Tag Archives: food

Follow your heart

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

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I have a few things I always make during February and sugar cookies are at the top of theIMG_2364[1] list.  So with my heart shape cookie cutter Wilton Metal Heart Cutter
I set out to try a new sugar cookie recipe.  I always, always, always make my moms recipe and it is, of course, the best!  But I found one recipe and it had almond extract added,  so I thought I would give it a try.

As I was making these I realized I had ran out of almond extract..so extra vanilla it was!

These cookies were very good and I even ate a couple without icing.  But I think I will stick to my mom’s recipe from now on!  It not only has a wonderful flavor and texture, it brings a heart full of memories with each batch!  Thanks Mom!!  And my hubby thanks you also!

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This icing is my Mom’s recipe that my sisters and I still use at Christmas.  Okay, well not just Christmas, anytime the occasion calls for a sugar cookie!  I have added the icing and the sugar cookie recipe on my website so you can try if you like. I hope you had a wonderful
Valentine’s Day!

Wilton Comfort Grip Heart Cutter

 

 

 

Valentines’ Day=Red Velvet Cake

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I love Red Velvet Cake.  However, it is hard to find a bakery that makes one just the way I like it.  I am finding it is even harder to find a recipe I can make at home!  I am on the hunt this Valentines for the perfect Red Velvet Cake!

 

So far I have found and tried two recipes.  One recipe was for red velvet cake and one was red velvet cookies.  The flavor was not as strong as I like in either one, but when I  shared with friends, they all loved it and said both were delicious! My husband thought the cake was one of my best as far as texture and moistness goes..so that is something!

While it was not exactly what I was looking for, I think it turned out pretty well.  The search will continue and I am certain I can find that Red Velvet Cake recipe that will be the one that I always go to!  I will let you know.  (recipe for both cookies and cake are under “something sweet”).

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Whoppers Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

My family, like many of us, with the start of 2016, made a resolution to embrace a more healthy lifestyle.  So far, so good.

In fact, even when I am choosing to make healthier choices, I can usually bake cakes or cookies and not sample the batter or eat the cookie dough.  So when I decided to bake this wonderful “WHOPPER Chocolate Chip Cookies” recipe I found in my new cookbook, Sally’s Candy Addiction, I was not worried at all about blowing my healthy choices.

However, after I made these, the entire house smelled of warm, fresh from the oven, chocolate chip cookies.  And then I opened my fridge and saw a cold container of milk. Needless to say, I did sample one, maybe two, but that was it! And yes, it was worth it!   I set one aside for my husband and the rest went straight to work the next morning.

I received more compliments on these cookies than any other I have brought to work.  By lunch they were all gone, except for one lonely cookie.  No one wanted to be “that person” who took the last cookie.  Finally, one brave soul grabbed it and I took my empty container home.

These really were a perfect blend of chocolate chips and Whoppers, not to soft, not to hard and had that little something extra that made them stand out from the original Toll-House chocolate chip cookies I usually bake.

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You can find the recipe here or order the cookbook Sally’s Candy Addiction.  If you give these a try, let me know if you love them as much as I do.  You can also send me a message on Instagram!

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Thanks again Sally for a wonderful recipe from your cookbook!  at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/sallys-candy-addiction/

 

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

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…goodbye to cupcakes anyway, and hello healthy cookbooks!
Well, not until I make cupcakes for work first!
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Okay…I am good on sweets now.  At least until February, when of course I have to bake plate after plate of Valentine treats!  But for now my family and I are all making healthy choices!

I pulled out The Skinnytaste Cookbook again.  I used this many times in 2015 but put away as October came around and I was in the baking/sweets/candy mode.

January always brings about a desire to make changes for the better.  So instead of eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant (for the millionth time in last 2 months) I stayed home and made the Buttermilk Oven “Fried” Chicken.  I made this a few times last year and my family really liked it.  This time I followed the recipe in full (I usually take short cuts) and the chicken was so moist and was just enough with my sweet potato. Give this a try if you want great flavor, fewer calories, and don’t want to feel as if you are giving up on taste.

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Recipe for Chicken is here on my blog as well as cupcakes.  Here are links to both.

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/09/20/white-wedding-cupcakes/print/
http://www.skinnytaste.com/p/cookbook.html

(My husband took this pic…teasing me that this is his new beer/food blog!  He thinks he is so funny!)     Not bad for a first try!! 🙂IMG_1753[1]

Homemade Beef Stew…Yum

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I have a tried and true Beef Stew recipe from a wonderful friend from Louisiana. She gave it to me about 25 years ago and I have used it many times since.

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1st Recipe box 1989

I went to my lovely blue and mauve recipe box (from my wedding in 1989) and could not find it in there!  I will find it one day, many years from now, when I clean out all my cabinets.  But I wanted to make the stew for dinner,  so off to Pinterest and other blogs I went in search of an amazing Beef Stew recipe.

I found this one on Pinterest and put it on my board.  You can also find the recipe here.  I still love my friend’s stew, but this one certainly is one I will make again and it was perfect on this cold winter evening.

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tasty vegetables

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searing the meat

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cry, cry, cry

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making the cornbread

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delicious

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Beef Stew

Time Flies When You’re Having Fun!

Posted in 2015 Travel Adventures, Adventures in the Kitchen by

Time does fly!   It is hard for me to believe over a year has gone by since I started my blog, PALATABLE ADVENTURES.

I looked over my goals in starting this blog…
This blog is to hold me accountable to teach myself and my girls cooking basics and two new recipes per month.  Inspiration may come from
~places we have been
~recommendations from friends and family
~or from sources of interest like Pinterest or just good old fashioned cookbooks

As I look at my purpose in doing this, I see that it accomplished what I wanted and more.  I learned many new recipes.  I found my children in the kitchen with me, learning as well.  I sampled various types of foods from places I have visited, and tried to recreate them at home.  And my pictures, while still amateur, have improved from last January.  I have actually loved these Palatable Adventures.

~Sweet Adventures

Recipe found on food blog
Love it!

~Movie Inspired Adventures

Sound of Music while eating Austrian Dish
It’s Complicated

~Healthy Adventures.

~(not so) Healthy Adventures.

Delicious!

~Traveling Adventures.

I’m in a New York State of Mind
Roman Colosseum
Austria
Austin
Lady Liberty
Me and Hannah at JFK
Venice
Florence, Italy

I look forward to 2016 and the adventures that await, the people I may meet and discovering what God has in store for me.

 

A few of my favorite things….

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

 

…holiday baking with my girls

Christmas

…Christmas work parties and celebrations with family

…decorating our Christmas tree together while watching White Christmas

…all of us in the kitchen together preparing our Christmas lunch

…reading the Christmas story before opening gifts

…because Jesus is the Reason for the Season…

For Unto Us A Savior Is Born!

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Visions of Sugar Plums

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…or Sugar cookies!  I love looking back on Christmas as a child and the memories that were made during the holidays.  My mom made many different sweets over the years, and all were delicious!   But one of my favorites was her sugar cookies.  My three sisters and I loved when she made these.

I loved to stay up late with her and  help decorate.  The TV would be on in the background, my dad asleep by now in the chair and my mom in the kitchen baking away.

What a privilege it was to be able to pass this recipe on to my three girls and create our own memories of  baking and decorating cookies.   I may not have my three little girls beside me in the kitchen, but I  was blessed to have my 19-year old help me tonight!

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Christmas Time is here…

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It is always a treat to be able to pick up your sister, do  a little shopping, then grab a bite to eat in Austin.  We ended the evening at Book People on Lamar and had the chance to meet Sally McKenney and purchase her new Candy Addiction Cookbook!  Not a bad way to spend a Friday night!

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My IMG_1293[1]mother-in-law, Phillis Rhine, saw that I made one of Sally’s recipes for White Chocolate Chip Molasses cookies.  She has a great Molasses recipe herself, but has never added the white chocolate chips.  She loved how they looked, so she made a batch for her Cookie Exchange!

Her hubby, (my wonderful father-in-law) told her she better bake some more…so I think they were a hit!

I am not sure her kitchen looks like mine after baking!  But I am thankful my daughter will help me clean up!

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Yummy Peanut Brittle

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One of the things I love making at Christmastime is Peanut Brittle.  I have been using the same recipe for the last 25 years.   I lost it this year and thankfully my dear friend who gave me the recipe so long ago still had it! She just took a quick pic and texted it right to me. Thankful for technology…and Alyssa!   I also love that it is made in the microwave and I don’t have to use my candy thermometer! If you like to give away candy at Christmas, this makes a nice gift.

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Sometimes it takes me a couple of batches to get it just right.  I always forget that my microwave cooks high, so I need to adjust the power before cooking.  It only takes 10 minutes, so if you don’t love your first batch…the second one is usually perfect!  Enjoy!