Not So French French Fries

Recipe: French Fries

Source: The Orange Strainer

Time: 50 minutes

Ease: 2

Taste: 8

Leftover Value: No leftovers, ever!

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

I have a strong dislike of buying frozen french fries.  They never taste the way I expect french fries to taste.  So, in my five years of marriage, I think I can count on one hand the number of frozen french fry bags that I have bought.

Instead, I have chosen to make my own as long as I have potatoes on hand.

And I see to it that I always have potatoes on hand.

I love my starch.

Making your own french fries is a simple task.  The only difficulty is the length of time your potatoes need for cooking.  Potatoes can be just like people.  Some are easy going and work well with you, others are stubborn and take a long time to get where you want them.  The potatoes I used here are California White Potatoes.  They are extremely tiny, not very hard, and have a very thin skin.  Because of this, I didn't need to fry them as long and I chose to not peel them.  (If they had been larger potatoes, I probably would have peeled them, and they would have taken years to cook).

Start by cutting the potato in half.

Then cut the half into quarters.

Slice your quarter up into four or five pieces.

Then cut those pieces in half.  The point here is to get nice thin fries.  (Although, if you like nice thick fries, stop before these last two steps).

Repeat with the rest of your potatoes.  I always make too many.  But I've found that with french fries that whole "one potato per person" rule does not apply (especially if they are tiny potatoes).

So, you be the judge of your family's appetites.  I'm busy enough dealing with mine.

Pour about a quarter cup into a frying pan and let it heat up over medium high heat.  I used a little bit more than a quarter cup.  There's no problem with this, especially since I just used the leftover to fry the corn dogs that I made that night too.

I just don't want you judging me when you see how much oil is in the pan in these next pictures.

I can live with it, so I hope you can too.

Toss your potatoes into the hot oil.

Fry the potatoes in the oil for 5-10 minutes.  Make sure to flip them over every minute or so.  Again, if using a harder potato, you may need to fry them about 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 at this time.

After the potatoes have gotten a light tan, take them off the stove.  Try to drain off as much oil as possible before spreading them out onto a baking sheet.

Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes.  Then take them out, flip them over, and shake a little salty goodness on them.  Bake for 15 more minutes, or until that tan has become a little more prominent.

Toss some more salt on them and divvy them up between your family members.

Seriously, divvy them up.  Because if you don't you might not get any.

I Like Prepackaged Corn Dogs

Recipe: Classic Corn Dogs
Source: The Pioneer Woman
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/10/classic-corn-dogs-and-cheese-on-a-stick/
Time: 30 minutes total
Ease: 4
Taste: 5
Leftover Value: 3
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Down the Drain!

I've come to the conclusion that there are certain things that should not be messed with.  The classic corn dog prepackaged and frozen in the local grocery store, I've decided, can't be beat.

But, it was at least fun to try.

Who first thought of putting food on a stick?

I bet he or she was a fun person with a great personality.

I was watching Paula Deen and she had Matt Armendariz on her show.  He wrote this  book:
http://www.amazon.com/On-Stick-80-Party-Perfect-Recipes/dp/1594744890

They are all recipes on a stick!  Pretty cool idea, right?

The batter for the corn dogs had to be thick enough to coat the dog and stay put.  From the looks of this picture, it looks thick and also looks like it is staying put, right?

Wrong.  The other side of this dog tells a completely different story.

That is part of the reason I disliked this recipe.

Here's another, the batter fried a lot quicker than the dogs.

Here's another, I had to cut my skewers last minute because they were too long to fit in my pan.

And lastly, my house smelt like oil for the next five hours.

I don't like that.

But I do like corn dogs.

Just the prepackaged ones.

Three Cheese Crock-Pot Ziti

Recipe: Crock-Pot Ziti

Source: The Orange Strainer 

Time: 4 hours and 15 minutes total

Ease: 1

Taste: 7

Leftover Value: 5

Down the Drain or Keep it in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

By now you know that I love my crock-pot.  After all, what's not to love about something you can toss a bunch of ingredients into, walk away from for a few hours, and upon your return be greeted with a fully cooked meal ready to be devoured?

