I am SO making this. SOON

I was checking out the usual food blogs that I check everyday. Those blogs include The Pioneer Woman, Annie's Eats, BakeAt350, Smitten Kitchen, Savory Sweet Life, Joy The Baker, and the Bakerella.

Anywho, I was on the Bakerella website and was reading her most recent blog entitled pillow cookies. I have never heard of pillow cookies before but the picture she posted looked really good. Just looked like a chocolate chip cookie with lots of chocolate chips. Then I read and actually saw that these cookies were actually chocolate chip cookies with brownies in the middle of it! How amazing is that? It sounded and looked absolutely delicious.

I am going to make these soon. I was thinking that instead of making my own brownies and making my own cookie dough, I could use a box brownie mix (like she suggested) and also using premade store bought cookie dough. You know, like the Nestle cookie doughs that come in the tub? It would make it even easier and a tad faster to assemble. Skip a few steps so that it'll get in my belly faster haha.

Brownie Pillow Cookies

1 package brownie mix

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz. bag miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Make brownies according to package and let cool. Cut about ten 1 inch squares. Enjoy the remaining brownies. (I used a pan about 8 X 8)

For the chocolate chip cookie dough, beat butter with a mixer until creamy.

Add brown sugar and beat until smooth.

Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.

Add flour to butter mixture and beat until combined. Stir in mini chips.

Let dough chill covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a measuring cup to scoop batter by the 1/2 cup. Since it’s chilled, you may need to pack it with a spoon. Then use the spoon to remove the dough from the cup and place it on parchment paper. Work quickly so the dough remains chilled or either prepare one cookie at a time so the rest of the dough remains cold.

After the dough is on the parchment paper, make an indention and place a 1 inch square brownie in the center. Press the brownie down gently and work the remaining dough around the brownie. You can use your hands to shape the dough into a ball.

During this step, I found it easier to use a piece of parchment paper as a work surface since the dough can get sticky and then I used another piece of parchment paper for the baking sheet. If your dough gets too soft, you can chill the rolled dough balls for a few minutes right before baking.

Prepare six cookies at a time using a large baking sheet (15 X 20) and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Return the remaining dough to the refrigerator until time to bake the second batch.

Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about ten cookies using a little less than a 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie.

If your cookies start to get too brown before they are done baking, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over top for the last few minutes.

YUMMMMM......

Picture taken from the Bakerella website

I'll blog about it when I make it and let you know how it goes. If you make it before I do, comment and tell me about it :)

Pot Roast

Dinner tonight was a pot roast. A super easy and delicious pot roast thanks to The Pioneer Woman.

Funny story. Well probably not funny but it's still a story about the pot roast that I feel like sharing. You know what they say about sharing. Sharing is caring and I care so there. Totally justifies it :)

I cooked the pot roast yesterday because the meat had been in my fridge for a couple days and I was afraid it was going to go bad. I have a fear of meat going bad because I always end up leaving chicken in the fridge for too long and when I finally go to use it, it'll reek and I have to throw it out. Anyways. I started the roast yesterday after we got home from church and ate our lunch. I put the roast in the oven at 2:30. It was a 4lb roast so it needed to cook until about 6:30. I had to leave around 4 because I had choir practice at 4:30. I set the timer to go off at 5:30 which is around the time Frank and the boys would have to leave for church, church starts at 6 on Sunday nights. OK fast forward to after church, I believe it was just a bit after 7:30 or so. There was a special fellowship time after church because one of the couples were moving so there were finger foods and desserts. I was standing in line when Frank comes over to say that he forgot to turn the oven off. I did the math in my head and figured that the roast was probably fine. He wanted to go home to turn the oven off because he didn't want the house to burn down or something but the boys didn't want to leave. I told him I'm pretty sure the roast would be fine, if anything it'd just be a little overcooked. The oven was at 275 and I had put quite a bit of liquid in. Fast forward a bit. Frank left just a few minutes before I did, probably a little after 8. When I got home I checked the roast and it was cold. Apparently the power went off so the oven turned off. The roast wasn't even cooked through so back in the oven it went. All that worrying for nothing :)

Alrighty, on to the recipe

Pot Roast

Ingredients
1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 whole Onions
6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
Salt To Taste
Pepper To Taste
1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

Preparation Instructions
First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).
Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.
Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.
When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

Yum. Love the onions and the carrots. Since the roast doesn't have any potatoes in it, I made some mashed potatoes to go with it.

