The Cooking Dish» Recipes

Caramel Comatose Thunder Brownies Recipe

Chris Mower — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:38:00 +0000

This year I plan to focus on more meal-oriented recipes, but before I do, I’m going to start out with a dessert recipe that really steals your attention: Caramel Comatose Thunder Brownies (made with real canned thunder!—kidding). If desserts were people, this one would be Chuck Norris.

Here are a few things Chuck Norris and these “brownies” have in common:

You don’t find them, they find you.
Both can kill you with a simple stare.
Under their ‘beard’ lies another fist.
They’re both rugged at first, but are sweet once you get to know them (or so they say).
And so on and so forth…

In other words, make sure you’re wearing your big boy pants before digging in. On a more serious note, this dessert was born from my curiosity to play with opposites.

I wanted something that was chewy but crunchy, sweet but salty. After throwing a few ideas around and creating a few sketches, I decided on a brownie mixture that included caramel, extra chocolate, pretzels, and marshmallows.

» Finish reading Caramel Comatose Thunder Brownies Recipe at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Brownie Mix, Brownie Recipe, Caramel, Caramel Brownies, Chocolate, Chocolate Brownie, Comatose, Desserts, Food and Drink, Fudge Brownies, Homemade Caramel, Marshmallow, Pretzel, Snacks, Thunder

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Holiday Squares (Sunshine Bars) Recipe

Chris Mower — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:02:00 +0000

I blinked once and the Christmas season was here; I blinked twice and now it’s almost over. I’m considering holding my eyes open with toothpicks à la Odysseus so I won’t blink again. Not really, but maybe I should because it would be a shame for Christmas to pass without sharing at least a few more Christmas recipes with you. (Read about Christmas Lollipop Cookies.)

The Christmas treats I’m sharing today are some of my favorites for many reasons:

I should warn you though. They also have an identity crisis, and I’m afraid it confuses the children. After eating these, my kids have been known to say some pretty odd things. Check these doozies out.

» Finish reading Holiday Squares (Sunshine Bars) Recipe at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Christmas Recipe, Christmas Seasons, Extra Nice, Family Favorites, Holiday, Holiday Square, List, Orange Juice, Oranges, Recipes, Squares, Sunshine, Sunshine Bars, Tasty Dessert

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Christmas Lollipop Cookies Recipe

Chris Mower — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:01:35 +0000

General Mills always seems to be up to something fun, and earlier this month they invited a few bloggers to create a fun holiday-themed cookie recipe using a Pillsbury cookie dough roll. With the chance of the recipe being on Pillsbury.com (Update: This recipe and the other bloggers’ submissions are now on Pillsbury.com. Follow the link to check out all the delicious goodness!), I couldn’t resist and decided to participate. We could choose to use any of the following Pillsbury cookie doughs: sugar, gingerbread, chocolate chip, peanut butter, or peppermint.

Being the sugar cookie addict that I am, I naturally opted to use the sugar cookie dough. Sugar cookies have long been a holiday tradition at my house, one that I hope my kids continue and pass down to their own families someday.

As part of our cookie submission, General Mills also asked us to make it kid friendly so that moms (or dads!) can make it at home with their kids. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you already know that I love cooking with my little girls. They’re especially fond of any recipe that lets them play with dough.

This particular Christmas cookie idea combines two of my children’s favorite things. The first is making dough snakes. My kids jump at the chance to make them, and believe me, we can play that game for hours. The second is suckers. Their love for suckers nearly surpasses my own for sugar cookies.

» Finish reading Christmas Lollipop Cookies Recipe at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Lollipops, Cookie Decorating, Cookie Lollipops, Cookies, Cookies Recipe, Food and Drink, Fun, Fun Christmas Cookies, Holiday, Pillsbury, Pillsbury Cookie Dough, Snacks, Sugar Cookie, Sugar Cookie Dough

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Orange & Apple Cinnamon Biscuits Recipe

Chris Mower — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:15:56 +0000

Today’s recipe is a partner to my last recipe post, Butterscotch Biscuits. If you haven’t tried those, you should. In fact, I would almost say try those first and then come back to these. I’d love to know how you feel they compare. This biscuit variation requires a smidgen more work and cooking time, but I love the extra orange, apple, and cinnamon flavors mixed in. In all honesty though, both are heavenly.

