Cupcake Gore

Last week my lady friends boy was having a book signing. He had written a book called "The ABC's of Serial Killers" and was going to be reading it to all who came. We decided to make some cuppycakes to feed that masses and to establish ourselves in the catering world. (or at least that was my idea) 

He wanted something that would go with the murder theme so we decided to attempt to make these...

The recipe we used is from The Zombie Ate My Cupcake, I dont have the book with me or I would share it with yall. No the finished product wasnt even close to looking that cool but its ok, I think ours looked pretty darn cute anyways. We made about a million of them and I will tell you piping icing on that many cupcakes is a darn work out for the hands/arms.

Getting Cheesy

Guys if you are looking for a low fat foodorama blog this is not the one for you. But if you are wanting some delicious recipes, then you found your home big girl and you can stay as long as you want. I made a delicious Mac and Cheese a few months ago and thought that I had reached the Mecca of all Mac and Cheese but oh yes I was wrong, gloriously wrong and now I am sure I have found the true best cheesefest of all time! Oh and be warned this makes a buttload and a half so youll be eating it for a long time to come. YOU ARE WELCOME!!

I couldn't find my really awesome pictures that I took of us digging in so this finished pan will have to do.

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter

6 slices of bread cut into small pieces 

5 1/2 c of whole milk

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg, pepper, and cayenne pepper

sharp white cheddar cheese

fresh mozzarella

1lb pasta

You can kinda use what cheese you like but this is what I like so you should like it too. Also I just got two pack of the cheddar and one of the mozzarella...and I grated it all myself which Im sure if you are lazy and dont want the full experience then you can buy it already like that....cheater.

Step ONE

Preheat your oven 375, Butter the pan youll be cooking your dish in. I used a big casserole pan. Place the bread chunks in a bowl, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and pour over the bread. Mix it all in then set it aside.

Step TWO

Warm your milk over medium heat. Melt the remaining butter in another skillet also over medium heat, when it starts to bubble add the flour. Cook for a minute and keep stirring it.

Step THREE

While stirring, slowly pour the hot milk a small amount at a time to keep the mixture smooth. Keep cooking, stirring continually until the mixture bubbles and is thick. It took me 12 minutes. I know its a long time but keep your head up lady and enlist your children to help you do it.

Step FOUR

Take your pan off the heat. Add the salt, nutmeg, both peppers, 3 cups of cheddar and 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella. Leave it alone for a minute.

Step FIVE

Boil your pasta...you could multi task and have already done this but hey like I said its your kitchen do what you want. Dont cook your pasta too long, about two minutes should do. It needs to be only cooked on the outside. Drain and rinse in cold water...then drain some more. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce.

Step SIX

Pour it into your casserole pan, 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese on top and 1/2 cup of mozzarella also the bread crumbs. Bake it 30 mins or until golden brown.

Step SEVEN

Pour a glass of wine, STUFF YO FACE!!

I hope you try it. If you do let me know how much you love me for sharing and all that fun stuff.

Your welcome.

Roasted Chickens

Last week I made my first roasted chicken. It was good enough to want to make it again this week so Im going to leave yall the recipe. If you are vegan you can close your eyes and hum loudly. 

Ingrediants:

• roasting chicken
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• carrots cut into small bite sized pieces
• Fingerling potatoes 
• Olive oil

Now you gotta preheat your oven to 425. Remove the giblets (I like to boil and eat them cause waste not want not and all that but you can be selfish and throw them away if you want to, I dont judge you.) 

Rinse your chicken all out, remove any extra fats then dry the whole chicken off with some paper towels. Salt and pepper the inside of the bird then stuff it with the thyme, lemon and all the garlic. Brush the outside with butter then salt and pepper. Tuck the wings and tie the legs together so the insides dont fall out. Put all the veggies/thyme in the pan, pour some olive oil, salt and peppers in the pan and toss then lay the chicken on top

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Then go ahead and stuff your whole face cause this meal is up there with one of the best I have had.

