Homemade Cookies AMAZING!!!

       I don't even know where to start...Well this month is my birthday, and For my birthday my Aunt, my WONDERFUL AMAZING Aunt got me a Cookie Press. Keep in mind I have many wonderful amazing Aunts. No favoritism here!!!!!!!!! But this cookie press, just made me soo excited. I think at that moment I realized I am meant to cook and bake lol, a cookie press made me drool. OH BOY. lol I have had a cookie press or ten in the past, and i have broken quite a few. They were always cheap and plastic and well when plastic gets old and you are trying to press down the entire press had cracked on me so many times. Then its garbage. UGH. But this cookie press, that I'm drooling over even more now that I have used it... It is amazing!! AMAZING, did you get that ITS AMAZING!!!!!! so well made, so easy to clean, the dies for it are awesome, SO many designs, not a plastic piece on it, all stainless steel. JUST AMAZING!!! :) OK, I think I made my point there, moving on...

       I wasn't sure if I would have what I needed in the house to made sugar or butter cookies from scratch and then I couldn't find a recipe using what I did have in the house, most of the recipes I did a search for wanted me to use ingredients that I just didn't have,like baking soda or baking powder and that was for basic plain cookies, so what to do? Well, i figured how bad could it be if i just tried to make something with what I had... and luckily this actually worked out too!!!!! Whew! I made a cookie batter with egg, vanilla extract, sugar, salt, and then slowly added flour to the mixture until i liked the consistency and it tasted like cookie dough so I must have been on the right track. Then I loaded up the cookie press and went to work. Only there was no work, the lever slides easily, it isn't hard to set up, it was a breeze to clean, at this rate, i could make cookies daily.. I wont but...  Baked them for 6 minutes and perfecto! Now since this was just a plain cookie, I was trying to figure out how to spice it up, I didn't have sprinkles... Hmmm... Well I had some mini chocolate chips and while I normally don't like to use them for dipping I didn't have what I needed to make home made chocolate. So I melted them down, and then I realized that I had some Andes Mint Chocolate Baking Chips. So I added some of those to the mix and melted it down until the chocolate wasn't too sweet and the mint amount was just right. I dunked the cookies in the chocolate, on a few I just did the sides, on some cookies, i did the bottoms, and I made 2 sandwiches chocolate on the bottom and squeeze together! I already cleaned everything up and now I am waiting for the chocolate to cool so I can set them out and take a photo. But everything is already cleaned up including the cookie press, there was no five hours of soaking, there was no pieces falling apart, It was simply AMAZING!!

    

09-05-11 to 09-09-11

Let's see where do I begin... the 7th and 8th I don't even think I cooked. Things are a mess in my area with severe historical flooding. I am safe and sound and home now, thank goodness, and getting back on track. Let's see if I can catch this all up in one post...

Monday 9-5-11 - no work today WOOHOO, holiday, and well needed. Made French Toast for breakfast with some sliced bananas. Super delicious, Cinnamon and sugar on top. With of course some syrup! I didn't even make breakfast until about noon so maybe I should call that lunch. lol I guess I just forgot how simple it is to make french toast, it certainly isn't rocket science. And it is so delicious.

A few hours later, I made dinner. I had some stir fry chicken breast, but wasn't quite in the mood to make a stir fry, so i breaded the small pieces with some panko bread crumbs and fried them. I don't even know the last time I fried anything, normally I bake it all to avoid the grease and oil. But I was in the mood for fried. Decided to make some corn as the side. I really miss broccoli and cauliflower but that just hasn't been in the budget. Fresh or frozen they are about $2 a bag or bunch at the least versus a can of peas, green beans, or corn which is about 2 nights servings at the least for $0.39. So cheaper it was!!! I had a few red potatoes left, so I decided to dice them up add some olive oil and some seasonings that were in the cabinet and bake those up for some delicious roasted red potatoes!!! This was a fabulous dinner!! (And there was an entire meal of leftovers!!!)

Tuesday 9-6-11 was a Tuesday like a Monday at work, super hectic super busy, super long. Not a clue what I had for breakfast or lunch that day, but whatever I may have had, I didn't make it. But when I came home, I was determined to figure out what I could start to have to bring to work for breakfast in the mornings. First thought, breakfast burritos!!!! Unfortunately I had no meat to work with for these, no sausage, no bacon, :( But oh well meatless burritos it is!! So I starting dicing the potatoes, cut them up much smaller than i had for the dinner the previous night. Want to make sure they wouldnt make my burrito bulky and break through. Made a cheese, egg, seasonings mixture and started cooking that up and the potatoes were baking. I knew I had about 6 wraps left, and this would be perfect for them as I wasn't sure what else I could make on the wraps and I wanted to use them up before they would go bad. They last forever, but still, everything goes bad in its time. The only thing I wish I did different was to leave the wraps out of the fridge longer or to warm them up in a pan first, as when I was wrapping they were still a bit cool and were breaking a little on the wrapping, I couldn't get them as round as I wanted to make them but more cut corners. So I will learn and figure out some better tricks for making them in the future!! They came out well, and I put 2 in the fridge and the other 4 in the freezer. And then the leftover mixture I added some ketchup and that was dinner!!