Okay, I explained in my last biscuits post how my kids go nuts when they find out we’re having these for breakfast. However, something I didn’t mention—and should have—is how kids love to help prepare this recipe. There’s some small knife work involved when dicing the apple, but other than that, kids can help with nearly every part from mixing the dough to slicing the rounds (with a dull dough cutter). If you haven’t tried cooking with your kids, I think you should give it a shot. We’ve had some great (and messy) times in the kitchen together.

The areas where my kids enjoy helping out the most is sprinkling the flour on the cupboard and spreading the butter, sugar, and apples onto the biscuit dough. They’re also pros at putting all the ingredients into the bowl. I maintain that the memories we create are worth the messes we make.

Now on to the biscuits.

» Finish reading Orange & Apple Cinnamon Biscuits Recipe at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Apple Cinnamon, Baking, Baking Powder, Biscuit Dough, Biscuits, Biscuits Recipe, Bread, Breakfast, Cinnamon, Cinnamon Biscuit Recipe, Cinnamon Biscuits, Cinnamon Sugar, Fun, Orange Apple, Soul Food

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Butterscotch Biscuits Recipe

Chris Mower — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:11:56 +0000

Do you remember as a kid waking up in the mornings to the smell of your favorite breakfast cooking? I sure do, and I still love it. Smelling the sweet breakfast aromas early in the morning is one of life’s great pleasures, one that almost instantly puts the entire family in a good mood.

Growing up in my family, there were a couple smells that almost always had us kids instantly bounding up the stairs: the quintessential breakfast of pancakes served with eggs and bacon and then the irresistible smell of butterscotch biscuits. Yes, I said that right… butterscotch biscuits,and today I’m going to share that biscuit recipe with you. But first, a quick peek into how awesome these biscuits are. These are not your typical biscuit, my friend.

Luckily (read: holy flipping cow, I’m incredibly lucky), my kids are not picky eaters. I’m not sure if it’s because I will eat nearly anything—with the exception of tuna loaf—and they’re just following my example, or if it’s because they know they’ll go without if they don’t eat what’s prepared. Maybe they’re really not my kids, but aliens from another planet… maybe, just maybe that’s it. (By the way, after they realized mom and dad were serious they always choose to eat what’s prepared.)

» Finish reading Butterscotch Biscuits Recipe at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Biscuits, Bread, Breakfast, Butterscotch, Irresistable, Picky Eaters, Quick Breads, Soul Food

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Year 2

Chris Mower — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 09:00:41 +0000

Last year I was a little late (mid-November) on the bandwagon when I posted How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Year I, so I figured this year I’d try to post before Halloween.

My family looks forward each year to buying our pumpkins from one of the local pumpkin patches. You arrive, get a wheelbarrow and leisurely stroll around the pumpkin rows looking for the perfect pumpkin. I always buy a couple extra just for the seeds. My kids run around in utter delight trying to carry the largest pumpkin they can find. Depending on the patch, they may have hay bales and tractors set up for kids to play on. The owners of the patch we went to this year was giving tractor rides and had created a free corn maze for the kids.

We bought two big pumpkins for my wife and I, and three small pumpkins for our kids, and then a few of those really really small pumpkins just for the heck of it–actually, the kids seemed to be rather attached to them, and it was impossible to resist.

This past Monday, we hollowed out the pumpkins and let the kids carve theirs, so I’m sure the pumpkins will be overly shriveled come Halloween day, oh well. From the 5 hollowed out pumpkins I ended up with 6 cups of fresh pumpkin seeds–perfect for three different batches. Now, I’m the type of guy who rarely orders the same thing at a restaurant each time I visit because I like to experience different foods and flavors. So although I’ve already created pumpkin seed recipes that I like, I couldn’t resist whipping up some new ones either.

This year I’ve created three new recipes: Chipotle Ranch, Sugar ‘n Spice, and Lemon Picante. The Lemon Picante has become my new favorite.

» Finish reading How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Year 2 at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2010. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Holiday, Pumpkin, Snacks, Spicy

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread (with Glaze!)

Chris Mower — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 04:19:04 +0000

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe, and I think it’s high time I do so again.

Contrary to popular belief I’ve actually been doing a lot of cooking lately. In fact, I’ve been doing so much cooking that I’ve accumulated a gazillion and a half recipes to share with you. Some I’ve found online, others I’ve created from the depths of my inner self–and that can get pretty scary.

