Glamorous Beauty Cooks

Christmas Dinner

2011-12-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

Banana Pudding

Truffles and Coconut Candies

Ginger Bread House

Red Velvet Cake

Strawberry Cheese Cake

Cookie Platter

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies

Cupcakes

Brussels Sprouts

Broccoli

Red and Green Chips and Salsa

Fried Turkeys

Glazed Carrots

Mac-n-Cheese and Stuffing

Cuisinart Bread Maker: Cinnamon Swirl Bread

2011-07-28T10:29:00.001-07:00

Cuisinart Convention Bread Maker

2011-07-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Haul: Panasonic Rice Cooker

2011-06-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-05T17:12:00.001-07:00

Churros with Chocolate Sauce

Black Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad

Black Bean and Garlic Tortilla Chips with Salsa

Spanish Rice

Tacos

Enchiladas

Margaritas

My Plate

Churros

2011-05-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

I made Churros for Cinco de Mayo. Here's the recipe:

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1 cup water

- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

- 1/8 tsp salt

- 1 tsp granulated sugar

- oil for frying

- cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

1. In a medium sauce pan bring to a boil water, oil, salt, and sugar.

2. In a mixing bowl stir flour and baking powder together.

3. Once water boils slowly pour boiling water into flour. Stirring constantly with a fork until it is a

smooth dough without any lumps.

4. Immediately place dough in a pastry bag with a 1M tip.

5. Carefully pipe dough in hot oil (350-375 degrees) and fry until golden brown.

6. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Easter Dinner

2011-04-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

Easter Dinner

Ham

Green Beans

Yellow Rice

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Cornbread Stuffing

Cornbread Muffins

My plate.

Easter Cupcakes.

2011-04-24T12:41:00.001-07:00

I made cupcakes using a boxed cake mix.

In addition, I stiffen some store brought icing using some powdered sugar and placed the icing in pastry bags. I also used candy eggs to decorate the eggs.

Here are the cupcakes after I iced them:

And here they are after I added the candy eggs:

Pickled Eggs

2011-04-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

For the pickled eggs I used:

Hard-boiled eggs

2 cups of vinegar

1 cup of water

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

red food coloring

I dissolved the salt and sugar in the water and vinegar over medium heat. I added red food coloring until the mixture turned my desired shade of red. I allowed the mixture to cool and poured it over the hard-boiled eggs in the jar.

I placed the jar in the refrigerator to allow the eggs to turn red.

Here's a picture of the finished product:

Painted Blown Easter Eggs and Finished Easter Basket.

2011-04-24T12:32:00.001-07:00

For the Easter basket I decided to use watercolors to paint blown eggs.

Once again I used Martha Stewart's Living magazine for inspiration.

Here's the finished Easter basket:

Happy Easter - Sugar Cookies

2011-04-24T12:23:00.001-07:00

I wanted to make a Easter Basket similar to the one on the cover of Martha Stewart's magazine. So, I decided to make cutout sugar cookies using the chick cookie template from the magazine along with a rabbit template I found online.

Here are all the ingredients I used:

2/3 cup flavored shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
4 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Cream shortening and sugar in a bowl.

2. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla.

3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

4.Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. I also made some royal icing and tinted 1/2 of it a pale purple.

First, I outlined the cookie with icing.

Then, I used a thinner version of the royal icing to fill in the outline.

I allowed the icing to set for a few hours.

For the larger sugar cookie rabbit I decided to cover it with chocolate.

I placed the rabbit in the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to set.

This rabbit will later be placed in another Easter basket.

Video: Vegetable Beef Soup

2011-04-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

2011-04-15T17:51:00.001-07:00

Ice Cream Sundae

2011-04-03T08:56:00.001-07:00

Today, I made an ice cream sundae to celebrate the 119th anniversary of the first documented ice cream sundae.

Fresh Fruit Bouquet

2011-03-29T13:10:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of the fruit bouquet I made:

The fruits used are: a pineapple, a cantaloupe, oranges, grapes, and strawberries. The tools used were a melon baller, cookie cutters, skewers, and a crinkle cutter.

Here's the fruit bouquet almost finished and the fruit scraps.

Here's a close-up picture.

And here's another close-up.

Here's the finished fruit bouquet arrangement.

Memorial Day Barbecue

2010-05-31T15:09:00.001-07:00

Shopping at Sam's Club:

Food and Drinks

Barbecued Ribs

Hamburgers, Hotdogs, and Chicken

Corn on the Cob

My Plate:

Lemonade:

Cantaloupe and Watermelon Fruit Platter:

Strawberry Cake:

Video: Memorial Day Barbecue

Mother's Day Cake

2010-05-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

2010-04-01T19:55:00.001-07:00

Here are the ingredients:

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Candy Making and Dipping Bar

Strawberries

Strawberries I dipped in chocolate.

I drizzled chocolate over each strawberry.

Close-up of chocolate covered strawberry with the chocolate drizzle.

Strawberries served with chocolate drizzled whipped cream.

