Orange Cake batter for cake/ cupcakes

Alright so today i ran into a dilemma at the grocery store today. I needed a box of orange flavored cake for a cupcake recipe. There were none what so ever and I was panicking. The other recipes i had written down were more costly and i had resolved to try this one. I decided after helpful advice from a sales associate to create my own.


Ingredient


1 box of white cake mix
ingredients on cake box except water!!!
1 cup Welch's mango twist juice
2 orange's zest
2 oranges juiced
1 tsp imitation orange


To follow the cupcake recipe i also added a box of vanilla pudding NOT THE INSTANT KIND.


Directions
Preheat oven according to directions on box.
Mix in all the cake ingredients and juice.
Mix until smooth.
Add zest, juice and imitation orange.
Bake as directed on the box.

BEST FRENCH TOAST YET!!!

Note: This is made for one person so change your ingredient amount as needed based on the number of people  being served.


Ingerdients
 -1 large egg
 -1 cap of vanilla
 -dash of cinnamon = 1-2 tsps
 - Pinch of brown sugar
 -TINY bit of nutmeg
 -warm butter
 -powder sugar (amount varies due to taste)
 -2 slices of bread


Directions
1. Heat pan while preparing batter for bread
2. In a cereal bowl mix in your egg,vanilla, brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. To get just enough nutmeg place your finger in the WITHOUT licking it and sprinkle in batter.
4. Mix again.
5. Dip your bread immersing both sides.
6. Cook until golden brown.
7. Slather with butter (optional but SOOO GOOD).
8. Sprinkle with powder sugar and devour quickly because it's so good.

Asian Sauce

I have recipes on the way I promise more then what I have been doing. They are sitting on my night stand currently. Today's dish was slapped together and inspired by my roommates amazing orange chicken recipe. I am not going to post anything other then how to make the sauce. The sauce created can be used for a variety things. I just put mine with noodles that's how lazy I am today. The taste seems more suited for white rice or possibly white meat of some sort.


INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup ketchup
2&1/2 tbs of apple cider vinegar
2 tsp teriyaki sauce
3tbs brown sugar


DIRECTIONS
 1.Place all ingredients in a microwavable bowl.
 2.Stir until all ingredients blend, with the exception of the brown sugar.
 3.Place in microwave for three minutes.
 4.At each minute remove the bowl stir and taste test.
 5. If need be add ingredients to your taste-bud's desires.
 6. Add to rice/noodles or meat.
 7 If your adding to the meat you may want to cook it for a minute or so.

Chops and Pots

This meal is super delicious and great for those cold evenings. Just so you know it has started snowing here ALREADY and is only looking to get worse. The simple thing to do for a meal is soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Seeing as I have no cheese it will have to wait for another day. Thanks to one of my roommates we have loads of potatoes, carrots and condoms lying around. Scandalous and unnecessary i know. The recipe is meant for one person so feel free to add more.


Ingredients
 - 1 large potato sliced
 - seasonings of your liking
 - 2 tbs of vegetable oil
 - 1 pork chop


Directions
1. Heat the oil in a skillet. While the oil is heating wash and slice the potato.
2. Put the potato in the pan and season. ( I used Italian seasoning along with a dash of onion powder)
3.Place the lid on the skillet and allow to cook thoroughly occasionally flipping the potatoes.
4. Once some of the smaller  sized potatoes begin to become soft and translucent add your chop to the pan.
5. Season each side evenly  and replace the lid.
6. Find something to do for about five minutes.
7. Check your pan flip the potatoes and pork chop.
8. Cook both thoroughly and serve.


Notes
Add some cheese to this to make it a kid friendly dish or just to satisfy yourself. You can also add a cream of mushroom soup to the pan to make a gravy like dish. The world is filled with opportunities if you only dare to explore them. Another thing try not to serve the oil up with your potatoes. It takes away from the dish along with giving you a potential heart attack.

Revamping the Old

Here are a few budget friendly quick and easy recipes that anyone can do. I had to make them up due to the lack of funds as of the moment. These recipes are completely flexible and great for everyone. They may even spark some ideas of your own. The basic concept of them is to take a simple base and amp it up for your taste buds. I'm going to give you a challenge whoever is reading this take a basic recipe and give it a twist even if it sounds insane or disgusting. In the words of a man i am not sure who he is besides he had a magazine " Success isn't the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire." Arnold H Glasow. Dare to set yourself on fire I  know you all have at least burnt your eyebrows once but don't let that stop you from trying something.


