...
...
...
...
SSL
All site content, including photos, © Busy-at-Home 2009-2013, All Rights Reserved, Contact Busy-at-Home for permissions
Given the opportunity to try King Arthur Flour’s brand new private label Baking Cocoa and Pure Vanilla, I was in the mood to make something completely new, but as satisfying as an old tried and true recipe. It needed to be something really special, because if King Arthur is willing to put their own name [...]
Given the opportunity to try King Arthur Flour’s brand new private label Baking Cocoa and Pure Vanilla, I was in the mood to make something completely new, but as satisfying as an old tried and true recipe. It needed to be something really special, because if King Arthur is willing to put their own name on a product, there’s no question it is top of the line. I was hoping to make something where the high quality ingredients would be highlighted and used to their best potential. Hmmm… I wonder what would happen if I tried to make layer bars with my favorite brownie batter as the base? Deliciousness!!! That’s what!
Brownie Layer Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup cocoa
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, halves or chopped
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 2 cups chocolate chips
For Brownie Batter
For Layers
Instructions
- Gather brownie batter ingredients.
- Gather topping layer ingredients. (I realize there are 2 cans of the sweetened condensed milk in the picture, but as the recipe came together, I decided to only use one.)
- Mix melted butter and cocoa.
- Add sugar.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla.
- Add flour and salt and mix until incorporated.
- Spread batter in greased 9×13 pan.
- Sprinkle shredded coconut over the brownie batter.
- For the next layer, add the pecans.
- Sprinkle butterscotch chips over the pecans.
- In the final layer, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the butterscotch.
- Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the whole pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. The sweetened condensed milk will be browning and bubbly around the edges of the pan.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://busy-at-home.com/blog/lusciously-rich-brownie-layer-bars/
As expected, the King Arthur Pure Vanilla and Baking Cocoa put this recipe over the top! Since my daughter’s wedding last April, when I did all the cakes, I have used only Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla. Now that I can buy it with King Arthur’s own label, I know I’ll never be disappointed with the quality and the flavor it produces in my recipes. King Arthur’s Pure Vanilla is actually an amazingly fragrant and delicious blend of full-bodied Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans and fruity, floral Tahitian vanilla beans. It’s gluten-free and it’s more concentrated than ordinary vanilla extracts.
King Arthur Flour Unbleached All Purpose Flour, King Arthur Flour All Purpose Baking Cocoa, King Arthur Flour Pure Vanilla
King Arthur’s All Purpose Baking Cocoa is their own exclusive blend of natural cocoa; the rich body of Dutch-process cocoa; and the deep-dark color of black cocoa. It can be used interchangeably in recipes that call for natural cocoa and for those calling for Dutch-process. The depth of chocolate flavor I achieved using it was a real treat!
I received samples of King Arthur’s Pure Vanilla and All Purpose Baking cocoa in order to test them in my own kitchen and write this review. No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required. The views and opinions expressed are wholly my own and based on my personal experience.
I have been testing a new addition to my cooking and baking tools – the OXO Egg Beater. I always loved getting the opportunity to use an egg beater, as a child. It just seemed so close to actually being grown up enough to use the real mixer! My ten-year-old and grandkids feel the same [...]
I have been testing a new addition to my cooking and baking tools – the OXO Egg Beater. I always loved getting the opportunity to use an egg beater, as a child. It just seemed so close to actually being grown up enough to use the real mixer! My ten-year-old and grandkids feel the same as I did back then. They stand just a little taller and feel so much more “grown up” when they can operate the egg beater on their own.
The difference between old time egg beaters and this ingenious new model from OXO are manifold:
- In the old days, egg beaters were all metal and difficult to clean and thoroughly dry, so it was common for the gears to get gunky or rusty and eventually just not function smoothly. With the OXO egg beater, the gears are encased in the handle, protecting them from splatters and you don’t immerse the handle in water, just wipe it down with a damp cloth.
-
Beaters are easy to remove.
The beaters can be removed and passed to chubby-fingered little fans, who have been waiting anxiously to lick them clean. Licking the beaters of old-fashioned egg beaters could have painful and dangerous consequences. No one wants to spin their tongue into metal beaters. Ouch! I love this great “sharing” feature of the OXO egg beater.
- Clean-up is easy as the beaters and the entire base can be removed and tossed into the dishwasher.
- The non-slip grip on the handle and the turning knob make operating the egg beater smooth and simple, whether you’re whipping eggs, cream or some other delicious treat.
- It’s also very cool that they have built a stainless steel bar across the bottom of the egg beater, that extends just below the beaters, holding them off the bottom of the bowl, without making your arms tired trying to hold it up. They thought of everything!
- It’s sturdy. Since being introduced to OXO products a few weeks ago, I am impressed with the quality and durability of the tools they offer for my kitchen and household. I anticipate getting many years of use from this high quality egg beater.
My intention was to definitely share a new and yummy recipe with you, in conjunction with this great giveaway. I used my new OXO Egg Beater to whip up 36 (yup! count them! 36!) eggs for a brand new recipe, Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole for the crock pot. The egg beater was fabulous and whipped up all those eggs with ease, but alas, the recipe was an EPIC fail. 
