Author Archives: stacey

Home Reno – Pantry Wall Tweak

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Since we installed our wall of pantry storage cabinets, we have made some tweaks. One of them I had to be convinced we needed by the husband. But, in the end, I am grateful for it when I use it from time to time.

I’m talking about a pullout wood block I can use to drop hot foods from the microwave above it. I can also use it to lay hot trays of food on from the oven steps away in the kitchen. And, as I discovered after I woke up one day with hip pain and couldn’t sit to use my computer, it works as a lovely standing desk area.

Originally we both envisioned me making fresh pasta on that board, but I haven’t had time to use it that way yet. I hope to rectify that in the near future. 😀

Oh, and he hated the small area I had a tiny garbage can sitting in that was also exposed, so he built a pullout tall can drawer with a door panel to hide the can.

Lately I have been working on the organization of my canned goods. Since the drawer I store them in rolls out and hits the middle of my thighs, I find picking up cans to see if it’s the one I need while I’m rushing around to make dinner on the fly just unworkable for me.

I came up with a solution. It isn’t Pinerest worthy, but it works for me. More importantly, now I can ask the husband to grab me a can of something-something quickly. He often asks how he can help, and I can’t deal with him in there rooting around. That’s frustrating given how many cans I store. I’m hopeful this is the low-tech solution we’ve been seeking.

Air Fryer Biscuits

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I found this recipe online and thought, this is the perfect Sunday breakfast side. So, here we go:

Air Fryer Biscuits:
25g Butter, grated and chilled

1 C A-P Flour
1 1/2 tea Baking Powder
1/4 tea Sea Salt

25g Parmesan Cheese, grated
75g Cheddar Cheese, grated

1/2 C Milk

Flour for the countertop

Yield: 12 mini 2-bite biscuits

Grate and chill the butter. Grate the cheeses; set aside. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and massage it by hand into the dry flour mix a bit before folding in the cheeses.

Add the milk last to combine it all. It should be wetter than you think it should be for a biscuit mix because the air fryer tends to dry baked goods out.

Sprinkle the reserve flour out on clean surface and drop the batter out. Flatten it into a smooth disc of around 1 1/4″ to start cutting the biscuits out. Place your circle shape over the dough and push it straight down to make the cuts. (I used my 1/4 C measuring cup since it was the final biscuit size I was after.)

Resist the urge to move your cutter side to side to make sure the dough is fully cut. Also resist.

Pull the leftover dough away before picking up the biscuit to set aside. Gently ball up the leftovers and flatten out until it’s all used up. Do not knead! The dough it too delicate for kneading.

Bake in two batches at 300*F for 10 mins each. Soften a small bit of butter in a dish in the microwave for 15 secs. Brush this butter on the tops of the baked biscuits.

 

Tuxedo Muffins

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I made these large muffins these other day on a whim. I ended up with four, but if I had split the batter up more, I would have yielded anywhere from 6-10 depending on the muffin tin size I had on-hand to use.

These muffins have an oatmeal mix base, but I assure you, you can’t taste the oats or even detect their texture. What you will think you’re eating instead is a brownie. And you might (should) want to eat it with a fork. The chocolate tends to colour your fingers. In the best possible way, of course. 😀

Tuxedo Muffins:
1/4 C (225g) Muffin Mix (of choice)
1/8 C (110g) Coco Powder
3 Tbsp Instant Espresso Powder *
1 Egg
3 Tbsp Veg Oil
1/2 tea Vanilla Extract
1/4 C White Chocolate Chips (reserve some to top muffins before baking)
1/2 C Chocolate Chips (milk or dark)
Enough Water to moisten the batter enough to scoop into the liners

Whisk all of the dry goods together before dropping in all of the wet ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients in to combine in one go, and then stop. Don’t overmix. Scoop it all into your liners and bake the muffins at 425* for 10-15 mins before dropping the heat down to 350*F for 20 mins. (This timing is for the large muffins)

The muffins are done when the top don’t feel soft and moist anymore. If you want to temp the middle with a probe, they will be fully cooked at around 190-200*F.

