Dinner in, and a ketchup recipe

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We are big ketchup addicts at this house. When I make homemade fries I like to pour the ketchup on so that the potatoes look like they are swimming (or drowning) in a sea of red. It grosses my husband out but what can I say? His loud eating and slurping of breakfast cereal grosses me out so I guess we're even.

Anyway, does anyone else think it's alarming that high fructose corn syrup is in everything that we eat? I'm guessing so since I have seen a lot of advertisements lately playing up the use of real sugar instead of HFCS. I have seen ketchup with sugar at the super market and health food store but we were making supper the other night and realized *gasp* no ketchup. No one was volunteering to go to the store so my husband suggested that we try making our own.

It sounded like a great idea to me (anything to avoid Wal-Mart) so I got online and looked for recipes. I have certain criteria when looking at recipes online.

1. It needs to be as few ingredients as possible

2. It needs to be stuff that I already have in my pantry (or easily substituted for something I have)

3. I like when I am familiar with all the ingredients or techniques (it isn't any weird thing I have to look up, or speak another language to understand)

4. And the prep-time to finished product needs to be fast (I have two hungry redheads and even hungrier husband who all get cranky if they don't eat)

So, with all this in mind I found this recipe for homemade ketchup (I think it was from allrecipes.com):

6 oz. can tomato paste

1/4-1/3 c. water

2 Tbs vinegar

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1 pinch cloves

1 pinch allspice

1 pinch cayenne

1/4 c. brown sugar

put it all in a bowl and whisk it up.

Did this homemade version pass the test with my picky eaters? Did it trump the allure of the sugar rush that is high fructose corn syrup?

Yes! Everyone loved it!!

Try it for yourself sometime.

A mouthful of happy!

Have I told you how obsessed I am with cupcakes? They are quite possibly the perfect dessert. You can dress them up or dress them down. You can accessorize them and make them shiny and sparkly or they can be understated. They can have a rich gooey center, a swirly butter-cream topping, serious gnache, or beautifully simple fondant.

(photo by Bliss Cupcake Cafe')

(photo by Bliss Cupcake Cafe')

I make cupcakes every year for the boys birthdays, for my husbands birthday, for my birthday (yes I make them for MY birthday), and I will probably make them this weekend for Mother’s Day. They are the perfect serving size, and can really make a statement!

There is a cupcake shop called Bliss Cupcake Café in my old college town that I have been dying to try. But since I live over an hour away in Small Town now, who knows when I will get the chance to sample their heavenly delights! Their catch phrase is: a mouthful of happy (I couldn't have said it better myself!)

I made the cupcakes pictured below from a recipe in a fun little cookbook called Vegan Cupcakes take over the World! (go to amazon.com and get the KINDLE edition sent directly to your iphone). And here is their blog...so fun!!

(red velvet cake)

I'm not sure how they would feel about me sharing one of their recipes with you even though I would totally give them credit for it (the truth is I have turned the kitchen upside down and can't find the cookbook anywhere arrhh!!)

But I will share the yummy fluffy cream cheese frosting (I hate canned frosting, it should always be homemade)!

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

I always get compliments on this frosting:)

I'm sharing this recipe that is not quite a recipe over at Designs by Gollum, and at Jessica's Favorite Things Friday and since Laura was so nice to invite me last weekend to her Saturday is Crafty Day even though I had a recipe instead of a craft, I thought I would go party with her again this weekend.

**A bloggy friend of mine Lindy over at Who am I? is starting a Book Group. We are reading the book Having a Mary heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. Go check it out!**

Amelia

Little Things

Photo: Pottery barn

It is a cold, overcast day here which has begged us to veg out in front of the television and computer. I have been window shopping online and found this beautiful 3-tier stand. I think it would look perfect in my kitchen on the black buffet.
The problem with saving money for something big is that there is nothing left for the pretties that I love so much. But I do find a certain amount of satisfaction just looking at things and dreaming about what I want the house to look like! Sometimes it's the small things isn't it?

I did do something productive today. I made croutons with the sourdough bread from the bread debacle of the other day. It turned out quite good all buttery and salty. Here is the recipe:

Homemade Croutons

1 stick butter (don't be afraid of the butter people)

1/4 cup olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic

I was going to use dried rosemary too but couldn't find any

melt above ingredients in sauce pan

meanwhile cut bread into little bite sized cubes and place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. pour butter mixture over bread and toss. place pan in a preheated 350 oven for 15 minutes. get it out and toss it around again, then bake for another 15 minutes. get out of oven and sprinkle with coarse sea salts.

The finished product makes you realize all that butter was worth it! Your whole house will smell like garlic-infused butter and even your kids who stated point blank that they were not going to try it will come back for seconds. We ate it as a snack today (because that's how we role) but it would be good with tomato bisque or on a salad.

Chili Cook Off

After months of planning, meetings, talking with local business owners, and hours and hours of cataloging, organizing and getting things ready. The day of the Chili Cook off (which is a fundraiser for our school) finally arrived. There were a lot of very talented and dedicated people who helped make the fundraiser a success and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it.
It was exciting to see the community come together toward a common goal. The money raised goes directly to the dedicated teachers who help us educate our children. The hours that I spent at the school were tiring and I have to admit that I am glad that it is over! But the thank-yous that I heard from all the teachers made it worth it!
My husband and I entered our Vegetarian Chili again this year and won third place (again) against nine other local chili makers. There were 500+ people in attendance with enough chili to feed everyone. That's a lot of chili!!

Here is the recipe adapted from a chili recipe from allrecipes.com

VEGETARIAN CHILI

INGREDIENTS
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Chalot, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 sliced dried chilies (soaked)
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
• 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper (also cayenne if desired)
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 package green giant frozen corn (non-buttered)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 342 Total Fat: 7.7g Cholesterol: 0mg