ThinkGeek :: Baconnaise

ThinkGeek :: Baconnaise

ThinkGeek :: Bacon Gumballs

ThinkGeek :: Bacon Gumballs

I AM THE WORST PHOTOGRAPHER

I am not a photographer, just a guy taking pictures. Usually many pictures and then picking the best one if there is one. I do not do my recipes or the food justice. I am sorry! We need a new camera, anyone have any tips on what kind or type to get?

Past Dinners... Help me help you..

Email if you would like any of these recipes.

Kayla's BDAY Strawberry CheeseCake

Sour Cream Blackberry Cobbler

Pork Verde Chili

Chad's Favorite BBQ Chicken Pasta w/ Grilled Asparagus

Herbed Chicken and Wild Mushroom Risotto 

Operation POPTART......Yes...Homemade Pop Tarts

You heard it right... I tried to make homemade poptarts. Jordan.. How'd I do? I thought they were mighty tasty. Here is my recipe but remember play with it. This recipe you can put whatever type of fillings you want. My favorite is the Brown sugar and Cinnamon PopTarts so thats what I did!

Pastry Crust
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsbp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 cup unsalted Butter
2 Eggs
2 tsbp Milk

Fillings-
1st- Blueberry Preserve
2nd- Cinnamon/Brown Sugar
     some brown sugar
     cinnamon
     little flour

Mix all the dry ingredients Flour, Sugar, Salt in the KitchenAid.

Worked in butter that has been cubed. Then mix in milk and 1 egg to make into the dough.

Knead together with hand and place to be rolled out on floured counter.

Place the dough in plastic and the fridge for about a hour.

At this time pre-heat oven to 375.

Next, allow the dough to thaw.

Flour counter again and start to roll the dough out. This will be one side and create about 3. Create the top layer duplicating the first piece. 

Then add the fillings leaving about a 1/2 in on all sides for the top to be pressed over the bottom. Add the top layer and pinch around all the edges and sides. Cut each poptart to size. Take a spatula to keep the dough from sticking and messing up the shape of the poptart. Be careful because it is very easy to open back up. Take the other egg and make it into a egg wash so that it can be brushed on top of the pastries and cooked to leave a nice light-brown crispy crust. Poke holes in it, Make a design with extra crust, even make a strawberry glaze if you dare.

Cook for 11- 13 minute or until golden brown. 

~BLUEBERRY~

~CINNAMON AND BROWN SUGAR~

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti is one of my all time favorites. I think the love of this entree originated from my cousin Nicole and Aunt Jo making it for one of the family game night we always had. I also remember making this with my mom at home which will always be some of my favorite memories. I decided to make it a bit different this time and use no meat. My wife is a vegetarian when its convenient and I decided to be convenient. I though did not succumb to meatlessness, I just decided to be caring and thoughtful...OKAY! I still love the meats.

In this recipe I eyeballed it quite a bit. So, please feel free to create a new interpretation of this recipe. Evolve it to best suite you and your family, then share it with us. I have had it with Italian Sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, all amazing! In my recipe I used a medley of black and green olives.

First of all, to be totally honest.. our local grocery store did not have Ziti, so I settled for large penne. Which is no biggie.

Ingredients-

• 10 oz Box of Ziti (or alike pasta noodles)
• 8 oz fresh or packaged mozzarella
• homemade or bottled tomato sauce (we used Prego because of time management, I suggest a homemade tomato sauce.. live alittle)
• 7 oz Ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (optional)
• 1/2 Tsbp Italian Seasoning
• pinch of Paprika

• Optional Olives, ground beef, italian sauce, chicken, etc.

Pre-heat oven to 400. Take a 9" X 13" ceramic or glass dish.  Boil pasta in salted water and olive oil.
Mix some* of the mozzarella (leaving enough to cover pasta later on), the ricotta which is about 1 3/4 cup, and the parmesan. Also, add the italian seasoning.
Coat bottom of the dish with sauce about a 1/4 cup of sauce.
Take drained pasta and add half to top the sauce.
Then take the cheeses and spread over the pasta evenly. At this point you can take the olives, sausage, or ground meat and mix it with the rest of the pasta sauce.
Distribute the rest of the pasta and then top with the rest of the tomato sauce and olives. Last of all top with the rest* of the mozzarella and a pinch of paprika.
Cook for about 24-27 mins and serve with something good.

