Author Archives: michele343

KFC and Kentucky Fried Chicken Biscuits

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, Recipes

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KFC and Kentucky Fried Chicken Biscuits 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2/3 cup milk or buttermilk (which is what is used for the true KFC recipe) just read the comments below, lol
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
Directions
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Sift together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into mixing bowl.
Make a well in the flour mix and add the milk.
Add shortening and begin kneading with hands (to cut in) the vegetable shortening and flour in the milk until thoroughly mixed.
Add milk, if needed to form, and mix.
Turn onto floured board, and knead gently 6 to 8 times.
Pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness.
Cut into biscuits.
Place on baking sheet and brown in oven 10-13 minutes.
Makes about 9 biscuits.

http://www.food.com/recipe/kfc-and-kentucky-fried-chicken-biscuits-85057

Chocolate Insanity Cake

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, Recipes

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Chocolate Insanity Cake

For the cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour, plus 1 tablespoon divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda, divided
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1/4 cup sweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli ground chocolate)
1 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare a 9×12 cake pan by buttering and flouring.  Set aside.

In a small cup add 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar.  Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and baking powder, stir with a whisk to combine.  Set aside.


In a small saucepan combine butter, cocoa and water.  Bring to a boil, then add to flour mixture.  Beat well.
  

 


Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to milk mixture.  Set aside.  In a small bowl combine chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of flour.  Set aside.

Add eggs to flour butter mixture.  Then add milk mixture and vanilla.  Beat well to combine.  Add chocolate chips to mixture and fold in.


Pour into prepared cake pan.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

5 minutes before cake is done, prepare icing.

For icing
1/4 cup sweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli ground chocolate)
1/4 pound unsalted butter 
6 tablespoons milk
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt 


Bring cocoa, butter and milk to a boil in a large saucepan.  Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, salt and vanilla, beat well with mixer.  Spread over hot cake.  Serve!

Chocolate Cream Pie

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, Recipes

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Chocolate Cream Pie

yield: 8 to 10 servings

 

prep time: 5 hours

 

cook time: 10 minutes

 

total time: 5 hours

INGREDIENTS:

For the Crust:
24 Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
For the Chocolate Cream Filling:
2½ cups half-and-half
Pinch salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 egg yolks, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 6 pieces
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Whipped Cream Topping:
1½ cups heavy cream
4½ teaspoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the Oreo cookie crumbs and the melted butter in a medium bowl and toss with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Transfer the crumbs to a 9-inch pie plate. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, forming a crust. Refrigerate the lined pie plate for 20 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is fragrant and set. Cook on a wire rack while the filling is prepared.
2. Make the Chocolate Cream Filling: Bring the half-and-half, salt and 3 tablespoons of the sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk the yolks thoroughly in a medium bowl for about 30 seconds, until slightly thickened. Add the cornstarch mixture and whisk until the mixture is glossy and the sugar has begun to dissolve, about 1 minute. When the half-and-half reaches a full simmer, drizzle about ½ cup hot half-and-half over the yolks, whisking constantly to temper; then whisk the egg yolk mixture into the simmering half-and-half. Return to a simmer, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds longer.
3. Off the heat, whisk in the butter until incorporated; add the chopped chocolate and whisk until melted, scraping the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to fully incorporate. Stir in the vanilla, then immediately pour the filling through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Using a spatula, scrape the strained filling into the baked and cooled crust. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling and refrigerate the pie until the filling is cold and firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. Make the Whipped Cream Topping: When ready to serve, beat the cream and sugar in the chilled bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed to soft peaks; add the vanilla. Continue to beat to barely stiff peaks. Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the chilled filling and garnish with shaved chocolate, if desired. Serve immediately.
(Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated)

Some of my life story part 2

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in My Story

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Ever wonder why God does or allows some of the things He Does? I do, all the time. the past two weeks or so have been full of bad/good news in my life and family. A friend started opening up and sharing about his life and family, another friend got baptized and his life started to change direction & focus. I supported a friend that broke down at church after hearing a message of just what they needed to hear. Another friend started to realize some problems in their life and relationships and is wanting to start to work repairing things. Another friend had a miscarriage. One of my best friends has decided to divorce her husband after 12 years. She is also having troubles with her oldest son acting out. I have started to work on my marriage and try to repair and recover an almost 20 yr relationship. Friendships have changed. The list I know can go on and on as I am sure yours could too.

