Soft Ginger Cookies

The ingredients seem odd, it was kind of thrown together based on about 3 other recipes combined, and using what I actually had on hand, and um, experimenting. the result is some pretty taste, soft and aromatic cookies. yum. just in time for fall.
you're welcome.

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 c. unsalted butter (a stick and a half) at room temp
1 c white sugar
1/4 c brown sugar, tightly packed
1 egg
1/4 c honey

in one bowl mix the first set of ingredients(the dry ingredients). set aside. in another large bowl cream together the butter and sugars. add egg, mix well. add honey and mix thoroughly. slowly add dry ingredients to bowl until completely combined.
preheat oven to 350
drop teaspoon full at a time onto cookie sheet a couple inches apart.
bake in preheated over for 9 minutes.
let rest on cookie sheet for 5 min then move to wire rack to cool.

enjoy with a hot cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or even apple cider.

again, you're welcome. ;)

Chicken Alfredo

you ll need some fettechini(sp??) noodles and ....

Chicken

2 Chicken Breast
    (Boneless, Skinless)
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Dried Chopped Onion
1/2  Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbs Olive Oil
 

Sauce

 1 stick Unsalted Butter

1 Tbs Fresh minced Garlic -about 3 med cloves
3 leaves Fresh Basil, chopped
1/4 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp White Pepper
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
2 C Heavy Cream
1 C (packed) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

 

Put all ingredients listed under “chicken” in a Ziploc bag, shake well so it‘s completely coated and marinade about 30 min.

Melt butter in med pot over low heat. Add garlic, basil and red pepper. Let cook 5 min. Add olive oil. Turn heat up to medium. Add salt, white and black pepper, and cream and bring to rolling simmer, until it starts to boil up (about 10 min) stirring occasionally. Once simmering, turn heat to low and add cheese. Continue to cook another 5-8 min until sauce thickens up.

While sauce is cooking, put 1 tbs olive oil in med-lg saucepan on medium heat. Once oil is hot, add contents of chicken Ziploc bag to pan. Cook until golden brown but not overcooked and dry.

Cook fettuccini pasta in salted water until al dente

Serve sauce over noodles topped with chicken...

FRESH Salsa

MMM, this is really yummy salsa. And made without canned tomatoes... so its also a bit more expensive to make. instead of using all fresh tomatoes, substitute one lb tomatoes for a can of Rotels(mmm, green chilies) tastes pretty yummy as well, but then thats cheating, because its not fresh ;)

 

2 Tbs Fresh Jalapeño
(Seeds removed for med, keep for hot)
2 Tbs Fresh Garlic
½ C Fresh Cilantro
½ C Red onion, chopped
2 Lbs. Tomatoes
2 Tbs Lime Zest(about 1 lime)
Juice from 1 Lime1 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
½ Tsp Cumin

Put Jalp, Garlic, Cilantro and Onion  in food processor and pulse until small. Add rest of ingredients and process until desired consistency. Let sit in refrigerator about an hour to let flavors mature.

Ranch Dressing/Dipping Sauce

1 c Mayo
1/2 c sour cream
2 tbs fresh parseley
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
4 tbs whole milk

blend well with hand mixer whish. store in fridge an hour or more to blend flavors.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Im still perfecting this recipe. The flavor is AMAZING, the texture is a bit watery. So this is a "rough draft" of the final project. Any tips on how to thicken it up would be welcome.


