Kara Cooks

Nanner Puddin'

2008-09-10T09:09:00.003-05:00

I know.

I know.

I should be making something with nutmeg, or pumpkin, or apples. Nope, not me. Last night it was all about the Banana Puddin'. My friend Dana's birthday is tomorrow, and as an office treat, I made her Banana Pudding (her favorite)

Here's the Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 bananas, sliced
1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

DIRECTIONS

- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

- Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

Here's What I Got:

Delicious layers of wafers, bananas, puddin' mixture, and to top it off, strawberries!

Here's What I Learned:

- This recipe is FABULOUS.

- It's ok to eat some of the pudding out of the bowl when you are done.

- In fact, you may want to make a slop bucket of extras in your left over cool whip container and chow down. Like this...

Who loves banana pudding?

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

We all Scream for Sour Cream (coffee cake)

2008-07-30T12:28:00.002-05:00

Make This. Everyone at your office/home/church will love you. Seriously.

It's one of those recipes that is made with love, and it makes me smile every time I make it. One of my mom's dearest friends, Janet, died last year of breast cancer. She was a wonderful woman who was up for anything. She didn't want to miss out on a good time. She was kind-hearted and genuinely interested in the well being of those around her. She loved her friends and family, and apparently she loved to cook. This recipe comes from a cookbook her daughters put together of their favorite recipes made by their mom, Janet. My mom also got a copy and we've been hooked on this coffee cake ever sense.

Baking is about so much more than just the taste.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

- 2 Sticks of butter, softened
- 2 Cups of sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp of vanilla (I usually add a little more)
- 8 oz of sour cream
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 Cups flour
- Dash of salt

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix first four ingredients together, creaming together butter and sugar
- Add in remaining ingredients. (I stir in each cup of four individually)
- Once batter has formed, pour into greased 9x13 pan and smooth out evenly, batter will be thick.
- Generously sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top of batter
- Cook for 35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean

Enjoy!

~Kara

Vacation Eats

2008-06-30T14:33:00.007-05:00

Sorry for being all lazy poster, but I just got back from a week long visit to Florida and it was heaven. I loved every second of it. It was also my boyfriend's first visit to the ocean, which was incredibly adorable...till he threw me in fully dressed.

As we all know, vacation is ALL about food. I wanted to take pictures of everything delicious I ate, but alas I was too obsessed with the seafood and key lime goodness to keep to the plan. But I snapped a few!

When you look below, you may think, "Kara, where are all the pictures of seafood?" I'm glad you asked! Seafood is my favorite ever. Trust me. I ate it every single day. From grouper sandwiches to blackened sword fish. This girl was happily satisfied by ocean critters. I was just too lazy to take pictures :)

Here's some eye candy of just a smidgen' of the deliciousness that was my vacation:

King Crab Legs- I think Caleb seriously high off of how delicious these were.

Dreamciscle Pina Colada. Very Girly. Very Delicious:

Rib dinner from a local guy with a smoker at the outdoor market. THAT RICE! Wow. Incredible. It has pieces of smoked chicken in it.

Just Ribs, for the BBQ purist:

My Mom's incredibly excessive Chili Dog:

Gyro from Hella's in Tarpon Springs, FL. Seriously the best Gyro I've ever had. Ever. (don't mind the sunburn)

Thanks for Stopping By!

~Kara

One Speedy Potato

2008-06-11T15:45:00.002-05:00

I did a quick post about this website on by other blog. However, this very cool idea needed to be shared with the Kara cooks community. I'm SO trying this next time I make some mashed taters, which just happens to be my favorite food in the entire world.

Check it out...

Has anyone tried this before?

Want to know how to repaint a piece of furniture? Check out Inspired Kara, my new blog!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Chicken Enchillada Dip... a Guarenteed HIT!

2008-06-06T10:50:00.005-05:00

I love cheese, chicken, and enchiladas so why not make them into a dip?!! I first had this at my aunt and uncle's place in Cleveland. I've been obsessed ever since. This is one of the EASIEST dishes to throw together for a last minute gathering or BBQ. I always try to keep the ingredients on hand so I can grab them in a pinch. This stuff is SERIOUSLY delicious. I've never gotten less then great things to say about this dip. Warning. It's addictive, very addictive.

The key to this recipe is a QUICHE pan. A pie pan would probably work, but for my purposes I use a Kitchen Aid Ceramic Quiche Dish. It is the perfect size. I purchased it from Tuesday Morning. Have you guys heard of this place? I love it!! Nothing glamorous about it, but tons of home stuff on major markdowns!

