Pickle Dip

January 18, 2012 By


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Let’s pretend for just a moment that I’m sharing this recipe with you for the Superbowl or some other super important get together where there will be many people clamoring for dip.

Let’s pretend that I have never in my life made this in preparation of a night of television watching with just me, my chips, my dip, and an overly full DVR.

You see, people aren’t meant to eat a half of a pound of cream cheese all by themselves in one sitting. So, we’re pretending I didn’t do that. Got it?

I know the two words “pickle” and “dip” don’t necessarily sound like they belong together, but the thing is that this is my most favorite dip of all time. It literally takes about 2 minutes to whip up, it’s utterly fabulous at room temperature (no chilling, no baking, no worrying about the temperature), and did I mention that it’s just plain amazing?

So, go ahead and pretend that you have a house full of people, make some dip, and then pretend like you aren’t the one eating it all yourself. Imagination is good for the soul.

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Pickle Dip

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 to 1 cup dill pickles, depending on how pickly you like things
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • dill, for garnish, if desired
  • pickle juice

Instructions

  1. Chop the pickles into very small pieces.
  2. Combine with the cream cheese and Worcestershire sauce until well mixed. Splash in a bit of pickle juice to thin the dip out a bit (around 1 tablespoon, but more is fine, dependent on your taste).
  3. Serve cold or at room temperature with potato chips.
http://bunsinmyoven.com/2012/01/18/pickle-dip/

33 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers, Easy Breezy Chicken Squeezy, Snack

Brown Butter Lemon Garlic Pasta

January 13, 2012 By


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Remember Wednesday? When I made those brown butter cookies? I threatened to assault you with more brown butter recipes. This is me, following through with my threat.

And, for the love of Bieber, is it brown butter or browned butter? I’m going to continue calling it brown butter until I hear otherwise.

My days are filled with two small-ish children who would be happy to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day of their lives. I like to experiment a bit more than that, and this pasta recipe is one of my recent creations. The kids both said it was “okay” but they’d rather just have their PB&J, thankyouverymuch.

That’s when I smacked them. Naughty little brats.

Okay, no I didn’t. I kinda like those two little whiners.

This pasta makes a quick and simple lunch that’s super easy to prepare for as many people as you’re looking to feed. The recipe below feeds 2 hungry adults, but feel free to adjust as needed.

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Brown Butter Lemon Garlic Pasta

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, depending on size and your love of garlic
  • juice from 1 or 2 lemons, depending on your preference
  • 2 ounces Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon dried or fresh chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions, drain.
  2. Chop or smash the garlic.
  3. While the pasta is boiling, add butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Stir the butter over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add the garlic to the skillet and continue stirring for one minute or until the garlic is fragrant and the butter is a dark brown color.
  4. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
  5. Toss the pasta with the garlic butter mixture, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, and salt and pepper.
  6. Top with more Parmesan, if desired.
http://bunsinmyoven.com/2012/01/13/brown-butter-lemon-garlic-pasta/

18 Comments Filed Under: Easy Breezy Chicken Squeezy, Main Dish, Pasta, Vegetarian

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 11, 2012 By


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When I want cookies, I usually want them right now. There is no patience to be found. I make the dough, I eat half of it, I bake the rest, I consume the resulting cookies within minutes. That’s just how I roll.

Those New York Times cookies everyone raves about? No. No freakin’ way. I can not make cookie dough and then just let it sit in my fridge for days and days. Do I look like a grown up adult type person or something? I do? Well, I sure as heck don’t act like one when it comes to cookies.

(Before you all send me hate mail and insist that I try the NY Times recipe, I’ve tried it. Not worth the wait, in my opinion.)

I almost didn’t make this recipe because it requires browning butter and then letting the butter harden back up. Then my love of brown butter knocked me over the head and insisted that I make these cookies immediately.

I don’t usually experiment too much with chocolate chip cookies, because I already have that one recipe that is just plain perfect.  You can find my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe by clicking the link, if you’re curious.

As soon as I tasted the dough for these guys I started bragging on facebook about finding the one true chocolate chip cookie that would one day rule the world.

brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe

Then I baked the cookies and discovered that, while super delicious, they didn’t quite beat my other favorite. The raw dough, however, was out of this world amazing. I see some serious egg-less cookie dough experimenting coming up with that dough.

I thought I’d still share the recipe, because it is a fabulous cookie and I’m quite sure it will make favorite status with some of you. In fact, I plan to take the idea of browning the butter in this recipe and using it in my other favorite recipe. Brown butter is my new favorite thing, you know. Prepare to be assaulted with brown butter recipes.

Not the chocolate chip cookie recipe you were looking for? I’ve got more recipes right here and here.