No Christmas casserole for you! -lol- But, no worries. I still have pictures of this nifty kitchen gadget in action. My ten-year-old has become a pudding-making fool, since she realized how easy it is to whip up with the egg beater! All you need to make a ten-year-old incredibly happy is 2 cups of cold whole milk and a box of his/her favorite flavor of instant pudding. Hand them the egg beater and smiles will abound!
Whipping up some pudding with the OXO Egg Beater.
Push the buttons on each side of the egg beater to release the base and separate it for cleaning.
Sweet success! Pudding is GOOD!
I really think this is one of those kitchen tools you will find yourself reaching for on a daily basis. If you’re like me, you are constantly do a job that doesn’t really merit use of a bulky stand mixer, but would work better with a little extra oomph over straight mixing by hand. The OXO egg beater is perfect for those times. So, go grab one for your kitchen and make something delish, like a brownie pudding trifle and some fresh whipped cream to top it off.
Mmmmmmm……brownie.pudding.trifle.with.fresh.whipped.cream…..Talk to you later! 
Oh snap! I got distracted., but I didn’t forget…
Win an OXO Egg Beater for your own kitchen by entering this easy giveaway! All you need to do is take a stroll through OXO’s website , and in a comment below, tell me which of their handy tools you would love to add to your collection in 2012. Then hit the DO IT and Enter buttons in the form below to register your entry and reveal extra entry options. The giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday, January 29, 2012.
I received an OXO Egg Beater to test it in my own kitchen and conduct this review. No monetary compensation was recieved and a positive review was not required. The views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
When I decided to try this super-simple recipe, my intention was to have some chicken breasts prepared for the week, that we could use on salads, in quesadillas, in sandwiches or on mini pizzas, etc. You know, quick-fix lunch things. What actually happened blew my mind! I have never had white meat chicken that was [...]
When I decided to try this super-simple recipe, my intention was to have some chicken breasts prepared for the week, that we could use on salads, in quesadillas, in sandwiches or on mini pizzas, etc. You know, quick-fix lunch things. What actually happened blew my mind! I have never had white meat chicken that was so delicious, so moist and so beautiful. I started out making lunch fixins’ and ended up making a beautiful meat entree that you (or I) would be proud to serve to guests at a dinner party! The genius new kitchen appliance that made this possible is my NuWave oven (which I have put a lot of miles on in just one week ). If you have never tried one, you will be amazed at all it can do. I will be posting a series of recipes, this week that I have made in it. The versatility is incredible! This is the one kitchen appliance you will keep on your counter at all times. You can buy one on their website, or if you haven’t entered, yet, be sure to click over to my GIVEAWAY and register to win one for your own kitchen.
Also, if you haven’t seen it, yet, check out my recipe for Perfect Grilled Cheese made in my NuWave!
Ingredients
- 5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (I had 7 HUGE ones, that I bought for $1.97/lb, which was only $9.87 total)
- seasoning salt (Just use your favorite. I used Country Bob's and it was amazing!)
Instructions
- I seasoned the first side of my chicken breasts before I even took them off the packaging tray. That way my hands never even came in contact with the raw poultry. Shake the seasoning salt liberally over the meat to throughly coat it.
- Using a fork, I then place the chicken breasts in my NuWave oven on the 4 inch rack and lay them seasoned-side-down.
- Then use your seasoning salt, again, to liberally coat the other side of the chicken and place the cover on the NuWave oven.
- Leave the NuWave on high power (It automatically is defaulted to this, unless you change it. high power is 350 degrees.) and set cook time for 10 minutes.
- Hit start and wait for the timer to beep. When the timer goes off, tilt the cover back onto the holder and your chicken is ready to turn. Use a fork and flip each piece.
- Replace the cover and set a cook time of ten minutes, for the second side. My boneless skinless chicken breasts were huge and in the end, I added another three minutes, for a total of 13 minutes on the second side.
- Your temptation, now, will be to eat them immediately, but if you leave the lid on your NuWave and allow the chicken to rest for about ten minutes, before serving them, you will experience the most flavorfully moist and juicy white meat chicken you have ever eaten.
- Serve to guests as part of a very frugal and delicious meal!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://busy-at-home.com/blog/moist-juicy-and-flavorful-boneless-skinless-chicken-breasts-fast-easy/The results of this delicious discovery were two-fold. First of all, I realized that for less than ten dollars, I had prepared a main dish worthy of a company dinner, meaning this could be used to frugally prepare a wonderful dinner party and it was done in only TWENTY THREE MINUTES! Amazing! Honestly, the chicken breasts I cooked were so huge, that had I planned on serving them as an entree, I would likely have cut most of them in half, making 12-14 servings for under $10! I love that! Secondly, I was so impressed with the way this chicken turned out, I went immediately to the grocery store and picked up a bird to try something I have never done before — roasting a whole chicken. Let’s just say, “I’m fabulous!” and I can’t wait to show you how easy and delicious that was! Watch for the recipe.
Grilled cheese doesn’t get better than this AND I can make 4 at a time in my NuWave oven! The bread is toasted to perfection and the cheese is creamy, gooey and delicious! Plus, if you haven’t seen my review of the NuWave oven, be sure to check out this post and enter our GIVEAWAY [...]