Here's the Recipe:

- 1 cup mayo (the real stuff)
- 1 package softened cream cheese
- 1 large can of chicken (the kind you get next to the tuna)
- 1 - 1.5 cups of your favorite shredded cheese
- 1 can of diced chilies
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- A handful of shredded cheese for the top

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. You can either use a spoon or dig down in there with your hands. Then, spread the sticky, semi-gross looking mixture into your dish, sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until very bubbly. Serve with some scoops, or your favorite tortilla chips!

Here's What I Got: (Warning, no FINAL picture. I had to run out the door to a party before I could snap a pic.)

The cast of characters. Yes, I'm a generics girl. I hardly ever buy name brands.

The pre-baked dip in all it's gooey glory

Sorry for the missing pictures. There should be one of it all spread out with shredded cheese on top, and one after I pull it out of the oven with it all bubbly and chickeny and cheesy and gooey and yummy.

What I learned:
- ALWAYS, I repeat, ALWAYS ask for a recipe when somebody makes something delicious. It's worth it!!!
- I love this dip for the days I'm feeling non-impressive and non-domestic. It's SOOO easy
- Plan for some time for the dip to cool just a bit, instead of trying to immediately head out the door with a 350 degree dish in your hand, not that I would EVER do that

Thanks for Stopping By!!!
~Kara

Fresh Herbs for Spring/Summer

2008-05-28T15:57:00.007-05:00

I'm trying something very out of the ordinary for me...growing plants. I tried to have a garden as a small child and became traumatized when the rabbits ate all my flowers. I have not been able to keep plant-type things alive very well sense.

But in the spirit of cooking, and spring, I'm giving it another shot with a few fresh herbs. I have the world's best boss, and she has been teaching me about different types of plants and gardening and such. One Monday morning she bought be some little planted herbs from the farmer's market as a gift! Thus, I needed to get a cute pot to plant them in. And, of course the pot I wanted required a few more plants, and so the adventure begins.

For my lil' fancy herb pots I have planted:

- Regular ol' Basil

- Thyme

- Cilantro

- Spicy Globe Basil

Here's What I Got:

All of my plants all lined up

My cute planter. All three pots are connected to the same drain pan type thing. Sorry for the poor quality photo, but you get to see the cute colors of the planter!

I stole some of my mom's miracle grow potting soil.

Here they are all planted!

Spicy Globe Basil. This stuff smells REALLY good.

Cilantro! I feel some fresh salsa coming on....

And finally... Thyme

What I've Learned:

- Learning to have a green thumb may just be fun!

- Check back with me when I actually make something using the herbs. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kara

Ginger Cookies for Mom

2008-05-12T11:02:00.004-05:00

I love my Mom and my mom loves ginger snaps and baking. Coincidentally, so do I. So, I thought what better Mother's Day present than some home made treats. So, I made her these oh-so-yummy, deliciously chewy, not-so-springtime, but who cares? chewy ginger cookies.

Here's the Recipe:

INGREDIENTS :
2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (you get it in that funky little box section in the baking aisle where all the flax seed and crap like that is)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water (use orange juice if you want to bring out the ginger flavor, I did!)
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Here's What I Got:

Gritty delicious batter. It's quite the quick mix, and quite simple.

Little ball of dough all rolled up in sparkly sugar

Fresh from the oven

Taking time to cool down.

Wrapped up and ready for my mom

What I learned:
- I miss cooking/baking and blogging
- These cookies are so simple, yet so delicious
- Baked goods make the best gifts
- I wouldn't change a thing about these
- I LOVE MY MOM!!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Dear Costco, Will you Marry Me?

2008-04-03T13:31:00.005-05:00

Costco-
You make me so happy. You're produce? DELICIOUS. The Samples? The best part of the trip. The random kitchen items and cute tops? a wonderful combination. Unnecessarily large boxes of cereal and bags of almonds? irresistible. The bargains? RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!

Love,
Kara

This past weekend I hijacked my mom's Costco card and loaded up on TONS of food. Fresh organic fruits and veggies, meats, breads, cereal, the works. In fact, I just ate one of the most yummy plums of my life. While I was there, I picked up a box of individually packaged roasted red pepper and mango glazed mahi mahi. I couldn't wait to try it!

