Hummingbird

Lemon Curd

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hello everyone! It’s been a minute, but I am back in the kitchen. 🙂 Today I am dedicating this post to my Grandma Vanda, who passed away.

Recently, my Mom and Nana went to Arizona to stay with my Papa Don and Grandma Vanda. My Grandma was very sick and thankfully they got there in time to be with her so that they were able to say goodbye.

In Grandma and Papa’s back yard they have a lemon tree so Papa told my mom to take some home with them. We got an entire Yeti cooler full of lemons from Papa Don’s lemon tree! I was pretty excited, because getting a whole bunch of lemons means 2 things; lemon curd and another special treat (which will be in my next post)! Today I get to make lemon curd with my sister Kalani and my Mom. I’m very exited for this, especially because this is naturally gluten free, so I don’t have to experiment and make sure if works with GF flour or anything. So lets go ahead and start making this delicious sweet treat!

Btw, this is fine to make with limes if that’s what you prefer, but I’ve never tried to do it with limes so i’m not sure if you’ll have to do something different. If you do end up using limes, please comment and tell me how it went.

Ingredients

  • Zest of 10 lemons
  • 2 cups of lemon juice (the juice of about 10 lemons.)
  • 8 whole eggs
  • 14 egg yolks
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 5 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups butter (or three sticks)

Instructions

  1. Wash & dry the lemons. Then zest them.
  2. Cut the lemons in half and juice them.
  3. Heat up your double boiler.
  4. Add the sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, salt and lime zest to your double boiler bowl. Whisk ingredients thoroughly. When fully mixed put bowl onto your double boiler to start cooking.
  5. Over a medium heat, keep whisking egg mixture as you add the juice. When the juice is fully incorporated add the melted butter.
  6. Continue cooking the mixture slowly while whisking and checking the thermometer regularly. Once it starts to thicken up and it reaches 170*F turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove.
  7. Strain the curd into a clean bowl. We used a fine mesh strainer.
  8. Now you are ready to can your curd! With this big of a batch its great to can it and have it preserved for any time you want a treat.
  9. Sterilize your canning jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes.
  10. Remove the jars, and fill with the lemon curd. Leave a 1/2″ head space.
  11. Put the lids on TIGHT! make sure the water is no hotter than 180*F. Add the jars into the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling let the jars process for 15 minutes.
  12. Take the jars out and let them cool on a towel at room temperature. Don’t disturb them, after maybe half an hour you hear this popping, that is the jars sealing themselves. So don’t mess with them or think their about to explode, because its actually a good thing. 🙂
This is my sister, Kalani.
This electric juicer made our work SO much easier!
These are fresh eggs from our chickens.
If you use fresh eggs, remember to wash them first.
Canning! 🙂

So there it is! This delicious treat is amazing to put on toast or even get a spoon full of it. 😉 (which, if you know me by now, was the very first thing I did once they were cool!)

These can be frozen and stay good for a year but otherwise as long as their sealed they stay good for 3-4 months.

I had a great time making these and hope you do to! Have a great day!

Loft House Cookies

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hello everyone! I am back with another delicious recipe. Today we’re making loft house cookies. These delicious cookies are fluffy and sweet but not sickeningly sweet. As you might know I’ve been starting to experiment with different recipes making them gluten free. This recipe turned out to taste good but because they are gluten free they turned out a bit crumbly, which then turned into a real problem when frosting them. Frankly they didn’t turn out as pretty as I had hoped, but that doesn’t take away from them being delicious! So pull your hair back, grab you mixer and get ready to bake!

