Nutella Bread

Last night, we made Nutella bread and it tasted amazing!! It was super easy and didn't take long to make.

Crescent-Wrapped Chicken Parmesan

I made Crescent Wrapped Chicken Parmesan and they tasted amazing!! They were very easy to make and they didn't take a long time to prepare.
The ingredients are:
8 uncooked chicken tenderloins
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
3 tablespoons of butter
2 oz. of deli mozzarella cheese
1 can of Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup of marinara sauce

2.

Tangy Lemonade Bars

I made lemonade bars yesterday. They tasted so good and looked great!!
The ingredients were:
First bowl:
2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of grated lemon peel
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt
second bowl:
1/2 cup of softened butter
1/3 cup of thawed frozen lemonade concentrate.
1 egg

The instructione are:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all first bowl ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. In a second bowl, beat butter until smooth. Beat in lemonade and egg until well blended. Add the first bowl ingredients into the second bowl.
4. Press dough evenly in a greased pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

Super Chocolate cookies

I made Super Chocolate cookies and they were super easy! The appearance of my cookies could have been better, but they tasted yummy!

The ingredients are:                                                                                                                                
First bowl:
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup of candy coated chocolate pieces
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Second bowl:
2/3 cup of softened butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

The instructions were:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In one bowl mix, all of the ingredients.
3. In another bowl, beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Beat eggs and vanilla until blended.  Add the stuff in the other bowl and stir until well blended.
4. Drop tablespoons onto pan two inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until almost set.

Zucchini Frittata

I prepared Zucchini Frittatas and they turned to be very tasty. They were super easy to make and very little prep time.
The ingredients are:
3 cup of finely shredded zucchini
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup of packaged biscuit mix
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
2 ounces of Gruyere cheese shredded
1/4 cup of cooking oil

The instructions are:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.
3. Pour into a greased quiche dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Fabulous Blond Brownies

I made "Fabulous Blond Brownies" and they tasted amazing! They were extremely easy to make and didn't take long to prepare.
The ingredients are:
First bowl:
1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of packed light brown sugar
1 cup of white chocolate chips
1 cup of chopped almonds
1 cup of toffee baking pieces
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Second bowl:
2/3 cup of softened butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla


The instructions are:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.In the first bowl, layer ingredients attractively in any order.
3. In another bowl, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until blended. Add the mixture from the other bowl and stir until well blended.
4. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake 3o to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan or on a wire rack.

Chicken Spinach Alfredo

This week I made Chicken Spinach Alfredo and it tasted great!! It was a very large portion, so my family and I enjoyed it for dinner that evening. I found this recipe on Pinterest.

The ingredients were:
1 lb. penne pasta
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cloves of garlic
4 tbsp. all purpose flour
2 cups of skim milk
2 tbsp. of light cream cheese
1.5 cups of parmesan cheese
2 cups of cooked shredded chicken
2 cups of fresh spinach
salt and pepper

The instructions are:
1. Cook penne in very salty water until al dente.
2. While the pasta cooks, melt butter in a separate sauce pan over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and saute until fragrant and cooked through.
3. Add flour to butter and whisk to combine and form a roux. Let roux cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add milk a little at a time, whisking constantly to work out any lumps. Milk will thicken up quickly at the beginning, but as you whisk the rest of the milk in it will loosen the sauce.
5. Cook sauce, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 6 minutes.
6. Add cream cheese and whisk until cheese has melted.
7. Remove sauce from heat and stir in parmesan cheese, shredded chicken, and spinach into sauce. Stir until cheese has melted.
8. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as necessary. Add cooked pasta to sauce and stir until the sauce evenly coats the noodles. Serve.

Breakfast Casserole Muffins

Yesterday I made Breakfast Casserole Muffins and they were super easy to prepare. I found the recipe on Pinterest. The ingredient list was simple and they didn't take a long time to prepare. The ingredients were:

3-4 Pieces of Whole Wheat bread
3-4 Slices of Deli Ham
1 Cup of shredded cheddar cheese
8 eggs
1 Cup of milk
2 Teaspoons of ground mustard
1 Teaspoon ground pepper

The instructions were:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins well.
2. Drop bread pieces evenly in muffin tins until they come about 2/ 3 of the way up the tin.
3. Sprinkle ham pieces evenly in each tin.
4. Sprinkle cheese evenly in each tin.
5. Whisk together milk, eggs, ground mustard, and pepper.
6. Pour egg mixture evenly in each muffin tin.
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked through the middle.