(2) 14 oz cans of Artichoke Hearts, drained well and diced
1 lb of FRESH spinach (if you want to wash it, do it the day before and make sure its completly dry first!)
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 package (8 oz) Cream cheese
3/4 c. Mayo
2 Tbs Fresh Garlic, minced
1 Tbs fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp Red pepper flakes
4-5 Cups Parmesan Reggiano, grated
2 Roma Tomatoes, diced

Combine all ingredients besides spinach into a Large(8 qt.) pot over medium heat. Stir contents mixing well. Add spinach a handful or two at a time (as it heats it will shrink up). Continue to cook until all spinach is added and mixed well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add contents of pot  to 9X13 casserole dish and bake in over for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with Bruchetta

Bruschetta:

5 leaves Fresh Basil, chopped
4-5 Cloves Garlic
Handful Italian Parsley, stems removed
½ C. Parmesan Cheese
1 C. Olive Oil(Extra Virgin)
Salt(Kosher/Sea)
French Baguette

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees. Cut Baguette into ½” slices. Combine basil, garlic and parsley in food processor and process until chopped fine. Add Parmesan cheese and leave on. Slowly add olive oil while processing. Take mixture and spread about a teaspoon onto each baguette slice. Sprinkle each slice with salt. Place baguette slices on cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven about 5 min. Then turn to Low Broil until browned (only a few minutes, watch closely!)

Great with Spinach Artichoke Dip!

Hot Honey Wings Sauce

1 stick butter
1/4 c louisiana hot sauce
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 c honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

put all ingr together in pot over med heat. bring to boil and let boil 5-7 min until sauce thickens up whisking constantly. turn heat off and let cool in mason jar. makes about 1 cup sauce.

Peach Rosemary Lamb Chops

Heres another recipe that was thrown together based on what I had available. Ive never made Lamb before, and it turned out quite yummy.

Ingredients:

1 Overripe Peach
1 Tsp Fresh Rosemary, chopped
2 Tsp Fresh Basil, chopped
¼ Tsp Ground Ginger
¼ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
¼ Tsp Oregano
¼ Tsp Paprika
¼ Tsp White Pepper
4 Lamb Chops

Mash Peach well, mix in herb and spices. Put Mixture in a Ziploc bag and add Lamb Chops. Marinate 6 hours (or overnight).
Heat a skillet on med/high heat ad spray nonstick cooking spray to coat. Pour entire contents of Ziploc into skillet and cook about 8 min per side or until desired internal temperature is met and outside is browned.

Basil-Lime & Garlic Ribeye with Basil-Garlic Potato "chunks"

Dinner tonight was amazing. We had some steaks that were getting "aged" and needed to be eaten up asap. They were tender and delicious, and here is a quick, last minute recipe to cook some up. Its raining outside so this recipe is cooked using stove top pan frying, which is not, by any means my fav way to cook a steak... I'm sure grilling would be 100 x's better. You'll have to try it and let me know! ;)

STEAKS:

2 Rib eyes
Texjoy(heres where you can find it) its a steak seasoning, but we use it on EVERYTHING.
1 med sized Lime
Fresh Basil, about 6-7 leaves, chopped
Fresh Lemon Balm(optional) 2 leaves, chopped
1-2 cloves Garlic

Lightly Sprinkle steaks with Texjoy(or any other, not quite as good as the best, steak seasoning). Add Basil, lemon balm and garlic. Press into meat well so seasonings stick and flavors will lock in.
Squeeze 1/2 of lime juice onto steak and let rest for about 15 min.

Set frying pan on med/high. Add steaks, squeeze rest of lime juice into pan and cook until done but tender. (however "done" is to you. If you like your steak brown all the way through, don't come bitching to me when it has no flavor, isn't tender, or doesn't taste good... that's NOT how a steak should be cooked. Grab some ketchup, take your steak and go elsewhere)
Once cooked to desired temp, remove from heat and let rest about 5 min.

POTATOES:

4 or 5 Gold potatoes, chopped into "chunks"
2 tbs. Fresh Garlic, minced
1 Tbs. Fresh Basil, chopped
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. all purpose flour
Oil for frying








Set fryer at 375 degrees.
Wash potatoes, cut into cubes and dry on towel.

In a bowl, mix rest of ingredients.
Add potatoes to bowl and coat well.


