaler is actually swiss cheese. It is savory but not overpowering and it melts divinely. It is quite often used in fondues.

I actually used a combination of cheeses – I used shredded emmenthaler and cubed pepper jack. The pepper jack and cayenne pepper give the bread a nice but not overpowering bite. So those are the cheeses I recommend when making this recipe.

Emmenthaler Cheese

Lesson Learned 3 – Learn how to adapt: The recipe I adapted this from called for 1/3 cup of whole milk. I did not have any whole milk in the house but I had heavy cream and 2% milk. I filled the measuring cup three quarters of the way up with heavy cream and then filled the rest in with the 2% milk. I loved the way it turned out and I think the heavy cream did a lot to enhance the flavor of the bread.

You could also use chives or other herbs to enhance the flavor of the bread. I had scallions in the refrigerator so I chose to use them and that added great depth of flavor!

Lesson Learned 4 – This bread is divine reheated: When I was getting ready to make dinner the other night I cut a few pieces of the bread and put them in aluminum foil. I set my toaster oven to 350 and put the bread in for 20 minutes. It was fabulous!

I don’t often make savory breads so I’m very pleased with how this one turned out. The only changes I would recommend when making this at sea level is to increase the amount of baking powder from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon and to perhaps shorten the cooking time by about five minutes or so. Other than that, everything else remains the same. Enjoy this one!

Savory Scallion And Cheese Bread…

Servings: 8-10
Time: 1 Hour Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups of flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking powder (use 1 Tbs. for sea level baking)

1 1/2 tsp. of salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup whole milk (I used a combination of heavy cream and 2%)

1/3 cup garlic infused olive oil (or your olive oil of choice – good flavorful olive oil)

1 1/4 cup grated emmenthaler cheese (swiss cheese)

2 ounces pepper jack cheese, diced in small pieces

1/2 cup minced scallions

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk the eggs until they are frothy. Combine the milk and olive oil with the eggs and whisk together.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined – do not over mix. Stir in the cheeses, scallions and walnuts and mix until combined.

Prepare an 8 x 4 loaf pan by either using butter or cooking spray. Put the batter into the pan and smooth out to the edges. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes (I baked to 45 minutes but I am at high altitude – I began checking the bread at 35 minutes) or until the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Put the pan on a cooling rack and immediately run a knife along the edges to loosen the bread from the pan. After cooling in the pan for 5 minutes, remove the bread and let it cool on a wire rack (or once it has cooled slightly you can serve it warm).

Hot Crab Appetizer…

February 9, 2016youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

I know I’m probably a day late and a dollar short posting an appetizer/munchie recipe after the Super Bowl, but often I don’t get to try out some recipes unless there is an occasion to do so, like a Super Bowl party.

I am a native Chicagoan transplanted to Colorado and so you can imagine how much fun Super Bowl 50 was here. Don’t get me wrong, if the day ever comes (and I’m not so sure it will happen in the near future) that the Broncos and the Bears play in the Super Bowl, my allegiance will be with the Bears, but until that time it’s been fun having an adopted team.

I planned a party that consisted of a very simple menu so that I could actually spend time watching the game. One of the guests was going to bring an appetizer, so I planned to make an additional one. The rest of the meal consisted of Lou Malnati’s pizza (I got them shipped to me as a holiday gift and just love them) and a salad filled with a whole bunch of goodies like dried cranberries, homemade candied pecans, avocado, tart apple and baby spinach.

I wanted to try a hot appetizer since I knew I could serve it straight from the oven and, in my estimation, that’s when hot appetizers taste the best. So I thought I’d dabble in making a hot crab appetizer.

Let’s talk about that…

Lesson Learned 1 – Crab is expensive: Depending on the type of crab you use, 6 ounces of crab meat can vary in price up to about $25.00. I decided I did not want to use an imitation crab meat (what is that anyway?) so I did a little research on the types of crab meat available and the best uses for each.

Jumbo lump crab meat: This is the meat that comes from the swimmer fins of the crab. Since there are only two on each crab the amount of meat you can get from this source is much less and therefore more expensive. This meat has a nice, mild taste which was what I was looking for in the appetizer plus I wanted lumps of crab to be noticeable in the dish.

Lump crab meat: This meat comes from the body and the pieces can vary in size and are generally much smaller than the jumbo lump meat. This type of meat is great for crab cakes.

Lump meat mixed with body meat: this is much thinner meat with a finer texture and can easily be overpowered in a recipe by other ingredients. But it is also less expensive and so can be a viable substitute. Again making crab cakes is a good use of this type of crab meat or any dish where you want that hint of crab flavor but not pay as much for it.

Claw meat: Claw meat is darker and less sweet and has a stronger taste. For this recipe I recommend either jumbo lump crab meat or claw meat. The presence of crab will be noticed using either one, with the crab claw meat providing a stronger crab taste if that is what you want. Claw meat is in the medium price range. I found a 16 ounce can of it for about $14.00. I paid a little less than that for 6 ounces of jumbo lump crab meat.

Lesson Learned 2 – This recipe couldn’t be any easier: All you do is mix together all of the ingredients and bake it until the shaved parmesan topping is melted and starting to turn golden brown.

Everyone at the party loved this recipe and it was gobbled up pretty quickly, the sign of an appetizer hit. Try this one and let me know what you think.

Hot Crab Appetizer...

Servings: Party Size
Time: 40 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

6 ounces jumbo lump crab meat or crab claw meat

4 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup of sour cream (you can use light sour cream)

1/4 cup mayonaise

4 green onions, minced (including the green parts)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (1/2 of a small lemon)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup shaved parmesan, divided

1 Tbs. fresh flat leaf parsley, minced for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 (365 for high altitude). Mix together all ingredients thoroughly using only 1/2 cup of shaved parmesan in the mix. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Cover with the remaining shaved parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes (begin checking the appetizer at 20 minutes). If the appetizer is bubbly but not browned to your liking place it under the broiler for a minute or two.

Serve immediately.

Roast Chicken In A Cast Iron Skillet…

February 4, 2016December 9, 2018youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

Anyway you slice it, I like chicken. I don’t think there’s a chicken recipe out there that I don’t love. And I’m always looking for new ways to prepare chicken. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d find a new way to roast chicken. But I’m always learning new things in the kitchen, and this roast chicken recipe has quickly become my go-to way of making chicken.

This recipe is so easy and I say this, without reservation, it produces the best roast chicken ever! The most time consuming part of the process is making the rub and cutting the vegetables. The rest of the work is done by the cast iron skillet. Amazing!

So let’s talk roast chicken in a cast iron skillet…

Lesson Learned 1 – Cut the butternut squash and russet potato into large pieces: This recipe is designed for two with plenty of chicken remaining for your favorite leftover recipes (I used my leftovers to make chicken salad). The thing to remember is the chicken will be roasting at a high temperature, 400 degrees, for an hour to an hour and a half. If you don’t cut your squash and potatoes into large chunks they will become mush. I cut my squash into squares a little less than an inch thick and they turned out perfectly. I cut the potato in half lengthwise and then in inch and a half sized half moons and again they were perfectly done.

Lesson Learned 2 – Resist the urge to baste the chicken: In the past I would baste my chicken all the time thinking it would create a crispy skin. In actuality it does quite the opposite. Because you roast the chicken at a high heat all you need to do is brush the skin with some melted butter before you put it in the oven. Then leave the chicken alone.

At the half way mark baste the squash and potatoes with the liquid in the pan. That worked well and helped to soak the bacon and chive seasoning I used into them. But remember to leave the chicken alone.

Lesson Learned 3 – Once the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees, remove the skillet from the oven, cover it with foil and let is rest for 20 minutes: With chicken, turkey, steak, etc., it is so important to let it rest once the meat has reached its desired cooking temperature. That allows for all the juices to redistribute into the meat and not wind up running all over your plate. The chicken will carve easily if you let it rest.

I don’t think I will roast a small chicken using any other method than this one ever again. I was so amazed at how simple everything was and how delicious the chicken, squash and potatoes were. If you love chicken the way I love chicken, you simply have to try this recipe!

Roast Chicken In A Cast Iron Skillet…

Servings: 2 With Leftovers
Time: 2 Hours Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1 five pound roasting chicken (I roasted a 5 1/2 pound chicken)

1 1/2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. dried thyme (or you can used dried sage)

Butternut squash cut into large chunks (one small squash should be more than enough)

1 russet potato, halved and cut into 1 1/2 inch half moons

1 1/2 Tbs. bacon and chive seasoning

4 Tbs. melted butter, divided

1 tsp. garlic infused olive oil (you can use plain olive oil as well)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean and pat dry the chicken. Mix together the garlic, salt, pepper and thyme to use as a rub. Using your fingers, slide your hand between the breast skin and the chicken. Take the thyme mixture and rub it between the skin and the meat. Any remaining mixture can be rubbed onto the surface of the outer skin.

With a pastry brush lightly brush some melted butter on the bottom of a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet (I used a 10 inch skillet). Place the chicken in the skillet. Baste the top of the chicken with some butter.

In a large bowl cut up the squash and potatoes. Sprinkle them with olive oil and stir until the squash and potatoes are coated. Add the bacon and chive seasoning and stir until coated. Place the squash on one side of the chicken and the potatoes on the other. Pour the remaining melted butter over the squash and potatoes.

Roast for an hour to an hour and a half or until a meat thermometer stuck into the thickest area of the chicken between the breast and leg reads 160 degrees. (My chicken needed to roast for 1 1/2 hours. A smaller one should take about an hour). Half way through the roasting process baste the squash and potatoes with the juices that have accumulated in the skillet.

Once the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees, remove the skillet from the oven, cover it with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve.

Salisbury Steak Smothered In A Mushroom Onion Sauce…

January 26, 2016January 26, 2016youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

Want a meal that is a step up from just a regular hamburger? Try making salisbury steak. The key to the flavor in this recipe is the ingredients mixed in with the ground beef and the wonderfully decadent sauce. This recipe doesn’t take much longer to make than just a plain old hamburger and it adds a little flair to serving ground beef. So jazz it up next time. I’m sure your family will love it.

I first saw the Pioneer Woman make Salisbury Steak on her television program and she has a recipe for it in one of her books. I looked at her recipe and changed a few things up and both my husband and I said this was the most flavorful ground beef we’ve had in a long time.

So let’s talk making Salisbury Steak.

Lesson Learned 1: I found two secret weapon flavor enhancers – in her recipe, the Pioneer woman uses beef bouillon cubes in her ground meat and Kitchen Bouquet in her sauce to add depth of flavor. I found this stuff called “Better Than Bouillon” which is a roasted beef sauce made with seasoned roasted beef. It has a gel-like consistency. I used it instead of bouillon and I really believe it boosted the flavor – tons! I now use it even when I make hamburgers to kick the flavor up a notch. I think it’s great stuff. You should try it.

I used Country Bob’s original all purpose sauce to enhance the flavor of the sauce and the sauce was divine. I guess what I’m trying to say here is try different substitutions in recipes you make. You might find that you like the recipe with the substitutions even better than the original.

Lesson Learned 2: Try using seasoned panko bread crumbs instead of just regular seasoned bread crumbs: I think the panko gives the meat a nice texture as well as flavor and I found I could use a slightly lesser amount than regular bread crumbs.

You want to be careful not to overload your ground beef with bread crumbs. You’ll dry it out. After making hamburgers and meatloaf for years and now salisbury steak, I know how the beef should feel so that it will not be overly dry. It should feel moist but not overly sticky. This is something you’ll get a feel for over time. Don’t worry about it. I always add about half the amount of bread crumbs the recipe calls for to begin with and add more from there. You can always add more and you don’t want to wind up with too much bread crumbs in the mix.

Lesson Learned 3: Make sure you sufficiently elongate the patties: Just like a hamburger, these patties will shrink and rise in the center if you don’t elongate them sufficiently and then put an indentation in the center to prevent them puffing up. You can see by my pictures that I didn’t quite nail that process. It doesn’t matter from a flavor perspective, just from a visual perspective. And visually you want to create a different look than that of just a plain old hamburger.

Lesson Learned 4: Used a cast iron skillet for this recipe if you have one: Cast iron provides you with the most even heat which I think is important when you’re cooking everything on the stove but especially ground beef patties. Invest in a basic no frills cast iron skillet. Depending on the size you choose, it could cost you between $15-$25 and will probably be one of the best cooking investments you’ll ever make that you will hand down to your grandchildren.

This recipe is a nice way to dress up ground beef. Try it and let me know what you think.

Salisbury Steak Smothered In A Mushroom Onion Sauce

Servings: 4
Time: 45 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

PATTIES:

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (I used parmesan herb)

2 Tbs. heavy cream

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 Tbs. Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs ketchup

Salt and pepper

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. garlic infused olive oil (you can substitute plain olive oil)

SAUCE:

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

6 – 8 baby bella mushrooms, sliced

2 1/4 cups beef broth (save 1/4 cup to mix with the corn starch)

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. ketchup

1 Tbs. Country Bob’s all purpose sauce (or you can substitute a different steak sauce)

2 Tbs. corn starch

Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Make the patties by combining all of the ingredients for the patties except the butter and olive oil. Make sure to sufficiently flatten the patties into an oblong shape and make an indentation in the center so they keep their shape. Add the butter and olive oil to a cast iron skillet. Cook the patties on both sides. about 3 minutes per side.

Remove the patties to a plate and cover them with foil to keep them warm. In the same skillet (you can add a little more butter or oil if you feel you need it) sauté the onions and mushrooms until the onions start to brown slightly. Add the garlic and sauté another minute until the garlic becomes fragrant. Whisk together the two cups beef broth, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and all purpose sauce and add it to the onions and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Whisk together the remaining beef broth and corn starch until there are no lumps. Add to the sauce. Cook on higher heat until the sauce bubbles and starts to thicken.

Put the patties back in the pan and cover them with the sauce. Let them simmer for a couple of minutes. Serve immediately.

Salisbury Steak Patties Smothered In Sauce

Serving Suggestion: With Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Peas and Carrots

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken…

January 19, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 3 Comments

I think I have a love/hate relationship with slow cookers. The concept of the slow cooker is undeniably fabulous – put something in the pot when you leave the house in the morning and voila, when you come home from work, you have a meal ready to go. The challenge is to find or create slow cooker recipes that in the end not only produce a meal but a flavorful one, one that is not cooked to the Peter Principal of bland. I’ve tried many variations of slow cooker recipes and have only a few that I think I’ve perfected. This is one of them.

What I’ve found with a slow cooker is if you vary what you are slow cooking with either other ingredients not in the slow cooker or ingredients that you put in the slow cooker near the end of the cooking process you’ll get a much better outcome. So is the case with this recipe.

So let’s talk slow cooker honey garlic chicken…

Lesson Learned 1 – The best type of chicken to use and how to prepare it: For this recipe and for most slow cooker recipes involving chicken, I use chicken thighs. I recommend using bone in, skin on chicken thighs for this particular recipe. Slow cooking tends to take the moisture out of chicken and by using these types of chicken thighs you protect yourself against getting dried out, bland chicken. I recommend searing the thighs briefly over a very hot heat, preferably in a cast iron skillet, before putting them into the slow cooker. Then after the meal is prepared, I recommend putting the chicken under the broiler just briefly the crisp up the exterior skin a little. As I mentioned earlier, I think the process of slow cooking is merely a part of the cooking process and not the entire thing. By searing and then briefly putting the chicken under the broiler at the end, you’ll wind up with a juicier, more flavorful outcome.

Lesson Learned 2 – Get to know how your slow cooker cooks: All slow cookers are not created equal. Some have higher default temperature settings than others. I have an All-Clad slow cooker and I love it, but I’ve learned over time that I can lessen the cooking time on my chicken recipes and they turn out better. Many of the recipes I read from which I based this one called for the cooking time to be 7-8 hours on low. In my experience and with my slow cooker I know I can cook chicken for 6 hours on low and I wind up with chicken that is cooked through but doesn’t taste like chalk. Especially with this recipe where you open the slow cooker twice during the cooking process to baste and to add the haricot vert. So be aware, you may have a few disappointments before perfecting recipes in your slow cooker. But there is nothing like the convenience of a slow cooker and once you find your groove with yours, you will love it!

Lesson Learned 3 – Ingredients to add at the end of the cooking process: In this recipe you add the haricot vert (green beans) during the last half hour of cooking. At the time I added them, I also scooped some of the sauce over the chicken just to add a little more moisture to it. (I also basted the chicken with the sauce about half way through the cooking process). By adding the green beans at the end they turned out crisp tender and were delightful. Put in only the amount you intend to have for that meal. If you have leftovers, cook a fresh bunch of beans at that time.

Also, if you want crisp tender onions you can add frozen pearl onions in with the haricot vert during the last thirty minutes.

Certain ingredients only take a short amount of time in the slow cooker (like beans, shrimp, frozen okra) but others take the full cooking time (like carrots, potatoes and onions). The ones you cook the entire time should always be cut into large chunks so they don’t fall apart at the end. The ones you put in for a short time can go in as is.

I think you’ll like this recipe. It definitely is easy and with a few simple tricks you can achieve great flavor as well. Try it and tell me what you think!

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken…

Servings: 4
Time: 6-8 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS

8 bone in, skin on chicken thighs

baby new potatoes (or red potatoes quartered)

baby carrots (or 4-5 large carrots cut into chunks)

1 large sweet onion, quartered (or frozen pearl onions)

haricot vert (thin green beans), enough for your initial serving

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. garlic infused olive oil (you can use plain olive oil)

1 1/2 cups low sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 cups clover honey

3/4 cup ketchup

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (you can add more if you want it spicier)

Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a cast iron skillet, heat the butter and olive oil until the butter is melted. Pat dry the chicken thighs and season them with salt and pepper. Place them skin side down into the hot pan. Sear them until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and set aside.

Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, ketchup, garlic, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Place the potatoes, carrots and onions (if using frozen pearl onions, add them during the last 30 minutes of cooking time) in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (this time depends on your slow cooker and its default temperatures). Half way through the cooking process baste the chicken with the soy sauce mixture.

One half hour before serving add the green beans and baste the chicken again (add the frozen pearl onions at this time). If desired, before serving, place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet and put them under the broiler for approximately three minutes. Serve immediately.

Ingredients ready for slow cooking

Butternut Squash Soup…

January 13, 2016January 14, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 1 Comment

Now that January has settled in and the holidays are firmly behind us, I began looking at various soup recipes so I could break in my new immersion blender. Honestly that was not the only reason. There’s nothing like a bowl of piping hot soup to melt the January chills away.

Last year I discovered the joy and ease of making homemade soups, and I can equivocally say if you haven’t tried making homemade soup you’re missing out on something special. And over the past several years I’ve grown to love making roasted butternut squash, so I decided that butternut squash soup would be my next venture.

I poured over a wide variety of recipes and then decided, as usual, to take the best concepts of several and create a recipe of my own. As with any soup I’ve made so far, the bulk of the work is in the preparation. Once you’ve got the ingredients prepared the process couldn’t be simpler. And if you’ve been following me for a while you know I find it very cathartic to chop, mince, dice and slice so this soup was absolutely perfect for how I like to cook.

So let’s talk about making butternut squash soup…

Lesson Learned 1 – You can prepare the squash in a couple of ways: Most recipes I read either called for the squash to be roasted in the oven first or merely just chopped and added to the pot to cook with the stock. I chose the latter and the soup was delicious. The next time I make this I’ll try roasting the squash first and see if that adds any additional dimension to the flavor of the soup. My base for the soup was the “trinity” of onions, celery and carrots along with garlic and that provided great depth of flavor.

Lesson Learned 2 – Be careful when adding the seasonings: This recipe calls for adding nutmeg, cinnamon and cayenne pepper along with salt and pepper. Nutmeg especially has a very strong flavor so just add a pinch to start. I recommend the same for the cayenne pepper. After I added a pinch of each at the end and tasted the soup, I added a second pinch of all of them. Both the nutmeg and cayenne provided a nice warmth and the cinnamon a touch of sweetness. Just remember the old tried and true rule – you can always add more, but you can’t take it out once you put it in.

Lesson Learned 3 – Be very careful when preparing the squash: I’ll be totally upfront with you – preparing the squash can be an arduous task. I recommend cutting the squash in half at the center and then with the flat edge down using a very sharp knife to remove the outer core. Start at the top and slide your knife downwards to peel the core to the bottom. Continue rotating around the squash using this process until the entire core has been removed.

The outer core is very hard, so if you try to cut it with a dull knife you can easily hurt yourself. Be careful and watch your fingers the entire time. When initially cutting the squash in half to create the flat bottoms, if your knife gets stuck mid way through, do what I do and pick up the knife with the squash stuck to it and pound it down hard on a strong cutting board or butcher block. The force of the blow(s) will get the knife completely through and your fingers are totally out of the way.

If you’ve never peeled a butternut squash before, I recommend you take a few minutes and find a video on YouTube that shows you how. The key thing to remember is keeping your fingers away from the knife at all times. I’m not trying to scare you, I’m just trying to stress the importance of being safe during this process.

And if you don’t want to bother doing the cutting yourself, many grocery stores have prepared butternut squash that you can buy. The only thing I don’t like about the prepared squash is often I get some of the tough pith in with the squash pieces. I guarantee you the tough pith (any of the light orange colored part of the outer core) will not get tender. You only want to use the deep orange part of the squash.

The “Trinity” – onions, celery and carrrots

Lesson Learned 4 – Using an immersion blender: One thing to remember when using an immersion blender is not to pull it up to high to the surface when you’re blending in the pot – you’ll have soup flying all around your kitchen if you do! Keep the base of the blender down low and only move it up half way through the liquid when blending.

I personally guarantee that the work making this soup is totally worth it. This is a great soup for a cold January night and one you will make for years to come.

Butternut Squash Soup…

Servings: 12
Time: 1 Hour Including Prep
Difficulty: Medium
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INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

3/4 cup carrots chopped small

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 Tbs. butter

1 large or 2 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped with seeds removed

1 medium granny smith apple, peeled and diced

4 cups chicken stock (one 32 oz. box)

1 cup water

1 cup heavy cream

Pinches of cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg (to taste – err on the side of less is more)

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a 7 quart dutch oven melt the butter and add the onions, celery and carrots. Salt and pepper the mixture. Cook until the onions look translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about one minute.

Add the squash, apple, broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the squash and carrots are tender.

With an immersion blender (or you can puree this in batches in a stand blender) puree the soup to your desired thickness (the more you puree the thinner the soup).

Add the cayenne, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir and taste. Add more if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once you’ve finished adding the seasoning, turn the heat off the soup and stir in one cup of heavy cream. Serve with croutons or with a dollop of sour cream.

Quick And Easy Baked Lobster Tails (no lie)…

January 7, 2016January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

I don’t know about you but for years I lived in fear of making lobster tails. Everything you read warns you not to overcook them because they will turn rubbery (much like calamari and shrimp) but because they tend to be pricier the fear factor increases exponentially.

