chocolate... Chocolate? CHOCOLATE!!!

     Hey my sister wrote this awesome poem! 

There is chocolate in my pocket

For it's very plain to see

Because instead of in my tummy

It's all over me

Anyway I wanted to share some fun pictures of homemade chocolates!

My sisters love Phineas and Ferb

Jello molds work great for chocolate molds

Pretty roses Top roses are caramel nut; and the bottom are cherry chocolate

 Cherry chocolates are pretty easy just mix some of the liquid from a maraschino cherries jar with   powdered sugar then add a cherry in the middle of the chocolate mold.

Peanut butter

Ten times better then that certain bran of peanut butter cups! Simple to just mix peanut butter with powder sugar until it makes a paste.

Colored chocolates are so much fun!

Handy tip melting chocolates in the microwave is easier than on a double boiler.

This huge chocolate bar me and some friends created for a school project! It had Sixlits, Nerds, Kit- Kats, Peanut butter cups, Twix , white chocolate, and butter scotch chocolate all mixed together!

Fruity Drink

I made this up the other day! This drink is high in Vitamins. Great for a hot afternoon.

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 4Tbs of raw sugar
• 1/2 of a frozen mango
• 3 fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup ice and water

Simply blend everything together. Yummy!

We Got the Beef!

       My First Steak I ever had was at a Day of the Legislature luncheon It had savory Bleu cheese sauce and Sun dried tomatoes. Just Mouth watering! I am now addicted to Red Meet! But I don't allow myself to eat it everyday otherwise I get the worst heart burn. (Heart burn is caused when the body consumes to many acidic foods such as beef.) But I love good Beef. Grass Fed, and Hormone free. First my mom bought a quarter of a cow from a rancher in Lewiston. That is were I got the roasts, sirloin, and T-bone steaks. Then one day two happy sales boys came to our door advertising Yummy Meats! http://www.yummymeats.com/ We got all kinds of high quality meat for a good price! We got New York steaks, Medallions, and my favorite Filet Mignon! Anyway I wanted to share some recipes of great ways to cook steaks!

New York Steak with Steamed Swiss Chard and Yams

 Ingredients

Favorite! Beautiful color! I grew this in my garden.

• 1 New York Steak
• Salt/Pepper
• Swiss Chard
• Onions
• Yam
• Safflower or Canola Oil (because it can handle high heat)

      Start by taking your pre-thawed (Microwave is great and quick way to thaw meat) Steak and coat both sides evenly with salt, pepper, and canola oil.Sear your steak in a hot Teflon pan on both sides for 3 min each side. ( I like mine medium rare cook yours depending on how you like it.) Then set you steak aside on a overturned plate then top with tinfoil. ( Must let your steaks rest otherwise the juices don't stay in, tinfoil is to keep it warm, overturned plate is so that the steak won't sit in its own juices.) Next Cube and peel 1/2 of a yam. And chop the Swiss Chard. Steam them in a steamer until soft. (Keep an eye on it don't want the Swiss chard to over cook, and yam should still hold its shape.) Next Saute onions in the Teflon pan that has the fat leftover from cooking the steak. Then caramelize the steamed veggies in with the onions. That's it!

T-bone steak (My first attempt at making steak so sorry it looks greasy but promise it tastes good!)

Ingredients

• 1 T-bone Steak
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 Potato
• Red Bell Pepper
• Fresh Corn
• Frozen Peas
• 1 Carrot
• Onions
• Garlic
• Spike
• Safflower or Canola oil

    Start by taking your pre-thawed (Microwave is great and quick way to thaw meat) Steak and coat both sides evenly with salt, pepper, and canola oil.Sear your steak in a hot Teflon pan on both sides for 3 min each side. ( I like mine medium rare cook yours depending on how you like it.) Then set you steak aside on a overturned plate then top with tinfoil. ( Must let your steaks rest otherwise the juices don't stay in, tinfoil is to keep it warm, overturned plate is so that the steak won't sit in its own juices.) Now in the Teflon pan with the fat leftover from the steak saute your chopped onion, spike, and minced garlic. Next add 1 thinly sliced carrot and red potato, sliced red bell pepper, fresh corn, and frozen peas, add about 3 Tbs of water and put on a lid and let the veggies steam until soft. When done Eat! But I don't need to tell you that. 

