Hello everyone!!! I apologize for leaving everyone hanging for 17 months… As I mentioned in my initial post, I’m a flight student and that training has been occupying all of my time for the past year. If you’re excited to finally read a new post you can thank my friend Brittany for demanding that I update my blog. I had actually been planning to bake something for my Granddad as a thank  you gift for my birthday check this year. He loves chocolate as much as I do, and I was craving chocolate today anyways so I went with the most chocolate packed cookies I could find.  I found this recipe on Martha Stewart’s website.  For some reason mine don’t look nearly as pretty as her cookie picture.  I imagine that has something to do with the fact that I’m a amateur baker with a point and shoot camera. Maybe someday I’ll have a professional kitchen, photography team and cookbooks of my own. Not that I’m necessarily aspiring to be like Martha Stewart, but sometimes crazy things happen…

Unfortunately I don’t have any crazy stories about the baking process for these.  I had to run out and buy some chocolate (I know its unbelievable that I didn’t have chocolate on hand) at the local Walmart.  For those of you who don’t know, I now live in Kingsville, TX. A painfully small farm town where Walmart is pretty much the most exciting place. I normally have some colorful tales about the other patrons but the only notable event on this particular trip was a lady being lifted into an ambulance out front.  I’m not sure what happened but she was conscious and looked okay. Back to the baking, I have a new cookie sheet and a cookie dough scoop that scrapes out the dough for you. If you’re having any trouble with burning your cookies try the Airbake insulated aluminum cookie sheets!  They sell them at Bed Bath and Beyond but I’m sure there are other stores or online options. The sheets are designed with a open space inside that keeps the cookies from directly touching the metal that is directly touching the baking rack… Its pretty awesome, check them out!  I’ll try to continue uploading my cooking adventures, maybe just at a slower pace than last year.  Keep checking back, and thanks for all the comments

A little preview of my new favorite cutting board. It is shaped like the state of Arizona

I made these cookies on the same day that I made the angel macaroons (posted below).  I was intrigued by the use of graham cracker crumbs to replace flour in the dough.  It was a brilliant call by Lynae Lang of Wolf Point, Montana (she is credited by my cookie magazine as the author of this recipe).  If you like chocolate chip cookies and gourmet cookies with lots of different decadent flavor combinations… this will blow you away.  They’re pretty sweet so try not to devour a whole batch, you’ll probably feel sick (I know I did..).  After making these cookies and the angel macaroons, I decided to mail them out.  As I decided how to package them, I thought that maybe a homemade scrapbook style “packing slip” would be the perfect finishing touch.  So I’m including a picture of the packing cards I made.

Toffee Chip Cookies

Yield: 4.5 dozen

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup English toffee bits

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut (optional) <– I omitted this because I didn’t have any

DIRECTIONS:

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and condensed milk.  Combine the cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder; gradually add to the butter mixture.  Stir in the chocolate chips, toffee bits and coconut if desired.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in apart onto greased baking sheets.  Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

I made these wonderful cookies a while ago and I don’t remember if there’s a story to tell.  Someday I hope to regain control of my blog, lol, I’ve been let it run wild for a couple weeks now.  Amazingly, people still check it out every day!!  That’s some seriously dedicated readership I must have, except that my  boyfriend admitted to not usually reading my entries and just drooling over the pictures.  I don’t mind, I’d do it too, but I usually try to make my musings on the recipe as entertaining as possible so hopefully most of you aren’t missing out on the core of my blog’s awesomeness.  I sent these cookies to a couple different friends and family and they received rave reviews across the board.  They’re so easy to make, it’s crazy not to try this recipe.  They’re also low fat since we’re using Angel Food cake mix.

Angel Macaroons

Yield: 5 dozen

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (16 oz) angel food cake mix

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

2 cups flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cake mix, water and almond extract on low speed for 30 seconds.  Scrape bowl; beat on medium speed for 1 minute.  Fold in the coconut.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove paper with cookies to wire racks to cool.

This morning I woke up at 6, as per my usual routine since we’ve started having daily morning formation at 7:15.  I had some leftover Grits Casserole (I’ll post that recipe soon!) for breakfast and headed off to “work”.  Upon returning around 730, I was greeted by a smiling dancing dog with a rubber newspaper in his mouth.  Then I changed back to my pajamas and thought, ‘What a great morning to bake cookies!’  I’ve been on a cookie baking kick for a while now and this recipe was the last one I had already chosen and bought groceries for.  The recipe was straightforward so I don’t have a humorous tale to accompany the delicious cookies.  I’ve become a huge fan of parchment paper so I don’t have to clean the cookie sheets when I’m done.  I picked these cookies out for my GrandDad because he and I share a love of mint chocolate cookies.  I’ll be sending him some of these soon, not sure if he’ll read this but hopefully it will be a surprise.

