Apples. Cookies. Amazing.

Apples, as most people are probably thinking, seem unusual in a cookie. However, they appear to caramelize and compliment the added sugar, dashes of cinnamon. Depending on how each of us like our cookies, I think if it’s a little soft but also crunchy –it’s perfect. Then, on a big eventful night, impress your friends even more when you place the cookies on blobs of ice-cream. Or if on a special day, treat the kids with a cookie and oatmeal for breakfast. Yummy! Trust me, everyone is going to love these!

Gooey Apple Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup shortening (or butter)

1 1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ ground nutmeg

1 cup apples peeled, cored, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Beat the shortening, brown sugar and egg together until smooth in a large bowl. Next, stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. After preparing the apples, add to the mixture and stir together.

Place about 1 tablespoon worth of mixture onto a baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes depending on texture preference.

Enjoy!

Pasta, Smasta!

One of the worst days in the kitchen is probably when dinner time hits. It isn’t any dinner night either. Not only do I not know what I have planned to make but I really don’t have the energy to cook. And anything worse than that is when the people around you figured it out and ask, "What do you mean you don't feel like cooking?" They either ask because it’s your kids, guests or just prefer you’re cooking (whether that’s because it tastes great or don’t have the energy to make it themselves). What are you going to do, now?

We shouldn’t feel too guilty, I suppose. I bet everyone even the most famous chefs, cooks and teachers sometimes prefer to go out and eat than figure out what to make. Mainly, I think the reason is to get out of the routine. Cook every day in and out.
Well today, I want out.

However, with all that said this is not about another restaurant or tweaked recipe. I tried to conjure a meal when really sought to eat dishes someone else had made.  


Well after making a few rounds up and down the grocery store isles, I came up with an easy recipe, pasta. Besides cereal, toast and even pancakes, pasta is very easy. All I needed was shrimp because I already had linguini at home. Yay!
After settling for pre-packaged shrimp since I couldn’t find any fresh, I made my way home. Pasta itself doesn’t take that long, so I spent most of it on the shrimp. I added a few tablespoons of olive oil with minced garlic cloves in the warmed up pan. Next, I squeezed the juice from one lemon and some zest into the pan along with the shrimp. And for seasoning, crushed pepper and sprinkled salt with basil and parsley. The sauce pan was making some really sweet mixtures of spicy and sweet smells.
All seemed to be going well, so I started the pasta while I simmered the shrimp for one or two more minutes. I didn't go anywhere but cleaned up while I went along. Then when I checked the pasta something seemed wrong. It was mushy and the water…foggy.

Yep, I over-cooked the pasta. By this time the shrimp had been perfect and ready to serve so I knew I needed to move the sauce pan off from the burner. When I got ready a new batch of pasta, I was already flustered. I hated over cooking pasta and had never done it this “well.”

I finished making the new batch of pasta then strained and poured into two plates.

The shrimp and lemon sauce was still sitting in the pan next to the burner it had been on five minutes ago. I knew right then that because the shrimp was still in a hot pan it too had been cooked too long. Handed one plate to my boyfriend, I took the other and sat down. I waited for a few seconds to see if I would get any reaction. “Honey, this is good! This is amazing.” He said.

I know he could tell that the shrimp was over cooked. He was the over-cooked king (if there ever could be one).

What a trooper though!

One wasted box of pasta and over-cooked shrimp. Remind me not to cook when I just don’t feel like it. I’d hate to have burned the cereal or fried the pancakes instead of cooked them.

Been to Poland Recently?

The best restaurants to eat are found by either friends or travelers. I’ve visited many family and friends from different states even countries, but the first thing they mention is, “Oh! You have to go with us to this restaurant we love in town. They got the best…” And if I am not hearing that, then I am the one saying it to everyone else. To me, nothing is much better than heart-warming food, friends and experiences.

The first weekend I landed in Germany I took a trip to Boleslawiec, Poland. I know a random place to visit than the normal “Paris O La La.” Still, I don’t want to spend all my time seeing what most people see and experience what most visitors do. If that were the case, over some time all the stories would be the same. Don’t you think? And if you think about it, some places are going to be wonderful while a few miles away not so much. I don’t think it would matter where. Being in Boleslawiec was great though.