Stewed Medallions and Roasted veggies

Ingredients

• 1 Medallion (medallions are usually tied up with butchers twine so they hold there shape)
• A mix of cracked spices that contains (salt, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a secret spice)
• Zucchini
• Green Bell Pepper
• Onion
• Celery
• 1 cup of Fresh beef stock (caned can be used but not suggested)
• Salt
• 1 Tbs of each roughly chopped fresh thyme, sage, oregano, tarragon, and basil
• Safflower or Canola oil
• Use a large electric skillet with a lid

       So First this may not taste exactly the same because I used a spice that I don't know the name of but you can find something similar. Ok Start by coating all sides of the medallion with oil, salt, and the seasoning. Then sear the pieces till all sides have gotten a good color on them. Now for this next step make sure your pan is hot. Add you beef stock and chopped onions, celery, fresh herbs, and green bell pepper. Next put a lid on the lid and let it steam until the veggies are soft. The aroma is heavenly and the medallions should be very moist and tender.

Roast beef sandwich

 Ingredients

• Red bell pepper
• Mayo
• Cucumber
• Left over Roast beef
• Parmesan
• Purple onion
• Garlic
• Your favorite cheese
• Your favorite Mushroom
• Sprouted wheat bread (Healthy, light like white bread, yet with that great wheat flavor)                  
• Butter (not frozen but not soft either)
• Use a Panini Press (Mines from a thrift store but it works right)

      Start by slicing all veggies and cheese on a Mandoline, mince garlic (smash it with flat side of a chef knife then run it through the knife) Slice beef and mushrooms with a chef knife. Next spread mayo on the bread then set it aside. Plug in and heat up the press. Here is a trick take the wrapper of one end of the hard butter then run the butter over the grills surface so it melts and bubbles. Do this every time you put something new on the grill. First Caramelize the onions and garlic (always salt your onions). When done put on top of on side of bread. Next add mushrooms. When there done add on top of the onions. Next put on your beef and Parmesan. When the meat has nice char marks top on top of the mushrooms. Next add bell pepper on grill. While these are cooking add cucumbers on top of the beef then add the cheese slices. When bell peppers are soft put them on top of the cucumbers and cheese. Top with last piece of bread. So now that we have a tower you might be wondering how we are going to put this on the press. So this is the tricky part. Put the sandwich on the grill and make it centered. Push the lid of the grill straight down not to move the sandwich (use a hot pad so not to burn yourself). Slice your sandwich so that it is easier to eat. This is the ultimate lunch!

             Who said you can't cook in a small kitchen!

   

My Fanciest dish! Filet Mignon with saute mushrooms and balsamic vinegar reduction sauce.

Balsamic Reduction Sauce

 Ingredients 

• Shiitake, Bella's, or button mushrooms
• Balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbs of Brown sugar
• Onions
• 1 Filet Mignon steak
• Safflower or Canola oil
• Salt/Pepper
• Teflon Pan

      

          Start by adding 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a pot, let simmer until it has a similar consistency of syrup and is reduced. Set aside and let cool ( This sauce thickens when cools also for your safety you need to know that the steam that comes of while cooking, don't inhale directly very potent smell.) Next coat the steak evenly with oil, salt, and pepper. Sear at a low heat so that it has time to cook through. When the steak is done let it rest on top of the overturned plate with the tinfoil. Next saute the onions and mushrooms in the Teflon pan that has the leftover juices from the meat. When done make your dish look elegant and enjoy with a tall glass of fresh squeezed grape juice (not wine) or just water. Hope you take delight in these recipes!

When Life Gives you Lemons Make LEMONADE!!!

I went to Peach days at Brigham City one day when I saw a lemon aid stand like no other, It was a little trailer shaped like a lemon! The lemonade was perfect but when we asked how they made it, this very "sour" elderly man glared at us and went on to talk about how his secret recipe was top secret! Me and my Mom walked away laughing to ourselves about how bizarre that was. But It made me want to make my own "secret recipe" of lemonade. LOL

 

  Frothy Lemonade

You will Need

• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 3 Tbs Raw sugar
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/2 cup  cold water
• 1 bullet blender

Blend all ingredients in the blender until it looks kinda slushy. Enjoy!

I Scream you Scream we all Scream for Ice Cream!

       On a hot summer day I always crave ice cream. And Ice cream in a bag is a great way to get it fast.

What you'll need (This is the base of every ice cream)

• Ice cubes (enough to fill each gallon-size bag about half full)
• 1 cup half and half
• 3 Tbs of ice cream salt
• 4 Tbs of brown or white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (try powdered vanilla stronger flavor and beautiful aroma)
• 1 quart-size ziplock bag
• 1 gallon-size ziplock bag
• Your favorite mixins such as chocolate chips, cereal pieces, or fresh fruit. (add topping in last so not to disrupt the freezing of the ice cream)

How to make it

1. Combine the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract in the pint-size bag and seal it tightly.
2. Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal the larger bag. Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens (about 5-10 minutes). Feel the small bag to determine when it's done. (So your hand doesn't freeze use a towel to shake the bag)
3. Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add mix-ins, and eat the ice cream right out of the bag. Easy cleanup too! (Make sure to rinse off salt water on small bag in cool water)
   
   
      Here is some of my favorite flavors is adding butter vanilla instead of regular vanilla then add butterscotch chips at the end. Or melting the butterscotch chips and drizzling it on top.
   