Here’s the recipe, enjoy the pics:

Crisp Peppermint Patties

Yield: 5 dozen (I actually got 95 cookies, I made them too small)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter-flavored shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 package (12 ounces) chocolate covered peppermint patties

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, melted peppermint patties and vanilla.  Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in apart onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until the surface cracks. Cool for 1-2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Alright, once again I have to apologize for my lack of updates lately.  I’ve still been cooking just not posting .  These pictures were actually taken on January 24th, to give some perspective on the severity of my procrastination.  I actually haven’t been trying as many recipes now that I’m back in Pensacola because I have to buy my own groceries and I decided to be on a budget this month.  There is a really great website if you’re interested in creating and following a personal budget plan http://www.mint.com.  My mom and I had this awesome meal back in January and its really easy to throw together in a pinch.  It’s also a very flexible recipe (as seems to be the theme of my posts) so feel free to tailor the ingredients to your own taste.

Ingredients:

Canned Chicken

Can of pinto beans (pinto beans with jalepenos is the best)

90 sec rice pouch (or leftover cooked rice)

Mexican cheese

Salsa

Directions:

Mix ingredients together, heat and eat.  It may work best to microwave on a medium heat setting so the faster cooking ingredients don’t overheat.  Patient people can certainly heat each food separately and then mix together.  I didn’t include amounts because that depends on how much you have on hand and how much you want to have in your meal.

You’ll also notice that I actually used chick peas in lieu of pinto beans because that’s what we had in the house.  (I wouldn’t recommend the chick peas, it wasn’t quite the right flavor blend).

First of all, I’d like to apologize for my unannounced leave of absence these past few weeks.  I was busy packing up and moving from AZ to FL again and then I just got out of the habit of remembering to update the blog.  I have a collection of pictures and recipes that need to be updated so hopefully, I get those up soon.  Rather than try to keep everything chronological, I’m here to tell you about some amazing stuffed mushrooms I made for a midmorning snack today.  My Aunt Kathy gave me a cookbook titled “Carb Conscious Vegetarian” by Robin Robertson,  I was excited to try some recipes as my recent food intake has seriously lacked nutrition.  My roommates both returned home on February 15th so I wanted to have Valentine’s Day goodies ready for them…. that roughly translates to me baking multiple batches of cookies and eating most of them and then needing to bake more until I finally filled their packages and refrained myself.  Miraculously I managed to maintain my weight after a weeks worth of the “cookie diet” but mostly because I just didn’t eat much besides cookies… not a good way to go, trust me.  In an effort to feel healthy and energetic again I’m going to try to “cook real food” (my mom’s suggestion).  It makes sense though, stop baking cookies… why didn’t I think of that?!?! Alright, enough about my dieting, these mushrooms are quick and easy and absolutely delicious!!! Definitely try them, they’d be a great side or appetizer for any meal.

RUMAKI-INSPIRED STUFFED MUSHROOMS

8 ounces white mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

1/4 cup chopped canned water chesnuts

2 tablespoons soy bacon bits

2 tablespoons sherry or port

1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari soy sauce

DIRECTIONS: Remove the stems from the mushroom caps and chop them.  Set aside the caps.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the ginger, water chestnuts, bacon bits, sherry or port, and tamari.  Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Stuff the mushroom caps with the filling and arrange them in a single layer in a lightly oiled shallow baking dish.  Cover loosely with foil and bake until the mushrooms are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Apparently my camera skills are out of practice

KATIE’S NOTES:  I used diced ham since I forgot to buy soy bacon bits at the store (sorry for the vegetarians out there…)  Fresh ginger can be kept in the freezer for quite a while so its not a bad investment, my roommates had bought it for some other recipe. Of course, if Asian isn’t your cup of tea feel free to play around with the stuffing ingredients.

SERVES 4

PER SERVING: 62 calories, 4g fat, 3g protein, 4g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 178mg sodium

My hand is now famous

Gyros, are arguably my absolute favorite food in the world!  I say arguable… because me, myself and I have not completely decided on a single favorite food since there are so many delicious choices.  My parents introduced me to this delicious Greek street sandwich and despite their high standards for an “authentic” gyro I have only had a few that I didn’t love.  There’s just something about that spiced meat flavor mixed with the cool tzatziki sauce (cucumber sauce).  In the U.S. gyro meat is typically lamb or a combination of lamb and beef.  Surprisingly (or maybe its not a surprise) the gyros (truly authentic) served in Greece are most commonly pork or chicken although some places may use beef or lamb.  I visited Athens and the island of Santorini this past summer.  My friends and I were told by multiple street vendors that all gyros are made with pork and advertisements for “lamb gyros” were false, meant only to attract American tourists.  Another surprise from Athens, was the addition of fried potatoes (basically french fries) to most of their gyros sandwiches.  I was extremely disappointed that my idea of a gyro was a bit off base, but the Grecian versions were equally delicious.  I am now happy to say that I love American gyros and Greek gyros equally.  The best one I had in Athens actually didn’t even have the tzatziki sauce!  It was a small hole in the wall (literally) joint owned by an old man who did all the cooking.  He makes this incredible spicy tomato based sauce from scratch every day.  It was a perfect complement to pork, onions and tomatos (and french fries of course).  Since I’m back in American, I decided to follow a recipe for lamb version.  The flavor wasn’t exactly the same, I think the recipe is missing some key spices for the meat, but it was really good.  Also, a healthier alternative as gyro meat is typically higher fat to keep it moist while its roasting.  These sandwiches are like the New York City hot dogs of Greece.

