Mango Smoothie

For my last project I wanted to do something different than what I have usually done. I decided to make one of my favorite drinks of all time. Luckily my cook book had the recipe to a mango smoothie. This was a very easy to make and tasty dish. The first step was to grab all the ingredients.

• 1 cup dried mango
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 cup mango juice
• 6 ice cubes (Ponder 44)

  

  After putting everything into the blender and blending it to a smooth consistency (Ponder 45). I decided to change a bit of the recipe and add extra mangos just to add more flavor.

  
  

  

  After drinking this drink I decided that I would definitely be making this again it was a quick and easy process and tasted amazing. I would definitely recommend anyone looking for a quick drink to make this and enjoy. I suggest adding a little bit more mango to make it taste even sweeter and richer.
  
  
  What would you change about this recipe or the way to make it?  
  
  
  

  Ponder, Stephanie E. Simply Delicious. N.p.: Costco, 2012. Print.

Minty Lime Cooler

For my 4th blog I decided to make something very different than I had made previously I decided to make a drink. The first thing I did to make this drink was to gather all the ingredients and prep for it. then I started to make it.

 

• 3 tablespoons grated lime zest
• 8 large sprigs fresh mint
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 and a half cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 3 cups soda (Ponder 45)

After cutting and juicing the limes I then made the mint syrup and added it to the blender where I blended all the soda and syrup and lime juice together. I also added ice to make it cooler.

In the end I believe I did mess up because it was almost too sour to drink. After drinking I went back and reviewed the recipe and it asked for 1and a half cups of lime juice where as I added about 2 cups(Ponder 45). I thought that it wouldn't be sour enough or that it wouldn't be any taste but I ended up having too much.




Do you usually pay attention to the recipe or do you like to change things to better suit you?

Ponder, Stephanie E. Simply Delicious. N.p.: Costco, 2012. Print.

Pepper Quesadillas

For my third blog post I decided to make something more my style. I decided to make quesadillas but these are a bit different then the ones I usually might have. Instead of something like chicken or shrimp I decided to use bell peppers as a more healthy alternative and a change to the usual. To begin I gathered my ingredients.

• 8 flour tortillas
• 3 bell peppers
• 1 pepper
• 3 green onions
• 2 cups shredded cheese (Ponder 41).

After cutting up everything needed I used a tip from ponder to make the dish less slippery I heated all the vegetables to drain water from it. (Ponder 41)

For the tortillas I heated them on a pan till they warm enough to go on to the next step of the process.

After warming and cutting I finally put it all together and cooked it till the edges turned golden brown and the cheese inside had melted into a consistent mixture. (Ponder 41

The final result was actually pretty good tasting and very different tasting than the average quesadilla. I would say this was a very good meal and I will definitely be making this again because it was easy to make and very simple.

What I would like to know is that since I think I have become more comfortable cooking most foods should I continue with making harder thins or try taking a different route?

Ponder, Stephanie E. Simply Delicious. N.p.: Costco, 2012. Print.



Grilled Pineapples á La Mode

No matter how good the main course may be we all know what everyone really looks forward to Desert! At least for me that's true so I decide to make something sweet and tasty for this blog post. Today I will be making grilled pineapples served with ice cream and honey as a topping.

• 1 pineapple
• 1/2 lb. ice cream
• honey
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 2-3 skewers (Ponder 75)

The first step in the recipe automatically threw me off because it asked me to cut a pineapple which I had never done before. Luckily the author included how to cut a pineapple properly. Ponder says to cut the pineapple in a hexagon shape from top to bottom so that we may get the most fruit from the pineapple (Ponder 75).

After using ponders tips it became easier to cut the pineapple but it was still pretty hard to cut it because it became very slippery after the first couple of cuts. After cutting the pineapples into hexagons I cut them in half and started to grill them.

 

While the pineapples grilled I warmed up the honey to make it into a watery mixture instead of being like syrup.

After the pineapples were grilled it was fairly easy to plate the desert

 with ice-cream. After tasting this I think this was an amazing combination the pineapples really complimented the ice-cream well and the honey just made it even better. In the end I would definitely make this again because it tasted amazing and was fairly easy to make.

So my question would have to be what type of toppings do you guys like on your deserts?

 

Ponder, Stephanie E. Simply Delicious. N.p.: Costco, 2012. Print.



Three-Berry Tart

First off I would like to start out by saying that I have never cooked before and have only recently taken interest in it when my mom left for vacation and I had to end up cooking for myself. And after eating noodles and macaroni and cheese for a week I decided that cooking something else would probably be in my best interests. To start off my cooking career I decided to go for something a little ambitious. My first ever cooking project ended up being a tart but an easier one to make according to Stephanie Ponder (Ponder 199)


Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups mixed berries
• 1/2 lemon
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• I cup cold butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 egg beaten  (Ponder 200)

 I really think the easiest part of this whole recipe was making the filling all it took were a couple of ingredients to be thrown into a blender and then mixed up.

 

However the crust was much harder I had to refer back to the text often and if it wasn't for multiple tips in the cookbook such as letting the bread cool before adding the filling or chilling the dough before using it.(Ponder 200) I probably would have done a lot of things wrong if I hadn't had all these tips and tricks from the book.

Overall the tart ended up tasting pretty good and this encouraged me to keep cooking and trying out new things.

So the question I would like to ask is:


What do you think are some tips for beginners that may help? 

Ponder, Stephanie E. Simply Delicious. N.p.: Costco, 2012. Print.