My College Graduation and Graduation Party

2009-12-22T12:38:00.001-08:00

Sweet Tea

Video: Red Lobster

2009-12-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

This is the video my sister made of our lunch at Red Lobster

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2009-12-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

Halloween Party Video

2009-10-31T21:59:00.001-07:00

Here's a video from my Halloween Party before the guests arrived:

Halloween Party Pictures

2009-10-31T21:57:00.001-07:00

Halloween Party Pictures (Very Very Pic Heavy)

Dracula

Chocolates/Rice Krispy Treats/Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods and Cookies
Crudite

Cheese Crackers/Bugles/Cheetos

Potato Chips w/ French Onion Dip

Supreme Pizza from Pizza Hut

Chicken Wings

Broomstick Breadsticks

Chocolates/Donuts/Rice Krispy Treats

Orange Punch w Spiders

Orange Supreme Cake

Caramel and Chocolate Dipped Apples

Dancing Witch

Tangerines

My Plate

Cheetah Halloween Makeup

Homemade Chocolate Walnut Caramel Clusters

2009-10-18T17:33:00.001-07:00

Here are the ingredients for the Chocolate Walnut Caramel Clusters: - 1/2 cup lightly toasted walnuts
- 12 caramel squares
- 4 oz chocolate, melted

Place a few toasted walnuts and a caramel square in each muffin cup.
Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes, Take a spoon and press caramel squares onto walnuts.
Dip into melted chocolate or place a tablespoon of chocolate on silicon mat and place a caramel nut cluster on top and drizzle with chocolate.

National Dessert Day

2009-10-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

In honor of National Dessert Day, I made cinnamon rolls:

Scalloped Potatoes

2009-10-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 milk
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Butter the ramekins. Add a layer of the sliced potatoes.

2. Sprinkle the potatoes some of the flour mixture.

3. Add another layer of potatoes on top.

4. Sprinkle with the remaining flour mixture.

5. Add a final layer of sliced potatoes.
6. Mix the milk and sour cream together. Pour the mixture over each of the ramekins, filling them. Dot each one with butter.
7. Sprinkle each one with shredded cheddar cheese.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer can easily be inserted into the potatoes.
Here are the scalloped potatoes plated with a dinner roll, grilled pork chop, and green beans. Click on pictures to enlarge them.

Dinner Rolls

2009-10-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp active dry yeast

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a bowl. Using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Mix ingredients until ingredients form into a ball and pull away from sides of bowl.
2. Place dough in a greased bowl until doubled in size.
3. Once doubled, divide the dough into twelve pieces. Cut each piece into three pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Drop three dough balls into each greased muffin cup. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
4. Brush with melted butter and place in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until done. Brush with a little more melted butter.

Barbecue

2009-10-04T22:17:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures from today's barbecue; click pictures to enlarge:

Beef Hot Dogs and Smoked Beef Sausage

Hamburgers

Crab Salad and Baked Beans

Potato Chips and French Onion Dip

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Here's a picture of my plate.

Breakfast: Blueberry Waffle topped with Whipped Cream, Strawberries and Blueberries

2009-10-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

For breakfast, I made Blueberry Waffle topped with Whipped Cream, Strawberries and Blueberries. I used my Belgian Waffle Maker and Aunt Jemima Complete Pancake and Waffle Mix. I prepared the waffle batter according to the package mix and added blueberries to the batter. Here's the finished waffle:

Breakfast: Steak, Eggs and Biscuits.

2009-09-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Here's what I had for breakfast:
Steak, Scrambled Eggs, and Biscuits.

Grilled Ribeye Steak and Shrimp (Surf and Turf) Dinner; Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake.

2009-09-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

I grilled ribeye steaks, along with the shrimp:I also prepared corn and salad. Here's the plated Grilled Ribeye Steak, Shrimp, Corn on the Cob, Salad, and Dinner Roll.
And for dessert, I had strawberry shortcake:

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

2009-09-27T15:50:00.001-07:00

Here are the ingredients:

I prepared the pineapple cake batter according to the package directions on the cake mix box. I poured melted butter into each mini bundt of the pan, added some brown sugar and a pineapple slice and cherry half in the middle of the pineapple slice. Poured the cake batter on top. Baked according to package directions.
Here's a picture of the finished pineapple upside down cakes on the top tier:

Candy Apples.

2009-09-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

Here's what I used:

-1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
-1 cup corn syrup
-1 cup water
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 tsp red food coloring
-apples
-popsicle sticks or wooden skewers

Directions:

1. Mix the sugar, corn syrup, water, cinnamon, and food coloring. Heat until candy mixture reaches 290 degrees.

2. Stick the sticks into the candy apples. And swirl the apples into the candy mixture. And place on parchment paper until set.

Here's a picture of the red candy apples wrapped.

Cinnamon Glazed Roasted Almonds

2009-09-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1 egg white
1 teaspoon cold water
4 cups whole almonds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.

Lightly beat the egg white; add water, and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts, and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat, and spread evenly on the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool, then store nuts in airtight containers.

