Oven Roasted Broccoli

I eat broccoli all the time as a side dish with my dinner.  I usually steam it in the microwave and eat it plain or with a little cheese on top.  Boring, right?  So when I saw this pin I was excited to try something new with my Costco-sized bag of broccoli!  

The pin description (from Foodie):

This is our favorite way to eat broccoli of all time! My husband says he would rather eat this than fries. I put a few Tbsp of olive oil in a ziploc with some salt and pepper and the broccoli and shake. Then spread on a cookie sheet and spread minced garlic over it and roast at 425 deg F for 20-25 minutes.

I wish that there were more specific measurements.   I used 3 cups of broccoli, 3 T oil and 2 cloves of garlic.

Here's the broccoli after shaking it in the bag:

And before I popped it into the oven:

This is after baking for 25 minutes:

Both me and my mom loved the flavor of this broccoli, but agreed that I put too much olive oil and not enough minced garlic.  So next time I will add less oil, probably 2 Tbsp and double the garlic (4 cloves).  I don't think this is better than fries, but definitely beats the same old, plain, steamed broccoli I generally eat. I probably won't turn the oven on to make this side dish, but it's definitely worth it if the oven is already on for dinner.

Bottom Line: LOVED IT! 

Guinness Black Bottom Mint Cupcakes

I am obsessed with Guinness! A lot of people tell me that they don't like Guinness because its too dark and bitter, but it is really one of the only beers I enjoy. It's exceptionally delicious when you pair it with chocolate because it enhances the chocolate flavor. I was excited when I found this recipe since its similar to Betty Crocker's Dalmatian Cupcakes, which are my all-time favorite and the basis for any cream cheese cupcake I make. Plus, how can you go wrong when you add Guinness?

Here's what you need:

• 1 cup Guinness Beer
• 1 cup butter
• ¾ cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sour cream 

• 1 8oz block cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons mint extract (I didn't have mint extract so I used 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract)
• ¾ cup mint chips (I used Andes) 

And the steps:

1. Combine beer and butter in a saucepan. Melt butter over medium heat. When butter has melted, whisk in cocoa powder. Remove from heat and let cool. (I did this in the microwave since that's so much easier and faster than doing it over the stove)
2. With a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg, salt and extract. Stir in mint chips. Set aside. (I microwaved the cream cheese for 45 seconds.  If the cream cheese is not at room temperature, it won't sink when you bake it).
3. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In a mixer, beat eggs and sour cream until blended. Slowly beat in the beer mixture, just until combined. Carefully stir in flour mixture and continue beating until well mixed.
5. Line cupcake pans and fill each cup 2/3 full with chocolate batter. Drop a tablespoon full of cream cheese mixture in the center of each cupcake. Bake in a pre heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Makes 30 cupcakes.(Mine took about 3 more minutes to cook completely, but I made them too big because I only got 24 cupcakes...)

I totally forgot to take pictures of all of the steps because I was multi-tasking by making my dinner at the same time.  Here's a picture of the finished batter in the cupcake pan:

And with the cream cheese mixture:

After baking:

The final product:

 

The verdict: These cupcakes were fabulous, as I expected.  They were better than any other cream cheese cupcake I've ever made even.   The cake had a rich chocolate flavor that I fell in love with; thank you Guinness!  And the cream cheese filling was equally good.  My sister also loved them, so the were pretty much instantly gone.  I will definitely be making these again! 

P.S. These cupcakes are also great with cream cheese frosting.  For an easy cream cheese frosting, beat together 1 cup of softened butter and 1 cup of softened cream cheese.  Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 cups of powdered sugar, adding it one cup at a time.  Voila, delicious and fast frosting!

The Bottom Line: LOVED IT!!!  

Make Cake Taste Like It's From A Bakery

Since I had the oven on to make my dinner, I decided to try a dessert I've pinned. I chose this one because it was fast and easy. Plus, I had pinned it and Kelsey G. had also suggested that I try this recipe on the Recipes Jenn Should Try board on Pinterest. 

Here's the pin description:

Step 1: Look at the directions on the cake mix Step 2: Add one more egg (or add 2 if you want it to be very rich) Step 3: Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount Step 4: Instead of water, use milk. Step 5: Mix well and bake for the time recommended on the box.

I used white Betty Crocker cake mix.

I did just as the pin description said and got this: 

Notice how thick the batter is!

I made cupcakes so here's the batter in the pan:

And the cupcakes after I frosted them (I used cinnamon roll frosting):

Can you tell how fluffy these cupcakes are?

 

One word: delicious!  They are so much better than normal cake from a box.  They have a much lighter, fluffier texture with a slight butter taste.  My mom and dad said that they were "okay, but too greasy."  Yeah, they definitely were greasier than normal cake, which is expected since there is double the amount of butter than oil in your typical boxed mix.  Although they were greasier, I don't think it was overpoweringly greasy like my parents made it out to be; they just don't like new things. Cake this way is great, but don't forget that it adds a lot of fat and calories. 

Bottom Line: LOVED IT!   

P.S. I read the labels of all the big name brands (Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, and Pilsbury), and they all contain trans-fat.  So, I will be making my cupcakes from scratch now on out, but if you don't have the time or lack baking skills, this definitely makes cake mix taste better! 

