Super Bowl Fry Day

This past Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday. For those of you who aren't from the US, the Super Bowl is the biggest game of the year. It's where the NFC and AFC has their final game of the season to see which is the best team. Either you're watching the game cause you love football, or you're like me, watching the game to see what was the best commercial this year. LOL

This year Phil's family decided that we'd have a Fry Day. Meaning that everything was deep fried, and pretty much finger foods. Yes, warnings went off in my head at the thought of having mainly fried foods. But of course the novelty of it won out, even though I knew I was going to have a stomach ache afterward.

One of our favorite fried foods is Garlic Steaks. Think of a chicken fried steak with a ton of garlic in it, and you have Garlic Steaks. Phil gets Italian bread crumbs and mixes in chopped onions and minced garlic. Then he dips a thin piece of steak in an egg wash, presses that in the bread crumbs, and fries it. OMG, it is so good.

We thought that mini corn dogs would taste really good. So we bought the mini smokies at Costco, dipped them in corndog batter made from Krusteaz and cornmeal. I did a half recipe and it still was way too much. They turned out pretty good.


We also had fried Raviolis. Phil takes frozen raviolis, and he breads them with the same stuff he uses on the garlic steaks. They turned out really yummy.

We also had regular cheese sticks. Those were really easy to make. Since we weren't at home, we had to make due with what was in the house. Al bought string cheese sticks, and we dipped that in the egg wash. We used the Italian bread crumbs to coat, then dipped it back in the egg wash and back into the bread crumbs. Then deep fry. Those really didn't take long at all to fry. And they tasted like any cheese sticks you'd get at a restaurant. I wish I had thought to take a picture of them.


For dessert I made Apple Zeppolis. They're from the recipe that Giada made on her show. I think I didn't squeeze out the juice from the apples enough, cause it made the dough more like a batter. So we pretty much had apple funnel cakes. They were quite good, I must say. LOL

And not pictured are the fried twinkies. We were going to use the traditional fried twinkies recipe, but there was no vinegar in the house. That's one thing about going to someone else's house to cook. I know what I have in my house, and I have pretty much everything I need. And I get a bit frustrated when I'm told to make something, but I don't have what I need. You get used to your tools, you know. Anyway, since we didn't have any vinegar in the house, and since no one was going to go to the store to get any, we used the Zeppoli batter. And you know, it turned out pretty good. Or so I was told. I'm not a big twinkie fan, so when I took a bite, it was too darn sweet for me. But everyone else liked it.

I also made some not fried things. Phil's mom had a few mini bundt cake pans that I inherited. Mainly cause I bake, and no one else does. LOL So I've been making mini bundt cakes lately. These are mocha cakes with mocha glaze and homemade whipped cream. They were really yummy.

I think that was my last fry day party! I hope next year we incorporate some veggies cause man, that was too much fried foods in one day!

Gumbo

Tonight Phil made Gumbo. Last night he made it at his sister's house. His Brother-in-law is learning how to cook, and he and his friend made Gumbo one night. Phil was over there watching football, and they decided to cook gumbo for dinner. OMG, it was SO good that I had to ask Phil to make it again tonight.

My only experience with anything Gumbo before was listening to a band called Mumbo Gumbo. Yes, last night was the first time I've ever had Gumbo. And I thought that it would be really spicy and have things in it that I didn't eat. Boy, was I wrong.

In Phil's Gumbo, he cut up a Polska Kielbasa and some Hot Links and browned them, then put them in a pot. Then he cut up about 5 stalks of Celery and 4 carrots and sauteed them for a bit, then put that in the pot. He cut up 5 chicken breast pieces and browned them with some garlic, and put that in the pot. He also put in a can of niblets corn, just cause we thought that would go well in it.

He then put in some chicken stock, one of the cartons of chicken stock. And he added some Zatarans Gumbo Seasoning. After a bit he added some corn starch to thicken up the broth. Then let that all simmer for awhile.

Can you say, "Yum-o!" All together now....YUM-O!!

When it was done we served it over some white rice. not sure if you're supposed to put it on something else, but I've gotta put it on white rice. LOL

So easy to make, and so yummy!!

Pizza Dough

Yesterday I made Pizza Dough in the bread machine. It was my second try. The first try I made a 2 lb batch of pizza dough, and used it all on one jelly roll pan. Big mistake! It was really thick. And I like thinner crust pizza.

So this time I split the dough ball in half and made 2 pizzas! I think that I should bake the dough a bit before putting the toppings on, so it will be more crispy.

This is what the second pizza looked like. We used the spagetti sauce from the night before. It had chunks of hamburger in it. So all I had to do was put the cheese and the pepperoni on top.

