Cartoons

My Life as a Teenage Robot

Posted on by cartooncravings

Episode: Saved by the Shell
Fried Pickle, Anchovy, and Peanut Butter Sandwich

There are times when I’m just minding my own business and all of a sudden My Life as a Teenage Robot’s theme song will pop into my head. This can happen even when it’s been months since I last watched the show. All it takes is for me to start humming a couple of bars and my brain is fried. The song will stay there until I watch an episode. And then I have to watch a second. And a third and a fourth and soon I’ve watched the entire series. How can I resist a show about a superhero robot who’d rather live a normal teenage life than protect the Earth? Just about every day, there’s a different mutant or robot or alien messing around in Tremorton, but XJ-9, or Jenny, is more concerned with her appearance, popularity, and dating. It’s tough enough just being a human teenager, so Jenny’s attempts to fit in only lead to more craziness. Throw her friends into the mix and the craziness is doubled.

Just look at Sheldon. He builds and pilots the Silver Shell just to win Jenny over. The poor guy’s plans all fail, but you can’t blame him for trying. Sheldon tries to tell Jenny that he’s her secret admirer and she ends up thinking that the Sliver Shell set her up with Don Prima. She doesn’t think anything bad of Don yet, but I use lots of unflattering adjectives to describe characters like him and the Crust Cousins. One good thing that does come out of Don and Jenny’s date at Mezmer’s is the appearance of Sheldon’s (And apparently Don’s) favorite sandwich: Fried Pickle, Anchovy, and Peanut Butter. Am I sure it’s really a good thing? No. The sandwich sounds as weird as discovering your neighbor’s a robot, but I really like Jenny, so I might like this sandwich too.

The sandwich has 2 two pickle chips on it without a coating. That doesn’t sound all that tasty to me so, I made up a little batter for them. I’m not frying up a whole lot of pickles, but ½ cup makes me feel better than two. You’re free to fry up even more if you feel like it.

Recipe makes 1 sandwich.

Ingredients

You can add any amount of stuff to your sandwich, but here’s kind of a guideline:

3 slices Bread-Looks like a light colored wheat to me, but you can use white if you prefer

Peanut Butter

2-3 cans or jars of anchovies/anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained

1 slice Swiss Cheese

2-3 slices Cheddar or American Cheese

2 leaves Lettuce

2 strips Bacon

1 Green Olive

 

Fried Pickles

½ cup dill pickle chips

3 tablespoons flour

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons water

Vegetable Oil or Peanut Oil for Frying

 

Directions

Bacon:

Place room temperature bacon in a cold pan and set heat to low. When bacon begins to curl, flip it to the other side. This can take about 7 minutes. Continue to cook, flipping it over every few minutes, until it’s browned and almost at your desired crispiness. The bacon will continue to cook after it’s removed from the pan. Drain excess grease by setting the bacon on a plate covered with paper towels.

Fried Pickles:

Spread out pickles and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat oil in a large pot/deep skillet or in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and water until smooth. Add the pickles to the batter and coat. Remove the pickles using tongs or a slotted spoon, allowing the excess batter to drip off. Place the pickles in the oil one at a time and fry until golden, 1-2 minutes. Drain the pickles on paper towels.

Putting It All Together:

Place down a slice of bread. There is a mysterious brown space here, so you can put whatever you see fit or skip this layer. I placed some anchovies and a big blob of peanut butter here. Add slices of Cheddar or American cheese and top with lettuce, anchovies, and pickle slices. Top with a slice of bread. Add more anchovies, Swiss cheese, bacon, and more lettuce. Spread a heaping amount of peanut butter on a slice of bread and close the sandwich by placing it on top of the lettuce. Spear a green olive with a toothpick and top the sandwich with it. Here’s your order, kids!

mlaatr-sandwichmylifesandwich

Sheldon’s got some strange tastes. (He is in love with a robot after all.) But notice how I typed “strange” and not “bad.” Yep, the sandwich isn’t as scary as it looks. It’s no smooth operator, but it actually kind of works! Plus, it’s fun to make and eat. Jenny may have her work cut out for her looking for someone genuine and sweet, (Until she finally notices Sheldon!) but if she ever needs a sandwich, there’s one right here. Hey, Jenny’s wanted “skin”, the sense of touch, and the ability to dream. It can’t be too long until she’ll want to eat food.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Pocahontas

Posted on by cartooncravings

Hardtack (Ship’s Biscuits)

“Seasons go and seasons come steady as the beating drum.” Isn’t that the truth? I can’t believe we’re entering another season already! Time just keeps pushing us along, leaving us to make choices and find our own paths in life. You’d think after all the times I watched Pocahontas I’d be prepped for this. Pocahontas is another one of my go-to Disney movies. It’s absolutely stunning and always makes me feel like a pile of mush by the end of it. The title character is courageous and understanding and has taught me to look just around the riverbend and to paint with all the colors of the wind.

