Saturday, December 21, 2013

Homemade Biscuits


Have you ever bought something prepackaged or frozen from the store, made it at home, and thought to yourself, "these are wayyyy better homemade!" Well, that is always the case with me and biscuits! There is nothing quite the same as homemade biscuits (as with just about anything prepackaged).
I love waking up in the morning and having fresh biscuits with various jellies, eggs, and bacon.... Although not extremely healthy by any means, it conquers the morning better than any fast food restaurant!
Here's my favorite recipe for biscuits that my mom has been making us for so many years!

Ingredients
2 Cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons shortening
2/3 cup of milk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
3. Cut shortening into flour mixture until well-combined and crumbly (picture below).
4. Slowly add the milk into the mixture until it becomes a desired rolling consistency.
5. Flour counter surface and rolling pin; Then dumb out dough onto surface and roll out dough.  Roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Then, using a circular shaped cookie cutter (or biscuit cutter), cut out biscuits and place on an ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone.
6. Bake for about 10-12 minutes in a 450 degree oven; Until the tops are brown.
7. Enjoy!

These are super simple to make and do not require a bunch of time!! I can tell you that they are way better than the prepackaged biscuits and maybe a bit healthier too!! I hope you enjoy them!!










Friday, December 20, 2013

A Sneak Peek of What's To Come

Hey readers!
Wow, this has been one crazy month for me!! It has been a while since I posted because of a number of reasons - one of them being that I was in SPAIN for two weeks!!! I am so excited to share with you some of my food adventures that I was able to experience while in Spain in the near future!!
I just wanted to thank you all for reading and checking out this blog!! I hope that the next year brings about some exciting new recipes, mistakes, mishaps, and new adventures!!
While looking forward to next year sounds fun - I am hoping to show you some of my favorite Christmas treats within the next week! Stay tuned for more, and as always, thanks for reading!
If you have any comments, questions, or ideas for 2014, I would love to hear them!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Egg & I - Breakfast and Lunch



Hello! So I'm curious, how many people actually go out to breakfast on a regular basis? I BARELY ever go out for breakfast. One, because it's too early and I don't like talking to people before 9am.  Two, because I generally eat the same thing for breakfast and don't like to break routine! Ha.
But, this past week I did break both of my rules and headed out to breakfast with a few people!  I really wanted to try out this new restaurant that popped up around my house and was excited to have somewhere else besides Village Inn.  So, my companions and I headed out to The Egg & I for breakfast!  I was excited to try out a new place!
As we walked in, I was a little surprised at how quickly we were able to get seated.  It was a Saturday morning and I thought it would be a long wait.  But I was pretty impressed that we got in right away!  As we sat down and began looking through the menu I realized two things: #1 - Almost everything on the menu had some form of an egg in its dish.... and #2 - The restaurant is called EGG & I.... So why wouldn't it?? (My cousin made fun of me for wondering why there wasn't much to choose from besides eggs.)  Anyways, there were probably literally only 5 dishes that did not contain eggs.  I was expecting them to offer cinnamon rolls, breakfast rolls, or crepes; but the only options without eggs were literally, two choices of pancakes and a few choices of waffles!
I guess after eating at Village Inn, IHop, and Panera, I was expecting their menu to offer more choices.  But, I have always heard that the less restaurants offer, the better they are at creating their dishes because there is less that they have to experts at!
So, I ordered the strawberry and banana waffle with whipped cream and bacon on the side! I know, no eggs for me!  I just feel like if I order eggs at a restaurant I could easily just make them myself at home! I know, I'm strange.



Needless to say, it was very delicious!!! I was pretty impressed.  I also like the fact that all of their waffles are whole wheat waffles! That makes it a bit more healthy for me, as the customer!
This restaurant has the nice homey feel that almost anyone would enjoy!  It is a very kid-friendly restaurant that is not quiet by any means.  It was busy on the Saturday morning that I went!
I will say that although the food was good, it was a bit pricey.  I think it was about $13 for my meal in total, with a water.  Although it was nice not to have to cook my own meal, it is something that I could have made at home without too much effort.
I will definitely go back here when I go out again for breakfast sometime!  I would like to try their lunch menu sometime because I have a feeling it would be good, quality food!  I would also like to see what the atmosphere is like on a non-weekend day.
If you have any questions or comments about this restaurant, lemme know!
Here's the link to their restaurant, enjoy!

http://www.theeggandirestaurants.com/

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Pretzel Bread Bowls



Happy 1st of NOVEMBER!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, this year has flown by!! I cannot believe that the cold snowy weather is just around the corner and that my summer days are gone. Gone!

