Pineapple Steaks

These steaks were so juicy, tender and mouth-watering! We served it up with Stuffed Mushrooms, Grilled Potato Skins, 'Hint of Mint' fruit salad, and slow-cooked Gingerbread Cake. It was all amazing and the meal as a whole was definitely restaurant quality.

Pineapple Steaks
Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4-1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp. ginger
5-6 Fresh pineapple chunks per steak
2 lbs of steak (cut however big or small you want for your portions)

Directions:
1. Combine sauces, garlic, and ginger.
2. Put steaks in a plastic bag or bowl. Pour most of marinade over the steaks (reserve some for grilling). Place the pineapple on the steaks and let marinade at least 4 hours for best results.
3. Grill over medium heat for 10-12 minutes per side. In the last 5 minutes, baste steaks with a little bit of marinade.
4. Grill the pineapple too because it's amazing!!

Pumpkin or Banana Pancakes

These are very tender and delicious pancakes. The original recipe came from one of those copycat books, but I changed it a little.

Pumpkin or Banana Pancakes
Ingredients:
nonstick spray
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (or just use milk with 1-2 T. lemon juice or vinegar)
4 T. butter, melted
3 T. canned pumpkin or 1/2 a banana
1/4 cup sugar or honey
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice

Directions:
1. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine all ingredients in blender or mixer.
3. Cook pancakes and eat them!

I have used all wheat in this recipe and it works out great. It is a different texture, but I like them. I also really like 1/2 and 1/2. If using wheat, I suggest using honey and not sugar. For some magical reason, honey is just wheat's best friend. I have also used all dried ingredients including milk, butter, and egg powders. It turned out great too. The amount of pumpkin or banana just makes them really tender and yummy. It's become a favorite recipe here at our house!

BAGELS!!

Yummy Yummy! These are super easy and it only takes about an hour from start to finish! Mine usually look pretty ugly, but they taste good. Abe's look really amazing and taste better! Here's what you do:

Bagels
Ingredients:
4 cups flour (I've used from all white to all wheat in this but prefer to do 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white)
1-2 Tbs. sugar or honey
1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. yeast (I've used both bread machine and active dry)
1 Tbs. oil
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups warm water

Directions:
1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Then add liquids.
2. Knead 10 minutes. (It takes a couple of minutes just to get it in a ball, so DO NOT ADD MORE WATER! Keep kneading either by hand or in a mixer. I know this works. I've done it here and in Texas. It just gets more and more pliable as you work it.
3. Cut into 6 balls and let rest 10-20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 425
5. Shape balls into bagels. (Here I often just poke a hole in the middle and then stretch it out. Abe rolls his into a snake and then attaches the 2 ends and they are way prettier. Do whatever suits your fancy. There are all sorts of bagel rolling videos on the internet you could watch.)
6. Rest 20 minutes
7. Boil bagels in water for 1 minute on each side then place directly on a greased baking sheet. (Suggestions for boiling include using a honey-water or adding a little baking soda to the water which helps with browning. There is a significant color difference between using baking soda or not.)
8. Bake for 10 minutes on each side (20 total).

The bagels are the best texture if you wait for them to cool before slicing into them. I thought that making bagels was only for professionals before I tried these, but these are easy and fun. I've added dried  blueberries and nutmeg before or just some cinnamon and extra sweetener. I'm going to try some jalapeno ones sometime soon. If anyone has an even better recipe for bagels, let me know. This is the only recipe I've tried. Just FYI, the 100% whole wheat ones turned out a lot different but still really good. They did not get as big. I would suggest trying it your first time with all white flour and then add more wheat according to your taste buds the next time.

For original recipe and instructions, go to Hub Pages Bagel Blog

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Alright, I got super busy with my last semester and then just didn't get back into the swing of things...including cooking and stuff. But, I've been cooking and baking a lot lately and am ready to share some really awesome recipes that I've recently tried out. Here is an easy, money-saving recipe for Sweetened Condensed Milk. Perfect for recipes and eating! :)

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 cup hot Water
3/4 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Low heat, Non-Instant Milk Powder or 1 cup + 2 T. Instant Nonfat Powdered Milk

Place water in bowl or blender and add dry milk. Mix well and add sugar. Mix until smooth. If using a bowl and mixer, you may put the bowl in a pan of hat water to help dissolve sugar.