My boyfriend and I spent most of our time tracking down the locals for pottery, but we got to enjoy what they too enjoyed.

There weren’t many places to go out and eat, on account that no one else travels as much as the U.S. hence Mc. Donald’s and Del Taco. Hmm…Del Taco…

While on our way back to the Hotel, I spotted this outrageous yet cute little house. It looked like a replica of a Lincoln Log home, except real-life size. Not only that but there was this beetle, bug, out front that was painted to look like it too was made out of logs. The sight of them both was oddly funny and inviting. My boyfriend didn’t know if it was a business or someone’s home. I asked only because there was a huge parking space, or rather lot, which seemed to be used daily.

When we got back to the hotel, which at this time it was lunch and we were starving, the dining room was still closed for another hour or two. We couldn’t wait. I asked the desk what recommendations they had for local restaurants; sure enough they showed us a picture of the Lincoln Log Home. It was actually called Opalkowa Chata.

The inside of the Opalkowa Chata was just the same as it was on the outside, made of logs. In fact, even the tables were probably parts of the house.

On a quick note though, you will not believe how hard it is in Germany, let alone Poland, to find restaurants that serve fresh ice tea, with no added sugar or flavoring. Thankfully, this place did!  I was excited.

Coming to that restaurant had been one of the big highlights of the trip. I still remember sitting eating the spinach and beef pierogies off of my boyfriend’s plate, as he dug into mine. All the while, we were talking to one another and listening to the group of people laughing and chatting at the next table. Although we couldn’t understand a single word of Polish, it was quite nice to feel and experience something out of our box. The food was fantastic and that day had been perfect.

We did pick up some pottery on our way out of town. In fact, to this day my boyfriend and I are still all “potted out.”

 If you are ever in Poland you should check it out. I would definitely recommend it!

How Hot Can You Handle?

     
These dark green peppers don’t look like much but take a bite and they are a powerful punch in the mouth. So, be advised.
 
         So I came across this great recipe on food.com called Jalapeno-Lime Chicken a few years back that I would definitely recommend trying. For beginner cooks, this delectable bite is simple, very appetizing, and healthy –Shhh, for the whole family. As for you nutty kitchen enthusiast’s, this one reminds us why we love to cook with chicken so much and the amazing jalapeno pepper at one of its best moments…I mean tastes.

http://www.food.com/recipe/jalapeno-lime-chicken-89834

I would definitely recommend marinating it for at least 30 minutes. Also, if you are on short time like I was to conjure a meal, I’d poke a few holes in the chicken as it is trying to soak up the juices.

There was no need for the olives though they were a fantastic idea. However, I tried to make the spice mixture into more of a sauce. I squeezed more lime into the bowl than required and even thought about blending in some cream cheese. However, without any changes to this recipe it is fantastic all the same.

If after this meal, there are leftover whole green peppers you may also want to try making a quick…Stuffed Jalapeno...and if your looking for some new ingrediants to add in them put some cooked italian sausage and chopped onions into the peppers then top with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon.

Stuffed Jalapeno Wrapped in a Blanket:

-5 to ? Jalapenos cut in half and seeded (the questions mark is for depending  on how hungry you are or how many servings but you can decide as you cut each one)

-bacon cut into smaller slices by half

-cream cheese (you can get low fat or something to make healthy, same as the meat)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit. After cutting and seeding the peppers place them onto a cookie sheet. Next, stuff each one of those fiery little guys with the sweet and soft cream cheese. Then once stuffed grab the bacon and wrap them around each of the stuffed jalapenos.

Bake the peppers for 10 to 15 minutes or until they has been cooked thoroughly.

Serve separately as an appetizer or snack or with a sandwich with lettuce and tomato.

The Meal's Other Half

Sometimes the perfect meal just isn’t complete without complimenting side dishes.

My boyfriend had made his own homemade chili two days ago. He cooked beans, fresh chopped tomatoes, chili peppers, and spices in a Dutch oven pan. It was delicious with the juices from the tomatoes and beans coming together to the tongue-flaming hot chopped peppers. We had so much that it was a meal in itself so I skipped on adding anything of my own.

