#heeatshere

My prep routine has been changed forever!

So, each week, I marinate pounds and pounds of meat in a variety of different flavors. My number one go to is the Grill Mates line. I use their Wine, Garlic & Herb, Bourbon Brown Sugar, Mojito Lime, Baja Citrus, and Mesquite marinades a few times a month. It’s helpful to have the meat marinated beforehand so that I can pull the meat and the put it right on the heat. 

Inflation

Currently, the marinade packets are $0.99 at my closest grocer- they were $2+ a few months back. The store I shop at the most doesn’t sell these packets for under $3. The stores I frequent for pickups don’t carry these items at all. One day while checking out it hit me, I should begin making my own marinades. The packets aren’t necessarily fresh, I have no control over the ingredients, the cost of EACH packet adds additional costs to EACH meal but didn’t know where to start.

Coconut Aminos to the rescue!

Typically, MOST things require soy as an ingredient, and I cannot have soy. So, I needed to research for a replacement ingredient and was able to find a product that is used as a soy substitute called Coconut Aminos. For some reason the name sounds familiar, but I’d thought I came across it in a hair conditioning recipe- or maybe I’m just thinking about silk aminos LOL. So away with the packets and onto these coconut aminos! 

My marinade faves

I usually like a wine marinade, being from the South I love a smoky marinade, and herby/zesty flavors as well. After researching what I needed for marinades: Acids- I usually use Balsamic, white, and apple cider vinegars. Oil which is basically the fat- I always use Olive oil, and the herbs or spices I’d settled on. For the mesquite I used my dry rub recipe and added it to water and oil since I didn’t need acid for that flavor. Some individuals do add an acid to their BBQ marinades- I didn’t for this particular batch.

The results!

I made the 4 following marinades:

1. An everyday marinade- to be used as my quick go to as I have ALL of these ingredients 100% of the time.

2. Zesty herb marinade- to be used on meats to top salads.

3. Citrus marinade- to be used on meat for “bowl” night.

4. Teriyaki marinade- to be used in stir-fry since I hadn’t been able to have it in so long in an attempt to avoid soy. 

Hello fellow brownie lovers!

When I say I love brownies, I absolutely mean it! Gooey brownies, crispy edges, flaky, shiny tops, with or without nuts- I’m there. I grew up eating box mixes for brownies until I became a college student and realized how unhealthy the ingredients are. I also realized, as a person who cooks often, my pantry was already full of the items needed to make brownies and most other desserts I enjoy eating. While I make sure to create them from scratch, I still watch the calories and eat in moderation-I also share a lot and of course, he eats here so he is usually my first sampler lol.

I don’t see brownies as being much different than cookies...

Brownies and cookies have a very similar ingredient base- the difference is in the amount of mixing and the placement of the dough/batter for baking. You can make any kind of brownie just the same as you can make different versions of cookies- I just look at them as “cookie bars” due to their consistency. You like lemon drop cookies? Make lemon bars?, You enjoy kitchen sink cookies? Why can’t you have the same in a brownie? 

My most recent brownie experiment

Recently, I set out to create a brownie similar to a kitchen sink cookie- except I used items from my pantry. The brownies were a success, and I was able to use everything I found in the pantry. I WISH I’d had plain potato chips to add to this batter though- I think the salty addition would’ve taken these to the next level. The pretzels added a nice crunch, the peanut butter and chocolate chip pieces were nice and gooey, the walnuts complimented the peanut butter chips as well. The brownie had a NICE texture, but I love salty and sweet and missed that in this particular batch. If you cook, you know how pantry items are...they’ll be around. Next time I will be intentional in grabbing some plain chips so I can try this recipe again! Check out the video of this recipe and the ingredients I used. 

