Yum.
I wanted to make a cupcake with a taste combination that is not normally seen. I think the taste combination was great! I think the cupcake was a bit dense, so I will play with it a bit. I topped these with candied orange peel, but those came out slightly crispy.
Orange Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Hershey’s Chocolate Cake Recipe.
2 1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup flour
1 cup Cocoa (I used a mixture of Valhalla and Hershey’s)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk. (Next time, I may swap some out for orange juice, for more of an orange juice flavor)
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract (I am never buying McCormick extract again. Go for the good stuff.)
2 tsp Pure Orange Extract
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp orange juice (I put this in the boiling water, because my orange juice was in ice form.)
Whisk dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add everything else, except the boiling water, into the bowl. Mix for two minutes. Add boiling water, and mix until combined.
This made 18 regular size cupcakes, 24 mini cupcakes, and a 6 inch cake. Cook until done. (I am horrible, and did not time any of it, but I watched it until it was done.)
Chocolate Orange Marmalade Frosting.
Adapted from The Cupcake Project
1 cup butter, at room temperature.
6 oz Orange Marmalade (I weighed this, or I think it is about 2/3 cup).
3 cups of powdered sugar. (I think I used more than this, but I wanted a stiffer frosting.)
2 tbsp Orange Juice (or use 1/4th cup for thinner icing for frosting a cake).
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz melted unsweetened chocolate. (I used Nestle’s pre-melted packets.)
Beat butter until creamy, then beat in the orange marmalade. Add in half the powdered sugar and mix. Scrape down bowl. Add the orange juice, extracts, and chocolate. Beat until smooth. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, scraping down the bowl once.
Bacon Wrapped and Chicken Fried Shrimp
Deep fried, Recipe March 7th, 2010
Yum!
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Take Bacon. Cut in half or thirds.
Wrap around shrimp.
Attach with toothpick.
Fried until done.
Eat.
Chicken Fried Shrimp.
Make flour mixture (flour, garlic powder, pepper, pinch of salt.)
Make Egg dredge (one egg, lightly beaten, and some milk.)
Dip shrimp in flour mixture, then egg, then flour mixture, then drop in deep fryer. Fry for about 3-5 minutes until done. Eat.
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken
Italian, Recipe, Slow Cooker November 5th, 2009
Yum!
So, if I follow a recipe, it fails. When I make it up? Success!
Make Italian Dressing, or something resembling it. I used Marsala Wine, Olive Oil, and some Vinegar, and Italian Seasoning spices. (I got the latter from the bulk bins at Whole Foods in Austin, but I am sure a packet would work.)
My slow cooker is a Rival 5.5-qt. Crock Pot
Place four chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker. My chicken breasts were frozen. This is an issue for some people, because frozen chicken breasts may spend more time in the “danger zone,” and it is not recommended to do this with frozen meats. Use at your own risk.
Top with Italian Dressing. Add a 14.5oz can of tomatoes (mine were Italian style with spices already in the can.)
I cooked on high for 5 hours, then shredded the chicken to let it cook in the juices while I cooked rice.
Yum!
If I had to write a recipe?
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken
One packet Italian Dressing mix
1/2 to 3/4 cup Marsala Wine (or whatever wine you like to cook with.)
1/4th cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
4 chicken breasts
1 14.5oz can tomatoes
Rice (optional)
Mix Italian Dressing mix with Wine and vinegar. Slowly drizzle in the Olive Oil while whisking.
Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Pour dressing over the breasts, and top with can of tomatoes.
High for 4 hours (5-6 if chicken breasts are frozen). I am sure you can do low for 8-10 or so, but I have not tried it yet.
Slow Cooker Bottom Round Roast
Recipe, Slow Cooker August 25th, 2009
Easy slow cooker recipe. As I am at the end of my financial aid, and, frankly, broke until I get my Fall money, I have to use the stuff in my fridge and freezer. Which, since I try to buy as frugally as I can. When I see a good deal, I get a lot 
I originally got the bottom round roast for chili, as I prefer mine with beef chunks (as they are better able to stand up to multiple hours of cooking). But, I had an extra.
So, this is my very simple recipe. Laugh if you want, it tastes great and feeds me for a few days.