The chili was so flaming-hot for me I didn’t have that much of it even though it was probably the best homemade chili I have ever had.

Oddly enough though I didn’t think of it until the next day how important cornbread is with chili! Well to me it is…

Just the Thing, Cornbread

Ingredients:

              1 cup flour

              1 cup yellow cornmeal

              2/3 cup sugar

              1 teaspoon salt

              1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

              1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil (or olive oil that’s what I used and just as delicious, plus healthier substitute)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray or lightly grease a baking pan, about 9 inches if using a round cake pot. In a bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder then add the egg, milk and oil. Stir ingredients until mixture is smooth about 2-3 minutes. Pour the batter into your greased pan and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Check with a toothpick or butter knife pocked into the center of the loaf and if it comes out clean pull it out of the oven.  

Every time it seems I remember some of the greatest and most scrumptious meals I have had I recall two things about them.

1.       What ingredients were used?

2.       What kind of flavors or tastes did the ingredients bring: zesty, crispy smooth, bitter?

Combining something spicy with something sweet like chili and cornbread tends to balance a meal out. Have you ever had something so extremely salty like French Fries that you just can’t eat it, even though they are really yummy? However, then you smother each of the fries into fresh ketchup and suddenly it seems like two okay items become one amazing snack.

Think of any strong single flavored meal. I always remember rich, sweet chocolate desserts that restaurants sometimes serve. Take one bite and it is creamy and sweet that captures all the reasons why people love chocolate so much. After the second and third mouthful, it almost feels like you might drown in chocolate. Suddenly, the savory chocolate cake described in the menu became too much of a fulfilling dessert that you can’t even finish.

Imagine if only the restaurant had added slightly salted and almost sweet crackers or something…or cornbread.

Okay, not cornbread but that would be the perfect complimenting dish for chili. Next time, I will have to think ahead and realize if the main dish is missing “its other half”.

Don’t have all the ingredients?

Doesn’t it make you wonder where all the food and money went when you just went grocery shopping two days ago? I can’t stand it when I am sitting down at my desk or watching a movie when all of a sudden I get a craving. Not just any craving though I am wanting something specific also delicious, savory and sweet. So I get up and head to the kitchen, or to my phone, looking in the pantry and trying to find a recipe.  

A sweet craving isn't even the main problem. At first, cookies comes to mind but I'm convinced I have had enough to last for another week. Then brownies and cake are an idea except it doesn't sound like a special treat. Next thing I know I am looking on my phone for pie recipes...not just the filling but making the crust too.

Okay. There is cherry, coconut, blueberry and even mini lemon pies. I can tell I wasn't prepared for this idea at all because I don't even have half of what these recipes are calling for.

Why don’t I start out with what I have in the fridge first?

I got strawberries and flour…sugar, vanilla extract, lemon…one banana. Hmm…. A mixed pie?

My Strawberry Banana Pie

Ingredients: Buy a pre-made crust or… make a homemade one! J Come on, be brave! And if you need a lesson in rolling dough, watch this video first!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9zpCe_7_-c

Note: Make sure you don’t start cutting out holes in the dough like you are going to make cookies…we just need the dough rolled out to use as a crust in the pie dish and another for on top of the pie!

              Crust

                            2 ½  cup flour plus extra for rolling

                            1 cup (or 2 sticks) butter very cold

                            1 teaspoon salt

                            1 teaspoon sugar

                            6-8 tablespoons of very cold water

Combine flour salt and sugar in bowl then mix. Add butter and continue to mix (you can use a spoon…I used my hands) until the butter sticks to flour forming a ball. If you need extra help add some of the water while mixing. The finished dough should still have little pieces of butter throughout.

Remove dough from bowl and separate into two pieces. Do not knead yet. Place both discs into separate plastic wraps and let chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Then remove one dough ball from the fridge and let sit for 10 minutes. This will make it easier when we roll out the dough. Sprinkle the rolling area with flour then using a rolling pin, or if you can your hands, roll out the dough. Make sure you try to roll/push the dough from the center out towards the edges but stop before hitting the counter (I forgot that part and the edges of mine came out all deformed and flaking apart). Yep, this was my first time too. Now you all can watch and learn from my pie mistakes.

