Angel food cake for the Diva

Well we have one more birthday under our belt and one more to go. Cierra turned a sassy 6 and she wanted another strawberry cake. I gave her other options but she insisted on strawberry. Even though the original strawberry cake was good I really didn’t feel like making it again, especially since she wanted it frosted exactly the same way and everything. We came to a compromise and she ended up deciding to have strawberry shortcake with homemade angel food cake. I was so nervous about making this cake and had it in the back of my mind that if it didn’t turn out right I could just go to the store and buy one. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised…so much so that I might end up making this cake a lot more often.

The hardest part was waiting for the darn egg whites to turn into peaks. I am not very patient I guess. As the mixer was doing all the work I cleaned up the kitchen a bit to try to pass the time.

Angel Food Cake

Source: A taste of home

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups egg whites (about 9) (I used egg whites in the carton)

1-1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup cake flour

1-1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 inch tube pan (*I used a bundt pan. It worked perfectly)

 

Directions

Place egg whites in a large small bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sift 1/2 cup sugar and flour together twice; set aside.

 

Place oven rack in the lowest position. Preheat oven to 350°. Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time.

Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.

Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate.

***For the strawberry sauce I just cut the tops off the strawberries, cut them up added some sugar and mashed them with a potato smasher. Topped everything with a heaping helping of whipped cream.

 

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Happy blogiversary to me :)

Well it’s officially been a year since I started blogging again. Thanks to my readers and pinners who have visited my site. I have a couple new recipes to share. First one of my favorite things to eat. Chicken Chow Mein. Since moving to Oklahoma I haven’t been able to find a good Chinese restaurant. If anybody knows a good 0ne in the Lawton/Fort Sill area I would really appreciate the suggestion. Anyway, since I get a hankering for Chinese quite often I decided to add another recipe to the mix. The other one that I make is this orange chicken. Orange chicken is my husbands favorite and I really only make it when he’s here to eat it. Don’t get me wrong I like it too but it’s not on my short list when we go out for Chinese.

Ingredients:
source: Favorite Family Recipes

2-3 Boneless Chicken Breast

1/4 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 (5.6 oz) packages refrigerated Yaki Soba noodles (found in the produce section of the grocery store) (or you can find the dried Yaki Soba noodles. They are cheaper but you do have to cook them according to the package)
2/3 c. chopped celery (chopped diagonally)
1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
2 c. cabbage, thinly sliced

Directions

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Set aside.

Cook or grill chicken with a bit of salt and pepper. When done set aside to add to the noodle mix later. Or you can use leftover chicken from a previous meal.
Remove Yaki Soba from packages and discard included flavoring packets. Rinse noodles well, drain, and set aside.(this is for the Yaki Soba noodles that are already prepared)
Heat oil in a large wok or skillet. Add celery and onion and saute for about 1-2 minutes or until onions start to become soft and transparent. Add cabbage and saute an additional minute or so.
Toss Yaki Soba noodles and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables over medium-high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until noodles are heated through. Add cooked chicken and heat just enough to warm it. Not too long or the chicken may dry out. 

 

What’s an anniversary without dessert? I had some really ripe bananas sitting on my counter and what better way to use them. You could make this banana bread or you could make chocolate chip banana cupcakes. The original recipe is one that I found on All Recipes. It was for 2 8 inch cake pans. This makes about 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes.

 

Chocolate Chip Banana cupcakes with Vanilla frosting

source: All recipes

Ingredients

2  1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas, mashed

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 pkg. chocolate chips, I used milk chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 – 8 inch round pans. Or prepare cupcake tin with paper liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the bananas. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared pans or scoop batter into cupcake tin. Fill 2/3 full with batter.
For cake bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes for cupcakes back for 18-22 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean and tops are golden brown. Mine took 20 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting cupcakes.

Nothing fancy vanilla frosting

Ingredients: makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes, about 1 cup frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk, I had to use a bit more
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a bowl of a mixer combine the sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Start mixing slowly so that sugar doesn’t go all over the place and then increase speed to medium speed until smooth and fluffy add more milk if needed.

 

Thanks again for an awesome year. I will be posting tomorrow to so you all my latest creation using my new sewing machine.

 

Winner winner Chicken dinner

This post is really about the sides but I did roast a chicken and I couldn’t resist this title 🙂 First this is how I prepared my chicken. I didn’t take picture of the process quite frankly it’s not a pretty site but the results are well worth it. Super easy and lots of flavor. I opted out of making the sauces. I just really like the finished chicken.

But like I said this post is really about the bread and the green beans. I usually only make these rolls for special occasions. I don’t know why it’s not like they are hard to make. So I decided on Christmas that I would be making these way more often.

