Homemade Chicken Broth-Individual Style

We made chicken drumsticks last night on the grill (with green beans! so tasty!!) and had the bones left over. I decided to make chicken broth with the left overs.  I use chicken broth in soups, gravies, mashed potatoes and sauces.

We pulled off the meat from the bones (which we used for sammys!) and then I tossed the bones in a pot with some water and a chicken bullion cube! You can add in celery, carrots, onion and other spices/herbs if you want, but because I use mine for a bunch of different things, I opted to keep it plain and simple. (Check out TasteofHome for their recipe) Once you've got everything in your pot, just let those little guys boil away.  The longer it boils, the more "chicken-y" it gets!

I usually put it in one big container, but realised that was pretty silly! So I saw (on Pinterest, of course) from theKitchn and she froze chicken broth in ice cube trays! GENIUS! Just let your chicken broth cool, pour it in the cubes and freeze! Bingo-bango-donezo!!!

Do make sure to wash your trays after you've used them or else your next drink will taste like chicken! Eeek!


PS: These little babies make a fantastic dog treat in the heat! Jasper loves them and ate it so fast I couldn't get a picture of his happy doggie face!

Sweet as Sugar-Twice as nice!

So, I made a cake today...mainly because I didn't really want to work on my thesis.  (oops!) I just used a plain ol' chocolate cake box mix, but added a box of chocolate pudding to make it extra moist! To do this, just add the pudding mix to the cake mix, stir it together and then follow the directions on the box. I had to add a little bit of water (about 1/4 cup) extra to get it the normal consistency of a typical cake batter, but you don't have to do that.  Just be prepared it'll be a little thicker.

Okay...That little sucker is right out of the oven and I realise I don't have any frosting. I can handle that I think, I will just make some with powered sugar and milk.  Uh...CRISIS! We are currently out of BOTH powered sugar AND milk! EPIC fail as a house wife! What to do, what to do?!

We are on a no-spend week, so I didn't want to go out and spend money on those things (especially the powered sugar-total non-essential!) So I put on my thinking cap and it dawned on me I could make my own powered sugar!

I "googled" how to make powdered sugar and it was super-de-duper simple! You can check it out on Wikihow.  There are even photos...but I took some of my own! :)

1cup of sugar, 2tablespoons of corn starch, a blender and a little bit of patience. 

Ohhhh-aaahhhh, watch the smoke billow out! SUPER COOL!  I may or may not have done this a couple of times to see the sugar dust come out...leaning more towards the may. ha!

Anywho! Blend the sugar and corn starch up until it becomes the desired consistency.

So after I had the powered sugar, I needed to make he actual frosting.  Easy Vanilla Butter cream here I come! This super easy recipe is from Taste of Home.

However, I still had this tricky little issue of no milk.  But then I remembered we had Non-fat French Vanilla coffee creamer! WOO! That'll work!

Whip up your butter, whip it real good. And yes...I have a hand mixer and a stand mixer-don't judge me!

Add your powered sugar, coffee creamer (or milk) and a splash of vanilla.  Mix it all up and you've got yourself a nice easy-peasey frosting!

The Mister is lucky I need to wait until the cake is cool to frost that sucker...or else it'd be in my belly.

A slice of summer: Strawberry Pie

The weather has been amazing here in Toronto and I've been in the mood for berries.  All sorts, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, you get the idea.  I love them and the warm weather has really been pushing me into summer mode.

I saw a great post on Pinterest ages ago for Strawberry pie: it looked amazing! But when I went to get the recipe today, the site was asking for money to view the site...meep! So I went on a hunt for a new recipe.

I found this recipe called Makeover Grandma's Strawberry Pie on TasteofHome and it looked great! It just so happened that I was talking with my dear friend Cassie and she is a fantastic baker (and cook!).  She made this ahhhhmazing pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and I ate more than I wish to admit. Anyway, Cassie has made a strawberry pie before and I mentioned to her that I was going to make one. She gave me some great advice: COOK EVERYTHING SLOW AND LOW! It's true. Make sure when you are cooking to have patience, the end result will be well worth it.

So, the recipe doesn't have any photos and I am a visual person, so, here we go!

It's a pretty simple recipe and doesn't call for too much! The only thing missing from this photo is the pie shell.  I cheated and had a frozen one! You need to pre-cook the pies shell so it can cool before putting in the lovely strawberry mixture.

So first off, mix the sugar and the corn starch in the pan.  Make sure you mix it all together before adding the water.  The water needs to be cold (so the corn starch doesn't clump).  Add the water in slowly and and keep on whisking.  It will look a bit like watered down milk, but keep on whisking with your heat on low!

Eventually the mixture will start to thicken up and clear up.  Let it boil (while stirring your little heart out: it's a great workout for your arm muscles!!!).  Remember Cassie's advice and keep the heat low!  It'll be a thick consistency.

After it has boiled for about two minutes, take it off the heat and add the gel.  This is where I got a little crazy and added about 1tbs of homemade strawberry jam (from my cousin Heidi, so tasty!) for a little extra strawberry taste.  Just mix it all in until of the gelatin is dissolved and it will turn a lovely red colour.

So while you are waiting for the gelatin mixture to cool (15 minutes), slice up your berries. I used two containers (including the few I ate.  They were just too tempting not to eat!)  Once you've let your gelatin cool, pour it over the berries and make sure everything is nicely coated. 

After it's all coated, add it your lovely little pie shell. And then the waiting game begins.  You have to wait for FOUR HOURS for everything to set.

But me oh my is it worth the wait....It is amazing and tastes just like summer should.  Add a little homemade whipped cream on top and be prepared to fall in love.