I want to be a chef some day.

I just wanted to share that I am moving to study Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of Michigan. Hopefully I will have a lot more interesting posts soon. That is all. :)

Peanut Butter Cookies

Okay, so I don't have a way to upload any pictures at the moment because I've currently misplaced my camera's memory card. Wonderful. But, I made these cookies last night, and every time I make them they are always delicious. They're fairly easy; try them. :)

To begin, preheat your oven to 375 and get a large mixing bowl and cream together the following:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

Then sift in the following in 1/2 cup intervals:

1 3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt

Once all the ingredients above are combined, roll into 1'' balls and roll in sugar.

Place on a baking sheet and criss-cross with a fork.

Bake for 10-12 minutes and place on a cooling rack.

Eat as many as you can.

Cream Cheese & Brownies?!

YES, IT IS DELICIOUS.
I've recently made this discovery. If you haven't tried this, I know it sounds a bit odd, but trust me, it is wonderful. And, okay, I'm having some camera issues, so I'm going to try to find a picture of these on the internet and see if I can't post that for your viewing pleasures.

But, here's the recipe:

Cream Cheese Topping for Brownies

Ingredients:
One 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup of regular white sugar
1 egg

Directions:
So you've already made your brownies, rather they were boxed or home-made, it doesn't really make a difference, now all you have to do is combine the above ingredients in a bowl and mix them well either by hand or with an electric mixer. Then drop the creamy mixture in table-spoon-full globs all over the brownie mix that you've spread in your pan. Next you can either take that same spoon, or a butter knife, or whatever utensil you prefer and stir it in a LITTLE bit. Just so it looks pretty. :)

Fairly easy, no? Anyway, this tastes great! I'm making them again at my grandma's tomorrow.
Oh, also, I'm not great on the whole home made brownies thing, so I usually just use boxed, but I found the following recipe and it was titles "Easy Brownies." If you want to give it a try, by all means. Here it is, send me some feedback if you do it.

Easy Brownies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (melted)
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Melt butter and combine all ingredients in the order given.

Scalloped Potatoes.

Today I made scalloped potatoes with with ham, and green beans on the side. They were delicious! I can't remember where I got the recipe for the potatoes from, but I know it was online.
The ham that I used was a Hickory Farms boneless, smoked ham.
Here's the recipe:

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper (I always use a little more)
- 6 cups thinly sliced potatoes
- ham - to your liking

Directions
-Melt butter in a medium sauce pan with garlic powder. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
-Gradually add milk, stirring until thick and bubbly. Add sliced potatoes to sauce and let simmer for 8 minutes.
-Cut ham into bite size chunks and grease a 12x8 inch baking pan.
-Stir in ham chunks and let simmer for two more minutes.
-Transfer mixture to the greased pan and sprinkle with cheeses of your choice (if you'd like).
-Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.


For the green beans, I just heated up and can of cut green beans with a little butter.

This dish was wonderful. My whole family really enjoyed it, and if you try this I hope you do, too. :)

Lemon Bars.

So, today I made lemon bars. Let me say, first, that I've never actually eaten a lemon bar. So, to say the least, this was a new experience for me. When they were finished, my boyfriend's Mom and I were the one's to taste them. Apparently, they were good. To her. I didn't think so. At ALL. I think it might have been the crust in this recipe? I don't know. Maybe try using a graham cracker crust instead?

That's alright, though. I like trying new things.

Anyway, I got the recipe for them from Paula Deen from Food Network.com.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

Pinch salt

2 sticks butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

Filling:

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan.

Make the crust by combining the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. You may need to dip your fingers into a little flour or confectioners' sugar to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired, when the bars are done.

Did you see all that butter?! Two sticks? The other recipes I looked through on the internet for these called for one. MAYBE one and a half. At the most. I guess there's a reason they call her the Butter Queen. :) Also, I recommend looking through the comments and reviews on the actual Food Network website because they give a lot of great alternations to the recipe if the bars ended up being too sweet for you (which they were for me!), or if you're not comfortable feeding your family that much butter.

Aside from the fact that I didn't like them, I've been told they were delicious, so try this recipe if you like lemon bars!

Happy Baking!

Begining.

It is approximately 2:43 A.M. and I just made this blog on blogger.

I'm not entirely sure what is to come of this, but I'm looking for a place to keep a log of the things that I do. This blog will more than likely consist of things that I have cooked or baked, book reviews, and maybe even some clothing that I've made, since I've been thinking a lot about doing that, lately.

Well... We'll see.

Good night.