Greekish Vegetable Stir Fry

I know that this is a baking blog, but I also love to cook so I thought I might as well put some of the things I have cooked on here as well. This evening I decided to make a vegetable stir-fry as I had some fresh vegetables and some herbs. So I just put lots of stuff in and it tasted really good. I think I would make it again if I could remember what I all put in it.

I put one small zucchini

half a bag of baby carrots

half a bag of snow peas, ends chopped off

and about 6 spears of asparagus, ends cut off and cut in half

about 1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup lemon flavoured carbonated water

2 cloves garlic, minced

rosemary- to your taste

oregano- to your taste

thyme, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 TB olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a pan on med/high heat until warm. Add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds until light brown. Add the carrots and fry for about 2 minutes then add the asparagus and the herbs. Add about 1/4 of the lemon juice and let soak in for a bit. Then add salt and pepper and more of the lemon juice. When that has been evaporated add the peas and the carbonated water. Then fry that for about 4 minutes and then add the zucchini. Fry for a bit more and add a bit more salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Serves about 2 people as an appetizer.

Enjoy

Cookie Brittle

This cookie bark it a nice treat. It is easy to make and only takes about 35 minutes with baking time. It is almost like a candy. Most people like it and it is also very addicting. I also made this for my sister who shared it with her Bible college friends. They all enjoyed it.


1/2 tsp oil, for greasing
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 toffee bits

Preheat the oven to 375*. Grease a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper with the oil.
Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat until fluffy, then stir in the vanilla. Sift together the flour and salt into the mixture and beat until combined.
Mix in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips and all of the pecans and the toffee bits. Press the dough onto the cookie sheet and spread evenly.
Bake in preheated over for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Place the remaining chocolate chips in a saucepan with about 1 tsp butter and melt. Stirring constantly so it does not burn on.
Drizzle the chocolate over the cookie brittle and let set, then break into irregular pieces.

Serve.

Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie

My Mom is the one in my family who always makes the pies. And she is really good at it! Yesterday she made a Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie... It was AMAZING! Here are some of the pictures of it. I don't have the recipe as I did not make it but it is definitely a good one.

Enjoy!

Fruit Salad

There is nothing I like more than a good fruit salad. Fruit is one of my favourite things and I can never get enough of it. Most fruit salads taste even better if you add yogurt. Which I do most of the time.

I put apples, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, and oranges in this one. Every time I make a fruit salad it always has different things in it. They are never the same. Just put all your favourite fruit in a bowl and enjoy it.

Royal Icing Flowers!

When I was taking my cake decorating courses I made many different flowers. I love making flowers out of icing, they are so much fun and so pretty. Here are some of the different flowers that I made. From roses to apple blossoms.

~ Violet ~

~Violet~

~Primrose~

~Daffodil~

~ Daffodil~

~ Pansy (Made out of Royal Icing)~

~Victorian Rose~

~ Lilies~

~Lilies~

~Pansies ( Made out of Gum Paste)~

~Fondant/Gum-paste Flowers~

~Fondant/Gum-paste Flowers~

~Apple Blossoms~

~Rose Buds~

~Roses~

Ham and Cheese Muffins

There is one thing that I love together... and that is ham and cheese. Just think about! Almost all the best things have ham and cheese in them. Or just cheese! which makes everything better. There is not one thing that you cannot improve with cheese. Unfortunately I put a bit to much cheese in these as they don't really come out of the paper liners very well. Next time I would just grease and flour the muffin tins and then I wouldn't have a problem. They are the best when they just come out of the oven and all the cheese is warm and melted. I would definitely make these again. They aren't very good for you though... well, what baking is good for you anyways? I don't think there is such a thing :)

2 Cups All-purpose flour
1 TB Baking powder
Pinch of salt
150 g Sliced ham, cut into small pieces
1/2 Cup Medium cheddar, cut into small pieces
1/2 Cup Grated mozzarella, Plus enough to cover the tops of the muffins
2 Eggs
1 Cup Milk
6 TB sunflower oil or butter, melted and cooled
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat the over to 375*. Grease and flour a muffin pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the ham and cheese and add some pepper ( how much you would like).
Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl big enough to hold 2 cups. Then beat in the milk and oil.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour liquids into the well. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
Spoon batter into muffin tin and sprinkle with as much cheese as you would like.
Bake in preheated over for about 18 minutes. Or until golden brown and the tops are firm. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and serve warm.

Enjoy

Apple Pancakes

When I was with my sister we made pancakes for breakfast one day! They were really good. We were going to make crepes with whipped cream and strawberries... Then we realized that we had nothing to whip the cream with. So we make pancakes instead.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil ( I used butter and they turned out fine)
One apple of your choice, cut in to small pieces

Directions:

Preheat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, beat together egg, milk and oil. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture. Beat until smooth.
Pour or scoop the batter onto the hot griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Put apple slices on top and let bubble then flip. Serve warm.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are so many different recipes for chocolate chip cookies it is just mind blowing. I am always trying different ones and I decided to try this one the other day! It is very good and I would definitely make them again. Every one has their favourite and I don't think that I have found mine yet. One day I will...

1 Cup White sugar
1 1/2 Butter
2 Cups Brown Sugar
2 Tsp Vanilla4 Eggs
2 Cups Chocolate chips
4 Cups Flour
2 Cups Rolled Oats
2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt

Preheat over to 350*. Cream Sugar and butter together, add brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the flour, oats, baking soda and salt together. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. Then add the chocolate chips. Bake for about 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

St. Patrick Day Cupcakes

Any one want a green cupcake?

