DIY Serving Platter and Labels

I love to bake for others: Holiday family parties, a group of friends, and especially for an event. This past spring, I volunteered to help make cookies for my alumni's Intervarsity Christian Fellowship coffee house event. I was only asked to make a few dozen, so this was a small bake compared to my yearly Christmas cookie escapade. I chose the classic Chocolate Chip, and also some unique but tasty flavors, Cereal Snaps and Cranberry White Chocolate. Baking the cookies was not my obstacle this time. Instead, I struggled with how to display these cookies when I take them to the event.

My husband and I are not huge entertainers, so we did not register for any type of serving platters or trays when we got married. Not much has changed, and it is physically impossible to host more than a few people at our place, so I have never been concerned with buying trays. For this, I needed something bigger than a plate, but nicer than a baking sheet to display these cookies.

Every Christmas, my grandmother used a simple solution to her displays. She had many serving trays, but to eliminate dishes yet add some decoration, she placed Christmas-themed napkins on the trays. I do have some plain napkins, but napkins would not hide the sides of a worn baking sheet. Something I do have is tissue paper. Lots and lots of tissue paper.

Materials: Baking sheet, tissue paper, tape

Most of this tissue paper I have came from our wedding gifts. It's the signature swirl of Bed Bath & Beyond wedding tissue paper that I saved, thinking I could re-use it for future weddings. Well, 3 years later, and I still have tons of tissue paper. I briefly thought about using this paper, because it is not clearly a wedding-theme unless you recognize it. And let's be honest, as a college student, I had no idea it was wedding paper until I received tons of it for my wedding. But I did some more digging and found an odd color that I most likely would never use. 

I wrapped the baking sheet just like a present, starting with it upside down. I stuck my fingers underneath the baking sheet before I taped each time to press the paper against the inside edge and taped it loosely. Otherwise, the tissue paper would be so tight, it would elevate the cookies off the baking sheet. I didn't worry about the bottom, because it would not be seen. 

The baking sheet only held 2 of my 3 types of cookies, so I needed something smaller than another baking sheet. I chose to use a large plate, but wanted the plate to match the baking sheet. I attempted to wrap the circular plate as a present as well. Anyone who attempts to wrap something circular for Christmas knows how hard it is. But remember, it doesn't have to be perfect! Keeping some sharp edges is okay for this. Trust me, people aren't looking that close at what the food is on...they're looking at the food! 

To transport, I wrapped the trays in saran wrap. 
Something to think about when preparing your trays: If you put the cookies (or any food) on the tray too far ahead of time, be aware there may be a small oil stain by the time you eat. I put my cookies on  about 10 hours ahead of time, and when the cookies were gone, there was an oil stain the size of a quarter or larger. So just be aware that the tissue paper is going to absorb food oils. 

I couldn't even get a quick picture before they started disappearing!

One other touch I always add when displaying more than one type of food is labels. I find that people are more willing to try a non-typical cookie if they know what it really is! All you need is a toothpick, marker, and any type of scrap or colored paper. I am glad I did this because one of the first people that saw my cookies before I had the labels up asked if my Cereal Crisps were peanut butter. (FYI: Cereal Snaps don't have any peanut butter). Imagine the number of people that might have thought that as well, thus not trying it. Save the confusion, label it!

I felt confident taking my cookies to the event on these DIY trays, and the cookies were a hit! 

Update: You can use these platters for almost any type of dessert or snack. For my sister-in-law's bridal shower, I used it for cheese and crackers! I bought a small amount of colored tissue paper that matched her theme and....viola! No dishes to wash, and it looks great! 

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Deviled Eggs- DIY Plate and Piping Tool

Making deviled eggs has always sounded intimidating to me. I have never made them before, but love to eat them. I just assumed it took something fancy to pipe out the yolk and to carry them in because that is how I always saw them. However, I was struggling with an idea to take to a Super Bowl party this year, and decided to tackle my fear for the good of all who love deviled eggs. 

Living in an apartment for several years now, I maxed out my kitchen drawer space long ago. I despise the idea of buying all these kitchen gadgets just for one recipe. So I wanted to find a way to make these without all the fancy gadgets. I was able to make several adaptations, specifically in how I piped out the yolk and how I transported/displayed them. Therefore, I will not post a recipe in this post, as it will work with any recipe. 

Deviled Egg Plate Substitute
The first issue is what to carry and display them in. My first thought was a 9"x13" dish. However, when I tested it out with a few empty egg cups, it proved to be messy and they slid everywhere. I didn't want to chance tipping the container and making a mess of them before they even got to the party. So I tried to think of something that I could place on the bottom of the dish to prevent it from sliding. 