This was the potatoes diced and seasoned with a little olive oil as well before they went into the oven to bake!

Here is after the potatoes had baked and the eggs were all done, I mixed it all up! YUMMY

All wrapped up, not the prettiest but I will make sure the wraps are warmer next time, and maybe even a different brand wrap, and I will work on technique!!

The leftovers that didn't make it into a wrap for dinner, just added some ketchup, certainly wish there was some sausage or something in there, but it was still really good!!

the 8th and 9th I had waffles with bananas for breakfast or dinner , only took one picture as they were basically the same thing. On the 8th it was dinner and on the 9th it was breakfast after my two hour walk going around the town taking pictures of the flood damage.

I was wondering what to make for dinner, looking through the cabinets, I wanted something different. I had a can of brown gravy and the thoughts just kept going together. I knew I had a package of beef strips for stir fry, so I decided I would cook them in the gravy! Made some corn, and then some french fries with seasoning. I know traditionally maybe I should have made mashed potatoes, but that just wasn't what I wanted. I don't care about being traditional, I wanna cook what I wanna eat!!! It was super delicious!! Just amazing!!!!!!

Not something I get to eat everyday, or would want everyday, but it was great for dinner!!

Now today is the 10th, I will hopefully post later or tomorrow. Not quite sure what is up my sleeve for cooking today, I want to make some cookies, I got this AWESOME, AMAZING, cookie press, I mean no exaggerating, I LOVE it. I haven't even used it yet, but I have never seen one like it. And the last one I had years ago was plastic and well I broke it, I broke a few of those! There is no way I will break this one, it is just amazing and I can't wait to use it. I am hoping I have everything in the house I might need, because well I don't know if my street is even open to drive on from the flooding and all of the local supermarkets were flooded so they of course are not open. Keep your fingers crossed that I can make some cookies!!!!! Might also make some more Rice Krispie treats or something. And of course some where in that mix some real food!!

Well thanks for listening and reading. Hope to post more later. Hopefully some great cookies. I might just go try to figure that out right now...

Have a great day all!!!!

09-04-11 Breakfast of Champions & Dessert

OK, so maybe it's not the breakfast of champions but I certainly worked on my presentation a little, and I haven't made this in forever!! French Toast! YUM! I went through the grocery store that is at the end of my blocks circular this morning, and figured out my finances, and I was able to go food shopping. Small budget of $20, but believe me WOW did I make it happen! For breakfast, I made French Toast and I made the rest of the turkey sausage from the box I opened the other day. No, I didn't have 10 pieces of sausage, they are sliced up! PROMISE!! I sliced up one strawberry, it was the last one left. And sliced up a banana for the top of the french toast, and if I had some of that sugar, it would have been perfect. I think it is confectioner's sugar that the diners use. But I topped it with cinnamon sugar and syrup and it was delightful!!!

     Haven't decided about the meals for the rest of the day as of yet. Granted I had breakfast around 2pm. It was after I went food shopping. Just lost track of the time this morning, and I slept in as well. Which was wonderful! Too bad, I am still tired. But Oh well. I have been doing some research on crepes. And have been thinking about making them for dinner. I have all of the ingredients I would need to make some from scratch. They do not seem that difficult. I think my hardest part would be that I don't have a big enough pan. Being that they cook and then you flip them, and well I always have an issue when making omelette's or even pancakes. which I haven't had in awhile, maybe that will be breakfast tomorrow. Hmm. I used to have a flat griddle which would be perfect for crepes, but that was left behind with my old kitchen. I should have taken it but who knew three years later I would want to use it. I have seen them in the store and price wise they are not too bad, and they even make ones that fold in half for smaller storage. For me right there that is awesome, storage in this apartment kitchen isn't the greatest. But if I can justify to myself that I will really use it, then maybe one day I will try to fit it into the budget. Just like the pasta maker, and all of the ingredients to make bread. It is great to make homemade bread! Just keeping all those ingredients in the house is a little pricey. Can't have it now, but one day I will get back to where I think I want to be. Those are not necessities in life, so onward we move. I just don't know how I can top today's breakfast or lunch, I don't even know what to call it at this point. Maybe that will end of being the meal of the day. I did eat it around 2:30 by the time I was all done. Maybe just something light later. But I am off tomorrow, Thank goodness, and I want to cook, cook, cook, and bake!