One Bottom Round Roast
One package onion soup mix
One can condensed cream of mushroom soup
One tsp dried minced garlic
salt and pepper
I salted the roast, and browned it in a large skillet. I put the roast in the slow cooker, and deglazed the pan with about a half cup of water. Poured this over the roast, and topped it with pepper, the onion soup mix, and the can of mushroom soup. I was very careful with the mushroom soup, as I wanted most of it to cook on top of the roast, rather than on the bottom where it could burn.
High for 6 hours, or low for 8-10. I cooked it in roast form on High for 4 Hours, then cut the roast and let it simmer in the sauce for another hour.
Serve with Bread. (And, yes, I made this bread almost specifically for sopping up the sauce made by this dish.)
Salsa Verde
Background, Ingredients, Recipe, Spicy August 11th, 2009
I spent two months in Mexico for a study abroad program. By the time I left, I was so sick of eggs and salsa verde that I did not eat them for a while. After I moved, and started on the current cooking craze, I wanted to try to make my own sauce. Luckily, if you can find the ingredients, salsa verde is pretty easy to make.
Tomatillos
Jalapenos or Habaneros
Onion
Garlic
Salt
Cilantro (if you want)
I tend to add about one pepper per 2-3 tomatillos, and this makes a VERY spicy salsa. You can always reduce the amount of peppers.
Remove the husks from the tomatillos, and rinse under water. They will be kinda sticky, but dont worry about it. Take the top off the jalapenos or habaneros (and, please, be careful! I did not pay attention one time and burned the corner of my eye with habanero juice! Ouch! You can use latex gloves if you are sensitive. I tend to just hack off the top and dump it into the water, so i never touch the inside.)
Bring a pot of water to boil, enough to cover the tomatillos and the peppers. Salt the water, and boil the tomatillos and peppers for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Reserving the boiling liquid, put tomatillos and peppers into a blender. (You can cool them first if you want). To the blender, add salt, a few cloves of garlic, and a quartered onion. Blend until smooth. (If this is warm, be careful, and be sure to vent the top of the blender).
At this point, you can add cream cheese and make the perfect sauce for enchiladas. Or you can use this salsa directly in cooking. Or, it makes an excellent spicy dip for chips, as an alternative to red salsas.
Enjoy!
Tags: dips, green sauce, mexican, salsa verde, Spicy
Chicken Marsala
Italian, Recipe August 6th, 2009
My partner asked me to learn to make Chicken Marsala. I do not like to drink wine, so I had never cooked with it. But, I like cooking for other people, so I attempted it.
It was actually easy! It was almost like making gravy, but easier and not as thick. There are a few different varying recipes out there, so this is how I did it. I took my inspiration from recipes by Emeril Lagasse and Tyler Florence.
I took two chicken breasts, and cut them in quarters. (Once down the middle, and then once again to split them in half long ways, so I had 1/4ths, and not strips). I lightly pounded them with the heel of my hand. (Fun!) I put salt and pepper on the breasts, then dredged them in seasoned flour. I then browned them in a large saute pan in some olive oil. I wanted them to be done with this step, as opposed to browned then finished cooking in the sauce.
I sliced the mushrooms, then sauteed them in the leftover oil, but added a tablespoon of butter. I added salt towards then end. The mushrooms soaked up all of the butter, so I added half a tablespoon of butter, and some extra flour. We like a lot of sauce, so I turned off the burner and added 1 cup of Marsala wine. I turned the burner back on, and stirred the wine around to scrape up the bottom of the pan. When the wine had reduced, I added 1 cup of homemade chicken broth (straight from the crock pot), and reduced it slightly. I added back in the browned chicken breasts, and let it simmer and cook for a few minutes.
Served over pasta. Yum!
Tags: chicken, chicken marsala, pasta
Bulk Chicken and Stock
Recipe, Slow Cooker August 5th, 2009
I am not sure where I learned this technique, but it saved me quite a bit of money.
In Texas, I could get chicken leg and thigh quarters for less than 49 cents a pound, in a two pound bag. Cheap! Its about twice as much here in Brooklyn, but this technique still saves time and money.
Take a bulk pack of chicken quarters, legs, or thighs. (This time around, I used chicken thighs, because they are easier to work with.) Remove the skin, and either discard or use to make schmaltz (next attempt!).
Place the chicken parts into a crock pot. You can add some salt and pepper if you want, but the chicken is good how it is. Cook for a few hours on high or low, until the chicken is done. I typically dont worry about it until it starts making the apartment smell yummy I check to make sure that all the chicken is done before pulling it out.
