BIZZY BAKES

In my plight to use up everything, I must get rid of, I end up with some good recipes, quite unexpectedly.  That is what happened today when I found myself staring at a bag of frozen corn with about a cup of corn in it.  What was I going to do with just a cup of corn? The answer was obvious - build on it until I would have enough for a serving dish, a small one, though.  Adding was easy because it was based on what was available in my kitchen.  There was a partially cut red pepper, on my counter so I chopped about a one inch slice into tiny pieces and threw that in with the corn.  Also, sitting on my counter, forlorn and alone was half a small onion which was chopped and added to the corn.  You guessed it, there was also a half of a zucchini that graced this dish. Looking at my counter again, a bottle of balsamic vinegar sat there with about 1/4 of an inch of  liquid.  Throw it in.  Better add some sugar to modify the flavor of the vine...

Wonton Warrior is a little jealous of Eggbert the Egg Roll Wrapper.  It seems his recipe got more peeks than the warrior's.  Since Wonton Warrior was the first to challenge Bizzy for his blog,  he thinks he has privileges, just for him.  Puff Pastry Pal, Phyllo Phil (who we have not yet met), Patty Pie Crust (another new comer) and Eggbert just don't agree.  Bizzy for sure doesn't and is thinking about locking Wonton Warrior, out of this blog.   No!  I love making the wonton recipes.  We can't let this happen.  I know.  I will share a wonton recipe with you, to keep him happy and hope, he doesn't read this. This is incredibly tasty and melds into the wonton wrapper.  Meld- not melt. *****It looks like, I did not take a picture of these.  Please, click over to allrecipes.com, if you want to see what they look like.  I am sorry.**** It is hard to believe, anyone could forget to take photos.  I don't go into th...

Have you ever been surprised by a visitor?  Has a niece or nephew or grandchild ever stopped by, unexpectedly?  Your closest friend invites herself to dinner and you have no dessert. You have choices: Take time and go to the store and buy something - did I say buy?  We are foodies?  Are we allowed to buy?  Seriously, we are and we should realize that rather than beat ourselves down, doing more than possible in less time than needed, we must buy dessert or anything else, that is needed. Frantically, try to make a strawberry shortcake or chocolate mousse.  After all, if you are going to do, you want to do it right, no shortcuts, no mixes,-------complicated and fantastic but draining on you. Make wonton cookies or pie shell cookies.  Decorate them or serve them with a dip.  Takes little time and little effort.  Crunchy flavored crisps. Cinnamon Wonton Cookies Ingredients: 20 wontons 1/2 cup sugar 1 - 3 teaspoons cinnamon (I...

It is getting crowded, in my house, with Wonton Warrior, Puff Pastry Pal and now, Egbert The Egg Roll Guy.  I have run out of bedrooms for them to sleep in.  You do know how "bizzy", I am and who has time to clean up after these three? Wonton Warrior is into everything.  He has no favorites.  He pulls out the sausage as quickly as he empties the chocolates.  He loves savory and sweet and yes, even sour.  He will go from a deli roll to a chocolate marshmallow treat.  Give him any food and he wraps it up with wontons.  The mess he leaves........groan. Puff Pastry Pal is worse.  He leaves crumbs wherever he goes.  Take out his creations from the oven and immediately, everything is covered with little bits of the pastry.  Out comes the broom but it is Bizzy who cleans up.  I have to give it to PPP, though.  Last night, he made this unbelievable Peanut Butter Concoction - little cups filled with three layers of goodness. ...

Brette Sember of Martha and Me  recently wrote a book, called the Muffin Tin Cookbook.  It contains 200 recipes for minis.  Knowing how I love making miniature anything, you can imagine how fast I jumped, to review this book. It is filled with recipes, you would not imagine being made in a muffin tin but sure enough, they work beautifully.  So far, I have made a few and look forward to making more.  On my list of "to makes" is Savory Cheesecakes, Sloppy Joe Cupcakes, Turkey Cranberry Cups, Savory Noodle Kugel,  Mini Ice Cream Cakes and Ravioli Lasagna.  Those are for starters.  Getting hungry? I decided to make two for the Sabbath, Corn Pudding and Savory Carrot "cakes".  We liked both of these and now, I would like to try a sweet carrot cake recipe, as well. The corn pudding and I became best friends, after one bite, and I wished I had made more of them.  Although, I made a minor change or two, I am going to share Brette's ori...

