Back to School

Since today I will be returning to college where cooking my own food ranges from really difficult to impossible, the need to make everything amazing RIGHT NOW has settled over me.

Should I make falafels?
Should I make chocolate scones?
How about some biscuits?
Breakfast scramble?
Or those cherry-almond bars for which I've had everything measured into Ziploc bags for weeks?

So far biscuits and a breakfast scramble have won.

The ingredients for the cherry-almond bars are waiting for me to get off Pinterest and go turn them into something worth blogging about later ;)

Today's Breakfast and A Healthier Outlook

This morning, my mom and I decided to make a breakfast bowl using some Mexican rice we'd cooked a few nights before, pinto beans, bell peppers, and mushrooms.
I chopped some red and yellow peppers, along with button mushrooms and red onion, plus a clove of garlic. This went into the skillet with heated avocado oil, cumin, red curry powder, and a little S&P.
Once those things were pretty well sauteed, I tossed in some delicious pinto beans, rich in protein. I added the rice next, then pushed everything to the side to make way for a little butter for the eggs. I sprinkled salt and pepper over the melted butter before pouring in beaten eggs, then cooked them and stirred them into the bean/pepper mixture.
To add some green, I pulled some fresh baby spinach from the refrigerator and wilted it over top of the steaming food before carefully folding it in.
Finally, I tossed in some green onions and a little Mexican-style shredded cheese.
Voila!

To accompany this savory dish with something a little sweet, I popped a few slices of whole grain bread in the toaster, then spread on a hint of butter and some delicious blackberry jam.

For a drink, I opened up a one-serving container of vanilla almond milk.

This was one delicious meal!

Not only was it delicious, but it was fairly healthy, which is something I have discovered is easier to come by than I once thought.
Next time, I can switch out any butter for coconut oil, and add even more spinach or another leafy green vegetable such as kale.

Snack Baggies

Okay, so we all know how it is to pack lunch on a busy weeknight--or even early in the morning before we leave! But here's a tip that, when packing snack crackers (like Cheez-It) or snack cookies (like Teddy Grahams), is sure to assist you!
The stores in which you shop are selling boxes of pre-packaged snacks, but there are two reasons for you to follow my trick: most boxed snack packs only come in the more-expensive brand-name products, and they make you pay more for the convenience of snack packs. Why pay the higher price for that extra packaging of expensive snacks when you can buy the big box of just-as-tasty store-brand snacks and make your own 'snack packs' using snack-sized Ziploc bags?!
I measure out the approximate serving size into a snack baggy and toss the baggies into the box I bought the food in. Store the box in your cabinet or pantry like you normally would, only now you have pre-portioned snack packs!
If you (or your child/children) eat a lot of snacks like this, I recommend getting a storage tote to keep these snack packs in, that way you'll have a variety right there on hand, ready to go into the lunchbox or be your snack.
Another big advantage to this trick is your cookies or crackers won't go stale because the big bag didn't get closed completely. Ziploc seals are great, and so are your own snack packs!

Doctoring Homemade Pizza Crust

Recently we made homemade pizza in culinary skills class, and it was so tasty! I came up with a few techniques on how to achieve the best-tasting crust:

1. Melt butter and brush it over the dough. Then use a fork to pole holes in it so that the butter can seep down into the dough.
2. Sprinkle garlic powder (or garlic salt) over the dough.
3. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the dough also.

Now you've got what it takes to have some really tasty pizza crust!!

Note: Olive oil works well in place of the butter.

Recipe Collection

Last week, I was hard at work finishing my big recipe collection for culinary skills class. It was a long and hard job, locating all the recipes I needed. There were guidelines which I had to follow, but I had plenty of leeway in the recipes I chose. Bottom line, its finished now. I'm definitely excited to see my grade. I'm also excited to get it back so I can have it around at home!
And you know what that means: more cooking! I literally cannot wait to start cooking the recipes I've never tried before. There were a lot I put in that I must try very soon!
We'll figure out how that goes :)

Chocolate Milk

You're probably wondering why I'm posting a recipe for chocolate milk. Well, it's because this recipe isn't like other chocolate milk. It's better. And maybe a little (or a lot) more fattening.