I LOVE eating warm soup in the winter time, as most people (besides my brothers), like doing! I am one of those people who is ALWAYS cold! No matter how many layers I have on or what I am doing, if it's under 60 degrees outside, I'm freezing. SO, soup helps warm me up!

I do have to say though, there is something better than just eating soup in a plain old bowl... Why not have it in a bread bowl!?!?! Better yet, a Pretzel Bread bowl!! That just seems soooo much better doesn't it!? I have to say, these pretzel bread bowls are absolutely delicious and addicting! I am a carb-girl, I love everything bready and snacky (yes, those are both valid words)! So these were so hard not to eat more than 2! Ha.

Here's the recipe if you want to give these a try! They are not that difficult to make, but they do take about 2 hours total.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups hot water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
6 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
8-10 cups water
1/3 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons coarse grain sea salt

Directions:
1. In a mixer bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons melted butter, 2 cups hot water and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Stir to combine and also to melt the butter.

2. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the water and allow to proof (foam/bubble up) for 5-6 minutes.

3. With the dough hook attachment (you can also do this by hand instead of in a mixer) stir in three cups flour and two teaspoons salt. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining three cups flour.

4. Mix until a dough ball forms. Continue kneading until dough becomes somewhat elastic(about 4-5 minutes). 5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for one hour. If your house is a little on the chilly side (as mine is this time of year) let the dough rise in a warmed oven. Just turn the oven on low for a couple of minutes (while you prepare the dough). Then, turn it off, but keep the door closed, trapping the heat. Before you place the dough in the oven, be sure it's not too warm, you don't want to bake the dough. Not yet anyway.

6. After and hour punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into eight pieces and roll into small balls. Place on a greased baking sheet, cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.


7. In a large pot heat 8-10 cups of water until just boiling. Stir in 1/3 cup baking soda. Keep at a low boil and place each dough ball into the water. Cook for 45 seconds, flipping in the middle. Remove and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

8.Once you've boiled each ball cut a small X on the top of each dough ball with a sharp knife. Brush with the two tablespoons melted butter and top with coarse grain sea salt.

9. Bake at 400°F for 15-18 minutes, until very brown on the outside.

10. Once the bread bowls have come out of the oven, cut a hole in the center and "dig out" the middle. Making the hole as large or as small as you want to.

11. Pour in some soup and enjoy! You can use the cut-out centers for dipping purposes! 




*I found this recipe at the link posted below, but I did change the amount of yeast needed because I did not think that they would raise as well without a bit more.

Sources: http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2013/10/homemade-pretzel-bread-bowls.html

I will post the recipe for the soup pictured here in a later post!! :)


Monday, October 28, 2013

Baked Egg in Avocado




Well, I recently joined the Pinterest world and LOVE looking at all the food/recipes on the website!  The only thing is that some things look too good to be true.  You must read these recipes with some skepticism if the food looks too good to be true!  When I saw a picture of an egg baked in an avocado I was a little skeptical... For one, the picture looked too perfect (above picture); Two, I couldn't imagine what a baked Avocado was going to turn out like, especially with an egg in the middle! But, despite my skepticism, I decided to give it a try!
For starters, I first preheated the oven to 425 degrees farenheit.  I then hallowed out an avocado like recipe said to do; leaving a small edge around the inside of the avocado.  Note to reader: Avocados never look as good as the pictures, they are going to have brown spots.


I then cracked an egg into each half of the avocado.   While I was putting each egg into the halves I realized that an avocado does not sit flat... obviously.  So naturally the spilled over the sides a little bit.  I had to push the avocados down on the counter a bit so they sat more flat.  