Now, I'm a convenience girl. So I just popped that lil' fishy right into the microwave for 6 minutes and let it cook, you could bake it if you want. In the meantime, I needed some sides. So I busted out the ol' George Foreman, some fresh asparagus, and THESE!!!!

Please tell me these are not the cutest little peppers you ever did see!!

I didn't really "cook" anything in this meal.
Here's what I did:

- Put package of fish in Microwave
- Sprayed George Foreman with olive oil cooking spray, threw on the asparagus, some kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper, then I topped it off with a little dusting of Parmesan
- Cut up those tiny little bits of joy called peppers and grilled them up
- CHOWED DOWN

It was such a satisfying meal, in such a short amount of time, I couldn't help but post it.

Here's what I got:
Roasted red pepper and mango mahi mahi with grilled asparagus and peppers

What I learned:
- I may try baking the fish next time, I may not
- I'll go home and figure out what brand this stuff is and let you know
- I rekindled my relationship with the Foreman
- I still love you Costco

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kara

Pasta Al"fake"o

2008-04-01T09:35:00.008-05:00

Call me fat and happy! I have fallen into that trap of being in a great relationship, and enjoying great food together, and not enjoying my weight gain. So I went on a rampage of produce, protein, and light food shopping. Now my fridge is full and there are no excuses for not cooking, or updating the blog for that matter!

Last night I got home and decided to throw together a fake Alfredo sauce made with The Laughing Cow light cheese wedges. These things aren't really as wonderful as nice, real, yummy cheese, but they do make for a great sauce! I've seen this recipe all over the place, so I'm not quite sure who to attribute it to.

All in all, al"fake"o sauce is NOT as good as the real thing, and even after years of eating it, I'm still trying to get used to whole wheat pasta. But this was a great dish for one, and so filling I thought I was going to EXPLODE! Although it did remind me of a frozen dinner, I think I'll make it again. It's quick, simple, and healthy.

Here's the Recipe:

Sauce:

- 3 light Swiss Laughing Cow cheese wedges

- 1/2 Tablespoon margarine or butter

- 1 Tablespoon Parmesan

- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/2 cup skim milk

Combine all in a sauce pan and stir until smooth, might take up till 20 minutes. Pour over pasta

Pasta:

- Eyeballed amount of whole wheat pasta you think you can eat

- Water

- Salt

Cook according to package directions

Others:

- Steam fresh broccoli in the microwave

- Pre-cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast

Combine into pasta, after heating each in the microwave, or any other method you desire

Here's What I Got:

All the goods for the sauce:

The rest of the dish:

I kind of love the look of steamed broccoli (please notice my Amish Friendship Bread started in the background. This is an upcoming blog post):

Whole Wheat Pasta, cooked and ready to go:

The sauce:

All together now!

What I Learned:

- I don't like garlic powder, and I would've rather just used fresh garlic, I'm not sure why I didn't

- This is a good fast "I live alone meal" and I'll make it again

- I LOVE FRESH PRODUCE! I'm in such a better mood when I'm eating healthy fresh veggies and fruits. In fact I'm snacking on blueberries, blackberries and strawberries as I type! yum.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kara

That's One Sexy Cake

2008-03-18T13:05:00.006-05:00

This past weekend, I got the wild idea to decorate a cake for my dear friend Becky's bachelorette party. Please, keep in mind I've never really decorated a cake before. But, hey! why not? That's what this blog is all about, trial and error. And why not make a cake look like a bustiere, after all a lingerie shower was involved! Nothing in this cake is from scratch, I mean nothing. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. This was a last minute effort!

For this project, I used:
- Box cake mix prepared in a 9x13 pan

- Pink vanilla frosting
- Cream cheese frosting
- Sparkly pink sprinkles
- That white gel decorating stuff.

Here's what I got:

I started by drawing a template out on an 8x11 piece of paper, basically just showing me where to cut her sexy curves...so they weren't lopsided. Don't mind her tan. She REALLY liked it in the oven. So much so, she wanted to stay in longer than she should have! I let her. I'm nice like that. Then I started to frost her...

and frost her..... for what seemed like forever...

Don't forget to eat the cake you cut out dipped in extra frosting...duh!

Then I began to outline the design of the lingerie in white.....

And pumped up this fashionable lil' thing with some pink sparkles.....

Then her tan went away with the help of some cream cheese frosting! She also got a little lace-up action added....and she's done!

What I learned:

- Making frosting look nice is near impossible

- Showing up to a party with a lingerie cake is a total blast!!!

