My Favorite Meal in the World. (ok, well ONE of my favorite meals.)

ok, so I debated and debated about what my next recipe was going to be, and i finally decided that whatever i'm wanting at the moment i should blog about so this is it. my grandma used to make this for me and it's so simple, yet amazing! it is beef curry rice!

BEEF CURRY RICE!

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 small can mushroms, drained (optional)
1 tsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
a splash of Sherry (optional)
2 cans beef broth
1 1/4 cups uncooked yellow saffron rice
16 oz. container of sour cream
paprika to sprinkle on top

Brown beef an add all ingredients except for sour cream and paprika. Pour into large 13x9 casserole dish. Cover with foil and cook in the oven at 350 for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and cover top with sour cream. Sprinkle with paprika if so desired.

And that is is! so freaking easy! and delicious. the original recipe calls for just plain white rice, but my mom would make it for me with the saffron rice an it just gives it so much more flavor! I always get the mahatma saffron rice in the little packets. so convenient. this is what it looks like.



so there it is! let me know how you all like it!

-j. <3.

for the k...RED VELVET CUPCAKES!!

One of my best friends, Kayla, lovesssss red velvet cupcakes. I don't think I've ever seen her get a different kind of cupcake, or if she did, it's probably because they didn't have any and she had to substitute. So in honor of her, here's a yumm recipe for red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES (makes 2 dozen)
2.5 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs (at room temp. works better)
1/2 tsp. red gel-paste food coloring (wilton's is the best!)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1.5 tsp baking soda
2 tsp distilled white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Wilton's Icing Color makes vibrant colors for the cupcakes or icing. Gel-paste food color is much more concentrated than the liquid variety; if you substitute the liquid, you may need to add an entire bottle (1.5 ounces) to achieve the desired shade. Here is a link to their website showing the different colors you can get. http://tinyurl.com/attqv


CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
12 ounces cream cheese, room temp.
4 cups (1 lb.) confectioners' sugar, sifted.
3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract.

Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.

**Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before putting the frosting on.

Well I hope you enjoy trying out these recipes. I love love love making cupcakes and I know I'll be putting up more cupcake recipes all the time. :)

-j.

lasagna! AND homemade pasta sauce!

ok so tonight i went to one of my FAVORITE italian restaurants, angelo's in irving, texas. they have the best lasagna in the world and they are so cute because they bake them in their own individual oblong bowl-type thing. the lasagna is always hot, fresh, and still bubbling from the oven. yummm. so anyhoo, i figured i'd put on here my easy-to-do lasagna, along with easy-to-make pasta sauce.

PASTA SAUCE

2 28oz. cans whole or crushed plum tomatoes (you can crush them yourself if you want.)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper (freshly ground if you have it.)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp. italian seasoning

in a stock pot, heat the olive oil on a medium-high flame. add the chopped onion and saute about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another 5-ish minutes until the onions are translucent. then add the rest of the ingredients (tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaf and italian seasoning.) cook sauce for about an hour to get full flavor. don't forget to take out the bay leaf! also, if you want to make it a meat sauce, just brown a pound of lean ground beef and throw it in there when the sauce is about halfway cooked. so simple.


**now these are rough estimates for seasonings, so feel free to add or subtract to what you like. sometimes i'll add more italian seasoning or salt to taste. if the sauce has that bitter, tomato taste, add a teaspoon of sugar....it'll help.


***also, i wanted to let you know about my favorite type of plum tomatoes to use. at central market they have the san marzano plum tomatoes and they have the same kind with basil already in the can. the basil infuses its flavor in the tomatoes and they taste amazing. if you can't find the ones with basil already in there, just get a big basil leaf and chop it up and put it in your sauce when you add your other seasonings. here's a pic of what the can looks like...












and now onto making the lasagna....

1 box uncooked lasagna noodles
**i prefer the de cecco no-boil lasagna noodles, you don't have to pre-cook the noodles before putting them in the pan.
1 16oz. container of part skim ricotta cheese
3-4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
chopped parsley to garnish if you want.

in the bottom of a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish, spoon some of the sauce to coat the bottom of the pan. place one layer of noodles on top of the sauce. spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese on top of the noodles, then add sauce to the top, then sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top of that. then repeat noodles, ricotta, sauce, mozzarella until you have as many layers as you want. (i usually do about 3 or 4.) on the top layer, do not put ricotta, just put the remainder of the sauce, mozzarella, and put the parmigiano reggiano cheese on top to help make a crunchy/crusty top layer. bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour on 375 degrees. after you take it out of the over, be sure to let it rest for about 20-30 minutes so that the pasta sets up.

so that's basically about it. if you have some questions or want some suggestions let me know!

benvenuto!

Hey there everyone! My best friend Jessica suggested I start a cooking/recipe blog on here and I think it's a fantastic idea! I'm always trying something new, making some fun concoction, baking neat pastries, or going out to some neat places. So on here i'll post my ideas and findings from wherever I'm at.

If you are wanting to know anything specific or have any questions about how to make something or have an idea you want me to test out, feel free to let me know and I'll do my best to find you an answer.

<3.