A MUST TRY!!

I was checking out The Pioneer Woman's website on Friday and she had posted what was going on over at the Tasty Kitchen blog. Usually on the Tasty Kitchen blog, there is a theme to each post and it's usually filled with tons of collages of beautiful and tasty looking treats that fit into the theme. On this particular day, it was all about brownies and bars. Yum, I love brownies. I was drooling just looking at all the pictures and was making a mental note of which ones I wanted to try next. At the end of the post was a picture of this brownie that looked AMAZING! I just knew I HAD to bake it.

Doesn't this look AMAZING?

Image taken from the Tasty Kitchen website

I wanted to make these for the bake sale but I wasn't sure how I would package it nicely and not make a mess with the melted Nutella so I just ended up making these for myself on Saturday. They were delicious! I have never had Nutella before and was a little nervous to try it but one taste and I was in love! I could eat it by the spoonful! Incredibly dangerous. For my waist anyways.

Oh Nutella. I heart you.


These brownies are amazing. A must try. The brownies by it self is really good. I love made from scratch brownies. I also love nuts in brownies so instead of topping the brownies with chopped hazelnuts, I incorporated them into the brownies. I also ended up doubling the recipe since the originally recipe didn't look like it made a lot.

Nutella Hazelnut Caramel Brownies

Ingredients
½ cups All-purpose Flour
⅓ cups Cocoa Powder
¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
1 cup Sugar
½ sticks Unsalted Butter
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
¼ cups Nutella - Melted (more If Desired)
¼ cups Caramel Sauce - Melted
1 bag (8 Oz.) Small Bag Of Hazelnuts, Or More If Desired

-This is the original recipe, not doubled.

Preparation Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Into a mixing bowl, add your flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Using a whisk, mix together and set aside. Into your stand mixer, add the sugar and butter; cream together. Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Add in your vanilla. GRADUALLY add in your flour mixture until it’s well combined. Batter should be thick and sticky.

Spray an ovenproof dish with cooking spray. Place a piece of parchment paper (slightly larger than your dish to allow for handles) inside. It will adhere to the bottom of the dish. Take HALF of your brownie batter and smooth it on top of the parchment paper. Take your caramel sauce and spoon it on top of the brownie mixture covering the entire layer of brownie. Place the remaining brownie batter on top, smoothing it out. Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until sides are firm and center is no longer giggly.

Allow brownies to cool completely before removing. Cut your brownies to your desired size using a serrated knife. Make a small indentation with your finger into each brownie. Take your melted Nutella and drizzle over the tops of the brownies. Garnish with the hazelnuts.

-Even though I doubled the recipe, I still baked it for 30-40 minutes.

I ate a piece for lunch today. Yummm


On another note, I think I need to take some photography classes.

I hope you decide to give this a try!

Goodies

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend. A LOT. It all started Friday. I probably wrote in my previous blog that our church was setting up a bake sale at an auction on Saturday to raise money for the teen trip and I volunteered to bake a couple things. I had originally planned on making some banana nut breads and I had bought a bunch of banans but they weren't as ripe as I was hoping they'd be. So instead, I baked some cookies and some lemon bars. Let's start with the cookies.

The cookies are called Carron's "Killer" Cookies that I found on the Family Circle website. These cookies were really easy to make and were really yummy. It's not something I would have normally baked because I'm not a fan of oatmeal cookies or coconut but there were some awesome reviews so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. They baked up beautifully. I had no idea where my camera was so I don't have pictures but they looked exactly the same as the pictures on the website.


Image taken from the Family Circle website.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light-brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashion oats
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup sweetened flake coconut
1 bag (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°. Place parchment paper on 4 baking sheets and set aside.

2. In small bowl, blend flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt with a whisk; set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat shortening and both sugars on medium-high speed about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in oats, Rice Krispies, coconut and chocolate chips.

