Easy Homemade Caramel

This is another re-post from last year and the year before. (Ya'll, I don't care. I'm re-posting this baby year after year. Until everyone and their mom is talking about how easy it is to make caramel!) You know when you look back at your first blog posts and think, "What was I thinking?!" All the crazy picture sizes, weird spacing & spelling mistakes. Ya. Well, I had one of those with this post. The entire post was filled with "carmel". Carmel, like Mount Carmel or Carmel, the gorgeous golfing valley. Or Carmel, like Hormel, the Chili brand, but with a "c". It, carmel, was all over this post. In the title, on a picture, in the directions, just everywhere. Looking at the post now, it was the FIRST thing I noticed. "What the what!? Caramel is spelled wrong! What idiot wrote this post?! Oh wait. That was me." How could it be so obvious to me now, first glance, and yet, an entire post & Picmonkey picture was created with the wrong spelling? I'll never understand. Maybe I got confused with the whole "caramel" or "caramal" debate and thought, "Screw it. I'll just call it carmel." But anyways.. without further ado, I present to you the easiest, mind blowing caramel dip ever!

I was beyond surprised to learn this little secret of the perfect dipping caramel from my dear friend Kate.

This stuff is amazing! 

Amazeballs as some, circa 2013, would say!

No more unwrapping thousands of caramel squares and burning it in the microwave!

No more gooped up caramel, impossible to use for dipping!

Needed:

a crockpot or pot

canned evaporated sweetened condensed milk

(that's all folks!)

Remove labels and lids from your cans.

Place in your crock pot or pot.

Boil for 2 hours.

Remove carefully.

Slowly pull the tab back to open.

Get excited as you see perfect creamy caramel!

Have a pre-party taste.

Suuppppppper easy, right?!

Enjoy!

*Special Thanks to my friend Kate for doing/taking these pics & introducing me to this amazing secret of homemade caramel! You're awesome!*

Soups to Make Now

Soup season is not over! Many of you still have a few months left of it but for us down in the South our days of chilly, soup weather are closing in fast. Don't let soup season pass without making these delicious soups! :)        Roasted Cauliflower & Aged Cheddar Soup This is one of my favorite soups. It's creamy, easy to prepare and tastes amazing served along side this beer bread. This was a staple meal for us during China's long winters.      Tom Yum Soup  We were taught this recipe in Thailand at the Siem Riep Cooking School. It's ridiculously good & actually super easy once you have the ingredients stocked. Serve it along side rice & enjoy this spicy deliciousness. 

Chicken Avocado Lime Soup //  Wonton Soup //  Asian Noodle Soup with Shrimp

This Chicken Avocado Lime Soup from Jaclyn over at Cooking Classy looks delicious. A soup for any season! I'm not going to lie. I'm a sucker for anything that pairs well with tortilla chips, cheese & avocado. Really just mention avocado & I'm sold.
We've been suckers for Wonton Soup lately. It's so light & easy on the stomach. This wonton soup by Chungah at Damn Delicious has some labor involved but creating those fragile dumplings are sure to make you feel good.  This Asian Noodle Soup by Andi at The Weary Chef only takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, start to finish, & as Andi mentions it's great for sore throats.

  Roasted Butternut Squash & Bacon Soup  // Roasted Tomato Basil Soup // French Onion Soup Another soon to be winter favorite from Damn Delicious, is this Roasted Butternut Squash & Bacon Soup. Chungah says the secret to this soup is roasting the bacon & squash together before you blend them up. I already know Zachary would love this one because, well, obviously, BACON!   This Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is another delicious recipe from Jaclyn at Cooking Classy. I think where she really got me hooked with this soup is the grilled cheese croutons.  I've been dying to make French Onion Soup lately & this picture of Michele's french onion soup has me swooning. I must make this immediately. Immediately.  Do you have any soup recipes that you're dying to make? Any family favorites? Share in the comments below!

Gooey Butter Pumpkin Cake

Hey friends! I have a re-post recipe for you today that I'm dying to make again! With the pumpkins popping up in stores & TX fall creeping in (only in the mornings before noon, but I'll take it!), I'm itching to start making pumpkin goodies. Chances are you are, too! Delicious-ness is what this recipe is!  It's amazing you guys. Ten times better than any pumpkin pie I've tried. (I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie though. So that might be a biased opinion. :) ) Also, it's easy, which is a huge plus when there's so many things to do this Fall!