I can't think of anything better.

My mom's friend gave her a recipe for crock-pot baked ziti.  We improvised it a little, and this is what we came up with.

Ingredients:

15 oz Ricotta cheese
16 oz Mozzarella cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 box (16 oz) ziti
2 (26 oz) spaghetti sauce (any kind)

Start by tossing your mozzarella into a big bowl.  Don't be like me and forget to thaw your frozen mozzarella and then realize that your mozzarella is so frozen it is more like mozzarella ice cubes that refuse to be chipped away at.

Warning to the wise.  Thaw the night before or use fresh mozzarella.  Fresh mozzarella makes it more authentic, I guarantee.

Add a cup of Parmesan.

And 15 ounces of ricotta cheese.

Mix the three cheeses together so they are combined and you have a bowl full of white clumpy clouds.

Yum.  I probably could have just thrown this in the crock-pot and been completely satisfied.

Mental note to self....definitely, do that.

Take one of your cans of sauce and spread a light coating of it in the bottom of the crock-pot.

Add half of the uncooked* ziti noodles.

*Let me stress the word 'uncooked' here.  That's right.  No waiting for water to boil.  No waiting for the noodles to become al dente.  Just toss those bad boys raw style into the crock-pot.

Think of all that time I just saved you!**

That's about 30 minutes of YOU time!  Go read a book, do your nails, wash the dishes.

**Hint: This works really well with lasagna noodles too.  So, instead of calling this baked ziti, throw lasagna in and you have the easiest lasagna ever, I promise.  

Cover the noodles with the remaining sauce from can #1.  Toss the noodles so they are coated with sauce.

Spread half of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles.  This basically consists of plopping small spoonfuls all over.  This way the cheese will spread out as it melts and form a cheesy blanket on top of the noodles.

I just love cheesy blankets.

If you're feeling a little artistic, as I was, drizzle a little sauce from can #2 on top of the cheese layer.

Then cover the cheese with the rest of the noodles.

Cover the noodles with the remaining sauce.

As done previously, toss the noodles in the sauce.  For this layer of noodles you especially want to make sure that there aren't any unsauced noodles remaining.  That's right, I made up a word: unsauced.

Live with it.

If you have noodles that are unsauced they tend to not cook very well and become so hard that I'm sure they could be considered a lethal weapon....for your teeth that is.

Cover the saucy noodles with the remaining cheese.

Set the crock-pot to LOW for four hours.  Walk away and enjoy your life.

Or, set the crock-pot to HIGH for two hours.  Again, walk away and enjoy your life.  Watch a movie, write a poem, go for a walk.

Or blog.

I'm sorry, I'm not sure there is anything more beautiful than cheese, sauce, and noodles.

If there is, don't tell me.  I don't want to spoil this moment.

If serving to a large crowd, make sure you get one of the first servings.  That way you can get the best cheese choice possible.  The beauty of this recipe is that the biggest glob pictured here was the cheese sitting on top.  But, the middle layer of cheese is seen in the background.  That middle layer melted nicely into the bottom layer of noodles creating a mixture no man or woman could do on their on.

But the crock-pot set on LOW for four hours could do it magically.

A Day of Frosting

Recipe: The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(Spell check insists that buttercream is not one word, however, my cookbook opposes.  Sorry spell check, the cookbook wins).
http://joythebaker.com/2008/06/the-best-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
*Recipe in the book is cut in half.  It makes PLENTY.
Source: Joy the Baker Cookbook
Time: 15 minutes
Ease: 2
Taste: 10
Leftover Value: 10
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

I made my two desserts for today's birthday party yesterday.  Somehow, and I have no idea why, I ran out of time yesterday. (I can't imagine how that's possible when there are 24 whole hours in one day).  That left the hour before the party, the hour that I had only about a dozen other things to do as well, to make two kinds of frosting and frost two different desserts.

I'm going to work backwards and tell you about the frosting I made second.  That would be the peanut butter cream cheese frosting that I made for the peanut butter birthday cake.  (Both are recipes from Joy the Baker Cookbook).  I'm not sure why I have never eaten peanut butter in this form before, but I think I am now committed to this relationship.  I can see it now, peanut butter cream cheese frosting on apples, bagels, bananas, oatmeal.  That's right, oatmeal, why not?