   
   

   

   Butterscotch ice cream

   
   
   
       Another is you make a blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry sauces or simply use jam, let then cool add that in your half and half and freeze for a delicious mixed berry!
   
   

   

   Mixed berry

       Add about 3 Tbs of a homemade chocolate syrup and you have yummy chocolate ice cream. Add chocolate chips and you have chocolate chocolate chip ice cream! Or you could even add Oreos to a vanilla ice cream, or a candy bar like butter fingers even with peanut butter, be creative!
   
   

   

   Chocolate ice cream

   My all time favorite is adding 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder to a regular vanilla with brown sugar, Then add Carmel sauce. For a Cinnamon Carmel treat! Doesn't get better than that!
   
   

   

   Cinnamon Caramel

          But If you want the most creamy, fattening, and sinful, Ice Cream you must go to my favorite ice cream shop in St. George. Go to Nealson's Custer Ice Cream Shack. I always get the Bumbelberry concrete! I have to have it at least once a year. Ok so its allot of ice cream but it is sinful delight remember! I should have a sweets shop were one menu says sinful delights and the others says "healthy I couldn't tell". LOL Enjoy!
   
   

   

   Bumbellberry Concrete

Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake

       Guess what! I won the first place blue ribbon in the fair with my Carrot Cake recipe. Carrot Cake is my favorite, and I love my recipe. This cake is Heavenly! Every ingredient is in my cake for a reason. I just love it!

Fun Fruit #3 June berries

 I got 2 baskets of fresh Strawberries from my planter boxes in the back yard this year. You can taste the difference from the grocery stores larger then it is normal strawberries. So sweet. Eat raw or make freezer jam.

I made a strawberry lemonade by adding ice, cold water, raw sugar, juice of one lemon, and about a half of cup of fresh strawberries. Blend, then you have a beautiful frothy, cold, and refreshing drink.

Fun Fruit #2 Tropical Delicacies

Dragon Fruit 

                                                   Very mild fruit, I just ate it with a spoon.
                                      Tasted like a mix between a honeydew and a strawberry.

Golden Kiwi (sweeter and stiffer than the regular kiwi)

Passion Fruit

   This Passion Fruit may look like space goop but it has the most heavenly sweet aroma. Blend together the insides of one passion fruit 1Tbs. of lime juice, raw sugar, 1/2 cup raspberry juice, ice, and some water, 1 carton of fresh blueberries in a blender. Great for a hot summer day. Passion fruit is a great snack because it is low in fat, and a high source of Vitamin C, A, Potassium, Iron, and dietary fiber. When I drank this drink I felt a little drowsy because passion fruit can relive anxiety, muscle tension, insomina, headaches, also improves sleep. For more info check out this cite.  http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/11/a-passion-fruit-a-day-makes-you-sleep-better/

Vitamin C, A, Potassium, Iron and dietary fiber.

Fancy Cheese!

            I was just driving through Draper with my family when we discovered Harmon's. My Mom, me and my sisters were so excited you would think that we were attending a rock concert with lots of "hot" singers instead of a grocery store with beautiful hormone free chickens. I am in love with Harmon's Grocery Store! They have wide variety of fruits, veggies, and CHEESE, reasonable prices, awesome cooking supplies, many healthy products, and most importantly they have locally grown produce. Its always is funny when I think of how most teenage girls at my age like to go clothes shopping, but I would rather go grocery shopping any day! Anyway the thing that sets Harmon's apart in Draper is that they have one of the largest Cheese Counters in Utah! (I've decided my favorite cheese is Gouda) We bought lots of different kinds of cheeses; Belgioioso Parmesan, Fresh Motzerella, Cive Squeaky cheese (really good with crackers), Apple smoked white cheddar from Wisconsin, White Stilton with blueberry (Sadly the Stilton molded before we got to use it), and Havarti Cream Dill Danish from Denmark.       

  

The Cheese Counter at Harmond's

    With the Apple Smoked White Cheddar I made a Cheddar popcorn just by making regular popcorn with butter but no salt. Then add the entire chunk of cheddar that I finely grating.

