Celebrate :: 4th of July
Posted: June 29, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 6 Comments »
photo weheart.com
4th of July weekend is almost here! When I think of July 4th, I think of all the brave and courageous people who fought hard to make this country what it is today. Also, it doesn’t hurt that we get to celebrate with our friends and families, and enjoy good bbq, food, and drinks :)
When it comes of holidays, I’m all about the cheese factor! And desserts and sweets are definitely my favorite part to the end of any meal! So, without further ado, I would like to present to you some of my favorite Pinterest finds to help ring in the holiday!
Find out my favorite sweet picks after the jump!
Funfetti Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Posted: June 27, 2012 Filed under: dessert recipes | Tags: Baking and Confections, cookie, Cookie dough, food, funfetti, funfetti cookies, funfetti ice cream sandwich, ice cream, ice cream sandwich, menu, sprinkles, Sugar cookie 9 Comments »
funfetti cookie ice cream sandwiches
I can’t believe it’s taken me a month to blog about these! I made the them the same week I first stumbled upon them in my Google Reader from Every Craving for date night! Not only are they too cute to eat, but they are a perfect treat for this summer’s upcoming heat wave.
My favorite part about these ice cream sandwiches is the funfetti cookie! You guys all know how much I love sprinkles!! And this is the perfect sugar cookie! If ice cream sandwiches aren’t your thing, definitely do please try making the funfetti cookies! I love how Chloe uses very simple, basic, and the most minimal ingredients to make these cookies!
As you can see, here’s all that’s needed to make funfetti cookie ice cream sandwiches!
The foundation of the sugar cookie! I love eating cookie dough! So good, yet so bad…why?? :)
To Rinse of Not to Rinse :: Chicken
Posted: June 25, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 8 Comments »
photo weheartit.com
Did you know that rinsing raw chicken increases your risk of getting food poisoning? I know I didn’t! And you may want to think twice before washing raw chicken in your kitchen sink!
Washing or rinsing raw chicken contaminates the sink and your surrounding work area. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always given my chicken a good rinsing in the sink because usually it comes packaged in its own chicken juices and blood so that’s yucky and I like to get rid of that since I never brine nor had a reason (or time) to brine my chicken. And at the end of every cooking session, I always give the counter tops a good cleaning, but when it comes to the sink… I am guilty of neglecting it. The only type of sink cleaning I do is just spraying the sink around with water from the faucet.
What do you guys?! Do you believe in rinsing your chicken or not? And if you don’t rinse, what kind of prep do you do??? Do you just dab with a few wet paper towels, dry, and then cook the meat?? I would love to hear some of your kitchen tips for chicken prep!
Hope you’re having a wonderful evening!
xoxo, kat
SUMMER SEASON :: CHERRIES
Posted: June 21, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cherries, fruit, ideas, menu, summer 10 Comments »
photo life-in-photos.tumblr.com
Happy belated first day of summer! Now that we’re officially in summer mode, one of my favorite things to enjoy during this season are cherries. As a child, I used to tell my parents to buy me cherries every time they went to the grocery store, which was like every week. I love cherries! I wait half a year just to enjoy one month of cherry season (2 on a good year and if prices are reasonable)!
In California, cherry season starts around mid-May and ends mid-June so during those months I am at my happiest and probably my healthiest (more fruit, less cupcakes lol).
Here are some tips on picking the best cherries this season:
- go for firm and plump
- avoid blemishes! no one wants to eat an unpretty cherry
- once cherries are picked, they do not ripen anymore so pick the darkest ones for the sweetest taste
- these babies bruise easily so don’t overcrowd them during storage
- refrigerate
- no need to toss those slightly bruised or bright red cherries, they are perfect for jams, pies, and drinks
- enjoy within 2-4 days!
I’ve been on a bit of a pinning spree on Pinterest, so of course I want to share some of my favorite pins with you! Here are just some of my favorite recipes and ideas from across the www that I think would be perfect for cherry season this summer!
Read more after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
Remake :: Simple Sesame Noodles with Pork Tonkatsu
Posted: June 18, 2012 Filed under: pasta recipes | Tags: Betty Crocker, Chili oil, food, Meat, menu, Momofuku, Pasta, Paula Deen, pioneer woman, pioneer woman's simple sesame noodles, pork, pork tonkatsu, remake, scallion, sesame, sesame noodles, Sesame oil, tonkatsu 3 Comments »
Hi everyone! Hope you’re all having a wonderful start to the week!
I love remaking some of our faves! Since we still couldn’t get over how amazing and super satisfying (and easy!) sesame noodles were, we just had to have it again for date night! And I decided to make pork tonkatsu with some chops I found in the fridge!
I’ve noticed that the more and more I remake a fave, it just tastes better and better the next time! The pork tonkatsu came out perfect! Way better than the first! It was super moist, crunchy, and a beautiful golden color! And much more flavor because I used Lawry’s instead of sea salt. Ahhh Lawry’s makes everything taste better!
nice and golden and fried to perfection
And the sesame noodles?! Well, just the best thing ever! This time around, I used whole wheat spaghetti. I do like that fact that it’s wheat but the quality of these noodles were just not that great compared to the Trader Joe’s spaghetti that I used earlier. And look, no scallions!!! A certain unnamed boyfriend used up all the scallions :). But all the flavors were all there (even sans scallions), hehe.
Some of my other favorites that I make over and over again (and great ideas for meals during the weekday) include:
- Paula Deen’s Old-Fashion Meatloaf
- Paula Deen’s Lots O’Meat Lasagna
- Momofuku’s Ginger Scallion Noodles
- DIY Potato Gnocci/DIY Homemade Pasta Noodles (boyfriend’s specialty!)
- Hot+Sweet Sriracha Wings and Baked Buffalo Wings
- Baked Salmon à La Mon Ami
- Betty Crocker’s Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
As you can tell, I’m pretty much Paula and Momofuku obsessed!
What are some of your favorite timeless recipes? Feel free to link below :)
xoxo, kat
Simple Sesame Noodles (from Pioneer Woman)
- 12 ounces, spaghetti noodles, cooked And drained
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 3 teaspoon hot chili oil
- 4 tablespoons grape seed oil
- 3 whole green onions, sliced thin
- red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions:
- Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl.
- Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
- Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with green onions and toss.
- Enjoy!
Pork Tonkatsu (original post here)
- slices of thin boneless pork chops
- flour for dredging (season with salt and pepper)
- two eggs, lightly beaten
- panko bread crumbs (season with salt and pepper)
- oil for frying
- Lawry’s seasoning salt (or salt) + pepper
Directions:
- Rinse chops and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Dredge in flour, then dip in egg mixture, and press the panko to coat both sides.
- Heat a large skillet with about 1/2 inch of oil until hot and lay one or two cutlets into the hot oil. Fry for about 3-4 minutes per side.
- Drain the cutlets onto a paper towel and cut into bite-sized strips.
Related articles
- Garlic Jasmine Rice with Pork Tonkatsu and Tonkatsu Sauce (shecooksandheeats.wordpress.com)
PHOTO DIARY :: BIRTHDAY
Posted: June 13, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 9 Comments »
I woke up yesterday to tons of emails filled with birthday wishes from my blog and facebook, thank you guys so much again for all the graduation/birthday/anniversary wishes! I got to spend the day with my boyfriend, and he made it an awesome day for me. We giggled a lot, took impromptu naps during the day, cooked together, and indulged ourselves in food! My idea of a perfect day :)
Here are a few photos from my birthday…
The morning started off with him making my favorite breakfast…eggs and chilaquiles with chorizo! After random naps from a food induced coma, we headed over to Pinkberry and Trader Joe’s for some grocery shopping. Trader Joe’s is my top destination for shopping (and it’s only grocery shopping lol) hehe. It even tops Nordstrom lol :)
After Pinkberry, we headed to one of my favorite beauty stores, Planet Beauty! A month ago, I found out I won a random drawing for their I Heart PB fan club and they mailed me a gift card with no value on it, so I went in to check yesterday and it’s a gift card for $200! I never win anything, so I was super excited about all the wonderful beauty products I could splurge on. Unfortunately, I was too overwhelmed and walked out with nothing lol.
Bday candles for the birthday girl :)
We both love food so cooking together comes naturally. For our anniversary dinner, we made toasted sesame ginger salmon with ginger jasmine rice. It was so good, he had seconds! Recipes for both will be up shortly :)
For dessert, birthday cupcakes! I made myself, truffle brownie cupcakes with cookie dough frosting! These are INSANE! Sooooo rich, chocolaty, decadent, moist, and gooey! And the cookie dough frosting, OMG best combination ever! PS, these were organic cupcakes so I didn’t feel completely guilty :)
After years of not having a bday cake and bday candles to blow out, it felt really nice :)
These past few days have been filled with lots of celebrations, and I’m so happy I got to share them with you. Thank you again for reading and stopping by yesterday! You guys are the best! XOXO
ps, Thank you boyfriend for spending my birthday with me. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to spend yesterday with. Thank you for everything, xoxo.
Birthday :: Anniversary
Posted: June 12, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: birthday 14 Comments »
photo weheartit.com
Today’s my birthday and our three year anniversary! How perfect is it that he asked me to be his girlfriend on my birthday? I’m terrible with dates so now I never forget! Up until recently, I didn’t know anyone else that had the same birthday as me but I am proud to say that I get to share this day with two other girls! Do you know anyone that you share your birthday with?
I don’t have anything planned for the day other than baking my own birthday cake. For the last 2 years, I never got a cake for my birthday (ahem, mom and dad….) which did sadden me but I did get to spend those birthdays with my boyfriend who, of course, made me feel loved and extra special. So this year, I am making my own birthday cupcakes! I already have it all planned out in my mind! It will be chocolate, loaded with frosting, and topped with extra sprinkles! Other than that, I don’t really have any plans but all I know is that today’s going to be awesome! :)
Thank you again for all your congratulations and well wishes these last few days! I enjoyed reading them and your comments and responses make me so happy! I can’t thank you guys enough! XOXO
PS, Dear Boyfriend, You’ve made me so happy, I can’t imagine not sharing my life without you. Thank you for always being there for me. Today’s our day! With love, xoxo kat.
