Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Wordless Wednesday {{linky}}

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

I had an "Open House" this past weekend. I made a bunch of little samples of a few of my favorite recipes. I had an amazing group of friends who came through and just had a blast. I'm hoping to do this at least once a month. =)

I'M PARTYING WITH:
Wordless Wednesday with Take it from Me
I <3 Blogging
Wordless and Wonderful Wednesdays
Welcome Wednesday
Home of Wordless Wednesdays...and many more! 
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Please follow Cookin' for my Captain via GFC!~Grab the WW button if you want to...
...and add your "Wordless Wednesdays" up below!




Rainbow Farfalla

Last one of my "great things come in small packages" kick. Another product I found at World Market. These noodles looked fun and I thought my kids would get a kick out of them--and they did! They are imported from Italy, and I must say they were above and beyond any other noodle I've had...and they are colorful. The texture was so smooth and blended with the sauce beautifully! I used a recipe on the back of the package to cook it up with.

FARFALLE & SWEET SAUSAGE

  

2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tblsp oil
2 tblsp sweet onion, chopped
6 oz sweet sausage, removed from skin
8 oz white mushroom, diced
4 oz white wine
4 ox heavy whipping cream
Parmesan cheese to top

Heat oil on med-high heat and cook onion and garlic. Add the sausage, removed from casing and crumbled and cook until browned. Add mushrooms and cook for another minute. Add white and lower heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until wine has greatly reduced, Add the cream and cook for 1 more minute, or until heated through.

Cook noodles according to package (9 minutes) and toss with sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

The rainbow farfalle can be substituted with regular farfalle if desired.

Isn't it so pretty? I think so!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Lettuce Wraps

This is another recipe from a small package! I found this at the World Market store. I've had many lettuce wraps, and my favorite are from PF Changs. The ones I've made, come in a close 2nd. It was so good, and SO SIMPLE! Even better! =)

LETTUCE WRAPS


Brown ground pork in a tad bit of oil. Toss in chopped green onion, carrots and water chestnuts and cook for a few minutes. Then add sauce from the package and heat through. Serve on lettuce "wraps"! (You can substitute the pork with ground chicken or maybe ground lamb)

Holy cow, so good. I could eat them all day long. And it makes a lot too!


If you see this little package, grab it--its GOOD!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

UPrinting Labels WINNER!

Sorry I didn't get this up this morning...its been one of THOSE weekends! =)

Using Random.org with numbers 1-16, #9 was chosen!

Semper Wifey said...

I could use the standard labels for soooo many things!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Daring Bakers Challenge: Candy

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks athttp://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!


RECIPE IS FROM DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE INSTRUCTIONS, BUT THE IMAGES ARE MINE!



White Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange & Pistachio Marzipan Bonbons

Servings: Makes about 40 chocolates, recipe easily halved or quartered
Marzipan Prep Time: 1 - 1½ hrs
Tempering & Dipping Time: 1 - 2 hrs
Setting Time: 20-40mins
  
Ingredients1½ cups (17½ oz/500gm) Marzipan1/2 cup (2 oz/60gm) Pistachios, shelled & peeled, whole or roughly chopped
1/2 cup (3 oz/90gm) Candied Orange Peel, Finely cut
[I couldn't find candied orange peel, so I skipped this ingredient & the liqueur]
2 tablespoons (1 oz / 30ml) Cointreau or Grand Marnier Liqueur, optional1¾ cups (9 oz/250 gm) white chocolate

Directions:
1. (If using liqueur) Pour the Cointreau or Grand Marnier over the candied orange peel, place into a covered dish and allow to soak overnight [I skipped this step]
2. Knead the soaked peel & pistachios into the marzipan until well distributed
3. Using a small amount of icing sugar to stop the marzipan from sticking, roll out to a height of about 2cm
4. Cut into squares
5. Temper the white chocolate
6. Carefully lower each square of marzipan into the chocolate with a dipping fork
7. Tap the fork on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate
8. Place chocolate on parchment paper
9. Decorate as you like
Tip: You can use transfers or sprinkle crushed pistachio or candied peel. You can also wait for the chocolate to be semi set then use your dipping fork to mark the top of the chocolate
10. Once fully set, cut off any feet with a sharp knife
11. Enjoy!
     