    With the Mozzarella I made a fresh Caprese salad by taking a melon baller and making small mozzarella balls, also I added Basil that I had bought at the farmers market, finally I took some cherry tomatoes and cut big slices. This Would be great idea for a party snack that's not made out of sugar.

With the Parmesan Cheese I made a light pasta. I started by boiling some Brown rice Fettuccine noodles. Then I sliced Asparagus in a diagonal pattern after that I steamed the asparagus. Grated all the Parmesan. (Hint: Cheese when cooked looses some of its strong flavor so I use allot so I can highlight the flavor of the cheese) Then I poured about 2 TBS of melted butter on the noodles and mixed in the Parmesan and the asparagus thoroughly until the asparagus is incorporated and the cheese is melted. Don't forget to salt your pasta!  (Parmesan is a staple cheese in my kitchen it adds a great flavor to many of my dishes.)

  The Havarti Cheese was my favorite to work with! I started by boiling my noodles. While the noodles were boiling I sauted some fresh dill from the herb garden and minced Garlic Scapes (garlic scapes are the top of the garlic stems mince as small as possible for maximum flavor.) with butter, then I made a roux in the dill/garlic mixture by melting butter in a thick bottomed pot to prevent scorching, (Always use stainless steel and not aluminum for cooking because aluminum can be toxic) Then I thickend the butter by adding flour, Then I incorporated the milk and the entire chunk of cubed cheese. (When doing this use a whisk and don't leave the pot, continue stirring the entire time.) When the sauce is creamy add your noodles. Top with steamed broccoli.

Garlic Scapes ( I call them Garlic twists)

 

Excersise Goal #8

 When on vacation I tried to find forms of exercise I could do with others. I went swimming with my sisters. Even though I can't swim very well I still enjoyed it. I like to put on goggles and just look under water. Its so still and calm. Also I went on a long walk with my dog Zoey. She gets distracted very easily. And is not good with other animals. But she is so cute because instead of walking in a straight line she will zig-zag in a cris-cross pattern, sometimes tripping me in the process. In the mountains we went hiking, the scenery was gorgeous.

Excersise Goal #7

  Zumba Wii is a real work out I did 60 min yesterday and planning on it for today to.

Multicolored Soup

Something that is great about being able to cook is that you can make the food you like. This is my favorite soup recipe I have invented. It is kind of a play of off a veggie/clear soup. I call it Multicolored soup because it can have every color except for blue. I mean anyone know of a blue veggie that I haven't heard of? My favorite part of this soup is how delicate it is and how the aroma is heavenly!

Ingredients 

• 1 Red, Orange, Yellow, or Green bell pepper
• Radishes
• Carrots
• Yellow crookneck squash
• Celery
• Frozen peas
• Spinach or kale 
• Green onions
• Zucchini 
• Fresh or Frozen corn
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Parsley or Cilantro 
• Could use eggplant
• Shiitake Mushrooms
• Chicken Stock (preferably fresh)
• Rice Noodles
• Fresh lime or lemon juice
• Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil

       Begin by chopping all of the veggies.  Radishes, Bell pepper, Yellow Crookneck, Zucchini, and Eggplant should be cubed very small. Carrots, Celery, Spinach or Kale, Green onions, and Shiitake Mushrooms should be sliced thin and evenly.(The reason why I don't have exact amounts is because it is mainly up to what the person likes and there tastes.) Garlic needs to be minced finely. Ginger grated. Parsley or Cilantro chopped. And half of a lime or a quarter of a lemon needs to be juiced. Get a large Sauce pan with a heavy bottom, (preferably stainless steel) Heat up about 2 tbs of oil. When hot begin to saute your veggies in this order; (use salt or favorite seasoning I like the seasoning Spike) Green onions, Garlic, Parsley or Cilantro, Mushrooms, Celery, Bell Pepper, Carrots, Yellow Crookneck, Zucchini, Eggplant, and Leafy Greens. (Hint don't let pan get dry/ to prevent this either keep adding oil, or add water and seal with a lid and let veggies steam, when doing this don't forget to stir to prevent burning.)  Menwhile cook rice noodles according to directions on box. (Rice noodles can easily turn into mush so watch them carefully) When all of the veggies are nice and tender add the Frozen peas and Frozen or fresh corn. Cook until Frozen veggies are thawed. Next pour citrus juice and the chicken stock. Stock should cover a little more than enough to cover all the veggies. (If your pan is hot it should produce lots of steam don't be alarmed this is making the stock soak up all the veggies juices and flavor.) Next add the radishes, ginger (about 2tbs), and finally your noodles. Let cook until a simmer is set or you can smell the aroma of the ginger. Hope you enjoy!  

Fun Fruit #1

                            

Loving these sweet crisp and juicy Rainer cherries!