During this time, the chicken will have given off a lot of liquid. Keep this in the crock pot. As the chicken cools, remove the meat from the bones, and then put the bones back into the crockpot. When all of the meat is of the bone, and all of the bones are back in the crockpot, you can add water and salt. I then let this cook, usually until I am about to go to bed. Cheap stock, and yummy.
I tend to freeze the meat in small pieces, and in about one to two cup portions (depending on what storage containers I have available.)
Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dessert, Recipe August 3rd, 2009
Yum. Tasty Kitchen is a new site from The Pioneer Woman. It is full of yummy recipes. But, the best thing is that the number of servings is adjustable, so you can change it to suit how much you are making! You can also switch between US and Metric measurements.
I tried Chocolate Chip Muffins. There is something about an entire stick of butter makes me wary (even if it is only 1/2 a cup). But, half a stick isnt quite as bad, so I made 6 muffins. I also took the suggestion and used 1/3rd whole wheat flour. I think I want to get white whole wheat flour to use, as the Whole Foods 365 brand of whole wheat is both extra wheaty tasting, and ultra high protein (which I think is also why my whole wheat bread experiments failed).
I think I need an oven thermometer. My oven takes a lot longer to cook things than the recipes say. Perhaps I am not preheating it long enough, or it does run cold. It is a smaller oven than I am used to, so that may be it as well. (I have half sheet pans, and I use them in place of the grates, as they fit into the side of the oven.) I had to cook the muffins for about 25 minutes.
I use Silicone Baking Cups
Very nice!
Monkey Bread
Dessert, Recipe August 1st, 2009
I am fascinated by the idea of Monkey Bread. In case you dont know, this is bread made of smaller chunks, so that you can pull the bread apart to eat it.
I am also fascinated by the concept of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Zoe put the recipe for Brioche dough on her website. Now, I had never heard of brioche before, so I had no concept of how hard it was. I am thankful that there is an easy way to do it!
I wondered how the dough would work for monkey bread. So this is my attempt.
I made the dough, but halved the recipe. I dont think I melted the butter all the way, as there were some small solid chunks when I mixed everything else. I did let the butter cool quite a bit, so it would not kill the yeast. Mixed everything together, and it looked good, if a little dry. I let it rise on the counter for two hours, then put it in the fridge.
The next day, it did not look like it had risen very much. After my first attempt at the whole wheat bread from the book, I was worried that it would not turn out. But, I figured that the dough was rich enough, that even if it did not rise, it would work fine.
I melted four tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan. I mixed four tablespoons of brown sugar into it, and let it cook for just a few minutes. I put this in the bottom of my new Bundt Pan
The next morning, it had risen, and now filled the pan. Yay for yeast! I let it sit on the counter for about 40 minutes, then put it in a 400 degree oven. (Which was too high, the top was starting to burn when the middle wasnt done.)
I took it out of the oven, let it sit for a few minutes, then turned it out onto a sheet pan.
And it was burnt. See what I get for not following the instructions? However, the insides, without the burnt parts, tasted pretty yummy. I will definitely make the brioche dough again, but I will try other things with it. Maybe monkey bread without the topping syrup? Or a lower temperature? Or donut holes!
Tags: bread, cake, Dessert, monkey bread
Cold Brewed Coffee
Recipe July 20th, 2009
I love Coffee.
My typical Starbucks order is 5 bucks. (Mmm, Iced Venti Soy Caramel Macchiato). But, it is expensive.
Since I enjoy iced coffee, when I make it at home, I make Cold Brewed Iced Coffee. It is very simple, with just a small preplanning element.
Coffee
Water
A french press (such as Bodum Brazil Glass 3-Cup Coffee Press, Black
You can play around with the amount of coffee and water mixture. You need to brew super strength coffee. I tend to do 1/4th coffee in the french press, then fill the rest with water. Let sit overnight (up to about 12 hours or so is fine), then press the coffee to the bottom. Pour off the coffee concentrate.
I make iced coffee, so I pour about 1/4 of a glass with concentrate, add a few ice cubes, then fill the rest with soy milk. I like my coffee super sweet, so I typically add Torani Syrup, Sugar-Free Vanilla
You can also heat the coffee, but I have not tried that yet.
Everyday Cooking for Those Who Can't 
