Talapia w/Buttery Crumb Topping

Sorry, my camera is out of batteries so I don't have any pictures to show you. But this was delicious and so simple! Give it a try!

Ingredients:

4-6 talapia fillets (1.5 lbs)

salt and pepper

1 cup bread crumbs

3 Tbsp. melted butter

1/2 tsp basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large shallow baking dish. Arrange fish fillets in pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine the butter with bread crumbs and basil and sprinkle over fillets. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Broil 2-3 minutes to brown the topping.

Crockpot Creme Brulee!!!

The Ingredients:

--2 cups heavy cream
--5 egg yolks
--1/2 cup sugar (baker's or fine sugar is better so the granules disappear)
--1 T good vanilla
--1/4 cup raw sugar (for topping, add later)




The Directions:


Find a heat-resistant dish that fits inside of your stoneware insert. Fit it in, and using a cup or pitcher, pour water around the edges so there is water 1/2 - 3/4 of the way up the sides of the dish. Push it down with your hand if it starts to float up. Take the dish back out. If you have separate dessert ramekins, do the same thing after nestling them all inside.


--whip the 5 egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl
--slowly add the cream and baking sugar while mixing
--add the vanilla

pour mixture into the dish and carefully lower into the stoneware without sloshing water into the dish.


Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours. If you are using little ramekins, check after an hour; I'm not sure how long they will take. Custard should be set with the center still a bit jiggly. Touch lightly with your finger to check. Unlike an oven, it will be difficult to overcook this. Try not to worry.

I cooked the one above for 4.25 hours on high.


VERY carefully (use oven gloves!) remove dish and let cool completely on counter, then chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.


Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of raw sugar evenly over the top of the custard. Move your oven rack to the top rung and broil for 3-10 minutes, checking often. The sugar will boil and brown.


Cool again in the fridge for a few hours.


Amazing.

Utterly amazing.

Photo and recipe via crockpot365.blogspot.com

Mini Brer Rabbit Cookies

Here is your introduction to the most scrumptious cookies ever!!! This is my Grandma Ricks' recipe and I think I've finally perfected it. Enjoy!

Mini Brer Rabbit Cookies

Makes a whole lot! I halved the recipe and it still made 4-5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup molasses

3 eggs

3 cups sugar

6 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp cloves

1 1/2 tsp ginger

6 tsp baking soda (yes, 6 tsp, not a typo!)

1 Tbs cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Beat together shortening, molasses, eggs, and sugar. Add remaining dry ingredients, and mix well. Chill dough in fridge for 30 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Form into 1/2 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes.

Zuppa Toscana and Lion House Rolls!

Yesterday I made zuppa toscana and some Lion House rolls for dinner. So yummy! Seriously! I could eat this stuff all day! For the soup recipe, you can go here, where I posted it before.

I found the recipe for the Lion House rolls on this website. Here it is:

Lion House Rolls

Ingredients:
2 c warm water
2/3 c nonfat dry milk (instand or non-instant)
2 Tbs yeast
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp salt
1/3 c butter or shortening
1 egg
5 - 5 1/2 all purpose or bread flour

Directions:
Combine water and milk powder; stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand.) Add about ½ c. flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. (A soft dough will produce a lighter roll. Add only enough flour to make a manageable dough.) Place dough in a greased bowl; turn to coat. Cover and let rise until double in size. Turn dough over on floured surface so that it is floured on both sides. Gently flatten to 1 inch thick, then roll into a 18x8 inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. Cut dough in half the long way, to make two 4 inch strips. Cut dough every two inches to make 18 rectangles of dough, about 2 inches x 4 inches each. (Sometimes when I roll out the dough it turns out larger than 18x8, in which case I just add another column when cutting the rolls; the point is, you should cut the dough into rectangles roughly 2x4 inches.) Starting with the short (2 inch) end, roll the dough up and place on greased baking pans with the short end down. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375° for 15 to 18 minutes or until browned. Brush with melted butter while hot. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls. (Dough may be used for breadsticks as well – 375° for ~10 minutes.)

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Twists

I tried out this recipe last night and then today tried it out with a bit of a variation. I loved it! It's a great, easy, and delicious dessert idea! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Twists
Makes: 20
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. yeast
3 1/2 cups flour (I used a combination of white and wheat flour which was yummy)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs. butter
Cinnamon Sugar mixture (Make however much you want!)

Directions:
Combine first three ingredients and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Add in flour and salt. Mix until smooth. Let this sit for 10 minutes, covered.
Roll out dough into a large square on a floured surface. Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Fold in half and slice into one inch strips. Twist and place on a cookie sheet. Let those sit for another 15-20 minutes.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar as desire.
Drizzle with or dip in frosting and enjoy!

Frosting: So I don't measure out my ingredients for frosting. I do about a tablespoon of butter, 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, a splash of milk and a couple teaspoons of vanilla. I just mess with it until it gets to the consistency I want and it tastes good.

Homemade Chili and Cornbread

Williams Chili

Serves: 8

Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

1.5-2 lbs hamburger (depending on how meaty you'd like your chili)

3 cups tomato juice

1 can pinto beans, half drained

1 pkg. Williams Chili Seasoning (you can find this at Smith's, Walmart, and Fred Meyer)

Cook hamburger in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until combined. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with cheese.

Buttermilk Cornbread (via)

Serves 9

Time:45 Minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour (either wheat or white. longer cooking time for wheat)

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and add sugar. Mix well. Quickly add eggs and mix unto combined. Mix buttermilk and baking soda in separate bowl and add to butter mixture. Mix well. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt.

Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Eggnog

Sorry I've been completely absent lately. Life is busy and the truth of the matter is, I haven't cooked or baked a whole lot in the past few weeks. After next Thursday I will be done with school and be back in the kitchen and back to posting more on this blog.

For now, here's something new I tried tonight. I made homemade eggnog! And it's actually quite delicious. It's not as thick and heavy as store-bought eggnog. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

4 eggs, separated into whites and yolks

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups milk

1 cup whipping cream (I used half and half because dinner tonight called for half and half and I didn't want to buy both and have both go bad. Plus, I think the half and half is a teensy bit healthier)

3 tsp vanilla

1 tsp rum extract (or you can use orange extract, just use a little less)

Dash of salt

Ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in milk, cream, vanilla and rum.

2. Add salt to egg whites and beat until they stand in peaks. Fold into egg yolk mixture.

3. Serve in punch cups. Sprinkle each serving with nutmeg.

This recipe is delish, but must be consumed kinda quickly. Because of the eggs, try to drink all of this in a couple days. Which will not be difficult because it's so good!