Friday, August 26, 2011

We have a WINNER!



This is SO exciting! I used Random.org to generate 2 numbers (between 1 and 49). The first number was 49!
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Heavensent1 said...



Stumbled High Heels #2... http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/heelsandhoneysuckles.blogspot.com/
And our second number was 10!

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Ella said...
I blogged about it, http://ellagunter.blogspot.com/2011/08/give-away-at-cookin-for-my-captain.html




Ella,

Flash Back Friday #14 & Refrigerator Fruit Salad

FLASH-BACK FRIDAY #14

REFRIGERATOR FRUIT SALAD
Click on image to see full post on 2/23/2011
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My favorite was from Living on Less
Puerto Rican Tostones (Fried Plantains)
I have a similar recipe and LOVE it! Delicious!!
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Thanks to ALL who linked up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow Cookin' for my Captain and Cookin Mimi  on GFC [Google Friend Connect] and then Link away!
  • Use your permalink which is the link in your browser’s address bar.
  • Link back to Cookin’ for My Captain, Cookin’ Mimi or both if you’d like.
  • Please only 1 or 2 entries.
  • Visit and comment on the other entries. Spread some comment love.
  • By entering your link on one blog it will show up on both.



Thursday, August 25, 2011

Creme Brulee

Great things come is small packages! Even great cooks like "eating from a box" occasionally--and I do too! I've found several little "treats" that had the majority of ingredients provided.

This is one of them that I found at the commissary!
CREME BRULEE

  

I added heavy cream and milk in saucepan with creme powder mix and heated until thick. Then poured into dishes and let sit for 1 hour at room temp. Then sprinkled with provided sugar and broiled for a few minutes.

Let me tell you, this was THE BEST mix of Creme Brulee I've had--and my husband enjoyed too! So if you see this package, don't hesitate and grab it! You'll love me for it!

  

I also got a "photo box" for my birthday from my parents, and I've been playing around with lighting and such for my pictures. So far so good!

Last day to enter--don't miss your chance!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Wordless Wednesday {{linky}}

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY


I'M PARTYING WITH:

Wordless Wednesday with Take it from Me
I <3 Blogging
Wordless and Wonderful Wednesdays
Welcome Wednesday
Home of Wordless Wednesdays
Create with Joy
Just winging It
Frugality is Free
One Smiley Monkey


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Please follow Cookin' for my Captain via GFC!
~Grab the WW button if you want to...
...and add your "Wordless Wednesdays" up below!



Don't forget the giveaway! Ends the night of the 25th--2 days left!

Blueberry Muffins

Believe me when I say these are the BEST blueberry muffins EVER! I've tried many, many different recipes, but I always end up coming back to this one. So its the best!

[THE BEST] BLUEBERRY MUFFINS


2 cups flour
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Divide between the [12] muffin cups. Bake for 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Make one dozen.



2 Days left to enter!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Camembert with Lambic-Peach-Cherry Chutney

This is the perfect entertaining plate that goes great with any setting. The cheese can get expensive (it cost me about $11 for the round) so keep that in mind. But its totally worth it!

PLANK-SMOKED CAMEMBERT 
WITH LAMBIC-PEACH-CHERRY CHUTNEY


2/3 cup lambic beer or hard cider
1/2 cup sugar
1 large peach, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup dried (tart or sweet) cherries
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
dash salt
1 piece cherrywood or cedar grill plank
8oz baguette-style french bread, cut diagonally into 1/2-in slices
1 8oz round Camembert cheese

For chutney, in a small saucepan, combine beer and sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Stir in peach, dried cherries, ginger, emon peel and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Transfer to a small bowl. cover and chill for at least 4 hours (it will thicken as it chills).

For at least 1 hour before grilling, soak grill plank in enough water to cover. Drain plank before using.

For charcoal grill, place the plank on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 3 to 5 minutes or until it starts to char and pop. while plank is heating, add bread slices to grill. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes or until toasted, turning once halfway through grilling. Turn plank over. Place cheese on charred side of plank. Cover and grill for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is softened and side is starting to droop.