Well no more! I decided over the holidays that I would tackle my fear of making lobster tails. In the past, I tried to make lobster tails mostly by broiling them. Sometimes I would be successful and other times not. But this time I tried baking them and I can tell you it will be my preferred method from now on. It is soooo easy and takes out almost all the guesswork (I wish I could say it takes out all of the guesswork but I would be lying) that you need not fear making lobster tails anymore. All you need is your oven set to 350 degrees and a good instant read thermometer.

So let’s talk oven baked lobster tails…

What most people think is the hardest part – getting the tail out of the shell: This used to be one of my biggest challenges. All I can say is thank goodness we have YouTube – I found this video about removing the lobster meat from the tail and it was the absolute key to my success. I encourage you to watch it because this method works and is so easy. I baked my tails on top of the shell and this video shows you exactly how to get the meat out and rest it on the shell.

2. Let the lobster meat rest on the counter for about 15 minutes before baking: First and foremost it is absolutely essential that the lobster tail be completely thawed if frozen. I put my lobster tails in the refrigerator the night before and that did the trick. Most people are afraid to let fish rest a little on the counter like red meat. Of course you would never leave fish out to get to room temperature, but I found if you take the fish out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for just 15 minutes before you cook it, it really helps the cooking time hold true. Don’t leave it out any longer than that, just enough to take the cold edge off the fish.

Baking lobster tails is so easy you’ll want to make them more often. Keep this recipe in your back pocket for when you want to impress, because impress you will!

Quick And Easy Baked Lobster Tails (No Lie)…

Servings: 4
Time: 25 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Medium
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INGREDIENTS:

4 six ounce lobster tails

1 stick butter, melted for seasoning and dipping

Old Bay Seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove lobster meat from tail and rest the meat on the tail. Brush lobster meat with melted butter. Lightly sprinkle the seasoning on top of each tail.

Bake in oven for 15 – 20 minutes. (Check the tails at 15 minutes with an instant read thermometer. If the temperature reads 140-145 degrees, the tails are done). My tails baked in 17 minutes but I live in high altitude and food generally takes slightly longer to cook.

Serve immediately with drawn butter.

Cauliflower Gratin…

December 28, 2015December 9, 2016youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

I know I’ve been remiss lately in publishing recipes. Working part time in retail over the holiday season leaves very little time for much else. I was happy to get the house decorated, all the cookies made and get a holiday dinner on the table in a remarkable organized fashion. Unfortunately my blog had to be the one to suffer, but the new year will get me back to my goal of one recipe per week.

And speaking of the holidays, I made a wonderful holiday side dish that I’d like to share with you. I’m a big fan of gratin’s. I make a zucchini gratin that I simple adore, and this holiday season I decided to grace my table with a cauliflower gratin. It was fabulous.

The premiss behind a gratin is pretty simple. It’s basically a main ingredient(s) and a cheese sauce with a bread crumb topping. This one does not deviate from that basic formula. I did do a couple of things differently when I made this recipe and I’ll share those tips in my lessons learned. So let’s talk cauliflower gratin…

Lesson Learned 1 – Be careful initially not to over-steam the cauliflower. This recipe calls for steam in the cauliflower to make it slightly tender before cooking it in the casserole. It is very important not to overcook the cauliflower at this point. If you do you will wind up with a mushy casserole. I recommend cutting the cauliflower into even medium-sized pieces and steaming them for 6 minutes tops. Don’t put the cauliflower in the steamer and then start the process of boiling the water. Wait until the water is boiling and then put the steamer on top of the boiling water. The cauliflower should give slightly when pierced by a fork. Once you reach that point, drain the cauliflower and set it aside, or if you feel you cooked it a little too long, shock it in ice water to completely stop the cooking process.

Lesson Learned 2 – You can easily make this recipe ahead of time. When I make this, I get everything done up to the point where I pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower. Then depending on how much time I have before dinner, I just let the casserole either just sit on my counter, or once it has completely cooled I put it in the refrigerator. NOTE: If you make it so far in advance that you have to refrigerate it, you need to take the casserole out of the refrigerator and let it sit for at least 3 hours before putting it into the oven. That way the casserole will be room temperature when you put it in the oven and the cooking time will hold true. If the casserole is cold, you will need to add more cooking time.

Lesson Learned 3 – Homemade bread crumbs are always better. They are so easy to make, especially if you have day old bread sitting around the house. Just cut the bread into cubes and pulse it in a food processor. You can add any herbs you like at this point or just keep them plain. You will find this to be so much more flavorful than using store bought bread crumbs.

I make this recipe with pepper jack cheese to give it a nice kick, but you can use any good melting cheese like gruyere, cheddar or harvati. But I recommend trying it with the pepper jack. It gives the gratin a nice little kick but does not over power the dish.

Cauliflower Gratin...

Servings: 6
Time: 55 Minutes Or Less
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1 small to medium sized cauliflower head

3 Tbs. flour

5 Tbs. butter, divided

2 cups whole milk

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup mild cheddar cheese

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375. Cut cauliflower into medium bite-sized pieces. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, steam the cauliflower for no longer than six minutes. Drain cauliflower and set aside. If cauliflower feels too soft, drop it into a bowl of ice water to completely stop the cooking.

In a sauce pan over medium heat melt 3 Tbs. of butter. Once the butter is melted add 3 Tbs. of flour to make a roux. Stir the mixture for at least a minute to cook out all of the flour flavor. Add the milk and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. Once the mixture begins to thicken add the nutmeg and blend well. Once the nutmeg is incorporated, add the cheeses and stir to combine. Once combined remove the pan from the heat. Taste the sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Pour a little bit of the cheese mixture to cover the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Add the cauliflower and pour the remaining sauce over the cauliflower. NOTE: This is where you can stop and either hold off baking for a while or refrigerate the casserole. (Please refer to lesson learned 2 above).

When ready to bake, sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the cauliflower and cheese mixture. Cut the remaining 2 Tbs. of butter into small cubes and dot the top of the bread crumbs with butter.

Bake at 375 for 30 – 40 minutes or until the bread crumbs are browned and the casserole is bubbly. Look at the casserole after 30 minutes. If the bread crumbs are getting too browned, tent the casserole with foil and bake it for the remaining time.

Serve hot.

Holiday Raspberry Walnut Bars…

December 11, 2015January 18, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 6 Comments

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while. The holidays have been crazy and I haven’t had my usual time to experiment in the kitchen. But to keep in the tradition of trying to post at least once a week, I am going to share a cookie recipe from back in the day.

This is a reprint of a blog I did a couple of years ago. It is such a great holiday recipe that I wanted to give it some prime time, especially now that I have more readers and subscribers. I guarantee you, you cannot go wrong with this recipe. It will be a hit in your holiday cookie baking arsenal!

Raspberry Walnut Bars

There’s a lot of reasons for this recipe being so popular. First, and probably foremost, it looks so darn delicious. Second, and not known by those requesting the recipe, it is sinfully easy to make. And third, the recipe turns out perfect first time, every time. I can’t take credit for the recipe, it was one I found a few years ago, I simply can’t remember where I found it. So up front I apologize to whomever I am not giving credit to for the actual recipe.

Lesson Learned 1: The hardest thing about this recipe is preparing the pan. The recipe calls for lining a 8 inch square pan with parchment paper allowing some overhang on both sides. Trying to keep parchment paper from popping back out of the pan when you allow for overhang can be tricky. I found the easiest way to make the parchment paper behave is to take two heavy cans of anything and weigh down the paper in the pan while making the dough. That way when it’s time to spread the dough out on the bottom the paper has been somewhat trained and doesn’t jump around as much.

Lesson Learned 2: It is important to follow the directions of using the parchment paper, having the overhang and spraying the parchment paper with cooking spray. I can’t image what you would wind up with if you didn’t. But if you take the time to do it, it comes out of the pan easily and absolutely nothing sticks to the parchment paper.

Lesson Learned 3: This recipe gives you plenty of dough so don’t worry about using it to fill up the bottom. It says to use two thirds of the dough for the crust and one third to dot the top. I found that gave me way too much dough for the top. You need a lot less dough to dot the top then you think, so don’t be afraid to use more than two thirds of the dough for the crust.

Lesson Learned 4: Avoid the temptation to use too much raspberry jam. A nice even thin coat is all you need. Stick to the amount called for in the recipe.

Lesson Learned 5: Depending on how many bars you want to give out, you may have to make this recipe a couple of times. You can make the bars big or small, but the most you’ll probably get out of this recipe is 24 small bars.

I guarantee these bars will be a hit with your family and friends. You simply must try them!

Raspberry Walnut Bars…

Servings: 24 Small Bars
Time: 1 Hour Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
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INGREDIENTS:

Non stick baking spray

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup raspberry jam

1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang on both sides. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. (I do this right before I am ready to put the dough into the pan).

In a medium bowl whisk the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. (This does take a little time, most people do not do this thoroughly enough so make sure to take the time to make the mixture fluffy). Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Do not over mix. Transfer two thirds of the dough into the prepared pan and press down evenly. Spread the jam on top. Crumble the remaining dough and dot it over the jam. Sprinkle the top with the walnuts. Bake until golden 35-45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. (this is very important).

Holding both sides of the parchment paper, lift out of the pan, transfer to a cutting board and cut into rectangles. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Maple Pear Walnut Skillet Cake

November 29, 2015January 21, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

I have to admit I made this a few weeks ago, but it’s a pretty busy time of year and I made several recipes in one week so that I could keep up my goal of doing weekly posts on this blog. This is a great cake on a variety of levels. First, it’s a heck of lot easier to make than it looks, second it takes no time to put this together (most of the work involves pealing and slicing the pears) and third you wind up with a cake that looks professionally made.

So let’s talk maple pear walnut skillet cake…

Lesson Learned 1 – The right amount of pears to use is not an exact science: This recipe is made in a ten inch cast iron skillet. When I made it I used pears from my neighbor’s tree which were smaller than ones you buy in the store. I think I used about 6-8 pears for the decorative top. If using larger pears, I think you could get away with using no more than three. I would err on the side of too much rather than too little. If you have four pears on hand and you only need three you have one to enjoy later. And remember, if the pears look like they’re starting to oxidize and turn brown before you put them in the pan, just sprinkle a little lemon juice over them and that will help keep them looking good.

Lesson Learned 2 – Even with a seasoned cast iron pot a few pears might stick to the pot when it comes time to invert it: No worries here. Even though a couple of my pears stuck, they easily peeled off the bottom of the pan and I could place them back in the spots they’d vacated on the cake. Judging by the pictures you’d never know that happened. I just felt compelled to let you know that even the best of cooks have to make these types of adjustments from time to time. As Julia Child used to say, “Whose to know…”

Lesson Learned 3 – Always remember, cast iron retains heat for quite some time: When you go to invert the cake, the cast iron skillet will still be very hot! Remember to use oven mitts when you do this part of the process. You will not be able to handle the skillet without some type of protection from the heat at that point.

This cake couldn’t be easier, especially for how dramatic it looks. You layer the pears on the bottom of the pan, spoon the cake mixture over the pears and carefully spread it out to the sides of the pan making sure not to disturb the pears in the process. Then you bake it, flip it, (do any final fixes if you need to) and you’re done. Take a walk on the wild side and try this one. Even though it may look intimidating, it really is easy and oh so delicious!

Maple Pear Walnut Skillet Cake

Servings: 10-12
Time: 85 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Pear Topping:

4 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup good maple syrup

Pears (3-4 large, 6-8 small)

1/2 – 3/4 cup walnut pieces (this will be your preference)

Cake:

1 1/4 cup flour, plus 1 Tbs. for high altitude

1 1/2-2 tsps. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup good maple syrup

2 extra large eggs, room temperature

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a seasoned ten inch cast iron skillet, melt the 4 Tbs. of butter. Spread the butter out to cover the skillet making sure to include the sides of the skillet. Add the brown sugar and maple syrup and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and arrange the pears on top of the butter-sugar-syrup mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts and set aside.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another bowl mix together the yogurt and vanilla. Set aside. Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add maple syrup and mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients and the yogurt mixture, alternating between the two and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix.

Carefully drop the batter by large spoonfuls all over the pears. Spread batter out to the edges of the pan being careful not to disturb the pears.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly. Cool the cake for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack.

Run a knife along the edges of the skillet. Carefully invert the cake on to a plate. (Be careful, the cast iron skillet will still be very hot). If any pears stick to the bottom of the pan, peel them off and place them back on top of the cake.

The Pears And Walnuts At The Bottom Of The Skillet

Pears And Walnuts Arranged At The Bottom Of The Skillet

Drop The Batter In Large Balls On Top Of The Pear Mixture

Batter Dropped In Large Clumps Over The Pear Mixture

Batter Spread Over The Pear Mixture

Right Out Of The Oven

Shepherds Pie Turkey Style…

November 27, 2015youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

Posted this over a year ago and thought this might help with all of your Thanksgiving leftovers. Enjoy!

You Betcha Can Make This!

I’ve always liked the concept of Shepherds Pie, it’s a great way to use leftover pot roast – but what about using poultry as the main protein? A grocery store near my home often features fresh half turkey breasts on the bone and I love them. Because of their smaller size, it’s a great way to have turkey more often than just during the holidays, it’s easy to cook and you still get great turkey leftovers to boot. The only difference is that now I don’t have all of the other holiday side dishes to serve with the leftover turkey, and I wanted to try something a little different than just a turkey pot pie.

Spread The Turkey Over The Bottom of the Dish

I’m beginning to wonder what I would do without Pinterest. What great way to find recipes from sites I would probably never find otherwise. My blog…

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The Ultimate Chocolate Cake…

November 23, 2015January 21, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

Just about everyone has their favorite chocolate cake recipe. I like to experiment with various recipes, give them a spin of my own, and this time I think I really hit the jackpot. If you want an easy to make, moist – and I do mean moist – dark, luscious and oh so chocolatey cake, this is the recipe for you. And it’s perfect for your holiday table!

I can’t take credit for the frosting. I stole it from Ina Garten and want to make sure she gets full credit for it. I wanted a buttercream frosting, but I can see this cake being equally delicious with a chocolate ganache.

So let’s talk about the ultimate chocolate cake…

Lesson Learned 1 – The batter will be thin: I am used to a somewhat thicker batter and so I was surprised that this batter was thin, almost runny. Don’t let that worry you. Just bake it until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

The Cake Right Out Of The Oven…

Lesson Learned 2 – Using coffee to enhance the flavor of chocolate: I found out that just a little bit of coffee added to a chocolate recipe really enhances the flavor of the chocolate. Whether it be brewed coffee, espresso powder or instant coffee granules, using coffee as an ingredient kicks up the chocolatey flavor in baking. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of brewed coffee. Just make sure that coffee is either just slightly warm or room temperature. If you add hot coffee to the batter you’ll scramble the egg and you don’t want to do that.

Lesson Learned 3 – Baking with cocoa powder: I don’t know about you but my cocoa powder always seems to have big lumps in it making it difficult to get a smooth batter once it is incorporated This time I sifted the cocoa powder before adding it in and that did the trick. It was a lot easier to get a smooth batter.

Lesson Learned 4 – Thoughts on buttercream frosting: As I mentioned earlier, I used Ina Garten’s recipe for the frosting. Ina always says the better the ingredients you use, the better the flavor. It’s so true. If you use this particular frosting recipe, make sure you use good quality semi-sweet chocolate. I used Ghirardelli chocolate in the frosting. The frosting was divine.

Also, keep in mind that the main ingredient in buttercream frosting is butter. When you make it, the frosting will be soft and smooth. If you choose to refrigerate the frosted cake, the frosting will get harder, just like butter does when it’s put back into the refrigerator. And since there is so much butter in the frosting you’re going to want to refrigerate anything that doesn’t get eaten immediately. So, if you’re planning on serving cake that has been stored in the refrigerator, you can take it out and let the frosting soften up a little. Or you can serve the frosting cold. The frosting is so good it’s delicious either way.

The Frosting…

This recipe would make great cupcakes as well. You’ll never make a more moist or chocolatey cake. Try this recipe and see what you think. Enjoy!

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake…

Servings: 16
Time: 45 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

1 extra large egg, room temperature

1 cup sugar

6 ounces vanilla greek yogurt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup brewed coffee, warm or room temperature – not hot

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting:

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup + 1 Tbs. granulated sugar

1 Tbs. instant coffee granules (I used hazelnut granules)

2 tsp. hot water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9 x 9 baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl combine egg, sugar, yogurt and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and combined. Sift the cocoa powder and add it in along with the brewed coffee. Whisk until smooth and free from lumps.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine with the wet ingredients and whisk together until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting: In a microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate on high power in 30 minute intervals, stirring until the chocolate is melted. (The chocolate will probably come out of the microwave with a few softened pieces still intact, but stirring will get them to melt. You want to be careful not to overheat the chocolate, so make sure you try to make the stirring complete the process.) Set aside to cool a little.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat for an additional minute. (Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.) Add the confectioners sugar and slowly beat until combined. In a small bowl dissolve the instant coffee granules in the hot water. Slowly beat the coffee and chocolate into the butter mixture.

Creamy Shrimp and Cauliflower Casserole

November 16, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

My goal with this blog is to make one new recipe a week. Sometimes that can be an arduous task and other times I can make a few in the same timeframe. I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I had a taste for shrimp and decided to try a different way of preparing it.

Casseroles can be deceiving. We tend to look at them as the convenience of a one dish meal with lots of different ingredients, and that’s true. What one forgets is that normally there is a lot of prep that goes into making a casserole, and so if you are not a prep person like I am, casseroles may not be the ticket for you.

So let’s talk creamy shrimp and cauliflower casserole:

Lesson Learned 1 – Is your shrimp really deveined? Most people like to buy shrimp that is deveined with the shell removed so that they don’t have to do as much prep. But is shrimp marketed as deveined really completely deveined? What I didn’t realize early on is shrimp has veins on both sides, the top and the bottom and when you purchase “deveined” shrimp only the top vein is removed. Next time you buy deveined shrimp check out the bottom and you will see that little black vein running through the bottom as well. Some people leave it in, I remove it. That adds to the prep time but then I’m not eating this disgusting vein once the shrimp is cooked.

For this recipe I got fresh shrimp from my fishmonger that was deveined on top but still had the shell, tail and bottom vein. I removed all of that before adding the shrimp to the other casserole ingredients.

Lesson Learned 2 – This is what the prep entails: Not only do you have to prep the shrimp, you need to cut up and steam the cauliflower, cut up the spinach, melt the butter, grate the cheese and chop the parsley. It doesn’t sound like a lot but it does take a little time. My advice here is to grate your own cheese versus using prepackaged shredded cheese. Prepackaged shredded cheese has an additive in it that prevents the cheese shreds from sticking together. Anytime you can eliminate any additives in your food the better. Sure it takes a little more time, but consider the cumulative effects of those additives in your body over several years. Isn’t it worth a couple of extra minutes to grate the cheese yourself and eliminate those additives?

Lesson Learned 3 – Like most casseroles, you can decide what cheese works best for you: When I made the casserole I used a combination of gruyere and pepper jack cheeses along with the romano. I wasn’t sure if using just pepper jack alone would overpower the casserole. Next time I’m only going to use pepper jack and romano. I like the tang pepper jack gives the casserole and I don’t think it will be too much. Experiment with the cheese you like. Just make sure you are using a good melting cheese.

I really liked this casserole, and it was a new way for me to serve shrimp. Try it and tell me what you think.

Creamy Shrimp and Cauliflower Casserole

Servings: 4
Time: 1 Hour Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1 small cauliflower cut up and steamed until fork tender

1 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped

1/3 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped in large chunks

1/4 coconut milk

3 Tbs. melted butter, slightly cooled

1 extra large egg, beaten

4 baby bella mushrooms quartered

1/2 cup grated Romano

1 cup grated cheese (I used a combination of gruyere and pepper jack)

1 tsp. italian parsley, minced for the casserole and an extra tsp. or so for garnish

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 1 quart casserole dish and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the egg, coconut milk, garlic, parsley. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Put the cauliflower in another bowl and add the grated cheeses and egg mixture. Stir until the cauliflower is evenly coated. Add the shrimp, spinach and mushrooms and stir to combine.

Pour into prepared pan. Top with a light dusting of bread crumbs (you may not need the entire 1/3 cup). Bake for 25 – 35 minutes. (You want the cheese to be melted and the shrimp to be pink. I live in high altitude so it took me 35 minutes. At sea level I would start checking the casserole at 25 minutes).

Transfer to a plate and garnish with some additional chopped italian parsley and serve.

Get Your Holiday Crab On…

November 15, 2015youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

You Betcha Can Make This!

SINCE ORIGINALLY POSTING THIS RECIPE I’VE BEEN ASKED TO INCLUDE THE RECIPE IN THE BLOG AND I’VE TWEAKED IT SLIGHTLY FROM THE ORIGINAL. SO I WILL REPOST THE BLOG, WITH THE LINK TO THE ORIGINAL RECIPE AS WELL AS A PRINTABLE RECIPE ON THIS BLOG:

I stumbled on this one quite by accident. I was looking for a make-ahead appetizer recipe to bring to a friend’s house. All I could seem to find on Pinterest were appetizers best served hot and I wanted something I could make on Friday to bring to an event on Sunday. Somehow I stumbled on this recipe from justapinch.com called crab dip to make ahead. It sounded like it would fit the bill, so I decided to try it.

The challenge for me was finding some good crab meat. The last time I bought lump crab meat was from Costco and it was full of…

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Holiday Recipe Compilation…

November 9, 2015youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

Whether you want to admit it or not, the holidays are upon us. And if you’re like me, I’m always doing research on different recipes to make for the holidays. That takes a lot of time. So in an effort to save you time searching through this blog for holiday recipes, I’m compiling some of my favorites for you. From sweet to savory and even including a home made holiday potpourri, this blog can serve as your clearinghouse for many of the holiday recipes I’ve chronicled in the past.

All you need to do is click on the caption underneath the pictures and it will link you to the corresponding blog entry and recipe. I’m also including a few thoughts about each of them as many of them have been tried and true holiday recipes over the years. I hope you enjoy this little holiday gift from my house to yours.

SWEET RECIPES:

Cranberry Christmas Cake

In my mind, this cake is the perfect holiday recipe. It’s easy to make, colorful and ever so delicious.

Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies

I’ll let you in on a little secret. This is my all time favorite Christmas cookie!! You will need to be on the look out for cinnamon chips. I can only find them in the stores over the holidays. You may want to buy a couple of extra bags and freeze them in case you want to make these during the year.

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies

This is my second all time favorite Christmas cookie recipe! This cookie has three kinds of chocolate and has the consistency of a brownie. What more can you ask for?

They are also fun to decorate and look very fancy with not a lot of work. I’ve made this particular recipe for years and these cookies never stay around for very long. You simply have to try these.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

As you’ll see, I love to bake with cranberries over the holidays. This cookie combines cranberries, oatmeal and white chocolate chips. A killer combo! They are absolutely yummy.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

I don’t think I need to say much about these bars. The picture says it all. And I’ll clue you in, they taste as good as they look!

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

This one is my husband’s favorite! Once again, they look very fancy but in actuality they are very easy to make!

