Profiteroles

The first time I even heard the word 'profiteroles' was about a month ago when my fiance was trying to memorize the lyrics to a Beastie Boys song. I honestly didn't even know what one was, or what they looked like until last weekend when we were watching The Food Network. They looked really good! I originally planned on making canolies that night (future possible blog post?) but these looked more appetizing at the time so we ran to the store and got the ingredients. They're simple to make, messy to eat and for me - hard to pronounce but they really are delicious.

Ingredients:
   1 cup bread flour
   1 tsp. sugar
   1/2 tsp. salt
   1/2 cup water
   1/2 cup whole milk
   6 tbs. butter
   4 eggs

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then put your water, butter, sugar and milk in a medium sized pot and bring it to a boil.

One the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat (I'd say to keep it on medium) and add your flour all at once. Stir constantly until it starts to form a dough like consistency. It should look like the picture above.

The recipe I went by said to transfer the mixture into a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough cools. So I just did that for about 5 minutes.

Beat your eggs in one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl in between each egg to make sure you're getting everything all mixed together well!

Now the recipe I went by said to use a pastry bag with a plain tip to put the dough on your tray. I have an icing decorator, so I just used that. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Mine were done in 20 minutes exactly.

I was anxious to see how they would turn out. I was probably checking the oven every 3 minutes to see if they looked how they were supposed to look. I had never used bread flour before, so I didn't know what to expect!

Let them cool completely. Then slice them in half. The insides will be hollow like this. Perfect for filling!

I filled mine with light whipped cream and the poured melted hot fudge over top. They were so soft and moist, everything just blended together really well in my opinion. I've seen other people who have filled them with ice cream and topped it with chocolate syrup. I definitely will be making these again in the future and mixing it up with different flavors!

Spaghetti Squash with Vegetables

I made spaghetti squash a few times before. In the past I usually just cooked the squash and then added a little spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese. It tastes okay like that but it was a little too plain for my liking. I looked up some recipes and found that you can add almost anything to spice it up a bit. That's why I don't have a picture with ingredients - you can just add what you like! Vegetables were the most common thing, along with hamburger meat. I could have used some Boca meatless crumbles but I stuck with just some veggies - zucchini, tomatoes and onion. Here is what I did:

First take your squash and wash it off so it's nice and clean. Slice it in half lengthwise. Cutting the squash is always the trickiest part for me. It's probably comical to watch me try and cut it open with how much I struggle. You can cut it before or after cooking. There are positives and negatives to both ways. If you cut it after you cook it, it will slice in half a lot easier. You just have to cook it longer that way and be more careful not to burn it. If you slice it before you cook it (like I do), it's less cook time, and less risk of burning it but it's more difficult to slice.

The inside will look like this. I get a glass dish, fill it with about half an inch of water and then get one half of the squash and place it (seed-side facing down) in the dish. Microwave for about 8-11 minutes. It will be VERY hot when you get it out - so be careful. Then scrape out the pulp and seeds.

In a bowl, scrap out all the squash. I remember the first time I did this - I was amazed at how much squash is in there. You'll be left with just a shell.

Mm mm.

Next fry up your veggies.

I added a little spaghetti sauce and cheese as well. This is what they suggested in the recipe I went by. It gives it even more flavor.

Combine your vegetables with the spaghetti squash. Make sure it's all mixed together well and then scoop it back into your shells.

Sprinkle some cheese on top of both halves, then pop it in the oven and broil it until the cheese is melted - nice and brown!

Doesn't it look so tasty? Take a scoop (a big scoop if you're like me) and enjoy!

FUN da-middles

I was in awe when I saw these on a baking blog a few months back. I was aware that you could make filled cupcakes, but I never thought of them being in simple box mix form! The next time I went to the grocery store, I made sure to look for them. There are three different flavors. Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream filling, vanilla cupcakes with chocolate cream filling and the kind I got - vanilla cupcakes with vanilla cream filling.

I wasn't sure if I was suppose to frost them or not..I looked it up and not a lot of people did, so I didn't either. I'm sure it'd be good with frosting, but it was fine without. I'd recommend trying them if you want something sweet. They're so quick and simple to make.

They even have a fun little video on the Betty Crocker website showing you how easy they are to make.

My New Mixer!

So I know I have not posted in awhile, but I've still been cooking and baking a lot. I do have a few recipes to post, I just haven't gotten around to uploading the pictures and such. But now my posts will be a lot more consistent! Winter is my favorite time to try new baking recipes. I already have a few different types of cookies in mind that I plan on making once it gets closer to Christmas, so be on the lookout for those!

For this blog post, I just wanted to share the excitement over my new mixer..

I now own the dream mixer! (Well, my dream mixer anyway!)

