For the love of food and photography

May 3, 2012
jaime_creations
1 Comment

Salsa!

Chips and salsa is a favorite snack in my house. My husband and I love to eat it at night while watching TV. I have always made it by dumping a bunch of ingredients in my food processor and pulsing a few times, but I wanted to find a recipe that I could use to share with you all that is similar to the style that we enjoy in my house. I came across the Pioneer Woman’s recipe, which is very similar to my method and ingredients, and so I will share that with you, with my minor tweaks.

Restaurant Style Salsa

recipe adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies) (one mild, one regular)
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Cilantro (or more, if you prefer)
Juice of half of a lime

Preparation Instructions

Pioneer Woman says “Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.”

I used my mini chopper, and just did it in batches, emptying it into a large bowl, and stirring after adding each batch. You can also use a blender. It will incorporate more air, but that will settle after refrigeration.

This salsa will be medium if you follow the ingredients above. If you want mild, remove the membrane and seeds in the jalapeno before chopping and you could even use both cans of Rotel mild, instead of 1 regular, and 1 mild. If you like it HOT, you can use two cans regular, or even two cans HOT Rotel (They make mild, regular, and HOT Rotel).

Combine all ingredients in your food processor or blender. Pulse several times (I pulsed mine 12 times) until you reach the consistency you like.

Refrigerate, serve with chips!

This will keep in the fridge for a few days!

March 30, 2012
jaime_creations
0 comments

Easter Bread

Easter bread is a tradition that my step mom started, that came from her childhood. Every Easter she made a bread called panarillo, with an egg in the bread, glazed with icing. It was such a fun thing to eat growing up, and my sisters and I love it! I have used a recipe for a different kind of bread that is easy to make dairy free if needed. So this bread can be made both ways (with dairy or without) and resembles a brioche bread, light and mildly sweet.
I found this recipe at http://theitaliandishblog.com. I will attach her link to the recipe because she has some great step by step photos that will help.

RECIPE HERE: http://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2008/3/19/italian-easter-bread.html

NOTES: If you want to make this dairy free, you can use almond milk in place of the milk, and Earths Balance in place of the butter.

For colored eggs that don’t leak dye onto your bread, leave them in the dye for about an hour, then rinse them with cold water before leaving them to dry.

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Here is my step mom’s recipe for panarillo:

February 29, 2012
jaime_creations
2 Comments

Pasta e Fagioli soup with crockpot variation

Pasta e Fagioli is clasically an Italian soup, made with beans and pasta. Here, we add lots of other things to it, and call it the same You may have had it at the popular Americanized Italian chain restaurant (the one with the breadsticks!), and that is the version I am making today. I have been making this soup for years and it is a dinner staple in my house. It is also a heart healthy soup, and I will note in my ingredients where you can opt for the low sodium version of the ingredients. First I will give you the traditional cooking method, followed by a crock pot version.

“Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored byKitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset”

Pasta e Fagioli soup:

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tablespoon extra light olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 cup shredded or julienned carrots (I buy the bag of shredded carrots to save time)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups V8 juice (you can use the reduced sodium)

1 can beef stock (you can use reduced sodium)

1 can chicken stock (you can use reduced sodium)

2 cups water

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (you can use reduced sodium beans)

1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed (you can use reduced sodium beans)

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 package ditalini pasta (or any small shaped pasta)

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for serving, if desired

Brown ground beef over medium heat. Once browned, drain any excess grease, add 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil, onion, celery and carrots. Saute for a few minutes until onions are translucent, add in the garlic, saute a minute more.

Add V8 juice (make sure you shake it up real well first), both stocks, and the water. Bring to a boil, add in the beans, tomatoes, and seasonings. Make sure you add salt and pepper, taste and adjust as necessary. Turn down to a simmer, cover with a loose lid and cook for an hour. If you soup needs more liquid, you may add in water or stock, just make sure you recheck for seasoning.