Wednesday Dinner w/ Jordan

Coming soon.. as I find my cord for the camera haha
Baked Ziti
Homemade Pop-tarts
Blooming onion
Orange Julius

Easy as 1-2-3.... Pain Au Chocolat!!!

While in France every morning Kayla would get 2 or 3 of these croissants filled with chocolate. They were amazing. I tried to duplicate them and it was REALLY easy! They weren't exactly the same but for cutting out the 3 centuries of history and experience most of the bakeries have there, it does the trick.

Chocolate Crossants

• 1 package of Pillsbury Butter Flake Croissants
• 7-9 Tbsp Nutella 

Thats it!
Take the croissant dough, unroll. Add a tbsp of the Nutella onto the wide side of the dough and roll.
Follow the instructions on the packaging of the croissants.....and walla!

SoMe nEw ReCiPeS

It has been forever since I have added anything to this thing. We misplaced our camera since our move and I was planning to put a bunch of things up but couldn't take any pic of the recipes. Here are a couple good ones that we have tried...

Panko Crusted Salmon

1. teaspoons olive oil
2. 4 pieces thickly cut, boneless salmon(each 6 oz)
3. salt and pepper to taste
4. 2 Tbsp honey mustard
5. 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
6. 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs (I prefer Progresso brand by General Mills haha)
7. 2 Tbsp chopped Italian Parsley
8. 1/2 teaspoon hungarian sweet paprika.. This is quiet expensive for such a small item, substitute cayenne pepper

Notes: Paprika is made from special kinds of sweet red peppers, which are dried and ground. Varieties include the highly regarded and sweet Hungarian paprika = rose paprika = sweet paprika = Hungarian pepper and the cheaper and more pungent Spanish paprika = Spanish pepper = pimentón = pimenton. Cookbooks that call for paprika are usually referring to Hungarian paprika. Substitutes: cayenne pepper (much hotter)

Directions-
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (convection or regular). Set the salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, combine the honey mustard and 1 teaspoon of the thyme. In another small bowl, mix the panko with the remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme, 4 teaspoons of olive oil, parsley, and paprika. Add salt and pepper (a light sprinkle).
3. Using a small spoon, spread the mustard mixture on the salmon; top with the bread crumb mixture.
4. Roast the salmon for 12-14 minutes (test at 10) or until it is almost completely firm to the touch and flakes when poked with a fork. I always bake it longer, so more like 16-18. Serve at once


We served this up with garlic potatoes.. that was too strong to go with this meal. The salmon is very flavorful so I suggest something light as a side like a salad.

Banana Muffins

First blog post of my life. (Except for that thing Xanga we did 100 years ago before the word "blog" was invented.) Anyway- here is a tasty recipe next time your bananas turn brown. (The ones I used were only semi-brown, and therefore we had chunky banana muffins, but anyway...)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

TOPPING:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg and butter; mix well.
3. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
4. Combine the first three topping ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly.
5. Sprinkle over muffins.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

If you are bored with generic recipes like I was, you can also add a bit of vanilla, cinnamon, or anything else you think will taste good. That's what I did, and rave reviews followed.

UJEQE (AFRICAN STEAMED BREAD)

This week, I longed for a traditional african meal. I googled around looking for the recipe but was still skeptical with what I found. I turned to the source, my South African friends. I received some answers to my questions and here it is..................
Ujeqe, yes OOje(click)e!!!!
This is a very unique recipe and not for the faint in heart. Just kidding! The name is more bark than bite. The recipe is very easy. See for yourself, the ingredients are below.
- 4 cups cake flour
- 3/4 packet dry yeast
- 5 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups Warm water
- Oil
First- Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Slowly add the warm to hot water while kneading the dry ingredients in. We are making a dough so create it to the consistency where the dough comes clean off your fingers and is no longer sticky. Keep some flour close, for security. When you knead it smooth set in a warm area and cover with a clothe. Let it sit for 15 minutes and rise a bit. After it has sat, knead it a bit more and then let it sit some more. This time longer, for about a hour. Now for the fun. Take a plastic grocery bag and with a paper towel covered in the oil, rub the inside of the bag to prevent it from sticking to badly. Put the dough in the bag, enclose the bag and then put into a 3 qt pot. This pot will then go into the 6 qt pot of boiling water just enough so it doesn't spill over. Like a double broiler. Let it steam in the pots for 2 hours, yes 1 1/2 to 2 hours. This will give you enough time to practice pronouncing its name. Open up the top of the bag to check if still doughy. You will also need to check it time to time and see if there is still water in the bigger pot.

