I Eat. Therefore, I Cook

Crowd Pleaser: Potato Casserole

2010-09-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

One of the things I learned to make in the kitchen was potato casserole. I remember thinking that it was so hard when I was helping my friend made it. But just a spoonful of it made me realize all the hard work was worth it.

So today I am sharing this potato casserole recipe that my friend taught me. I used to cook it like once a year only but in the past two weeks, I've cooked it 3 times! One of the reasons was I found a simpler way to cook the potatoes. You see, sometimes I don't follow the recipes quite closely, I change stuff around so it becomes an easier dish to make.

Ingredients:

--10 potatoes (just buy a bag of medium size potatoes and use 10. Don't buy 10 individual potatoes that are huge.)

--1 cup and a half of mayonaise.

--1 teaspoon of white vinegar

--1 can of cream of chicken soup

--1 can of water (after you've emptied the cream of chicken soup. use the can for the water)

--1 onion, diced.

--3 cups of plain corn flakes, crushed (use a ziplock bag for this. put the corn flakes in it, make sure the air's out, and then seal it. Use a cup and crush the corn flakes.)

--2-3 tablespoon of butter, melted in the microwave.

--1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

--1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions:

1. Wash and bake the potatoes in the oven at 400 degree fahrenheit for 50 minutes.

2. (Don't start this til your potatoes are almost done cooking in the oven.)In a pan, drizzle some olive oil and stir fry the onions til they are soft, not brown.

3. Add the cream of chicken soup to the onion in the pan.

4. Add one can of water to the soup and onion.
Stir and mix.

5. Add the mayonaise to the mixture. Stir and mix.

6. Add the vinegar, salt, and half of the 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Stir and mix.

7. When the mixture is boiling, turn the fire off and let it cool while you wait for the potatoes to be done cooking.

8. When the potatoes are done, take them out from the oven and let them cool a little.

8. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop their inside off the skin into a 9x13 baking dish.

9. Mash the potatoes with the spoon a little just to make the big chunks smaller.

10. Pour the mixture of onion, chicken, mayo, and cheese into the baking dish with the potatoes and stir them so the mixture don't just rest on the surface but mix in with the potatoes.

11. On top of the casserole, add the crushed corn flake with melted butter to the top layer and make sure they are distributed evenly and cover the potatoes.

12. Heat your oven to 375 degree fahrenheit.

13. When the oven reaches 375 degree fahrenheit, put the baking dish in and bake for 20 minutes.

13 steps might seem very complicated but it really isn't that hard and the outcome is sooooooo great!

Happy Cooking!

Chicken Alfredo Linguine

2010-06-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been craving Chicken Alfredo pasta. There were a few times when I was so tempted to just go to Olive Garden and order some Alfredo Fettucine despite how expensive it was. But I managed to talk myself out of it because this scrumptious food seem easy enough to make. So I googled some recipes and came up with my own recipe for my favorite chicken alfredo linguine.

I love how during the proceess of imitating a recipe, you sometimes recreate new recipes that fit your taste bud better than the original recipes do.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and found something more personal for you in the process of cooking.

Ingredients:

--Half box of linguine or however much you desire. I used half a box for my husband and I.

--4 chicken fillet or 2 chicken breasts. Cut into small pieces.

--2 teaspoon of butter

--1 teaspoon of garlic salt

--A dash of black grounded pepper

--8oz of Classic Alfredo Pasta Sauce. * I use the Walmart Great Value kind. And I use about half a bottle of it.

--2 teaspoons of Parmesan style grated toppings/parmesan cheese. *Again, I use the Walmart Great Value brand.

Instructions:

1. Boil the linguine in 10 cups of water for about 15 minutes or til the pasta gets tender.

2. When the linguine is done cooking, drain the water and put the pasta aside.

3. Heat the pan on high and put in the butter. Wait til the butter melts.

4. Put in chicken pieces and stir fry them for about 2 minutes.

5. Turn the fire down to medium and occasionally stir and toss the chicken pieces to get them cooked evenly. This takes about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the chicken.

6. Put in the garlic salt and keep tossing and stirring the chicken.

7. When the chicken is cooked, stir in the Alfredo sauce and mix evenly.

8. Pour in the cooked linguine pasta. Stir the sauce, chicken, and pasta together and mix evenly.

9. Put in the black pepper and parmesan cheese.

10. Stir and coat evenly. Then turn off the fire.

Cheap, tasty, and home-made.

Happy Cooking!

Soft Sugar Cookies

2010-06-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

My husband has been craving some sugar cookies, so I found a recipe online for "soft" sugar cookies, because I don't like the flat hard ones.

I came across a pretty good recipe that didn't disappoint. Here is where I found the recipe: AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, stir into the creamed mixture until dough comes together. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place them on an unprepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottom is light brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

We also needed some frosting, as it is Sunday and we couldn't go out and buy some. So I found another recipe online that is super easy. Now, it's not necessarily my favorite frosting, but it would be great to make for little kids as it is so easy and we had fun coloring it. Here is where I found the frosting recipe: AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup shortening
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring

Directions

In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners' sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.

