Amy

Strawberry Cake

July 14, 2010 by Amy 7 Comments

I was very surprised to see that most of you were curious about the strawberry cake recipe. It’s probably the easiest thing to make out of the menu, but also a refreshing crowd pleaser!

I got this idea from a local bakery. In fact, I wanted to buy this cake since my party menu was ambitious enough. I had a Groupon type of gift card to redeem there for anything in the bakery case, and when I got there, sure enough, there were already made strawberry cakes in the case. However, my dreams of having one less thing to worry about came to a halt when the employee, who probably can’t legally drive a car yet, told me that the refrigerator case isn’t ::technically:: their bakery case, so I’d have to buy the cake for $31. I was totally aggravated that there were buttercream cakes in what she considered the “bakery case”, but the whipped topping strawberry cake that was in a different case, because it needed to be at a colder temperature, was not the “bakery case”. Seriously folks, what the heck?!

So, this cake is NOT entirely from scratch folks. This recipe involves boxed cake mix. I would have driven myself batty making a cake from scratch with everything else I was working on. Not one guest seemed to mind, and trust me, you won’t either. The whipped topping makes this cake!

Strawberry Cake
inspired by a local bakery that has a ridiculous definition for a “bakery case”

Ingredients:

Duncan Hines french vanilla cake mix

1 1/3 Cups Water

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

3 Large Eggs

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 quart fresh strawberries

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Bake cake in two 8″ or 9″ pans according to instructions. Allow layers to completely cool.

Take 10 of the strawberries and puree them in a blender or food processor. Hull and slice the rest of the strawberries into fairly thin slices.

Put heavy whipping cream in a mixer and just mix until it starts to thicken and barely form peaks. Add in confectioners sugar and mix until the whipped cream makes stiff peaks. Be careful not to overmix.

Fold in 3 tbsp. of the strawberry puree and vanilla extract and allow to set in the fridge for a few minutes, while you carve the cake layers to be flat.

Take the whipped cream out and carefully fold in sliced strawberries.

Ice cake with the whipped cream/strawberry mixture. Allow to set in the fridge and serve immediately.

Note: This cake does really well if you individually freeze leftover slices and allow to defrost at room temperature until ready to eat. That is, IF you have leftovers!

A Sandwich

July 12, 2010 by Amy 10 Comments

Ok, you saw the post of this title and thought I would be blogging about ham and cheese between two deliciously toasted slices of bread, did you not? I am a food blogger, after all. 🙂

While this sandwich does not involve pork or dairy, this sandwich is (visually) delicious. This sandwich is part of my summer goal. I’ve been longing for the moment to make this sandwich ever since I sliced into the fabric, turning those 5 fabrics into (almost) perfect 11″x11″ squares.

I was scared that it would turn into a disaster like this, but besides a few hiccups, I made a sandwich.

I nervously taped down my backing, which is quilter’s cotton (in natural). I stared at it for a bit and added the batting on top. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I draped the top over the batting and stared at it for a while. I just couldn’t believe it…my first quilt sandwich.

I got on my hands and knees, and meticulously pinned the sandwich together. 38 pins…I was nervous.

I carefully trimmed the edges of the sandwich to rid of excess batting and quilt backing. I never cut so slow in my life. Well, maybe in kindergarten when I wanted to put Cookie Monster on the fridge… 😉

I slowly pinned bias tape to the edge of the fabric and then enjoyed the gentle humming of the machine, while kids were playing outside by my window. I thought, wow, that was me about 15-20 years ago (wow, that was forever ago!). I reminisced about the times that we would play outside with the neighbors until the mosquitoes attacked…childhood was great. I may have drifted off a little too much, because you can see a few waves in my sewing (should be straight lines on that bias tape). I need to remember to watch every stitch on the machine and not daydream.

After all was done, I draped a nearly completed quilt over my chair. This sandwich is now sealed together, and isn’t going anywhere.

All that is left now, is to replace the pins with some tied yarn where the fabrics meet in each corner. You might be thinking that this isnt’ very traditional, but this is a very basic, beginner’s quilt, folks. Normally, people quilt using curves/squigglies like this or straight lines like this. However, I’m following the book’s pattern/instructions and using yarn.