Here's the recipe from the Oster manual:

Combine the following ingredients into the bread maker (I put the liquids in first, then the other ingredients with the yeast last)

All ingredients must be at room temperature (70 degrees F - 80 degrees F)

1-1/4 c to 1-3/8 c Water
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast

-Combine all ingredients into the bread pan
-Select Dough Setting
-Press Start/Stop button. When the unit signals and the display reads "0:00" press the start/stop button and remove dough.
-Pat dough into 12" x 15" jelly roll pan or greased 14" Round Pizza Pan
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
-Spread pizza sauce over dough and sprinkle toppings over sauce.
-Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

I made mine in an Oster Bread maker, yours might differ. Consult your manual.

enjoy!!

Zucchini Bread

So when Phil came home from camping yesterday, he handed me three HUGE zucchinis. He said that Diane has put in an order for Zucchini bread. OMG, I don't think I've ever seen a Zucchini that size before. I mean, that hand trowel is a normal size hand trowel, and the zucchini is bigger than that!! OMG, it's crazy.

So I went about finding more recipes for Zucchini Bread. I had one from Paula Deen through the food channel, but that one used 3 cups of sugar, and who really needs that much sugar in their bread??

I found a good recipe for the standard zucchini bread at allrecipes.com It was a good recipe, Phil has already taste tested it. LOL



Another recipe that I found was for Chocolate Zucchini bread. This recipe was from the Land O Lakes site. Phil just tried it and he said it was good too. Well, he said it was "Interesting" so I had to clarify, was it good? Yes, it was good. :) LOL

So from that really HUGE Zucchini, so far I got about 9 cups of shredded zucchini. And I still have about 1/3 of it left! Plus 2 more zucchinis. I'm gonna have zucchini bread coming out my ears! Good thing so many people like it, the ones in my kitchen are all spoken for, plus I have to make Diane hers. Guess the Ehara Bakery will be in full swing this week.

Caramel Rolls

These were so Yummy! DeeArland's mom made them for us on Sunday. I didn't get to see her make them, and she doesn't have any measurements cause, she just throws it all together. They were really yummy!

She put Dark Brown Sugar in a pan, I think she lightly packed it in a pan. Then poured in some heavy whipping cream and mixed it with the brown sugar. Phil says it was a soupy like consistancy.

Then she put refrigerator biscuits in the mixture. She says the smaller ones work the best, not the ones like the grands, but the smaller regular biscuits.

She then mixed together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled that on top of the biscuits.

They are then put in the oven I think it was at 350 degrees. Throughout the time it baked, she turned them over a few times. I think you bake them for however long the package says. Just keep flipping them.

Then when they're ready, you turn them over onto a plate or another pan lined with foil. I would turn them over onto like a jelly roll pan then put them on a plate. They were very gooey and very good!

Banana Cranberry Bread

So last night while making banana bread, I thought to myself, I wonder how it would taste with Cranberries in it instead of nuts. I mean I don't eat the bread myself because there are bananas in it...ick. So I thought, "What the heck?"

So I took the banana bread recipe that I normally use, and substituted a cup of dried Cranberries in it.

Phil says it tastes really good. The cranberries kind of cut down the banana taste in the bread. Hmm, still will not make me want to eat banana bread. LOL


Favorite Banana Bread with Cranberries

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)

2 eggs

2-1/4 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chopped Craisins (dried Cranberries)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add bananas and eggs; mix well. Add combined dry ingredients; mix just until moistened. Stir in Cranberries.

POUR into greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pan.

BAKE 1 hour 10 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing to serve. Store any leftover bread in refrigerator.

Loaded Mashed potatoes

Phil made loaded mashed potatoes yesterday. What is that you may ask? Well, after Phil mashes the potatoes, he will sometimes bake them in the oven covered with cheese and bacon bits.

He'll actually fry bacon, cut it up into pieces, then put 8 small pads of butter onto the top of the mashed potatoes. He'll put the butter on top, then sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on the top with the bacon bits.

he bakes it in the oven on a low temp (because the potatoes are still hot).

OMG, they are SO good! He doesn't like the onions or sour cream, so I put those on top afterwards. It's really easy and so yummy!

Banana Bread

Many years ago I bought a book called "Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook" And in it was this Banana bread recipe.

Although I do not eat the banana bread, cause I really don't like bananas, I have been told that this recipe is really very good. (From those who have ate the bread that I've baked).

Favorite Banana Bread

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)

2 eggs

2-1/4 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnut Pieces

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add bananas and eggs; mix well. Add combined dry ingredients; mix just until moistened. Stir in walnuts.

POUR into greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pan.

BAKE 1 hour 10 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing to serve. Store any leftover bread in refrigerator.