Place cling wrap with wrinkles on the bottom of the pan to prevent the eggs from sliding.
Mine could have used more wrinkles as some eggs slid between the wrinkles.

My final result: Cling wrap that is intentionally wrinkled. Even when the eggs were a bit wet (from rinsing them), they caught on the wrinkles, preventing them from sliding. It also does not take away too much from the clean look as a paper towel or tin foil might. 

No slide!

Piping Tool Substitute
The second issue is the most obvious issue. There are many tools out there that help you to make a beautiful design with your yolk filling. Although that is something I think I would really enjoy, the tools are often large and I did not gain any space in my kitchen since writing the intro to this post. 
This is an issue that many bakers encounter if they just do an occasional icing recipe here and there and do not want to spend the money on the fancy icing bag. The most common DIY tool for this instance is a good old ziplock bag. 

I cut a very small corner off the tip of a small ziplock bag, turned it inside out over my hand, and scooped the yolk filling into the bag, turning it back so I could squeeze it out.

This was about 1 second before the
plastic tip blew through the bag!

A funny experience accompanied this experiment. I had the brainy idea to use a plastic fancy tip that I saved from a Christmas icing bag several years ago. I decided to try to use it with the ziplock bag (you can see it in one of the pictures). However, when squeezing the bag, the thickness of the filling pushed the fancy tip right through the bag hole, leaving me with quite a mess of filling. Luckily I didn't have to waste any of it and just scooped it back into the bag. I am thinking that the sturdiness of an actual icing bag might be worth the money if you want to try any fancy tip 😂 





I did a comparison of looks in which I used a spoon, the ziplock bag, and the fancy tool which I borrowed from a family member. Obviously you can see which is the prettiest to use, but you can also see that it is easy and creates a smooth look to use a ziplock bag.  

Left 2 eggs: spoon; Middle 2 eggs: ziplock bag; Right 2 eggs: fancy tool

Both of the adaptations that I made to the deviled eggs worked perfect for me. They were a huge hit, and didn't make a mess getting there. I didn't have to spend any money or store new tools in my laundry room (the only place of storage for anything right now). Once I get my own kitchen with more storage, then I will probably invest in at least one of the tools as long as I continue to make them for social gatherings. The tools and gadgets of today often make food look clean, fancy and easier to make. But sometimes you just have to be practical. And that's what this blog is all about. 

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Cream Cheese Hand Pies

This recipe was a risk for me for several reasons. I often do not do fancy desserts or snacks unless taking it to a family gathering so that more of it gets eaten (with just two people, it takes quadruple the number of meals to finish anything). I also am not a huge fan of making things with crust. I feel there is too much room for error, and would much rather leave the crusted desserts up to someone else who knows what they're doing. However, I decided to take a challenge! Get the original recipe here.

Rhubarb Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Like many newlyweds, I got my food processor from my registry. I almost didn't even register for a food processor, thinking I'd never use it. However, a friend found a blender with a smaller food processor attachment. I thought this would be perfect because it won't take up as much space, and I wouldn't ever need a big one anyways. 

I was wrong.

This recipe would have been much easier in a larger food processor! I did not realize that a food processor needs space, especially for dough, to mix properly. The flour, sugar and salt for the dough fit into the processor, but didn't move when I attempted to pulse it. 

If you only have a small processor as I do, no worries. That is why I'm here. To warn you before you dirty 2 more dishes and have flour everywhere as I did. I ended up splitting the flour mixture into thirds and split the butter and buttermilk which is added into the flour mixture in the same way. I still easily kneaded each portion together to make a super-dough. 

The size of half of the dough mixture

Tip about buttermilk: Did you know that you can freeze buttermilk? I almost always make my own using lemon juice and milk (1 cup of milk and 1 tbsp of lemon juice; let set for approx. 5 minutes or until it begins to curdle), but I was nervous to do that with dough which might be more sensitive to ingredients. So I bought a small container, and still only used half of it. Buttermilk is known to freeze well, so it is in my freezer awaiting its next use. 

For the rhubarb filling, I used 1 lb. of frozen chopped rhubarb and wish I used more as it ended up being quite a bit less as it thawed and I rang the water out. I then had less of the rhubarb filling than the cream cheese filling in the end. As you might notice, my rhubarb filling is not a beautiful red as is the recipe's picture. This only depends on the type of rhubarb you use.  I happen to have access to a green-colored rhubarb. 

