Category Archives: Nico in the Kitchen

May 7

Rain, Rain, and More Rain

It is day #2 of the non-stop down-pour, and I don’t think that the rain is going to let up anytime too soon. Both of the boy’s are a little on the grumpy side today, Dylan was up last night until 4:30 a.m. (me too) with teething troubles, and Thade popped up at 7:30 a.m. with a stuffy nose and cough. I think it is just allergies, but I’m really hoping that he doesn’t have another cold. He has used 2 boxes of tissues since yesterday! Time to make another run to the store.

I’ve been busy doing laundry, and baking tasty treats in the kitchen. I whipped up a batch of Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies while James was home for lunch. Some cookies had Hershey Kisses, some were without, both were delicious. I’ve also been working on some baby food alternatives to serve Dylan, we are saying good-bye to the jars this week, and so far he isn’t too pleased with the new menu.

I made him Applesauce with Oatmeal at breakfast, he tried a bite or two and quickly turned his head away. When lunchtime came around I made mini-pasta shells with peas and corn, once again he wasn’t a fan, but he did have a fun time smashing peas into his hair. I’ll be steaming up some Sweet Potatoes tomorrow, we’ll see how it goes 😉

Apr 24

Tasty Veggies :)

We made a snack run yesterday, and the tasty produce has made a return to the grocery store! I happily stocked up on Yellow Squash, Carrots, Zucchini, Corn, Fuji Apples, Pears, and Bananas too.

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I reworked my dinner menu for last night. I couldn’t wait to have the corn, so we had Grilled Chicken with Roasted Zucchini and Squash, and of course super tasty Corn on the Cob 🙂

 

Locally we have a Farmer’s Market that opens in May, I can’t wait to take the boy’s and stock up on all of the Locally Grown Veggies!

Do you have a favorite Spring-time Fruit or Veggie?

 

Apr 20

Friday’s Cookies

I was back in the kitchen baking away on Friday, and I was in the mood for a Chocolate Cookie, a cookie from my distant past. A very very very long time ago I was a frequent visitor of a little place called the Blue Ribbon Bakery, and they had an amazing Chocolate Cookie. It was a sugary/brownie/covered in crackled powdered sugar super delicious big chocolate cookie. I haven’t had one since I was about 10 years old or so, and I was hoping to find a way to recreate this beloved childhood treat…

I searched for a recipe and I found one in my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook, but no picture. I hoped for the best, and attempted to bake Chocolate Crinkle Cookies 🙂

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The hardest part about baking this cookie is that you have to wait 3 hours for the dough to set. So I started early in the morning let the dough set the mandatory 3 hours, and baked all afternoon. The first batch that I made was a little too big. By the third batch I had the hang of it. A helpful tip is to keep this dough nice and cold, the cookies roll out much better then. The cookies were delicious 🙂 and I think that they were pretty close to my childhood favorites too.

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Thade was also a big fan of the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, he is usually pretty picky even when it is a cookie, but who could resist the Chocolaty Goodness 😉

Apr 16

Stars From Nico’s Kitchen

I love Stars, I make bracelets with Star shaped beads, and Thade loves Star shaped Grilled Cheese sandwiches for lunch. I thought I would get out my cookie cutters and see what else I could make Star Shaped.

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I had my heart set on baking a Cherry Pie, but I didn’t want to make a traditional crust. I decided to roll out the dough, and cut it with a small Star shaped cookie cutter. I loved the way that this Pie turned out. It was so pretty and tasty too.

I needed to fill the cookie jar, and I thought some Star Shaped Sugar Cookies would do the trick.

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I topped a few of the cookies with Icing and Sprinkles (Thade’s favorite), and the rest were covered in Melted Hershey Kisses (my favorite). Sugar Cookies are another cookie that I’m not a fan of making, the dough is so sticky, but the work was worth it. I had a batch of delicious cookies that would rival any Bakery cookies.

 

Do you have a favorite cookie cutter in your collection?

 

 

Apr 6

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ramen

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Hubby came up with that title, I love it. I’ve been a little worried about the rising grocery prices, so I’m revisiting to a few of the old “inexpensive” recipes that I used to enjoy. I’m hoping my Ramen Revolution will save just a little bit more on the grocery budget.

Who doesn’t love Ramen Noodles? Probably a lot of people aren’t the biggest fan of this frugal treat, me I love Ramen. You can pick them up in a 6-pack for $1.00  just about everywhere, and with a few tasty additions, those little noodles can be delicious.

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So we’ll start at the top left and move to the right, and I’ll tell you about a few of Nico’s Favorite Ramen dishes:

  • If you have a few Cru-de-te veggies hanging out in the Fridge they make a tasty addition any flavor Ramen Noodles
  • I’ve used Celery, Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, and Soy Sauce, along with a Packet of Beef Ramen Noodles for a fast lunch
  • Chicken Ramen Noodles are one of my favorite leftover magnets. I’ve added in BBQ Chicken, Frozen Corn, Garlic Salt, Poultry Seasoning to one Packet of Chicken Ramen Noodles for this super tasty dish
  • Next up is a Hearty Home-cooked dish of Beef Ramen Noodles with Pot Roast and Frozen Peas, just add a little Pepper and Garlic Salt, and enjoy
  • Lastly a favorite Spring-time Ramen dish of Chicken Ramen Noodles with Turkey, and Frozen Broccoli, so good

I hope that you enjoy these Ramen Noodle dishes, Happy Cooking everybody!