Chocolate Haupia Pie

2010-05-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I was missing Ted's Bakery's Chocolate Haupia Pie. I used to eat it so much when I was in Hawaii and I never got sick of it. It's heaven in every bite! Anyway, I went online and searched for the recipe, doubting I would find the recipe since it was so rare and probably copyrighted. Amazingly, I came upon this newspaper interview of Ted's Bakery on Oahu and the article was accompanied by THE recipe I was looking for!!

I waited for a long time to bake this because I didn't believe in my baking skills (growing up we never baked in our house. We didn't own an oven til I was older, like 18 or 19). I invited my friend, Nikki, to bake it with me. I am very proud of what we made, although I got the wrong chocolate :( I got the unsweetened Ghiradelli chocolate and the pie came out tasting bitter despite the sugar and coconut we added.

It is worth the try though. I would totally bake it again!

The bottom layer was the chocolate + coconut layer

The top layer was the coconut only layer

Ingredients:

1 9-in. unbaked pie crust
1 cup milk
1 can coconut milk (14 oz.)
1 tbsp. coconut extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
7/8 cup chocolate (Dutch chocolate, or any chocolate with high cocoa butter content)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Bake crust for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, coconut milk, coconut extract and 1 cup sugar.

4. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in water.

5. After bringing coconut milk mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer and slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue stirring over low heat until thickened—about three minutes. Divide evenly into two bowls.

6. In another bowl, microwave chocolate until melted.

7. Mix chocolate into one of the bowls of coconut pudding, then pour mixture into the pie crust, spread and let sit.

8. Pour the remaining bowl of coconut pudding on top of the chocolate-coconut pudding mixture and spread smooth being careful nut to mix the two layers. Refrigerate the pie for an hour or more.

9. Whip the heavy cream with 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff. Layer the whipped cream on the pie surface. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Enjoy and happy cooking!!!!

Szechuan Chicken

2010-04-21T00:48:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite things to cook for dinner when I forgot to plan or I just don't have a lot of time. It's great because all the ingredients are things that I always have on hand!

Usually I don't really measure and I just kind of wing it, but here is an approximate recipe:

Ingredients

Chicken

Cornstarch

Oil

Garlic

Soy Sauce

White Wine Vinegar (or normal White Vinegar)

Sugar

Water

Green Onions

Cayenne Pepper

Directions

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and lightly coat with corn starch

Heat some oil in a frying pan, add minced garlic (I like a lot)

Add chicken and fry until all sides are white

Add soy sauce (I would say for 1 lb of chicken it would be about 3-5 tablespoons)

Add vinegar (for the same amount of chicken 1-2 tablespoons)

Sprinkle with sugar

Add a couple of tablespoons of water. It just depends on how strong of a flavor you want and how runny you want the sauce.

Add diced green onions and cayenne pepper. You can make it as spicy as you want.

Anyways, I know these aren't very good directions, but it's really good so you should try it! Just serve it with some rice, it's delicious!

Oven "Fried" Chicken

2010-03-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

I love this dish so much! I made it for my family for New Year's Eve dinner and for my husband on Valentine's Day. It is also super easy to make. I love fried chicken, and oven fried chicken makes frying no hassle!

Servings: 6

1. 8 pieces of chicken fillet
2. 1 cup all purpose powder
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
5. 1 large egg
6. 2 tablespoon water
7. 1 cup dry bread crumbs with herbs
8. 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
9. lemon wedges for serving

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree celcius or 400 degree Fahrenheit.
2. Rinse the chicken in cold water. Pat dry with kitchen paper.
3. Combine the flour, pepper, salt, on a plate with a fork to mix. Coat the chicken pieces on all sides with the flour and shakes off the excess.
4. Sprinkle a little water on to the chicken pieces, and coat again lightly with the seasoned flour.
5. Beat the egg with the water in a shallow dish. Stir in the herbs. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg mixture, turning them over to coat them thoroughly.
6. Combine the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese in a plate. Roll the chieken pieces in the crumbs, patting with your fingers to help them adhere.
7. Place the chicken pieces in a greased shallow baking dish, large enough to hold them in one layer. Bake until thoroughly cooked and golden brown, 20-30 minutes. (To check if they are cooked, prick with a fork; the juices that run out should be clear, not pink. ) Serve hot, with lemon wedges.

Coconut Shrimp--Hawaiian :)

2010-03-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I found in a magazine at my friend's house. The first time I had the coconut shrimp was at Jackie Chan Restaurant in Hawaii. It was really good but quite expensive. I am glad I found this recipe because now I eat this dish whenever I feel like it!

The original recipe comes with a salsa dip for the coconut shrimp, which I did not end up making myself. But I will share it nonetheless :)

Serving: 2-4

Ingredients:
1. 12 jumbo shrimp (If you don't have jumbo shrimp, I just use large shrimp that I bought from Wal-Mart)
2. 2 cups Vegetable oil
3. 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten. (I used only one egg white for my 20 large shrimp)
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 cup cornstarch
6. 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I used more than one cup)

Instructions:
1. Peel shrimp, leaving tails on, and devein.(I bought shrimp that are already peeled and deveined)
2. Pour oil into a frying pan. Enough to cover the shrimp. Heat oil on medium high fire.
3. Combine egg whites and salt in a shallow bowl. Place cornstarch in a separate shallow dish.
4. Coat shrimp with cornstarch, shaking off the excess. Dip shrimp in egg white mixture and dredge in coconut.
5. Fry shrimp in 2 batches, 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain.

