Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Feb 17, 2012

Muffindoodles - YUM

During our Big Reveal Brunch we served a new to Home Sweet Hanna dish - Muffindoodles!  They are basically a snickerdoodle cookie in muffin form  - and 100% delicious.  These yummy doodles were so popular that we had zero leftovers.....




I found the recipe on eat me delicious blog.  They were fun to make and were a sweet compliment to our savory breakfast spread!


Snickerdoodle Muffins
slightly modified from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cup sour cream
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar and 1 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling*

1.Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla, eggs one at a time, and then mix until incorporated.

2.In a separate bowl, mix together  your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar and nutmeg

3.Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions until fully incorporated

4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar. Place dough into greased muffin tin (I prefer the Bakers Joy spray with flour in it).  



5.  Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.


Happy Baking!

Oct 27, 2011

Soup-er Lizzie

One of my favorite lunch spots in Atlanta is Souper Jenny - Meghan always takes me there when I visit! Unfortunately we do not have an equivalent in Richmond - so I continued my Soup a week project and worked over time this week on two delicious concoctions...

1) Crockpot Tortilla Soup - I learned about it on pinterest (my cooking board is here..check it out!)

This was super easy as most crock pot recipes are (another favorite here) - you just throw in all of the ingredients and leave it on high for 6-7 hours "set it...and forget it" - my steps below -
Chop - Dump, Open - Dump

Keep Dumping the Cans
Add the raw chicken 
7 hours later - mmmm tortilla soup
The chicken is so tender at the end I just forked it and it fell apart - super delicious - we have been eating it this week with Tostitos - yummmm

The most difficult part was stepping over my sous chef George....he likes to lounge on the kitchen rug when I'm cooking....always hoping a scrap may drop his way....

My extra credit soup this week was Butternut Squash - my favorite fall/winter comfort food! So rich and delicious - I always check the Costco cold section for precut/skinned....it makes this one an easy recipe...


I forgot to take an after picture - but this is a staple in our house so I'll be sure to update on a later post.

Home Sweet Hanna Butternut Squash Soup:
- 2 LBs Butternut Squash (peeled/chopped)
- 2 TBS Unsalted Butter (or olive oil)
- 1 Large Sweet Onion
- 1 Quart chicken Stock
- 2 TBS Cinnamon (more if you like)
- Cayenne Pepper (add a little at a time till you get to desired spiciness)
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)

Brown the onion in your pot (I have been using my Le Creuset Dutch Oven) with butter or olive oil - add the squash, stock, and spices.  Bring the pot to a boil (you boil the squash similar to potatoes) - and cook till tender (about 15 minutes) uncovered...important because you need some of the liquid to evaporate.  Then comes the fun part - use my favorite kitchen tool (as mentioned here) the Immersion Blender to puree the squash mixture.  Let simmer on low for another 15 minutes - add spices to taste.....grab a spoon!

Next week - maybe Pumpkin Soup for Halloween?  Need to locate more pumpkin - the real stuff is hard to come by and I only have one can left in my pantry.  Will keep you posted!

Oct 20, 2011

Tomato Basil Soup

This week Home Sweet Hanna smelled like basil, garlic, onions, and roasted tomatoes - all elements of Ina Garten's delicious Tomato Basil Soup.  This recipe was easy and super delicious - my only modifications are I used my immersion blender and 3 onions (the market only had small ones this week) -

We got the plum tomatoes from Costco... aren't they gorgeous and they were very affordable...


4 Cups of Garlic - took the rest of my current plant...so I got a new one to add to my "herb garden"

All ingredients simmer for 45 minutes
Viola - I left it kind of thick - so yummy...Brian said it was better than Coppolas...
I served the soup with a grilled cheese - the perfect fall meal in my opinion!

Oct 13, 2011

Really.Delicious.Chicken.Chili

My goal this fall/winter is to make soup each week....

Top 5 Reasons for Soup-aloop: 
It's delicious
Affordable
Warms the tummy on cold days
Makes us eat veggies
With days getting shorter (dark by 6PM yikes) -quick/easy dinner

My first soup this fall/winter - Ina's Chicken Chili  was seriously delicious - click here for the recipe.  I would definitely recommend this to chili lovers and haters - you can really change the spiciness with the amount of cayenne/red pepper kick you add...my prep work below...




She did it again - love that Barefoot Contessa!  The chili was healthy, delicious and very fresh - it was a bit different from more traditional chilies (no beans or beef) - just bell peppers, tomatoes, chicken, onion, and herbs/spices.  I loved the fresh basil addition - took me back to Italy!  Another reason I was drawn to this recipe....I did not have to buy any new spices - the flavors could all be found in my spice rack (ugh cabinet) - chili powder, cumin, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper...."how easy is that"

Pretty sure this is going to be a regular around Home Sweet Hanna!

May 20, 2011

Peanut...Peanut Butter...and George

Last weekend Home Sweet Hanna made a batch of Peanut Butter and Jelly bars for dinner in Churchill with The Whit, Jen, and Whit's "Fella" (as my dad would say)...Loved meeting Jon....and these bars were a huge hit (thanks for the inspiration Ina Garten)....

Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter (We are a Peter Pan house)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) jam (we opted for Strawberry)
  • 2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped  (left over from JD/Lauren's wedding bag - thank you!)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. 
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.
Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.








Yummm - they taste like a really rich peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
Since this week got crazy and I only got one post in - figured I'd make it a two parter with a little George update...he loves peanut butter so consider this the jelly of this post...
George is over 60lbs...big boy!  We love having him in our lives.  Lately he has avoided being neutered (twice), had a play date with Jake and Huck, learned to fetch (our "chuck it" is getting serious use), and started shedding like an old angora sweater...there is black hair all over the kitchen...but we do not mind...
A few recent pics of the Georgers...
Can I have some peanut butter?
George's ferret...his favorite toy  (well loved - missing his eyes and  almost headless)
ice cube snack time
Our little guy is growing up so fast!

Mar 14, 2011

Ready...Set...Crock

Last week I was looking for an easy limited ingredient crock pot recipe for a frozen pork tenderloin that has been chilling in our freezer for a few weeks - after browsing the web I came across a few recipes for root beer pulled pork BBQ...


Not sure cooking can get any easier than this - three ingredients:
- Piece of pork tenderloin (ours was around 2 LBs)
- Can of root beer (bottle in our case - that is all our 7-11 stocks)
- Bottle of BBQ Sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's)
Steps - put pork tenderloin in base of slow cooker (mine went in frozen), pour root beer over tenderloin, cover and cook on low for at least 7 hours (ours cooked for 12), remove pork from slow cooker, shred w/ forks, add sauce...and pat yourself on the back for a dinner that taste like you have been slaving away all day!

can it get any easier?

The BBQ was extra tender, delicious, and provided three meals for The Hanna House.  If making this dish for a larger group I would probably use a less expensive piece of meat....but the tenderloin is super lean and NO it did not taste like root beer....just very tender and yummy!

Mar 1, 2011

Old Fashioned Birthday Cake

Today is my Dad's Birthday...and Justin Biebers...more on that later...

To celebrate we are having dinner at The Hanna House - mom is making her signature lasagna and I am in charge of the cake.  Dad's favorite is Chocolate - so when assigned to cake duty, my mind immediately went to this incredible looking old fashioned cake recipe from Ina....Beatty's Chocolate Cake...

The recipe was easy (labeled as intermediate) but time intensive.  The big cake cutting is tonight and I will report back on the final product - I must say that the Chocolate Buttercream icing is possibly the best thing I have tasted in 2011 - the secret is the coffee flavoring - it adds tons of depth to the flavor and intensifies the buttery chocolate goodness...

Notes:
- I did not have instant coffee powder for the icing - so used my coffee grinder to grind the beans extra fine and added only about 1/2 of a tablespoon (as opposed to the recipes full tablespoon) to the hot tap water
- Of course I assumed that I had plenty of semi sweet chocolate left over from Oreo cake I made for my brother's Bon Voyage party (see post here) - but only had 4 oz instead of the 6 ounces required for the frosting - as a substitute I added two teaspoons of shortening, two teaspoons of coco powder, six tablespoons of sugar, and two extra tablespoons of butter (the chocolate turned out perfect - I also microwaved it and stirred every 30 seconds instead of heating on the oven over simmering water)
- A few folks commented on the frosting and indicated that there was not enough for the full cake - which made me nervous, therefore, I skimped on the middle layer - these comments are false - there is plenty of frosting for both the cake and hungry bakers/husbands to have a taste

Check out my work in progress pics below...
Love the old fashioned homemade look of this cake

Will take pictures of the flaming (59 candles?!?) cake and report back on the flavor - can't wait to dig in tonight!

Now - back to Bieber Birthday Fever (he turns 17 today!) - Check out his Birthday Remix with Usher below - (on behalf of The American Cancer Society - MORE BIRTHDAYS!)

Feb 16, 2011

My Bloody Valentine

George eager for his puppy school Valentine cookie
Dexter - thank goodness for Netflix instant view!















On Monday The Hanna House celebrated Valentine's Day with puppy school, cards, flowers (thanks Briguy), Dexter, and the amazing Nick and Toni's Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola.

The delicious Penna Alla Vodka recipe was one we scoped out long ago from a Barefoot Contessa episode and saved for the special occasion...
Finished product 1030PM - YUMMMMMMM
Ina hooked us up - this recipe from Nick and Toni's East Hampton restaurant is magically delicious - but be warned the cook/prep time is over 2 hours...

Chef Notes - we followed the recipe with the following modifications/learnings:
- I used an immersion blender (love that thing!) and my dutch oven - instead of a saute pan and blender
- Fresh bright green oregano as a garnish (get the reference? - haha) added sophistication - but I do not think its a flavor breaker if you do not have it on hand
- The dish was delicious and tasted restaurant quality but was a bit salty and spicy....next time I may use a little less salt and test basil instead of the oregano
- Also - those San Marzano tomatoes (expensive but worth it!) are VERY juicy - notice the lovely red stains behind our oven (similar to another delicious red food -those killer cupcakes)....get your sponge ready for clean up!

Pics of the process -