2o minutes before serving, cook your ditalini pasta separately. Drain, rinse and reserve. I do not add my pasta into my soup because it will keep expanding and get soggy, as well as eat up all the lovely broth I add a small scoopful to the bottom of my serving bowls, then ladle the soup on top. Serve with Parmesan cheese and good bread for mopping up the juices!

CROCK POT Version:

Brown meat, drain and add to the crock pot. Add all other ingredients except the pasta. Set crock pot to high and cook for 4.5-6 hrs or low for 8-9 hours. Cook pasta separately (can be done ahead of time and refrigerated). Serve soup over a small scoop of pasta, enjoy!

February 20, 2012
jaime_creations
2 Comments

Growing Food: Plant Markers Craft

We are getting ready to start our veggie garden and I had an idea for a fun craft while I was at the craft store last week. Since the kids were off for Presidents Day today it was the perfect day to do the craft with them. These plant markers are perfect for your garden, and a fun way to get the kids excited about gardening too!

You will need:

Large popsicle sticks (as many as you want to make)

Non-toxic paint in your choice of colors

paint brushes

Wooden shapes (I used the tag shaped ones for my markers but small flowers would be super cute!)

Craft Glue or glue gun

Sharpie marker for writing on your markers

Directions:

Paint the wooden shapes, let dry. Write plant names on them with a sharpie marker. Glue the popsicle sticks to the back of the shape, let dry. Add to your garden when you plant your seeds and enjoy the art that you and your kids have created.

February 20, 2012
jaime_creations
1 Comment

Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

I have recently seen a lot of buzz on the food network and online about pho. Pho (pronounced FUH) is a vietnamese soup that can be made with any kind of meat. I chose to make a chicken pho (pho ga) and had a lot of fun styling, photographing, and eating my pho! Also very excited was my son, who brought in our neighbor from outside while I was in the middle of photographing it because he just “had to see it”.

I chose a recipe by Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen (click below for recipe). I really enjoyed the lovely, comforting flavors in the broth, balanced with the spicy kick from the chilis, the crunchy fresh veggies and tang of the lime. Comfort food for sure.

http://steamykitchen.com/139-vietnamese-chicken-noodle-soup-pho-ga.html

I chose to keep my toppings the same as she suggested, with an addition of chopped green onion. Other additions I have noticed are fresh mint and thai basil, and those would also be delicious.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

January 19, 2012
jaime_creations
10 Comments

Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookies for my Sweetie

My husband doesn’t care for sweets, which is strange in this house because I bake so much, but he doesn’t touch most of my baked goods, except when I make chocolate chip cookies! I had to make these cookies for him after seeing all the attention they are getting on Pinterest for being the best chocolate chip cookie ever. I think he will be a happy guy when he gets home from work and sees this plate full of cookies. The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, which I love and so does he. It also calls for two different kinds of flour, bread flour and pastry flour. Pastry flour is not easily found in my neighborhood, so I used a combo of equal amounts all purpose and cake flour for the pastry flour, since pastry flour is in between AP flour and cake flour in texture. Do not sub out all the flours and only use all purpose, because the combo of these flours is what gives this cookie such a beautiful texture, lightly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

Also, I recommend that you chill your dough before baking. I chilled mine for an hour, but you can chill it up to a few days.

This recipe makes A TON of cookies!! I halved it and it yielded me 34 cookies. I used the medium size cookie scoop. I also halved the amount of chocolate, since good bittersweet chocolate is quite expensive, and I still felt there was plenty of chocolate, but more would probably be even better!

Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies

Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
- Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.
- Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

January 6, 2012
jaime_creations
6 Comments

Pig Pickin Cake

I am not entirely certain how the name of this cake came about but I have heard it was traditionally brought to bbqs in the south called “pig pickins”. All I know is is is super yummy and very simple to make, uses a lot of store bought ingredients and you can quickly whip it up. If you are looking for a shortcut cake, this is it! The batter incorporates manadarin oranges, with their juice, which gives the cake a nice flavor and keeps it moist! The frosting is whipped toppping, vanilla pudding mix, and crushed pineapple.