Here are the glazed nuts in a glass:

Beef Vegetable Stew with Rice and Cornbread

2009-09-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of tonight's dinner, Beef Vegetable Stew with Rice and Cornbread. I used my recipe for beef stew, here:

Baked Potato with sour cream and cheese

2009-09-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

For lunch, I made a baked potato with sour cream topped with shredded cheddar cheese:

Elephant Ears

2009-09-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Elephant ears are essentially fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Here are the ingredients:
1 egg
1 1/2 cups warm (80 degrees F) water
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp active dry yeast

Directions:

1. I placed all the ingredients into a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Mixed until dough formed into a ball.

2. I placed the dough in a greased bowl and covered until doubled in size.

3. I rolled out small balls of dough into a flat disc.

4. I fried the dough in 350 degree oil, until golden brown on both sides.
5. Remove from oil and place on paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Dinner: Baked Chicken, Field Peas and Rice, Macaroni and Cheese, and Cornbread.

2009-09-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

For dinner I baked chicken, made field peas and rice, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread. Here are some pictures:
I baked the chicken in 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

For the field peas and rice: I fried two diced strips of bacon until brown, added one 15oz can of field peas, undrained, and a 1/4 cup of water. Add a teaspoon of sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, turn off stove, add cooked rice and cover for five minutes. Fluff and serve.

And I made the macaroni and cheese using my recipe posted here.

For my southern style cornbread, I used one box of Jiffy cornbread mix, added 1/4 c. of self rising flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil, 1 egg, and 1/2 c. milk. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes before baking. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. And here's the food plated:

Festive Birthday Cake

2009-09-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from my mother's birthday party.
We popped popcorn, make cotton candy, chocolate soft serve ice cream and baked a lemon bundt cake. Below are pictures of the cake, if you want the recipe check out my other blog post here. I made the cake using my mini sour cream bundt cake recipe and I doubled the recipe to make a full size bundt cake.

I made two different batches of glaze from the recipe; one orange (equal drops of red and yellow food coloring) and one yellow and drizzled it over the cake.

Funnel Cakes

2009-09-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1 egg
2 tablespoons of sugar
2/3 cups of milk
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Directions:

Beat the egg and milk together. Now mix all the other ingredients together. Next you can add the egg mixture, slowly beating it until the mixture turns smooth.

You now need to use the funnel to pour the batter into the hot oil. Pour from the center towards the outer side. When the mixture turns golden brown and crispy enough you can remove it from the oil. You can also sprinkle some powdered sugar over it and it is then ready to serve.

Here's the finished funnel cakes on the bottom tier.

Sausage, Green Peppers, Onions, and Cheese Omelette with Baked TaterTots.

2009-09-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

For breakfast, I made an omelette with sausage, green peppers, onion, and cheddar cheese; along with some baked tater tots:

I preheated the oven according to the tater tots packaged directions and bake until golden brown. In the meantime, for this omelette, I sautéed some jimmy dean breakfast sausage with diced onion and green pepper over medium heat, until sausage was brown, onions were translucent, and green peppers were softened. Next, I removed the sausage, onion, and green pepper from the pan and set aside, reserving a few tablespoons of meat mixture for garnish. Next, I whisked four medium eggs and added salt and pepper to taste. I added the eggs to a lightly buttered non stick pan. I pushed the cooked egg from around the edges of the pan to the center, and tilted the pan so that the uncooked egg was moved to the edges. After three minutes I added the sausage, onion, and green pepper to one half of the omelette, topped with cheddar cheese, and folded the other half on top. Transfer omelette to plate garnish with shredded cheese and reserved meat mixture, serve with tater tots.

Carnival Day at Home.

2009-09-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today, I had a carnival at home. We had carnival foods along with some of our favorite foods. This post is very pic heavy. Here are the pictures:

Here I am enjoying some of the goodies.

Here I am enjoying a few more of the goodies.

Hotdogs rolling on the hotdog roller.

Turkey sandwiches.

Corndogs; pita chips and tortilla chips with cheese sauce.

Chicken tenders with Barbecue dipping sauce.

Cotton candy spinning around in our cotton candy machine.

Popcorn popper filled with popcorn

Punch bowl filled with fruit punch.

Cinnamon glazed almonds, caramel apples, and candy apples.

Soft-serve ice cream maker.

Mini pineapple upside cakes, elephant ears, and funnel cakes.

Graham crackers, oreos, chocolate chip cookies, and sugar wafers.

Soft Pretzels.

And here's a video:

Recipes for the cinnamon-glazed nuts, candy apples, funnel cakes, pineapple-upside down cakes, and elephant ears are soon to follow.

Apples and Nectarines dipped in Chocolate

2009-09-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

I melted Ghirardelli chocolate and sliced nectarines and apples.
And here are a couple of pictures:

Popovers

2009-08-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

I made popovers for breakfast:

The ingredients are:
-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup milk
-1 egg
-nonstick spray
-dash of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Spray ramekins with nonstick spray.
3. Mix flour, milk, eggs, and salt just until smooth.
4. Pour batter in ramekins.

5. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.
6. Remove from ramekins and serve hot.
The inside of the popovers are hollow. They can be served with jelly or syrup.

