blondie/brownie swirls

i love to cook from scratch because then i know what's in the final product and it generally tastes better. BUT i am also lazy and i don't always have things like nuts and chocolate chips or blueberries lying about the kitchen. this means the recipes that i cling to are usually the simplest, using mostly ingredients that are found in most kitchens in the country on any given (other than grocery) day.

today, i wanted to make something for my kids for breakfast tomorrow that didn't include...

ingredients list from bag of hostess powdered mini donettes:

Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Barley Malt, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron), "B" Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid)], Dextrose, Vegetable Shortening (Soybean, Palm And Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil), Water, Sugar. Contains 2% Or Less of: Nonfat Milk Soy Flour, Leavenings (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Aluminum Sulfate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Egg Yolks, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Modified Wheat Starch, Mono And Diglycerides, Tapioca Dextrin, Corn Dextrin, Guar Gum, Karaya Gum, Cornstarch, Cellulose Gum, Enzymes, Modified Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Wheat Starch, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Soybean And Cottonseed Oil), Titanium Dioxide (Color), Extracts of Annatto And Turmeric (Color), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid And Sodium Propionate And Potassium Sorbate And Calcium Propionate (to Retain Freshness). Contains Wheat, Milk, Soy And Egg.

OR

ingredients listed on a bag of hostess chocolate covered mini donettes:

Enriched Wheat Flour(Flour, Barley Malt, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron), "B" Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid), Water, Vegetable Shortening(Soybean, Palm, And Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oils), Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils(Palm Kernel, Coconut, Palm), Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% Less Than Of: Nonfat Milk, Soy Flour, Leavenings(Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Aluminum Sulfate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Egg Yolks, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Modified Wheat Starch, Mono And Diglycerides, Tapioca Dextrin, Corn Dextrin, Guar Gum, Karaya Gum, Cornstarch, Cellulose Gum, Enzymes, Modified Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Wheat Starch, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening(Soybean And Cottonseed Oil), Titanium Dioxide (Color), Extracts Of Annatto And Turmeric (Color), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid And Sodium Propionate And Potassium Sorbate And Calcium Propionate (To Retain Freshness), Contains Wheat, Milk, Soybeans And Egg.

EGADS! how do you pronounce "Pyrophosphate," or "Propionate?" and do i really want to? and cottonseed oil? do we know where this comes from? aaack! i do, and i don't want to feed it to my kids. so what does my ingredients list look like? it's pretty amazing. you'll never believe it. you might even be able to pronounce, understand and find everything in my list. are you ready? ok, here goes.

flour (unbleached, unenriched, white), cocoa, sugar, brown sugar, [REAL] butter, eggs, baking powder (aluminum free), baking soda, sea salt and vanilla.

AMAZING? i know, right?!?

anyway, are you impressed? i know i am, especially after eating one of these myself with a nice steaming hot cup of coffee on a cold rainy day....mmmm



BLONDIE/BROWNIE swirls

1. preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. generously butter sides and bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish.

3. in a mixing bowl whisk together 1/2 cup powdered cocoa, 3/4 cup flour, and 1/4 tsp sea salt. set aside.

4. melt and stir in small saucepan 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter with 1 cup of white sugar until smooth and creamy.

5. pour butter/sugar mixture into flour/cocoa mixture and whisk until well mixed.

6. add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla and mix well. set aside.

********************************************************************

7. in another [empty] mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp sea salt.

8. in clean saucepan, melt and stir together, 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter and 1 cup (packed) of brown sugar until smooth and creamy.

9. pour butter/brown sugar mixture into flour mixture and whisk until well mixed.

10. add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla and mix well.

11. drop the second mixture (blondie batter) into the greased pan by large spoonfuls. space out the spoonfuls to allow spots for the other batter.

12. drop the first mixture (brownie batter) into the spaces between the blondie batter.

13. gently run the two batters together, careful not to mix into a homogenous mixture or you'll lose your "swirl."

14. take a fork or a butter knife and lift and swirl the two batters together until desired pattern and all spaces are filled in the pan.

15. bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.




bon appétit!

NOTE: these two recipes can be separated into brownies and/or blondies. use the individual batters and put into 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. delicious either way!

deep fried jalepeño hamburger balls

i love food and i just love it when i get inspired. the other day, i was trying to think of something to spice up the doldrums of having the same 8 or 9 recipes over and over again. i love my fryer, so i thought about hamburgers and the fryer. i looked up deep fried hamburgers on the internet and surprise...(or maybe not), i was NOT the first person who thought of this. :D

so i gave it whirl and it was a hit. superbowl was yesterday and i needed an idea for a "man-food" for such an event and the only thing i had in the fridge was meat (no pizza rolls, or frozen fried treats that they love so much - LOL). i decided to try the hamburger thing again but this time, jazz it up a bit, make'em single serving size, and put a toothpick in'em. they were a hit. everyone in the house loved'em.

here's the trick. there isn't one. i think you could put anything you like in these things and they would turn out wonderful. it just really depends on your tastes. for mine, i used

2 lbs of ground beef
a splash of worcestershire sauce
a splash of kombucha (i'm sure vinegar would work fine)
about 4 oz of shredded cheeses (swiss and jack)
salt and pepper (liberal)
a handful of pickled jalepeños minced (maybe 2-3 T)
a handful of white onions minced
1 cup of white flour
1 cup of fresh ground whole wheat flour
a bowl of water

with your hands gently mix the ingredients. i've found that you don't want to squash (knead) the hamburger or you lose some of the finished texture of a good burger. also i left the onions out of one batch. i preferred them this way, but i didn't have any leftovers of the onion variety either. take the burger and roll it into meat-balls about 1.25 - 2 inch balls.

mix the flours (this mixture makes a great texture) in a bowl. i tend to start with a 1/4 cup each so that i don't have as much waste or as many flour chunks to throw away. roll each meatball in the flour coating well. then take the floured meatball and quickly roll it in the bowl of water. don't try to wash the meatball, we're just trying to get the coating wet. then roll it again in the bowl of flour.

you can do this up to three times with good results. with just one layer of flour, you'll get a tasty treat, but you'll find that the breading comes off in spots and causes the meat to blacken where the flour is missing. you can also use an egg wash instead of water, but i tried it this way and i think the egg makes the texture weird (kinda like crunchy noodles). we like just the plain flour and water the best.

throw the meatballs in the pre-heated deep fryer (about 355-360 degrees) and cook for 4-6 minutes.

pull out of the grease, drain and poke in some toothpicks. voilà.

note: they're not as greasy as the picture would portray. the only reason the paper towel is so greasy is because i pulled them out of the grease one at a time very quickly. i didn't give them a chance to drip in the fryer. if you used the baskets, you could raise the baskets and allow them to drip before tossing them on the plate. these were not very greasy at all. enjoy.

TGIFridays spinach dip clone

tonight i got a hankerin' for TGIFriday's tuscan spinach dip. love, love, love the stuff. the frozen from the store stuff is OK, but it's a bit on the greasy side and tooooooo many bad preservatives, so i finally decided to make my own. couldn't get TGIFriday's to give me their recipe...lol, so i searched around the net and found a couple of recipes, did a bit of juggling and came up with a hit!

this stuff was fabulous!!!!!

• 10 oz frozen spinach thawed, squeezed, drained
• 9 oz artichoke hearts chopped, squeezed, drained (i used canned)
• 1/2 cup Romano cheese (i used the Kraft brand 3 cheese Parmesan sprinkle stuff)
• 4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 oz (1/2 brick) cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for skillet)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. in skillet, saute onions and garlic until nearly brown and transparent.
3. in a bowl, mix together egg & oil until well emulsified.
4. add cream cheese and sour cream and mix well.
5. fold in remaining ingredients, including sauteed veggies.
6. spread in 2-3 quart casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes.
7. serve with pita, tortilla chips or crackers.