Pig Pickin Cake

recipe from allrecipes

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, juice reserved (plus an additional can if you want to decorate the top of your cake with them)
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

Directions

preheat oven to 350

Mix together cake mix, canned oranges with juice, eggs, and oil. Pour batter into three greased and floured 8 inch round pans. Layers will be thin.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool layers on wire racks.
Mix together whipped topping, drained pineapple, and instant pudding mix. Fill and frost the cooled cake. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

A few tips for filling and frosting the cake:

I am not an expert at cake decorating but a few tips that I have picked up are: place cake face down on your cake plate so that the bottom of the cake is what you are icing, that way you will have less crumb-age Also, take a few pieces (about 4) of parchment paper and place under the cake before frosting the cake. You will remove these after you have finished icing and you will have a cleaner line along the bottom of your cake Use a long, large cake spatula to frost if you have one. I use mine all the time so it is a great $8-10 investment. Wilton makes one and you can get it at any craft store. After filling your layers, I like to frost the top first, then address the sides, once my sides are frosted, I run my spatula along the sides, while turning my cake stand with my left hand.

Hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!

all crafts Homemade Projects ~ Add Yours! {1/17}

December 31, 2011
jaime_creations
6 Comments

Lemon Meringue Mini Cupcakes

In my house, we stay in with the kids and watch movies on New Years Eve, and I wanted to come up with a fun finger food menu for our night in, and also wanted something light and fresh as a dessert. I decided I wanted to do a lemon mini cupcake and I definitely wanted it to include lemon curd! I put together a few different recipes that I found, and came up with what I am calling a lemon meringue mini cupcake. It is a beautiful buttery cake with a hint of lemon, with a seven minute frosting and a dollop of homemade lemon curd to finish it off! If you love lemon meringue pie, you will love these!!

I started off by making the lemon curd and then letting it chill while I made the cupcakes.

If you are looking for a time saver, you can buy jarred lemon curd, it is not as tasty as fresh, but still very yummy!

Lemon Curd
(Recipe from Martha Stewart) Makes ¾ cup

Ingredients:
• 4 large egg yolks
• Zest of a lemon
• 5 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Prepare an ice bath fitted with a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together yolks, zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove pan from heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into prepared medium bowl. Stirring frequently, let stand until cool.

Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the curd, so that a skin does not form, and chill in the refrigerator, at least an hour, before using.

Lemon Mini Cupcakes
(Recipe from Rachel Ray) - yields about 30 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, I have trick for you, below )
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel
2 large eggs, at room temperature

DIRECTIONS:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line mini-muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk and lemon juice. (If you don’t have buttermilk, or don’t want to buy it, I added 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar to my measuring cup, then filled up the rest with milk, until you reach 1/2 cup. Stir, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, add your lemon juice.)
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup sugar and the lemon peel and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined, scraping down the sides between additions. On low speed, beat in a third of the dry ingredients, then a third of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat, alternating ingredients, until the batter is smooth.
Spoon the batter into each liner, about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 12-15 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

Seven Minute Frosting
(Recipe from Paula Deen) Makes enough to frost a 8 inch layer cake, 14 cupcakes, or 30 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. ( I always just set a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water as my double boiler). Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute (not over the heat yet). Place pan (or bowl) over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan (or bowl). (If this happens, it could cause your frosting to become grainy). Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

I used a large round tip and a piping bag to pipe the frosting on my mini cupcakes (hold the bad directly on top of the cupcake, in the center, and squeeze until you get the amount that you like), then I took a big spoon and putting pressure in the center and turning the spoon, carved out a little well for the lemon curd to settle in to. I scooped my curd into a ziploc with a small round tip poked through it and squeezed a small amount of curd into the well of each cupcake.