INGREDIENTS for cookies

  • 3/4 cup (soft) butter
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup of canola oil
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 2 cups AP flour (I used an all purpose gluten free blend)
  • 1/4 cup of corn starch
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

INGREDIENTS for frosting

  • 1/2 cup (soft) butter
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 340
  2. In a large bowl, mix butter and powdered sugar until creamy using a hand mixer.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, canola oil & vanilla.
  4. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients.
  6. Fold your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  7. Prepare your cookie sheet with parchment paper and cooking spray.
  8. Roll the cookie dough into balls and set on the cookie sheet.
  9. Put in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes
  10. Make your frosting by beating together all ingredients
  11. Let the cookies cool and then frost them.
And their you have it! Delicious homemade loft house cookies. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Surprise Cake

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hey guys, I am so sorry I haven’t been able to write in a while, I have been pretty busy. I’m in fifth grade so I have my school work and even though I do it from home I get tired and just want to take a break sometimes. I also help my mom around the house and like to cook dinner once a week so I am not always able to do my blog. So I have decided to write as much as I can but not necessarily every week, that way its not too much pressure. So make sure to follow my blog so you get notifications when I post a new recipe. Now let’s talk about this new recipe. Today I’m going to make a surprise cake. I saw a video for it on Pinterest and it was for a New Year’s Cake, I decided to put my own special twist on it though to make it girly and fashionable. If you want to make this cake for a party or something you will want to make this a day or two in advance because this takes quite a while. I’m super excited so lets get started!

Ingredients (For First Cake)

  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 box white cake mix (16.25 oz)
  • gel food coloring (I used red)
  • Cookie cutter of your choice

Ingredients (For Second Cake)

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1 box white cake mix (16.25 oz)
  • 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
  • 1 16oz jar of Frosting

Instructions (For First Cake)

  1. Mix water, oil, egg whites, (I used store bought egg whites so that we didn’t waste the yolks) flour, and cake mix.
  2. Once its blended well add food coloring, start with 1/4 tsp and add more to get your desired color
  3. Pour mix in loaf pan and bake @ 350 for 45-50 minutes
  4. Cool cake completely. Then cut off the ends and take your cookie cutter (I used lips) and measure the thickness of it to get the size slices. Once you have all the slices done cut out the shape with your cookie cutter from the middle of each slice.
  5. Put shapes on a cookie sheet and brush with egg whites and then freeze them for 6 hours or overnight.

Instructions (For Second Cake)

(Start this cake only after your shapes from the first cake are frozen and ready)

  1. Put 3 egg whites in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl mix water, oil, cake mix and sprinkles.
  3. Add egg whites and fold in gently to cake mix.
  4. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 of batter into a greased loaf pan.
  5. Then set frozen cake shapes in a line down the center, matching them up till they are all added. (I got so excited that I totally forgot to take a picture of these steps, sorry!)
  6. Gently pour the rest of your cake batter over the top. (I had cake mix left over so I made some mini cupcakes)
  7. Bake @ 350 for 40-50 minutes. Check to see if it’s done with a toothpick. Make sure it comes out clean.
  8. Cool cake completely
  9. Frost cake and decorate if you want. When you slice it you will see the shape you used in the middle of the cake. SURPRISE! Its a lot easier to frost if you have the cake on a flat surface, I learned this the hard way! But I wanted to put it on a cute plate so I used one of my mom’s Pioneer Woman plates.
  • I got impatient and took a bite before I took this picture.
I wasn’t joking about my mom’s love of Pioneer Woman stuff. In that one picture you can see her plate, water bottle and curtains from #ThePioneerWoman and that’s not even half of what she has. LOL

Even though this cake took me two days to make and it didn’t come out perfect, I still really enjoyed making it and it was so delicious!! I hope you guys love this cake as much as I do. Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for more favorite foods of a hummingbird!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hey guys, so I have some explaining to do. I have been super busy and kept having to push my blog out of the way so I couldn’t write last week. But I’m back with another yummy recipe. Today I’m going to make Lemon Meringue Pie! This was my Great Grandma Marian’s favorite dessert! She taught my mom how to make them when she was a kid and now my mom taught me. My mom told me stories about visiting her Grandma and Grandpa and how they would make a Lemon Meringue pie together each time she went. She said they would cut it in 4 pieces and each have one for dessert and then fight over the last piece. LOL Thankfully we have four people in our family so we won’t have to fight over the extra piece. I can’t wait to continue this tradition. I’m so excited, so let’s get started!

