Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Cupcakes

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Cupcakes

For the chocolate glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp fat-free milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

For the vanilla glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1 - 2 tsp fat free milk

For the face:

• 24 low fat small vanilla wafers
• 72 m&m's, 24 red, 48 brown
• 12 pretzels, broken in half to create ears

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake tins with liners.

Combine all the cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat until combined. Pour into prepared liners. Bake about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

Make the chocolate glaze: whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Keep the chocolate glaze in the bowl.

Make the vanilla glaze by whisking all the vanilla glaze ingredients in another bowl. Place vanilla glaze in a piping bag.

To assemble the cupcakes, dip the tops of the cupcakes into the chocolate glaze and quickly press the vanilla wafer onto the bottom of each cupcake. The chocolate glaze will dry fast so you want to make a few at a time. Let the glaze harden at least 5 to 10 minutes.

Using the vanilla glaze, pipe 2 circles for the eyes and press the chocolate m&m's into the glaze. Pipe the vanilla glaze for the nose and press the red m&m onto the nose.

 

Then insert pretzel pieces for the ears and they are complete.

Original recipe retrieved from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/rudolph-red-velvet-cupcake.html .

Vanilla Cupcake:

• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line one 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners. (To avoid cupcakes sticking if they overflow slightly, lightly spray the tops of the pans.) Put tins on a baking sheet. Set aside.
Process sugar and butter in a mixer until very creamy, scraping sides as needed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the egg and yolk, one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the milk, water, and vanilla and process to blend.
Whisk both flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients, in 3 batches to the wet, pulsing, and then scraping batter off the sides of the processor as needed after each addition. Process until the batter is very smooth and pourable like pancake batter, about 2 minutes.
Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the cakes are just firm and spring back when gently pressed, and the tops are golden, 18 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly in tin, and turn out of tin when cool enough to handle. Cool cupcakes completely on a rack before frosting.
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes

Recipe from Mrs. Gelowitz's personal collection.

 

Make A Meal At Home

Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients

·          3 tbsp. vegetable oil

·          1 onion, chopped

·          1 red bell pepper, chopped

·          1 garlic clove, minced

·          2 cups cooked white or brown rice

·          1/2 cup green peas

·          1 carrot, peeled and finely shredded

·          2 large eggs

·          3 tbsp. soy sauce

Directions

1.       Heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 3 minutes.

2.       Add rice, peas and carrot. Cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes.

3.       Push the cooked ingredients to the edge of the wok. Add the remaining 1 tbsp. oil to the center of the wok. Pour in the eggs and stir until scrambled. Slowly stir in the rice mixture until blended.

4.     Add soy sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, until well blended, about 1 minute. Serve hot.

Lumpia Shanghai

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 (16 ounce) package spring roll wrappers
• 1 1/2 quarts oil for frying

Directions

1.                      In a Large bowl, combine ground pork, ground beef, onion, and carrot. Make sure to completely mix everything. I suggest getting down and dirty and use your hands. Knead the meat in the bowl if you must. Gradually blend in the soy sauce , black pepper, garlic powder, and salt until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

2.                      Lay out a few wrappers at a time on a flat surface, and place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in a line down the center of the wrapper. Make sure the filling is no thicker than your thumb, or the wrapper will cook faster than the meat. Take the bottom and top edges of the wrapper and fold them towards the center. Take the left and right sides, and fold them towards the center. Moisten the last edge of the wrapper to seal. Now repeat using the rest of the wrappers, and have hubby or the kids help you out.

3.                      Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or heavy skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry 3 or 4 lumpia at a time. Fry for about 3 or 4 minutes, turning once. Lumpia are cooked through when they float, and the wrapper is golden brown. Cut in half, or serve as is with dipping sauce. We like sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce with lemon, or banana ketchup.

