Delectable Dishes
Hey everyone! I'm Ashley and I love cooking, obviously. I try to cook new recipes as often as I can, but certainly not as often as I wish I could! When I'm not cooking my time is occupied by studying for my Business degree, spending time with my lovely boyfriend, and of course working. I'm hoping that having a food blog will help motivate me to start cooking more!
Hey everyone! I'm Ashley and I love cooking, obviously. I try to cook new recipes as often as I can, but certainly not as often as I wish I could! When I'm not cooking my time is occupied by studying for my Business degree, spending time with my lovely boyfriend, and of course working. I'm hoping that having a food blog will help motivate me to start cooking more!
|
|
|
Saturday, July 31, 2010,6:07 PM
Blackberry Shortbread Bars
This morning my mom went out into our yard and picked a big bowl of blackberries! So I decided I should make something with them. I searched for some recipes and came across these delicious looking blackberry shortbread bars. I unfortunately didn't have 6 cups of blackberries, only about 3 cups, but they still tasted great!  Blackberry Shortbread Bars Crust 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour 1 1/2 Cups Sugar 1/4 tsp. Salt 1 1/2 Cups Butter (Cubed) Filling 4 Eggs 2 Cups Sugar 1/2 Cup Sour Cream 1/2 Cup Blackberry Jam 3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour 1/8 tsp. Salt 1 tsp. Orange Zest 3-6 Cups Blackberries 1) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x13" pan. 2) Combine all of the ingredients for the crust. If you have a food processor this is very easy. Just pulse until the mix comes together. If not, you have to do what I did and use your bare hands! Just get in there and mush all of the butter into the flour until it's crumbly yet can mold into a shape. Reserve 2 cups for the topping. Press the rest of it into the bottom of your pan in an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes, then let it rest for 15 minutes. 3) Mix together all of the ingredients for the filling, except the blackberries. When the crust is cooled down pour the mixture on top of the crust, then layer the black berries on top of the filling. Sprinkle the remaining two cups of crust mix on top of the black berries. Bake for another hour. Let cool a few hours before cutting into it. 0 comments 3:56 PM
Creamy Chicken & Vegetable Casserole
Casserole is such an all American meal, and I really hate the name of it, but it's so good. I haven't made casserole in forever, but I figured it'd be something easy to make tonight for my sister and I. I put a little more time in it than usual because when I rush it, it tends to come out kind of bland. This one was anything but bland! You can adjust any of the measurements here depending on how many people you need to feed. We love leftovers so I decided to make a lot!  Creamy Chicken & Vegetable Casserole About 3/4 box of pasta 3-4 Chicken Breasts 1 Cup each of: Onions, Celery, and Carrots 1-2 Cups Frozen Broccoli 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese 1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup 1 Can filled of half & half (or milk) 1 tsp. Garlic 1/2 tsp. Celery Salt 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder 1/2 tsp. Mustard Powder Bread Crumbs/Croutons 1) Cook the pasta, drain when done and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) While pasta is cooking dice up the onions, celery, and carrots. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat with olive oil. Saute vegetables for a few minutes. Cut up the chicken into bite sized cubes. Put it in the pan with the sauteing vegetables. Add the garlic, celery salt, onion powder, and mustard powder. 3) When the chicken is finished cooking add the can of cream of mushroom soup. Fill the can with half & half or milk and add it to the chicken. If the mixture is too thick you may have to add more milk. Sometimes I have to add half a cup more. Add the frozen broccoli and shredded cheddar and stir to combine. 4) Pour everything into a prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake for about 20-30 minutes. 5) Take the casserole out and top with bread crumbs or croutons*, put it back in the oven or under the broiler for a few minutes for the top to get crispy. *I make my own croutons by buttering some bread and then cutting it into cubes. They get nice and crispy under the broiler, so yummy! 0 comments 9:51 AM
White Chocolate Coconut Mascarpone Cheesecake
 This is my ultimate cheesecake. All of my favorite flavors are packed into one slice of heaven. The crunchy toasted coconut on top paired with the fluffy creamy cheesecake filling is absolutely perfect. I decided to make this when I got a strange craving for cheesecake, and then a craving for magic bars, but only the part with sweetened condensed milk and coconut. Yeah, don't ask. All you need to know is that this is one magnificent cheesecake.  White Chocolate Coconut Cheesecake Crust 1 & 3/4 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs 1 Tablespoon White Sugar 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar 5 Tablespoons Melted Butter Filling 12 oz. White Chocolate (I used Ghirardelli) 2 (8 oz.) Packages Cream Cheese - Room Temp 2 (8 oz.) Packages Mascarpone Cheese - Room Temp 1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons White Sugar 4 Large Eggs 2 Large Egg Yolks 2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Topping 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1-2 Cups White Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli) 1-2 Cups Sweetened Shredded Coconut 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure your spring form pan is wrapped up tightly in tin foil. Personally, using spring form pans stress me out because I get so paranoid about water leaking in, so I probably go overboard in tin foil! 2) Mix all of the ingredients together for the crust. Press it into the bottom and up the sides of a spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. 3) Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. 4) Beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until fluffy. Mix in the sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the flour and vanilla. Drizzle in the white chocolate while mixing. If you don't have a kitchen aid you might have to have someone pour it in while you mix it. 5) Pour the mixture on top of the crust. Place spring form pan into another pan that is large enough to fit it, but also tall enough to hold some water. Place the whole thing in the oven before putting the water around it. Once it's in the oven just take a few glass fulls of water and pour it in the pan outside of the cheesecake. 6) Bake for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and leave it in there for 30 minutes. 7) After it has rested in the oven, pour the condensed milk over the top and place under the broiler. It wont take more than a few minutes to start getting very very lightly golden. You must watch it or it will burn! 8) When the condensed milk starts getting light brown on top take it out and sprinkle the coconut and white chocolate chips over the top. Put it back under the broiler, and again, keep an eye on it! Coconut burns FAST! It should only take a minute or so to toast it. 9) Let it rest for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. It sounds like a lot to do, but it's actually pretty easy! The hardest part, besides waiting to eat it, is making sure you don't burn the topping. It's all very worth it, trust me! If you don't like mascarpone cheese, or don't want to spend the money on it, you can just use 4 packages of cream cheese and it'd be fine! 0 comments 9:17 AM
Ranch chicken with pasta salad and sweet carrots
Last nights dinner at my house was a simple one. My mom had a weird schedule, you know the deal. So the night before we planned ahead and put some thinly sliced chicken breast in a Ziploc bag with ranch and let it sit for about a full 24 hours. Delicious! The chicken gets super tender and moist. We made a simple pasta salad and some delicious sweet carrots and onions to go with it.  Ranch Chicken 8 Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts 1-2 Cups Ranch Dressing (You need enough to completely cover the chicken) 1/2 Cup Parmesan Salt & Pepper 1) Put the chicken and ranch in a Ziploc bag and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours. 2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and arrange chicken on a baking sheet. Dump the rest of the leftover ranch from the bag on top of the chicken. Sprinkle chicken with Parmesan cheese and bake for around 20 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken is. If the chicken is done but it's not brown and delicious on top, just turn on the broiler for a minute or so. Sweet Carrots & Onions 1 Can of Baby Carrots 1 Medium Sweet Onion 1 Tablespoon Butter 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar Salt & Pepper 1) Heat the butter and olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Chop up the onions and add them to the butter/olive oil mix. Add salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until the onions are soft. 2) Open can of baby carrots and drain off all of the liquid, as much as you can get. Add the carrots to the onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the brown sugar and stir around until dissolved. Ham Italian Salad 1 Box Pasta (Whatever you prefer, really) 1 Small Can Sliced Black Olives 1 Cup Cubed Cheddar Cheese 1 Cup Cubed Ham 1/2 Cup Diced Green Pepper 1 Small Diced Sweet Onion Olive Oil or Italian Dressing 1) Prepare pasta ahead of time, toss with some olive oil and pop it in the fridge to cool down. 2) Dice up cheese, ham, pepper, and onion. When the pasta is cool add the olives, cheese, ham, pepper, and onion; toss. 3) Right before serving either dress with olive oil or Italian dressing. I prefer my salad with Italian dressing. It's zesty and gives it a little kick! But some people in my household just prefer it plain or with olive oil. Either way it's tasty and easy to make! 0 comments Thursday, July 29, 2010,7:27 AM
No Bake Cookies
Ok so my first post should probably be something magnificently delicious that took hours to perfect, but hey, it was hot so using the oven wasn't something I was too thrilled about doing. So, what do you do when you want something deliciously sweet, yet you either have no time, patience, or simply don't feel like using your oven? No bake cookies of course! I have to admit, I had never even tried these cookies until now. I've heard of them, but I was always iffy on not actually baking a cookie. However, once these were all done I simply could not get enough of them.  No Bake Cookies With White Chocolate Chips 1/2 Cup Butter (1 Stick) 1/2 Cup Milk 2 Cups White Sugar 4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter 2 Teaspoons Vanilla 3 Cups Quick Oats 2 Cups White Chocolate Chips 1) Combine the butter, milk, sugar, and cocoa powder into a sauce pan. Heat until boiling and continue to boil for about a minute. 2) Take the mixture off the stove and add in the peanut butter; stir until melted. Add the vanilla and quick oats. Let the mixture sit for a minute or so to cool down a bit. 3) Add one cup of the white chocolate chips. Fold in carefully so they don't completely melt into the mix. 4) Drop spoonfuls of mix onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the remaining cup of white chocolate chips onto the cookies. Make sure to press the chips down a little or they won't stick to the cookie. And then the worst part, waiting! It only takes 30 minutes or so for them to be completely set though. :)  The recipe is pretty simple, but I think it'd be great to add other things in. The white chocolate chips add a nice look and taste to the cookies. You could substitute them with anything, though! I think next time maybe I'll use butterscotch chips, or maybe some crushed up Reeses, yum! Follow my blog with bloglovin 0 comments |
|
|