Cookie Dough Changers - Melinda Lee says so!

Few years back, I would spend my Saturday mornings 10am - 12 noon scrapbooking and listening to talk radio - One show was about computer knowledge and people would call in asking questions about computer problems and for advise.

Right after that show was a cooking/baking show with Melinda Lee. Spending the hour with Melinda was so much fun! I learned so much. She had a topic she started off with and then took called in questions about everything. I even called in and asked how to bake cakes so they don't rise in the centers but just evenly all the way across the top of the cake. She said to buy this toweling item and you wrap the wet towel around the cake pan. Well I didn't bother looking for that towel, as my cake baking days ended soon (the kids left home!) but the point is she had the answer for an age-old baking problem!

I checked out her web page one day and was amazed at what I found! There was this chart of sorts that told about changing a cookie recipe to change the quality of the cookie to your own liking. And let me tell you....It is a gold mine of problem solvers on how to make the perfect cookie dough. Want a cookie crispier than the recipe says? Want it moister? How about puffier or flatter? Here are things that you can use, substitute or add, to change the status of probably most any cookie dough recipe to make it perfect for your taste buds. I have used it so often and can highly recommend the part about FOR MAXIMUM "PUFF" AND CHEWINESS IN YOUR COOKIE CREATIONS. I was going to type it out here for you all, but then 21st Century kicked in and I thought "see if she still has her web page", so a quick Google search and there she was, and there was my coveted chart of cookie changers!

THOSE FAMOUS COOKIE TIPS

Quick little additions or changes and voila! The perfect cookie!

I used the changes for a moister cookie with my already near perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe and it was so perfect I gave the recipe to my daughter who hates to cook ANYTHING and she bakes them cause she says they are so good!

There's lots more to her web page and it is just fun to read - whether you use any of her suggestions or not! Find what you need at Melinda Lee.com I don't have a radio anymore, so I'll just keep checking her web site! Nice to have my friend back!

Cooking / Baking Substitutions

Have you ever gotten into the middle of a recipe and then go to get an ingredient only to find you don't have it? Isn't that the most aggrivating thing? Here you had your taste buds set and cleared the whole day for baking and was having fun and BAM! Don't have that spice or enough flour.

It happens to me mostly with spices! I don't usually buy spices every month so it is common for me to start something and not have a needed spice.

So I keep this list in my cookbook - thought I'd share it with you for helps to stop the diasters in baking! Substitutes... what a wonderful tradition!

Need Spices?

If you need: Allspice
Substitiue with: Gound cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves

If you need Cloves, ground
Substitute with: Ground allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg

If you need: Cumin, ground
Substitute with: Chili powder

If you need: Mustard, dry, 1 tsp
Substitute with: 1 Tbls yellow mustard

If you need: Paprika
Substitute with: Cayenne pepper just a dash..its hotter than paprika)

If you need: Cayenne pepper, ground 1/8 tsp
Substitute with: 2-3 drops bottle hot pepper sauce

If you need: Chili powder
Substitute with: Dash of bottle hot pepper sauce plus equal
measures of ground oregano and cumon

When substituting spices, start with half the amount the recipe calls for and add to suit your taste.

Need Some Seasoning Mixes?

If you need: Apple pie spice, 1 tsp
Substitute with: 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ground allspice and a dash of ground ginger

If you need: Cajun Seasong, 1 Tbls
Substitute with: 1/2 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp ground red pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

If you need: Fresh Snipped Herbs, 1 Tbls
Substitute with: 1/2 - 1 tsp dried herbs

If you need: Poultry seasong, 1 tsp
Substitute with:3/4 tsp dried sage and 1/4 tsp dried thyme

If you need: Pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp
Substitute with: 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground allspice and 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Need Some Baking Ingredients?

If You need: Baking powder, 1 tsp

Substitute with: 1/2 tsp cream of tarter plus 1/4 tsp baking soda

If you need: Balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbls

Substitute with: 1 Tbls cider vinegar or red wine vinegar plus 1/2 tsp sugar

If you need: Buttermilk, 1 cup

Substitute with: 1 Tbls lemon juice or vinegar, plus enough milk to equal 1 cup (let stand 5

minutes before suing) or 1 cup plain yogurt

If you need: Flour, self rising, 1 cup

Substitute with: 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp baking soda

If you need: Half-and-half or light cream, 1 cup

Substitute with : 1 Tbls melted butter or margarine, plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup.

If you need: Onion, chopped, 1/2 cup

Substitute with: 2 Tbls dried minced onion or 1/2 tsp onion powder

If you need: Tomato sauce, 2 cups

Substitute with: 3/4 cup tomato pasted plus 1 cup water

Wow! Problem solved! Back to baking!!!