- I'll keep trying with this cake decorating thing, it's kind of fun. However, I think I need a class!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Kara

Just Like Bread and Budda Darlin'....

2008-03-03T10:41:00.018-06:00

I know I have been absent for awhile. Life gets busy, and kara doesn't cook. This also has to do with the fact that I need to go grocery shopping...BAD. We're talking, I've been waiting around for over a month to get some motivation to go buy food BAD.

Anyways, my friends Whitney and Josh cook dinner for me every Thursday night when I come over to visit their darling little sons. A few weeks ago Whitney made some DELICIOUS bread from a recipe she found in the Post-Dispatch. This recipe is part of a collection from this book:

I have made the Crusty Bread recipe twice and it has turned out wonderfully each time. I tried to go buy the book, but Border's was just plain all out. I need to go back and try again. The concept allows you to store dough in the fridge and break it off as needed to bake. I have not tried that whole part of it yet, but I will.

Here's the Recipe (As Found on STLtoday.com):

Simple Crusty Bread
Yield: 4 (1-pound) loaves, about 64 slices

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt

3 cups lukewarm water

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting dough

Cornmeal, optional

Mix yeast and salt into the water in a large bowl or plastic container. Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches; the dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not airtight. Let the dough rise at room temperature 2 to 5 hours. Bake immediately, if desired, or refrigerate, loosely covered, for up to 2 weeks (the dough is easier to handle when it's cold). When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on the dough; cut off a grapefruit-sized piece. Turn dough in floured hands to lightly stretch the surface until smooth and round on top and lumpy on the bottom. To use a baking stone: Place a baking stone on the middle oven rack. Set oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal. Place the dough on the peel; let rise 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough (or refrigerate).

To use a loaf pan without a baking stone: Stretch rounded dough into an oval and place into a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, 1 hour if refrigerated. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. To bake: Place a broiler pan on the bottom of the oven; let broiler pan reach 450 degrees. Dust loaf with flour; slash top in a cross with a serrated knife. Slide loaf from pizza peel onto baking stone or place loaf pan on middle oven rack. Pour 1 cup water into the broiler pan; close oven door quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes; let cool completely before cutting.

Per slice: 47 calories; no fat; 1g protein; 10g carbohydrate; no fiber; 133mg sodium.

Adapted from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking," by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

Here's What I Got:

I would've taken pictures throughout the process, however I was frantically running around trying to make Pioneer Woman's Meal of Love (make it.) for the boyfriend. He loved the bread though!

BUT IT'S NOT OVER!!!!!

What good is bread without butter? I decided to make my own honey butter with this bread for my community group. They loved it. Honey butter makes it quite easy to impress, with minimal to no effort, or ingredients.

Here's the Recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey

Beat together slowly in a small bowl.

Here's Wat I got:

Don't be intimidated by the extensive amount of ingredients involved in this recipe:

Done and Done. And TASTY!!!!

What I learned:

-Bread can be annoying, and one loaf doesn't always turn out like the rest. next time, I may attempt to make the loaves in an actual loaf pan, as to prevent blobiness.

-I want to add Cinnamon to that honey butter and make it with hot yeast rolls for dinner!

- A Valentines Day dinner of pan seared rib eye, homemade bread, salad with goat cheese and dried cherries, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, topped off with ice cream sundaes...is sure to please ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kara

Nothing says Valentine's like White Chocolate and Red Velvet

2008-02-14T08:55:00.005-06:00

Thank you Bakerella! I found these delicious little chocolate covered cake balls and immediately screamed..."awwww Valentine's Day," in my typical overly screechy, nerdy voice. These were TASTY, plain and simple. These little nuggets of goodness are red velvet cake with cream cheese icing dipped in white chocolate. What's not to love?!

Confession: I tried to make these look adorable like Bakerella can by placing them on lolly pop sticks. This was a catastrophe!! I quickly had to abort the mission. And, immediately the cuteness factor of these lovely little cake balls plummeted. My dipping skills are zero to done and they ended up looking a little ploppy and werid, but tasted delectable. I brought 40 to my weekly small group, and left with 2, which I made sure I grabbed so I could take a picture.

With that said, I WILL make these again in all sorts of varieties, and I think I know what I goofed up on with the lolly pop sticks. We'll get to that in a bit.