Shrimp Cocktail

2009-08-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

This is a quick and simple recipe. Ingredients:
-shrimp
-ketchup
-salsa

Directions:
1. Boil water. Add shrimp and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Shock shrimp in ice cold water to stop cooking process.
3. Make cocktail sauce by combining ketchup and salsa, to your liking.
4. Serve shrimp cocktail chilled.

Tuna Salad

2009-08-18T14:05:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- can of solid white albacore
- mayonnaise
- sweet pickle relish
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- salt
- pepper

Directions:

1. Add desired amount of mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, and hard-boiled eggs to tuna.
2. Add salt and pepper taste.

Here's the garnished tuna in a glass:

Chef Salad

2009-08-17T15:45:00.001-07:00

Here are the ingredients for the chef salad:
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- grape tomatoes, halved
- ham, sliced into strips
- turkey, sliced into strips
- cheddar cheese, sliced into strips
- cucumber, sliced
- iceberg lettuce
- saltine crackers

Directions:

1. Put a bed of lettuce on the plate.
2. Place all the remaining ingredients on top of the lettuce.

Here are pictures of the finished salad:

Baked Ziti with Salad and baked Bread.

2009-08-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the finished Baked Ziti, Salad, and baked bread:
Here are the ingredients:
-2 lbs ground chuck
-1 small onion, diced
-1/2 green bell pepper, diced
-15 oz can of diced tomatoes
-15 oz can tomato sauce
-Hunts traditional Spaghetti Sauce
-8 oz. Ricotta Cheese
-3/4 lb. of Dry Ziti pasta
-12 oz of mozzarella cheese
-can of french bread
-iceberg lettuce
-grape tomatoes
-cucumber
-salad dressing
-2 tbsp. sugar
-Parmesan cheese
-Accent flavor enhancer (optional)
-salt
-black pepper

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef with onion, green bell pepper. Season beef with Accent, black pepper, and salt, to taste.
2. Drain browned beef. Add spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar (cuts the tartness ad acidity of the tomatoes).
3. Boil noodles according to package directions.
4. Reserve two cups of the meat sauce. Add ricotta cheese to remaining meat and sauce mixture.
5. Mix cooked noodles into the ricotta sauce mixture.
6. Transfer noodles and sauce into an 13x9 inch baking dish.
7. Spoon the two cups of reserved sauce on top of the pasta mixture.

8. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Also, add French bread into the oven.
9. Let baked ziti cool for 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.
10. Add grape tomatoes and cucumbers to lettuce. Toss with your favorite dressing.

Mac & Cheese

2009-08-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

I made macaroni & cheese as a side dish. Here are the ingredients:- 1/2 lb. Elbow noodles
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 1 c. evaporated milk
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 12 oz. mild cheddar cheese (shredded)

Directions:
1. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk well. Cook for a couple of minutes; continuing to whisk.
3. Add milk, salt, and pepper; and whisk well.
4. Add 8 oz. of the cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

5. Add drained noodles to cheese sauce and mix until well coated.
6. Transfer the mac & cheese into a 8x8 square pan. Top with remaining cheese.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes of until cheese is melted.

Here's the complete meal. I had ham, mac & cheese, string beans, and cornbread.

Crab & Shrimp Boil

2009-08-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a crab & shrimp boil. Here are the ingredients:

Here's a short video of the ingredient

- 4 lbs. Snow Crab Clusters
- 1 lb. Smoked Beef Sausage (cut into 2 inch pieces)
- 3/4 lb. of Shrimp
- 8 small ears of corn
- 8 red potatoes
- Zatarain's Crab Boil Seasoning
- 1 large onion (cut in half)
- French bread (sliced)

Directions:
1. In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add onion and crab boil seasoning to taste.
2. Start with potatoes. Boil for twenty minutes.
3. Add sausage and crabs clusters, bring back to a boil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Add corn and cook an additional 5 to 8 minutes.
5. Add in shrimp, until they turn pink.

Here's the food plated:
Here' s my plate:

Beef Stew with Cornbread.

2009-08-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I made beef stew with carrots, green beans, corn, potatoes, sweet peas, and tomatoes; and cornbread for dinner.Ingredients;
4lb chuck roast
1 Medium Onion, diced
Sliced carrots
5 medium sized potatoes, diced
String beans (2 cans)
Diced tomatoes (28 ounce can)
Sweet peas (2 cans)
Corn (2 cans)
Conbread mix

Directions:
1. Cut roast into cubes, cover meat with water. Add a medium size diced onion, and add salt, pepper, and seasoning salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for an hour.

2. Add potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, sweet peas, string beans, and corn. Cook for an additional half an hour.