Fancy Mac


Ingredient
 -1 box of instant macaroni
 -6 tbs. honey mustard
 -6 tbs. sour cream


Directions
1. Prepare the instant macaroni as directed on the box.
2. Add the honey mustard and sour cream
3. Stir in the ingredients until fully blended.
4. Taste and adjust the sour cream and honey mustard to your liking if you so desire.
5. Serve to your guests.
6. Receive compliments of burps and mmms from your guests.


Rice spice


Ingredients
 - white rice of any sort
 - 3/4 cup teryaki
 - 6 tsp. honey mustard


Directions
1.Prepare the rice as directed.
2. Make sure to continually stir the rice as you prepare it.
3. To make fluffier rice keep the water proportional to the amount of rice and vice versa for sticky rice.
4. Once the rice is done add the teriyaki and honey mustard.
5. Stir and serve.




Powerpuff rice


Ingredients
 -white rice again
 -1/3 cup butter
 - 3 tbs. sugar
 -2 tsp. cinnamon


Directions
1. Once again prepare the rice as stated on the package.
2. After you have achieved your perfect rice add the butter and melt down.
3. When the butter is melted add your sugar and cinnamon.
4. EAT!!!


With all these recipes the amount of  the extra ingredients depends on your own personal taste. The extra ingredients can also be altered. Don't be afraid to switch up these recipes and add your twist. Who knows you may find a recipe of your own to share.

NON FAIL updated pumpkin soup

So after waiting for my spicy shepard to finally run out I was able to cook up a batch of a new modified recipe for the pumpkin soup. It is the same as the previous recipe so I will just tell you what I replaced what with what. Instead of chicken stock/broth I added apple cider. The same amount so everything was equal in  the recipe. I replaced the sour cream with cream cheese. Instead of jut a topper though I mixed half of the package into the soup itself to maybe give it a slightly creamier texture. Here's the kicker though this time around I added fried apples. Fried apples are quiet simple really and are delicious.


FRIED APPLES


INGREDIENTS
  - 4-5 red apples (apple or 2 per person)
  - 1/2 cup of butter or 3/4 of oil of your choice I wouldn't suggest olive oil of any kind
  - 2 tbs of cinnamon
  - 1/2 cup of brown sugar


HOW TO PUT IT TOGETHER
  -slice up the apples and throw away the core (the hard center with the seeds)
  -warm up the butter or oil in a large frying pan
  -have a lid handy if your butter or oil starts to pop cover it and turn down the heat
  -add the apples to the pan
  -keep them stirred
  -sprinkle on the cinnamon( make sure to cover all of the apples its easier to do so with your hands you
    have      
   more control with your hands to get the apple evenly coated
  -add the brown sugar the sugar melts down so don't worry about getting it even
  -continue stirring the ingredients
  -place the lid on and let the mixture cook for five minutes OCCASIONALLY CHECKING THE PAN
  -once the apples have softened turn off the heat and serve or add to the soup
  -DON'T ADD THE GREASE TO THE SOUP and DON"T EAT TO MUCH OF IT our goal is not
   a heart attack.

The spicy shepherd

Yup, that's the name of my recent dish. My roommate told me it looked like shepherd's pie which consists of mash potatoes and what not. Here is my spicy version of the shepherd.

Oh senorita a rose for you!!!!!!!

I know I rule at paint mhmmmm. Let us go forth onto our real spicy shepherd shall we.

Ingredients:

1 jar of salsa (use your tolerance to decide the spice level)

1 can of beans ( I chose kidney beans they are my favorite)

3 garlic cloves chopped up

1/2 onion chopped up1 pound turkey burger
A bag of shredded cheese 
1 packet of taco seasoning
burritos ( quantity depends on what you bake it in)
a bag of Fritos
A small tub of sour cream


How to make a shepherd spicy:
1. Brown the hamburger with the onion and garlic.
2.Turn oven to 350 degrees and let the oven warm as you prepare.
3. Layer the ingredients and smooth with a utensil as you layer (starting with the bottom):
       -beans
       -meat
       -salsa
       -Fritos
       -cheese
       -burrito
       -cheese
4. Repeat until you run out of ingredients or room; which ever comes first.
5. Place in oven for 40 minutes. Make sure to check the dish though just to avoid a fire or fire alarm.
6. WAIT.... Jeopardy song DO do do DODO do DO do.........
7. TAKE OUT OF OVEN and don't forget your mitts and remember NO HEADS IN THE OVEN we
    want to keep our eyebrows. Unless your on of those alternative people.
8. Serve and put a dollop or so of sour cream. Just so you know a dollop is just a little spoonful NOT A GLOB THAT COVERS THE WHOLE SERVING.