Here's the Recipe: (Courtesy of Bakerella, word for word)

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Here's What I got:

Yummy little bits of love:

Confession 2: Being that honesty is the whole gist of my blog, I wanted to show you pictures of the massive cake balls plummeting to their death after sliding down the lolly pop sticks, the chunks of red velvet cake that ended up in the white chocolate, etc. But, I made these at the boyfriend's house and my camera was dead. Luckily I snagged these two so I could at least get one picture!

What I Learned:
- When a recipe says "chill for several hours," chill it for several hours, not 30 minutes because you waited to long to make them for an event or because you are too impatient. Not that I know this from experience ;)
- Next time I will roll the cake balls much smaller
- I will also put the lolly pop sticks in the smaller cake balls and, again, CHILL FOR SEVERAL HOURS, that way they adhere to the stick.
- I will use a dish with more depth for chocolate coating. The bowl I was using was too large, and too shallow.
- People love these, make them. (And sneak a few for yourself)

Thanks for stopping by!
Kara

I'm from the Lou and I'm proud...of gooey butter cake!

2008-02-12T14:06:00.000-06:00

If you are from St. Louis, you know what I'm talking about. Four simple words:

ooey
gooey
butter
cake

By far, this is one of my favorite desserts in existance, so I made one. And, yes, I cheated and made it with a boxed cake mix. The reality is I had to make it for a dinner and forgot untill WAY late in my Saturday plans, otherwise we would've started from scratch. Also, sorry for the lack of pictures. I was scrambling around like a crazy face!

Note: Aunt Kathy, make this. You'll love it.

With all that being said, Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is a soft, yummy, yellow cake gooey explosion, and here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

Bottom:
1 (18.5 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Top:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix cake mix, melted butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 eggs with a spoon. Pat into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Mix cream cheese, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in confectioner's sugar. Pour over cake layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool.

Here's What I Got:

Two parts goo, One part delicious:

Pouring the yummy cream cheese mixture on top of the cake mixture:

When you are done with that, make sure you get in on that cream cheese deliciousness:

Bake till golden brown around edges, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and ENJOY!

Here's What I Learned:
- I will cook 5-8 less minutes in my oven, that sucker overcooks quick!
- Apparently, according the the group I made this for, the cake is delicious dipped in chocolate fondue!
- I love St. Louis

Hope you enjoy! Thanks to those of you who have sent me recipes...keep 'em coming!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Meatloaves...I Love Muffin Tins

2008-02-04T11:45:00.000-06:00

I seem to be on a "this would look cute small" kick, so I made some mini meatloves in muffin tins, and I thought they were wonderful! I found the recipe on allrecipes.com, one of my favorite daily hits. I added a few extras and threw them in muffin tins. Quick & Easy!

Here's the recipe (found here):

INGREDIENTS
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheese, oats and salt. Add the ground beef, mixing well, and form this mixture into eight miniature meatloaves. Place these in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir thoroughly and spread over each meatloaf. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.

What I did Different:
- I used seasoned breadcrumbs instead of the oats. My mom has always made it this way, so I figured go with what you know!
- I used colby jack instead of cheddar. I shredded it off the block, rather than use the bag stuff
- I eliminated the mustard, not my favorite flavor
- I, DUH, put it in muffin tins to bake

Here's what I got:

The mushy gushy ugly meat goodness:

I spooned the meatloaf into tins. The recipe makes 15 mini meatloaves:

For the topping, just mix together some ketchup and brown sugar:

Here they are finished. It only took about 30 mintues to cook:

Sorry I don't have a picture of them on a plate. We had to rush to the hospital that night to visit one of my boyfriend's students. We ended up bringing them the meatloaves, cream cheese mashed potatoes, and cheesy rice. They loved it!

What I Learned:
- Things look cute in muffin tins
- Adding green pepper and onion was a good idea, it gave it more flavor that the recipe called for. I used my new "mini food processor" from aldi to chop up the veggies and it worked great! I stored left overs in a freezer bag. I will use them when I make a BBQ chicken pizza.
- I'd make this again!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful February!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lowcountry Cookies

2008-01-28T11:46:00.000-06:00

You know I love Paula Deen, but I also love coconut and pecans. So these LowCountry Cookies seemed like the perfect, right-up-my-alley kind of dessert. And they are incredibly easy!

I had no clue what "lowcountry" meant. So, of course, I went to Wikipedia for an answer:
"Lowcountry cuisine is the cooking traditionally associated with the South Carolina Low Country. While it shares features with Southern cooking, its geography, economics, demographics, and culture pushed its culinary identity in a different direction from regions above the fall line."

