Homemade Strawberry Syrup

I woke up this past Saturday thinking I wanted pancakes.  However I did not have any syrup and I always wondered how it would taste homemade so I proceeded to read about 6000 recipes. I got the jist that the bulk of them used one part brown sugar, one part white sugar and one part water.  I had all of those things and some strawberries I needed to use up.  Swwwweeet! 

And sweet it was.  I had mixed the strawberries that I strained out of the syrup into the pancake batter and that was actually my mistake when it came to sweetness.  I rarely come across anything that is too sweet for my sweet tooth and the basically candied strawberry pancakes were it.  The next day I decided to give it a second try since I had leftover syrup and without the candied strawberries in the batter it was great.

The syrup had a fun pink tint to it due to the strawberries, however I'm not as handy with a camera as I am with a skillet.  The strawberry flavor was a nice light tone and not overpowering.  However if you'd like super strawberry flavor use more.  You can also use other berries, fruits, butter, maple or other extracts, only brown sugar, dark brown sugar instead of light, or only white sugar and other variations if you'd like a different flavor. 

I know what you are thinking "STOP JABBERING and get to the recipe!"  Your wish is my command....

Ingredients:

1 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1 Cup White Sugar

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Sliced Strawberries

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 Large sauce pan, it needs boiling room.

Directions:

Put strawberries and brown sugar in sauce pan.

 

Over medium heat slowly stir in the water and stir constantly until brown sugar is dissolved about 1-2 minutes. The mixture will just be starting to get warm.

Slowly pour in white sugar while stirring and constantly stir until the white sugar is dissolved.

Turn heat to high bringing mixture to a boil for 2 minutes while constantly stirring.  

(Do not stop stirring at this point or it WILL overflow.  

If it starts to bubble too close to the top just lift off the burner 

for a few seconds until it pipes back down.)

Turn heat to medium low.

Add vanilla and stir.

 

Simmer for 15-25 minutes stirring often. I did it for 25, the longer the thicker it will be the shorter the thinner it will be.

Strain into a bowl.  Figure out something yummy to do with the strained fruit.

Use a funnel to transfer the syrup from the bowl to a mason jar or some other kind of containing/pouring device that will be convenient to transfer your super yummy syrup to your pancakes, waffles and other culinary awesomeness creations.

The syrup will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.  

Reheat in the microwave at 50% power until it's the desired temperature.

 

Text all of your friends and brag about what a domestic goddess you are because you just made homemade syrup and none of those store brands have anything on you.

Mmmmmmm!

 

Who would have thought homemade syrup was actually this easy?

I hope you not only enjoy eating it but enjoy making it!



Much love and super yumminess!

Brine That Turkey

Several years ago I was watching one of my domestic goddess heroes, Martha Stewart, while she was putting on a Thanksgiving special.  Luckily it was several days before Thanksgiving because she did something I had never seen before... brined the turkey!

I was immediately fascinated and had to try it that year.  It was the best most magically wonderful turkey I'd ever made.  Juicy, flavorful, practically falling off the bone and melting right into your mouth.  Every year since I have made sure my turkey is in the brine before it's roasted.  This has become a tradition now and my brine has evolved over the years because I've done lots of reading of different recipes and techniques.  I'm not actually going to share all of my brine ingredients with you because then my turkey isn't as special if you use them too. ;)  However below I'll post some brine recipes for you to check out and try or build your own recipe off of.

You may be thinking... "what does brine the turkey even mean??  This is madness, a turkey that melts in my mouth and has flavor, I do not understand."

Trust me... It's easy!!!  And more importantly, worth it!  Basically you are soaking your uncooked turkey for 12 hours in a solution of salt, sugar, spices, herbs and other aromatics.  Be warned too much salt or letting your turkey sit in the brine too long can cause a tough not so great turkey. So when you are looking at recipes do not think, well the more salt I add the better or the longer its in the better it will be.  This is the kind of thinking that will result in people wanting to slap you as they try chewing on their Thanksgiving turkey jerky you've fed them.

Tonight kicks off the beginning of my brine process.  First I've brought to a boil fresh cold tap water with my special blend of spices... oh yeah... that's my brew.  I will be letting this cool completely and then putting it in the refrigerator so that it can become very cold over night.





 This 4 gallon bucket is my brine bucket.  It's never used for household cleaning chores.  I like the square shape of it because the awkward shape of the turkey slides right into it for full submersion.  Your turkey being fully submersed is a must for even brining.  If you cannot find a bucket big enough use an ice chest but make sure to bleach and wash it well before and after the brine process, and you will be adding a bag of ice to your brine.  However as long as you are not buying giant turkeys a bucket should suffice. 

Tomorrow what is going to happen is the 13 pound turkey pictured above will be coming out of that wrapper, giblets removed, and turkey thoroughly washed.  Then it will be placed in the brine solution that I boiled and let cool tonight and my herbs and other aromatics will be added.  Finally I will be putting a heavy plate on top to keep the turkey weighed down and fully submersed and refrigerating it.


When you take the turkey out of the brine make sure to properly discard of the liquid as well as all spices, herbs, etc that were used.  Do not use any of it to cook with!  Use fresh herbs, spices, etc when cooking.

I will be putting the turkey in the brine about 13 hours before I plan to have it in the oven to start cooking.  It will only be in the brine for about 12 hours, and the other hour is to let it come to about room temperature for extra juicy goodness, and that is a great time rub some oil of your choice into the skin.  As well to chop any onions, herbs, apples, citrus, etc that you plan to season the turkey with while cooking.


This is a wonderful fresh herb roasted turkey from a couple of years back.  Even with a horrible oven that was on it's last leg and did not heat properly I was still able to produce a nicely browned turkey with a crispy flavorful skin and juicy wonderfully flavored meat.



Warning!!  If you cook a fantastic brined turkey for your friends and family you may forever be dubbed the official Thanksgiving turkey baker and be requested upon to bring it year after year.

Seriously watch this video it's pretty great and gives you some really good tips on not only turkey brine, but turkey in general!

Some Turkey Brine Recipes

Martha Stewart's How To Brine A Turkey
Martha actually has several brine recipes on her site.
Alton Brown's Good Eats Turkey Brine
Food Network's Collection Of Brine Recipes (26)
Sheri's AllRecipes.com Turkey Brine
There are countless recipes out there!  Just do a basic internet search keyword "Turkey brine recipe"
Have fun with it and use ingredients you love and you will have an awesomely seasoned turkey!

Now that you know what's what, get your brine going!

Much love!

Fettuccini With Turkey Meatballs And Vegetables

Last night I cooked a fabulous pasta dinner that was beyond fantastic.  I had been searching for a pasta dish that was different, not the same typical pesto, tomato or Alfredo sauce.  I kept seeing recipes that looked good but not quite what I wanted.  Finally I decided to just use ingredients and techniques of various recipes I had found.  Time for a blonde girl spin.

Ingredients:

1 - 14 ounce Package of Armour Turkey Meatballs - Thawed
1 - Pint Grape or Cherry Tomatoes -Whole
1 - Bell Pepper (I used yellow for color contrast) - Sliced
1 - 8 ounce Package of Baby Bella Mushrooms - Sliced
1 - 9 ounce Package of Buitoni All Natural Fettuccine
1 - 9 ounce Package of Spinach - Whole Leaf (Or Baby Spinach)
1 - Package of Fresh Basil (1/2-3/4 cup) - Largely Chopped
1/2  cup Parmesan Cheese, Shaved
1 Bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to keep handy.
Salt & Pepper to taste

I used Baby Bella Mushrooms, you can substitute with white mushrooms, however Bella's give you such a flavor punch that white do not.  I use the Buitoni Fetuccine because their fresh pastas, that you can find in the dairy section of the grocery store, just have such a better flavor and texture than your typical dried pasta, not to mention it cooks in less than half the time.  The fresh basil gives an incredible flavor, you do not want to skip it, you'll find it in the packaged fresh herb section of your produce section.  Unfortunately I didn't think to measure the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and eyeballed that part so I'll have to just give you guesstimates on how much I used and you'll have to figure out what works for you.  Have fun and use your favored vegetables or a different kind of meatballs in your dish, this is just what I used and it was great!  You'll be surprised at how flavorful the Turkey Meatballs are if you've never used them before, and they are not greasy at all.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Start pot of the water on the burner to come to a boil for the pasta, use amount of water called for on the package. While waiting on the water to boil start the next step.
• Coat the tomatoes, bell pepper, and mushrooms in about 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil and a light sprinkle of pepper.  Spread out on a baking sheet and put in oven for 10-15 minutes until the mushrooms and bell peppers are the cooked consistency you like, I personally like a little crunch, the tomatoes will start to burst or shrivel, stir after about 6 minutes.
• Put pasta in the boiling water, if you are using the Buitoni it should take 3 minutes exactly, set a timer, you do not want to overcook your pasta. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the water.
• In a Paella pan or large skillet on medium high brown the meatballs in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Once meatballs are nicely browned turn the heat to medium and add the entire package of spinach and 1 more tablespoon of olive oil.  It will look like a lot but it cooks way down.  Constantly stir and flip until your spinach has shrunk down.
• By now your roasted vegetables are done, dump them into the pan with the meatballs and spinach, stir. 
• Add pasta and 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss together.  I found using a large wooden fork and a wooden spatula worked great.  Start with the smaller amount of olive oil and add more if it seems your pasta is sticking together.  Part of any stickiness will be resolved in the next step though.
• Dump the Basil and Parmesan cheese and the pasta water on top.  Toss well until the basil and cheese are well incorporated, cheese is starting to melt, and the water has pretty much been absorbed, add more olive oil if needed.  Salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove from heat and serve immediately.  Top with Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper if you desire.