Some of the recipes I’ve found are from other blogs that I follow, and today’s lemon bread recipe is an adaptation from the ever popular and addicting blog called Cookie Madness, written by Anna.

I’ve made this lemon bread a few times and this last time around I added the poppy seeds, which I absolutely love–and it’s not because they supposedly make you test positive for doping. Is that even true?

A few tips when making this bread:

Do not pack your flour. You want your flour to be loose so that the bread isn’t overly dense.
Although bread is super delicious right out of the oven, I prefer this bread after it’s cooled down and the flavors have had a chance to mix together.
I’ve tried this bread plain and also topped with a lemon glaze, a chocolate glaze, and a regular glaze. I prefer the lemon glaze.

Alright, that’s enough mumbo jumbo for one post. Let’s get baking. As always, there’s a printable recipe at the bottom of this post. The pictures in this post are a combination of the different times I’ve made this recipe.

» Finish reading How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread (with Glaze!) at TheCookingDish.com. »

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Donuts in 15 minutes

Chris Mower — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:35:07 +0000

I realize how ironic it is to post this recipe right after the “Fight Obesity” speech, but I’ve been wanting to post this recipe for a long long time. Sometimes it’s best to throw caution out the window… not always, just sometimes.

Growing up my family spent a lot of time in the great outdoors. We’d take week long camping trips high up into the mountains where we’d spend time digging in the dirt, fishing, canoeing, laughing, swimming in the lake and river, riding horses, playing horse shoes, and just chillin’. Those are some of my favorite memories. And oh, the stories I could tell, like the one time when I ~~accidentally~~ seared my brother’s ear with a hot, flaming stick of death… but we won’t go into details. It really was an accident…

Let’s move on. My mom is an excellent cook, and that’s an understatement. We always looked forward to dinner in the mountains because we loved eating her cast iron dutch oven cooking. Some of my favorite dishes included chicken, potatoes, bacon, peach cobbler, donuts, and bread. My two favorites were peach cobbler and donuts. (The treats, of course!)

Just the other night, the hankerin’ to eat some of those donuts again sneaked into my appetite, so I set to it. Now, the best part of this donut recipe is that it’s effortless… seriously, it’s super fast, super delicious, and easy enough that the kids can help. Hard to beat that, and when the kids have fun, it makes it even more enjoyable. My daughter Maggie helps me make these for family night on occasion. If a camp fire isn’t readily available, you can still cook these on the stove top. As always, you can print this recipe out at the end of this post.

And just for the record I can never decide if I should spell donuts like I just did or like this: doughnuts. so I’m not very consistent throughout this post.

Enjoy, and try not to salivate on your keyboard.

» Finish reading How to Make Donuts in 15 minutes at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bread, Quick Foods, Snacks

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Ginger Tea for a Sore Throat

Chris Mower — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:00:21 +0000

I’ve debated calling this recipe “Schroeder’s Ginger Tea” because I’ll be playing Schroeder in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and it’s mostly singing. This typically wouldn’t be an issue, but my throat is still very sore and is still recovering from a long bout with bronchitis. With help of this ginger tea, though, I’ve finally given that dirty ol’ bronchitis the T.K.O. and am well on my way to a healthy, normal throat. I tried a lot of different remedies to help sooth my throat: lozenges, throat massages, a sea hag named Ursula (bad idea), etc., but nothing has come close to helping out more than drinking some warm ginger tea twice a day, and especially before singing. No more frogs, finally. (It’ll also help to keep yourself way hydrated by drinking maybe 2 liters of water each day. Your sore throat likes to stay hydrated.)

» Finish reading Ginger Tea for a Sore Throat at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Health, Home Remedies, Medicinal, Tea

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Video: How to Make No-Knead Bread

Chris Mower — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:36:14 +0000

It’s snowing like crazy right now, which for some reason instantly put me in the mood to bake some great fresh bread. I love the aroma of fresh bread and biting through a crispy crust when it’s fresh out of the oven. Mmmmm. But alas, I’m still working on access to my old pictures (…click here if you must know…), and I’m at work on lunch break. So instead, I’ve been searching for an excellent bread-making video to post on The Cooking Dish (and to break this non-recipe dry spell). I came across this YouTube video posted by the New York Times featuring the Sullivan Street Bakery’s head baker, Jim Lahey, who apparently can make a mean loaf of bread. I’d love to spend a day in his bakery learning to bake.

