Kitchen Adventures 3.5

Baking is one of my main stress relievers. After the crazy week at work, I needed to destress before the weekend and all the fun it holds. Plus, I needed to bake for the youth group cookout Sunday evening, so I killed two birds with one stone.
I tried two new recipes, but they are versions of other recipes I have used or have eaten before. The first came from mixingbowl.com, which has provided some good ones for me. The second one came from the handy Triple T youth group cookbook and it's a recipe my mom has made many times, so I knew it would be good. They both smelled delicious, so hopefully everyone will enjoy them tomorrow evening!

Brown Sugar Banana Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 c. mashed ripe bananas, about 2 large
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pecans in single layer in shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until nuts are toasted and fragrant. Beat butter at medium speed with mixer until creamy. Gradually add brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Stir together mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended after each addition. Don't overbeat. Spoon batter into lightly greased 12 cup muffin pan, filling 2/3 full. Sprinkle with roasted pecans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan to wire racks and cool 10 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.
*If you don't have buttermilk, stir 3/4 t. lemon juice or vinegar into 1/4 c. milk.



Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:
1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. unsifted flour
2/3 c. cocoa
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. peanut butter chips

Directions:
Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir in peanut butter chips. Chill until firm enough to handle. Shape small amounts of dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes six dozen.

Here are a couple pics:

Kitchen Adventures 3.4

Every baker and cook has off days. Well, Tuesday was mine. After working 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to cover a shift, I was looking forward to making dinner Tuesday. I got home from Tone It Up, showered, and was ready to roll. However, if was just not my night. The cooking process was not the problem, but more along the ingredient amounts. I used too much onion and not enough blueberries. I also had more pork than I needed, but that's just what I got on sale. It's edible at least, but not the best I've ever made. I'll have to give it a try again sometime to see if I can remedy the mistakes.

Pan Fried Pork with Blueberries

Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless pork loin, cut crosswise into eighths
Salt and pepper
1/4 c. flour
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped (make sure it's small and not medium)
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 c. blueberries
2 T. butter

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, season the pork with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss to coat. In a large skillet, heat the evoo over medium heat. Shaking off any excess flour, add the pork to the skillet and cook, turning once, until browned, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and blueberries; bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and return the pork and any juices to the skillet. Divide the pork among 4 plates and spoon the sauce on top.

Here are a few pics:

Kitchen Adventures 3.3

For the second time this week, we are having a party at work. This time, though, it is to bid farewell to students that are leaving us. That's the thing about university student jobs, they all leave eventually for some reason or another. One of our longtime student workers is leaving us to gain experience in a different library setting, so to celebrate we are gathering for food tomorrow. She requested chocolate, so I did my best to satisfy the request. I think this recipe will do the trick! This recipe came from the recipes included when you buy a three-pack of Crisco. I'm sure I have had them before, but I was reminded once again how wonderful they truly are!

Chewy Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 c. Crisco
1 1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: Combine Crisco, brown sugar, water, and vanilla in mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed until well combined. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, soda, and salt in separate bowl. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes or just until set; do not overbake. Cool 1 -2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Kitchen Adventures 3.2

It seems I don't get to go home very often, but when I start going it seems like I do several weeks in a row. This was the case recently, though I went to different "homes" each time. This past weekend I made the trek up to Kansas City with my friend Shaye for our friend Stephanie's wedding. On the way, we stopped and saw my Aunt Lori at the travel center, which was a nice break from the road, and it was great to see her. Then we continued up to my cousins Rob and Eileen's house in Overland Park. I don't get to see them often, but their house is always open to me whenever I make my way up to KC, which is wonderful. It also gives me a little time to chat with them since I don't see them often.
Our fun activities included the rehearsal dinner and bowling Friday night, visiting the Nelson-Atkins art museum and seeing our friend Andy Dale before the wedding, and of course the wedding and the reception. I am so happy for my friends! I can honestly say I have rarely seen two people more perfect for each other than Stephanie and Brian. Best of luck you guys!
To top off the lovely trip, we stopped in El Dorado on the way home, hoping to see my grandparents and some friends. However, we got there too early to see Nana and Pop, so after leaving Pop's birthday picture at their house we headed over to Spangle's and met Tom and Cory for lunch. I had not seen Tom since Christmas and had not seen Cory since his accident a couple weeks ago, so it was great catching up with them. Here are some pics from the trip.


Famous shuttlecock at Nelson-Atkins


Saying the vows


First dance. Good job Brian!


Me and Shaye after the reception


Cory, Tom, and I catching up at Spangle's

When we got home, I did not have time to go to the store until Monday, when Shaye and I stopped after stamp club. Fortunately, I had most everything I needed already to make my dinner for the week. I always enjoy trying recipes that friends and family love. What better judge can there be than someone you trust? I got this one from Marcus back when we dated. It's pretty easy and very delicious, which of course is my favorite combination! :)

Poppyseed chicken

Ingredients:
2 c. diced cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 stick butter, melted
1 c. sour cream
1 tube Ritz crackers
2 tbsp. poppyseds

Directions:
Mix diced chicken with undiluted soups. Add sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Roll crackers with rolling pin in plastic bag until finely crushed. Add poppyseed to melted butter, then add crackers to butter mixture. Put chicken and soup mixture in buttered casserole dish and top with cracker/butter mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Kitchen Adventures 3.1

Well I'm just a little late getting this up. but honestly I have not done much baking or cooking recently, or at least anything new. Being out of town two weekends in a row, officially starting a new job, and preparing for the new school year all take up precious baking and cooking time. But I'm back to baking now, so all is well. :)
Brief recap on recent activities: I got to go home two weekends ago for my sister's first wedding shower. This was the family one, so of course I wanted to be there. I had a great time seeing everyone, some of whom I had not seen in almost two years since I missed BOTH family Christmases last year. Plus, I got some quality immediate family time as well. I even talked Dad into a sunset motorcycle ride, which was lovely.
After coming back, I kept plugging away at work, handling photo orders, staffing issues, and everything that comes with being a manager. Thank goodness our Bible study is on servant leadership! I had no idea it would be so applicable when we started, but it has been amazing to learn how to lead like Jesus and actually get to apply it
A necessary part of work is celebrating birthdays. Each month we have a birthday party for all the birthday-ees for the month. This month, we celebrated my boss and one of our GAs. Our other boss got an amazing cupcake cake, Spongebob Squarepants themed, which was awesome. I contributed jumbo chocolate chip cookies, which were also good. I must say, they were a little different than I anticipated, but I think that's because I have started baking with butter instead of margarine. Growing up, we always used margarine, but for some reason I decided to start using butter, and it just makes things bake differently. These were very dense cookies, not terribly soft, but still delicious.
This recipe came from the Wheat State Manor cookbook, and the recipe was contributed my a wonderful lady from my church, Edna Bayes.

Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. butter (I did not use this much, that's a lot!)
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 12 ox. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder in mixing bowl. Set aside. Combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl clean, until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Set oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10 to 14 minutes until lightly golden brown, but do not overbake. Let stand 1 or 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.
Note: Makes about 30 cookies. For 2 1/2 inch cookies, drop by rounded tablespoonfuls. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 4 dozen cookies
Second note: I did not have enough chocolate chips, so I did half chocolate and half butterscotch chips. It was a nice change.