(Nearly) A Month-Long Break

So this month I went to Ohio for 3 weeks and did not do any cooking at all. Instead I went to the county fair to see the Budweiser Clydesdales (really big horses) with my dad and my best friend, Fri, went to the Pumpkin Show in Circleville to watch the OSU marching band, carved pumpkins with my friends Kim and Brandi (then went to the movies), went out for a girl's night in Columbus and eventually got home in one piece. 

Anyways, next couple of weeks are not going to be full of cooking either. There is so much going on right now that I have either no time to do the cooking or we have plans and we end up going out instead of staying home.

I am cooking. But most of the things I'm cooking are re-runs and so I'm not going to post a repeated recipe. When I have a new recipe to add, I will be posting it! But for now, be warned that the daily posts are most likely not going to happen very often. 

Eventually I will get back to my cooking routine and I will be my same entertaining self. However, for the time being, things are a little different. But here's some news about me and our life right now:

• I'm reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and it's intense
• I saw Gone Girl (the movie based on the book) twice and talk about intense...
• Our 2 year wedding anniversary was October 13th
• We're preparing our costumes for the company Halloween party on Friday
• We will be making a return trip to Ohio in a couple weeks
• My husband's 25th birthday is coming up quickly
• For Thanksgiving I plan on making a huge, fantastical dinner and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live in NYC!
• My husband's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and niece are all going to be visiting us in New Jersey at the end of November (right after Thanksgiving)

So, as you can see, busy couple of months for me and the hubby. But like I said, eventually everything will slow down and be back to normal! 

Happy cooking and happy Halloween!

Fall Dirt Cake

This recipe comes from a family friend in Ohio and is an easy-peasy dessert that you can make on the fly with just a few simple ingredients! My guest chef on this recipe was my mom, Mykela!

What You Need:

• 1 pkg. golden Oreo cookies
• 1 stick margarine
• 1 pkg. cream cheese, soft
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 16 oz. Cool Whip
• 2 small boxes pumpkin spice pudding (seasonal item)
• 2 ¼ cup milk

How to Do It:

First, remove the icing from the inside of the Oreo cookies and place the empty cookies in a plastic bag so you can crush them. I used a rolling pin to crush my cookies. Reserve ¼ cup for topping.

Re-combine the removed icing with the crushed cookies. Melt the margarine and mix with crushed cookies. Press this in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar, 8 ounces of Cool Whip and spread over the crust.

Mix pudding with milk and let this set up for a little bit. Do not let it set up completely. Spread over cream cheese mixture.

Spread remaining Cool Whip over the pudding mixture and top with the remaining Oreo crumbs.

Chill overnight and enjoy!

Angel Chicken

Tonight's dinner was a delicious pasta dish I've made several times in the past. I love pasta for large groups of people and tonight was no exception. Dinner was with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and my grandpa. Pasta is just a really simple way to make any amount of food for however big a group you are cooking for. It's so easy to make a large meal for many people or a small meal for two. Any way you look at it, pasta is always going to be a dish you can make quickly and will impress any guest. I used thin spaghetti but you can really use any kind you prefer.

As I was cooking for my grandpa, who is on a low-sodium diet, I made sure to use ingredients that he could eat. You don't have to use low-sodium ingredients when making this. Also, I was making this meal for more than four people so I doubled the original recipe. Either way, this is a delicious and simple dish that you can make in the Crockpot so it's ready right when you get home for dinner.

What You Need:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, soft
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• ½ cup Italian dressing
• 1 ½ lb. chicken, cubed
• 2 lb. angel hair pasta, cooked

How to Do It:

First, cube the chicken and place in a slow cooker. 

With an electric mixer, beat together softened cream cheese, mushroom soup, and Italian dressing, blending well. 

Pour over cubed chicken.

Cook on low 4-5 hours. Stir before serving and occasionally if you can. Serve over cooked pasta. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Check out my bruschetta recipe for a simple appetizer!

Original Recipe

Texas Sheet Cake

Tonight, after dinner and in celebration of my brother-in-law's birthday, I made a Texas Sheet Cake. Now, why this is called a Texas Sheet Cake and not an Ohio Sheet Cake or a Louisiana Sheet Cake, I do not know. If you do, please tell me. However, my mom has been making this cake for years and now it was my turn to make an attempt at it. So, I got all my ingredients gathered up and set out on an adventure in baking!

What You Need:

Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup water

Here's a tip: If you don't have buttermilk, you can make it by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to enough milk that when added you have 1 cup. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes to sour the milk.