Jim uses 5 basic ingredients to whip up a simple loaf of bread with amazing taste. He says, “[It's] a truly minimalist breadmaking technique that allows people to make excellent bread at home with very little effort. The method is surprisingly simple — I think a 4-year-old could master it — and the results are fantastic.”

» Finish reading Video: How to Make No-Knead Bread at TheCookingDish.com. »

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Making Biscuits & Country Gravy with Maggie

Chris Mower — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:52 +0000

One of the best parts of cooking is sharing the experience with someone else, and that’s especially enjoyable when it’s my little daughter, Maggie (who also goes by Maggalicious or Magzilla depending on her mood):

She really loves cooking with daddy and I enjoy cooking with her, even though it usually turns our kitchen into a disaster. But in the end it’s all worth it, and we both enjoy spending the time together. This past weekend Maggalicious and I decided to make biscuits and gravy. So for today’s post, I figured I’d her instruct you through how to make this easy biscuit recipe and country sausage gravy. The biscuit recipe I use is one from my mom, and I call them “Mom’s Increda-Biscuits.” Honestly, they’re down-right irresistible and so easy to make. This is actually two different recipes on one post (biscuits + country sausage gravy), so this time around there are two printable recipes available at the end of this post. Don’t forget to print them both out.

» Finish reading Making Biscuits & Country Gravy with Maggie at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Breakfast, Gravy

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Year 1

Chris Mower — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:22:45 +0000

I know you’re all thinking it, so I’ll just come out and say it… “Chris, you’re about 3 to 4 weeks late on this post!” And at this point I begin to think of a good excuse… and realize I don’t have one. Oops. So as an extra bonus feature with this post I’m going to give you TWO recipes. That’s right, two for the price of two one; the truth is, I was going to give you two recipes in this post anyway. Okay, confession time is over, and so is Halloween, and in here in Northern Utah, so is the pumpkin harvest. This probably means that most of you have either 1) already cooked up your pumpkin seeds, 2) thrown your pumpkin seeds away, or 3) left them in your fridge and they’re covered with a gooey white film and molding. Gross. Don’t ask how I know about the white film.

I do know, however, that at different times of the year you can still buy bagged, uncooked pumpkin seeds in the grocery stores. Yes! A reason to still create this blog entry. As always, a printable version is available at the bottom of the post. In today’s case, both pumpkin seed recipes are available. Here we go.

» Finish reading How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Year 1 at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Holiday, Pumpkin, Seeds, Snacks

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Bagels at Home

Chris Mower — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:36:51 +0000

Oh yes, I love the smell of baking breads in the kitchen, and when you start adding flavors to the bread the entire house becomes especially aromatic and irresistible. On top of that, one of the hardest temptations to resist for me is eating fresh breads when they’re right out of the oven. This past weekend, I was really in the mood to bake something tasty that was a little different–hence bagels. These were amazing right out of the oven.

I created a few different variations on my original bagel recipe that I think you’ll enjoy. My personal favorite is the cinnamon raisin bagel recipe. It’s really good, and I highly recommend it. The bagel recipe described below is one that will only take a couple hours to make, versus one that may take a couple days. I’ve got to say, that if you’re willing to make your bagels over a two-day period, you’ll get a super amazing bagel; however, for those of us who prefer a more instant gratification, I think you’ll find this recipe quite pleasurable and even beyond satisfactory.

I’ve added a printable recipe at the bottom of this post. I made a few different batches of these bagels and am using mixed photos from those batches, so don’t worry if in one photo you’re looking at cranberries and in the next raisins. So, let’s make these bagels. My 3-year-old daughter, Maggie, helped me make some of these and had a lot of fun.

» Finish reading How to Make Bagels at Home at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bagels, Bread, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Raisin

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Make Caramel Popcorn & Win Friends Instantly

Chris Mower — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:41:24 +0000

Today I’m going to share with you two secrets: 1) How to win friends instantly, and 2) how to make a sinfully delicious batch of caramel popcorn. Lucky for me, both secrets are one and the same. Make this recipe and share it with friends and you’ll instantly have your own entourage. I’ve just gotta’ add that homemade caramel popcorn was an essential part of my childhood diet. Heck, it’s still an essential part of my “diet.” In fact, every time I think of this recipe, I hear tiny voices in my head saying, “Eat me! Eat me!” It’s not always a good idea to listen to those tiny voices in my head, but in this case I tend to make an exception.

