Perfect Chewy Sugar Cookies

Happy Holidays! I'm back with a recipe review on what I'd like to think is the perfect sugar cookie.  Many moons ago when I used to be a barista in college, the coffee shop I worked at would get in sugar cookies which I loved. They were rolled in sugar crystals and had a hint of almond. I've been wanting to re-create this cookie since then and I think I've found a pretty good recipe that matches those flavor profiles.

Easy Pasta Dinner

Greetings! Here's a new recipe for you to try- an easy pasta with fresh tomato sauce. It's a great weeknight summer dinner dish because it's fast and light.  You also get bonus points if you use homegrown tomatoes- which I was able to use thanks to visiting my parents who off loaded a bunch of fresh & ripe cherry tomatoes.

Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes

Weekends = fun breakfasts and today was a good day for blueberry pancakes made from scratch. Homemade pancakes are just as easy as using a box mixed and way better as well. I have been looking for a better recipe to use as usually my pancakes don't always turn out to be so fluffy. Thanks to the internet though, I quickly found a good recipe that was simple in steps from Once Upon a Chef.

Back to Blogging!

Hello! I've decided to get back to blogging on this blog. I don't have specific goals other than it will be food focused; cooking, eating and discovering new places to eat in and around where I live. Stay tuned- recipes and ideas will be popping back up here soon!

Julia Child's Potato Soup

I think I bought Julia Child's cookbook last year and have only made a few recipes out of it. One of the most easiest and tastiest recipes is for potato soup. This isn't your super creamy rich potato soup, but more simple, yet satisfyingly delicious potato soup.

Recipe adapted from Julia Child's cook book

Ingredients:
3 cups leeks thinly sliced
3-4 cups russet potatoes, chopped
3/4 tbsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 quarts water
3 tbsp half and half

Directions:
1. Heat up water on the stove while you chop and slice the leeks and potatoes
2. Add leeks, potatoes, salt to water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 40-50 mins.
4. Once soup is done, use a hand mixer and mix the soup on low to break up the vegetables.
( if you have a hand blender, it's even better.)
6. Add butter and half and half and stir until incorporated.
7. Enjoy!

PS- try it with some left over holiday ham sliced up- it makes a great soup for cold winter days!

Homemade Chicken Soup

Well, this year has not been good for blogging for me. I am honestly going to try and pick this up again because I like it and really do enjoy cooking and learning new things in the kitchen. I don't think I've been too creative in the kitchen this year and I want to change that.

So let's start with something that is perfect for fall. Chicken soup. I've had a hard time making soups from scratch- they never come out as I intend them. This time, however, I think I finally nailed it. My recipe is based loosely from The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Soup recipe, however, I did tweak it be on my own and didn't do much in terms of measurements. I think what really made the soup work was that I browned the chicken first, before adding stock and the vegetables. I also used chicken w/ bones, which I really do think helps bring out the flavor. Here's my recipe (and again measurements aren't exact):

Ingredients:
1 bone in chicken breast
2 chicken legs
1 yellow onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
6 carrots, diced
Parsley, roughly chopped (about 3 tbsp)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp of thyme
1 quart of chicken stock (4 cups)
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 cups of water
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheesecloth

Steps:
1. Heat pan & add olive oil. Once your pan is properly heated, add chicken breast and chicken legs. Brown on each side for about 5 mins each- just enough to brown the skin.
2. Remove chicken from pan and add chicken stock. Make sure to run your spoon under the chicken bits still stuck to the pan (they'll add flavor).
3. Add back chicken to the pan, plus the two cups water and chicken bouillon.
4. Add carrots, celery, onion to the pan and bring to a boil.
5. Once the soup is at a boil, reduce heat to simmer.
6. Add parsley and bay leaves to the cheesecloth & securely tighten w/ baker's twine and add to the soup. Shake in thyme.
7. Cook for about 1 1/2 hours, adding salt and pepper to your liking.
8. Remove chicken from the pan and shred & then add back to the soup.

I actually didn't eat the soup the night I made it. Instead, I let it cool and refrigerated it to the next day and then warmed up. The nice thing about this is you can remove the fat that hardens up at top and customize your soup if you're like me- sometimes I want chicken and rice soup, other times I enjoy chicken noodle soup. Just cook up some rice or boil some pasta and add to your soup. Enjoy!

Basil Walnut Pesto

I think every couple of months I remember about this blog. Oops! I'm going to try this again. Let's talk about Basil Walnut Pesto and how great it is. I actually never liked pesto (always too much of a bite from the one's I've had), but since I had all this Basil growing in my patio garden, thought I may try to make my own.