Place cheese on plank; spoon some chutney on top. Serve with the bread and remaining chutney. Makes 6 to 8 appetizer serving.


recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens "grill it" special addition, July 2011

Still time to enter this giveaway!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Another Giveaway! UPrinting Labels

I don't want to be know as "another giveaway blog" and want to keep to my cooking, but this lady contacted me and asked me to host this giveaway. I thought about it for a few days, then decided to go ahead with it. This adorable labels can really be useful (at least in my kitchen) with canning, treat bags ect... So I'd like to extended the opportunity to win these to all my fabulous friends.

250 Print Labels for One (1) Winner
Front Only Printing, 4 Business Days Turnaround

This company is great for all those individualized projects. They even have a label printing available for prolonged exposure to the elements, water resistant and labels for food products! They have a lot of product templates that make your label so easy to make! They offer a wide variety of printing services as well to fit anyone's needs!


TO ENTER: Comment below with entry and email
  • MANDATORY: Go to UPrinting and comment below on which label you like [1 entry]
  • "Like" UPrinting on Facebook [1 entry]
  • Follow UPrinting on Twitter [1 entry]
  • Follow Cookin' for my Captain on Google Friend Connect [1 entry]
  • "Like" Cookin' for my Captain on Facebook [1 entry]
  • "Like" GiveawayBlogs on Facebook [1 entry]
  • Follow Giveaway Blogs on Twitter [1 entry]
  • Follow Giveaway Blogs on Google Friend Connect [1 entry]
Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only


ENDS: August 27th at 11:59pm


Disclaimer: Required as per FTC Ruling: This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive labels for hosting. Check out product templates on UPrinting.com.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Flash Back Friday #13 & Paula Deen's Baked Potato Soup

FLASH-BACK FRIDAY #13

PAULA DEEN'S BAKED POTATO SOUP
Click on image to see post on 2/12/2011
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My favorite from this past week was from Bernie with One Mixed Bag
Click on image to see full post
Had me laughing--we all have mishaps in cooking, but so few actually blog about them. Bernice really had me giggling--its soooo something I would do!!
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Thanks to ALL who linked up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow Cookin' for my Captain and Cookin Mimi  on GFC [Google Friend Connect] and then Link away!
  • Use your permalink which is the link in your browser’s address bar.
  • Link back to Cookin’ for My Captain, Cookin’ Mimi or both if you’d like.
  • Please only 1 or 2 entries.
  • Visit and comment on the other entries. Spread some comment love.
  • By entering your link on one blog it will show up on both.



Don't forget you can still enter the giveaway going on right now!
Just click on the image:

Thursday, August 18, 2011

400 Followers {{{2 Winners Giveaway}}}

Cookin' for my Captain has finally hit over 400 followers! Thank you ALL so much! Like I promised, I have a super awesome GIVEAWAY! I'm really excited about this one--there will be 2 WINNERS!


Guess what else? Its my BIRTHDAY this week! So it makes this giveaway EVEN BETTER! Well, to me it does. =)

Thanks to my friend Jessica with High Heels and Honeysuckles,


we will be giving away one free personalized water bottle to the first place winner!


You will get to choose what you'd like on it--from pictures to lettering--anything! This is a great idea for kids going back to school, or maybe to just keep cool with all this heat!

BUT WAIT! [do I sound like Billy Mays yet?] There will be a 2ND WINNER too! 2nd Place winner will get a free month of advertising on Cookin for my Captain!

~Giveaway ends on Thursday 25th at 11:59pm. Winner will be selected and announced on Friday!
~Limited to US & Canada (sorry, I should've made this clear at the start), if buying additional items, worldwide can be discussed with owner/creator

So here's how to enter...

MANDATORY:

  • Follow Cookin for my Captain via GFC [1 entry, leave comment; let me know if you are a new follower so I can follow you back]
  • Follow High Heels and Honeysuckles via GFC [1 entry, leave comment on here and on HH&H if you want her to follow back] and tell what you would like on the water bottle

OPTIONAL ENTRIES:
  • "Like" Cookin for my Captain on FaceBook [1 entry]
  • "Heart" HH&H on Etsy [1 entry]
  • Post on Facebook about this giveaway [2 entries- leave the link in a comment]
  • Stumble Upon publicly "Cookin for my Captain" (+1) [2 entires]
  • Stumble Upon publicly "High Heels & Honeysuckles" (+1) [2 entries]
  • Blog about this giveaway [5 entries, leave link]
Good Luck everyone!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Wordless Wednesday {{linky}}