To make salsa, you need to have
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup chile sauce with garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups finely diced pineapple
3/4 cup diced papaya
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup seeded cucumber
1/4 cup diced red onion

Stir together. Makes 7 cups.

Twice baked potatoes--Muy delicious!!

2010-03-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

I love to hunt for recipes online and try them out. I usually choose the recipes that has really good pictures. I guess I am shallow that way. But I do think that if you want to eat food, you gotta eat something that are pleasing to look at! Anyways, today I bring to you a very very easy recipe. It's actually a recipe from Pioneer Women's site. I am sure some of you know about her cookbook. She has some really good recipes on her site that just look so mouth-watering.

I love potatoes! Everytime I hear the word "potato," my mind goes to the scene in The Lord of The Rings when Gollum asked Sam, "What's tater, Precious? What's tater, eh?" and Sam goes, "PO-TA-TO, boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in the stew." Sorry, I am dorky that way.

On to our recipe!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1. 2 large potatoes (washed)

2. butter--1/2 stick or 1/2 cup

3. sour cream--1/4 cup

4. Real bacon bits (don't use the fake kind!!)-as much as you like!

5. spring onions--2 stalk(chopped)

6. salt- some

7. pepper- some

8. shredded cheddar cheese- 1/4 cup

Instructions:

Wash, then place potatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes, making sure they’re sufficiently cooked through

Slice the butter into small cubes and then put them in a mixing bowl. Add bacon bits and sour cream to the bowl as well.

After the potatoes are done baking, cut them in halves. Potatoes are SO hot at this point so use a cloth to hold them. Scrap the potato with a large spoon into the mixing bowl. Be careful not to tear the shell. Leave a thin layer of potato in the shell.

Use the potato masher and mashing the potatoes with other ingredients in the mixing bowl. You can mash until it's smooth or you can have a bit more texture or "lumps" if you like it that way.

Add the cheese, salt, and green onions into the mixture. Mix them around.

Then, begin scooping the mixture back into the potato shells Keep filling until the filling's all gone. After that, you can top the potatoes with some more cheese.

Lastly, put them back in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potato is warmed.

Potato Gnocchi with Butter and Cheese

2010-03-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

My husband wanted me to make this recipe he found in one of the Food & Wine magazines we have. It was different, but pretty good!

Here is the picture from Food & Wine

Here is what mine looked like. They were pretty sticky still, so I probably didn't add enough flour on them before cooking them.

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs baking potatoes (about 4)
2 large egg yolks
Salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 tbsp unsalted butter (I used margarine, that might have been my problem with the stickiness?)
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork. Bake in a microwave oven at high power for 10 minutes, then flip the potatoes and microwave for 5 minutes longer. Transfer the potatoes to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Alternatively, bake the potatoes in the oven for about 1 hour, until tender.
2..Halve the potatoes. Scoop the flesh into a ricer and rice the potatoes. Transfer 2 slightly packed cups of riced potatoes to a bowl. Stir in the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the 1/2 cup of flour; stir until a stiff dough forms. Knead the dough gently until smooth but slightly sticky.
3..Line a baking sheet with wax paper and dust with flour. On a floured surface, cut the dough into 4 pieces, rolling each into a 3/4-inch-thick rope. Cut the ropes into 3/4-inch pieces. Roll each piece against the tines of a fork to make ridges; transfer to the baking sheet.
4..In a large, deep skillet of simmering salted water, cook the gnocchi until the rise to the surface, then simmer for 2 minutes longer. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter. Using a slotted spoon, add the gnocchi to the butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

TIPS FROM ME
I chose the option to bake the potatoes for 1 hour in the oven, since I had other things to do at the time and I don't like to run around the kitchen, wait, and run around some more.

I don't have a ricer and I didn't know what one was. I researched it, and apparently it is supposed to make your potatoes creamy. Well, I just let mine whip for a while and it seemed really smooth to me! So if you don't have a ricer, don't sweat it. Just whip the potatoes as if you were making whipped potatoes.

There are other variations of Gnocchi. Visit the Food & Wine website to learn how to add some flavor to your Gnocchi. It's a fun snack or appetizer. :)

Rosemary Garlic Bread

2010-03-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

As a lot of us know, garlic bread takes a long time to make. Well, this one was worth the time! It produces 3 loaves, so be prepared. Make sure you have at least 2 cookie sheets available to make this.