I just put all of the ingredients in my blender and mixed in up and it turned out perfectly. I was using the non-instant milk powder. I have not tried Instant yet, but will let you know if/when I do. I don't usually have it around. I prefer non-instant for my baking. As for the Sweetened Condensed Milk, it was delicious and I used it in my recipe and it turned out great!

Potatoes-Bake the Whole Bag

This is an old post from another blog, so I thought I'd just put it on here. If you're going to wait 45-90 minutes for a couple of potatoes to bake, why not bake a bunch? This is a method from Serious Eats For a perfect baked potato-Rinse, scrub, and dry the potatoes. Pierce with a fork on all sides to let steam vent out during baking. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with course salt. Bake for 45 minutes as 400, 60 minutes at 350, or 90 minutes at 325. If the only thing you're cooking in the oven is the baked potatoes, you can even do 500 for a nice crispy peel. Use them throughout the week in a variety of meals. Here are some of my favorites:

• Potato Bar-Dress it up with butter, sour cream, chili, cheese, onions, green onions, chives, parsley, rosemary, cottage cheese, peppers, green chilies, olives, etc. Use any combination that suits you.
• Potato skins-Cut each potato in 4 wedges. Cut away some of the white insides (eat it or store it for later). Make a mixture of butter, salt, pepper, and rosemary; brush it over the wedges. Grill potatoes, skin side up, uncovered, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn and cook 2 more minutes. Top with cheese and put back over heat until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with bacon bits and green onions and serve with sour cream! If you don't want to grill these, you can certainly use your oven or stove top for a similar affect. They are so yummy!
  
• Potato salad-peel and cube up the baked potatoes. Use in any potato salad recipe you like.
• Hash browns-I like to just cube them up and fry them in butter until they're browned and season with salt and pepper. You can also shred them and do the same.
• Side for any other meal you have. You could even eat them just with a salad and have an easy and delicious lunch.

Licorice Caramels

I'm not a fan of black licorice for the most part because it's just way too strong, but these Licorice Caramels are delicious and have the perfect blend of flavors. I like caramel better with anise than with vanilla now!

Licorice Caramels

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

2 cups white sugar

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed

milk

1 cup corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon anise extract

 

 Directions:

1. Line a 9x9 inch dish with buttered foil.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Continue to heat, without stirring, to 242 to 248 degrees F (116 to 120 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a firm but pliable ball. Remove from heat and stir in anise and food coloring. Pour into prepared pan. Let cool completely, several hours.

3. To cut, turn out of pan and peel away foil. Cut with a buttered knife. Wrap pieces in waxed paper or candy wrappers.

 

Recipe retrieved from All Recipes

Birthday Custard

We went to a restaurant a few weeks ago and had 'pot de creme' for dessert. It was so yummy, so I wanted to make something similar to that for my birthday instead of cake. So, it was basically a creamy custard with blackberries and whipped cream on top. Here's the custard recipe I got from All Recipes:

CUSTARD
Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and salt. Gradually add cream and lemon peel until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to pan; bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into four parfait glasses or dessert dishes. Cool. 

I just served it with blackberries just like the restaurant. It was really creamy and delicious!

Parmesan Baked Potatoes

I love potatoes baked, mashed, fried, in salad, made into hash browns, etc. This is just one more way to make them and it's very easy and delicious. I got it from my Mom.

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter
3-5 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
8 medium unpeeled red potatoes-halved lengthwise

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 and put butter in a 9x13 pan. Put it in the oven to melt the butter (about 3 minutes). Sprinkle parmesan cheese over melted butter. Place potatoes-cut side down-over cheese. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes.

I like to serve them with any meat, but fish is my favorite. They also make a nice lunch if you just serve them up with a salad.

Pavlova

Pavlova reminds me of the astronaut ice cream. It's light, crisp, and airy.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons corn starch

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
3. Gradually add sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy.
4. Fold in vanilla, lemon juice, and corn starch.
5. Pour into a pie pan or spread in any shape on a cookie sheet. It's thick, so you can do it however you want.
6. Bake 1 hour and then cool on a wire rack.
7. Eat! I spread whipped cream all over and then covered it with fresh strawberries. SO YUMMY!