These cupcakes should be eaten the same day as you make them, and I do not recommend refrigerating them because the frosting will harden up So if you have too many for yourself, make some neighbors happy!

December 14, 2011
jaime_creations
22 Comments

Sugar Cookies

Christmas baking has officially kicked off in my house. I made these snowflake sugar cookies for a gathering last night as well as to package up for my kids’ teachers to add to their Christmas baskets. The recipe for the sugar cookies is one that I have been using for years and I absolutely love it! It is simple and rolls out beautifully. It holds it’s shape well so that your cut outs look great, and its tastes delicious too.

Sugar Cookies:

recipe from allrecipes

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. (I line my cookie sheets with parchment paper)
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

For the icing or frosting:

I used an icing for my snowflake cookies and used a flooding method to get the above look. I like using this icing because it dries hard and you can stack the cookies, which makes it great for gift giving. The downside is that is is really time consuming, and takes a lot of careful, some might say tedious work. I enjoy the piping because it is like painting or drawing, but I only like to do them in small batches and every once in a while

Sugar Cookie Icing:

recipe adapted from allrecipes

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 teaspoons milk
3 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring

Combine all ingredients and beat with a mixer until it is smooth and shiny. If your mixture is too thick, add corn syrup and very small drops of milk if needed, if it gets too thin, add more confectioners sugar. Add any gel colors needed to get desired color.

I use piping bags and add a size 2 tip to outline my shapes, outlining a few at a time, then I go back after about 10 minutes with a size 3 tip and flood the inside with icing. The outline that you previously made that has slightly hardened will keep the new icing from flooding outside you outline. Once you get your base color done, let it dry for several hours before piping any top lines or decorations. If you wish to add anything such as the silver dragees that I used in my snowflakes, add a dot of icing as the glue, add your decoration, and they will dry in place together.

Iced cookies will take 12-24 hours to completely dry, where you will be able to stack them perfectly

I always just leave them out overnight.

The other option you have is to use a soft frosting, which is how the kids made theirs, see pic below

Here is a picture of some butterfly sugar cookies I did:

all crafts Homemade Projects ~ Add Yours {12/13}

December 6, 2011
jaime_creations
8 Comments

Teacher Christmas Gift Idea ~ Handmade Coffee Sleeves

If you are like me, now is the time when you start thinking about teacher gifts for the holidays, since Winter Break will be soon be here. I got an email this morning from Better Homes and Gardens with a few handmade Christmas gift ideas. I immediately fell in love with this one, and was off to the store to get my supplies.

Handmade Coffee Sleeves:

Even though I use the word “handmade”, this is such an easy craft that the kids can definitely do themselves! I went to the dollar store and picked up a pair of snowflake socks, then went to Joanns to grab the re-usable coffee mugs, as well as some cute buttons (which I didn’t end up using). The possibilities are endless, you could use red and white striped socks with some cute green buttons, you could even use a solid color sock and find some Christmas shaped buttons…

So here is what I started with:

Take your socks, and cut of the top and bottom, leaving enough for the width you like plus about 3/4 inch on both sides for rolling. Slip the sleeve onto your coffee cup, roll down the raw edge at the top, roll up the raw edge at the bottom, and tada!! you have a fantastic sleeve, unlike any other . At this point you can hot glue buttons on, or if you choose to sew them, remove your sleeve and sew on your buttons. I chose not to add my buttons, because I liked the look of the snowflake left alone.

The price breakdown on this gift is great: The cups were 5.99 a piece at Joanns and I used a 40% off coupon for one of them, and the socks were 1.00 for two so that comes out to $5.25 per cup with sleeve!

So a 5 minute, 5 dollar project and I am almost done with my kids’ teacher baskets. I will just be adding the cocoa tins and some homemade sugar cookies.

all crafts Homemade Projects ~ Add Yours {12/6}