Cooking Days
Later this evening I've got company coming for dinner. So that means today I spend the day cooking and baking up a storm. What's on the menu you ask? We've got chips with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and a traditional cabbage salad to put on the chips. Then we have homemade fajitas. And by homemade I mean I actually made the marinade from ingredients rather than out of a package. I've left them marinading in the fridge for the last two days. With that we have Spanish rice (that is a package, with a few tweaks), and re-fried beans mixed with my blend of spices and topped with melty cheese. For dessert we have a chocolate lasagna (I'll explain more in a second), homemade almond joy cupcakes, and store bought cookies. What is in all this deliciousness? Well, if you can decode these recipes, they are all yours to play with. The secret to my cooking is everything I put in is to taste. So it fluctuates how much day by day.
Salsa: Store bought fresh from the deli. For tonight I'm using a black bean and corn salsa.
Sour Cream: Well, that's a no brainer. It's sour cream for crying out loud.
Guacamole: Avocado, sour cream, lemon juice, salsa, salt, pepper, mayo, and sometimes garlic.
Cabbage Salad: Green cabbage, red onion, cilantro, fresh tomato, jalapenos, lime juice, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, and white vinegar.
Fajita Marinade: Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lime juice, olive oil, water, garlic, chili powder, chipotle, onion powder, salish (smoked sea salt).
Spanish rice: Box and a can mixed for moisture.
Re-fried Beans: Warm the beans and mix in a little chili powder, garlic, and onion powder. Then top with choice of cheese. I'm using Pepperjack cheese tonight.
Chocolate Lasagna: Now this recipe is a little more interesting so we are going to lay it out in steps.
1. Take a box of graham crackers, and a 8x10 pan. Layer on layer of whole crackers down to fill the bottom.
2. Mix 2 cups of heavy cream, and 2 Tb granulated sugar and whip until semi stiff. Put in a bowl for later.
3. Mix 2 8oz packages of cream cheese (regular is great), 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Make sure it's well blended.
4. Fold in whip cream into cream cheese mix.
5. Mix in a separate 2 3oz boxes of instant chocolate pudding with 2&1/2 cups milk (whole or 2 percent are your best options).
6. Place a layer of the chocolate pudding on the crackers, then a layer of the creamy mix. Top with more crackers. Then another layer of chocolate pudding, then the creamy mix again. Continue layering until you are out of ingredients. Which depends on the size pan you are using. Make sure that the last layer is the creamy layer.
7. Sprinkle or sift cocoa powder on top.
Almond Joy Cupcakes: This is one recipe I'm still working on. It's a work in progress.
1. Make the cupcakes. Mix 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup softened butter, 3 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 1&1/2 cup flour, 1&3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/4 tsp or a little more almond extract. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before doing anything else.
2. Make the filling. Beat 2 cups heavy cream until very stiff. Then slowly add 1 5.1oz instant vanilla pudding. Make sure it's well mixed. And don't use cook&serve. It doesn't turn out quite right. Then add in a tiny bit of milk at a time to thin it out to the consistency you want. I used about 2 Tbs.
3. Make the Frosting. This is fairly simple. I mixed powdered sugar, heavy cream, butter, and roasted coconut until I had the right consistency. Which would be about 2 Tbs butter, 1/2 cup cream, 2 cups sugar, and a few small handfuls of coconut, maybe 1/2 cup total.
4. Bash up dark chocolate and coconut covered almonds in a baggie. I used a hammer and a freezer bag.
5. Once your cupcakes are completely cool, cut out a small hole in the top but fairly deep. Just not all the way to the bottom. Save the top of what you cut out though. Then fill with the filling. Putting the filling in a quart freezer bag and cutting on corner works great. Put the tiny cut out top back on. Then Put the frosting in another quart freezer bag and cut a larger tip. Otherwise the frosting will block up. Then top with the smashed almonds.