Makes: 3 loaves

INGREDIENTS
5 whole garlic bulbs (not cloves, BULBS)
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup miced fresh rosemary or 4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed (I used dried)
1 tbsp chicken broth
9 to 9-1/2 cups bread flour (i used all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar
3 packages (1/4 oz each) quick-rise yeast
3 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup water
3/4 cup butter or margarine, divided (i used margarine)
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp garlic salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Remove papery outer skin from garlic (do not peel or separate cloves). Cut top off garlic heads, leaving root end intact. Place cut side up in a small baking dish. Brush with oil; sprinkle with rosemary. Cover and bake at 425 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until softened. Cool for 10 minutes; squeeze softened garlic into a bowl. Add broth; lightly mash.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, water and 1/2 cup butter to 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Beat in egg and garlic paste until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into thirds. Divide each portion into three pieces; shape each into an 18-in. rope. Place three ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Melt remaining butter; add garlic salt. Brush over bread. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

TIPS FROM ME
It was my first time roasting garlic. Make sure to use a very sharp knife to cut off the heads of the garlic or you may end up breaking off some of the cloves. This happened to me on two of the bulbs, but then I sharpened a knife and all was well afterward. Also, if some of the cloves are small (like some of mine were) then cut the heads of the small ones off separately from the rest. It's best to attempt to leave as much garlic as possible.

Make sure you cook the bulbs long enough!! I should have left mine in for about 5 or 10 minutes longer. When I attempted to squeeze them into the bowl, it was tough and I was burning my hands. I attempted to use oven mitts to avoid the heat, but it was harder to squeeze them. Also, be aware that you might get some of the garlic shells in the bow. Be aware and remove any shell that falls into the bowl.

Use a light-colored cookie sheet if possible. The dark ones will cause the bottom of your bread to cook too fast. If you don't have a light colored cookie sheet, make sure to move the oven rack up higher so the bottom of the bread doesn't cook so fast.

The bread tastes best straight out of the oven. Enjoy with some oil and balsamic vinegar or any dipping of your choice. Definitely a favorite. Yum!

Blondies

2010-02-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been trying to bake more. I've never been the best baker, but I figure "practice makes perfect" is a saying for a reason!

On Sunday I was craving something sweet, and I decided to make Blondies, for the sole reason that I had all the ingredients! This recipe came out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Sorry I don't have a picture! But they were so good that I thought I should post it anyways.

Blondies

Ingredients

1/2 cup of butter, melted

1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/3 cup of chopped walnuts or cashews

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

2 Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.

3 Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the nuts.

4 Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 9 blondies.

Fettocine Alfredo

2010-01-24T21:34:00.001-08:00

For some reason I am drawn to Italian food. I love the cheesy look of all the things they cook. I am also a huge fan of noodles and pasta. That's why here's another Italian noodle post. This is actually a really quick and easy meal. So if you're ever in a hurry or want to just cook something fast, this is the recipe. I found this recipe over at Pioneer Woman's website.

The downside of this food is it is SOOOOO SUPER FATTENING! Stay away from it if you don't want to add 10 pounds to your butt.

Serving size: 2-4 people

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 cup of HEAVY cream

2 cups of parmesan cheese, grated.

1 bag of fettucine.

Some salt and ground pepper.

Instructions:

1. Cook the fettucine noodles in a pot of boiling water. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water.

2. Melt the butter in the saucepan on medium-high heat.

3. Once the butter is melted, pour in the heavy cream and stir to mix.

4. Season the mixture with the salt and pepper.

5. Sprinkle the cheese on the plates and pour in the warm butter and cream mixture once they are boiling.

5. Don't stir the cheese and cream mixture. Let it sit for a few minutes.

6. Drain the noodles once they are cooked.

7. Immediately pour in the noodles when they are still hot into the plate with the other ingredients.

8. You can toss the noodles and the ingredients with the tongs or just use your spoon and fork.

9. Sprinkle some pepper and some more parmesan cheese on top of the noodles.

Oven-baked Meat sauce and cheese pasta--VERY Similar to the one in Pizza Hut!!

2009-12-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

First of all, WOW...can't believe it was so long ago since we last posted. Sorry for not updating for a while. It has been a busy end-of-the-year for all of the authors of the blog. But we're still here. Struggling, but still here (I hope. At least I am).

Pizza Hut spaghetti

My version of it :)

So, I went to Pizza hut a month ago and tried their meat sauce spaghetti. They called it spaghetti, but it was actually the rottini pasta. Anyways, I fell in love with it immediately after the first bite. So good, so good. Sorry for the lack of word to describe the tastiness. It was, however, not cheap.

I dreamed about it even in my sleep. I hungered for it for a few weeks and I decided to search for the recipe online. Nope. Couldn't find the exact same one. I mixed a few of the recipes of pasta and spaghetti sauce I found online to make the pasta so close to the one in Pizza Hut it made me cry...well, almost.

So here we go.

Servings: 4 people
Ingredients:
1. Rottini Pasta: 1 bag
2. Hunts Meat sauce: 3/4 of a can.
3. Mozerella chesse: 1 cup
4. Parmesan Chesse: 1/2 cup
5. Ground beef: half pound.
6. Half of an onion, diced.
7. 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, diced.
8. 2 table spoon of Olive oil
9. pepper and salt to taste

Instructions:
--Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit).
--Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta with a teaspoon of salt. When the pasta is cooked, dump the hot water and rinse the pasta in cold water. Drained the pasta.

