Hope that all of you had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year! I’m not going to bore you with my resolutions that are probably the same as everyone elses. You know get yourself organized, eat healthier, and exercise more frequently. I just want to enjoy life. It is as simple as that! With that said here are the top 10 posts of this year. Several of them had the help of Stumble Upon by some of my blogger friends Dine and Dish and A Cook and Her Books. Thanks to all of you that read my blog. I really appreciate it! I still have many things to get done that you have asked for, so don’t think that I have forgotten. I havent. The printer friendly recipe is being worked on now. I do feel good about the recipe index. It was needed and took a long time for me to finally sit down and do it. So here’s to another year gone by and new one to do with what we would like. Let’s make it a good one. Any day will be good with any of the following recipes.
Category Archives: Cooking
Top 10 Post of 2011
Sugar Coma Redux
I could not let another fabulous Sugar Coma happen without telling you about it. The first one I did was a blast! The wonderful Broke Socialite really out did herself. It was an unforgettable experience. If you are looking for a great way to spend some time with friends you should check out her future soirees. I promise that you will not be dissapointed.
Now here is a recap of my Sugar Coma! We met at Bradford’s on Bishop for lunch. Our Sugar Momma was Run With Tweezers who has a great blog . Check it out.
Note the bags in the back of the photo. Yes, those were ours filled with all kinds of goodies.
Dessert was provided by Peachy Treats and Pink Cupcake Dreams.
These chocolate cupcakes filled with caramel and Yummy.
We were swept away by Atlantic LimoGa which meant having no worries about driving or parking. We got to enjoy the drive and each other’s company.
1st stop Caryn’s Cakes
My Banana Pudding was Trumped!!
Here are the results of the Banana Pudding lab and I will say they were outstanding! The first time in a loooong time all the meringue was perfect. We only used two extra eggs for a couple that had a little trouble separating them. I was extremely pleased.
They were also pleased with their results and eager to share the leftovers with other teachers and friends.
You take a look and see what you think. If you want to give it a try yourself check out the directions here.
Filed under Banana Pudding, Dessert, Nabisco vanilla wafers
Sugar Cookies for Your Valentine
What do you do for your honey on Valentine’s Day? I usually cook up something good! Our first Valentine’s Day after we were married I made GI Joe a pound cake in the shape of a heart and decorated it. I must say it was beautiful and he loved it. Why I chose this Valentine’s Day to decorate sugar cookies I do not know!! Oh yea, it was the front cover of Southern Living’s beautifully decorated cookies all perfect and everything. So I did get inspired to try these even though I am not wild about cookie decorating. After one cake decorating class I knew then it was not my forte.
The recipe for the cookies is a great one given to me eight years ago from Kelly T. one of my students. I love these cookies without the icing. Of course GI Joe loves the icing so I did both. Here is how it is done so get busy for your Valentine!
Black Bean Soup with Chipotle and Toasted Cumin Seed Sour Cream
I have to be honest with you when I read about this black bean soup here I was skeptical about the preparation of the dried beans. In every textbook and cookbook that I have read dried beans are always soaked before cooking. And I must admit that I have had my share of trouble preparing dried kidney beans to the point that I will not prepare them in a slow cooker. After some research I have found that dried kidney beans react with acid in tomatoes and will not soften even after cooking for days. However this apparently does not apply to other beans.
Filed under Black bean soup, Cooking, Crock Pot, Recipes, Slow Cooker
Chocolate Magic Bars
It is way beyond me that something this easy is so good! And for the life of me I should not keep any of these ingredients on hand. I honestly could eat the entire pan by myself and almost did last night but GI Joe saved the day and he ate the other half!
Yesterday was one of those days that you just want to stay curled up in a blanket by the fire. It was quite cold and rainy. I just wanted to stay home, but I had shopping to do. My niece, that is in pharmacy school, is getting married in June and next Saturday she is having her first wedding shower in Savannah. We picked up her gift and wouldn’t you know it they had Lenox Butler’s Pantry on sale. I have wanted it since the first day I set my eyes on it. Yes, I bought eight place settings and three serving pieces. Now if you know someone who wants Vintage Vine in beige, please let me know. I really need to unload it! GI Joe said,”Well, Happy Anniversary, Valentine’s Day and Birthday!” It is so worth it though.
