Salt & Pepper Potato Chip Seasoning

Homemade Salt & Pepper Potato Chips

I'm a big fan of most salt & pepper potato chips. My favorites are the Lay's Kettle Cooked Chips or Kettle Brand. I was hankering for some salt & pepper chips, but we only had the plain wavy HyVee potato chips on hand, so I decided to experiment and came up with this recipe. I think it works, and I've been enjoying way too many yummy chips ever since. 

Most people have the ingredients on hand, so I think it's worth a try to see if you like these. If you're a fan of salt & pepper potato chips, I think you'll be pleased.


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• plain salted potato chips of your choosing

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a small lidded container.

Either keep the chips in their bag or just do a handful in a quart size zip top bag. Add 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons of the mix for a quart size bag, and use about 2 tablespoons of the mixture for an 8 oz. bag of potato chips. Seal the bag and gently shake to distribute seasoning. Add more seasoning and shake, if desired.

You can enjoy the chips immediately, but I think they taste better after sitting (sealed) for a day or so.

Store leftover seasoning in an airtight container. Scale the recipe up or down as desired.

Use whatever brand and style of plain salted chips you like. 
This local brand happens to be my fav.

Before shaking

Sloppy Joe Filling

My husband is a big fan of sloppy joes. I, on the other hand, am not. It's not that they taste bad, per se, but they just don't taste good to me. I used to keep a can of Manwich sauce in the cupboard for an easy dinner that made the husband happy, but one day I decided to just look up a recipe and try it from scratch. 

What do you know--it's really simple and actually tastes better than what you get in the can. Still not something I would choose to cook just for me, but I'm counting it as a win. 

There are lots of recipes out there. I have tried a few, and am finally committing this one to the blog because I keep losing the papers I print the recipes out on. I realize there are apps that will keep track of recipes, but I don't want to go and start a whole new thing. I've got pretty much all the recipes I want right here on this blog.

So here you go. Basic sloppy Joe recipe. Enjoy.

Sloppy Joe Filling

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic chili paste (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions:

In a large pan set over medium high heat, brown the ground beef.

Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until veggies are soft.

Add ketchup, mustard, garlic chili paste, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir to combine.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little more ketchup or water if it seems to be getting too dry.

Serve on sliced buns.

Store leftover filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume or freeze within 3 days.

Makes about 8-10 servings

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Cilantro Lime Chicken served with rice and asparagus

I got this recipe off Sally's Baking Addiction ages ago, and it's truly one of my favorites--even if I haven't made it in a while. It's a little creamy, a little spicy, perfectly savory, and so good served with rice and asparagus. And it tastes great the next day as well. 

It's surprising how quickly this dish comes together, so it's a delicious and satisfying weeknight meal that I need to remember to put into my rotation. 

The only reason I'm putting it here on the blog now is because 1. I am tired of having other search it up I my Pinterest account each time I make it and 2. I'm afraid it will go missing on the internet and then I'd have to make the recipe up myself.

At any rate, it's a great meal. You should try it.

Cilantro Lime Chicken 

     Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction 

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• juice of 1 lime
• 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• more cilantro for garnish, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut the chicken into about 1/2-inch filets. I cut a filet off the thicker end of the breast, and then I cut the larger bottom piece in two. The original recipe called for pounding the chicken, so that is also an option.

Sprinkle both sides of the cut chicken with a bit of salt and pepper.

Heat an oven-proof frying/sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and tilt the pan to evenly coat the bottom with oil.

Add the chicken and sauté until the bottom is nice and golden brown. Turn and brown the other sides. Once both sides are browned, remove chicken to a dish/plate and cover with foil until the sauce is ready.

Add the chicken broth, lime juice, onion, cilantro, & red pepper flakes to the hot pan. Allow liquid to simmer until it's reduced by about half or a little more. Turn off the heat.

Add the butter, and. heavy cream and stir until butter is melted completely. Then add back the chicken, turning to coat.

