Simple yet yummy salad

Every time our friends and we get together for a BBQ, my contribution always is…Seven Layers Salad. It is a simple yet delicious and refreshing side plate. I have found many different versions of this plate but I like to stick to my recipe. Here it is:

Seven Layers Salad (12 – 15 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Lettuce – chopped
• 1 large Tomato – chopped
• 1 large Onion – finely shopped
• 1 lb. Cooked Ham – chopped
• 2 carrots – grated
• 1 can Mayonnaise
• 8 oz. of Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
Chop and grate ingredients and lay the down in layers the ingredients (as shown ) a pan or bowl. Refrigerate before serving. Mix and serve.

Time saving tip: I buy the cooked ham, carrots and cheese already grated.

Classic Chocolate Brownies

This past week I was feeling a little down because my baby (a.k.a. Kitty, my 12 year-old cat) is not doing well with his arthritis. So I was feeling a little down, anxious and craving for chocolate. All I could think was...BROWNIES! Some people may be on the quest to find the perfect recipe for chocolate chip cookies (which I think I've found, I'll tell you later) but I prefer brownies. Brownies are the perfect delight. For this brownies I used a recipe I found on the Ghirardelli site (you can also find it on their Baking Bar) and the results were great. These came out beautifully, heavenly...I couldn't stop eating them. Here is the recipe:

Classic Chocolate Brownies (adapted from Ghirardelli)

Yield: 16 brownies

• 1/2 cup(s) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 4 ounce(s) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar
• 1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup(s) firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup(s) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon(s) salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. Chop the 4 ounces of semi sweet chocolate bars into i-inch pieces. In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, melt the 4 chopped chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Stir the brown sugar and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs and mix well. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, mixing well until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into 2-inch squares.

Tip: They do come out a little thick, so if you don't like the so thick try a bigger baking pan.

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

This weekend I decided to do some brownies. Since I started a diet a week ago (I'm down 3 lbs. already, yay me!) I looked for a light recipe for brownies. I used a recipe from WeightWatchers.com, since I've followed the program before (the recipe can be found here). As any brownie recipe, they were easy to prepare and smelled delicious while baking. What were the results:

1. Appereance: They looked really good. I'm no expert doing swirls since it was my first time doing it. However, they didn't have that flaky top texture that usually brownies have. Therefore, I give it a A-.
2. Taste: It was good a good taste, for a light version of a brownie. The chocolate and cream cheese were a nice combination. However, the texture was horrible. It had a weird texture, it was chewy but in a bad way. I'm not sure if the cooking time had something to do with it but I did the standard toothpick check.

Overall, I guess I'll better stick to the standard brownie recipe. Brownies are one of those things that we shouldn't alter.

Documenting my cooking journey

Hi my name is Lisa and I'm addicted to food. I'm sure that there are a lot of people like me who crave for food, that eat cookies because they had a bad day or celebrate with a delicious chocolate cake. I've never been interested in cooking except for baking or cooking any kind of dessert. When I was younger I started baking brownies, making cheesecakes and cookies. I never got the hang of it and that's why I didn't continue to develop the craft.
After I moved out of my parent's house I NEEDED to how to cook. The first dinner I had at my apartment was for Mother's Day. Since I didn't knew how to cook I asked for everyone to bring a plate, my mother in law brought the rice, my boyfriend cooked the ribs on the BBQ, my mother brought the potato salad and I made baked beans (almost from the can) and the dessert...cheese and coconut flan (my mother's recipe). I loved the reaction everyone had to the flan. And ever since I've been trying to get the same reaction every time a prepare a meal or dessert.
Well, after a few weeks of looking trough a few blogs looking for recipes I decided to start my own blog to document my experiences with food and my journey trying to learn how to cook and bake.