Yes, I did look up all kinds of recipes to keep Wonton Warrior happy but when it came down to making these, my "creativity" won.  Perhaps, it was my appetite that inspired me.  I had turkey pastrami in the refrigerator and pickles and mustard....the makings of a deli sandwich.  No bread, though so what was I going to do....make deli wontons.  Another thought..... You know how thick, those wonderful deli sandwiches are, too thick to bite into neatly.  Something is always falling out you take more than you should and you have a coleslaw mustache or perhaps one from the mustard or ketchup.  If the mustache should look like this, don't worry about it.  Keep it. I have no idea how you like your sandwiches but feel free to add anything you want, that fits.  I wanted to add onions but a wonton is small and I could get in the three most important ingredients.  I have some egg roll wrappers and I am thinking, dreaming, imagining how good t...

In my urgency to clear the house of leavened foodstuff, I must cook all our pasta.  I won't throw any away and my neighbors are all clearing their houses out, as well.  No one local, to give it to.  We are literally, being forced to eat pasta.  Oh, poor us.  (Evil Grin) I particularly like this dish because it is light, despite the cream and the cheese.  I am sure, it has the calories but it does not leave one, bloated.  It has a subtle flavor and is enjoyable. Creamy Broccoli Pasta Ingredients: 1 - 2 cups broccoli, chopped 8 ounces shells (pasta) (Gluten-free) 1/2 cup cream 1/4 cup cream cheese salt and pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon Mediterranean seasoning 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Method: Cook pasta according to package directions.  Add broccoli, 3 minutes before pasta is cooked. Put both pasta and broccoli in bowl. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix with pasta.  If it is not warm enough, and y...

I looked through Chaya's Comfy Cook and found a recipe for baked wontons.  Since Wonton Warrior is on a rampage, I brought it over to share with you and the warrior.   I am having great fun with my wontons and puffed pastry and I can't wait to share all the delicious recipes, I have created.  Once, you get started, it becomes easy to throw a few things together and voila, have good eating.  My only regret is that sometimes, I cook them in hot oil.  I drain them as much as possible and they don't taste at all greasy so I am hoping that the quick cooking in really hot oil, protects the person enjoying these dishes. I remember these wontons and they were tasty.  Baked Beef Wontons  Ingredients: 2 cups finely chopped cooked beef 1/3 cup shredded carrot 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon  1 tablespoon  soy sauce 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 20 wonton wrappers 1 tablespoon olive oil Plum or sweet-sour sauce Method: In a bowl, combine choppe...

Wonton Warrior is having a blast in Bizzy's kitchen.  I hope, he is not going to be angry at me for telling you, he is not the neatest cook.  I followed him around, wiping up spills, returning cheese to the refrigerator and washing dishes.  He is a bit lazy but he does know how to make magic with wontons.   After, making lasagna, he made chocolate cream cheese dessert --- oh so yummy. It was luck that I found an aluminum foil deep pan, the exact size of the wonton.  This is a pan, I must get a bunch of.  It made working with the wontons. a snap to use. I made this, the way I make lasagna.  Next time, I will have the confidence to add some spinach to the mix.   Little Lasagna Ingredients:  For one little lasagna portion... 4 square wontons 1/3 cup Marinara sauce or any red pasta sauce 1 teaspoon Parmesan 2/3 cup cottage cheese or Ricotta 1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella (I used Mexican blend.) 1/2 small onion, chopped 1/4 ...

