Chilaquiles

 

I've had this post sitting in my draft folder since June 25, 2016. It's been a long time coming, just waiting on me to hunt down the pictures and get some graphics ready. The photos were taken with my iPad. Tyler Florence shot a whole cookbook with one...so, a blog post now and then is okay, right?

Up until about a month ago I'd never heard of Chilaquiles. I'm not sure how I've lived this long without knowing what they were, but I'm glad I know now! Here's the story...

I was sitting in my living room watching a new to me show (Guy's Grocery Games) when a contestant decided to make a batch of Chilaquiles. He had this really touching story about his Mom. He said that all her life she was always cooking whatever people wanted to eat. He said that he appreciated her cooking, but that the fact that she cooked what they loved really meant a lot to him. He got all teary when he explained that the last thing his Dad asked his Mom to make was Chilaquiles.

With a story like that, I figured these things MUST be good. So, I watched him make them. I watched the judges rave about them. And then I started seeing them everywhere. One of my favorite food bloggers made a batch, but used canned enchilada sauce. I wanted the REAL deal. Her post convinced me that I COULD do it and that I HAD to.

So, I scoured the internet for recipes and having never tasted them in m life, decided to take a stab at it. I used a combination of these three recipes to get the finished product that I had in mind. I can officially say that I LOVE CHILAQUILES!!!! And I hope you will too.

 

Ingredient gathering is super simple. Canned tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, garlic, cilantro (or not), chicken broth, salt, oil, corn tortillas, and whatever toppings sound good to YOU are all it takes.

It's not as complicated as you might expect. This is one of those 30 minutes or less dinners. You make your sauce, you fry your tortillas (or use pre-made chips), and then you make a heaping mess on your plate and stuff your face.

They're goooood, I tell ya!

Chilaquiles

SAUCE
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes
2 jalapenos, charred, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped (I had to leave this out because my store was OUT, yes OUT. I'll start with about a 1/2 cup and then add more according to taste and color. I suggest you do the same!)

1 Tbsp. veggie oil

1 tsp. salt
1 cup chicken stock

Place tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, onion, and cilantro into a blender. I used a Vitamix and blended it until it was nice and smooth.

Heat oil in a sauce pan over med-high heat. Add the sauce to the pan being aware that it will start bubbling and spitting right away. Be careful and start stirring. You'll want to boil it for about 7 minutes, stirring very often.

Reduce heat to keep things at a gentle simmer and stir in the salt and the chicken stock. Let it continue to simmer while you work on your tortilla chips. The sauce just keeps getting better the longer it cooks.

When you're happy with the way your sauce tastes, prepare the tortilla chips OR use pre-made tortilla chips. If you go that route, skip to the assembly step.

TORTILLA CHIPS
20 (6 inch) white corn tortillas, left out for a day or so and cut into 8 triangles each
oil for frying
salt

Place tortilla pieces into hot oil. I could give you a temperature, but you'll know it's hot when you put your tortilla in and the oil starts to fry it. Cook until golden brown on each side.

Remove chips to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle hot chips with a little salt.

Continuing frying the chips until you've got enough to go around. You'll have to work in batches.

ASSEMBLY
All the recipes say to put the chips directly into the sauce pot. That's not how I work....

Place some sauce into a bowl or a small pot (I went the bowl route). Add chips, add more sauce, and stir until the chips are thoroughly covered.

Transfer your chip mess to a plate, being sure to pour the excess sauce that was left in the bowl onto the chips. Top with shredded cheese, onion, cilantro, lettuce, sour cream, and whatever else your little heart desires.

Repeat until everyone has a plate and DIG IN! These are traditionally a breakfast dish meant to use up old, dry tortillas, so feel free to top them with a fried or scrambled egg if that sounds good to you.

That's it! That's all there is to it. I REALLY like the way they turned out, but I've got plans to play around with different combinations of chiles (3 dried ancho chiles and 3 serrano chiles were recommended in one recipe) and I'd like to try to make it with fresh tomatoes (2 medium tomatoes OR 5 small tomatoes and 5 tomatillos) once as well.