As you might imagine, I do not have a round cookie or biscuit cutter. So I improvised using a mason jar. Many of the mugs I had were too large, but a wine glass or tumbler might also be the right size. Because the dough was thin, I just pressed the jar down hard enough to make the cut. 

A mason jar was a good size instead of buying a round cookie or biscuit cutter

I experimented with putting the cream cheese filling and the rhubarb down first. I found quickly that putting the cream cheese down first causes it to spread out and was more likely to leak towards the edges. I hypothesized that this is the case either because the egg wash underneath causes it to spread or because the rhubarb filling is heavy, causing it to flatten and spread. 

Rhubarb filling on the bottom-how I preferred to stack the fillings

Cream cheese filling on the bottom-the cream cheese filling seemed to spread

I feared that creating a clean slip on the top dough would guarantee that filling seeped out of it. So most of my slits did not cut through the whole way. I had multiple pies that expanded enough to break the seal, but my main goal was no mess, not appearance, which I achieved! 

Prior to putting them in the oven

I wonder if I baked them a bit longer than the suggested time if they would have become a bit more golden brown like the beautiful picture on the original website. However, the dough was cooked perfectly, so I didn't want to over-bake them. 

For the next time, I think I actually might like a bigger circle so that I can fill each one with more filling. It would also make less pies (this batch made a minimum of 36 pies with enough extra dough to do a medium sized pastry and filling at the end).
This was a fun learning experience and a delicious pastry! 

Rhubarb Cream Cheese Hand Pies 
Crust
3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
3/4-1 cup buttermilk
Rhubarb Filling
1 lb rhubarb stalks, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
Cream Cheese Filling
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
For assembly
1 egg
1 Tbsp water
Coarse sugar

Instructions:
1. To make the pie dough, in the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter pieces to the bowl and pulse until the pies are pea-sized. Add in 3/4 cup of the buttermilk and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead until it is fully combined, adding more buttermilk as needed.
2. Split the dough in half and pat into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Repeat with second half of dough.
3. For the rhubarb filling, put the rhubarb and sugar in a medium pot. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, no need to stir. Increase the heat to medium, remove the lid, and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until running a spoon across the bottom of the pot leaves a trail. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. For the cream cheese filling, whisk together the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg yolk. Chill until ready to use.
5. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat remaining egg and 1 tbsp water. Set aside.
6. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8th-inch thick. Using a cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the dough into 2 or 3-inch circles.
7. Brush half of the dough circles very lightly with the egg wash. Top with 1 tsp rhubarb filling and 1 tsp cream cheese filling. Top each with a second circle that has been vented by making small cuts in it. Press the edges together so that they form a seal. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. 
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Allow to cool before serving. 

Steak Fajitas

My husband and I recently ate out and ordered steak fajitas. I'm a fan of most things that come in a tortilla, but I was blown away by the seasoning on the meat. I could have eaten the meat alone and been completely happy. When I realized how amazing a fajita could be with a great seasoned meat, I was determined to find a great fajita recipe. Luckily, it took me one look through Pinterest, and one try on the first recipe I found from Little Spice Jar to find a fantastic marinade. 

Now, as a relatively new newlywed, I don't have many spices. I don't have the space to store them, and for the first year and a half, all the spices I have were sitting loosely on our counter up against a wall. Finally I got a small wooden crate to contain them and make it look a bit nicer, but even that doesn't hold them all. So I hesitate to buy anymore spices than I already have because I just don't have the room. So when I made the recipe, I did not include the cumin, chili powder or cilantro, and I thought it was still amazing. 

Our favorites are orange and red peppers!

Tip about juices: The recipe did not state whether to use lime juice from concentrate (in the bottle) or fresh-squeezed juice. I used the juice in the bottle, but noticed that the lime taste was much stronger than the pineapple juice taste. I did add a bit more pineapple juice than it called for, but could still taste the lime. This was not a bad taste, as it added a tangy taste which was still delicious. However, when explaining this to my mother, she noted that any concentrate that you get in a bottle is going to be stronger than the fresh-squeezed juice. So next time I make this, I might use a bit less of the lime juice. Thanks for the knowledge mom!

One thing I struggle with when making meats is the time it takes to cook the meat. It always takes almost double the time to cook my meats than recipes state, and the only reason I can think of is that every stove is different. I also do not have a cast iron skillet that I hear is great for cooking any meat. But my meat took 10-15 minutes on each side, and it was still medium rare when done. I thought my meat was going to start moo-ing at me (something my family would say), so I stuck a few of the slices back in the pan for just a minute on each side, which was perfect. 

