Carmelized Peanuts

Carmelized Peanuts (4/19/08)

These are so easy to make and you can do so much with them...like eat them plain, put them on an ice-cream sundae (Heather and I did that :) ), or I don't know...you can come up with something.

You will need:
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 TBSP water
1.5 cups peanuts

Put sugar and water in a frying pan.
Allow it to heat until the sugar begins to carmelize (turn brown....don't worry, it's probably not burning)

Now add the peanuts.

The sugar will turn white again, but give it some time.

The sugar will begin to carmelize after a while. Be patient :)

After all the nuts are covered with sugar, allow them to cool.

One word of warning: Don't use a plastic spatula to stir the peanuts for a long time...mine melted :)

Apple Dumplings

Apple Dumplings (3/14/08)











I think this is one of my favorite desserts now. It's so delicious and simple to make. It just melts in your mouth...yummy!!!

You will need:
2 medium/large sized apples
1 can of Pillsbury Grands (I used Southern Style)
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
1 12oz can of Vault

1. Peel and core the apples. Cut each apple into four slices.
2. Remove the biscuits from the can. Flatten them out with your hands to make an oval shape.
3. Roll each slice of apple in a biscuit. Place in a buttered baking dish. I used an 8x8, but then I had to put 2 of the dumplings in another pan because I ran out of room.
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and vanilla.
5. Pour sugar mixture over the dumplings, making sure to coat each thoroughly.
6. Pour the Vault (the original recipe actually calls for Mt. Dew, but we only had Vault...I'm sure it tastes about the same though) around the edges of the pan. I also poured some down the center.
7. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until golden brown.
9. Serve warm, with ice-cream or whipped cream.





I was multi-tasking, and baked the dumplings and french fries at the same time :)









Mmmmm so yummy looking!









Served with a side of vanilla ice-cream...who can resist?

Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Alfredo (3/05/08)

 

You will need:

1 box of fettucini/lingiuni/spaghetti noodles

1.5 lbs chicken breast

1 medium onion

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 jar fat free chicken gravy

6 oz sour cream

1 TBSP flour

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp basil

2 tsp garlic powder

1. Cut chicken into strips. Cook in a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan.

2. Dice onion. Saute in some olive oil. Add in gravy, and spices. Heat over medium heat.

3. Cook noodles according to directions on box.

4. Mix the water and flour together to make a thickening agent for the sauce. Add it into the gravy mixture. Bring to a slight boil. Add in the parmesan cheese.

5. Remove from heat. Add in the sour cream.

6. Top individual portions of the noodles with sauce. Place chicken on top of the sauce. I sprinkled some chive rings on top for added color.

French Bread

French Bread (2/15/08)












This bread is delicious and only has 5 ingredients!!!

You will need:
2 packages (or 4.5 tsp) dry yeast
2-1/2 cups warm (105-120 degree) water
1 tsp sugar
6 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp salt

For garlic butter:
1 stick butter
3 TBSP garlic powder
2 tsp garlic salt

1. Pour warm water into a large bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Stir until yeast is completely dissolved. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Mix in 2 cups flour and salt. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
3. Add in remaining flour gradually to form a soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes.
4. Spray dough with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and let rise for 2 hours, until doubled in size.
5. Divide dough into 2 equal parts. Form into long "sticks" of bread.
6. Place on greased cookie sheet. Let it rise (again) for 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
8. Spray bread with plain butter (or spread it on). Using a knife, make a few diagonal slashes across the top.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
10. Mix together ingredients for garlic butter. Amount of garlic can be adjusted to preference. Fresh garlic may also be used.
11. Slice the bread to desired thickness. Spread butter on slices.

Lasagna

Lasagna (2/15/08)

This is a fantastic recipe for Lasagna...from start to finish!









You will need:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion
5-6 large mushrooms
2 6oz cans of tomato paste
1 large (anywhere from 14-22 oz or so) can of diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 TBSP dried oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 TBSP sugar

12 oz cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

9 lasagna noodles
lots of mozzerella cheese

1. Brown the meat in a large frying pan. Drain off excess fat
2. Mix together the diced onion, chopped mushrooms, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water, and spices (you can add other spices or adjust the amounts to your preference) in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for an hour. I added the browned beef in after 45 minutes.
3. Mix together cottage cheese, egg, and parmesan cheese in a bowl.
4. Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil. Cook lasagna noodles until al dente, about 8 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. You can do your layers however you choose, but here's how I did mine. Cover bottom of 9x13 pan with a layer of the tomato sauce. Cover with 3 noodles. Spread cheese mixture on top of noodles. Add a small amount of sauce. Cover with 3 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Cover with the last 3 noodles.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Spread mozzerella cheese on top of noodles, bake 10 minutes more or until cheese is all melted.


Browning meat and beginning sauce.






Slicing mushrooms for sauce









Mmmmmmmmmm








Almost done!!!

Marbled Chocolate Treats

Marbled Chocolate Treats (11/28/07)

I found this recipe in a recent Food and Family magazine, and it looked really good, so I thought I'd make it. It takes less than 10 minutes to make and they are really good! I did modify the recipe a bit, so if you look it up, it will be different than what I post :)








Marbled Chocolate Treats
-at least 8 graham crackers
-1 cup chocolate (I used milk chocolate, but you can use semi-sweet) chips
-1 cup white chocolate chips
-1/2 cup peanut butter

Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter in the microwave. It needs about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with graham crackers. Some might need to be broken or cut to fully cover bottom. Pour melted chocolate mixture over crackers and smooth out. Melt white chocolate chips following same method as before. Drop by the spoonful on top of the chocolate covered crackers. Immediately use a knife to cut thru to make swirls. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chocolate is firm. Cut into bars. Store leftovers in fridge. Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Filled Crescent Rolls

Chocolate Filled Crescent Rolls (11/09/07)

Sorry, I need to work on my presentation for pictures, how about some nice glass plates rather than an old cookie sheet?!?! :)










This is such an easy recipe and it's yumm-o!

1 package regular (not butter) Crescent Rolls
1 package milk chocolate chocolate chips

Grease cookie sheet

Get ready to roll up crescent rolls, but before you do, put a pile of chocolate chips on the widest end (the amount of chocolate is up to you!).
Then roll the crescent rolls like normal.
Bake as directed on package.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar after they've been out of the oven about 5 minutes (this way they're cool enough the sugar doesn't melt, but warm enough it sticks)
These are delicious with a cup of hot chocolate!



****UPDATED PICTURES HERE****

Gourmet Caramel Apples

Gourmet Caramel Apples (11/09/07)

These are so easy and fun to make, and they're delicious!!!!




















Unwrap one bag of caramels

Put in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly. (Sometimes, the directions on the bag of caramels tells you to add some water to the caramels, this is fine if you are going to eat your apples right away. If not, the water causes the caramel to "melt" off the apple while it's in the fridge or on the counter.)

Poke a wooden stick in the top of each apple (I removed mine later, for a cooler look)

Dip apple into the caramel, you may need to use a spoon to spread the caramel evenly.

Then you can dip the apple into melted chocolate, peanuts, or whatever you desire!

Let the caramel harden (works best in the fridge)

Enjoy!!!!

The new beginning!

Welcome to Melissa's Cuisine....
You may have already seen some of my baking and cooking at my other blog, but this blog is going to be dedicated specifically to "culinary arts".
I don't know how I'm going to set this up, so for some recipes, you might just see a picture of the end result, for others, you might see step by step photos. It depends on how hard the recipe is, and what kind of mood I'm in.
I hope that you enjoy my recipes, and that you let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!
Bon appetite!