Groceries

My Mother and I decided to buy the groceries the day of my meal so everything would be fresh. We had some of the ingredients already at home such as garlic cloves, rice, onions, soy sauce, eggs and spices. We picked up our ingredients at Southland Mall Safeway at about 2:00 pm. The shopping trip went great because I could get what I needed and my mom could get what she needed as of other ingredients or stuff we just needed at home in general.

Preparation

            My preparation took me actually a lot longer then I planned. It was probably the longest of my whole meal, but that usually takes that long for any meal I guess. The whole preparation took me about 1½ - 2 hours, which sounds pretty long for just preparation but I made sure that I followed every single direction correct and precise. First thing I did was get the soy sauce, and oil into mise en place. Then mince, chop and cut the garlic, onion, and red bell peppers. Next I put the ground beef in a bowl and added the sliced and cut carrots, onions, and soy sauce into the bowl. I kneaded the ground beef and veggies with my hands. It felt like brains. Wrapping the beef in the lumpia rolls would probably be the most time consuming part of the preparation. probably because I had to roll fifty rolls.

      ^Mise en Place^                                                                                     ^Cuttin Veggies^

                                                                      ^RollingUp^                                                                                

Table Setting

The table setting for my make a meal at home, I used utensils such as forks, spoon, and chopsticks. The layout for my original table setting was to have the napkin placed on the left side and have the fork placed on the napkin. Then have the plate in the center and have the spoon on the right side. Then have the chopstick placed above the plate and the glass above the spoon. Unfortunately my mother did not agree and decided to rearrange the table setting to her liking without my permeation. I didn’t notice till I saw the pictures. Below is a picture of my table setting.

                                                                Mom's Table Setting

Original Table Setting

Equipment 

 The equipment I used to make the meal is the following

·         Chopping Board

·         Chef's Knife

·         Mise en place bowls

·         Large bowl

·         Large saute pan

·         Large Spoon

·         Tongs

Food Servings

To get the servings for all my food groups I used the Canada's Food Guide.  For my grain products I have 4 servings cooked rice. For my vegetables and fruits I had 7 servings. Foods that include onions, carrots, garlic, red bell peppers, and sweet peas. For my meat and alternatives I had 6 servings of ground beef and 1 serving of 2 large eggs.

Reactions

The people I served to were my mother and my two brothers Joshua(17) and Patrick(11). My mom knew I was making supper, but my brother did not. So we decided to tell them that I cooked the whole entire meal after they had eaten it. Their reactions surprised me! I just thought that they would just eat it and make nothing of it and just thank my mom as usual, but, they said that this meal was delicious. That really made me feel good.So after they finished eating I told them that I cooked everything.They were more surprised and thanked me. Then they went to wash their dishes but then I stopped them and cleaned it for them. it felt good to feel appreciated.

Refection

This whole make a meal experience went pretty well if I have to say so my self. I really did have fun preparing, cooking, and serving my family for once. I knew my mom was happy with me because she could take a break from the kitchen, relax and let me do the work. The things that went well during this make a meal were that I basically did everything independently.sure I did have my moms help but that’s because I needed her help f I wanted to get it done by 9:00. I think I took my time carefully to read and follow the recipe directions. it definitely payed off. Finally in the end everyone was happy including me.

Everyone knows that every meal has at least one thing goes wrong, even if it’s a tiny thing it still counts. The things that went wrong in my make a meal were that I think I waited till the last second to start making my meal. I didn't really plan ahead. I just let it all fall into place and start. Also when I was deep frying the lumpia Shanghai I didn't use the pot lid to shield me from the oil. so I ended burning/ frying my skin. Definitely not doing that again.

Honestly I wouldn’t change this recipe at all. I think it came out perfect. Well not perfect, but very, very, close to perfect from my perspective. Okay, maybe there's one thing I would do differently and its to make a lot more than I had. I felt kind of bad because I didn’t make enough so that there would be some left for my dad when he comes back from work. At least I showed him the pictures and I could tell that he was proud of me. I think the most enjoyable thing was probably seeing the faces of my family eating my food. you can really see the general reaction in their face after they take the first bite. It was probably the most anticipated thing.