This bread is SUPER moist even closely related to that of a dumpling. Try serving this light spongey bread with a spicy curry or gravy. Heck, even with some pb and j the next day.

Picture of what we served it with. A red curry full of chicken, potatoes, and red peppers. Sides- Butternut squash baked coated in rosemary, a pomegranate honey, lime, and olive oil.. baked to perfe...a little burnt.. oops sorry Kayla(so beautiful she's distracting). Also a curried spinach and peanut butter stew. Also not for the faint in heart. 

Enjoy!

Pictures of the Corn Tamale Cakes

Tasty-

This was really good! The recipe is the 1st one I added to the blog! Scroll Down!

Fruited Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 box shell pasta cooked and drained

cooked & chopped chicken breast

2 big cans mandarin oranges

2 cups seedless grapes-halved

1 can sliced water chestnuts chopped

1 cup diced celery

3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

2 pkgs. dry buttermilk ranch salad dressing mix

1/2 of the milk called for in 1 pkg dressing mix

3/4 cups mayonnaise

Directions:

Put all ingredients in large serving bowl except oranges and dressing ingredients

Mix dressing ingredients in small bowl and pour over other ingredients

Refrigerate

Just before serving, mix in oranges

Sort of looks like this:

{ golden chicken potpie } by williams-sonoma

Ingredients

for the filling

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup yellow union diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely sliced
• 4 small carrots, sliced
• 1 cup mushroom caps, quartered {I didn't have mushrooms, so I used frozen peas, very tasty}
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock {or broth if you prefer a bit more of a salty taste}
  
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tsp water

for the crust {quick puff pastry}

• 3&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 lb cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1 cup ice water

{filling}
Boil chicken in water until fully cooked. Drain water, remove chicken, dice, and set aside. In a pot, warm and melt butter. Add onion and celery, and saute until golden {3-5 minutes}. Add carrots and mushrooms {again, I used peas...I'm not a HUGE mushroom girl} and saute an additional 3 minutes. Pour in wine, bring to a simmer, and reduce for 3 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and simmer until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Add to stock mixture to thicken. {I added quite a bit more flour and water to achieve a thicker gravy-type filling, so add flour to desired thickness :) } Stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the diced chicken and let simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl, let cool, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. The filling can be made up to 2 days in advance {it's important to chill filling before assembling the pie, because if warm, the filling will heat the pie crust; thus, making it less flaky}

Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 9-inch pie dish. Pour filling into the dish and cover with pastry crust, folding the edges onto the dish. Brush with egg mixture and cut a few vents in the center. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is hot and bubbling {about 45 minutes} Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
*This makes enough filling for 1 9"potpie. I doubled this recipe and made 4 {quite large} mini-potpies. I've also made it a few times and found that using broth adds a little more flavor. I felt the stock made the filling a little bland and lacking salt. But that's just me :) Either way this recipe is divine! I love crust, but I like that the crust on this potpie is only on the top. You get more of the hearty filling that way! It is already a family favorite and I plan on using it in the future. {read more if you want to try the homemade crust...recommended...}



{crust}
If you decide you'd rather purchase a store-bought pie crust or use your own recipe with shortening, go for it! BUT I highly recommend trying this at least once! It makes all the difference with butta as the main ingredient...it really melts in your mouth {mmmmm}

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour and salt. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, scatter the butter over the flour mixture, and mix on medium speed until the butter is the size of large peas and coated with flour. On medium-low speed, add the vinegar and then drizzle in the ice water until the flour mixture is moistened and starts to come together. You may not need all of it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gather into a ball, and knead lightly until uniform. Roll out until the dough is about 1/2" thick. Divide into thirds, roll each third into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. {Or freeze up to 3 months and thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight} Makes enough for 3 10" tarts.