How To Make the Best Chicken Pot Pie. No Recipe Required

Back in 1988, I was lucky enough to get to move to Odessa, Texas. Boy, did I love it there! We were on the far west side of town, out in the middle of nowhere with the oil pump jacks and the wild packs of guinea hens! It was fantastic - another lifestyle that was a dream of mine.

However, dreams end. This one did but I did bring some memories with me from that beautifully ugly part of Texas! And also realized that life is different most everywhere you go. Bring what you need with you, but don't shut out the adventures of the new place.

I was working with a bunch of ladies and one afternoon during break time, everyone was talking about what they were going to make for dinner and how rushed they were to do so. This one girl, Connie, was telling that she makes (homemade) chicken pot pies from scratch. She went into this long recipe of creation that she did and I listened and then thought to myself..."good grief... all that for a chicken pot pie? Just buy one from Stouffers or Banquet, let the oven do do all the work and you spend your time with your kids!" I went back to work shaking my head - no wonder these ladies were always rushing!

But for some reason that story Connie told stuck in my memory banks, or as my 7 year old grand daughter refers to it, "the pages of my brain", and for some strange and really odd reason, many years later in the early 1990's, I got the strange and really odd notion to make a chicken pot pie from scratch. For some strange and really odd reason, Connie's "recipe" was still vividly on a page in my brain and one Saturday I made a homemade chicken pot pie - totally from scratch and memory.

No strange or really odd reason about it - my pot pie turned out fantastic! So fantastic that my son raved about it and asked for more! Making the pot pie was so quick and easy I enjoyed making them and of course, made several at once and froze the others! Then just take it out of the freezer before I went to work and put it in the fridge and when I got home, pop it into the oven! No nuke'um power here! While baking, I changed clothes, got the kids settled and the rest of the meal going and within an hour all was ready to sit down and eat!!

Here's What I Did - no Receipe Required!

So here's what I did. Using chicken breast, cut them into bite sized chunks and cook over low heat until well cooked. Grab a bag each of frozen corn, carrots and if you like them, which we didn't, peas and can of chicken gravey and a Pillsbury Ready Made Double pie crust from the refrigerator section of your grocery store.

Pre heat oven to about 350*. Lay the first pie crust out on the bottom of the pie plate. Use a fork and prick the bottom of the crust to prevent it from bubbling. Combine chicken and veges in a bowl to the amount you want - about 1 cup of each and then more as needed to fill the crust. Make it a heaping formation. Pour the whole can of gravey over the chicken and vegetables. Take the other pie crust and place it over the top of the chicken and veges, securing the crust edges to the pie plate and the bottom crust. Take a knife and make slice marks in a nice fashion around the top of the pie crust to allow air and heat to escape and prevent a pot pit blow up in your oven! Place it in oven for about 45 minutes - depending on your oven and size of the pie. Watch it so it doesn't burn! Since everything is already cooked, you are really just heating up the contents and browning the crust. Once the crust is nicely browned, it is finished! Let it cool, cut, serve and enjoy! I also would have an extra can of the gravey, heated, to add if anyone wanted a bit more gravey.

I make 2-3 at a time and then freeze the extras. Just cover with a piece of plastic wrap, nice and tight and then a piece of aluminum foil over that, nice and tight.
These make up in no time and bake in under an hour! Quick, easy and oh, so good!
And you can add anything you like! Onions, spices, other veges, and even use beef, turkey (great use of leftover pieces of the Turkey come Thanksgiving!) or even shrimp or other seafood! The only limit is based upon your tastes!

I recently saw in a magazine that you can do this same thing, only different. Using small corning ware/ceramic type baking cups, spoon the chicken/vege mixture into the bowl, add gravey and top with a biscuit! Individual pot pies! These would be great for after school snacks. Set them out in the fridge in the morning and pop them in the toaster oven after school! OR for any time you need a snack!

Good luck and good eating! Let me know of your success!

Sea Shore Sweeties

Here's the recipe for Sea Shore Sweeties! SeaShore Sweeties

Oh my gosh, I have never seen anything so neat! Perfect for the summer time parties and that special little extra treat you want to have at a pool party!




I am going to be trying them and let you know. I never heard of blending (with a mixer) 3 Muskateer bars or any other similar candy bar! What a new avenue to work with!

Baseball Cupcakes...a sure home run hit!

With BASEBALL season in full swing...do you need a snack for the team?
Does your little baseball sportster have a birthday coming up?
Does your boy have a birthday coming up?
Do you have a Baseball party planned?

Then you need BASEBALL CUPCAKES... a quick and easy creation that will have all the fans cheering and the sluggers smiling!

HOW TO MAKE BASEBALL CUPCAKES

Batter up!!! SWING!!!!