I’m a coffee drinker

I began drinking coffee in my late 20s. I noticed most of my team teachers would drink coffee and even set up a coffee station. That’s when I discovered I love the smell of coffee. What I didn’t know is that I was going about making my cup of coffee the wrong way. Being new to coffee, I would add creamer and sugar to my coffee cup and wonder why the appearance was different compared to others who were sipping the hot beverage as well. Turns out, creamer already has sugar within it so adding sugar is redundant- it made sense as to why I’d gulp water after sipping the syrupy concoction. But something I also noticed is the creamer container had a large number of ingredients for something I felt should be simple to produce.

How do you like your coffee?

I had a conversation with a coworker who was prehypertensive and she told me that she now had to drink her coffee black to make her coffee healthier. Now, in education we get up EARLY to get into the building before our coworkers, use the printers before they jam and have parking since our inner-city school only had parking for about half of the building. I knew she would still drink her coffee. At this new school I set up the coffee station and began making coffee each morning for those who also enjoyed drinking the hot bean juice as I call it. 

How do I make coffee?

In my classroom I have a K-slim Keurig (purchased on special). It’s small and takes up a minimal amount of space and I make tea there as well. It’s quick in the winter when I want something warm and less work than the electric kettle and drip coffee maker, I used pre-pandemic when students wanted cocoa etc... during reading time. Now the warm beverages are only for me. 

Most days I wake up, turn on my electric kettle and grind beans for my Bodum French press. I can make the coffee as strong or weak as I need for that particular morning. It’s not as lengthy of a process as many would think especially since I keep the water at room temp by filling the kettle the night before I get ready or pack my lunch while the water heats and coffee steeps. 

His coffee is percolated in a Brim Macchinetta / Moka pot. He likes the rocket fuel as he calls it. This is the closest he can get to espresso while at my house, he actually has two espresso machines. I can barely drink espresso shots, Moka pot coffee a.k.a. rocket fuel even after adding creamer and whipped topping. 

Back to the creamer

 I LOVE oatmeal. 

During my college years, I ate oatmeal for breakfast each morning. The grain is reasonably priced, only requires water to cook, and can be paired with fruit, nuts, yogurt and basic spices. Each morning I’d measure out my oats, add a dash of cinnamon and I was on my way. If I was running behind, I’d grab a scoop of the fruit and nut mix, throw the oats in a microwavable glass dish along with the fruit and nut mix and add water and heat when I got to school. As a professional, I’d often store my breakfast at work and use the microwave method each morning. This kept me fuller longer and helped me watch my weight. I didn’t need to add sugar because I had sugar from the dried fruit, and I was able to avoid preservatives found in many of the instant varieties. 

Oatmeal doesn’t have to be labor intensive

I’d been searching for Bundt pans that wouldn’t force me to bake LARGE cakes. What if I wanted to make mini- Rum cakes? Well, I’d shopped for a few which turned out to be way too small upon delivery. I received an email from Williams -Sonoma advertising an anniversary sale and decided to check out their merchandise. To my surprise, I found not one, but two different sized mini-Bundt pans and ordered them both. They’re a nice color and represent an anniversary for the company🤷🏾‍♀️.  I got my ingredients together and decided to test my whipped pound cake recipe in the new pans. 

Issues baking with new pans

First, I now know not to overfill. I’ve never had this issue using my same ole pans for the cake recipes (I have 3 I usually rotate between). As you can see in this video, I ran into an issue with the edges being over filled as the cake baked, but I was able to fix the issue rather quickly using a fork after the cakes were finished baking.   

What did he think?

In me filming and making the cake, I forgot 1 ingredient. I shared a mini-Bundt cake with him and in the video, you can see which one we sampled in the video lol. His exact words were “The cake is good, soft, and sweet, but I know your cooking...you left out the vanilla extract”. LOL He was right on, but the cakes are STILL good. 

My overall thoughts

Outside of that, the pans are SOLID and I have no complaints. The color is different than my other bakeware, but I like it. Also, I like the 2 cake, mini-Bundt pan has two different designs in the baking tin. This makes the cakes more interesting in my opinion especially if you plan to decorate the cakes or mix different cake mixes to pour into each baking tin.  