Sauce:
1. Heat the olive oil in the pan on medium high fire.
2. Stir in the garlic and onion. Fry til the onion gets soft.
3. Pour in and stir fry the ground beef til it's not pink anymore.
4. Pour in the meat sauce and stir the mixture evenly.
5. Keep stirring til the mixture starts boiling.
6. Mix the drained and cooked pasta into the mixture and mix them evenly.
7. Add the parmesan cheese and stir.
8. Add in some pepper and salt to taste.
9. Turn off the fire and pour the pasta and meat sauce into the 9x13 tin-foiled baking pan.
10. Sprinkle and cover the pasta with the mozerella cheese.
11. Put the pan in the preheated oven and let it cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Voila! Pizza-hut style "spaghetti".

Happy Cooking!

S'more Cookie Bars!

2009-11-19T01:38:00.001-08:00

These are great because you get to eat them without actually needing to go camping! haha.

S'more Cookie Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 super-sized (5 oz.) dark chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up ad spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars

Scrumptious Seafood Soup

2009-10-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

My own creation. Sorta. In Malaysia, there's this soup called Sea cucumber soup, which is expensive and not home-made usually. I love sea cucumber soup so super much and everytime I eat it at the restaurant, I would be paying attention to what ingredients the chefs used. I would try to cook the soup at home, substituting sea cucumber for other seafood, such as crab meat and shrimp. I love it so much I can eat it everyday! Now, let's see you have a try.

Ingredients:

-- 2 sticks of artificial crab meat (usually in a packet, it comes in 8 sticks), chopped finely.

--6 to 8 large shrimps, deveined and peeled, cut into small pieces.

--2-3 shiitake mushroom, soaked in a bowl of water til softened. Then, cut them into small pieces.

--About a cup of ground pork.

--2 cloves of garlic, diced.

--4 cups of water or more depending on how much soup you want to cook

--1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

--1 teaspoon of salt, or more, to taste.

--Some black pepper (optional)

--1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of water, mixed.

--1 egg, beaten.

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil on medium-high fire in a non-stick pot.

2. When the oil is warm (put your hand over the pot and if you can feel the heat, it's warm enough), stir in the garlic til they turn slightly brown.

3. Then, stir in the ground pork and stir-fry it til it's no longer pink.

4. Stir in the artificial crab meat, shrimp, and mushroom. Stir fry them for about 30 seconds.

5. Pour in the water and turn the heat up to high.

6. When the soup starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium and pour in the cornstarch mixture. Stir lightly and you will see that the soup has thickened.

7. Pour in the beaten egg and stir immediately and vigorously for a few seconds. Be careful not to spill or burn yourself.

8. Turn off the heat and season the soup with salt and pepper. If you use chicken granule, it's okay too.

Tips: 1. This soup needs your attention almost constantly. You have to be careful of the heat so as to not let the soup boil over. I had to remove my pot from the heat a few times because the soup was boiling over. to prevent that from happening, try cooking it at medium or medium-high fire and not let it boil too long after you pour in the cornstarch mixture.

Feedback and questions are always welcome. Happy Cooking!

Sharon ~

Mapo Tofu

2009-10-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

So I tried to write about a dish on my iphone just the other day but for some reason iblogger quit on me and I didn't get to save what I was typing! Sorry for taking so long to blog about the things I cooked recently but I had been quite busy with school and had not been very diligent in cooking. Anyways, I have a few more posts coming up soon.

A couple of years ago I tried cooking a Sze Chuan (a province in China) dish called Mapo Tofu. I failed horribly. The tofu and ground pork turned out tasting pretty nasty for whatever reason I can't recall now. I ended up throwing the whole dish away because just the smell of it was enough to cause nausea. I never tried cooking it ever since, that is, until a few weeks ago I came across the Mapo tofu paste in a chinese shop in Provo, Utah. I decided since my cooking skill has improved since the failed attempt two years ago, I should redeem myself this time.

A couple of days ago, I finally took out the paste sitting in my pantry and used it. I was pretty nervous about it but it turned out to be DELICIOUS! My jaw dropped when I tried a tiny piece of tofu. It was a miracle!! My husband and mother-in-law loved it too.

On the side note, Mapo tofu is a great way to take away the blandness of the tofu. It's so worth the try.

Ingredients:

--A packet of Mapo tofu paste (there are many kinds. It doesn't matter which kind you use).

--A packet of extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes.

--4 oz or a cup (if you must know the exact measurement, check the converter on the side) of ground pork.

--Some spring onion, chopped.

--A teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of warm water. (If the paste that you buy has already included a small bag of potato starch, then skip this).

--2 teaspoon of vegetable oil/ cooking oil

Instructions:

1. Heat the non-stick pan with the oil on medium-high fire.

2. Stir fry the ground pork til it starts to turn from red to brown.

3. Stir in the tofu and the packet of Mapo Tofu paste.

4. Stir fry for about 3 minutes.

5. Pour in the cornstarch (or potato starch) and stir the mixture.

6. Throw in the spring onion and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

7. When the paste is boiling, remove from heat.

Happy Cooking!! This is a must try!