Today I’m taking a cue from my beloved movie and being a little daring by making hardtack. Yeah, that’s got nothing on traveling to a new world or uniting different peoples, but it’s scary in its own right. This food (Does this still count as food?) has sustained many a traveler, soldier, etc. at sea and on foot so I’m curious to experience it first-hand. Plus, Meeko can’t seem to get enough of these biscuits, so they must be good right?

Recipe makes about seven 3-inch biscuits.

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 1/2-2 teaspoons salt

Less than 1 cup water

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Gradually mix in water until the dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out rounds of dough. Mine were 3 inches in diameter but you can make them any size. Place the rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet and use a skewer or similar tool to poke a liberal amount of holes into each round.

Bake hardtack for 4 hours, turning over halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and cool completely. (If you actually want to eat one without soaking it in hot milk or something for at least 30 minutes, now would be the time because they’re still kind of soft.) Let the hardtack sit overnight to harden. Now they’re ready for anything!

Variations: Traditional hardtack was baked multiple times to extend its shelf life, so if you want to make true “molar breakers,” bake them again and let them cool completely.
There are no holes in the hardtack in the movie, so you can try making some that aren’t docked, like the one in the picture below. They get a little puffier and stay a little softer than traditional hardtack.
You can also replace the water with milk and add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of softened butter to make a tastier dough. This will result in softer hardtack that won’t keep as long.

pocahontas-meekojohnpocahontas-meeko-hardtack

Turns out hardtack’s not all that bad. I can say that because I’m not like the settlers aboard the Susan Constant who had nothing else to eat besides hardtack and gruel for months. But I do think it’s pretty good in a survivalist sort of way. I even embraced my inner John Smith and gave a softer one to a raccoon. (Yes, a live raccoon. It’s a long story.) She ate it, so I guess she liked it. Unsurprisingly, she’s camera shy, so I had to settle for a picture with my Meeko stuffed animal instead. (He’s the one that makes the fun raccoon noise when you squeeze him!) Playing with toys and hardtack makes me wonder if I’m really on the right path. As weird as it is, it’s the one I’ve chosen and I’m sticking to it.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Kim Possible

Posted on by cartooncravings

Episode: Team Impossible (and a whole lot of other episodes)
The Naco

I’m one of those weird people who perk up and frantically scan the room whenever I hear the Kimmunicator’s ringtone somewhere. More often than not, I’m not the only one doing it and I truly believe that anyone who reacts to that “Duh-duh-dun-na” grew up right. I liked Kim Possible when it first aired. I caught an episode here and there and rocked out to the theme song every time Radio Disney played it. But it wasn’t until years after the show’s first run that I realized just what a gem it is. Yeah, it’s a “Girl Saves the World” series, but nothing is taken too seriously. It’s engaging and the characters are all great. I love how whacked out all the villains are. And if I could have an ounce of Kim’s confidence that’d be wonderful because her “I can do anything,” attitude is the best thing in the world. And then there’s the goofy, loveable sidekick, Ron. (Oh, Ron.) I’m pretty sure Ron and I are secretly related because sometimes we have a little too much in common.

One major difference between “The Ron” and me is that I didn’t make millions by creating a smash hit fast food item. Ron practically lives at Bueno Nacho anyway, so it was only a matter of time until he started fiddling with the menu. And with one bold stroke of genius, Ron combined his nachos and taco to create The Naco. It’s so simple, but there are people who were either confused or grossed out by it. (Is there anything gross about Tex-Mex style fast food? Don’t answer that!) I’ve always thought it looked delicious, even if it is a drippy bag of food. Later on, the Naco developed a way to stand on its own, so I thought I’d give that a whirl.

Recipe makes about 6 Nacos, depending on if you Grande Size or not.