Next, you can flip the dough over and add more flour below and on top if the butter is starting to warm up and stick to the counter. The finished and hopefully somewhat round-looking disc should be about 1/8 inch thick.

Then delicately place the rolled out dough onto a pie dish and press the dough all the way around the bottom to fill the spaces.  Cut any excess dough that is falling off the edges of the dish.

             
 Place dish into the fridge to chill, or until ready to use that day.

Filling

                            3 cups fresh strawberries halved (or cut in quarters depending on how big)

                            2 to 3 bananas cut

                            1 tablespoon flour

    1 cup sugar

                            ½ teaspoon lemon zest

                            ½ teaspoon lemon juice

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

                            ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

                            1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

                            Cool Whip or vanilla ice-cream (optional)

Mix first the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl. Then add the flour, zest, juice, cinnamon and vanilla and stir for a few minutes. You should notice the mixture getting juicy from the strawberries and how good it smells! Delicious! You can even put a finger in to taste just to get an idea of what the pie will come out like.

Next, add the bananas and mix in bowl as well then pour the filling into the chilled pie crust.

Let rest the second cooled dough ball and then roll it out then delicately place on top of the pie dish and filling. Cut any excess dough around the pie and then pinch together the edges (or as I did press the edges with a fork for a nice design).Bake for 375 degrees F for 40 minutes. Make sure to check the top of the pie as to not burn it. If it is already browning put foil over the top of the pie. Let cool and serve with Cool Whip (as I did) or as my boyfriend suggested vanilla icecream.

If you need any other help or have suggestions let me know. And keep in mind that any recipe you find or get, you can adjust to make your own! Say you don’t want that many strawberries or just don’t have enough, don’t add it or add something else.

Cook with what you got!

A Disgusting Intervention

Anyone could probably guess, when they opened our fridge, who had done the grocery shopping before. All I have to say is that looking into the fridge just opened up a can of bad yogurt –literally. I won’t say worms because the fridge wasn’t “that” bad.

I had planned on having that yogurt, but instead went with my gut instinct that it probably wasn’t edible. I was right…along with a bottle of ketchup, three marinades, two jellies, and I can’t recall how many salad dressings. It’s not my boyfriend's fault and not something that is an issue (as long as no one consumed them).

Half way through the intervention with my fridge, I remember telling my boyfriend a few weeks ago that some things had spoiled. At that time, I got a look that made me guess either he didn’t really know they went bad or like he had just gone shopping the previous week. The only thought that came to mind after was if they seemed harmless then why put an expiration date across the lid. No matter what the expression on anyone’s face, I wasn’t going to eat that yogurt…especially when it contained milk! Then that was when it hit me.

A week old gallon of milk could mean a rolling stomach and probably a green face. My point doesn’t even have to be with meats or dairy (which these certainly can cause illness). Ingredients that belong in the fridge or freezer are extra sensitive not only to temperature but time, try eating one or three week old apple. They aren’t exactly delicious.

Possibly, the most important part of this raid was not only checking the expiration date, but literally testing my fridge. A fridge of course will have temperature adjustments but it is important to know that you are getting the best results from that accessory.

A fridge's temperature should be no more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit to keep bacteria growing on the food that is stored.  The freezer, however, needs to be even colder with at least 0 degrees Fahrenheit. It is easy to check the fridge too just put a thermometer in it for a bit then take it out to see (and for more info check out http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/question121.htm)

Well, I will probably get the question about why I had recycled ten or more perfectly good sauces and jam jars. There will only be one reason and that was keeping anyone including me from spitting a meal back out onto the plate, whether it was voluntary or not. Plus, as any proud host or cook, we want the food we cook to be fresh and amazing even if we didn’t actually “make it” –thanks frozen dinners. Whether it is one week to three years old (yes I found some from 2008), toss them. Trust me, your stomach will thank me…and your taste buds.

Schweineschnitzel?

The waiter set the plate in front of me along with two bowls, one of vegetables and the other with fried stuffed...meatballs, maybe? However, my eyes were locked on the main course. Two pieces of perfectly browned and breaded tenderized pork topped with a mushroom and black peppered sauce. Yummy!  