I added just a bit of the marinade in the pan so it didn't all go to waste

Cooking the veggies in the pan that the meat cooked in added a bit of that marinated flavor, and saved dishes. 

This is a simple and delicious recipe I will use again for fajitas! Enjoy!

Steak Fajitas
(My interpretation of directions. To find more explanation and detail, see Little Spice Jar's page.)
Marinade:
1/3 cup lime juice (less if concentrate)
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp EACH cumin and chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Fajitas:
1 1/2-2 lbs shirt or flank steak (I used flat iron steak)
1 Tbsp oil
2 medium white onions, sliced
2-3 bell peppers

1. Steak marinade: Combine ingredients for marinade in a bowl. Taste and adjust if needed. Coat steak in marinate and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Set pan on high heat to warm up oil. Add steak to pan (and a little liquid marinade if desired) and fry on each side for ~3 minutes on each side. Remove the steak and allow to rest before cutting, tented with foil. Slice the meat against the grain.
3. Add remaining oil to the pan and add veggies. Cook until desired doneness. 
4. Serve in tortillas with preferred condiments such as sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, etc. 

Pasta-Filled Peppers

I saw this recipe in my Taste of Home Guilt-free Cooking book and thought it looked fancy. The directions looked simple enough, so I thought I'd try it. The lesson I learned from this recipe: Things are not always as simple as they seem!

On the first step, I encountered a technique of cooking that I have not done yet. Broiling. I didn't even know what a broiler was except that there is a broil setting on my oven temp dial. So I had to do a bit of research before I could even begin. 

Tip about broiling: In my oven (and most typical ovens) the broiler is on the top of the oven. So to broil a vegetable, you should put a rack as close to the top as possible. One thing I learned immediately is that whole peppers can be big, and despite the ability to put them on the top racks close to the broiler as possible, it may not be the best idea if the peppers touch the broiler because they instantly burn. Each time I took them out to turn them, they hit the broiler element. I also had to make sure they were spaced on the cookie sheet so that they strattled the elements while in the oven.

The directions state next to place them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes. When researching ways to roast whole peppers, I found an explanation here of why it is important to cover and let them set. However, they were not cool enough to handle in 10 minutes, so I placed the bowl in the refrigerator and took out 1 at a time to take off the skin. As you can see, it was not easy. The skin did not easily come off, so I resorted to a knife and my fingers to peel only the burnt parts off. 

The insides were easier to cut out than I thought, but I think to another time, I might just lob off the whole top to make a bigger opening. 

The pasta filling could be a whole delicious meal just by itself. It's easy, cheesy, and fantastic! 

The peppers were a bit droopy, so I elected to have my helpful husband scoop the pasta into the peppers while I held them up in a casserole dish. Some help might be in order for this step. 

Overall, I was really happy with the results, and we thought they were delicious! They even tasted great as leftovers up to 2 days later! 

I was so proud of how a few of them looked, I wanted to show a comparison of the cookbook picture and my final plating. All that to say, you can make a fancy-looking dish in a small apartment kitchen! Have fun!

The picture from the book

My final product!

Pasta-Filled Peppers

6 medium green, sweet red and/or yellow peppers

6 ounces uncooked spaghetti

3/4 cup diced onion 

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp  canola oil

1 3/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup vegetable broth

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place whole peppers on a broiler pan; broil 6 in. from the heat for 10-15 minutes or until skins are blistered and blackened, turning often. Immediately place peppers in a bowl; cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Peel off and discard charred skins. Carefully cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. Set peppers aside.

2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, salute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add tomatoes; cook for 1 minute. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and broth until smooth. Gradually stir into tomato mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.

3. Drain spaghetti; add to the tomato mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, basil and Parmesan; toss. Spoon into peppers. Place in a 3-qt. microwave-safe baking dish. Cover and microwave on high for 1-3 minutes or until heated through.

Rhubarb Strawberry Coffee Cake

With a large family that loves to do get-togethers and potluck-style meals, and a work place that does potluck meetings every so often, I sometimes feel pressure to make something that everyone loves and wants you to make again next time. So I'm always looking for wanna-be fan-favorite recipes that might make the cut. This recipe made that cut.

My husband's family is a big fan of fresh strawberries picked right from the field and my family grows rhubarb. Any recipe that combines these two is a winner in this household. 
A comment on the page of the online version stated simply "double the filling." As a fan of filling and not as much of the caky texture of coffee cakes, it didn't take much to convince me to double only the filling portion of this recipe.

