The Epicurean Cult

A Variation on Betty's No-Crust Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

I love pumpkin pie, but I HATE pie crust. Tastes like play-doh to me, no matter who makes it. So, when I found Betty Crocker's Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie, I knew I had to give it a shot.

The texture is almost the same as a normal pumpkin pie, but it slides right out of the pie plate. The bisquick makes a dry but spongie layer on the top and bottom, very, very thin that makes this pie so easy to remove even without crust.

I made a few changes of course, but they were simple.

You need:

1 cup pureed pumpkin, not pie mix (see earlier post of pureeing your own)
1/2 cup Bisquick mix-really any brand will do, we use HyVee or Jiffy
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup whole milk (you may also use evaporated or rice milk, but we found coconut was a no go for some reason)
1 Tbsp. butter, almost completely melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 tsp. each ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

Preheat oven to 350 F
Grease a 9 inch pie plate with butter.
Combine everything and give a good stir. Pour into blender. Pulse until smooth. Pour into pie plate. Bake 40-50 minutes-until butte rknife stuck in middle comes out clean.

Homemade Pumpkin Slop...errr...Purre.

2011-10-22T16:49:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin slop is needed for most recipes, but the puree you get in the can will never make you a pie just like the pilgrims made. I'm not in the pie mood, but I found this sweet recipe for Pumpkin Monkey Bread over at The Sugar Crafter after googling all sorts of pumpkinie sweets. We all know I have a sweet tooth for anything monkey bread, and I've been known to make personalized mini ones using Bisquick for Sunday brunches. But this, this was the monkey bread of all monkey breads, and I had to give it a go. After all, we had a fridge full of pumpkin leftover from the sweet pumpkin curry Dan made last weekend, and they needed to be used before they went bad.

Since we're using up pumpkin, I can't tell you how much to buy. Usually one pie pumpkin is enough for one pumpkin pie, so that should help you out.

SLOP:

Hack your pumpkin up, leaving the skin on, small enough to put in a bowl. If it's a pie pumpkin, hack in it half and maybe quarters. Put about 1/4 a cup of water in the bowl, and place the pumpkin in with the cut side up. Microwave until fork tender. This will be about 8-15 minutes depending on your pumpkin. It's OK if you make more than enough, just freeze it to use next time you want something pumpkinie.

Remove from bowl, allow to cool to touch, then scoop out the bits into a bowl. If you have a food processor have fun. However, for those of us working a bit more old fashioned, a bit of elbow grease and your potato masher can get the job done. If you want it smoother, throw it in the blender, I'm going to leave it mashed. If you want to be stingy, toss the bits that you have to pull out because they're still to hard to mash into the bowl and cook for 3 min. Then mash them in. I had enough pumpkin, so I'm gonna toss those.

Plop into a bowl for fridge or freeze!

Apple Butter

2011-10-15T11:56:00.004-04:00

...the slow cooker way....

You'll need:
2.5 lbs (6 large, 10-12 small) apples, peeled, cored, finely chopped (I used 3 or 4 different types I had sitting around)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Place the apples in a slow cooker/crock-pot. Top with sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and mix well.
Cover and cook on low 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.

Uncover and puree with an immersion blender; cook on high uncovered 1-2 hours.

I actually don't own an immersion blender yet, but you can use a regular food processor. I think this time I will leave it thicker and chunkier, to suit my taste and knock 2 hours off the cooking time.

Banana Bread Pudding

2011-09-29T23:30:00.001-04:00

I love bananas, but only when they're slightly green. Once they go into the spotty mode, I'm done, and it seems the roomie doesn't eat them at all. but, I hate wasting food. So, tonight I thought, let's see if we can made a decent banana bread pudding.

The answer is, yes, yes I can. And it was the perfect amount of banana and sweet to go with our horrible allergies and colds we are suffering up in this household on a cold, Iowa night. And, it'xs green to boot! Green as in the color? Noooo. Green as in I saved a bunch pf stuff that would have gone to waste. The original muffins were made with those cocoa almonds Emerald makes, you know, so Rob Goulet doesn't sneak into the office, that it turns out I don't like so much. So, the roomie had me smack the crap out of them with his heavy duty nasty frying pan. Better than a hammer...Oh, and they too were made with leftover bananas. Captain Planet would be so proud.

Did I mention I moved to Iowa? It's amazing what you'll do for a steady paying job. It's also nearly into the 40s as I write this. Sigh.

You need:

4 cups leftover, stale banana bread-cubed. I used leftover banana bread muffins I've been keeping in the freezer.
4 extremely ripe bananas-3 of them coin sliced like you're going to put them on cereal, one in strips like you're making foster.

4 eggs
2 cups milk (I used rice milk)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Layer bottom of normal, round casserole dish with sliced bananas, but not completely. Then drop in about one cup of bread, another layer bananas, another layer of bread, another of bananas, rest of the bread, and banana strips across the top to make pretty.

In a bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Pour over bread and then use hand to squish down until liquid just peaks over the top. Once it recedes a bit, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if desired.

Bake at 350 for about 1:50. Start checking it when you can smell it by lightly squishing the top. You want a little give, but not squish.

Let it cool, because a burnt tongue hurts. Really hurts. And my students are going to love the way I talk tomorrow.

Bon Appétit!

Cheater's Ice Cream

2011-08-04T20:07:00.002-04:00

No ice cream around and a girls night in? (Or boys, whatever). No problem if you have these staples in the house.

You Need:

1 (10 ounce) package frozen sliced strawberries
Up to 1/2 cup sugar or honey
2/3 cup yogurt, heavy cream, or cold coconut milk for a richer ice cream.
* Rice milk can be substituted, but ONLY if you're eating it right away. Will freeze solid.

Toss half of the yogurt in your blender or food processor, then add frozen fruit. Blend a bit, then add remaining yogurt. Serve immediately, or freeze and serve later. Also good with frozen peaches (diced!) and raspberries. I'm sure mango and blueberries and all that would work as well. Do whatever, but make sure you chop it up so your blender doesn't snap under the pressure.

Can't have dairy like me? Use coconut yogurt, or coconut milk.

Bon Apettite!

Puff Pastry Pear and Pear Berry Purses

2011-02-19T00:23:00.001-05:00

I am a firm believer that one thing every cook should have in their house is a nice, frozen box of pastry sheets. For no other reason than the fact that only insane people and pastry chef's bother making their own. They're a pain, just like croissants. Really.

You Need:

2 Bosc Pears, peeled and diced small
1/4 pint raspberries
puff pastry
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8th tsp ginger
Sugar or honey to taste

Preheat oven to 375F.

Diced pears get thrown in a bowl, and tossed with cinnamon and ginger. Add more if you like. If you plan to make pear berry, add the raspberries and a spoon of sugar or honey as well. This is necessary, as berries will cook down quite bitter.

A package of puff pastry usually comes 2 sheets which can be divided in thirds. Do this, and then cut thirds into three squares. Using a cupcake pan or finger bowl for shape, make a cup out of the dough, and spoon in just enough fruit that you can still pinch the tops closed. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake until golden, about 15-20 mins.

If you prefer sugar, sugar the purses before baking. As you can see, mine are drizzled with orange blossom honey.

Great for when you forgot to make dessert! Warning, dough takes 40 min to thaw.

Bon Appetite!

Chocolate Mug "Cake"

2011-02-07T00:08:00.001-05:00

If you're expecting this beaut to have the consistency and taste of a cakie cake, you're a dolt. It came from the microwave, and it has no baking soda, powder or anything else awesome one would expect. But, if you're looking for a nice, moist, chocolate, hit the spot warm and cozy snack, it's perfect.

You need:
One large coffeemug
4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp sugar
2 heaping Tbsp baking cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk or fake milk product (I use almond or rice)
3 Tbsp oil
6 Tbsp semi-sweet or bitter chocolate chips
Splash of flavour (vanilla, orange, who cares)
2 Tbsp other (I used caramel bits, it could be nuts, or more chips, or whatever)

The chocolate chips are necessary, or you will be terribly disappointed with the taste. Feel free to play with adding more, less and other things to your liking.

Mix the dry ingredients together well in your mug. Mix the wets with a whisk in a cereal bowl and then mix in well. Mix in chips and goodies liberally. Place on plat in microwave for 4-5 minutes on high, depending on how hot your mic runs. Less if you like it gooey like a lava cake (2 1/2-3). Break apart with spoon to mix the chips in better and enjoy!

Caution, it will be hot! You may need a potholder to get your mug out of the mic.

Easy Homemade Jam

2011-01-29T22:31:00.001-05:00

I found a recipe for this in strawberry, and decided I would ignore that part. It's pretty simple, although still a bit time consuming, took about 50 minute total from prep to end, but my homemade jam is absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, it's for instant consumption. Don't make a PB&J to send with your kid to school, because jello melts. And it's no good for baking, unless you use it as a glaze (on ham).

Emmet Cullen Jam (inside joke-lifeofrinn.blogspot.com for details.)
One bosc pear, deseeded, and diced (I left the skin on, but you cam make your own decisions)
One bunch of red grapes, deseeded and quartered
Blueberries
1 package of apricot jello

Basic recipe:

You need:

A big pot, this is a messy task and needs stirring room
3 cups of sugar
4 cups of fruit
1 package of jello, any flavor

Mix sugar and fruit in big pot. Heat on low-medium until sugar is COMPLETELY dissolved. Turn heat up to medium, and boil 10-20 minutes, depending on type of fruit. You want it to reduce about 1/4.

Remove from heat. Stir in jello packet until completely dissolved. Allow to cool, and then pour into jars.

This makes almost 32 fl. oz of preserves! Make sure you have enough jars. Can be frozen. Refrigerate.

Banana Snack Cake...for any occasion!

2011-01-25T20:34:00.006-05:00

I like making this on cold, rainy or snowy days- it's so warm and gooey, and smells great. It's also a good way to use up overripe bananas. In theory this is somewhat healthy, which is good because you won't be able to stop noshing on it!

You need:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup flaked coconut
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a medium bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition. Mix in buttermilk, bananas and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix well. Finally, fold in the nuts, coconut and 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Lauraspy Treats

2011-01-24T23:28:00.000-05:00

I'm not giving you a picture of these, because they are uuuugggllly, but oh so tasty, and I really want you to make them. I'm calling this Lauraspy Treats after Laura, because, well, you'll see.

You need:
5 2/3 cups chocolate rice krispies. don't be using those knock off ones either.
4 cups mini marshmallows
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup caramel bits (or you can chop up caramels, but I prefer the work done for me)

Place marshmallows in a big, microwave save bowl. Spray down your rice krispy treat pan and a spatula. Mic the mallows for one minute at a time, stirring each minute, for 2-3 minutes until stirred smooth. Add chocolate chips, almonds, and caramel bits and about half the krispies and give a good stir. Add in the rest of the krispies and stir in as best you can. Push into pan using buttered spatual and allow to set until hardened.

Cut with a pizza cutter and make it easy on yourself.

Bon appetite!

Berry Oat Muffins

2011-01-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

Laura sent me this recipe, but I had to make some changes, since it called for milk and white chocolate (in some things this is acceptable, but not in my muffins).

You Need:

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 quick cooking oats (I use the Irish ones in the box)
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 cup almond milk (or milk, or rice milk. Really whatever you prefer. I find the fake milks make a moister muffin)
1/3 cup veggie oil (NOT olive oil)
2 tbs orange juice (I used one of those togos and then chugged the rest)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine flour, oats, powder, soda and cinnamon in a big bowl. Stir well.