I can’t wait to enjoy this quilt! My very first one…

Iced Coffee at Home (and a review)

July 12, 2010 by Amy 10 Comments

I am a coffee shop junkie. Some mornings when I woke up feeling crabby, nothing would change the day’s outlook more than a “mochasippi” from a local coffee joint. Apparently, I had many crabby mornings, because a month later, the barista would recognize my voice (and order) at the drive-thru window and tell me, “Morning, Miss Amy!”.

Well, it got to the point where I would stare at my bank statements, and realize, I’m spending far too much moolah on something so simple as coffee. I need to change this. One Particular Kitchen wrote about some fabulous iced coffee she makes, but I was skeptical about this. How could it compare to my precious mochasippi?

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I volunteered to be part of a test run group for The Nest. If chosen, I would get an appliance to test out and review (compliments of The Nest). Imagine my surprise when I got an email about testing out a coffee machine! I’ve never owned a coffee machine before (although with the amount of coffee I consume, I knew it would be a money saver!)

Coffee Machine

When I received the coffee machine, which is a Hamilton Stay or Go, I noticed that you can brew (double strength) iced coffee base with this machine. No excuses y’all. I knew that I had to try out this iced coffee, and well folks, I’m hooked!

This coffee machine comes with two travel mugs and a pot (you can brew 1 mug, 2 mugs or a pot). Since I’m the only coffee drinker in the house, the mug brewing feature became a MUST! Also, this machine is fool-proof. For someone who has never used a coffee machine in her life, this thing was a cinch to figure out. Also, if you and your husband have different tastes in coffee, there is a special double basket that will brew two different coffees into the two separate travel mugs provided. Neato, eh?

I got sent this coffee to sample from Starbucks as well. It was delicious as a base for the iced coffee.

Coffee

I have been playing around with the recipe a little bit, and this is my favorite so far. There will be much more experimentation in the future though. Sometimes when I’m feeling ultra coffee shop, I add a squirt of whipped cream and syrup on top! Yummy!

1/2 double strength coffee base
1/2 2% milk
light chocolate syrup, to taste

Very simple. Very yummy and my wallet couldn’t be happier!

Note: This coffee machine and coffee was sent to me for review by thenest.com at no cost to me. My review, however, is 100% my thoughts, as I was allowed to give good/bad reviews on the machine.

Spicy BBQ Shrimp Skewers

July 9, 2010 by Amy 2 Comments

For our party, we knew we wanted to do something summery and fun. Skewers/kabobs were our main meats and ended up a hit! We had shrimp skewers, because we knew that shrimp prices would be shooting up any day now, because of the oil “spill”, and wanted to make sure we enjoyed Gulf shrimp at least one more time. This shrimp skewer was delicious and very easy to put together.

Spicy BBQ Shrimp Skewers
Source: Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves, plus more, for garnish

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon light brown sugar or honey

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 lime, juiced

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled

Directions:

If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for about an hour before starting on the recipe.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the shrimp and the relish mix well to combine. Add the shrimp to the seasoning paste, and toss to thoroughly coat with the seasoning mixture. Let the shrimp sit in the seasoning mixture while you prepare the grill.

Prepare a grill and thread the shrimp onto 4 or 6 skewers, depending on their size. Place shrimp skewers on the grill and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp turn pink and are lightly charred on both sides. Do not overcook!

A few firsts….

July 9, 2010 by Amy 2 Comments

This past week, a good bit of “firsts” happened. “Firsts” are wonderful because they will never happen again and you will always look back on the first time such and such happened. They are bookmarks in your life, and while they are small bookmarks, your brain has them engraved in there for you to remember at random times.

I can recall my first hospital visit that happened in kindergarten after I sprayed nasal spray in my eye. I even remember my first food craft project, which involved me trying to convince the teacher that the animal crackers didn’t want to be glued to an ark, but rather, they would prefer to be in my tummy (early signs of a foodie or a fatty?). I can even recall my first needlecraft, which was a teddy bear cross-stitch that read “Welcome”. My parents still have this hanging by their door.

A couple of big firsts were involving the sewing machine. The pajama pants (#38) . I was supposed to finish these in June, but for some reason, June seemed like it was shorter than the average month. Why the heck is it July already anyway? I’m not ready for the Christmas in July ads.