3. Prepare corn bread muffin mix, according to the package directions.

Here's the finished meal:
All Gone!!! It was very delicious:

Banana Walnut Belgian Waffles

2009-07-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Today, I made a banana walnut belgian waffles. Here are the ingredients:-Belgian waffle mix
-Banana
-Walnuts (chopped)
-Oil
-Egg
-Water
-Whipped Cream

First, I mixed the ingredients according to the directions on the waffle mix. Then I added the banana and walnuts to the batter.
Once the waffle iron was ready, I added the batter.
And here's the finished result:

Easy Red Velvet Cake

2009-07-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

I thought that I had everything necessary to make red velvet cake in my pantry and refrigerator, but low and behold was missing one ingredient: buttermilk. I had regular milk in the refrigerator, but I could not find a recipe that called for regular milk. I wasn't going to drive to the store just to pick up buttermilk. So, I decided to keep searching the internet for red velvet cake recipes. I wasn't going to give up that easily. I wanted red velvet cake. So, after searching for another five or so minutes; I found a recipe that used prepackaged cake mix. I had a small box of cake mix and everything else the recipe called for, so I decided to make this recipe. The recipe called for a regular size box of cake mix, and the box I had was half the size. So, I cut the recipe in half, and made a single layer cake. Here are the ingredients needed for the recipe:

-white cake mix
-3 tbsp cocoa powder
-water (the amount stated on the cake mix box)
-1 tbsp oil + the amount of oil the box mix states
-egg whites (according to box mix)
-1 1/2 tsps. red food coloring
-cream cheese frosting (not pictured)

Directions:

1.Prepare the cake mix according to box directions. Add the food coloring and cocoa powder.
2. Pour the batter into a greased and floured cake pan. Bake according to cake mix package directions.
3. Once cooled I frosted the cake.
The cake was very delicious and easy to make. I would definitely make this cake again. I was very satisfied with my results.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Jasmine Rice

2009-07-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I made Chicken Stir-Fry with Jasmine Rice. Stir-fry's can be made with a variety of meats and/or vegetables. Here are the ingredients I used:
Chicken (cut into small pieces)
Broccoli
Sugar Snap Peas
Carrots
Green Beans
Onion
Baby Corn
Water Chestnuts
Red Bell Pepper
Champignon Mushrooms
Soy Sauce
Vegetable Oil

First, I prepared the jasmine rice in the rice cooker. Next, I put enough oil in pan to coat the bottom. I heated the oil on high heat. Once hot I browned the chicken on both sides. Then, I added all the vegetables to the pan and cooked for about 7 minutes. Lastly, I add soy sauce, pepper, and salt to taste.

Here are pictures of the plated dish.

Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls

2009-07-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe for Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls here. I decided to omit the brown sugar and use cream cheese frosting instead of the vanilla frosting.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 packages (about 3-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg (not pictured)
4 to 5 cups sifted flour
butter or margarine (not pictured)
cinnamon sugar
raisins (optional)
cream cheese frosting

Directions:

Add the yeast to the warm water and let sit for 10 minutes.

Scald milk; then add the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool until tepid. Add the dissolved yeast and the beaten egg. Add 4 cups flour adding one at a time beating after each addition.

Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle. Knead on floured board until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.

Press dough down and divide into two pieces. Roll dough out into a rectangle.

Cover with melted butter or margarine. Add a generous layer cinnamon sugar. If you like raisins, layer on a layer of raisins.

Roll up jellyroll fashion.

Using a piece of string, I cut off slices about 1 or so inches thick.

I place the slices in a rectangular pan. Press rolls down to even out and fill pan. Let rise for an hour.

Bake in a 350 degree oven about 15 - 20 minutes.

Spread cream cheese frosting on cinnamon rolls.

The recipe yielded 25 small cinnamon rolls. These cinnamon rolls are delicious. I will definitely be making this recipe again.

Chili

2009-07-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

I made a large pot of chili for tonight's dinner and for chili dogs tomorrow.
Ingredients:
5 pounds of ground chuck
1 green bell pepper
1 medium onion
salt
pepper
2 cans of diced tomatoes
3 packages of Mild Chili Seasoning
3 cans of dark red kidney beans

Directions:
Brown ground beef with onions and bell peppers. Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Drain browned beef.
Add tomatoes, seasoning, and kidney beans. And fill an empty can of kidney beans with water and add to pot.
I cooked some rice to go with the chili. Here are the finished pictures:

Chocolate Cake

2009-07-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from Bettycrocker.com and I modified the recipe slightly to use cocoa powder instead of bakers squares. According to the cocoa box, 3 tablespoons of cocoa and 1 tablespoon of oil is equivalent to a 1 ounce baker's square of chocolate.

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 Tbsp. cocoa powder
4 Tbsp. oil
2 eggs

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients
-I got this recipe from the back on the tollhouse cocoa container.
3 cups sifted powdered sugar, divided
2/3 cup Baking Cocoa
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
5 to 6 Tbsp. milk, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the cake:

	Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan, two 9-inch round cake pans, or three 8-inch round cake pans. In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s).
	Bake rectangle 40 to 45 minutes, rounds 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangle in pan on cooling rack. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely.