In a medium bowl, combine beaten egg, milk, oil, juice and vanilla. This will make a healthy amount of liquid, but you're not going to use all of it. A tad wasteful, maybe, but you can't really 3/4 an egg. If you know how, go ahead an cut out a quarter, otherwise, plant a tree if it makes you feel better.

Add just enough liquid to dry to make mix moist. Not sloppy. Moist. Don't over-stir. That's how you ruin a good muffin! Fold in about 3/4 to 1 1/4 cup berries of your choice. I used blueberries and raspberries. Laura says don't thaw the frozen berries if that's what you use. I, personally, prefer my berries fresh from the store, if not from the patch. Being the time of year it is, store it was this time.

Bake on 375 for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Makes about a dozen of the medium sized muffins, a dozen and a half of the smalls, and probably 8 monster muffins.

Semi-Instant Gratification Fudge

2010-12-11T22:12:00.003-05:00

I was spinning around the web, trying to find a decent, fast snack for the chocolate monster. The chocolate chip cookies had gone to my students and classmates, and I only kept 5 for myself, which became Fridays breakfast on the go. But, since it's almost break, my fridge is running low and so is my pantry. I had a problem. I wanted chocolate, I wanted it bad, and I wanted it without corn syrup.

I found a couple of recipes that looked promising, but none of them agreed with each other. I decided I'd have to mix them all up and see what happened.

You need:

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. flavouring
1/2 chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds leftover from the previous batch of cookies)

Line your favorite fudge dish, mine is a square dollar store deal, with some aluminum foil, shiny side up. This does 2 things-makes it easy to get the fudge out of the pan AND makes you not have to wash the pan. Ooooo ingenuity (I didn't end up in grad school for nothing).

Your powdered sugar should be a sifted 3 1/2 cups, but who the heck sifts when they're in a hurry? Instead, using a spoon, spoon the sugar into your half cup and measure it out. Trust me, it works.

Mix together the cocoa and sugar, gently, so you don't end up looking like something the Scooby gang is going to catch in Fred's traps.

Next, cut your nice cold butter into a few slices and toss on top. Pour the milk over it, and DO NOT STIR IT. Resist the urge. You'll ruin it if you don't.

Microwave on high 2-3 minutes (until butter melts) uncovered. After heating, stir just enough to combine ingredients and get huge lumps out. Add vanilla and your nuts, stir them in, pour it in your pan and refrigerate for at LEAST 1 hour. I know, that's NOT a hurry, except you just spent 2 minutes making what's normally an hour long endeavor of nightmarish proportions.

Things to consider...

Got other extracts in the house? Then screw the vanilla and go for the orange, or raspberry or whatever awesome nonsense you have.

Don't like nuts, fine leave it out, or add something sick like marshmallows if that's your thing.

Rinn's Cookie Base

2010-12-09T21:40:00.002-05:00

This recipe is my new cookie base. Sadly, I didn't keep track of where I found the one that it originally came from, but it doesn't really matter, as I have messed with it hard core. It came from me running out of brown sugar, and my class being promised cookies for tomorrow. So, I looked up "can I make my own brown sugar?" PCHAW-Google gives me directions (2 Tbsp Molasses to 1 Cup White).

You need:

2 cups and 2-3 spoons full of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
3 tsp vanilla

To make chocolate chips, add a 12 oz bag of semi-sweets, or whatever. But, this is meant to be a base, so throw a cup to two cups of your favorite goodies in there and roll with it.

Mix together sugar, egg and yolk, melted butter and vanilla. Add molasses. Add baking soda and salt.

Add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Spoon flour into 1/2 cup and level off, then add to mix. Stir in, and repeat until you have reach 2 cups. Spoon in 3-5 spoons of flour more. Add your goodies.

Wrap your cookie tray in foil. I don't know why, it just works better, and then you don't need to grease anything (or clean anything). Plus, it's recyclable in most states. Using a spoon, the one you eat your ice cream with (no, the NORMAL one), spoon out small spoonfuls of dough about 1-2 inches apart.

Bake at 325 F. 7 minutes, flip tray, 10 minutes more, or until slightly golden and a tad soft in the middle for a nice cookie with crunch.

If you like them soft, cook for less time, try 4 and 4, with them a little softer in the middle then normal.

DO NOT ROLL IN BALLS! Why, I have no clue, but the original recipe made it very clear that the dough needed to be rough. If you want larger cookies, it suggested using a 1/4 cup, rolled in a ball, halved, and the smooth sides stuck together before putting it on the tray to bake.

Bon Appetite!

Reduced Fat Oatmeal Cookies

2010-11-22T19:02:00.002-05:00

My partner Kevin LOVES cookies and is under the impression that since “oatmeal” is so healthy then “oatmeal” cookies are too. I attempted to explain to him that just because they have “oatmeal” in them, it does make them healthy, all the fat in the butter cancels out the healthy effect of the “oatmeal”. Of course Kevin LOVES butter, he is the original Mr Butterton. He slathers butter on everything, the more butter the better in his book. Any how, in an effort to reduce his fat intake from butter and feed his passion for cookies I came up with this reduced fat Oatmeal Apple Raisin Cookie recipe.

Oatmeal Apple Raisin Cookies

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
½ cup shortening
1 cup applesauce
1 cup raisins

Mix all the dry ingredients, add the eggs, shortening & applesauce and finally fold in the raisin. Bake on an un-greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Beer Bread

2010-11-01T21:37:00.000-04:00

My old high school chum Jess has been going on and on about Pampered Chef's beer bread, and I said hmph. I bet I can tweak a recipe out there for it from scratch and make it better. I have no idea, but my tweak was a good one. You'll have to let me know how it sizes up.

You Need:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1Tbsp baking powder
12 oz. beer (I used Southern Tier Raspberry Wheat cuz I was homesick. The darker the beer, the more the flavor)

It's simple, mix it all together. It should be a semisticky dough. Pat it into a loafy shape and pop it into a well grease bread pan. I used one egg, beaten well, to make a wash, and sprinkled copious amounts of rosemary on it.

Bake 45 min @ 375F until golden. Make sure it passes the toothpick test!

This one is for playing with. I've seen recipes with cheese and herbs and all sorts of craziness.

This is not a sandwich bread. This is a serve with an awesome thick stew and a hunk of butter bread. I bet it makes a mean thick toast too. Very moist.

Let cool completely before depanning, or brave it and serve it semi-warm.

Bon Appetite!

Split Pea Soup

2010-10-08T21:39:00.000-04:00

So, you have a day to kill. You'll need it if you're cooking split pea soup from scratch and using dried peas, but it is worth the wait!

You need:

Your bit, teflon free, pot
One 160z. bag of dried, split peas
3 cans chicken broth/stock
Pre-cooked ham
Pre-cooked bacon
1 spoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste.

This one is a great one for after the holidays, when all that ham is handing around. How much ham is up to you. I use about 2 cups of ham, and a layer of pre-cooked backon.

In the pot bring chicken stock and peas to boil. Simmer 30-40 minutes, until squishy.

Once they are nice and squishy, add your meat. Stir together using a potato masher to get that nice blended consistency without dirtying the blender. Add one spoon of sugar, and simmer for about 5 more minutes before adding ANY salt. Pepper can go in any time near the end. If you add the salt too soon, you'll end up with a salty nightmare!

Bon Appetite!

Cream of Potato Soup

2010-09-27T18:13:00.004-04:00

My partner Kevin (AKA Mr Potato-Head) is a meat and potatoes man. He could eat potatoes until they sprouted out his ears. Me, I can take or leave ‘em. I guess it stems from my childhood trauma of “KP duty”. We had to have potatoes for dinner practically every night and they had to peeled. Guess who’s job it was to peel the potatoes? Mine and with a large family to feed, that’s a hell of a lot of potatoes. As I get older those childhood chores are distant memories and I’m beginning not to mind things I hated in the past like peeling potatoes. So today I peeled potatoes and made some delicious home-made Cream of Potato Soup with Ham. Yum Yum!
Here’s the recipe:

5-6 medium potatoes cut into chunks
1/2 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of water
5 tablespoons of butter
3/4 cup of sour cream
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of chopped ham
1 tablespoon of minced chives
salt & pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes, onions & garlic in the water & chicken broth until done. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then pour into a food processor. Add the butter, sour cream & heavy cream, then process until the desired consistency is reached. You can add more water or even milk, if needed. Pour the processed cream of potatoes back into your pot; add ham, chives, salt & pepper to taste. Then heat to serving temperature, spoon in to bowl, garnish with grated cheddar or munster cheese and parsley and serve with fresh baked home-made bread. This is the perfect Autumn meal. Enjoy!

Monkey Bread

2010-09-27T01:51:00.000-04:00

Today's recipe is not mine. But, oh do I wish it was. This came out absolutely fabulous, and as you can see from the pics, I made both the traditional big un', and two little 10 oz-ers out of it.

Classic Monkey Bread via Baking Bites
1/4 cup water, warm (100-110F)
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (.25-oz)
3 – 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk, warm (100-110F)

2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup butter, melted

Lightly grease a standard 10-in bundt pan with vegetable oil. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (all mixing can be done by hand, as well), combine warm water and yeast. Let stand for 2 minutes, until yeast is slightly foamy.
Stir in 1 cup of the flour, along with the salt, sugar, vanilla, egg, 2 tbsp melted butter and warm milk. Mix well, until dough is fairly smooth. Put the dough hook attachment onto your mixer and gradually add in the remaining flour, mixing at medium speed until dough comes easily away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 3-4 minutes on medium speed. Remove dough hook and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for 30 minutes. I did this all by hand, and it still worked. Just watch your flour.

In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar and spices. Place melted butter in a nearby bowl and get a fork out, as well.
Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and gently deflate so that dough is relatively flat (maybe 1/2-3/4 inch thick) Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut off small pieces of dough to form 1/2 to 1-inch balls (I prefer slightly smaller ones, personally). As you cut each piece of dough, roll it into a ball in the palms of your hands. Dunk each ball in butter, use the fork to remove it and transfer it to the sugar mixture to be thoroughly coated. Place all coated dough balls into prepared bundt pan.
Once all balls have been coated and places in the pan, cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap and let bread rise for 60 minutes, until almost doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 350F while the bread rises.
Bake for 30-35 minutes. Bread will spring back when lightly pressed.
Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving platter. Eat immediately (or reheat leftovers), as the bread is best served warm and gooey.
Serves 10 (or 4-5 people with big sweet tooths!)

Bon Appetite!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

2010-07-04T18:10:00.001-04:00

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup veggie oil
3 oz. raspberries
1/4 cup almonds (optional)
1/2 small lemon
1 Tbsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, mix flour, soda, powder, salt, and almonds together. In a medium bowl mix your egg, milk, oil, vanilla and sugar together. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the wet mix, and add the zest from it too .

Stir wet into dry. Fold in raspberries. I tear them up a bit if they're the big ones. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake 400F for 15-20 minutes. check them with a toothpick to make sure all is well in muffin land.

I use rice milk, as I'm allergic to the moo. Drop out the flavors and fruit for a basic muffin recipe, and then add whatever you like!

Makes 2 dozen

Bon Appetite!

Evil of All Evils Half Apple Crisp

2010-06-30T22:50:00.000-04:00

This was so positively evil of an idea, I had to do it! Of course, I don't really follow instructions, so I played with it a bit and it doesn't resemble the original at all, but more like the family recipe for apple crisp. So, I tell Janet, about it, and she answers,

"Zucchini is a vegetable...only to be used in that manner, with the acception of zucchini bread."