This frosting's presence is so very deceiving.  It looks like any typical, ordinary frosting.  But dip your finger in here and sparks will fly.

You've been warned.

I'm not responsible for what happens.

This being my second time making this frosting, I decided to actually follow the end direction of the recipe and mix in two tablespoons of peanut butter before frosting my cake.  It gave the frosting an extra punch of the beautiful salty flavor that is peanut butter.  (Reminder: salty-peanut butter plus sweet-cream cheese always breeds success).

I made the peanut butter frosting second because the chocolate frosting was new to me, so I wanted to do make it first.

And I was worried about my dish washing skills and didn't want to leave any peanut butter flavor in my mixer bowl to confuse the chocolate flavor I planned to create.

I know, I'm weird.

From the start of making this frosting I wanted so badly to dip my finger in and test taste.  You might be thinking, why not?  Go for it.  Every cook needs to test the flavor as they go along.

The problem is, this picture is not of the first step.  See on the paddle how there is a darker chocolate color? That was what the first step of this frosting process looked like.  And that is what I so badly wanted to dip my finger into, then fill a bowl with and declare it to be my lunch.

The problem is, that when the frosting was at that dark chocolate stage it consisted of three things: salt, cocoa powder, and butter.

And I bet I would have loved it tremendously.

So would my thighs.

The secret ingredient to this icing is a mixture of Ovaltine powder and heavy cream.  I know, I had my doubts too.  Especially when I walked through about five different aisles of Acme searching for the Ovaltine.  I wanted to ask an employee for help, but all I could think to say was, "More Ovaltine please!".

Sorry, that radio commerical is embedded in my mind probably forever.

I was a little rebellious with this recipe though.  It called for two and a half to three cups of powdered sugar, sifted.  

I didn't sift the powdered sugar, and I only used two cups.

Whew!  Glad I got that off my chest.

Not to worry, the frosting still came out incredible as is seen here by my lovely brownies from the previous night which have been crowned in globs of frosting.

Now I have a serious question for you.  Is it frosting or icing?  I've always called it icing until every single recipe I've used called it frosting.  So I felt a little silly typing icing for a recipe called frosting.

I'm pretty sure they are the same thing.  Maybe it's a regional difference.  Like pop and soda?

We call it soda here.

I call this picture, "An Army of Brownies Iced, no wait, Frosted"

I Love Brownies

Recipe: Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Source: Joy the Baker Cookbook
Time: 50 minutes total
Ease: 2
Taste: 8
Leftover Value: 10
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

My littlest brother, Jonathan, is turning 20 tomorrow.  I think that makes me feel really old.  Even older than I felt when I turned 26.

When he saw the delicious peanut butter cake I made for my brother Joel's birthday he told me he wanted one for his birthday.

Then, he also demanded brownies.

Who wouldn't demand brownies if they knew they could get them?

Therefore, I made brownies.  Of course, only after I made the peanut butter cake.

 Brownies make life better.  Chocolate makes life better.  These brownies, certainly, made my life better.  (And, truth be told, I have one last step yet to add to them--chocolate butter cream frosting.  I promise, I'll post about that later!)

The brownies required three ounces of unsweetened chocolate.  I always forget how the not sweet taste of unsweetened chocolate makes my mouth shake repulsively.

But, after mixing the chocolate with some butter and other essential ingredients, I was ready to lick the bowl clean.

P.S. Those lumps you see, yeah, they're chocolate chips.  Chocolate with chocolate, is there anything better?

This recipe was ridiculously easy.  It called for the brownies to bake for 25-30 minutes, but mine needed to go a little longer.  I honestly wanted to take them out around 25 minutes and serve gooey chocolate bars instead of brownies at the birthday party, but I took into consideration the feelings of others.

Although, I can't believe there are people out there who don't like gooey brownies!

These brownies make me want Christmas.  I'm not sure why.

I'd settle for a cup of hot cocoa with it though...