Ingredients For Pie Crust

  • 1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Ingredients For Meringue

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
  • 6 tablespoons sugar

Ingredients For Lemon Filling

  • JELL-O Cook & Serve Lemon Pudding Mix
  • 2 Egg Yolks, Beaten
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Lemon Juice
  • 2 cups Water

Instructions For Pie Crust

  • Mix flour and salt in bowl.
  • Add shortening and cut in with a pastry blender until its crumbly.
  • Gradually add water and mix until a dough forms
  • Take half of the dough and roll it out until big enough. A little trick my Mamy (my dad’s mom) taught me is to put the pie pan on top of the dough and that will help you make sure its big enough.
  • Put the crust in your pie pan. Trim off the excess and crimp the edges.
  • Poke holes with a fork all around the bottom of the crust to avoid the crust from bubbling.
  • Put in the oven at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
  • Let cool while you make the filling.
  • Now make your pudding. Follow the instructions on the box. To make your pie extra tangy replace the 1/4 of water with 1/4 cup lemon juice. This was my Grandma’s secret that made her pies extra delicious! Once your filling is done, pour it into your baked pie shell.
  • *We used the 2.9 oz box of filling and it made a thin layer. If you want more filling use two boxes. My mom realized later that her and my Grandma used to use a bigger box.

Instructions For Meringue

  • Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form
  • Add vanilla
  • Add cream of tarter
  • Gradually add sugar (make sure you add it slowly, not all of it at once)
  • Keep whipping until stiff peaks form
  • Spread meringue over pie filling. Use your spatula to make little peaks
  • Bake pie at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the meringue is lightly browned. Then let it cool.
Now slice into 4 pieces and enjoy! LOL

Just like that we’re done. I love this pie so much because its sweet but sour and it makes me think of my Grandma. I hope you like it too. Shout out to my Mamy for helping me this week with my pie. I love her so much. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to come back for more favorite foods of a hummingbird!

Do you have a favorite family dessert that you have memories of making with your Grandma or other family? If you do please share it in the comments!

Coconut Macaroons

Posted on by Miky Jo

Today we are going to make the best Coconut Macaroons and we have a very special guest, my Nana Lisa! I’m so excited because she loves these! I was trying to decide what to make and then I found out she was coming to visit for the week, so my choice was clear. I had to make one of her favorites. They are super easy and gluten free! So let’s get baking!

Ingredients

  • 14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 extra large egg whites (room temperature)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (iodized salt will work as well)
Don’t forget to use cute and fashionable measuring tools! #PioneerWoman

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Add egg whites and salt to a medium bowl and beat on high until you have stiff peaks.
My beautiful Nana helping me today.
Stiff Peaks
  • Add coconut, condensed milk and vanilla to a large bowl and stir until completely mixed.
  • Add egg mixture and fold (be very careful and fold in gently, if you don’t or if you over fold it will take the air out of the egg whites you just whipped)
  • Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop coconut batter on the baking sheet.
  • Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more until cookies are fairly solid.
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes , until golden brown.
Whoops!

Make sure you refrigerate them long enough before you bake them or they will spread out like this. You could even put them in the freezer for a bit if you’re short on time. They still taste great but aren’t as pretty when they do that. If it happens you could always use a biscuit cutter or knife and cut away the ugly parts (and then smother it in chocolate!!) There’s no better way to hide imperfections than smothering something in chocolate!

  • Let cool before serving.

Just when you think they couldn’t be any more delicious you can dip them in chocolate! To do that, melt semi sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler. You can also use a microwave, but my mom taught me this way because it can burn easily in the microwave. I just used a stainless steel bowl over boiling water in our Pioneer Woman pan. Make sure you use a hot pad to hold the bowl because it will get hot and sometimes steam escapes and could burn you.

When the chocolate is melted and shiny, turn the heat off and dip the macaroons in it. You can dip as much or as little as you want. I decided to just dip the bottoms.

After you dip them, lay them on parchment paper and put them back in the fridge for about 15 minutes until the chocolate hardens. And just like that you have Chocolate Dipped Macaroons! YUM!