There are many caramel popcorn recipes out there, and I’ve tried many of them. I’m happy to report that this recipe has withstood the test of time and continues to be my favorite. It’s easy to make, its sweet, and its incredibly delicious. You can make it into caramel popcorn balls and even add nuts or other candy bits; it’s also quite versatile as far as ingredients are concerned. But my favorite part about it is the sticky chewy goodness that literally melts in your mouth, even hours after it’s made and has sat on the cupboard (that is of course, if it even lasts long enough to sit on the cupboard). At parties, this caramel popcorn is always first to go.

» Finish reading Make Caramel Popcorn & Win Friends Instantly at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Caramel, Popcorn, Snacks

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Pumpkin-Swirl Cheesecake

Chris Mower — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:05:59 +0000

As a kid I really disliked pumpkin flavored desserts. My gag reflex would automatically kick in as I mushed the pumpkin around in my mouth. Thinking back, it must have been the texture that really turned me off–most likely a mental thing. Thank goodness though that my tastes have changed over the years, or I would be missing out on some excellent foods (Asian dishes in particular) and desserts. Although I’m still not a raving fan of pumpkin desserts, I’m getting more used to, and even enjoying a number of them. Today’s post and recipe (pumpkin-swirl cheesecake) is one of those pumpkin delights that my anti-pumpkin taste buds have taken a liking to, joining the small list of pumpkin dishes I enjoy. At the top of that list is Great Harvest’s pumpkin chocolate chip bread, which I crave this time of year.

And now that I’m in the middle of writing this post, I realize I don’t have much else to say about it. Give this recipe a try, it really is good (that’s supposed to be convincing, by the way). On another note, after taking a picture of this delicious pumpkin dessert I decided that I needed to buy some different dishes for taking pictures in the fall. I think sunflowers are a little out of season, ha ha.

» Finish reading How to Make Pumpkin-Swirl Cheesecake at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cheesecake, Fall, Nuts, Pumpkin

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

Chris Mower — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:05:54 +0000

I’m not sure how they’ve done it, but somehow the Girl Scout organization has developed a bunch of extraordinarily delicious cookies–I’m a huge fan of the Thin Mints and Somoas®–and maybe it’s just me, but it seems that you can only buy them once a year. If you miss the opportunity, you’re hosed. I have a really hard time saying no to their cookies and about anybody else who comes around selling brownies, cookies, and treats. When I hear a knock at the door, I’m always afraid it’s going to be an elementary kid with those big puppy dog eyes looking up at me saying, “Hey mister, would you like to buy some cookies?” Ahhh! I’ve resisted the temptation to buy cookies and brownies from kids knocking at my door only once before… or at least I thought about it once. Yeah, that’s it. I’m sure there’s got to be some sort of self-help classes for adults like me who can’t say no to strangers.

Well for those of you who are Girl Scout Cookie addicts like myself, your once-a-year wait is over. The other day while reading an article at BakingBites.com, I stumbled across a recipe to make homemade Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints. A few days later around 9:00 p.m. I decided to make the thin mints. I should have read the entire recipe first because they take a while to make and I was up pretty late, but it was worth it. The cookies are a pretty darn good replication of the original Girl Scout Thin Mints.

» Finish reading How to Make Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chocolate, Cookies, Girl Scouts, Mint

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Quick Italian: Chicken Fettuccine Allegri

Chris Mower — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:00:17 +0000

The other day I came home from work a little early and brought with me an appetite worthy of Joey Chestnut. I usually eat dinner around 6:30 or 7:00, but I couldn’t wait this time around. Right around 5:00 p.m. I had the frying pans out and ready to sizzle, but had no idea what to cook. Do they have an equivalent of writer’s block for cooks? The chopping block, maybe? (Lame…) Anyway, after scavenging around in the pantry and refrigerator, I found some chicken and fettuccine noodles. “That’s a good start,” I thought. Now how do I combine the two? I looked in the fridge for some cream to see if alfredo sauce was an option…nope. But I found some butter instead and that’s when it hit me to create a chicken garlic butter sauce. My grumbling stomach would soon be satisfied.

