Lovin' From the Oven

Brown Sugar Cookies

by 2 Comments

brownsugar-2

brownsugar

brownsugar-3

brownsugar-4

brownsugar-5

Happy July!!! I can’t believe it’s already July. We’ve officially finished half of 2012. July’s going to be a crazy month for me– Lots of birthdays, wedding celebrations, and all the stuff in between.

I’m exhausted because of flight delays into SF yesterday. My original flight of 8:35PM didn’t get in untl 1:46AM. The San Francisco Airport seriously has got to be one of the worst airports with delays in the states. I mean, a little bit of fog and they shut down a runway, which make 3 and a half hour delays. This isn’t just a once a month thing… this is like two-three times a week. SFO, get it together! Delays like that really throw flight attendants off. Just sayin’. End rant.

Oh, these cookies. They were extremely soft and chewy, but I didn’t care much for them. They’re very simple, but the taste was just a bit bland for me. If you’re going to put cinnamon and ginger into a cookie, why not make a molasses cookie? I guess these are just for the light hearted who don’t like molasses.

From Joy The Baker.

Print
Brown Sugar Cookies

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg

Directions

  1. Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
  2. Add the mixture of dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger) and mix until just incorporated.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  5. Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
https://lovintheoven.com/brown-sugar-cookies/

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

by 11 Comments

bundtcake

bundtcake-7

bundtcake-2

bundtcake-4

bundtcake-6

bundtcake-5

Now that I’ve baked a couple of times in my new kitchen, I can’t decide if my oven is off or if my baking is off. My last couple of desserts that came out have been alright, but not great. The cookies get flat so I adjust my method by baking things a little bit longer, but that just makes my bars comes out slightly dry. I can’t figure it out. Is the temperature off? Do I need to adjust the baking time? Or maybe I’ve just lost it?

It’s frustrating, but I’m not giving up. I’ll keep fine tuning until I get the hang of this oven (or my baking bug back).

This bundt cake was made at my old apartment, so it turned out fine. It’s a dense cake and the mini chocolate chips add a nice change to your normal sized chocolate chips. It would be great served alongside morning coffee or tea! Recipe from Bake or Break.

TOPPING

  • 2/3 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 12 cup bundt pan. Mix together the pecans, butter, and sugar with a fork. Evenly distribute the mixture in the bottom of the pan.

CAKE

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate mini chips
  1. Cream butter, both sugars, and vanilla until fluffy. Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time.
  2. Mix in your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt), alternating with the buttermilk.
  3. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
  5. Cool in pan for ten minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

by 1 Comment

chickenenchilada-2

chickenenchilada

chickenenchilada-3

chickenenchilada-5

chickenenchilada-4

No matter what I do, I just can’t get myself to like cooking. It’s such a shame, too, because I know of so many great ones. Both of my aunts from my dad’s side of the family are AWESOME at cooking. Actually, awesome is an understatement. They put so much time and love into their dishes that it really shows. When I’m making something, it’s a bit of whine and a dash of “do I haveee to?”

I thought that having updated appliances and a bigger kitchen would fix the problem. Nope, I still have the school procrastination syndrome when it comes to dinner. That’s why I stick to simple– nothing fancy… nothing that requires me being by the stove for more than 20 minutes. With that time frame, I pretty much just make pasta, pizza, and grilled chicken. We just repeat that menu for the entire week. Gosh, I’m a terrible girlfriend.

This recipe is from How Sweet Eats and didn’t really impress my DB or I. Sure, it was simple… but enchilada sauce is just not meant for pasta. That’s just our opinions, though. What do we know?!

Print
Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 green pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
  • 1/2 pound of dry whole wheat spaghetti
  • 1 10-ounce can of red enchilada sauce
  • 3/4 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese cilantro for topping

Directions

  1. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, pour olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers, salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
  3. Add garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Mix in the chicken, cumin, cayenne, paprika, chili powder, and enchilada sauce.
  4. Turn the heat down to low and add the drained pasta to the skillet.
  5. Gently fold in cheese and mix thoroughly to combine. Serve with fresh cilantro.
https://lovintheoven.com/chicken-enchilada-pasta/

Categories