Deep Fried Oreo: Fail

Some things are better left for the carnival! A few days ago I tried to create one of my favorite things to eat at the annual fall festival in a nearby town: Deep Fried Oreos. After downloading a recipe that looked to be super easy… I got to work in the kitchen. I believe the recipe I used was incomplete. After 3 failed attempts (trying to fry them in oil in a giant pot attempt is not pictured) I gave up! This is the first time ever I have felt like I was defeated in my own kitchen! Never again will I try this recipe... I'll just wait for the fall festival. 

Fire-less S’mores

Living in a townhouse it's impossible to make S'mores unless we light the fire pit (which seems to take forever to get going). A few nights ago we made them using an unscented candle which left the entire kitchen smelling like a burnt marshmallow. There had to be an easier way... After browsing pinterest, tumblr and foodgawker I came across several photos of S'Mores laying on a cookie sheet. Without even looking at a recipe I decided to try to make them in the oven myself. The Results: SUCCESS!!!!

 What You Need:

·         1 pan

·         1 package of Hershey Bars

·         1 package of Graham Crackers

·         1 package of Marshmallows

*For quicker results use the flat marshmallows and the squared graham crackers… MUCH less work

What To Do:

·         Preheat oven on 300

·         Place desired amount of Graham Crackers on pan

·         Lay Hershey Bar pieces onto Graham Crackers

·         Place Marshmallows on top of Hershey Bars

·         Bake in oven until Marshmallows become puffy and warm

·         Once removed from oven you can top them off with another Graham Cracker (feel free to add an extra piece of chocolate on top of marshmallow before adding top graham cracker)

·         Serve

Please allow S’mores to cool for a few minutes before severing. Both the melted chocolate abd marshmallow could potentially be hot!!! 

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Baking with the Boys: Fossil Cookies

Sometimes baking doesn’t  seem as intriguing to boys as it does girls.  When I discovered Fossil Cookies in an old Martha Stewart  issue… the 6yr old I nanny for couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen. To make it easier on all of us we used a package of cookie mix so we didn’t have to measure out ingredients from scratch. 

Here’s what we used:

A Bag of Sugar Cookie Mix

A Bag of Bugs

1 Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon

A Cookie Sheet

Cooking Spray

Sugar

Flour

Once the cookie dough has been mixed... sprinkle flour on your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them. Form dough balls and then flatten them out on the cookie sheet (cookies look more like fossils if they aren't perfect circles). Sprinkle cookies lightly with flour to prevent the cookies and the bugs from sticking together. Then press plastic/rubber bugs into cookies and remove. 

They are now ready for the oven! After baking sprinkle the cookies with a little extra sugar!!!

Food. Life. Pregnancy

Originally this was going to be my opening blog post:

  "Quite often my best ideas come to me in the middle of the night causing me to toss and turn until the moment I become so restless that I’m forced to make random notes to myself via my iPhone. Late last year I had a sudden urge to start cooking blog after cooking twice in one day. That night I realized how much I truly missed spending time in my well equipped kitchen… And that's how THE BLONDE IN THE KITCHEN was created. I’m super excited to share all of my favorite recipes as well as a few easy recipes for last minute dinner parties… and maybe even a few of my great grandmothers “secret” recipes that got passed down to me early this year."

However… life as we all know it is full of surprises. Just days after deciding to start this blog I became extremely sick and couldn’t stand the mere sight and/or smell of food. Weeks later Andrew and I discovered we were expecting! First Lesson Learned: Starting a cooking blog is quite challenging when you’re pregnant!!!  With 94 days (max) left of my pregnancy I‘m still sick throughout each and every day… but my eating habits, energy and usual cravings are returning. Hopefully I can finally get this blog going. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This is my 1st Official Post as the Blonde in the Kitchen. In honor of Valentines Day I figured Chocolate Covered Strawberries were an easy yet festive idea to share. 

What You Need: White Chocolate (for melting), Milk Chocolate (for melting), Strawberries, Parchment Paper, Two Microwave Safe Bowls, a Spoon and a Chop Stick. 

How To:

1. Melt the Milk Chocolate in 15 second intervals (to prevent burning). Stir/Melt until Chocolate is smooth. 

2. Dip Strawberries in melted Chocolate one at a time. (after dipping lay on parchment paper to harden)

3. Melt White Chocolate in 15 second intervals (to prevent burning). Stir/Melt until Chocolate is smooth.

4. Use a Chop Stick to Drizzle White Chocolate over Strawberries (dip tip of Chop Stick in Chocolate and swing back and forth over strawberries)

*Do Not Rinse Strawberries Before Dipping! Strawberries are sort of like a Sponge. They Will Absorb the Water then Release it Causing the Chocolate to Crack. Instead gently Wipe each one with a Damp Cloth