After I got the avocados to sit a little more flat on the pan I placed them in the oven for about 20 minutes; which was longer than the original recipe said.  When I pulled the avocados out of the oven I realized how brown the avocado had turned, which does not give the dish style points.  But overall it looked pretty good! I did end up sprinkling them with a little bit of salt and pepper just for some added flavor.  


Trying out the avocado and egg was very interesting.  The texture of the dish was really strange but the flavor was good!  I did actually really like this dish, but it is not very appealing to the eyes.  I would make this again, although I think it would just be easier to scramble up some eggs and put avocado on the top.  So, as far as a Pinterest recipe goes, it was okay:) Good try, Pinterest!



Thursday, October 24, 2013

Giant Cornbread Muffins

Helllooooooo! I don't know about where you live, but where I live it is starting to get COLD! I am not a cold-weather person, so I am not enjoying the weather when it is below 50 degrees!  But I will say, when you pair these cornbread muffins with an awesome chili, you can conquer just about any temperature!
I will say that this is my absolute favorite cornbread recipe!  You do not have to make them jumbo sized, but if you scale down the size of the muffins/pan you will need to adjust the temperature and cook time for the cornbread.  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1  3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoons of baking soda
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 Tablespoons honey (secret ingredient! Ha!)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grind cornmeal on high in a food processor until it becomes like flour. (sometimes I omit this step, but it does make the batter more smooth.)
3. Cream together eggs, sugar, shortening and vanilla. Then add all of the dry ingredients to mixture.
4. Mix well and then add the rest of ingredients. Stir until smooth.
5.  Line about 6 - 8 jumbo muffin cups with paper muffin liners.  Fill each cup about 3/4 full and then bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until tops are slightly browned.
6.  Rub butter over tops after taking out of the oven.

As I mentioned before, this makes about a half dozen GIANT muffins or about one dozen regular-sized muffins.  For the smaller muffins, I have found that baking them at 400 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes works best; but you may need to adjust the temp and time slightly.  
This is such an easy recipe and turns out great everytime I make it! I love cornbread and I cannot wait until I get to make them again! Enjoy!!!


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Twisted Fork Grill and Bar






I love the unique names that people come up with for their products and restaurants!  Well, most of the names are pretty awesome... Some are a little strange, but hey, to each their own right!?
I was a little leery about trying out the Twisted Fork because of the reviews that I had read online.  I do research sometimes before venturing out and trying new places and this time it had worked negatively in me trying out the Twisted Fork.  The reviews had been rating this restaurant as just "okay" and no one seemed too thrilled about the restaurant.  But I decided to give it the go and head to the Twisted Fork!
I have to say, the atmosphere of the restaurant and the decor is awesome.  I love the quirky things about places and the interesting details.  Even if each of the items in the restaurant did not quite "go together," it created a good atmosphere with a lot of flavor!
I went on a Saturday for lunch so it was not too busy.  But there was a nice steady flow of customers.  The staff was extremely nice and very informative about the dishes that they were serving!  I love it when the staff knows what is going into their dishes; it makes them seem more "put together."

So after some contemplation and advice from the waitress, I decided on some blackened salmon tacos with black beans and rice on the side (gotta keep that Mexican flavor alive people).
The wait time for the food was average and when I received the food I was more than pleased!
The dish was very delicious! My guest diner ordered the Smoke Gouda Mac 'N Cheese and loved it as well!  So both dishes were good, which was a little surprising to me considering the reviews I had read.  Lesson learned: don't always follow the reviews!!
I will say that I can imagine that on a Friday or Saturday night this restaurant could be packed with people; Because of this I would not recommend bringing children.
The only other thing that I was a little taken back by was the cost of the food.  It was a bit expensive for the meal plus a drink (about $16 + a tip).  For this much money, I would have maybe expected a complementary appetizer or something of that nature.  But then again, it is located downtown where people go specifically to hang out and spend money... so they are probably in a winning situation!
Overall, I would recommend this restaurant for you to try! The menu is not too large, but they do have some unique dishes listed that would be fun to go back and try if you have the funds to do so!
Here is the link to their restaurant and their location if you would like to try them out! Good luck!