First, get some heavy whipping cream. Fill a glass about...well...not quite halfway full with it. Next, put the same amount of water as you put cream. After that, add as much chocolate syrup as you wish (I'd taste it after a little, because the cream won't get as dark as milk would).

And there you have it. Amazing chocolate milk.

Enjoy!! ♥

Cinnamon Rolls and Cream Cheese Frosting

When I took Foods class at my high school this past year, my group made cinnamon rolls, and they're one of the only things my group made that actually turned out good. The recipe was pretty complex, mostly because yeast breads are just-plain complicated. But it was definitely a recipe I'd keep on making--when I get the time, that is.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

• 4 to 4-1/3 cups all-purpose flour (A range is given because, on a humid or rainy day, you might need more flour than usual.)
• 1 package active dry yeast (We used Quik-Rise, which has a rising time of about half the given amount.)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs

For the topping (used in step four):

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. I actually recommend doing this a tad differently. I'd rather proof my yeast first, which adds an extra step, but it guarantees the activation of your yeast, and if your yeast isn't going to activate, or you kill it, you'll know before it's too late, and you won't have to start your dough all over. To proof, mix the yeast with the milk. Warm the milk a little; it should feel barely warm to the touch, or lukewarm (which is 75-80°F). Add a pinch of your sugar. Let them sit together for a minute, and after a short while, it will start forming a foam. This means your yeast is activated, and ready to use. You don't have to do this, so if you don't want to, proceed to here-->  In a large mixing bowl, combine two cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, the 1/3 cup sugar, the 1/3 cup butter, and salt just till warm (105-115°F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed three minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (smooth and elastic), knead for 3-5 minutes. Shape dough into a ball. Place it in a lightly-greased bowl; turn it a few times to grease the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free location until doubled. To test your dough to see if it has doubled, insert two clean fingers into the top of the dough. If indentations remain when you remove your fingers, dough is ready to punched down (see next step).
3. Make a fist and punch the dough down in the center. This deflates the dough and releases excess carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide in the gas that yeast gives off when it grows, which is why your dough rises). Turn your dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Divide in half. Cover your dough and let it rest for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two 9 x 1-1/2 inch round pans.
4. Roll each dough half into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle. Brush melted butter over dough. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Jelly-roll your dough, starting on long side. Seal the seam by pinching along the length of the roll. Slice each roll into 12 slices (each slice about an inch and a half thick). Place cinnamon roll slices in the prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free location till nearly doubled in size.
5. Bake your cinnamon rolls at 370°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, prepare frosting (see below).

Cream Cheese Frosting

When we made cinnamon rolls in class, most of the other groups were using the powdered sugar icing that accompanied the cinnamon roll recipe our teacher gave us. I thought to myself, 'How boring. Why not be different?' So I asked my teacher if I could make cream cheese frosting instead, and she was happy to let me. However, when I mentioned this change to my group, one person protested. "Cream cheese is gross!" he said. I just shook my head and assured him that cream cheese and cream cheese frosting do not taste alike. I told him to trust me, and he finally agreed to be okay with our modification. After I made the icing, I got a spoon and let him taste it, and I'm pretty sure he fell in love, because he tried to double-dip with the spoon. So here it is, the frosting that's been changing people's minds since...well, since I don't know when.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (this can be done very easily by heating it in the microwave for about twenty seconds at a time--in a microwave-safe bowl, of course)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (soften it along with the cream cheese, if you want, but I recommend adding it after the cream cheese is half-way soft, or it will just melt)
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat ingredients together until well-blended; it'll be smooth and creamy.

After cinnamon rolls have cooled just a little, spread frosting over them, and for goodness sake, enjoy them!! ♥