Whipped Hot Chocolate Fluff

Is anyone else cold? Mix up the hot chocolate scene with this fluff. It's so unique and cool. My MIL (mother-in-law) and I did this for a relief society party when we were in charge of the food. It's like a thick mousse that you put in a cup and add hot milk. Anyway, like I said, it's super unique and everyone loved it and asked for the recipe!! I got it from Taste of Home's Celebrations Cookbook.

Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup baking cocoa
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
 4 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
8 cups heated milk

Directions:
In a large heavy saucepan, whisk the sugar, cocoa and water until smooth. Cook and whisk over medium-low heat until mixture forms soft peaks when whisk is lifted and resembles thick hot fudge sauce, about 35 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Transfer to a mixing bowl; refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (At this point you can put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks if you want to prepare ahead for a party.)

After refrigerated, beat the chocolate mixture. Add 2 cups whipped cream; mix well. Fold in remaining whipped cream. For each serving, place about 1/2 cup chocolate cream in 2/3 cup hot milk; stir to blend.

Additional Tips: 

• The morning of your party, add the whipped cream and spoon into small serving bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• As a fancy garnish, place some of the chocolate cream in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and decorate the bowls just before serving.

Cashew Chicken

I love Chinese food but the stuff you get in Laramie isn't good. I got this recipe from Rasa Malaysia: Easy Asian Recipes. It's an awesome website. I changed it a little bit because of the ingredients I had, so if you want the original recipe, follow the link. My recipe is quadrupled to feed company or just a bigger family.

Cashew Chicken
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
16 oz celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped (bigger like in the restaurant dishes)
2 cups cashews

Marinades: (I'll explain later)
4 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons of cornstarch dissolved with 2 teaspoons water

Sauce:
2 tablespoons oyster sauce (found right by soy sauce in the grocery store)
3 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2-3/4 cup water
12 dashes white pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
salt to taste

Directions:
1. Marinate cubed chicken in 4 teaspoons of baking soda for 15 minutes to tenderize the meat. The girl on the website says this makes a huge difference. While it's marinating, I chop the vegetables and make the sauce. Now, rinse the baking soda off with water and pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
2. Dissolve the 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 2 teaspoons of water. Pour over the chicken and stir to coat.
3. Heat a large skillet and add some oil to the pan. Brown the chicken in the skillet and then set aside in a bowl.
4. Add a little more oil to the pan and saute the veggies until tender-crisp.
5. Add the nuts, chicken, and sauce into the pan. Stir to combine and heat through.
6. Serve and eat! I served with steamed brown rice and canned pineapple. I figured they always have canned food at the Chinese Buffets, so why not, right?

Peanut Butter Candy

Benjamin loves this candy and calls it caramel. It's a perfect little treat with lots of healthy nutrients and vitamins. It's so simple too and no kid has ever complained about getting honey and peanut butter!! :) Another great recipe from The Amazing Wheat Book.

Peanut Butter Candy
1 cup peanut butter, plain or crunchy
1 cup honey
1 cup powdered milk (I use non-instant)

Heat honey and peanut butter in heavy saucepan over low heat to a very soft, creamy texture, stir constantly. Add powdered milk and stir until well combined.

Roll into balls or pat down in a cookie sheet. Score into squared with a warm knife. Put in fridge or freezer until cool. For continued firm texture and freshness store in a cool place.

You can add other things to this recipe like chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, dried fruit, or rice crispies. Those would be added right after the dried milk is stirred in.

Black Bean and Corn Tortilla Enchiladas

This is a recipe I pulled together last summer and what we ate for dinner tonight. It's yummy yummy! It might seem a little involved at a glance, but it's really easy and tastes good even if you just kind of throw it all together in the pan.

Garlic Enchilada Sauce(from the Amazing Wheat Book)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup tomato sauce (4 of those little cans)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (opt.)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Saute garlic in olive oil for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. This can be made ahead of time if you want.