5. Form balls with 2 tablespoons of dough and place 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes: 4-1/2 dozen cookies Prep: 15 minutes Bake: 10 minutes


The next thing I baked was Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares from The Pioneer Woman's website. Like the cookies, I probably wouldn't have baked these if I were looking for something to bake myself because I'm not a fan of fruit desserts but I thought lemons bars seemed like a good bake sale dessert. Plus, I trust The Pioneer Woman. I trust that any recipe she posts will be delicious. These were really good. I actually liked the lemon part of it. It wasn't overly sweet and had a nice tang to it. These were also really easy to make. After I cut the pieces up and wrapped each individual square in plastic wrap, I put it in the fridge to chill overnight.


Image taken from The Pioneer Woman's website

Here is the recipe

Ingredients
1-⅓ cup All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened
1 cup Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)
1 cup Oats
1 can (14 Ounce) Sweetened Condensed Milk
½ cups Lemon Juice
Zest Of 1 Lemon

Preparation Instructions
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.
Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan.
Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.
Serve cool.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 12

Up Next...

One of my next meals is going to be a pot roast from The Pioneer Woman's website. I've made this a couple times before and it is by far the best pot roast I've ever tasted. I think it's all the rosemary and thyme. Such wonderful flavors. I also LOVE the onions and the carrots. I am not usually a fan of onions or cooked carrots but I have no problems whatsoever eating them in this dish. SO good. I have the meat defrosted in my fridge but I'm not sure when to make it. I'll probably have to do it tonight so it doesn't spoil.


I'm also planning on making a few desserts today. I'm wanting to bake a couple things for a bake sale tomorrow. On that menu are some banana breads from the AllRecipes website. My favorite banana bread recipe from one of my favorite go-to recipe websites. I just hope my bananas are ripe enough.

If I don't think my bananas are ripe enough, I think I might make some scones. I like to put orange flavored dried cranberries in my scones. SO amazing. I might also make some brownies. Not sure which recipe I'll use for the brownies though. We are having a cookout tomorrow and I think I want to make some Nutella Caramel Hazelnut brownies. I'd make them for the bake sale but how messy would that be?

So that's what I'm planning on making today. Wish me luck. I probably will have to start it all after the kids are in bed which means I'll probably get very little sleep but that is OK. I have no problems losing sleep if it's for food.

Mochiko Chicken

I was trying to figure out how to prepare my chicken last week and I asked my friends on Facebook and someone posted that I should make mochiko chicken. It's a pretty popular dish in Hawaii but surprisingly I had never had it before so I decided to give it a try. I found a recipe on the AlohaWorld website. I marinated it over night and was going to cook it up for dinner but I was hungry and decided to cook up a few pieces for lunch. It was very simple to make, smelled amazing while cooking and it was delicious!

I had my camera handy so I decided to take some pics :)

The chicken after it had been marinating all night.


Smelling so very yummylicious


Here is a box mochiko incase you didn't know what it was


All done frying. I am drooling at this point.


I decided I needed a side dish so I made this.


All ready to eat :) I am a happy girl.


I realized as I was sitting down ready to eat that I didn't have a veggie dish but I was too hungry to do something about it.

Here is the recipe I used. I pretty much followed the recipe to a T except I didn't cut up the chicken. I would have but it was midnight when I remembered I still needed to marinate the chicken so I just left it whole.

Ingredients

5 lbs Boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/4 C Mochiko flour
1/4 C Cornstarch
1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp Salt 2 Eggs
5 Tbsp Aloha Shoyu
6-7 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp minced Ginger
1/2 C sliced Green onions

Cooking Instructions

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. In a medium bowl, sift together mochiko flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt, and mix well. In a small bowl, combine eggs, shoyu, garlic, and ginger. Whisk into dry ingredients. Add chicken. Fold in green onions, and make sure to coat all chicken pieces evenly. Marinate at least 4 hours; overnight is best. Deep-fry until golden brown.

Music fills my heart with joy!

Ok, I know this isn't about something I've made but I did say I wasn't going to limit this blog to just food and crafts. This does makes me merry so I shall file this under the Be Merry part of the blog :)

OK. Let's talk Glee.