This region includes Savannah, which of course is why it's one of Paula's recipes.

Here's The Recipe (found on food network):

Filling:
1 (16-ounce) box graham crackers
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup or 3 (1/2-ounce) cans shredded coconut

Topping:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 4
tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 tablespoons milk

For the filling:
Line a 13 by 9-inch pan with whole graham crackers. Melt the butter in saucepan and add sugar. Beat the egg and milk together; add to butter mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the nuts, coconut, and 1 cup graham cracker crumbs. Pour over the crackers in the pan. Cover with another layer of whole graham crackers.

For the topping:
Beat all the ingredients together and spread over top layer of crackers. Chill. Cut into squares.

Here's What I Got:

I got prepped for the filling by lining my pan with graham crackers and measuring out all my ingredients:

They might as well put this picture in the dictionary under "Paula Deen":

The combined butter, egg, milk, graham cracker crumbs, pecans, and coconut. This stuff was seriously good to lick off the spoon:

Get ready to drown the crackers in pecan gooey goodness:

Looks mushy, tastes delicious:

Create another layer of graham crackers over the filling:

Who doesn't love icing?! This stuff was EASY. Just combine quick and pour:

The icing poured right on top of the second layer of graham cracker:

It's time to chill!! You have to get these things cold so they stick together. If you happened to be in St. Louis over the weekend, a garage works perfectly as a fridge!

The finished product. DELICIOUS!

What I learned:

- Do everything the EXACT same way next time. These were VERY sweet but oh-so-good.

- You must keep them stored in the fridge

- Dip left over grham crackers in the icing while you are waiting for the bars to chill

- I saw a review of this recipe that recommended using chocolate and marshmallows instead of the pecans and coconut to make smores cookies. I think they would be awesome!

This was a fun recipe to make over the weekend with my Mom. Stay tuned.... caramel cinnamon rolls coming soon!! (I took a bread making class, watch out!)

Thanks for stopping by!

My Favorite Coffee Cake...In Muffin Form?!

2008-01-18T08:43:00.000-06:00

I am really striking out lately on presentation, as you will find out in just a second. But I'm learning and that is what this is all about. Next time, these lil' guys should just look killer.

So, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my mom's recipe for sour cream coffee cake. It's deliciously unhealthy and yummy. It's basically pound cake that you justify eating for breakfast by calling it coffee cake. So, I thought to myself, how cute would it be if they were made in little muffin tins instead of the standard 9 x 13. I was trying to be adventurous, and it turned out ok. I just had a bit of trouble with the topping. However, for round one (an experiment) I think it went well and I WILL make these again after adjusting the recipe to what I've learned.

WARNING! NOT POINTS FRIENDLY ON WEIGHT WATCHERS. But, nice small single servings so you don't over indulge.

So....
I don't remember the recipe. I will post it once I find the piece of paper. I do know it has all the goodness you could ask for in a cake, eggs, butter, sour cream, flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, salt..etc. It makes a REALLY THICK batter (which tastes really good on it's own) and then you mix together brown sugar and cinnamon to put on top. YUM.

Here's What I Got:

Don't they look yummy and adorable in the oven?! HA! Just wait till I try to take the suckers out:

The beginnings of the crumbly top nightmare. ALL OF THE TOPS FELL OFF!!!
So, I had to reaffix them or try and crumble up the cooked topping and put it back on the muffin.

They look a little bit better when you put them in a basket with a cute napkin:

Here they are the next day when I did some "recrumbling action." I took these to a work meeting, and everyone enjoyed them. Hooray!

What I learned:
- I cooked these a shade too long, probably only by 3 minutes or so
- I filled the muffin tins too high with batter. This caused the topping to stick to the outer rim of the muffin tin as it cooked, and pulled it off of the little cakes when I tried to get them out
- I need to press the topping into the batter.
- Next time I might try and make the crumbles I do for apple pie. With these crumbles, you cut in butter with flour, sugar and cinnamon. I think would help it "stick" better. Here's a picture from Thanksgiving so you can visualize:

This weekend, I might tackle scones or mini meatloaves!
Thanks for stopping by!
Kara

Shepherds Pie...Oh My!!

2008-01-16T08:58:00.000-06:00

I told you I would post anything, good lookin' or not, so here goes....

