Make Your Own... part 2

It can be easy and fun to make your own cooking products.  Here are a few goodies that anyone can make, use and enjoy.

 Whipped Cream

If you have never tasted fresh whipped cream, you have to try this, just so you can taste the difference.  All you need is heavy whipping cream and a bit of sugar.  The colder your cream is, the more easily it will whip, so keep the cream refrigerated until you are ready to mix it up.  When you're ready to whip, place one cup of heavy cream in a chilled bowl.  Using an electric mixer, beat cream on high speed until it begins to thicken.  You will notice the mixer begin to leave waves in the top of the cream.  Continue mixing for another minute or so.  Add two tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat on high speed until you have achieved the desired consistency.  Finished whipped cream should be smooth and easily hold it's shape.  Make your whipped cream even tastier by adding extra flavors like vanilla (mix in a tbsp of vanilla extract when you add the sugar), coffee (add 2 tsp of espresso powder and a bit less sugar than usual), or mint (soak 1/4 cup fresh mint in heavy cream for up to 12 hours, remove and discard mint, whip the cream as previously directed).

Roasted Peppers
This is something that I never tried until recently and now I absolutely love making them.  Practically any type of peppers can be roasted and doing this will bring out an extra sweetness in your peppers that you otherwise would not taste.  I like to roast poblanos and red bell peppers, but you can use any kind you like (I wouldn't recommend roasting anything smaller than a habanero, as the smaller the pepper, the harder it will be to peel).  If roasting in the oven, begin by preheating your oven to 400.  Place peppers to be roasted on a baking sheet lined with foil.  When oven is hot, place baking sheet on the lower rack and use tongs to turn the peppers every 10-15 minutes as they roast.  Allow peppers to roast for 40-50 minutes total, then remove baking sheet from oven.  Immediately fold foil from the baking sheet up around the peppers to form a pouch and fold edges up tight to steam the peppers as they cool.  Allow peppers to steam for 30 minutes, then open the foil pouch.  At this point, your peppers should be cool enough to handle and you will want to pull off the stem and begin to peel off the outer layer of skin from the roasted peppers, exposing the soft, thicker under layer.  Once peppers are peeled, you can slice them and remove the seeds if you like, or keep peppers whole.  You can use roasted peppers immediately, or store them in a jar with enough olive oil to keep them submerged.  To use, chop peppers and add them to chili, stew, baked beans, slow-cooker meals, stir-fry, veggie pasta dishes, fajita filling, or even use them to top a pizza!  Peppers can also be roasted on the grill over a medium flame - instructions will be the same, except you will place the peppers directly on the grill and turn ever 5 minutes, as they will only take 15-20 minutes to roast.  When finished roasting, steam and peel the same as oven roasted peppers.
Enjoy!