Melting Snowmen Cookies

Michelle's Soft Sugar Cookies

1 cup margarine

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Cream the margarine and add the sugar gradually. Beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition.
3. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt gradually to the creamed mixture, stirring in by hand. Cover and chill dough overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and cut into your favorite shapes. Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 6 to 8 minutes or until cookie has a golden appearance.

Recipe retrieved from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Michelles-Soft-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx.                

 

Royal Icing

Ingredients

3/4 cup of warm water
5 Tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 kilogram powdered icing sugar

Instructions

1.  In mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened…about 30 seconds.

2.  Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.

3.  Pour in all the icing sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer.

4.  Using the paddle attachment on the LOWEST speed, mix slowly for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.

5.  Cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel to prevent crusting and drying.

Tint with food colourings or thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.

What Went Well?

I think our Michelle cookies came out great the were just the right size for the snowmen we were making. I thing we al did the same amount of work because we all made three cookies for ourselves. We all baked and iced our cookies! It was great!

What Didn’t Go Well?

Something that didn’t go well for me was the white icing job on my cookies. It was really messy! I think we added a little to much water to thin it down. Oh yeah and my snowman’s arms. Oh gosh! The weren’t really arms they were more like squiggles.  

What Would’ve You Done Different?

Something I would’ve done differently is maybe to cook the cookies in the oven a bit longer. The came out too soft I think and dull in taste. We got another cookie from another group so that all the kitchens would have equal cookies. That cookie was baked really well and tasted delicious.

What Did You Learn?

I really had fun in with this recipe! It was really cool to pipe the cookies like a baker! On “Cake Boss” they make look so easy. Hopefully one day I can do it just as well as them.

Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter , at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla (real vanilla is wonderful in this!)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

2

Cream the butter, sugar and molasses together in a stand mixer. Beat until well combined and ‘creamy’. If you don’t have a stand mixer beat vigorously by hand in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture and continue beating until well combined.

3

Meanwhile whisk the flour, oats, salt, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl.

4

Gradually add the flour mix to the wet mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

5

Using a tablespoon scoop out a ball of the dough and drop onto a lightly greased cookie tray. Flatten slightly. Repeat, leaving lots of room in between the balls for the cookies to expand. Bake for fifteen minutes. Cool for ten minutes then remove from the tray and try to eat only one!

Recipe retrieved from http://www.food.com/recipe/crispy-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies-michael-smith-437691.

What Went Well?

Things that went well during this recipe were that we all took turns making, mixing and shaping our own cookies. I think this was a very successful cooking day. I very much like today because the cookies were heavenly delicious. Very easy but tasty recipe.

What Didn’t Go Well?

The thing that didn’t go well was that when I made my cookies the were so delicious that I only ended up eating two cookies. The rest were demolished by my savage friends. I think I should’ve kept them in my locker.

What Would’ve You Done Different?

I think the one think I would’ve done differently is to make more cookies and make them bigger because they were so delightful. If I had made more I would’ve shared a lot with my friends. Who knows maybe even strangers.

What Did You Learn?

The thing I love about this recipe that its so easy and simple but at the same time complex in taste! Absolutely recipe I will make again, and again……………….and again. J

Chicken Quesadillas

Chicken Quesadillas

90 g skinless, boneless chicken breast, diced

7 g fajita seasoning

3 ml vegetable oil

3/8 green bell peppers, chopped

3/8 red bell peppers, chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

2 (10 inch) flour tortillas

45 g shredded Cheddar cheese

1 g bacon bits

45 g shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat the broiler. Grease a baking sheet.
2. Toss the chicken with the fajita seasoning, then spread onto the baking sheet. Place under the broiler and cook until the chicken pieces are no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the green bell peppers, red bell peppers, onion, and chicken. Cook and stir until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes.
5. Layer half of each tortilla with the chicken and vegetable mixture, then sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and Monterey Jack. Fold the tortillas in half and Place onto a baking sheet.
6. Bake quesadillas in the preheated oven until the cheeses have melted, about 10 minutes.