P.S. Didn't make dinner, can't say I am too surprised. I should have, but just wasn't really hungry again. But I did finally bake. Well maybe not even bake, since I didn't use the oven. But I made something to calm my sweet tooth. RICE KRISPIE TREATS!! I was going to make them into little lady bugs, but I didn't have food coloring. :( I have a great recipe to make lady bug treats! They are just soo cute. But regular rice krispie treats are perfect too! And oh so yummy, and so easy to make, and as long as you either wash the pot quickly or at least get it soaking in hot water quickly the marshmallow isn't too bad to clean up either. Just DON'T leave it sitting out, or you could be scrubbing for hours!!! And don't be stingy on the butter! But be careful not to overdue it either. There is a fine line there. And regular marshmallows work the best, I once tried the mini marshmallows thinking they were smaller it should melt better, oh no, it didn't work quite the way I expected. It wasn't much harder and they are great when you want to change it up a bit. Sometimes the mini marshmallows come in multi color, so that adds a special something to the treat. Also these are really easy to mold in the cup of your hand to make "egg" shapes out of for Easter. Then a simple cake icing decorating tube (Small ones maybe $1 in the store, variety of colors) can easily be used to decorate them! And these are simple enough to make with the kids. At least once they are all done cooking and slightly cooled, just don't wait forever to try to mold them into shapes. You will still need them warm. Of course I just dropped and pressed the mix into an 8x8 and then cut it into 9 pieces. I was going for simple yet delicious!

09-03-11 3 meals Cooking all day! :)

     I love days off of work, don't you? Doesn't everyone? It is Saturday, and while I am not feeling quite up to par, I can't wait to get cooking. Knowing that I have the time for it, and can sit and relax and enjoy it is wonderful!

     So breakfast, nothing wonderful , waffles and turkey sausage. I don't own a waffle maker, so they are Eggo waffles. :( And well I wouldn't even know how to make sausage so that came from a box as well. But I cooked it at least :) Breakfast is always the easy meal. Semi-simple. Add a little cinnamon sugar for a little extra flavor.

     So, lunch I wasn't quite sure what to make at first, as the freezer, well, it ran out of meat. I know how rude of it! :) But I did still have some chicken rings, so that is where I started, I knew what I was having for the main portion and now what sides to make? I was thinking of making a rice and peas, but no rice. Hmm, OK Angel hair and peas it is! Too make it a little more interesting, instead of boiling the angel hair in plain no flavor water, I boiled it in some chicken broth. WOW did that make all of the difference!!!!! If I could maintain keeping chicken broth on hand, I don't know if I would ever cook pasta in water again. Well maybe if my dish isn't a chicken dish, OK it was only a thought. I only thought of doing this as I realized the chicken broth in the container had been in the cabinet for a bit, not opened yet, but still been there. It expired next month, and once opened they want you to use it in 14 days. Hmm this was the first time I have used it in forever, not sure if I would get back to it again within 14 days, and this was a large container, it wasn't just a can. So I poured it into an ice cube tray, well two trays, and froze it. Once it is done freezing I will take those ice cubes put them in a Ziploc bag and just take cubes when I need it. But at least I know in three weeks, I won't look in the fridge and think CRAP I just wasted that and there goes money down the drain. I REFUSE to let money go down the drain!! Just cant have it! Also made enough pasta and peas for a second serving, so that may either go with tonight's dinner, or part of tomorrows meals. We shall see!

     And finally dinner, Well since i made the trays of chicken broth for the freezer I decided I should clean out the freezer, to be honest it is quite bare. I had a lot of bottles of water in the freezer in preparation for Hurricane Irene, now with the water bottles back in the fridge the freezer looks quite lonely. LOL :) But I cleaned it all out, and while doing so I found a chicken breast!! WOOHOO Yes i was that excited. I was in the mood for chicken and not just those chicken rings, but real chicken. And this was not just any chicken this was the Purdue marinated chicken breast. They come about 5 in a bag, but they are individually wrapped. So, for someone cooking for one, they are just absolutely perfect! So I took that out to defrost, Its already marinated, I decided to keep the pasta and peas from lunch as my side for dinner under one circumstance. I was making the Cheddar Bay biscuits! These biscuits are so simple, I really could make them every night if I wouldn't start to hate them. I am starting to go off the recipe slightly and add my own touches, but they are just getting better. The recipe which I had did not call for butter in the biscuit mix but just on top of it. And I think they would be just that much better with a little butter in them. So I am freezing a stick of butter, and then I will make shavings with a peeler, and keep them in the freezer. This way next time I make the biscuits, I can add some shavings of butter into the biscuit mix and they will cook into the biscuits as the biscuits are cooking. I think that will make a huge difference.