For the Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased  baking pan. (I used a 13 x 9 glass baking pan.) 

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. 

Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and mix together. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. 

Spread pumpkin mixture over the cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  

Sprinkle it with powdered sugar for looks. :) 

Happy Baking! And, try not to eat the whole pan! Trust me, it's tempting!

Recipe is taken & modified from here.
 

Summer Salads

Back in the U.S. for a few months now, we are trying now to find balance in our eating. The first few months back we spent a lot of time eating! We have enjoyed all the calorie field good-ness that American food has to offer! But we are ready to start crunching down on our eating habits and loose some weight! Having salads whenever possible, really helps that process. Salads are nutrition filled, often less calories than normal fare, refreshing and delicious! Here are 9 salads I'm wanting to make now!

Make 'em & enjoy! Cheers to healthy eating friends! 

Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad //  Summer Berry Crispy Chicken Chopped Salad // Cranberry Avacado Spinach Salad w/ Chicken & Orange Poppyseed Dressing

 Crunchy Asian Ramen Noodle Salad //  Grilled Ginger Sesame Chicken Salad //  Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad      Israeli Salad // Quinoa Salad w/ Feta Cheese //  // Triple Berry Summer Salad

Or, try the amazing looking Skinny Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad behind the title above!! Yum-o! Skinny Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad
 

Shave Time: Slow Cooker Cheesy Corn Dip

When it comes to party planning, I am no expert, but I am slightly obsessed with planning them. I just love the process of coming up with a theme, brainstorming the decorations, drawing sketches of my table set up, making lists upon lists of what to make & buy, and the list of all the recipes I'll make to feed all those party people because of course , all good parties come with food, and not just any food, but delicious, party food! Food that makes you want to stand around it while you laugh & chat for hours. This past week we had a huge Halloween party and as with most big parties or get togethers, it took hours to plan & prepare for. I was in need of easy appetizers that would fill people up while they waited for the main course & that they would love. This dip was a hit! It was a fly by the seat of my pants recipe & turned out to be one of THE crowd pleasers. Best part: It took me 10 minutes to prepare. Only 10 minutes, marking a line off my to-do list & 'shaving' me tons of time in the kitchen! You will love this dip but be warned, it's slightly addicting!

250 g aged cheddar, shredded or cut in small blocks
8 oz cream cheese, cut into chunks
1 jalapeno, chopped
3 drained cans sweet corn
salt to taste
1 pound precooked shredded pork*
1/2 c milk

Chop the jalapeno, shred the cheese & cut the cream cheese into chunks. Toss into the crock pot. Add all other ingredients. Cook on low for two hours or on high for one.* Serve with tortilla chips! Enjoy!

*Shave even more time tips: Idea # 1:  Earlier in the week I cooked a combination of shredded pork & chicken ( with 1/2 a cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp chili pepper, 12 oz beer, on high for 8 hours, adjust to taste) in the crock pot  & made sauteed onion & shredded pork wraps with it. I used half for the wraps and stored the other half in the fridge to use in this recipe. You could try that, too! Idea # 2: Substitute with ground beef. Plan a meal earlier in the week that calls for ground beef. Double your beef, save half & throw into this dip. Idea # 3: Place raw pork, seasonings & beer into the crock pot. Cook over night for 8 hours. A few hours before the party, throw in the cheese, corn, milk & jalapenos to make the dip!

*I cooked mine on low for 5 hours, stirred at the 5 hours mark, kicked the heat up to high for 30 minutes, then low for the rest of the night during the party.

Want another 'shave time tip' that has nothing to do with food?!  Shave even more time by ordering your razor blades from the Dollar Shave Club! Zachary and I are kind of obsessed with this. I have my eye on the 6 bladed razor! 6 blades! That's pretty exciting to me. I've told Zachary for years the more blades for me the better. My skins super sensitive & any little drag of the blade gives me yuck-o burn.  But of course, in stores, I can rarely find razors with over 4 blades, so I was pretty excited to see that the DSC sells 6 bladed razors for only $9 a month! When we move back to the States, you better believe we're ordering from here! Make sure to follow the DSC on twitter & facebook to stay up to date with all their happenings & hilarious posts! They have a sense of humor at the Dollar Shave Club and I kindda love it!
Are you friends with Dollar Shave Club?
Are you following Dollar Shave Club?

