Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is the big day where we all like to show off our cooking skills. Unfortunately, I won't be in the kitchen tomorrow. I still live with my parents so they get to some in the spotlight.  Dad prepares and fries the Turkey,  Mom mixes and bakes. I might help chop or measure but mostly I'll be in the way. Plus,  by around noon, the kitchen is so hot that one can hardly stand it. 
On the menu we have fried turkey, Mashed potatoes, sweet potato souflée, green bean casserole, stuffing, spinach dip, a veggie tray, cheese and crackers.  Let us not forget the most important part, cranberry sauce! I love that stuff. It's great; the cold, tart, and juicy stuff goes great with turkey (especially the driest pieces).
I think the best part about Thanksgiving is that we get to spend the time with family. With times like they are, is nice to just sit down and remade with the people you really care for. Then, starting at about 6pm Thursday we all freeze our asses off trying to get the best Black Friday deals. It's a lovely tradition.
This Thanksgiving is pretty cool too; my birthday is on Monday (12/2).  Usually, Thanksgiving is to early and my birthday is almost a week or two later. This year I get to see everyone right before my birthday, which is pretty awesome.
Until next time, have a safe and happy holiday!

Katie can't cook

Brown sugar carrots

What you need:
1 small bag of baby carrots
1/2 stick of butter
2 or more tbs of brown sugar

What you do:
If you are using an oven, preheat to 350. If you are using a grill, start it up
Use tin foil to create a bowl-like container or packet
Put the carrots into the foil and add the brown sugar
Cut the butter into pads and put on top of carrots and brown sugar
Use more foil to make a top and seal by folding the edges
If you are using an oven, place the foil packet on a cookie sheet. You can skip this step for the grill.
Place the carrot packet in the oven or on the grill.
Let cook for 20 minutes then carefully check the carrots using tongs or oven mits.
Pierce them with a fork to make sure they are tender. They should not be crunchy.

Tips and tricks:
The carrots will look wrinkly after cooking.
If you don't have much time or you threw this together at the last minute, you can cut the carrots into medallions to make them cook faster.
Use more Brown Sugar for sweeter carrots.
To make this fancier, you can add a pinch of dill (the dried kind on the spice row at the grocery store) to the mix.

Home made chicken noodle soup

Love this stuff on a cold night. And its super easy!

What you need:
1-1.5 lbs of skinless chicken (you can do boneless to but if you get bone-in chicken you will have to de-bone it after boiling)
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 bag no yolk egg noodles
Optional: chicken bouillon cubes or granules

What you do:
Get a huge pot and fill it about halfway with water.
Add chicken and boil.
Once the chicken is cooked fully, you can turn off the heat to let it cool.
DO NOT DRAIN THE CHICKEN BROTH YOU JUST MADE!
If you have to, remove the chicken from the broth and de-bone, otherwise remove the chicken and shred it to small/bite sized pieces and return to the broth.
Add the whole bad of frozen vegetables and bring to a boil.
You may notice that you need more water, you can add some now.
My mom likes to make the noodles separately but you can just add them to the soup if you'd like.
Taste the soup and see if you need to add bouillon.

That's it! You are done!

Like I said this is great for winter and even snowy nights. It also makes a ton so you can save some for later. Its awesome and simple. We had some tonight for dinner.

Crock pot Chilli

This is such a great recipe, my mom makes this chilli and everyone loves it. This is her original recipe, there may be others like it but she did not use any recipes to make hers. Its really hearty and thick so its great for parties and cold fall/winter nights. Its more like a meaty tomato-y soup butif you like it spicier go ahead. We are a boring carnivorous people so we like this.

What you need:
1 lb ground beef (cooked, drained)
1 lb sweet italian sausage (removed from casing, cooked and drained)
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 40oz can kidney beans
1 12oz can tomato sauce
1 packet chilli seasoning (or 2, or your own blend)

What you do:
To cook the hamburger meat, just put it in a skillet and stir until evenly cooked then drain using a colander and throw away the grease.
To cook the sausage,  you have to remove it from the casing first then do the same as the hamburger.
While the meat is cooking, open all the cans and packet of seasoning in the crock pot (it makes a lot so you might need 2 crock pots if you dont have a huge one)
Add the meat then cook on low for 6-8 hours.

This tastes so much better the next day.