1014 Howard Street
Omaha, NE 68102 

Resources: http://www.gotime.com/omaha/places/274322-Twisted-Fork-Grill-Bar-Old-Market-Omaha

Friday, October 11, 2013

Recipe Fail

So do you ever think something is almost too good to be true?? Like when you see the picture of a finished product and you think to yourself, "yeah, right...." That is exactly what happens to me when I read certain recipes!  There is just something inside of you while reading some recipes that has such an skeptical feel that you know it will not turn out... But you try it anyways... Like I did.
The recipe I found was on a website for "dried apples."  Okay, my family has dried fruit before, and usually it takes hours upon hours... Not minutes.  That should have been my "definite no" button.  So that was my first red flag.  The recipe basically said to slice apples super thin, lay them on a baking sheet; sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them and then pop them in the oven for about 45 minutes at 245 degrees and they will "dry."  NOPE. As I had predicted they did not turn out at all!! I even let them bake about 20 minutes past the time they called for.
Needless to say, if you read a recipe and have doubts. Follow your instinct! At least this recipe only cost me an apple!


Saturday, October 5, 2013

Fondant Firsts


So, I am totally obsessed with the show Cake Boss on TLC! I absolutely love the show and I love the way that the cakes look!! Although, I've always wondered how they taste! I will have to travel to New York sometime and try them out myself!
I've also always wondered how homemade fondant tastes in general!!  So I started doing some research to learn more about fondant and how to make it!! I found out that real fondant is a little tricky to make; but there is an "easier" version that has a base of marshmallow that is a little more simple for beginners (ME).  So I decided to give it a try!
WARNING: YOU AND YOUR KITCHEN WILL BE DESTROYED AFTER MAKING FONDANT!
It's SOOOO much fun to make, but very messy! (Especially for this girl!)



Marshmallow Fondant Recipe:
4 cups mini marshmallows (half 16 oz. bag)
4 cups powdered sugar + extra for dusting counter
2 Tablespoons water
Vegetable shortening for non-stick counter purposes (believe me! This is a must!)
(Food coloring or flavored extracts if desired)

1. To prepare counter for kneading and mixing: Grease counter with shortening and then sprinkle heavily with powdered sugar.  YES, you will get messy!!


2. Place marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl along with the 2T. of water.  Microwave on high for one minute.  After removing from the microwave, stir until smooth.  If there are still un-melted marshmallows, place back into the microwave for about 30 seconds. Remove once again and stir until smooth.


3. After the marshmallows are completely melted, stir in powdered sugar until the consistency becomes too hard to stir and dough-like.  After the mixture becomes more like a dough, pour contents  onto counter and knead by hand until very stiff.  You may need to add more powdered sugar to get the dough to be the right consistency.  I had to experiment a few times before getting it to work as I needed it to.


4. Create beautiful pieces and cakes with this dough and you are finished!! BE CREATIVE!  I will say, rolling out the fondant and getting onto the cake was the hardest part!  Once it became less sticky, I was able to roll it up and over the cake without tearing it or getting fingerprints in it!  It takes some work, but you'll be able to make amazing designs and sculptures out of this stuff!

*One source that I found for making the fondant said to make sure and sift the powdered sugar before stirring into the marshmallow.  I tried it both ways and could not tell a difference! So who
knows... lol.

So what I did was I "dirty iced" a cake and then laid the fondant over the top.  You must frost a cake first before putting fondant on so that the fondant will stick to your cake!  After getting the fondant on the cake I had to cover up the bottom with something, so I lined it with frosting and then pushed chocolate chips into the frosting all around the bottom.
With the leftover fondant, I kneaded in gel food coloring and cut out circles and placed them all over the cake. Make sure you have frosting to stick your shapes onto the cake with!! And... Viola!! The cake was complete!



I have to say, the cake itself was really good!! I used a previous recipe's (Chocolate Ganache Cake) chocolate cake for the cake so I knew that part would taste good.  The fondant was a little too sweet for my taste; but then again... Fondant is just for decoration purposes... kind of. haha.