Here’s the recipe, I fried the meatballs in a skillet instead of grilling so it works either way. (I imagine grilling would be healthier from not using oil to cook)

Weight Watchers Light and Easy Cookbook

Lamb Meatball Pitas

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons soft bread crumbs

1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

2 tsp prepared horseradish

1 tsp prepared mustard

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

4 Pita rounds (6″)

1. Prepare Cucumber Raita, allowing at least one hour for sauce to chill

Cucumber Raita

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl; cover and chill at least 1 hour.

2. Combine lamb, parsley, breadcrumbs, mint, horseradish, mustard, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, garlic, and egg whites in a medium bowl; shape mixture into 12 small meatballs.

3. Place meatballs in a grill basket coated with cooking spray; place grill basket on rack over medium-hot coals (350-400) and grill, covered, 4 minutes on each side or until meatballs are done

4. Place 3 meatballs on each pita round, and top each serving with 1/4 cup Cucumber Raita.  Garnish each serving with fresh mint if desired.

NUTRITION: 378 calories, 39.2g carbohydrate, 8.8g fat, 6.4g fiber, 30.8g protein, 75mg cholesterol, 272mg sodium, 132mg calcium, 5.3mg iron.

NOTES:  I fried the meatballs in a skillet in peanut oil until they looked done. I used a store bought tzatziki sauce (since we already had it on hand) and we added chopped tomatoes and onions to our pitas. No french fries this time, but you’re welcome to try that sometime .

The other day I felt like having a banana.  Then I remembered that we had leftover orange infused sugar in the fridge.  I pulled out the bag of sugar and saw some delicious kiwi fruits sitting in the drawer.  I sliced the banana, peeled and diced the kiwi and tossed them in a bowl.  Sprinkled my creation with orange sugar and stirred. The juices from the kiwi and banana mixed with the sugar to create a syrupy coating.  It was excellent and I wish I had thought to fill the crepes with this syrupy fruit mixture instead of just butter and sugar.  For a quick and easy fruit makeover… toss on some flavored sugar! (Regular sugar would work as well).

My dad flew into town this weekend so he could take one of our cars back to California.  It was great to see him but sad because it will be a while before we get together again.  He landed after 11pm on Friday night, so Red, mom and I stayed up to go get him (Red was definitely grumpy being up past his bedtime).  Fully expecting to sleep in on Saturday morning, Red woke me up around 8 and coaxed me into to walking and feeding him.  Around 9 we decided to go wake up the parents with slobbery kisses (well only Red did the kissing).  My sleepy dad rolls over and inquires about what we might be having for breakfast.  Naturally, my mother volunteers me to cook and starts listing meals that I know how to make!  (Apparently I’m the designated cook in the family now… didn’t see that coming when I started this blog).  My dad said that crepes sounded good, clearly unaware of the requirement for the batter to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.  Aiming to please, I agreed to cook and went to work on the batter figuring that the refrigeration was a guideline and not a rule.  My second hurdle that morning was a lack of butter… and when cooking from Julia Child’s book, that qualifies as a disaster.

I found a partial stick in my mom’s butter serving dish so I just threw that in the batter and hoped it would be close enough to the 5 Tbs I needed.  After blending the batter and putting in the fridge, it occurred to me that my mom wanted to “fill” the crepes with butter and sugar.  The only butter we had left was laced with tarragon from a steak cook out we’d had over the holidays.  With my tail between my legs, I walked back to my parents room and announced that breakfast would be delayed because I needed to run to the store for butter.  My mom went with so I could just run in and out quickly.  While at the store, I also grabbed a couple oranges, green onions and mushrooms.  I started making the crepes (the batter probably chilled for about 45 minutes) and the process was far from smooth sailing.  I couldn’t seem to get the temperature right, or keep the pan at the same temperature.  I only adjusted the temperature knob once in the beginning but the crepes alternated between cooking super fast and super slow.  Some of them were a deep dark brown color that could possibly be construed as black, and some barely had any brown but some faint tan spots on both sides.  I’m attributing the cooking difficulties to the mystery amount of butter in the batter and the lack of time for the ingredients to “settle” in the fridge.  There’s just no way it could have been my fault!! (haha).  My mom made orange sugar for the filling by rubbing the sugar in orange peels (Julia’s recommendation) and zesting the two large oranges into the sugar.  Despite the struggles the result was delicious and most wouldn’t notice that there had been any problems in the kitchen.

Once I finished filling the crepes I tossed the sliced mushrooms into the pan and after sufficiently sauteing them, I added chopped green onions and then egg whites (with one whole egg added).  Seasoned with salt and Pepper and scrambled the eggs.  Over all it was a delicious breakfast!  Green onions and mushrooms are one of my favorite veggie combos to scramble with eggs or add to an omelette. Enjoy the pictures.

And, the funny picture of the day: I screwed up one of the crepes pretty badly and it resembled scrambled eggs.  I photographed the anomaly and dubbed it “scrambled crepe”! (My mom added butter and sugar and ate it anyway).