Peppermint Twist Kisses

A festive cookie that is not only delicious but boasts the colors of the season.

Iced Cranberry Orange Walnut Cookies

I just made these for the first time last week and they will definitely become part of my holiday baking repertoire. And whenever you combine cranberries with oranges and walnuts, how can you miss?

Raspberry Walnut Bars

These are very easy to make. I make them all year round. They turn out perfectly every single time.

Oatmeal Cream Cheese Butterscotch Bars

These bars are absolute butterscotch decadence. Make sure you hide a few because let me tell you, they won’t last for long!

SAVORY RECIPES:

Creamy Spinach Red Pepper Dip

This is a quick and easy appetizer that boasts the colors of Christmas. It is one of my holiday go-to make ahead appetizer recipes.

Perfect Roast Turkey

It took me years to figure out how to make a perfect roast turkey. I finally nailed it!

The Best Ever Holiday Stuffing

I used to love my mother’s stuffing but sadly I never got the recipe from her. I’ve experimented with various versions and finally put together a recipe only second best to mom’s!

Oven Roasted Vegetables

I absolutely love this recipe and make it all year long! It is the perfect side dish for a holiday meal.

Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta and Sundried Tomatoes

I’m not a big fan of brussels sprouts but my husband loves them. I finally put together a recipe that even I enjoy!

Home Made Cranberry Sauce

Making home made cranberry sauce is so easy. Don’t buy the canned stuff. This is so much better!

HOLIDAY POTPOURRI:

Holiday Potpourri

Forget the scented candles. Make you own home made potpourri and simmer it on the stove for hours of wonderful smells in your kitchen!

There are a wealth of recipes on this blog and one might argue any or all of them are fit for the holidays. What I’ve included here are my favorites but I encourage you to check out my recipe index for many more great recipes.

Here’s to the start of a wonderful holiday season. I truly hope you enjoy these recipes!

Iced Cranberry Orange Walnut Cookies…

November 2, 2015November 30, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 6 Comments

It’s cranberry season, my favorite time of year. I love cooking and baking with cranberries. Their tartness adds zip to both sweet and savory recipes. I especially like them in cookies. I think they balance out the sweetness in cookie recipes and add a festive flavor.

Now need I mention that it is also getting very close to holiday baking season, and every year I try out at least one new cookie recipe. I saw a version of this recipe in an Allrecipes magazine and tweaked it not only from an ingredient perspective but also to adapt it to high altitude baking.

High altitude baking can be tricky and unless you purchase a cookbook specifically written for high altitude baking you are most likely using ingredient amounts designed for sea level. The higher the altitude the lower the air pressure which makes it difficult for the baker. Baking depends on specific interactions of various ingredients such as flour, leavening, fats and liquid. Those interactions change with a change in air pressure. And to make matters worse, baking at 3,500 feet is different from baking at 5,000 feet and as you continue to rise in elevation the trickier it gets. I live at a 5,000 feet and have done a lot of research into how to adapt recipes for that elevation and still have some baking failures. But the more you do it, the better you get at it. The additions to this recipe are specifically designed for baking these cookies at 5,000 feet. I played around with the ingredients and I nailed it! But since many of you are probably at sea level I will use sea level amounts as the base and note what needs to be changed for high altitude.

Lesson Learned 1 – Use the juice from fresh oranges: Fresh ingredients are always the best. This recipe requires both orange zest and juice. Don’t take the easy way out and use bottled orange juice. Plus take a look at the amount of sugar in your orange juice. It’s crazy the amount of sugar there is a most juices. It can be anywhere from 10 to 30 grams. That’s a lot of sugar. Use fresh juice. Any small way that you can control the amount of sugar in anything you make is a good thing.

Lesson Learned 2 – Use a cookie scoop to ensure even amounts of cookie dough: When I was growing up most cookie recipes would say drop the dough in rounded teaspoons or tablespoons onto the cookie sheet. That wasn’t very precise and you want to make sure you can, to the best of your ability, make each cookie the same size. That way every cookie will bake evenly versus having some baked and others raw or burnt.

These days you can purchase what looks like a small ice cream scoop to make the cookie dough virtually the same size on your baking sheet. Working with them can be a little tricky so here is a helpful hint: spray the inside of the scoop with baking spray before scooping any dough. That way the dough will release more easily. I found that even with using baking spray the scoop gets pretty gummed up after scooping out a dozen or so cookies. Once you’ve filled your baking sheet, put your dirty scoop into a glass of warm water. When you’re ready to scoop out more dough, take a paper towel, wipe the inside clean and spray it again. This may sound like a lot of work but the results are evenly sized, evenly baked cookies.

Lesson Learned 3 – How to glaze cookies: I’m not a professional baker nor do I have some of the tools that professional bakers have namely pastry bags and decorator nozzles. When I glaze cookies I put the glaze in a plastic bag, work it into one of the bottom corners, twist close the top of the bag and snip the corner where the glaze settled. Voila, a home made pastry bag! Here are a couple of helpful hints for glazing cookies and working with a homemade pastry bag:

Open the plastic bag and put it in a tall drinking glass, spreading the bag open as widely as you can inside the glass. Now you have an easy way of pouring the glaze into the bag and both of your hands are free to do this.
Snip only a very small portion off of one of the corners of the bottom of the bag. That way you’ll have a manageable stream of glaze when decorating your cookies.
Put a sheet of wax paper under a cooling rack and put your cookies on the cooling rack before glazing. That way clean up will be a breeze.
Just free flow the glaze over your cookies. You can do each cookie individually or do one long strip back and forth over a row of cookies. Have fun with it.
Let the glaze set before storing them. Touch the glaze and if feels firm then you’re ready to store them.

These are fabulous cookies and perfect for a holiday get-together. You really should try these and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Iced Cranberry Orange Walnut Cookies

Servings: 4 dozen cookies
Time: 90 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Print

INGREDIENTS:

Cookie Dough:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar (minus 1 Tbs. for high altitude)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (minus 3/4 Tbs. for high altitude)

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp. orange zest (1 large orange will give you the zest and juice you need)

2 Tbs. orange juice (plus 2 Tbs. for high altitude)

2 1/2 cups flour (plus 2 Tbs. for high altitude)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cranberries

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:

1/2 tsp. orange zest

3-4 Tbs. orange juice

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in egg until thoroughly combined. Add zest and juice and combine.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add in batches to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts by hand.

Drop dough in rounded tablespoons (the cookie scoop will do this perfectly for you) two inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes (mine baked in 13 minutes – sea level baking on average takes less time). Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

For the glaze: combine all ingredients together. Drizzle glaze onto the cookies. Let the cookies stand until the glaze has set and then store.

Chicken Meatballs In Cheesy Tomato Cream Sauce…

October 30, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

I was in search of somewhat quick comfort food meal that was a little bit out of our ordinary faire. My husband suggested trying to make meatballs with ground chicken and I took it from there.

I’d never made meatballs with anything other than ground beef so I was interested to see how they would turn out. They were fabulous, but I have to admit they still tasted like a regular old meatball to me. It was fun experimenting with a different spin on meatballs and the meal was absolutely divine with very little fuss.

So let’s talk chicken meatballs in cheesy tomato cream sauce…

Lesson Learned 1 – Although in the end they may taste similar, working with ground chicken is different than working with ground beef: Because ground chicken is leaner you have to be careful how you mix it and how much you cook it. Otherwise you will be stuck with dry, tasteless meatballs.

First of all, to keep the mixture moist I added a tablespoon of sour cream and 1/4 cup milk along with an egg. I will warn you now, the mixture will be very moist as seen in the picture to the left. I started out with 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs and wound up adding about 1/4 cup more. Keep in mind you do want the mixture to be very moist, probably more moist than you think. Although it seemed a little strange at first, this consistency produced tender, juicy meatballs.

You also want to make sure you don’t overcook the meatballs. I formed the meatballs using a well rounded teaspoonful of the mixture and rolling them in my hand. I arranged them on a pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. They went under the broiler for about 6 minutes and then I cooked them through in the simmering tomato sauce. The pictures below show the meatballs before and after going under the broiler. There appears to be only a slight difference. You put them under the broiler to “set” them so when you take them out they are only somewhat cooked. But trust me, the tomato sauce will do the rest of the work and you’ll have fabulous and tender meatballs in the end.

Meatballs Before Going Under The Broiler

How The Meatball Should Look After Coming Out From The Broiler

How The Meatballs Should Looking Coming Out From Under The Broiler

Lesson Learned 2 – Use good ingredients: I always remember Ina Garten saying that you need to use good ingredients in order to have the best outcome. I am especially referring to the tomato sauce you use. With this particular recipe I used a tomato basil sauce. Now you may turn up your nose on “organic” but I actually spent time reading the labels on many sauce jars and was surprised by some of the ingredients in them. I finally settled on a little known organic brand that had only fresh clean ingredients and no chemical sounding names. It was a little more expensive, but I felt good about what I was eating and the sauce was divine. It’s your choice. I just get a little uncomfortable putting ingredients into my body that I cannot even pronounce.

Lesson Learned 3 – Use only a small amount of mozzarella pearls: I was happy to discover that you can buy mozzarella in a size called “pearls”. They are much smaller than mozzarella balls and just the perfect size for this recipe.

You may think you want to put in more than what is called for in the recipe but I would advise against it. Too many mozzarella pearls and your sauce will get overly thick and gloppy. You want the flavor of the mozzarella and a slight texture of melted stringiness in the cheese. In this case a little goes a long way. If for some reason you add too much and your sauce gets too thick, simply add some of the pasta water to the pot to thin the sauce. Or you can use chicken broth and get the same result.

You can find mozzarella pearls in the dairy case next to the fresh mozzarella. This was quite a find for me as I can envision using them in a lot of other recipes.

Mozarella Pearls Added To The Sauce

The biggest part of the work in this recipe is assembling the meatballs. If you are pressed for time prepare the mixture the night before. It takes no time to roll them up and put them under the broiler. The rest is basically adding them to the sauce, heating the sauce while cooking the pasta and adding the mozzarella at the end. My husband gave a two thumbs up to this recipe, so you know it has to be good!

Chicken Meatballs In Cheesy Tomato Cream Sauce…

Servings: 4-6
Time: 45 Minutes Including Making the Meatballs
Difficulty: Easy
Print

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 – 3/4 cup italian style panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup whole milk

1 lb. ground chicken

1 egg

2 Tbs finely grated onion

1 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced

1 Tbs. sour cream

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

2 cups pasta (I used a pasta called orecchiette)

Pasta water, if necessary to thin out the sauce

1 jar organic tomato basil sauce

1 Tbs. tomato paste

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup mozzarella pearls

Fresh parsley or basil, chopped for garnish.

DIRECTIONS:

For the meatballs: Set your oven rack in the center of the oven and put the broiler on high. In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup panko, milk, chicken, egg, onion parsley, sour cream, salt and pepper. The mixture will be very moist. If too moist add a little more panko being careful not to make the mixture too dry. Take rounded teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into meatballs approximately one inch thick. Spray a foil lined pan with cooking spray and arrange the meatballs on the pan. Broil the meatballs for 5-6 minutes until very lightly golden.

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. While the pasta is cooking put the tomato sauce in a deep pan, and heat. Once the sauce is warmed through add the tomato paste and stir until combined. Add the cream and simmer for a few minutes. Add the meatballs and simmer for an additional five minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Add the mozzarella pearls and stir until melted. If pasta sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta water to thin it.

Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately.

Chicken Meatballs In A Cheesy Tomato Cream Sauce

Chicken Meatballs In Cheesy Tomato Cream Sauce…

Fresh Pear Compote…

October 26, 2015youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

Last year my neighbor’s apple trees produced in abundance. This year it was the pear trees and so I eventually got a bushel of pears. Off I went in search of pear recipes I might adapt to my needs and tastes.

I’ve always been a big fan of warm fruit. There’s nothing better than a piece of hot apple or cherry pie with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream. This time, I was not in the mood to make a pie. I found a great recipe for making an upside down pear cake that I adapted and will post later. But what I really wanted to make was a pear compote.

A compote is basically fruit cooked in water and spices. This particular compote is cooked in butter and lemon juice along with sugar and vanilla. Now doesn’t that sound good. So let’s talk fresh pear compote…

Lesson Learned 1 – All the tedious work is in the prep: To make this compote you need to peel and slice the pears. The pears I got from my neighbor were, on average, smaller than the ones you buy in the grocery store. So I had to spend more time peeling and slicing. Keep in mind that pears, like apples, will turn brown (oxidize) when peeled and exposed to air. To slow down that process until you’ve got everything prepped, just sprinkle a little lemon juice on the pears. That will prevent oxidation until you’re ready to cook them. Every time you slice another pear and drop it in the bowl use your hands to toss it in with the others so that some lemon juice gets on it. There’s no need to add additional lemon juice every time you add another sliced pear to the bowl, unless you’re doubling or tripling the recipe. You really need only a small amount of lemon juice, a tablespoon or so.

Also make sure you slice the pears thinly. They will cook more evenly and will mash thoroughly if you slice them thinly before you cook them.

Lesson Learned 2 – Don’t be afraid to add the ingredients to taste: My recipe requires very little sugar due to the sweetness of the fresh fruit Most compote recipes I read called for less than one teaspoon of cinnamon. The beauty of this recipe is it’s very adaptable. Once you mix the ingredients, taste the pears before you cook them. If you feel you need to add more sugar or cinnamon, add it. I also love the taste of vanilla extract in the recipe but I found that a little vanilla goes a long way. But those are my tastes. Make this recipe work for you. Just remember to err on the safe side as you can always add more but you can’t take it away once you’ve added it.

Lesson Learned 3 – This compote can be served hot or cold: Although traditionally compote is designed to be served hot, this compote tastes divine hot or cold. I would make a bowl of hot oatmeal and put some chilled compote on top and it was an insanely delicious combination. You can serve this warm with a cheese platter, or put it on crusty bread. Anyway you choose to serve it, this recipe is a winner.

It’s amazing to me how simple this recipe is. After I made pear compote I used the same recipe to make apple compote and it was fabulous. I certainly hope that you try this one.

[recipe: title=”Fresh Pear Compote…” time=”45-50 Minutes” servings=”6-8″ difficulty=”Easy”]

INGREDIENTS:

6 large pears

1 medium sized lemon, juiced and zested (plus an additional tablespoon of juice to put on pears while slicing them)

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon (start with 1/2 and add more to taste)

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 tsp. cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

Peel the pears and slice them thinly. (coat them with a little lemon juice to prevent oxidation before you’ve completed pealing all the pears). Once pealed, combine pears with all of the ingredients except the butter and cornstarch.

Melt the butter in a deep sauce pan. Add the pear mixture and cook for at least five minutes on medium high heat, or until the pears are tender and can be mashed.

Remove the pears from the heat. Mash them inside the same pot. After mashing them stir in the cornstarch. NOTE: Add the cornstarch a little at a time to avoid clumping.

Put the pears back on the stove and simmer covered for an additional 20 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

[/recipe]

Mom’s Chicken Soup With Dumplings…

October 19, 2015October 1, 2020youbetchcanmakethis 6 Comments

Most of you know by now that my mom wasn’t much of a cook. She led a busy life raising two kids and working (and you have to remember, at that time women were staying home when they had children) and so her meals were pretty rudimentary – meat, potatoes, peas or corn – that was about it. But there was one meal she made that was over the top fabulous and that was chicken soup and kugelis. I’m sharing the chicken soup recipe today. As for the kugelis recipe (kugelis is a Lithuanian dish and basically a baked potato pudding) I’ll share another time. Whenever my mom would visit us I would always ask that she make this meal. No one could make it like my mom – but she did pass down those secrets to me.

For years this was the only homemade soup I made. This year I ventured into making some others (broccoli cheddar and creamy tomato soups) and I now find it hard to believe why anyone would not make homemade soup. It’s so easy and most of the work, besides the chopping and dicing, is done in the pot.

I guarantee you this recipe is a keeper. It’s not rocket science but it is so-o-o good – it was and still is a tradition in my family. So let’s talk mom’s chicken soup with dumplings…

Lesson Learned 1 – Use a very large stock pot: I have a 6 1/2 quart LeCreuset stock pot that I use whenever I make soup and there’s a reason why. You need a big enough pot to put in a whole chicken and still have plenty of room for liquid. I make this recipe using a 5-6 pound chicken and it can take up a lot of room.

I also like using an enameled cast iron pot when I make soup because of it’s ability to hold heat and provide even heat. There is no better way to cook than to use cast iron, but it has its drawbacks. Mainly it’s very heavy and it takes a little more time for it to heat up. But when you’re cooking something for a substantial amount of time, I find the way to get the best results is to use cast iron.

Lesson Learned 2 – Don’t be afraid to make dumplings: Some people say they have no luck making dumplings. There is a trick to making them that basically ensures success all the time. Once you’ve spooned the dumpling batter in the pot, put the lid on and keep it on for at least 20 minutes – NO PEEKING. The dumplings need time to solidify and they only way they do is if you keep that lid on and let the steam cook them through. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to view your dumpling prowess after they’ve fully cooked. If you don’t do this, they will fall apart. So don’t be like my husband who likes to lift the lid of the crock pot mid through the cooking time to see how things are going. Keep the lid on and you will be successful!

The texture of the dumpling batter should resemble a slightly moist sticky dough. I apologize in advance but this is a skill you learn with trial and error. Just remember that you don’t want the dough too runny nor do you want it to lack some moisture. Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it sounds. The picture on the left shows the dough just a little too moist but almost the desired consistency. I think I added another tablespoon of flour at this point and it turned out perfectly. Once you have combined all the ingredients in the recipe, if it looks a little dry add a little more buttermilk and if it looks a little too wet add a little more flour. The trick is to add the buttermilk or flour a little at a time at that point, so you don’t over mix but get the right consistency.

One more great dumpling making secret: Before you start spooning in the dough, place your teaspoon into the boiling soup. That way when you drop in the dough it will easily release from the teaspoon. Do that every time and you’ll never have to worry about a lot of dough sticking to your spoon.

That’s it. The rest is assembling and preparing the ingredients and letting the chicken and dutch oven do all of the work. This is a great recipe especially for this time of year. I hope you enjoy it!

Mom's Chicken Soup With Dumplings

Servings: 10
Time: 90 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Print

INGREDIENTS:

Soup:

1 five to six pound chicken, thawed

5-6 medium sized carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch logs (or you can use baby carrots as well)

4 celery heart stalks

3 cloves of garlic peeled but left whole

2 bay leaves

2 thirty-two ounce boxes of unsalted chicken stock (half stock, half broth is best)

2 tsp. instant bouillon chicken granules or 2 Tbs. roasted chicken better than bouillon

water

chopped chives for garnish

salt and pepper

Dumplings:

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 extra large egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/8 cup melted butter (2 Tbs)

2 Tbs. chopped chives or 1/s tsp. poultry seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

Wash chicken, remove any material inside the cavity and pat dry. (if the chicken has any innards such as a neck, liver and heart throw that in the pot as well). Put the chicken in a 6 1/2 quart stock pot. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaves. Pour in the chicken broth and stock. Add the bouillon. Fill the remainder of the pot with water until the liquid is about an inch from the top of the pan. Cover the pot and cook for 60 minutes. (a six pound bird required 60 minutes on medium-high heat).

After 60 minutes, turn off the heat and carefully remove the chicken from the pot along with the bay leaves. The garlic cloves will basically disintegrate so you don’t need to worry about removing them. Allow chicken to cool slightly so that you can work with it. Remove all the meat from the chicken, being careful to discard any bones and skin. Chop the chicken meat into nice bite size pieces. Put the meat back in the pot, cover the pot and bring to a boil.

While the soup is coming back to a boil make the dumpling batter. Melt the butter and give it time to cool before adding it to the dumpling mixture. Combine all of the dry ingredients including the chives. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients (it is important for the melted butter to be cool so that it doesn’t scramble the egg). Stir until combined. If the mixture is too dry add a little more buttermilk, if too moist add a little more flour.

Remove the cover from the pan. If the broth is boiling quickly drop the dumpling dough into the pan by the teaspoonful. Once all the dough is in the dutch oven, put the lid back on, lower the heat to medium and do not take the lid off the pan for at least 20 minutes.

Zucchini Artichoke Olive Dip…

October 12, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

This past weekend a farewell party was being hosted for a co-worker who is moving to New York City. We were all asked, if we wanted, to bring something for the table. I knew I would be working all day the day before and the day of the party so I wanted to bring something that was not necessarily the usual faire and that I could make ahead. I decided on this recipe.

This is what Rachel Ray would call a chop and drop recipe. All the work is in the chopping and once that’s done you just stir the ingredients all together and refrigerate it. It’s a perfect make-a-head appetizer for any party.

So let’s talk zucchini artichoke olive dip:

Lesson Learned 1 – Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature: This is a pretty hearty dip, almost a spread, so it’s important the cream cheese be room temperature, otherwise you’ll never get the ingredients completely blended. If the cream cheese is room temperature it mixes easily and you want to make sure everything is thoroughly combined as you have raw garlic and onion in this dip. You certainly don’t want concentrated clumps of raw onion or garlic anywhere. The only way you’ll achieve that is with room temperature cream cheese.

Lesson Learned 2 – any kind of olives will do: I had kalamata olives in the refrigerator, but you can use pimento stuffed olives or black olives, a combination of olives or whatever you prefer or have on hand. Be sure to add only 1/4 cup of finely chopped olives to begin with and then taste the dip when it’s all mixed. Olives tend to have a lot of salt in them and you don’t want to overpower the dip by adding too many. You can always add more if you think the dip needs more.

Lesson Learned 3 – refrigerate this dip for at least 4 hours: This is the kind of dip that tastes even better if all the ingredients get well acquainted, so keep it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, although overnight is preferable.

Lesson Learned 4 – Use a garlic press to mince the garlic: Since you are adding raw garlic, it’s important that it be finely minced. The best way I’ve found to do that is with a garlic press. If you chop by hand you run the risk of having a larger chunk(s) of raw garlic somewhere in the dip. Using a press minces the garlic evenly and allows for it to be thoroughly incorporated into the other ingredients.

Lesson Learned 5 – Start out by using only a small amount of fresh cilantro: Cilantro has a very strong flavor but it also adds depth of flavor to this dip. I recommend starting out by adding only 2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh cilantro. After you taste the dip, if you feel it needs more cilantro you can always add it. I found 2 tablespoons to be more than enough.

Lesson Learned 6 – Squeeze the excess water out of the shredded zucchini: Zucchini, like cucumbers, has a lot of water in it. You don’t want a runny dip so it’s important to squeeze the excess water out. I just took handfuls and squeezed them over the sink until no water dripped out. You can wrap the zucchini in a towel and squeeze the water out that way as well. But, if you have clean hands it’s so much easier just using your hands and you’re not left with a dirty dishtowel.

This is so easy to make and it has a slightly different combination of ingredients than most artichoke dips. Try it at your next party. It’s sure to be a hit!