Ingredients

6 10-inch flour tortillas

1 15-ounce can refried beans

1 15-ounce can nacho cheese

1 tomato, sliced

1-2 lettuce leaves, in pieces or shreds

Corn tortilla chips

 

Naco Meat

1 pound ground beef

½ cup beef broth

¼ cup onion, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 

Directions

Naco Shell:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Microwave each tortilla for 30 seconds to make them pliable. Place the tortillas in a jumbo muffin tin in a Naco shape. For additional shape and support, make small rolls of aluminum foil and place around the tortillas in the cups to keep the tortillas in place. I used one for the front and two in the back to make a triangular bag shape. Coat the tortillas with nonstick cooking spray and bake for 5-10 minutes until browned and strong enough to keep their shapes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Naco Meat:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and salt and cook until browned. Stir occasionally while browning to break up the meat. Add the beef broth, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and cornstarch. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes and remove from heat.

Separately heat refried beans and nacho cheese in the microwave or on the stove. You can either spoon each ingredient into the Naco separately or you can combine them and add them all in one go. Take a shell and add meat, refried beans, tortilla chips, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. Congratulations, it’s a Naco!

kim-possible-nacokp-naco

I can’t blame Ron for eating at Bueno Nacho all the time. I’d do it if I could. The Naco really is nature’s perfect food. I no longer have to choose between eating a taco or nachos. Hey, I don’t even have to choose between eating a Naco and anything else. With this recipe at my fingertips, every night can be Naco Night.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

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Episode: Goodbye to Bloo
“Sugar-Free” Foster’s Famous Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends is one of the most brilliant concepts for a cartoon. It’s fun to see imaginary friends as visible, living, breathing beings coexisting with humans. And when their children have to give them up, instead of just going “poof,” the imaginary friends can go to a safe place like Foster’s until they meet a new family. I’d be more than happy to adopt someone. (I’d snag up Wilt in a second.) But if I had the chance, I’d love to be in Mac’s shoes. He gets to play with all the friends he wants every single day. I know that he has to show up every day if he wants to keep Bloo, but spending most of my free time at Foster’s doesn’t sound too shabby. The whole reason for Foster’s existence is to get friends adopted, so it’s tough to have to let go, but having great friends for a little while is better than never making any at all. (And if the family isn’t the right fit, the friends find their way back to Foster’s sooner or later.)

When the tables have turned and those at Foster’s hear about Mac moving, they try to do something special for him to show how much they care. The sweetest gesture that I’ve seen in this show (And a whole lot of other shows for that matter.) is when Madame Foster bakes a special sugar-free batch of her Famous Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies just for Mac. He was surrounded by those cookies when Bloo decided to start selling them, but he was never able to try one because he can’t have sugar. So when Madame Foster presents Mac with a plate of cookies and he gets all excited, it’s really touching. There are some very important people in my life who have to watch out for refined sugar, (No, not because it makes them crazy.) so I’m always on the lookout for sugar-free desserts that actually taste like something. After a little experimenting, I finally made a batch of cookies that are really good.

The sizes seem to vary with these cookies, but I prefer the ¼ cup sized ones. Bloo mentions in “Cookie Dough” that the original Foster’s Famous Cookies bake at 250 degrees and the slow-bake method does indeed work. I’m just not patient enough for it, (My cookies were in the oven for 40 minutes!) so 350 degrees it is for me.

Recipe makes about ten cookies.

Ingredients

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar free imitation honey

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups, plus 2 tablespoons sifted flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ½ -1 ¾ cups sugar-free chocolate chips
(You may want to use less if your stomach’s not too familiar with sugar-free chocolate. Too much of a good thing can be bad for you if you get my drift.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and imitation honey until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop dough by ¼ cupfuls, 2 inches apart, onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies slightly.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden and set, 18-20 minutes.

Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to cool slightly before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. Now you can eat!