Cheddar Tomatoes

What you need:
Shredded cheddar cheese
3 or so red or yellow tomatoes (sliced)
Italian bread crumbs
Butter

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350
Melt half a stick of butter
Mix butter with bread crumbs and a little bit of the cheese (the amount of cheese to bread crumb ratio is really up to you. When in doubt start small and add more)
Lay the slices of tomatoes flat on a foil lined cookie sheet
Sprinkle mixture on top of the tomatoes
Add more cheese for extra awesomeness
Bake until cheese is melted

Tips and tricks:
This could be changed to a caprese type thing if you used shredded mozzarella and if you add some basil to the bread crumbs.
You can also use other kinds of bread crumbs or just finely crush some sort of cracker that you like (wheat thins, maybe)

If you try this or any other recipe with some variation, leave a comment and tell me what you changed. I'm sorry I dont have a picture for you, I've been waiting forus to make this but tomato season has passed so I decided to post now.

Best breakfast of all time

So my mom got this recipe from work, some lady brought this in and Mom demanded the recipe. Anyways... there are a few names it has been called: cream cheese sausage thingies, dirty diapers (you'll see why), and Christmas morning breakfast. Mom usually makes the sausage mixture the night before to save time in the morning.

What you need:
Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (1 tube)
Cream cheese (1 8oz block, softened)
Pillsbury crescent rolls (1 tube)

What you do:
Open cream cheese and put into a medium mixing bowl.
Brown the sausage in a medium skillet. Drain grease.
Mix browned sausage with soft cream cheese.
(This is where you can stop if you made the mixture the night before)
Preheat oven to 350
Next, open up the crescent rolls.
Pull one crescent apart and add one spoonful of sausage mixture.
Roll it up (picture will show you.)
Continue until there are no more crescent rolls; eat leftover sausage mixture.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Tips and tricks:
Easily double this recipe for an event in the morning.
You can add salsa if you'd like.
You can also make this into a "loaf" to avoid the diaper look.

Neglect

So I neglected the blog this week :(  Sorry about that. This week I will try to post 2 recipes,  but I guarantee that there will be one. I've been busy with work and school and personal stuff so I forgot.

Microwave popcorn

I found a post on pinterest (link to the blog coming soon) about how to make microwave popcorn at home. Its super simple and works great!

What you need:
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
1 brown paper bag
Popcorn toppings (whatever you prefer)

What you do:
Measure out 1/3 cup of kernels and add them to your brown paper bag
Fold the top down twice
Microwave for 2 minutes with folded side of bag facing down
Add toppings
Enjoy!

That is it! I tried this tonight with my boyfriend (see lovely picture) and we enjoyed it a lot. Now we can make fun flavored popcorn!

Chicken salad

I got this recipe from the lady at the deli in Giant. She said that this is how they make the chicken salad they sell. Since making it was much cheaper, I got all the stuff and everyone who has had this said that it is some of the best chicken salad they've had.

What you need:
Mayo
Celery
Onions (I prefer sweet onion but white onion works as well)
Garlic salt
1 Rotisserie chicken

What you do:
Rip apart the chicken (you can cut it too, just make sure the pieces are small enough)
Dice the celery and onion into small pieces
Combine chicken and veggies in a container and add some mayo (add a little mayo, then add more to your liking)
Sprinkle a dash of garlic salt and mix well.
Enjoy

Tips and tricks:
For extra flavor, make it the night before you plan on eating it so all the flavors have time to mingle.
Eat plain, make sanwhiches, wraps (with tortillas or lettuce), whatever.
Tastes great warm and cold (only eat warm with a fresh rotisserie chicken)
Can be made fancier with grapes, c/raisins, or chopped nuts. But it is still good plain. 

I have made this using leftover baked chicken from my other recipe. But I think it is better with rotisserie chicken.

Baked whole chicken

Making this for dinner is my favorite!

What you need:
1 oven stuffer whole chicken (perdue brand is good)
Season salt

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350
Open chicken and remove gizzards; rinse thoroughly.
Put the chicken in a glass baking pan (9x13 works well)
Bake for 21/2-3 hours depending on size
Enjoy

Tips and tricks:
You can use any type of seasoning you want but we use lawry's season salt.
If you have a recipe that calls for chicken gizzards, you can save them.
Most chickens come with a popper that tells you when it is done so you don't have to guess.

Cake batter chocolate chip cookies

Looking for a sweet treat? These are awesome. This is my best recipe. Everyone loves these cookies. They all ask me for the recipe so I decided to share it. These cookies smell and taste amazing. This was a recipe I got from my grandmother, but I don't know where she got it.