Since having a light dinner last night, I really wanted to go to downtown Villa Rica to Gabe’s. Their Bread Pudding is the best. Not wanting to venture out in the rain and cold, I stood in front of the pantry with the door open and all I saw was sweetened condensed milk and semisweet chocolate pieces. I told myself not to make those bad Chocolate Magic Bars, but myself did not listen.
And The Winner Is……..
Our 1st Place Winner!
The recipe and all the interesting things that happened in our first lab of the semester is located on the previous post.
Here are the results of today’s bake-off. Everyone did just great. Vote for the one that you think deserves the top of this post. Voting ends Sunday! Good luck!
To vote go to the comments. Remember that your e-mail address will not be shared. It is just for my use to answer questions that you might have. So here you go with today’s reults:
And a very close 2nd place winner!
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- And a very close 2nd place winner!
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- Our 1st Place Winner!
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- 2nd Block Kitchen 5
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- 2nd Block Kitchen 1
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- 2nd Block Kitchen 6
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- 2nd Block Kitchen 2
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- 2nd Block Kitchen 4
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- 2nd Block Kitchen 3
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- 1st Block Kitchen 2
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- 1st Block Kitchen 5
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- 1st Block Kitchen 6
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- 1st Block Kitchen 1
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- 1st Block Kitchen 4
Cheese Drop Biscuits with Garlic Butter
If you are in a hurry and are craving homemade bread this recipe is for you! The Athlete loves these drop biscuits and and I have been known to put them together at the last minute because I saw a look of disappointment on his face. They only take about 10 minutes to put together so it is hard to say no. So just get in the kitchen and whip these little drops of cheesey goodness into shape and wait for the compliments to come your way! Recipe and how to photographs can be found at the end of the post.
Deviating from the usual muffin lab that I do for the first lab of the semester was quite interesting. Why change something that works you might ask? Well, having all of the ingredients for a recipe helps. My pantry had several boxes of Bisquick and the drop biscuits put it to good use.
I gave the demonstration yesterday. With new cooks their knowledge is very limited so they ask me lots of questions or they just watch and try to soak it all in. It is as if they are learning a new language. For some of them it is very difficult and for others it comes very easy.I’ve never done these drop biscuits as a lab before, therefore have nothing to compare it to. All the biscuits were edible! That is always good. Everyone enjoyed themselves.
I have to say this about tasting what each group prepared. Some groups will not start eating until I come to their table and taste their food. They all sit there speechless waiting for me to let them know how it taste. Even the slight hesitation as I am talking will scare them. My approval is a very powerful tool. Sometimes it is a little scary. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and discourage a student. I know you are all are wondering what I might say if the food is bad. And yes, I have had the pleasure of tasting bad food !! I always try to remember what a good friend of mine told me. She saw a friend’s new baby for the first time and it was NOT a pretty baby. She said, ” Oh my goodness, what a pretty blanket.” Focus on the positive!
As a sideline here, one of the department heads observed me yesterday and an administrator today. It is the first time anyone has ever observed the first lab of the semester. All kinds of things can go wrong during the first lab. You can have students that hate each other working together. Then you might have a group that every member is scared to do anything so nothing gets done. This list goes on, but all went well! Thank goodness.
Cheesy Drop Biscuits with Garlic Butter
From Betty Crocker
- 2 cups of original Bisquick
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoons margarine or butter melted
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl mix Biquick and shredded cheese together. Add milk. Stir with fork until soft dough forms. On a cookie sheet, drop dough by 10 to 12 spoonfuls about 2 inches apart. I like to used parchment paper to line the baking sheet . If you do not use the paper I would lightly grease the baking sheet because the cheese will cause the biscuits to stick.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. In small bowl, stir butter and garlic powder until well mixed: brush on warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.
Here are photos to show the steps:
2 cups of Bisquick and 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
Mix Bisquick and cheese . Then add milk and stir until a soft dough forms
Place on baking pan and bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Mix 2 Tablespoons of melted butter with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
Brush butter and garlic powder on warm biscuits
Enjoy!
Happy cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
Tuna Salad with Pasta
On any given day you’re in a rush, right? Need a very easy and quick meal that you can make from staples found in your pantry? There is no excuse to order pizza out. It is expensive and calorie laden. Here is the answer - pasta salad. Most anything added to pasta will make a good meal. Another good point about pasta is that most people who can boil water can do pasta. So in the time that it will take you to boil water plus another 10 minutes dinner can then be served.