We had some bananas that were going bad, so I decided to make the bread. Sad thing is that I don't eat it, and Phil's on a diet so he's not going to eat it. But I hate seeing bananas go to waste. LOL So I think I'll make a trip over to my mom's and drop it off to her. :)

Andagi (Japanese Donuts)

Today I made Andagi or Malasadas or Japanese Donuts. LOL When we were kids, my mom used to make these, especially when company would come over. We really loved it when she made these! I've made them before and they were ok, but with the deep fryer, they turn out really good cause you can regulate the oil temperature. (Boy, that sounded really geeky. LOL)Here are the Andagi frying in the fryer. for some reason, some of them would explode. Not sure why. Made them look a bit funky, but they still tasted good. :)

Here's a whole plate of them. I put them in a bag with sugar and shake shake shake them till they are covered in sugar. This works best when there is not a hole at the bottom of the bag. LOL I think I have to use sturdier bags next time, not lunch bags. ;)

Here's the recipe in case you're interested:

Andagi (Sweet Okinawan Doughnut)

Yield: 1/2 to 3 dozen doughnuts

oil for deep frying
3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup milk

Heat oil to 375 F. Sift dry ingredients together. Combine eggs and
milk; add to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Drop by teaspoonfuls
into heated oil. Cook about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain
on paper towels. Serve warm.

Deep Fried Apple Pies

Yesterday Phil made Deep Fried Apple Pies. And oh man, they are yummy.

The ingredients you'll need to make them:

Uncooked (raw) Tortillas

Cinnamon

Powdered Sugar (for dusting)

Pretty simple ingredients. We found Uncooked tortillas in the refridgerator section of Costco. These aren't the ones that are packaged on the shelf in the grocery store. They are the not cooked dough. If you can't find those, you could use Wonton wrappers or even Egg Roll wrappers.

You take a tortilla, place a bit of the pie filling inside. Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on it. Then wrap it like a burrito. Make sure you use either water or egg wash to seal the edges of the dough.

Then fry them up. We used our deep fryer, but we've also used a frying pan with about 1-2" of oil in it.

When they're a light golden brown on each side, take them out and place on a paper towel so that the excess oil will drip off of it. Then dust with powdered sugar and drizzle caramel sauce on them if you wish.

We've also used cooked tortillas. They're a bit tough, but they'll do. LOL We used the flour tortillas, not the corn ones.

Enjoy!

Skillet Pizza

Last night we made Skillet Pizza. I got the recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine, and it looked really really easy and good. So I made the dough. What I didn't know was that you could actually split the dough, cause it rises when you put it in the pan. Note to self, next time split the dough. LO

And never EVER listen to your hubby when he says, "The Pizza Parlor cooks it at 500 degrees for half the cooking time." Or: "You don't have to prebake it, the Pizza Parlor doesn't do that."So it came out a little toasty at the edges, but the crust was pretty good. Just thick cause mine was a thicker dough. LOL I'll have to try it again without the extra input from the peanut gallery! ;)

Here's the recipe if you are interested from Racheal Ray's magazine:

Skillet Pizza Dough:
Ingredients for just the dough:
3/4 c lukewarm water
1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast
1 tsp Sugar
2 1/4 c Flour
1 tsp Salt
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. In a small bowl, stir together the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Using a standing mixer, mix the flour and salt at low speed. Mix in the yeast mixture and olive oil until a shaggy dough forms. Change to the dough hook attachment and mix at medium speed until smooth, about 6 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to a greased, large mixing bowl, turning to coat; cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Punch dough down before using.


To make the pizza:
1. Press the Pizza dough into a greased 9- to 10- inch cast-iron skillet and let rise until doubled in size (about 20-30 minutes).
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the dough, spoon Marinara Sauce on top, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 25 mins.
4. Sprinkle the cheese and crushed red pepper on top and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 mins.
5. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes before serving.


For Pizza ingredients, we used Boboli Pizza sauce and lots of cheese. We also sliced some salami and onions too. I think you can put these on at the end as well, so it doesn't all get burned.

Caramel Corn Recipe

I got this recipe from my older sister who actually got it from tupperware a long long time ago. She made it for us and OMG, we totally had to have the recipe.

Caramel Corn Recipe:

8 c. Popped Popcorn (1/3 c unpopped) Popped in air popper, not
microwaved.
3/4 c. Packed Brown Sugar
6 T Butter
3 T Light Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp Salt

Pop popcorn with an air popper.



Spread out popcorn on baking pan


Combine Brown Sugar, butter, Corn Syrup, and salt in saucepan.

I stir constantly until it starts getting to the boiling stage.

Cook on Medium heat until starts to boil, and cook for 5 minutes.


Remove from heat and pour on popcorn.
Toss quickly to coat.


Bake 300 degrees F in oven for 15 minutes.
Stir to coat popcorn
Bake 5-10 minutes more.
Put popcorn on foil. Cool and break into pieces.

Hint: Don't leave it on the foil for too long. When you leave it on there for too long the caramel corn tends to get sticky. We like crispy caramel corn! :)

Instant Pineapple Upside-down cake...LOL

So, Phil decided we needed to jazz up our pound cake today, so he made Instant Pineapple Upside-down cake. What is IPUDC? Well, he cooks pineapple in brown sugar and butter, pretty much caramelizing it. Then he pours it over the pound cake with the whipped cream.

Now, I could have done without the whipped cream, well, he cheated and used Cool Whip, and it made it way too rich for me. He had no problems woofing it down. LOL

It really did taste like pineapple upside-down cake. LOL