Back From a Long Break...

          As you have noticed, I haven’t posted for a while. I have been really busy and haven’t been able to access a computer or access a kitchen. But now I’m back and ready to give you some awesome recipes. Because the new month of February hasn’t started yet, I have decided not to put in a recipe until tomorrow. I will start by having a theme for the month and will pick a new theme every month. I will post a two or three recipes a week. That will get your pans moving. I will also continue to pass on hints, substitutions, and home secrets that you won’t get anywhere else. I hope you read this and will be inspired to cook like you’ve never cooked before! Have a GREAT day and I will be posting soon. ; D

Air Buns

          Table buns are buns that you can make pretty easily in 2-3 hours that the whole family can enjoy and can be frozen and kept for later too. It’s perfect with butter, or balsamic vinegar and oil. Really, it’s your choice. I like balsamic vinegar. These buns have a soft sweet taste and are delicious. If you don’t want it as sweet, you can put less sugar but it’s up to you. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp yeast

3 ½ cups warm water (and an extra ½ cup)

½ cup sugar (and an extra 1 tsp)

½ cup oil/melted butter

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp vinegar (malt if you have it)

10 cups flour

Directions:

          Get out a medium bowl (this bowl is going to be emptied into the next one). Dissolve yeast in ½ of warm water and 1 tsp of sugar. Don’t stir. Let sit until yeast is completely dissolved (when putting yeast into water, sprinkle so every bit of yeast touches the water). In a large bowl, blend or whisk water, sugar, oil (or melted butter), salt, and vinegar (if you have herbs you want to add, now is the time to add them. I like to add Italian seasoning and oregano). Add 4 cups of flour and mix until it makes a thin batter. Add yeast mixture and stir until smooth. With one cup at a time, mix in the remaining flour. When dough starts to get hard to stir with a spoon, start to knead until smooth and not sticky (but keep in mind you don’t want to much flour or it will not be a light bun but a hard rock with flour in it). Wash the large bowl you were using or get a different bowl, and grease (or spray with Pam) the sides. Put the dough in the bowl and move around the bowl until it is evenly covered with oil/grease.

          Fill a large bowl or pot with hot water and put it is the oven on the bottom rack but do not turn the oven on. Place the dough bowl above the water in the oven and close. Again, DO NOT TURN ON THE OVEN. Leave in the oven to rise until the dough has doubled. If you can’t use your oven for the rising process, just put it is a warm place. It works just as well. The rising process will take roughly 1 ½ hours.

          When the dough is done rising, punch the middle of the dough and knead for 5 minutes. Make rolls that are about 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Get 3 or 4 egg yolks. Grease pans/pan. Brush egg yolk over each bun and bake at 350 degrees until the top starts to turn orange. After cooking you can eat fresh, put in the fridge, or freeze for later.

Vinilla cake

          Vanilla cake is a delicious flavour sensation that is one of the easiest recipes you can make when baking a cake. I found this amazing recipe a little while ago and I think it is finally ready for you guys. The recipe is:

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup oil (or butter if you have read my substitutions list)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

          First cream the sugar, eggs, and oil (butter) together. Beat in the milk, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round pans or one rectangular 9x13 pan. Pour the batter in evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife stuck in the cake comes out clean.
          Don't forget that you can substitute the oil with butter or margarine. You can also add sprinkles, chocolate chips, or any kind of filling you can think of. Be creative and have fun. As for the icing, mix icing sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla to taste.

Potato Surprise

          Today’s recipe is a delicious twist to classic mashed potatoes. This is a recipe me and my mom made up when I was 7, and over the years I have been improving it. The recipe is quite simple:

Ingredients:

5lbs. Potatoes

2 1/2 cups Grated Cheese

1/2 cup Green Onions

6 Tbsp. Cheese Wiz

1 cup Sour Cream

1 tbsp. Oregano

1 tbsp. Butter

Directions:

          Peel and boil the potatoes until tender. Drain.

          Put the potatoes back into the pot and mash them. Mix in the cheese, cheese wiz, green onions, sour cream, oregano, and butter. Mix until cheese has melted and until it is all well blended.

          Pour into a greased or non-stick pan (9x13) and bake for 20 minutes on the bottom rack at 400 F. Move to the top rack and broil for 5 minutes.

          Take out and cool for 10 minutes.

          This recipe is delicious and will make mashed potatoes so much more interesting. Until next time.

French Toast

One of the world’s favorite breakfast specials is, you guessed it, French Toast. It is a very simple recipe that is way better than pancakes. The ingredients are:

8 Pieces Egg Bread
3 Eggs
¾ tsp salt
¾ cup milk

Wisk the eggs, salt, and milk together. Heat the pan to medium. Melt butter in the pan or spray with pam. Soak both sides of the bread in the egg mixture and fry in the pan. You can put syrup, jam, or powdered sugar on the French toast. This recipe is a real delight. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner

          Sorry I have missed the last few entries, I have not been within internet signal. As you all know, for those of you who are in Canada, it is Thanksgiving on Monday and most of you are probably getting your turkeys ready and making Yorkshire pudding. I got a couple of ideas for you that could make your turkey dinner even more delicious.

         When I make turkey dinner, I usually make turkey, Cesar salad, Yorkshire pudding, carrot casserole, roast potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. My mom is a vegetarian so I usually have to make a whole different menu for her. I can’t tell you how to make my carrot casserole because it is a family recipe and I don’t have permission, but I can tell you a great recipe for some of these Thanksgiving dishes.

          Cesar salad is an easy recipe that most people don’t care to use because they just buy the dressing, but what most people don’t know is that it is a five minute recipe that, overall, cost only half of what it costs to get in the grocery store.
          All you need is: 1 cup Mayo, 1tbsp lemon juice, ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce, Garlic powder/garlic, and pepper (Plus any herbs you want to add. I like to add Italian seasoning).

          If you want to change this to be less thick and low fat by changing the mayo to 1/2 cup and adding water to make it more spreadable to the salad. I prefer this method.

          On the turkey, I like to put pepper and rosemary on it before I put it is the oven. The cooking time depends on how big the turkey is. The wrapping will tell you.

          For the roast potatoes, I cut them into cubes but not too small because they shrink. Then I put them into a bowl with oil, Italian seasoning, pepper, and high salt (this is seasoning salt). I toss it around until all the pieces are covered and then I put them onto a baking sheet and cook for 1 hour on 350 or you can put them into the turkey pan and cook them with the turkey until tender.

          For the stuffing, I like to get the stuff from the box because when it comes to a big dinner like this, you want to keep it simple. You can either cook it in the turkey or on the stove. Don't forget that even though it is Thanksgiving, you don't have to make a turkey, there are lots of other options. Chicken, Roast Beef, Pork, Sheppard’s pie, Lasagnes, Fish, or any vegetarian dish you can think of. Make your Thanksgiving a specialty in your house with your trademarks. People can tell the way you are by the way you cook.

How to make a Delicious Muffin (Ps. This is for quick breads as well)

          Hi everybody, today I am going to give you the perfect tips to making a perfect muffin. When you make a muffin, you want it to be fluffy and with a dome like top. If you make a muffin wrong, you end up with a tuff muffin with a peak like top and a air bubble in the middle. THIS IS NOT GOOD! Some tips I have to making sure this doesn’t happen is:

1. Mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients separately- Usually when it comes to a recipe, I just put all the ingredients together, but when it comes to muffins, you want it to be smooth and well blended.
   
2. My cheat for making a SUPER fluffy muffin- I do this by exchanging a certain ingredient, oil. Instead of oil, I use butter or margarine (it doesn’t really matter which one). When you use this, it makes it so the muffin has a creamier taste and is lighter. The way that works is that when the butter finally melts in the muffin, it leaves these miniature air bubbles all over the muffin which makes for a REALLY fluffy muffin.
   
3. When you mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, fold in don't use an electric mixer- The reason you do this is because if you mix it too much, it will become stiff and will make a peak top not a dome top. This is not good so when you mix it in, you put all the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and you fold in until just blended cause if you mix to much it will be hard when it is done cooking.
   
4. Make a sugar crust on the top- I like to sprinkle a little sugar over the top of the muffin before I put it in the oven because when it comes out, it has this top that cracks a little. It is beautiful and tasty.
   

          So when you make your muffin, remember these tips and you will be baking like a pro in no time.