N is for No Peek

I'll take a break today from the sweet stuff to do a delicious main course post. My mom taught me to make "No Peek" chicken, basically a chicken/rice/condensed soup bake. It's super easy and reliable.



All you need is some chicken (a whole chicken cut up, or just parts you like), rice, a couple of soups (I like cream of chicken and cream of celery), and a packet of dry onion soup mix. Mix together the rice and cream soups, layer the chicken on top, then sprinkle on the onion soup mix. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325º for 2 hours (no peeking!) Easy peasy.



(The pictures are actually taken from this blog post which added a nice bacon spin to the whole chicken/rice/soup bake. Might have to try that sometime...)

M is for Maple

I love maple syrup. I love pancakes and waffles and french toast, but what I love most about them is that you can soak them in maple syrup. No fruit or whipped cream or powdered sugar, I just want syrup-dense cakey joy.



So naturally I like to bake with maple syrup. Not too long ago I made Maple Cornbread for a co-worker's baby shower. Ok so I don't know what cornbread has to do with a baby shower. I just wanted to make the stuff.



Also at work, I scribbled down a recipe from some cooking magazine I found some time ago, for Maple Syrup Cake. It's a bundt cake with a maple syrup glaze. Sounds yummy delicious and I can't wait for the right opportunity to bake it.

I also found this recipe for Maple Cupcakes with Maple Butter Frosting. Whoa.



Speaking of maple butter... I will never forget the delicious maple butter on honey wheat bread I had at 54th Street Grill & Bar in Wentzville. I think I ate a whole loaf.

L is for Low Fat/Cal

I love my sweets, but I also love staying in shape. It's a never-ending battle. While I would love to indulge in some sugary carbohydratey treat every day, it's just not smart. Or it's just too much work to stay on top of the calorie intake.



So whenever I bake, I cut cals or fat at every chance I get. I try to use low-fat versions of sour cream, cream cheese, butter, and milk; and purchase reduced-sugar versions of cake mix and brownie mix whenever I use them. I never tell a difference in the final product. Now whether or not the trade-off is actually positive due to other chemicals those products have to make them low-fat or low-cal, could be a whole other debate. But I will stick with stemming the caloric load for now.

Here are some low-cal recipes collected from BakingBites that I'd love to try out sometime:

Low Fat Fudgy Brownies
Low Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lower Fat Carrot Sheet Cake
Light Chocolate Mousse
Low Fat Lemon Curd (to use as filling in cakes, pastries, lemon cupcakes, etc.)
Whole Wheat Maple Muffins

I've also mentioned before, the Applesauce Layer Chocolate Cake and the Low Fat Vanilla Pastry Cream and Mini Eclairs.

K is for Kahlua

My contribution to Cinco de Mayo this year was Kahlua Fudge Brownies. I had almost a full bottle of Kahlua in my pantry (still do) and wanted to use it for something, and I thought brownies were a good match. They turned out well, but people at work were saying I should've used more Kahlua. I'll remember that for next time...



I also found a recipe for Kahlua Fantasy Chocolate Cheesecake... that is on the "To Bake" list for SURE. My Baking Addiction has a pretty simple-looking recipe as well...



I'm sure there are other things that can be baked with Kahlua as well... it's also pretty good with a bit of milk. :)

J is for Jan Hagels

I made these freaking addictive cookies a while back and was an instant huge fan. They are basically just easy butter cookie squares sprinkled with chopped nuts.



They are super simple to make. All you need are: 1 cup butter or margarine, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg (separated), 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tbsp water, and 1/2 cup very finely chopped walnuts. Mix together the butter, sugar, and the egg yolk. Add in the flour and cinnamon, sifted together. Pat mixture into the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Mix the remaining egg white with the tbsp of water and brush on top. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 350. Cut into strips.

Go on, I dare you. Believe me when I say they are addictive!



Here are my little cookies, before I devoured them. :)

I is for Icing

I am not one of those people who scrapes icing off cakes or cupcakes. It is never too sweet or too rich for me. I will take the corner piece of a cake, thank you, and I will actually eat those big icing flowers. BRING IT!!



