Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Creamy Coconut Cake
Directions
- Prepare and bake white cake mix according to package directions. Remove cake from oven. While still hot, using a utility fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake.
- Mix cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the still hot cake. Let cake cool completely then frost with the whipped topping and top with the flaked coconut. Keep cake refrigerated.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Fish Cakes
Serves 4
Fresh fish will make these cakes
taste even better. if the meat smells clean and
fresh when you first open the package that is good
Ingredients
- 1 pound white fish
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- 1. Place fish and milk in bowl, making sure fish is totally submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
- 2. Meanwhile, place ¾ cup panko in small zipper-lock bag and finely crush with rolling pin. Transfer crushed panko to 10-inch nonstick skillet and add remaining ¾ cup panko. Toast over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer panko to shallow dish and stir in ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Wipe out skillet.
- 3. Pulse celery, onion, and garlic in food processor until finely chopped, 5 to 8 pulses, scraping down bowl as needed. Transfer vegetables to large bowl. Rinse processor bowl and blade and reserve. Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add chopped vegetables, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened and all moisture has evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes. Return vegetables to large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Rinse out pan and wipe clean.
- 4. Strain fish through fine-mesh strainer, pressing firmly to remove milk but being careful not to break up .
- 5. vegetables add mustard, hot pepper sauce, lemon juice, and Old Bay seasoning; stir until well combined. Add fish and fold gently with rubber spatula, being careful not to over mix and break up . Divide mixture into 8 balls and firmly press into 1/2-inch-thick patties. Place cakes on rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- 6. Coat each cake in panko, firmly pressing to adhere crumbs to exterior. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Place 4 cakes in skillet and cook without moving them until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Using 2 spatulas, carefully flip cakes, add 1 tablespoon oil, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer cakes to platter. Wipe out skillet and repeat with remaining 4 cakes and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Serve immediately.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Sweetie Pie’s Macaroni and Cheese
Sweetie Pie’s Macaroni and Cheese
Sweetie Pie's Macaroni and Cheese
- Author: Source Unknown via CopyKat Recipes
- Recipe Type: Casserole Recipes, Copycat Restaurant Recipes, CopyKat Recipes, Pasta Recipes
- Prep time: 25 minutes
- Cook time: 45 minutes
- Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cans (12 ounce) evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) cut into small pieces
- 1/2 pound Colby cheese, shredded
- 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1/2 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 pound Velveeta cheese, cut into small chunks
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup shredded American or Mild Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Heat oven to 350F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer the pasta to a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the whole milk, evaporated milk and eggs. Mix with a fork until thoroughly combined. Add the butter and Colby, Monterey Jack, Sharp Cheddar, and Velveeta cheeses to the pasta. Pour the milk and egg mixture over the pasta. Season with salt, pepper and sugar, and toss. Sprinkle the top of the pasta with the remaining cup of American or Cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes (or until the top is lightly golden brown).Sunday, December 30, 2012
Never Grow Celery Again
How to re-grow celery from the base thank you Robin Shreeves for this post!
New celery will grow from the base of a used
stalk. Give it a try. For your efforts, you'll get a free, edible stalk
of celery in a few months and a fun experiment for the kids to keep an
eye on all summer vacation.
Photo: Robin Shreeves
Granted, this may not be the way to solve the world’s hunger problems,
but it’s a fun experiment. I saw a photo of celery re-growing on Pinterest, and I decided to give it a try.
I followed the Pinterest photo back to its original source on the 17 Apart blog
and followed the instructions. Take the base from a stalk of celery,
rinse it off, and put it in a shallow cup of warm water on a window
sill. Change the water daily and keep an eye on it to see if any
regrowth begins. As you can see from the photos below, there were
significant signs of regrowth within five days.
Day 1: Celery base put in water.
Day 5: Celery base after five days of the experiment. Water was changed daily.
There was little to do except change the water and look at it daily for
changes. As the middle of the base of celery began to re-grow healthy,
dark green leaves and eventually stalks, the outside of the base began
to turn brown and break down. That seemed perfectly natural, and I
assumed that when I finally planted the stalk in soil, the outside would
continue to break down and create natural nutrients for the new growth.
Day 8: Celery base with impressive, healthy regrowth.
It took only eight days for the regrowth to get to the point where I
needed to transplant it into soil. My son and I took a container, filled
it with organic potting soil, and planted the re-growing celery in the
container. We placed it on top of one of the cinder blocks that border
my vegetable garden so the rabbits couldn’t get reach it. We probably
should have surrounded it with barbed wire, too, because within two
days, it had been eaten down to a nub. The %$&* squirrels got to it!
I didn’t take any photos of the celery in the soil, but for the two
days it was in there, it continued to thrive. It didn’t seem to suffer
any transplant shock at all.
I suppose I’ll have to console myself with the fact that the regrowth
did end up as food — even if it wasn’t food I got to feed my family. It
would have been great to watch the celery grow into a full stalk to
harvest later in the summer and eat (and then see if we could get the
base from the new stalk to re-grow). But, I saw enough of the regrowth
to know that this was an experiment worth sharing. If you’re curious,
give it a try. And, if you have children who are getting out of school
just about now, this would be an easy, fun garden/science experiment to
do with them over the summer.
From what I read from various sources, it takes two to three months
(sometimes longer) for a mature stalk to grow. During that time, kids
could be keeping a regrowth journal, recording what they see, measuring
the height of the regrowth, and taking photos. My 10-year-old (yes, the
9-year-old I always write about turned 10 last week) eagerly checked on
the celery every day and took some photos.
You can also re-grow green onions
from their roots after you’ve used the green part. I think I may try
that next. I don’t think the squirrels would be as likely to eat them.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Lemon Cake
FINALLY!! A Great Lemon Cake
Lemon Cake
source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Parties!
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.
- Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
- For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.
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