Fancy didn’t want me to go to work this morning. She was whining at the bedroom door to say hello and then refused to come in later when I had to leave again. That’s her in the bush, being snotty and stubborn this afternoon.
I went all out on recipes this week. I must be feeling less stressed than I thought. I made two recipes in one day, and two in one meal! Now of course, all I want is a nap.
Here are the recipes.
1- Basic Chocolate Ice Cream from Ashlee Marie. http://ashleemarie.com/basic-chocolate-ice-cream-recipe/
Modifications: I’m not comfortable enough changing ice cream bases around, but it’s definitely something I would like to do. Almost every ice cream recipe on her site is something that I would like to try. I made two of her recipes between last weekend and today and they were both excellent. This chocolate ice cream was smooth and not too sweet. The Husband enjoyed it too. I had mine with strawberry slices, and with melted peanut butter on another day. The Husband likes plainer chocolate ice cream, so had chocolate chips both times. It made a little under a quart, I think.
2- Coconut Meringues from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Section: Cookies and Bars
Modifications: I tripled the recipe, since I had triple the egg whites from the ice cream. I tried to go all fancy and pipe it, but the coconut clogged the nozzle repeatedly and I ended up just dropping them on the pan instead. Some of them were a little under baked, I think, but they were okay. They aren’t my favorite cookie, but it was a good way to use up egg whites. I sent them into the Husband’s work and ended up confusing a lot of people who didn’t know what they were. 🙂
3- Korean BBQ Short Ribs from The Seasoned Traveler. https://theseasonedtraveler.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/korean-bbq-short-ribs/
Modifications: This one was the Husband’s request. We found a good deal on boneless beef ribs at Costco. Since they were boneless ribs, I kept a close eye on them for cooko g time. I had run out of brown sugar and used molasses and some white sugar to substitute. I boiled down the rest of the cooking juices and marinade for a sauce. It was extremely salty. I didn’t eat any additional sauce, but the Husband did. I made myself roasted Parmesan Brussels sprouts, but they were not ready at the same time for pictures. They were tasty though.
4- Jasmine Cilantro Rice, method by me. I added bruised garlic cloves, cilantro, butter, and salt to the rice while it was cooking. It was good, had a nice light flavor, but added to the dish.
5- Garlicky Oven Fried Chicken Thighs (Drumsticks) from Party Food. Section: Main Dishes (We got this from a Goodwill store, it looks like it was originally from a Kohl’s Cares promotion.)
Modifications: I used drumsticks instead of thighs, because it was what we had. I used the Garlic and Herb Mrs. Dash seasoning in the breading. These were okay. They were good for an easy dinner, but we weren’t happy with the level of flavor. We had fruit and a new recipe for potatoes with it.
6- Easy Roasted Potatoes from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Section: Fruits and Vegetables.
Modifications: I quartered the potatoes instead of halving them. I used a bit more paprika than what it called for and completely forgot to salt and pepper them. We just added those after. These were good. I normally forget how long it takes potatoes to roast, so it was nice to have a reminder of timing. I’m working on getting everything to the table on time.
7- Blueberry Muffins from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook. Section: The Best of Susan.
Modifications: This section of the cookbook is designed to be a “how to cook section,” I think. It has all sorts of tips about cooking and other housewifery for women on their own, or newlyweds.
I used butter, not shortening, for these. I also added a little sugar to the batter instead of only on top. Vanilla was also an addition. I thought it would be too plain without it. They were your basic muffin, but good.
8- Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream from Ashlee Marie. http://ashleemarie.com/marshmallow-ice-cream-recipe/
Modifications: None. It looks like a giant marshmallow in the bowl. It’s shiny!
It is delicious. The base was very pudding like after being in the fridge overnight. The gelatin in the marshmallows probably makes it too firm. I also had half and half for another recipe, so subbed that for the milk. I would have eaten the base as marshmallow pudding too. The Husband isn’t a huge marshmallow fan, so this is not his favorite. He said it was too sweet. It is incredibly smooth and rich.
I made the base before going to bed so that I could churn it before work the next morning and some of it may have found its way into my mouth for breakfast… I was broiling marshmallows at 11 pm and the kitchen was a huge sticky mess. Fancy was very concerned that the marshmallows were going to eat me and kept trying to “help” me clean up. I didn’t have a chance to take pictures of the marshmallows after broiling, but they were so pretty!
I made a s’mores bowl with it last night with milk chocolate chips and graham cracker crumbs. Mmmm… it was delicious.
Tonight we are having leftover French Onion Soup and tomorrow we’re supposed to pull out the grill for a new burger recipe. So far it isn’t supposed to rain!