A few minutes and spices later I’d created a refreshingly delicious Italian dish. I have no idea if there’s some sort of fine line between what classifies something as Italian or not, but hey, since this uses fettuccine noodles I decided to name it “Chicken Fettuccine Allegri” and I’m calling it Italian…so…there.

» Finish reading Quick Italian: Chicken Fettuccine Allegri at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chicken, Garlic, Italian, Shrimp

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Italian Herb Breadsticks

Chris Mower — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:17:27 +0000

I absolutely love breadsticks, especially when they’re fresh out of the oven. I haven’t made too many of them in my life, but my mom used to make them often. I realized that I hadn’t made any for a loooong time the other day when my wife and I made some chicken noodle soup and realized we didn’t have any bread in the house to eat with it. The next day to eat with the leftovers, I decided I’d make some breadsticks. Let’s see, that was around 6:30 p.m. Breadsticks take about 2-1/2 hours from start to finish. I’m not sure what I was thinking… the whole family was hungry, the soup was done, and I was going to make breadsticks?

I enlisted my 3-year-old to help me mix the dough, who loved every step of the way. When dumping the flour in the mixing bowl, she’d sometimes miss the bowl and dump it on the counter. Even so, all the ingredients eventually found their way to the bowl, where we mixed them into a sticky ball of dough. We used our Bosch mixer to mix the breadstick dough–if you haven’t invested in a good table-top mixer yet, I highly recommend the Bosch brand.

» Finish reading How to Make Italian Herb Breadsticks at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Breadsticks, Italian Herb

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Ninja Birthday Cake with Fondant

Chris Mower — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:00:10 +0000

Alright! I’m finally posting my ninja birthday cake. For my birthday this year I was feeling a bit adventurous, wanting to deviate from the normal simple birthday cake and try something new and creative. I started searching the web for creative birthday cakes and came across a number of ‘mad hatter’ cakes (the kind that look lopsided as the cake ascends), but decided I didn’t have enough time to do that between my full-time job and only three days left before my birthday. Amidst this searching, the idea struck me to create a ninja cake. I drew out some ideas on a paper and finally decided on a simple double-layered chocolate cake with buttercream icing and marshmallow fondant. This was my first time working with fondant, and I found it rather enjoyable. I’ll share some lessons I learned when working with it a bit later.

Making the Marshmallow Fondant
I found an excellent Marshmallow Fondant recipe posted on Peggy Weaver’s Baking Corner. One of the reasons I chose this recipe is that it had detailed instructions and tips of how she makes the fondant work for her. So, here I am doing that fondant thang:
» Finish reading Ninja Birthday Cake with Fondant at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cake, Fondant, Marshmallow

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Smore Recipe: Have Smore then Have Smore

Chris Mower — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:34:35 +0000

I hope it’s not too late in the summer for a post about smores (or s’mores). It’s hard to imagine a campfire outing without the crunchy, gooey goodness of a soft marshmallow and melted chocolate surrounded by a crunchy graham cracker. Gotta’ love it. I’m not sure who invented smores, but to whoever you are, you’re a hero in my book. The art of smore making has been passed down from generation to generation, but somehow the art missed my family. Good thing it’s not too hard to figure out, and I’ve been practicing it since I was 3 years old, not kidding. The hardest part is getting the marshmallow to that perfect golden-brown stage. It requires patience, young grasshopper. Here are a few instructions and tips from my book.

» Finish reading Smore Recipe: Have Smore then Have Smore at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Campfire, Chocolate, Marshmallow

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Tasty Microwave Chex Snack Mix

Chris Mower — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:23:00 +0000

I’m a huge fan of easy snack mixes. They’re perfect for an evening with the family while playing games or watching a movie. They’re also great for trips and as a cheaper snack at the movie theater (can I say that?). This is an excellent, simple snack mix that you can make in the microwave in a matter of minutes. This recipe is from Southern Living, October 2006.

I recommend using a glass, microwave safe bowl for nuking this–unless you have an excellent plastic microwave safe bowl; otherwise, there’s a good chance your plastic bowls will melt away.