My Pumpkin Chicken (another semi fail)

As I was stirring through the kitchen; with my pumpkin pie shake from arctic circle; I was trying to think of way to make the chicken more creative then just put it in soup done. I decided I would try and be a genius. The chicken didn't taste bad but the rice was terrible. Here's my recipe/adventure in a nutshell


INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of flour
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 brown sugar
chicken breast(how ever many pieces I had about 3)
3/4 cup of pumpkin soup
Tbs of 1/2 &1/2
One sandwich bag


HOW TO PUT IT TOGETHER( WITHOUT RICE BECAUSE THAT JUST STINKS)
in a frying pan of some sort put the soup and half & half together. Mix the ingredients. Turn the heat to medium and place a lid on it. In the sandwich bag add the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and brown sugar. Take each piece of chicken and place them individually in the bag.  Now for the fun part SHAKE SHAKE SENORA SHAKE YOUR BODY RIGHT.  Yes I did just quote a Harry Belafonte song. After you force all the built up shaking out of your body place the chicken in the pan. Flip the chicken as needed and don't ADD RICE.. If you do add rice it won't soften and it eventually just burns. DON'T DO IT!


TIPS
Instead of putting the floured chicken with the soup you may want to try just frying it in canola oil. The pumpkin concoction tastes great but i think it may just be better as plain chicken with the soup maybe put some of the spices on it but just ex out the flour. The pumpkin soup makes the chicken extra soft which is great and it tastes great.

semi fail pumpkin cheesecake soup

Alright as the title states this recipe was a bit of a fail. It was edible and your roommates/family will survive eating it and depending on their taste they may love it. See as me and  my roommate ate our bowls we found it a bit bitter not sweet like you would expect from the title of the recipe.


NOTES BEFORE YOU START


1.Have a lid handy the pumpkin likes to shoot up like a volcano as it heats up.
2. DO NOT blast the heat especially when adding the dairy product.
               -blasting the heat causes your food to smoke easily and burn
               - when you add the dairy you don't want it too hot or it will curdle so keep it medium temp and keep the                     
                 soup moving
3. If the soup looks thick and unsoup like at the beginning don't worry it thins as it heats
4. Also to avoid your 1/2 and 1/2 from going bad slowly add it to the mix so you can assure all is mixed in and well.


BASIC RECIPE
Pumpkin Cheesecake Soup

2 cans (30 ounces each) pumpkin pie mix
2 cans (14 ounces each) chicken broth
2 cups (1 pint) half-and-half
1 cup sour cream
Nutmeg for garnish, optional


In a soup pot, whisk the pumpkin pie mix and chicken broth over
medium-high heat and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until hot.
Slowly stir in the half-and-half and cook for 2 to 3 minutes,
until heated through.
Top each serving with a tablespoon of sour cream and, if desired,
a sprinkle of nutmeg.
http://www.mom-mom.com/pumpkin_cheesecake_soup.htm


MY TWIST
After you have mixed and heated together the first three ingredients add


1 cup of brown sugar (you may want to add more or less)
1/2 tsp of vanilla 
pinch of cinnamon
tiny bit of ginger and nutmeg


whisk in until dissolved


I am going to test out this soup and see how it fairs when I cook it with chicken tonight. I will let you know the results.   Later on in the week probably Thursday I am going to tweak this recipe a bit and use some different ingredients to see if I can make a sweeter concoction.

Acceptance

As of late I have been lazy. I finally ran out of my rice dish which lasted me longer than I anticipated. The longer a dish lasts the more money I save which makes me HAPPY!!! On to the topic though. This one is not particularly about food but can be applied to what my purpose is here. Which is to teach you as well as myself how to cook like an artist.


The subject of acceptance has been dwelling in my cranium for quite some time. There are many reasons why this certain subject has become of great importance to me; one of them being change. The change i had did not have that shine or glimmer we all hope for. The change I found was more like a green old penny you find on the corner but your not sure its really even a penny but you pick it up anyways out of curiosity. Through all the changes I have had to accept that my life was fated for else where. I had planned my life but I was not living it. I've found that is a TERRIBLE thing to do. If you just go through the motions you don't grasp the meaning of living you just are. 


