Tag Archives: cooking

Crepes or Pancakes

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Crepes or Pancakes

I am so proud of myself. I made crepes for the first time about a week ago. I’d never tried to make these skinny pancakes and don’t know what made me decide to try but I am happy to report they were a success. Now this comes from someone who has never, ever been able to make a decent pancake. (Unless it’s an apple pancake) 

Apple Pancake- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Pancakes are supposed to be easy right? Well I have never been successful. I finally settled on super fat (thick)  Bisquick  pancakes or a trip to IHop for my pancake fix. Then I saw an episode on Food Network about pancakes and it’s been percolating in the back of my mind. After all if I can make a successful crepe I should be able to make pancakes, right?

The Crepes

I think of crepes as a breakfast food so I made my first ones Strawberry but I think  next time I will go for savory instead of sweet. Maybe stuff them with sausage and eggs.  

Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

The recipe was very simple and easy. From Allrecipes.com

Basic Crepes

Prep time- 10 minutes

Cook time 20 minutes (Mine was less)

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup All Purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 Cup milk
  • 1/2 Cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons butter , melted

Directions

  1. Whisk flour and eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add in milk and water, stirring to combine. Add Salt and melted butter. Beat until smooth.
  2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle using approximately 1/4 cup of batter for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so the batter coats the surface evenly.
  3. Cook until the top of the crepe is no longer wet and the bottom has turned light brown. 1-2 minutes. Run a spatula around the edge of the crepe to loosen and flip to cook the other side. About a minute more. Serve hot.

Pancakes for One

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Recipe from One dish kitchen

With a successful crepe experience behind me I moved on to my nemesis, pancakes. I was really brave too. I didn’t even use a mix! Pancakes from scratch coming up and wonder of wonders, they were good!

Prep Time- 5 minutes   Cook time – 10 minutes  Total time – 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 Cup Milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 1 Tablespoon salted butter (melted)
  • 1 teaspoon salted butter for the pan/griddle

Directions

  1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
  2. In another bowl beat the egg and then whisk in the milk, vanilla and melted butter
  3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Lumps are ok. If the batter is too thick add more milk a little at a time.
  4. Melt Butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
  5. Ladle about 3/4 cup of batter onto the skillet to make a pancake
  6. Cook until bubbles break the surface of the pancake and the underside is golden brown (about 3 minutes)
  7. Flip with a spatula and cook about 1 minutes more on the 2nd side.
  8. Repeat until the batter is used up.

Even with this scaled down recipe there was more batter than I needed for just me. I made two pancakes for me and probably had enough batter left for 3 or 4 more. 

So which one do you want to try first?

 

Enjoy- They are yummy!

Garlic, Broccoli, Mushrooms, and Chicken, Oh My!

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Garlic, Broccoli, Mushrooms and Chicken Stir Fry

What’s not to love? A Stir Fry meal is quick, easy and loaded with veggies. 

 

May be an image of food and text that says 'GARLIC CHICKEN STIR FRY vegetable oil 1 cup broccoli florets 1 cup mushrooms 1 yellow bell pepper 1 Ib chicken breasts salt and pepper 4 cloves of garlic 3/4 cup chicken broth 1 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp cornstarch Cে'

From the recipe critic

Don’t You just Love Stir Fry?

One of my favorite meals is Stir Fry. I started out trying to duplicate the Chinese chicken and broccoli from my local Chinese Take out restaurant. Even after years of trying I just can’t get it right BUT…I have developed some great alternatives. My sister even gave me a WOK for a Christmas present one year. 

Some of my favorite veggies for stir fry are broccoli, asparagus, and/ or mushrooms. 

My new Chicken and Broccoli recipe

Last night I tried a new stir fry recipe. The differences are in the way the sauce is made. This one was real easy and thickened up nice. I hope you like garlic! 

I didn’t use the WOK this time because the recipe called for a large skillet but after making this once I’ll use the Wok from now on. 

One tip- Prep is everything. Have all your ingredients  prepared before you start cooking because it’s going to move fast, especially if you are using a WOK.

Garlic  Chicken Stir Fry

Recipe from The Recipe Critic

5 minute prep time   15 minute cook time

Stirring the chicken, broccoli and mushrooms all together.

Photo from the Recipe Critic

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (Divided use)
  • 1 Cup broccoli Florets
  • 1 Cup mushrooms (sliced)
  • 1 Yellow bell pepper (cored, seeded and thinly sliced)
  • 1 pound boneless chicken breast (cut into 1 inch pieces)
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 4 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
  • 3/4 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 Teaspoons sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 Teaspoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat
  2. Add Broccoli, mushrooms and bell pepper to pan. Cook 5-6 minutes or until vegetables are tender- DO NOT OVER COOK
  3. Remove Vegetables from pan and cover with foil to keep warm
  4. Wipe pan clean with paper towel. (I think this is unnecessary step but it’s in the recipe so up to you) Heat remaining tablespoon of oil over high heat.
  5. Add Chicken to pan in a single layer, season with Salt & Pepper
  6. Cook 3-4 minutes per side or until chicken is browned and cooked through.
  7. Lower heat to medium and add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds
  8. Add Vegetables back to pan
  9. In a Small bowl whisk together the chicken broth , sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch
  10. Pour over chicken and veggies and bring to a simmer.
  11. Simmer 1-2 minutes or until sauce has just thickened
  12. Serve immediately over rice

Photo credit- Deb Neumann

Notes

I left out the bell pepper as I am not a fan but as with most stir fry recipes you can add or subtract veggies to suit your tastes.