Ok, back to the pajama pants. The pattern said “easy”, but this pattern was NOT easy. First of all, all they show are little pictures in steps. They don’t tell you how to get your fabric to look like that picture. I had to constantly reposition fabric after every step and repin. Annoying. Took me about 5 hours to make these. However, now that I know, I can probably pump out a pair in about two hours. I disregarded putting ribbon on them in the waist area, because I was fairly sure the puppy would see that as a toy and have something else to try to chew on.

Also, I finished the quilt top over the past weekend. Summer goal is *almost* done. All I have to do is assemble it together now.

We’re going to say I took a picture of the top upside down on purpose, ok? I’ll admit, my squares do not perfectly line up in some places (check out right of row 2 to right of row 3), but it’s ok. First quilt. The sole purpose is to keep my legs warm when hubs insists on keeping the fan on high in a room. My legs won’t care if squares don’t line up.

Last weekend was another “first”, which in no way was craft related. Remember my anniversary gift to the hubs? Well, he picked the paper that said “mow the lawn”. I’ve never mowed the lawn in my life, but I did it early last Saturday, which I’m sure was hilarious to my husband. (#33) There are no pictures of this “first”, because it would probably break computer screens and cause riots. A big girl fighting 100% humidity and temperatures in the 90s? Who wants to see that?

Have you had any “firsts” lately?

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Bruschetta

July 7, 2010 by Amy 5 Comments

pictured with boudin balls

This appetizer that we offered at the party was a lighter alternative to the fried boudin balls and ultra gooey cheese fondue. I originally wanted to do a fresh tomato bruschetta with home-grown tomatoes, but due to some weather not being favorable (too much rain at one time), my tomatoes ended up with blossom end rot. I was a little bummed, but I took the unfavorable weather as a sign to just stay true to this recipe, which called for canned tomatoes. I’ll admit, I was skeptical about it tasting, well, canned, but in the end, it was delicious and no one could tell they were canned tomatoes. 🙂 I guess I can blame the fresh garlic and the basil that came straight from my backyard!

This recipe is so simple to put together too. You could get away with making the filling ahead of time, and just add to the bread the day-of after it’s slightly toasted.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Bruschetta
Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

1 (32-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained

1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed and spun dry

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic, peeled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large French baquettes, sliced 1-inch thick (about 36 slices)

1 1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4-inch thick

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, add drained tomatoes, 1 cup basil leaves, olive oil and 2 cloves garlic. Pulse until smooth, but somewhat chunky. Season with salt and pepper.

On a baking sheet, line up baguette slices. Toast in oven for about 3 minutes or until light golden brown. Working quickly, rub the remaining garlic on the toasted side of each slice and then lay a piece of mozzarella cheese on top. Place bread back in oven and melt cheese slightly, about 45 seconds. Remove from oven and spread one tablespoon of the tomato mixture on each piece.

Place bruschetta on decorative platter and garnish with basil leaves.

4th of July Cupcakes

July 4, 2010 by Amy 14 Comments

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope y’all have a great holiday with family and friends!

Today, hubs and I are headed over to the in-laws for a seafood feast. I cannot wait! We volunteered to bring dessert, and I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to make some cute cupcakes!

I’ve been wanting to make a white cupcake from scratch for a while now, and when it came to finding the perfect recipe, a fellow blogger (The Way the Cookie Crumbles) wrote an amazing post comparing white cake recipes to find the best one! In the end, Cook’s Illustrated’s version was one of the front runners (no surprise there).

I decided to go all festive and make red, white and blue batter. Why not?

I had some fun assembling these cupcakes too. I tried layering (top cupcake) and marbling lightly with a toothpick (bottom cupcake). Both are equally fun and cute!