Place the pan into the oven and cook for about 10-15 minutes uncovered at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove from oven and serve with rice and vegetable of your choice.

Liege Waffles

Liege Waffles

Liege Waffles: a buttery yeasted dough studded with Belgian pearl sugar and baked on a waffle iron. I've been wanting to taste these and make them for years. I finally tasted them maybe two years  ago(?) at waffle truck at a bar in Marietta, GA, on St. Patrick's Day. Then a trivia teammate shared with me ones she had made. That was the clincher. I had to make them--and here they finally are, in all their glory. The waffle dough isn't sweet at all, but the sugar pearls add just the right sweetness and crunch on the outside. 

Be sure to read the cleaning note at the end. These make a mess of your waffle iron. 

Shoutout to the blog Whipped for sharing the recipe.

Liege Waffles
Adapted from Whipped

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup Belgian pearl sugar

Instructions:

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Then stir ingredients with whisk to blend completely.
• Add the water and mix on low. 
• Add eggs, one at a time until they are all completely incorporated. Then mix in vanilla.
• Slowly add the melted & cooled butter, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally to make sure it's evenly mixed.
• Tidy up the dough by scraping the sides with a silicone/rubber spatula.
• Cover with a tea towel, plastic wrap, or a clean plastic grocery bag, and allow to sit and rise for about 1 hour.
• Once dough has doubled, add the pearl sugar and fold it in gently, making sure to evenly distribute the pearls.
• Allow dough to sit again for about 15 minutes. 
• After dough has sat for 7-10 minutes, plug in your waffle iron (a Belgian style waffle iron is best for this because you get the thick waffles).
• When the dough and waffle iron are ready, scoop 1/4 to 1/3 cup blobs of dough onto the hot waffle iron. Close and allow to cook until medium golden brown, or browned to your liking. My waffle iron has number settings, and I set mine to 3.5 out of 5. It beeps when they're perfectly browned. 
• Use tongs or two forks to carefully move the cooked waffles to a cooling rack to cool. The sugar pearls have melted and you don't want to burn your fingers on the molten sugar.
• Allow waffles to cool about 5 minutes before enjoying. Repeat waffle cooking until all dough is cooked.
• Store uneaten cooled waffles in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze these. Reheat by toasting on a light setting. 

Makes about 19 smaller waffles or 9-10 medium sized waffles

Re: Cleaning the waffle iron

While the waffle iron was still hot, I unplugged it and then I poured in water to cover the melted sugar and go up the sides about halfway.

After a few minutes I started using a paper towel held by my pair of mini-tongs to wipe it. I then used the same paper towel to soak up the water. I had to wring out the paper towel several times, but it was sturdier than I thought.

The waffle iron has never looked cleaner.

Homemade S'mores Ice Cream

I had some heavy cream in my fridge that needed to be used, and I also had some leftover pecan praline butter and salted caramel sauce. So I decided to make some ice cream with all those things. It was pretty tasty, but I didn't let my ice cream maker drum freeze long enough, so the ice cream never really froze properly in the ice cream maker. 

So, of course I needed a do-over. I also had all of the ingredients for s'mores, so I decided to make a s'mores ice cream. One of my kid's favorite frozen desserts is the s'mores Blizzard from Dairy Queen. They haven't had it lately, and the Ben & Jerry's S'mores Ice Cream wasn't satisfying, so the only logical thing to do was make a batch of s'mores ice cream at home.

So here we are. 

I think it tastes pretty good, but my family likes it even more than I do, which is just as well since I also made two pavlovas yesterday. I might be out of control again. 

If you're in search of a relatively simple homemade s'mores ice cream recipe I think this will work. Please let me know if you try it. I'm curious like that.

S'mores Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk (I used Fairlife)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 12-13 large marshmallows
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
• 3 graham cracker sheets, cut/broken (about 1/2 cup)

Instructions:

Note: You will need an ice cream maker for this project.