Store the extra sauce in the fridge until you're ready for seconds. You can also do like I did and use it to make a batch of enchiladas. It's ESPECIALLY good for making cheese enchiladas, but that's a story for another day. 

What's a food you've recently discovered?

Have you tried to make recreate it in your own kitchen?

Learning From Her

December 21, 2014

I was scrolling through FB this morning and Alicia shared this post called "On Baking Bread and Slow Days". The title alone was enough to get me to click over to it. As I read the paragraph about the author's mom's cooking lessons, I was transported back to the lessons I received from my own Mom when I was growing up.

And all of a sudden, I realized what a gift they were. My sister is 18 and is always getting onto me about being the reason that she can't cook (she totally can, but she doesn't have her kitchen legs under her yet as far as getting a whole meal onto the table at the same time goes...she can do that too, but her point is that she doesn't have the experience that I had when I was her age). I go back and forth between feeling totally bad about it and realizing that it's more circumstance than anyone's fault.

From the time I was little, I was always right by my whatever adult was in charge of me. I asked questions, I imitated, and I wanted in on whatever "we" were doing. I still remember standing over the stove at my grandparents' house helping my Mom make tomato soup. She whispered in my ear something about it being a good thing grandma couldn't see us (my grandma tended to be a bit nervous, especially when it came to small children and things that could hurt them). In that moment I realized that I was doing something special. I've never forgotten the feeling of grown-upness that set into my shoulders.

The years went by and I started scrambling my own eggs for breakfast and browning the ground beef on taco nights. Eventually, I settled into being the resident baker. When I was in jr. high, I didn't play a spring sport or have to attend confirmation like my friends did, so I found myself in the kitchen. I sat at the bar across from my Mom chatting and watching her work. I never offered to help and she never pulled me into what she was doing.

I started learning what went into certain dishes and being totally grossed out more often than not. She put up with my many monologues that went something like this, "Gobs and gobs of mayonnaise in Chicken Divan?" That was worth complaining about. "That much vinegar in the cabbage salad that I love? I'm not sure I'll ever eat that again." "Wait, you're putting mustard in that? I'm gagging now." She would tell me to hush and that that's the way she always made it and that I would eat whatever it was and love it just like I had every time before.

Eventually, I made my way around the counter and started cleaning up after her and doing prep jobs. I'm not sure which one of us asked, but I can still see us in that harvest gold kitchen working magic and having the time of our lives. I didn't know it then, but I was turning into a cook and one of my greatest joys was being passed on to me. I learned her tips and tricks and before I knew it, I was ready to do it on my own. By the time she let me loose we had been co-cooking for several years. I had been helping plan and shop and cook and one day I was ready to have her be my assistant. Another year or so went by and I found myself being the resident dinner maker. Eventually she didn't even join me in the kitchen any more.

Learning to cook took time. It was time that I had and time that my Mom gave. Those days were slow. They weren't perfect, but looking back on them makes me so happy that tears follow. Learning to cook wasn't the reason I sat down in the chair at the bar or why I went around the counter to help. Learning to cook, like just about everything else I know how to do, happened when my Mom and I lived life the way we'd been living it. Together.

I can't cook anything without thinking about where I had it or who taught me to make it. My Mom comes to mind quite often when I'm in the kitchen and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Dinner Fit For Winter

Every family has their list of favorite dinners. They are usually indulgent. They might require a bit of planning ahead and maybe even a little more effort in the preparation department. As I write this post I happen to be listening to The Shirelles' song "Mama Said" on repeat and thinking back to the January day my 19 year old self copied this recipe down into my recipe book.

The recipe I'm sharing today is for those winter days when you want comfort food, but need it to be quick and easy. I've been making it for years and I think it is responsible for helping my sister to come around when it comes to stuffing.

It's a weird combo, but you've got to try it at least once. Trust me.
 

You can go one of two ways with this recipe! You're going to need three things: 4-6 pork chops, one can OR one recipe of apple pie filling, one box OR one recipe of stuffing. That's it!!!

Whether you choose to go the easy route or the homemade route, you'll get no judgment from me because I've done both.