Anyways, good luck and enjoy!  Feel free to ask me questions or tell me about your own fondant experiences! I would love to hear them! Hasta luego!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Cinnamon Rolls

Well, hello October! I guess that means it's time for the warm baked goods for breakfast! Which leads me to my next blog post.... CINNAMON ROLLS! Yay! I mean, who doesn't like cinnamon rolls!?!


I found this recipe online and decided to give it a try because they looked delicious! The link to that website can be found at the bottom of this post! I am always a bit skeptical of recipes that I see online just because I don't know how they are going to turn out, but these were surprisingly delicious!

Ingredients:
Dough-
3/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast {use the fast acting kind!}
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 egg
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 1/2-5 cups all purpose unbleached flour

Filling-
1/2 cup softened margarine
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Frosting-
2 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup softened margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Making the Dough- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, pour in warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Stir and proof 5 minutes. Once mixture looks bubbly, pour in remaining sugar and salt. Stir on low for 15-20 seconds. In a small bowl, measure buttermilk, oil and egg. Whisk ingredients together until egg is incorporated with other two ingredients. Pour contents into the water and yeast mixture. Stir another 20 seconds in the mixer. Pour 2 cups of flour into mixer and stir on low until incorporated. Sprinkle flour in by 1/4 cup increments until dough cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl. Dough should be sticky but not sticky enough to stick to your hands when touched. Once it has reached this stage, turn mixer on and knead for 5 minutes. Remove dough from bowl, grease and replace back into same mixing bowl {since it's practically clean anyways.} Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Allow to rise 1-2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Filling and Cutting Rolls- In a medium size bowl, stir brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch together until combined. Set aside. Punch down dough. Flour a large clean table liberally with flour. Lightly flour dough as well. Roll dough out to be a 20x30 rectangle while moving dough around to ensure it's not sticking to your work surface. If it's a little short or uneven, feel free to cut off the edges to even it all out. Spread softened margarine over dough, being sure to go right to the edges leaving a 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough. Dump brown sugar mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the margarine, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched.  Lightly press the sugar mixture into the margarine using a rolling pin. Roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together. Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Score log every 2 inches and then slice your rolls using those marks. Place into parchment paper lined, margarine greased pans. 12 into a 9x13, 3 remaining into a loaf pan, or 8x8 with the small ends. Cover pans with plastic wrap and dish towels. Let rolls rise another 1-2 hours or until they are touching and have risen almost double. My rolls always spread out more than up, so just be aware that they will most likely spread out more than up. Bake in a preheated 350 degree for 17 minutes, or until tops start to brown. Watch them carefully!
After coming out the oven, frost with the mixture of all "frosting" ingredients.
Enjoy!

Now, I will say this; The ONLY problem with this recipe is the frosting!  I did not like the frosting at all and will never make this kind again!  SO, that is why I did not go in depth about the frosting, I would maybe try using a different recipe for the frosting on these rolls.  It was very cream cheesy and had a very strong tang to it; which I did not like.  But other than that, that is the only critique I have with this recipe!! 
They turned out GREAT overall and I will definitely be saving this recipe and be making it again!! 



Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Caramel Crispy Thingys

Hello people!  Has something ever looked just so good that you just HAD to try it!? Well, that's what happened with these "Spiderweb Florentines" that I saw in a cookbook.  They looked so pretty that I wanted to try them out!  Here's the picture I saw in the magazine:


Pretty cool lookin' huh?? Yup!  So I decided to try them out!

Here's the recipe for starters: 
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
2 Tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons honey
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Pulse together pecans and oats in a food processor until finely ground.  
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan, then add sugars and honey and cook, stirring, until sugars are melted and mixture is simmering.
3. Remove from heat and stir in pecan mixture, flour, salt, and cinnamon.  Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until firm.  (About 30min.)
4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and then place dough in amounts of 1 teaspoon on the parchment paper.  Leaving about 3 inches between each teaspoon.  THIS IS CRUCIAL!  
5. Bake at 350 degrees farenheight  for about 8 minutes; until golden.  
6. Allow to cool on wax paper for a few minutes after taking out of the oven.
7.  When all of the dough has been baked, melt chocolate in a saucepan and then pour into a re-sealable baggie.  Cut a small corner off of the baggie and make designs on your crisps using the baggie!  
8. Allow to cool and enjoy!