Pasta does not always have to come with a sauce that takes time to make. Just a little oil, seasonings, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry,or beans in any combination will work. You can’t get any easier than that! Be creative! If you don’t trust your creativity check out the recipes on the pasta boxes. I have found most of them very good.
Tuna salad with pasta is a standby in my house. Start with just a tuna salad. I love this and often have it along side a tossed salad and Italian dressing. The Athlete prefers a Panini which is very good with Havarti cheese with dill. Yummy!
Bring the water to boil and then put in pasta. Cook according to directions on the box. Now assemble the tuna. This is what I use:
Mayonnaise, Sliced green olives, Pasta shells, dill relish, Tuna, mustard
Tuna Salad with Pasta
- 2 cups of uncooked pasta shells ( or pasta of choice)
- 12 oz. can of Solid White Albacore Tuna- drained
- 1 teaspoon of mustard
- 2 teaspoons of dill relish
- 1/4 cup sliced green olives
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon of mayonnaise ( you could need a little more depending on amount of liquid added with pickles and olives)
- 2 cups of pasta shells according to directions. Drain.
Mix drained tuna with the remaining ingredients and stir in the hot pasta. Enjoy right out of the bowl or wait and serve with crisp greens or a side salad. Serves 4
Enjoy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
Cornbread Muffins with Cheese and Chilies- another Paula Deen recipe
Today was a great day at school! Especially after yesterday. I was not sure I wanted to return. But, alas I did and have to say it was a fulfilling day at that. There are a few little projects needing some work, if you know what I mean. What would teachers do if every student was perfect? Some of my fellow teachers might say , “A lot!” But in the end it might be quite boring.
We visited the media center today to explore the world of blogging and how it related to Nutrition and Wellness class. As I monitored the class work, I glanced at the computer screen next to me and asked, ” How did you do that?” It really amazes me the computer skills that my students have. Now I am in the other seat. The slow learner!!! The student is so encouraging, “ Oh, Mrs. L let me show you how to do it. It is just a click here and that is it.” Now I am the student and he is the teacher. I feel excited about learning something new and it gave this kid a big smile.
Throughout the semester my class will be commenting on many of the posts. The instructions are different each time but always they are to use good writing skills. If you read the comments you will see that some are very good. Some on the other hand could use improvement.
Let’s get to the baby corn muffins. This is Paula Dean’s recipe. I just kicked it up a bit with some jalepeno peppers. They are quite easy to put together. I can’t lie and tell you that they are healthy, but it is all about the size of the portion. These are extremely small, just don’t eat twelve!
Depending what size pans you use you could possibly make 48. Don’t worry they freeze really well. To reheat just wrap in foil and place in the oven for about 10 minutes. They can be reheated in the microwave wrapped in paper towel.
Here’s how you make them. Enjoy!
Gather all the ingredients
1 1/4 cups of cornmeal and 2 teaspoons baking powder
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt
Then add 1 cup of sharp grated cheese, 1 8 oz. can of creamed corn, 1 cup sour cream, 1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies and I added 1 chopped jalapeno to add some heat.
Chilies, sour cream, corn and cheddar cheese are added then mix lightly.
Beat slightly 2 eggs and 1/2 canola oil and stir until combined. Do not overmix.
Put in greased mini muffin pan
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Just a note here about filling the pans. The ones above are filled just a little too much. It makes it very hard to get out of the pan. At first I thought that I should put oil around the tops of the pan. No!! This did not help. I did find that filling the pans 1/2 instead of 2/3 was the answer. It just did not look as if it would be enough batter, but it will work making them much easier to remove.
Enjoy!
Green Chili Corn Muffins
- 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 8 oz. can cream-style corn
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 oz. chopped green chilies
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease miniature muffin tins wih vegetable oil or cooking spray.
In a small bowl combine the cornmeal, salt, and baking powder. Add the cheese, corn, sour cream, and chilies. ( I stirred in minced jalapeno). Stir until lightly combined. Add the oil and eggs and stir until eveything is just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be very stiff. Place about 1/2 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
Make 48 miniature muffins
Happy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