That's right, it's zucchini instead of apples. Except, I wasn't totally brave, so I used a little apple. You can be your own judgment. What I do promise is that it is delicious, or I wouldn't post it here. I picked through and sometimes I could tell the zucchini and sometimes I couldn't.

1/2 a small zucchini, peeled and cut to look like your apples. Muahahaha.
2-3 small apples, peeled, cored and sliced to the size you prefer. I like to use granny's. Better to start with the zucchini and then add apples.
1 1/14 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 cup water
1 stick butter, room temp
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar

Arrange apples and zucchini in a 7-9 inch pan. I like to use my dollar store 7.something inch cake pan. Add water and spices and stir them up a bit.

In a separate bowl, hand mix the butter, flour and sugar to make a nice crumbly topping. Add a touch of cinnamon and ginger to that as well. Sprinkle over top of apples.

Bake 350F for about 45 min, until top is nice and golden.

Serve to your unsuspecting guests! Wait until they gobble it all down before you tell them about the switch up.

Bon Appetite.

Dubious Rosemary Naan

2010-06-26T23:58:00.000-04:00

I found so many recipes for naan, I didn't know what to do with myself. No one seemed to agree what went in it, on it, how it was cooked, how hot or using what. So I narrowed it down to the no-yeast variety (since I'm currently lacking yeast-I know, new home so don't judge me to hard!) and then ones that didn't call for a grill, since I do all of my cooking in a makeshift kitchenette (I have a double hot plate, convection oven, minifridge and microwave, but no stove or proper oven). Finally, I compared a few and drew up my own plans. Hence, dubious, because I'm not sure I should be calling it naan. Maybe I should call it "tasty mess." At the very least, it is a nice flatbread.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Whole milk, eye it (about 1/4-1/2 cup)

Mix the dry goods together. Mixed the wet goods together. Add the wet to the dry. Add a bit of milk at a time until you get a tough, surly dough.

Flour your hands, and lightly flour your surface (I like to use cutting mats-you can get them in dollar stores 2 to a package usually. It's like grandma's cool one with the pie markings, but cheaper, and you can always make your own markings with a black sharpie. Mine have cartoons on them of what each mat is for.). Punch it down and kneed it about 8 times, then roll it into a ball and toss it in a bowl with a bit of oil to coat it. Cover and rest 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to broil. This may be 450-550, so you'll have to eye it, depending on your oven.

Pinch of small fistfulls and pat down into thin flats. Place on broiler sheet with room between. Sprinkle (I like it liberally) with rosemary and bake until lightly golden. (about 8-10 minutes in the 450).

Summer Zucchini Bread

2010-06-25T21:40:00.000-04:00

This is my mother's recipe, with some Rinn changes, and only the big G knows where to original came from.

1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (or walnuts, but really, ew)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
3/8 tsp. powder (I just eyed it from 1/2 a 3/4 tsp)

1 cup grated zucchini (just about 1 whole, small one)
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup veggie oil

Mix your drys together. Mix your wets together. Add the wets to the drys. Makes one loaf or about 18 muffin. 350F for about 55 for the loaf, 350F for about 30 for the muffins, watch then until they turn golden, and toothpick the babies to make sure the centers are cooked. Serve slathered in butter, or Brumle and I prefer.

Bon Appetite!

Raspberry Chicken Salad

2010-06-21T12:00:00.000-04:00

I needed a simple, high tea luncheon for a study date with a friend, so I whipped this lovely together.

Serves 2

3-6 oz of Raspberries, to taste.
Sliced almonds
One chicken breast, grilled and diced (or torn to shreads)
One spoon of mayo
Salt and pepper to taste

You'll need to mash the berries up some, and then add a few more for texture. I served it with Whole Grain Wasa (I love Wasa) on spinach, with blood orange soda.

Gingerbread Scones

2010-06-19T17:51:00.002-04:00

The first time I made these, I followed someone else's recipe, and despite my mother stealing half the batch and spiriting it away to the inner depths of her desk at work, I was unhappy with them. They were super dry, even for a scone, and half burnt. Not one of my best kitchen moments. So, I returned to the original recipe, found while searching the Internets, and made some changes to measurements and directions and ingredients, and wallah! These are pretty much some of the best scones I have ever had. They have enough dryness to be a scone, and enough moistness to be awesome. They taste almost like molasses cookies, but a little ginger-ier. A little tricky, but absolutely worth the mess!

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1 stick) cold, margarine
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, separated

Preheat oven to 375F

Combine 1 1/2 cup flour with brown sugar, ginger, soda, salt, cinnamon and mix well.

Cut cold, hard margarine into chunks and add to mix. Knead into a dry, crumbly dough. Kind of like crumb topping. This is my favorite part, because I like to play with my food.

In a separate bowl, mix together molasses, milk and egg yolk. I find doing molasses first, then pouring milk into the measuring pitcher (pitcher? it's not a cup?) to rinse it out works best. Stir in yolk last. Slowly add to dry mix, about 1.4th at a time, and stir in well. Should be a soft , sloppy dough with tiny buttery bits.

Liberally sprinkle surface with about 1/4 cup flour and empty onto flour. Seriously, be generous. This is a sloppy mess you have, and as long as you stay under 2 cups of flour you're doing fine. Sprinkle some remaining flour over, so you can touch it, and knead, adding flour as needed, until dough is just handle-able. Still a tad wet. Pat into circle and cut into 8 "pie" pieces. I use a pizza cutter.

Grease cookie sheet well. Place pieces with room on sheet. I use a spatula to scoop them up, so they keep their shape.

Beat egg white until foamy, and brush on scones. Sprinkle with granulated sugar or whatever pretty sugar sprinkle you like.

Bake 8-15 min, depending on oven. Will become golden. Toothpick test works great.

Bon Appetite!

Italian Ice

2010-05-27T21:53:00.006-04:00

As many of you know, I'm allergic to the moo. Drink too much and I get hives along with the normal signs of lactose intolerance. Usually I keep sorbet around, but I'm visiting Mama Bear for this first part of the break, and that isn't an option. So, I threw this together quick during out upstate NY heat wave today, and it was wonderful.

You need:

2 BIG ice cube trays
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup juice (I used the cheapo brand of Pomegranate cocktail with a smidge of lemon juice; the stronger the better)

Mix sugar and water together until completely dissolved in a medium sized saucepan. Then DO NOT STIR AGAIN.

On stove top, bring to boil, and then boil exactly 5 minutes.

Take off heat and add juice.

Pour mixture in ice cube trays (I used my measuring glass with it's nice little spout to keep the mess down) and let freeze 3-5 hours minimum.

Pop out cubes into container,one tray at a time, and mash with a potato masher after each one.

Bon Appetite!

Fancy New Layout-Fancy New Style

2010-05-20T00:55:00.002-04:00

Hiyas all!

Well, we don't have many followers, and in the last 2 years we've had less than 1000 hits, so, we're revamping. What's that mean? Not a whole lot to the average reader/contributor. We'll start using pics, and besides posting our own fabulous recipes, we'll start trying out others and rating them or improving them. In addition, we'll be updating on a weekly basis once all of the changes are made!

Bon Appetite!

Rinn

Jack's Balls

2010-04-24T22:23:00.000-04:00

Special Request.

1 Box Nilla wafers finely crushed
pour 5 tbsp of JD over the Wafers
Melt bag of Milk Chocolate chips over low heat w/ a small can of Sweetened condensed milk.
When that's all melted, turn the wafers & JD into the chocolate, stir, roll into ball and
roll in crushed nuts or 10x sugar...etc...
Lisa Brown: I'm so certain that that... is it, I'd get up & make them now.

Bon Appetite!

Peanut butter-toffee cheesecake brownies

2010-04-23T09:41:00.001-04:00

I made this for my husband in lieu of birthday cake at his request. It blew him away. We're still working on it a week later- it's intense!

1 box (19.5 oz) chocolate fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup veggie oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 8-oz pckg cream cheese, softened (i used light)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup peanut butter(they say smooth, i used crunchy)
1 8-oz bag Heath bits
1 cup milk chocolate chips
3 Tbs heavy or whipping cream

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray or butter 13x9 pan. (mine's more like 12x9 so it was very thick and dense!)
2. In a medium bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water and eggs 50 strokes with spoon. Spread batter in pan and set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat the cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add condensed milk and peanut butter; beat until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the Heath bits. (i threw the whole bag in as my brownies were so tall i didn't know if i'd have room for the topping!) Spoon mixture over the batter; spread evenly.
4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until cheesecake layer is set and edges are light golden brown. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes, then refrigerate at least 40 minutes.
5. In small microwaveable bowl, combine milk chocolate chips with cream. Microwave uncovered on High 40 to 60 seconds or until chips are melted; stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake layer and sprinkle on remaining Heath bits. Cool completely for about an hour. (I refrigerated so the chocolate would set.) Store covered in fridge.
CUT SMALL.

makes ~36 brownies.

Waffles

2010-04-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Easy waffles from scratch recipie.

6 Tbsp. oil
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. flavoring (vanilla or almond)

Mix it up smooth.

Spaghetti Sauce

2010-04-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

Nice, easy and decent sauce. This is what we use. We add meat and all sorts of things.

1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 small can tomato paste

Simmer 20 minutes, stirring often.

Add,

28 pz. of pureed tomatoes
2 tblsp. parsley
1 tbsp. basil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tblsp. sugar

Simmer 45 minutes, 10 minutes before done, add 1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Rye Bread Dip

2010-04-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

The right way! None of this pansy spinach stuff. Depending on where you live, you may want to add a handful of spinach or the locals might riot.

1 1/2 pints sour cream
3 tblsp. parsley
2 tsp. Beau Monde seasoning
1 1/2 pint mayo
2 tsp. dill
2 tblsp. minced onion
3 3oz. packages corned/chipped beef, shredded

Combine everything and toss in a round rye bread loaf. Cut off the top of the bread and pull out its guts to use as dippers. Fills two loaves.

Zucchini Quiche

2010-03-27T00:00:00.002-04:00

This is a great one to have on hand when the nuts start bringing in all those zucchini's in the summer. Super easy and super tasty.

3 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup 2% or whole milk
1/2 chopped onion
3 cups grated zucchini (or any other veggies you want to try)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup grated sharp cheese
1 cup Bisquick.

Mix everything together. Sprinkle the top with paprika to make it pretty and toss it in the over. Bake for 35-40 mins at 350F.

Lipton Potatoes of Yumminess

2010-03-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

I know, these can't really be considered high taste, but they are a nice, easy side and super yummy.

1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 pounds potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
1/3 cup olive oil
Rosemary to taste (I like a lot, about a handful)

Toss everything in in a bowl. Empty into a shallow baking dish or on a cookie sheet with edges. Bake, stirring occasionally, or 40 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown at 450F

Bon Appetite!

Oatmeal Cookies

2010-03-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Mmm. My favorite, though rarely made.

1 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
21 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups oats
1 cup raisins (or any dried nibbles like cranberries or blueberries. I'm partial to my crans).

Mix the try and wet ingredients separately, then mix together, just to make life easier on this one.
Bake at 350 until lightly golden.

