Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Late night dessert. I picked up strawberries, I already had rhubarb so of course I had to make something. I really wanted to make a pie. I'm to the point in my baking where I'm comfortable with pie crust, biscuits, and scones. You really do need to know what you're feeling and how the dough is acting. It just takes time and confidence and in my case a lot of reading and watching how it's done. I'm a visual and written person, I need to both to understand.

On to the recipe!

Adapted from here.

You will need a 9 by 11 baking dish or 2 qt or bigger, greased. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Big bowl, medium bowl and a little bowl and 2 spoons.

Ingredients

6 stalks rhubarb chopped
2 cups hulled and sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar

Crumb topping :
1/2 cup butter melted, 1 stick
1 cup flour
1/2 cup quick cook oats
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl combine Rhubarb, Strawberries and sugar combine well. Pour into prepared pan. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt, add butter until well combined. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool to set and serve, if you want, with whip cream or ice cream!

Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese

I too had a recipe that I didn't like. I made the macaroni and cheese recipe from Mad Hungry Cravings. I think mine was chef error! It tasted wonderful before I put it into the oven. I didn't have panko, I ran out, so per her notes I could swap out bread crumbs. As I'm sitting here realizing that they are not swappable. Panko had bigger flakes and is lighter, bread crumbs are fine and heavy. My problem was it was like putting a layer of dry sponge on top. It soaked up the favors and dried out the dish. I was going to make notes here to say use less crumbs or more butter. I personally would not even bake it. Or if I was making it for company I would cover with foil with extra shredded cheese on top to help it not dry out.

Let's get started

Preheat oven 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Set out a 9 by 13 pan.

Ingredients

1 lbs macaroni or any small shape pasta
7 Tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 quart whole milk
12 oz shredded cheese, any combo you like, this time I used Gruyere and sharp cheddar.
Pinch of cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cup of panko or 3/4-1 cup bread crumbs

In a large pot boil pasta as instructed on packaging. Meanwhile in a large skillet melt 4 Tablespoons butter at medium high heat, add flour and cook for 2 minutes until brown and fragrant. Slowly add milk and bring to a boil and thickened. Remove from heat and slowly add shredded chews stirring after each addition. Add cooked pasta and stir until combined. Put in baking pan. Mix crumbs and remaining 3 Tablespoons butter, sprinkle over the top and bake for 20-30 minutes.

When it was ready to eat, I took a scoop, the bread crumbs were still dry and pouring off like sand. It was like eating sandy glue. I was focusing on the bread crumbs, I couldn't taste the wonderful cheese sauce like before. It was sad, my favorite thing to eat is macaroni and cheese. I'm going to try this again and see if my thoughts will make it better. Trust your instincts, I was thinking I should have added more butter. I also have made the cheese on top and put foil on and it turns out wonderful.

Let us know if you make it and how it turns out or your suggestions!

Baked Potato Poppers

I wasn't sure if I should share this recipe or not at first - usually I like to say how much I like a recipe and that's why I share it.  This time I thought I would go ahead and share it since I was the only one who didn't like it!  I shared some with friends and even Eric -and they all loved them!  So maybe it's just me ;)

This is another recipe from our Cookbook of the Month: Mad Hungry Cravings by Lucinda Scala Quinn.  Try it out for yourself and tell us what you think!!

Baked Potato Poppers

2 large potatoes (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup oil

Preheat the oven to 425° and place a rimmed baking sheet inside.  Shred the potatoes and cover with boiling water for 10 minutes.  Drain and press to remove as much water as possible.  Mix in all of the ingredients except the panko crumbs and oil.  Scoop and roll the potato mixture into balls and coat with the panko crumbs.  Remove the pan from the oven and coat it with half of the oil, place the balls onto the pan and drizzle with the remaining oil.  Cook for about 30 minutes until crispy and browned - turning once.

For the ones for Eric, I just put the balls onto an ungreased pan and baked them - they did not brown, but they still got crunchy.  He really liked them and has asked me to make more!  He says they are like a potato dumpling more than a tater tot...maybe that's my problem - I really wanted tater tots!! Lol :)

Here are the links to the other recipes from this cookbook:

Honey Mustard Wings
Cheddar Drop Biscuits
Creamed Spinach

Have a great day!
Beth

A New Pot Rack...and the Start of Something More

I'm sure that it will come as no surprise that one of my biggest goals is to have an organized kitchen!  I have maybe mentioned it a time or thirty...
Eric and I have been doing lots of boring behind-the-scenes things that I don't mention, but we've finally gotten to the interesting stuff!!  Last weekend we started working on our cabinets and I am so excited by how they are turning out :)  We made the pot rack and then attached two lid holders to the inside of the cabinet - so now I have an easy way to get to a pan without having it all stacked (one of my biggest complaints lol).  I haven't put anything away yet because we painted the front edge of the cabinets and knowing me I will drop something and ruin it :/  When I first started looking for ideas for pot and pan organizing I saw a pot rack that slid out of the cabinet, but because of the fake drawer panel on the cabinet it wasn't really possible for my kitchen.  Instead I came up with this idea for a pot rack inside the cabinet and Eric really did a great job!  I'll definitely share a picture when I get it all loaded up!

As I said before, we also got the front edge of this set of cabinets done.  It doesn't look like much but I'm very happy with the color and I can't wait to get the rest of the cabinets done and the doors painted!!

Here's a reminder of my kitchen inspiration:

Find it here on Houzz

Have a great day!
Beth

Honey Mustard Wings

This was a simple recipe and you know how I love those! I choose chicken wings from Mad Hungry the cookbook we are cooking from this month.

Her original recipe is teriyaki glazed wings. At the end of the recipe she has notes about different types of wings, one of them is this recipe so I decided to make this version instead. With our new eating habits we are doing less sweet food so I wanted to stay away from those delicious sauces like teriyaki. Of course I know honey is sweet, it is more nutritious than granulated sugar.

This recipe can serve 4 people easily. She said or two hungry college students, hehehe.

I will be exploring new ways to make a glaze for these wings. I love how she understands how to make them perfect. Cook them then begin to glaze.

You will need a sheet pan and bowl with a spoon or spatula.

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken wings
2 tablespoons oil
Salt
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup mustard (we used yellow and it's good)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl toss wings with oil and salt, I would toss and then sprinkle some salt on until it all had some on it. Place on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile make glaze, combine honey and mustard. Brush glaze on and return to oven for 5 minutes, flip over wings and glaze again. Flip one more time and glaze. I then turned on the broiler for a couple of minutes and let them get crispy.

Enjoy!