Yoga Socks

Happy New Year!

I know it has been quite some time since my last post. (September I do believe....) Life got in the way of documenting new recipes/patterns. BUT have no fear, I have been busy cooking, baking, and knitting away. 

I stumbled across this pattern.  During the past summer I helped a friend getting this pattern started. She had never used double point needles before, but she was determined to try and make two pairs for her girls for Christmas. Long story short, I got a text at the beginning of December asking for help and I knitted two pairs of these beautiful and comfy socks. 

The pattern came from Patons and can be found here. Any sock weight yarn can be used. I knitted the 8-row pattern 4 times completely for both the cuff and the foot.

For this pair of yoga socks I used two different colors. I had a bunch of left over sock yarn from Christmas. I made a pair of socks for my sister, mom, and all three of my nephews. When  they opened their presents on Christmas day, I insisted everyone try on their socks. I was afraid I made them either too big or too small. Luckily, they fit everyone! Hooray! As for this pair of yoga sock, they are for a friend of mine who is a dancer and dance instructor. I hope she gets great use out of these!

Cupcakes for Two with Whipped Cream Frosting

Oh my goodness it's September! Where did August go? Seriously...band camp flew by, school started, and before I could catch my breath September arrived.

All colored from my run

This weekend has been a celebration weekend. I participated in my first 5K - the Color Me Rad 5K. I ran with some friends from college and had a blast! I'm definitely going to run this again next year. This weekend also marks Sonny's one year anniversary of home ownership and the two year anniversary of our first date. 

To celebrate, I decided to make cupcakes. Cupcakes are delicious, but we didn't want to have 10 cupcakes. Thanks to How Sweet It Is I didn't have to make a dozen cupcakes...I could make 2! Two vanilla cupcakes, but double the recipe to make 4 cupcakes so we could share two of our friends.

I have to admit, the cupcakes did not turn out very well. They looked and smelled good, but they tasted awful! In the process of measuring and mixing and preheating the oven....I forgot to double the vanilla. Oops! times 10!!!!!! The cupcakes tasted bitter and just plain awful! But the frosting....that's another story.

Cupcakes for Two!

I was a little leery when it came to frosting. I could have bought some from the store, but then there would be a ton of frosting leftover. So, I decided to try making whipped cream frosting. The results? Success! 

These cupcakes and frosting were very easy to make. The hardest part was whipping the frosting and waiting for it to thicken up. In the end, we ended up with some tasty cupcakes for our celebration.

Whipped Cream Frosting - enough for 2-4 cupcakes

- 1/2 c. heavy (or whipping) cream

- 1 Tbsp. sugar

- dash of vanilla extract (optional)

- food coloring (optional)

Combine cream and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk together until stiff. Add extract and food coloring has the mix begins to thicken. 

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Recently my sister posted about making zucchini bread. YUM! Her post inspired me to make some zucchini bread. While waiting for the bread to bake my wheels got turning. "Would icing go great with zucchini bread? What about cream cheese frosting? I have some cream cheese that needs used soon." Then I decided on trying cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

I was a little nervous attempting frosting again. It didn't turn out so well when I tried raspberry cream cheese frosting....I struggle getting the right consistency. But this time everything turned out well and tasty!

I baked the zucchini bread in a 8x8 cake pan and took it into work with the icing on the side. (Which was silly because everyone tried the icing). Everyone enjoyed the frosting with the bread! Success!

The following recipe would frost one loaf of bread or 12 cupcakes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting


Ingredients

- 1/4 c. butter, melted
- 1/2 packaged cream cheese, softened (4 oz.)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp. vanilla almond milk (you could use regular milk or condensed milk)

Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, pour the melted butter in. Add the cream cheese; beat with a electric mixer until well mixed.
- Add the cinnamon, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Beat ingredients until well blended.
- Add the milk; mix until a smooth, spreadable consistency.

Zucchini Bites

Zucchini is all over the farmer's market right now. I purchase some almost every week. That means zucchini in stir-fry, pasta dishes, and baked goods. I've also been getting new ideas from Pinterest - the ever addicting and wonderful website.

These zucchini bites are delicious and were a big hit! My parents and co-workers enjoyed the first batch. My mom liked them so much she bragged about them to her sisters. When we got together recently I made them and everyone LOVED them! My sister is eagerly waiting to try them...I'm sure her boys will love them too!

Using a music note cookie cutter to form zucchini bites

I definitely will be making these again and again. They are also very easy to make and work as a tasty little snack or even an appetizer at a party. These bites would also be a nice alternative to tater tots when grilling hamburgers or hot dogs for dinner. Thank you Pinterest for your unending cooking ideas!

Zucchini Bites 
Adapted (slightly) from The Curious Country Cook

1 c. zucchini, shredded and squeezed
1 egg
1/3 c. seasoned bread crumbs (I used garlic bread crumbs.)
1/3 c. onions, finely chopped
1/3 c. shredded cheese
Salt & Pepper  - to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400-F. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside. You can use a mini-muffin pan if you have one.
        *Make sure you squeeze out any excess water from the grated zucchini.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg. Then combine all the ingredients and mix well.

3. Scoop about 1 tsp. of mix onto the cookie sheet, forming a small circle. (You can use a cookie cutter like I did if you like). If you have a muffin pan, fill muffin cups to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the outside is golden and set.

Baking Adventures with A

Last weekend I had a baking buddy! A asked to make chocolate chip cookies, but when in the kitchen an idea was born - cookie bowls. Then we could have cookie bowl sundaes with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles. YUM! Let's just say our intentions were good, but the results were a lesson learned.

The original recipe (which I found from Pinterest) uses sugar cookies, but we went ahead made chocolate chip cookie bowls using the Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe...since chocolate chip cookies were the original plan.

Getting ready to cream the butter and sugar together.

 I had a blast baking with A. She was very excited about making cookies and cookie bowls. To be honest, A did most of the work...I basically just supervised and helped her when she needed it.

Handling the electric mixer like a pro!

Folding in the chocolate chips.

After everything was mixed up it was time to start creating our cookie bowls! Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, spray the backside of a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray, and clear a good chunk of counter space.






Roll out dough on your well-floured counter space to about 1/4-inch thickness. Next you want to find something that will cut out a small circle to fit the surface area of the underside of one muffin spot....either a small circle cookie cutter or a shot glass works perfectly.

Then you'll use a knife or fingers and separate circle and place on the muffin tin.

When all the muffin spots have cookie dough on them pop them into the oven and bake for probably about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. We let them bake for about 12 minutes (following the chocolate chip recipe) and this is where we learned our lesson. Since we were using a mini-muffin pan and less dough, we didn't need them to bake as long. The end result.....slightly burnt and crisp mini cookie bowls.

But there were more goodies! With the leftover cookie dough A wanted to make some regular chocolate chip cookies to enjoy. She made BIG cookies, slightly under baked for soft, gooey middles.

We used a regular muffin tin to make regular sized cookie bowls. They turned out a lot better than the mini cookie bowls.

Next time we try to make cookie bowls I suggest we stick with a sugar cookie recipe. The chocolate chip cookie bowls were a good idea, but I think to master baking cookie bowls the chips just get in to way.

I had a blast baking with A. Even though things didn't turn out how we planned, we still enjoyed a delicious evening treat!

The GIANT chocolate chip cookies! They look so good! 

Getting the regular cookie bowls ready for the oven! A worked hard in the kitchen! 

Cookie Sundae! 

No Bake Chewy Granola Bars/Squares

Now that school is out I've been spending TOO much time on Pinterest. I stumbled across a recipe for No Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and thought, "These look delicious!" Well, they are! And they are VERY easy and quick to make. I may never buy pre-packed granola bars again...this recipe is that simple. It takes about 5 minutes of total work...prep to walking away and letting them cool on the counter.

First batch: left half - raisins...right half - chocolate chips

I've made two batches in three days. No, I haven't eaten them all, ...I've shared them. I took some to work with me yesterday and everyone who tried them loved them. A few people even asked for the recipe. I followed the recipe for the first batch (pictured above) with one change. I put chocolate chips only on one half and put raisins on top of the other half. A great suggestion by Sonny!

Second Bath: peanut butter with chocolate chunks

I added peanut butter into the mix for my second batch. The result: even more delicious! They remind me of the no-bake peanut butter cookies we use to make when I was younger. When I cut these "granola bars" up I ended up cutting them into squares, so I guess I made granola squares.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Squares

I'm serious about never buying pre-packed granola bars again. My brain thinking of other things I can add to the mix to create different granola bars!

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars...well squares

adapted from Lauren's Latest


Ingredients 
- 1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
- 1/4 c. honey
- 1/4 c. peanut butter, creamy
- 1/3 c. brown sugar, packed
- 2 c. quick oats
- 1 c. Rice Krispies cereal
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- chocolate chips
- other toppings (almonds, etc.)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats and rice cereal.

2. In a small saucepan, combine butter, honey, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Heat and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, make sure the sugar is dissolved. Pour in vanilla and stir. Remove from heat.

3. Combine the saucepan mixture atop the dry mixture in the bowl. Mix well, making sure everything gets coated. Place mix onto one side of greased baking sheet and press firmly, flattening and packing the granola bars. Sprinkle chocolate chips (or other toppings) on top and press them on top gently.

4. Allow granola bars to cool on the countertop until set (about 2 hours). Cut into bars or squares. Store at room temperature in a container. Separate layers using parchment (or wax) paper.

*UPDATE 7/30/12* An 8x8-inch cake pan works very well instead of a baking sheet. You can cut your granola bars into 25 squares, cover with foil (or plastic wrap), and keep on your kitchen counter until gone.

Raspberry Vinaigrette Chicken Salad

It's back! Panera's Strawberry Poppyseed and Chicken Salad! I could eat at Panera everyday, but there isn't a Panera in my town. As much as that saddens me, it's probably a good thing for my wallet. So I'll settle for the next best thing; I'll make my own version of the salad. I substituted the poppyseed dressing and used a raspberry vinaigrette. I also left off the pecans this time around...I didn't have any in the pantry.

Salad minus dressing and chicken. Looks good! 

To make this salad you need the following:

- romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
- strawberries, sliced
- blueberries
- mandarin oranges
- pineapple, sliced
- pecans (if desired)
- cooked chicken breast, sliced into strips
- raspberry vinaigrette

Toss the lettuce, fruit, pecans, and chicken in a bowl. Drizzle desired amount of dressing on top of the tossed salad.

Looking good! 

Whether it's Panera's salad or my version of this salad, I truly enjoy this salad! It's great on a summer day, having lunch with friends outside on the deck and enjoying some fresh lemonade. I have a feeling I'll be making this salad a lot this summer....it's so good!

Raspberry Vinaigrette Chicken Salad - yum!