The Duke's Cinnamon Rolls

2010-03-21T00:00:00.003-04:00

I grew up on these evil b-tards, and they are worth every ounce of the hideous and horrible trouble that comes with attempting them. Don't be sad if you screw them up the first few times, it happens. This recipe yields a good couple dozen, so feel free to cut it in half. It's a farmer's recipe, and farmers like to feed people.

1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup oleo (which is margarine, and yes, must be)
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages yeast
2 eggs, beaten well
5 1/4 cups flour

In a large bowl, follow the directions on the yeast. Remember, the bowl should be warm. I let mine soak in hot water for a bit first, then dump it and add the warm water and sprinkle the yeast. SPRINKLE the yeast, don't just dump it, stirring until it dissolves. Lumpy yeast is not our friend.

While your yest gets happy and bubbly in the big bowl, take a medium pan and rise it with water. Add your milk. Then scald the milk. These means heating it to that stage JUST BEFORE boiling, but not boiling. You know, when it's little bubblies and you want to add the noodles, but it's not a boil and you know you shouldn't? Take off the heat and stir in sugar, salt and oleo (which is margarine). Cool to lukewarm.

Is your yeast happy and bubbly? Good. If not, you have bad yeast, and you need to try again.

Add lukewarm milk mixture, eggs, and two cups of flour to yeast. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board/table. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (30-60 minutes-ish). If I do it on my lunch break, I cover the top with a damp, not sopping wet, dishrag.

Punch down and turn out on lightly floured board/table. Divide into 3 equal parts. It's easiest to cut dough with dental floss. Just scootch it under like you were going to tie it, and pull it tight.

Roll out each piece until about 14 X9 inch. Brush with melted oleo. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon mixture. Roll up and seal edges. Cut each into 9 equal pieces. Place cut side up on greased pan and brush with oleo. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled again. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the time of year and how warm it is.

Bake 350F 30-35 minutes.

Play with cinnamon mixture to your liking!

Bon Appetite!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-03-19T12:00:00.002-04:00

These are the semi-crispy ones. If you like chewy, move along.

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp water
2 eggs
12 oz. chocolate ships or chunks

Bake at 350F until golden.

Split-Pea Soup

2010-03-17T00:00:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Pat's Day! Have some green food!

1 lb. package. dry split peas
2 cups ham, cubed
3 quarts chicken stock
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 large onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
4 baked potatoes, cooled
1 stick butter, salted

Soak peas in water 8 hours. Rinse well.

In the bottom of your soup pot, toss a stick of butter and your onion, celery, carrots and bay leaf. Cook until tender.

Scoop out the insides of the potatoes and stir in to tender vegetables, so it's like mashed potatoes with veggies. Slowly stir in, using whisk, chicken stock and Worcestershire. Add ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer about 1 1/2 hours.

Bon Appetite!

Hershey's Kisses Buttercreme

2010-03-16T23:46:00.004-04:00

Oh, I so rarely do this, but I got a bag of Hershey's Kisses filled with Buttercreme and I am in 7th Heaven, but before you go out and buy these, I warn you-this is for the Cadbury Creme Egg Lovers. They are super sweet with just the right amount of chocolate and fake vanilla happiness. I will truly be sad when these seasonal goodies are gone. Go Hersheys!

Suspicious Quick Chicken Casserole

2010-03-16T00:00:00.002-04:00

I have a feeling this was a Bisquick or Campbell's recipe , but I love casseroles. They're good food for the cold months.

3 cups cut up, cooked and skinned poultry (chicken, turkey, pigeon, whatever)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
16 oz. package of frozen veggies (or 16 oz of whatever veggies you like)
2 cups Bisquick mix
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 cup 2% milk
1 tsp poultry seasoning (or whatever you like)
1 tsp. parsley

Mix burd, soup, veggies, poultry seasoning and garlic salt in UNGREASED baking dish (13X9X2 is suggested). Stir Bisquick and milk together separately until well blended. Poor over slop. Sprinkle with parsley and bake 30 minutes or until light golden brown at 450F.

Answering The Age Old Question: What's For Dinner

2010-03-15T18:29:00.002-04:00

In our household Grilled Veggie Wraps are a favourite for dinner. Quick, easy to make and inexpensive too. The nice thing about Grilled Veggie Wraps is you can use almost any kind of vegetables and seasonings, even add some meat if you choose. The Wraps I made tonite included the following ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 bell pepper sliced into strips
1 small sliced onion
1 shreded carrot
1 medium shreded potato
2 cloves of minced garlic
6 sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of honey
1/2 teaspoon of ginger1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 cup of grated cheese or sour cream (your choice)

Heat the olive oil in a wok or large skillet, add all the vegetables and stir-fry for approximately 5-7 minutes. Add soy sauce, honey, ginger and lemon juice; cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Serve on your favourite brand of flour tortillas with grated cheese or sour cream. Add some fruit on the side and you’ve a delicious, healthy meal that everyone will love.

Mom's Banana Bread

2010-03-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Oh no, your bananas have gone bad again! They're all brown and mushhhhy. Well, tra la la, lets make some naner bread!

3 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs well beaten
4-6 overripe, crushed bananas
nuts if you want them

Bake at 350F about 1 hour.

Makes 2 bread pans.

Angel Food Chocolate Almond Roll

2010-03-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

1 box Angel Food cake mix
1 box chocolate pudding (Jello Cook and Serve chocolate Fudge is nice)
1 cup sliced almonds (or minced or whatever)
1-2 tsp. Almond Extract, to personal taste
Confectioners Sugar

Cook pudding and add extract. Cool completely before starting cake.

Mix cake as directed on box. Put onto a waxed cookie sheet. Bake 350F for about 25 minutes, or until golden. Cool for about 10 minutes. When cake has cooled 10 minutes cool, turn cake onto a confectioner sugared dishtowel (linen preferred). Roll the cake and cool for another 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, unroll and will with 3/4 of chocolate-almond pudding. Roll. Put remaining pudding on top of cake and sprinkle with almond slices.

Feel free to try other puddings and toppings!

Bon appetite!

Apple Crisp

2010-03-10T17:55:00.002-05:00

This is my favorite, and it's so easy the kids can do it too if you have a safety peeler.

6-8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced to the size you prefer.
1 1/14 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup water
1 stick butter, room temp
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar

Arrange apples in a 8 or 9 inch pan. I like to use the 9 inch cake pan. Add water and spices. In a separate bowl, hand mix the butter, flour and sugar. Sometimes I had a touch of cinnamon to that as well. Sprinkle over top of apples. Bale 350F for about 45 min, until top is nice and golden.

Corrine's "Special" Hot Chocolate

2010-02-27T22:54:00.002-05:00

This one is for the cheaters. I'm sure you can make a lovely, homemade version, but really, who are we kidding here. The majority of us still use the mix.

3 pkgs no marshmellow and none of those foofy flavors straight up chocolate cocoa mix.
Mix with approximately one shot of Jack or Captain (enough to make a thick syrup)
1/8 tsp cayenne
Add hot water and enjoy!

The most chocolatey cookies on Earth

2010-01-12T12:57:00.003-05:00

I just had these Sunday night at a friend's house and they are like no cookie I have ever tasted.
(And I have tasted hundreds of different kinds of cookie. For real. Yes, I've had double-chocolate cookies before. The glory is in this cookie's flavour and texture.)

I begged my friends for the recipe and they were kind enough to send it before we'd even returned home. Voila!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies- Burger style

1/2 cup butter
4 1-oz squares unsweetened baker's chocolate, chopped
3 cups (18 oz) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Combine butter, unsweetened chocolate, and half the chocolate chips in a large heavy saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter and chocolate melt; let cool.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer.

Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, beating well.

Add melted chocolate mixture; beat well.

Stir in remaining half of chocolate chips.

Drop dough by 2 Tbsp an inch apart on greased cookie sheets; bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks to finish cooling.

Yields less than 4 dozen, depending on size.

IMPORTANT NOTES TO ACHIEVE EDIBLE PERFECTION; READ BEFORE MAKING:
1. Let the chocolate/butter combo cool fairly far or the dough will be soupy; too far, and it will stick in the saucepan.
2. The dough is supposed to be very sticky.
3. For best results, drop the dough onto the cookie sheet and shape it into a rounded heap with two spoons, then use the back of a spoon to flatten it.
4. These cookies do not spread at all while baking and can safely be put close together on the sheet.

Bon Appetit!

My Friends Are Wonderful

2010-01-09T23:55:00.002-05:00

Because Jules got me pretty much the best Christmas present ever. A HUGE cupcake cake mold, with the divet pan so you can fill it. I am sooooo excited!

English Muffins

2009-12-03T01:51:00.002-05:00

This lovely comes from Leslie, my kinda step-mother over at GreenCollarGirl.com, and oh, hey look, if you click on the title English muffins, I made it so it will take you over there to browse the crazy stuff going on over at my Papa's house where they run prettttty green these days.

Have a craving for an English Muffin with eggs in the morning, but living on a budget you can’t afford to buy that certain brand with all the “nooks and crannies”? Well crave no more ’cause here’s a simple, easy to make English Muffin recipe that produces a mountain of muffin and saves you dough at the same time. To make it ultra easy, I mix the ingredients in my bread machine.

Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup melted shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

Mountain of Muffins
Warm the milk and water together in a small saucepan, remove from heat and pour into the pan of the bread machine. Add remaining ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed. Select the “Dough” program and set back while your bread machine does the mixing work. Watch that your dough doesn’t over rise in your machine as it will make quite a mess and could damage the machine.

When the dough has doubled, punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.

Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast. Great with eggs, or with home made jam or even just butter

Spaghetti Carbonara

2009-12-02T08:44:00.002-05:00

I've made this twice now and it's really delicious. I like the flavours; Joe loves the bacon. WIN.
Last night I served it over baby spinach which worked really well.

You need:

1 pound any type of pasta (I've used farfalle and rotini)

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 slices bacon, diced (I double this to satiate Joe!)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine (optional) (1/4 cup of chicken stock may be used, or a 1/8 cup vodka)

4 eggs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook your pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine, stock, or vodka if desired; cook one more minute.
Add bacon/onion/liquid mixture to pasta. Toss to coat, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. Beat eggs together with the 1/2 cup Parmesan and pour over warm pasta mixture. Stir until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).
Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

Voila!

You may also add cream, nutmeg, mushrooms, peas, and other delectabilities to this dish. It's easy to adjust; however, try the basic dish first to see what you want to do with it.

NOTE: if reheating this dish for next-day meals, heat on LOW or in short intervals of 15 second increments, otherwise the creamy egg sauce will frizzle into lumpy curds.

Bon appetit!

No Flour PB Cookies

2009-11-28T20:53:00.003-05:00

You Need:
1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
1 cup super fine Sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a large baking sheet.
In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, the egg, and vanilla, and stir well with a spoon.
Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts, most likely using spoons, unless you feel like greasing your hands.
Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet.
With a fork, dipped in sugar (or splenda) to prevent sticking, press a crisscross design on each cookie.
Bake for 5-12 minutes, depending on your oven.
Cool slightly before removing from pan.

Want to jazz it up? Try using gourmet peanut butters of flavor extracts instead of vanilla (or with vanilla). Maybe dip those bad boys in chocolate.

Note: I plan to play with sugar types. I find the sugar is a tad gritty, but I don't know if it's necessary or not. Some recipes call for more sugar, but we've found that the more sugar recipes are super gritty. I plan to try using 1/2 confectioners 1/2 superfine next time. They're still pretty tasty and super moist. Almost as good as buckeyes.

To make it easy to handle, oil your hands lightly.
Bon Appetite!