For the frosting:
Beat 1 cup of powdered sugar, cocoa, butter, 2 tbsp. milk and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in remaining sugar and milk until smooth.
And here's the finished cake:
The cake tasted pretty good, not the best chocolate cake that I've had (as claimed by the recipe), but it's not the worst either. I'm not sure if I would make this cake again, I think I'll keep looking for a great chocolate cake recipe. I had fun making the cake and will have lots more fun making other chocolate cakes. I, however, think that the frosting tasted really good, but I needed to make a little more of it.

Collard Greens

2009-07-04T07:09:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of collard greens
Smoked pigtails
Sugar
Water

Place the smoked pigtails in a large pot. Cover with water. Boil for 1 hour. Making sure that all the water doesn't evaporate.
Remove most of the stem from each of the collard green leaves. After on left, before on right of picture.

Stack about ten leaves, making sure that the largest leaf on the bottom of the stack. Roll up the leaves. Slice 1/2 inch rounds off of the log.

Place all of the sliced collard greens into the pot. Add 1/4 cup of sugar to cut the bitterness of the greens. Cook for an hour or until greens are tender but not mushy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mini Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cakes

2009-06-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe that my mother taught me how to make. I have many memories of this cake growing up. I cut the recipe in half to make 6 mini bundt cakes. But the recipe can be doubled to make a full size bundt cake.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs (separated)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
yellow food coloring
no stick spray with flour

Glaze:
Powdered sugar
Milk
Food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour mini bundt cake pan or spray with no stick spray with flour.
Cream butter and sugar.

Mix in egg yolks. Then, gradually add flour while mixer is on low speed. Next, add sour cream.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks.

Fold beaten egg whites into the pound cake batter.
Mix in vanilla extract, lemon extract, and a few drops of yellow food coloring.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
I mixed a small amount of milk into powdered sugar, added a drop of yellow food coloring. I drizzled it over the pound cake.

Sweet Tea

2009-06-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

Sweet Tea

Ingredients:
2 family size tea bags
3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar; depending on how sweet you want the tea.
Water
Ice

I used two Luzianne family size tea bags; each tea bag makes a quart of tea.
I boiled about a cup and a half of water in a measuring cup in the microwave. Then, I added the tea bags to the boiling hot water.
I let the tea bags steep for 3 and a half minutes.
I removed the tea bags; added 3/4 cups of sugar. I dissolved the sugar in the hot tea to make a concentrated tea syrup.

I filled the pitcher half way with ice and water, and then added the tea syrup mixture. I finished filling the pitcher with water and ice.

Hamburgers with Brown Gravy

2009-06-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
Ground chuck
A medium onion
Cornstarch
Water
Salt
Pepper
Accent meat tenderizer

Season ground beef with salt, pepper, and meat tenderizer. Shape seasoned ground chuck into patties
Brown patties on both sides in large pot, without cooking all the way through.
Transfer browned patties into a bowl. Continue browning the rest of the patties and transfer them into the bowl.
Once all the patties are browned, save some of the drippings in the pot and sautee a medium onion in the same pot. Add all the hamburgers back into the pot and cover with water.

Add cornstarch and water mixture (for the large quantity I made, I added 3 Tbsp of cornstarch to 1/2 c. of water) to thicken the gravy. Season gravy to taste.I also microwaved a bag of Southwestern frozen corn.
And cooked rice, cornbread, and iced tea.

Peach Cobbler

2009-06-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

Easy peach cobbler recipe:

4 - 29oz cans of sliced peaches in heavy syrup
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 frozen pie shells
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. water

Melt butter in large pot. Add peaches with syrup, 1 cup of sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to pot. Heat on medium high until hot. Mix cornstarch and water, then add to pot. Taste; add additional sugar if needed; depending on the tartness of the peaches.

Line bottom of pan with pie crust. Blind bake until lightly brown. Add peaches and syrup to the pan.
I took the remaining to pie crust and removed from tins to parchment paper to defrost for a couple of minutes. I cut pie crust into 1 inch strips and make a lattice on top of the peaches.
Bake at 350 degrees, until golden brown.

Drop Biscuits

2009-06-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

Drop Biscuits

There are only three ingredients:
2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 vegetable shortening
2/3 c + 2 tbsp milk (buttermilk can also be used to make Buttermilk Bicuits)

Preheat oven at 450 degrees. Mix the shortening into the flour with a fork, until the flour resembles coarse meal/crumbs. Add the milk and mix well with the fork. Dough will be very soft and sticky. This makes the biscuits very tender.

The dough will be stuck the bowl. Using a rubber spatula move the dough to one side of the bowl. Dust the other side of the bowl with flour. Using the rubber spatula flip the dough onto the floured side of the bowl. Now, dust the other side of the dough with flour. The dough should now be able coated with flour on both sides; and free from the bowl.

Flour hands. Pinch off pieces of the dough and drop them onto a baking sheet lined with foil. Gently press down the dough to make a flat top.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until browned.

Here's the finished biscuit. I like to eat them for breakfast with maple syrup.

If there so happened to be leftover biscuits. I refrigerate them. Then, when I want another biscuit I remove it from the refrigerator, place it in the microwave for 20 seconds, or until just warm. Then, I place the biscuit in the toaster on a light setting to crisp the outside. I like them a little crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. If, you didn't know any better, you would have swore they just came out of the oven. If you don't like them a little crunchy on the outside, you can skip the toaster step.