My Mom taught me everything I know about cooking. One important lesson I learned from the years I spent shadowing her in the kitchen is to pace yourself. If you need to take shortcuts, take the shortcuts. My Mom is one of those women who doesn't apologize for every little thing. She just goes for it. That's what this recipe is about: if you've got time, go for it. If not, go for the shortcut.

The first and most important step is to trim and debone your pork chops. Everything is layered and melds together as it cooks. Those bones will disappear into the stuffing and you DO NOT want to have to deal with that.

So, trim the fat and remove allll the bones from those chops. Then, lay them in the bottom of your crock pot so that they are touching.

Next, scoop your prepared stuffing out onto the pork chops. You want to keep as much of it ON the pork chops as you can. Easy, right???

Then, you'll scoop your apple pie filling out onto the stuffing, put the lid on the crock pot, and set the timer for 3 - 4 hours. My crock pot only has a low and high setting, so I end up cooking them for about 3 hours on high.

The key is making sure your pork is DONE, but not overcooked. If you do this recipe right, you will have the tenderest pork chops EVER.

Here you have it, your pork chop dinner alllll ready to dig into! I serve it straight from the crock pot so that everything stays nice and toasty, but you could separate each layer in individual serving bowls if you wanted to. By the time the food makes it onto my plate, I separate it out. My sister, on the other hand, likes hers to stay all piled together! 

The best family dinners include CHOICES. This is one of those from start to finish.  

 

When I made this a few weeks ago, I challenged my family to take pictures of their plates. ^ Here ^ is my sister's prize winning picture! I told you she likes hers in one big heap. :)

Special thanks to my brother for jumping up from his homework to take some pictures over my shoulder for me!

Ready for the recipe?

Crock Pot Pork Chop Dinner
adapted from cooks.com serves 6

4-6 pork chops, trimmed and bones removed
1 recipe stuffing, prepared
1 recipe apple pie filling, prepared


Layer pork chops in the bottom of the crock pot so that they are touching. Cover with stuffing. Top with apple pie filling.

Place lid on crock pot and set the timer for 3-4 hours, just until pork is cooked through and still tender. My crockpot only has high and low, so I end up cooking mine for about 3 hours on high. 

Remove lid and dig in!!!!

If you need stuffing and pie filling recipes, click HERE.

What are some of your family favorites?

What's one piece of cooking advice your Mom taught you?

 

Preparing For The Holidays

We're a week away from the beginning of a holiday season that stretches over the course of the most brutal part of winter. In my house, we'll be celebrating five birthdays in addition to Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Epiphany between now and the middle of February. Needless to say, we've got a lot of work ahead of us! 

The work of making holidays memorable and special is something that I learned well from my Mom. Even when we didn't have much, holidays have always been a big deal in our family. She taught me to plan and prepare and then to ease up on the stress of having everything figured out in order to join in on the celebrating. 

One of the key ways to be able to let go and celebrate is to make sure that you are prepared. Make the lists, plan ahead of time, delegate (she's a GREAT delegator), and make sure that you've got the right tools and supplies on hand. 

Today, I'm partnering up with Cave Tools to help you get prepared for the holiday season! I'm not big on kitchen gadgets, but there are a few that I CANNOT live without - especially when it comes to cooking for a crowd. Cave Tools has a broad line up of kitchen and grilling equipment that you are sure to love. 

Cave Tools' meat thermometer is one that I can highly recommend! I've used a variety of meat thermometers and have developed a feeling for what I'm looking for in a good one....I am not exagerating when I say that this one is EXACTLY what the meat thermometer of my dreams is made of...

Large and easy to read display? Check!

Simple to operate? Check!

Sturdy and yet not HUGE? Check!

Cover that is easy to clean? Check! This one even has an opening in the end so that SHOULD it get dirty, you can make sure that it is actually clean.

Quick reading? Check!

Another thing that I love about Cave Tools' meat thermometer is the design of the sharp, tapered end. Sooo many meat thermometers are sharp, but taking the temperature of your meat with them requires you to PUNCTURE your meat in a way that leads to a steady stream of liquid to flowing out of it at the puncture point. That is NOT the case with this one made by Cave Tools. I slid the thermometer into the pork chops and was hard pressed to find the puncture point later.