Fruit Pizza Rinn Style

2009-11-27T22:29:00.002-05:00

What You Need:
2 Cans of Croissant. Why? Because making Croissants is a PAIN IN THE @SS. If you want to make the dough the hard way, go for it. I'll only do it for pay, and I think the can dough might actually be better for this particular dish. Less fluffy is good.
One brick of Neufchâtel or Cream Cheese. I prefer Neufchâtel
1 cup of plain old sugar.
A can of sprite or lemon flavored club soda.
Whatever fruit you like. Berries work well. Avoid bananas, apples, and super juicy wet fruits like pineapple chunks. The apples go nast and the bananas get soggy and the super juicy stuff makes a messsssss.
I tend to use blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, starfruit, pomegranate, canned mandarins very well drained, and candied ginger.

In a small mixing bowl, cream together brick of cheese brought to room temp and cup of sugar. Use less to taste if you prefer it less than super sweet. Add a splash or two of club soda or sprite to make it smoother. Throw it back into the fridge. Don't worry, it won't get hard.

On a large pizza pan, or two small pizza pans, lay out croissant dough in a single layer, trying not to overlap or leave cracks. Shake some of your granulated sugar over it, especially on the edges. Bake per directions, but check on it early to make sure the dough doesn't burn (remember it's not rolled so it won't take as long). Bake until LIGHTLY golden.

Let crust cool COMPLETELY.

Spread cheese on crust and arrange your fruiy, nuts, whatever to make it pretty.

Bon Appetite!

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies-Mom's Recipe

2009-11-22T20:41:00.003-05:00

1 1/2 Cup sugar
1 Cup margerine
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Refrigerate 2 hours before rolling out about 1/4 inch thick.
Bake 350
8-10 minutes
Do not grease sheet
Sprinkle with granulated sugar before baking.

Oatmeal

2009-11-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

I've been eating oatmeal for breakfast but trying to decide on easy and affordable (and healthy) ways to dress it up.

Today's variation was pretty good.

Mix equal parts apple sauce, quick oats and milk in a bowl (I used 1/2 cup each) and microwave.

The result is thick, so you may want to add some more milk but I enjoyed my breakfast today.

Classic British fare- Bangers and Mash

2009-10-22T05:39:00.002-04:00

I'm a raving Anglophile who recently decided the time had come to make my own bangers and mash. I was looking for comfort food during a rainy spell of weather. I found this recipe, which came out well. You can also serve this as a mound of mashed potatoes with the sausages and gravy over top.

Ingredients:

8 large baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 teaspoons butter, divided
1/2 cup milk, or as needed
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds beef sausage
1/2 cup diced onion
1 (.75 ounce) packet dry brown gravy mix
1 cup water, or as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, and mash with 1 teaspoon of butter, and enough milk to reach your desired creaminess. Continue mashing until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until heated through. Remove from pan, and set aside. Add remaining teaspoon of butter to the skillet, and fry the onions over medium heat until tender. Mix gravy mix and water as directed on the package, and add to the skillet with the onions. Simmer, stirring constantly, to form a thick gravy.
Pour half of the gravy into a square casserole dish so that is coats the bottom. Place sausages in a layer over the gravy (you can butterfly the sausages if you wish). Pour remaining gravy over them, then top with mashed potatoes.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until potatoes are evenly browned.
Serve with a stout ale or beer of your choice.

Bon appetit!

October is National Dessert Month!!!

2009-10-15T00:13:00.003-04:00

As if we needed an excuse. Cream puffs, cake, chocolate eclairs. My blood runs heavy with your sugary goodness.

Or how about a pumpkin pie made with this bad boy?

Ps, that's my Daddy-o and Moto moving the bigun this year, with Leslie's bro Richard, the Pumpkin King, driving. To see more of my crazy family and what they do this time of year, head over to pumpkinroad.com !

VOLCANO pudding!

2009-10-06T09:06:00.004-04:00

This is a very chocolatey cake that bakes in its own fudge sauce. Serves 4 generously or 6 skimpily.
We call it "volcano pudding" in my family because of a baking accident early in my parents' married life. :)
You can call it "amazing"!

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 2/3 cups hot water

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the 2/3 cup sugar, flour, 5 tablespoons of the cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in milk, melted butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter into a deep baking dish or small casserole dish. (The cake puffs up while baking, and you wouldn't want to have any of the fudge sauce bubble over!)

In separate bowl, stir together the remaining white sugar, brown sugar and the remaining cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top. Do not stir!

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes. Then spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top of portion.
Best with some ice cream over it to get all melty! I often make this for company.

October 4th is National Vodka Day!

2009-10-04T23:12:00.001-04:00

Like we need an excuse!

National Coffee Day-Homemade Kahlua

2009-09-29T01:40:00.002-04:00

Oh, what a fabulous day. As a former Barista, I'd like to remind your cheap butt's to tip your coffee slinger well (because if you don't, it's going to get decaf).

1 12-cup pot very strong coffee (lighter the roast, the more caffeine)
2 lbs. light brown sugar
4-6 tablespoons vanilla
1 bottle 1Everclear

Bring coffee to a boil in a large pot. Gradually add 2 lbs. light brown sugar and return to boil stirring constantly. Let cool until room temperature. (I add up to 1 cup of ice to cool faster and place pot in sink of cold water).

When completely cool, add the vanilla and Everclear. It is ready to serve. Fill the booze bottle and stick it in the frige for special occasions. You weaklings can use a high proof vodka.

Feel free to play with flavor extracts. I like chocolate-orange, raspberry or amaretto, but you'll find a schlew of natural and artificial flavoring at your local store!

Bon Appetite!

Food Fight!

2009-09-24T12:05:00.000-04:00

Go. Watch. Giggle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-yldqNkGfo&feature=related#watch-main-area

Poor Man's Payday

2009-09-19T19:26:00.002-04:00

So, I was talking about my love for candy corn with a friend the other day, gushing how they have so many new flavors because, with the exception of Brach's all candy corn is the devil with red dye 40 in it, and the new flavors lack the orange bits. She pointed out that if you mix it with peanuts, it tastes like a payday.

I did some fiddling around, and SHE'S RIGHT!

So:

1 cup peanuts, roasted and salted
1/2 cup candy corn.

Bon Appetite!

Roast Everything! Or, 35 Minutes to Dinner.

2009-09-15T10:16:00.003-04:00

My go-to meal for busy weekdays- healthy, quick, economical and delicious.

DETAILS:
Pick a meat. I usually use chicken thighs or halved chicken breasts, but you could use roughly chopped forms of ham or beef. Or serve fish on the side (prepared separately). I'd avoid using sausages though- they give off too much grease.

Pick your favourite/seasonal/bite-sized veggies. I usually use baby carrots, grape tomatoes, any colour peppers (chopped roughly), any type of onions (ditto). Potatoes (scrubbed and chopped), and/or sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped) are FABOOSH for this. You can also use green beans, olives, zucchini, other squash, and broccoli or cauliflower. I think even corn on the cob could work, but haven't tried that.

Pick your spices/herbs/flavours. I use 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary (with S&P). Super-Potato version: use chili powder, a touch of cayenne, and a bit of Parmesan cheese (with S&P). Sometimes I use butter instead of oils and sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar lightly over everything for a sweeter version...especially with yams, onions, and sweet peppers.

Line a couple of rimmed cookie sheets with 2-3 layers of foil. Space your oven racks evenly and preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Try to distribute your veggies equally between the sheets.

Add your meat to the pans too- nestle it, evenly spaced, in the veggies.

Drizzle everything with olive oil- try to go lightly, which is tricky- then shake on some salt and pepper and whatever other spices you desire. For Super-Potatoes, toss them in a bag or a bowl with just the merest amount of olive oil (instead of drizzling) and with lavish amounts of spices. This allows them to become crispy. With the drizzle method, the veggies are much softer (and you have to make sure the oil doesn't escape from the pan.)

Roast your pans of mixed deliciousness at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then take them out to turn the meat and flip the veggies around. Then roast them for 15 more minutes or until seared to your satisfaction. (The onions tend to caramelize and blacken....YUM.)

Two 9x13 cookies sheets of meat and veg feeds 4 people at one sitting or 2 people for two+ meals. You can omit the meat if you like. Super-Potatoes make a great side dish for any meal (especially fish or meatloaf).

Summary:

Chunked meat if desired
Chunked vegs
Lined pans
Sprinkle oil or butter + flavourings
500 degrees for 15 minutes
500 for 15 more minutes

Voila!

Zucchini Galore!

2009-09-07T01:11:00.004-04:00

From Green Collar Girl, who I lovingly call my not-my-step-mom-but-kinda:
It’s zucchini time and the annual overrunning of the Squash has arrived. Yes, fresh zucchinis are good, but anyone who grows zucchinis always has too many. You can always give some to your neighbors but after awhile even they will no longer accept your gracious garden gift. After all there’s only so much zucchini bread the body can stand. Before considering lobbing mammoth mammoth zucchini into the compost pile here are a few things you can do with them.

Sliced and fried with garlic and onion
Can with Stewed tomatoes
Throw some in your spaghetti sauce
Dehydrate and grind into flour
Grate and make Zucchini Coleslaw
Freeze and save for later use
Slice, batter and deep fry them
Use zucchini for a pasta replacement
Make corn and zucchini tacos
Try zucchini pickles
Zucchini Parmigiana or Lasagna
Make zucchini relish
How about a zucchini tini
Toss some in your salad
Zucchini Fritters
Slice marinate and grill
Cut zucchini into sticks and serve with a dip
Make stuffed zucchini
Zucchini Omelets
Put some on Pizza
Sneak some in soup or stews
Finally Zucchini bread and muffins

Although, I have to say, if you put it on my pizza I will most likely cut you.
I also recommend Zucchini scones and muffins, the breakfast of champions!

Bon Apetite!

Sinfully Rich Fudgy Brownies

2009-08-18T09:07:00.002-04:00

Yes, that's their name. It's an old recipe from my Hershey cookbook. These were a favourite of mine when I was little. (I'll have to post my other favourite dessert soon.)

BROWNIES:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup flour

CHOCOLATE-MARSHMALLOW FROSTING:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (1 pound) package confectioner's sugar (3 3/4 cups)
4 cups miniature marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the chocolate and butter; heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; beat in the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until thoroughly blended. Stir in the flour, blending well. Spread evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven (350 degrees) for 25 to 30 minutes. (The brownies should be moist. Do not overbake.) Remove from the oven and cool in the pan.

Now you have two options- my mum would pour the marshmallows on top of the cooling brownies in an even layer, and then add the icing over top once the brownies were cooled (for more distinct layers). Or she would prepare the frosting with the marshmallows stirred in:

In a medium saucepan, combine the chocolate and butter; heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; add the eggs, vanilla and powdered sugar, beating until smooth and slightly cooled. Stir in the marshmallows. While the frosting is still warm, spread over the brownies.

Refrigerate the frosted brownies for several hours or overnight. Cut chilled cookies into bars. Serve chilled, or for an extra "gooey" treat, serve at room temperature! Store in the refrigerator.

Bon appetit!