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lb chocolate chips/chunks
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Begin by melting the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring constantly. The butter will foam and then once the foam subsides you will notice small dark flecks in the butter. Continue stirring until the butter has reached a dark brown color without burning. (I take it just to the edge of burning, but you can stop sooner.) Pour the butter in a small bowl and refrigerate until hardened again.
  2. Once the butter has hardened back up, cream it together with the sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer.
  3. Add the eggs one a time, mixing until fully incorporated.
  4. Beat in the vanilla and mix until light and fully.
  5. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine.
  6. With your mixer on low, slowly add the flour to the butter mixture.
  7. Continue mixing until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
  8. Dump in the chocolate and mix for another couple of seconds to combine.
  9. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
  10. Bake for 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
http://bunsinmyoven.com/2012/01/11/brown-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/

recipe from the little red house

20 Comments Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake

January 9, 2012 By

red velvet gooey butter cake

Valentine’s Day is coming. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been a big, huge fan of Valentine’s Day. I mean, yes, I love chocolate and all that, but it seems like such a throwaway holiday that I never get excited about it.

Then, I read a blog post by the fabulous Kristan (who happens to have a birthday today…hope it’s filled with lots of glitter, sparkles, and of course, every color of pink imaginable! Oh, and unicorns. It wouldn’t be a birthday without unicorns!) that if you treat Valentine’s Day like a real holiday, your husband is required to respect that and buy you lots of Valentine’s Day gifts.

Obviously, this changed my feelings.

I like gifts. Quite a lot, actually. In fact, I have a pin board devoted entirely to things that my husband should buy for me. He’s tried telling me that boys don’t “get” pinterest, but I’ve explained that I expect him to learn quickly. After all, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.

To prepare, I whipped up this Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake. Have y’all ever had regular Gooey Butter Cake? It’s pretty fabulous. Just a regular cake on the bottom, but the topping is just plain amazing. It’s gooey and buttery. I know. You never would have guessed that from the name if I hadn’t been here to tell you! It’s very rich, decadent, and pretty much perfect for Valentine’s Day.

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Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients

    For the cake:
  • 1 box mix for red velvet cake
  • 1 egg
  • 8 tablespoons butter, melted
    • For the filling:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 8 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 16 ounces (about 4 cups) powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. It will be thick and difficult to mix. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
  3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.
  4. Spread the cream cheese mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.
http://bunsinmyoven.com/2012/01/09/red-velvet-gooey-butter-cake/

adapted from Paula Deen

20 Comments Filed Under: Cake, Dessert

Chicken and Dumplings

January 5, 2012 By


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I’m not sure what part of the country (or really even what country) it is you’re from, but let me tell you something. Chicken & Dumplings are not just for Southerners or country grandmas to cook. They are pretty much the most delicious form of comfort food one could make. They are better than mashed potatoes and gravy. Better than macaroni and cheese. Yes, better than plain old chicken noodle soup. These things are like a magical mixture of crack and fairy dust. They’re just as addicting, too. In the past I’ve been known to use canned biscuit dough for my dumplings. No. No, no, no. This was wrong. And bad. I should be punished. Spank me? From now on I promise to make my own dumplings from scratch, because let’s face it, they are ridiculously easy and they blow the biscuit variety of dumplings right out of the water chicken stock. For those of you with southern grandmas, you know what I’m talking about. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a southern granny, you’ve maybe tasted this version of chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel. And, if you are unfortunate enough to have never had chicken and dumplings like this, please make it your New Year’s Resolution to give these a try. This is my new favorite dinner, y’all. It’s cheap (less than $8 for a family of four), doesn’t require a lot of hands on time, and everyone in my house loved these chicken and dumplings. I served them with a big salad and a side of roasted broccoli. All hail the chicken and dumplings.

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Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

    For the chicken:
  • 1 large fryer chicken (4-5 lbs.), neck and gizzards removed
  • 1 large onion, peeled and cut in half
  • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
  • 3 stalks of celery, cut into large pieces
  • salt and pepper, to taste
    • For the dumplings:
  • 3 cups cake flour (I used all purpose)
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons shortening or butter (I used shortening)
  • 1 cup milk

Instructions

  1. Place the chicken, onion, carrots, celery, and a teaspoon of salt and pepper in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
  2. About 45 minutes before the chicken is done boiling, prepare the dumplings by stirring together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the shortening or butter using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers. Slowly stir in the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, just until a shaggy dough forms. You may not need the full cup of milk. Do not over mix the dough.
  3. Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut in long 1-inch wide strips. Cut the dough the other direction into 1-inch squares.
  4. Place dumplings on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry for 30 minutes.
  5. When the chicken is finished cooking (it should be falling off the bone) remove it to a large dish and, when cool enough to handle (or use forks), strip the meat from the bones and into small chunks.
  6. Pour the broth from the stock pot through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Discard the vegetables. Return 6 cups of broth to the stock pot and refrigerate or freeze the remaining stock for another use.
  7. Bring the stock to a simmer and add the dumplings, one at a time so they do not stick together. Cook for 6-7 minutes.
  8. Add the chicken back to the stock pot and stir to combine. Continue cooking for 20 minutes. The broth should thicken.
  9. Add more salt and pepper as needed and dig in.
http://bunsinmyoven.com/2012/01/05/chicken-and-dumplings/

recipe from Back to the Cutting Board

14 Comments Filed Under: Chicken, Main Dish, Soup
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