Once I took a breathe of real life everything changed. I see the world as it is. I also see the things I can change willing no matter what comes in front of me. Since I can remember I have always lived by the motto "live and learn". If you don't take anything from what you do experience you will be just as I was floating through life hoping things work out. You must do something about it to make things work. Just like me your taking a chance on cooking. Dare to be daring. Who knows maybe just a like tweak of your ingredients will make the dish world famous. A little twist of the norm worked for Vincent Van Gogh. Why wouldn't it work for you too?

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/508/Starry-Night.html

kitchen safety

Well so far my last dish I created has still lasted me and there's plenty more. I did buy some tortillas and it tastes terrific. Still needs some tomatoes....next time though (shakes fist like claw). I thought since we are all kinda ridiculous cooks here I would maybe talk about some safety issues in the kitchen.


1.How to prevent the spread of bacteria


              -WASH YOUR HANDS
                           Your hands carry millions of germs from everything you touch and do. You pick up E.coli
                           and Salmonella the two most common bacteria from food. To prevent from really                        
                           poisoning your guests WASH YOUR HANDS. I know this is ridiculous but wash them in                          
                           hot water (not so hot it burns you fool) get loads of soap and sing either the ABCs or
                          Happy Birthday. Don't forget to scrub around your nails to bacteria tends to hide. Other
                          you should wash your hands is any time you have handled meat or eggs. Those two
                          products usually house a numerous amount of bacterium.    
                
              -DON'T CROSS CONTAMINATE
                         What I mean by this is don't use the same knife, cutting board, bowl or what ever that you
                         that you just prepared your meat with for ANYTHING ELSE!!!! This can cause you to
                         spread the bacterium further causing a higher likelihood of poisoning your guests. I will go
                         through an example just so you understand. Your making meatloaf where you use one
                          pound of ground beef to open the package you use a steak knife and place it on the          
                         counter. You then place the meat in a bowl and put the already measured out ingredients
                        and mix with your hands. After you mix you STOP go to the sink with the knife and wash                                    
                         your hands. For the remainder of the recipe use utensils the less you can use your hands the
                         better.
                       
              -CLEAN UP AFTERWARDS
                         I know your tired you just made this delicious masterpiece the work should be done.
                         WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! The area you just worked in could have bacterium lingering there from
                         the meat or vegetables. I will admit I am a messy cook....flour everywhere always. It only
                         takes a second to prevent a nasty harmful bacterium from spreading. Just use a little kitchen
                         spray or disinfecting wipes in all the areas you worked in including that sink if you prepared
                         meat and washed your hands.


            -WASH YOUR VEGGIES
                       I'm sure you have all heard, remember or maybe you even experienced the great spinach
                       e.coli of 2006. Many causes from food poisoning is not properly washing your veggies.
                       With food its best to treat everything as if its thriving with bacteria. That doesn't mean
                       don't eat it just means you should take precautions to protect yourself and your poor
                       victimized dinner guests/family. I'm sure you can figure this one out but if you need
                       guidance here's some ideas. Use a strainer and a scrubby not soap. DON'T USE THE
                        SAME KNIFE OR CUTTING SURFACE AS YOUR MEAT!!!!! 


            -HANDLE YOUR MEAT (perv...i know what your thinking)
                      Here's the deal with meat the bacteria it typically houses can only live under certain conditions.
                      When your not using it stick it in the freezer. If you plan to use it place it in the fridge. If it is not
                      thawed by the time you need it run hot water over it from the sink. Last but not least cook it.
                      Your  ultimate goal is to make the most uncomfortable conditions for the bacterium. In other
                      words treat it as if it were an annoying guest you want to leave. First you freeze'em causing
                      the bacteria to slow down its growth and reproduction rates. Next you burn'em out. Different
                      meats require different temperatures to eradicate the vermin within them. I will include a chart
                      for your convenience. I suggest picking up a meat thermometer at your local store. DON'T
                      use a regular one i'm pretty sure they make them specifically for food for a reason.
                      http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/MeatTemperatureChart.htm


2. Association of preventing pirates and Freddy Krueger (APPFK)
         
          - PROPER KNIFE USE
                     Our hands our built for perfection and to handle highly complicated dexterously demanding tasks 
                     such as beating the living daylights out of the chickens in The Legend Of Zelda : Orcarina of Time.
                     To prevent your precious hands or anything from getting injured pay attention to what your doing 
                     and always cut away from yourself.