Tofu Cheesecake

2009-08-14T23:19:00.004-04:00

*Ingredients* 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cups finely chopped blanched almonds 3 Tbsp. sugar 2 Tbsp. margarine or butter 1-1/2 cups Silken Extra Firm Tofu 8 oz. Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese 3/4 cup sour cream 3 large eggs 1/3 cup sugar 2 tsp. grated lemon peel fresh fruit for topping (optional)

*Method* Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch springform pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine cracker crumbs, almonds, sugar and margarine. Mix with fork until blended. Sprinkle mixture over bottom of prepared pan and press evenly over bottom and partially up sides of pan. In a food processor, combine tofu, cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar and lemon peel. Process until just blended. Pour filling into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until cake is almost set in center. Turn off oven. Leave cake in oven, with door open, 20 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack. Cover cake and chill until set, at least 8 hours or overnight. Serve with fresh fruit topping if desired.

If you like, skip the almonds and use more graham.

Cora Brown's Molasses Cookies

2009-08-10T19:26:00.003-04:00

You will love these cookies, when you finally make them right. It will take you more than once without a physical lesson. Hundreds of family horror stories revolve around the time so-and-so tried to make them. When my mother tried, they were so hard she threw them out in the snow for the deer. When the NY winter snow melted, they were still there. The problem is that the recipe comes from a great-grandma who cooked for a lumberjack camp, sooooo the flour measurement is a guess at best.

You Need:

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup vegtable shortening
About 3 cups of flour

Mix all together. Consistency should be slightly gooey and barely handleable, so only do flour in 1/4 cups at a time until you get there.

Flour surface, roll out to about 1/4 inch, cut with floured cutter, or glass, an sprinkle additional sugar on tops.

Cook at 350 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be soft and cakie!

Bon Apetitte and Good Luck!

The Great America Bakesale

2009-07-24T01:13:00.000-04:00

http://gabs.strength.org/site/PageServer?pagename=GABS_homepage

Comfort Food- Pineapple Ham Casserole

2009-07-14T08:45:00.003-04:00

I know it's the middle of summer, but this dish is good even on a hot day, thanks to the pineapple. It's a great way to use up leftover rice or ham.

You need:
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple tidbits
1/2 cup regular mayonnaise*
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups cooked rice
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/3 cup chopped onion

*fat-free or lite mayonnaise is a bad idea

Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice; set pineapple aside. in a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, salt, mustard, pepper and reserved pineapple juice; mix well. Fold in the rice, ham, green pepper, 1 cup of Swiss cheese, onion and pineapple.

Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted.

Spiedies!!!

2009-06-27T16:18:00.003-04:00

If you've ever been to the Binghamton, NY area, or live there, you know your Spiedies. You know the name is, if nothing else, a big fat lie, because there is NOTHING speedy about Spiedies. But we love them, have a huge Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally full of competitions and fun, and businesses boom off of them. Everyone has a preference- Salamida's State Fair (my fave) or Lupos. If you don't feel like cooking up your own batch, feel free to order it. Most Binghamton-ites will buy it in the bottle.

You Need:

5 pounds chicken, cubed like you would for a kabob (use more vinegar for beef or pork)
2 cups veggie oil
1 cup white vinegar (or more, with pork or beef I often use equal parts)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or lime)
2 teaspoons salt
A head of garlic,peeled and minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

12 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes (or the metal ones if you have them, about

Directions:

Place all ingredients in bag or sealable container and shake it up.
Refrigerate for 2 to 5 days, shaking the container to turn the meat when you remember to (shoot for twice a day).
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. When you are ready to cook, remove meat from the marinade and place on skewers.
Cook, turning every 2-3 minutes, until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook or the meat will be very dry. Serve the grilled meat on Italian bread or sub rolls. Traditionally with ketchup, but other acceptable condiments have been cucumber sauce, mayo and butter.

Bon Appetite!

Rosemary caramels.....with optional cookies for sandwiching

2009-06-24T09:05:00.004-04:00

These are well worth the effort, but you really need an extra pair of eyes and hands, so get a friend to help!

Rosemary Caramel:

1/2 cup butter
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To make rosemary caramel, melt butter over low heat in a heavy sauce pan. Place sprigs of rosemary between two sheets of waxed paper and pound until flattened. Place sprigs in butter and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove sprigs from butter. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling, stirring frequently, until caramel reaches 242°F (use candy thermometer); remove from heat. NOTE: use caution and take turns if scooping or shaping these in any way. Hot fresh sugary caramel can burn skin instantly, as I personally experienced. I have a scar on one hand now!

If you feel the need, spread rosemary caramel on a cookie and top with another. Having made this, I would recommend carefully pouring the caramel into a thoroughly buttered glass 9x13 if you want to cut it into squares, or spooning it onto wax paper to make round caramel patties.

Okay, okay, here are the directions for the cookies:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

In a small saucepan, over low heat, heat 1/2 cup butter until nut brown in color, (after foaming subsides) being careful not to burn. Remove from heat to cool.
In a bowl cream together remaining 1/2 cup butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Add brown butter; mix well. Add egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour and baking powder; mix until blended. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill dough until firm, 1 hour or more.
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Roll out dough and cut into small (2-inch) scalloped rounds. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

National Chocolate Eclair Day!

2009-06-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

As if we needed an excuse to eat Eclairs. Yummm. Here's a recipe from http://www.famousfrenchdesserts.com/

You Need:

Eclair Dough:
2/3 cup Milk
2/3 cup Water
4 oz. Butter
1 cup Flour
5 Eggs
2 tsp. Granulated Sugar
Pinch of Salt

Chocolate Cream Filling:
6 oz. Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
1 cup Milk
4 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Flour

Chocolate Icing:
5 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate
2 oz. Butter
1/4 cup Water

How to Make It:

Eclair Dough:

Preheat oven to 425°F
1. In a pot, mix water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil.
2. Once butter has completely melted, take off flame, and slowly pour in flour, stirring constantly.
3. Put pot back on flame and continue to work it with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring and kneading with spoon until the dough dries out and stops sticking to the sides of the pot.
4. Take off flame. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring energetically.
5. Fill a baking sac with batter. Butter a baking sheet. Squeeze out "finger-sized eclairs" onto baking sheet, well-spaced.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Then turn oven down to 385°F and bake another 10-12 minutes with the oven door open.
Voilà!

Chocolate Filling:

1. Melt chocolate (chopped) and milk in a pot, and bring to light boil, remove.
2. In a bowl, whisk yolks and sugar until it whitens.
3. Slowly add flour, stirring.
4. Slowly add chocolate and milk, stirring until homogenous.
5. Put back in pot, bring to light boil, stirring constantly, until cream thickens and becomes smooth.
6. When cream cools off (and eclairs have cooled off as well), you can begin filling the eclairs: Cut a small slit lengthwise, and then stuff with cream, using your baking sac or a small spoon.
Voilà!

Icing:

Almost done! Hang in there! Chocolate eclair recipes are well-worth the time they take!!!
1. Melt chocolate with water in a small pot over a low flame.
2. Once melted add butter, whisking the whole time. Should look shiny and creamy!
3. Remove from heat. Spread a thin layer on each eclair, using a spatula.
4. Wait until icing hardens a bit to serve it.
Voilà! And Bravo!

Tip:

Even if you are making fewer than 20 chocolate eclairs, make the full quantity of dough (it will prepare better!). You can always freeze what you don't use.

Nestle Cookie Dough Recall

2009-06-19T17:15:00.002-04:00

This, my children, is why you MAKE YOUR OWN!

Orange & Bourbon Chocolate Torte

2009-06-17T11:31:00.002-04:00

I made this a few months ago for company after finding it in a magazine. It's a showstopper, and I'm certainly keeping it in my "splurge" category.

Serves 12 (I sliced it in 8 and thought that looked sufficiently small!)

Cake:
1/2 lb bittersweet baking chocolate (I used several ounces of 99% cocoa bar mixed with 3/4 cup choc. chips)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut up
3 tbsp bourbon (preferably Maker's Mark; I used JD)
1 orange, zested
4 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar

Spiced cream:
3/4 cup heavy chilled cream
2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom (I didn't have any on hand so I omitted it)
1/8 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter and flour sides of a 9" round baking pan and line bottom with parchment paper. (Note: I didn't bother siding the pan. Instead, I cut a circle of wax paper larger than the pan, slit it in four places, and pushed it into the pan. Easier all around. It gave the edges of the cake a scalloped look not noticeable when served.)

2. Melt chopped chocolate and butter in double boiler, stirring until smooth. (Can be improvised with metal bowl over small saucepan filled with boiling water.) Mix in bourbon and orange zest; set aside.

3. With electric mixer, beat eggs and granulated sugar in bowl until mixture is thick and pale yellow ribbons form, about 6 min. Fold mixture into chocolate little by little. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake for 35 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

5. With mixer, beat chilled cream until frothy. Add confectioner's sugar and spices; continue beating until soft peaks form. Chill in refrigerator.

6. Transfer cake to serving platter if desired; serve with spiced cream and shaved chocolate.

Tips for this recipe: Always use baking cocoa with at least 70 percent cocoa content or the eggs won't set.
Try making in ramekins for single-size portions; bake the same length of time, but place ramekins in rimmed cookie sheet filled with water.
Serve a sparkling red wine to compliment the flavours.
Enjoy!

Sunshine Soup

2009-06-16T09:16:00.002-04:00

This soup is so delicious that I always double the recipe to increase the chance of having some left over. However, that strategy hasn't worked yet! The carrots in this soup do good things for your skin and eyes. I dare you to finish a bowlful without smiling!

Carrot Ginger (Sunshine) Soup

1 1/2 t veggie oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 t curry powder (more as desired)
1/2 t ginger (ground; more as desired)
3 cups diced carrots (4 to 5 carrots)
2 cups chicken stock
1 can 2% evaporated milk
1/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes
salt&pepper

In large saucepan heat oil over med-high heat; cook onion, curry, and ginger, stirring often, until soft. Add carrots and chicken stock; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until carrots are tender.With slotted spoon, transfer 1/2 the veggies to food processor/blender; process until smooth. (I do all the veggies for effect.)
Stir back into soup; stir in milk and potato flakes. Reheat if needed; season to taste.

Serves 4 (small servings). 180 cal, 10 g protein, 4 g fat, 36 g carb per serving

Quick and Easy Donuts

2009-06-15T04:57:00.002-04:00

I loooves me some donuts in the morning, but the closest donut shop is a nasty long walk away. No problem, I make my own, whicha re wayyyy better.

You Need:

Now, this is a bit different for once. I'm going to give you two options. The OMG quick and easy or the wow I feel like doing more work.

OMG Quick & Easy Donuts
1 can or bag of pizza dough (I'm partial to the pillsbury cans myself)
1 can of Crisco
Toppings of choice

Wow I Fell Like Doing More Work
1 pkg. active yeast
1 1/4 c. warm water
2 tbsp. cooking oil
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water, and then stir in oil. Sift flour and salt together, and stir wet mixture in. Knead 15 minutes or so, and let rise until doubled in size. Chill overnight. Makes 2 pizza bags (feel free to freeze half, or if you have a large family, have at)

From he re on out the directions are the same.

Pull of small, chocolate cherry sized pieces of dough and flatten out while the crisco is melting down into oil. I prefer the crisco because, for some reason, shortening just tastes better than anything else when frying, and, since it turns hard again, it's easier to toss afterwards.

Once the oil has heated so that the water sizzles when tested, let heat 5 more minutes.

Using a metal spatula, or a small spider, drop in a couple of the now half dollar sized flat dough, and push around. Fry about 2 minutes, or until golden.

Drain immediately, and if you are sugarring or spicing, do it while they're hot.

I like to dip mine in jelly, or vanilla pudding.