Variations: If granulated artificial sweeteners are more your style, replace the imitation honey with 2/3 cup of your preferred sweetener and reduce the amount of flour by 2 tablespoons. You can help the cookies brown by spraying them with cooking spray, but they won’t get that dark.

fosters-chocolate-chips-2fosters-cookies

Madame Foster typically only bakes her cookies once a year to keep them special, but there’s no way I could handle that. I’d turn into a raging cookie addict like Frankie did before or I’d at least down an entire plate in one go like Bloo. (Although he ate the cookies just to speed Mac along.) But now that I’ve started to work on cracking the sugar substitute code, I won’t feel as bad if I make these cookies a little more often than Madame Foster. (I’ve still got a long way to go because they’re not healthy.) I’ll try not to get too out of control and slip into a cookie coma. I just need to take my time and chew slowly enough to savor each and every bite.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Justice League Unlimited

Posted on by cartooncravings

Episode: The Balance
Pasta Shells with Peas

The number one reason I’m such a superhero nut, is because I stumbled into the DC Animated Universe at a very young age. (I didn’t get to really know Marvel until later.) I watched every episode of every show I could and I still wanted more superheroes. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to wait long before Justice League Unlimited was born. I already loved Justice League, but adding all of the extra superheroes just made everything more fun. The core seven will always be my favorites, but I got to fall in love with so many new people and I felt like I was becoming quite the hero expert. The greatest thing about JLU, is getting to go beyond the masks and capes and seeing the superheroes as “regular people” living and working together, fighting and playing, and even dating. (I wasn’t the only one falling in love.) Every interaction is so cute.

Just seeing the heroes eating together at the commissary in the Watchtower is enough to make me giggle. That still applies even when they’re being huffy with each other, like Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl. The Flash was trying to be sweet and have them eat dinner together, but they just couldn’t get along. (Their food wasn’t even a safe topic.) Judging from their trays and the trays of most of the other heroes, I’m figuring that pasta shells with peas is that day’s special. I don’t know who cooks up there, but they are feeding superheroes so I’d have to assume the food’s pretty good.

Recipe makes seven 1-cup servings.

Ingredients

1/2 pound large pasta shells

4 cups frozen peas, thawed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion

3 cloves garlic

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

 

Directions

Sauce with Peas:

Add the oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, peas, parsley, salt, and pepper. Simmer until the sauce has thickened, 5-6 minutes.

Pasta Shells:

Bring a large pot full of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles have cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Drain.

Putting It All Together:

Lightly toss the hot noodles in the sauce. Add the Parmesan cheese and dish out!

JLU PastaJLU Pasta Peas (3)

This dinner is pretty humble compared to Flash’s overloaded tray, but I don’t burn through calories as quickly as he does. I have to say though, the pasta shells with peas taste better than most ( Okay, all.) of the cafeteria food I’ve had. I don’t know if it’s the pasta or the sauce or the two of them coming together to do some good. Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl may be like oil and vinegar, but everything in this dish mixes perfectly.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Fun and Fancy Free

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Mickey and the Beanstalk
Willie the Giant’s Sandwich

For every handful of Disney movies that I know the ins and outs and a million useless facts about, there’s one that falls into obscurity. It’s unfortunate but it happens. By no means do I love these movies any less. I just don’t get the chance to watch them very often. Fun and Fancy Free is one of those. Yes, it’s a package film, but I still think it’s wonderful. Dinah Shore and Edgar Bergen are fantastic storytellers (I love Charlie McCarthy’s sass.) and I’m a fan of anything that involves Jiminy Cricket. Bongo is a sweet little story and I love Mickey and the Beanstalk to no end.

My favorite Disney cartoons are the ones starring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. I love this one especially so because it’s a fairy tale. Seeing those three as starving peasants eating paper thin bean sandwiches is so hilariously heartbreaking. If you think that’s over the top, wait till you see Willie the Giant. He’s a childish oaf who can transform into anything and kidnaps the magic harp so she can sing him to sleep. He’s really not a bad guy, just selfish and stupid. (He loves pink bunnies and can’t say “pistachio.”) That’s why I can’t help but like him. Mickey, on the other hand, isn’t too fond of Willie. It doesn’t help when you accidentally find yourself in the middle of someone’s sandwich. Hey, that’s why Willie isn’t too keen on Mickey either. Food isn’t very appetizing after someone sneezes in it. That’s too bad. That sandwich looked tasty until it was blown in half. (Even though I wouldn’t recommend leg bones in my sandwich, but giants like bones, right?) And Willie has interesting tastes anyway, considering his love of chocolate pot roast.

I don’t know if the poultry is chicken or turkey, but both would work well. I just happened to choose turkey. (It comes down to taste preference and how much meat you want in your sandwich.) And I assumed the little white things that look like Donald’s butt are pearl onions. I’m not sure if they’re cooked or not, but I prefer not eating whole, raw onions. Okay. This sandwich is quite the tall order, but I’ve got the magic wordies. (You know, the recipe.)

Recipe makes 1 sandwich, but can easily be adapted to make multiple.

Ingredients

2 Slices White Sandwich Bread

1 leaf Lettuce

1 slice Swiss Cheese

Pepper

 

Roasted Turkey Leg:

1 leg per sandwich

Seasoning Per Leg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/8 teaspoon ground mustard

Pinch of Sugar

2 tablespoons butter

 

Glazed Pearl Onions:

1 cup pearl onions, fresh or frozen

1 cup water

2 teaspoons butter

3/4 teaspoon sugar

Pinch of Salt

 

Directions

Roasted Turkey Leg:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Rinse turkey legs and pat dry. Place the legs on a rimmed baking sheet and rub with butter. Add seasonings. Cook, uncovered, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F, turning halfway. This may take up to 2-2 1/2 hours, depending on your oven, but start checking for doneness after an hour. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Glazed Pearl Onions:

If using fresh pearl onions, cut the ends off each onion and score the larger side with an “X.” Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Carefully add the pearl onions and boil until the peel becomes soft, 1 1/2-2 minutes. Drain the onions and rinse with cold water. Once the onions are cool to the touch, you can easily peel them by hand.

If using frozen pearl onions, thaw and pat dry.

Melt butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, sugar, and salt. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and the liquid has evaporated, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Putting It All Together:

Place down a slice of bread. Add a lettuce leaf and a slice of Swiss cheese. Top with the turkey leg and add some pearl onions. (If going in Willie’s order. I prefer to sandwich my onions between the lettuce and cheese so they don’t fall out.) Top with the second slice of bread. Sprinkle in a little bit of pepper. If your sandwich doesn’t sneeze, it’s ready to eat!

fun&fancy willieFunFancy Sandwich

I would love to see how Willie eats this, because it’s easier said than done. I took a few bites then gave up and pulled the meat off the leg like a normal person before finishing the sandwich. It’s still fun though. Kind of reminds me of a certain song that I can’t seem to get out of my head. “What a great big gorgeous, sumptuous, thumping, bumptious, hum-galumptious, simply scrumptious. My, what a happy day.” (Hope you enjoy the earworm as much as the sandwich!)

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Chicken Run

Posted on by cartooncravings

Mrs. Tweedy’s Chicken Pie

Growing up near several farms, I’ve often passed by the animals and wondered, “What do they do when we’re not watching? Are they organized?” Turns out they are. At least chickens are if you believe everything that was shown in Chicken Run. (You never know.) Out there right now could be strong willed chickens, like Ginger, who dream of freedom from oppressive farmers and are concocting wild prison escape plans. And maybe someone has started selling pie machines to farmers too. Yeah, right. I’ll believe chickens can build a flying machine, but the pie machine is too far-fetched. (Even though pie machines are very real.)

It would be so nice to have a contraption like that. There have got to be hundreds of ways to make a chicken pie, so it gets confusing sometimes, but this machine takes out all the guesswork. I just want a little one for the average home cook, not a giant “wipe out the whole farm in one fell swoop” kind. (That gives me the willies.) You know, the last thing I want to see is any chicken being made into a pie. Actually, seeing Ginger and Rocky fighting to escape the pie machine is my favorite part, so I do enjoy them being turned into a pie. But I don’t want to see them eaten! Then again I do love chicken pies. (See the moral dilemma?) Well, be it chicken or apple, I don’t own a pie machine, so if I want a pie any time soon, I better get off my butt and make one.

Recipe makes one 10-inch pie.

Ingredients

Crust:

3 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cold and cut into chunks

2-3 tablespoons ice water, plus 1 or 2 more tablespoons if needed

1 egg, plus 1 tablespoon milk for egg wash (Optional)

 

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound chicken, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup carrots, chopped

2 cups potatoes, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

4 cups chicken broth 

4 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons flour

¼ cup milk

Salt

Pepper

 

Directions

Crust:
In a food processor, pulse flour and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 2-3 tablespoons of ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until dough just comes together when pressed. If the dough is too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse again. Form dough into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk and cover in plastic wrap. Let dough chill until firm, 30 minutes to an hour.