I didn’t measure the veggies – just put all the broccoli and mushrooms in- Way more than the 1 C each the recipe called for. Again, your preference.  The veggies are great when they have a well flavored sauce

I’m still looking for a good fried rice recipe if anyone out there has one

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whipping Cream Biscuits

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Whipping Cream Biscuits and More

Have you ever heard of Whipping Cream Biscuits? I had not. I’ve heard of Baking Power biscuits, Buttermilk Biscuits, Flaky layer biscuits (from a tube) but never Whipping Cream Biscuits. I guess they are also called just Cream Biscuits if you want to shorten the name.

Blackberry jam on a cream biscuit

Photo from Julia’s Simply Southern

 

Where did I hear about them you ask. Well as a retired person I have time to indulge in one of my favorite pass times- reading.  Currently I’m reading Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series.

You may remember a 1980’s TV show called Spenser for Hire. Robert Urich played Spenser, a Boston based gum shoe who played fast & loose with the law in order to catch the bad guys. Spenser is an enlightened thug who enjoys cooking and quoting poetry. He is consider a wise guy even though his comments are kind of lame at times. 

Spenser works with Hawk, played by Avery Brooks. I always loved the Hawk character. But I digress, I heard about Whipping Cream Biscuits in one of the early Spenser novels. Spenser mentions making them for his breakfast and it made me curious. I needed to try them. 

Whipping Cream Biscuits the Recipe

Light, airy and slightly sweet. Very Tender and delicate

Ingredients

  • 2 C All purpose flour
  • 1 Tbs. plus 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
  •  4 Tbs. Butter, Chilled and cut in cubes
  •  1 C plus 1 tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F
  2. In mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder , salt and sugar together
  3.  Next, cut  the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly
  4.  Add Heavy Whipping Cream to flour mixture stirring just until combined.
  5.  Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out
  6.  Use your hands to press out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold into thirds then press out again. Repeat fold once more  then press dough for cutting.
  7. Using a Biscuit Cutter, press straight down (do not twist) to cut each biscuit. Place  the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet
  8.  Bake 12-15 minutes until light golden brown on top
  9.  Brush top with melted butter if desired.

My Results

Photo credit- Deb Neumann

 

I made extra large biscuits because I planned to use them to make bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches and wanted the eggs to fit without falling over the sides of the biscuits. I don’t think these biscuits were the best choice for that. They came out super soft and and light as advertised with a very nice rise.  The sugar gave them just a hint of sweetness but they just didn’t hold up to the task of the sandwich. They crumbled too easily. Tasted great but kind of messy.  However they are absolutely the best with butter and jam or honey or for strawberry shortcake.

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Sorry for the fuzzy photos. I used my call phone and those pics are always a little out of focus.

Strawberries

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About a week ago I saw a demonstration video on Facebook about How to Hull Fresh Strawberries. What caught my attention was the first frame, you know the one that’s like a photo until you press the arrow? It was of a woman with a knife and a bunch of mutilated strawberries with their tops cut off.

hulled_strawberries_basic_knife_skills_step_1

I hate to say it but it looked like the way I hull strawberries too so I pushed the arrow. After the introduction which made fun of the woman and her knife and her poor sliced up strawberries they got to the good stuff.

berryknife

According to the demonstration you can perfectly hull a strawberry with a straw! They made it look so easy.

strawberry

Of course I had to run right our and buy a pint of strawberries to see if it really worked.

All you do is stick the straw up the bottom of the berry. When it pops through at the top it takes the hull with it. Very easy!

Strawberries 001a

At first I didn’t hold the straw close enough to the tip and it bent but once I got the hang of it I can tell you it does work and it’s pretty quick.

Strawberries 002a

 

But what I like most is that you get a beautiful strawberry that you can keep whole to decorate your plate or dessert.

 

A little Food Post

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I don’t usually post about food or recipes. There are so many really good cooks out there blogging about food but my friend Corporal Chef inspired me to actually post a favorite recipe now and then.

Also on my Facebook feed everyone is posting food recipes, mostly sweet and fattening !(my favorites) I can’t keep up but this one is worth a look.

Actually the one I’m about to share wasn’t a favorite until yesterday because I made it the first time yesterday but what impressed me most was how close to restaurant it tasted!

Everyone knows that Stir Fries are all the rage these days. I ran across this recipe and decided to give it a try.

The name on it was “Hot & Spicy Beef Stir Fry” but it isn’t that hot  or spicy. It’s pretty mild. I used my electric Wok set to about 350 degrees.  If you have never done a stir fry especial in a wok, it’s crucial that you prep. There’s no time to chop an onion between steps. Stir fries are one of the fastest ways to throw together a meal that I’ve found so be ready! 🙂

stirfry 001 copy

When I try a recipe for the first time I make it just like the recipe says. After I have tried  it once I tweak it and make it mine. This one doesn’t require much tweaking. I added mushrooms but that was my only change .

So without more “babble” here it is.

scan0008a copy

I actually found this at All Recipes.com. Let me know if you try it and if you make any changes or “Tweaks”.