Popcorn fun

Today I did something I have wanted to do for a long time. I made popcorn on my stove top.

I don't know why I didn't do this years ago, it was so fun. The glass lid to my dutch oven made it even more fun to watch pop.

I seasoned my bits of corn with cinnamon, sugar, butter and cayenne pepper. This was seriously the most delicious popcorn I have ever had, and I'm not normally a fan of air popped corn.

Take a look at this beauty:

Holy Chili!

I am going to admit something to everyone right now...I am in love with my slow cooker. I can't begin to tell you all the successful recipes I have conquered (and one failure) with this little gem.

One of my favorite things to make in the crock pot is chili. There's nothing easier than throwing some ground turkey, beans, tomatoes and spices in, going to work and having a delicious meal when I return home.

I made chili tonight, but this chili wasn't something I was used to. I have never made chili without beans, but tonight I did, and there were confused moments. Chili with no beans???

The only change I made was the chile I used. The recipe called for a jalapeño, but all I had was a Serrano. This made for some SPICY chili. My husband loved it!

In addition, you can't have chili without cornbread. Cornbread was made, and it too was delicious. With the addition of green olives, cheese and buttermilk; it's not your normal bread.

All in all the dinner was a success, see:



http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/no-bean-beef-chili-recipe/index.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/scallion-and-mozzarella-cornbread-recipe/index.html

The art of baking

Ah, baking. This was my worst fear. I can remember being younger and trying to make cookies from scratch. For some reason they were always too dense. This made me as scared to bake as looking to the sky and seeing a flying bomb!

Just recently I decided to try again. My first attempt would be peanut butter and jelly cupcakes.

I know what you are thinking... isn't PB&J reserved for 10 year old lunch boxes? I thought the same thing, but NO, these were just too delicious.

I mixed together the dry ingredients. I mixed together the wet ingredients. I mixed the two together and prayed.

At first the batter looked a bit dense, which in turn brought fear into my heart. Would this be another cookie nightmare??

I braved through my fear and popped them in the oven. What emerged not only were fluffy delicious cupcakes, but my faith in baking as well.

These were cooled, filled with strawberry jelly goodness and topped with the tastiest frosting I have ever had. This would be the peanut butter and cream cheese frosting I slopped on top of these babies.

In the end I had made something that tasted like a PB&J on crack (the good kind!)

Enjoy!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/peanut-butter-and-jelly-cupcakes-recipe/index.html

What's in a name

With any new blog written by someone who is convinced that she has some form of OCD, I have read through my first posts already.

With this, I have realized that I did not explain why I chose "Juju Food" as the title of my blog.

Juju is a nickname that my husband and I have for each other. Back story goes a little something like this:
We used to watch Grey's Anatomy together (I believe the first season), and if you watch the show, you might remember the episode where one of the doctors gives everyone hot chocolate in the form of good luck (or juju.) For some reason I turned to my husband and said "I'm going to call you juju from now on" and it stuck.

Now, I really don't know why I decided this, but it has stuck ever since. It's funny how one word can be such a strong presence in a relationship, but it is, and we like it! :)

My journey thus far

I thought the best thing to do would be to start off with the recipes I have enjoyed in the past few months.

I started with cooking. I was afraid for a long time to bake, so I figured cooking was a good way to start.

Let's travel back to Christmas 2010. I didn't want to make the traditional Christmas meal, and so I opted to create a "Mexican Feast."

I started out with Pozole. I used Marcela Valladolid's recipe from the show Mexican Made Easy. This was not only the first time I have made Pozole, but the first time I have eaten it (that I can remember.)

The Pozole was surprisingly easy to make, and it was a hit!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/beef-pozole-recipe/index.html

With the Pozole I wanted to be brave and make Chilies Rellanos. This too, was from Marcela's show. I thought, "who doesn't like something filled with cheese!?"

Marcela made it look so easy, but in reality, it's not very easy to stuff a chile with cheese, secure it shut and fry it. In the end they came out good, but were not so easy on the eyes. Definitely learned for the future.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/stuffed-poblano-chiles-chiles-rellenos-recipe/index.html

For dessert I strayed from the Mexican theme and made Chocolate Cheesecake Candy Cane Bars. These were seriously delicious, and I got to try out my newly acquired food processor.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chocolate-cheesecake-candy-cane-bars-recipe2/index.html

This is also a recipe that I tried and was very pleased with:

Skirt Steak with Ancho-Onion Steak Sauce
This recipe let me break in my new stove top grill. Delicious!! I also grilled a couple portobello mushrooms and asparagus on the side.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/skirt-steak-with-ancho-onion-steak-sauce-recipe/index.html

That's what I have attempted so far, more to come!

Introduction

Well, my written journey starts here. I guess I should take a moment to tell you about myself, and why I choose to blog.

I'm just a girl who has too many hobbies and gets obsessed with new things all of the time. Currently, this obsession has been cooking and baking.

It all started when I wanted to cook more healthy for my husband. I started watching more of the Food Network and realized that it isn't so hard to make things that don't start with a box.

In the past few months I have made a few things that I would make again. This blog is being created in order to save the good recipes, chronicle my journey and maybe teach something to someone that may actually be reading this. :)

I figured that since I post on my Facebook about the new things I have tried, and I always get questions, this would be a good place to have those answers.

Let the journey begin...