Filling:
Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and potatoes and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain the vegetables into a colander over a bowl to reserve the cooking liquid. Set both vegetables and broth aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook for two minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until the chicken begins to brown. Remove the chicken and mushrooms and set aside. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the onion and garlic and set aside. Melt butter in the skillet. Add flour and whisk constantly until a thick, smooth paste has formed. The roux is fine to use after a couple minutes, but if you want a little bit darker gravy, you’ll need to let your roux brown for at least 10-20 minutes, slowly whisking constantly. Once the roux has reached your desired color, whisk in the milk. Then gradually whisk in the reserved cooking liquid. Cook until the gravy is smooth and thick, still whisking. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Remove from the heat. Combine the chicken and vegetables with the gravy and let sit while preparing the crust.

Putting It All Together:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Unwrap one dough disk and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough anywhere from 11 to 14 inches across and place in a pie tin. Gently press dough into place. Trim excess dough or fold it back on itself.

Pour or spoon filling evenly into pie crust.

Unwrap the second dough disk and roll out similar to the first disk. Place the dough over the filling. Press both crusts together to seal. Trim excess dough or fold it back on itself. Crimp edge for a more decorative look. Cut small vents into the top of the pie to allow steam to escape. Make an egg wash by whisking the egg and milk together and brush the top of the pie. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. If the edges of the crust are browning too quickly, place a thin strip of foil over them.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes. Dig in!

chicken run (2)chicken run pie

Mrs. Tweedy never did get her chicken pie business up and running, but I imagine that her pies would taste a little something like this. Hey, maybe I should start selling my own! Wait, no, not a good idea. I’d probably just eat my profits. (If I don’t eat all my product first.) I’m beginning to think that nothing good comes from starting a chicken pie business. I’d end up like poor, stupid Mr. Tweedy. Or even worse, up to my shoulders in gravy.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Rugrats

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Episode: Angelica Breaks a Leg
Chocolate Pudding

Wow! If anything is going to make me feel old, it’s the fact that Nickelodeon Animation is celebrating their 25th. I’ve been there from the get-go and have loved my fair share of Nicktoons. Although it’s much harder to play favorites now, when I was little, Rugrats was at the top of my list. I don’t know what it was about those babies, but I just couldn’t get enough of them. I’ve got the toy collection to prove it. While looking through all my stuff, I realized that most of it is Angelica-related. She’s a bully and a brat, so she’s not the best role model for youngsters, but that girl’s got guts. The stuff she’s pulled to get what she wants is amazing. She’s impersonated her mom to get sweets, “kidnapped” her own doll to get a new one, and feigned a broken leg to get people to wait on her hand and foot. Sure, nothing really ends well for Angelica, but I wish I could’ve given one of her schemes a go.

When Angelica fakes her brake, she even asks for the same stuff I would: a big TV and some chocolate pudding. I could never push someone to the point of a 3 AM pudding run or beyond, but it is fun to watch. I always laughed while Stu’s life spiraled out of control, but it’s scary how much I empathize with him now. I’ve had many of those moments, but never any involving pudding. If I’m making chocolate pudding at four o’clock in the morning, I hope it’s because I can and not because I have to.

Recipe makes 4 cups of mix and Pudding Recipe makes 1-2 servings.

Ingredients

Pudding Mix:

1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (Use darker cocoa powder for a darker color)

1 cup instant non-fat dry milk powder

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

 

Chocolate Pudding:

1 cup Pudding Mix

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions

Pudding Mix:

In a large mixing bowl, combine cocoa powder, milk powder, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Move mixture to an airtight container and store until ready to use.

Chocolate Pudding:

Combine Pudding Mix and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, still whisking, until the pudding has thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the pudding into a bowl or divide into servings. Serve warm or cover with plastic wrap and chill before serving. Enjoy!