After making the Farmer's Country Tart, I had to try another similar recipe but this time a sweet one.  I am not sure which of these two, I like more.  Both were a success.  Both are easy to make.  Both make the best use of puff pastry. Chocolate Marshmallow Puff Pastry Tart Ingredients: 1 strip puff pastry 1/4 cup whipped cream cheese or bar cream cheese 1/4 cup Nutella or Mock Nutella (I have another brand.) 1/2 cup Marshmallow Fluff or Marshmallow Creme Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut a strip of puff pastry into 4 inch squares.   With a knife, coat square with cream cheese.   On top of cream cheese, layer Nutella.   The top layer should be Marshmallow Fluff. Use a knife to gently marbleize.  Place on cookie sheet, sprayed lightly with cooking oil, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.  When it turns golden brown, it is done.  Take a bite and you will smile. * Sprinkle with powdered sugar or sprinkles, if ...

As I believe I mentioned, last week, I have no plans to bake cakes, cookies, pizza or any other recipe with "chametz".*  Passover is coming and it is a holiday when we prepare for weeks by taking all the leavened products and food out of the house.  We do this  by using it up and doing a thorough cleaning of all areas that have had food, during the year.  This is making your favorite sweet potato recipe and baking it in a muffin tin.  It was hard to retrieve the "muffins" from the tin.  Next time, I would add two eggs to hold them together and to puff them up.  Had this with a main course that had a strong taste and this was perfect to relieve the heat of the other dish. *  " One of the last jobs of cleaning the house for Pesach is to get all chametz out of the kitchen. Of course, the first things to be removed are those that are obviously chametz – bread, pasta, cookies, crackers, pretzels etc. Other foods can be identified by simply readi...

Wonton Warrior has invaded my house filled with passion and ambition.  Time to use up any leftover wonton wrappers, egg roll wrappers and puff pastry.  Along with him, was a new "friend", Puffed Pastry Pal. If you remember Wonton Warrior, from the past, you know, he is capable of doing amazing things with those little wrappers, filling them with all kinds of goodies, both sweet and savory.  He started bossing me around, immediately, trying to find, what we have to use up.  I am ashamed to admit how much, I discovered.   First, we raided the refrigerator and found 3 packages of cream cheese and 1 sour cream beside some Edam, Muenster and Mozzarella.  I didn't have to guess, to know what I would be cooking......something with cheese. Wonton Warrior has this nasty habit of wanting to throw away perfectly good food and I had to keep slapping his hand, not to have my good food found, in the garbage pail.  So, there is only one pickle left.  Someo...

Dorie can make me try new recipes.  I, usually reach some success with her recipes.  Over the years in Tuesdays with Dorie,  I expanded my horizons and although I am not a baker who has mastered pretty, my baked goods taste great.  If you are a fan of shortbread, I think you will like these buttery delights. Sables      Baking with Dorie, from my Home to Yours.   2 sticks {8 ounces} unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 c. sugar 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar, sifted 1/2 tsp. salt, preferably fine sea salt 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature 2 c. flour  ( gluten-free, in my case) decorating {coarse} sugar ( used yellow and green ) Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy. Add the sugars and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy. Reduc...

  Here we are again at the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker and our ingredients are potato and cheese. Potato soup rocks. Potatoes rock. I love potatoes, especially with cheese. Golden Potato Soup Ingredients: 1 medium onion, sliced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large potato 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese 2 cups organic vegetable broth 1 cup milk (low fat) 1 tablespoon whipped cream cheese 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/8 teaspoon black pepper salt to taste 1/4 cup fresh dill 1 teaspoon garlic powder ...

I am not sure how much time, I will have, to cook new dishes before Passover (Pesach) so I am going to check out Chaya's Comfy Cook for some of my older recipes.  The photos are terrible but some of those recipes are the very  best.  I chose a rice pilaf for today. This is the kind of dish, you can make over and over with slight changes and it adapts to all kinds of meals. Rice Pilaf Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1/4 cup chopped celery 1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms 3-1/2 cups vegetable broth 1 1/2 cups brown rice, uncooked 1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Method: In a medium to large saucepan, add rice and water. When water boils, lower the flame and cook on low for 45 minutes. Heat oil in medium saucepan on medium heat. Add onions and celery; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; cook 3 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir into cooke...