Once hot, fry potatoes for about 3 minutes. Shake off excess oil and put back in flour mixture bowl. Toss in flour mixture well while still hot and coated in oil. Put bowl with potatoes in fridge for about 20 min.


Dump entire bowl contents into fryer and cook for about another 5-8 minutes until potatoes golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot!



I added some season salt to these and they were just perfect!

Pineapple Chicken (and Pineapple Terryaki Chicken)

Find the Chopsticks! Asian(ish) food time! I serve this over white rice. When cooking I add about a 1/2 cup more water to the rice than directed so its slightly sticky and not too dry.


For Pineapple Chicken use the following recipe (For teriyaki, see below*)

1 tbs. sesame oil
1/4 c. plus 1 tbs. soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced (about 1 tbs)
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 tbs. white rice vinegar
2 tbs. brown sugar, packed
2 tbs. orange marmalade
1/2 tsp. season salt (Lawry's)
1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 chicken breast, sliced into thin pieces
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple sliced, in 100% juice. DO NOT DRAIN.



Place skillet or Wok on med heat. Add sesame oil and soy sauce to pan. Once hot, add garlic and onions and cook about 5 min until tender, not brown. Add vinegar, b. sugar, marmalade, season salt, crushed red pepper, and ginger. Stir well.
Add green and red peppers and about 1/2 the juice from the can of pineapple. Cover and let cook about 6-8 min until peppers start to get soft.
Add chicken. Add remainder of juice and pineapple slices from can(you can cut them up if you'd like, i just kind of mash them in the pan while cooking).
Cover and continue to cook about 10 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally.
Serve hot over white rice.

*the only difference for the teriyaki chicken is that i usually marinade the chicken strips for at least 24 hrs prior to cooking in glaze, plus i use about 1/2 bottle of glaze. Then when cooking, after adding the chicken, i add the rest of the bottle of glaze to pan.

"Kids" Mac N' Cheeze

I was asked to make mac and cheese for a friends daughters 1st bday party. And I was challenged with what to do! GO figure. I can make some damn good spicy adult mac n cheese, but for kids I was stumped. So I went with the staple... Velveeta. Its fake, creamy and cheesy... perfect for kids! I couldn't leave it at just that, and simply follow the recipe on the package, so here is what I did: (and let me tell you, it was tasty! the adults couldn't keep their hands off it either!!)

1 stick (unsalted) butter
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 c AP flour
1/8 tsp Ground Mustard
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 cups whole milk, divided
1 egg
32 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb box uncooked pasta shells
1 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded

Melt butter over med heat. Add Salt. Once butter is melted, whisk in flour, stir CONSTANTLY and cook about 5 min, until it starts to thicken up. Add g. mustard and pepper. Beat egg with 1 cup milk and add SLOWLY to roux mixture. Continue whisking. (it will turn to this thick paste almost at this point...its ok, the cheese will mix with it nicely!)  Add rest of milk. Mix well, and add cheese, about 1/3rd at a time and mix often. Cook pasta al dente while cheese sauce is cooking. When pasta is done drain well and pour into 13X9 casserole dish. Then add cheese sauce and mix well (you want to get the cheese all crammed up into those shells!). Top with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20min, or until cheese is melted. ENJOY!

mmmmm, cheese sauce.

Zebra Gum(fruit stripe) scented laundry soap... that works AMAZING!!! Yay, doing laundry is (somewhat) enjoyable now

Homemade laundry soap, that smells like zebra gum(if u dont know what that is, then educate yourself, or dont talk to me ever again...cuz thats stuffs amazing)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda
1 cup Oxy Clean
1 1/2 cups purex crystals scent booster, lavander blooms(or something like that)
1 bar Ivory soap, grated
1 bar Fels-Naptha soap, grated (can be found in the laundry isle)