Schweineschnitzel, though I couldn’t pronounce it, seemed to look the best on the menu plus it came with dessert. To me, I have savored enough cheesy stuffed burgers along with some (I cannot even describe how amazing), everything in one, burritos in Mexico. Oh yeah, without forgetting a delicious variety of Polish pierogies, but I haven’t yet had the chance to try a German dish. There were some meals that had Suaerkraut which is pickled shredded cabbage. For those that don’t have enough sour foods that make your lips pucker like a lemon, Suaerkraut is definitely good especially in a wrap with pork, and sweet mustard. I will have to come back with the names of these places that I eat…just the smell of what’s cooking at these restaurants is very distracting –enough to forget where you are. Back to the Schweineschnitzel, the best way to describe how it tastes crunchy, fresh, spicy as well as sweet (from the sauce) and very satisfactory.

As for the other fried stuffed, was it, meatballs? No, not meatballs, they were fried homemade dumplings that if I hadn’t already been stuffed on the fried pork I might have chewed them all down. Those were also crunchy, but right when your teeth would sink into them they’d be soft and moist.

Finally, to complete this fulfilling meal, the dessert arrives. A clear glass with three layers starting at the bottom was ice-cream then a thick strawberry mixture topped with thick whipped cream. The ice-cream itself tasted new, more thick and milky with a slight crunch of ice. Just imagine all your senses tied onto the sweet smells of the strawberries, touch of the cool sundae glass on your fingertips, seeing the cherry on top as if to guide you on where to begin, and forgetting the voice of whoever is talking because you are too distracted with what is about to begin.

Gulp. All done.

Okay, I didn't down it like a shot but it did go pretty fast. One of many, the best ice-cream sundae/waffle things I have ever had.

Now someone, roll me home.

*Side note: Although there are many countries that people cook after, Italian, Mexican, French, Indian, there are some that haven’t seem to even be cracked open German or Polish. I think my recipe book is missing a bit of variety.

How to: get rid of Ground Turkey

Have you ever cooked an ingredient that you normally don’t, just so you can get it out of the fridge or freezer? I don't know what anyone would do with ground turkey, but I needed to make up something. Without the turkey, would mean more space in the freezer, the next time I went grocery shopping. Yay! Yeah, room for ice cream!

I defrosted the turkey and mixed it into a bowl of ketchup, onions, garlic, parmesan cheese, some seasonings and pieces of white bread. At first, I thought I was making meatloaf but then realized I am not into the taste, dry texture, or the idea of meat becoming a loaf (if anyone has ideas on a very juicy and flavorful meatloaf, please let me know). So, I rounded the mixture into balls and cooked them separately until I added a can of pasta sauce. The unusual sight of ground turkey in my kitchen had turned into lip-smacking, cheesy meatballs and spagetti.

My boyfriend, Jason, told me they were awesome. I agreed, but it was a new recipe that needed a jolt of more juice and spice...but in order to do that, I had to get another pound of ground turkey at the store.

So much for my plan of getting rid of it.

In the end, I guess it worked out higher than any expectation I could of had. I suppose the next time I'll use the same method. Find ingredients that seem to go with the item, use a little imagination, and if desperate the internet and create something from useless to pretty handy.

Butter isn't just Butter

What sounds better, hot Italian sausage with nutmeg, basil leaves and fresh, juicy chopped tomatoes or simple sandwich with lettuce, bread and butter pickles and sharp cheddar cheese? 

Some people may like to think simple and cheap recipes are the best. I have definitely found more than a handful of easy recipes that deserve some space on a five-star menu. However, that may not be the best way to pick ingredients.  

A recipe can be simple but some ingredient changes or updates make a humongous difference. Those that like pickles on sandwiches might know the different taste between dill to bread and butter pickles.  The taste varies on what a pickle is immersed in (whether it is garlic, fruit, seeds, or spices) and how long it is left in the mixture. Basically, depending on the taste we want, we may want to try different kinds. Bread and Butter pickles are sugary, but others, like dill, may be sour or salty.

Whether using pickles, butter or any other "simple" ingredient, I say, “Butter isn’t just butter.” Different brands offer new tastes, find out the one that goes on your own sandwich. Trust me, you will notice the difference.