I hope you love there coffee cafe muffins as much as I do. I’m in love with them. *swoon*

* If you don’t have instant espresso powder, you can use a mix of 3 tbsp hot water + 2 tbsp Nescafe instant coffee grinds mixed together like a slurry, which is what I did when I made these muffins the other night.

Garlic ‘Pasketti & Balls Bread

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My husband’s loves this spin on a childhood fave food. It consists of a hollowed out bread loaf that’s been brushed with garlic butter, topped with cheese and spaghetti & meatballs. I put more cheese on top and bake it for 10 mins at 350*F. I let it cook for 10 mins, pulled it to rest 10 mins, and then cut it into slices to serve.

Garlic ‘Pasketti & Balls Bread:
1″ Bundle of Spaghetti
Pasta Sauce, of choice
Frozen Meatballs, of choice
Half Bread Loaf, cut lengthwise and middle mostly hollowed out
Garlic Butter
1/2 C Marble Cheese, either slices or grated, or both
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese, grated

Serves two.

Hollow out the bread and brush the cavity with the garlic butter. Lay down half the marble cheese and top it with half of the parm cheese. Roll the cooked pasta in the pot with the hot sauce and balls. (I cut the meatballs in half to make eating them easier.)

Carefully lay the spaghetti & balls over the cheeses and top with more meatballs. Push it down as you add more to condense it and really get that hot sauce melting the cheese to trap the spaghetti in place. Top with the last of the cheeses, and bake on a sheet pan.

It’s a real challenge to eat this without losing any of the balls or strands of the spaghetti, but that only makes it more fun to eat on some random night when you need something fast to make and filling to consume.

Mason Jar Ice Creams

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This morning I made an ice cream base in my blender and dumped it into two mason jars and added some crushed up chocolate covered pretzels and some chocolate covered peanuts. I stuffed them into the big freezer and went to work.

The second I got home, I took those jars out and let them come up to room temp a bit while we ate lunch. I like this blend. I love being able to use my high-speed blender to blitz the base together, but I hated scooping it out. Ugh. That is my only complaint.

Give this very creamy ice cream a go if are in a hurry. It freezes perfectly, and softens quickly enough to have whenever you like.

Sunday Dinner – Meatloaf & Beans

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Made a late simple dinner tonight. I cooked a lovely meatloaf in the air fryer. And as that rested, I cooked some green beans with canned mushrooms, and fried onions as the side. I have made many different meatloaves over the years, but this one is up there with my favourite ground turkey meatloaf that I keep craving.

Here’s what I put in mine:

Jalapeno Meatloaf:
1+ lbs Ground Beef
1/4 sm Yellow Onion, grated finely
1/4 Bell Pepper, any on hand, fine diced
1/2 med Jalapeno, seeded and fine diced
Cracks of Pepper
Pinch of Salt
3 tbsp Everyday Seasoning Rub
1/2 C Panko
1/2 C Dry Breadcrumbs

Everyday Seasoning Rub:
1 1/2 tbsp: Garlic / Onion Powders
1 tbsp: Salt / Paprika
2 tea: Black Pepper / Mustard Powder

(Despite only needing a bit of the rub mix for the meatloaf, the above will net you enough to fill a small mason jar. You can use it with any kind of food group.)

Mix all of the meatloaf ingredients in a mixing bowl by hand. Place fistfuls of meat into a greased pan, and press the meat into the corners first. Add the rest to the middle and spread it all out evenly across the surface.

Place the pan into the air fryer (or on a sheet tray) to cook at 375*F for about 18-20 mins. Pull the loaf when it temps at 158-160* and let the residual heat finish cook the meat. Let it rest on a cutting board in the pan for about 15 mins as you work on the green beans.

Green Beans:
1 tbsp regular Olive Oil
S&P, to taste
1/2 can Mushrooms (for cooking speed), drained
1+ tbsp Dried Onions

Clean out the mixing bowl with soap, and drip dry it. Run your green beans under cool water to rinse off any dirt. Drain them and dump them in the bowl. Assemble the other ingredients over the beans. Roll everything around nicely. With tongs, move the mixture to the air fryer basket (or dump it onto a sheet tray to cook them in the oven, or in a skillet to pan fry). Cook the beans at the same temp as the meat for about 5+ mins.

They are done when you can hold one bean with the tongs and bend it over in a soft V shape. Plate it all and decide if you want any sauce to top the meat with or not. Enjoy.

I Made Natural Peanut Butter!

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Yes, I did! Just like the pioneers! (And the pilgrims, I’m sure.)

So easy, so fast, and you can fully control the taste using salt, oil type, and the peanuts you choose to use.

I used: 1 bag of Unsalted Roasted Peanuts / 3-4 tbsp Oil (I chose veg) / 1/4 tea salt. I threw it all into my high-speed blender and let it go.

My pretty blender. I nicknamed her She Hulk. For the obvious reason.

My pretty blender. I nicknamed her She Hulk. For the obvious reason.

My first attempt with a conservative two tablespoons of veg oil produced a lovely chunky mix, but it was barely spread consistency so I added another tablespoon. That got me a lovely lumpy consistency but I wanted to see what would happen if I added another half tablespoon more of oil and let ‘er rip a full minute.

This! This what I got. I’m am very happy. This is how I love my natural peanut butter. This is the spread I love to use at home. I have long ditched the sugary Kraft stuff my husband refuses to give up. He rarely eats PB & J, but when he does, he gets cranky when there isn’t any in the pantry. I married a child. 🙂

Anyhooch, give this a go if you’re into natural peanut butter like I am, and you also hate the big sticker price of it in grocery stores and bulk food stores. The wild pricing of any commercial peanut butter products is teetering on being a criminal situation. :-\

Sicilian Sheet Tray Pizza

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I like making pizza at home. We like a nice crispy crust, and one way to guarantee getting one every time outside of having a professional pizza oven is to use a sheet tray and regular olive oil. It’s how the Sicilians nonnas do it.

One your large sheet tray, pour out about 2 tbsp of olive oil. You can use your fingers to layer the whole tray in the oil, or you can use a brush. Don’t forget to brush oil up along the sides so the pizza doesn’t stick to it. Watch this clip to see how it’s done.

Drop your room temp ball of pizza dough on the sheet and use your oiled fingers to start pressing and stretching the dough outwards all over the surface. When you think the bottom has enough oil on it, flip the whole dough over to oil the second side. Keep stretching the dough out to the corners from the middle and the dough edge.

When the dough starts contracting back into the middle, stop. Let the dough rest 30 mins. After that first rest, repeat the stretching into the corners. Again, when it starts contracting, stop. Rest it another 30 mins. This may need one or two more stretch & rests before you can start topping the pizza.

I bake mine at 450*F for as long as it takes for me to smell it cooking in the oven and for the cheese to melt in the middle. Pull it out, rest it 10-15 mins, and then use your longest burger flipping spatula to lift the crust off of the sheet to a cutting board. And this should what you see when you sneak a peek at the crust.

Enjoy!

 

Mac & Pizza Casserole

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Sometimes I get tired of pizza because I’m not in the mood to chew a baked crust. And sometimes I also want Mac & Cheese at the same time as pizza. Enter the casserole version!

I mixed up my normal pizza topper ingredients I like (pepperoni chopped up, any veg I have kicking around, loads of grated mozza + marble cheddar plus a bit of parm cheeses), a bunch of cooked elbow pasta, the white mac & cheese sauce I always make (or close enough), and any spices I want (I stuck with the classic Italian blend).

This got baked covered at 375* for about 30 mins to get it hot enough to melt the cheese properly.