Honey Yeast Rolls adapted from Cooking with the Big Dogs seen on Mom Makes aka my sisters blog

2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup water (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons canola oil
1¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 cups bread flour (508 grams)
1 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoons honey

Directions –

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle attachment, stir together the yeast and warm water – let sit for three to five minutes. Add the honey, oil, salt and egg to the yeast mixture and mix well. Add three cups of flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. Switch to the dough hook and with the mixer on low, incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour.Continue kneading on low-speed for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Sometimes, depending on the time of year (during the winter, especially), the dough is a bit drier, and I add in water, a few tablespoons at a time, until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should feel soft (not sticky) and pliable when you are finished kneading it.Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it is doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work space and knead about 30 seconds. Cover and let the dough rest for another 10 minutes. Punch the dough down and divide it into 10-12 equal sized pieces. Shape each into a smooth ball and place into a greased 9×13 inch dish, spacing evenly. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 20-30 minutes.Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together melted butter and honey and brush the mixture over top of the unbaked rolls. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the rolls are baked through. Let cool slightly before serving.

And then there’s the green beans. OH MY GOODNESS! We eat these at least three times a month. They are super easy and so darn tasty. So much better than canned green beans and a lot cheaper in the long run too. The biggest expense is the Parmesan cheese but the block lasts FOREVER!  You wont be sorry that you bought it plus you can use it on other things like Garlic bread, pizza, spaghetti the possibilities are endless.

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans adapted from A Sweet Pea Chef

1 lb. fresh green beans, stems removed
2 tbsp. unsalted butter (***I usually use olive oil instead)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Steam green beans until slightly tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Melt butter (***or olive oil) over medium heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Transfer steamed green beans to the melted butter and garlic. Toss to coat green beans evenly and continue to sautee for approximately 5 minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and sprinkle grated Parmesan. Toss once again until Parmesan is melted, approximately 1 minute.

 

BLT Panzanella

Now that Travis is gone I have been slacking on making dinners, well lets just say it’s been easier to figure out what to make because the kids have to eat anything I put in front of them. So tonight was a super easy dinner night. I love BLT’s and this has all the ingredients of a BLT but with a homemade dressing. So good. I will be eating leftovers tomorrow for sure!

 

BLT Panzanella source: Annie Eats

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 small baguette * I used a loaf of french bread I made 2 the other day, one for french bread pizzas and one for this, more about the pizzas on another post.
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Kosher salt and pepper
6 oz. bacon
2-3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
1 heart of Romaine lettuce, rinsed, dried, and chopped (about 3-4 cups)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

For the dressing:
1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced
Juice of half a lemon
3 tbsp. low-fat Greek yogurt or mayonnaise
3 tbsp. buttermilk
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450˚ F.  Remove the crust from the baguette and cut into cubes, about ¾- to 1-inches.  Combine the cubed bread in a bowl with the melted butter and toss to coat evenly.  Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bake about 6 minutes, tossing once or twice during baking, until the bread cubes are golden brown and somewhat crisp.  Set aside to cool.  Meanwhile, heat a large skillet to medium-high and cook the bacon until crisp but not burned.  Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool.

In a large salad bowl, combine the toasted bread cubes, tomatoes, lettuce, and Parmesan.  Crumble the cooked bacon over the top.  Toss gently to combine.  In a jar or small lidded container, combine the garlic, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, and buttermilk.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Portion the salad into serving bowls and drizzle each serving very lightly with the dressing.

Chilaquilles

After a long talk with my grandma the other day we got on the subject of food. Come to find out Chilaquilles are my grandma’s favorite. I have never had chilaquilles before but tortilla chips mixed with salsa is always a hit with me. I plan my meal plan for every two weeks. Since I had already planned on making nachos for thursday night dinner it wasn’t a stretch to change it to Chilaquilles. There are many ways to make chilaquilles. I found out that it’s usually served for breakfast with overeasy eggs and beans. You could really eat them anytime. This recipe would be great with leftover chicken added to the mix.

Chilaquiles

Ingredients: For Salsa Verde

1lb Tomatillos, husk removed and washed

2 Jalepenos, adjust for desired heat

1 Serrano chili, adjust for desired heat

vegtable oil

Kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, smashted

1/4 c chicken broth or water, can be adjusted depending on how thick you want sauce

1 bunch cilantro, stems removed, reserve a little for garnish

Ingredients: Main dish

Tortilla chips or Corn Tortillas (not fresh is better)

oil, if using tortillas

Monterey cheese, or any cheese you like

red onion, for garnish

reserved cilantro, for garnish

Directions: Preheat oven to 450°. Line baking sheet with foil. Place jalapeno, serranos and husked tomatillos on baking sheet. Toss them in oil and season with kosher salt. Roast for 15 minutes turning halfway through roast, making sure to brown skins evenly. Once roasted remove from oven and put tomatillos in a blender. Allow chilis to cool so that you can handle them. Place cilantro, smashed garlic and 1/4 cup chicken broth. Once chilis are cooled remove outer skins, tops and cut down middle lengthwise to scrape out seeds. Place them in blender with other ingredients. Cover blender and blend till smooth green sauce is formed. Add more chicken broth or water as needed.

If you are using corn tortillas, cut into triangles and fry in a bit of oil. Allow to drain on paper towel.

If you are using chips then you are ready to assemble Chilaquilles. Place chips in large pot over med/low heat. Pour Salsa Verde on top, covering all chips. Allow to warm and serve top with monterey jack cheese, diced red onions and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.