Yes, as in the TV show on Fox. Before yesterday, we did not have local channels so I've been totally out of the loop. I kept hearing friends on Facebook talking about Glee and how much they LOOOOVE it. Of course, I was intrigued but it also slightly annoyed me because I had no idea what they were talking about and that I knew I was missing out on something. I did some Googling and Youtubing and the clips that I saw made me VERY excited. SO last week, I ordered the season 1 DVD of Glee. It arrived this morning. Right now I am on the second disc and I am LOVING it. Not only is it funny but the music and the singing is a pure delight! Literally fills my heart with joy. Good music and singing has that effect on me.

I know this won't be for everyone but I'm sure anyone who enjoys musicals will enjoy this show. Raychel, I think you'll really like it :) I'll let you borrow the DVDs when I'm done. Which will probably be either tonight or tomorrow haha.

Can't wait to watch the rest of season one tonight. I am SO glad we have FOX now, so I can watch it when season 2 starts up again.

What's on my mind you ask?

Well, that is a good question :)

One word...



BROWNIES

Yummmmm. What's better than a bowl of warm, fresh out of the oven brownies, creamy vanilla ice cream? I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Saturday night, I had my brother-in-law, Thomas, and his girlfriend, Raychel over for dinner. I had planned on making Oreo Cheesecake Bars for dessert. While at the store picking up dinner ingredients a few hours before dinner, I picked up a couple boxes of brownies to make just incase my cheesecake wasn't ready. When I normally walk by brownies mixes in the store, I try my best to ignore the temptation. I tell myself I don't need to spend the extra moolah and walk right on past it. I had a good reason for picking up the brownies this time. I am suffering now though. All I can think about is BROWNIES. Brownies, brownies, brownies. Brownies with ice cream, brownies with nuts.

Speaking of brownies, I made these salted caramel brownies from The Pioneer Woman's website a few weeks ago. It was SOOO amazing. Incredibly sticky, gooey, delicious caramel and rich chocolatey brownie. A MUST try! It wasn't hard to make at all. I was a bit hesitant about making my own caramel but I am glad I didn't let it keep me from making this dessert. I have said this before and I'll say it over and over again. I LOVE THE PIONEER WOMAN!!

Introductory Post.

Hi, my name is Stephanie.

Here are some quick little facts that everyone should know about me.

Birthday: March 18 1985 so that makes me 25 right now. Thought I'd do the math for you ;)
Occupation: Wife, Homemaker, Stay at home Mom, Referee, Cook, Maid, and Dishwasher.
Birth Place: Marshall Islands
Home: Honolulu, Hawaii
Current City/Town: Lewisburg, West Virginia

Now for some more indepth facts that are pretty important too :)

I am first and foremost a Christian. I love my Lord and Savior and without Him, I would not be where I am today and I thank the Lord daily for saving me and for all the blessings He has bestowed upon my life.



Secondly, I am a wife. My husband is Frank. I have been married to him for 5 awesome years. We met in Hawaii, where he was stationed while he was in the Marine Corps. We met October 2003 and got married January 2005. I love the life that we have made for ourselves. I am so greatful to my husband for being the hardworker that he is so that I can stay home with our kids.





Thirdly, I am a mom. I have 2 sons, Elijah aka Chuck and Christopher. I also have a baby girl, JoyAnna aka JoJo. Chuck was born February 16 2006. Christopher was born May 16 2007. JoJo was born November 19 2009. I was REALLY hoping and praying she would come on the 16 (or even the 18th) but she had her own plans. How cool would it have been if she was born on the 16th!? Oh well, I still love her :) I love my kids even though they, and when I say they I really mean my boys, drive me crazy every single day. Here's to hoping JoJo will be a better listener than the boys.

I have started this blog to keep track of and to share recipes that I have tried and will try and also for the crafts I have made and plan to make. I have to say, crafts are not my strong point. Ever since having my daughter, I have started to look into making things for her, like tutus and headbands, etc. I hate to admit it but I am not very creative but I am hoping that this blog will help me bring out the craftier, more creative side of me. I do, however, like to think of myself as a Foodie. I love food and I have a passion for cooking and baking. It hasn't been very good for my stomach, hips, and thighs but I have a hard time resisting food. Along with the things I make, I will probably post things about my family and probably a few random posts because I have lots of random thoughts thoughout the day. To anyone who reads my blog, I hope you enjoy and will be willing to try some of the things I share on here :) Have a great and blessed day.