Zucchini Artichoke Olive Dip…

Servings: 30
Time: 30 Minutes Prep + Refrigeration
Difficulty: Easy
Print

INGREDIENTS

2 packages of cream cheese (8 oz. each), room temperature

3 cups shredded zucchini (2 medium sized zucchini)

1 jar marinated artichokes drained and chopped (you can add more if you like)

1/4 cup finely chopped olives (I used kalamata olives)

4 large garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbs. finely chopped red onion

2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro

2 Tbs. lime juice (1 medium sized lime)

2 Tbs. good olive oil (I used garlic infused olive oil)

Appetizer crackers or a french bread baguette, sliced.

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all of the ingredients except the crackers and/or sliced baguette into a large bowl. Combine thoroughly. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, overnight is preferable.

Serve with appetizer crackers or a french bread baguette, sliced.

Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Bread…

October 6, 2015January 21, 2017youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

So after making my pumpkin cream cheese sweet bread I had some leftover pumpkin puree. Since I didn’t want to waste it and the sweet bread was such a big hit I thought I’d try making another type of sweet bread using the leftovers.

What I like about this bread is it combines some of my favorite Fall flavors – pumpkin, cranberry and orange. Then you throw in a little chopped pecans and you’re in sweet bread heaven.

So let’s talk some pumpkin cranberry nut bread…

Lesson Learned 1 – Plump the dried cranberries for even more flavor: I had a bag of cooking and baking julienne sliced cranberries and I was able to give them an extra body and boost by soaking them in warm fresh orange juice. Yum!

In a microwavable bowl I just poured the juice of one large orange over a half cup of the cranberries, put plastic wrap over the bowl, slit the wrap to vent and heated the mixture for 45 seconds. Then I let the mixture sit covered in the plastic wrap for at least 5 minutes and voila, plumped cranberries. You may have done this process before with raisins, and it works the same for dried cranberries. Plus it gives the cranberries an extra boost of orange flavor.

Lesson Learned 2 – I adapted this recipe from a muffin recipe: Almost any muffin recipe can be adapted into a sweet bread recipe. You just have to remember to bake it longer. I took the guess work out for you. I started checking the bread at 30 minutes and wound up baking it for an additional 15 minutes, checking the loaf every 5 minutes. My determination is, based on your oven and where you live, the bread should be baked for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Lesson Learned 3 – You don’t need any mixer for this recipe: Just combine the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until just combined – don’t over mix. It couldn’t be easier.

This bread is incredibly easy to make. So if you’re looking for a great Fall treat that’s full of flavor and requires hardly any effort on your part, this is the recipe for you! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Bread…

Servings: 14-16 slices
Time: 60 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used cooking and baking cranberries, julienned)

The juice of one large orange

2 cups flour, plus 1 Tbs. for high altitude

2/3 cup granulated sugar, measure slightly less for high altitude

1 Tbs. pumpkin spice blend

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup milk, you can used reduced fat milk

2 extra large eggs

The zest of one large orange

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350. Zest the orange. Cut the orange and juice it. Place the cranberries in a microwavable bowl and pour the orange juice over them. Take plastic wrap and cover the top of the bowl, cutting a small slit in the center to vent the steam. Microwave for 45 seconds. Set aside and let the cranberries steep for at least 5 minutes.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, pumpkin spice blend, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the chopped pecans. Drain the cranberries and put them in another large bowl. Add the somewhat cooled melted butter (you don’t want the eggs to scramble) the canned pumpkin, milk, eggs and orange zest. Stir until just combined.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the bowl. Mix with a spoon or spatula until just combined.

Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 x 4 loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Smooth the top of the batter with a spatula making sure the batter has reached into all corners and the top is even.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf rest in the loaf pan for 15 minutes then remove it to a wire rack. Cool completely.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Sweet Bread…

September 28, 2015January 21, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 1 Comment

It’s that time of year, my favorite time of year – Fall. I love everything about Fall, the cooler crisp weather, the fabulous colors, the onset of professional football, but most of all I love the food of fall. Whether it be a good ole pot of chili, a pot roast filling the house with fabulous smells or just the thought of cranking up that oven and making something sweet or savory, Fall is definitely the best time of the year for food and fun in my opinion.

And when it comes to Fall, undeniably the most popular gourd of the season is the pumpkin. Not only is it great in recipes but it also serves as one of the primary decorations that signals the coming of Halloween. So as I was sitting on my deck the other day enjoying an early morning cup of coffee and enjoying the Fall weather, I decided to make something with pumpkin in it.

Now I am far from a purist. I had absolutely no intention of cutting up a pumpkin and processing it to get some pumpkin puree. I simply turned to the canned variety. The result was absolutely fabulous. This time I took my creation to work, and it was gone within 20 minutes, so I think you’re really going to like this one.

So let’s talk pumpkin cream cheese sweet bread…

Lesson Learned 1 – Make the cream cheese filling first: With any recipe that has filling or an internal swirl, I find it easier to make the filling first. A lot of recipes have you make the batter and then the filling. I think once the batter’s done, it makes more sense to move on to assembling the bread versus making the filling and letting the batter sit. Just remember to make sure your cream cheese is room temperature before making the filling. That way you’ll have a silky smooth batter without lumps.

This recipe makes a generous amount for the filling. I really like that the cream cheese filling is a major part of the cake and the contrast between it and the dark pumpkin batter is pleasing to the eye. This sweet bread is not only delicious but delightful to look at as well.

Lesson Learned 2 – You don’t need a stand mixer for this one: I made the pumpkin batter in a stand mixer and used a hand mixer for the filling. You really only need a hand mixer. The wet ingredients combine easily and you fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by hand. So don’t pull out the stand mixer for this one.

Lesson Learned 3 – Dividing the batter: Normally recipes like this tell you to divide the batter into fourths or thirds with the larger percentage going on the bottom and the smaller on top of the filling. I think I divided it by three-quarters to one quarter and I was really nervous that I did not have enough batter to put on top of the filling. At one point I even pulled out a butter knife and meticulously kept moving batter from the center of the pan to the edges. I felt the amount of batter around the edges was dangerously thin and at one point I just thought, oh well, what will be will be.

To my surprise, and as is verified in the pictures, the amount I had on top was more than enough. I forgot the batter has leavening agents (baking powder and soda) and that made the batter on top rise higher than I ever expected.

My advice here is to be careful. I think I’d have felt more comfortable with a slightly larger amount of batter to spread on top. But if for some reason you find yourself in the same situation as I was, don’t worry. I probably had the least amount of batter you can have on top and the bread turned out beautifully.

Lesson Learned 4 – The challenge of knowing when it is done: Because this sweet bread has a cream cheese layer, it can be difficult to determine when it is done. Inserting a toothpick and expecting it to come out clean can be misleading, since the cream cheese will not set in the same way as the batter.

Also, depending upon your oven, the top and the sides can cook faster than the center. So, here’s what I did. I checked the bread after 30 minutes. I felt that the top and sides were cooking faster and so I tented the bread with foil making sure the foil did not touch the batter. I baked it for another 20 minutes tented and then I took off the tent. The center still looked a little too jiggly for me and so I removed the foil and baked it for another 5 minutes and then took it out of the oven. The sweet bread turned out perfectly.

Remember everyone’s oven is different. I also live in high altitude and so things normally take a little longer to bake. Start your overall time at 50 minutes and go from there. If it looks too jiggly in the center, let it bake a little longer. It sounds harder than it actually is, but believe me the end result is worth it.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Sweet Bread…

Servings: 10-12 Quarter Inch Slices
Time: 50-60 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
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INGREDIENTS:

Cream Cheese Filling

1 extra large egg, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbs. flour

Sweet Bread

1 extra large egg, room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup sugar (7/8 of a 1/4 cup for high altitude)

1/4 cup coconut oil (in its liquid state)

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup flour (plus 1 Tbs for high altitude)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a hand mixer, mix all the cream cheese filling ingredients until smooth. Set aside.

For the batter: In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. In another large bowl mix together (using a hand mixer) the remaining ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently fold them in using a wooden spoon or spatula. Continue until just combined. Do no over mix.

Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 x 4 inch loaf pan with baking spray. Pour in 2/3 of the batter mixture. Using a spatula, smooth out the mixture making sure it has spread to all sides and corners.

Pour the filling mixture on top, smoothing it out to reach all sides and corners. Add the remaining batter mixture on top of the filling. With a round edge knife or frosting spreader, smooth the remaining batter over the filling, making sure it reaches all sides and corners and covers the filling.

Bake for 50-55 minutes until cake it set. Half way through the baking process if it appears the sides and top are cooking faster than the center, tent the loaf pan for the remaining baking time.

Let the sweet bread cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before removing it. Let it cool completely before slicing.

Fresh Out Of The Oven

Grilled Salmon In Foil Packets

September 21, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

It’s getting close to the time when grilling food will be less and oven prepared food will be more. Well, this recipe gives you that grilled look from being baked in the oven in a foil packet. What I like about this recipe is it’s so easy to prepare and cook, so even if your a novice at cooking fish this recipe will turn you into a pro!

So let’s talk about grilled salmon in foil packets…

Two Six Ounce Salmon Filets

Lesson Learned 1 – The portion size for salmon: I had a butcher tell me that the correct portion size for salmon is eight ounces. I don’t agree with that. I think it is six ounces. If you’re feeding big eaters get eight ounce portions, but for most six ounces is more than enough. Both six and eight ounce portions cook for approximately the same time, give or take a few minutes for the larger size portion. Stick with a 6 ounce portion and the cooking time in the recipe and the salmon will turn out perfectly every time. I have a wonderful grocery store nearby that always has large pieces of salmon in the meat case. I get the butcher to cut them fresh for me every time. I also ask the butcher to cut the piece from the center and not from the ends.

Lesson Learned 2 – Removing the skin from the salmon: This is probably the most time consuming part of the entire recipe. You need to remove the skin of the salmon before baking it. Now you can always ask a butcher to do that, but I prefer doing it myself as I like to make sure that I am removing the skin with the least amount of flesh attached to it. But if you’re afraid to do it or feel like you don’t have the time, just ask your butcher.

To remove the skin you need to work with a very sharp knife. I use a boning knife. Start at the thick end of the filet and see if, by hand, you can slightly lift up part of the skin. Normally you can. Then place the blade of the knife up against the skin and slowly begin to move the knife down the skin. While your moving your knife, try to get as much of your hand holding the skin and pull toward the thin end of the filet as you move the knife.

This process may take a little time and you want to make sure you are removing mostly skin and not flesh. That is why you need a very sharp knife for this. Otherwise you may sacrifice a lot of the salmon to the skin. Take your time and don’t get frustrated. Just continue to methodically move the knife down the skin will pulling the skin toward the thin side of the filet.

Lesson Learned 3 – Getting the grilled on the salmon filet by using a foil packet: Once the salmon has marinated you just put it in a foil packet on a baking sheet and roast it in the oven for 15 minutes. No need to prep the foil in any way. Since the marinade has brown sugar in it, the bottom of the salmon will slightly caramelize. When removing the salmon from the packet simply flip it over when you put it on the plate and the salmon will look like it was made on the grill. It’s so easy and such a neat trick!

This is my go to salmon recipe. I love it because it is quick and easy and, by the way, did I tell you it’s pretty darn delicious. So try this one and tell me what you think…

Grilled Salmon In Foil Packets…

Servings: 4
Time: 15 Minutes Baking Time 3-4 Hours To Marinate
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

4 six ounce salmon filets, skin removed

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup water

half of a third of a cup of vegetable oil

2 medium-large garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves, slightly chopped (I used lemony thyme)

1 tsp. lemon pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Put the brown sugar, soy sauce, water, oil, garlic, thyme and lemon pepper into a bowl. Whisk completely making sure to incorporate all of the brown sugar into the liquid.

Place the salmon filets into a resealable bag. Pour the marinade over the filets. NOTE: You may need to use a spatula to get the residual brown sugar from the bottom of the bowl into the bag. It is important that as much brown sugar as possible is in the marinade mixture while the filets are marinating. Marinate the filets for 3-4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil. Using a piece of additional foil for each filet, loosely wrap the filet in the foil folding the edges up at the ends to make a packet. Place all the packets on the foil lined pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. When removing the salmon from the foil, make sure to flip it over so the caramelized side is on the top when serving. Serve immediately.

The Marinade

Marinate Filets In A Resealable Bag For 4 Hours

Put the salmon and marinade into a resealable plastic bag…

Salmon in a foil packet…

Serving Suggestion: Grilled Salmon with Panko Crusted Tomatoes and Roasted Baby Red Potatoes…

Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken…

September 15, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

I love the taste of honey mustard. Whether it be a salad dressing, a marinade or a dipping sauce, to me the flavor of honey and mustard combined is simply fabulous. So the other day when faced with grilling chicken for dinner, I decided to kick the flavor up a notch, marinate the chicken in a home made honey mustard sauce, baste the the chicken with the sauce while it was grilling and finally adding a drizzle of it on top right before serving. It was death by honey mustard sauce, but boy was it ever delicious.

So let’s talk grilled honey mustard chicken…

Lesson Learned 1 – Honey mustard sauce/marinade comes in all different shapes and sizes: I’ve tried various ways of making a honey mustard sauce. What I like about this version is it contains sour cream which, I think, adds to creaminess and tang of the sauce. You certainly can use plain yogurt or even chicken stock when making a honey mustard sauce. But so far, I like this sauce recipe the best.

The other thing I recommend is using a mixture of whole grain and dijon mustards to make the sauce. I think using whole grain mustard not only adds to the depth of the sauce’s flavor but also gives great texture and eye appeal. Remember you eat first with your eyes. By using whole grain mustard there is no doubt what’s in the sauce.

My last recommendation where the sauce is concerned is to marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours, with overnight being preferable. Once you’ve put the chicken in a bag with the marinade, remember to turn it over every once in a while to make sure every inch in soaking in the tasty marinade. Also once you’ve made the marinade and before you pour it in the bag save about a quarter of a cup to baste the chicken with during grilling and to drizzle over the chicken right before you serve. All I can say is YUMMO!

Lesson Learned 2 – Should you use skin-on or skinless chicken breasts: As you can see from the pictures, I chose to grill skin-on boneless chicken breasts. In many instances I find the fat from the skin permeates the meat during the cooking process and adds additional moistness to the meat. But you have to consider the fact that the sauce contains honey, and I found the skin tended to stick to the grill because of the honey.

Marinated Chicken Breasts

After a point I wound up just peeling the skin off and cooking the breasts without it. The sticking factor was much less, I still got great grill marks and the breasts were moist. Just make sure you flip them every 5-6 minutes. I cooked mine for about 30 minutes total. Your cooking time will depend upon the thickness of your chicken breasts and the temperature of your grill. If you’re not sure if they’re done, stick a meat thermometer into the center of the meat. If it reads 160 degrees, you’re good to go. Just make sure to turn them over regularly.

If you’ve been following this blog you know I am a big fan of chicken. I eat it a lot and so I’m always experimenting with ways to prepare it. If you have any favorite chicken recipes you want me to try, just let me know. But I guarantee this recipe is definitely a winner. Enjoy!

Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken…

Servings: 4
Time: 30-40 Minutes Grilling Time
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Four 6-8 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup mustard (half dijon half whole grain) – you can make it a generous half cup

1/3 cup clover honey

1/3 cup sour cream

2 TBS steak sauce

chives for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together the mustards, honey, sour cream and steak sauce. Take a quarter cup of the marinade and put it in a separate container in the refrigrator. Place the chicken is a sealable plastic bag and pour the remaining marinade into the bag. Seal the bag and massage the contents until the marinade is evenly distributed over the chicken.

Place the chicken in the refrigerator and marinate it for at least 4 hours, overnight is preferable but not necessary. Turn the bag over every once in a while to make sure the chicken gets regularly coated with the marinade.

Prepare your grill (we have a gas grill and I heated it to 400 degrees). Remove the chicken from the marinade and toss the bag with the marinade into the trash. Cook the chicken on the grill for 30 – 40 minutes, (feedback from a reader below said their cooking time was only 10 minutes) remembering to turn it over every 5-6 minutes and basting the breasts every time you turn them over with the marinade you initially set aside in the refrigerator. The chicken is done when the internal temperature at the center of the thickest part of the meat is 160 degrees. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Per the feedback below, the main thing is to keep an eye on your chicken breasts while making this recipe. For my grill it takes about 30 minutes for 8 ounce breasts. As you can see from the comment below, on their grill it took only ten minutes, which would indicate that their chicken breasts may have been slightly smaller than mine or their grill slightly hotter than mine. That was great feedback, and definitely something to keep in mind when grilling chicken breasts.)

Before serving, drizzle the breasts with some of the remaining marinade and garnish with chopped chives.

Serving suggestion: Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken, Baked Potato and Simple Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Serving Suggestion: grilled honey mustard chicken, baked potato with fresh chopped chives and simple oven roasted tomatoes

Creamy Garden Tomato Soup…

September 9, 2015January 2, 2021youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

I warned you about a plethora of tomato recipes as my tomato plants this year have been producing like they are on steroids. A co-work of mine suggested that the strains I’m growing, the indigo rose and tie-dye heirloom tomatoes (pictured below), would make a great tomato soup. I’ve never made home made tomato soup before, so I thought I would try. I really didn’t want to waste any of these great tomatoes and I knew making soup would use up a lot of them.

The Indigo Rose Heirloom Tomato

Tie-Die Heirloom Tomatoes

A while back I posted a recipe for home made Broccoli Cheddar Soup. That was only the second homemade soup I ever made. For years I have been making my mothers chicken and dumpling soup but never thought about trying other recipes. Now after having made this tomato soup I wonder why I waited so long to make a variety of different home made soups. I’m pretty sure I’ll be trying more soup recipes in the future. They are relatively easy to make and so much more flavorful than what you buy in a can. Plus you control the ingredients. And if you look at canned soup, they tend to have a lot of sodium. So take the extra time and try making home made soup. It’s truly worth it.

This recipe is based on a recipe by Ina Garten called Cream Of Fresh Tomato Soup. It’s a great recipe as is, but I made a few tweaks and loved what I got. I used less onion, more garlic, less sugar, more tomato paste, more basil and I finished it off with 1 Tbs. of butter to give it a nice shimmery, satiny look. Many of the reviews of her recipe said not to change a thing, that the soup was fabulous as is. But I know my tastes and I also can tell if I like how things are looking by eyeballing it. The changes that I made worked wonderfully, and I will chronicle in the recipe below what I did.

So let’s talk about making tomato soup…

Lesson Learned 1 – Cut the carrots into small pieces: I think the carrots add a nice flavor to the soup, but recipes hardly ever tell you how to cut them. Carrots are dense and they take time to cook. And you are trying to soften them with chopped onions which by nature are less dense and can soften more quickly. So cut the carrots small. I cut the carrots in half lengthwise and then in half again lengthwise and then started chopping from there. The smaller pieces soften faster. Also remember to soften the onions and carrots on a medium heat. You’re not looking for the onions to caramelize, you just want them to soften. The carrots will soften slightly but not all the way. That’s perfectly fine as you will be simmering them for a long while and that will complete the softening process.

Lesson Learned 2 – To peel or not to peel the tomatoes: I did a lot of reading regarding whether you should peel your tomatoes when making the soup. I found a lot of different opinions but I chose to peel them. In Ina’s recipe, she tells you to cook the tomatoes with skin on. Later on in the process you take the soup mixture and process it through a food mill to remove any skin and seeds. I don’t have a food mill, so I decided to peel the tomatoes at the very beginning.

Peeled Tomatoes

Lesson Learned 3 – How to peel a tomato: Peeling a tomato is really quite simple. All you need to do is to put it in boiling water for 30 seconds, remove it, and the skin will practically peel off by itself. I used this method and it worked like a charm.

Lesson Learned 4 – Using a blender to puree your soup: When using a blender to puree hot soup you need to do a few simple things to prevent having an explosion. First, never fill the blender completely full with hot liquid. Fill it up only to the half way point or even a little less. Second put a towel over the hole in the top of the blender to let steam escape while you’re pureeing your soup. Otherwise you may wind up with soup all over your walls. Or, an even easier way to puree your soup is to use an immersion blender. You stick it right into the hot pot and emulsify the soup right there. Currently I do not have an immersion blender but I am definitely going to invest in one. In the meantime, using a blender worked perfectly fine.

If you haven’t tried making homemade soup you really should. I was surprised at how easy and good it was. So go ahead, walk on the wild side and make some homemade soup…

[recipe: title=”Creamy Garden Tomato Soup…” time=”2 Hours Including Prep” Servings=”8-10″ difficulty=”Easy”]

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium sized red onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, unpeeled and chopped

4 cloves minced, garlic

8-10 garden tomatoes, medium to large in size

1 tsp. sugar

2-3 Tbs. tomato paste

1/3 cup loosely packed and chopped fresh basil leaves

3 cups unsalted chicken stock (preferably half broth and half stock)

2 Tbs. roasted chicken Better Than Bouillon

1 Tbs. salt (taste along the way and add more if desired)

1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 Tbs. butter

DIRECTIONS;

On the stove, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place 2-3 tomatoes in the water and cover. After 30 seconds, take the tomatoes out of the water. Repeat this process with all the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes cool slightly, remove the skins with a paring knife. (the skins should come off easily).

Cut the tomatoes and remove and imperfections or gristle. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until tender, 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately one minute.

Put all the remaining ingredients in the pot except the heavy cream and butter. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer covered for 45 minutes or until the tomatoes are very tender. Puree the mixture using an immersion blender, blender or food mill. If using something other than an immersion blender, pour the pureed mixture back into the dutch oven. Over low heat add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Drop a tablespoon of butter into the pot and melt in right before serving.

Serve hot.

[/recipe]

The Ingredients Before Adding Stock

Cook Ingredients In Stock For 45 Minutes

Creamy Garden Tomato Soup

Cinnamon Roll Cake…

August 31, 2015January 18, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

I like to dabble with baking, trying new and interesting ways of creating sweet delectable treats. And let me tell you, where that’s concerned this recipe takes the cake (pun intended)! Every bite of this cake tastes exactly like a cinnamon roll. It is unbelievably good. I took some of this to work and one of my co-workers said it was an absolutely wicked treat. You must try this one.

So let’s talk about making this cake..

Lesson Learned 1 – The ingredients for the cake are a bit untraditional: Most cake recipes use a combination of baking soda and baking powder, usually a teaspoonful or less of each, as leavening agents for the batter. This particular cake recipe uses 4 teaspoons of baking powder and no baking soda. It seems like a lot of baking powder, but what that amount actually does is create a yeasty bread-like quality for the cake. You can see in the picture below the bubbles created by using the large amount of baking powder. It was interesting to see its affect on the batter. And when you think about it, cinnamon rolls tend to have a texture that’s more like bread than cake, so using the larger amount of baking powder to create that consistency makes sense.

Another somewhat non traditional aspect to making the batter is adding the melted butter. Once you’ve combined all the ingredients together, you slowly add the melted butter into the batter. It is important to add it slowly so that the butter fully incorporates. I poured a little in at a time, mixed it in, and repeated that process until all the melted butter was fully incorporated into the batter. It gave the batter the luxurious consistency you see below.

