What’s the first recipe I’ve made? Answering that question brings me back to way back in time, way back when I was only nine years old.
Tag: recipe
Garlic Mushroom Gnocchi
Merry belated Christmas! Christmas baking is done for this year, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves – New Year’s is just a few days away, and more cooking must be done. An amazingly cheap and fast dinner that the whole family can enjoy is Gnocchi, in all of it’s related recipes.
This particular Garlic Mushroom Gnocchi is extremely time-and-cost efficient, healthy, and full of flavor. Gnocchi takes only 3 minutes to boil, and don’t cook it too long otherwise it will get chewy and harder to consume.
New YouTube Video: Garlic Spiral Rolls
Just wanted to let everyone know that a new video is up on my YouTube channel! This one is a recipe video for my Garlic Spiral Rolls, which were posted on my blog last year, and you can find them here on my blog.
If you like the video, please subscribe for more! I’m planning on releasing a couple more just over the next week, and am hoping for more to follow in the near future.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
For the Christmas season, sugar cookies are one of the most popular desserts to bake. This recipe was one my grandma used to make; it is slightly different from other sugar cookies because it uses powdered sugar, anise, and baking soda. It has a perfect texture, and the dough has perfect consistency for rolling out on a floured surface. Enjoy!
Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipe – – – – PRINT
10 Thanksgiving DESSERTS
With the holidays just around the corner (and Halloween already behind us) now comes the time for planning how you are going to celebrate Thanksgiving, and then Christmas… Though most people plan Christmas first…
Anyhow, I’ve compiled some great Thanksgiving DESSERT ideas from around the web to get you thinking about what you can start preparing to bake!
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PUMPKIN PIE on Michael’s Test Kitchen
First and foremost, of course is our PUMPKIN PIE, the most popular thanksgiving dessert, and most popular pumpkin dessert all around. For this one, I actually have a quick and easy recipe on my blog for pumpkin pie, check it out here:
2. PUMPKIN ROLL on Taste of Home
Another favorite of mine, pertaining to Thanksgiving and pumpkins, is the Pumpkin Roll. Basically a layer of pumpkin cake rolled around cream cheese frosting–very sweet and delicious! Check this great recipe out on Taste of Home.
3. PUMPKIN BREAD on Michael’s Test Kitchen
Another awesome and quick way to use pumpkins in your next thanksgiving baking project. Pumpkin bread is easy, takes hardly any time to make, and makes a very moist and sweet quick-bread. Slice and enjoy with butter or cream cheese. Check this Pumpkin Bread recipe out on my blog:
4. “Apple Pie by Grandma Ople” from allrecipes
Yes, apple pie seems to be the most universally used pie for holidays or even birthdays. It is probably the most popular pie, and yes, of course can be used perfectly well for Thanksgiving. Unless you are already planning on making apple pie for Christmas, Apple pie is a great dessert to bake on Thanksgiving. Check out this amazing recipe on allrecipes.
5. Candy Corn Cupcakes on Michael’s Test Kitchen
These cupcakes are a great way to make a dessert based of the traditional Candy Corn. Check out this Thanksgiving dessert on my blog:
6. Pecan Pie on Epicurious
Speaking of traditional pies, Pecan Pie is one of those popular traditional desserts usually served on Thanksgiving or Christmas. It is incredibly simple, and if you haven’t tried it before, there’s always a first time for everything. Check out this great recipe for Pecan Pie on Epicurious:
7. Apple Cake on Michael’s Test Kitchen
This Apple Cake is a great festive dessert with an awesome use of apples to create a quick & easy moist and spice-filled bread. Check it out on my blog:
8. Pumpkin Pie Bars on Delish
These pumpkin bars are a small version of pumpkin pie, reducing it into little bites, a very creative idea! Easy to make and of course great for the holiday baking season.
Check out this great recipe on Delish.
9. Molasses Marble Cheesecake on Michael’s Test Kitchen
This cheesecake is great for the holidays, and has enough cheese in it for any cheese eater. Molasses is marbled into the filling to achieve the festive splash of brown, and the crust is made by crushing / processing molasses cookies.
Check out this amazing recipe on my blog!
10. Apple & Blueberry Layered Pie on Michael’s Test Kitchen
This apple & blueberry layered pie is an awesome twist on the classic apple pie, and is another amazing pie to put on your holiday-baking to-do list.
Check out this recipe on my blog!
Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out additional recipes on my blog!
Olive Garden Copycat Breadsticks
These flavorful breadsticks were made to copy the ones made at Olive Garden, and can be made in just over 90 minutes.
Spread the hot breadsticks with melted butter, and season with a bit of garlic powder to finish it off.
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 ¼ cups flour, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
Sprinkling of garlic powder
DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, put in the warm water, yeast, and sugar, to proof the yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix 2 cups of the flour and salt briefly to combine. Add in the yeast mixture, and stir till all combined. Begin to gradually pour in the remaining 1 ¼ cups of flour until stretchy and smooth looking. Add in the 2 tablespoons of oil and continue to knead with the knead attachment in the bowl mixer. If the mixture is too wet and sticky, add in more flour.