I cannot take this heat!

These recent temperature spikes have made me plan my meals. Between the heat and power outages due to the combination of heat and thunderstorms, I’ve had to be strategic with my meals. I’m still baking the cookies, cakes, and pies (when the overall temperatures are cooler), but not doing any extra baking for meals especially not during the day. 

Got canned meat?

If you are a can stocker, I know you have canned meat. These cans come in handy especially when you want to make quick meals that can be stored in sandwich bags. 

Canned Chicken - I’ve even seasoned and diced the meat for a barbeque chicken pizza first then experimented on a buffalo wing and blue cheese pizza. Why not use this meat in a chicken salad mix? The ingredients can be combined without heat, and we’d normally eat them cold with crackers or on a sandwich anyway, right?

Canned Tuna- Great for Tuna salad sandwiches. You can toast croissants or the bread of your choice, add a few ingredients to your tuna and viola you can eat it chilled or room temp. Not in the mood for a cold tuna meal? Try tuna melts. You could make these in a skillet or by using your air fryer and not increase the temperature of your home by much.  

Don’t forget about the cruciferous greens!

Salads- Cold ingredients are welcome here! Although, you may want to add boiled eggs. Many have the alternative rapid egg cookers which quickly prepare hardboiled eggs, or you could boil these late at night while prepping for the next day or week. The toppings are endless, guacamole, croutons, bacon bits (if you’re into that), tortilla strips, dried fruit, nuts, cheese and of course a dressing which you could create yourself.

    Salads w/pre-grilled meat- I know I said not to heat up the house by using the stove/oven... but this can work. I have an air fryer and it will heat up my kitchen some, BUT in a small area and for a shorter amount of time than what I’d need cooking on the stove or using the oven. I’d be okay with containing the amount of heat and reducing cook time- I would just use the air fryer at night, prepping for meals the rest of the week.

Now I don’t know about you, but between the pizzas and salads I make, I keep feta, blue, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses in addition to other toppings that work for pizza and salads like olives, pepperoncini peppers, onions etc... So, I’m able to load my salads! I CAN have meatless salads, but if it’s the largest meal of my day then I will add marinated meat to the salad. This is quite an easy step since I keep 3-4 freezer bags of different flavored marinated meats in the fridge during the week. I can simply skip the seasoning step and cook the meat or pull out the cooked meat. It saves me time. 

In the mood for seafood-?

Ceviche- Ceviche doesn’t require heat. Acid cooks the delicate meat, and you can devour everything chilled. Select the seafood of your choice and make sure your acidic liquid (likely some citrus) pairs with various seasonings and you can even create tacos with this mixture OR top on tortilla chips. I want to add- it’s likely you already have most of these ingredients. It’s absolutely delicious!

Liquid meals!

Smoothies- What are you in the mood for? Green smoothies, turmeric smoothies, fruit smoothies there are so many possibilities. I like coconut water, spinach, ginger, strawberries with a tbsp of honey. It’s spicy and full of fiber too! Maybe you want a 100% green smoothie with celery, spinach, wheat or lemon grass, and with a hint of honey or coconut milk. Either way, if you have a blender and some healthy ingredients, this is doable.

Cold soups- Take advantage of the fresh produce that’s in season and retain all of the nutrients housed within the vegetables. Have you ever heard of cryo-blanching? Yes, that’s a thing. You can freeze and thaw veggies to break them down. This process is beneficial to no cook soups. Don’t forget to top your soups with some chilled, grilled, meat if you can!

Homemade sandwiches 

Good old- fashioned meat and bread- You can purchase the cold cuts and sliced cheese from the deli section in your local grocer. OR you can cook your own seasoned meat using an air fryer or your oven at night and chill the meat. Slice as needed and build your sandwiches. I like my sandwiches with the works, but I promise not to judge if you’re a meat and, bread type of person.  