Rugrats Choc PuddingRugrats Pudding

Whether I’m in control of my life or not, it’s nice knowing just how easy it is to make chocolate pudding. (I never know when someone’s going to break a leg.) Anyway, the more I look at it, the easier it is for me to see why I never tried to emulate Angelica. (She didn’t even eat the pudding!) But her crazy, villainous antics are just one of the things that keep me coming back to the show after all these years. Sure, Rugrats (and I) have gotten older, but that doesn’t mean we have to act our age.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Lady and the Tramp

Posted on by cartooncravings

Tony’s Spaghetti Especiale

For the longest time, Lady and the Tramp was my favorite movie. There are so many good things about the film, but I really loved it because of the title characters, especially Lady. I loved the Tramp, but I completely adored Lady. I grew so attached to her, that I needed my own Cocker Spaniel. I got her and I guess what I named her? Princess Candy Cane. (Yeah, I have no idea what was going on in that pea brain of mine.) Princess wasn’t a thing like Lady, but I wasn’t at all like Jim Dear and Darling. I get the whole baby thing, but my dogs are my babies. At least they aren’t nearly as bad as Aunt Sarah. (Is it wrong that I wish bad things on her?) Okay, enough with the silly humans. I watch this movie for the doggies.

Lady is so sweet and innocent. And I love how caring all the dogs are, even when the humans aren’t. The Tramp can’t resist lending a helping paw by sharing his experience with Lady and later rescuing her. Sure, he was first interested because he’s got a weakness for pretty girls, but it doesn’t take him long to fall under the spell of true love. You can kind of blame that on Tony’s. Had the Tramp shared a meal with Lady at any one of his other stops, it wouldn’t have been nearly as romantic. (Imagine them sharing a big piece of corned beef.) But, Tony pulls out all the stops for “Butch” and we get the mega iconic “Bella Notte” spaghetti sequence. We’ve got the singing, and the spaghetti kiss, and the Tramp giving Lady the last meatball! It’s too much! I can’t take it! Plus, that plate of spaghetti looks so good! I know. Way to ruin the romantic moment by focusing more on the food, but I’ve thought it since the very first time I watched the movie. It’s about time I make a plate of my own.

Recipe makes 6-8 servings.

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds spaghetti noodles

Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups beef broth

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

½ cup onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pepper

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons parsley

2 teaspoons basil

2 teaspoons sugar

 

Meatballs:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

4 slices white bread

½ cup milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon oregano

¼ cup onion, finely chopped

1 ½ cloves garlic, minced

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions

Sauce:

Add the oil to a large skillet or medium pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the beef stock and crushed tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, parsley, and basil. Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato paste.

Meatballs:

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.

Tear the slices of bread into pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour milk over the bread and allow it to soak the bread through. Add the salt, pepper, basil, parsley, oregano, Parmesan, and eggs. Add the cooled onions and garlic and mix thoroughly. Add the meat and mix until just combined. Scoop out meat mixture the size of two tablespoons and place on a baking sheet. Form meatballs into rounds and chill for an hour to help the balls maintain their shapes while cooking.

Heat the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat the meatballs in flour and give them a quick browning on all sides, about 5 minutes. Finish cooking the meatballs in the sauce for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Any meatballs that can’t fit in the pot will just need an additional 5-10 minutes in the skillet.

Spaghetti Noodles:

Bring a large pot full of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles have cooked through, 8 minutes. Drain.

Putting It All Together:

Lightly toss the hot noodles in the sauce. Place the noodles and meatballs on a plate. Enjoy!

ladyandthetramp (2)LadyTrampSpag

Who would’ve thought that, along with the rest of the world, I would fall in love with a couple of dogs eating a plate of spaghetti? It’s not a pretty sight in my house, but that’s Disney Magic for you. Thanks to a little bit of my own magic, I can enjoy Tony’s Spaghetti Especiale whenever I want, bella notte or not.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Codename: Kids Next Door 2

Posted on by cartooncravings

Episode: Operation: C.A.K.E.D.
The Delightful Children’s Birthday Cake

Oh my good golly gosh! My baby blog, Cartoon Cravings, is a year old! Thank you so much for all the love and attention! It’s because of you that we’ve made it this far. It’s truly been a labor of love and quite the learning experience. I know I’ve made mistakes and this whole blogging thing isn’t perfect, but I can only see Cartoon Cravings getting bigger and better in the future.

In honor of Cartoon Cravings 1st Birthday, I’m going back to where it all started: Codename: Kids Next Door. You all remember Nurse Claiborne’s Apple Crumble, right? Well things are about to get scarier because I’m taking on the Delightful Children From Down the Lane and their birthday cake. Every year, the Kids Next Door tries to foil the Delightful Children’s birthday party of horror by stealing their cake. This year, it’s my turn. “Kids Next Door, Battle Stations!”