Once dough is the right consistency, take dough out of bowl, spray bowl with nonstick spray, and put the dough back into the bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for an hour, until doubled in size.
When done rising, cut dough into 12 equal sized pieces, and roll each piece into long breadstick-shaped logs. Place on a greased baking sheet, and let rise for another 20 minutes in a warm place. While rising, preheat oven to 425.
When rise time is done, place the breadsticks in the oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
Once out of the oven, brush the breadsticks with the melted butter, and lightly sprinkle with garlic powder.
Egg Omelettes Recipe
Omelettes make the perfect healthy breakfast, as they contain protein in the form of eggs, and nutritious fillings of your choice, wrapped inside.
Omelettes are actually not as hard to make as many think. In this post, I’ll be presenting a simple recipe and method for making omelettes.
Ingredients: (serves 2)
4 eggs
Sprinkle of Salt
Sprinkle of Pepper
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cold cubed butter (optional)
1/4 cup diced ham (optional)
1/4 cup shredded cheese
2 tablespoons diced bell-pepper (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
First, dice your slices of ham into thin little bits.
Then shred your cheese.
And lastly, dice the (frozen, or really cold) butter.
First, dump your eggs into a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper, and pour in the tablespoon of water.
Melt butter over medium heat on a nonstick pan.
Beat your eggs thoroughly, about 10 seconds.
Add the cubed butter to the egg mixture, and whip for another 15 seconds on high.
Pour the egg butter mixture into the heated pan, and let it spread across the pan, and cook for 10 seconds.
Then push a bit of the side of the circle towards the center, and let raw mixture fill it’s place. Use a nonstick spatula for this.
Keep going around the circumference of the egg mixture in the pan, pushing towards the center, and letting the uncooked egg slid into its place. Soon you’ll have a mostly cooked circle of egg.
Sprinkle the ham, shredded cheese, and optional bell pepper over one half of the egg circle.
Carefully fold the unfilled layer over your fillings, as shown.
Grasp the handle of the skillet, and flip the omelette out onto a plate to serve.
Serve fresh and warm.
For step by step pictures, see my original recipe post on instructables.
Healthy Fruit and Nut Snack Balls
These healthy fruit and nut snack balls make a perfect snack anytime.
They are essentially dates, cranberries, cherries, almonds, and walnuts, and deliver the nutrition of the fruit and the protein and fiber of the nuts.
They are also very easy and simple to make.
Ingredients (makes approx. 24 balls):
40 medjool dates
¼ cup cranberries
¼ cup cherries
¾ cup almonds
½ cup walnuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Optional, but recommended:
½ cup mini chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Place dates, cranberries, and cherries in a food steamer.
Steam for about 10 minutes.
Place steamed fruits in a food processor, and blend them until creamed. Add cinnamon and salt and blend a bit more.
Place almonds and walnuts in a blender, and pulse until nuts are in very small little chunks, as shown.
Dump both the nuts and fruits into a large bowl, and mix and stir until completely incorporated.
If using chocolate chips:
Let fruit/nut mixture cool in fridge before attempting to stir in chocolate chips.
If you are using chocolate chips, now’s the time to mix those into the fruit mixture.
Roll mixture into little 1-inch balls with your hands, and place all on a parchment/wax-paper lined tray.
Place in fridge for 10+ minutes before using.
RECIPE REVIEW: Pumpkin Bread from “Once Upon a Chef”
Instead of posting one of my own recipes, I decided to review a recipe from another food blog; so this post is a Recipe Review from the food website: ‘Once Upon a Chef’, with its recipe for Pumpkin Bread.
SUMMARY:
First, I made this pumpkin bread, and it was a very good pumpkin bread. I would recommend you make it. It is a quick, easy, and pleasing recipe for fall, and if you don’t want to used the canned pumpkin, just buy a sugar pumpkin, and see my instructions on how to make pumpkin puree.
METHOD:
This pumpkin bread is as quick and easy to make as cookies. It starts with the sugar and butter; then the eggs, whipping until fluffy; then the pumpkin puree, then the dry ingredients. Then you simply pop it into the oven–the only thing being that it takes approximately 65 minutes to bake at the relatively low temperature of 325 degrees, insuring a burn-free soft bread.
Also, I really like that the recipe calls to butter and flour the bread pans (and I highly recommend it, too) because it makes the bread so much easier to come out of the pan. This goes especially for cakes, as well. It makes a lot of difference.
The pumpkin bread was very soft, with a great pumpkin flavor.
CHANGES:
The only thing I did differently was to reduce the amount of sugar (something I do with all my desserts, now). In my experience, even if you reduce the sugar by a third, you may never notice a difference at all. And, it is automatically much healthier for all that.
I used homemade pumpkin puree instead of canned pumpkin. Homemade pumpkin puree is good if you want it fresh and healthy, and canned pumpkin is good if you like saving yourself time in the kitchen.
So, overall,it was an awesome recipe, and I recommend it to anyone who likes baking and making seasonal treats; and anyone who is looking for a great pumpkin bread recipe, most of all.
Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out this Pumpkin Bread Recipe from Once Upon a Chef!
Michael's Test Kitchen 