Dutch Pear Pie

2009-10-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have never had a pear pie before, so I thought I would try this recipe. It was actually pretty good! Not my favorite, but good! I would recommend at least trying one good pear pie in your life.

Makes: 8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Start to Finish: 1 hr 40 min

CRUST
1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed by box

FILLING
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten
3 cups coarsely chopped fresh pears (2 to 3 medium pears)

CRUMB TOPPING
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate; do not prick crust. Carefully line pastry with double thickness of foil, gently pressing foil to bottom and side of crust. Let foil extend over edge to prevent excessive browning. Bake 10 minutes. Carefully remove foil; bake 2 to 4 minutes longer or until crust just begins to brown and has become set. If crust bubbles, gently push bubbles down with back of spoon.
2..Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix filling ingredients. Pour into warm baked pie shell. Mix crumb topping ingredients with pasty blender or fork until mixture looks like fine crumbs; sprinkle evenly over filling.
3..Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until top is light golden brown. After 30 minutes of baking, cover top of pie with foil to prevent excessive browning. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

I try to make one dessert a week, so I have two more to show! Stay tuned!

Chicken and Rice Casserole

2009-10-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

This dish is so easy and so good to make. It is so delicious, even my husband loves it. The first time I ate this I fell immediately in love with it. I spent years looking for the recipe because I was so dumb to not ask for the recipe when I had the chance to at first. Now that I have this recipe, I just can't wait to share it with you guys! Definitely give it a try.

Servings: 4-5 people

Ingredients:

--1 cup of celery, diced. (If you hate celery, use broccoli)

--Half cup onion, minced.

--2 tablespoon butter

--2 cans of cream of chicken soup. (You can use chicken and mushroom soup too!)

--Half cup milk

--1 1/3 cup of mayonaise or salad dressing

Combine and mix thoroughly all the above ingredients in a large bowl.

--3 or 4 chicken breasts or fillets

--3 cups rice, washed.

--4 cups water.

Instructions:

1. In a 9x13 pan or a baking dish, pour in rice and water. On top of the rice, arrange 3 or 4 chicken breasts or fillets.

2. Pour the mixture evenly over the top of the chicken and bake in oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees farenheit.

Tips: 1. If you are pressed for time, you can cook this dish in the rice cooker using the same method. It only takes about 40 minutes.

2. If you are cooking for 2 people, cut all the ingredients measurement in half.

Happy Cooking!

Sharon

Onion Beef

2009-10-07T19:58:00.001-07:00

This dish I am going to share is one of my tried and true recipes. It's something I would bring to a potluck dinner and get praises from. It's also really easy to make.

All you need to have are (for marination):

--beef, chopped into bite size pieces.

--2 to 3 cloves of garlic, diced.

--1 teaspoon of soy sauce

--half teaspoon of garlic salt, if you don't have it, just use normal salt.

--a few dashes of black pepper

If you can, marinate all of the above items in a bowl overnight. If you are pressed for time, then just dump everything in a bowl, mix them well before you cook it.

You'll also need:

--half of an onion, chopped into small pieces.

--1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan on medium high fire.

2. When the oil is warm enough, stir fry the onion til it gets soft and slightly yellow-brown.

3. Dump in the marinated beef and just stir fry til the meat is cooked.

That's it! Very easy and delicious. It should only take about 10 minutes to cook this.

Have fun cooking!

Sharon

Tom Yam Pork and Veal Meatballs with Mushroom

2009-10-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Asian food is my favourite. Therefore, I love creating my own Asian food even though some of the original recipes are Western food. LOL. This dish was supposed to be tossed with creamy mushroom sauce. However, I choose to use Tom Yam. If you love some spicy and sour food, Tom Yam paste is good to go with.

Ingredients:

Pork and Veal Meatballs ( You can find it in Woolworth if you’re in Australia)

Mushrooms

Tom Yam paste (any Asian store)

1/3 cup of water

Chives

Let’s Cook:

1) Cook meatballs on a preheated frying pan with some cooking oil at medium heat until cooked thoroughly.

2) Add the mushrooms when the meatballs turn golden brown.

3) Add the cooked meatballs with Tom Yam paste and the 1/3 cup of water.

4) Make sure to continuously stir until boiling.

5) Top dish with chives and serve.

It is a simple dish. Hope you like it!!

There are many types of TomYam paste. Choose anyone if you don't have your preference.

Enjoy!

Ivy ~

Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-10-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

I know I post way too many desserts...but they are what keep my buoyed up in life! I can't live without the sweets. :)

Here is a favorite family recipe of mine; peanut butter cookies!

Makes: 3 dozen

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix margarine, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar together.
2..Mix in egg.
3..Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in with mixture.
4..Place on cookie sheet and press down balls of dough with a fork.
5..Bake about 7 1/2 minutes.
6..ENJOY!

Celery and Shrimp

2009-09-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

I love seafood and shrimp is my favorite! I could eat shrimp all my life and not get tired of it. There are so many ways of cooking shrimp and they are all so tasty! Anyways, the recipe I am going to share today is one of my mom's. I used to eat this dish without ever thinking how she cooked it. So I tried really hard today to emulate the same recipe. Of course the taste is not exactly the same but it's close and it's as good :) *If you are allergic to shrimp...sorry!*

What you need:

-- 20 large shrimps, peeled and deveined (you can buy shrimps that are peeled and deveined in most grocery stores)

-- 1 cup of celery, washed and diced

--3 cloves of garlic, chopped

--1 teaspoon of garlic salt (or more if you like it saltier)

--1 teaspoon of corn starch

gravy:

Mix and stir the two items below in a bowl.

--2 cups of water (less if you want the gravy to be thicker)

--1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Heat the saucepan over medium-high fire. Then, pour in the oil.

2. Stir in the garlic after the oil is heated. Fry for roughly 30 seconds.

3. Stir in the celery and fry for 1 minute.

4. Throw the shrimps in. Stir-fry them til the shrimps turn red.

5. Pour in the gravy and keep stirring til the gravy boils.

6. Turn the fire off and season with the garlic salt.

*Serve this dish with steam rice.

Happy cooking!

Sharon

Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-09-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

So I was a hankerin' for some cookies and just happened to have all the ingredients for this Fall Cookie recipe! And let me tell you something, these are one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted. I love the cinnamon and ginger in these. It really gives them a tasty flavor. Try them and they may become your favorite as well!

Makes: 5 dozen
Prep Time: 20 min.
Start to Finish: 1 hr 15 min.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts -- again, I didn't add nuts

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. On low speed, beat in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and walnuts. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
2..On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 1 inch apart.
3..Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Pesto!

2009-09-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I made pesto for Sunday dinner and it was delicious. The wonderful thing about pesto is that it's incredibly easy to make, but it's hard because since it's so easy I can't give an exact recipe! (at least, I've never used an exact recipe, but I'll try). This recipe is for a pest pasta. I don't think it is thick enough to spread on bread like I know a lot of people like to do.

Ingredients:

1 bag of pine nuts (it seems like all the bags you can buy in the baking section of the store are about the same size)

1 large clove of garlic

salt and pepper (to taste)

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese, shredded (1 cup-ish)

1 bunch cilantro (you know the size they sell the bunches in the store)

2 cups packed fresh basil

** this is for about 1 box of pasta, I prefer penne pasta, but I guess you can use whatever you want! Cook the pasta first. I won't give directions since I think everyone knows how.**

Okay, once you have the ingredients, this is so easy. What you need is a food processor. And then you pretty much just blend everything together! Start with the garlic and the pine nuts (if you have time, roast the pine nuts a little first, and start processing. Add the cilantro and basil, while adding a little bit of olive oil at a time. You'll end up adding about 1/2-1 cup olive oil. Once everything has been processed, mix it up with the pasta and add as much parmesan cheese as you'd like. You'll want to add some salt and pepper, but you might just want to let people add it themselves as they eat.

The wonderful thing about pesto is that it's so versatile. I like to make it with basil and cilantro the best, but some people make it with spinach, argula, etc . . . Warning: argula makes it quite bitter. Also, if you want it creamy, instead of olive oil, try some cream.

Sometimes I like to chop up some roma tomatoes to throw in the pasta, or grill some chicken.

Sorry if this "recipe" was confusing. Next time I'll try measuring while I cook so I can have a better idea what to tell you guys!

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

2009-09-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

Another Betty Crocker recipe that turned out to be delicious! My husband really loves it. The sad part is...we left these bars sitting outside the fridge all night so now we have to throw it away. It makes us REALLY sad because they are SO yummy! Not to mention they took a little while to make. :'( Hopefully next time we will remember to stick it back into the fridge! If it weren't for the cheesecake I think it would have been fine.

Makes: 24 bars
Prep Time: 20 min.
Start to Finish: 3 hrs 40 min.

INGREDIENTS
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine -- I used margarine
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts -- we didn't add these as we are not nutty people :)

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, place cookie mix. Using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through mixture in opposite directions), cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2..Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
3..Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked crust. In medium bowl, mix pie filling and cinnamon. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Sprinkle with walnuts.
4..Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Cover and refrigerate any remaining bars.

Banana Lumpia, a filipino dessert :)

2009-09-25T12:58:00.001-07:00

The first time I tried Banana Lumpia was at the Jackie Chan Restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii. When my friend and I ordered this dessert, we didn't know what to expect, except we know banana is involved. When the dessert arrived, it looked really good, as were all the restaurant food. The bananas were wrapped in the spring roll/lumpia wrap and fried. I took a bit and fell instantly in love with it. It is best served with a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream. The hot and the cold created such warmth in our mouth it was hard to describe the feeling.
Tastiness: 5 stars.

Tips:
1. Banana is really filling. So if you're the only one eating the lumpia, you should consider using only 1 or 2 bananas.
2. This dessert is best served immediately. If you leave it overnight, it's not going to be crunchy at all.
3. If you have ice cream at home, serve it with a scoop of ice cream.