Grilled cheese doesn’t get better than this AND I can make 4 at a time in my NuWave oven! The bread is toasted to perfection and the cheese is creamy, gooey and delicious! Plus, if you haven’t seen my review of the NuWave oven, be sure to check out this post and enter our GIVEAWAY to win one for your own kitchen!
You could spice this up with your favorite mustard over the butter or a slice of ham added on top of the cheese. Use your imagination and create custom grilled sandwiches for everyone at lunchtime!
The NuWave toasts grilled cheese sandwiches to perfection. I love the butter flavor, without the greasy feel left when frying them in butter in a skillet. One of the best and easiest grilled cheese sandwiches I've ever eaten.
Ingredients
- 2 slices bread per sandwich
- 3 slices cheese (I used two white American & 1 yellow American) per sandwich
- butter
Instructions
- Butter each slice of bread on both sides. You can just use softened butter or brush melted butter on with a pastry brush.
- Use the 4 inch rack inside your NuWave oven. Place one slice of buttered bread on the rack.
- Add the cheese slices on top of the bread.
- Cover the cheese with the second slice of buttered bread.
- Place the cover on your NuWave oven. Use full power and set the cook time for 4 minutes.
- At the end of 4 minutes, the timer will beep. Remove the oven cover, place it in the holder and using a spatula, turn your grilled cheese sandwiches, to toast the other side.
- Replace the oven cover and set the cook time for 4 more minutes.
- At the end of 4 minutes, remove the oven cover and serve your perfect grilled cheese sandwiches!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://busy-at-home.com/blog/perfectly-simple-delicious-lunch-grilled-cheese-in-the-nuwave-oven/If you haven’t seen my review of the NuWave oven, be sure to check out this post and enter our GIVEAWAY to win one for your own kitchen!
Sloppy Joes make a perfect quick supper that is filling and generally enjoyed by most people. It’s a staple in most kitchens and easy to fall back on in a pinch. The canned sauce varieties offer an even quicker alternative when I’m in a hurry to get a meal on the table, but my husband [...]
Sloppy Joes make a perfect quick supper that is filling and generally enjoyed by most people. It’s a staple in most kitchens and easy to fall back on in a pinch. The canned sauce varieties offer an even quicker alternative when I’m in a hurry to get a meal on the table, but my husband is not a fan of those. He prefers my homemade version. I recently came up with a compromise version that he liked and got me out the door to AWANA and Jr. High Youth Group in plenty of time. All I did was start with a base of an inexpensive canned sloppy joe sauce and then added the extra zip necessary to satisfy David’s discerning palate.
Spicy Sloppy Joe with Smoked Gouda Cheese
Fortunately, we’ve been testing some delicious products from Country Bob’s that added the perfect “kick” to our sloppy joe supper. The gift pack I reviewed contained a cookbook, Country Bob’s Seasoning Salt (which my daughter now has to have each evening when we make popcorn), Country Bob’s Barbecue Sauce (It was absolutely delicious on chicken.), Country Bob’s All Purpose Original Sauce (already one of our family favorites for burgers, steaks, chicken and pork), Country Bob’s Apple Chipotle Sauce and Country Bob’s Honey Habanero Sauce. We have loved Country Bob’s for years, but this was our first opportunity to try the seasoning salt and the two spicy sauces. We’re hooked ! They truly are “all purpose” sauces with so many possible uses in everything from meat, poultry, and casseroles to soups and stews.
I reviewed this awesome Country Bob's Gift pack.
Seasoning Salt, an assortment of sauces and a cookbook!
Fast, easy and satisfying with a spicy kick to turn same-old, same-old into something special!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
- 1 (26.5 oz) can of sloppy joe sauce
- 1/3 cup Country Bob's Honey Habanero Sauce
- 1/3 cup Country Bob's Apple Chipotle Sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
Instructions
- Heat beef and all ingredients over medium low heat, until sugar is melted and all ingredients are blended and heated through.
- Serve on hamburger buns with sliced cheese and your favorite burger toppings. I love these with some thinly sliced smoked Gouda. Yum!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://busy-at-home.com/blog/sloppy-joes-with-a-spicy-kick-my-simple-supper-recipe-and-a-country-bobs-review-give-away/
You and your family will have the chance to try a couple of these yummy sauces for yourself, if you win our Country Bob’s giveaway. Country Bob’s has generously agreed to send our winner TWO bottles of All Purpose Sauce! Register, below, to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received a Country Bob’s Gift Pack in order to test the product and write this review. no monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required. As with all Busy-at-Home reviews, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
Are you a pressure cooker pro? I had absolutely zero experience with one, prior to last week, and after some of the old horror stories I had read, I fully expected to burst, damage or maim myself (Gross! That would be so messy!) or others if I was foolish enough to try and use one. [...]