Pecan Pie

This week I prepared a Classic Pecan Pie for my project. The recipe I chose had easy to follow instructions and the prep time was quick. Pecan pie is one of my favorite desserts so I was excited to prepare this for my family.

The ingredients that I used were:

1 Cup of Karo Light or Dark Corn Syrup
3 Eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 Tablespoons of melted butter
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1-1/2 cups of pecans
1 Deep Dish Pie Crust

The instructions for the pie were:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in Pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.
3. Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool for two hours on wire rack before serving.

Ariccia Tour

Yesterday, I toured the restaurant Ariccia in the Auburn University Hotel. I was able to go back into the kitchen and make two dishes. I made AT Pasta, which is a daily off the menu selection, and I also made a dish with fried chicken and cheese pasta. The chef that was teaching me was Chef Paul Diaz. He taught me some catch phrases that they say in the kitchen daily. If they are out of an ingredient, they say 86. For example, if they are out of shrimp, they say "86 Shrimp". Another phrase would be, "Behind" which means if they are walking behind another chef in close quarters to be careful for outgoing dishes. Chef Paul also gave me his business card in case I needed to ask him any questions. The AT pasta is a daily off the menu selection which means that the chef can chose the ingredients. When I prepared the dish, there was Spinach Rigatoni, Pork with blackened seasoning, Alfredo Sauce, Spinach, Mushrooms, Shallots, and Garlic. When I prepared the Fried Chicken with Pasta, it contained Penne noodles cooked with a certain sauce, chicken that was dipped in buttermilk and eggs, breaded, dipped again, and then breaded again. After breading the chicken, we placed the chicken in a deep fryer. When the chicken was finished cooking, we poured the pasta into a bowl and placed the chicken on top of it. When I was finished making the dishes, I had to taste them and I thought they were delicious.

Enchiladas

 I prepared enchiladas for dinner last night and they turned out great. They did not take a long time to prepare and the enchiladas were fairly easy to make.

Key Lime Pie

Last night I prepared a key lime pie. It is a Betty Crocker recipe that I have been using for many years. It is a favorite at holidays and family gatherings. The ingredients for this pie are:

1 A regular sized graham cracker crust
1 Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup of Key Lime Juice
1 container of Frozen Whipped Cream
Lime zest (As much as you want)

The instructions for this pie are:

• 1. In large bowl, beat milk and lime juice with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and thickened. Add in lime zest as according. Fold in whipped topping. 
• 2.Spoon into cooled pie crust.Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until set. Store in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Bread

This week I made Pumpkin Bread for my family to enjoy.  It was very easy and it only took about an hour to cook and about 15 minutes prep time!

The ingredients I used were:

1 can of pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
2/3 cup of water
3 cups of white sugar
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 tea spoon ground cinnamon
1 tea spoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

The instructions were:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 7x3 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk, together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves,  and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaf is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Pumpkin Bread

http://bobbyflay.com/

Bobby Flay is a famous chef who appears on  the Food Network in a large amount of shows. A few of his most known  shows are "Worst Cooks" and "Iron Chef America". Bobby prepares a lot of classic American Dishes such as barbecue, desserts, salads and other original dishes like homemade fish tacos and Mexican wedding cookies. He is a very well-known, amazing chef who can make great, tasty dishes with random ingredients. 

Mentors

For this project, I have spoken with three people, my mom, dad, and grandmother. My mom loves to take pictures and although cooking is not her favorite past time, she's is still a reliable mentor. My dad loves to cook and often cooks dinner for our family. My grandmother enjoys cooking as well and is always excited about learning new recipes. One of my moms friends, Julie Lock and her daughter Jessica have been so helpful with my desire to learn more about cooking. Jessica works at Ariccia in the Auburn University Hotel as the event banquet captain. My mom spoke to Jessica and she is going to help me get an interview with the chefs at the hotel and the chance to take a few pictures with them and prepare some dishes. At the restaurant I will be watching and hopefully assisting the chef make one or two dishes. As he is making them, I will take pictures and videos. Then I will ask questions about the type of meals they prepare and other questions about the restaurant. There are three chefs and they are all fantastic. 