They may look kinda funny but they sure do taste good!

I made some cupcakes for St. Patricks Day and they were very green!
Here are some pictures of them. I made them with buttercream icing and then added some shamrock sprinkles and some with colour mist that was green and some white pearl sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Biscuits

These were quite the biscuits to make. All I had was a fork, cereal bowl and one baking sheet.

Bible school dorms don't have much to work with when it comes to the kitchens... Well, at least they turned out good. They were very flaky and delicious. My sister and I ate all of them for lunch. We couldn't really stop. They may only have 5 ingredients but they are very good.

I would definitely make them again.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter in until mixture has a fine crumb texture. Stir in milk with a fork to make a soft dough. Knead 8 to 10 times, and then roll out to a thickness of at least 1/2 inch. Don't handle the dough very long. Cut into rounds with a cookie or biscuit cutter. Place on cookie sheet, and allow to rest for a few minutes.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm. ( they are so much better when they just come out of the oven :D)

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars

I got this recipe off of Sunday Treats blog. I just found their blog and I really enjoy it. I altered this recipe I little bit, I added about a 1/3 of a cup more oatmeal to the topping and I also added 1 tablespoon of lemon emulsion. I brought these to some bible school students when I went to visit my sister who is attending Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport Saskatchewan. They all loved them and eat quite a few of them.

This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars

Makes 54 bite size bars

zest of one lemon

2/3 cup lemon juice

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/3 c oatmeal (quick or old fashioned)

1 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

9 tbsp butter, melted

1 tbsp lemon emulsion

1. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper

2. Combine lemon juice, zest, and sweetened condensed milk, stirring until smooth.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder. Pour in melted butter and mix with fingers until mixture is crumbly.

4. Press a little more than half the crumb mixture into the 9x13 pan. Top with the sweetened condensed milk mixture. Sprinkle the rest of crumb mixture over the top.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are just starting to brown.

6. Let cool in pan on wire rack, then chill until cold. Using parchment, remove bars from pan onto cutting board. Cut into small bars. Store in refrigerator.

ENJOY!

Chocolate Mousse Cake ~ Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I have been wanting to make a cake for a while and yesterday was my cousins Birthday! So I thought... why not make him a birthday cake! So I decided to make a chocolate cake, filled with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate covered strawberries. It looked really good and I wanted to eat the whole thing, but unfortunately I told them I was bringing it over so I couldn't have showed up with no cake at all. I brought it over and he opened the door and we started to sing him Happy Birthday! He absolutely loved the cake and so did his family.

Chocolate Cake:

1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
2 Cups Boiling Water2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 TB Baking Soda1/2 Tsp. Salt1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Cup Butter, Softened
2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small mixing bowl combine cocoa and boiling water together and whisk until smooth, Set aside and cool to room temperature. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together and set aside. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until light, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour mixture (in fourths) and alternate with the cocoa mixture (in thirds). Beginning and ending with flour. Do not over beat.

Chocolate Mousse:

Makes 18 servings. Preparation time 20 minutes.

12 ounces (345 grams) bittersweet or semisweet

chocolate, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
9 tablespoons sugar, divided1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup (360 ml) heavy whipping cream

In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Then whisk in the two egg yolks. Refrigerate while you whip the egg whites and whipping cream.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), whip the two egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add two

tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat unti

l stiff peaks form, yet the whites are still glossy and not dry. Set aside.

In another bowl, whip the heavy cream, remaining one tablespoon sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.

Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and stir a couple of spoonfuls of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture

to lighten it, and then fold the remaining whites into the chocolate mixture, gently but thoroughly. Fold in the whipped cream.

Spoon the chocolate mousse into six individu

al serving dishes or glasses. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. If you just want to make the mousse and not put it on a cake then you can serve it with whipped cream, or chocolate shavings or strawberries.


Chocolate Covered Strawberries:
Basically all I did for the strawberries was

I got about 2/3 of a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and about a 1/4 cup of butter and melted it together is a sauce pan until it was warm and runny. The chocolate can't be thick or the strawberries will not coat easily in the chocolate. I dipped the strawberries and laid them on parchment paper to dry for the next day. I left the stems on and tried to dry them upside down but that didn't work very well so I just gave up and put them on their sides.

Black Bottom Cupcakes!

I made these a little while ago for my brothers. The cake wasn't very moist so I got some ice cream and chocolate sauce and put it on top of them. It was amazing!The next time I make these I would use a different chocolate cake recipe. I have my favourite one but you could use what ever recipe you would like or that is your favourite!

Black Bottom Cupcakes:

For the Cake: (Personally my favourite recipe)

1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
2 Cups Boiling Water
2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 TB Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Cup Butter, Softened
2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small mixing bowl combine cocoa and boiling water together and whisk until smooth, Set aside and cool to room temperature. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together and set aside. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until light, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour mixture (in fourths) and alternate with the cocoa mixture (in thirds). Beginning and ending with flour. Do not over beat.


Topping:
1 pkg. (8 oz) Cream Cheese
1 Egg
1/3 Cup Sugar

Mix together until smooth and creamy.

Spoon cake batter into muffin tins about 3/4 way full. Spoon heaping tablespoons of cream cheese mixture over batter of each cup; gently swirl with the tip of a knife to marbleize. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes for about 5 minutes in tin and put on cooling rack to cool.

Enjoy!