        - FIRE!!!!!!
                   Being a terrible cook you have probably been here before. I know I have. If your cooking with grease
                   have some baking soda on hand. I know the first thing you want to do is grab water. NOO BAD!!!!!
                   Dump the baking soda on the fire it will douse it and prevent any oxygen from getting to the fire. If your not
                   cooking with grease i'm pretty sure water will work fine or an extinguisher. It may be a good investment.
                   Don't forget to check your smoke alarm so if you happen to forget your food in the oven FOR AN HOUR
                   AND BURN COOKIES TO MY COOKIE SHEET this should let you know that hey your cooking 
                   food GET IT OUT NOW!!! 


          - STEAMY
                   The last hazard you should be aware of is steam. Its a nasty little mean head. When you boiling noodles or
                   decide to check your food in the oven BEWARE of the steam. It will burn your face and arms so don't
                   stick your head in the oven  or your arms over the pans.
                      


             
                     

My chicken and rice

This is the dish that inspired me to create a blog about my culinary adventures. understand the frustration of trying to cook and create tastebud tingling works of art but they come out as a dud or looking like something even the creature from the black lagoon wouldn't eat. Well my friends the time has come for our friends to stop having to be polite and forcing our dishes down their throats. I can promise you with this blog I will post my own disasters and triumphs so you can gain skills and learn as I do. Well heres my dish that I created today. I love it because Its large and can be used many different ways (which save me money!!!)


Ingredients (I apologize about my measurements)
2/3 Campbells V8 red pepper soup
1/2 a yellow onion chopped up
Rice(add it porportionally to where the liquid covers the rice)
3 cloves of garlic chopped
Water(add as needed)
1/2 a thing of cream cheese
1 medium sized can of corn
A spice of some sort( chilli pepper or tace seasoning package) ONLY A PINCH


How to put it all together
Put the red pepper soup in a large pan with some water, add the corn and  last but not least add the rice (the more rice you have the more water you will need).Stir and turn the heat on low. While that is slowly heating chop up the garlic as small as you can with out chopping your fingers off( blood is never a good mix to any recipie unless your a vampire). Chop up the onion don't forget to cut of the stem part and pull the brown skin off. Put a little bit of oil in a small frying pan and throw the onion and garlic in. Saute them (this is pretty much just heating them up and getting all the good flavors out of them mmm) until the onion is transparent.(dont rev up the heat too much it makes it burn quick and you can get grease in your eye) If you like add some spices here to both the red pepper mix and the garlic mix. I added chilli pepper because i'm a whimp and can't handle spicy food. Once you have sucessfully sauted the onions and garlic add to the mix try not to add the grease we don't want a hert attack on our hands. Now chop up the chicken and add to the rice mix. Turn up the heat and add the chicken. Cover with a lid and let it come to a rapid boil. MAKE SURE YOU ARE STIRRING THE CONCOCTION THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS ECSPECIALLY NOW.  After the dish comes to a boil take off the lid and check to see if the rice is crunchy or not. If not your dish is done. If its still crunchy then you may need to add a little water or just let it heat a little more. After you get the rice soft add the cream cheese to the dish.
SERVE and ENJOY!!!


Changes you could do to the recipie add a can of diced tomatos and possibly switch out the cream cheese for regular shredded cheese.I would have loved to try it with these two ingredients but i was working with what I had on hand. This recipie is my own creation of which I am very proud of since it actually tasted and looks decent. I also like the fact that I could probably use this as a side dish, a filling for a burrito or taco and I could even just eat it as is. One dish becomes many and saves me some time, money and energy.

Cinnamon Apple Chicken

Alright kiddies so fall is just around the corner which means hot food is a must. I found this amazing recipie online but it called for baking it. Theres two problems with that. One: time and Two: I WAS STARVING!!!!


Heres my modified recipie
(I just eyeballed the measurements)
A third of V8 Campells Butternut squash soup
Some apple cider
1/2 of a yellow onion chopped up
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 Fuji apple(can be any type this is just big and what I had)
Dash of cinnamon
(put all these in a skillet and bring to a slight boil)
Now Add your chicken make sure the liquid is covering the chicken so if need be add more cider
(Cook the chicken throughly make sure THERE IS NO PINK)
Now for the best part....Eat and enjoy!!


The changes I would have made to my modification is possibly added some type of nut or even carrots all in all it is a great way to start fall off.


Here is the original recipie for those of you who are overachivers (: P)
http://familyfun.go.com/autumn/fall-recipes/fall-dinner-ideas/sweet-autumn-chicken-920804/