I have grown to have a different view on things over the years. Things that I have gone through in my past have helped shape me into the person I am today. I know I don’t always seem strong but I know that I have always had God beside me. From the time I found out I had a heart problem when I was a freshman in college. I know he was with me through each heart surgery I had.  Through the hard times in my marriage I knew I wasn’t alone.  I was strong when I went through years of infertility to have both of my kids.  The hardships, pain, loss that I suffered during that time was hard.  I miscarried, lost pregancies, or just had no reason why things weren’t working at all.  I knew that I wasn’t alone.  When I found out I had early stage uteran cancer a year after I had my daughter, I was like how could this be happening to me?  I started to ask why is God letting all of these things happen to me.  I knew in my heart he wouldn’t let me handle anything I couldn’t.  It was just hard to be so young and to have had so many things to struggle with.  I asked myself why do some people have nothing to deal with and some people have just one major thing but what did I do to get so much? 

I know that it wasn’t for me to be in pain or for me to hurt.  It was for me to be broken so that I could be there for others.  I know that God has had a place for me I just didn’t know his plan.  To me I know that I have watched the news and it is hard to hear sometimes but it is for me a bit easier because somedays I have lived through pain.  I have lived through on pins and needles on skype the only communication we had after the tsunami in Japan to a couple friends to know that they were OK.  One we had to hang onto that communication as he was being evacuated from the area he was in and put on a ship to come home.  A ship we would have no cotact with him for weeks.  It has been hard to live in my home knowing my dad collaped and died when I was 7 months pregnant with my first.  We almost sold the house 1 time.  I spent almost 3 years not even using the down stairs and it took me years to use the part my dad was in.  I know that the pain and hurt are real but that they are things that make me stronger.

I know that some people don’t stay in touch with people, have many friends, or whatever your relationships are with your friends.  But for me I cherish my friendships.  I actually have liked all the people that have come into my life.  My whole life.  I know that relationships are up and down and come with baggage.  I know that we all do and well that is something that I love.  For me when I sit late at night on my bed talking to a girlfriend (just like I did when I was a kid) I cherish that time.  I love all the crazy, fun, deep things we talk about.  To me no matter what someone says I know that they are needing a friend or someone at that time in there life to just be there.  I don’t take notes, I don’t write it down, I am not keeping a score card.  I am just there for them because one day they will hopefully be there for me.  Yes I might be human and we all are.  I know we all have talked to our friends about others.  We talk about is that boy cute, did he look at you, did so and so say something to you today.  We do and this is human nature to have these co-dependent relationships.  There is nothing wrong with this but what is wrong is for someone to go outside of the relationship and to try to hurt the relationship.  The sad thing is people do this all the time and it happens in friendships and in families.  I don’t know why people do this to each other because all it does it tear each other apart and hurt.  Friendships are not built this way, I am not built this way.  I find it hard enough as I am getting older to feel that I can trust or get close to someone because you always have to guard what you do and say.  I don’t feel I can be who I am and that is sad.  I want to be me for people, my friends, my family to know me for me.  Not for me to hide because I am hurting inside and afraid to share about myself.

For me I am realizing that I need a community of amazing people, good friends, a great church, God, and things in my life so that I can work to be strong and repair.  I don’t need baggage and pain.  I don’t need to suffer for what I have done.  I have hurt in my life already and I just don’t need it.  I know I have a hard time with this.  Because I seem strong on the outside but on the inside I fall apart.  I remember all the things, the pain, the suffering and it eats at me and I feel so weak.