Recipe makes one double-layered, 3-tiered cake so you need to make at least 2 batches of everything

Ingredients

Coconut Cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature, separated

3 cups cake flour, sifted

3 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

 

Seven-Minute Frosting

1 ½ cups sugar

1/3 cup water

2 egg whites

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

 

1-2 cups shredded coconut (Optional)

 

Buttercream Icing

½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

½ cup shortening

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

4 cups (1 pound) powdered sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons coconut milk

Blue food coloring

Green food coloring

Red and yellow food coloring
OR
Red and yellow candy melts

 

Directions

Coconut Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 6-inch, an 8-inch, and a 10-inch cake pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add vanilla and coconut extracts and beat in egg yolks. Add flour mixture and coconut milk alternatingly, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined.

Divide cake batter amongst pans. Gently tap or drop pans on the counter to remove air pockets. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when the cake is tested. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and wrap completely in plastic wrap. This will help keep your cakes moist. Cool completely on baking racks.

Repeat.

Seven-Minute Frosting:

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan or bottom of a double boiler. Combine sugar, water, egg whites, corn syrup, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl or top of the double boiler. Place the bowl over the boiling water. Be careful not to let the bowl touch the water or else the frosting may become grainy. Begin beating the mixture with an electric hand mixer on low speed for a minute. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff and glossy, 5-7 minutes. Remove the frosting from the heat and add the vanilla and coconut extracts. Beat again for 1 minute. 

Repeat.

Buttercream Icing:

In a stand mixer, beat butter and shortening until fluffy. Add vanilla and coconut extracts. Beat powdered sugar in, a little at a time. Scrape down sides of the bowl and add coconut milk. If the icing is too thick, add more coconut milk, ½ teaspoon at a time.

Repeat.

Putting It All Together:

Unwrap cooled cakes. Trim excess cake from the layers so they are all level. Place one of the 10-inch cakes on a strong board or tray. Top the cake with a layer of the seven-minute frosting. Sprinkle some shredded coconut on top of the frosting or mix some in before spreading. Place the second layer on top and ice the entire cake with the seven-minute frosting. Chill until the icing sets. Place one of the 8-inch cakes on a cardboard cake circle. Repeat the filling, layering, and icing process and chill. Do the same thing for the 6-inch cakes.

The cake isn’t too big but it’s heavy, so I used a few dowels to keep everything in place. You don’t necessarily have to do it if it’s not going anywhere or it will be eaten quickly, but it’s better to be safe than saggy. Use a cardboard circle to measure where the middle tier will sit on the bottom one. Lightly trace the circle. Place a dowel (Fat drinking straws work well too.) In the measured area. Mark the height of the cake, remove the dowel, and cut 4-5 dowels to that size. Shove them into the cake along the circle pattern with one in the middle. Repeat the doweling process with the middle tier using 2-3 dowels. Place the middle tier on the bottom one, making sure it’s centered. Stack the top tier on the middle one and chill again. The seven-minute icing needs to be very set before you can decorate it.

Divide the buttercream and color. Scoop the blue icing into a piping bag with a star or other appropriate tip and dot along the top and bottom edges of each tier. Scoop some green icing in a piping bag with a petal or other appropriate tip and pipe small banner decorations along each tier. Each banner has yellow or red decorations, so I cut colored candy melts and pressed them into the banners. Piping small dots using yellow and red icing is fine too. Chill the cake one last time. Light some candles and serve! (Captive party guests are optional.)

Variations: My bottom tier is on the stubby side. I didn’t notice it until it was too late. It doesn’t help that I put it on a deep tray. That was stupid of me. Don’t do it. You’ve got options to increase the height on that bottom tier. You can bake up more cake and add an extra layer. You can even try to steal a little batter from the other layers. 
If you want different sized rounds or edges, just adjust the sizes of the cake pans to fit your needs.

KND CakeKND Bday Cake

Too bad the Kids Next Door didn’t get to taste their victory. But it beats being the Delightful Children. Laura (The Big Badolescent) isn’t afraid to let them know she hates coconut. They get to feel the agony of defeat twice as hard. As for me, I’d say my mission was a success. (No, my cake decorating skills still aren’t there yet, but I’ll get better eventually.) So pull up a chair and grab a slice of cake. We’re playing party games next!

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!