Project Proposal

[2/10/17]

[Elizabeth Merritt]

Proposal: Cook n’ Pics

[Pictures of Foods and Other Dishes]

Needs and Opportunities

The goal of my project is to be able to cook many different types of dishes and recipes with improved culinary skills. Hopefully, I will be assisting with the needs of my family because I can cook dinner for them if I am asked to. I hope that this project will enhance my cooking skills and better my skills as a photographer. I would like to learn how to take pictures from different, cool angles with neat lighting features and learn how to prepare multiple recipes will all different types of ingredients.

Audience / Clients / Users

My family can benefit from my project because I can introduce them to new recipes that we can prepare for meals and holidays. I can also show other people, such as friends, effective ways to take beautiful pictures and interesting ways that they can improve their skills as well. I think that my grandmother would follow my project because she really enjoys cooking and she is always interested in fun, tasty new recipes. I also believe my mom would follow my blog because my mom would like to take pictures with different views and she can learn effective ways to improve her photography skills.

Mentor

To help me with my project I hope to have a local chef allow me to watch him or her make a few dishes and take pictures of them before, during, and when they are ready to be served. After speaking to my mom, she will hopefully help me achieve this goal in which will help me with my project.

Timeline

What is your monthly timeline for this project? I want to see a list of deliverables with deadlines. You may find that the timeline needs adjustment during the course of the year, which may be fine. Check in with me if that’s the case.

February 17	Find two new recipes to cook. After cooking, take pictures of them. Create a blog to post the pictures on.
February 24	Find a good app to edit the photo’s with Find one new recipe Blog about the pictures I took.
March 3	Find two new recipes Blog about them
March 10	Blog about a two new recipes that I made this week. Talk about my favorite recipes that I have made so far.
March 24	Blog about the pictures I took of the two recipes I made.
March 31	Learn 2 new recipes Blog about them
April 7	Blog about two new recipes that I made. Talk about my favorite and least favorite recipes so far.
April 14	Find and learn one new recipe. Take pictures of the recipe I made.
April 21	Learn two more recipes. Blog about them.
April 28	Blog about all of the things that will be on my poster. Get all the supplies to make my poster. Learn two new recipes
May 5 (Prep for Presentation Day)	Make a poster with my favorite pictures of dishes I made. Describe how to make the recipes on the poster.
May 12 (Presentation Day)	Present my poster Bring samples of my favorite recipes.

Product

This spring, when we present our projects, I hope to have accomplished learning about 15 new recipes and have learned how to take artsy and creative pictures of them to share. During my presentation, I would like to bring samples of my favorite recipes to share with everyone and display some of my favorite pictures that I have taken.

Technology

Other than a camera, I believe that videos (Go Pro), laptops, apps, cell phones, and a digital camera will be beneficial in enhancing my project. The video camera will help enhance my project because I can take videos and time lapses of me preparing the food. My laptop will be beneficial in my project because I can use the apps already downloaded such as Movie Maker, to assist me in my project. Apps will be helpful as well because they can allow me to enhance my videos and pictures to a new level. Cell Phones will help advance my project by also allowing me take videos and pictures to display on my blog and during my presentation. A digital camera will also be helpful because it can assist me by increasing the quality of my pictures to present with my project.

Reality Check

Most of the equipment that I need I already own, but there are a few things that I may need to purchase to make this project possible. I have a digital camera to take pictures of the food on, but I will need to buy batteries and an SD card. Ingredients are another thing that I will need to purchase to accomplish baking the recipes and dishes that I would like.

Possible Roadblocks

One possible roadblock that I could face is time. Time is an important element in this project because I need time to make the dishes and give them time to bake. If I do come to this roadblock, then I will find extra time on the weekends or during the weekdays for me to bake the dishes.  Another roadblock that might affect my project is messing up the recipes because if I do that then I have to make them again and that may affect the time that I have to make them.

Conclusion

I think that this project is going to be a very exciting and enjoyable. This project will benefit me in many ways because it is going to teach me how to cook better and learn how to be a good photographer. This project can also benefit me in my adult life and a future career as a photographer or a chef.