Before adding the melted butter the cake batter will look a little lumpy. As you slowly add the melted butter the lumps will disappear.

Lesson Learned 2 – The cinnamon topping will be thick in consistency: A lot of cinnamon cake recipes have more of a streusel-like mixture that you incorporate into cake batter. The topping for this cake is thicker and more frosting-like as you can see from the picture below.

When preparing this mixture it’s very important the butter be as soft as possible without melting it. I put the butter in the microwave and kept nuking it in 10 second increments until it was slightly runny along the edges. You can see from the picture below how soft the butter was before I mixed it with the other topping ingredients.

Lesson Learned 3 – How to combine the cinnamon and cake batter: Many recipes similar to this require sprinkling the topping on the batter and using a knife to swirl it down into the cake. You don’t need to do that with this recipe. All you need to do is dollop the cinnamon mixture on top and use a knife and spread it around. The cinnamon will permeate the batter while it bakes. Try to spread the mixture as close to the edges as possible. That way the end pieces will have some cinnamon in them as well.

Lesson Learned 4 – Add the glaze when the cake is still warm: Most of the time you wait for a cake to cool before you add glaze. With this recipe you add the glaze while the cake is still slightly warm. That way it seeps into the cake as well as stays on top. I prefer to make thicker glazes for this type of recipe so I combine heavy cream and milk with the vanilla and powdered sugar to get a rich, thick glaze.

I hope you decide to try this recipe. It is sinfully delicious and keeps well in an air tight container. I got two thumbs up on this on this one from my co-workers and my husband!

Cinnamon Roll Cake…

Servings: 20-24 Squares
Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

CAKE BATTER:

3 cups flour (plus 2 Tbs. high altitude)

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar (7/8 cup high altitude)

1 1/2 cups milk

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 extra large eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted.

CINNAMON TOPPING MIXTURE:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 Tbs. flour

2 heaping Tbs. cinnamon

1 cup very soft butter

GLAZE:

2 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbs. heavy cream

2-3 Tbs. Milk

1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all of the ingredients for the cinnamon topping and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the cake batter ingredients except the melted butter. After everything is combined, slowly add the melted butter in small amounts making sure it is thoroughly combined before adding more. Continue with this process until all of the melted butter is incorporated into the batter.

Spray a 9 x 13 dish with cooking spray. Add the batter to the dish and smooth until evenly distributed. Dollop portions of the cinnamon mixture on top of the batter. Using a smooth edged knife, swirl the cinnamon mixture all over the top of the batter getting the mixture as close to the edges of the pan as possible.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Mix together all of the glaze ingredients. While the cake is still slightly warm, pour the glaze all over the top of the cake. The cake keeps best when stored in an airtight container.

The Cake Right Out Of The Oven

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Simple Oven Roasted Tomatoes…

August 26, 2015January 18, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 9 Comments

As I have chronicled in my past couple of blogs, this year has been the year of the tomatoes in my garden. Every day I seem to pick about 5-6 large tomatoes and at least a cupful of yellow grape tomatoes. And because of that I have been on a quest to let no tomato go to waste.

I can’t say it enough, the tomatoes in my garden have been nothing short of phenomenal (for a quick read on the heirloom tomatoes I am growing in my garden this year go to my tri-tomato salsa recipe). You just don’t get tomatoes like this in the grocery stores. When the inside of the tomato looks like the picture below, you know you’ve got a juicy, flavorful tomato.

I’m surprised my skin isn’t turning red from all of the tomatoes I’ve been eating lately. They are just so darn good and this recipe is a great way to enjoy them. It’s so simple to make and once it’s cooked you feel like you’re eating a decadently thick marinara sauce topped with gooey cheese.

Lesson Learned 1 – You can use different herbs to flavor the tomatoes: The first time I made this recipe I used some lemony thyme. I have a big pot of it growing on my deck. The second time I used fresh basil (also growing in a pot on my deck) and cut it into lardons before sprinkling it on the tomatoes.

Either the way the process couldn’t be simpler. Cut the tomato into half inch slices, sprinkle with herbs and top with mozzarella and shaved parmesan. You can sprinkle a little italian seasoning on the top or leave it plain, then bake and finish it off with a drizzle of good olive oil before you serve (I used white truffle olive oil).

Lesson Learned 2 – Cut the bottom of each end of the tomato to create a flat surface: Since the tomatoes are round, your end pieces will not lie flat on the baking sheet. That’s really no big deal except that if the tomato is too wobbly the melted cheese can fall right off of it onto the baking sheet. All you need to do is cut off a small portion of the round end and the tomato will lie flat.

I would also recommend spraying your baking sheet with a cooking spray so the tomatoes won’t stick to the pan. I actually line my pan with foil and then spray the foil.

Simple Oven Roasted Tomatoes...

Servings: 3 Slices Per Each Medium/Large Tomato
Time: 20-25 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Fresh tomatoes (1 tomato per person)

Fresh Herbs (I used lemony time or basil, chopped – 1 Tbs. per tomato)

Shredded Mozzarella

Shaved Parmesan (I think it melts better than grated parmesan)

Italian Seasoning, if desired

Good olive oil for finishing (I used white truffle olive oil)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the tomatoes and cut them into half inch slices. Cut a small portion off the bottom of the end slices so they lie flat on a baking sheet. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place the tomato slices on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the herbs on top of each slice. Top each slice with mozzarella and shaved parmesan. Put the mozzarella on first and top with parmesan. The mozzarella will help the parmesan stick on top of the tomato. Sprinkle with italian seasoning, if desired.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese starts to turn golden brown. Plate the tomatoes and drizzle with some good olive oil. Serve immediately.

Top Each Slice With Herbs

Top With Mozzarella And Shaved Parmesan - Sprinkle With Italian Seasong

Top With Mozzarella And Shaved Parmesan – Sprinkle With Italian Seasoning

Tri-Tomato Salsa…

August 21, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 1 Comment

It seems like every growing season one of my vegetable plants decides that it’s on steroids. Last year I had the zucchini plant that took over a greater portion of the garden and produced 2-3 zucchinis each day. This year my zucchini plant produced about 7-8 zucchinis total. But never fear, this time the garden decided it would be the year of the tomatoes!

This year I did something different with my tomato plants. I bought them from a co-worker who, with her son, raised several strains from seeds and then sold them (at a very reasonable price) to anyone who wanted to buy them. It was a way for her son to earn money to buy a dirt bike.

The tomatoes were strains designed specifically to thrive in this region of the country (I live in Colorado right outside of Boulder) and they were hardened off when she delivered them. I’ve lived here since 2001 and have had very little luck growing tomatoes. This year was totally different. All my tomato plants thrived and are producing like gang busters. That left me with the delightful dilemma of figuring out how I would use them and not waste a single one.

So obviously, some have been given to friends and neighbors. But I also want to be a little more creative and try to keep as many as I can here on the home front. So If you see a few more tomato recipes in the coming weeks you’ll know why.

This recipe was inspired by the three types of tomatoes I’m growing in my garden this year. Well, actually two are grown in my garden, one is growing on the deck. That particular plant I call the tomato plant that ate New York because it is as tall as me and is producing yellow grape tomatoes prolifically. Judge for yourself by the picture below…

The first type of tomato I used in this recipe is a purple tomato called an Indigo Rose. A relatively new strain of heirloom tomato, it’s color comes from a high concentration of a compound called anthocyanin. In several studies anthocyanin was found to be preventative and therapeutic in a wide variety of human diseases such as coronary heart disease. It also was found to support visual acuity and circulatory health. Similar to studies done in France on people who regularly drink red wine and the proven effect the wine had on reducing heart disease, this particular strain of tomato has similar qualities and benefits.

What’s also interesting about this tomato is that only the parts of the tomato that are kissed by the sun get the purple color. When you turn the tomato over where it has been shaded, the bottom is red just like a regular tomato. The Indigo Rose tomato has fewer seeds and more flesh. It is a rich, flavorful tomato.

Indigo Rose

The second type of tomato I used in this recipe is a strain called a tie-dyed tomato. Beautiful to look at with it’s mixture of green and red coloring, the tie-dyed tomato is very disease resistant and highly non-acidic. This tomato has a dark, rich flavor. The other day I roasted one with some mozzarella and parmesan cheese mixed with dried italian seasoning and it was a delight.

Tie-Dye Tomatoes

The third type of tomato I used in the salsa was yellow grape tomatoes. These tomatoes actually get their color from a recessive gene in the tomatoes genetic makeup. They also have a very mild sweet flavor and are low in acidity.

Yellow Grape Tomatoes

The last thing I pulled from my garden to include in the salsa was jalapeño peppers. This plant I actually have growing on a pot on my deck as I’ve had very little luck growing peppers in my garden. Like the tomato plants, the jalapeño pepper plant is producing prolifically and I am being very creative about how to use them.

Jalapeño Peppers

Chances are you will not be growing exactly the same types of tomatoes like these to make your salsa. The beauty is you can make salsa from just about any tomato you’re growing. The only challenge I had with these tomatoes is they hold a lot of water and initially my salsa had a lot of liquid in it. I like a chunky salsa and so once I processed everything, I put the mixture in a strainer to remove a good deal of the liquid. The result was a nice, chunky, flavorful salsa.

This is the first time I ever made salsa. Try it – it’s easy and oh so tasty!

Tri-Tomato Salsa

Servings: 20
Time: 20 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

4 pounds of tomatoes (for more color use different varieties)

1 small red onion

2 jalapeño peppers

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 handful of cilantro (err on the side of more versus less)

1 – 1 1/2 tsp. of red wine vinegar

1/2 of a lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion and jalapeños and put into the food processor. Add all the other ingredients. Pulse until you get the desired consistency. If the salsa is too watery, put it in a strainer and strain some of the moisture out. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake…

August 17, 2015December 28, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

I’ve just been loving how plentiful the strawberries are this year. And the quality of them has been outstanding. I love to bake with strawberries, but they can be tricky. Strawberries, like blueberries, have what I call the exploding factor. They explode moisture during the baking process. So, if you use too many of them or if they overly ripe you cake will fall it on itself. After a few disasters I’ve learned out to outsmart the pesky fruit and now I bake with them quite frequently.

The flavor of strawberries in a cake like this is more subtle. A co-worker even asked me what kind of fruit was in this cake. Baking them this way gives them a slight tartness that compliments the sweetness of the cake batter – a great combination. So, let’s talk about fresh strawberry yogurt cake…

Lesson Learned 1 – Ripe strawberries are not the best for baking: Because of the exploding factor I alluded to above, ripe strawberries are not the best to bake with simply because they hold more water. In baking it’s really best to use strawberries that are only somewhat ripe. That way they release less moisture, your cake will not fall in on itself and you’ll still get that great strawberry flavor. But if your strawberries are ripe, simply use less of them. Cut them in small pieces and discard any piece that may be overly soft. When I made this recipe my strawberries were pretty ripe so I only used about 8 ounces in the cake. If you have less ripe strawberries you can use as much as 12 ounces.

And don’t use frozen strawberries with this recipe. If you do, you can be sure your cake will be a gooey mess.

Lesson Learned 2 – Make sure your cake is completely cool before icing it: I don’t know about you but I’m always in a hurry to put the icing on the cake. I rationalize that if it’s only slightly warm it will be ok. Wrong – o! Even if the cake is slightly warm, the icing will melt into the cake. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you want your icing visible be patient and wait until the cake has cooled. The cake will taste great and you will be awarded visually as well!

I took this cake to work and the slices were gone in less than one half hour. This is a very moist and flavorful cake. Try it and let me know what you think.

Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake...

Servings: 16
Time: 80 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cup flour, (add 1 Tbs. for high altitude)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (you’ll need 2 lemons for this recipe)

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

3 large eggs, room temperature

8 oz. vanilla Greek yogurt

8 – 12 oz. fresh strawberries, sliced small (use lesser amount if strawberries are ripe)

Vegetable shortening and flour to prepare the Bundt pan

ICING:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest (I used the zest of one small lemon)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan. Set aside. Zest and juice the lemons. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about five minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until each is thoroughly incorporated. Add the lemon juice and zest and beat for another minute.

Add the dry ingredients and yogurt to the mixture, starting out and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. (Scrape the sides of the bowl and under the beater blade to make sure everything has been combined).

Gently fold in the strawberries. Pour into the prepared ban. Reduce the heat in the oven to 325 and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the Bundt pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Pork Medallions with Marsala Mushroom Sauce…

August 10, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

There’s almost nothing that beats a good pork tenderloin. I’ve mastered the art of cooking this very tender cut of meat and am always looking for new ways to prepare it. I made this recipe the other day and it hit the spot. It’s a shining example of what comfort food is all about.

You can easily find pork tenderloins in the grocery stores packaged in a variety of marinades or plain. For this recipe I chose a lemon pepper marinated loin. You can choose whatever you want. Just make sure whatever marinade you choose will blend nicely with the marsala mushroom sauce.

What’s also great about this dish is it’s pretty easy and quick to prepare, so instead of having the same old boring thing for dinner you can make this and get it on the table in half an hour. I served it over store bought pre-made mashed potatoes (I like the Bob Evans brand the best) with a side of marinated grilled zucchini. it was fabulous!

So lets talk pork medallions with marsala mushroom sauce…

Lesson Learned 1 – Cut the tenderloin into 2 inch medallions: Two inches is the perfect thickness to cook in the allotted time. Remember pork tenderloin is just like a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Both can be extremely flavorful and tender but most people tend to overcook them. A slight pink in the center of the pork is perfectly fine. Overcooking a piece of meat that has minimal to no fat like this can be a little tricky. If you cut the medallions to two inches in thickness, three minutes on each side should do the trick (you will also simmer them in the sauce for a couple of minutes at the end).

Make sure you start with a hot pot. That is why you use a combination of both butter and oil in the pan. Butter has a lower smoke point and the oil offsets that so you can get the pan warmer without burning the butter while still getting the butter flavor. You want the pork to get a nice sear. At about three minutes you should easily be able to turn the medallion over without it sticking to the pan. If not, let it cook a little while longer. Don’t force the meat from the pan. When the meat is adequately seared it will automatically release itself from the pan and you will be able to turn it over easily. The picture on the left shows the type of sear you want to get on your medallions. Don’t worry, the pan will do all the work for you if you are patient. The second side should cook within 2 -3 minutes.

Lesson Learned 2 – Don’t crowd the medallions while searing them: If you have to, cook the medallions in batches. If you overcrowd them in the pan they will steam instead of sear. Once you return the medallions to the sauce you will simmer them for a couple of minutes to complete the cooking process (picture to the right). Searing will insure that you keep all those wonderful juices in the meat.

Lesson Learned 3 – Shut off the heat and take the pan off the stove when adding the Marsala and white wine to the pan: Recipes quite often forget to mention this, and this is an important safety tip. Any type of alcohol added over a heat source can cause a fire flare up. You want to avoid burning yourself or setting the house on fire. So be on the safe side. Take the pan off the heat source, add the wine and then return the pan to the heat. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

I cut the entire tenderloin into medallions used six for this recipe and froze the rest. This recipe is designed to serve two bigger or three smaller appetites but you can easily increase the ingredients to serve more.

Pork Medallions With Marsala Mushroom Sauce

Servings: 2-3
Time: 30 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

2 Tbs. olive oil

6 two inch thick pork medallions (I chose a lemon pepper marinated tenderloin)

1 large shallot, minced

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)

2 Tbs. heavy cream

1 Tbs. cornstarch

Salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

Heat olive oil and butter over medium – high heat. Add pork medallions and brown on both sides – approximately three minutes on each side. Remove medallions from pan to a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm.

Add shallots and mushrooms to the pan and stir until coated with the pan drippings. After the mushrooms have slightly softened, remove the pan from the heat. Add the Marsala wine, chicken stock and white wine. Place back on the heat and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Combine heavy cream and cornstarch. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Add the cream mixture to the pan and whisk into the sauce until it starts to thicken. Taste the sauce to see if it needs salt and pepper. Season to taste. Return the pork medallions to the pan an simmer in the sauce for about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serving Suggestion: Pork Medallions Over Mashed Potatoes With Grilled Zucchini…

Lemon Crumb Cake…

August 5, 2015January 21, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

Sometimes you just want something quick and easy. This is that kind of recipe. I don’t know about you but there are days when I just don’t want to drag out all the paraphernalia in order to make something that looks and tastes good. This particular recipe requires no stand mixer, food processor, or blender. Just a bowl for the dry and wet ingredients and a small pan to melt butter.

Let’s talk Lemon Crumb Cake…

Lesson Learned 1 – The crumb topping: Only three ingredients make the topping – flour sugar and melted butter. I found the best result for making the topping is to add 1 additional tablespoon of flour to the 1/3 cup called for in the recipe. That way you get a nice crumble without the mixture being too moist. The crumb topping is easy to do. Just melt the butter and combine it with the flour and sugar. If the mixture looks too dry, add a tiny bit more melted butter. Make sure nothing is dry in the crumble. The picture here shows the perfect consistency.

Lesson Learned 2 – Mixing wet and dry ingredients: The rule of thumb when making a batter you mix by hand is to add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Take a wooden spoon or a spoon/spatula and mix until just combined. Make sure to check at the bottom center of the bowl – that’s were unincorporated ingredients tend to hang out. Once everything is combined, STOP. Over mixing will create a tough cake.

Lesson Learned 3 – Watch the time on this cake carefully: Ok, I’ll admit it – I had to make this cake twice to get it right. This cake, depending on your oven and what part of the country you live in, can bake from 50 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes. And let me tell you, it can go from moist to dry rather quickly. So keep an eye on it. I use a professional grade loaf pan and so my cake baked in 50 minutes. The time you need will depend on your oven and the bakeware you use. Keep an eye on it starting at 50 minutes.

Lemon Crumb Cake…

Servings: 8-10
Time: up to 90 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Topping

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. Flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbs. melted unsalted butter

Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 5 oz. can evaporated milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. lemon zest

2 large eggs

Glaze (optional)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour the bottom and sides of an 8 x 4 loaf pan (if using a nonstick pan you only need to prepare the bottom of the pan). In a small bowl mix together topping ingredients making sure all the flour is coated with the melted butter. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk, oil and lemon zest. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the crumb mixture. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check the cake at 50 minutes. You do not want to over bake this cake.

Cool the cake for 15 minutes in the loaf pan. Remove from loaf pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. The glaze is optional. The cake is delicious with or without the glaze.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup…

July 29, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 3 Comments

Soup Ingredients…

Even though we are in the midst of summer I still get cravings for soup. Now I have to admit I normally only make a home made chicken and dumpling soup (my mom’s recipe that I’ll post in the Fall) but this time I decided to venture into trying something different. I researched various versions of broccoli soups and decided I wanted to do a broccoli and cheddar combination.

I like this recipe for a variety of reasons. First it is absolutely delicious – second, it’s so easy to make, and third it freezes well so you can have some now and save some for later. So let’s talk about making broccoli cheddar soup…

Lesson Learned 1 – Use all of the broccoli but cut the pieces small: Most often people tend to discard the broccoli stalks and they actually provide great flavor especially when making the soup. So when you are cutting up the broccoli cut up the stalks as well. Be careful to cut the stalk into small pieces. They are obviously more dense than the florets and will take longer to cook if you leave them in large pieces. The smaller you cut them the less time you will have to cook them.

The same goes for the carrot. I took a pretty big thick carrot, halved it and then quartered it before slicing it. Carrots are also pretty dense and the smaller you cut them the faster they’ll cook. The nice thing about this recipe is you can chop everything up and put it in one big potl. You sauté everything at the same time and that makes it easy.

Lesson Learned 2 – You may have to use both flour and cornstarch to thicken the soup: I know it sounds strange – but it worked. Once the vegetables sautéed in butter for about 5 minutes I added the flour and cooked it down with the vegetables for about a minute. You need to do this for two reasons: 1 – so you remove the “floury” taste from the flour, and 2 – So you won’t have any lumps when you add the liquid.

Before Adding Cornstarch…

After I cooked the flour with the vegetables I added the chicken broth (this was before I added the stock). As I was simmering everything the liquid seemed a little too light and runny as you can see from the picture on the right. So I added the stock and then systematically added some cornstarch mixed with stock to the soup to thicken it. I wound up using 3 tablespoons of each but added them in three separated batches. That way I could control how thick the soup was getting. You may find you are happy with the consistency you get by just using the flour. But if not, you can always added the cornstarch in small doses until you get your desire consistency. I would make sure to add some stock. I found that by adding one cup it gave the soup a richer color and enhanced the flavor.

A couple of tips: Give the first cornstarch and stock mixture a little time to thicken the soup before you add more. The heat of the soup activates the cornstarch, but it takes a couple of minutes. Be patient. If after a couple of minutes you are not happy with the thickness add a little more. And, just remember, do not add cornstarch to the pot all by itself. You have to mix it with liquid and then add it in liquid form. Otherwise you’ll get lumps. I found a 1:1 ratio of cornstarch to liquid works best. Just make sure the cornstarch is completely mixed into the liquid before you add it (I stick my finger in and swish it around to make sure there’s not a pile of cornstarch on the bottom of the measuring cup). I could have mixed the cornstarch with water but since I had the stock, why not continue to add more flavor.

After Adding Stock And Cornstarch…

Lesson Learned 3 – Use an immersion blender to puree the soup: Unfortunately I do not have an immersion blender (but I think it will be on my shopping list), so I used my blender to puree the soup. You can also use a food processor as well. I had to puree the soup in several batches using the blender. An immersion blender allows you to puree in the pot you’re cooking in and that’s much more convenient. But if you don’t have one, a blender or food processor will do the trick. They just require a little more effort.

So here’s the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup…

Servings: 6-8
Time: 1 Hour Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

4 Tbs. Butter

1 1/2 – 2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into small pieces including the stems

1 large onion chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 carrot, diced

4 Tbs. flour

3 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 Tbs. cornstarch mixed with 3 Tbs. stock, used as needed or not at all

DIRECTIONS:

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the broccoli, onion, and carrot. Add some salt and pepper. While vegetables are cooking mince the garlic over the pot using a zester and combine with the vegetables. Cook until the onions start to look translucent, approximately 5-7 minutes.

Add the flour to the vegetables and stir for about a minute or until the flour begins to look blonde in color. Add the broth and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the vegetables are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Check the consistency of the soup during this time. If it appears too runny pour in 1 Tbs. of cornstarch thoroughly mixed with 1 Tbs. of stock. Add more if needed. It should take no more than 3 Tbs. of each to reach a nice thick consistency. Simmer until all the vegetables are tender.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Add the cream and cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has completely melted.

Basic Basil Pesto…

July 22, 2015January 21, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 1 Comment

If you grow herbs like I do, by about now you have a boat load of basil. Basil is one of my favorite herbs to grow. There’s just something so satisfying about growing it – I just can’t explain it. But when you get massive amounts, what’s the best way to use it? The answer it simple – make pesto!

I’m sure most of you have a favorite pesto recipe. Mine is pretty basic but I’ve found that by keeping it that way I can be more creative when I actually use it. From pizza to pasta to sandwiches and the like, basil pesto is an excellent accompaniment to just about any dish. So here’s my lessons learned and recipe – would love if you would share yours!

