About my Blog

Like Food? Then you are in the right place. I love food. I love to see it, smell it, and taste it. I like to try to make it too. This my kitchen and my cooking. It's not always perfect, but it's made with love. Take a peek and try some out. Welcome to The Tiny Kitchen That Could

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Chicken Noodle Soup

I never really grew up eating soups, unless I was sick.
And when I was sick, I had a can of soup, nothing homemade.
My family homemade lots of stuff, soup though, was never one.

My husband's family on the other hand, makes soup extremely often.
At first I was not really a fan, in my mind soup was for sick people.
I learned however that soup is the poor man's rich meal.
One batch of soup can last upwards of over a week, depending on how many people your feeding.



And if you freeze individual servings in muffin/cupcake tins, you can have personal soup portions for months!



The most popular soup in my husbands family is Chicken Noodle.

It's fast and simple.
You need:
One whole chicken (the small one)
Chicken stock/broth
Celery
Carrots
Egg Noodles
Seasonings


In my house we have to cook the soup in two different pans, because we don't have a big pan that will fit the whole chicken and all the trimmings.



So the first thing you do is wash rinse the chicken and cut it in half, right down the middle.


Place each half in a pot that is half chicken stock and half water, you want to get to the top of the chicken, or barely cover it.


Add all the seasonings you want. We usually do salt, pepper, Tony's, and a poultry premade mix, along with some other green herbs.


While the chicken is cooking, chop up the celery and carrots. One whole bunch of celery and a bag of baby carrots.
The thinner they are the less they will have to cook.



When the chicken is cooked all the way through, take it out and de-bone it. This is a hot process, and you may want to toss the chicken in the freezer for five min.
To de-bone it, you just pull all the meat off the chicken bones and put back in the broth.
Add the veggies and bring to a boil.



Let boil for a few in, til the veggies are close to finished, then add the Egg Noodles.
Your soup is done when the noodles are!




Here you go!
Perfect with bread and butter too!


Delish!!


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Eggnog Cream Cupcakes

Eggnog.
You either love it or you hate it.
I made these for the Christmas Dinner I have with my mom and step-dad.
My step-dad loves to try new things, he likes the Food Network channel as much I do.
I got this recipe idea from Pinterest and it led me to Eggnog Cupcakes!

My step-dad ate almost all of them too, I didn't even have a chance to try them.
They are a perfect seasonal treat to make.












Eggnog Cupcakes

Yield: 12 standard cupcakes
For mini cupcakes, follow directions below and bake 10-12 minutes. To make a two layer cake, double the recipe and prepare batter as directed. Grease two 8" cake pans, and bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup eggnog, room temperature
Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 8oz cream cheese, room temperature (not light or low fat)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
  • Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
  • 1-2 tablespoons eggnog, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon Rum, to taste (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake or muffin pan with 12 baking cups.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium-size bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed add the egg and yolk one at a time. Beat in oil and vanilla until incorporated. Gradually and add the flour mixture and eggnog, alternating between the 2, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Do not over beat. Distribute all of the batter evenly between the 12 baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Prepare frosting. With an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth (make sure they are both at room temperature so you do not get lumps in your frosting). Gradually beat in powdered sugar until incorporated. Add vanilla, a pinch of ground nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons eggnog, add more to taste. Add 1-2 tablespoons of rum if desired. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
Garnish cupcakes with a sprinkles of ground nutmeg and/or a cinnamon stick.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Whiskey Cream Sauce

Ok, the focus in this post is simply the sauce.

It's something that can go on any type of beef steak.
I used rib eye, because I love the way I can pan cook them.
And the marble of fat makes for some major 'Mmmmms'.

I have never made a sauce to put on my steaks. I usually just eat mine sans a sauce and my husband likes just A1. But when I came across this in Pioneer Woman's Cookbook I decided to give it a try.


What you need:

First melt 2 tablespoons butter and cook the onions til they are nice and brown.
I would have used a white onion, but all I had were purple and I was feeling a little lazy.
Purple ones don't brown as well as the other onions.

Next your going to add the whiskey. I took my pan off the burner, cause I didn't want to catch fire.
Once it evaporates, add the broth and salt and pepper.




Whisk in another tablespoon of butter and let the mixture bubble for 30 seconds.
Turn the heat low and add the cream. Whisk, and add more cream if it looks to thin or brothy.


Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, while you cook your steaks.

When they are done, just spoon some sauce onto the steaks and enjoy!





Here's what you need (make two servings):
  •  3 tablespoons of butter
  • 3 table spoons of diced onion
  • 1/4 cup of whiskey
  • 1/4 cup beef broth
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1/4 cup cream
  • 2 steaks of your choice



Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Andes Cupcakes

Hello Holidays

Yes, you heard right, I DON'T want to be skinny. I just want to eat and eat and eat.
Cause how can I be on a diet with you around?



Ahhh, the holidays. We have a love hate relationship.
I mostly love it, because I can bake and people won't think I am crazy, hahaha.

Tonight I made some of my better cupcakes.
I hope you like Andes Mints.
Cause there are a lot of them in here!


Pictures first, directions on bottom!
I got this from Your Cup of Cake via Pinterest, and what I changed was what was on the chocolate filling recipe.













Directions!

Chocolate Cakes:
1 cup sour cream
½ cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
¼ cup water
½ cup buttermilk
Devil’s Food Cake Mix

Chocolate Mint Filling:
1/3 cup chocolate chips (andes chips)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
 
 
 
Mint Buttercream:
8 oz cream cheese
½ cup butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
green food coloring
 
 
 

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
2.Using a whisk, mix sour cream, oil and vanilla extract together. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well in between each addition.
3.Alternate adding the cake mix and liquids (buttermilk and water), starting and ending with the cake mix. 4.Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 14-18 minutes, or until and inserted knife come out clean.
5.Chocolate Mint Filling: Melt chocolate chips and heavy cream together in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat. Stir in powdered sugar.
6.When cupcake come out of the oven, use a squeeze bottle to fill the cupcake with the filling, or use the filling as a ganache and dip the tops of the cakes into it.
7. Mint Buttercream: Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, heavy cream and peppermint extract and beat well. Add green food coloring and stir well
8. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes and top with extra Chocolate Mint Filling and an Andes Mint.