Tortilla Soup
Pretzel chicken fingers and sweet potato fries
Pumpkin Pancakes
Thanks for reading!
Nov 21, 2010
It's been a while...
Wow, it's been ages since I've had the time to post anything! I don't have anything amazing to share, I'll post a few pictures that I've had sitting around waiting to go up. Hope everything is going great, and I promise that I'll be back with a cool new recipe very soon...
Tortilla Soup
Pretzel chicken fingers and sweet potato fries
Pumpkin Pancakes
Thanks for reading!
Tortilla Soup
Pretzel chicken fingers and sweet potato fries
Pumpkin Pancakes
Thanks for reading!
Sep 12, 2010
The perfect homemade marinara
On my quest for my favorite recipes, I happened upon this amazing sauce. I've tweaked it a bit to suit my needs. When I say amazing... I really mean it. I haven't made a homemade marinara that is this good before. Every time I make it I wait and wait for it to be done, so that I can put it on anything. This sauce is great on any kind of pasta, and it's also pretty wicked as a pizza sauce (if you like multitasking sauces). I've made it just like the recipe, and I've also done slight variations, adding kale, spinach, more spice, less spice, chunkier & smoother. I have loved every incarnation of this. It's nice and tomatoey without being over the top. It has a little kick of spice but isn't too overwhelming. Maybe I should just get to the recipe so that you can taste it for yourselves? Yeah... that's probably the best idea. (Don't forget you can click on the pictures to make them bigger/see the full pic!)
1 Tbsp butter
3 -4 Tbsp olive oil (I use enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of my pot)
1-2 large onions, chopped (I try and chop this very finely)
4-6 garlic cloves, finely minced (I use between 6 and 8 cloves, I LOVE garlic)
1-2 Tbsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional or adjust to taste)
1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste (if you lik it thicker you can add another)
2 (28 ounce) cans whole or crushed roma tomatoes, undrained (Make sure on the ingredient list tomatoes are first, not tomato paste.)
2 teaspoons sugar (optional, it's great with the sugar... but some people don't like it)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste, you need lots of salt!)
fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
4 or 5 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
In a nice big stock pot add your olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted add your onion and garlic. Saute until softened. We're using butter and olive oil because the butter helps bring out the sweetness of the onions. Trust me, it works. Once your onion and garlic are slightly softened add in your spices. Make sure that you rub and crush your spices with your fingers, this releases the essential oils in the dried spices, and helps to bring out the flavors.
Saute the onion, garlic, and spices for a few minutes to get them nice and infused together. Then add your tomato paste. It's going to be chunky and weird at first... that's normal, just keep stirring it to get the tomato paste nice and warm and melty.
Add in your canned tomatoes with their juices. Go ahead and add in the salt and pepper, and sugar if desired. I know, I know... canned tomatoes? The truth is, to make the amount of sauce you need for a recipe like this, you would probably have a hard time finding enough great tomatoes. I like canned because I know that they're going to be sweet, and juicy. No surprises.
Now here's the hard part. Stir your sauce together, turn the heat to medium or medium-low depending on your stove, and then leave it alone. We need the sauce to simmer for 1 to 2 hours to develop the best flavors. Stir occasionally to make sure you're not burning things to the bottom of your pot. You can simmer it more than that if desired. Low and slow is the way to go baby. You can develop the sweetness of the tomatoes with the tiny bit of spice from the red pepper flakes, and the bite of the garlic. This sauce does thicken considerably. If you need it/would like to to be thinner, go ahead and add some water or chicken stock. Please please please do not forget to taste test your sauce as it cooks. You can add more basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt, sugar, whatever you feel it needs. Add the pepper flakes sparingly, don't forget, if you make it too spicy.... you're kinda stuck. Add your chopped fresh basil, and any sort of cheese you'd like. I tend to just use parm. If you want it to be pretty add the chopped basil and cheese to each individual plate.
Or go ahead and serve straight out of the pot. I've used this for homemade ravioli, manicotti, spaghetti, and a bunch of other things. It's never failed me. If you like your sauce less chunky, run it through the food processor or blender and make it smoother. I'd recommend doing that if you're going to use it as a pizza sauce.
1 Tbsp butter
3 -4 Tbsp olive oil (I use enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of my pot)
1-2 large onions, chopped (I try and chop this very finely)
4-6 garlic cloves, finely minced (I use between 6 and 8 cloves, I LOVE garlic)
1-2 Tbsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional or adjust to taste)
1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste (if you lik it thicker you can add another)
2 (28 ounce) cans whole or crushed roma tomatoes, undrained (Make sure on the ingredient list tomatoes are first, not tomato paste.)
2 teaspoons sugar (optional, it's great with the sugar... but some people don't like it)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste, you need lots of salt!)
fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
4 or 5 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
In a nice big stock pot add your olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted add your onion and garlic. Saute until softened. We're using butter and olive oil because the butter helps bring out the sweetness of the onions. Trust me, it works. Once your onion and garlic are slightly softened add in your spices. Make sure that you rub and crush your spices with your fingers, this releases the essential oils in the dried spices, and helps to bring out the flavors.
Saute the onion, garlic, and spices for a few minutes to get them nice and infused together. Then add your tomato paste. It's going to be chunky and weird at first... that's normal, just keep stirring it to get the tomato paste nice and warm and melty.
Add in your canned tomatoes with their juices. Go ahead and add in the salt and pepper, and sugar if desired. I know, I know... canned tomatoes? The truth is, to make the amount of sauce you need for a recipe like this, you would probably have a hard time finding enough great tomatoes. I like canned because I know that they're going to be sweet, and juicy. No surprises.
Now here's the hard part. Stir your sauce together, turn the heat to medium or medium-low depending on your stove, and then leave it alone. We need the sauce to simmer for 1 to 2 hours to develop the best flavors. Stir occasionally to make sure you're not burning things to the bottom of your pot. You can simmer it more than that if desired. Low and slow is the way to go baby. You can develop the sweetness of the tomatoes with the tiny bit of spice from the red pepper flakes, and the bite of the garlic. This sauce does thicken considerably. If you need it/would like to to be thinner, go ahead and add some water or chicken stock. Please please please do not forget to taste test your sauce as it cooks. You can add more basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt, sugar, whatever you feel it needs. Add the pepper flakes sparingly, don't forget, if you make it too spicy.... you're kinda stuck. Add your chopped fresh basil, and any sort of cheese you'd like. I tend to just use parm. If you want it to be pretty add the chopped basil and cheese to each individual plate.
Or go ahead and serve straight out of the pot. I've used this for homemade ravioli, manicotti, spaghetti, and a bunch of other things. It's never failed me. If you like your sauce less chunky, run it through the food processor or blender and make it smoother. I'd recommend doing that if you're going to use it as a pizza sauce.
Cinnamon Rolls.... :D
I happen to love a good cinnamon roll. They're a heaven unto themselves. Biting into one fresh from the oven could be one of my favorite experiences. Ooey gooey cinnamony deliciousness. I have multiple recipes for amazing cinnamon rolls, they're all amazing in their own right but I'm only going to share one with you today. Here it comes!
Cinnabon cinnamon rolls- yeild 12
Dough
1 cup warm milk (make sure it's WARM not HOT. HOT will kill your yeast)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour (I usually just use all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (bread machine yeast, if using a bread machine)
Filling
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
Frosting
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Activate your yeast in the warm milk and half of the sugar, let sit for about 5 minutes until nice and bubbly. Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Add margarine to milk mixture, and add to dry ingredients. Mix well then cover and let sit for about an hour. Dough will be sticky and wet this is what you want, don't add a bunch of extra flour, it will make your rolls tough. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. This will be paste-like, that makes it easier to put onto the dough, and also makes sure it's evenly spread around.
Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Press cinnamon mixture around on dough, leaving at least a half inch edge. If you go all the way to the edge when you roll the dough will not stick to itself. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
If you want these to be REALLY cinnabon like, turn them out onto a plate and let all of the delicious cinnamon mixture run over the tops. Then frost.
Onto the pictures!
Cinnabon cinnamon rolls- yeild 12
Dough
1 cup warm milk (make sure it's WARM not HOT. HOT will kill your yeast)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour (I usually just use all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (bread machine yeast, if using a bread machine)
Filling
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
Frosting
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Activate your yeast in the warm milk and half of the sugar, let sit for about 5 minutes until nice and bubbly. Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Add margarine to milk mixture, and add to dry ingredients. Mix well then cover and let sit for about an hour. Dough will be sticky and wet this is what you want, don't add a bunch of extra flour, it will make your rolls tough. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. This will be paste-like, that makes it easier to put onto the dough, and also makes sure it's evenly spread around.
Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Press cinnamon mixture around on dough, leaving at least a half inch edge. If you go all the way to the edge when you roll the dough will not stick to itself. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
If you want these to be REALLY cinnabon like, turn them out onto a plate and let all of the delicious cinnamon mixture run over the tops. Then frost.
Onto the pictures!
Aug 20, 2010
OPI Shim-merry chic plus SH Hidden Treasure
I quite like this. It reminds me of snakeskin. Shim-merry chic on its own looks sorta like... baby poop? Somewhere in that realm. Then add the HT on top and oh man! I like it.
Aug 12, 2010
OPI's Swiss Collection
Cuckoo for this color
Frosty emerald green. Looks almost identical to China Glaze's Emerald Fitzgerald that was released around the same time. The OPI is sparklier though.
Glitzerland.... whoa.... I adore this. It is gold toned, but doesn't make my hands look like they're the wrong color.
OPI Lucerne-tainley Look Marvelous. Yeah, this is sooo much more blingy than my pics show. It's gorgeous.
The Color to Watch
I'm Suzi and I'm a Chocoholic
From A to Z-urich
Color So Hot it Berns
Just a Little Rosti at This
Diva of Geneva
Ski Teal We Drop
Yodel Me On My Cell
Overall I really like this collection. I like creme finishes the best, and this has a bunch of them. I don't love that there are several dupeable colors in this collection. But... sometimes that happens. Hope you enjoyed them!!!
Aug 5, 2010
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