New venture

I am horrible at posting regularly because some days I get the urge and others I don't. My friend schedules her posts for this exact reason. I'm not that cool. I do want to help people expand their recipe boxes though. So, I have decided that I shall write a cookbook. In order to get some buzz started I WILL post more recipes here. Please do me a favor and like and share the heck out of the posts I share on Facebook to help me out a bit. Thanks!

Grilled greek chicken

*Warning* This post contains no food porn. Nothing drool worthy to stare at and no fancy angles or lighting. However, if I always wait until I have a pic, I may never post anything. I am often too busy actually cooking to stop and photograph. I'll work on that.

I like this chicken because it can be served a few different ways; like along side some pilaf, or on top of salad, or wrapped in pita with some tzatziki. Delish! You can choose to bake it too, but it was 95 degrees outside when I made this so I grilled it.

Grilled Greek Chicken

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons of red or white wine vinegar
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast*

*Feel free to use any part of the chicken that your family likes. Breasts were on sale this week, so I used them. You can even use bone-in and skin on, but add a few minutes to your cooking time if you do.

 Mix all but the chicken in a big measuring cup or bowl, reserving half for later. Then place chicken and the reaming marinade into a 9x13 baking pan, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, turning the chicken over after 1 hour so that all sides get marinated.

Remove chicken from the marinade and discard the liquid. Pat the surface of chicken dry with a paper towel, but don't wipe all of the garlic and oregano off. Just pat. Then season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Grill over hot white coals or preheated gas grill for about 20 minutes or until any juices run clear, turning halfway through. Never press down on proteins while grilling. This will release the juices and resulting in a drier finished product. Just so ya know.

If baking, preheat the oven to 350. Drain the liquid out of the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the juices run clear.

Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes then cut into slices or cubes as desired for your family. Toss with reserved marinade for a delicious Greek inspired dinner.

For salad, toss with lettuce, olives, bell pepper, onion, and feta. The sauces can serve as a warm dressing.

I love you ground turkey!

I almost always buy ground turkey instead of ground beef, and I have for years. 9 times out of 10, it is cheaper and that was my main reason for the switch. It isn't healthier for you unless you are supposed to cut out red meat, or  you buy the fat-free 100% ground turkey breast. If you buy the same fat content of beef (ie, 80/20) that you do turkey, you are getting a similar amount of fat, cholesterol, and protein.

In the past few months, I have had a few people (cashiers included) ask me what I do with ground turkey. This is where I lose them, because I say, the same things you do with ground beef. I get a blank stare here and feel the need to elaborate. People shouldn't ask questions if they don't want an answer. Just sayin.

Now I can tell you what I make with ground turkey. Here goes:

• meatballs
• meatloaf
• tacos
• skillet meals
• burgers
• any recipe that calls for ground beef can be substituted with ground turkey

Your family may whine and complain about making the switch. You may not like the idea. Then don't do it. It's just what I do. I am all about saving money and I can get ground turkey at my local discount club for $2.59/lb regular price. The regular price for a quality ground beef locally is at minimum $3.99/lb. If I catch a sale on beef, I stock up. I still love beef.

Fluffy marshmallow buttercream

What do you think I am talking about here? You know you want to frost that chocolate cake with some marshmallow frosting, then drizzle it melty chocolate and possibly even some graham cracker crumbs. Can you say s'mores? Well, you don't have to, I just did.

Of course, you can use marshmallow buttercream to ice any cake or top any cupcake you wish. It is an easy frosting and it changes things up a bit. So give it go!

S'more cupcakes

 Marshmallow Buttercream

1 cup of softened butter (2 sticks)

1-13 oz jar marshmallow creme

1 lb bag/box of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

It is literally as easy as dumping everything into a mixer and whipping it until it is light and fluffy. For less of a mess, I would beat together the butter and vanilla. Then SLOWLY add the powdered sugar. Next goes the fluff. Then turn up the mixer to high and let it go until super light and fluffy. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of water to get a consistency I desire. 

Why water and not something to add more flavor you ask? Well, I always use plain old water, even in my traditional buttercream. It keeps it shelf stable (not forever, but a day or so on the counter won't kill anyone). If I used milk, the finished product would have to stay in the fridge and cakes tastes way better at room temp. Think about all that butter and how hard it gets in the fridge, but remains supple and soft on the counter. There is also a delicate balance of flavor adding more extract would change the flavor and I want my frosting to taste the same  yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If you keep adding a little more, that can't happen. Also, the water helps to dissolve the grainy particles in the sugar into soft, velvety goodness and leaves no trace.

Here I have added all of the sugar and am starting to incorporate the fluff.

Whipped and ready to rock!

Healthier Zucchini Bread

I love a good quick bread on a cold day. Soda bread, lemon bread, apple cider bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread....I'm not picky. Nothing says snow day more to me than turning on my oven. I love the way baking a simple quick bread can warm my house, consume the hallways, and fill my belly. Something I am trying to change is how much white flour and sugar I eat and feed to my family. For us, it simply doesn't process well. It is a step by step process though. Mostly because all of the alternative ingredients cost more and I have a budget people!

My recipe for zucchini bread has a few changes to a standard recipe. I wouldn't call it the healthiest option, but it is better than your local coffee shop loaf. It contains coconut oil, which is a superfood and also is good for your cholesterol. It is better for baking than say olive oil because of the flavor and a healthier fat than vegetable and/or canola oil.

Healthier Zucchini Bread

First gather your ingredients

2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil at room temp
2 large eggs
5 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon each baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice
1/2 teaspooon salt

Cream together coconut oil and sugar. It won't be creamy like butter and sugar. I promise that's ok.