In my opinion, every kitchen needs to have a meat thermometer. If you've got entertaining ahead of you, having a way to make SURE that the meat has reached the safety zone will set your mind at ease. You can get yours directly from Cave Tools or from Amazon.

Cave Tools is offering my readers a 15% discount code that can be used on Amazon where this item includes free two-day shipping for Prime members!!! When you check out, simply enter:  LH58KB66

What are some ways that you prepare for the holidays?

What's one kitchen gadget that you cannot live without?

*This post was sponsored by Cave Tools. All thoughts are my own honest opinion. 

Pumpkin Bread

When October rolls around, I have finally given into fall and I start craving comfort food. This fall has been no different. My oven has been on. Dinners have started to include warm vegetables and gravies and slow roasted meats. In the mornings, I find myself reaching for something warm and spicy and filling. 

After looking high and low for a pumpkin bread recipe that wasn't loaded with seeds or topped with some kind of streusel crumble or maple glaze, I gave up and decided to develop my own. With the confidence given to me by my research (aka pouring over my favorite quick bread recipes), I decided that I was ready to take the leap and give it a go. 

I wrote out a recipe. I gathered ingredients. I got out the measuring spoons and mixing bowls. When I went to take the bread pan out of the cupboard, I realized that my bread pan was at the other house. At that point, I did what every desperate baker would do. I went over to the neighbor's house and asked Don if I could borrow a bread pan. He assured me that I certainly could IF he could find one. He looked and looked and then gave up, but told me that if he found one in the next ten minutes he would bring it over.

That's when I trudged back across the street in defeat. I was going to be making the pumpkin bread, but if Don couldn't find a pan I had to decide whether I would try another neighbor or make a quick trip to the store to buy one. Thankfully, about six minutes later, Don rang the doorbell with the look of victory on his face!

Now that my bread pan saga is out of the way, let's get baking! Gather your supplies. If you don't have a bread pan, you know what to do! 

We begin by mixing all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. I use a wooden spoon, but you can use whatever you prefer. Make sure that all of the clumps of brown sugar are nice and broken up, then set the mixture aside.

Once you've got your dry ingredients together, you're ready to start working on the wet stuff. Crack your egg in a small bowl and whisk it until it is smooth.

Add in the rest of the wet ingredients. This was the trickiest part of the recipe. Pumpkin is moist on its own, but when you deal with pumpkin you still need to add quite a bit of extra liquid.

Now, we add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. And...

 STIR. Remember what I said about baking with pumpkin? If your batter looks too dry, add a bit more milk. Don't be shy about it. You can handle this adjusting thing!

Pour your batter into your your neighbor's greased bread pan that he so kindly let you borrow and pop the bread into the oven for about 55 - 60 minutes.

When a knife comes out of the bread clean, your loaf is ready to come out of the oven! Place your bread onto a cooling rack. Or, in the case of my current hodge podge kitchen, an upside down muffin tin (which I did NOT borrow from Don). Let your loaf rest for about 10 minutes, then run a knife along the edges before removing the bread from the pan. Once it is completely cool, wrap it in plastic.

I was going to keep this bread stored on the counter, but decided that it might be better off in the fridge. When I want a slice of pumpkiny goodness, I cut a piece off of the loaf, put it under the broiler for about five minutes and then give it a nice bit of butter.

If you happen to be into putting nuts or raisins (or even chocolate chips) into your quick breads, I would tell you to GO FOR IT! This recipe has all kinds of room for adaptations!

I really should have called this bread "You Can't Stop Me Pumpkin Bread", because despite countless obstacles, it came together exactly as I hoped it would! Let this be a lesson to all of us. No recipe? No problem. No bread pan? Borrow one. No cooling rack? Improvise.

Happy Baking!!!

Pumpkin Bread

DRY
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
pinch nutmeg (less than an 1/8 tsp.)

WET
1 egg
1/4 c. cooking oil (peanut, vegetable, melted coconut, it's up to you)
1 c. pumpkin puree
3 Tbsp. buttermilk + 1/2 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease loaf pan.

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, making sure all the clumps of brown sugar are broken up. Set aside.

