Butterbeer

A couple nights ago something amazing happened. My little one went to sleep easily and I actually had a little bit of energy and motivation left in me. That combo almost never happens. So I was on the hunt for something fun and quiet to do.

Then I remembered. I found this recipe over on indiejane that I really wanted to try. It's a recipe for butterbeer using butterscotch topping, cream soda, and whipping cream.

I checked the fridge and I actually had all the ingredients. The stars were lining up in my favor. Sleeping baby, energy, great looking recipe, and all the ingredients! The soda was even cold! It was a sign. This was meant to happen.

So I got all my things out and got to work. I just made a couple tiny changes to her recipe.

First, when making the butterbeer part, I mixed the butterscotch topping into a little bit of cream soda. Once that was mixed I added the rest of the cream soda. This allowed it to keep a bit more fiz. Or at least that's what I told myself.

Second, I also added a tiny bit of heavy whipping cream to the butterbeer part to make it a bit creamier.

The results were delicious. I've never been to Wizarding World, so I can't say whether or not it is accurate to the Official Rowling-Approved Version, but it was cold, sweet, creamy, buttery, and just plain awesome. It's hard to go wrong with just butterscotch topping, cream soda, and whipping cream, but this surpassed my expectations. So good. I think I'll go make some more right now...

Enjoy!

I didn't make up this recipe. I claim no ownership of it. I just thought it was amazing and wanted to share. Head over to http://www.indiejanephotography.com/2012/01/butterbeer-recipe/ for the full recipe and to give credit where it's due. Also she has much better photos than I do.

Cranberry Limeade: for brighter sunshine, extra courage, and less morning sickness

also entitled

Every Saturday at 2:00pm the alarm on my phone goes off. A message associated with that alarm pops up on my screen.

Cranberry Limeaid and Mozzarella Sticks

Why Saturday? The Sonic nearest our house does a deal every day of the week. Saturdays deal is my favorite. An order of mozzarella sticks for a dollar.

Why 2:00pm? Because that is happy hour. That is when you can get half priced drinks at Sonic.

This alarm is a remnant from the early days when I was pregnant. The days before I could down an entire cheesecake. The days when eating was an accomplishment. The days where I was losing weight and worried to death about whether the little lima bean sized alien inside me was getting what she needed.

There was only one thing I could find that would always stay down and often calm my stomach enough to keep down some solid food. I'll bet you can guess what it was...

Sonic Cranberry Limeaid

Image borrowed from http://www.sonicdrivein.com/

To me this stuff was a literally godsend. It made me feel human. It made me feel that I could continue another day, that my little one and I were going to be alright, that this wasn't all a mistake.

To this day, I like to face a difficult with a limeaid in hand, but back then every day was difficult. I drank that stuff by the pitcher-full. I needed an alternative solution for days when money felt tight or I didn't feel up to going out.

Here's what you need:

- Lemon Lime Soda (I prefer Sierra Mist Natural because its the only soda I can find that comes in big bottles and has no artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup)

- 100% Cranberry Juice, Unsweetened (don't worry, with the soda it turns out plenty sweet) 

- Lime Wedges to taste

- Pellet Ice (optional, but it makes it so much more authentic, you can buy it in bags at most sonic locations and keep it in your freezer at home) 

Combine the soda and the cranberry juice using a ratio of about 6 parts soda to 1 part juice. Pour gently so you don't loose the carbonation. Add lime wedges and ice.

To fill a 2 quart pitcher I would use about 6 cups of soda, 1 cup juice, and a couple limes cut into wedges. 

To fill a 16 ounce glass I would use a cup and a half (about 1 can) of soda, 1/4 cup of juice and maybe half a lime.

We had a punch bowl full of this stuff at the baby shower my friends threw for me. It was a big hit.

Here's some random shoutouts with links to other bloggers who like Sonic Drinks.