Are you a pressure cooker pro? I had absolutely zero experience with one, prior to last week, and after some of the old horror stories I had read, I fully expected to burst, damage or maim myself (Gross! That would be so messy!) or others if I was foolish enough to try and use one. -lol- It turns out that I had nothing to fear! Thankfully, some of those stories may be slightly exaggerated and ALL of them were from a point in time where the technology had not developed to the level we enjoy, today. What a relief to see how safe modern pressure cookers have become! The Instant Pot Electric slow cooker was easy and safe to operate. And best of all, the Instant Pot is electric. I don’t even need to use a burner on my range, which means more space available to cook other dishes while my Instant Pot pressure cooker cooks a dish for our meal!
The Instant Pot slow cooker I tested and reviewed for this post. What a fabulous appliance!
Pressure cooking has many advantages, speed being the most noticeable, for this novice. However, after preparing several different recipes, it was soon evident that speed is just scratching the surface of the list of benefits of using the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker.
- During pressure cooking, heat is very evenly, deeply, and quickly distributed. This provides not only faster cooking times (up to 70% reduction in cooking times!), but consistency throughout your dish. Foods, especially meats, tend to be more tender and juicy when prepared in a pressure cooker. Dishes burst with flavor, since they are cooked in a sealed environment, with only enough liquid to keep the pressure cooker filled with steam. This pressurized steam pushes seasonings and flavor deep into the food and also results in the greater retention of nutrients.
- The InstaPot has 10 safety features built in, that exceed the already vastly improved safety of modern pressure cookers.
- Instant Pot has eight intelligent programming, one-key operation buttons built in. You can select pre-programmed cooking times for Soup, Rice, Multi-grain Rice, Congee, Meat & Stew, Beans & Chili, Steaming, and Slow Cooking. (Yup, it can also function as a slow cooker!)
- You can select Manual Mode to select your own specific length of time for the recipes you’re preparing.
- It’s automatic! Once a dish has completed the selected time or cooking program, it automatically switches to Keep Warm mode. You don’t have to stand over the cooker, monitoring every second of cooking and timing it to remove it from the heat at the proper time.
- The delayed cooking feature allows you to plan up to 24 hours ahead when preparing dishes.
- Reduced cooking time, means reduced energy usage and it already uses far less energy than your range or oven. Imagine the energy-savings recognized in 70% shorter cooking times!
- You don’t heat up your kitchen using it and it is extremely energy-efficient. The Instant Pot exterior housing is fully insulated and cool to the touch during short-term operation and only lukewarm during long-term cooking. The “intelligence” built into it, means that only the inner pot is being heated in order to maintain the pressure level and that energy is concentrated on cooking the food. Having to heat the inner pot only to reach and maintain specific pressure levels means that the heating element is only actively “heating” about 40% of the time during long-term cooking.
- It is totally quiet during operation. I remember a spitting, steaming, click-click-clicking pressure cooker on my Grandma’s stove top when I was a child. There is none of that with the Instant Pot. I have the option of opening the pressure valve and releasing steam quickly at the end of cooking or simply allowing the steam to dissipate naturally as part of the pre-programmed settings. Even with the manual quick-release of the pressurized steam in the pot, the noise is minimal.
- It has been easy to learn to use. I was somewhat fearful, in the beginning, but have really enjoyed how simple it is to operate the Instant Pot. Straight from the box, I was able to have my first dish cooking away in a matter of minutes.
In the Box - These are the manuals, tools and accessories that were included in the Instant Pot package with my slow cooker.
If I had to pick one thing that I wish was different, it would be that the User Manual and Recipe Booklet, included, would be more detailed. Both seem to assume the user will have some general knowledge of pressure cooking and so did not answer all the “newbie” general questions I had about pressure cooking. Many of those questions were easily answered through Google searches and studying pressure cooker recipes, at Food.com and Allrecipes.com, however. I have also heard of using pressure cookers for home canning and there was no mention of this possibility, so I will need to further research that, as well.
The Instant Pot is definitely one of those multi-use appliances that is going to be heavily used in my kitchen. It’s a slow cooker, rice cooker, vegetable steamer AND a pressure cooker. I’m really anxious to see all the ways I will be able to use it for holiday cooking. The first day I received it, I prepared this beautiful and absolutely mouthwatering pork loin roast in only 40 minutes.
Sliced pork loin after 40 minutes in the Instant Pot.
The meat was moist and tender. Yum!
I also used the Instant Pot to cook dry beans. From dry to tender and ready to use in any recipe, it was only 45 minutes! I forgot to take any pictures in all the excitement of mass cooking all those beans so quickly, but here’s all I did. I used a 1 lb bag of red beans and a 1 lb bag of black beans. Place the beans in a large bowl and cover completely with water. Allow them to soak for about 4 hours (Skins will be wrinkly.) Drain and rinse the beans. Place the dry beans, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 cup butter in the Instant Pot. Cover beans with water, making sure the water level is 2 to 3 inches above the level of the beans. Lock pressure cooker lid into place and make sure steam valve is sealed. Press the program button for beans and leave the cooker to work. At the end of the 45 minute cycle, quick-release the steam and remove the beans. They are ready to use in any recipe. I actually used some for taco soup and then froze the rest in quart-sized ziptop bags.