Whisk egg in a small bowl. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring until combined. Adding more milk if necessary (it doesn't need to be buttermilk).

Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Allow to cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before running a knife along the edges and then removing the loaf from the pan.

Once completely cool, store the bread wrapped in plastic. Whether you leave it on the counter or pop it into the fridge is up to you!

Enjoy!!! 

Do you have a favorite quick bread recipe?

Do you have any funny baking stories? I'd love to hear about them. 

 

Summer Style Pork Roast

This summer, I put together a four week long meal plan that we've been using more often than not. I tried to come up with recipes that were heavy on seasonal fruits and veggies, the use of the grill, and the meats I already have stored away in the freezer.

I have plans to tell you more about building your own plan, but for now, I've got to share this recipe that is PERFECT for summer before any more of it gets away from us!

When it's hot out we want to avoid heating up the kitchen. We want food that fills us up and yet feels more like a snack than a full on feast. I love putting a hunk of meat into the crock pot and deciding what to do with it later - you can shred it up and wrap it in a tortilla OR put it in a bun OR just serve it up with a few sides and you're good to go. The thing is...I've never actually used a recipe or turned out a PERFECTLY juicy roast. That is, until Tracy showed me the ropes.

I'm calling this summer style pork roast because that's exactly what it is. During the summer, I lean more towards pairing my pulled pork with BBQ sauce, buns, coleslaw, and beans. When the weather cools back down, I might heat up the oven to make  cornbread or I might change up the seasonings and turn on the stove top for mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and the whole Sunday Dinner style roast. 

It's summer and we know what we want! Let's get it cooking!

When one of your favorite food bloggers tells you this recipe begins with a rub...You listen up! Grilling has taught me that rubs can accomplish A LOT. This roast is no different. Make the rub.

Garlic and onions are two things I've ALWAYS paired with crock pot cooking. They're going to go in first. Big chunks are just fine, you won't be serving them up with the meat. 

Onion and garlic are in. The roast is rubbed. Take a moment to admire your work!

Here's the SECRET: MORE THAN 3/4 CUP OF LIQUID. For whatever reason, I've had it in my head that 3/4 cup is enough...It's not. I'm telling you, you'll be taking this roast out with tongs because it's going to be soooo tender that it will literally be falling apart. That's exactly what we're going for.

Up the liquid. You'll be glad you did!

Last but not least, diced tomatoes are going to add a lot to this dish! Diced tomatoes are something I've added to my pantry over the last year or so. I've only been using them for pizza sauce and now this roast, but that's enough to warrant having them on hand!

We put the lid on. Set the temperature to LOW and the timer for 6-8 hours. Then, we walk away and feel the freedom that comes with knowing that dinner is already going!

The roast comes out pretty and nice and ready for a million possibilities. Slice it or shred it. Eat it the way it is or dress it up with a favorite sauce. Serve it with fresh melon, your go-to salad, beans, rice...Whatever you're in the mood for!

Tracy says to save the stock you've created, but I'm a little unsure of what to do with it. I redenered off the fat and stuck the stock in the freezer. I'm thinking a mexican soup would be PERFECT, but I'm not sure if I can bring myself to add chicken to it. I'll keep you posted!

In the mean time...I've got a bit of the meat left over and it's going to be turned into pork fried rice tonight.

Summer Style Pulled Pork
slightly adapted from Tracy Benjamin

2 1/2lb pork roast
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
smidge of ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 c. chicken broth (more if you have a larger roast)

Combine salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, paprika, and garlic powder. Rub all sides of the meat with this rub.

Place the pieces of garlic and onion into the bottom of your crock pot. Set the roast on top of them. Pour the tomatoes and the chicken broth into the crock pot, avoiding the meat itself and making sure that everything is evenly distributed around your roast.

Place the lid on the crock pot and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours. (If your roast is larger, you may need to cook it longer. Tracy cooked her 4 lb. pork shoulder on HIGH for 8 hours.)

Take the roast out of the crock pot and process the meat however you want. Shredding it with two forks and topping it with BBQ sauce is my personal favorite. You can also skip the shredding and serve it in slices if that's more your style!