• Preheat your oven's broiler.
• In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, start heating the milk and cream while you prepare the marshmallows.
• Grease a non-stick brownie pan with the 1/2 teaspoon butter. Then place the marshmallows in a single layer in the pan.
• Broil on high until marshmallows are puffed and toasted to your liking. Keep an eye on this.
• When marshmallows are done, carefully slide them into the milk/cream mixture. Stir until the liquid is hot, but not boiling. Stir and/or whisk occasionally to completely dissolve the marshmallows.
• While the marshmallows are cooking/dissolving in the liquid, place the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar in a heat-proof bowl, preferably with a pouring spout. Whisk until incorporated and slightly lighter in color.
• When the marshmallows are all melted and the mixture is hot and steamy, gradually pour the hot liquid into the egg/sugar mixture, whisking the entire time. You want to slowly bring those egg yolks up to temperature rather than cook them into a scrambled mess. You will have black or brown flecks from the toasted marshmallows. Do not be alarmed.
• Return the liquid to the saucepan over medium-low heat, stir/whisk, until the liquid reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Quickly wash and dry the heat-proof bowl and return the liquid to the bowl. Stir in the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Cover partially and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before covering completely and setting in the refrigerator to cool completely. This will take at least 6-8 hours.
• Freeze the ice cream according to the ice cream maker's manufacturer instructions. Scoop the frozen ice cream from the ice cream maker tub to a freezer container. Add the chocolate and graham crackers and stir to distribute the mix-ins. 
• If the ice cream is firm enough, you can enjoy some now. Otherwise, cover and freeze, and enjoy when desired.

Makes about 5-ish cups of ice cream

Toasted marshmallows in the milk & cream jacuzzi

Ice cream base ready for the refrigerator.

I wish I'd gotten a better pic of the churning, but you get the idea.

Mixing in the mix-ins

Ta-da!

Caramel Coconut Pecan Praline Pavlova

Every once in a while I get some crazy idea that works. Complicated, but delicious, this is one of those ideas. It's a conglomeration of parts of different recipes: pecan praline butter/paste and caramelized pecans from Cupcake Jemma's Vanilla Pecan Cinnamon Buns, salted caramel sauce, pavlova base, and stabilized whipped cream.

I only made this because I was making a key lime pie for my husband's birthday, and I had some extra egg whites. I also had the leftover pecan praline butter and caramelized pecans from the last time I made the Vanilla Pecan Cinnamon Buns. Aaaand I was trying to use up some heavy cream in my fridge and I had just made a bunch of salted caramel sauce. So as strange as it may sound, making this dessert just made sense to me--maybe the package of Girl Scout Samoa/Caramel De-lite cookies sitting on the counter also influenced this decision. 

It's pretty sweet, but the caramel and praline elements add just a touch of bitterness that balance it all out. Mmm. The pavlova is crisp and a little chewy, and the whipped cream is there just doing its creamy thing. I wanted to have just a touch of chocolate to give it the Samoa/Caramel De-lite vibe. Like I said, it works. 

At any rate, this is so complicated I wasn't going to bother with the recipe, but I want to have it on hand in case I want to make it again. So I'm going to try to put it all together below so that it makes sense to me and to anyone else. If you give this a go, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

*Note: You will end up with twice as much pecan praline butter and caramelized pecans as you need. You can either save those for another time, or you can make Cupcake Jemma's Vanilla Pecan Cinnamon Buns, or you can double the recipe for the other parts (pavlova merengue, caramel coconut, and whipped cream) and make one big pavlova or two of the regular ones. Just saying.

Caramel Coconut Pecan Praline Pavlova

Caramelized Pecans

    Caramelized Pecans Ingredients:

• 25g light brown sugar
• 1.5 tablespoons water
• pinch salt
• 180g toasted pecans

    Caramelized Pecans Instructions:

• Roughly chop the pecans.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Place a nonstick pan over medium low heat and add the 25g brown sugar and 1.5 tablespoons water. Stir and then add the 180g chopped pecans and salt. Cook and stir over medium low heat until sugar looks dry on the outside of the pecans. Pour caramelized pecans onto a parchment lined pan to cool.

Pecan Praline Butter/Paste

    Pecan Praline Butter/Paste Ingredients:

• 150g toasted pecan halves
• 150g light brown sugar
• pinch salt

    Pecan Praline Butter/Paste Instructions:

• Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place a nonstick pan over medium-low heat. 
• Add the 150g light brown sugar. Heat sugar until it melts. You can stir it with a silicone spatula, but be careful to scrape off any sugar build up along the way. Sugar needs to be completely liquid. 
• Add the 150g pecan halves and pinch of salt to the melted sugar and stir to coat the pecans. 
• Once pecans are basically covered in molten sugar, carefully scrape all of it onto a parchment-lined pan and allow to cool completely.
• Once praline is completely cool, break it apart into the bowl of a food processor, and process until you have a relatively smooth paste. Scrape into a bowl or clean pint size mason jar and set aside.

Salted Caramel Coconut

    Salted Caramel Coconut Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup toasted sweetened coconut, divided*

    Salted Caramel Coconut Instructions:

• Place cream in the small saucepan over low heat. Once it's hot, you can turn it off. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't boil.
• Place the clean mason jar on the stove to stay a little warm while you make the caramel sauce.
• Pour the sugar into the large saucepan set over medium heat.
• It will take a while, like 5-8 minutes before you start seeing the sugar start to melt. When you start seeing melted patches, start gently swirling the pan to evenly distribute the sugar and prevent any burned spots. 
• Continue melting and swirling the sugar until it's a deep amber color. Once it's deep amber, remove from the heat and pour in about half of the cream, which will bubble up violently. 
• Whisk the sugar and cream together, making sure to get any sugar in the corners of the pan. 
• Whisk in the remaining cream, and then the salt. Whisk until smooth, again paying attention to the corners of the pan. 
• Pour the caramel sauce into a heat-proof bowl and allow to cool a bit.
• Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the toasted coconut for the garnish. Then stir the rest of the coconut into the caramel sauce.

    *To toast the coconut, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, about 5-8 minutes Take care not to burn it because it goes from light golden brown to burned pretty quickly. You may need to stir it once if the edges are browning more quickly than the center.

Pavlova

    Pavlova Ingredients: 

• 2 large egg whites (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

    Pavlova Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, mix the cream of tartar and cornstarch and set aside for later.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium high until soft peaks form.
• While the mixer is still on, slowly add half the sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Then slowly add the remaining sugar. Once aded, turn mixer to high speed and beat until glossy stiff peaks form. This will take about 2 minutes.
• Add vanilla and beat for another minute. Continue to beat on high until peaks are very stiff. 
• Fold in the cream of tartar/cornstarch mixture using a silicone/rubber spatula.
• Scoop the mixture onto the parchment-lined pan, and using the back of a spoon, spread it out to make a 6 to 7 inch circle. Make the edge slightly taller than the center portion. 
• Place the pan in the oven and then immediately reduce the heat to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the oven door closed and bake until the pavlova is firm and dry, about 90 minutes. 
• Turn off the oven and allow the pavlovas to cool inside the oven. 
• Move the baked pavlova to a cooling rack and allow to come to room temperature. 

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting

    Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar

    Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting Instructions:

• Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in small bowl to soften. 
• Scald 2 tablespoons of the cream (this means you put the cream in a pan and bring it to a simmer on the stove); pour over gelatin, stirring till dissolved.
• Refrigerate until consistency of unbeaten egg white. (This takes about 10-15 minutes.) Then, with a whisk, beat until smooth. 
• In a stand mixer with a whip attachment, or with a hand beater, whip remaining cream and sugar just until soft peaks form; whip in the smoothed gelatin mixture, stopping to scrape the bowl twice. Whip until stiff peaks start to form, but be careful not to over beat. You will probably only need to whip it another 10-20 seconds before it's done.

