She gets baked

Ok, let's try this again

2011-09-02T04:37:00.000-07:00

I've tried to blog consistantly a number of times but I can't seem to commit to it. There is no real reason. I'm going to try to stick with it this time. I cook dinner for my family every night and now I have a place where I can share photos and recipes. Not only will I post recipes and photos of things i've cooked, i'll occasionally post random food related things that I find online. Praise pinterest!

Bacon Monkey Bread

2010-07-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

The first time I looked up the recipe for monkey bread, it called for raisins! Ewwwww!! I thought to myself, there has to be a better mix in. I just omitted the raisins and went on with life. Since then, i've made monkey bread about 6 or 7 times. I finally figured out the perfect mix in. BACON! Sweet sweet bacon. The result was pretty awesome. You should try it.

Ingredients

3 cans of biscuits

1 cup of white sugar

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 stick of butter or margarine

2 cups of brown sugar (packed)

8 strips of bacon (already cooked and diced)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Grease one Bundt pan.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag.

Cut biscuits into quarters.

Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix.

Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Sprinkle bacon among the biscuit pieces as you go along.

Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan.

In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. I overbaked mine a bit and the top got hard. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

Cinnamon muffins

2010-06-08T09:00:00.001-07:00

I'm usually not a fan of breakfast unless it involves bacon. What? I'm being honest! I don't really eat breakfast during the week but I INSIST that my kid and husband do. Do as I say not as I do. Chad gets up at the last possible minute for work 6 days a week so he basically has no time to eat. He ends up stopping at the gas station (NOT BP!) for an energy drink and chips. No bueno. K usually eats oatmeal, cereal or toast. I decided to make an effort to mix things up for breakfast. I'm gonna do a whole series on take and go breakfasts. This is the first. Cinnamon muffins with struesel topping. I used a recipe for williams sonoma and they tuned out really really good! Chad ate 4 for breakfast and took 4 to work which i'm sure didn't last very long.
I doubled the recipe since I knew 8 muffins would NOT be enough if me and K wanted any.

Cinnamon Muffins
Williams Sonoma
7 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (I used 3/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Struesel2 TBS flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 TBS butter, softened

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease 9 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping. (I used a cupcake pan and cupcake liners and ended up with 20 cupcake sized muffins)

To make the muffins, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well until pale and smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each three-fourths full.
T
o make the topping, in a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or forks until mixture resembles cornmeal. Gently sprinkle topping evenly over batter in prepared muffin tin. Gently press down topping slightly.

Bake until the muffins are golden, dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

You can top with butter if you're feelin' chubby!

Baked Mole Chicken Wangs!

2010-05-25T09:48:00.001-07:00

Mole. Mole is one of my favorite food ever. I admit, I've gone to the grocery store and picked up a rotisserie chicken just to shred it and mix it with pre made Dona Maria sauce and eat like 5 tacos in one sitting. Just typing it now, i'm tempted to go to the store and do it again. Don't judge me. Growing up, my mom always used Dona Maria pre made mole sauce and it's delicious! I wanted to try something new this time. Rick Bayless is the mexicanest white dude you'll ever meet (next to TBA Buff, ha!). Bayless is the man! He comes up with the most amazing mexican dishes that make my migas and fidello want to weep in a dark corner somewhere. I've been wanting to try his mole for a while now but I know it would take forever. I had some time to spare last week so I took on the challenge. Instead of traditional mole, I opted for mole chicken wings. My 2 fave foods combined? Mother-effing NOM!

Here's the recipe.

First, sprinkle like 20-25 chicken wings with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 25 mins.While they're baking, you can make the sauce

12 chiles guajillos, cleaned

3 ripe tomatoes, peeled

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 cup oil

1 small onion, quartered

8 cloves garlic, peeled

One 2-inch piece cinnamon stick

1 ounce Mexican chocolate

Remove the stems from the chile peppers. Cut them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Toast the chiles briefly in a hot skillet; do not overtoast. Place chiles in a small bowl and cover with hot water; set aside. Place the peeled tomatoes in a blender jar and pulse a few times. Toast the sesame seeds until just browned in the same skillet. Add to the tomatoes, along with the oregano, cloves, and allspice. Blend until smooth. Add oil to the skillet and fry the onion pieces for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and cinnamon stick and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the blender jar. Blend until smooth. Strain the sauce and return to the skillet. Add the chocolate and season with salt.

Once the chicken wings have baked for 25 mins, transfer them from the pan to the bowl with the mole sauce. Make sure each wing is coated entirely then return to the baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins.

It's a lot of work just for some wings but they are so good! They get crispy which isn't a texture you're used to with mole but it works. Oh, it works good! So so so good!

Elote

2010-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Aurora, IL. Yes, the city wayne's world was supposedly filmed in. That was totally a lie, btw. Aurora is the 2nd largest city in Illinois next to Chicago. Growing up in Aurora was interesting. There was a lot of gang violence and crime but I turned out "ok". One of my favorite parts of Aurora was the food. Especially the elotes. An Elotero is a guy or girl who sells corn on the cob out of a street cart. Not just any corn, mexican corn! Corn on the cob slathered with butter, mayo, cotija cheese and chili pepper. Grossed out yet? The smell leaves something to be desired but once you taste it, your mind will be BLOWN! Back in the day, we ate it on a stick but in the recent years eloteros have brilliantly started shaving the corn off the cob and layering it a styrofoam cup for easy consumption. That's called "en vaso". Even my beloved white sox sell it at u.s. cellular field! I even got my husband to eat this and he is super picky!

Elote mexicana

4 cobs of corn

Butter

Mayonnaise

Cotija cheese

Chili powder (optional)

Thick skewers

Boil corn just about 5-7 minutes. Stick a skewer in each cob and slather on ingredients. You can also cut the corn off the cob and layer in a bowl or cup. There's really no wrong way to do it.

Let's start this off right, shall we?

2010-05-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

4 words: bacon chocolate chip cookies. The reactions of people when I say I made these cookies vary. Some people are grossed out, some are skeptical and some get boners over it. Whatever the reaction may be, everyone is curious! To me, this was a natural pairing since I LOVE bacon. Although i'm an awesome cake maker, I dabble in cookies and these were a huge success!! They're so good! It's like a regular chocolate chip cookie until the bacon creeps up on you as if it's saying "hey stupid! did you forget I was here? Bow down to my salty goodness"

Bacon chocolate chip cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg 1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

6 strips cooked, cooled bacon cut in peices equal to the size of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and bacon pieces by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Trust me on this one, try em!

Hey look! Another food blog!

2010-05-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I'm starting this blog for fun. I'll post recipes, photos and anything food related. Some savory, some sweet, some both! I'm a cake decorator who lives in the Chicago suburbs with a great husband, daughter and dog. I've always loved food so I figured i'd share my passion with the masses! I named my blog "she gets baked" because I bake for a living. I don't really get baked baked. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I don't judge. ;)

Buckle up, it's going to be a gluttonous ride!