Lesson Learned 1 – The hardest part of making pesto is preparing the basil leaves: Picking them off the plant and washing and drying them are probably the most labor intensive part of making pesto. If you have a salad spinner, I recommend using that to remove the excess water once the leaves are washed. Unfortunately I don’t have one so I have to lightly squeeze them between paper towels. You don’t want to have a lot of water in your pesto so it is important to remove the excess. And make sure you CHECK FOR BUGS! We are not the only species that likes basil. Once when I was cleaning my leaves I found a “thousand legger” in with the leaves. So make sure you check. I don’t think you’ll want to put a bug in the food processor!

Lesson Learned 2 – The amount of garlic and olive oil you use is strictly personal preference: I like my pesto garlicky and thick. Some only like a hint of garlic and a runnier pesto. Determine what you like by easing into it. I use two whole cloves of garlic for 4 cups of leaves. Start with one clove if you’re not sure. With the olive oil, only put half the amount or 1/4 cup in the food processor to start. You can drizzle in more as the leaves are processing until you get the desire consistency. Only once did I use the full 1/2 cup of oil. That was the first time I made pesto, and I found it to be too runny. Now I start with 1/4 cup and drizzle some olive oil into the processor until I reach my desired consistency depicted in the picture below.

Lesson Learned 3 – Be careful about adding salt: Romano and Parmesan cheese are naturally salty. I would taste the pesto before you add any salt. I seldom add salt because the cheese seems to provide the flavor I want.

Lesson Learned 4 – Pesto freezes very well: I’ve heard that some people take ice cube trays and fill them with pesto so they can have individual servings whenever they need them. I tend to put mine in a few small containers and freeze them. That way I can chop off what I need at the time and put the rest back in the freezer or use it up all at once. I’ve had pesto in airtight containers last up to a year in my freezer.

Basic Basil Pesto

Servings: 12-20
Time: 1/2 Hour
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

4 cups loosely packed basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1 small shallot, cut into pieces

3 TBS. pine nuts

1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese

salt, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Wash basil leaves and remove excess water. Place the basil, shallot, pine nuts, cheese and 1/4 cup oil in a food processor. Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the food processor at least once. Check the consistency of the pesto. If too thick, drizzle in more oil while processing until the pesto reaches the desired consistency.

Use or freeze. If not using immediately, store in an airtight container in your refrigerator or freezer.

Grilled Marinated Zucchini…

July 13, 2015July 13, 2015youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again when zucchini plants start to produce like gang busters. Last year was an epic year for zucchinis in my garden. I was taking two to three zucchinis off the plant daily. This year my plant is not doing as well, but I anticipate getting at least a few. And even if you don’t grow them yourself, there’s a good chance your neighbors will be ringing your doorbell asking you to take a few off their hands. So whether you grow them, share them or simply get them at a farmer’s market, zucchinis are versatile and can be used in both savory and sweet recipes.

The recipe I am going to share today is simple but produces a very flavorful grilled zucchini.

Lesson Learned 1 – Patience is key: The hardest part about this recipe is making sure you marinate the zucchini for a minimum of 3 hours. You can even marinate the zucchini overnight if you like. Just put the zucchini in a plastic bag, pour the marinade over it, close the bag and refrigerate. I turned the bag over every hour or so just to redistribute the marinade. I grilled my zucchini after it had been marinating for 4 hours and it was delicious.

Lesson Learned 2 – Don’t eliminate the sugar in the marinade: I know we all are trying to limit our intake of sugar these days, but don’t skip it here. When I tasted the marinade before I put some sugar in it was too tart. The sugar balances out the tartness of the vinegars and lemon and gives you a nice well rounded flavor.

Lesson Learned 3 – Shallot verus onion: I recommend using a shallot in this marinade because it’s milder but still gives you that infusion of onion flavor. You’ll appreciate that especially when you finish off the grilled zucchini with a drizzle of the marinade.

Lesson Learned 4 – Grill or grill pan: The beauty of this recipe is that it can be done either on an outdoor grill or on a grill pan on top of the stove. Either way you’ll get those gorgeous grill marks and the same wonderful flavor. This time I cooked them on my gas grill, but I’ve also made these on top of the stove as well. This recipe is quick, easy and a great way to use that summer zucchini bounty!

[recipe: title=”Grilled Marinated Zucchini” servings=”4″ time=”4 1/2 Hours Including Prep” difficulty=”Easy”]

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbs. red wine vinegar

2 Tbs. white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme leaves (I used a strain called lemony thyme)

1/3 -1/2 cup olive oil (I used garlic infused olive oil), taste after using 1/3 cup and add a little more if necessary

2 medium zucchini trimmed and sliced diagonally

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk the vinegars, lemon zest and juice, sugar, garlic, shallot and thyme in a bowl. Gradually mix in the oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the marinade into a small dish, cover and refrigerate.

Slice the zucchini diagonally and put it in a gallon size plastic bag. Add the rest if the marinade and gently squeeze the bag to distribute the marinade evenly over the zucchini. Close the bag and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, turning the bag over occasionally in the refrigerator during the marinating process.

Place zucchini on the grill over medium high heat. Turn after 4 minutes. Keep the zucchini on the grill for an additional 4 minutes. Transfer the zucchini to a serving dish. Drizzle with the remaining marinade and serve hot.

[/recipe]

Check out two of my other favorite zucchini recipes on this site: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Mushroom Gratin. Enjoy those zucchinis!

Herb Roasted New Potatoes…

July 7, 2015January 17, 2017youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

As you can imagine, I check out a lot of food blogs to see what others are making. I am impressed by the skill and creativity I see in a lot of them. And I say to myself, why can’t I be like that? But I am who I am, and what I make is based on my upbringing, my tastes, and sometimes even an adventurous spirit. But by and large, I am a pretty simple cook who likes to make simple things and be very successful at doing so.

Don’t get me wrong, my palate has matured over the years and I now enjoy many things I never would have dreamed of eating when I was younger. But when push comes to shove I’m basically a meat and potatoes girl (as is reflected by my recipes). So this recipe will come as no surprise.

I like this recipe both for it’s simplicity and its flavor. Plus during the summer months I grow a lot of herbs and am always looking for ways use my fresh herbs in recipes. So this one fits the bill. I used my flat leaf parsley and lemon thyme as well as garlic to provide the aromatics. I love the added boost of the lemon thyme, but if you don’t have it or can’t find it, you can achieve the same affect by adding some lemon wedges to the roasting process. All in all, the hardest part of this recipe was making sure I didn’t slice the potatoes all the way through but just deep enough so they would fan out slightly. The rest was a breeze.

Lesson Learned 1 – Know your oven: I researched similar recipes to mine and many of them suggested baking the potatoes for an hour at 350. That would never work for me. At high altitude you often have to set your oven temperature higher and cook things longer. I set my oven temperature at 375 and for the last ten minutes cranked it up to 400. Next time I make this recipe I will start at 400 degrees and check the potatoes after 45 minutes. For me, I am thinking that 400 degrees for an hour will be optimum. At sea level, I would suggest starting at 375 and checking the potatoes for doneness at 45 minutes. If they are not done, make a decision from there whether to cook them longer at the same temperature or to crank up the oven. Keep in mind the size of the potatoes matter. New potatoes are small but can still vary in size and that will affect the roasting time. The larger the new potatoes the longer the roasting time. Check your potatoes at 45 minutes and plan for at least an hour. That way you won’t go wrong.

Lesson Learned 2 – Don’t throw out the garlic: I recommend using a full head of garlic when roasting the potatoes (you can even use more if you like). You don’t need to peel it, just cut off a small portion of the top. It will not only provide a delightful aromatic during the roasting process, but will also give you sweet soft garlic cloves that you can either spread directly on bread or use with butter to make a garlic herb butter that’s great for making garlic bread. You get that extra added benefit with this recipe.

If you like rich, creamy potatoes infused with an herb and garlic flavor, this recipe is for you. Let me know what you think about the recipe after you make it.

Herb Roasted New Potatoes…

Servings: 4
Time: 75 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed

1/4 cup olive oil (I used garlic infused olive oil)

2 Tbs. melted butter

1 Large head of garlic, top trimmed

1 – 2 Tbs. chopped flat leaf parsley

4 – 6 sprigs lemon thyme (if using regular thyme cut up half a lemon into wedges and add)

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 (for high altitude 400 degrees). Melt the butter and add the olive oil to it. Cut slits into the potatoes being careful not to slice them all the way through. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan (I lined my with foil, but that is discretionary). Put the garlic head in the middle of the potatoes. Baste the potatoes and garlic with half of the butter/olive oil mixture. Sprinkle the potatoes with the chopped parsley and place the thyme sprigs in between the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Half way through the roasting process baste the potatoes with the remaining butter/olive oil mixture. Check the potatoes for doneness at 45 minutes. If they do not appear to be almost fork tender raise the temperature of the oven to 400 degrees and roast at least an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve immediately.

Herb Roasted New Potatoes

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs…

June 29, 2015July 31, 2016youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

The Fourth of July is less than a week away and that normally means outdoor parties and lots of barbecuing – hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings and ribs. And quite often if Mother Nature decides to rain on your parade, you’re left with a conundrum of how to get that great barbecue taste without using the grill – especially for those ribs. Fear no more. I have a great recipe that can be made all year round. This recipe provides great barbecue flavor without the use of a grill (if you so choose).

My oven baked barbecue ribs are made in the oven and finished off either on a stove top grill, broiler or outdoor grill. I guarantee you, you’ll think these cooked on the grill the whole time. The trick to getting that barbecue flavor without cooking on the grill is pretty simple, liquid smoke. And cooking the ribs low and slow in the oven keeps them moist and tender. Try this recipe and you’ll enjoy barbecue ribs all year long!

Rub Ingredients

Lesson Learned 1 – Less is more with liquid smoke: Liquid smoke is what gives the rub for these ribs that barbecue flavor. But be careful because it can be an overpowering ingredient. I get pretty heavy handed with it because I love a heartier flavor and smell, but be aware that might not be your preference. I would try 2-3 drops initially with the rub ingredients. After mixing all the ingredients together take a test whiff. If you cannot smell smokiness or you want more smokiness then add a little more. I use about 6-8 drops but I would not recommend it for everyone initially, especially if you’ve never used liquid smoke before. You can always add more.

You can also brush the ribs with liquid smoke before applying the rub. This will give them an even deeper smoky flavor. Either way be careful until you are comfortable with the amount of liquid smoke that is right for you to use.

Lesson Learned 2 – Peel off the tough membrane that covers the bony side of the ribs: You may not readily see it but you will know it’s there when you try to eat the ribs. I am referring to the tough membrane that covers the bones. I’ll warn you up front, it can be a challenge to remove it. For me, there are times it comes off easily and other times I have to fight with it. Take a sharp paring knife and start at the large end of the bones. Insert the paring knife between the membrane and the bones working it back and forth until you get enough membrane that you can easily grab. You can also use the end of a spoon or kitchen sheers to loosen the membrane. First try and loosen the membrane all the way across the top. Then begin pulling it downwards over the bones until you’ve removed it.

If you buy your ribs at a butcher shop you can ask the butcher to do this for you. Some butcher shops do this automatically before putting the ribs in the meat case. Make sure you ask the butcher if the membrane has been removed. If it hasn’t have the butcher do it for you. That should be an expected service. If you buy your ribs prepackaged you’ll have to do this yourself. Can you leave it on? Certainly, but you will get a crispy tasteless substance on the bottom of your ribs. If you encounter a stubborn membrane just leave it on. You don’t have to eat it. It’s just a slight nuisance when you’re eating your ribs.

Lesson Learned 3 – Foil is your best friend while making this recipe: Besides making the foil packet for the ribs I recommend you also line the jelly roll pan you bake them on with foil. That way if any liquid leaks out of the packet it will not burn into your pan. Remember you are working with a brown sugar rub, and if the brown sugar leaks out it will create a baked on nightmare. If you line your pan with foil clean up is a breeze.

Lesson Learned 4 – You have three ways to finish off this recipe: Once you remove the ribs from the oven you can either finish them off on a grill, under the broiler or on a stove top grill. I always finish mine off on the grill because I have a gas grill and it’s easy to use on short notice. If you finish them off under the broiler or on a stove top grill remember to protect your pans. Either use foil (if you’re finishing them off under the broiler) or cooking spray if you’re finishing them off on a stove top grill. At clean up time you’ll be glad you did.

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs…

Servings: 6
Time: 2 1/2 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Print

INGREDIENTS:

4 lbs. of pork ribs

3/4 cup brown sugar

Liquid Smoke, to taste (I use 6-8 drops)

1 Tbs. paprika

1 Tbs. garlic powder

Your favorite barbecue sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Peel the tough membrane off the back side of the ribs (see lessons learned above). Mix together the brown sugar, liquid smoke, paprika and garlic powder. Apply the rub to both sides of the ribs.

Lay ribs on a sheet of foil (with substantial overlay) shiny side out and meat side down. Lay another layer of foil on the top of the ribs. Join the top and bottom pieces of foil together and crimp. Crimp the edges all the way around the ribs facing up. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Place the ribs packet(s) on the foil lined pan.

Bake for 2 – 2 1/2 hours or until the meat starts to shrink away from the bone. Remove from oven. If using a grill, during the last half hour of oven baking light your grill and get it up to a temperature not exceeding 375 degrees. (If using a grill you might leave the ribs on for a little less time than if using a broiler. You don’t want the ribs to burn). If using a broiler, set it on high with the oven rack a good 10 – 12 inches from the heat source.

Place ribs on the grill bony side up. Brush on the sauce. Cook for a couple of minutes. Turn the ribs over. Brush on sauce. Cook for another couple of minutes. Take off the grill and serve.

The Ribs Right Out Of The Oven

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

Cheesecake With Strawberry Sauce…

June 24, 2015December 24, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 3 Comments

I promise I haven’t gone all cheese-cakey on you but every once in a while I find a recipe that I post that is not my own, nor have I adapted that is absolutely fabulous. This is one of them. It is is so good and so easy that I just had to share and give credit where credit is due.

I’ve mentioned before that over the years I’ve become a Food Network junkie. I have to admit I was more enamored with the programming several years ago, but there are still some shows that I like to watch. Trisha Yearwood’s show is one of them. I’ve tried several of her recipes and enjoyed them, but this one is just over the top.

I happened to be watching her show recently right after I made my Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars. On the show she was making a cheesecake. It has been years since I made a cheesecake and for some reason I had it in my mind that it was labor intensive and hard to make. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. After I watched her show I decided try it again.

All I can say is that it was surprisingly easy and turned out perfectly the very first time. How often can you say that about the recipe? And if you look at my pictures and the pictures on the Food Network site, the cake looks exactly the same. Perfection!

I’ll write out the recipe for you here, but will also include a link to it on the Food Network site because I need to give credit where credit is due. But I did have a couple of good lessons learned while making this, and these I will share. Enjoy this one.

Lesson Learned 1 – The importance of the water bath: What do I mean by a water bath? In order to avoid having cracks in the top of your cheesecake you need to bake it in a water bath. Once you prepare a springform pan, create a bed of foil around the bottom of the pan as shown in the picture to the right. After you’ve filled the spring form pan with the cheesecake mixture, place it either in a lipped jelly roll pan or any lipped pan that is bigger than the spring form pan. Carefully add about a half inch of water to the lipped pan and cook the cheese cake in that water bath. The foil will prevent any water from getting into the cheesecake and the water will prevent any cracks from occurring on the top of the cake.

I used a lipped jelly roll pan that I filled with water half way up the side and found that about three quarters of the way through the baking process process the water had entirely evaporated. I added a little more making sure the pan had water for the entire baking time. It worked beautifully.

I recently had a conversation with a woman who was bemoaning the fact that she could never make a cheese cake that wasn’t all cracked on the top. She’d never heard of a water bath. When I showed her pictures of my cake and told her this was the first time I made one in years she was sold. I promise the water bath does the trick, and my pictures prove it!

Strawberry Sauce Ingredients

Lesson Learned 2 – Definitely make the strawberry sauce: The cheesecake on its own is divine but I think it needs a little extra added something. The strawberry sauce in this recipe is a perfect accompaniment to the cheese cake. I especially like using lime zest in the sauce. I felt it really brought out the flavor of the strawberries. Of course this is not the only thing you can use to add to the cake, but this sauce took very little effort and was divine, that’s why I like it.

I just used my mini food processor and mixed all the ingredients together. You don’t need to strain the sauce as you would if you were using raspberries. The sauce is best served cold so make sure you refrigerate it for at least an hour before serving.

Lesson Learned 3 – Keep the cheesecake in the oven for an hour after it’s done baking: Once the cheesecake is done baking, turn off the heat and leave it in the oven for an hour with the oven door partially open. This helps to finish it off and is necessary for the cheesecake to set. So don’t be over anxious and take your beautiful cheesecake out of the oven right away.

As I mentioned earlier, I did not have to change a thing in this recipe nor did I have to adapt it to high altitude (and what a joy that was!). So here is the recipe and I’ve also provided a link to it on the Food Network site below. Enjoy!

Cheesecake With Fresh Strawberry Sauce...

Servings: 12
Time: 3 Hours 40 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Medium
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INGREDIENTS:

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs (about 9 sheets)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup non-salted butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling

32 oz. (four 8 oz. packages) room temperature cream cheese

2 cups sour cream (you can use light sour cream)

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch

2 tsp. vanilla

Strawberry Sauce

1 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, halved

1/4 cup sugar

1 small lime, zested

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make a parchment paper cutout for the bottom of a 10 inch round springform pan. Take foil and wrap it entirely around the base and slightly up the sides of the pan. Spray the bottom of the pan with cooking spray. Put the parchment paper in the pan and spray it as well. Set aside. (I did this at the very end and prepared the crust and filling and then put it all together at once).

In a food processor, combine the the graham crackers and sugar. Pulse and then process until thoroughly combined and the crackers have a consistency of fine crumbs. Pour in a bowl and set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat the room temperature cream cheese and sour cream for about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat each time until thoroughly combined. (Make sure you check the bottom of the bowl occasionally to scrape up anything that may have collected down at the bottom to make sure it is all combined). Add the sugar, cornstarch and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Melt the butter. Add the melted butter to the graham cracker crumbs and mix until the crumbs take on the consistency of wet sand. Press the graham cracker mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Set the foil wrapped pan into a large lipped pan and carefully pour about 1/2 inch warm water into the large pan to create the water bath. Place in the oven and bake for one hour. Turn off the oven, open the door and let the cheesecake stand in the opened oven for one hour. Remove from the oven and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. (I refrigerated mine overnight).

For the sauce, put the strawberries, sugar and lime zest into a small food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Here is the link to the recipe on the Food Network site: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/joes-say-cheese-cheesecake-with-fresh-strawberry-sauce.html

The Graham Cracker Crust

Pour In The Filling

The Cheesecake

The Inside Of The Cheesecake

Cheesecake With Fresh Strawberry Sauce

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars…

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015youbetchcanmakethis 3 Comments

If you want a truly delicious and decadent sweet treat, this one’s for you. I haven’t made anything like a cheesecake for a long time, and I didn’t want to do the full blown thing, so I decided to make cheesecake bars and and am I ever glad I did. Plain and simple, this recipe is divine! There are few recipes I have on this blog that I think outshine the rest. For example, my recipe for Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza, or my Best Ever Meatballs, or my Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies… (actually there are many more, but I don’t want to bore you with a long list). But this one goes straight to the top!

Not only is this insanely delicious, it is gorgeous to look at and simple to make. You can’t beat that. And so, without further adieu, here are a few lessons learned and the recipe.

Lesson Learned 1: Tips about the raspberry swirl: It couldn’t be easier to make the swirl. Just pop the raspberries and sugar in a food processor and voila, you have it. Be aware that you don’t need a lot for the top of the cheesecake. Less is more in creating a beautiful design. You can easily get away with only a 1/3 cup raspberries to create the design on top. I used 1/2 cup so I would have some extra to drizzle on the plate when I served the cheesecake.

Since you only need a small amount, don’t use a blender for this. If you have a mini blender or food processor, use that. Also you will want to strain the raspberry sauce. There are tons of seeds that you will not want to have in your cheese cake. Use a spatula and press the juice through the strainer. It is a little bit of work but you get an incredibly smooth glistening sauce that you can use not only for the top of the bars but for serving as well.

Once you’ve made the cheesecake filling, all you have to do is dot the top with a little of the raspberry sauce as shown in the picture below. Take a sharp knife and gently swirl the sauce into the cheesecake mixture. It’s that simple. You can easily create a gorgeous design with no effort at all.

Lesson Learned 2 – Line your pan with parchment paper: I am not a big fan of using cooking spray on my good pans. I find it leaves a residue that bakes on the pan and after a while can ruin the finish. I prefer greasing and flouring pans or using parchment paper. This time I chose parchment paper. I lined the bottom and left some hanging over the side. Doing that gave me handles to pull out the cheesecake once it set. (I had to use a knife on the sides that did not have parchment paper to loosen them slightly before I lifted the cheesecake out of the pan).

Lesson Learned 3 – Graham Cracker Crusts: They couldn’t be easier to make. The consistency of the crust should look like wet sand as seen in the picture. Spread it evenly on the bottom of the pan and press it down flat. Also, after it is baked, make sure it’s cooled completely before pouring the cheesecake mixture on top of it.

Lesson Learned 4 – The cream cheese must be at room temperature and beat it longer than you think: You will get a lumpy cheesecake if the cream cheese is not room temperature when you beat it. And beat it for a long time. I beat the cream cheese for at least five minutes. And after that as I added each individual ingredient I beat it some more. That’s the only way you’ll get a smooth consistency to the batter.

That’s it! The hardest part of making this is the clean up. I used both my small and large food processors as well as my stand mixer so that wound up being most of the work. But was the work ever worth it. I still can’t get over how good this one is. My husband says this recipe is insanely good. Enjoy!

Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars…

Servings: 12-14
Time: 55 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

9 graham cracker sheets (1 – 1 1/4 cups)

4 Tbs. butter, melted

2 Tbs. sugar

The Filling:

2 eight ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 small lemons, juiced and zested

Raspberry Swirl

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1 Tbs. sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line bottom of 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper, using enough paper so it can hang over the sides. (You can also use baking spray). Set aside.

Put graham crackers into a food processor. Process until you have fine crumbs. Add the sugar to the cracker crumbs. Melt the butter and add it to the mixture, stirring until the mixture resembles coarse wet sand. Take the crumbs and spread them out evenly across the bottom of the pan. Press firmly. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Place the raspberries and sugar into a small processor and beat until smooth. Put mixture into a strainer and strain until the raspberry seeds are removed from the juice. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, at least 5 minutes. Add in the sugar and beat until combined. Add in one egg at a time and beat until completely incorporated. Add the lemon juice and zest and continue to beat until completely incorporated.