2009-06-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

I was awarded three great awards by Monica of Consummate Fashionista. Check out her fantastic blog, by clicking here.

Before passing on this award, you must follow the RULES:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.

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I'm awarding all three of these awards to all of my followers; thanks for all your support and wonderful comments. You guys are the best.

Fried Chicken

2009-06-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

I made fried chicken for dinner tonight. I cut up two whole chickens and seasoned them with seasoning salt and pepper. I placed the seasoned chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for two hours. I then coated the chicken in seasoned flour and placed into a 360 degree deep fryer. I fried until golden brown.

I made some more cornbread using a box of Jiffy cornbread mix; following the package directions:

I served the chicken with leftover rice and sweet peas.
Some of the fried chicken was used to make smothered chicken, which I will be having tomorrow. The smothered chicken is made the same way as the smothered pork chops; instead of fried pork chops, fried chicken is used.

Smothered Pork Chops, White Rice, Sweet Peas, and Cornbread

2009-06-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today for dinner I made smothered pork chops, white rice, sweet peas, and cornbread.
For the pork chops:
1. I very lightly seasoned both sides of the pork chops with seasoning salt and pepper. I then coated each pork chop with seasoned flour. The flour was seasoned with seasoning salt and pepper.
2. I fried each pork chop in oil, until golden brown.
3. In a separate large pot, I sauteed a medium onion in a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
4. I transferred the fried pork chops into a large pot containing the satueed onions.
5. Add three cups of water over the pork chops. Season the water with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Bring everything to a boil. Cook on medium heat for twenty minutes.
7. Mix two teaspoons of constarch into 1/4 cup of water. And add to the pot containing the pork chops to thicken the gravy.

For the sweet peas and rice:
Sweet peas:
1. I three pieces of salt pork or bacon and fry until golden brown; leaving a tablespoon of bacon grease.
2. Add two cans of undrained sweet peas. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Bring to a boil. Add two teaspoons of constarch to 1/4 cup of water; mix well.
4.Stir cornstarch mixture into sweet peas.
5. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Rice:
1. I cooked the rice in a rice cooker, according to directions on the bag.

Cornbread:
I made the cornbread according to the cornmeal mix directions. And added two tablespoons of sugar to the cornbread batter.

Lastly, I plated the food.

Walnut Brownies and Cookie Brownies

2009-06-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

I prepared walnut brownies and cookie brownies. Today, I used boxed brownie mix and refrigerated cookie dough, for convenience. Here are the ingredients:
-1 box of Pillsbury chocolate fudge brownie mix
-1/2 c. oil
-1/4 c. water
-2 eggs
-Tollhouse refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
-Walnuts to top brownies

First, I mixed the brownie mix, oil, water, and eggs together.
I lined an 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil, so that I would be able to easily remove the brownies from the pan. I poured a little over half of the brownie batter into the dish and topped with the walnuts.I used an ice cream scoop to place the remaining brownie batter into the muffin pan. Afterwards a placed about a little bit of cookie dough in the center each brownie.
I baked the brownies and cookie/brownies for about 20 minutes or so.
Here's pictures of the finished products:

Banana Nut Muffins

2009-06-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I made banana nut muffins. Here's the ingredients:
-1 c. sugar
-1/2 c. butter
-2 lg. eggs
-2 c. bananas
-2 c. all-purpose flour
-1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1/4 tsp. salt
Cream sugar with butter.
Mix in eggs, bananas, flour, walnuts, baking soda, and salt.
Grease muffin pan. I used an ice cream scoop to place the batter in the muffin pan. Close-up below.
Bake at 300 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Close-up pictured below.
Finished muffins .
I drizzled Hershey's Chocolate Syrup over the muffin.

Nachos

2009-06-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

I made nachos for dinner about a week and a half ago. First, I browned the ground beef (pictured below). Then I added taco seasoning mix and water according to the package directions.

Then, I added the seasoned beef on top of the tortilla chips, along with lettuce, sour cream, salsa, diced tomato and shredded cheese.

Here's a close-up of the finished result:

Pumpkin Pie

2009-06-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on other blog, transferring to new blog. Made this 4 days ago. I got the recipe off of the evaporated milk can. The recipe was pretty simple. Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Pie
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsps. all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsps. pumpkin pie spice (I substituted cinnamon and nutmeg)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1 (16oz.) can pure pumpkin
1 (12oz.) can evaporated milk
1 9-inch frozen pie shell (Instead I used a ready made shortbread crust)
Whipped cream

First, I mixed the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in mixing bowl.

Then, I added an egg, pumpkin, and evaporated milk. I mixed it until smooth.

Next, I poured the mixture in the pie shell.

I baked it at 375 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted one-inch from the edge comes out clean. Once cooled I served with whipped topping.