Put all ingredients in a blender(or... food processor) and blend until a powdery substance. Use about 2 tbs per load. This stuff is potent, you really don't need a whole lot. You could probably even get about with 1tbs per load. We wash some heavy duty laundry tho. I've got one kid who wets the bed, and another who is in cloth diapers and potty training, work clothes covered in food and grime, work clothes smelling like asphalt, random stains and messes that all kids are so good at acquiring... takes it ALL out, including the smell. I have never been able to find another product that does as well as this laundry soap. AND. It's cheaper to make it yourself.
I also highly recommend doing a prewash/soak cycle on urine soaked clothes/sheets. This has make a huge improvement in overall smell and cleanliness.<----that goes for all detergents. :)

I MADE IT TO MY GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Homemade Recipe Books

I made it to my goal!!! Im so very excited! About 48 hours to go and Ill be on my way to production. :)

BBQ Baked Beans

Summer is upon us!!! Yippee!!!! Hooray!!!! And that means cookout and fun in the sun! Here is an awesome recipe for you to bring along as a side dish to the next get-together. Enjoy!

You'll need:
1/2 c. dry Kidney beans
1/2 c. dry pinto beans
1/4 c. dry black beans
(OR, you could use 1 1/2 c. Navy beans instead...BUT I didn't have those, so this is what I used today)

12 slices THICK cut bacon, chopped
1 c. onion (I used 1/4 c red onion and 3/4 c sweet/yellow onion), chopped
1 tbs. garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbs. fresh jalapeno, chopped
1/4 c. honey
3/4 c. BBQ sauce(i used my own recipe MY BBQ Sauce but any BBQ sauce should do....)
1/2 c. ketchup
2 tbs. lea & perrins ( you can use generic, but none really have that same distinct flavor)
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cream of tarter
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. liquid smoke
2/3 c. Coca-Cola

Soak beans overnight (or, do the quick soak like I had to do, because this was kind of last minute on my part, follow instructions on bag)
Rinse and sort beans. Put in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil, then cook on med/low heat for about 1 hr until tender. In the meantime, make the sauce.

In a large pan cook bacon on med/high heat until done but soft. DO NOT DRAIN FAT.

Turn heat to med and add onions, garlic, and jalapeno. Saute until onions caramelize and start to turn slightly brown on edges. DO NOT BURN!!!

um, i thin i was shaking the pan while taking a picture... not smart.

Add remaining ingredients, coke last. Turn heat down to med/low and let simmer for about 30 minutes until sauce thickens up, stirring occasionally.

this is what it looks like when you add the coke... fun!

Preheat over to 325 degrees.

Take BAY LEAF out. (this step is important, and usually forgotten. so dont forget.)

Rinse and drain beans well. Put in 9x9 casserole dish. Pour sauce over top.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and stick in preheated oven for about an hr or until beans are done and tender.
Do not overcook, or it will be mush.

Serve hot!

"Taco Tuesday" Homemade Guacamole

OK, so Ill admit, I can eat guacamole by the spoonful, any day. And I like mine best. With that said, Ive come up with a recipe to share since not all of you can come to my house to enjoy MY guac. These measurements are all in "ish-ismns", as in, I don't measure, I eyeball when I make guac. And i taste test the whole way along to make sure the end result is heavenly. So to get you started, here is about the measurements I use...

2 Tbs Fresh chopped Cilantro
1 Tbs Finely minced Garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 Tbs finely minced jalapeno (about 1/2-1/3 a jalapeno)
** if you want it mild, take all the seeds out, if you want it spicy, leave the seeds!
2 Tbs Fresh Red Onion, finely chopped
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Cumin
2 RIPE Avocados
1/4 Cup Fresh Tomato, diced
1/4 Cup Fresh blackened/roasted Corn (optional...however, i think its necessary)
Lime Wedges for garnish

mix all ingredients very well! make as chunky or smooth as you'd like!

my morning view

Lemon Balm and Basil.

quick update...and laundry soap recipe(not for eating...)

Ive been a bad blogger, sorry folks! Ive been really tied up with my recipe book kickstarter project(you should sooo check it out, just sayin).  I haven't been cooking much of anything original, besides the chicken fingers I made last week, which were, in short, a disaster.
Nothing super special in the works for this week either. Making broccoli cheddar soup tonight and some soup bowls, not my own recipe, but if its good, i promise to post links.
As soon as I get some time and not quite to involved in getting this project off the ground I promise to bring you lots of new yummy recipes.

As a side note, I made laundry soap this week and its been working really well. I collectively, um collected, about 10 recipes online that came up in google when i typed in "diy" laundry soap. Here's the general recipe I got:
1 bar soap
1 cup arm and hammer washing soda
1 cup Borax

grate soap. mix all ingredients well. store in covered container. Use 1 tbs per load.

Here's what I did:
2 bars soap ( i used ivory, next time ill find something that smells yummier)
2 cups a&h washing soda
2 cups borax
1 cup Oxy-Clean

...and i plan on adding some of those new scent balls they have now. for some added freshness. so apart from the all but pleasing smell, no deep inhalation and slow exhale with a smile here... the soap works really well. it gets the dirty smells out, gets the dirt out. for those of you with kids that still wet the bed, also works well for that. (i do a HOT water prewash/soak and add an extra tbs of soap to wash)

oh and its significantly cheaper than the ever rising prices of laundry soap. and you could always stick it in a mason jar, dress it up and give it as a last minute housewarming gift. since its Homemade, and people  love that stuff! ;)

Handmade recipe book.

Kickstarter Handmade Recipe Book
 So this is the link so you can go pledge and help me get all these recipes into cute little handmade and handcrafted books. You can still come see me here, and use whatever recipes you like. :) But now youll have somewhere to put them. So please, even if its only $1, it will ALL help. the sad news is that if i dont make the goal, i dont get anything (see, that made you sad too, didnt it). So go support me and my crazy creative designs!!!! Thanks!

Pizza for dinner. not my recipe, but so good i have to share!

the house smelled amazing while i was making the dough yesterday. in fact,i think ill start making the dough everyday, just for the smell. mmmmm. here is the link for the recipe i use (it also has a giveaway for a kitchenaid stand mixer, which is how i cam accross the site, and if you dot care to ente for yourself, you should totally enter one for me!)
http://eclecticrecipes.com/homemade-pizza-crust-3-ways-and-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer-giveaway
(btw i used the butter and herb crust recipe) and since i dont have a fancy stand mixer, i used my ood processor, which was a mess... DONT use your food processor. i suggest doing it by hand the good old fashion way if you dont have the fancy tools.
oh and for the sauce, i used my own personal recipe. because its so yummy i could eat it out of the jar. http://cookingcraftingmama.blogspot.com/2012/04/amazing-spaghetti-or-marinara-or-pizza.html

Butter Herb, Basil Cheese Stuffed and Rosemary Garlic Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 - 4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 package, or 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

For the Butter Herb Crust:
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs (basil, oregano and rosemary), or 1 tablespoon fresh

For the Basil Stuffed Cheese Crust:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil, or 1 tablespoon fresh
about 6 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, torn in half lengthwise

For the Rosemary Garlic Crust:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 1 tablespoon fresh

Directions:

Combine warm water, yeast, honey, salt, onion and garlic powder in your stand mixer. Mix until yeast dissolves. Add herbs (Italian blend, basil or rosemary) and butter or olive oil. Turn mixer to low and add flour until dough starts to pull away from bowl. Knead for about 10 minutes. Dough should be sticky and smooth. Grease a large metal bowl with olive oil. Form dough into a ball and transfer to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise about 2 hours in a warm place, or until dough doubles in size. Punch down, from into a ball again and let rise again until it doubles in size.
Preheat oven to it's highest temperature. For thin crust, divide dough in half and roll out pizza crust to the size of pizza pan or stone. For a thicker, traditional crust use all the dough and stretch out with hands and roll until it's the size of a large pizza pan.
If you are stuffing the crust, place the string along the edges of the crust and roll the crust over the cheese, and seal the dough.
Pre-bake crust in oven set at it's highest baking temperature (mine is 550°) until crust is lightly golden. Remove crust from oven.
Spoon over pizza sauce (I use either a quality jarred pizza sauce or homemade). Layer cheese and your favorite toppings.
Bake pizza again at your oven's highest temperature until cheese is lightly browned.
Brush pizza crust with olive oil or butter after baking if desired.


*i also tried using the broiler to bake the cheese on the second pizza... also NOT a good idea. although it did in fact brown the cheese, it blackened the crust. hmm, fail. so stick to the instructions. sometimes it just works out better for you that way(and ill prob never admit that again)
really great flavor and im telling you, the smell is heavenly.

Crispy Fries (Not Mcdonalds... but it'll do in a fix!)

So I set out to make some super scrumdeliuptious McDonald's wannabee fries, while it didn't turn out that way, they DID turn out quite tasty. Hubby approved.

You re gonna need:

6-8 med sized russet potatoes
  *here's why, were cutting these long ways, i tried all the different sizes and cut it different ways the med sized ones really were the best ones to use. (small= mashed pot, med = this recipe, lg= baked potatoes) moving on...

1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Corn Syrup
3 Cups HOT water
1/4 Cup white vinegar
1 tbs Salt (plus extra for salting fries, I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt though)

Add Sugar and Corn Syrup in a Big 'Ol Pot (mines 8 qts, and it worked well). Add 3 Cups HOT water and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Wash potatoes. Working with one at a time (so they don't turn brown) peel and cut in half length wise. Cut into about 1/4"x1/4" strips. Mine were far from perfect to say the least. But you do want them thin to cook nice and crispy. Put slices of potato into pot of sugar water. Repeat with rest of potatoes. Let soak about 20 min.

Preheat Fryer to 375 degrees

Fill the pot up to about 4" below lip with water, DO NOT drain sugar water.  Add vinegar and salt. Turn up to high to boil. Once boiling, cook for about 10-12 min. You want them soft, but not falling apart.

Drain potatoes on paper towel lined baking sheet for about 5 minutes.

Drop about 2 handfuls at a time of potatoes into fryer (that should be hot by now, if not, then wait until it gets to 375). Be careful, once those potatoes hit the fryer it'll bubble a lot. Fry for 2.5 min. Drain on paper towel lined baking sheet. Continue to do this until all fries are "blanched". Fries will be smooshy. Let them to cool to room temp, about 20 min.

Put all fries into a gallon size Ziploc bag and toss in the freezer for a few hours (or overnight).

When ready to use, preheat the fryer to 375. Drop fries in a handful or 2 at a time. Fry for about 3-5 min until they turn golden. Drain on paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt (or Lawry's). Serve immediately...ie HOT!

(by the way, fries will stay good for about 2 months in the freezer, but trust me, they wont last that long.)

Onion Rings that are the GREATEST

let me start this off by saying the main course was BBQ beef brisket sandwiches for dinner... which were good and all. But oh, the onion rings.... Good Lord:

Grab 2 med sized bowls (not cereal bowls which is what i started out with, not enough mess room)
1 or 2 sweet yellow onions
about 1 cup  Self Rising Flour
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1 cup Miller Lite  (or other beer left in your fridge form super bowl that you cant drink, and so far haven't been able to pass off to anyone else either... that says something miller, just sayin)
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Salt
 pinch Garlic Powder
Deep fryer with veg oil/shortening/etc...

In one bowl put about 1/3 cup self rising flour. add 1/2 cup buttermilk. mix well with a fork and let sit about 5 min (or while your cutting up your onion into cut little delectable rings)

Cut up onions and punch out rings. Toss in buttermilk mixture, coat the onions well. Let sit about 20 min or so. Let fryer heat up during this time to 375 degrees.

In another bowl add rest of flour (about 2/3 cup) 1 cup miller lite, paprika, s & p and garlic powder. Mix well, let it "fizzle", set aside for about 5 min. It shouldn't be too soupy, almost "pasty like" looking. if not, add a bit more flour.
(((I didn't measure this stuff out, i just eyeballed it when I made it. I promise next time I will and Ill come back and diligently fix all my "ish-es".)))

Once oil is hot, take onion ring out of buttermilk batter and coat well in the beer batter. Drop carefully into the fryer (NOTE* if you have a basket, take it out, the batter sticks to the basket, the onion rings will get stuck on the bottom) Only do about 5 at a time, so they aren't touching when in the fryer. Cook about 2-3 min, turning once, until a golden brown. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and serve HOT!

These are the ugly ones left over after dinner, they all got eaten up quickly!

By the way I also made fresh fries, and I DID copy down to measurements for those... so check out that blog too. coming soon ;)

Chicken and Cheese Raviolis with Marinara Sauce and Fresh Herb Cheese

I didn't get a lot of pictures of these through out the process, because I decided halfway through that it actually looked good, and edible. This was a complete practise run. All my measurements are in "ish" format. I may even leave out an ingredient or two because I was winging it. However, I had to share because they were pretty darn yummy.
I used my sauce recipe:
 http://cookingcraftingmama.blogspot.com/2012/04/amazing-spaghetti-or-marinara-or-pizza.html

I made my own noodles..I started out with about 5(remember this is a big ISH here...) cups of flour. Then i put about 1/2 tsp salt in there. Then I cracked 6 eggs and about 1 tbs olive oil. I mixed the mush mess with my hands until i could do no more... then I begged my husband to add about a tbs more oil and about 3 tbs water.(my hands were messy and i couldn't pull it free from the dough) i took out the glob and started kneading in on a floured surface until it resembled more dough-like. still really tough. I kept kneading until smooth. Then I put a couple tbs of olive oil in a bowl and slapped the dough ball in there, covered it with a tea towel and left in alone for a good 45 min. In the meantime, I started my sauce ^. I also made the marinade for the chicken breast.

I put 2 chicken breast in a zip lock bag with a few tbs of olive oil(i really like this stuff, can you tell?!?) about 2 tbs of fresh chopped basil. dash of red pepper flakes, some oregano, Rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper... hmmm, i think that was it. toss it back in the fridge for another hour or so. Then I made the amazing cheese inside stuffing

I took about a cup of Parmesan cheese and about 2 cups of mozzarella cheese(OK maybe double that amount... ish-ing again) added about 3 tbs fresh chopped basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano and threw in some red pepper flakes(just a pinch, not too many) I put all of this into the food processor and let it go until it all resembled a Parmesan like crumble. after a while the moisture form the mozz makes it all kind of clump together... its OK. were squishing it into raviolis, remember? that is, if it makes it that far, because personally, between me and the baby taking a pinch here and there... well there was just enough left to make dinner by the time it came to stuffing.

Take the chicken out of the fridge and cook it until done in a pan on the stove. Chop up into small pieces.

Roll the dough out thin, about 1/4" and cut into strips around 3-4" wide and 12-15" long. start putting the cheese and chicken in spoonful amounts on one of the strips of dough. when done cover all of it with another strip of dough and push down all around the edges where the stuffing is to keep it all in. then use a sharp knife and cut each into squares. pick each one up, pinch tighter around the edges and cut off excess. set on a plate and let dry for about an hr before cooking.

In a boiling salted pot of water cook the raviolis, don't over crowd the pot. pay close attention to noodles, they will cook in about 5 minutes. Drain well.






















Serve with marinara over the top and any remaining cheese, or simply Parmesan. Deliciouso!





And here is my tub of lard carring a tub of Lard, shes so helpful!