Pizza Party

I cooked a coupla pizzas yesterday. I made a gross meat one for the boys and an amazing veggie one for me and my mom. This one had squash, olives, fresh mozzarella, peppers and artichoke hearts. It may have been the best pizza I have made yet. I have never thought to put artichokes on one before but it was delicious!! I saw a recipe for cauliflower crust on Megs blog so I think next I will try that.

 

We started eating before I remembered to take a picture of the finished product. WHOOPS!!!

Home Sweet Italy

Its been about 6 months since my gama died and every Thursday since them my gramps comes over to eat. We try to always have something home cooked and fancy but we dont always have time. Ive been working till 7 the past bunch of Thursdays and haven't been able to cook so I finally convinced him to change to Tuesday. Anyways today I wanted to make lasagna from scratch. He always eats Marie Calenders which to me are disgusting and not good for you...ok this lasagna isnt good for you either but whatever.

This recipe is real easy and I dont really use any actual measurements so bare with me and just kinda eyeball everything or judge it as to how many people you are feeding. Also I like to make my own noodles and pasta sauce but obvs you can use cans and dried pasta too.

I get:

a package of Italian Saugage

a small package of ground beef

a can of tomato paste

Cook the meat

Drain the meat, you dont have to but I dont like all the excess grease 

There is a lot of it.

Cut some fresh herbs, I used thyme, rosemary and oregano. Stir them in. Oh also I put a small can of tomato paste in to thicken the sauce. 

I use the big jar of ricotta, it comes out in a fun shape if you squeeze it just right.

A handful of basil, 2 eggs, a tsp of salt a big package of mozzarella (its better to use fresh) and a handfulish of Parmesan cheese. 

Mix this all together.

Itll look something like this, save some of the cheese to put on the top when its done.

Start layering, use a thin coat of the sauce first,

I put the noodles to dry out a bit on a towel.

Noodle layer,

Delicious ricotta layer,

And start again. Make sure you end with the sauce.

Cover it with the rest of the cheese and bake at 375 for about an hour. This is simple isnt it? Itll work out great everytime and you can impress all your friends with all the "hard" work you put into their dinner. Also if you want to make the noodles you can use a simple egg dough which is flour, salt and egg and mix it till you get a dough like consistency. You have to roll it out a bunch till its really thin and this does take time but to me it makes the lasagna a lot more tasty.

Have fun and let me know if you end up making it!!

Cooking with Kelley

A few days ago I was watching Extra Virgin, which is a new show on the cooking channel, they were having a bachelor party and making Pasta Puttanesca...I am a huge Italian food nut so I of course had to make it. I  did change it up a little bit, I am not overly into measuring so I just kinda added whatever I wanted. I used Penne pasta instead of Spaghetti because I like the texture and canned tomatoes instead of fresh because I am lazy. Other then that I pretty much followed the recipe and it turned out better then I imagined. I am definitely adding this into my list of things I cook on the regular. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. Also if you are afraid of the anchovies get over it and put them in anyways, I hate touching them but I did it and it was worth it!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ripe tomatoes or peeled tomatoes (if in a hurry)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 2 ounces pitted and sliced black olives

• 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and chopped
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 handful fresh parsley, leaved picked and chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Submerge the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes.

INSTRUCTIONS

Peel the tomatoes and cut them open. Discard the seeds and cut the flesh into small cubes.
In a large nonstick pan heat about 3 tablespoons olive oil and saute together the garlic, anchovies, olives, capers, and red pepper flakes for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and let cook on a medium-low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti about 2 minutes less than indicated on the box, drain and add to the sauce pan on a medium high flame, toss around for a couple of minutes or less, making sure the sauce is evenly distributed on the pasta.
Add a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley and a drizzle extra-virgin olive oil.

Notes

To stop the tomatoes from over cooking and to make peeling easier, submerge the hot tomatoes in ice water; drain.

Taste the sauce before seasoning with salt, as the anchovies and the capers play a big role in flavoring the Puttanesca.