You Call That Frosting?

Tammy
Side Dish
Classic Marinara
Source: CDKitchen.com

Comments:  What can I say other than this was a complete disaster.  I have had a few in the past, but nothing that left the food inedible.  Only Lissa has experienced that :)  Ha, ha!  Sorry sis, couldn't help it.  But really, what was up with this recipe?   I double and tripled checked to make sure that I didn't miss something, and I didn't.  I followed the recipe to a tee.  Did the person who wrote the recipe actually never make it before?  I know many of you can relate (or maybe Lissa and I are the only ones who have ever experienced this) to how bad it sucks to buy ingredients, spend time preparing something, only to have to pour it down the drain cause it tasted so terrible.  At least I kept positive!  (Don't tell her I said so, but I am not sure that I can say the same about Lissa when it came to her frosting flop, ssshhhhhhh!)


Janice:  Well, what can I say.  When Tammy was cooking this, I commented on how many onions that were being put in it.  I thought there were way toooooo many.  But, the proof was in the eating.  I tried to eat it and be really nice, but even I had to admit that the recipe was not a good one.  Well, we chalk it up to the learning process.  We still had fun making it.


Melissa: Okay....so, this recipe...not good.  Ahaha, sorry Sis.  Love ya!  But, seriously, yuck.  I do like mild onion flavor, but this was marinara was like, "Would you care for some sauce with your onions??" LOL  It was too strong that I couldn't take but a few bites of it.  But, nice try Sis - looks like you strike again!




Tammy
Side Dish
Italian Style Garlic Bread
Source: Cooks.com






Comments: Thank goodness I was able to have a second chance this time.  So glad that I decided to make bread also.  I think since the bread was so good, we can just pretend that the marinara never happened right?  Right Lis?  .....   Yeah, right.  She will never let me live it down!  Oh, well.  I will just have to redeem. This garlic bread was so good.  So easy.  This will become a regular dish at my house.  Now, I just need to find a marinara recipe to go with it :)



Janice: This bread recipe was scrumptious.  As Tammy said that it was sooooooooo good that we forgot about the marinara sauce.  I would definitely make this recipe again.  This made up for the not so good recipes.


Melissa: Yum Yum!  It looked super easy and I think it tastes way better than the frozen kind you can buy at the store. I will definitely make this again.  Sis, good thing you added this to your menu because otherwise you would have had nothing to celebrate ;)  Good decision.

Janice
Main Dish
Tender Turkey Meatballs
Source:  Taste of Home Comfort Food Cookbook


Comments:  Yeah!  The turkey meatballs were very tasty.  We ended up with about 38 meatballs because Devyn was making small ones and I was doing larger ones.  That was great fun.  I did not realize that they needed to be baked on a rack so that the juices could run off.  So, I had to kind of wipe off each meatball separately of any sediment from baking.  Oh well, live and learn.


Melissa: Let me just start by saying, like I did in the video, that I'm not a meatball person. HAHA because I seriously would never choose to make this recipe myself.  That being said, Mom did a good job - even though she doesn't know how to check if they are done, she just says the are!  They turned out yummy and I think the kids and husbands would love them.


Tammy: Yay Meatballs!  I love them.  I thought these were so yummy.  I do have to say that I really don't like green pepper, but all the flavors mixed together turned out good.  Good thing Mom's meatballs turned out good or we would have had nothing but dessert to eat!  Devyn really enjoyed making these with her Grandma.  This is definitely a fun recipe for the kids.   These probably would have been even better had they had a great marinara to go with them :)

Melissa 

Dessert

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Source: CountryLiving.com

Yields: 2 dozen cupcakes

Total Time: 50 min

Comments: UGH!!!  I just wanted to pull out my hair!  Sorry for all who watched the video cuz I was sooo frustrated. HAHA oh! and sorry Sis for snipping at you.  That's called LOVE ;)~  Anyways, the only thing we can think is that I didn't let the white chocolate cool completely (but the recipe didn't call for that) and that because it was slightly warm, it melted the butter and ruined my frosting.  In any case, I improvised and was able to make a different topping that worked well.  As for the muffin cups, I have no idea why people use those (can someone please explain!!) because I even made more cupcakes that night and sprayed them and the cake still stuck to them!  AHHH

Tammy: Ha, ha!  I love ya Sis!  Is it bad that I have more fun when you are frustrated?  It makes for a much better video I think.  Bad frosting and cupcakes that stuck!  Despite all that they tasted really great.  The frosting was too labor intensive anyway.   I am sure that there is a much better and much easier  recipe out there.  Don't worry Sis,  I am sure that it wasn't your fault :)  Well, maybe it was (ha, ha).


Janice: Hey, I thought that the cupcakes were great.  Yes, there was a little problem about the frosting that didn't come out right but all was fixed in the end.  As for the sticking problem, we thought that the silicon cups were non-stick.  Apparently, they are not.  Lissa was able to come up with a different frosting and all was goooooood.  The cake tasted really good and we just dug them out of the little cups.

Recipes

Classic Marinara:

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive or vegetable oil

2 medium onions, chopped

1/4 cup grated carrot
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 ounce size) crushed tomatoes with basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon salt
Hot cooked pasta, if desired

Directions:

Heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions, carrot and garlic in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in tomatoes, parsley and oregano; season with salt and pepper. 

Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes. Serve over pasta

Italian Style Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup mayo

2 Tbsp grated parmesan

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients. Spread on sliced french loaf. Broil until golden on ungreased baking sheet.  Makes 3/4 cup.  May be stored in covered container for up to 1 month.

Tender Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup egg substitute

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 package (12 ounces) spaghetti

5 cups meatless spaghetti sauce

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients.  Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well.  Shape into 30 balls about 1 in. each.  Place meatballs on a rack coated with cooking spray in a shallow baking pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 13-16 minutes or until juices run clear; drain.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.  Transfer meatballs to a large saucepan; add spaghetti sauce.  Heat through.  Drain spaghetti; top with meatballs and sauce.

Yield:  6 servings

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cake

• 1/3 cup(s) cocoa
• 3 tablespoon(s) red food coloring
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup(s) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup(s) sugar
• 4  egg yolks
• 1 cup(s) buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 2 1/4 cup(s) sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon(s) white vinegar

Frosting

• 1 cup(s) milk
• 3 tablespoon(s) flour
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) salt
• 8 ounce(s) of either 62 percent dark chocolate or white chocolate
• 1 cup(s) butter
• 1 1/2 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoon(s) cocoa (for white chocolate frosting, omit cocoa)
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard 12-cup cupcake tins with baking papers and set aside. Mix the cocoa, food coloring, and vanilla together in a small bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, using a mixer set on medium-high speed. Add the yolks and beat for 1 more minute. Add the cocoa mixture and beat to combine. Stir the buttermilk and salt together and add it in thirds, alternating with the flour. Mix the baking soda with the vinegar and blend into the batter. Fill each cupcake tin with 3 tablespoons batter, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the cupcake center tests clean — about 15 minutes. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Release cakes and cool completely before frosting with Cooked Chocolate Frosting.
2. Frosting: Whisk milk, flour, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble — 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
3. Melt either dark chocolate or white chocolate. Set aside to cool.
4. Beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and cocoa (for white chocolate frosting, omit cocoa) together until light and fluffy. Beat in the cooled chocolate and add milk mixture and vanilla extract (dark chocolate frosting only) until smooth and fluffy. Use immediately.