Now serve them up on a pretty plate. #PioneerWoman

Shout out and thanks to my Nana for helping me with this yummy dessert. I hope you love these and can’t wait to read your comment’s and see what you think about them. Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to follow me to get post updates.

See you next week with a new delicious favorite food of a “Hummingbird”.

Delicious Black Bean Brownies

Posted on by Miky Jo

You are probably thinking “Black beans in brownies? That does not sound good! Why don’t you just get a delicious fudge brownie? But prepare to have your mind blown! These brownies are fudgy and rich and not too sweet or too bitter. They are perfect! Plus, they are healthier than normal brownies and naturally gluten free. If you use a dairy free chocolate chip they would also be vegan. So let’s start baking and change your mind about black beans forever!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup black beans (1 15 oz can drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
  • 2 TBS cocoa powder (10g)
  • 1/2 cup quick oats (40g)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, honey or agave (75g) (I used maple syrup)
  • pinch of uncut. stevia OR 2 TBS sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g)
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips
  • optional more chocolate chips for decor on top of brownies

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender will work if you absolutely have to but the texture and even the taste will be different so I highly recommend a food processor.)
  • Stir in chocolate chips and pour in a greased 8×8 pan. Mixture will be almost like a cookie dough and won’t ribbon in to the pan like regular brownie mix, so don’t think you did something wrong because you didn’t. Spread out the batter evenly in the bottom of the pan so it cooks evenly. If you have a serious chocolate addiction you can now sprinkle more chocolate chips on top. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you if you do. LOL
Ready to put in the oven
  • Cook the black bean brownies 15 to 18 minutes then wait 10 minutes before cutting.

Now all you have to do is enjoy. I hope you love these delicious black bean brownies!! Try serving one to a friend or family member without telling them what is in them and see their reaction after they’ve eaten them. They won’t believe you, but they will definitely want another brownie! Try these out and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading my blog and make sure to check back next week for another recipe of a favorite food of a “Hummingbird.” Don’t forget to follow me so that you get notifications when I post a new recipe.

Oatmeal Cookies With A Twist

Posted on by Miky Jo

This is my first blog, I’m super exited! Today I’m going to show you how to make new recipe I’ve never made before, “NESTLE Buncha Crunch Oatmeal Cookies.” Big shout out to my Nana for giving me the buncha crunch baking bits! My Nana is the Queen of deals! She found these baking bits on markdown for only $ .29! What a deal!

Cookies are one of my favorite things to make and one of the first things my parents taught me to cook. My favorite part of making cookies is enjoying a little bit of cookie dough (or a lot, depending on the day haha). I can’t wait to taste these cookies, so let’s start baking!

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups quick or old fashioned oats
  • 1 3/4 cups (8 oz pkg.) NESTLE BUNCHA CRUNCH Baking Bits

Directions:

To start, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Next you need to measure out and combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

Aren’t my Mom’s measuring cups cute?! They are part of her Pioneer Woman set (my Mom loves Pioneer Woman stuff, so you’ll probably see a lot of it throughout my posts), my Auntie and Uncle bought them for an anniversary present. I also used the matching measuring spoons but forgot to take a picture with them. Even when you’re cooking you should always have at least something fashionable & cute, right?!

Next, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl of a standing mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Notice the knives in the background? LOL Another anniversary gift. #PioneerWoman

Next you need to gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and BUNCHA CRUNCH baking bits.

My favorite part has arrived!! Time to taste the cookie dough… YUM! It’s rich, creamy and delicious! Now, RESIST THE URGE TO EAT ALL THE DOUGH! Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Please excuse my ugly cookie sheet. Its been used A LOT!

Bake

Bake at 375 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes or until very lightly browned. Don’t over bake them, if you do, they will lose their soft chewy texture. After baking, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Depending on how much cookie dough you ate, this recipe should make about 5 1/2 dozen small cookies. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and can’t wait to hear what you think about it. I had so much fun making it. Stay tuned to my blog for more delicious recipes and favorite foods of a “Hummingbird”.