Deli style- I like tomatoes, lettuce or kale, onions, cheese, mustard, sandwich sprinkle OR a deli dressing such as oil and vinegar with herbs. I will admit, I’m a bit of a sandwich snob 🤤. 

Make your sandwiches great! 

Try these ideas which don't require a laundry list of ingredients. You can make these at home as long as you have at least 4 ingredients.

Peanut Butter cookies

My grandmother includes roasted peanuts in her peanut butter cookies. You can even store the extra in the freezer so the next time you have a craving, you can let them sit out at room temperature or you can pop them into the microwave for 10 - 15 seconds. I personally notice a difference when I bake them straight from the freezer, so I have to allow mine to sit and become room temperature before baking or they come out super soft and crumbly.

Brownies

You can add eggs, sugar, and flour to your fudge recipe, and you’ll have brownies in no time.  

Mini cheesecakes

These can be traditional topped with fruit, fruit flavored, or chocolate or nut flavored. If you’re making seasonal desserts, consider mini key lime or ice box cheesecakes.

Ice Cream (no churn) 

Ice cream is much easier than you’d think. It requires few ingredients, can be made using 2 containers (1 container if you’ve been making no churn ice cream for a while and have made your own hacks and shortcuts). You can start off making the basic flavors, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry before experimenting with different flavors and gather some inspiration from your favorite cookies/desserts to include more ingredients. Make sure you have a blender with a whisk attachment for whipping. Making no churn ice cream by hand is some serious work- I’ve yet to receive any complaints so I will continue to employ my $12 blender.

Mini fruit pies

Do you know how to make pie crust? Do you have left over biscuit dough? If you have extra compote left over from waffles or pancakes or have pie filling close by, you can make mini fruit pies. Make your icing with some powdered sugar.

Rice Krispie Treats 

These snacks are great and the cereal stores well. The best thing about making rice Krispie treats is the adaptability of the dessert. You can include some of your favorite cookie addons for added flavor, cocoa, brownie chunks, peanut butter, and other kinds of cereal. I can think of a list of desserts that can serve as inspiration for your Rice Krispie treats.

Caramel and Fudge

You don’t have to shop to enjoy fudge and caramel. You can enjoy these candies with as little as 4 ingredients. Hint: one of them is sweetened condensed milk and I’m sure you have at least one can of this (it’s not difficult to make either). Don’t forget to swirl some of this through some of your homemade ice cream or use it as an ice cream topping.

Tea biscuits and Tea cakes

Go well with tea and coffee obviously. Not super sweet and I snack on these often. You can also switch it up and add sprinkles of cinnamon sugar etc...

Cinnamon rolls 

Who doesn’t love breakfast that can also be a dessert? These aren’t difficult and can be finessed with pie crust or biscuit dough. They’re so simple and don’t forget to make that icing! Flatten for cinnamon roll pancakes!

Fruit Compote 

Viola! This was sooooo tasty!

 The cake was moist, and yes, he loved it. The outcome of this cake left me feeling very confident in my pound caking abilities lol Looking at the shape, I now want to try this recipe and similar recipes in different shaped pans- specifically Bundt cake pans. I do have a loaf pan somewhere I’ve been using for ice cream the past few years and if it’s in good enough shape, I would make a classic Pound loaf as well.

Uniform appearance and color

This view shows the sides of the cake which turned out well. There was no sticking whatsoever- which was a relief. You can also see to the right, the Swans Down cake flour which is very fine and what you don’t see if the Baker’s Joy spray. Baker’s Joy works well and is more than a cooking spray, it also contains flour. After baking more of these, I will experiment with buttering a pan vs using the baking spray.

The next time...

I would make a complimentary compote as a topping for the cake. Any berry or fruit that’s in season will do and I would even play around with some different flavors of Bundt cakes like some Southern favorites such as fruit cobblers. You can’t beat that...fruit cobbler flavored Bundt cakes.