» Finish reading Tasty Microwave Chex Snack Mix at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cereal, Pretzels, Snacks

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

How to Make Orange Julius

Chris Mower — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:30:39 +0000

Smoothies are an excellent choice for anyone who loves fruit and cold drinks. They’re especially tasty in the spring and summer months. One of the greatest parts about them, is they’re super easy to make! Time to brag just a little bit, but I’ve made numerous smoothies that were homemade in minutes that tasted better than the Jamba Juice or Orange Julius smoothies that cost $4.99 a piece–honestly, it’s extremely simple, especially with a good blender. I’ve been working on a quite a few different smoothie recipes, but for now, here’s a common way to make orange julius. I enjoy drinking this with popcorn while watching a movie, or in the mid-summer heat. Honestly, I can’t think of a time that I didn’t enjoy drinking this. Enjoy!

» Finish reading How to Make Orange Julius at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ice Drink, Oranges, Summer Drink

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Recipe for Sour Cream Cornbread

Chris Mower — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:54:54 +0000

I’ve been a little out of the loop recently, so I wanted to make it up with a simple, yet delicious cornbread recipe that you must try (I love cornbread). This is recipe for cornbread given to me by Gena Buie, a friend from my college days. It’s a moist sour cream cornbread that I absolutely love. We’ve made this a gazillion times in my house, and it is so good, and it’s way easy to make.

I often whip up some honey butter to eat on top of it also, but I’ll save the recipe for that for another post… okay, I lied. The only reason I’m not adding it to this post is because I haven’t figured out the exact ration for honey butter yet. I just add a little honey here, a little bit of butter there and cream it until it tastes good. Then I slather it on top of this corn bread fresh out of the oven. Honest to goodness, try this recipe. I’m sure you’ll love it.

» Finish reading Recipe for Sour Cream Cornbread at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Corn Bread, Corn Meal, Sour Cream

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Easy Crispy Baked Chicken Recipe

Chris Mower — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:42:17 +0000

I love cooking and eating chicken, especially when it’s moist. I usually, however, stay away from eating chicken skin. I’m just not a fan of it, except under one condition: when it’s nice and crispy. The following crispy baked chicken recipe is an excellent choice for a nice crispy chicken skin and tender, juicy chicken meat. This is the chicken recipe my mom cooks at home and it never makes it to the leftover stages.

I’ll apologize beforehand for not having any pictures. I’m working on it. I’ve cooked it a few times, but always forget to have the camera handy. NEXT time I’ll remember. Next time… there I go procrastinating again.

I grabbed this recipe word-for-word from a family cookbook where there’s a lot of ‘assuming you know what to do’ steps. Well, if you’re having a hard time figuring it out, let me know. You can ask your questions in the comments or just shoot me an email. When I add pictures, I’ll also update the directions a little bit.

» Finish reading Easy Crispy Baked Chicken Recipe at TheCookingDish.com. »

© Chris Mower for The Cooking Dish, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Chicken, Poultry

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Healthy Popcorn Recipe for a Popcorn Movie

Chris Mower — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:33:10 +0000

You can’t settle down to watch a popcorn movie or play a board game without some popcorn. It’s an unwritten law, which I’m sad to say, I’ve broken a few times or two because I didn’t want all the calories and fats of that luscious buttery popcorn clogging my arteries. A few years ago I discovered my new butter friend: zero calorie butter spray. Both Parkay and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter make it. In fact it’s entirely replaced butter spread in our home. Of course we still use regular butter cubes for baking. The zero calorie spray butter can be used on anything, but my favorite is popcorn. We’ve completely replaced popcorn bags with our popcorn air popper and zero calorie butter spray. Butter popcorn has never been the same, and it still tastes great. Next time you’re popping popcorn, try the following.

Instead of using microwave popcorn bags, buy popcorn kernels (Orville Redenbacher popcorn is my recommendation) and use your popcorn air popper. Pop however much popcorn you want and then instead of melting butter in the microwave, spray the zero calorie butter on it. Let me remind you that just because the butter is zero calories, doesn’t mean you can eat as much of it as you want. Still be frugal, or it defeats the purpose. Add a little salt for flavor and you’ve got some healthy popcorn to enjoy during your popcorn movie, and it’s not packed with all the guilt that accompanies unhealthy snacking. Years down the road your arteries will thank you.

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh