Kitchen Gift Ideas

When it comes to the holidays and exchanging gifts there are two kinds of people. The list people and the non-list people.

My family, non-listers. The husband's family, definitely list people, very detailed list people in fact. Let's be real, both have their pros and cons. I enjoy trying to figure out just what the non-list people in my life would like to receive, it feels a bit more personal to me, but it is also pretty nice (and easy) to pick something from a list and know the person will be pleased to receive it.

So whether you are trying to make your own list or looking for the perfect gift for someone who likes to cook, I've put together a few of my favorite kitchen staples. These aren't the big fancy kitchen gadgets that we all love (I'm looking at you, food processor), but they are things that I use daily. I also happened to receive all of them as gifts at one point or another. And bonus, all but one are under $15.

1. Lodge Striped Hot Handle Holders After absent-mindedly reaching for our cast iron handle one too many times while it was still hot the husband gifted me a pair of these. They are great. They slip on and off the handle of any pan easily and protect against any nasty burns.

2. Pan Scraper If I'm honest these little things were the complete catalyst for making this list. Each time I use one I wonder if people know these exist. I didn't until I received them as a gift a couple of years ago. They are perfect for scraping all the extra bits of food off of pots and pans without having to get a sponge/brush/whatever you use all gunky. I love these!

3. Whisk After having poorly made, cheap whisks that felt like they were always on the brink of falling apart for many years I was so happy to find this one made by OXO. It feels sturdy and has a nice handle grip, plus it is America's Test Kitchen's top pick so you know it has to be good!

4. Bench Scraper These are great for dividing dough, scraping up messes on the counter, or transferring chopped vegetables from a cutting board to the pan.

5. Wooden Spoons I think it is nearly impossible to have too many wooden spoons. I use them for everything. I love how these are a little more beefy than some.

6. Kitchen Towels I've come to realize in the last couple of years that I am very picky when it comes to kitchen towels. These towels are the best I've had yet. They look nice, they're super absorbent, and after six months of use they are still stain free. The only downside I've found is that the color fades slightly after many washes, but so far it hasn't been a deal breaker for me.

7. Kitchen Shears I think everyone needs a good pair of kitchen shears. And if you have small kids you probably need two or three pair as they are perfect for cutting food quickly into bite sized pieces. The big advantage of these over regular scissors is that they are dishwasher safe. Ours are constantly in use.

8. Bread Proofing Baskets Ok, so I don't actually use my proofing baskets everyday, but multiple times a week. When I first started making our bread I tried to proof it in ceramic bowls, these work a million, give or take a few thousand, times better. I've had mine for two years now and they look and function as good now as when they were new.

9. Cast Iron Skillet Come on, after numbers one and two up there you knew I had to throw this in. With the very rare exception, we exclusively use our cast iron skillet. A brand new one can be a little harder to clean, but once it gets good and seasoned it's a snap. I love that it heats evenly, gets super hot (great for searing meat), and I don't have to worry about any chemicals leaching into our food.

Happy shopping!

Salted Caramel Sauce

I feel like I should start this with a confession... 

Salted caramel is basically my version of kryptonite. I simply cannot resist it. 

I have always been a caramel fan. Growing up we would go on vacation to this little resort town that had a candy store, we all could pick out one piece of candy and I always chose the caramel. I can still remember what it looked like stacked up in the display case, individually wrapped in parchment paper. I would take tiny bites and let it melt in my mouth to try and make it last as long as possible. 

Point is, I love me some caramel. And then someone, somewhere went ahead and decided to add just a hint of salt to my beloved caramel and seriously, can it get any better?! 

When I first saw a recipe for salted caramel sauce it was a no brainer that I needed to try it. Now a couple of years later it is a staple in our house. This stuff is delicious. We use it most often on ice cream, but really the possibilities are endless, drizzled over grilled fruit, or cheesecake, a dip for apples, eaten straight out of the jar with a spoon, whatever suits you, I'm not here to judge. 

This recipe for salted caramel sauce is similar to many other ones you'll find with just a few changes that have given me better and more consistent results.

Salted Caramel Sauce
2 cups sugar
12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp fleur de sel (I've tried a few different kinds and so far this one is my absolute favorite)


To start make sure you have all the ingredients ready and nearby.

In a large heavy bottomed pot begin melting the sugar over medium heat. Using a spatula or wooden spoon continue to move the sugar around. The sugar will clump up, don't worry, just keep moving it around and it will start to melt. Using an instant read thermometer you want to cook the sugar until it is 330 degrees. It should be a deep golden color. I usually have a few sugar clumps left when it gets to temperature, that's ok, they'll be strained out later.

Once the sugar has reached 330 degrees add in the butter and whisk until the butter is fully melted and incorporated.

Turn off the heat and while whisking slowly add the heavy cream. At this point sometimes it will look like you've ruined it and that the sauce is starting to separate, just keep whisking, and very soon you should have a beautiful golden sauce.

While it is still warm pour your sauce through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of any sugar lumps that didn't fully melt. Whisk the fleur de sel in to the strained sauce. Continue whisking/stirring occasionally as the sauce cools.

When the sauce has cooled refrigerate it and enjoy!

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Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Comfort food was in order around our house this week. You see we've all had a case of "the bug". At first we thought it was food poisoning, yuck, but now we're not sure what it was because three days later Audrey is still sick. Whatever you want to call it, it has been no fun and I'm hoping today is the last day of it.

Anyway, we needed comfort food and what says comfort food more than homemade macaroni and cheese? Today we made it in it's most basic version, just the macaroni and cheese sauce, but often times we'll fancy it up by throwing in some meat or vegetable. And by meat I mean bacon. Obviously.

This is one of those recipes I have down pat. I love that I never have to look it up and it can be ready in under half of a hour, all I have to remember is "two". Two tablespoons butter, two tablespoons flour, two cups of whole milk. Pretty easy, right?


Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp powdered mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (today I used half white cheddar and half yellow cheddar)
3 to 4 cups macaroni (measured dry and depending on how creamy you want your macaroni and cheese, I usually stick closer to the three cups because the sauce thickens so much as it cools)

In a large pot of salted boiling water cook macaroni until al dente.

In a large sauce pan, I use our dutch oven, over medium-low heat melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and let cook for one minute. Add the milk whisking often. Add the mustard and garlic. Continue cooking over medium-low heat whisking or stirring very often until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. You want to keep the heat low so that the sauce just barely simmers, you don't want it to come to a boil.

Turn off the heat and add the cheese in two batches. Stirring in each batch of cheese until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add macaroni to cheese sauce and stir to coat macaroni.

Serve and enjoy!

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Chewy Sugar Cookies

If I had to pick my favorite cookie it would be, well, hard to say. There are a lot of good cookies out there, but right at the top of my list would definitely be sugar cookies. And while I love perfectly thin, rolled sugar cookies cut into adorable shapes (essentially my mom's sugar cookies, which are the best ever), sometimes that feels like just a little too much work. Especially when I have two little sets of hands wanting to help. Which, don't get me wrong, I LOVE, but it does add a little bit more of a challenge.

That's where this recipe for chewy sugar cookies comes into play. They are quick, easy, and ridiculously delicious. I'm all about the texture when it comes to a cookie and these don't disappoint, they are perfectly chewy. We topped half with sprinkles and half with raw cane sugar and the crunch that either adds is a great addition.

Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1.2 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp whole milk
Sprinkles or cane sugar for tops


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

3. In a stand mixer cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. In small batches blend in the dry ingredients until incorporated. Blend in milk until just incorporated.

4. Scoop small balls (about a rounded teaspoon) of dough onto cookie sheet. Slightly flatten top of each cookie and sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles.

5. Bake 10-12 minutes or until very slightly golden. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. And enjoy!

RECIPE SOURCE: slightly adapted from Food Network, recipe by Linda McClure

Pickled Peppers

It is no secret that Bryce and I love spicy food. Off the top of my head I can name at least seven different hot sauces that we keep in our refrigerator on a regular basis. Knowing our love of spice one of Bryce's coworkers was kind enough to give us a bag of fresh peppers from her garden. 

There wasn't any way we would be able to use all of them fresh before they went bad and because pickled peppers are absolutely delicious, it was a bit of a no brainer what we were going to do with all of them. The bag included a mix of jalapeños, habaneros, and some sort of long skinny pepper that I'm guessing are serranos and we added our own cherry peppers to the mix.

I used a very simple pickling recipe that was new to me, mostly vinegar with a little garlic and salt.

I just love how the jars look with the bright peppers inside, they're so cheery. My fingers are crossed that they will taste as good as they look.

Hello, Hand Pies

Oh, the hand pie. Swoon. I have found a new dessert love. It is everything that is great about pie, but (dare I say) better. More crust, the perfect filling to crust ratio, portable, and you don't have to share. That's a win-win-win-win.

These little pockets of deliciousness are filled with roza peaches we picked just the day before from a local orchard.

While I still have some work to do on making a perfect looking hand pie, these passed all the flavor tests with flying colors. Let me warn you though, these little pies are dangerous. While I think they are best still warm from the oven, they are nearly just as good the next day and are maybe a little too easy to "grab and go". I literally had to stop myself from grabbing one on my way out the door today for a snack.

As a person who turns all food into "hand" food, Owen is also appreciating their portability.

For the crust I used the Cook's Illustrated Foolproof Pie Crust Recipe, which is my absolute favorite ever and go-to pie crust recipe. It's ridiculously easy, it's quick, and it comes out great every time. Even when I'm sure I've over-handled the dough, or done something wrong I still get a beautiful crust; great flavor and perfectly flaky. I don't feel right republishing the recipe here without their consent, but a quick search will turn up the recipe from several sites.

Peach Hand Pies

Makes 10-20 depending on cutter size. I used a 5.5" circle and made ten pies.

For the dough:
Double recipe of Cook's Illustrated Foolproof Pie Crust

For the filling:
1 to 1.5 pounds of peaches, peeled, chopped and cut into small pieces (about 1/2-inch)
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
One egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for the egg wash
Raw sugar or sanding sugar

1. Prepare dough as instructed in the recipe. After it has chilled roll dough to somewhere between 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch thickness. Using a cutter, or in my case one of the kids' plastic bowls, cut circles out of the rolled dough and transfer to a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Refrigerate the circles another 30 minutes.

2. To make the filling: combine the peaches, flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto each circle. Moisten the edge of the dough with cold water and fold the dough over the filling and press together to seal the pie. Make a decorative edge by pressing around the outside edge with the back of a fork. With the hand pie on the baking sheet, return it to the refrigerator for another 30 minutes (or if you are impatient like me about 15).

4. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the hand pies from the refrigerator and cut a small slit in the top of each. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle (generously) with sugar. Place pies in the oven to bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Remove the pies from the oven and let cool slightly. Enjoy!

Almond Butter Granola

Over the years I've used several different granola recipes. They've all been good, but none have stood the test of time and I have always eventually moved on to find a different/better recipe, until now. This is hands down the best granola recipe I've ever tried and we LOVE the results. I always make a big batch and we eat through it too quickly. I even crave it when we run out.

This is a pretty no frills recipe, but I like it that way so you can add whatever suits you. Bryce enjoys it best as is with a little milk. Although Owen and my favorite way to eat it is with a little yogurt, toasted coconut and fresh fruit. And Audrey always likes to add some sort of dried fruit to hers. However you eat it though, it is delicious.

Almond Butter Granola

6 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups chopped almonds
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup ground flax seed
4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup honey
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Spread out onto two bakings sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, then continue to bake another 5 to 10 minutes checking and flipping often until golden. Let cool and enjoy!

Oven-Puffed Pancake with Berries

You must try this recipe from Two Tarts for Oven-Puffed Pancakes with Berries. It is delicious. I pinned it awhile back and have made it several times since. It comes together really quickly and easily and is a great crowd-pleaser.

Single Serving Lemonade

It has been pretty warm around here lately and we are spending most of our time in the pool. While Audrey splashes around I enjoy the easy task of sitting with my feet in the pool "supervising". (The perks of being a stay-at-home mom!) The other day I was craving a glass of homemade lemonade, the perfect poolside drink companion, but didn't have the motivation or enough ingredients to make a big pitcher so I figured why not just make a single glass. It took about 2.5 minutes, tasted delicious, and left very little clean-up.

Single Serving Lemonade:
2 lemons
1 cup tap water
3 teaspoons sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)
ice


In a glass combine sugar and water until the sugar dissolves.

Squeeze in juice from 2 lemons and stir to combine. Add ice to fill the glass. Taste, if it is too tart add more sugar.

Drink and enjoy!

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Pinterest is Going To Make Me Fat

I love pinterest. Really, the people who thought up this idea are geniuses. The problem is that my love of pinterest is really more of a love/hate kind of thing. The other day I was browsing through the "Everything: Food and Drink" page for dinner recipes. And I found some recipes that looked promising, the problem is 10 to 1 I found a dessert recipe that looked absolutely spectacular.

I swear in a month I'm not going to fit into my clothes.

But how can you pass up making something like this

Caramel Toffee Crunch Cheesecake from Yammie's Noshery

 or these

Caramel Shortbread from Two Tarts

 or even these?

Sticky Pecan Mini Buns from The Pioneer Woman

You can't!

Please tell me I'm not the only person with this problem. That would be the absolute lack of self-control when it comes to beautifully photographed, make-your-mouth-water desserts problem.

What can I say, I'm weak.  

p.s. If you want to see more of what I've pinned you can find my page here. 

A Must Try Recipe: Tuscan Kale Salad

I tried kale for the first time just last year and loved it. Since then though I've only used it a handful of times, mostly in pasta dishes. Although I love the flavor and texture I didn't really know what else to do with it.

Which is why I was so excited when I came across this recipe from True Food Kitchen for Tuscan Kale Salad. We tried it last night. It was delicious. The texture is perfect, the dressing is light with a hit of spiciness, and the recipe is easy. A total winner in my book. You should definitely give it a try.

Roasted Broccoli and Carrots

I have this neighbor named Cate. She is pretty great and completely hilarious. I will be sad when we move and can't just walk two doors down to be at her house. She has become one of my closest friends. On top of all that our daughters absolutely adore each other. They are just shy of three months apart and couldn't be better friends. Ryan, Cate's daughter, calls Audrey, "Audoo" and Audrey calls Ryan, "Rynning". It's pretty adorable. They ask for each other constantly. We were even at the store the other day and Audrey picked up two little plastic spray bottles. I told her she didn't need one, let alone two and she said, "No, one Audrey, one Rynning."  Cute, right?

Anyway, none of that has anything to do with vegetables. Well, it does in the fact that Cate was the first to make these for us and we are now officially hooked.

The idea is basic and you could do it with any vegetable, but carrots and broccoli is currently our favorite combo. The carrots become so sweet and the broccoli is simply out of this world. It gets crispy and has this amazing roasted, nutty flavor. Oh my, I could go on and on about this stuff, it is that good. Trust me, you just have to try it.

And while you could definitely use kosher salt, and I have before, I think this Grey Celtic Sea Salt takes it over the top (another tip from Cate).

The trick is to roast these nice and hot so the vegetables get crispy. You want them to get brown, just on the verge of looking burnt.

Here is how simple it really is: Preheat the oven to 475F. Toss the vegetables in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. And then enjoy some of the best vegetables ever.

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Toffee

I cannot remember a single Christmas as a child or an adult that we didn't have toffee. It is just part of Christmas. Get a tree, put up lights, hang the stockings, MAKE TOFFEE. But for some reason I never seem to write the recipe down or save it. Each year I have to call my mom and ask for it. This is the "recipe" she emailed me this year.

Each year I get less and less detail in the recipe she sends. My guess is next year she won't even include the line about Hershey bars or chopped nuts.

Luckily, it is a simple recipe and I do remember the rest. Please don't judge the pictures too harshly I made this at night.


Toffee
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
3 teaspoons water
1 cup sugar
Hershey bars
chopped nuts


Spread a layer of chopped nuts, whatever kind you like, on a cookie sheet. 

Combine the butter, sugar, and water in a pan. Be warned though, do NOT use a non-stick pan. It won't work. I don't know why, I'm sure science could explain it, I just know it won't work. 

Stir the mixture constantly until it turns brown like the color of a paper bag.

Once it is brown pour out the mixture over the chopped nuts in an even layer. I'm sure this goes without saying, but DON'T TOUCH this stuff, it is hot! 

Break up a Hershey bar or two or three and drop it on top of the hot toffee every inch or so. 

The heat from the toffee will melt the chocolate and you can spread it out with a spatula. 

Let the toffee cool and break it into pieces. Enjoy!

A Must Try Recipe: Mexican Chicken Casserole with Charred Tomato Salsa

Source: Cooking Light

This recipe for Mexican Chicken Casserole with Charred Tomato Salsa from Cooking Light completely surpassed all of my expectations. I had leftover chicken that I didn't know what to do with so I decided to give this a try. I made the full recipe but split it between two pans with the intention of freezing one of them. It was so good that that never happened, we cooked the second pan full just a few days after the first one.

A quick note about how I made this dish:

*I had made this recipe for Cafe Rio Chicken from Chef In Training earlier in the week and used the leftover chicken for the casserole. It gave the dish such a great flavor, I would highly recommend it.

*Although I haven't tried it, I'm sure you could substitute turkey for the chicken and use up some of the leftovers from Thanksgiving.

Bran Muffins

I have always loved bran muffins. I think they are just so good. In my opinion a good bran muffin has to be super moist and the top should be just a bit sticky. I really could eat one just about every day.

I decided to make some at home a couple of years ago and was dismayed by the ingredients that went into these muffins. I had always thought they were healthy. No wonder they tasted so good, a lot of the recipes were full of oil and sugar. And the few recipes I did try didn't live up to my expectations. They were lacking flavor and on the dry side. So, I made up my own healthier recipe. I have to be honest, I am pretty proud of myself for writing my own baking recipe. For me, savory dishes are easier to create and improvise, baking is much more exact. I was obviously super excited when the muffins turned out and tasted good. Plus, if the online calorie calculators can be trusted each muffin only has 140 calories and are loaded with fiber and protein. Not a bad breakfast or snack.


Bran Muffins (Yields 1 dozen)
1 1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 cup nonfat milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

(I know, I know. There are a lot of ingredients. Trust me, the recipe is really simple.)

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Grease your muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups. 

In a medium bowl combine the wheat bran, ground flax seed, milk, lemon juice, and cinnamon and set aside. Let stand for 10 minutes. 

 In a separate bowl beat together applesauce, banana, egg, sugar and vanilla. Add in the milk/bran mixture and mix to combine.

 

Sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into bran mixture until just blended. Fold in raisins or cranberries.

 Spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Cool and enjoy! 

Pasta!

A couple of years ago we were looking through my in-law's garage for something and I stumbled upon a great find. A pasta machine! Not quite what we were originally looking for, but I was super excited.

I love how worn the box is and the information pamphlet inside is just as good. It is very obvious that the person who wrote the English instructions did not speak English as a first language, or maybe it is just a direct translation of the Italian. Either way, it makes for a funny read.

I have no idea how old this thing is. I couldn't find a date anywhere on it. The only thing I see is a Long's price sticker that says $1.13. I find that a little hard to believe, but who knows. I'm sure it isn't an antique by any means, but it definitely has been around awhile.


Lucky for me, the in-laws were all too happy to get it out of the garage as it had been a hand-me-down to them from a friend and hadn't been used. I was so excited to bring it home and use it, but for some reason it just sat and didn't get used at our house either - until last night! I was experimenting with a new pasta recipe and really wanted a wide cut noodle to go with the sauce, I wasn't happy with the selection at the store so I decided to make my own. Oh my gosh, what have I been waiting for. Making your own noodles is actually really easy and really fun. They tasted good too! 

Just in case you were wondering, the experimental sauce was really good too. I'll share that recipe soon.

disclaimer: I didn't realize I had a smudge on my camera lens until way after the fact, so sorry all the pictures have a bit of a blur to them!