Edible Glitter

 If you go to a crafting store that has decorative baking supplies, it's amazing to see what edible things that they have come up with: pearls, shimmer dust, glitter...and what's even more amazing (not really) is how much it costs.  A small container of sprinkles is like $5.  So, the idea of making your own edible glitter at home from two cheap ingredients is awesome.  For $5, you can have pounds of sprinkles! 

The description that was on the pin:  

 holy crap. seriously??? 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of food coloring mixed, bake10 mins in oven on 350 degrees to make edible glitter!

And the original link, which doesn't say anything else.

Since I already had the oven on for another batch of cheesy cauliflower breadsticks (they are seriously so freaking good), I decided to try to make some blue glitter.

I put the sugar and food coloring in a mini bread pan and mixed them together:

Then I popped it in the oven for 10 minutes.  I took it out and stirred it.  I could tell it wasn't ready because there was still food dye that was wet, and the sugar was really clumpy.

I put it in for another 10 minutes, then stirred it, and put it in for another 5.  Then I was over it.

Here's the end result.  It's still clumpy so if you want it to be smooth, you're going to have to break it down somehow:

Here's the side by side comparison of the before it was put in the oven and afterwards:

Can you tell the difference?

Does it look like glitter? No.  Is it sparkly? Slightly.  Is it any different than other sugar sprinkles that you find at the grocery store?  Maybe a little more sparkly. Is it worth turning your oven on and baking a small amount of sugar for almost a half hour?  Your call, but I would say no.  I think that this recipe is only worth it if you want a certain color of sprinkles and have run out of them, and you already have the oven on.  

Bottom Line: NOT WORTH IT!

Salmon in a Bag

I've been slacking on posting on my blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy in the kitchen cooking and baking recipes I've pinned!  Look for several new blog posts this week :)

This is one of the first pins I ever pinned on Pinterest, and I figured it was about time to try it.  The description:  Salmon in a Bag - Tin foil, lemon, salmon, butter, S&P– Wrap it up tightly and bake for 25 minutes at 300°. Seems fast and easy.

I clicked the link that was on the pin to see if there were more detailed instructions. Nope.  Same exact sentence plus: surprisingly simple for the flavour it packs!

And: 
NOTE: A lot of questions have been raised regarding the temperature I cooked this salmon in which was only a suggestion because it worked for me. A few people have suggested raising the temperature to 350° – whatever worked for you I hope you enjoyed it!

So I assembled my salmon in a bag:

And wrapped it:

I put it in the oven for 25 minutes and it wasn't cooked; the top was actually completely raw.  I did notice that it smelled wonderfully of lemons.  I put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes and after a total cooking time of 35 minutes I got this:

 

I know it's not really pretty, and you can see where I cut into the middle to make sure it was cooked all the way through. 

The salmon wasn't that lemony.  Some parts of the salmon tasted more like lemon than the others.  I ended up squeezing some juice from the lemons on top of the salmon to give it more flavor.  That made it taste better, and reminded me of the lemon salmon I already make:  

Marinate the salmon in fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt, and pepper (sometimes I add capers) for 10 minutes then bake at 350° in the oven for 8-10 minutes on a pan sprayed with olive oil.

So much faster and healthier because there's no butter.  I'm going to stick to my method of cooking salmon!  

Bottom Line: NOT WORTH IT!

Chocolate Mudslide Oatmeal

I was seriously getting tired of the same old breakfasts every single morning before work so I wanted to try something that was fast and easy and most importantly different.

The pin description: So many oatmeal recipes, all healthy!  In fact, there are 19 recipes, and all of them sound appetizing.  I decided to try the chocolate mudslide oatmeal because it reminded me of how we used to put Nesquik in our Malt-O-Meal when I was a child.  

The required ingredients:

• 40 grams uncooked oats (1 cup)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup water or milk of choice  I used 2% milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• sweetener of choice I used 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
• optional: Amazing Grass chocolate superfood powder I didn't have this so I skipped it.
• 5 grams (1tbsp) Special Dark cocoa powder (It has a completely different taste from regular cocoa powder, so if you use regular, you might have to add a lot more for the chocolatey taste) I used regular cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp was enough!
• I added 1 Tbsp chia seeds to add extra fiber

Here's what I used: 

The directions:

1. Cook up a serving of oatmeal with the water and/or milk and a little salt
2. Add the vanilla, cocoa, and more salt and sweetener to taste.
3. Optional: Right before I eat this mess, I sprinkle on about 1/2 a little packet of the chocolate super food powder.  Then I drizzle on about 1/8 cup almond milk.  I don’t stir either of these things in.  I love the unstirred, powdery texture. (I skipped step 3)

And this is how it turned out:

 
I used to LOVE Nesquik in my Malt-O-Meal as a child and this was like 10 times better!  The oatmeal had a good chocolate flavor that made me forget that I was eating oatmeal, but at the same time, it was not too sweet.  It tasted more like dessert than breakfast, and it's healthy!  I couldn't believe how good this was. I ate in all in 2 minutes flat and it has left me craving chocolate oatmeal in the morning.  I'm making this for breakfast tomorrow!