This dish will feed about 4 people, or 2 people who somehow have room for seconds.  I did not find that I needed anything else because this meal was very flavorful and filling.  Though I'm sure sides of salad and a nice baked bread brushed in olive oil and covered in an Italian cheese blend then baked until melted would be perfect compliments at a dinner party.  Though it may sound difficult and look like something that is a result of heavy labor, it was actually really easy to make, and will surely be a welcome change if your bored with the same old pasta dish.

Be creative with cooking and experiment, you never know what kind of awesomeness you'll come up with! 

Much love and Enjoy!!

Be kind to your non stick pans - Only use a plastic or wooden cooking utensils and they will thank you with a long life.  Amazon Cooking Utensils

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

One of my favorite cool weather cakes to bake is pineapple upside-down cake.  It's fantastic warm and melts in your mouth.

I had this great recipe that I used for years however was unable to find it this round, and though I could have done it by memory I decided to look at one of my favorite recipe websites, allrecipes.com, and found this recipe that had over 400 reviews of positive feedback and almost 10,000 people have saved it to their recipe boxes, Anne's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake VII.  It uses a lot more brown sugar than I'm accustomed to using and called for a cast iron skillet which I do not have, however I thought I'd tackle it anyways, and of course give it my own little tweaks that I've incorporated over the years of baking them.


Pineapple Upside-Down Cake VII

Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes Servings: 12

"This pineapple upside down cake is made in an iron skillet. It's quick, easy and so beautiful."

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1 (20 ounce) can sliced pineapple

10 maraschino cherries 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix

Directions:

1.

Melt the butter over medium high heat in the iron skillet. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly to cover the butter. Next, arrange pineapple rings around the bottom of the pan, one layer deep. Place a maraschino cherry into the center of each pineapple ring. Prepare the cake mix as directed by the manufacturer, substitute some of the pineapple juice for some of the liquid in the directions. Pour the batter over the pineapple layer.

2.

Bake as directed by the cake mix directions. Cool for 10 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a plate. Do not let the cake cool too much or it will be stuck to the pan.

My tweaks:

• As mentioned before I do not have a cast iron skillet so I just used a 9x13 glass cake pan.
• I used yellow cake not white cake.
• I soak the pineapple slices in about 1/3 of a cup of spiced rum in a zipper bag or a plastic bowl with a lid, shake them or turn them every so often to get even soaking, the longer the better, try at least an hour to overnight.  Still save your juice from the can!
• Replace some of the liquid called for in the cake mix recipe with the rum from the pineapple soak and then the rest with the leftover canned pineapple juice and finally water if you need more liquid.
• I place cherries in the voids around the edges of the pineapple rings and around the edges of the pans this way you get your full cherry satisfaction.

Flipping tip: If you've never made an upside-down cake of any sort the easiest way to make your flip without resulting in a pile of mess... place the dish you are turning your cake onto on top of the pan you baked in, and then flip placing your dish on to the counter, I like to give the pan a few pounds of the palm on the bottom in case there are any lingering pineapples or cherries, however if you do not let it cool too long it should not be an issue, then remove your pan and find a perfectly flipped beautiful cake.

I did somehow manage to think to take a quick shot of the cold
yummy leftovers before they were dished out.

This cake turned out absolutely delicious!  It looked so good and I didn't even think before we cut into it to take a picture of it fresh and hot for the blog I was sure I'd be writing.  But who can blame me, our mouths were watering and we were intoxicated by the smell. 

It melted in our mouths and the large amount of sugar formed the perfect crispy crusty wonderfulness around the edges of the pineapples.  I will definitely be purchasing a cast iron skillet to try to make this in as well.  One of my coworkers told me that is how her grandmother had done it and there is no other way to eat them.  I found that Amazon has a 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet that looks perfect at a great price and eligible for free shipping.  I cannot wait to try this again in that skillet!

If you've never tried to make a homemade pineapple upside down cake it's truly an easy cake to make and is so yummy it will have your friends and family in awe of your Domestic Goddess skills.  Give it a try and you will not be sorry.

Much Love!!

Freaky Fast Unwich

Update August 2013:  After finding out that Jimmy John hunts and kills endangered animals I have decided that I will no longer be eating there. 

 
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About once a month on a payday I like to treat myself to a lunch that I didn’t make… in other words I eat out.  It usually falls on a payday Friday.  About 9 times out of 10 I end up getting Jimmy John's because they are fantastic!  I love the quality of their ingredients and the fact that they deliver means I can hang out in my cubicle at work and perhaps work on a blog while I wait on my delicious lunch to get here.

As many times as I’ve ordered a JJ’s sandwich looking at their online menu I’ve never noticed the Nutritional Information tab.  I’ve been making an effort to be aware of how many calories and whatnot that I am consuming in an attempt to achieve a healthier lifestyle.  Therefore today I actually sought out the nutritional information before ordering instead of just jumping in and indulging without a care and trying to work it off later.

I am impressed with the nutritional tool that JJ's has on the website!  It’s truly fantastic.  If you go to their Menu, then click on the Nutritional Information link you will be taken to the interactive tool they have provided.  Click on the sandwich that you would like to see and you will find out exactly how many calories you are consuming if you purchase your yummy sandwich as is. 

However the really cool part is if you click Add To Meal and then in the Your Selected Meal Items box click on Edit.

You can then start adding and taking away ingredients and see the nutritional information of your sandwich if you customize. 

I love the Beach Club and I’ve always ordered it on their fantastic wheat bread with Dijon mustard added.  We will just talk calories and the rest you can play with yourself. 

When I added the Beach Club as is with the sandwich on the default French bread you will see that it started out at 729.35 calories. 

I was like whoa… no wonder it tastes so good. 

Take away the French bread and put it on my usual wheat and it is now 730.35 calories.

Add Dijon mustard and I find that I typically consume 738.55 calories just with the sandwich alone.

The yummy factor of this sandwich makes it worth the extra work out later. 

But of course I had to see what would happen if I removed the mayo, I’m not big on mayo anyways but usually do not bother removing it… get ready for it…. No mayo brings us down to 545.55 calories!  The mayo is definitely something me and my hips can live without.

Now what else can I do… all of the other ingredients really do make the sandwich but I decided to see what would happen if I made it an Unwich aka Lettuce Wrap… remove bread and lettuce since it will be wrapped in lettuce and we are now at a phenomenal 201.85 calories!

So my dilemma… do I go Unwich and sacrifice my beloved bread?  I spent about 10 minutes showing my coworkers my new Nutritional Information toy that JJ’s has provided me while deciding (they seemed as amused as I was) and in the pursuit of practicing indulgence restraint (and I just had that awesome dinner last night Omelet Night) I decided this time I will go out on a limb and try the Unwich.

I was fearful that without the bread I’d feel like I’d wasted my money because I thought I’d just basically purchased a salad wrapped in paper.  Was it going to be enough to be filling?  I was also afraid that maybe the lettuce would be be kind of gross, perhaps not at its freshest or some weird something.

My fears were for not!  Oh my gosh!  It was good!  First thing I was impressed that it was the same size as if you had ordered it on bread.  The lettuce was flavorful and crunchy.  And mostly I did not miss the bread at all!  All those ingredients that go in the bread that make the sandwich were able to shine and be the grand star in the Unwich.  Turkey, tomato, avocado, cucumber, provolone cheese, sprouts, and Dijon mustard wrapped in lettuce was awesome flavors exploding in your mouth goodness.

I realized I needed to stop and take a picture when there were only a few bites left.

The Unwich filled me up and I did not feel overly full like I usually do when I order it on bread.  I consumed 536.7 less calories than I normally do when I order my beloved sandwich.

I actually started this blog before my food was delivered by the super friendly delivery girl because I was so enthused by the interactive nutritional guide, however the Unwich was so good it needed attention as well.  I am now a JJ’s Unwich convert.

Take a risk!  Make healthier choices, you may be surprised at how good it is.  And never forget to tip your delivery driver.

Much love!

Please note that Jimmy John’s did not ask me to write this blog… I just really love their food!  All screen shots of the Jimmy John's website were taken by me as I played with the nutritional information tool and I claim no ownership of them, nor do I have intention of any copywrite infringement.