Frosting

• ½ cup butter
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa
• 3 ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ⅓ cup milk

How to Do It:

Cake

First, lightly boil together butter and water. When boiling, remove from heat. 

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together. 

In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients together, except for boiled butter and water. 

Add butter mixture and wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing well with an electric mixer. Grease and flour a sheet cake pan (choose one that is not too shallow but not too deep) and preheat oven to 350°F. Making sure that all ingredients are mixed completely, pour mixture into prepared pan and bake on 350° for about 20 minutes. 

A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean when the cake is finished baking. Depending on the oven, your cake could take longer to bake completely. Set on a cooling rack with wax or parchment paper or aluminum foil underneath for easier cleanup.

Frosting

While the cake is baking and almost finished, lightly boil milk and butter together. When boiling, remove from heat. Mix together cocoa and powdered sugar. Add the boiled milk and butter and the vanilla to the dry ingredients.

By now the cake should be placed on the cooling rack with the parchment paper underneath. Simply pour the warm frosting over the still warm cake and let it set.

Slice and enjoy! Serve with cup of fresh coffee or cold milk and you've got a hit!

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is a simple, delicious appetizer that can go with any Italian meal. I love serving it with a loaf of toasted french bread slices right before the meal. Or with the meal on some occasions. Or even as my meal when I'm feeling cheap!

What You Need:

• 6 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. basil leaves
• 1 tsp. salt

How to Do It:

First, heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan. Dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the hot oil. 

Cook for about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Do not let it burn. While the onion and garlic are cooking, roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan. Cook, stirring often, for about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and season with basil leaves and salt if you wish. 

Serve over toasted bread.

Easy Doughnuts

Today, to celebrate my family being in town, my guest chef Mom taught me how to make easy doughnuts out of biscuits. The idea comes from my great-great-grandmother, Viola. We loved them! I had never had them before but I will not make that mistake again! They were so delicious. We topped ours three different ways. First, we covered them in powdered sugar. Another batch we covered with powdered sugar icing (plus one with chocolate sprinkles). And the doughnut holes we covered with icing then rolled them in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

What You Need:

• Pillsbury Grand Homestyle Biscuits
• 48 oz. canola oil
• powdered sugar (confectioner)
• milk
• sugar
• cinnamon

How to Do It:

First, empty the contents of the oil in a deep fryer or large, deep skillet or sauce pan. Let the oil heat up. While it's heating, open the biscuits and separate. To punch the holes, I used the empty oil bottle.

POP!

When all of your doughnuts are ready, add them to the hot oil (be careful).

When the doughnuts are golden brown, remove them from the oil. Let them cool a bit and cover as you choose. The doughnut holes are fun to watch too!

Enjoy!

Emeril's New TV Show

So earlier today, I went to my husband's office in the Big Apple and had food that was an Emeril recipe. After lunch, Emeril was doing a talk about his new TV show that starts tomorrow. Any-who, I was not allowed to sit in on the talk as I am not an employee of the super-secret organization (just kidding) that my husband works for so I left my Emeril cookbook in the trusty hands of my spouse to hopefully get signed.

The cookbook I have in case you were wondering.

BAM!

Did the kid come through or what?! He also snagged a couple photos for me!

Doesn't he look like a happy guy?

"Meh. I don't know how to cook. Derp."

Basil Pesto with Broccoli Pasta

Tonight's dinner is a repeat but I used thin spaghetti instead of penne this time. The penne turned out great last time I made this dish but the spaghetti I used this time turned out awesome also. Again, I served my pasta with bread and garlic butter (are you seeing a chain here...). So anyways, although it is a repeat, I thought I would post it again as I did use a different type of pasta and added broccoli to the pasta. For the broccoli I simply used half a bag of frozen broccoli which I nuked in the microwave for 2 minutes. I then added a small amount of butter to the bowl along with some salt and pepper to season it a bit. It turned out to be a great way to add some vegetables to our (primarily) carb-filled diet.

What You Need:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed
• ½ cup cashews
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ cup parmesan cheese
• ½ cup olive oil
• frozen broccoli
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• personal taste of pasta, cooked

How to Do It:

First, add basil leaves and cashews to a food processor and chop. 

Add in garlic and chop. 

Add parmesan cheese and olive oil and chop. 

Chop, chop, choppity, chop chop. 

Cook broccoli according to package instructions and season as you wish. I prefer 2 tablespoons of butter and some salt and pepper. 

You can either plate your dish with broccoli on the side or you can add the broccoli to the drained, cooked pasta before adding the pesto sauce. Either way works fine.

Original recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/cashew-basil-pesto-377037