When ready to use, roll out on a floured surface to desired thickness and cut a circle for desired size of pie/tart. ***This crust is great with fruit pies as well, just sprinkle sugar on top before baking***

Note: It's important for the pastry dough to be chilled before baking. The colder the dough is going directly into the hot oven, the flakier the crust will be :)



From our family to yours,
Enjoy <3


P.S.
Sorry for the sudden blog bomb, our Mack friends! I've been meaning to post recipes for a while, so I had a few stored up. I'll try to stay more on top of it :)

{ eggplant parmigiana } by williams-sonoma

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large globe eggplant {about 1&1/2 lb}
• 1 cup all purpose {plain flour}
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups plain dried bread crumbs
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper { I just used iodized salt, and it was fine}
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 18 slices
• Tomato-Basil sauce {there is a recipe for Williams-Sonoma homemade sauce, I just used store-bought which was fine, but if you'd like the homemade recipe let me know and I'll post it}

Preheat oven to 400F. Pour oil onto baking sheet and swirl to cover the bottom. Trim the eggplant and cut crosswise into 18 slices, each about 1/4" thick. Put the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into 3 separate shallow bowls and line them up. Season each bowl with 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Stir 1/4 cup of the Parmesan into the bread crumbs.

One at a time, dip the eggplant slices in the flour and tap of the excess, and then dip into the eggs and allow the excess to drip off. Finally, dip into the bread crumbs, coating both sides, and place on the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the slices over and continue to bake until golden on both sides and tender {about 15 minutes longer}. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Leave the oven on.

Lightly oil a baking dish. Overlap the eggplant slices in the prepared dish, placing a piece of mozzarella between the slices. Spoon the sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

The eggplant is so tender, almost like veil. It's amazing! We tried this recipe for a weekly dinner night with friends and there was none left after the night was over. Definitely a favorite of ours!

From our family to yours,
Enjoy <3

{ mexican chili }

Ingredients

• 2 lb. ground meat {beef, or turkey for a lighter taste}
• 2 packages taco seasoning
• 2 cans kidney beans {drained and rinsed}
• 2 cans black beans {drained and rinsed}
• 1 can pinto beans {you guessed it it...drained and rinsed}
• 1 can corn
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1-2 cans green chilies (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 3/4 cup water

*all cans are standard 15 oz. size {except the chilies of course}

Brown the meat and drain grease. Add taco seasoning as if you were preparing taco meat filling. Add all other ingredients and use taco seasoning to reach desired taste. Simmer for 30 minutes and viola! This chili is super tasty and filling! I always keep the ingredients in stock, because it's so easy and such a hit. It also tastes great to serve with crushed corn chips, sour cream, cheese, and/or cornbread.

From our family to yours,
Enjoy! <3

Blue Cheese Cole Slaw

Ingredients
- 1/2 small head of green cabbage
- 1/2 small red cabbage
- 4 large carrots
- 1 1/2 cups mayo
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese Please!
- 3/4 cup fresh parsley

We made this for my parents last weekend. It was good. Well, it did have blue cheese!
De-core the cabbage and cut up. We cut it up in small pieces and put it in a small food processor.
Also put the carrots through the food processor. Set in a large bowl.
Whisk together the mayo, both mustards, vinegar, celery salt, and pepper.
Pour dressing over the cabbage and carrots. Do this is portions of the dressing. You might find that it is to much dressing for you liking. When done add the blue cheese and parsley. Mix together and ENJOY!

1st Recipe - Corn Cake Tamales (Cheesecake Factory Replica)

Friday Date Nite was amazing last week because we tried a new recipe from the Famous Cheesecake Menu. Prelude- Over the Christmas break we had dinner with Kayla's family and a bunch of people from their ward. Nanette (K's Mom) asked if I could make a corn pudding. If you have ever been to Chevy's it is the corn side dish that they provide. We made this and it was a decent attempt at duplication. This gave us the inspiration to create the Cheesecake Tamales.
Here is the recipe and Pix!
Corn Tamale Cakes-
* 1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1 pinch salt
* 1/2 cup corn masa harina flour (corn flour, really cheap)
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Preheat Oven 400, Chop 1 cup of the corn in Food Processor, Mix in the softened butter, sugar, and salt. Mix again. Then add Flour and Masa Flour. Blend and then form into 3" patties. Make them a bit thicker so they stay moist. Thin patties will become dry. Cook for 20 mins but keep an eye on them. If they are thin they will dry and burn.
The corn cakes are the easy part. You have to then decide what you want on them.
We did the original Salsa Verde, Pico Salsa, and the Southwestern Sauce.
Salsa Verde-
* 2 tomatillos, diced
* 4 ounces mild green chilies, drained and diced
* 1 green onion, minced
* 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
* 1 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 pinch ground black pepper
Southwestern Sauce-
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1 teaspoon white vinegar
* 1 teaspoon water
* 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper
* 1 pinch onion powder
* 1 dash salt
* 1 dash garlic powder
Mix all together!
Garnished with Sour Cream and Avocado.