So there you have it. A few of my recipes. I'll admit some of them are a work in progress. But if you just add what you like to the taste you want, you'll be fine. Some people like hotter stuff, some sweeter, and some tangy. So just do it all to your taste and it will be great! Good luck my bloggers. I have to get back to cooking now. Still have lots to do. Including shower, dressed, store, and of course, laying out the meal. Thankfully the house is mostly put together. Well, I'll be around tomorrow perhaps.
Salsa: Store bought fresh from the deli. For tonight I'm using a black bean and corn salsa.
Sour Cream: Well, that's a no brainer. It's sour cream for crying out loud.
Guacamole: Avocado, sour cream, lemon juice, salsa, salt, pepper, mayo, and sometimes garlic.
Cabbage Salad: Green cabbage, red onion, cilantro, fresh tomato, jalapenos, lime juice, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, and white vinegar.
Fajita Marinade: Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lime juice, olive oil, water, garlic, chili powder, chipotle, onion powder, salish (smoked sea salt).
Spanish rice: Box and a can mixed for moisture.
Re-fried Beans: Warm the beans and mix in a little chili powder, garlic, and onion powder. Then top with choice of cheese. I'm using Pepperjack cheese tonight.
Chocolate Lasagna: Now this recipe is a little more interesting so we are going to lay it out in steps.
1. Take a box of graham crackers, and a 8x10 pan. Layer on layer of whole crackers down to fill the bottom.
2. Mix 2 cups of heavy cream, and 2 Tb granulated sugar and whip until semi stiff. Put in a bowl for later.
3. Mix 2 8oz packages of cream cheese (regular is great), 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Make sure it's well blended.
4. Fold in whip cream into cream cheese mix.
5. Mix in a separate 2 3oz boxes of instant chocolate pudding with 2&1/2 cups milk (whole or 2 percent are your best options).
6. Place a layer of the chocolate pudding on the crackers, then a layer of the creamy mix. Top with more crackers. Then another layer of chocolate pudding, then the creamy mix again. Continue layering until you are out of ingredients. Which depends on the size pan you are using. Make sure that the last layer is the creamy layer.
7. Sprinkle or sift cocoa powder on top.
Almond Joy Cupcakes: This is one recipe I'm still working on. It's a work in progress.
1. Make the cupcakes. Mix 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup softened butter, 3 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 1&1/2 cup flour, 1&3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/4 tsp or a little more almond extract. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before doing anything else.
2. Make the filling. Beat 2 cups heavy cream until very stiff. Then slowly add 1 5.1oz instant vanilla pudding. Make sure it's well mixed. And don't use cook&serve. It doesn't turn out quite right. Then add in a tiny bit of milk at a time to thin it out to the consistency you want. I used about 2 Tbs.
3. Make the Frosting. This is fairly simple. I mixed powdered sugar, heavy cream, butter, and roasted coconut until I had the right consistency. Which would be about 2 Tbs butter, 1/2 cup cream, 2 cups sugar, and a few small handfuls of coconut, maybe 1/2 cup total.
4. Bash up dark chocolate and coconut covered almonds in a baggie. I used a hammer and a freezer bag.
5. Once your cupcakes are completely cool, cut out a small hole in the top but fairly deep. Just not all the way to the bottom. Save the top of what you cut out though. Then fill with the filling. Putting the filling in a quart freezer bag and cutting on corner works great. Put the tiny cut out top back on. Then Put the frosting in another quart freezer bag and cut a larger tip. Otherwise the frosting will block up. Then top with the smashed almonds.
So there you have it. A few of my recipes. I'll admit some of them are a work in progress. But if you just add what you like to the taste you want, you'll be fine. Some people like hotter stuff, some sweeter, and some tangy. So just do it all to your taste and it will be great! Good luck my bloggers. I have to get back to cooking now. Still have lots to do. Including shower, dressed, store, and of course, laying out the meal. Thankfully the house is mostly put together. Well, I'll be around tomorrow perhaps.
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