Icing is pretty simple to make with confectioner's sugar, milk, and butter, then flavored or colored to match whatever you're putting it on. I have made lemon buttercream frosting that turned out pretty well. But to really whip up a batch like a true chef, you have to boil the sugar to a certain temperature, then beat in egg whites, and finally add butter once it has cooled down. The result is a creamy frosting that is, as the author puts it, "not too sweet" (she IS one of those people who doesn't like too much on her cupcakes!).

So I guess I won't be going to all the trouble to make "real" frosting, I'll take the easy, sweeter stuff! Yum.

H is for Honey Bread

Some time ago I baked a Milk & Honey Bread that had a good honey flavor to it, but the bread itself was quite crumbly and difficult to slice. I found Baking Bites' version of Honey Buttermilk Bread that sounds pretty good, except I have never baked bread using yeast. One day I will get over my fear of yeast and just bake a loaf with it, whether it's this Honey Bread or some other kind of bread... mmmm. Bread.

G is for Grilled Cheesecake

Again, Cakespy comes up with a GENIUS idea: sweet-ifying a grilled cheese sandwich by grilling a piece of cheesecake between two pieces of pound cake. Someday I'm going to try this. I actually found some Sara Lee coupons right next to each other in a Sunday paper insert that were for single serving pound cakes and cheesecakes. I cut them out together, for the purpose of trying this. It's as if they knew...

F is for Flan

I think flan could serve as a litmus test for how much you like sweet desserts. If you can handle flan, there is little you can't do in the world of sweet. I have never made it before, but you can make Jello versions of it.



That would be nice and easy!

Flan is known as crème caramel in some circles, which may have been what I had at one of our hotel showings in Lyon, France:



It may have been one of the most delicious desserts I've ever had.

Baking Bites has made a Thai Coffee Creme Caramel that sounds pretty durn good as well!

E is for Eclair

Eclairs, those delicious bakery staples, are like a fancy dressed-up custard donut. Until I started this blog and had to come up for an idea for E, I never thought of making my own. But hey, if I'm playing with the idea of making my own donuts, I could go a step further and make some beautiful delicious eclairs, right? Sure!

Baking Bites even has a mini-eclair recipe with low fat vanilla creme... perfect! And so cute, too!

D is for Donut

Actually the name of this post should be "D is for Donut Imitations." Those aren't really donuts... they're donut pies. They're made from pie crust and filling, fried and topped with pretty frosting to look like donuts. I could totally do that. I've never fried anything myself before, but these would be a good start.

Another way to make my own donuts are these cute little Sugar Donut Muffins. Those would be a cute side dish to a Sunday brunch at the parents' sometime. :)



Or, I could just get my own... nah, too dangerous.

C is for Cookie ...Cake Pie

This genius conglomeration of cookie dough, cake, and pie crust is Cakespy's own creation... she is a GENIUS, I tell you. I think she and I are similar in how much we love sweet foods. This looks like it was cooked up by little kids grabbing anything they can find in the kitchen. When I get the chance to try it, mine will be done with sugar cookie mix and probably the funfetti cake that she used, with of course some sprinkles on top. :) I could also do the chocolate chip cookie dough, but then it would be done with yellow cake and topped with chocolate chips, and possibly chocolate icing instead of buttercream. Oh, the possibilities. I tell you, it's pure genius.

I could spend loads of time on C. So let's shorten this entry by featuring a few more C combinations like the one above, shall we?

First up: this week I baked a Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze to spread some cheer among my coworkers. I got LOADS of compliments on it and brought home an empty dish.



Two more of my favorite C foods are cheesecake and coconut. This Coconut Cheesecake with a shortbread cookie crust looks seriously, dangerously, good. If nothing else, I HAVE to try out that shortbread crust for something. Hm, maybe it would be good with banana cream pie...



And also, let's not forget chocolate and cupcakes!! I recently found this recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting that I just HAVE to try soon.



Like I said, I can go on and on with C... but that does enough damage for now!