I’ll admit, this recipe is very yummy! It wasn’t overwhelming, like wedding cake, and was surprisingly very moist as well. I topped the cupcakes with frosting that was another recommendation from The Way the Cookie Crumbles. It kicks Wilton frosting’s booty, for sure! Just really yummy and simple to make. I wouldn’t recommend this frosting for making decorations since it is very soft, but for spreading over a cake, heck yes! This is my new favorite. 🙂

Classic White Cupcakes
Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles (originally from Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients:

2¼ cups cake flour (9 ounces)

1 cup whole milk, at room temperature

6 large egg whites (¾ cup), at room temperature

2 teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¾ cups granulated sugar (12¼ ounces)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool

Directions:

Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put cupcake liners in cupcake pan/pans.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add all but ½ cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1½ minutes. Add remaining ½ cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.

Scoop batter into cupcake liners until 2/3 full. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 14-18 minutes.

Let cupcakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely, about 1½ hours.

Easy Vanilla Buttercream
Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles (originally from Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients:

20 tablespoons (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2½ cups Confectioners’ sugar (10 ounces)

1/8 tablespoons table salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.

Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl.

Add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

A personal challenge

July 1, 2010 by Amy 2 Comments

I remember when I was 10 years old, and I was offered a (small) job at the daycare next door to bring garbage cans to a fenced area on weekends after trash was collected. It was an easy job, and I thought I was high-rolling with my $10/month salary. At the time, my biggest hobby was making friendship bracelets, so I’d always buy DMC floss in various colors whenever my parents brought me to Wal-Mart. Life was simple and $10/month was all that I needed/wanted.

When I turned 14, I started taking on baby-sitting jobs. I earned about $30-$40/night just watching kids make a mess of a house with their toys. Easy stuff…at the time, I even brought my newest hobby, cross-stitching to the homes and worked on that. After the kids went to bed, I’d just throw all of the toys in their containers and I was done. $30-$40 a night? I WAS RICH!

I won’t even tell you how rich I felt in high school, when I made $5.15/hour as a cashier. That was awesome AWESOME money.

Now that I’m in the real world, I’ve come to realize that I hardly ever SEE my money like I used to. Once the paycheck comes, an allotment goes to our joint account for bills/groceries, a good chunk of the rest basically pays off the dental work that I had done a year ago (remember to floss daily, folks) and the rest, well?

The Internet. Ahh, Internet. You make things so easy. No need to find a parking spot or lug bags around…no. I can just put items in a virtual cart, make an account that saves all of my information, and simply, 3 clicks later, my items are en route to my house. So convenient…so crazy. It’s so easy to spend $100 here and there on random things, and then you look at your bank account balance and feel like everything went way overboard.

So, last month, I decided to not make any Internet purchases (with the exception of my dog’s flea meds). The first few days were hard, and over the past 30 days, I missed so many great sales. I had to remind myself that with a sale, you are still spending money, and do you really NEED that?

No. I didn’t. All I needed that month were flea meds for my dog. That was my need.

There was a small crisis that took a good bit of thinking to get through. In the middle of the month, my iPhone case cracked (plastic). I wanted to buy mine off Amazon so badly, because we all know iPhone cases online are dirt cheap. I remembered my promise to myself, and ended up scouring Target and Best Buy for a deal. While not spectacular, I found an opened box iPhone case for $16. I know the Otterbox’s were $10 on Amazon, but I would have had to spend $25 to get free shipping. In my head, I saved $9, at the very least, since it’s nearly impossible to hit exactly $25 on Amazon.

July 1st is today, and I don’t feel tempted to attack a clothing store or accessories. Yesterday, I wanted to buy a cookbook that was 50% off, but last night, I realized my library carries it. I don’t need that $20 cookbook…not at all.

So, on my first day of the Internet buying ban being over, my debit card is nestled in my wallet for the day.

Since it’s a new month, I’m going to tackle a new venture that is a slow money drainer: coffee shops. It’s so convenient to make that my breakfast, but it’s absurdly pricey. So, this month, I’m giving up coffee shops. This should be fun….wish me luck with this one!

Have you found yourself spending too much on the Internet? How do you restrain yourself?

Cheese Fondue

June 30, 2010 by Amy 5 Comments

I love cheese. There, I said it. When recipes say “sprinkle” cheese, I COVER it in cheese. Cheese is just awesome. One of my favorite foods that involve cheese is fondue! Whenever I go out for fondue, which is rare, I go crazy on the cheese fondue. It’s so fluffy, stringy and warm..oh, nom nom nom! Sadly, hubs hates fondue. He can’t stand it. So, I do not own a fondue set. It would be really useless to own a set knowing that I’m only going to eat off of it.

For the party, I wanted to bring in a dangerously cheesy dish, and what is more cheesy than fondue? I searched the Internet like crazy, and found a recipe that sounded simple and had great reviews. I wanted something that tasted like it came straight from a restaurant, so I wanted it to be authentic and have a swiss cheese base.

I also knew fondue involved wine, and I will admit, I am the furthest away from being knowledgeable about wine. I need things spelled out for me in a recipe. “Dry White Wine” as an ingredient in a recipe didn’t help me, so I asked a few friends for help. It was a toss-up between using a sauvignon blanc and an unoaked chardonnay. My cheap self couldn’t find an unoaked chardonnay for less than $10 (at least the label didn’t say unoaked), so I settled for some Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc ($6 a bottle and it had seemingly good reviews for a frugal wine on the Internet). In the end, I couldn’t even taste the wine. I just don’t have a sensitive palate, I guess..all I tasted was cheese, cheese, cheese! 🙂 This dish was a HIT!

Just to note, I ended up making this in a non-stick pot on low heat until it came together, then I threw it in a small crock-pot on low, since we don’t own a fondue set. It worked well at keeping the cheese warm. 🙂

Cheese Fondue
Source: adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients:

1 cup dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)

1/2 pound shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 pound shredded Gruyere cheese

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

french bread, cut into cubes

broccoli florets

baby carrots

apple slices

Directions:

Simmer wine in a small pot. Add Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese, 1/4 pound at a time. Stir after each addition of cheese until melted. Note: It might not look like it’s coming together at this point. Just keep stirring and add the flour. That’s when my fondue came together.

Stir in flour. When all the cheese has melted, stir in salt. Place in a small crockpot on low heat to serve. Serve with bread cubes, broccoli, carrots and apples.

Stretching our Stomachs..

June 29, 2010 by Amy 8 Comments

I know why I am the weight that I am. It’s simple. I consumed more than I should. There are/were a myriad of reasons why this would happen. If Mom brought home snacks, it was like survival of the fittest to get that last pack of the Fruit Roll-Ups. We drank soda Kool-Aid like it was water, and when it came to dinner time, Mom cooked so well, that I always wanted seconds or gulp, even thirds!

When I was getting to be a little more independent, I would eat at fast food joints, because my job just didn’t give me the time to just sit down and enjoy a meal. I would scarf it down, get overly full and just think nothing of it. College was much worse. All you can eat cafeteria everyday with all you can eat ice cream and all you can drink soda. At least I walked 2-3 miles, so I was blinded at the calories that I was accustomed to consuming. Out of college, I gained weight so quickly and just didn’t think anything of it.

That diet is still habit to me today, and when I joined Weight Watchers two weeks ago, I was in for a shock. Our meeting leader talked about how portion control has changed over the years. No wonder why obesity is on the rise…we are stretching our stomachs year by year!

For example, today’s McDonald’s Happy Meal used to be the meal that adults would buy. Yep, that little hamburger and 8 oz. soda satisfied us at one point. Now, you drive to a fast food joint and there are QUADRUPLE patty burgers with 44 oz. gulper sodas. We’re eating/drinking 4x the amount that people 20-30 years ago would drink. :

Even the plates they sell at stores are 2 inches bigger in diameter than they were 2 years ago. I don’t want to eat on a 12 inch plate. I feel that it’s excessive, but at family gatherings, the big plates are ALWAYS brought out and we, of course, fill them.

Since joining Weight Watchers, I’m slowly learning and embracing that a deck of cards is the size of a proper serving of meat, a tennis ball = approximately one cup of rice/pasta, and your thumb = 1 oz. cheese. Looking that these portions make me panic a little, because they just don’t make me full yet. My stomach is probably stretched out like crazy from years of overeating, but I’m sure that my body will adjust eventually.

Can you believe how portion sizes have changed? Look at this article for some comparisons.

Amy

Note: This coffee machine and coffee was sent to me for review by thenest.com at no cost to me. My review, however, is 100% my thoughts, as I was allowed to give good/bad reviews on the machine.

pictured with boudin balls

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