The recipe I want to share with you was one I devised hurriedly on Wednesday afternoon, when I realized I hadn’t thawed anything for supper, which was going to have to be early because of Wednesday night church activities. I decided to use ingredients I already had in my kitchen and make a hearty soup that would fill every one up, for their evening out. This yummy Potato Bacon Chowder was the happy result. It was so simple and exceptionally fast, which was just what I needed.
Yum! Potato Bacon Chowder made in my Instant Pot. Once the pot came up to pressure, the actual cooking time was 5 minutes! Amazing!
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 3 stalks celery, sliced thin
- 1 large onion, small diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon seasoning salt (I used Country Bob's)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 lb. bacon, fried crisp and rough chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and diced green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Place potato chunks into inner pot of pressure cooker.
- Add celery, onion, garlic, seasoning salt, pepper and butter. Stir to combine.
- Add bacon and chicken stock to pot and then stir to combine. (I debated on whether to add the bacon, now, or when the soup was done. Now, meant sinking that smoky flavor deep into the potatoes. Later, meant having that crispier texture element to enjoy in my finished soup. Tonight, I opted for the deep flavor (Totally delish, by the way!), but you could go either way and it would be tasty and perfectly acceptable.) If you decide to wait, you will add the bacon when you stir in the milk and cream.)
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot slow cooker and lock it into place.
- It will start, off to the side, so it drops into the slots in the rim and then you will grip the handle to spin the lid into the locked position. See how the arrows line up when it's locked?
- Push the Manual mode button and set the timer for 5 minutes. (I started with 10 and then checked half way through. At five minutes, the potatoes were fork tender and perfect. Amazing!)
- Quick-release the steam from the pressure cooker.
- When steam is fully gone, remove the lid of the slow cooker. There should still be liquid in the pot with your veggies.
- Use a potato masher to crush vegetables, resulting in a thick, semi-smooth mash. I left a few bigger chunks of potato, in mine, for texture. That's totally a preference thing, so adjust for what your family likes.)
- Add cream and whole milk, stirring to incorporate.
- Serve hot and steaming, topped with sour cream, shredded cheddar and sliced green onion.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://busy-at-home.com/blog/potato-bacon-chowder-and-an-instant-pot-electric-pressure-cooker-give-away/Are you hungry, yet? Me, too! Well then, let’s get down to it. You can certainly purchase this fantastic Instant Pot Pressure Cooker for your kitchen and wouldn’t it make a fabulous gift? The price at Amazon is a good value for such a versatile, multi-purpose appliance. However, if you’re feeling lucky, you may just want to enter below, because one very blessed Busy-at-Home reader is going to win an Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker! Now, this giveaway is slightly different from others that I have done. While it is still open to everyone residing in the U.S., it’s also open to those in Canada. The other major difference is that residents of Hawaii and Alaska would incur some shipping charges to receive their prize, as it is shipping from Canada, not the U.S. So, with that in mind, enter, enter, enter! You definitely don’t want to miss out on this one!
I received an Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker in order to test it in my own kitchen and write this review. No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required. As with all Busy-at-Home reviews, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
Have you ever made cream puffs? Why didn’t someone tell me how simple this is!!???!!! Or how delicious? Seriously, the local bakery has nothing on me with these beautiful pastry delights. I can’t believe I’ve never tried to make them before. With three parts and one of them having a fancy French name like choux [...]
Have you ever made cream puffs? Why didn’t someone tell me how simple this is!!???!!! Or how delicious? Seriously, the local bakery has nothing on me with these beautiful pastry delights. I can’t believe I’ve never tried to make them before. With three parts and one of them having a fancy French name like choux pastry, I was always too intimidated to try. Thank goodness for the Secret Recipe Club and my assigned blog, this month, Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. The Frugal Antics author is a third generation baker with a passion for family and food. I spent hours poring over the recipes on her site, bookmarking dozens, before finally selecting her Cream Puff recipe for my November Secret Recipe Club entry. Having never attempted cream puffs, before, I honestly didn’t change a thing. The recipe is AMAZING, as is, though now that I know I can do it, I may play around with some different fillings — even some savory ones would be delish! Anyway, a huge thank you to Frugal Antics for sharing the recipe and this is how I prepared them at my home.
…
Decadently delicious, custard-filled cream puffs with ganache.
…
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 can evaporated milk + enough milk to make 2 cups
- 2 beaten eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 (12 oz) pkg milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Ingredients for the Choux Pastry
Custard Filling:
Easy Ganache:
Instructions
- Combine the water and butter in a saucepan. Heat until it boils.
- Add the flour and stir vigourously until it forms a ball (about a minute).
- Remove from heat and transfer to another bowl. Let sit 5 minutes to cool slightly.
- Add eggs one at a time. The dough will be yellower, much softer and sticky.
- Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (The original recipe said the recipe would make 8 large puffs, but I got 10 puffs that seemed plenty large for a single serving.)
- Bake at 400 degrees, until the puffs are puffed up, golden brown and dry.
- Large puffs will need to bake 45 minutes and the smaller ones need around 30 minutes. (Mine baked about 35 minutes.)
- In a microwave safe bowl (I usually use my 8 cup batter bowl from Pampered Chef), combine sugar, salt and flour.
- Add milk.
- Microwave a minute at a time until thick, stirring between each minute.
