Bacon wrapped, stuffed dates

With the passing of my Grandmother came the gifts. Most of them were flowers, some of them were dried fruit. I was grateful for all of them, however you can only put so many lilies in a house before the air becomes so dense you can barely breathe. Naturally I was especially pleased by the gift of dried fruit and nuts. I love food gifts. Something so necessary and useful, occasionally beautiful, really does make the perfect gift. Particularly when someone is grieving and less inclined to shop or cook for themselves. Make note here, one of the kindest things you can do for someone who is grieving is offer to come over and cook dinner or ask if they need some help with minor housework. It makes all the difference in the world. My mother in law knew this, and sent me more dried fruit and nuts than I knew what to do with. It sustained me when I couldn’t bring myself to do anything other than take care of the baby, and now its influencing my day to day cooking and baking. Enter, bacon wrapped dates stuffed with asiago cheese.

Peppermint Twist Cookies

I apologize for my absence. It has been a very long and trying couple of weeks. My Grandmother had a stroke two days after my last post and I lost her on Friday. Needless to say I have been very busy with my family and trying to keep everything in order as best as possible. I will probably be absent again over the next week as we make final arrangements and host a wake and funeral. Once again I apologize, the timing of this could not be worse. I’ve made it a miniature mission to help everyone prepare for the Holidays and the endless family gatherings and parties that ensue. I had mentioned about a month ago that I got a book full of holiday cookie recipes. Today I’m going to share my favorite. The Peppermint Twist Cookie.

Baking with Soda!

I will be forever in debt to the person who figured out you can bake with soda. My early first attempts (making a rainbow caking using diet sprite with friends) were horrible. They tasted pretty bad, they looked even worse. Using soda to make a cake mix is tricky business. Its not as simple as following package directions. You need to know what works and what doesn’t. Most of the time they don’t set right and they almost always stick to the wrapper, even if you use the more expensive parchment wraps. This doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious when prepared the right way, it just means they take a little more effort. The other day I made two types of soda cupcakes and today we’re going to take a look at what needs to be done.

The Great Pancake Debate

To make from scratch or to buy a box of batter, that is the question that weighs on the minds of the breakfast lover. Personally, I like to buy a box of mix. Making pancakes from scratch is a bit tedious and they don’t turn out any better than if you use the mix. In fact, they can turn out much much worse. The problem with making them from scratch is all the sifting. You have to sift the dry ingredients at least twice if not more, otherwise you end up with a very very dense pancake that doesn’t taste very good. The benefit of making them from scratch is you can do some creative things to the batter itself. When you use a box mix, you can add things like chocolate chips and fruits to the batter but you can’t really change the batter itself without compromising its texture. Time to explore the wonderful world of pancakes.

Better Than Sex Cake?

Yesterday I made my fiance his belated birthday cake. His actual birthday was last Friday, but I didn’t have the energy or the time to make a cake for him that day. We had a nice family breakfast, enjoyed one another’s company, played with the kids, and went out to the bar for some karaoke and drinks with friends. Where in there was I supposed to make a cake? I was going to make it over the weekend but we both got sick, effectively destroying our plans for our fancy pants party on Michigan Avenue and then a bonfire in the boonies with a few friends. By Monday we were both feeling fine and back to our normal schedules, I even made breakfast again.

A fast “fancy” breakfast

I’ve often noticed that the only time people eat a decent breakfast is when they go out to Ihop after a night of partying. I take issue with this since there are some great breakfast options that can be done in ten minutes or less and they taste great. I have a baby to take care of and every morning when I make her breakfast I see what she eats. Its usually a bowl of oatmeal or cream of wheat with some fruit and milk. Then I look at what my little brother eats for breakfast. Its a pop-tart. This drives me up the wall. It takes about ten minutes to make french toast and scrambled eggs, and if I’m in a good mood I take out my big pan and make some bacon. I don’t care how busy you are everyone can find ten minutes to make breakfast. It takes my coffee pot fifteen minutes give or take to brew. By the time my coffee is done I have a wonderful breakfast and a fresh cup of coffee to start my day. Let’s look into one of these breakfasts.

Know Your Oils and a Quick Technique to Master

Again, I apologize for the long delay. Sick people, doctors visits, fancy holiday party to prepare for, baby’s first Halloween … Its been nuts! And its not over yet, but seeing as I have found a few minutes I thought about what I could write. I decided to go with something simple, good to know, and useful. So today I want to take a few minutes to talk about something we all have in our kitchens but maybe don’t know exactly the best way to utilize. Oil.

Cheesecake Cupcakes

First off let me apologize for my absence, its been a super crazy couple of days around here. Now that we have that out of the way I bring you one of the first recipes I ever reworked. I am not an extraordinarily health conscious person, hell, I think I drink a 12 pack of soda a day on my own. I am, however, mindful when it comes to nutrition. Occasionally I throw the idea of being healthy to the wind and over indulge, but I try my best to ensure that only occurs on holidays.

I love a good cheesecake. I love refrigerator cheesecakes, I love baked cheesecakes, plain, chocolate … I love them all. The problem with making a cheesecake is that if I make one I’ll eat one. I mean I will literally eat the entire thing. The solution is to make mini cheesecakes, or cheesecake cupcakes. I’ll post a link to the original recipe at the bottom.

Cheesecake Cupcakes

2 pkg (8 oz) lite cream cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar substitute 

1 tsp vanilla 

Mix all ingredients together, beat until smooth. Its easiest to do one brick of cream cheese and one egg at a time so you don’t cement your mixer.

Fill cupcake tins either 1/2 full to make 24 cupcakes or 2/3 full to make 12

Bake at 350 for approximately 17 minutes until tops are lightly golden and cupcakes have set. Cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack and cool completely. Store in the refrigerator. 

The recipe as it was had 456 calories for the 12 serving size. This  recipe has 112 for the 12 serving sized cheesecakes. While it isn’t all about calories, there are a lot of other factors, most people tend to count calories more than anything else. These are delicious, and are great plain or topped with any sort of fresh fruit topping.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,147191-227192,00.html <– original recipe  

Quick Lunch/Side Salad

As someone with children I truly understand what it means to be pressed for time. Some days I think its a miracle to find five minutes for myself. I’ve had to adjust the way I eat to fit my new life. That means I can’t spend half an hour in the kitchen whipping up something spectacular for lunch, but it doesn’t mean I can’t eat delicious food. I’ve learned to do “make ahead” lunches. Things I can throw together on a Sunday night and eat throughout the week. I’ve also learned to make a few things that way I don’t have to eat the same thing every day.

Healthy Snacking

Snacking is inevitable. I personally eat about five or six times a day. You have to keep yourself full or you’ll be more likely to over indulge later on and regret it shortly after. The moral of the story is always keep some healthy snacks on hand. You’d be surprised how inexpensive it is to stock up on a few things that way you aren’t eating the same thing and getting bored with it quickly. You’ll never eat healthy if its boring.