Hey y'all!!
This blog won't end now that I'm back in Belgium! My High School year in the USA might be over, but the influence it has had on me will always be a part of me. For example; the food, the music,... These elements in my life will always be changed. In my overweighted suitcases I carried two Mississippi cookbooks back to Belgium. One I got for my birthday from my host family, and the other one Maddie gave me as a goodbye present. Back in Belgium, I soon started cooking in the first two weeks I was back. I use the cookbook "Mississippi Hometown Cookbook". I'm going to start with breakfast dishes. Since I'm back I made American banana pancakes a couple of times. I didn't use the cookbook for this one though. I got the recipe from my cousin who lives in Orlando, FL. Here are the ingredients: - 2 ripe bananas - 1/2 cup olive oil - a pinch of salt - 1 cup water - 1 egg - 1 1/2 all-purpose flower - 1 tablespoon cinnamon (or more if you like) Directions: Mash the bananas. Add the olive oil, water, egg and a pinch of salt. Then, add the flower and cinnamon. Mix all and cook them in a small skillet without oil (it has enough oil in it) on a small fire. The pancakes cook really fast, so you have to stand by it most of the time. It's really easy because you don't need many ingredients. One time I even forgot to add the egg, but the pancakes were still good, although they were a little bit thinner. The replacement of sugar by bananas makes this recipe much healthier. It makes around 15 little pancakes. Next, I'm going to talk about lunch recipes. For this I did use my cookbook. I chose to make the creamy potato cheese soup! I didn't eat this during my year in Mississippi, but I did eat a lot of potatoes combined with cheese! My family loves eating soups, and this looked pretty yummy. Here is the recipe: - 1 medium onion, chopped - 2 medium carrots, coarsely grated - 3/4 teaspoon salt - 1/2 teaspoon paprika - 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch cubes - 29 ounces vegetable broth (I used 1bouillon cube and 1liter of water because that's what I had in house) - 8 ounces Cheddar of colby cheese (I used Cheddar) First, spray a little bit of oil in a medium pot and set over medium heat. Cook the onions until they begin to color a little. Add carrots, salt, pepper, paprika. Mix well and continue to cook until the carrots begin to soften. Add potatoes, water and bouillon cube. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cheese and stir to melt. Use a mixer to make the soup creamy. In America, people eat a lot of potatoes and cheddar cheese. Cheddar cheese or other cheese is often also served with salads and baked potatoes. I love the combination baked potatoes and cheddar cheese. You have to cut the potato when it's still hot. Then, you put the cheese in the middle so it melts. It's also good to add butter to it. For dinner, I've made the easiest dish possible: Macaroni and cheese (Mac&Cheese). I just used an easy recipe from the internet for this. Here are the ingredients: - 1 pound pasta, any shape - 1 1/2 cups milk - 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour - 2-3 cups shredded cheese, like cheddar, monterey jack, or colby, or any other kind you have in store - 1/2 teaspoon salt - 1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard (I didn't add this) - optional: 1-2 cups chopped bacon instructions: Boil the pasta according to package directions. Add a teaspoon of salt. Drain and set aside. Then, begin warming 1 cup of the milk in the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and the flour until there are no lumps. When you just start to see tendrils of steam rising from the warming milk, whisk in the milk-and-flour mixture. Stir the sauce gently until it thickens and becomes a heavy cream, 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat and begin adding the cheese gradually (I just used the grated cheese I found in the fridge). Stir in a little bit of salt and keep stirring until all the cheese is melted. Combine the sauce and the pasta. Add any optional ingredients. I cooked about 1 1/2 cup of bacon and added it to the pasta. Mac & cheese is practically what kids grow up with in the US. It's the easiest thing to make, especially when you buy it ready-made and you only have to heat it up in the microwave. I sometimes ate this on friday nights when I didn't know what else to eat. It's always a good comfort food! I've also made some deserts since I'm back. Actually, most of the cooking I did were desserts. :) One of the cakes I made was an Amaretto Cheesecake. Here is the recipe from the book, Mississippi Hometown Cookbook: - 1 cup cream cheese, softened - 1/3 cup sugar - 1 cup sour cream - 2 teaspoons vanilla - 1/4 cup amaretto - 1 cup whipped cream - 1 graham cracker pie crust (I made the crust myself with plain cookies using this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/graham-cracker-crust-i/) Directions: Beat cheese until smooth; gradually beat in sugar. Blend in sour cream, vanilla and amaretto. Fold in whipped topping, blending well. Spoon into crust. Chill until set, at least 4 hours. It doesn't take long, unless you make the crust yourself. Cheesecake is also very American. The New York Cheesecake is probably the most famous, but you can find more variations in different cities across the US. I probably like any kind, and that's why I made another one since I'm back. :) This time, I made an Oreo Cheesecake! This one is the best one so far! My whole family enjoyed it and some are even asking for the recipe. Well, here it is: - 30-35 Oreo cookies - 2/4 cup butter - 1 cup cream cheese, softened - 1 cup sugar - 1 teaspoon vanilla - 1 cup sour cream - 4 eggs Instructions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit/163 degrees celcius. Line a 9x13-inch/23x33-cm pan with foil. Process 30 cookies in food processor for 30-45 seconds or until finely ground. Add butter; mix well. Press firmly onto bottom of the pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Add sour cream; mix well. Then, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Chop remaining cookies. Gently stir 1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs into cream cheese batter. Pour over crust and sprinkle with remaining chopped cookies. Bake 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. Americans also enjoy to eat Cheesecake and Pecan pie for Thanksgiving. The next recipe is probably one of the easiest so far; Chopped Apple Cake! The recipe caught my eye because I already had all the ingredients, which are: - 3 cups all-purpose flour - 2 cups sugar - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 1 teaspoon salt - 3 teaspoons cinnamon - 3 eggs, well beaten - 1 cup oil - 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts) - 3 cups chopped apples Directions: Sift together all 5 dry ingredients. Clean the nuts. Mix eggs, oil, nuts and apples; add to dry ingredients. Mix well and place in greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit/177 degrees celcius for 1 hour. Test readiness with a toothpick. Very easy and very yummy! Some other little things I made are Nutella muffins and sugar cookies. Both are really easy to make, especially the muffins. You only need three ingredients: - 1 cup Nutella - 10 tbsp flour - 2 eggs You only need to beat the eggs and mix it with the other ingredients. Then, bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit/180 degrees celcius. So easy, but you will be amazed! This one I found on Pinterest, a really good network to find easy and different recipes on. The sugar cookies aren't that much harder to make. This is what you need: - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder - 1 cup butter, softened - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder - 1 cup butter, softened Directions: First, preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit/190 degrees celcius. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Then, In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and put them on a cookie tray. At last, bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand two minutes before removing to cool. This is easy to make when you have to take something to party. :) As you can see I used the imperial system for these recipes. The imperial cooking system is with cups and tablespoons instead of grams, which is what people in the US use when cooking. Since I got American cookbooks, I decided to buy these measurement tools so I don't have to convert cups to grams all the time. I found them in the Carrefour and it made my life much easier! :) xoxo Suzanna
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