Kitty.nu » baking

I’m baking a chicken pot pie. And cheesecake!

Jenn — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 21:47:49 +0000

As I write this, my very first homemade cheesecake (scratch that — my first EVER cheesecake) is baking in the oven, and I have a nearly finished chicken pot pie sitting on the counter, waiting for its turn in the oven. But I need to finish thawing the chicken first, so that I can chop it up and add it to the pie. Then I’ll whip up a pie crust (using Jiffy, hehe), and then viola, an awesomely delicious dinner will have its turn in the oven! Heh, I better watch the homemade goodness, or else I’ll be tipping the scales at 190 again!

I get into odd domestic “fits” like this. I’ve been wanting chicken pot pie for a while, and I thought that a cheesecake sounded absolutely yummy as soon as I spotted a pre-made one in the grocery store. But they wanted $12.99 for a premade! Instead I spent $3 on graham cracker crumbs, $4 on cream cheese and $2 on sour cream — and I have enough crumbs and sour cream left for 1-2 more cheesecakes. Besides, homemade is the best. ♥

What have you made lately?

I bake because the results are pretty

Jenn — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:23:23 +0000

For real. Even before gastric bypass surgery, and before my serious commitment to lose weight in preparation for gastric bypass surgery (that commitment started last April, and I had surgery in November), I wasn’t too into sweets. I’d much rather pig out on mac & cheese, fried chicken, biscuits, French fries, jalapeno poppers, etc. And when I was into sweets, I’d go for things like chocolate chip cookies and Reese’s peanut butter cups. Cupcakes? Thanks, but no thanks. Maybe the random bite or small lick of icing, but that’d be about it.

So don’t be surprised that I baked a batch of cupcakes tonight — two dozen minis and one dozen regular — and didn’t eat a single one. I have no plans to eat any of them either, though the kids have already devoured three mini cupcakes each. I was more into making them look quite spiffy in time for Valentine’s Day:

I know, I know… a fat chick that isn’t into cupcakes? No way!

Cookie fail.

Jenn — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:42:35 +0000

Since I had gastric bypass in November, I’ve been more obsessed with food than ever. Only now my issue is with getting enough of it in, and the BIG focus is on protein. Protein in large quantities is available in cheese, meat and bean form. So the other night I had the brilliant idea of making chocolate chip protein cookies. I used a low-fat recipe (designed for Weight Watchers participants), and switched out regular sugar and brown sugar in favor of Splenda white sugar and Splenda brown sugar. I then skipped the addition of 1/4th of a cup of cocoa baking powder, and instead used an equivalent amount of chocolate-flavored protein powder.

Big. Freaking. Mistake. I don’t know if it was the Splenda, the chocolate-flavored protein powder or both, but OMFG that cookie dough was vile tasting. It’s still sitting in my fridge, by the way. I haven’t worked up the courage to bake the cookies and then try them.

Just call me Jenny Crocker

Jenn — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:53:32 +0000

I’m really interested in putting together several cookie recipe jars as Christmas gifts for family and friends. Bakerella’s Mix Things Up has me looking up local craft stores so I can buy eight to ten Bell jars. I have all the ingredients necessary, minus red & green M&Ms (for Christmas, of course).

It’s weird, but since having kids and especially since having my own home I’ve been really into trying out new things with cleaning, organizing, cooking and baking. Last summer I made Hello Kitty Cake Pops and Blue’s Clues cupcakes. I experiment with cookies, bake cookies to give as holiday presents, and now I’m looking to give away cookie recipes in adorable jars with Christmas. Sheesh, what next?

The best chocolate chip cookies ever

Jenn — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:37:11 +0000

Yesterday I had an urge to make chocolate chip cookies. I usually stick to a rotation among three or four recipes, but I decided to look for something different. I crave chocolate chip cookies that stay soft and moist, even after they have been cooled and put in a storage container. Even with airtight storage containers (I highly recommend Sterilite Ultra-Seal), the cookie recipes I usually follow result in cookies that become dry and hard. So I hit the internet, and came across a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I doctored slightly:

1 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 teaspoons vanilla
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

The result? Delicious, sweet (but not too sweet) chocolate chip cookies that stayed thick, soft and moist!

Would you like a cupcake?

Jenn — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:40:45 +0000

I’m definitely no Martha Stewart, but with a good set of directions and some uninterrupted time in the kitchen, I can make some delicious and yummy looking treats. My latest batch of cupcakes was inspired by a package of cow sprinkles I saw in my local grocery store. Yes, cow sprinkles. That’s the awesome part of living in a rural area and shopping at non-chain, family owned grocery stores that often get some of their produce, meat and other goods from local farmers — plums from local Plum trees, locally grown corn on the cob, and spiffy holiday and seasonal sprinkles!

So, would you like a cow cupcake?