- Beat eggs in a small bowl.
- When milk mixture is thickened, stir a small amount of the heated mixture into the eggs to temper them (this warms the eggs and prevents them from scrambling and ruining your custard). Add the eggs into the custard and microwave a few more times for a minute at a time until nice and thick.
- Add the vanilla.
- Cool before filling the cream puffs.
- Cut the tops off the puffs.
- Fill with custard. Replace tops.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave one minute at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate and cream are blended, smooth and heavenly!
- Drizzle over the cream puff tops.
- Enjoy!
To make the choux pastry:
To make the custard:
To make Ganache:
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://busy-at-home.com/blog/be-your-own-diy-bakery-easy-custard-filled-cream-puffs-with-chocolate-ganache/
Be sure to check out all the other fabulous Secret Recipe Club Entries for November!
Pinterest is a dangerous place! We’ve already established that. But it is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. When I’m tired and I need to just unwind and “do” nothing, I love to browse through the latest recipe pins. I was innocently scanning the latest posts, when I came across the most delectable picture, entitle [...]
Pinterest is a dangerous place! We’ve already established that. But it is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. When I’m tired and I need to just unwind and “do” nothing, I love to browse through the latest recipe pins. I was innocently scanning the latest posts, when I came across the most delectable picture, entitle Almond Joy Bars. They looked amazing and I clicked through to Our Recipe Garden blog to find out how they were made. After reading it, I realized I already had all the ingredients and it was only about a 5 or 10 minute mix-up. Needless to say, the other four blog posts I was working on, were set aside for a moment and I set out to put this yummy treat together. Since I love Almond Joy candy bars, the first thing I changed up was to add almonds to the recipe. I also used an additional bag of chocolate chips and simplified the assembly. This makes a HUGE batch and cut into 2 x 2 pieces, made 54 squares. They are fast, easy and definitely worthy of any Christmas cookie and candy tray you put together over the next few weeks. The recipe below is my variation on the original.
DELISH! Simple, easy and chocolatey satisfying.
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
- 2 (14 oz) bags shredded coconut
- 3 1/2 (12 oz) bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup whole almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Spray a 12 x 18 sheet pan with pan spray.
- In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until combined.
- Add the flour and salt.
- Mix to combine until it resembles chunky bread crumbs.
- Press crumbs into the prepared pan.
- Spread coconut in an even layer over the crust.
- Sprinkle whole almonds over the coconut layer.
- Drizzle condensed milk evenly over the coconut and almonds.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until set.
- During the last five minutes of baking, put chocolate chips into a large microwave safe bowl and melt them on half power, stirring every 30-45 seconds, until chips are completely melted and can be stirred smooth.
- Remove the bars from the oven and set pan on a cooling rack.
- Spread the melted chocolate over the top of the bars.
- Cool completely and then refrigerate until the chocolate hardens.
- Cut into squares.
- Enjoy!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://busy-at-home.com/blog/dark-chocolate-coconut-joy-bars-delicious-easy-homemade/Are you that recordkeeper extraordinaire that writes on the back of all your photos, as soon as they’re printed, creates gorgeous photo albums for each child and has family albums for every year since you’ve been married? (I’m harboring ungracious thoughts about you, right now. ) Or do you have envelopes and boxes of snapshots [...]
 |
 |
 |
 |
Are you that recordkeeper extraordinaire that writes on the back of all your photos, as soon as they’re printed, creates gorgeous photo albums for each child and has family albums for every year since you’ve been married? (I’m harboring ungracious thoughts about you, right now. ) Or do you have envelopes and boxes of snapshots in the garage and in the attic and in the closet and under the bed and well, you get the picture — that cover multiple years in your family’s history — all mixed together — and lots of scrapbooking kits and supplies that are still in their packaging, though you had good intentions of using them?
And now that you have a digital camera, do you faithfully print out all the good photos, delete the bad ones and do all that stuff I talked about in the first sentence (Okay, now you’re making me cry.) or are all your pictures, good and bad, stored in folders on your hard drive, not being enjoyed by anyone and using up tons of space that makes your computer slow and wastes space? Yeah…so…I have some photo issues.
My Memories Digital Photo Album software has given me new hope for our family’s photo history. When I was approached last week, to review it, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect; since we were about to make our cross-country (well, cross-four states) trek on a family vacation to Ohio. This could be REALLY good! I accepted the review opportunity with renewed faith that at least one family event would be recorded for posterity and then we left on our vacation. While we were gone, I took tons of video and I snapped hundreds of photos. Once we returned, I resolved to get right to the project at hand and test out the My Memories software. I absolutely love it! THIS I can do!
The cover for our vacation album.
What’s so special about this digital photo album software? Well, lets make a list:
- It’s simple to learn and use.
- It comes with hundreds of paper, embellishment and template options – something to fit every occasion, plus I can add more, if I choose.
- I can create a photo album and print it myself in either a 12 x 12 size or and 8.5 x 11 size.
- I can create a custom photo album and have as many hard copies professionally printed as I want, in either a 12 x 12 size or and 8.5 x 11 size. (What great gifts!)
- I can create a photo calendar and have it professionally printed. (Another awesome gift idea!)