9-2-11 lunch from cafe and simple dinner home

     Today for lunch at the cafe, they served pasta with meat sauce, which is their version of baked ziti, all in all not bad, a little too sweet in the sauce, but not bad. They were offering a lemon Dijon chicken with snap peas, and that didn't sound amazing but I did get the snap peas as a side with my pasta. The snap peas were sauteed in what tasted like a butter, pepper sauce. First time I have had those as well, and they were slightly overdone with pepper, but very tasty, so I will have to look for them in the store too!

     For dinner, well we all have those broke days where you feel like you have no food. I assure you that is not the case, I just didn't have what I wanted at that moment. The cabinets are full, but the freezer is empty. So no meats, I will figure this out. Tonight I just decided quick and easy would work for me. Long day at work, but a 3 day weekend! Thank goodness!!! But I made a Ramen noodle for dinner. Now traditionally it is supposed to be that the seasoning goes into the boiling water with the pasta. Well I am just not the traditional girl, and not a fan of soup either. So I boil water, add the pasta but keep the seasoning on the side. After 7 minutes when the pasta is done (I like mine al dente) I drain the water and put the seasoning on the pasta itself. Of course you must mix it up very well, as the seasoning is a touch salty so you don't want a clump of it anywhere. It would be a seasoning overload in your mouth. When I drain the pasta I make sure to leave a smidgen of water in the pot to absorb some of the seasoning and make it easier to mix it up. And I mean a smidgen! But it makes the pasta very flavorful and lets face it a quick cheap dinner!! :)

8-30-11 Linner from Cafe

Today, I knew it would be a busy day and I worked 12 hours, so no home cooking for me. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and for linner I had some marinated chicken breast, roasted red potatoes and some sugar peas, or snow peas. I should find out what they are really called, I have never had them before and they were superb. Came from the cafeteria at work. Excellent food, and now I have a new vegetable to add to my menus at home, well as soon as I figure out what they are called and as soon as I can find them. I looked around the grocery store today and couldn't find them, fresh or canned or frozen. So I will have to do some research.

Not Even Sure where I left off

It seems that the weekdays are just rushing past me, and I have been cooking so much on the weekends, that I have left overs for the week. Which for any working person is not a bad thing. The days I work 12 hours, I do appreciate just having to toss something in the microwave and its still home cooking, not paying a fortune to eat out, or staying cheap and getting fast food which always makes me sick. It is not cheap to eat healthy. I always wondered how that worked, I mean I can go to McDonald's and get a burger, fries, and a soda for $3. Yet, if I wanted to try and eat healthy, while still at McDonald's, the salad is $4-$6. For lettuce, are you kidding, what else is in there. Oh yes they are charging me for the plastic container that it comes in, and the fork. You know what, toss it in a bag and Ill use my forks at home. I can purchase an entire bag of salad for $1 at the supermarket when it is on sale. Yes, now if only I did that and ate it, well then I just wouldn't have my lovely curves. And who am I kidding, I love to eat just as much as I love to cook! It's weird I used to be the baker, I was always the baker, I still made a dinner each night for the family, but I never took pride it in, and it showed in the cooking. I think it was due to who I was cooking for at that time. But I took pride in my baking, whether it was chocolate, cookies, cakes, breads, even dog biscuits. I took such great pride in it. And that showed in the presentations! I have learned to love cooking for myself and now even more for others. I guess since I got rid of the trash in my life, I enjoy cooking for others again. Baking however doesn't seem to happen as much anymore. I need to work on that, but rarely do I have milk or eggs in the house. I can't drink milk so I never think to buy it, but most of my baking recipes call for it. And eggs, well i never made breakfast so I would never think to buy eggs. Now I start my shopping list off with those in hopes that I might remember them.

            Today was interesting , I realized I had $20 to go shopping with and I had a field day. I pulled out the circulars and planned a menu of sorts in my head around what was on sale. Hence the aforementioned salad in a bag for $1. I wanted to make something sweet after cooking all day yesterday, and I couldn't make a single thing. Well maybe if I would have stared in the cabinets some more I might have been able to come up with something but... So I think setting the goal of a daily blog was a bit too much for me at this point. I do most of my cooking on the weekends when I have time. So maybe that is where my concentration should be. How much can I cook on the weekend to get me leftovers for at least the beginning of the week. I guess we will find out how well this idea works. I put to much pressure on myself for individual tasks and maybe a daily blog was too much with all of the time spent at the vet and then at the dealership over these last few weeks. I am hoping that once this is over, that I will have my time back during the week so we will see.

          I believe my last post was on the 28th, oh goodness. The week surely wasn't too interesting, I purchased lunches from work and got them late in the day so they were more of a linner meal (lunch & dinner in one). I took some pictures as I wanted to remember them to cook myself at home, and I had some new vegetables as well. So Hoping you will bear with me as I attempt to catch this up once again and hopefully start getting this into high gear!