When I get home at 5, I tend to turn Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals on. I like to watch how quickly she can chop things and most of the time her creations look quite delicious. Now, I always thought Shepherds Pie sounded gross, but on Monday I saw her make this delicious looking Smokey Turkey Shepherd's Pie and I realized all Shepherds Pie consists of is meat, veggies, and mashed potatoes. Sounds easy enough right?

All I can say is... 30 minute meals my behind!

This is defiantly not a dig on Rachel Ray, or the show, I love it but boy she moves a lot quicker than I can, and let's just say my Shepherd's Pie did not turn out even close to good looking, but at least it tasted good (boyfriend approved) and it fit into my daily points allowance on weight watchers with a few substitutions. Only 7 points for 1/9 of the casserole.

Here's the Recipe:
- 3 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
- Coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons EVOO - extra-virgin olive oil - 2 turns of the pan
- 1/4 pound smoky bacon or turkey bacon, chopped
- 1 1/3 pound ground turkey breast
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, available in small cans on spice aisle of market (You may substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons each sweet paprika and cumin combined)
- Coarse black pepper
- 2 tablespoons, 5 or 6 sprigs, fresh thyme leaves
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 ribs celery from the heart, chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream, divided
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 10 to 12 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the potatoes until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Heat a deep, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, to the skillet. Add bacon and brown it up, then add ground turkey to the pan and break it up. Season the turkey with smoked paprika, salt and pepper and thyme. When turkey browns up, add: onions, carrots, celery. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, then add red pepper and peas cook another 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook flour 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and combine. Add 1/2 cup of sour cream and combine. Simmer mixture over low heat. Preheat your broiler to high.

When potatoes are tender, add a ladle of cooking water to the egg. Drain potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out a little. Add remaining 1/2 cup sour cream, butter, half of the chives, and salt and pepper. Smash and mash the potatoes, mashing in the beaten, tempered egg. If the potatoes are too tight, mix in a splash of milk.

Pour turkey mixture into a medium casserole dish. Top turkey with an even layer of smashed potatoes and place casserole 5 inches from hot broiler. Broil the potatoes until golden at edges and remove the casserole from the oven. Garnish the casserole with the remaining chives and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.

What I did differently:
- I used extra lean ground beef instead of Turkey. The grocery store was out of ground turkey for the second time in a row! boo!
- I used reduced fat sour cream
- I used fat free chicken broth

What I did wrong:
- You say potato...I say disaster! PUT THE POTATOES ON FIRST THING. I was a little bit absent minded and forgot about the potatoes till mid way through the beef cookin' process. Not only did I put them on late, but I did not have NEARLY enough potato for the liquids you add in according the the recipe. I should've sliced up two more potatoes. Having the potatoes go on late wasn't all bad because it let the beef mixture thicken up a bit, but boy were they RUNNY!

- Broiler Boo Boo...I have never used a broiler. Remember, I'm really new to this cooking thing. Let's just say my pie was very very crusty on top! I left it in there waaaay too long.

- I am very happy the the tragedies of the recipe had nothing to do with my substitution

Here's What I Got: (Warning...looks gross, tastes great...trust me)

Meat Mixture Simmering:
The bacon and smokey seasonings in this really made my kitchen smell wonderful.

Potato Soup instead of Mashed Potatoes:

Ready for some toppin'...

Those are not delicious cheesecake brownies, that is one charred set of soupy mashed potatoes!

Luckily, it peeled off quite easily:

Salvaged Finished Product: YUM!

What I Learned:
- Don't leave anything in the broiler for very long!
- Next time, I'll start my potatoes early and be generous with the amount used
- Seasonings REALLY make a recipe delicious. The Thyme, Cumin, Paprika, and S&P make this seriously jam packed with delicious flavor
- BACON MAKES ANYTHING BETTER!

Let me know if you've had any similar tragedies ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kara

Spaghetti Squash, I just can't make up my mind...

2008-01-11T10:03:00.000-06:00

I know I'm late to jump on the bandwagon but tis the season for healthy eatin so....I made spaghetti squash for the first time and it was quite the easy process, after I got the darn thing cut open! I'm just no so sure I'm hip to the flavor. I'm thinking it's not the squash itself that is putting me off. It's what I put on top.

I topped mine with butter, salt, pepper, and some Parmesan cheese. What do you think would be better? Tomato based sauce, Italian dressing? What do you put on your spaghetti squash? I'm thinking a garlic and olive oil sauce with tons of chopped up cooked veggies could be yummy. I saved the leftovers, I think that's what I may do.