Things you need:
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 box cake mix (best to use yellow cake but if you want chocolate cake, use 3/4 cup oil because those cookies are drier)
Chips (no, not potato chips. Chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, whatever you like)

What to do:
Get a big bowl to mix in and preheat the oven to 350ºf.
Add your cake mix to the bowl, then the oil and eggs.
Mix using a scraping spatula until you have a thick dough.
Add your chips, use as little or as much as you want but only add a little at a time so that they are mixed in well.
Get out your cookie sheet and use a regular spoon to scoop balls of dough to make your cookies.
Put them into the oven for 8 minutes then check to make sure they are done. They might need more time to cook but don't cook them too long because the bottom will burn.

Tips and tricks:
Like most cookies, they won't look done on the top but they will be done on the bottom. When they are completely cooked on the bottom, it is time to take them out because if you wait for the tops to be done, the bottom will burn.
Don't make them too big because they expand while baking.
Do not use all the dough at once, this makes up to 2 dozen cookies.
Make the cookies somewhat small so you will have lots of them.
I have never tried these with any fruit or anything in these but that might be good too.
These cookies are totally customizable so try every combination of flavors possible. I've even seen sprinkles added into the dough to make festive birthday cookies.

Party punch

I usually try to post on Wednesday, sorry for the tardiness, and lack of pictures but this recipe is so easy you don't need them. I'm currently out of town so this week's Wednesday post may come late as well.

This is a no brainer. I always asked for this punch for my birthday parties when I was a kid and it was always a hit.

What you need :
1 2 liter bottle of sprite or ginger ale (not 12 liters...)
1 quart of vanilla ice cream
1/2 gallon of raspberry sherbert

What you do:
Pour contents into a punch bowl and mix gently
Enjoy

Tips and tricks:
You can try new flavors of sherbert, get funky with it.
Mix flavors of sherbert (and while doing so say "I do what I want")
You can also make rootbeer float punch in the same way, just use vanilla ice cream and rootbeer.

This picture isn't mine but this is basically what it looks like. 

Microwave quesadilla

My boyfriend gave me this recipe. Its a great snack, or quick lunch. There is a secret here that makes sure the cheese stays gooey and delicious.

What you need:
Tortillas
Shredded cheese
Other toppings (note: if you wish to add meat to your quesadilla, you have to use precooked meat, you can use raw veggies but they may not be completely cooked)
Optional: salsa and sour cream garnish

What you do:
Get a plate and put one tortilla on the plate
Sprinkle cheese and add toppings
Top it with another tortilla
Get a paper towel, wet it and wring it out or squeeze it so it is only damp (be careful not to rip the paper towel)
Place the paper towel on top of the quesadilla and microwave in 30 second intervals until the cheese is melted
Serve with salsa and sour cream

Tips and tricks:

To make the paper towel part easier, fold the paper towel first, then wet it. Once wet, squeeze excess water out and unfold.
This goes great with my 6 second guac recipe.
Mix it up (I swear this goes with most of my recipes) try differrent cheeses or fillings

You can make more than one quesadilla if you put one on the plate then make another wrapped in the damp paper towel and place it on top of the first one (basically covering both quesadillas)

Worms

This is called worms because of the noodles. We used tricolor noodles but spaghetti or angel hair works best (for the name)

What you need:
1 box of Pasta (it is totally your choice what kind of pasta to use but you can't call this worms if you use rotini or bowtie)
1/2 bottle italian dressing
1 cucumber (peeled and chopped)
1-2 tomatoes chopped
Salad supreme seasoning

What you do:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box then drain
Pour in the whole bottle of italian dressing and add some salad supreme seasoning (its really up to you how much)
Stir in the vegetables (well, tomato is a fruit) and mix well
Serve warm or chill over night and serve cold

Tips and tricks:
You can try it with onion (I would say red onion)
Use more or less veggies for more or less crunch
Salad supreme is kinda hard to find in the store (its on the spice aisle)

This is what salad supreme looks like, in case you were wondering

Bacon for beginners

I have always hated making bacon. I dont want to get burned. Recently we started making bacon the smartest way possible. This is pure genius and most people will feel like idiots for not thinking of this.

What you need:
bacon
Cookie sheet
Foil

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350
Cover the cookie sheet with foil.
Lay bacon out on the sheet, they can overlap.
Bake until completely cooked
Remove bacon using tongs and place on a plate covered with paper towels (to absorb grease)

Tips and tricks:
Once you've mastered quick easy bacon, you can make BLTs or breakfast. The possibilities are endless.
There will be a lot of grease on the cookie sheet but the foil will make for an easier clean up.
If you like crispy bacon, cook longer.

Broccoli salad

Happy fourth of July to all my fellow Americans.  This is a great recipe for cookouts this summer!