Enchiladas
Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger, browned
2-15 oz cans of black beans, drained
Seasonings: salt, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper
16 corn tortillas
some sour cream
1 recipe of Garlic Enchilada Sauce 
some cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Make the sauce and brown hamburger.
3. Add drained black beans to hamburger meat and season to taste with shakes of the seasonings listed or ones of your choice.
4. Spread some sauce in the bottom of the 9x13 pan.
5. Build your enchiladas. For best results: warm the tortillas in the microwave or on skillet so they don't tear. Fill the tortillas with meat/bean mixture and a dollop of sour cream. Corn tortillas are small, so they don't roll up all that well, so just fold it over and put them seam side down in the pan (you can put a line of 12 lengthwise in the pan and then put 4 on the side or you can do 3 rows of 5 width-wise). I've even make it like a layered casserole. It doesn't really matter. It will taste good.
6. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas and spread to cover. Shred cheese over the top.
7. Bake 10-20 minutes. The ingredients are all cooked, so just heat up until you reach your desire of cheesy meltiness.
8. Eat! I served it up with a fresh salsa. I just cut up one tomato, 1/4 of an onion, and a little chopped jalapeno. You could have rice, beans, salad, or whatever you normally eat with enchiladas.

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love my wheat. I looked for a while for a recipe that actually has good texture for pizza. This is the one I found and I won't go back to other white crusts. You can do it thick or thin. I got it from a recipe book my friend, LeArta Moulton, wrote called The Amazing Wheat Book. It's also the book that I use when I make gluten meat, homemade cereal, honey candy, and seasoning mixes (all to be featured in future posts). Anyway, here's the pizza dough recipe.

Stir together and let sit 10 minutes:

4 cups warm water

4 tablespoons active dry yeast

4 tablespoons honey

Stir into water mixture and knead 10 minutes:

1/2 cup oil

4 tablespoons salt

10 cups whole wheat flour

Allow to sit for 30 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick onto pans (this is enough dough for 4 pizzas). Put on any sauce, toppings, and cheese you want. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 or 8 minutes on 500.

Well, there it is. I usually make the whole batch, keep one out for that night and then divide the rest up into 3 balls and put them in quart-sized freezer bags. When I want to make pizza the next time, I just throw the bag in the microwave on auto defrost until I can roll it out. I works great!! Here's some things I like best on my pizza. I like ranch or seasoned tomato sauce and then just put on all the good stuff: mushrooms, tomato, spinach (for best results, put it in a bowl and toss it with some olive oil and seasonings before putting on the pizza), artichoke hearts, sausage, zucchini (I learned that from papa john's), etc. Then I use cheddar cheese, mozzarella, monterey, or whatever I've got at the time. I've found I like them all. 

Extra tip: I use this same dough to make my scones for navajo tacos. I just defrost the frozen dough and roll it out and then use my pizza slicer to cut it in good sized pieces and fry them up in oil. Serve with taco meat, black beans, tomato, lettuce, olives, cheese, sour cream, salsa, whatever you want/like!

Homemade Deoderant

So, while I was in the "make it myself" mood, I decided to try out making my own deodorant too. Here's the blog I found my recipe on:

http://recycleyourday.com/revisiting-the-homemade-deodorant-recipe/

So, I didn't have beeswax or arrowroot. I just stuck with what I did have at the time and it worked out great anyway. I would be interested in adding those things next time to see how it is. I used the following ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 drops peppermint essential oil (just for smell-I don't think it's necessary if you don't have it)

First, I put the coconut oil in the microwave for about 15 seconds to liquefy. Then I added the baking soda, corn starch, and peppermint essential oil and stirred it together until it was well mixed. As the mixture cooled back to room temperature it solidified again. You could even make it a cool shape if you wanted. Mine is just in a little plastic container. To apply, I just put some on my fingers and rub on my armpit. It's pretty cool and has kept me dry and fresh smelling all day! :)

Laundry Soap

So, Cami told me that she makes her own laundry soap, so I decided to try it out too. It's awesome!! Here is the website that I got the recipe from.

http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/

I used the following recipe:

1 bar Ivory soap
1 cup baking soda
1 cup borax (can be found in the same isle as regular laundry detergent)

Shred ivory soap with a cheese grater and put into a container. Add the baking soda and borax and mix together. Use 1-2 tablespoons in your wash. I don't know if this is necessary or not, but I turn my water on hot right at first to make sure it is nice and dissolved and then switch it back to cold. It's awesome soap and took out gross odors. There are 9 other recipes on the site I posted, so you can make liquid soap or use other recipes to suit your needs. Have fun!

Cool Things I Make

This blog is for two purposes: 1) to share the fun things I find out how to make; 2) keep track of recipes and ideas so that I can easily find them later. I will post at least one for every day, so it should be fun. Anyway, enjoy!