Friday, August 30, 2019

You Tube Inspred Dessert.

Well, this dessert really did not turn out as I expected. It did not turn out that I took some liberties with this pudding. I was inspired to make a chocolate pudding dish after watching a Tasty You Tube video. So the premise of the video is to take marshmallows and make it into a fancy dessert. So the final dessert is a chocolate mouse, with cream, raspberries (I think), a marshmallow cookie, which involves melting the marshmallow, spreading it out and them baking it until it is golden brown, and topped off with some gold leaf to really make it fancy.

What I did was take equal weight amount of marshmallow (a bag of marshmallows) and half-and-half and melted over low heal and added a large semi-sweet chocolate bar. I took the remaining half-and-half and mixed in a small box of instant chocolate pudding (why not, I had it on hand). First mistake. I did not have enough half and half to completely dissolve the pudding. I should of added enough milk to make it the required 2 cups needed to make the pudding. To put it all together I mixed in the marshmallow and pudding mixture and folded in a small tub of Cool Whip.

Because the instant pudding did not dissolve completely, I had chunks if instant pudding mix. It also really turned out sweet. I should of used unsweetened chocolate. It needed something to cut back on the overwhelming sweetness, like whipped cream or fruit.

This dessert reminded me that I am not really a fan of marshmallows. I could still taste them in this dessert. My husband liked it, my son thought it was just o.k. Overall it was interesting to try, but I would not want to make this again.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Tex Mex Chili


Every Saturday I usually will make dinner. I usually don't know what I am making until the day of, but I had scoped out a chili recipe last week. I had come across the recipe among my many cook books. My coffee table is littered (yes it is definitely cluttered) with cook books and food magazines, especially the Food Network magazines. I will usually go through these books and magazines to  find something to cook. So I found this recipe through a fund raising cook book. This particular book was put out by the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, NE. I am not sure how I came across this cook book. I have inherited several cook books over the years. So as far as this chill recipe, I am not going to say that this is the best chili recipe ever, but it is tasty. I was intrigued because it has a packet on Ranch dressing in it. I am not sure if it added anything to in.

 It has:

2 pounds of ground beef
a medium onion
15 ounce chili beans, undrained
16 ounce can of whole kernel corn, drained (the only canned item that is drained)
3 16 ounce cans of stewed tomatoes, undrained
4 ounce can of green chilies, undrained
1 package of Ranch dressing mix
Package taco seasoning mix
46 ounce can tomato juice

So you just brown the ground beef and onion and combine all the other ingredients and cook slowly over 8 hours. Top it with your favorite toppings. I added sour cream and cheese to mine.

The only really downside is that this recipe make a lot and there are only three of us living at home. So I now have tons of left overs in my freezer. Next time I will make this for a pot luck or when I know I will have more people around to eat it.

I also made flat bread to go with the chili. In the past we have made cinnamon rolls to go with the chili. I guess it is a common tradition in Nebraska to have cinnamon rolls with the chili. I am not originally from Nebraska, so I really did not understand the concept. I guess it was common in the that chili and cinnamon rolls were served in schools. If I am wrong just say so in the comments.

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Homemade Spagetti Dinner




 There is nothing more comforting than spaghetti.  So every Saturday I usually make a meal for my husband and. Both usually work on Saturdays and do appreciate when I make a home cooked meal for them. I was inspired to make spaghetti when I saw a box of toasted ravioli in the freezer.

Along with the toasted ravioli, I made home made pasta, homemade bread, and added fresh spinach, tomato, and garlic to an existing can of sauce.
I got a bread pasta maker and a bread machine one year for Christmas. I don't remember what year it was, but it was well over 10 years now.  The recipe for making the pasta is 1 1/2 cups of flour, 2 eggs, and some salt. Sometimes I might add about 1 T of olive oil. If you have seen some of the cooking shows out there, you might know that make well with the flour (right on the counter top) and you put the eggs in that well. You stir the in the well and slowing adding in the flour. Eventually you start kneading the dough. You knead the ball until it is smooth.  If the dough was a little dry like mine was, you gradually add a little water until it forms a ball. Pasta dough is not like bread dough, It is much firmer and harder to knead. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes. it will be much easier to make it in the pasta machine


There is a bread recipe right on my machine, so I followed that recipe to make the bread.

What almost always happens when I make a meal is that I have plenty left over. I will take those left overs and divide them up into containers and freeze for later meals. Usually lunches for work.

So I have a question for you all to consider. Does leftovers = meal prep?

Let me know in the comments.


Friday, August 02, 2019

Box Pudding Ice Cream

In case you did not know, I have an ice cream attachment for my kitchen aid. I had a couple boxes of instant pudding and was wondering if there was an ice cream recipe using instant pudding. So I went to Pinterest to look for a recipe.

Of course there was a recipe.

All this recipe has is a box of pudding (small box) and a quart of half and half. Easy.

So first of all, you have to like the flavor of your pudding. It might sound ridiculous, but to enjoy this ice cream, you have to enjoy the flavor of your pudding.

It is also best to eat this right after it is just churned, or soft serve. It got too hard for me after it was completely frozen. Of course, I always found ice cream right from the ice cream machine the best.