This has the potential to be a no cook recipe if you buy pre-cooked bacon. For an easier way to make bacon, check my blog post on bacon here. This also has the potential to impress.

What you need:
Fresh broccoli (from a bag, I got mine as florets in a bag)
Red onion
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Bacon, crumbled
Mayo
Sugar
Red wine vinegar

What you do:
Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces (remove stems as much as possible)
Dice red onion and combine in a large bowl with broccoli
Add cheese ( as much as you want) and crumbled bacon
Mix 1/2 cup mayo and 3 tbs of red wine vinegar
Slowly add sugar to mayo mixture, dont let it get gritty.
Pour this mixture over the broccoli salad and stir.

Tips and tricks:
If the dressing (mayo mixture) does not look like enough, add some more of each ingredient. Some people (like me) like more sauce on my broccoli salad so I usually make more.
Make sure to taste the sauce and adjust the mayo to vinegar ratio to your liking.
The mixture should be smooth, not as thick as mayo and not gritty.
Use a wisk to mix the sauce so that the sugar gets dissolved.
This tastes better the next day.

Mix/stir before serving.

This is just a picture of the sauce, it is so good. 

6 second guac

My friend at work was making something similar to this to lose weight instead of eating fatty snacks. I changed it up and made it into a simple guacamole. The name 6 second guac came from my friend making it into a vine video. Hope you guys like this quick guac recipe.

What you need:
1 Avocado
Lemon juice
Tabasco
Garlic salt

What you do:
Cut the avocado and remove the seed.
Scoop out the insides into a bowl.
Add a dash of the other 3 ingredients and smash the avocado with a fork, spoon, or other preferred utensil until smooth.
Eat with chips. Or a spoon; don't be ashamed.

Tips and tricks:
For 8 second guac, add diced onion.
For 10 second guac, add diced onion and diced tomato
If you like spicier guacamole, use more Tabasco sauce.
Like most guacamole, this can't really be saved for later so eat it as soon as possible.
This turns out really well if you use a potato masher tool by hand because it makes it super smooth and mixes everything really well.
Don't use the masher if you make 8 or 10 second guacamole because it will mash too much.
To make more, use more 1 more avocado and double the amount of the other ingredients

Dump cake

Things you need: 

1 can cherry pie filling 

1 can crushed pineapple (20oz)

1 box yellow cake mix (unprepared)

About 1.5 sticks of butter 

Optional: vanilla ice cream

What to do: 

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Get your cake pan (9"x13" works well but for a thicker cake use a smaller pan)

Dump the whole can of cherry pie filling into the pan and spread it evenly.

Carefully dump the pineapple on top of the cherry and make sure it is covering the cherry stuff. 

Dump the whole box of cake mix over the fruit, covering the whole pan. Do not mix anything. The cake should have layers.

Cut the butter in pads and cover the cake mix. You may not need all the butter now but after you bake it for a while you might need more. 

Bake the cake for 35 minutes then check to make sure all the butter is melted. 

If there is still dry cake mix, cut more butter and cover these dry spaces. Bake for 5 more minutes and check again.

Repeat until all the cake is golden brown. 

Cool the cake and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Tips and tricks:

Use a soft spatula to help you get all the pie filling out of the can and spread evenly on the bottom of the pan.

Take your time pouring the cake mix so you don't have to even it out.

After baking, if there are still spots where the melted butter has not covered, use a half pad of butter to cover these areas if they are small enough.

Sometimes, there is enough butter melted on the surface of the cake that you can either tilt the pan or use the same spatula (but cleaned off and dried) or a spoon to move the butter around. just be careful not to burn yourself.

This is best served warm with vanilla ice cream but still good cold. It can be re-warmed in the microwave if you'd like. 

Instead of cherry pie filling, I have used blueberry and it was just as good. You can choose any pie filling you'd like,  mix and match flavor combinations to make it your own. This cherry-pineapple is still my favorite.

What this blog is all about

There has always been a joke in my family about how I'm a horrible cook. But there are plenty of things I can make. This blog is intended for young people who can't cook who need a simple explanation for delicious, easy, and impressive recipes. I'm not sure how this will end up but I'm excited to start this blog ASAP.

My name is Katie Fossett, I'm a college student and an awful cook. My family has always joked about how crappy I cook; they say I'll be making microwave dinners for my kids in 10 years. I'm trying to prove them wrong by posting to this blog and getting some lovely followers who will try my recipes.

Some recipesto look forward to: broccoli salad,  dump cake, and garlic parmesean potato wedges.