So after reading the recipe and seeing the lovely picture it seemed to be great!  So scooped out some dough onto the pan and popped them into the oven.... 


Not so pretty huh?? Welll... they all sort of multiplied in size and spread out... So tried again... This time spacing them out correctly and adding less dough (the original called for 2 teaspoons)!


They turned out WAY better!  Thank goodness!! 
They tasted pretty good too! Although they were VERY sweet; I think these would be best as a decorative piece on top of ice cream or some other kind of dessert.  They were almost too much to eat plain and were basically just caramel with chocolate.  
I had fun making these and it was quite the adventure!  Try them yourself, just remember to leave a BUNCH of room between each one on the pan!
Good luck! 
Questions? comments? Let me know! 




Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

Good Morning people! Summer is BACK! Well, at least for a few days...
So usually I'm a routine-type person; I eat the same thing practically every morning for breakfast (soy milk with Bran cereal and a banana) and usually the same exact thing for lunch everyday as well (Tuna and Natural Cheetos with a greek yogurt), just in case you were wondering, Ha!  I know, it may sound boring to you; but dinner is my mix-up time! This morning however, I was craving something different.  So I decided to try a new recipe!

I originally found this recipe through Pinterest but did not use the whole recipe and tweaked it a bit.  Here is the original recipe that I found, note that their pictures look way better too!  
http://www.number-2-pencil.com/2012/06/25/sour-cream-cinnamon-roll-pancakes-with/ 

Here are the ingredients/directions if you want to try and make them yourself!

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

4 tablespoons of melted butter
1/4 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar 
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and mix well.
2. After mixing, pour into a sealable plastic baggie and allow to sit a cool a bit while mixing up the pancake batter.

Pancakes

1 cup of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of milk
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Combine all ingredients for the pancakes in order of the list.
2. Mix very well together.
3. Heat a griddle or non-stick pan on the stove and begin to cook like you would regular pancakes.
4.  Before flipping the pancakes, cut one of the corners of off your cinnamon filling bag and swirl on top of the pancake.  
5.  When you flip over the pancake, the cinnamon filling will cook and harden a bit.
6. Finish cooking thoroughly and enjoy!


Mine definitely did not turn out as pretty as hoped.  But it was the first try and a test!  The flavor of these pancakes were really good, although they were very, very rich!! They were almost too buttery/sugary for me and I could only handle two.  The original recipe calls for a glaze on top, but I couldn't imagine putting anything else sweet on top of these pancakes.  
They were very good overall! I would probably make them again, or I would make the cinnamon glaze and put that into my regular pancake recipe next time I make it.
As for tomorrow's breakfast... Well, I'm sure you can guess what it's going to be! 
Happy Eating!



Thursday, September 12, 2013

Green Belly

EW! A green belly!? I bet that's what you're thinking... You're thinking that either this is going to be a blog about someone getting sick from something they ate, or that someone has some terrible disease.  Actually, quite the opposite! I found this restaurant out in West Omaha; the name just happens to be Green Belly!  There's actually more meaning to the name than what your probably think.  Everything in the restaurant is said to be completely fresh and natural ingredients! The tables are even recycled! Crazy huh?? I thought they looked kind of cool, and I was excited to try their food!
I went one day for lunch; I was happy to find a restaurant that sold healthy foods!  I ordered a chicken pesto sandwich... Which seemed like it would be good; But then I was shocked that one of my choices for a side was either a bag of sun chips or potato chips... Wha?!!?  I just thought a "fresh" restaurant could do better than Subway sides... I also got a drink with my meal and decided on the usual; Diet Coke (which isn't really that healthy for you)!


I sat down at the table to enjoy my sandwich and was a little surprised to find out that the food wasn't all that impressive.  It tasted just like a typical sandwich that I could have made at home in about 10 minutes.  My guest diner that came along also was not very impressed.  As the meal continued and we began to take a few sips of our sodas I thought to myself, "man, this tastes watered down..." Sometimes though, it's just the diet pops that seem that way.  But as I kept drinking I asked my guest diner if hers tasted the same way... She replied, "I thought the same thing!!!"  SO, needless to say, they even tried to make the soda healthy by (we're guessing) watering it down... This did not please me one bit.


