Here is an update on how my list is coming along thus far.
First, I had a second interview for a job as an accountant at Missouri State University last week. I think it went well, but I won’t know until later in the week if I got the job or not. I really think I would love being back on campus again!
I shared it in a post before, but I passed the second section of the CPA exam! I haven’t been studying as much this week though… Ben had sinus surgery (he’s doing great!) and I had the flu.
Since Ben had surgery Friday, we didn’t do anything very exciting for the 4th of July. However… we have been hosting a Mad Men marathon on our couch! We’re in the middle of the fourth season. If you’ve never seen it, I would highly recommend renting it!
I didn’t take 12 cupcakes to someone “just because,” but I did bake several types of cupcakes last week for my niece’s and cousin’s birthday party. I had a cupcake stand from Crate and Barrel and hadn’t used it yet, so this was the perfect time. I also knocked out a new recipe, as I made a modified version of Joy the Baker’s hot fudge sundae cupcakes. I used a box mix instead, and instead of making ganache I used chocolate frosting. I had ever intention of making ganache (I love making ganache!) until I realized I had 50+ cupcakes and two cakes to frost, and then I took the short way out. They were still absolutely adorable though! I also made strawberry cupcakes with a fresh strawberry filled with fresh whipped cream for a topping, as well as vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting and fresh coconut. Yum!
I’ve been getting a little bit creative lately, mainly trying to find ways to use up things that I already have on hand. Since Ben and I are moving in a few weeks, I’m trying to use up things that I already have in my freezer/fridge/pantry so that we’re moving less food.
1.) I made chicken cordon bleu for the first time, but I modified it based on our tastes. Neither Ben nor I are big fans of swiss cheese, so I substituted a blend of provolone and shredded parmesan. I had leftover ham from the deli that I needed to use, and fresh thyme from my herb garden. I also made a quick pan sauce with reduced white wine, chicken stock, butter and fresh herbs. But, I forgot to take a picture...
2.) Hot Fudge Chocolate Cupcakes, as referred to above. Delish! Homemade whipped cream is so easy to make, and really makes all of the difference. I imagine they would have been even better with ganache, but since I was serving them mainly to children, I don’t think it made much difference.
3.) Chicken Margherita – In this case, I had fresh tomatoes that were very ripe and needed to be used up. I chopped up fresh tomatoes, added a can of diced tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning, olive oil, garlic, and some fresh basil from my garden. I reduced that into a sauce, and then sautéed a couple of chicken breasts seasoned with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in olive oil. I topped the chicken with sliced provolone and then the tomato mixture, and topped it with fresh basil. Yum! Again, I forgot to take a picture. I’ll get better at this… I think.
4.) The last new dish of the week is actually two dishes. I bought a three pound bag of apples for our family reunion last weekend, and we didn’t dig into any of them… so now I have three pounds of apples to use. Ben requested an “apple dessert” so I was going to make baked apples. I usually just core out the center of an apple with a melon baller, crush up a granola bar, put it in the center of the apple and add a little maple syrup/cinnamon and bake. It’s delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream. I planned on doing this until I realized since we’ve been cutting carbs, I didn’t have any granola on hand. I did, however, have oats, a combination of nuts and seeds, pure maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon. So… I made homemade granola. I’d never made it before and I didn’t have a recipe, but it turned out pretty well. I combined all of the aforementioned ingredients (I think I used walnuts, pecans, almonds, pepitas, and sunflower seeds because again, I was trying to use up things from my pantry, but your favorite combination of nuts and seeds would work fine here) and placed them on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup. I baked that for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees stirring every 10 minutes.
In the mean time, I cored and sliced 4 apples, and mixed them with a little sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and a tiny amount of lemon juice to prevent browning. I put all of these items in a pie plate and topped them with the homemade granola to make a hybrid between an apple crisp and my usual baked apple, and baked this for 45 minutes at 375. The only thing I would have done differently here would have been to bake the apples for half an hour and then add the granola during the last 10 minutes or so. I topped the mixture and then began to bake the apples. Since I’d already baked the granola, I had to cover it so the nuts wouldn’t burn, and in turn the granola didn’t stay quite as crisp as I would have liked. It was still wonderful, but that’s my suggestion if you try making this sometime. I did remember to get a picture, but not until after Ben had already dug in.
I haven’t officially started the list for my nieces, but I’ve been thinking about it. Here’s my gorgeous niece Addy last weekend at our family reunion. Her baby sister is due December 7th. I LOVE being Auntie Lindsey. Just wish they lived closer!
That's all for now! I'm finally feeling a little better, so I suppose it's time to hit the books again! Happy 4th of July!
