Follow me on Twitter!!!

About a week and a half ago I made a twitter for my blog. If you're wondering what exactly that means it's just that whenever I eat something that I liked or go to a great restaurant, I tweet about it. As of now I only have 1 follower, but that's okay because I just made it and I am trying to build more followers. I just thought it would be a fun way to interact with my blog viewers on the go and keep them updated on delicious food I eat. Here is a link to my blog twitter: https://twitter.com/Live_ToEat
And I also have a personal twitter if you would like to follow me on that as well. Here is the link: https://twitter.com/MangoPapaya27
Leave a comment telling me your twitter username and I will definitely follow you back:)

Fantastic No Bake Cookies

I just tried these last night for the first time and I really liked them. I got this recipe from my cousin who has made these cookies for years. I'm not going to lie, before I tried these I wasn't a fan of no bake cookies, but once I gave them a chance I really liked them. You should too... Another great thing about these cookies is that they are peanut butter and chocolate, yummo. If I were to describe this sweet treat I would say they tasted like fudge with oats. I would definitely recommend these cookies for a really quick and simple dessert.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups sugar
1 pinch of salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
Cook over stove on medium heat. Add milk, butter, sugar, and chocolate until boils. Remove from heat and cool for 1 minute. Add vanilla, salt, peanut butter, and oats. Stir well and drop on wax paper, let cool.

Good Eats in Portland, Oregon

Piazza Italia's Lasagna

      My family and I took a trip up to Portland, OR for a few days so my parents could do some shopping. While we were there we ate some delicious food. The first place we went to for dinner was a place called Piazza Italia. My aunt and uncle first told us about this restaurant and we've been going there ever since. This is the best Italian restaurant I know of and I would eat there every day if I could. My favorite thing to get there is the lasagna. It has a really yummy sauce that consists of a beschemel sauce and a marinara sauce, and it's topped with crispy, flavorful cheese. I love lasagna and this one is at the very top of my list. As for the rest of the food at Piazza Italia it is all delicioso. My dad really likes to get this pasta dish with garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and pepper flakes. I haven't gotten a chance to try very many of the different foods, but I hope to in the future.

The Inside of Piazza Italia

The Inside of Piazza Italia

   

  The second place we went to was called Besaw's, my cousins and I went there for breakfast. It was the first time I went there and I really liked it, I would definitely go back. My sister and I shared their Belgium waffle with powdered sugar and my cousin got the biscuits and gravy. The Belgium waffle was great because it was crunchy, and most of the other Belgium waffles I've eaten aren't. The biscuits and gravy was seriously the best I've ever had. Sometimes the gravy in biscuits and gravy is too thick or too oily, but this gravy was really flavorful and great and the biscuits were homemade. This restaurant is super awesome and everyone should stop by if they are in Portland, OR.

Belgium Waffle and Biscuits and Gravy

Dessert time in the Golden State

I just got back from a long road trip to the Golden State, otherwise known as California. I stayed right on the outskirts of the city of San Fransisco and along with that came great food. I only stayed for 2 days, but I ate up all the delicious food I could in that short amount of time. The first place we went to for dessert was a place called CREPEVINE, which, of course, sold crepes... Gourmet crepes! Yumm.... I went with my cousins who got a crepe called the Siena which consists of nutella, strawberries, and nuts. My parents shared the Cherry Blintz which has Cherries, ricotta and mascarpone cheese, with apple sauce and sour cream. My sister and I divided the Santorini crepe which was constructed of walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon and mascarpone cheese. The dessert crepes are all served with whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I definitely recommend this restaurant to you, I wish I could have eaten dinner there also, but I was too full.

The Santorini

The Cherry Blintz

The Siena

Another restaurant I went to was a little French bakery in San Fran called Tartine. The line was pretty long, but it was totally worth it. When I walked into this place and saw all of the pastries I wanted to try them all. I ended of getting a morning bun, which I first had at my local growers market and instantly fell in love. Morning buns are like cinnamon rolls minus the icing, they are crispy and flaky and sugary and delectable. For lunch I ordered their pastrami sandwich, which was also great but I couldn't even finish one third of it because it literally came with three huge pieces of sandwich. So we just boxed it up and ate it the next day for lunch. My mom and sister got almond croissants for dessert and for lunch they got croque monsieur, which is basically a piece of thick-cut french bread covered in a beschemel sauce and layered with cheese, ham, and tomatoes. Everything we got at Tartine was very good and if you are planning on going to San Fransisco you should definitely stop by for a treat.
This was such a fun trip and a great experience (because I'm not from the city).

Greek Lemon Chicken Salad

This meal is great for a quick lunch or a simple weeknight dinner. It is delicious, fresh, and healthy. If you didn't want to make the whole meal you could just use the recipe for the Greek dressing for a salad that you made. I guarantee that you and your family will love this dish.

Feeds 3-4 people

Marinade:

Juice if 1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Whisk together, Set aside.
8 chicken tenderloins
Cut chicken into about 3 inch pieces, trimming off all fat. Put the marinade into a large plastic bag with the chicken. Let marinate for about 20 minutes. Grill chicken in a cast iron grilling pan or on a barbeque until browned and cooked all the way through, about 15 minutes.

Salad:

1/2 English cucumber
1 carrot
1 head of romaine lettuce
Cut cucumber into rounds. Sliver the carrots. Chop and wash all of the lettuce.

Greek Dressing:

5 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
Pulse all of the ingredients together in a Cuisinart. Put the chicken on the salad and pour the dressing over both. Enjoy!

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Who loves those completely unhealthy frosted sugar cookies that kind of taste like chemicals from the grocery store? I know I do! They're just so delicious and soft. What if I told you that you could make those same cookies right in your own home? It's true! Yep, all you do is mix up some ingredients, pop them in the oven, and then frost them(after you make the frosting, of course). These cookies are great and super easy to make. My sister took one bite and said, "These are amazing! They taste just like the store-bought ones!" I hope you enjoy this recipe and please comment below if you try them out.

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Cookies:

6 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda 
1 t. baking powder 
1 c. butter, at room temperature 
2 c. granulated sugar 
3 eggs 
2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1 c. butter, room temperature 
1 t. vanilla extract 
4 c. powdered sugar 
6 T. heavy cream 
Several drops food coloring 
Multi-colored Sprinkles

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined. 

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit “sticky”. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least two hours until firm. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray, set aside. 

Use the plastic wrap that you chilled the dough in. Dust the top of the dough and then flip and flour the other side, keeping it on the plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Best to work in small batches while keeping the remainder of the dough chilled.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined. 

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Makes approximately: 5 to 6 dozen cookies (will vary on the thickness of the dough)

NOTE: These cookies are pretty darn close to the ones you buy in the store however, I am sure that original lofthouse recipe is under "lock and key" so we may never be able to completely duplicate it 100%. I used the recipe that I found (as noted in the body of the post) and basically increased the amount of vanilla and working the dough in small batches, while keeping the rest chilled, works best.  It is a very soft dough. I thought they were quite tasty, but I know that they may not appeal to everyone, since they do taste a bit different than the ones in the store but pretty close.

Baked Doughnuts!!!

Don't we all feel a little guilt when we eat a deep fried doughnut? Well, I have a solution for all of us. BAKED DOUGHNUTS!!! I know right? It seems unreal! But, let me reassure you, this is a completely real recipe. I made these tonight and they were so delicious; my family and I couldn't stop eating them. I let my dough rise for a little bit too long so it made the doughnuts taste a bit more yeasty then they were supposed to. However, they still tasted delectable and fluffy. I chose to top all of my doughnuts with the glaze instead of the cinnamon and sugar, but in the future I plan on trying out the sugar topping also. If you make these doughnuts, please tell me how they turned out and how yummy they were.

Baked Doughnuts

For Printable Recipe, Click here!

Makes: About 15 doughnuts (& donut holes)

For the Dough

3/4 cups Warm Milk

1 packet Active Dry Yeast

1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1/3 cup Sugar

1 Egg

2 ½ cup All Purpose Flour

Pinch of Nutmeg

½ tsp. Salt

For the Glaze

* Enough to glaze all the doughnuts

¼ cup Milk

1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups Confectioners Sugar

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping

*Enough to cover all of the doughnuts

½ cup Unsalted Butter

1 cup Sugar

1 tbsp. Cinnamon

To make the dough, place ¼ cups of the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Sprinkle the yeast over the milk.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup of milk with the sugar and butter.  Add it to the yeast mixture.  Stir to combine.  Add the egg and stir until incorporated.  Add the flour, nutmeg, and salt and stir until the dough starts to form.  Change to the dough hook and knead for until the dough starts to become smooth.  If the dough is too sticky, slowly add more flour until it is no longer sticky. 

Transfer to the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and has formed a ball.  Place the dough ball in a large lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let sit in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size. 

Once the dough has risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until ½ thick.  Using a doughnut cutter (if you don’t have a doughnut cutter, you can use 2 biscuit cutters – 1 that is about 3 inches, and the other that is about 2 inches for the inner circle) cut out the doughnuts until you have no dough left.  You can gather up the scraps into a ball and roll it out and cut out more doughnuts.

Place the doughnuts on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper, about 2 inches apart.  Cover with a clean towel and let sit for about 45 minutes(I only left mine sit for about 15 minutes and they turned out fine).

Preheat the oven 375 degrees F. 

Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 7 minutes, until lightly golden brown.  Be careful to not overbake these.  You want them to be light and doughy inside.  Let the doughnuts cool for about 5 minutes until ready to top with either the glaze or cinnamon sugar topping.

While the doughnuts are cooling make the glaze and/or cinnamon sugar glaze.  Each recipe makes enough to cover all the doughnuts.  You can make a half recipe of each and top half of the doughnuts with each topping.  Or you can choose to just do one of topping for all the doughnuts. 

To make the glaze, combine the milk and the vanilla in a small saucepan.  Heat over low heat until just warmed.  Slowly add in the confectioners sugar and whisk until the mixture is smooth.  Remove the glaze from the heat and place over a bowl of warm water.

To glaze the doughnuts, dip them halfway into the glaze and place on a draining/cooling rack set over a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with sprinkles(right away)if desired.  Let set for about 10 minutes.

To make the cinnamon sugar topping, melt the butter in a saucepan or a microwave, and place in a small bowl.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.

To top the doughnuts with cinnamon sugar, dip them halfway into the melted butter.  Then dip them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Set on a draining/cooling rack to set, about 5 minutes.