Maybe I just didn't order the right items here??? Or maybe it was just a bad day; but neither my guest diner or I was impressed and I don't think I will be returning to Green Belly.  I feel like their "green" and "healthy" ideas were good, but the outcome was jumbled and not up to par.
Let me know if you have tried Green Belly and had a different experience!  I would love to hear from you to see what your take on this restaurant is!  Here is the website link if you would like to check Green Belly out:

http://www.thegreenbelly.com/Greenbelly_Site/Greenbelly.html

Happy Eating!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Vivace: Contemporary Italian

                                     
I love trying new restaurants... It's one of my favorite things to do - especially when the food is great!  I was able to try this new place over the weekend and absolutely loved it!  If you're near the old market in Omaha sometime I would definitely recommend stopping by after a nice stroll around downtown.  I actually went on a Saturday after I visited the farmers market (which is really great as well)!  Here's a little more information about Vivace!

                                       

So from the outside Vivace doesn't look like that big of a restaurant. But looks can be deceiving!  This restaurant could probably seat about 100 people inside and then (as you can see) another 15ish outside.
I'm not going to lie, but when I first entered Vivace I was expecting the "typical" American-Italian food that we normally think about eating.... pizza, spaghetti, alfredo... etc.  They did have all of these things on the menu, but they were usually a bit spiced up from what you would consider a typical pizza.  I realized after dining here that Italian food is probably way more complex than we consider it to be.  It is nothing like Valentino's or Fazolis, surprise surprise.
I ordered a basil pesto with grilled chicken on top; which was amazing!! They serve complimentary garlic bread at each table at the beginning of the meal with some small chopped herbs and veggies to go on top, which was delicious!  With my meal and the garlic bread; I was fully full by the time I walked out of there!
I did not take any pictures while I was inside the restaurant because I thought that may have been a little awkward... It was a nicer restaurant haha.
In the money department, it was actually rather cheap, for the quality of food that we were served!  My bill ended up being about $15.00; With a soda and the meal; for quality food and service I would say that this is about right!  The restaurant was super clean and the waitress was fantastic!  I have to say, I would much rather go to this restaurant than Olive Garden just because they offered really unique dishes loaded with flavor!
I would say steer away from bringing your children to this restaurant.  It is a little nicer and I would reserve it just for adults.  I can also imagine that the atmosphere of downtown at night is mainly for adults anyways; maybe make it a date night or a "girls night out" restaurant!
I would give this restaurant 10 out of 10 meatballs.  I will definitely be going back sometime!
Here's their website if you want to check them out!

http://www.vivaceomaha.com/

Questions or comment?? Feel free to leave them!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Snickerdoodle Cookies


Ever have those days when you're just CRAVING something specific?!? You know exactly what you want, and you know that you want a lot of it!! That was totally me yesterday; I had gone on a 21 mile bike ride in the morning so my stomach was craving everything and anything I could get my hands on!  When I decided that I wanted to make snickerdoodle cookies I realized that I had never made them before!! WHAT?! I know, they are like one of the most famous type of cookies out there and I had never made them for myself! So I had to give them a try!
I found a recipe online (allrecipes.com) and thought I would test it out!

Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:                                        

1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixer, cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.
2. Mix in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the 2 Tablespoons of sugar with the 1 Tablespoons of cinnamon.
4.  Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll through the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
5. Place 2 inches apart on a lightly greased, nonstick pan.
6. Back for about 9 - 11 minutes.
7. Allow to cool slightly once out of the oven and enjoy!

Notes: Depending on how cinnamony you would like your cookies to be, you can either up or lower the amount of cinnamon to sugar there is in the mixture. (The original recipe called for 2T of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.)
Also, I would maybe make the cookies a bit larger; which would require more baking time; I have not tried this out yet, but mine were a bit smaller and became more crisp over time because there wasn't as much center area (if that makes sense).

Needless to say, these satisfied my craving and hunger for cookies and I will definitely make them again in  the future!!
Now get baking!
As always, hit me up with questions or comments you may have regarding any of the recipes or restaurants I have visited!