new things

I've just posted some new things in my etsy shop, Tanya Lynn. 

Hope you check it out. 

I'm venturing into handbags and purses. 

You just never know what I'm gonna come up with!

home made baguette

So my mom turns to me yesterday and says "Uh-oh, Tan. We have no meat for dinner. What do we do?" 

When I cooked for the college students there was one meal I made that had everyone talking and no one complaining over the lack of meat. Soup and bread bowls.

I don't mean to brag, but I've actually had  my soup and bread bowls mentioned in two songs. Just sayin'. 

The secret is out though...I used store bought dough. *gasp*

Rich's frozen bread dough to be exact.

However, yesterday, when we had hungry people coming home from work I had no store bought dough. 

So I went to my handy-dandy Pinterest site and found an excellent recipe for a quick and easy baguette. And when I say quick and easy, I so mean it.

Source: thesisterscafe.com via Tanya on Pinterest

My mom made the most amazing broccoli and cheddar soup to dip the bread into. 

Now you could make your own bread bowls instead. I just find the baguette easier. 

When I made them at the school, I would first thaw the frozen dough. You want to spray a baking sheet with a food release spray, place the dough on sheet and spray the dough as well. Cover (plastic wrap works fine) and let room temperature do its job. 

When the dough has thawed out but not began to rise, I would cut (if needed) the dough and roll into balls similar to the size of a baseball or maybe a little larger.

(If you use the baguette recipe, you'll want to make them larger like a grapefruit. It didn't seem to rise as much as Rich's frozen dough did.)

Place on baking sheet again. Make sure they are well coated with spray and cover. I always found the longer you wait, the larger they rise. 

Bake as instructed...until golden brown. Sometimes, when they first start turning golden I would brush them with butter, honey butter, or garlic butter, then let them finish baking. You're choice. Not necessary. 

Now the difficult part is cutting the hole for the soup. I prefer to do it while the bowls are hot, so I can serve immediately. Some places serve them room temperature. It's up to you. If you do it while its hot, just know you're hands won't be happy with you. But if you decide to wait, it is much easier to do. 

I always just cut a circle in the top, then when it's time to serve I would tear out the top and make room for the soup with my hands (I used gloves at the school of course).

This can all be done with the baguette recipe above as well. Just skip the thawing stage. 

Here's a pic of how my baguettes turned out last night. Sorry about the poor mobile phone quality. 

This meal went so fast once everyone was home. And not one of our meat-lover family members commented on the lack of meat.

 A great, CHEAP meal idea! Enjoy!

lighter options

So I promised some lighter options for dinner. Sorry it has taken so long. I don't have the money to make all of these and tell you how they worked, but I'll give you ideas for you to try yourself.

Here's a comfort food recipe that is also weight watchers. Its a corn, bacon, potato chowder. Umm yes please! Especially on these cold New England nights. And only 6 points!!

Source: weightwatchers.com via Laura on Pinterest

I really want to make this one! Can't wait until payday. This is another weight watcher recipe and only 5 points. I love beef and broccoli! The recipe suggest lettuce leaves to create a wrap. Or I would serve over brown rice.

Source: weightwatchers.com via Tanya on Pinterest

Then last but not least...a weight watcher dessert recipe. This one is only 3 points! Cherry cheesecake. Yes, you read that right...cheesecake. As the recipe indicates, you can change up the topping if you don't like cherry. I would totally do strawberries. Just sayin'.

Source: weightwatchers.com via Sarah on Pinterest

I hope you enjoy these ideas and I would love to hear back from you about how they turned out. Leave a comment here or on my facebook page. Enjoy :)

my momma's coconut cake

Mmm..good ole southern comfort food. I may be from Florida, but my grandma sure knew how to make some good ole southern food. She taught my mom and my mom taught me. My mom had this hankerin (I use that word because in my head right now I'm southern--just deal with it) for some southern coconut cake. Mmmmm Mmmm Mmmm! Now I am very, very picky about coconut cake. I'm not sure how to explain how I like it. There are just some I hate, and some I enjoy. Because I am so picky, I don't eat it very often and I never make it.

Well, my momma got herself up in that kitchen, and made one dee-lish-ous cake. I learned one of the secrets to a good coconut cake is the frosting. You don't want to use a plain ole buttercream. Nope, you want a sugary sweet 7-minute frosting. I had totally forgotten my grandma's decadent frosting. She made it all the time when I was little. She would let me lick the silver mixer thingies (you would think I would know what those are called, but I don't). Mmmm, this frosting tastes like marshmallow cream. So good.

My mom found this recipe that uses both the 7-minute frosting and has a delicious southern recipe for the cake. I was immediately transported back to my grandma's kitchen. Made me miss her a lot. The recipe is called Jamie's Coconut Cake by Paula Deen. Highly recommend it for all you lovers of coconut cake and good ole southern food.

I made all kinds of good food last night as well, but that will have to wait for another post. Can't give away all my secrets in one shot, now can I?

New Year's

Growing up, when I thought of New Years I didn't think of parties and glitter. I thought of football. This could be due to the fact that my father owned the television New Years day and football reigned supreme. So today, I'm putting together my menu for all the football watching that will happen on New Year's Day. I've decided to use my favorite site, Pinterest.

Hopefully, if I have done everything right, you can just click on the photo and it will eventually take you to the recipe. This first idea is similar to pull-apart monkey bread. The twist is... 

Source: jasonandshawnda.com via Tanya on Pinterest

...its pizza. So clever!

I know I've already posted the Buffalo Chicken dip, but I saw this and felt I had to share with you. It's the skinny version for all of you who are starting the New Year with a diet. Plus, you can't watch football without this dip.

Source: skinnytaste.com via Tanya on Pinterest

This one is a little different...Ham and cheese pretzel bites. Never had them before. Definitely curious.

Source: penniesonaplatter.com via Tanya on Pinterest

Now this is a fancier take on football food...

Source: family.go.com via Keri on Pinterest

...mini tacos. I thought they were cute :) Although in reality I would just make a layered dip and put a bag of Tostitos next to it.

No matter what you make on New Year's Day, no matter what you do, I hope you have tons of fun with your family and friends. Happy New Year!! 

God bless!

Merry Christmas!!

I have been so sick, but I am happy that I'm finally back to the point where I can think about food again. Can't eat it still but at least I can think about it.

It has been such a struggle to get into the Christmas spirit this year. So much going on. Plus I've found my normal Christmas spirit is expensive and too costly for me this year. I normally have all of the Christmas meals planned out, but this week with everyone sick it's been difficult to coordinate. I believe we are close to finishing the planning process.

Year in and year out, we have a solid tradition of me waking everyone up early to open presents. I'm a 4 yr old at heart. Then when all the presents have been opened and the wrapping paper cleaned up, everyone goes back to bed ha. My dad takes a short nap and then begins making breakfast for everyone. He makes the best breakfast ever!! And of course, he's never shared his secrets. I'm ok with this because that means I get to sleep in a little later than he does.

So tomorrow morning, he'll be making the breakfast and I'll be making biscuits and sausage gravy. My mom is making these tonight to have in the morning as well...Overnight Caramel Pecan Rolls. Oooh I can't wait. My friend, Kristie, gave me this recipe. My mom and I have been waiting with anticipation to make them :)

We'll be having a simple ham dinner. We haven't decided if we are doing a twice baked potato dish or I'm thinking The Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes. She's got an intense recipe I've been dying to try. The other sides are still being planned.

For dessert I'm thinking of a sticky bread pudding. It may be too similar to the caramel pecan rolls, so I might decide on something else. Of course, I have to figure this all out soon I know.

I will share with you pictures and how everything turned out on Monday.

I hope that all your cooking adventures are fun and full of memories. Merry Christmas everyone!!

candy cane cupcakes

What would Christmas baking be like without some candy canes? Jessica found this recipe for me, but I didn't like it so once again I created my own. It is so simple. All you need is:

1 box of white cake mix

red food color

1 tsp of peppermint extract

Follow the instructions on the back of the box to make the cake. Add the food color and peppermint flavor. Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Fill each liner 3/4 of the way, and place in oven to bake. Also follow box's instructions for this. 

For the frosting, I used Paula Deen's Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe. When I added the vanilla, I added just a little more peppermint. It just depends on how much peppermint you like. You can keep the frosting vanilla if you don't like much or add more if you like it really pepperminty. You're choice. 

After the cupcakes are finished baking and have cooled completely, you can frost them and top them with crushed candy canes. These cupcakes were so light and refreshing. And if a darker, more chocolate-y experience is what you seek, you can definitely use a chocolate cake mix. No need for the food color then. 

Definitely a cupcake must for all you peppermint-lovers!!