Carved Watermelon

2009-06-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Originally made this 10 days ago, transferring to new blog. I've always wanted to carve a watermelon into a basket like I saw on cooking shows. So, I thought that I would give it a shot. I did a pretty good job, to say that this was my first time. I cleaned the watermelon off first:

I chopped a section off each side of the watermelon:
After, I used a large spoon and hollowed out some of the watermelon. Then, I used a knife to cut out triangles along the edge and handle.
I chopped the scooped out watermelon and placed it into the hollowed watermelon. Here's the finished result:

Mini Banana Pudding

2009-06-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

This recipe was made about two week ago, (originally posted on my other blog). I made an easy banana pudding recipe taught to me by my mother. For this recipe I use vanilla wafers, instant pudding mix, milk, and bananas.
I prepared the instant pudding mix using the milk, according to the instructions on the pudding mix. Then, I lined the bottom and sides of the ramekins with mini vanilla wafers.
Then, I spooned some of the pudding over the cookies and added a few slices of banana on top.
I spooned some more pudding over the bananas.

Then, added some more cookies on top.
After, refrigerating them until they are well chilled; I garnish them with whipped cream, cookie crumbs, and a chocolate leaf decoration.

Grilled Pork Chops, Yellow Rice, String Beans, and Mac & Cheese

2009-06-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Dinner I cooked some days ago; grilled pork chops, mac & cheese, green beans, and yellow rice. Here's the picture:

For this pork chop dinner:
-I seasoned the pork chop with seasoning salt and pepper on both sides. Then grilled them on the gas grill.

-The yellow rice was made using Zatarain's New Orleans Style Yellow Rice. I altered the preparation directions and placed only 1 3/4 cups of water instead of the recommended 2 1/2 cups water. And omitted the butter. I brought the rice to a boil and covered, then turned the heat to low and set the timer to 25 minutes. After 25 minutes. Turn off heat. Let the rice sit for 5 minutes and fluff.

For the macaroni and cheese:
I used a box of Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese
-I boiled the noodles for 9 minutes.
-Drained the pasta and added the cheese sauce.

For the green beans:
-I opened a can of green beans added butter, salt, and pepper. And microwave for about 4 minutes.

I would've made homemade macaroni & cheese, but was pressed for time.

Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread

2009-06-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread; made this a couple of nights ago. Here are the ingredients:
-Ground Chuck (not pictured)
-Spaghetti Sauce
-Canned Diced Tomatoes
-Canned Tomato Sauce
-Spaghetti Noodles
-Diced Onion
-Sugar (to cut the acidity of the tomatoes)
-Frozen Garlic Bread
-Pepper (not pictured)
-Salt (not pictured)
-Garlic Powder (not pictured)
-Parmesan Cheese (not pictured)

First, I browned the ground beef with the onions, pepper, and salt.

Then, I drained the beef, added the can of spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar to taste, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Next, I boiled the noodles, baked the garlic bread, and plated the food.

Dinner: Macaroni Grill Kit

2009-06-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, for dinner a prepared Romano's Macaroni Grill Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta.
The box contains:
-Linguine Pasta
-Creamy Sauce
-Basil & Cheese Seasoning
-Sun-Dried Tomatoes
-Grated Parmesan & Romano Cheese Blend.
The ingredients I needed to prepare this meal are:
-Macaroni Grill Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta Kit
-Shrimp (I substituted the chicken with shrimp)
-2 Tbsps. Butter
-3/4 cup milk
-a can of Country Italian Loaf Bread

First, I placed the bread in the oven. Started boiling the water for the pasta. And afterwards, I cooked the shrimp in the butter.

Then, I stirred in the milk and seasoning. Brought it to a boil. Added Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Creamy Sauce. Drained cooked pasta and added to mixture. After, plating the pasta, I sprinkled it with the Parmesan and Romano Cheese Blend and served with the Italian Bread. The food was very delicious, would definitely cook again.

Mini Cheesecakes

2009-06-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

I originally posted this on my other blog, but I love cooking so much, I decided to make a blog devoted to food.
I decided to make some mini cheesecakes. I found the recipe at: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/philadelphia-3-step-cheesecake-bars-53007.aspx
This is a recipe for cheesecake bars, so I decided to half the recipe and make mini cheesecakes in a cupcake pan. This is a picture of the finished result:
First, I gathered my ingredients. Pictured below:
Then, I crushed some graham crackers in my mini food processor and then added the melted butter. Pictured is the before and after:
Then, I pressed a spoonful of the crumbs into each of the cupcake liners. Pictured below:
After which, I combined the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the mixing bowl. Once well blended I added an egg and mixed until just blended. Here's a picture of the cheesecake batter:
I then poured the batter into each of the cupcake liners. Here's the picture of the filled liners:
I then placed them into an 325 degree oven for 20 minutes. I allowed them to cool and transferred them into the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours. While I was waiting for what seemed to be an eternity I decided to melt some chocolate and make some decorations. Here's the picture:
After about 4 hours, I removed a mini cheesecake from the refrigerator. I sprayed some canned whipped topping on it, drizzled on some Hershey's Syrup and garnished with a chocolate leaf decoration. Here's the finished product:
It tasted as good as it looked. YUMMY!!!