We reached 400 followers! Keep an eye open for an amazing giveaway starting Thursday!!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Guess what tomorrow is? MY BIRTHDAY!
My hubby bought a chocolate cake instead of me making one!
THAT was a great birthday! 
I'M PARTING WITH:
Wordless Wednesday with Take it from Me
I <3 Blogging
Wordless and Wonderful Wednesdays
Welcome Wednesday
Home of Wordless Wednesdays
Create with Joy
Just winging It
Frugality is Free
One Smiley Monkey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grab the WW button if you want to...
...and add your "Wordless Wednesdays" up below!

Chicken Stir-fry

This is a really simple "semi-homemade" meal. Don't leave out the cabbage--it really hold all the flavors together and one of those "extra" veggies that kids won't normally eat. My kids had NO idea!

CHICKEN STIR-FRY


1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
1 can baby corn (I cut mine in half to make them more bite sized)
1 small can water chestnuts
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
3 large chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup stir-fry sauce 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
canola oil for frying
2 tablespoons peanuts, chopped

Prepare all the vegetables and mix in a large bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large cast-iron skillet over med-high heat. Put half of the veggies in pan and fry up for 3 minutes, or until tender. Remove and keep warm. Place remaining veggies in pan and cook the same way--adding more oil if needed. Remove and keep warm with the rest.

Add chicken until brown on all sides, about 5 to 6 minutes each side, and cooked through.

Push chicken to edges and add stir-fry sauce and ginger to middle of pan. Let it get bubbly (less than 1 minute) and stir chicken in. Pour the whole bowl of vegetables in pan and stir and cook until all heated through.

Top with chopped peanuts.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

  

Monday, August 15, 2011

Beer Can Chicken

I loved saying "I'm gonna shove a beer can up a chicken's butt." And then I have to admit this is the first time I've done this too! After it was all done, I couldn't believe how good it was. So moist and tender! Can't wait to try this again, and maybe change up the spices.

BEER CAN CHICKEN


2 tsp salt
2 tsp packed brown sugar
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 12-oz can beer
1 3 1/2 to 4-pound broiler-fryer chicken
2 tblsp butter, softened
1 lemon quarter

For rub, combine salt, brown sugar, paprika, dry mustard, thyme, pepper and garlic powder. Discard about 1/2 of the beer from can. Add 1 tsp of the run to the half-empty can--beer will foam up.

Remove neck and giblets from chicken. Sprinkle 1 tsp of the rub inside the the body cavity. Rub outside of chicken with butter and sprinkle with the remaining rub.

Hold chicken upright with opening of the body cavity at the bottom and lower the chicken so the beer can fits into the cavity. Pull chicken legs forward so the bird rests on its legs and the can. Stuff lemon quarter in neck cavity to seal steam in. [if you have a special beer can chicken holder, use it now--we did, made it so much easier!]

INDIRECT grilling. Heat grill on med-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Turn off the flames for half the grill, and place chicken over the flame-free spot. Cover and cook for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours. Cover with foil if its browning too fast.

Carefully remove chicken from grill, cover chicken with foil and let it stand for 10 minutes. Remove can from chicken and serve.

[Don't skip the part to let the chicken rest--this is what makes it really tender and juicy]

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Mistakes

Hi friends! Sorry about that mistake post...opps. The 14th came up too fast for me and I haven't gotten pictures yet. I've been out of town with family for a few days! I had that post written and ready--like I was supposed to be. So again, Sorry for the mistake!

If you have come by and followed, I'll be catching up today to return all the follows!

Thanks for understanding!
~Carolyn

Friday, August 12, 2011

Flash Back Friday #12 & Mini Pommes Anna

FLASH-BACK FRIDAY

Almost forgot about these guys! They were so dang good...
MINI POMMES ANNA
Click on image to see full post on 2/11/2011
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My favorite this past week was from Catalina Bakes
BLACK CURRENT MARZIPAN SWRILS
Click on image to see full post!
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And thanks again to everyone who linked up last week!
   the perfect line
girlichefCheesyButton-1 
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