seriously HOT wings

just tried this recipe tonite and it was wonderful. not your typical tasting hot wing. more like terriaki chicken with a kick. very good served with rice for you hot hot hot wings lovers.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/09/sriaracha-hot-buffalo-wings-recipe.html

just like the author of the recipe, i've always been a fan of Frank's hot sauce on my hot wings. i don't think these are a substitute, merely another wonderful addition to my recipe book.

hot wings (or legs)

for supper tonight...mmmmm...family favorite

2 1/2 lbs chicken wings or 6-8 chicken legs
(I actually used 5 legs, but we like extra sauce for the rice)
1/3 cup hot melted butter
1/2 cup FRANK'S® REDHOT® - Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Deep fry wings at 400 degrees for 15 minutes (or legs for 25 minutes). Remove from fat and drain. Mix butter and hot sauce together. Pour over chicken in a casserole dish or large bowl. Spoon extras over chicken until well coated. Serve with rice or your favorite hot wings sauce.

how to make eggrolls

I got a new camera for Christmas last year and it's been fun using it. I love to make eggrolls and my family loves to eat them, so I decided to dig out the new camera and share with you how I do it around this kitchen.

NOTE: i no longer use the recipe below. i use the same tips, tricks and methods, but i've since learned a few new tricks and i only use this recipe now.

I normally make smaller batches, but I came by a large amount of cabbage, so I went for broke and made extras for the freezer. I'll be basing my recipe on the BIG batch.

4-6 lbs of cabbage shredded
4 lbs of ground pork (not sausage)
1-2 large yellow (or white) onions
6-10 cloves of fresh garlic
black pepper

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(click on images to enlarge)

1) Chop onions and garlic fine and brown in skillet or large pot with the pork until done through. (do not drain)
2) Shred cabbage either by hand or in food processor (slice setting seems to work best).

3) Put cabbage in large pot or bowl and poor pork with fat into the cabbage.
4) Add pepper and mix well.
5) Allow to sit for a few minutes on the counter and the hot pork fat will begin to soften the cabbage to make it easier to work with.

6) Lay eggroll wrappers flat on table diagonally.
7) Place a small handful (maybe 1/3 cup) into the lower center of the eggroll wrapper.



8) Fold sides towards the middle like an envelope.









9) Pull the bottom corner up to the top and press and pull back to pull the filling towards you and help contain it in the wrapper.







10) Dip fingers in a small bowl of water and wet the top corner of the wrappers.

11) Crimp any ends that might be loose or flopping and roll away from you.

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Tears & Holes (they happen)

Don't panic! I do this all the time. If your eggroll gets a little too wet or stretched, it might tear. Do the best you can to roll it up without damaging it further. Then tear a small corner off another wrapper (you won't even miss it). Wet this small piece and slap it over the hole like a bandaid. This will either fry solid in the fryer or freeze dry in the freezer.

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12) If you intend to freeze, lay them on a cookie sheet in a single layer NOT touching.
13) Place in freezer until frozen.
14) Remove from freezer and cookie sheet and put in freezer-safe container and return to freezer until you are ready to use.


15) Heat fryer to 400 degrees.
16) Place eggrolls in fryer for 8 minutes. They tend to float, so I recommend you place your basket on top of the eggrolls and put the lid on top of the basket to keep them fully submerged. This will ensure that all sides are equally cooked without extra fuss.









17) Remove from fryer and drain.











18) For a tasty dipping sauce, mix 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 real soy sauce and throw in some toasted sesame seeds if you have them.






19) Serve with rice and enjoy.

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Below is a video on how to roll up the eggroll. This mine and hubby's first movie. Hope you like it. It's rated "B" for beginners.

dill crackers

5 cups oyster crackers
5 T pumpkin seed oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dill
dash salt/black pepper

mix seasonings together in a small bowl. in another larger bowl, coat the crackers evenly with oil. dump the seasoning mix into the larger bowl and fold in gently until seasonings are well dispersed throughout. bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. serve warm or allow to cool before storing to prevent sweating.