Weekend Breakfast Treat

Our kids LOVE doughnuts - particularly the ones at Krispy Kremes.  I think one of their favorite part of watching them make them.  So I thought - hey why not make some at home!  So I stumbled upon this little recipe here for copycat Krispy Kremes.

I made the dough the night before and used the morning as the final rising state for the dough - after shaping it with cookie cuts.  Then into the shortening fryer - be very careful about the temperature - shortening heats up very quickly and will burn your doughnuts instantly.

We made used both the doughnut part and the hole :).  Frying was super fast.

After frying, let it cool for a minute or so and keep it in your favorite topping.  We had plain sugar, glazed and glazed with sprinkles.

The verdict YUMMMM.

Homemade Cinnamon Buns & Nachos

A few years ago we got a little chocolate fondue cup with a little tea candle holder - this year we found a use for it :) - our summertime [new] favorite - homemade nacho cheese with all the fixings.  The little fondue cup keeps the cheese nice and melted for on-demand nachos.  Yum!

Another favorite around here are freshly made cinnamon rolls.  Yep, from scratch...and yep it's million step process [at least it feels that way].  But the end of result is to die for fresh cinnamon rolls.  These definitely do not last long around here.

What's cooking in your kitchen? 

Pesto Sauce Pasta - Our Family Favorite - Kid Friendly Version

Summer time means a lot of basil around here...and that means a lot of PESTO.  It's truly a family favorite.  We make ours with a little bit of chicken breast.

I've made this so many times I don't really measure the ingredients anymore, but here's (about) what I do each time - this usually serves 2 small kids, 2 adults and have leftovers for a small lunch for the next day:

Ingredients:

• 1 package of dry pasta - cooked.  I use whatever pasta I have around.
• 1 chicken breast, cut into strips
• about 1 cup of basil after stems are removed 
• about 1/4 cup roasted pine nuts - I just throw them on a foil paper in a toaster oven
• about 1/2 cup of reggiano parmesan cheese - finely grated
• olive oil
• salt 
• garlic powder

Optional ingredients: 

• garlic - about 2 cloves.  I usually omit this because the kids complain that the garlic makes the taste 'too strong'.  So for a more kid-friendly recipe, omit the garlic :)
• cracked black pepper.  Not really necessary but sometimes I add in a few sprinkles for extra flavor

(1) In a frying pan, heat up a little olive oil, put in your chicken strips and season in the pan with some salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Pan fry until all sides are browned and inside is cooked all the way through.  Put onto plate to cool down, then cut into small pieces.

(2) In a food processor add the basil, pine nuts (save a little bit for garnish) and cheese (and garlic if you want to).  Pulse a couple of times then add about 4 tablespoons of good olive.

(3) Blend all ingredients together - add more olive oil or water if mixture is too thick.  I like it to be the consistency of chunky peanut butter.  This is your pesto sauce :)

(4) In a large serving bowl, pour in your cooked pasta and pesto sauce, toss together well.  Add in cut chicken, your extra nuts and a little extra cheese and sprinkle on top.  Toss in slightly - not too much or else all your whole pine nuts and chicken will sink to the bottom.

That's it.  It gets pretty simple (ie: easier) the more you make it.  I think I have mine down to only 20 minutes now.

Simple Pleasures

Some of the best things in life is simple - like sweet corn.


Quick and simple way to enjoy these beauties is to boil them in boiling water for about 10 minutes.  Sometimes I had a little bit of salt and butter/oil to the pot but it's not really necessary.  You could also add salt/butter on top of the corn cob when it's cooked too.  Delicious - a sign of warm and hot summer days to come.

Cooking: Toffee @ Home

Another thing I love to do besides making quilts is to cook.  Truth be known, I like it even more than quilting...well at least on most occasions.

Before kids I would spend a lot of time in the kitchen experimenting and trying out different recipes.  I still try to sneak in some time to experiment no and then but most meals I make these days are simpler and more kid friendly. I love making just about everything.  Though one thing that I have never experimented on were candies.  I have a sweet tooth, and a pretty bid one, but usually I bake pastries.  So when my sister send me this recipe she found on Allrecipes.com  I was a little hesitant.  It was of toffee.  A candy.  A food that didn't seem all that kid friendly.  And the thought of making toffee seemed incredibly difficult.

But with some reassurance from my sister and after reading the title "Best Toffee Ever- Super Easy", I went ahead and tried the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds

 Directions:

1. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally.
2. While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
3. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate, and press in slightly. Putting a plastic bag over your hand will minimize the mess.
4. Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container. 

The results?  Very awesome, super easy, kid friendly, toffee:

Kid tested and approved:


I decided to start up another blog to keep track of my other love: food @ http://messykitchenhappykitchen.blogspot.com/
Trust me my kitchen is MESSY and HAPPY :).  Haha mostly the first one.