Recipe retreived from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-quesadillas/detail.aspx.

What Went Well?

The things that went well this cooking day was that all of us I guess in a way just tookour time and didn’t really over think about what would happen. I guess we were just all chilled when we were cooking this recipe.

What Didn’t Go Well?

Frankly, this was not one of our best cooking day. It was a pretty average cooking day I’d say, but not everything went necessarily smoothly. We all did our jobs but there was just a low energy. I think that we all were a bit lazy.

What Would’ve You Done Different?

Something I would of done differently is to probably add more cheese. I think we had to little cheese and a lot of veggies. I just tasted a bit off. Oh yeah and more chicken. Again, little chicken not enough cheese, a lot veggies.

What Did You Learn?

Something I learned making this recipe was how to make quesadillas.

Veggie Stir Fry
2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

1/2 small onion, julienned

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 small zucchini, julienned

6 large mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Hot cooked rice
In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch, water and soy sauce until smooth; set aside. In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry the broccoli, carrot and onion in oil for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic. Stir-fry until vegetables are tender. Stir soy sauce mixture; add to skillet. Cook and stir until thickened. Serve with rice if desired.              

Retrieved from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/veggie-stir-fry/detail.aspx.

What Went Well?

A lot of things went really well with our stir fry. We actually finished before the bell! Yay! Hopefully more in the future will go as fast and smooth as this cooking day. Some things that went well with this recipe was that we all had the chance to practice our cutting skills. There were a lot of vegetables to cut so we all took turns. In the end our stir fry and rice tasted delish!

What Didn’t Go Well?

There were few thing that didn’t go well such as cooking the rice a tad bit long and cutting the chicken a bit to big. I also forgot to dry the counter right before left. Overall I have to say, it went really well and one of our most successful cook yet.

What Would You differently?

The things that I would do differently are to cook more rice and maybe just add a bit more stir fry sauce mix.

What Did You Learn?

The things I learned during this recipe was how to correctly cook stir fry! This is definitely a recipe I will use in the future.

Blueberry Flax Hot Cereal with Quinoa

                Blueberry Flax Hot Cereal with Quinoa

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup water
• 3 tablespoons quinoa
• 2 tablespoons quick-cooking oatmeal
• 1 -2 tablespoon maple syrup or 1 -2 tablespoon honey or 1 -2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons flax seeds ( ground or whole)
• 2 tablespoons blueberries, fresh or 2 tablespoons blueberries, frozen and thawed
• milk (optional) or half-and-half cream (optional) or vanilla yogurt (optional) or soymilk (optional) or almond milk (optional)

Directions

1. Rinse quinoa well with water to remove bitter coating; drain.
2. Place the water and quinoa in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and cover. Reduce to a simmer and cook for ten minutes. Stir in the oats, cover and continue to cook for another five minutes, until the oats are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in the maple syrup and flax. Fold in the blueberries and top with milk, cream or yogurt, if using. Serve immedietely.

Recipe found at http://www.food.com/recipe/blueberry-flax-hot-cereal-with-quinoa-426336.

What Went Well?

The things that went well with this recipe was almost everything, almost. When were done before the bell! Hooray!! We made our hot breakfast and it was delicious. I was like a parfait but with oatmeal. I really enjoyed making and consuming this recipe.

What Didn’t Go Well?

.Things that did not go so well were when I went to take the lid of the pot, the steam rose to my face. It wasn’t the best feeling. Another thing was when I was washing the dishes I forgot to wear rubber gloves and my hand got really dry because of the bleach.

What Would You Do Differently?

I think I would do differently was maybe to make some more cause that was delicious. I’d probably add more yogurt and fruit. This is definitely a recipe I will make in the future.

What Did You Learn?

When making this recipe I learned what quinoa is, and how to cook it. I also learned that this recipe can also be made with honey or brown sugar and different fruits. I guess it all depends on what you like.