Caramel Sauce

Hi again,

Fall is about candied or caramel apples, apple pie, pumpkin pie, salted caramel mocha, sweet potato pie, and all the warm fall smelling yummy goodness. Recently I've made some caramel sauce to go with some of my desert goodies. I found a great recipe online and decided to take the plunge as the recipe didn't look that hard to make. Plus, I didn't feel like spending since I already had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. I already used it on a desert that I will blog about soon and intend to use it on other deserts this week and next.

If you want to try making your own caramel sauce, try this out. Remember, it may differ in cooking time, so please be patient. My first attempt was a fail, lol. The picture does not do it justice, it's not that dark.

Caramel Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of Granulated sugar
½ cup of Water
¾ cup of Heavy Cream, warmed slightly, either in a small saucepan or microwave
2 Tbsp of Unsalted butter at room temperature
¼ tsp of Salt
½ tsp of Vanilla Extract

Direction:

1) In a large non stick sauce pan combine the sugar and water, cook over medium low heat until the sugar dissolves without stirring ever! Just swirl the pan around. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat to medium high and let it bubble away until it turns a deep amber color, about 8 to 15 minutes. It depends on your stove.

2)  Turn the heat down to low at this point and add the warm heavy cream slowly. Be careful because it will bubble vigorously. Keep whisking until everything is combined and turn the heat off.

3) Add the butter, salt and vanilla and whisk in until the butter melts. Set aside to cool completely.

Cupcakes

Hi again,

October is a month of birthday celebrations and recently some of my family members celebrated their birthdays. I decided to bake some butter pecan cupcakes with chocolate frosting and topped off with a few variety of sprinkles I had in my cupboard. It was definitely moist and the flavor was outstanding! For the sprinkles, I used small round sprinkles, white sugar pearls, and color candy coated chocolate chips. I'm not in no means of a professional decorator, but  I do try my best to make them all look nice, lol. Try out this flavored cake mix, if you can't make them from scratch, try out the Betty Crocker cake mix. 

One of the members was my baby girl Bree and she turned one years old. I don't have any kids at the moment, so Bree and the others are my babies. She loves treats, so I baked a few peanut butter and oats bone shaped dog cookies, which one side was dipped in melted carob. Also some cupcake dog cookies. Of course we had to share some with her friends at the park. There is a blog post with the peanut butter and oats dog cookies recipe just incase you would like to try it out. 

Soft Pretzels with Cheese Sauce

Hi again,

Recently I've been craving for some soft pretzels with cheese sauce. Instead of buying soft pretzels, I decided to make some a few weeks ago. I've looked at different recipes and watched so many videos to see which is the easiest and best recipe to make pretzels. I finally took the plunge in making pretzels, how hard could it be? It was even hard at all and the process wasn't all that bad either. If you've made bread or even kaiser buns before, than making pretzels is almost the same process. The difference is that you have to put the pretzels in hot water and baking soda bath for a about 30 seconds before baking. I made both plain and cinnamon sugar soft pretzels. I also made some cheese sauce using Velveeta cheese.

Here's the recipe, go try it out! These make about 12-16 pretzels, depending on the size you make it.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Bake at 450 degrees F

Time: 10 - 12 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cups of water at 110 degrees F

1 Tbsp of granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp of salt

1 pkg of active dry yeast

2 Tbsp of melted butter (unsalted)

4 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Water bath:

6 cups of water

1/2 cup of baking soda

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp of water)

kosher salt for topping (optional)

Cinnamon/sugar mix (optional)

Directions:

1) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the 110 degrees F water, sugar, stir to mix and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast begins to foam.

2) Add the flour, salt and butter and turn the mixer to low and mix until everything is combined. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for about 5 to 7 minutes or until you have a smooth dough.

3) Spray the sides of a bowl with cooking oil spray and put the dough in the oiled bowl. Cover and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour.

4) Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, lay 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray cooking oil spray on the parchment paper.

5) Add the water and baking soda to a large pot and set the pot over a burner and turn the heat on to medium and let the water come to a rolling boil, meanwhile form the pretzels.

6) Once the dough has risen, cut it into 12 equal pieces, roll each piece into a rope and make a U shape, then press the ends of the rope at the bottom of the "U" shape and pinch the ends. Place your shaped pretzels onto the oiled parchment paper line baking sheets.

7) Carefully place the pretzels into the boiling water for about 30 seconds one at a time, remove from the boiling water using a flat spatula and put them back on the oiled parchment paper lined baking sheets. Continue to cook all of them and then brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle each one with a little kosher salt.

8) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until deeply golden brown.

Filipino Pancit Bijon

Hi again,

A few weeks ago I decided to make some Filipino Pancit Bijon, which is one of my favorite Filipino food and to many of you too. It took me a while to blog due to my hectic schedule now, but I've tried my best to take as many pictures of some of the food and deserts I've made recently. I just need some time to blog about it and share with all of you. You can practically add any ingredients your heart desires, but in this dish I've added some chicken, sweet peas, minced garlic, and carrots. You can make the mix from scratch or use package made for pancit found at your local oriental store.

I've made pancit for my family, relatives, and work potluck. Many are familiar with this Filipino dish, along with chicken adobo. Try it for lunch or dinner soon.

Cake Pops

Hi again,

Throughout this year I have been making cake pops for special events, parties, etc. Cake pops are a good alternative to have for parties with the added touch of artistry. Plus, they are so moist and delicious, you just can't have only one, lol. Cake pops are cake glued together with cake frosting, rolled into a small ball, stuck onto a lollipop stick, and dipped in candy coated melted chocolate or vanilla. You can also add sprinkles, fondant, gum paste, etc. to make the cake pop even more special. Also, you can make cool designs with your cake pop, such as cupcake pop, flowers, bears, other characters, and shapes. I also have found a very cute cupcake mold on Amazon to help me make cute cupcake pops perfect every time.

I make my cake pops with a combination of unique flavors, which impresses my clients every time. I do make these upon request, so if you ever need some for a party or special event, please let me know.

These are some of the different flavored cake pops I've made. I will post some of my other designs soon.

Homemade Garlic Bread/Spread

Hi again,

Have you ever thought of making your own French or Italian bread and also butter garlic spread? It's really easy to make both bread and spread rather than spending on garlic bread at your local grocery store, which may not give you a lot for your family dinner or a get-to-gether. I'm all about saving some money and having the simplicity and the taste of homemade goodies. If you want to know how to make some good butter garlic spread, all you need is unsalted butter at room temperature, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, and a dash of salt, mix well, spread it on your bread, and bake for a few minutes. See, that simple! Also, you can keep the extra spread in the fridge for a few weeks or so. Do keep in mind that it's all up to your taste, so add the ingredients on how you would like it to taste :o)

You can serve it with some homemade spaghetti/linguine, just like how I have it :o)

Crispy Chicken Wings

Hi again,

Last night I was craving for some KFC, but was not in the mood to spend money nor drive anywhere. Plus, I had some chicken wings in my fridge thawing, so I decided to make my own version of KFC's original chicken recipe. Although I was lacking a few of their seasonings, it tasted close enough, in my opinion.

I seasoned both the chicken wings and the flour to give it some extra taste, used my cast iron and fried that baby up! lol. It took roughly about 12-16 minutes to cook on medium heat, but do keep in mind that it depends how new or old your stove is, etc. I coated the chicken wings with 2 eggs, then rolled it in my seasoned flour (repeat twice), then fry. You can add whatever else you want when you seasoned the chicken and the flour. You can also use drumsticks, chicken breast, etc., but do remember that the cooking time will vary as well. To ensure that your chicken is well cook, do slice it to check the inside, also make sure the coating is fried to a nice gold brown color. Happy cooking!

Seasonings used:

• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Paprika

It's Boba Time!

Hi again,

It's been awhile due to my hectic work/life schedule, nonetheless, I haven't forgotten you nor the blog :o)

I love boba! Some of my favorite flavors are honeydew, taro, mango, coconut, and chocolate milk tea or slushy boba. What is boba you ask? According to wikipedia, "It is the name for pearl milk tea and other similar tea and juice beverages that originated in tea shops in Taichung City, Taiwan during the 1980s". It is a favorite among the Asians and other ethnicities. It's fun to hangout with friends and family in boba tea shops, but does add up when buying bobas. I started buying the bobas (tapioca black pearls) at my local oriental supermarket, along with some of my favorite flavor powders to make the drink. It saves me money and I can make it however I like. It's so easy, especially if you have a magic bullet! The black pearls normally take about 5 minutes, depending on the brand and directions on the package and it doesn't need a lot of ingredients to make the drink. If you're ever in the mood or have the cravings, you should check out your oriental supermarket and see if they have the ingredients to make it.

Tapioco Pearls

Honeydew milk tea boba