Linda at My Name is Momma (cute picture of tiny child and giant cup)

Erin at A Nickell for Your Thoughts (another cute cup as big as child pic) 

Camille at Makoodle (cute visual message about things that make us happy)

Shannon at Sweet Blessings (Printables "This home runs on LOVE Laughter and LOTS of SONIC DRINKS." I love it!)

Enjoy!

A Treat For Two: Chocohotopots

My husband's mother loves to bake. I gain about 5 pounds each time she comes into town and I enjoy every delicious calorie of it. Lucky for my waist line she only comes into town 2 or 3 times a year and I'm usually able to loose the weight pretty quickly when she leaves (except for this last time with the baby, recovering from delivery, depression, etc. losing weight is going a lot slower).

Mommy-in-law considers family recipes to an important part of recording her personal and family history. She frequently sends us updates with recipes from grandparents, new things she's tried, and my husband's favorite childhood foods.

This is a favorite recipe of my husband's family, adapted to serve just the two of us. My mother-in-law wrote in her recipe book:

This is what to eat when your chocolate level is a quart low. It is deeply chocolate and very quick to prepare and cook. Each of my children headed off to [college] with this recipe, a mug and a wire whisk.

This recipe is amazing. It turns out cake-y and gooey almost like a mini lava cake. Adding vanilla ice cream  gives it this beautiful hot/cold chocolate/vanilla contrast. It is a multi-sensory experience. I love it.

We like to make it anytime we're having a hectic day. Today was one of those days. We have a million things to do (all good things, but a lot of rushing) and the weather is gross. Nothing like a good strong dose of chocolate to give us the gusto to get out the door and start on our to do list.

Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Unsalted Butter
- 2 ounces (about ¼ cup) Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- 1 pinch Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla
- 6 tablespoons Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 3 tablespoons Flour

Instructions:

Melt the butter and the chocolate chips together. Add the salt, vanilla, and sugar to the melted mixture and stir. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and stir until smooth.

Spray two 1-cup ramekins with non-stick cooking spray and divide the batter evenly between the two.

This is where my oven safe dishes saved me again. I don't own 1-cup ramekins. One day I hope to have money and space for more kitchen dishes and gadgets, but today is not that day. See my post on DIY Taco Bowls for more details.

Instead of ramekins, I used mugs. Below is a link to the mugs I own. They work great and are fun to eat out of. Just make sure your mugs are oven safe. This is very important. Otherwise they might shatter and that would be bad. Less dangerous, but still important make sure your mugs hold at least 1 cup. Otherwise you might have a huge mess and ovens are a pain to clean.

Simple Sketch Square 12 Oz Mug on Amazon

Make sure your ramekins (or mugs for most of us) are stable in the oven. If they are too small to be stable on the oven rack, put them on a baking tray.

Bake at 400 degrees for 22 minutes.

Top with ice-cream and serve.

This is best served very hot. You'll probably need to use towels or hot pads so that the hot mug doesn't damage counters, tables, or your skin. Be sure to take extra precautions if serving to children.

Enjoy.

DIY Taco Bowls

There are some dishes specially designed for making tortilla bowls. I haven't tried them out myself, but they look like they would be great if you are picky about having a uniform shape and/or you have extra money and space in your kitchen for very specific gadgets.

Norpro Nonstick Tortilla Bowl Makers on Amazon

I am not so picky and have very little money or space, therefore I wanted to find a way to make taco bowls without having to buy and store extra dishes. Thankfully my regular set of dishes is oven safe, so my regular cereal bowls work for this purpose.

Simple Sketch Square 22 Oz Soup/Cereal Bowl on Amazon

These bowls were also perfect because the flat bottom meant that the finished tortilla bowl was very stable and could be used on a plate.

Materials Needed:
- Oven Safe Bowls
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
- Tortillas

Spray the bowl with cooking spray. Insert the tortilla and shape as desired. Spray the top of the tortilla with nonstick cooking spray.

Cook at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes. Check after 10 min. Remove tortillas from the oven when they start to get crunchy. Don't worry if they aren't super crunchy yet. They become more crunchy as they cool. Allow the tortillas to cool in the bowl at least until they are stiff enough to hold their form on their own.