- I can create an interactive photo album, burn it onto a DVD and share or gift it to someone. These albums can have links, music and video in them and you “flip” through them just like turning the pages of a real photo album. It’s so cool!
- I can turn my digital scrapbook into a movie and burn it to DVD or share it online.
- I can create high quality jpeg images of my album pages to use online or for other projects.
- I can narrate my album, by adding voice recordings, as I create it.
- I can download different templates, designs, embellishments, papers etc., straight from the My Memories website and they have an entire section of them that are totally free!
- I can add videos and music to my albums, as I create them.
- I can save and share my album in a movie format that is compatible with iPods and other handheld devices.
In the interest of loading time, I am including a link to the User’s Guide, which is loaded with screen shots, and can show how simple this program is to use. You won’t believe how quickly you will be able to create your own gorgeous photo albums.
..
EVERYBODY WINS!!! Not only is My Memories sponsoring a giveaway for the Digital Photo Album Suite that I reviewed, they are also providing an exclusive Busy-at-Home promo code for ALL our readers to receive $10 off the software download, bringing the cost of the software to only $17.98, during their amazing 30% Off Sale. Using the code with your order will also get you an additional $10 coupon code off any kits or papers you want to add to your program! $10 off and $10 in free add-ons! That’s like everyone winning the giveaway! See why I’m excited? So definitely, enter the giveaway, below; but if you’re in a hurry like me, take advantage of these great savings and order your My Memories Digital Scrapbooking software download, now. Use the exclusive Busy-at-Home Coupon Code : STMMMS23221 and receive $10 off your software + a coupon code for $10 off your next purchase in the My Memories store! I used my $10 coupon to download some adorable cooking and recipe add-ons. My next project will be a Family Cookbook! Plus, I’ll be doing lots of albums of all our holiday celebrations. The timing of this great deal is perfect!
 |
 |
 |
 |
Giveaway Rules:
You must be 18 or older and a resident of the U.S. to enter. Mandatory Entry must be completed before any optional entries will count. Winner will be selected in a random drawing using random.org. Deadline to enter is midnight, (CST), Sunday, November 6, 2011. Winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond with shipping information. After 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
Mandatory Entry:
Visit My Memories, and in a comment below, tell me which Digital Scrapbooking Kit is your favorite.
Optional Additional Entries:
- Like My Memories on Facebook. Leave a comment below with your Facebook Name to let me know you’ve done it.
- Follow My Memories on Twitter. Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
- Follow Busy-at-Home on Twitter. Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
- Like Busy-at-Home on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
- Follow Busy-at-Home on Google Friends Connect. (click the JOIN button in the right-hand sidebar.) Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
- Subscribe to the Busy-at-Home Newsletter with this link or in the right-hand sidebar. You will receive an email confirmation with a link that must be clicked to confirm your subscription. Once you click the email link to confirm your subscription, leave me a comment to let me know you’ve done it.
- Tweet this giveaway (maximum of 1x per day, please). Win a fabulous Digital Scrapbooking Software Suite! Preserve memories, create gifts & more @mymemoriessuite @busyathome http://ow.ly/75KJM Leave a comment below with a link to your tweet.
- Post this giveaway on your Facebook page. Win a fabulous My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software Suite! Preserve precious memories, create recipe books, Christmas gifts & more! http://ow.ly/75KJM Leave a comment below with a link to your post.
…
I received the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking software in order to evaluate the product and conduct this review. No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required. As always, at Busy-at-Home, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own. This page contains an affiliate link.
My friend, Carrie with Children, shared her great idea with me a few weeks ago as her blog celebrated an anniversary and gave me the go-ahead to copy away. So, this morning, I’m sharing my very first post ever with you. It’s so fun to reminisce and see how far the blog has come. I [...]
My friend, Carrie with Children, shared her great idea with me a few weeks ago as her blog celebrated an anniversary and gave me the go-ahead to copy away. So, this morning, I’m sharing my very first post ever with you. It’s so fun to reminisce and see how far the blog has come. I have tons of fun giveaways coming up to share with you, in the next 30 days, so you can celebrate with me; but today, I’m feeling a little nostalgic and hope you’ll enjoy my first attempt at blogging. At the end, I’ve added a linky, where you can add in your very first post if you’d like. It would be so fun to be able to go back and read where we all started, so I hope you’ll feel free to join in my nostalgic moment! Here’s my first post:
Globs of Goo: A Ravioli Story
October 19, 2009
…
“Ravioli sounds good.” It was a casual remark, made in passing. What did it mean? David and I have been married for 26 years and never in that time has he asked for, nor have I offered to serve, ravioli. Just the thought of it brings back childhood memories of weeping and wailing and little canned globs of slimy goo in tomato sauce. How could this be happening? Well by the time I had collected myself with a snappy comeback involving nutrition, David was already downstairs watching the game. I never got to share my thoughts on the subject with him, but I assumed we could all just move on with life and forget it had ever happened.