Here's what I got:

That's one big squash!

I cut the squash in half length-wise. This would have been very comical for someone to watch. Luckily, I live alone.

Here's what all the guts look like.

According to the directions that come on a little sticker when you buy the squash, I placed in a dish, cut side down, with 1/4 cup of water, covered with plastic wrap and microwaved for 1o minutes. You can also bake, but I was on my way to bowling with friends so there was no time!

You spoon out all the seeds and goop and then pull the sides off with a fork. It shreds out just like pasta.

What I learned:
- Get Saucy! I have GOT to put something else on here besides just some Parmesan cheese.
- Ask for help! What should I put over all this squash?!

Thanks for stopping by!

My 1st non-recipe experience- FAJITAS!

2008-01-09T09:55:00.000-06:00

I went to the grocery store this week, after swiftly returning to weight watchers post-holidays. I bought tons of fresh meat and veggies with ZERO plan of what I was going to make with them. I wanted to do something on the lighter side, and being that I'm very much a beginner in the kitchen, I thought I'd give fajitas a go.

Here's what I made:
-Chicken Fajitas with onions & green peppers
- Pico de Gallo creation
- Mexi rice with Corn

Here's what I got:

Some of the elements. I love when I actually have fresh produce!

In a pan I grilled together:
-EVOO
- One garlic clove minced. I used the trick I see on food netowrk where they smash the garlic clove with the side of a large knife. It worked wonderfully.
- 2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawed and cut in strips
- Half of white onion, sliced
- One large green pepper, sliced
- Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, and S&P, to taste

While the chicken was cookin' I got to working on my fajita fixins.I had tomato, onion, and cilantro. So I figured I'd mix that up with a little EVOO to make a little pico de gallo. Next time, I will add chilies and lime juice.

I also shredded some spinach leaves and grated half a block of colby jack cheese for toppings

I got those ready on plates so the boyfriend and I could fix ourselves dinner "buffet style." I microwaved flour tortillas for 15 seconds.

Here's an assembled fajita. I topped with reduced fat, or lite, sour cream.

All rolled up and ready for eatin'!

We finished the plate of with mexican rice. I can't lie, all I did was buy "mexican style" Rice a Roni and added in a can of sweet corn. Next time I'd like to conquer the rice on my own and make it taste a bit more like it does at my favorite mexican place!

What I learned:

- Next time I will prepare a marinade for the fajita meat and let it sit for a few hours
- I will add chilies and some spice to the pico de gallo
- I might experiment with wheat or other types of tortillas
- It was delicious to put a little bit of rice into the fajita, which really just makes it more like a burrito "california style"

All in all this was a YUMMY meal, and I stayed on plan with weight watchers and used only my allotted points for the day. Even cooking healthy can be quite delicious!

Thanks for stopping by!
Kara

Christmas Baked Goods

2007-12-27T16:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not going to post a recipe for each of these. Let me know if you need them.
Below are pictures of my first year of Christmas baking

Toast-looking snickerdoodles:

Redeeming Snickerdoodles:

Cranberry White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Creation:

Monster Cookies:

Christmas Crack...This stuff is addictive!

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies:

How I gained a few "Christmas Pounds".... Stupid delicious batter/dough!

Christmas Breakfast

2007-12-27T14:23:00.001-06:00

Paula Deen's Overnight Baked French Toast with Praline Topping...yum.

This year, I conquered family breakfast, and i turned to none other than Paula Deen for a little inspiration. I found this recipe here. And made a few swaps and switches thanks to the tips from those who have reviewed the recipe on line. This dish was a HUGE hit with the fam. Everyone went back for seconds, so I'm putting it in the "keep" file.

Here's the goods, as found on Food Network's site:

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Praline Topping: 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Kara's Variations...
I dipped each piece of bread in the egg mixture, rather than dumping all the egg goodness directly onto the slices. I also did not use all of the egg mixture. I poured about half of it over the bread after dipping, and discarded the rest.

I also cooked the casserole for a bit longer (say 15 minutes) and let it sit out for a bit after I removed it from the oven to avoid sogginess.

Here's what I got...

What do you think? Let me know if you tried the recipe and what you did to "make it your own." Next time I'm going to add raisins in with the topping. I have also seem a similar recipe with a caramel sauce that looks to die for.

Thanks for stopping by!