Fill with lettuce and top with your favorite tex-mex style ingredients (i.e. taco meat, shredded cheese, beans, sour cream, olives).

These would also be fun as salsa or dip bowls at a party.

Enjoy!

Happy Pi Day!

We thought it would be a great idea to share pie with all of our friends in celebration of yesterday's holiday. We pulled out our Make-a-Mix cookbook (which is actually amazing for making food in bulk, not just for making mixes to store) and set to work making 10 chocolate pies.

Make-a-Mix on Amazon

The image at the top of this post was supposed to be a chocolate pie like that beauty on the lower left hand corner of the book cover. However, we learned a very important baking lesson. Apparently cornstarch (our thickening agent) will thin out if heated at very a high temperature or if stirred after the thickening process takes place. There's a reason the recipe said heat on medium...

Therefore, our gift was actually a little more like a chocolate chowder in a pie crust pastry bowl which, when you think of it like that, actually sounds pretty awesome. Even if it is a little lot more messy. Good thing our friends all have a great sense of humor.

tl;dr
liquid chocolate, respect the cornstarch, happy pi day.

Trenza (filled braided bread) Recipe/Tutorial

I served as a missionary in Guatemala for a year and a half. While I was there I made friends with a baker. One night he invited us over to his house for an activity. He taught us to make trenzas (spanish for braids) which are a delicious filled bread. Once I came home I adapted the recipe for ease and to fit the ingredients that are common in the States.

Dough

You can use your favorite pizza or crescent dough brand or recipe. I like to use my Uncle's (http://zyzmog.blogspot.com/) pizza dough.

Makes enough dough for 2 Trensas
1 C. warm water
1 Pkg. yeast OR 1 Tbsp. dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
3-1/2 C. flour
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. oil

Dissolve yeast. Add sugar, salt and oil to water. Then add 2 cups flour and mix. Gradually add rest of flour. Put in greased bowl and let rise 1 hour.


Fillings

Today I am making a Chicken Alfredo Trenza and a Chicken Pesto Trenza. You can use pretty much any fillings you like. Precook any raw meat to make sure it gets cooked through.

Filling for Chicken Alfredo Trenza
2 chicken tenderloins (already cooked, seasoned, and cubed)
3-5 rounded tablespoons alfredo sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn

Filling for Chicken Pesto Trenza

2 chicken tenderloins (already cooked, seasoned, and cubed)

1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese

2-3 rounded tablespoons pesto

Other Filling Ideas

Here are a few of our favorite flavors.

• Sandwich Style - Deli meat, sliced cheese, your favorite condiments (ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard). This is how my baker friend in Guatemala liked them best.
• Pizza Style - Pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings.
• Loaded Baked Potato - shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, chives, and baked potato slices (optional)
• Breakfast - Scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon crumbles, shredded cheese.
• Sausage, Baby Spinach, Mozzarella, and Pesto.

It's a very versatile recipe. Feel free to substitute your favorite fillings. If you find a good combination comment and tell us about it.

Assembly

Preheat the oven to 425°F (or whatever temperature your dough recipe calls for).
Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Spread the filling along the center of the rectangle. I usually spread any sauce on first and the more solid ingredients on last because that makes for less mess.

Cut each side as shown. (I'll often use a clean pair of kitchen scissors for this step). Each strip should be about 1 inch wide.

Next you will begin folding the strips over top of the filling. Pick a corner to start with and fold that strip over first. Then fold the strip across from the first one. Then, the strip next to the first one. Continue alternating sides until all the strips are folded across.

If at any point the strip is too long you can cut off the excess.  I usually roll the extra bits into breadsticks and top them with herbs and cheese. The last strips especially usually need to be cut short.

Top sprinkle with herbs or finely shredded cheese and bake about 25 minutes. Check after 15 min. The time to bake will vary based on the thickness of the dough, the moisture level of the filling, and other factors. The trenza is ready to eat when the bottom is no longer doughy and the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!