Tip for using frozen fresh produce: (Not the kind you get in the frozen section in the store. Sorry, not fresh. I'm talking farmer's market or picked from a plant-fresh) When rhubarb and strawberries thaw, they become very watery, and the fruits/vegetables deflate. So when a recipe calls for cups, and I am measuring fruit before it is thawed, I always add a bit extra. 
For the filling, I used a tad less sugar than called for, and would suggest staying close and not trying to multi-task because the cornstarch will easily make the filling stick to the bottom. 

Filling mixture

I think the hardest part of this recipe was cutting in the cold butter using a fork. I don't know of a better way to do so, but let's just say my forearms got a great workout between the batter and topping mixtures!

Butter is cut into the batter mixture

The recipe states to use 2/3 of the batter for the bottom layer. Both times I've made this, I have carefully split the batter, and both times, I have ended up with not enough batter to cover the fruit layer. My solution-spread out the top batter layer as much as possible, then take a knife and swirl the top batter layer with the fruit layer. It doesn't look very appetizing and neat, but it gets covered with the topping, so no one will know the difference :) 

I swirled the top batter layer into the filling layer to spread it further

The topping covers all layers

The one downside with doubling the filling is that it will almost inevitably spill over the edge as it cooks in the oven. To help with this, place a piece of aluminum foil on the rack below the pan to catch the drips. 

Out of the oven

With double the filling, it took a bit longer to cook, but I gauged its doneness by the color of the topping. Both times, the center of the cake was done to perfection. 

You can see all the layers!

The filling is a liquid gooey mess when it comes out of the oven, so if you need to serve it shortly after baking, pop it in the freezer for approximately an hour to firm the filling so it will cut smoothly. 
I have used this recipe as a breakfast item and dessert, so it is multi-functional as well as absolutely delicious!

Rhubarb Strawberry Coffee Cake
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb or frozen rhubarb, thawed
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen sweetened, sliced strawberries, thawed
2 Tbsp lemon juice
CAKE:
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup cold butter
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk1 tsp vanilla extract
TOPPING:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cold butter

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in rhubarb and strawberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. In another bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla; stir in crumb mixture just until moistened. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Spoon cooled filling over batter. Top with remaining batter. 
3. For topping, combine sugar and flour in a small bowl; cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and cake is golden brown. Cool.

When you don't have an appetite...

An appetite is something that we take for granted.

When we don't have an appetite because of sickness, nervousness, busy-ness or other reasons, eating is often the last thing on our mind. As a person who loves food, when there is no appetite, it is a sad day. As a person who has a tendency to get low blood sugar, when there is no appetite, it is a major affliction. A situation that confuses me to my core is that when we are at our weakest, why are we not able to ingest the one thing that we need to re-fuel?

The past two weeks, I have experienced a lack of appetite like never before. I'm sure there are many people who experience this type of lack of food, but for me it was a first. So what do we do when we don't feel well, when we are so busy we don't have time, when we are so stressed we just don't feel like it? But yet, we don't have the energy, strength, time, money or tastebuds to continue?

I pray. 

Where else does strength come from? Food is supposed to provide our bodies with nutrients, help us rebuild our cells, and energize us from within. Even Jesus was hungry after 40 days and nights of fasting (Matthew 4:2). So when our stomaches are empty or our body is trying to heal, I think of Jesus' words when he was tempted with food in the desert: 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

And boy is that true. Although I believe we really do need nutrients to keep us alive, I also believe when we are unable to do what we need to, God's strength can step in. If it is God's plan to keep us alive or to use us as a testimony, then He will provide us with the strength we need. 

SO what does this post have to do with my purpose of this blog? Why am I not posting a recipe? I haven't been much of a motivated blogger lately and felt the need to post something. But I also haven't been much of a cook for two reasons. First, I haven't had the time. Second, to prep for the crazy month of March and all that it entails for me, I prepped several quick meals to put in the freezer and to make ahead of time to help my sanity and my husband who cannot cook (unless you want a fantastic grilled cheese sandwich every night). As the woman of the house who has the ability to cook, I want to make sure he is taken care of for meals so he can still eat as healthy as possible. I think part of the reason we are still living in a small apartment and don't have pets is due to the traveling and time we occasionally spend away. Sometimes, this is just how life goes. For many people, this is how every day of the year goes.

And it's okay. Because you do what is best for your family, your children, and for you. And when you just can't find the strength, the time, the motivation to cook or eat, there is always someone you can turn to for that strength.