a week of experimenting...

So, on my trips to visit my (second ;)) cousin, we have fallen into the habit of experimenting in the kitchen.  The last time I was in Omaha (in October for our 30th birthday blowout weekend!), we tackled Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon -- or as we referred to it, Beef Booya.  I'm sure Julia would not have been impressed with our nickname. haha.  And yes -- we were indeed inspired by the movie Julie and Julia.

So, this time around we decided to continue our new tradition.  TR has been researching and using raw milk lately, so we had a bit of fun with that.  First, in an attempt to use some of the soured milk that she had on hand, we made a really great custard pudding (the recipe is about half way down).  It was perfect with fresh berries.

We also attempted cream cheese (first numbered bullet halfway down at link -- it had a great texture, but tasted a bit off -- we weren't sure if the milk had gone too bad or if that was normal, so we ended up chucking that experiment).  Homemade yogurt in the Crock-Pot was the last milk experiment.

One of our first new "meal" type recipes was from Jamie Oliver -- we tried out his Crunchy Garlic Chicken.  It was a really great crusty chicken with a lot of flavor.  We ended up with not enough coating, so we assume our chicken was a lot bigger than Jamie's.  That night we also tried out his french dressing from an article on Jam Jar Dressings.  This also turned out pretty well and I'm interested in trying some of the other ideas he lists for these.

One afternoon, we were sitting on the couch and TR begins describing this amazing thing her grandma has always done with rice crispy treats.  I realize she's describing my grandma's rice crispy treats.  ;)  Well, they are sisters afterall.  Turns out, we've both grown up eating these treats... So, it seemed only right that we make them this week.  I present the Jones Family "Secret" Rice Crispy Treats (I'll post the following recipes in their own posts. be sure to click on recipe titles to not miss out):

On the Fourth of July, we decided to be all-American and have homemade hamburgers and potato salad (courtesy of James) and finish off with apple pie.  TR makes a killer crust and we decided to tackle Pioneer Woman's Apple Pie recipe.  We didn't do the last couple steps with the pecans and caramel sauce, mainly because we didn't have caramel sauce, but it was awesome with just the topping she gives instructions for.

our pie ready to hit the oven!

fresh from the oven... 

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and topped with freshly made whipped cream.

For our final recipe, we moved on to homemade tomato sauce.  Our friend, Sarah, had given this recipe out quite awhile ago and we had been drooling over it since.  It turned out extremely well and is most definitely a keeper!  It's an intimidating looking recipe, but actually quite easy.  It's a perfect recipe to triple and can for later use.

our tomatoes during the boiling and skinning process.

It was a fun week in the kitchen and I think we definitely have set new precedents!  This will be hard to beat... but, I'm sure we'll find something new to tackle on the next trip.  :)