Happy Time 'Shaving'!

Roasted Cauliflour & Aged Cheddar Soup

This soup has become one of my favorites this season. It's light, savory & delicious. I've made it 3 times in the last month!  I found this recipe on Closet Cooking, where I seem to be finding all my recipes as of late. Kevin posts so many delicious looking recipes, that there's not enough hours or meals in my week, to try all the ones I'd like to. You'll love this soup, friends. It's oober easy , made with very few ingredients, but tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen! Also, it goes perfect with this beer bread. Enjoy! 

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup milk or cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss the cauliflower in oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in a 400F oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Heat oil in a pan, add onion & saute about 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add garlic & thyme. Saute one minute.

Add the broth & the roasted cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & summer for 20 minutes. 

Puree the soup in a blinder. Pour back into the pan.

Mix in the cheese. Stir. *Don't bring back to a boil.

Mix in the milk & season with salt & pepper. 

Top with more cheese, bacon or thyme! Enjoy!!

Harry Potter's Creamy Butter Beer

 

Want a warm and cozy drink for the holidays that's not hot cocoa? I mean, still have hot cocoa. Hot cocoa is amazing. But, every now and then, it's fun to try something different! Last year we had a Harry Potter Murder Mystery Party & this butter beer was definitely enjoyed! It is super rich. I suggest having it in place of dessert. Here's a super easy butter beer recipe below for you to try! 

 

 

2 1/2 cups  milk

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp butter

or

2 1/2 cups of milk 

1/2 cup of butterscotch chips

1. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly.

2.  Once warm, add the remaining ingredients. Stirring constantly.

3. Once mixture is almost boiling, remove from heat.

4. Top with whip cream, caramel sauce & sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy!

Tip: Blend if you want it extra frothy!

This recipe is found here along with 10 other variations. I would love to try them all & try the one that I think tastes the most like I imagine it! Let me know if you try one. Enjoy! 

Fall Baking & Cooking List

 

 Apple Fritter Bites //  Apple Coffee Cake Muffins  // Persimmon Cake//  Glazed Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread //  Pumpkin Coffee Cake Donuts // Apple Crisp // Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake 

//  Slowcooker Apple Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal //  Melt in your Mouth Pumpkin Cookies

Seriously, all of these just look so amazing to me! I can't wait to make them! Zachary's kind of obsessed with Top Pot Starbucks apple fritters, so I think if I could perfect these little bites, I'd be in his favor for always. You know, even more than I am now. ;) I'm excited for the oat meals on chilly fall mornings in the future! Also, the donuts and muffins MUST only be baked when I am taking them to someone else. There is NO WAY those things can sit around my house for days. They wouldn't make it. They look like my favorite kind of pastries! Scones! Why are there no scones on this list?! I must change that. I added a persimmon recipe on here because there are tons of persimmons here in Qingdao every Fall and I've never known what to do with them. I'd also love to make a persimmon pudding or get a persimmon recipe from my Great Aunt. Yes, I should do that. Also, please know, that I will also, most definitely be baking pumpkin chocolate chip bread. But that's a given.

And because we can't eat sweets for every meal & snack of the day (like, who would want to do that anyway? ;)  ), here's 9 soups I'm X to the Cite to the Ed (excited, in case you missed it) about cooking! I'm a sucker for soup. Especially soup you can put in a crock pot which in my world, could be any of these (even if the recipe doesn't permit. I just do my own thang, you know, yo.).

Mushroom Risotto// Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup //Chili //Creamy Roasted Red Pepper 

//Creamy Chicken Corn//Carrot Tomato Coconut Soup //Cauliflower and Aged Cheddar 

//Cajun Chicken and Mushrooms// Tomato Basil Chicken Stew

Is it crazy that I'm actually feeling all cozy and saying out loud, "Mmmm" at the sight of some of these soups? Can you tell I'm a sucker for creamy soups and red bell peppers? I would also love to make a Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda bisque. Yum. I love the uniqueness of some of the soups above and can't wait to try them! I challenge myself to bake & cook all of the above!