Add eggs one at a time to keep everything smooth and well distributed. 

See how it comes together?

Next stir in the yogurt.

Then add in the remaining ingredients. Before I stir everything I give the dry ingredients a mix so that it distributes evenly.

 

 

Now stir it up, but only until you see no streaks of zucchini or flour. Over mixing makes quick breads tough.

 

Now dump everything into a greased (I use an oil spray) loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and finish cooling on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. As prepared and sliced into 12 slices, each slices contains 245 calories, 11 grams of healthy fats, and 17 grams of sugar.  It also has 5 grams of protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium. Feel free to change up the flour and sugar options and let me know how it turns out! You can also cut your slices smaller than we do. But a thick slice with a cup of coffee....mmmmmmm.

Healthier food from a foodie's point of view

*I want to preface this post by stating that I am not a healthcare professional. I am not advising you on how you should eat. I am posting based on personal experience and research. Please do your own research and use your melon to decide what is right for you.*

Paleo, low-carb, Mediterranean, Whole 30, Gluten-free, Vegan, Shred, Weight Watchers, and a host of other diets show up in my Facebook feed everyday. My friends are posting diet changes, menus, and results almost daily. I am all for healthy eating. I know my body feels better when I eat better. I also know a host of ailments that can be treated through diet alone. However, I am generally not a fan of diet recipes. I find them flavorless, full of artificial ingredients, or have hard to find ingredients.

It is my opinion that if you cook with natural, unprocessed ingredients, you can't go wrong that often. Using minimally processed ingredients sparingly is ok too. Having a good quality, whole-wheat pasta on occasion isn't going to kill most people. On the other hand, it has been shown that white sugar and flour raise your cholesterol. Stop blaming eggs people and look in your pantry. Anyway, it's true, look it up.

For my dear followers, I want to post a series of recipes that will help your body in some way and taste good too. You don't have to be on a diet to eat healthier. Our bodies were designed to use food as fuel and not just eat for the sake of eating. Although sometimes, the second bowl of ice cream is good too. Don't ever beat yourself up for your food choices because they are yours to make.

My first post is dedicated to fermented foods that you can make at home for pennies. Fermented foods include natural probiotics which aid in digestion, balance your gut bacteria, improve your immune system, and help you absorb nutrients from other foods more effectively. So here's to fermenting cabbage and milk.

Homemade yogurt

• 1/2 gallon milk, whole milk will make the yogurt thicker, but any milk will work
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt, any kind with live active cultures will work, you'll have to buy it the first time, but just save a 1/2 cup from each batch to start the next
  

Pour the milk into a crock pot and set it on low. Cook it for 2-3 hours, or until the milk reaches 180 degrees.This helps to kill off all bacteria because you only want the lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophyllus to survive. Turn off and unplug your crock pot. Then let the milk cool to 110 degrees, this may take an hour or more, depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Next, spoon a 1 cup of the milk into a small bowl and add the half cup of yogurt to it, mixing thoroughly. Then, dump this mixture back into the milk in the crock pot and mix it around well.

Put the lid back on your crock pot and wrap the crock pot with a towel or blanket. Then place the whole package in the oven for 8-12 hours or overnight. This will help insulate the yogurt so that is cools at the appropriate rate and for the cultures to inoculate the whole batch.

At this point you have yogurt. There will be a watery substance know as whey floating on top. I like to to strain my yogurt by dumping into a cheesecloth lined colander over a pot for a few hours. Then I transfer it into glass jars and refrigerate. I also save my whey. You can use it for baking, lacto-fermentation, or in your garden. 

Sauerkraut

This isn't a real recipe so much as an idea. Take a head of green cabbage and shred it. In a large glass bowl, metal will cause an interaction with the fermentation, mix the cabbage with about 2 tablespoons of sea or kosher salt. If you still use iodized table salt, stop. It has a high sodium content and most people don't need the extra iodide.

Anyway, use a wooden or plastic spoon (the whole metal thing) or just your hands. Swish, squash, and mash until you start to release the juices. Now keep going and if there isn't enough liquid to cover the cabbage, then add a bit of water. 

Place a small plate on top to weigh everything down and keep the kraut submerged. Then place a clean towel over top of the bowl to minimize fruit flies and place on the counter for 3-10 days. It just depends on how sour you like it. Give it a taste after day 3. Once it is ready and to your liking, you can put it in jars and refrigerate.

 If you prefer kimchi, it is the same idea,just use napa cabbage instead of green cabbage and add 1/3 cup Korean red pepper powder, 1/4 cup fish sauce, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Please stay tuned for some healthy and tasty recipes.

Wedding cakes

My passion in all things cakery are wedding cakes and fancy cakes. I don't mind other celebration cakes. My forte is just not in animals and character. I specialize in flowers and fuffiness. Perhaps that is because I was raised in flower shop.

I never get to see the faces of brides light up as they enter their reception. Or hear the kind compliments about the decorations or flavor. That is the only downside. When you deliver, or someone picks up, a birthday cake for example, you can tell by the way their faces light up just how much they enjoy the cake.

Cake decorating falls under the same category as painting or music. It is an art. We each dedicate our time and heart into a piece we can only hope you will love. So please, thank your baker/decorator! In the mean time, enjoy these pics of wedding cakes that I have had the pleasure of decorating.

Aunt B and Uncle Jeff's cake summer 2014

Professional shot; vanilla cake with strawberry mousse and vanilla buttercream

Amanda's cake December 2014

red velvet, chocolate salted caramel, and vanilla with strawberry mousse all covered in vanilla buttercream