HOMEMADE, gotta love pinterest

So, I have made quite a lot of food in the last few weeks. Mostly great, but there have been some not so great. I also, tried to branch out and see what I could make that may test my cooking skills, as well as, my taste for different foods.
I made homemade gnocchi, now fortunately it was not actual potato gnocchi, so the fact that it was TERRIBLE, is not as surprising. I have heard from true italians that it takes a special touch to make great gnocchi, yet I wanted to try anyway. My wonderful husband found a recipe for "easy" gnocchi. Easy it was, but it was so gross. First the recipe did  not seem to have enough flour in it, which made the gnocchi fall apart in the water. So, I went back added more flour and tried again, FAIL. This time, although, it stayed together, it was disgusting. The gnocchi had almost no flavor and was just not a great texture. That is why I always have a plan B, leftovers and totinos party pizza. I was glad I tried the gnocchi and glad that although it didn't really work out, I was not upset, nor did I feel like I wasted much. The recipe was flour and ricotta pretty much.

I also took a whole Saturday to make a couple different things flavored with DR. Pepper. Homemade cupcakes with homemade(kind of made up recipe) frosting, and homemade chilli. All of this was quite a process but it all turned out so well. My man loved all of the Dr. Pepper food, given that it is his favorite drink. All the different Dr. Pepper items, did not scream Dr. Pepper but you could tell there was something there. I took the cupcakes to church with us and had many happy youth group girls and guys! Who knew we could find a youth group for Walt to lead that would love Dr. Pepper just as much as he does.
That same day I also made homemade cornbread(can you have chilli without it?). Did you know that if you don't mind a little bit sweeter of a cornbread you can use 1/4 c of vanilla(or plain) yogurt in place of 1 egg. It made the best homemade cornbread I could have imagined.

I had some leftover banana's so I also made homemade banana bread with peanut butter chips(I love PB on my bananas). It was fantastic and got some pretty awesome compliments from some pretty serious eaters(teenage boys and very honest women).

Dr. Pepper Chilli:

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons of chili powder
• 2 chipotle chile en adobo chopped, plus 1 tablespoon of sauce from the can
• 1 pound of lean ground beef
• 1 can of Dr Pepper
• 1 large can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 medium can (14.5 ounces) of diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 small can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can of dark red kidney beans, drained

• Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, just until they start to soften. Add salt, chili powder, chipotles and chipotle sauce and stir until combined over heat. Just a minute or two.
• Add ground beef and break up as it browns. Once browned, add Dr Pepper and scrape all the yummies from the bottom of the pan. Let reduce over medium heat to half the amount of liquid.
• Use kitchen shears (or your hands if you prefer) to cut (or crush) up the whole peeled tomatoes. You don’t need to go crazy. Just a few snip, snips to break up the tomatoes. Add tomatoes, and their juices to the pan as well as the tomato sauce and fire roasted tomatoes. Let your chili simmer on the stove for at least 30 minutes until nice and thick. Add the beans during the last five minutes so they can heat through.
• This chili is very flavorful and spicy, reduce the spiciness by using only one chipotle in the recipe

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup boiling Dr. Pepper

How to:

• Cream the butter and add the brown sugar.
• When well blended, add the eggs one at a time, beating well.
• Add the chocolate, slightly cooled
• In a small bowl, add one teaspoon of the baking soda to the buttermilk.
• Mix the remaining dry ingredients in another bowl.
• Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture alternatively.
• Add the vanilla. Finally add in the Dr. Pepper.
• Pour into cupcake molds and bake at 375-degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting:

• 1/4 C melted butter
• 4 C confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 C dark cocoa 
•  1/4 c dr. pepper
• 1 TBS vanilla
• add milk(if needed for consistency)

add cocoa to melted butter and mix. add 10x sugar and dr. pepper alternately to consistency and then mix in vanilla.


Ask for banana bread or cornbread if you want it :)

Enjoy and have great end to your week.

gross gnocchi