B is for Banana

Today's selection is another delicious fruit to bake with... banana cream pie is my dad's favoritest dessert ever, so I need to learn to bake this from scratch for him. Would be good for Father's Day this weekend perhaps... if I get the time! Of course mine would be done with a vanilla wafer crust with vanilla wafers garnishing the top. :)



I have also experimented with banana bread in the past as well... I have made Banana Cream Cheese Bread that turned out pretty well, as well as Nonfat Banana Muffins using applesauce as the liquid (as I mentioned in the previous post!). But an idea that looks too delicious to pass up is Baking Bites' Peanut Butter Swirl Banana Bread, made with bananas, peanut butter, and cream cheese. I gotta try that out sometime!



And one more idea for banana bread: BANANA BREAD FRENCH TOAST.



Behold the Tower of Awesome.

Edited to add: I am making the banana cream pie pictured above for Father's Day. Just finished the batch of custard and it smells delicious. Wanted to take a spoon to it, but will save it for the pie. Decided to just use regular crust instead of vanilla wafer...going to keep it basic. Am finishing the pie up tomorrow and we'll indulge on Sunday... can't wait! Will try to remember to take a picture!

A is for Apple

There's something rustic and homey about an apple dessert, like apple crisp. They're everywhere in the summertime, particularly around the Fourth of July. I have never made my own before, and the Fourth is coming up, so maybe I will try one out of my own to serve at work or for a family gathering. I have a perfect stoneware dish that it should look nice and pretty in. :) And of course I won't forget the vanilla ice cream!

Cakespy did an interesting post a couple weeks ago about all the different varieties of fruit desserts and their strange names... ever heard of a "pandowdy" or a "slonker"?? Me neither! But it's fun to learn about the cultural traditions behind these fruit creations.

Another use for apples in baking is using applesauce as a substitute for oil or eggs in recipes. I have made some pretty tasty muffins using this technique, but Baking Bites recently posted a recipe using applesauce to make a low-fat chocolate cake. Now THAT I gotta try...I hope it is as moist and delicious as a regular chocolate cake!

ABCBaking

Well of course I didn't win the United tickets. So it doesn't look like Open Seas will be hitting the open skies or the open road anytime soon... unless I decide to pull together some trip for my week of vacation over my birthday, but I have no plans as of yet.

So I'm going to occupy this blog with another love of mine, sweet treats. I love baking and my coworkers are even starting to ask me when am I going to bring in the next baked treat into the office, so I seem to have a tiny bit of a fan base, or so I like to think... :) So I'm going to do a baking version of an ABC blog for awhile, where I post ideas, recipes, and pictures of sweets I have baked or want to try out sometime. Should be fun.

Most of my inspirations come from Baking Bites, Cakespy, and My Baking Addiction, with maybe a few pulled from Recipe Goldmine, but I guess ideas can come from anywhere, if I think of something specific I want to do and just do a Google search for it.

Well we'll see how it goes... let the yumminess ensue! :)

Vacation Bug Bites Again

I am *NOT* holding my breath, but I entered to win two free United Airlines tickets at work. They were supposed to announce the winner today, and I am announcement-less, so I assume I didn't get them, unless there is an email waiting for me at work. Again. NOT holding my breath.

But it would be super cool. I'd take my sister to NYC, the week of my birthday, because I already have that week off. I have a super awesome friend we could stay with. We'd go to the Statue of Liberty and THIS time I won't miss out on the museum in the base of the statue. We'd probably see a show or two on Broadway. And I'd totally hit up this restaurant. It would be SO FUN.

So fun, in fact, I just had to look up and see how much tickets to NYC are right now for that week, since I most likely won't win the tickets and will have to buy them instead if I really want to go... American was offering them for $259.20 for roundtrip to LGA. Soooo tempting........ but my sister probably won't bite if the tickets aren't free.

So right now I have that week off with no plans. What to do? I can't just sit at home for a week! Well... I easily COULD. But I SHOULDN'T.

It'll be the dog days of summer, so Phoenix doesn't sound too appealing... heading north sounds better... but of course, it's summer, so traveling anywhere will be more expensive... agh. Going to think about this a bit!