Pour the cheesecake filling on top of the cooled graham cracker crust. Using a spatula, make sure it is spread evenly over the crust. (You might even want to take the pan and, raising it up slightly, drop it back down on a hard surface to ensure the batter is evenly distributed). Spoon the raspberry mixture in dots over the top of the cheesecake mixture. Use a sharp knife to make swirls all over the top of the batter.

Bake for 35 minutes. Let the cake cool completely and refrigerate for at least three hours or over night. Cut into squares and serve.

The Desired Texture Of The Cheesecake…

Apple Cream Cheese Cake…

June 5, 2015May 15, 2021youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

I know it’s not apple season but I had the desire to bake something with apples in it and decided to make this cake. It has a combination of some warm spices, namely nutmeg and allspice, and a heavenly cream cheese filling that compliments the flavor of the cake. And if that isn’t enough for you, once the cake is cooled you drizzle on a thick and luscious praline frosting. That’s more than enough to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth!

Cake ingredients…

Lesson Learned 1 – Make sure the eggs are room temperature: This recipe produces a very thick batter that is mixed by hand. You can use a mixer for the cream cheese filling but I highly recommend mixing the batter by hand. That way you are less likely to over mix and wind up with a tough cake. Room temperature eggs incorporate themselves more completely into a batter and you’ll want to ensure that when mixing by hand. Also for ease of mixing, the eggs should also be slightly beaten before putting them into the batter.

Lesson Learned 2 – After you chop the apples sprinkle a little lemon juice on them to avoid browning: I am amazed how many recipes I come across that require chopped apples and don’t address what can happen to an apple once it’s peeled and cut. When an apple is cut open, an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase is released from the cells of the apple and reacts with the oxygen in the air causing the fruit to brown. Lemon juice helps keep apples from browning because it’s full of ascorbic acid and it has a low pH level. Ascorbic acid works because oxygen will react with it before it will react with the polyphenol oxidase. I know this may sound like chemistry class but it helps to explain why you need to used a little lemon juice to keep the chopped apples looking fresh until you add them into the batter. If you chop the apples right before adding them to the batter you may not need lemon juice, but I would err on the side of caution.

I used two gala apples in this recipe. That produced 3 cups of chopped apples. It takes some time to peel, core and chop the apples. Even if you plan on adding them immediately, the first pieces you chopped may still start to turn brown. The browning process can happen rather quickly. Better to sprinkle a little lemon juice over the apples so you don’t have to worry. Besides lemon juice, lime juice or cranberry juice can also generally be used to stop browning. But be aware of the flavors you might be adding into your cake. For this recipe lemon juice is the best flavor choice.

Also be aware that sprinkling lemon juice on apples will not eliminate the browning process completely. Once the lemon juice has evaporated, the apples will begin to brown as the oxygen will then begin to work on the enzymes the apple produces once it is cut. Adding a little lemon juice is designed to be a short term but very effective fix. (I used about half the juice from half a small lemon on the chopped apples).

Lesson Learned 3 – Do not make the frosting until the cake is completely cooled: I have to admit this is very delicious frosting. It’s really more of a thick glaze. The downside is the frosting sets very quickly. So, don’t make the frosting until you are ready to immediately drizzle it over the cooled cake. That way the frosting won’t set and too quickly you’ll get the results you see in the picture below.

Lesson Learned 4 – For more flavor, you can toast the pecans before adding them to the batter and on top of the cake: Just place them in a non stick pan on the stove and heat them. Remember, nuts can burn quickly so as soon as you smell them take them off of the heat.

My husband almost single handedly ate this entire cake. He loved this one. Try it and let me know what you think…

Apple Cream Cheese Cake…

Servings: 12=14
Time: 80 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Cream Cheese Filling

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

2 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

Cake

1 cup finely chopped pecans, plus some for garnish

3 cups flour, plus 2-3 Tbs. to dust the pan

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

3 large eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten

3/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups finely chopped apples (gala or granny smith)

1 tsp shortening to grease the pan

1/2 lemon squeezed for its juice to put on the chopped apple pieces

Praline Frosting

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan. Set aside. Peel core and chop the apples into small pieces. Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples as you put them in a bowl. Stir to redistribute the lemon juice every time you add more chopped apples to the bowl. Set aside.

Using a non stick pan, heat the pecans on the stove until they become fragrant. Take off the heat and set aside.

To make the filling: Beat together the cream cheese, butter and sugar until well combined. Add the egg, flour and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir just until combined (the batter will be thick). Fold in the pecans and apples.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared bundt pan, evenly distributing the batter around the pan. Top with the cream cheese filling, leaving an inch border around the edge of the pan. Top with the remaining batter.

Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, invert the cake onto the wire rack and allow to cool completely.

To make the frosting: Combine the brown sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan. Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil whisking continuously. Boil for 1 minute (keep whisking). Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Whisk the powdered sugar in a little at a time until the frosting is smooth. Immediately drizzle over cooled cake. Garnish with pecans.

Sweet Potato Casserole…

May 27, 2015February 3, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 1 Comment

For the longest time I associated sweet potato dishes with the holidays. Turns out I was missing something wonderful and nutritious all year long. That being said, I’d like to share with you a recipe that certainly can be made over the holidays but is wonderful with any meal any time of year.

I like this recipe because it’s designed to serve four (or two very large appetites) so you can either finish it off at one meal or have one serving of leftovers. It reheats beautifully. It’s simple to prepare, a colorful addition to any plate, flavorful and good for you. So throw away your preconceived notions of sweet potato casseroles being something only relegated to the holidays and enjoy them all year round!

Lesson Learned 1 – Cut the sweet potato into evenly sized chunks: This is very important for the cooking time. You don’t want some pieces to be mushy while other pieces are hard. I cut mine into one inch chunks. Also keep in mind sweet potatoes cook faster than russet or red potatoes. So be aware of that and start checking them for doneness at about 10 minutes. You want them to be fork tender, not mushy.

Lesson Learned 2 – To mash or not to mash in the same pot you cook them in: I am a student of the game and so I do a lot of research into cooking methods. There is a train of though out there that suggests once you’ve drained the sweet potatoes it’s best to mash them in the same pot you boiled them in. That way any excess water left on the potatoes will evaporate from the heat of the pan. That’s all well and good, but I find if I do that my potato masher scratches the heck out of the bottom of my pan, and I have some really high quality pans. So I’ll leave this up to you. You can certainly mash them in the same pan, but I wanted to warn you about what might happen if you did. This is what I do. Once I’ve drained the sweet potatoes, I prefer to mash them in a bowl. After I do that (and they mash quite quickly) I put them back in the pot they were boiled in and just stir them around for about a half of a minute or so (you can even use some low heat while you’re doing this). That way I get the same effect without playing havoc with the finish on my pans.

Lesson Learned 3 – You can make this recipe in individual serving sizes: Another way to prepare this dish is to divide it up equally into four ramekins and bake it off. That way your guests can have their own individual portions. This recipe adapts well in that regard and the individual ramekins are pretty cute. You can also use ramekins even when there are only two of you. Just cook two of them off for one meal and refrigerate the other two for another meal. Just make sure if you refrigerate some ramekins, or if you have leftovers in a one quart casserole, that you take the dishes out of the refrigerator and let them sit on your counter for about an hour before reheating them. That way you’ll take the chill off and the cooking time will be shorter. Also if just reheating, cover the casserole in foil. Since it’s already been cooked once you can burn the pecans if you don’t cover them.

My husband just loves this recipe. He asks me to make it all the time. Try it. I’m sure it could easily become on of your go-to potato recipes!

Sweet Potato Casserole…

Servings: 2-4
Time: 50-55 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 Tbs. butter, divided (2 Tbs. cut into cubes)

1 Tbs. maple syrup

2 Tbsp. orange juice

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup pastry flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. shortening, to grease the casserole dish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 1 quart casserole dish. (I use an enameled cast iron dish for this recipe). Set the dish aside.

Place cubed sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water by about an inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly and continue to cook until the sweet potatoes are fork tender (10-15 minutes). Drain the sweet potatoes and put them in a bowl (or back in the saucepan if you prefer – see lessons learned above). Add 1 Tbs. butter, the maple syrup, orange juice, salt and cinnamon. Mash until you reach your desired consistency. (At this point, if you mash in a bowl, you can put the potatoes back in the pot the cooked in, turn on a low heat and stir for about a minute to remove any excess water). Put the mashed sweet potatoes into the greased casserole dish.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, pecans and brown sugar. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course sand. Add the vegetable oil and mix until well combined. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the mashed sweet potatoes.

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until the potatoes are hot and the top is golden brown.

Ready To Go Into The Oven…

Makes Enough For 2-4 People…

Blueberry Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake…

May 22, 2015January 18, 2017youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

I needed something quick and easy that would use the blueberries I recently purchased. How about a coffee cake? I looked through various recipes in search of what I could adapt and found one that used ingredients I already had in the house. As with most baking recipes, I had to adapt the ingredients for high altitude (and I will include that in the recipe) but I also decided to add a cinnamon streusel topping to the coffee cake, and I can tell you that was the best accompaniment to the recipe. This coffee cake takes no time to put together and judging by how it was devoured when I took it to work, it’s a great way to have something homemade, sweet and delicious without a lot of fuss.

Here are my lessons learned when making this:

The correct consistency of the batter…

Lesson Learned 1 – Don’t be afraid to trust your gut: As I mentioned earlier, I adapted this from a recipe I found in a Taste Of Home magazine. I new I would have to adapt the recipe for high altitude, but I also think there may have been a misprint in the recipe as it did not, in my estimation, include enough milk. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of milk. When I added that, along with the butter and egg mixture, the batter was still very dry and even slightly powdery. I knew that wasn’t right. So I began adding more milk and testing the consistency of the batter. I suggest at sea level you start with 3/4 cup of milk and check the consistency of the batter. You can always add a little more but you can’t take it away.

Because I added 4 additional tablespoons of flour (2 for each cup, a standard high altitude adjustment) I knew I might have to add a little more milk. As it was I had to double the amount of milk (I used 1 cup) and that shouldn’t be the case. So I am writing the recipe with the suggestion of using 3/4 – 1 cup of milk. As you can see the cake turned out beautifully, but would not have if I didn’t make the adjustment and trust my gut. So don’t be afraid to adjust the milk if you think the batter doesn’t look right.

The butter, sugar and egg mixture…

Lesson Learned 2 – The egg, milk and butter mixture will look lumpy, and that’s ok: I am including a picture of what the egg, milk and butter mixture looks like before you add it to the dry ingredients. It looks lumpy and that’s the butter. Don’t let that bother you. It is supposed to look that way. If you don’t want to drag out your hand mixer, you can actually combine all of these ingredients at one time by hand using a whisk, which is what I did. Just make sure the butter is at room temperature before you combine all of them. It won’t work if the butter is not soft. If you choose to use a hand mixer, beat the butter and egg together first and then add the milk. Either process will work.

The consistency of the streusel…

Lesson Learned 3 – Making a streusel: I’ve always struggled with making a streusel. Most recipes say to either use a pastry cutter and cut the cold butter into the flour, or use two knives and do the same thing. I’ve never mastered it with knives and it seemed that every time I used the pastry cutter the butter would just stick to the blades. What I learned this time is, with patience, (what a concept) the pastry cutter actually works. The first few times I had to scrape the butter off the blades, but after a short while the butter became more incorporated into the flour and soon I was cutting the butter into the flour and got the desired pea-sized consistency necessary for a good streusel. So be patient. It actually works.

If you want something sweet that is quick and easy to make this is the recipe for you. Enjoy!

Blueberry Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Servings: 12
Time: 55 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour (plus 4 Tbs. for high altitude)

3/4 cup sugar (2/3 cup for high altitude)

2 Tbs. baking powder (1 Tbs. for high altitude)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 extra large or jumbo egg, room temperature

3/4 – 1 cup milk (start with smaller amount and add more if needed)

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cup fresh blueberries (if using frozen add to batter frozen)

2/3 cup pecans, chopped

Vegetable shortening to grease the pan

1/2 tsp. flour for dusting the blueberries (if using fresh blueberries)

CINNAMON STREUSEL TOPPING:

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbs. ground cinnamon

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup cold butter, cubed.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 9 x 9 baking pan with shortening. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Slowly add small portions of additional milk to the batter if the the consistency of the batter appears too dry.

Dust the fresh blueberries with a small amount of flour and stir until the berries are slightly coated. Fold the blueberries and pecans into the batter. Spread batter into the prepared pan.

For the streusel, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon into a bowl. Cube the cold butter and cut it into the flour/sugar mixture until the mixture reaches a pea-sized consistency. Sprinkle the streusel over the batter.

Bake 35 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least one half hour. Cut and serve.

Coming out of the oven…

Blueberry Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake…

Servings suggestion: With a dollop of whipped cream dusted with cinnamon sugar…

Ground Beef and Crispy Potato Casserole…

May 12, 2015youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

Lately I have been posting a lot of baking recipes so I thought this time I’d go for something savory. I had some ground beef in the refrigerator and I started to think about how I could prepare it in ways other than more traditional faire like burgers, meatloaf or tacos. Then I thought about Shepherd’s Pie. I’ve made Shepherd’s Pie with left over pot roast (the traditional recipe) and I’ve also made a Turkey Style Shepherd’s Pie but I didn’t have any left over mashed potatoes and didn’t feel like making some.

What I did have was a bag of frozen diced potatoes and a bag of frozen vegetables and the recipe grew out of that. I also had a hodgepodge of shredded cheeses in my refrigerator and I decided to try to incorporate that – sort of a clean out your fridge and freezer type of recipe. I never could have imagined how tasty this would be. After we had this for dinner my husband was already looking forward to eating the leftovers.

The most time consuming part of this recipe is assembling the ingredients but once that’s done, like any other casserole, all you do is pop it in the oven and wait for it to do its thing. This recipe requires using two pots and a casserole dish but believe me the end result is worth it. Try it out and see what you think!

Lesson Learned 1 – There is some prep to this recipe: But tell me now, what from scratch recipe does not require some prep. You brown the onions, add the meat and seasonings, add the veggies and cook thru till warm while in another pot you make the homemade cheese sauce. But at least this way you know every ingredient that is going into the recipe and that’s the beauty of making it from scratch – you control all of the ingredients. There are ways you can shorten the prep time by perhaps using a prepared cheese sauce but now that I’ve mastered making my own sauces and gravies I very seldom, if ever, revert to buying them packaged or jarred. And really, you have to admit, homemade tastes so much better. So take the time to do the prep – it’s worth it.

Lesson Learned 2 – It’s easy to adapt this to a meatless recipe: Quite often I post on my Facebook page a picture of the next recipe I will blog as a teaser for what’s to come. This time when I posted a picture for this dish I got two very specific comments. The first was that I should write a recipe book and I am seriously thinking about doing an ebook. (Have any of you done that – would love to hear your story). The second was that you could substitute veggie crumbles for the ground beef in this recipe. To be honest, I had never heard of veggie crumbles before and I wondered why you would substitute the meat for veggies when veggies are already included in the recipe. But I was thankful to learn about this. A few of my friends who are not carnivores say they use these crumbles when making chili or tacos and they tell me it’s a great substitute. So I wanted to offer that piece of information here. This is definitely the kind of recipe that could use the crumbles as a substitute for the ground beef. I am not recommending any particular brand. Both MorningStar Farms and Boca make the crumbles. I just wanted to give you an example of what you might consider.

Lesson Learned 3 – Any frozen vegetables will do: I had some frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and I add them to the recipe. You can also use frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans and corn). Just remember to make sure the pieces are not too large. I found I had very large cauliflower pieces so I cut them in half to make sure they would cook. You can also add fresh vegetables. I would cook them until slightly softened and then put them in the casserole. I think I am going to try fresh vegetables the next time I make this. Regardless, my husband told me that this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Lesson Learned 4 – This recipe makes great leftovers: The recipe as written serves 6 and my husband and I could not eat the whole thing the first time. We had it two days later as leftovers and it tasted equally as delicious as when it was first made. The best way to reheat this is to first take the casserole out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the kitchen counter for an hour. That takes the chill off. Then reheat at 375 for 45 minutes. (maybe 30 minutes at sea level). Make sure you reheat it covered in foil as the cheese will burn if you don’t. The ends result is piping hot and just as delicious as the first time around. This recipe is a winner out of the gate and as leftovers.

Ground Beef And Crispy Potato Casserole…

Servings: 6
Time: 75 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1/2 large onion, diced

1/2 tsp. oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 – 2 cups frozen vegetables

3 Tbs. butter, divided

2 Tbs. flour

2 cups milk

1 cup shredded cheese (I had a white cheddar and gruyere blend)

1/c cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped

Frozen, diced potatoes (enough to cover the top – not quite a full 32 oz. bag)

Flat leaf parsley, chopped for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 10 x 10 casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large skillet heat 1 Tbs. of butter. Add the onions and cook until they start to become translucent (about 5 minutes). Salt and pepper the onions during this process. Add the ground beef and oregano. Cook until the meat is mostly cooked through. Add the garlic and vegetables and cook until the vegetables are slightly heated. Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper if needed. Once the vegetables are slightly heated, remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.

In another skillet melt the remaining 2 Tbs. of butter. Add the flour and whisk for about a minute. Add the milk and continue to whisk so the mixture stays smooth. Once the milk heats it will start to thicken. When the milk reaches a desired thick consistency (this takes about 5 minutes), turn off the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until the cheese melts. Once the cheese is incorporated into the milk mixture add the chives and stir to combine. Taste the cheese mixture and add salt and pepper, if needed.

Add the sour cream to the meat mixture and stir to combine (You need to do this when the meat has slightly cooled so the sour cream does not curdle). Spread the meat mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover the meat mixture evenly with the frozen diced potatoes. Pour the cheese mixture over the potatoes.

Bake for 45 – 60 minutes. For the first 20 minutes cover the casserole with foil, then remove the foil and bake for the remaining time. Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Add the sour cream to the meat mixture and spread in the bottom of the dish…

Arrange an even layer of frozen potatoes over the meat…

Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes…

Fresh out of the oven…

Ground Beef and Crispy Potato Casserole…

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake…

May 6, 2015January 18, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 8 Comments

Ok, I promise I won’t inundate you with bundt cake recipes, but since I’ve not had a bundt cake pan for years and just recently bought one I simply had to have one more go at it right away. This time I tried to make a chocolate cake, not only to test the pan again but to also foray into the world of making chocolate ganache. I learned some really interesting things along the way making this recipe and I want to share them with you.

Bundt pan dusted with cocoa powder…

Lesson Learned 1: Dusting the bundt pan with cocoa powder instead of flour: As I mentioned in a previous post, it is imperative to take the time to grease and flour a bundt cake pan in order for the cake to come out cleanly and beautifully. You cannot skimp on this step. When I grease a bundt pan I use unsalted vegetable shortening but this time instead of dusting it with flour I dusted the pan with cocoa powder. To be honest, I’m not sure I would do it again for a couple of reasons. First, I found it very difficult to remove the excess cocoa powder from the pan much more so than removing excess flour. It seemed like not matter how hard I tapped the pan or slightly dropped it on my butcher block the cocoa powder would not dislodge to the degree I wanted. It definitely left a heavier coating in the pan. That’s not necessarily bad, but remember cocoa powder on its own has a bitter taste and that dusting will somewhat remain on the outside of the baked cake. If you dust the pan with cocoa powder you should frost the cake. That way none of the taste of raw cocoa powder will come through. If you decide to finish off your cake by sprinkling the top with powdered sugar then dust the bundt pan with flour.

Baked cake from pan dusted with cocoa powder…

Second, I’m not sure I liked the look of the cake when I removed it from a pan dusted with cocoa powder. As you can see from the picture, the cake had, at least it seemed to me, an odd sort of matted look. I’m thinking that if I dusted the pan with flour, the cake would have looked more chocolatey brown versus looking like it had been sprayed with a light dulling lacquer. Also when I touched the cake, a darkish film would come off on my finger – I’m thinking that was a result of the combination of shortening and cocoa powder. I was not too fond of that. But, don’t get me wrong, none of this affected the tasted of the cake. The frosted cake was delicious and you could not taste the cocoa powder in anyway. I just thought I would try something a little more out of the ordinary, and though I was not 100% delighted with dusting the pan with cocoa powder, I still think this was one of the best chocolate bundt cakes I ever made!

Lesson Learned 2 – This recipe makes a lot of batter: This recipe is designed for a 15 cup bundt pan so be prepared for that. If you don’t have that large of a pan (mine is a 12 cup pan) then you will need to think of other ways to use the remaining batter. Because this recipe uses 5 eggs it rises a lot, so don’t fill your pan more than three quarters full or the batter will drip over the sides. You can do a couple of things with the rest of the batter. You can make cupcakes or you can make a small loaf cake. I chose to make a small loaf cake putting the remaining batter in a 5 x 3 x 1 mini loaf pan. I just sprayed that pan with baking spray and baked it with the bundt cake. The cake took 70 minutes to bake (remember I am at high altitude so it takes longer sometimes – at sea level you can probably bake it for 60-65 minutes) and the loaf pan took 45 minutes.

Lesson Learned 3 – Making chocolate ganache: This was my first attempt ever at making chocolate ganache and I have to admit I should have researched it a little more before I made it. I found a process in one recipe and used it. And although the ganache turned out ok, it was not as silky as I would have wanted it. Then someone suggested I check out YouTube and I found a process I thought was better. I made my ganache over a double boiler, melting the chocolate and butter together and then adding heavy cream that has almost come to a boil and then combining the ingredients. The result is what you see in the pictures.

The Ganache…

Next time I make ganache I will use the process I learned on YouTube. It is very simple. Just put your chocolate in a bowl and heat heavy cream until it’s just about ready to boil. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and let the chocolate and cream sit for two minutes. Do not touch it. After 2 minutes stir to combine. Then add about a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt. Stir and then frost. I think the texture will be smoother and silkier making the ganache that way. I think my ganache was a little too thick but considering it was the first time I ever made it I think I did ok. It tasted wonderful, I just wanted it to be more glaze-like and smooth. And if you have any ideas on how to make the perfect ganache, I am all ears!

Lesson Learned 4 – Never quit trying: I almost didn’t post this recipe because I was not pleased with the way the ganache turned out. And then I thought, wait a minute, isn’t this blog not only about recipe successes but also things I learned along the way while making recipes? From my experience, the only way you learn is by trying. I don’t know of any cook or baker who has not had failures in the kitchen. And although the ganache wasn’t exactly a failure, it wasn’t what I wanted it to be. But hopefully what I am sharing when I post recipes will help minimize any slips ups you have when trying them and get you to success a lot quicker. To me, that is the purpose of this blog – to help those, like me, who never had anyone to mentor them and had to learn many things in the kitchen the hard way. And I have a feeling there are a lot of people like us out there, but just afraid to admit it.

Since I made two bundt cakes within the timeframe of one week I had a lot of cake around the house. So I brought most of this cake to work yesterday. Within a couple of hours it was gone. Only a few chocolate crumbs remained on the plate in the break room. So no matter if your ganache is beautiful or not, in the end the only thing that really matters is the taste. And I’ll clue you in on a little secret – this cake tastes divine!