Self, I'll give you fall AND winter, so no excuses! If Julie Andrews could cook through the entire Joy of Cooking in a year, you can make 18 things in a fall and winter. You can do it!

Pep talks are good. Don't you worry though, I won't need any pep talks to eat any of the above!

What's on your fall baking and cooking list?

When your husband makes pies..

 

you post a thousand pictures of them, because, well, YOUR HUSBAND made pies. I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty cool. What's even cooler is that they were so, so delicious. And man, that crust. He learned from the best, a grandma. His great grandmother and grandmother would often have him over in the summers to teach him all the secrets of making good pies. Those summer lessons paid off friends. These pies were amazing. Zachary made a blueberry and lemon meringue. I was so proud of his masterpieces. We took these two to a pie party at our friends house. A pie party, where we watched the Life of Pi! How fun is that?! Now, for your viewing and mouth watering pleasure, Zachary's pies.

 Why is my hand like lemon pie? Because of my rang. Hahaha. Get it?

 Zachary's pie recipes & crust secrets coming soon!

Lemon Brownies

These bars are bananas. B.A.N.A.N.A.S. These bars are bananas! B.A.N.A.N.A.S.

They’re actually not bananas at all. They’re actual lemon bars but there’s no good song for that.

Want an easy dessert that you can dress to impress? Because lemon bars seem way more fancy then brownies. In the lemon mood? Have a lemon tree, with so many lemons, they’re growing out of your ears? Well, well. I’ve got the recipe for you-Lemon Brownies!

Recipe source here. :)

  Brownies

3/4 C flour

3/4 C sugar

1/4 t salt

1 stick butter, soft

2 eggs

juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1T)

zest from 1/2 lemon (about 1t)

Icing

1/2C powdered sugar

1 T lemon juice

additional lemon zest

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Mix in the softened butter.

In another bowl whisk the eggs with the lemon juice and zest. Add to the larger bowl and mix well.

Pour into prepared 8X8 brownie pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

You can double the recipe and bake in a 9X13 pan for 30 minutes to make it thicker.

Stir icing ingredients together. Remove brownies from oven and let cool, then glaze.

source

Lemon Blueberry Cake

This cake is one of the best cakes I have ever made. I can say that because I followed a recipe. So, you know, it’s not braggy or anything then, right? Right, I say!

It’s so delicious and perfect for summer! So perfect, I highly recommend you make it this summer, too!

I followed the recipe from Sally @ Sally's Baking Addiction Blog. She is super detailed in her explanation of the recipe, walking you through each step. This was awesome and super helpful! I recommend clicking over to her site for all the helpful details! But, if you are just looking for a quick look at the recipe  or ingredients, I’m your gal. Keep scrolling sister. Or brother. You go guy!

 Cake 

1 cup (230g) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature*

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*

zest + juice of 3 medium lemons

1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh (258g)  

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Cream cheese Frosting

8 ounces (224g) full-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter

3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners' sugar

1 - 2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy cream*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch salt

  "Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray three 9x2 inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Make the cake. Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until creamy - about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.

In a large sized bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Remove from the mixer and stir lightly until everything is just combined. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do not overmix at any point. Overmixing will lend a tough, dense textured crumb.

Spoon batter evenly into 3 prepared cake pans. If only using 2 cake pans, your bake time will be longer. Bake the three layers for about 21-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took 21 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting. Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 full minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 Tablespoon cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add 1 more Tablespoon of cream to thin out, if desired.


Assemble and frost. First, using a large serrated knife, trim the tops off the cake layers to create a flat surface. Place 1 layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with cream cheese frosting. Top with 2nd layer, more frosting, then the third layer. Top with frosting and spread around the sides. The recipe doesn't make a ton of frosting, just enough for a light frost. Top with blueberries or lemon garnish if desired. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting or else the cake may fall apart as you cut.
Make 1 day in advance if you'd like. Extras keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3days."

-Directions from Sally's Baking Addiction
*See her post on this recipe along with tons of helpful hints for making this cake!
Sally's Baking Addiction
Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake