Sheltering in place has meant no eating out and cooking ALOT!! I’ve always liked to bake but cooking, not so much. I like to eat but I am an inpatient cook. Never the less, I have been attempting to embrace cooking while in quarantine.
Today, I’m going to share with you a few things that I’ve made. Do not expect gourmet!! Also, everything I’m sharing I actually liked even if it doesn’t appear that attractive!
I will link recipes wherever possible.
Chocolate Chip Oat Skillet Cookie-Martha Stewart
This is good warm or cold. When warm, vanilla ice cream pairs nicely.
Doubletree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies
When you check in at a Double Tree Hotel, you are given a warm chocolate chip cookie AND it is delicious!! I was surprised by a couple of the ingredients, namely, the lemon juice. I have made bucket loads of chocolate chip cookies over the years and have never used lemon juice. These cookies were absolutely delicious and easy to make. I did halve the recipe to make 13 instead of 26!
Mini Meat Loaf Muffins with Cheddar Biscuits
Because I need to eat food during quarantine, I buckled down and made some mini meatloaves using a muffin tin. The recipe is easy to follow and because they are cooked in the muffin tin they cook much faster than a traditional loaf pan meat loaf. The recipe calls for a dollop of tomato sauce or ketchup before cooking. I used tomato sauce and while it tastes fine it looks funky! Next time, I would brush it on before cooking.
The other good thing about these meatloaf muffins is that the serving size is 2 muffins!
The cheddar biscuits were from a Red Lobster box mix that I’ve had in my pantry for way too long! They were okay but not like the delicious-ness at the restaurant. Now it’s quite possible that the mix was too old and the flavors had softened. I will likely get a new box and try again. I know that you can make cheddar biscuits from scratch but the ingredient that makes these special is the spice blend they use.
Pineapple Poke Cake with Pineapple Glaze
It’s spring time and I was in the mood for something sweet and fruity. I had some crushed pineapple in the pantry and I was sold. The hard glaze which is powdered sugar and pineapple juice (from the crushed pineapple) combined with the pineapple chunks in the cake batter makes this a dreamy and tasty combination. The cake itself is not super sweet. Next time, I will use more pineapple juice in the glaze!
Glazed Buttermilk Donut Cake
This recipe came to me courtesy of a friend’s FaceBook page (thanks, Robin!). This cake does not disappoint and it is really easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for the cake to cool completely so that you can add the glaze. It tastes very much like a glazed caked donut which means that this also works well as a breakfast treat with coffee.
The one thing I will change next time is that I will reduce the amount of nutmeg. There’s only 3/4 teaspoons but it hits a bit strong when it should be more of a hint!
In case you can’t tell from the content, I am much more of a baker than a cook. I’ve cooked quite a bit but it’s not the least bit interesting to me. I’ve made tuna casserole, chicken enchiladas and some other stuff I can’t even remember.
Baked goods on the other hand are a creative pursuit and I consider it fun!
On the horizon, I plan to try out a recipe for PF Chang lettuce wraps and a new butter cookie recipe.
How about you? Are you cooking or baking anything special? Does it bring you joy or is it simply a chore? Share in the comments.