Topping Ingredients Not Yet Named

• 35 grams (about 1.3 ounces) dark chocolate

Assembly

• Melt the chocolate by placing in a microwavable dish and microwave on high for about 30 seconds. Stir. If  not melted with one minute of stirring, microwave another 10-15 seconds and then stir until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.
• Move the cooled pavlova to a serving plate. 
• Carefully spread half of the pecan praline butter (which is about 1/2 cup) over the top of the pavlova, leaving about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch border around the edge.
• Spread the salted caramel coconut on top of the pecan praline butter layer. 
• Spread the stabilized whipped cream on top of the salted caramel coconut.
• Drizzle melted chocolate over the top and then sprinkle with the caramelized pecans and reserved toasted coconut. 
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

New York Times' Chocolate Chip Cookies

New York Times' Chocolate Chip Cookies 
without nuts on top
with nuts below

I normally don't follow food trends and believe the cookie everyone says is the BEST really is the BEST, but this one is the exception. These cookies are really the ideal crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle cookie that most people just adore in a chocolate chip cookie. They're even still great the next day, which is something I very rarely say. 

I think I found this recipe on 3 different websites, but am linking We Are All Magic here because it's a sharp looking website. I did add salt to the dough, which at least two of the sites I went to did NOT include. They both did have Maldon Sea Salt as an option to sprinkle on top of the cookies though. Additionally, I browned one stick of the butter because my favorite chef Claire Saffitz does that frequently in her cookie recipes.

I highly recommend you use the best chocolate you can find & afford because it does make a difference. And do take the time and effort to to brown the butter because it also takes these cookies to the next level. Do it.

And enjoy.


New York Times' Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from weareallmagic.com

Ingredients:

• 8.5 ounces cake flour (2 cups minus 2 tablespoons)
• 8.5 ounces bread flour (1 2/3 cup)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; if using Morton's use 3/4 teaspoon)
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) butter
• 10 ounces packed light brown sugar (1 1/4 cup)
• 8 ounces white sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1.25 pounds good quality chocolate chunks or chips (about 3 1/3 cups -- I use Nestlé Dark Chocolate Morsels)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (toasted), optional

Instructions:

• Place 6 ounces of the butter in a large mixing bowl. Brown 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of the butter by heating it in a heavy bottomed pan over medium low heat, stirring almost continuously. When the butter solids are a deep golden brown, carefully pour the melted browned butter over the other butter in the butter in the mixing bowl, making sure to scrape all of the browned butter into the bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature before using. You can stir the butter to speed this up.

• While the butter cools, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

• Add the brown sugar and white sugar to the butter in the mixing bowl. Beat butter an sugar on high until light and fluffy. 

• Add eggs and vanilla and beat again until light and fluffy again.

• Add the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt mixture and mix on low just until combined. 

• Stir in chocolate chips/chunks to distribute evenly.*

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with wax paper.

• Scoop dough in about 2-3 tablespoon dollops/balls and place on wax paper in prepared pan. Smoosh each ball down into a thick disk. When all dough has been portioned, cover and refrigerate or freeze. If you plan to bake the next day, just refrigerate. If you want to have dough on hand to bake a few at a time, freeze and then transfer frozen dough to zip top freezer bags.

• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 30 minutes.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place dough discs on the parchment-lined pan, about 2 inches apart. 

• Bake at 350 degrees F for 13-15 minutes or until edges are starting to turn golden brown.

• Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

• Store baked cookies in an airtight container and consume within 2 days for best taste. 

Makes about 3 dozen 4-inch cookies

*Today I divided the dough in half and added half of the chocolate chips to one half of the dough. To the other half of dough, I added a fourth of the chocolate chips and probably 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans. I like to give people choices.

Weighing the ingredients works best for me.

Browned butter and sugars

The butter and sugars didn't quite get fluffy today.

After the addition of eggs

With nuts and without

Ready to bake

Post-bake

Ready for the freezer