Skim the fat off of the cooled stock and use as a base for soups.

What's your summer cooking style?

What are you favorite ways to use a roast?

Breakfast Nachos

The latest hit to happen in our kitchen was Joy the Baker's Breakfast Nachos. I made them last Monday night because I was in the mood for something hearty, quick(ish), and that didn't require going to the store. I've had my eye on this recipe ever since I read Tracy's post last fall.

The recipe for Breakfast Nachos comes from Joy's second cookbook, Homemade Decadence, which I've talked about before. The cookbook is FULL of perfect recipes for any craving you have.

If you're looking for a dinner or lunch that's simple to make and will have people begging to dig in, go ahead and make this one!

You can view the original recipe HERE.

Here's my take:

Breakfast Nachos
adapted from Joy the Baker's Homemade Decadence

3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
4 good sized potatoes (or in my case, one JUMBO)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. Italian sausage, browned
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 slices American Cheese
2-4 Tbsp milk

TOPPINGS:
salsa
sour cream
green onions
avocado


Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with PAM or spread a little cooking oil to barely cover the bottom.

Slice potatoes into very thin slices (about 1/4 inch thick). Arrange on baking sheet (you may need two sheets) in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne over potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once. You may turn on the broiler for a few minutes at the end to achieve a nice crunch.

Meanwhile, brown your Italian sausage, adding the onion, fresh garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes towards the end of the cooking time.

Tear the American cheese slices into pieces no larger than 1/2 inch squares. Place them into a cereal bowl and top with a little milk. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted, stirring in between each cooking time.

TO SERVE: Place potatoes in a circle, leaving a little room in the middle for the meat. Add your scoop of meat. Top with the cheese sauce and whatever toppings appeal to you!
BONUS: Joy and Tracy both recommend adding a fried egg to the top. If that's your thing, go for it!

What was your latest kitchen success? 

Do you have any favorite food bloggers?

What I Learned in November

November 27, 2014

Miracle on 34th Street is ALSO a book.

Book clubs on Good Reads are a great idea!

Shopping by myself is not TERRIBLE, but I really do hate it.

First novels CAN be wonderful. Leave it to Madeleine L'Engle to teach me this lesson with her very own first novel, "The Small Rain".

It is both OKAY and AMAZING to bust out Christmas early. This year, I pulled out the music and movies on November 1st and I decorated two whole days BEFORE Thanksgiving.

My Grandma used to sing this song called "We Need a Little Christmas", but I had forgotten all about that song until I heard it on Pandora. It's a favorite once again!

Frozen turkeys are injected with a bunch of salt. This means that when you brine a frozen turkey you can and should use way less salt. After several years of SUPER salty gravy, this year's brine led to the perfect gravy. This year we used 1/4 cup of kosher salt even though our recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of kosher salt.

What did you learn in November?

PS - I'm taking the rest of the week off!

May you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Affogato Share This With You

I'm pretty sure that I first heard about affogatos last fall...And last winter I promised to tell you about them, but then affogato I forgot!

It turns out that they are slightly strange, but also really, really yummy! Saying "affogato" is an added bonus.

The possibilities are endless. Basically you just combine your favorite coffee with your favorite ice cream. There's even room for toppings if that's your thing.

For me, the perfect affogato consists of one scoop of peppermint ice cream topped with regular old black coffee.

 Scoop your ice cream into a mug. Add however much you like!

Pour hot coffee over your ice cream. 

I take my time drinking these because as the ice cream melts, the coffee gets sweeter and creamier and colder.

Affogato

serves 1

one scoop of your favorite ice cream

12oz. hot coffee

Place scoop of ice cream into a mug. 

Pour hot coffee over your ice cream.

Drink immediately!

 

Have you had an affogato before? 

What elements will you bring together when you make yours? 

Let's Bake: Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread

Last winter, I made it my goal to try out recipes using things that I always have on hand. There were coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls, quick breads, muffins, and even a few "fancy" cakes. It turns out, these are great recipes for last minute potluck preparations.  

One of my favorite recipes that I discovered last winter came from the Taste of Home website. Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread has been very popular at my house this fall. I make it one loaf at a time. 

