Creme Brulee

I have wanted to try and make this for awhile now and after doing some recipe research I purchase a propane torch and a ramekin set complete with pan for cooking. I was nervous to make something with such a fancy name but when it was all said and done it was fairly easy! You really don't realize what few ingredients you need and how fun it is to torch something- I think Brandon had more fun than I did! The finished product tasted just as good as the restaurant kind, but next time I will make the sugar crust a little less thick, to quote Brandon, "I feel like I'm chewing broken glass." Yeah, well I admit I went a little over board!

Creme Brulee Recipe

2 cups heavy cream

4 tbsp plus 1/3 c. sugar

4 extra large or jumbo egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 * F. Prepare some boiling water

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and 4 tbsp sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until small bubbles appear around edges of pan, 5-6 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth and light. Pour hot cream mixture into egg yolks, a little at a time, beating continuously until well blended. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Divide mixture among 4- 4 oz ramekins.

Place ramekins in holder in baking pan and place on middle shelf of preheated oven. Fill pan with boiling water to halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake until custard is just set, about 30-40 minutes. remove and chill 2-3 hours (it will solidify more as it cools)

Sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over top of cooled custards. With the torch, move the flame continuously over the surface of the ramekins, in a circular motion until sugar melts and becomes golden brown and bubbly. After this step I recommend placing them back in the fridge and let cool for 1-2 hours since torching the sugar heats up the custard and I prefer it cool. Enjoy!

Easy Tortilla Soup

I thought I'd share a really easy yet tasty recipe for tortilla soup I learned in college from my friend Rachel. Brandon loves it and the best part we usually have left overs for a few days which is great!

Tortilla Soup

2 large chicken breasts or about 1 1/2 c. rotisserie chicken (the rotisserie chicken is pretty tasty but a little bit higher in fat)

1 can corn- drained

1 can black beans-drained

3/4 Lg bottle of Pace salsa (med or mild-choose your potion!)

32 oz of Swanson Chicken Broth (you can use less if you want soup:ingredients to be less)

1 bag of tortilla chips - I like Scoops

shredded cheese to sprinkle on top

a dollop of sour cream to top

Combine all ingredients minus cheese, chips, and sour cream and bring to boil. Cover and let simmer for about an hour. Enjoy! I personally think it takes better the 2nd day but so be sure to same some for left overs!

Brandon!

I found some cute pictures of Brandon the other day with his nephew Logan. He is going to be such a great dad someday!

Alpine Loop

We took our annual drive around Alpine Loop this years to take in it's colorful palette. I'm sorry to say we didn't have a lot of time to get out of the car and take pictures. They aren't as ideal as I would have liked, but we had to get back for a primary teacher improvement meeting. Fall is coming and going too quickly this year!

Flowers

Well, it's been an easy going last couple of weeks work, work, and more work but we find time to have fun. About a week ago my brother Scott showed up and surprised me with a bouquet of flowers! He is a Landscape Architectural Design major and has to take Floral Design as part of his required classes. This week they made flower bouquets in class. It was so lovely and just made my day, thanks Scott!