Ingredients:
--1 banana, halved. (if you are using those really small bananas, you don't have to cut it in half)
--2 spring roll/lumpia wrappers. (Can be bought in most Asian food store at the produce area. If you live in St. George, Utah, try Harmon's.)

--Some powdered sugar
--Some water
--Oil (as much as you need to fill your frying pan half way up)

Instructions:
1. Wrap each banana in a spring roll wrappers like the pictures below shown. Use the water to seal the wrapper in the final step of the wrapping process.

2. Heat the oil on high over the stove.

3. Fry the wrapped bananas in the pan til the wrappers turn golden brown. Stir them while they are being fried so they can be fried evenly.

4. Remove the banana lumpias from the pan and use the paper towels to drain the oil from the lumpias.

5. Sprinkle the powdered sugar on the lumpias.

6. Serve immediately.

Banana Lumpia

Happy Cooking!
Sharon

Enjoy longevity!

2009-09-24T18:35:00.001-07:00

Hi there,

Chicken and mushroom soup is perhaps one of my favorite food in the whole world. I get the worst case of nostalgia everytime I eat it. Most commonly, our family eat the soup with the Chinese long-life noodles. They go so well together. It's like yin and yang, the perfect harmony.

The reason why the noodles are called long-life noodles is, you guessed it, they are so long and the symbolize longevity. The more authentic ones are super thin, sun-dried, and rolled into coils. The Japanese called them "somen" and they eat them with sauce, not soup. Anyways, the long-life noodles are usually eaten during the Chinese New Year and birthdays. It is a tradition that my family and many other chinese have practiced for years and years. Give it a try, it's scrumptious.

p/s: The Chinese long-life noodles can be bought in China Town and the Japanese "somen" can be bought in most stores that sell Asian Foods.

Ingredients:

--2 pieces of ginger, chopped finely. (If you don't have the real ginger root, use the ground ginger powder--a few dashes of it is sufficient).

--3 boneless chicken fillets/2 boneless chicken breasts-->thawed and cut into bite size pieces or bigger.

--2 big bowls of water/350ml

--4 pieces of shitake mushroom, softened in some water

--1 tablespoon of cooking oil

--1 teaspoon of salt or more (some people like the soup saltier)

--1 coil of long-life noodles (per person)

Instructions:

1. Heat the pot over medium-high fire. Pour the oil into the pot and wait for it to heat.

2. When the oil is heated, turn the fire down to medium. Put in the chopped ginger and stir fry the ginger for roughly 30 seconds.

3. Throw the chicken pieces in and stir fry them for 1 minute.

4. Pour in the water and turn the fire up to high.

5. Throw in the shitake mushrooms.

6. Sprinkle in the soup salt and some MSG(just a tiny bit of MSG will make the soup tastier. It's okay to go without the MSG too.)

7. Wait for the soup to boil.

---------------------------------------------

8. To cook the long-life noodles, boil a pot of plain water.

9. When the water is boiled, throw in a couple coils of long-life noodle.

10. Let the noodles cook for about 30 seconds. Them, use a fork or chopsticks to separate the noodles.

11. When the noodles is soft, it is ready to be served in a large bowl.

12. Pour in the soup, chicken pieces, and mushroom onto the noodles. Serve hot.

Tips:

1. Don't cook the noodles for too long. When the noodles float to the surface of the water, it is basically ready. The longer you cook, the fatter the noodles get.

2. Most people cook the soup with chinese rice wine (it's more authentic). You can pour in a tablespoon or two of the wine while stir-frying the chicken.

3. For most Chinese food, you have to taste it to see if you have gotten the level of saltiness/taste you like.

4. Eat the chicken pieces with Soy Sauce. It always taste good on plain meat.

Happy Cooking!

Sharon

Cinnamon-Topped Zucchini Bread

2009-09-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe from a Fall Recipe book I bought about a week ago. It is super delicious and super moist. I did change a few things around so please see my notes in italic.

BREAD
3 cups shredded zucchini (2 to 3 medium) -- I used one large zucchini which is about 2 and a half cups
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour -- I used white flour because I don't have whole wheat
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

TOPPING
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Move oven rack to low position so tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (8x4-inch) loaf pans or 1 (9x5 inch) loaf pan with shortening, or spray with cooking spray.
2..In large bowl, stir zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs until well mixed. Stir in remaining bread ingredients; mix well. Pour into pan(s). In small bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter in pan(s).
3..Bake 8-inch loaves 50 to 60 minutes, 9-inch loaf 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan(s) on cooling rack 10 minutes.
4..Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove, and place top side up on cooling rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

I cut our bread about 20 minutes after it was done because my husband and I love warm warm bread. Mmm mm good!!

Welcome!

2009-09-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow food-lovers,

Welcome to "I Eat. Therefore, I Cook." This is where we will share recipes, cooking tips, and everything about food. We will have recipes from all around the world. As good things are better if shared, we invite you to share with us your valuable experiences in cooking and contribute recipes if you feel like doing some good deeds. Have fun hunting for the recipes you have been dying to try and tell us if you like them.

Oh, I forgot to mention, we only post recipes that our contributors have tried.

Happy cooking!