Isn't it so pretty??

You can bet I will be baking up a storm with this mixer!

Cauliflower Pizza

I first heard of cauliflower pizza on Pinterest. It looked like regular pizza..and since I'm always trying to find healthier alternatives to the food I already love, I thought I would give this a try. It actually turned out really good. I liked it a lot - I told a lot of people that I could probably switch to this kind and wouldn't miss the regular dough, and I really think I could. It has a unique taste. The crust doesn't taste like dough, but it doesn't taste like cauliflower either. I would recommend trying it out. It cuts back on calories and carbs, so I didn't feel guilty about having an extra piece!

Since everyone likes different cheeses and toppings, I didn't think taking a picture of the ingredients was necessary. The only thing you will definitely need is :

1 head of cauliflower (grated, you'll probably need 2 cups)
2 eggs (I used 1 whole egg and 1 egg white)
14 oz. jar of pizza sauce

First you'll want to cut up and steam your cauliflower.

While your waiting on the cauliflower, cut up any veggies you want to use on your pizza. For me, it was tomato and onion!

You can preheat your oven awhile to 450. Then, using a food processor, grate the cauliflower so that it looks almost like rice. I've seen that mentioned a few times in different recipes, and that's pretty much the best way to describe it.

Now add in your eggs and give it a stir.

Spray your pan with cooking spray and then spread your 'dough' evenly. You basically just form it into a circle and make sure it's all sticking together the best you can, just so it holds its shape. You can also do a square shape if you'd rather it like that. Sprinkle with whatever seasonings you'd like. I used parsley, oregano and a little bit of garlic powder.

You want to pop it in the oven for 12-15 minutes, just to let the crust set up. Take it out and add your pizza sauce (I didn't use the whole jar, just use what you like), then add your cheese and toppings. Then turn the heat up to broil until the cheese is melted and the crust is crispy.

This is what it looks like when it's done. You can see I added some vegetarian pepperoni to half of the pizza too. 

Here's a close up. Doesn't it look tasty?

Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Pockets

I love the broccoli and cheese combination. I eat it on a regular basis. Rice is also a common thing I eat, so this pocket is amazing to me. Since I'm a vegetarian, it's hard to find these kinds of things in the store. Most 'pockets' out there usually have chicken in them or some kind of meat. So I thought I would just make my own. I prefer homemade things over something frozen any day, anyway.

Ingredients:

   1 package Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese Sauce

   3 cups of brown rice

   1 roll of crescent rolls

   Parmesan cheese

   Cooking spray or butter

First boil your broccoli and cheese pouch. I'm not 100% how long this takes, just follow the directions on the box.

While your broccoli is heating up, start cooking your rice as well. You can use any kind of rice you want. I just like brown better, so that's what I used.

Next, get a tray and spread out your crescent roll.

Cut into four squares.

Mix together your broccoli and cheese sauce with your rice. You don't have to use all the rice either, if you like a lot then use it all.

Scoop your mixture onto your squares. Try to get an even amount on each one.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

You want to bake them for 20 minutes at 350. Spray some cooking oil on the top of each one before putting it in the oven. I forgot to take a picture of how they looked folded over before they were cooked but this is what it looked like afterwards.

And this is how they look on the inside. Delish!

Cupcake Truffles

If you couldn't tell by now, I love making truffles. I've already posted about making Oreo Truffles and Peanut Butter Truffles and I have a few others in mind that I would like to try eventually. I don't know what it is about them. I think they're just cute and tiny and usually pretty simple to make! This time I wanted to try cupcake truffles! I saw them at a store in the mall and instead of buying them, I wanted to make them myself. They turned out pretty good, everyone who tried one said they liked them.

Chocolate Ingredients:

   3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

   1 can sweetened condensed milk

   1 tbs. vanilla

In a bowl or saucepan melt the chocolate chips with the condensed milk. I used the microwave, putting them in for a minute at a time until I had a smooth consistency. 

It'll look something like this!

What you want to do next, is place your mixture in the fridge for a little bit. I left mine in for about 20 minutes. Once it was a little more firm I got it out and started pressing the mixture into these Reese's-shaped candy molds. 

Once you have a full tray done, put them back in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Once it gets close to getting your chocolates out of the refrigerator, you can start making your frosting. I got this one from the Food Network's website. 

Ingredients:
   3 cups confectioners' sugar

   1 cup butter

   1 tsp. vanilla

   1 to 2 tsp. whipping cream

I used a hand mixer to blend it all together. It'll look like this.

Your last step (and the best part) is to decorate your chocolates! I used sprinkles on the top of mine just so they looked more like a cupcake but I've seen people use nonpareils, red hots, and actual cherries. So you can just be creative with it.