Summer Smoothies for the Non-Dairy Crowd

2009-06-12T18:00:00.002-04:00

You Need:

1 bag frozen berries or peaches
Green tea
A bottle
A blender
Sugar
Large glasses

The day before you plan your shenanigans, put three tea bags in a bottle (old 64 oz juice bottles work great), make your iced tea whatever way you like. I prefer to make mine sun tea, but when I'm in a spot I make it right in the bottle, using boiling water 1/2 and then 1/2 tap water.

If you are using frozen peaches, you will have to cut them into smaller pieces. Same for whole strawberries. Fill the cup nearly full with your frozen fruit. Pour in green tea about 2/3 of the way. Toss it all into the blender with 2-3 spoons of sugar (or not) and blend until smooth.

If you want an alcoholic version, substitute whatever alcohol for the green tea. We find schnapps work best, and our faves are Vanilla, Chocolate, and some fruity ones.

Bon Appetite!

Gooey Butter Cake

2009-06-10T19:39:00.003-04:00

This cake is rich. You really only need a small piece (but don't expect to be able to stop at that). There are lots of recipes, but this is how we make it at our house.

Ingredients & Directions:

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Prepare Filling.

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar to make it look pretty.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ease of preparation: easy (I've had a first grader help me with this before)

Today is National Iced Tea Day!

2009-06-10T14:46:00.003-04:00

Some Facts About Tea You Probably Didn't Know!
and possibly don't care about.

Iced Tea, like many of today's favorite foods, was popularized at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, by a British tea merchant who happened to own a tea plantation, Richard Blechynden. Legend says that year there was a scortching heat wave and no one wanted to sample his hot tea. Mr. Blechynden therefore dumped a load of ice into his tea and served the first Iced Tea. However, tea punches (alcoholic of course), and even one 19th century iced tea recipe, had been served in the United States for decades prior.
Tea comes from the Chinese Amoy dialect word for tea, Te.
Chai comes from the Mandarin Chinese word for tea, Cha, Chai or Char. Cha is common in England.
Legend has it that tea was discovered quite by accident by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 B.C. The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, Shen Nung, an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea was created. (This myth maintains such a practical narrative, that many mythologists believe it may relate closely to the actual events, now lost in ancient history.)
Tea is second only to water in worldwide consumption.
Approx. 85% of all tea served in the U.S. is served iced.
The Northeast and the South have the largest cocnentration of tea drinkers,
The Boston Tea Party was no party! Europe and the American colonies. Tea played a dramatic part in the establishment of the United States of America. In 1767 the British Government put a tax on the tea used by American colonists. Protesting this “taxation without representation,” the colonists decided to stop buying tea and refused to allow tea ships to be unloaded. One December night in 1723, men dressed as Native Americans boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and threw more than 300 chests of tea into the sea. This now famous Boston Tea Party, in protest of the British tea tax, was said to be one of the acts leading to the Revolutionary
War. For those of you who are coffee drinkers, think of it this way, if the government taxed you so hardcore that you couldn't afford tea, how many people would die?
In 800 A.D. Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book on tea, the Ch'a Ching. This amazing man was orphaned as a child and raised by scholarly Buddhist monks in one of China's finest monasteries. However, as a young man, he rebelled against the discipline of priestly training which had made him a skilled observer. His fame as a performer increased with each year, but he felt his life lacked meaning. Finally, in mid-life, he retired for five years into seclusion. Drawing from his vast memory of observed events and places, he codified the various methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China. The vast definitive nature of his work, projected him into near sainthood within his own lifetime. Patronized by the Emperor himself, his work clearly showed the Zen Buddhist philosophy to which he was exposed as a child. It was this form of tea service that Zen Buddhist missionaries would later introduce to imperial Japan.
Tea came to Europe during the lifetime of Elizabeth I.
Tea was first brought to American in new Amsterdam-now known as New York.
The patent for tea bags was held in the U.S. in 1903-although some say Thomas Sullican invented them in 1904 or 1908.

Southern Tea Punch

You Need:
1 orange
20 whole cloves
4 very large, fresh mint sprigs
2 black tea bags
3 cups boiling water
1 cup ice water
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup Jack Daniel's or bourbon
Ice cubes

Directions:

Stud orange with the whole cloves, then cut orange into 3 slices. Place in heat-proof pitcher or bowl along with mint sprigs and tea bags. Add boiling water and let steep 10 minutes. Remove tea bags.

Add ice water and orange, lemon, and pineapple juices. Stir in brown sugar. Chill.

When ready to serve, stir in whiskey. Serve in glasses filled with ice.

Cheddar-Apple Scones

2009-06-10T09:00:00.003-04:00

These take only about 20 minutes to throw together. They compliment literally any meal, though I typically make them to go with soups and stews. They're also good for breakfast!

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour (I often mix half white and half whole wheat)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cold butter
1 cup buttermilk OR I cup milk with tsp vinegar to sour
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup peeled diced apples (about 2 small apples like Macs or 1 large like Rome)

1. In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (My secret weapon? After slicing the butter into chunks with a knife, I go over it with a potato masher.) Stir in buttermilk until literally just moistened. Gently fold in the cheese and apples. Turn onto a floured surface and knead 10 times. (This can also be done in the bowl you mix in, often; just dust some flour on top.)

2. Pat into a 9-in circle. Cut into wedges; separate wedges and place on greased baking sheet. (Lazy method: bake as one circle or other shape; score into wedges halfway through baking; cut before cooling. OR put dough into greased muffin cups.) Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 min or until golden brown.

Yields 8 full size scones or 16 slender wedges.

Buckeye Candy

2009-06-08T15:59:00.003-04:00

I absolutely love these evil evil little treats (I will eat them all if I'm not careful). But, everyone's mom makes them different. My oen friend's mom puts rice crispies in them, ewwww.

You Need:

1 stick butter
About 1 lbs of powdered (confectioners) sugar
1 3/4 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 stick paraffin

Mix butter, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla. Form into small balls. I find adding the peanut butter a little at a time helps you decide if the batch is too sticky or not, Hint, if you can't form balls, tooooo sticky.

Cool on wax paper in fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm them up.

Once they are firm, melt the chocolate and paraffin in top of double boiler. Add chocolate and paraffin a bit at a time or you'll have a messsss. If you don't have a double broiler, don't fret. Just put a smaller saucepan with water under a larger saucepan, and rig it as needed.

Stick a toothpick in the candy ball and dip into the chocolate mixture. My mom and I don't leave the top uncovered, just the bit around the pic, but some do leave part of the top uncovered. Pop them back in the fridge to cool, and then you can eat them up, or freeze them (they freeze well).

Bailey's Fudge

2009-06-04T10:00:00.003-04:00

Here is the now-famous Bailey's Fudge recipe for your enjoyment.
I have never been able to make fudge reliably but this recipe worked for me!
I love making candy, so I'm happy to claim this new skill.

Irish Cream Truffle Fudge

3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup Irish Cream liqueur
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
4 tablespoons Irish Cream liqueur
2 tablespoons butter

1. Butter a 9x13 pan (other sizes can be used but this makes the fudge more manageable to cut).
2. In the top half of a double boiler, melt the 3 c choc. chips, 1 c white choc. chips, and 1/4 c butter until soft enough to stir.
OR improvise a double boiler like I did by using a metal mixing bowl over a saucepan with about 2 1/2 cups of water in it.
3. Stir in powdered sugar and Irish Cream until mixture is smooth. Place in prepared pan.
4. In the top half of the double boiler, melt remaining chocolates until soft. Remove from heat, and fork-beat in the butter and Irish Cream until smooth. Spread over cooled fudge with knife. Refrigerate until firm; this fudge can be easily frozen.

Enjoy! It's really superb. When my friend T made it, it came out incredibly silky.

Comfort Food-Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole

2009-06-03T17:06:00.002-04:00

The weather is still a bit chilly up here in the north, and that calls for comfort food. This is currently the favorite at home, although we also bake ina layer of fried onions. Feel free to do that!

From: Campbell's Kitchen

Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

You Need:

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/4 of a 12-ounce package medium egg noodles (about 2 cups), cooked and drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Fried Onions (the can kind are tasty)

Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, milk, vegetables, chicken, noodles, Parmesan cheese and black pepper in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the chicken mixture. Top with the fried cheese and fried onions!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Chili Crinkle Cookies

2009-06-02T16:40:00.003-04:00

Many people think spices and chocolate are mutually exclusive- but the wise know better.
Let me know what you think!

Yield ~ 4 dozen.

1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 lg eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
confectioner's sugar
* oven -> 350
*grease sheets
*sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, chili, cayenne
*beat butter and sugar until fluffy, ~3 min
*add eggs and extract, combine well
*gradually add flour mixture; fold in chips
*cover and chill until firm, ~30 min (IMPORTANT STEP)
*shape into 1-inch balls; roll in confect. sugar
* bake 12-14 min- do not overbake.

Best eaten within a week. Store in a sealed container to retain moisture.

Note: these are tangy and addictive! I often double the amount of chili and cayenne, personally.

Apple Pork and Onions

2009-06-01T22:08:00.003-04:00

This is one of my favorite things to make, and it's super tasty on a cold day.

You need:

About 1lb of lean pork, cubed (I often use butterfly chops or pork loin)
8 large granny smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
Dash cayenne pepper
hard cider (I prefer woodchuck)

Cook pork in frying pan, using hard cider to keep from sticking and burning.

In separate saucepan, just pour in enough hard cider to coat bottom to stop burning. Saute onions until transparent.

Add apple chunks and 1/4 cup of hard cider (apple juice will work as well). Cook on medium stirring frequently. Add more cider as needed to keep apples cooking. When apples are tender enough to mush, add drained pork, and dash of cayenne while stirring.

Serves 4-6. Serves nice with acorn squash or backed sweet potatoes.

Bon Appetite!

Fried Candy Bars

2009-05-29T12:27:00.002-04:00

You've heard about it, and you're itchin' to try it. Let me give you some tips. Avoid anything with toffee in it. Yes, unfortunately that means butterfingers are out. Save them for the not fried food. I like snickers and milkyways, and almond joys. Really, anythign without toffee seems to work well, I'll let you know if I hit any other snags.

It's pretty simple. Whip up a batch of waffle dough, thick. The recipes will all tell you to go through all this trouble, but really, waffle batter works. So will funnel cake batter, but the waffle is cheaper.

The tricky part is in the dipping. You must dip and immediately toss into the frying pot (once again, I recommend using Crisco shortening melted down to just enough to submerge. It really does just fry better than anything.

As soon as they are golden, pull those suckers out, roll them in whatever you like (partial to confectioners sugar or granulated sugar myself) just like a donut, or leave them naked, and let them cool for a minuteish (think mozzarella stick and it's inner molten lava is bad, just wait until you hit a too hot candybar, ouch) and then...

Bon Appettite!

Grilled Portabello Panini

2009-05-28T13:03:00.003-04:00

One of the awesome things about being a Barista, is that there's usually more, and crazy ingredients. A sandwich and wrap bar to clean (pain in the butt btw), or a dessert display case to make your life a living hell. As if the coffee ingrained in your hands now isn't greasy enough. Of course, we actually like this stuff (if I could afford to do cafe work forever, I would, I admit it).

This is my sandwhich. Any worker will ahve one. If you really want to screw with them, ask them what they eat when ordering, then watch them try to figure out the price.

You Need:

Fresh Basil, perferably the hydroponic one you can find in most Wegman's and Schnucks (or whatever your ginormous food chain is). That whay you have the basil, and can grow some more.