Here is the recipe as well as the adjustments I had to make for high altitude. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake…

Servings: 12-16
Time: 90 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

1 cup cocoa powder, (more if you dust the pan with it – otherwise use 1 Tbs. of flour)

1 Tbs. unsalted vegetable shortening for greasing the cake pan

7 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped finely

1 cup boiling water

2 1/4 cups flour (plus 4 Tbs. for high altitude)

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda (1 tsp. for high altitude)

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar (2 1/8 cups for high altitude)

5 eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten

1 Tbs. prepared coffee, room temperature

4 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup high altitude)

1/8 cup flour for coating the chocolate chips

Ganache:

6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

1 Tbs. butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

A pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour the bundt pan. Set aside.

Combine the cocoa powder and chocolate. Add the boiling water and whisk until blended and smooth. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (at least one minute). Add the brown sugar and beat until blended. Increase the mixer speed and beat until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time and beat until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and coffee and beat until combined.

Reduce the speed of the mixer and add the flour and sour cream in three additions beginning and ending with the flour. Pour in the chocolate, cocoa mixture and beat until the there is no light color in the batter. Combine the flour and chocolate chips and, by hand, fold the chocolate chips into the batter.

Pour the batter into the pan being careful not to fill it more than 3/4 full. Bake for 60-70 minutes (70 minutes high altitude) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 15 – 20 minutes (I cooled mine for 20 minutes). Invert the pan onto the wire rack and lift off the pan.

Let the cake cool for at least 1 hour before frosting.

FROSTING:

Put the chocolate chips into a heat resistant bowl. Heat the heavy cream until almost boiling. Pour the heavy cream over the chips and let that mixture stand without touching it for two minutes. After two minutes stir the mixture until the chocolate and cream are combined and smooth. Add the butter and salt and stir to combine. Immediately pour over the cooled cake.

The cake batter…

The cake right out of the oven…

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake…

Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Bundt Cake…

April 28, 2015January 18, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 2 Comments

I haven’t made a bundt cake in a long, long time. Every time I think of a bundt cake, I remember the scene from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” when the Millers bring a bundt cake to the Portocalus family dinner and Toula’s mother Maria doesn’t have a clue what “bundt” means. That was some pretty funny stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPvO53JHnmY

What I like about bundt cake molds are their artistry. They give a professional look to any recipe with very little effort. In recent years they’ve gotten fancy with bundt molds, from rose designs to vertical swirls, to picture cut outs that can define the top of the cake. I personally prefer the traditional bundt mold as its designed to allow glaze to fall down the sides of the cake in beautiful uniformity. With the newer molds if you glaze them you basically cover up the design. So all you can put on them and still see the design is powdered sugar. Dusting a cake with powdered sugar is fine, but I like to have a couple of options for decorating rather than being held to just one.

This recipe is adapted from one I found on Pinterest. I had to adapt it to high altitude (and I’ll include both sea level and high altitude instructions). I also used frozen cherries instead of fresh (as cherries are not in season yet) and will explain what I discovered about doing that in my lessons learned. I have to admit I was surprised at how beautiful the cake turned out. I haven’t made a bundt cake in a long time. But I will definitely be making more in the future. Try this one, I think you will really enjoy it!

Lesson Learned 1 – What to think about when using frozen fruit: I’ve used frozen fruit before in recipes and normally if they’re smaller in size, like blueberries, I add them frozen. That way you don’t have to mix them with flour to ensure they will evenly distribute throughout the batter. But this particular recipe originally called for fresh cherries pitted and diced. Cherries are not in season now so all I had to work with were frozen ones. If you use frozen cherries, dice thaw and drain them first. Otherwise you will have huge pieces in the cake. Make sure you drain them well as they give off a lot of moisture. I would do this about an hour or so before making the cake to ensure you are getting out as much moisture as possible before putting them into the batter. Dice them while they are frozen and let them drain after that. It worked great as you can see by the pictures.

Lesson Learned 2 – Adapting for high altitude: This may not apply to many of you, but living in an area over 5,000 feet I’ve learned a few tricks, out of necessity, to make sure baked goods turn out as intended. In high altitude the air pressure is lower. The lower pressure causes baked goods to rise more easily and liquids to evaporate more quickly. If adjustments are not made to recipes, cakes can turn out dry or fall in on themselves due to the cell walls of the cake stretching (due to the lower pressure) until they burst. I can tell you from experience, I’ve had many, many disasters related to baking in high altitude.

In high altitude, flour acts as a strengthener in cakes. So I normally use only high altitude flour and add 1 – 2 tablespoons of additional flour per cup. In this recipe I only had to use 2 additional tablespoons of flour total. Sugars and fats act as tenderizers and need to be slightly reduced in recipes. Normally I reduce sugar by 1 – 2 tablespoons per cup, which I did in this case. And I always use extra large to jumbo sized eggs as they add strength to the batter. Sounds complicated I know, but once you’re faced with doing it on a regular basis you get use to it and to the point where you can eyeball a good batter consistency. This particular cake turned out beautifully by adding 2 additional tablespoons of flour and reducing the sugar by 2 tablespoons per cup.

Lesson Learned 3 – The importance of greasing and flouring the bundt pan: Take the time needed to thoroughly grease and flour the bundt pan. This is a little more time consuming than it might look as there are more nooks and crannies than you may think. But take the time, make sure every area is well coated with grease (I used unsalted vegetable shortening), wipe away the excess and flour the bottom, walls and inside flute completely (as seen in the picture). Once I finished I took the pan and held it about an inch over my butcher block and dropped it. I repeated this process a couple of times. By doing this I was able to dislodge and discard any large amounts of flour remaining resulting in a nice even coating of shortening and flour. The cake dislodged beautifully (and easily) as you can see. This is a very important step so don’t skimp on this process.

Lesson Learned 4 – Using heavy cream in a glaze: Many glaze recipes are made with milk, water or juice. I like to add some heavy cream to the glaze. I find it gives the glaze a richer consistency. With this glaze I used 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of milk. That may sound like a lot, but the heavy cream does not dilute the sugar in the same way as milk. I needed to add a little more milk the get the consistency I desired. Start out by using only 1 tablespoon of milk and check the consistency of the glaze before you add more.

I was so pleased with how this cake turned out. It not only tasted good but looked like it had been made by a professional baker. So if you want a great cake and want to impress your friends as well, this is definitely the one to make!

Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Bundt Cake…

Servings: 12
Time: 90 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups of flour, divided (add 2 additional Tbs. for high altitude)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups sugar (reduce by 2 Tbs. per cup for high altitude)

3 extra large to jumbo eggs, room temperature

1 Tbs. vanilla

8 ounces vanilla Greek yogurt

8 ounces frozen cherries, diced, thawed and drained

ALMOND TOPPING:

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 tsp. sugar

1 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

GLAZE:

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbs. heavy cream

1 Tbs. milk (may need more depending on consistency)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease and flour a 10-12 cup bundt cake pan. Set aside.

Sift together 2 1/2 cup flour, baking soda and salt. Using a stand mixer beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and incorporate completely. Beat in the vanilla.

Alternate adding the flour and yogurt to the butter mixture, starting and ending with adding flour. Do not over mix. Take cherries and toss with 1/4 cup flour. Gently fold the cherries into the cake batter until evenly distributed.

In another small bowl, stir together the almonds, sugar and melted butter. Scatter this mixture evenly on the bottom of the bundt pan. Pour the cake batter over the almond mixture dispersing it evenly in the pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool the cake for 15 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool completely.

Mix together the glaze ingredients until smooth and drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

The Consistency Of The Batter With The Frozen Cherries Incorporated…

Put The Almond Mixture Evenly In The Bottom Of The Pan…

Distribute The Batter Evenly In The Cake Pan…

Cool Completely Before Glazing…

Strawberry & Raspberry Crumb Cake…

April 21, 2015January 1, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 4 Comments

I am loving the fact that I’m at the point where I’m not afraid to experiment with recipes or afraid to make changes in them if something just doesn’t look right. And that is the story of this recipe.

I had some strawberries that were in my refrigerator for a while and I wanted to use them before they went bad. So I started researching recipes and found one for strawberry crumb bars. I basically had all of the ingredients so I decided to try the recipe.

The original recipe called for 4 cups of chopped strawberries. After chopping up what I had I found I only had 3 cups. My initial thought was to go to the store to get more strawberries. Then I remembered I had a container of raspberries in the refrigerator as well. So I thought, maybe I’ll just chop those up and combine the two berries.

Now this may sound silly, but this was a big leap for me. In the past I’ve not been one to stray from recipes or tweak them in any way. But I thought, what the heck. I cooked with raspberries before. What harm could it do to combine the two. And so I did.

The original recipe also called for only one beaten egg when making the crust/crumble. When I added one beaten egg, the dry mixture still resembled dry dusty flour. I knew the consistency of crust/crumbles should be dough-like and should somewhat hold together when you squeeze it in your hand. No such luck with only using one egg. So I added another beaten egg and the consistency still wasn’t right. I added a third and finally got the correct consistency. Doing this was huge for me. In the past I would just have gone along with the recipe and wound up with a baking disaster. This time I followed my gut and my baking knowledge and wound up with a great result. So here are my lessons learned on this fabulous recipe:

Lesson Learned 1 – Trust Your Gut: As I mentioned earlier I would always follow recipes to the letter and never deviate even if something did not look right. Now I have to put in a big caveat here. Baking is very different from cooking. Your chances of making a mistake when playing around with the ingredients when baking are much higher but in this case, especially with the crust/crumble, I knew that if the dough did not somewhat stick together when I squeezed it, it would not produce the desired results. But I was also careful. I only added in one beaten egg at a time and with the third egg I put it in a little at a time just to make sure that I wasn’t adding too much. My advice on this recipe is to use two extra large to jumbo sized eggs or three regular sized eggs. Don’t dump them in all together. Put them in one at a time and check the consistency of the dough before you add more. Once the dough somewhat sticks together when you squeeze it, you’re done.

Lesson Learned 2 – This Recipe Can Be Made With Various Berry Combinations: In my case it was strawberries and raspberries but you can make this with raspberries and blueberries or strawberries and blueberries or blackberries and strawberries or whatever combination of berries you have on hand that can be baked. Just make sure you have four cups of berries because you’ll need that amount to adequately cover the top of the cake. Also make sure to try to cut the berries into equal sized pieces. And use caution when combining them with the sugar and cornstarch. Use a folding technique rather than a stirring technique so you don’t overly bruise or rip apart the berries.

Lesson Learned 3 – The Importance of Using Cold Butter: In order to get a flaky crumb crust/crumble the butter needs to be very cold when mixing it with the dry ingredients. Many recipes will tell you to use a pastry cutter or two knives and cut the butter into the dry mixture until the butter is a pea-shaped size. I never seem to have any luck with that process so what I did was put the dry ingredients in a food processor add the cold butter pieces and pulse all of it together to get the consistency you see in the picture to the right. Two things to keep in mind – 1: Cut the butter the very first thing and put it back into the refrigerator while you prepare the berries and dry ingredients. That way the butter will be as cold as it can possibly be when you cut it into the dry ingredients. 2: If using a food processor to incorporate the butter, hold a towel over the opening so that as you pulse you don’t get a cloud of flour coming out the top of your food processor.

Other than these few lessons learned this recipe couldn’t be easier to make and the end result is one truly delicious crumb cake. Enjoy!

Strawberry & Raspberry Crumb Cake…

Servings: 16
Time: 75 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar for the dough

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup cold butter cut into pieces

2-3 beaten eggs (extra large or jumbo size start with 2)

4 cups berries cut in evenly sized pieces (I used 3 cups strawberries & 1 cup raspberries)

1/3 cup sugar for berries

4 tsp. corn starch

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease 9 x 13 pan and set aside. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a food processor. Hold a towel over the opening of the processor and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse the mixture until the butter is the size of peas. Remove the mixture from the food processor and put into a large bowl. Add a beaten egg one at a time and stir it into the mixture. (If the consistency is correct after adding two eggs, don’t add a third). The dough is of the right consistency if it sticks together when you take a handful and squeeze it.

Take half of the dough and put it in the bottom of the prepared pan and pat it down. Carefully fold together the berries, sugar and cornstarch. Spread berries on top of the dough. Crumble the remaining dough on top of the berries.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes. Let cake cool before slicing.

Cut The Berries Into Evenly Sized Pieces…

Press Dough Into The Bottom Of The Pan…

Spread The Berry Mixture Over The Dough…

Crumble The Remaining Dough Over The Berries…

Bake And Enjoy…

Pan Seared Halibut With Sweet Pepper and Mushroom Relish…

April 13, 2015January 15, 2017youbetchcanmakethis Leave a comment

I never thought the day would come when I became more adept at cooking fish, but it has and there’s no one happier about it than me. The challenge now is to find a variety of ways to make fish more interesting. And I think this recipe does the trick.

Cooking any kind of fish can be tricky because there is a fine line between the fish being underdone and overdone. It takes time and experience to get a feel for cooking fish but it is a skill that is well worth the energy. We try to have fish a couple of times a week now and I am constantly researching creative but easy ways to serve it. I really like this particular recipe for its flavor, and the relish is easy to prepare and can accompany just about any kind of mild white fish (or even grilled chicken).

Lesson Learned 1 – When pan searing fish, use a combination of butter and olive oil to cook the fish: You use this combination for a reason. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter and by combining them you can cook the fish at a higher temperature without burning the butter and you’ll still be getting that rich butter flavor. For this particular recipe I had pieces of halibut that were 1 inch thick and about 2 inches by 1 1/2 inches in length and width. Obviously the thicker the piece of fish the longer the cooking time. These particular pieces took between 9 – 10 minutes to cook.

Lesson Learned 2 – You can be creative with the relish ingredients: I chose a relish that was a combination of a yellow sweet pepper, Roma tomato, shallots, baby crimini mushrooms and minced garlic. I liked the combination of flavors and colors. But really you can make it out of anything you have on hand. I decided to cook the relish and the fish in two separate pans versus cooking the fish and keeping it warm in foil while I made the relish in the same pan as the fish. This particular relish took about 10 minutes to cook so it closely matched the cooking time of the fish filets. I started out sautéing the peppers and mushrooms for about 4 – 5 minutes. Then I added the shallots and garlic and last the tomatoes. I was able to time it so that the fish and the relish were done almost at the same time. The trick is to know your relish ingredients and how long they take to cook so you can cook them in the proper time and order. If for some reason you can’t time them to be done closely together, my recommendation would be to cook the relish and keep it warm and cook the fish so that it can be served immediately.

If you think you’re not a fish lover then you definitely have to try this recipe. I’ve written this recipe to serve two but you can certainly adapt it for more servings. The relish is a great enhancement to the fish and will make you think differently about serving fish regularly. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Pan Seared Halibut With Sweet Pepper and Mushroom Relish…

Servings: 2
Time: 25 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Medium
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INGREDIENTS:

2 (6 ounce) halibut filets

3 Tbs. olive oil, divided

1 Tbs. butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 -2 tsp. garlic powder

1 – 2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

salt and pepper (to taste)

1 shallot, sliced

1 – 2 cloves of garlic, minced (again to taste)

1/2 cup sweet pepper, any color

5-6 medium sized baby crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 medium – large size Roma tomato, seeded and chopped

1 Tbs. sherry cooking wine

1 Tbs. flat leaf parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Combine flour, garlic powder and Old Bay Seasoning. Dredge the fish filets on both sides in the flour, shaking off any excess. Set aside.

Heat 2 Tbs. of olive oil in a pan. Add peppers and mushrooms and sauté for approximately 3-5 minutes. Once you’ve started cooking the peppers and mushrooms, heat the remaining olive oil and butter in another pan until the butter is melted. Season the fish filets with salt and pepper and add them to this pan seasoned side down (I also added a touch of Old Bay Seasoning on top along with the salt and pepper). Season the other side of the filets with salt and pepper (and Old Bay, if desired). Let the filters cook for approximately 4-5 minutes before turning. Cook on the second side until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork (approximately another 4- 5 minutes). Keep in mind that the thickness of the filet will determine the cooking time, obviously the thicker the filet the longer the time.

Once the peppers and mushrooms in the other pan have softened add the shallots and garlic and cook for an additional 2- 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sherry cooking wine and cooking for another couple of minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the parsley and serve over the fish filets.

Deli Style Tuna Salad…

April 7, 2015December 24, 2016youbetchcanmakethis 1 Comment

Sometimes I get so consumed with trying new things in the kitchen that I forget a simple meal like soup and a sandwich can be just what the doctor ordered. And so it was the other night. My husband purchased some gourmet soup at our local grocery store, New England clam chowder to be exact, and every night he kept saying, “Let’s have something to go along with that soup.”

For some reason I was hard pressed to think of something and so I held off for a couple of days. When he asked once again and I told him I was struggling with an accompaniment he said, “How about a tuna salad sandwich.” Bingo. It’s like those words just hit the spot. So off I went researching various tuna salad recipes until I figured out what bits and pieces of various recipes might work for us.

I have to tell you it was a very satisfying meal. No frills, no fuss, just store bought soup and home made tuna salad on white sandwich bread. Sometimes all the bells and whistles just can’t compare to the simple pleasures of life. But even simple dinner fare can produce some lessons learned. Here are mine:

Lesson Learned 1 – Make the tuna ahead of time and let the flavors get acquainted: There is a big difference when the flavors have the chance to meld. I recommend making this and letting it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Overnight is even better.

Lesson Learned 2 – Use a combination of tunas: For this recipe I used a combination of solid white and light tuna. What’s the difference you ask? Solid white is almost like a large flaked tuna filet. It is very full bodied but dry. Light tuna has almost a shaved consistency. It is slightly darker but more moist. The combination of the two gives the perfect consistency for tuna salad.

Lesson Learned 3 – Not all white breads are alike: I really wanted to serve the tuna salad “old school” and so I decided to serve it on plain white sandwich bread. Have you ever read the ingredients on packages of plain white sandwich bread? More and more I am shying away from processed foods made from names I cannot pronounce, names that sound like they should be in a beaker in a laboratory and not an ingredient in my food. So I chose a more expensive organic white bread, Rudi’s country morning white to be exact. The ingredients in the bread were all organic and I could pronounce them all (I knew what all the ingredients were as well). I guess if I was really trying to eat cleaner I would have made some home made bread. I just didn’t have the time. I know how difficult it is to eliminate all kinds of processed foods from your life, but being diligent and making smart choices more often than not has to be better for your overall health, right?

Lesson Learned 4 – Once you make the tuna salad the possibilities are endless: I chose a more traditional way to serve the tuna salad. But you make a tuna melt, a tuna stuffed tomato, tuna salad lettuce wraps, tuna pasta salad, an avocado and tuna salad wrap, or tuna salad mixed with your favorite greens and veggies. The sky’s the limit on this one.

The next time you want to have something simple but satisfying make some tuna salad and experiment with various ways to serve it. But let me tell you, a plain tuna salad sandwich on white bread with some sliced tomato, lettuce and pickles really hit the spot the other night!

Deli Style Tuna Salad…

Servings: 4
Time: 20 Minutes To Make - Chill For 4 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

2 (5 ounce) cans of solid white tuna packed in water, drained

2 (5 ounce) cans of light tuna packed in water, drained

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. seasoning salt

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/4 cup celery, minced

1/4 tsp. dried dill weed

1 Tbs. fresh flat leaf parsley, minced

1 – 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

4 green onions, white parts only, chopped

Freshly cracked black pepper

Tabasco sauce (to taste, optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Start out with only 1/4 cup mayo and add more to taste. Adjust salt, pepper, tabasco and lemon to taste. (I only used 1 Tbs. of lemon and found it added flavor but did not overpower the tuna).

Cover and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours. Serve on white bread with some sliced tomatoes, leaf lettuce and sandwich pickles.

Banana Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting…

April 1, 2015January 21, 2017youbetchcanmakethis 3 Comments

There’s nothing as comforting as the smell of banana bread baking in the oven. I love banana bread and have tried various recipes that produced marginal results. But now I think I’ve found my go-to recipe and I want to share it.

One of the problems I’ve had with banana bread is wanting to make it but not planning on having ripe bananas on hand to do so. C’mon, how many of you actually plan on having ripe bananas on hand? Quite often banana bread is an after thought when you have ripe bananas and don’t know what to do with them. Personally I am not a big banana fan. I’ll eat them in banana bread or a banana split but that’s about it. So normally I do not intentionally have bananas around the house.

But I’ve discovered over many years of making banana bread that ripe bananas actually make a huge difference in the flavor of the bread. When bananas get ripe, they release their natural sugars which intensifies their flavor. It’s actually amazing. Try making this recipe with unripe bananas and then with ripe bananas. You will be amazed at the difference! But what do you do when you want to make banana bread but can’t find ripe bananas at the store (and I’ll clue you in, you probably never will). I solved that dilemma in a very simple way which I will share in my lessons learned.

Lesson Learned 1 – You can always have ripe bananas on hand: It’s really rather simple. Just preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the bananas on a baking sheet and keep them in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Start checking them after 5 minutes. You want the skins to be nice and dark like in the picture to the left. I checked my bananas at 5 minutes and they just had a couple of brown spots on them. I checked them again 3 minutes later and they were almost there and finally after an additional 2 minutes they were the perfect dark color. The amount of time you’ll need to get the bananas to brown as shown in these pictures will depend on your oven and altitude.

I can’t stress enough the difference this makes in the flavor of the bread. It only takes a few minutes but the end result is so worth it. The picture above shows what the banana looks like after this process. Simply peel the bananas, put them all in a bowl and mash them. It will take no effort to do so as the bananas will be delightfully soft and perfectly ripe.

Lesson Learned 2 – The basics for any moist sweet bread (or cake): I know I’ve shared this before but it bears repeating. When making a sweet bread or a cake there are a few basic keys to success: 1. Take the time needed to cream the butter and sugar. I’ve found most cooks short change this step and it’s essential for having a moist sweet bread. It can take 5-7 minutes to cream the butter and sugar properly. The end result should be a light color and the mixture should look fluffy and creamy. 2. Use room temperature eggs. Room temperature eggs mix more thoroughly into a batter. Forgot to take your eggs out of the refrigerator before baking? No worries – click on “this link” for a down and dirty trick to get room temperature eggs in just 5 minutes. 3. Don’t over mix the batter. Once you put the dry and wet ingredients together, just combine them. Once they are fully incorporated into one another, STOP! Do these 3 simple steps and you will have a moist sweet bread every single time.

This bread would be delightful on it’s own but it goes over the top when frosted with my cream cheese frosting. Either way, you will have a great go-to banana bread recipe that is quick, easy and every so flavorful. Enjoy!

Banana Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting…

Servings: 8-10
Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

Sweet Bread:

1/2 cup room temperature butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter softened,

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1-2 tsp. vanilla (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or you can use non-stick organic cooking spray) an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (5-7 minutes). Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir only until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for 45 – 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing it. Let cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING:

Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and beat on a low speed until combined and then on a high speed until smooth. Spread on cooled bread.