Chicken Tacos....fried

Recipe: Fried Chicken Tacos
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/my-brothers-chicken-tacos/
*Note: The recipe in the book is much more concise than this post online.
Time: 1 hour total
Ease: 5*
Taste: 10
Leftover Value: 10 (Heat it up in a toaster oven!)
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

*The only reason I give this recipe a 5 for ease is because it involves hot oil.  No matter what, there are some people who just can't help but get stuck in harmful circumstances when hot oil is around.

Not me, I promise.  I only burnt the tips of my fingers once or twice while making this recipe.

Okay, maybe three times, but no more than that!

I love this recipe because it reminds me of a chalupa from Taco Bell.  

And I love Taco Bell, I don't care what anyone says about it.

You can't get that crisp bubbly shell without doing one thing: frying the life out of that bad boy!  

I did make one substitution, okay, more than one.  I used flour shells instead of corn because hubby wrinkles his nose at corn tortillas.  Also, I cut all the spices in half yet used 3/4 of the amount of called for chicken.

Now that my conscience is clear...  

This may look complicated, but it is a very simple meal to make.  Again, you must be proficient at working with hot oil.  This isn't for cowards.  Yet, even the hot oil part is pretty simple.  The taco is already assembled with the cooked chicken inside.  You simply place the taco into the hot oil, let it fry about 30 seconds, and then flip it.

It's the flipping part that is dangerous. 

The end result is absolutely rewarding.  I topped my taco with loads of sour cream (no, I don't feel guilty about that), romaine lettuce, and some tomatoes.

That is not one bite, I promise.  (While some of my family members may disagree, I'm pretty sure my mouth isn't quite that big).

Watermelon Strawberry Smoothies

Recipe: Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie

Source: Canadian Living

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/watermelon_strawberry_smoothie.php

Time: 50 minutes total (include 30 minute watermelon freezing time)

Ease: 2

Taste: 5

Leftover Value: 5

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer, with substitutions

You might wonder, "A recipe from Canadian Living?  How did that happen?".  Then, you might think that perhaps I picked up a copy of said magazine during my recent trip to Niagara Falls, Canada, but you would be wrong.

Coincidentally, while I was over a friend's house I noticed the recent issue of Canadian Living sitting by itself, screaming out to me, "Read me, read me!".  

I love magazines.

And I love watermelon.

When I saw in the magazine this recipe for watermelon smoothies, I'm pretty sure I heard angels sing. 

I bought an incredibly sweet watermelon.  This made me very happy.  Watermelons can some time be a toss up, especially depending where you choose to purchase yours from.  I wish I could tell you I grabbed mine at my local farmer's market, but sadly, no.  I got it at Bottom Dollar Food.  I used probably only a quarter of the watermelon for the smoothies, so there was lots left over for me to snack on all day long.

The only real step aside from pureeing all the ingredients was to freeze the watermelon cubes for 30 minutes. Next time I think I would freeze them a little longer.

Something pretty cool about the Canadian Living website where this recipe can be found is that if you decide you want more servings of the recipe, you can plug the number of servings into this little calculator that will then change the measurements of each item you need.

It's the little things in life that make me happy.

Of course, I didn't need to use this function, but it's nice to know it is there.

Yogurt.  I have this strange relationship with yogurt.  I don't like it.  The only way I choose to eat it is if it is loaded with an equal fruit to yogurt or cookie to yogurt ratio.

Or if it is in a smoothie.  

Put the watermelon, strawberries, and plain yogurt in a blender.

Add 2 tsp of lime juice.

I felt a little creative so I added about 2 tsp of orange juice as well.

Puree it all together until it is smooth and pink.

This was a nontraditional smoothie.  It was very watery.  Hmm, perhaps that is because it has a lot of watermelon in it.

I only make that comment so that you don't make this thinking you are going to have a thick smoothie.  It's not exactly the type of smoothie you can drink as a meal substitute.  My suggestion, and thought for next time I make this, is to throw the watermelon and strawberries in the freezer overnight (just to make sure they are overly frozen).  Then, add an extra cup or so of yogurt.

I'm sure it will be awesome.