Let's get to it!

Gather our ingredients...It's the usual cast of characters! Measure out the dry ingredients and get some cheaters' buttermilk going. Just in case you're not familiar with cheaters' buttermilk, let me explain. You take regular milk and lemon juice and let it sit and you've got something that acts exactly like buttermilk in baking.

The exact trick when you need 1 cup of buttermilk is to put 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice into a measuring cup and then add enough regular milk to make it to the 1 cup mark.

This picture is totally unnecessary, but it's so pretty, I couldn't leave it out.

Now that our "buttermilk" has had some time to get it together, let's add the egg, oil, and vanilla. Give it a good stir.

Combine the wet with the dry.

Stir just until moistened. I added a splash more milk because my batter looked a bit too dry.

Sprinkle with raisins and fold them in very gently. Since we're telling secrets...I don't really like raisins or nuts in my baked goods. This bread is the exception. Add the raisins. 

Let the batter rest while we mix the cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl.

Transfer half of the batter into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Add the rest of the batter. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.

It's almost time to pop it into the oven. But first, we take a butter knife and drag it through the batter to create pretty swirls of cinnamon sugar. Make sure you go all the way to the bottom of the batter!

It's ready for the oven!!!

I like to listen to audiobooks, podcasts, and sermons while I cook. Today called for a little audiobook time. Do you have a favorite audiobook?

The bread will rest for 10 minutes on a cooling rack and THEN we remove it from the pan.

I dig into it right away and then wrap the rest in cling wrap. I store it in the bread drawer.

This bread makes perfect toast. Add a little butter and you're all set! You should also know that after a week or so (if you have any left by then), it makes my favorite ever french toast.


Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread 
slightly adapted from Taste of Home

2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 c buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 c raisins

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c sugar

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350. GREASE LOAF PAN.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk together buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened. If batter looks too dry, add a little more milk.

Fold raisins into batter. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.

Spoon half of batter into loaf pan, sprinkle with half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Add rest of batter, top with rest of cinnamon sugar. Cut through batter with a butter knife to create a swirl.

Bake at 350 for 55 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and bread is nice and brown.

Let cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and allow to continue cooling.  Once cool, wrap in cling wrap and store at room temperature.

Makes 1 Loaf

A Cookbook From Our Favorite Baker

Surely you've all heard of Joy the Baker by now! It's no secret that I love Joy. I have been reading her blog for the longest time and I talk about her as if she lives next door. Let's be honest, I definitely wish that she did.

When Joy's latest cookbook, "Homemade Decadence", came in the mail, I was excited to have it in my hands, but even more excited that it's a sign that Joy gets to keep doing what she loves. I'm so glad that she gets to do all of this baking for a living and that she chooses to blog her way through it.

This cookbook has some of the best pictures. I may be biased, but I really do love it! I was planning to sit down and mark down the recipes that I want to try out....but then I realized that I'd rather just grab this book on days when I feel like baking and whip something up because it looks good in that moment.

I think you'll find yourself wanting to do the very same thing!

This last Wednesday was one of those days. It was rainy and cold and dinner was in the crock pot. I had remembered seeing a recipe for Chai Tea Lattes in the book, so I pulled it out and got started.

My sister (who recently got into chai tea) came back from her piano lesson just as I was putting the milk on...She thought I saw her coming and decided to make her a drink. I WISH that's what I was doing, but it wasn't.

Needless to say, I added more milk! My sister had hers straight, without any coffee added. I had mine with the coffee, exactly as Joy suggested.

I used to work at a coffee shop where they had chai to rave about. Joy's chai is even better than that! It's strong and smooth and exactly what you want. I never thought to make chai this way, but I'm never going back. The trick is going to be NOT making it every single day.

My sister and I sat in the living room doing our own things while sipping on what is most definitely our new favorite drink...The rain kept coming and dinner kept cooking. I've e-mailed  Joy to ask her about sharing the recipe, so I'll share it as soon as I get the okay!

In the meantime, get your copy of Homemade Decadence HERE.

* I was provided with a review copy of this book by Blogging for Books. All thoughts are my own honest opinion.