Mayonaisse (feeling spunk, make your own, but I prefer Hell-man's).

Portobello's (one for each person)

A loaf of focaccia (faker recipie below for those of you who want to make your own)

One package of sun dried tomatoes (or a handfull)

Fresh Moozerella (the kind you need to squeeze) ((about one for each sandwich, just a little under))

Fresh Spinach Leaves

Olive Oil-Whatever kidn you prefer, I like Extra Virgin

A grill or a lean mean grilling machine

Pretty easy. Fine chop the basil. If you have a chopper or a processor, feel free to use it. About a handfull. Mix in with mayo, about a cup for 4-6 sandwiches. Don't make a horrific amount, because it won't keep for long.

Brush the bello caps with olive oil and grill until tender.

It works best if you layer it bottom bread, spinach, bello, fresh mozz slices, a souple sundrieds, bread top.

Toss on the grill. If you're using the open grill, you'll have to flip it like a grilled cheese, if you have a panini or lean mean grilling machine, you're set. Pop that sucker in, and heat her up.

Goes nicely with pasta salads.

Faux Foccaccia for the real lover

2 packages pizza dough
Pitted slived olives (a can)
Rosemary
Olive oil

Form the dough into loaves on cookie sheet, you'll want them kind of flat so feel free to roll it out. I just pat it out into two flat logs.
Brush with oil, sprinkle with olive and rosemary, and bake per directions.

Bon Appettite!

Latte Art

2009-05-27T14:23:00.002-04:00

For those of us in the know about how to make a good foam, here's a wonderful bit of ideas for making latte art I came across on metacafe.com!

Coffee Art - More free videos are here

Dairy Free Cream of OMG Meat and Potato Soup

2009-05-27T13:43:00.004-04:00

I am allergic to cow juice. Not intolerant, we're talking hives in my mouth. So, I love it when I come across ideas that aren't gross, and can tweak them. This is a lovely, if time consuming in the beginning, recipe you're sure to enjoy, that wont make you ill!

You Need:

1 lb potatoes
3 (10 1/2 oz) cans of chicken broth
1 (2 3/4 oz) package white pepper gravy
1/2 cup water
1 can of white beans (or navy beans)
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into ribbons (or chunks if you like it that way, just not diced)
1 green onion (for color)
8 ounces diced ham(pre-cooked) (you can add more if you like)
1 bx. microwave bacon
Flour (for thickening)
Butter
Salt
Pepper

1. Bake potatoes. I prefer to do mine in the microwave a few at a time. It will take about 10 minutes a potato, and you need to flip halfway through. Make sure you punch holes in them if you use this method. Allow potatoes to cool a bit.
2. About 15 minutes after you potatoes have started to cool, cut a bit of butter into your soup pot and toss in the onion. Cook until translucent and golden.
3. While onions cook, microwave the bacon and set to cool. You can use real bacon, but I find the nuked bacon easier to work with and less messy (and less pots to clean). Cook it whatever way you like, dice it up or crumble it, and set it aside.
4. Your onions are cooked? Add in chicken broth (you can use vegie broth if you're vegan, but chicken tastes better) and bring to simmer.
5. Cut baked potatoes in half and, using a spoon, scoop them into the chicken broth and onion based. I use this method with all of my potatoe soups, as it makes it creamier. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. In a small bowl combine gravy and water and mix well. Add to soup while stirring.
7. Add in your ham, bacon and beans. Stir well.
8. If the soup is runny, carefully sift in a bit of flour at a time to thicken it. I take out a scoop of soup and mix it with the flour them put it back in and stir. This helps keep down clumping. Salt and Pepper to taste.
9. Cut up some of that green onion for garnish, bowl your soup, and sprinkle with the green.

Tada, awesome soup that's easy to mess around with. Try adding other ingredients you love and feel free to make it totally veggie.

Bon Appettite!

Serves 6-8

Apple Wontons

2009-05-26T15:07:00.003-04:00

Also known as "How to Horrify Your Chinese Friends." I make these every year for New Years, and every year they are devoured. But beware, these sweeties pack a powerfully fatty punch of artery heart clogging goodness.

You Need:

1 pkg. Wonton Wrappers
8- granny smith apples, cored, peeled and diced in medium chunks
1 small ginger root, about pinky sized, peeled and shaved (or minced)
1 dash of Cayenne
1 brick Philadelphia cream cheese, just a bit cooler than room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 can of regular old Crisco
Cinnamon and Sugar to Flavor

1. Place peeled, cored, and diced apples in medium saucepan. Add ginger. Add 1/4 cup of water. Cook on medium, folding, not stirring, frequently, with lid on until apples are tender (Not mushy! We're not making applesauce!). Watch to make sure bottom does not burn. (About 8 minutes). Remove to cool, and fold in dash of Cayenne.
2. While apples are cooking, prepare frying pot of your liking, using the Crisco as the oil, melting it in scoops until you have enough to completely submerge the wontons. It fries wontons better, I don't know why.
3. Mix Cream Cheese and cup of sugar until smooth.
4. In the middle of each wonton wrapper, dab a small bit of the cream cheese mixture, and then a small bit of the apple mixture. Fold closed in your preferred manner (you may need to brush with a bit of egg to get to stick.
5. After you have enough to cover the bottom of the pan/frying implement of your choice, fry wontons until lightly goldon and bubbly. Remove, drain, and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
6. Repeat.
7. Serve hot or cold, either way they are delish.

If you want to use all of the wrappers in one hit, you will need to double up on everything else.

Bon Appetite!

Dandelion Root Coffee

2009-05-25T19:11:00.004-04:00

Mormon? Have I got news for you! My father and his loving mate have pretty much got a recipe for Dandelion Root Coffee down pat.

From Green Collar Girl, Leslie's Go green Site: http://greencollargirl.com/news/

Go dig up some dandelions! Make sure you find dandelions that are not in areas sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, or other chemicals.Monster Dandelion Root (and the backyard I spent my summers in)

Use a shovel, as dandelion roots can run deep in good soil. Roots are easy to dig up after a good rain and best harvested in the spring and fall. After you have dug up a bunch of roots, use a small knife or scissor to cut off the green leaves from the root. You can save the leaves if you want and cook them like spinach.

When you have the roots separated, give them a good washing in a bucket of water, when the water turns muddy drain off the water & wash again until the water is clear.

Once the roots are clean allow them to dry on a towel for 1 hour then either chop them up by hand or use a food processor. Spread the chopped root on to a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Make sure to turn the roots several time while baking to make sure they roast evenly.

When done, the roots will feel crisp and have a dark coffee color. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then grind them like coffee beans. The ground roots can be prepared just like coffee. I make the coffee in a pot on the stove, simmering the roots gently for 10-15 minutes or until it yields a rich, coffee-colored brew. Store the unused ground roots in a glass jar.

You can find directions to build your own grinder on leslie's website:http://greencollargirl.com/news/ or you can just use a home grinder if you have one. However, don't use the same one you do your spices in.

Want to flavor you're dandelion? Let me make some suggestions of my own:

Cinnamon, from the stick

Vanilla Beans

Coriander (I don't recommend more than 4 seeds per pots worth)

Any flavor oil you like. You can find them in the baking section of your local store. Be careful though, and brush it on the roots while they're baking!

Bon Appetite!

Quick and Easy Raspberry Sprite Cake

2009-05-25T11:57:00.006-04:00

My friend Juliane is a raspberry addict. It's ok, at least it's a healthy addiction, but she's also a picky eater, so we have to get creative sometimes. I whipped together this semi-healthy sweetie on a whim and the kids went nuts for it. By semi-healthy I mean you'll suffer much less than your sweetie. It's weight watchers friendly as well, as the cake and cool whip are both on the list.

You Need:

1 box of white cake mix
1 can of diet sprite

2-8 oz tubs Cool Whip (any kind of Cool Whip, lite, fat free, etc)
One average sized package of frozen Raspberries (We use the cheapest Walmart brand because, well, that's all there is up here to use)

Directions:

While making cake, allow raspberries to partially thaw on counter.

Heat oven as box directs. Together, in cake pan (the rectangles seem to work best, but feel free to experiment) mix cake mix and can of soda until smooth. Bake as directed by box. DO NOT ADD EGG, OIL OR WATER. You don't need them!

Once cake is cool, squish raspberries in bag. Mix with cool whip and then frost.

We've found that this is only good for immediate consumption, as the frosting doesn't keep well, but feel free to experiment with cake flavors and sodas. My favorite is devils food and dr. pepper. Works wonderful in cupcake tins as well.

Bon Appetite!

The Epicurean Cult

A Variation on Betty's No-Crust Pumpkin Pie

Homemade Pumpkin Slop...errr...Purre.

Apple Butter

Banana Bread Pudding

Bon Appétit!

Cheater's Ice Cream

Puff Pastry Pear and Pear Berry Purses

Chocolate Mug "Cake"

Easy Homemade Jam

Banana Snack Cake...for any occasion!

I like making this on cold, rainy or snowy days- it's so warm and gooey, and smells great. It's also a good way to use up overripe bananas. In theory this is *somewhat* healthy, which is good because you won't be able to stop noshing on it!

You need:

Lauraspy Treats

Berry Oat Muffins

Semi-Instant Gratification Fudge

Rinn's Cookie Base

Reduced Fat Oatmeal Cookies

Beer Bread

Split Pea Soup

Cream of Potato Soup

Monkey Bread

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Evil of All Evils Half Apple Crisp

Dubious Rosemary Naan

Summer Zucchini Bread

Raspberry Chicken Salad

Gingerbread Scones

Italian Ice

Fancy New Layout-Fancy New Style

Jack's Balls

Peanut butter-toffee cheesecake brownies

Waffles

Spaghetti Sauce

Rye Bread Dip

Zucchini Quiche

Lipton Potatoes of Yumminess

Oatmeal Cookies

The Duke's Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Split-Pea Soup

Hershey's Kisses Buttercreme

Suspicious Quick Chicken Casserole

Answering The Age Old Question: What's For Dinner

Mom's Banana Bread

Angel Food Chocolate Almond Roll

Apple Crisp

Corrine's "Special" Hot Chocolate

The most chocolatey cookies on Earth

My Friends Are Wonderful

English Muffins

Spaghetti Carbonara

No Flour PB Cookies

Fruit Pizza Rinn Style

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies-Mom's Recipe

Oatmeal

Classic British fare- Bangers and Mash

October is National Dessert Month!!!

VOLCANO pudding!

October 4th is National Vodka Day!

National Coffee Day-Homemade Kahlua

Food Fight!

Poor Man's Payday

Roast Everything! Or, 35 Minutes to Dinner.

Zucchini Galore!

Sinfully Rich Fudgy Brownies

Tofu Cheesecake

Cora Brown's Molasses Cookies

The Great America Bakesale

Comfort Food- Pineapple Ham Casserole

Spiedies!!!

Rosemary caramels.....with optional cookies for sandwiching

National Chocolate Eclair Day!

Nestle Cookie Dough Recall

Orange & Bourbon Chocolate Torte

Sunshine Soup

Quick and Easy Donuts

Summer Smoothies for the Non-Dairy Crowd

Gooey Butter Cake

Today is National Iced Tea Day!

I like making this on cold, rainy or snowy days- it's so warm and gooey, and smells great. It's also a good way to use up overripe bananas. In theory this is somewhat healthy, which is good because you won't be able to stop noshing on it!