Interestingly enough, over the course of the next few days, twinges of conscience and curiosity got the best of me and I started wondering if there might be a palatable way to provide my favorite guy with a plate of ravioli. Five years ago, I would have headed straight to my extensive cupboard of cookbooks, but the convenience of technology has wooed me and so I typed the link to my favorite online recipe site, Recipezaar. After a thorough search of the top-rated ravioli recipes I made my selection, Ravioli (Dough and Choice of 4 Fillings) and set off to erase my “globs of goo” terrors.
I post the original link for this delicious recipe because I want you to know where I started. I might as well come clean from the beginning. I’m a recipe alterer. And my measuring is usually something like, “It calls for x amount — give or take.” If I’m out of something or don’t like something I leave it out or substitute something else. Plus, I came from a large family. I also have a fairly good-sized one of my own and I have just never fine-tuned the ability to cook just 4 servings of anything. I desperately want to be one of those organized super-women who does Once-A-Month Cooking, but I simply don’t have the attention span to complete 30 meals in a single day. So, I often double or triple a recipe as I am preparing it for a meal. Then I have one to serve right away and one or two to put in the freezer. That’s what I did with the ravioli variation I want to share with you, today. And let me just preface the recipe by saying, “I’m not afraid of ravioli any more.” It was delicious! My only regret is that I forgot to snap a picture of the finished product, lovely and steaming on the plate. When I serve it next from my freezer reserves, I’ll try to remember to take a snapshot.
Ravioli Dough and Hamburger Spinach Filling
Yield: 48 very large ravioli noodles
Dough:
- 9 cups unbleached white flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 6 eggs
- 1 ½ – 2 cups water
Filling:
- 1½ lbs lean ground beef
- 2 Tbl butter
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 5 green onions, chopped
- 1 Tbl dry parsley flakes
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups grated Italian cheese blend
- 1 tsp nutmeg
If making the ravioli dough by hand, the recipe instructs to sift the flour and salt together and place the mixture on a board, making a well in the center. Break eggs into the well and then beat the eggs slightly. Combine the eggs and flour, gradually adding enough water to make a stiff dough.
I prepared the dough using my Bosch mixer. (That’s a completely different post for another day, but suffice it to say that my Bosch is hands-down my favorite kitchen appliance.) I put all the dough ingredients in the mixing bowl (starting with only 1 ½ cups of water). I used my dough hook and mixed everything on medium, adding a few more teaspoons of water, until it had formed what is a very stiff, dense dough. While I allowed the noodle dough to rest for about 15 minutes, I prepared the filling.
I melted the butter in my cast iron skillet and added the ground beef, onions and garlic and cooked it until the meat was nicely browned. Next, I transferred the meat to a large mixing bowl and added the remaining ingredients for the filling, combining them thoroughly.
Constructing the Ravioli
Rolling the dough will be a challenge if you haven’t let it rest long enough for the gluten to relax so it will stretch easily. Remember I multiplied this recipe roughly 3 times the original, so this is a big batch of very dense dough. I quartered it to roll it out, keeping the unused quarters covered with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out. Roll it out on a floured surface until it is very thin (about 1/8″ to 1/16 ” thick).
The next step is to add the ravioli filling. I elected to use my cookie dough scoop, so that the filling amount would be uniform in each noodle. I scooped 24 onto this one piece of dough.
Roll out a second quarter of dough and try to roll it slightly larger than the first. You are going to want it to stretch over the little hills of filling. This is the part where the density and stiffness of the dough are a great help. It stretches easily without tearing. Ingenious!
Once your second quarter is rolled, take a pastry brush and lightly brush the surface of the first dough with a few drops of water. Be sure to go inbetween each mound of meat and around all the edges. Place the second rolled quarter over the top of this first one, gently pushing and stretching the dough down and around your filling so that they seal.
If you have a pretty, zig-zag edged pastry cutter, this is the time to use it. I used a knife and cut my ravioli into squares. I checked all the edges for a good seal and crimped them as I went with the tines of a fork. Place the completed ravioli on a floured board, or like me, on a floured cookie sheet and allow them to dry at least one hour before boiling.
If you have created a big batch, like me, you still have two quarters of dough waiting for you to prepare the next 24 ravioli. While the first batch is drying, it’s the perfect time to finish up. Repeat all the construction steps above.
Cooking and Serving your Ravioli
I boiled the dried ravioli in boiling salt water, with just a touch of olive oil added to keep them from sticking together. They cooked about 10-15 minutes until the dough was tender and then I used a large slotted spoon to gently remove them and put them on a serving plate. We served them with our favorite spaghetti sauce and a sprinkling of grated Italian cheeses. A fresh, green salad rounded out the delicious meal!
Well, I’m no little Italian grandma, but I think things went great for my first experience making homemade ravioli. I confess I am still disturbed that I don’t have a “finished product” picture for you, so I will have to make a quick plate tomorrow and snap one. That will be easy to do, since the extra, dried, but uncooked ravioli was flash-frozen in a single layer on cookie sheets and then transferred to a gallon zipper bag. I can remove just one or two, or enough for a whole family meal, boil them in a flash and have a delicious plate of pasta ready in the time it takes to heat the sauce.
As promised, the beautiful results!
I’ll never be afraid of ravioli again! Mangia!
…
This recipe post is linked to Tasty Tuesday.
