German Apple Cake

I had to run some errands yesterday when I passed a sign that said ,"Cookbooks 1-4 dollars".  It was on an unusual sign because it was at an auto detailer.  "Mmm, interesting!", I thought to myself.  So of course I had to turn around and investigate.  So much fun. There were cookbooks from local associations and churches.  Recipes from many people that I knew (and many I did not know). 

I love local cookbooks because they are from true cooks   People sharing their favorite recipes.  Recipes that they are proud of and recipes for which they are known.

This recipe is not however one of those.  This is from a cookbook, Back Fence favorites, Recipes from Over the Back Fence Magazine.  This is a magazine that keeps people up on what is happening locally. Here it is the adapted version.  If you wonder about the peach pie filling, well, it was left over from waffles made in the morning.

 

 



German Apple Cake

1 cup canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 apples, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 can peach pie filling (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Beat eggs and oil until frothy, set aside.  Combine all the other ingredients.  Add egg mixture.  Combine well, mixture will be stiff.  You will think that there is not enough batter to make a cake but there really is.    Pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 dish and bake approximately an hour or until the cake springs back when touched and the sides slightly pull away.  Cool and spread with cream cheese frosting.  Store covered in a cool place.(  Ha, like there would be any left by morning.) 

 

 



Frosting. 

1 - 8oz. package of light cream cheese, soften
2 tablespoons soften unsalted butter
2 teaspoons almond flavoring
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth 

This morning when I got up there was a piece of cake the size of a regular file card.  This was enjoyed by my grandson.

This recipe goes together really fast.  I soften the cream cheese and butter in the microwave and used an apple peeler that peeled, cored and sliced the apples.  Quick , easy and yummy.

Caramel Pecan Dream Bars and Peanut Butter Fingers

It was the first snow of the season.  We had ice before the snow so thing were somewhat slippery.  We have a big driveway which I was not in the mood to shovel.  The man across the road had his tractor and snow blade out and when he finished he came over and did our drive.  Thank you, thank you thank you, Gene. 

To say thank you,  I decided to bake something tasty.  I had been sitting looking at a magazine when I thought," silly girl you have not been blogging!"  I apologize .  I forget to take pictures and then the food is gone or is not picture worthy.

Today's recipes come from ,Sharing Our Best  Mom's Club.  A collection of recipes by MOM'S CUB,
Preble and Montgomery County in Ohio.

 



 The first recipe is for Caramel Pecan Dream Bars submitted by Carla Eck  and Barbara Willeford. 

They were so good and  definite make again.  Also quick and easy. 

Base.
1 package of yellow cake mix
1/3 cup soften unsalted butter
1 large egg

Heat on to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 13 x 9 pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, butter and egg.  Mix on high until crumbly.  Press into a prepared pan.

Filling:

1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup heath toffee pieces

In a small bowl beat milk, egg, vanilla until well blended. Stir in the toffee pieces and pecans.  spread to cover.  Bake 25 -30 minutes or until golden brown.  Center may appear to be loose, but will set up while cooling.  Allow bars to cool completely before cutting.



Oops, Santa is a cookie head.


The second bar, was entitled Peanut Butter Fingers {Peanut Butter Bar Cookies)  submitted by Stephanie Vennard.  Again, another quick and easy bar recipe and equally as good.  These bars have oatmeal in them so a step to healthy eating , kind of! Oh, and Peanut Butter and eggs , protein.  Oh, we are heading in the right direction!

The Bar:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
6 oz. chocolate chips

Drizzle:
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
2-4 Tablespoons milk

Cream butter and sugars together.. Blend in egg, peanut butter, soda , salt and vanilla.  Add flour and oatmeal; mix well.  Spread into a buttered 13 x 9 pan  Bake 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  Let stand 5 minutes.  spread melted  morsels.  Combine the drizzle and drizzle over the peanut mixture.  I could not drizzle even after adding more mild so I lightly spread.

 

 

 

Now, I am on my way to thank the people across the road for plowing my drive. 

I hope he enjoys eating them as much as I did making them.

 

If you see this book anywhere , snatch it up because there are many great recipes.  Thanks, Moms.





Orange - Pineapple Bundt Cake

I was looking at some cookbooks this lazy, rainy, gloomy day when I came across Mrs. Miller's Family Favorite Recipes.  She has many wonderful recipes in this book.  One of the recipes that caught my eye was one for Pineapple Bundt Cake.  Mm mm, it sounded really good but as usual I sat and thought how to make it mine.  Here is the  recipe.  Forgive me but there are no pictures as the cake stuck when I flipped it and turned into an orange-pineapple crummy bundt cake.

It still was eaten and whipped topping covered up the traces of the bundt Cake murder!

Here is my adaptation of Orange - Pineapple Bundt Cake.

Put in to the bowl of an electric mixer:  Mix well

2 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
zest of one orange and then juiced ( I used a naval orange)
2 teaspoons orange extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

then add and mix with the above:

3 cups flour
1- 20oz. can crushed pineapple

Pour into a greased 10 inch bundt pan  bake 350 degrees for 55 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean.

Make a glaze by mixing:
1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon orange extract

(I get lemon and orange oil and extract from Penzey's)

Pot Pie Purses

Many years ago in the land of  OMG, I have to cook and I do not know how, I had two cookbooks, one was a Betty Crocker (1960's edition) and a  McCall's blue cookbook.  Out of the two, Betty Crocker was my go to.  I used that cookbook for everything.  It became a file cook book because I would file away recipes that I wanted to keep.  That book saw six moves but on the seventh move it vanished.  I do not know where I went but maybe it just disintegrated from use.

One day, not long ago, my daughter called and said she was at a yard sale and wanted to know if I was interested in some cookbooks that were there and they also had two Betty Crocker cookbooks for sale at a different price.  I told her to go ahead and get them and I would be more than happy to reimburse her.  When she gave them to me, you could not believe how excited I was to find that this was a copy of my long lost one. 

 

 



I made the Chicken Dinner Pie recipe ( p. 307)  .  It is made with a white sauce with light cream and chicken broth.   flavored with salt, pepper, dried onion  and thyme.  Then cooked chicken and a canned of mixed vegetable are added. You could used cooked frozen mixed veggies.  It is hard to believe that this is so good.

After I made the filling, I had to decide how to present it since my grandson is picky about what his food looks like.  I finally decided on crescent rolls.  I unrolled them, made square using two triangle to do so.  Then I brought up the corners twisting the tops and pinching the sides to make the purses.

  

I used two tubes of crescent rolls and had some filling left.  Baked them for 15 minutes.  Everyone loved them.

Follow this to get the book.

Quick Pear Tarts

I took a break from some late yard work and turned on Sunny Anderson.  She was making a quick pear dessert that her mother use to make.  She used phyllo dough, topped the dessert with cheese.

I was not excited about fruit and cheese so I took another road.  Here is my adaptation of her Quick Pear Tart recipe. 

1 package of premade, two crust pie dough          

1/4 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cans of pears in own juice
1/2 cup white chocolate morsels
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

First , I did not have any phyllo so I enlisted a package of pie crust dough from my ice box.  I then rolled it out and cut it into squares (re-rolling the scraps).and place them on two parchment lined cookie sheets.  Brush each piece with the melted butter.  Sprinkle them with about half the sugar mixture.  Slice each pear into sections, leaving the small end attached.  Fan one pear half out on each piece of dough.  Sprinkle each pear with more cinnamon and sugar.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  keep an eye on them and when the dough turns tan remove.  Let cool.

While the tarts are cooling, put the morsels in separate bowls and mix in 1 tablespoon of oil with each
bowl of morsels.  Microwave on medium power in 30 second intervals until the chocolate has melted. Let chocolate cool slightly then put in a sandwich bag and use as a piping bag, drizzling the two different chocolates over the tarts.

 

I ran out of pears but had some dough left and used canned apricots.  Very good.  I would think you could vary the fruit and use spices that go with that fruit.  Quick, easy and yummy.  I also think I will give the phyllo a try next time.

The next day a family member came over and finished the tarts off.  That says it all!

Click here to see
Sunny's recipe--http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=quick+pear+tart&fnSearchType=context&fnType=talent&fnId=119&gosearch=

I am back. It is trick or treat tonight and I promise you that this is a treat.  If you like twice backed potatoes you will love this casserole.  It comes from a Circleville ,Ohio Church of Christ Ladies in a book entitled, Hidden Treasures- Casseroles and Cobblers.  There are many delicious recipes in this book.  The first one that I tried was one called twice baked potatoes.  Yes, if you liked twice baked potatoes, you are going to love, love, love this.  This recipe was submitted by Debbie Murphy and Dianne Malone.

Here is my adaptation of  Twice Baked Potatoes Casserole.

6 medium unpeeled potatoes, baked
1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
3/4 pound of bacon, cut into lardens and cooked
1 carton of sour cream
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar
1/2 cup Asiago cheese
2 green onions, chopped

Cut baked potatoes into 1 inch cubes.  In a greased 12x9 casserole dish, put half of the potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and bacon.  Top with half the sour cream and cheeses.  Repeat layers.  Baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Sprinkle with onions.  Serves 6-8  Everyone ate with gusto and had very little left.

Really any cheese you have that you enjoy would work.  Also lardens are pieces of bacon that are cut into small pieces and fried.





Baked Spaghetti

My hubby is always giving laurels to his high school's baked spaghetti.  Baked spaghetti???  I never even heard of it and have never eaten it.  Of course, my mom was never an adventurous cook.  Spaghetti was dry pasta and jarred pasta sauce and then later a home made spaghetti sauce that did not really taste like the real stuff!!

My son -in- law makes baked spaghetti so I asked him how he made it.  Well I followed his directions but it was far from what Steve remembered and far from what I would want to eat again. 

I was surfing the Taste of Home web site when I came upon a Baked Spaghetti recipe .  It sounded good so I thought I would give it a try.  Good thing because this is wonderful.  I gave my non- cooking daughter a choice of steak or the baked spaghetti.  Needless to say, I put the steaks in the freezer for another time.  

I adapted the recipe by adding sauteed mushrooms, 32 oz. jar of Mids onion and garlic sauce, and I mixed it all together  then put it in a baking dish.

The above picture is a partial dish since it was under attack as soon as it was out.

Click here for recipe.

French Cherry Tart

I took a break and happen to get Laura Calder on the Cooking Channel.  She is so refreshing and I love to watch her" French Food at Home".  Unfortunately she is not on each day and seems to get moved around a lot on the network.

This tart  was super easy to make.  The worst part of the tart was pitting the cherries.  I can  managed to get Steve to do prep if it involves dessert so I did not have to worry about the cherry pitting.  He also just cracked a bag of hazelnuts with the hope for a dessert the I made him last year.  God bless him because I hate to crack nuts!!

This recipe calls for a tart pan but I used a 9 inch spring form pan.

 

 

The texture was similar to a soft cheese cake .  The crust has sugar in it and was somewhat cookie

like.  I am not a crust fan but this was tasty.  On the show she cooks the crust first but in the recipe it does not indicate to do so.  I did not cook the crust first and it came out fine.  The dough for the crust got soft when I was rolling out so I popped it into the freezer and then finished the crust by patting it in. hint: roll dough between wax or parchment paper.  Also the baking time is a bit longer, more like 40 minutes.

 

I would think almost any fruit could be substituted such as blackberries, raspberries fresh peaches etc.

 

 

Click here for the recipe:.http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/cherry-tart.html

 

Do not file this away make it.  A great recipe to make if you are short on time and company is coming.

Crab Cakes

Yes, I have returned.  I am adjusting to cooking for two and so I have not been cook booking.  Actually we have had days in our house where the closest thing to cooking was making coffee in the morning. 

In a few weeks I am going with a friend to see a cooking demo by Michael Symon from the food channel.  I do not have any books by him so I visited Amazon to get a book or two for him to autograph.  Today one of the books arrived, Michael's Genuine Food Down to Earth Food For People Who Love to Eat.  Wonderful recipes except it was not Michael Symon but Michael Schwartz.  This Michael is a James Beard Award winner.  Well, if I have to make a screw up this was one that turned out good.

Looking through the book, I found a recipe for crab cakes.  We had eaten at Lindy's  in German Village and Steve had amazing crab cakes.  Very little filler and a lot of crab. Now I am not a seafood cook so what was in them I really did not know, but they were excellent.

 The recipe in the book seemed simple and the picture look like there was a lot of crab and little filler. I had  a large can of crab in the refrigerator so I decide to give it a try.  I went to the store to pick up what I needed.  I was sure I had Old Bay at home but when I started to make them , oops, no Old Bay.  I searched the cupboard and pantry for something to substitute for it and settled on Durkee's Grill Creations, Gourmet for chicken and fish.  It worked very nicely.  When you coat the crab cakes , the recipe called for Panko.  All the plain panko had been used up so I used an oriental blend with sesame , ginger, and garlic.  This was another good substitute.

The recipe called for two egg yolks for binding but next time I think I will use three as they had a hard time staying together when coating.

Here is my adaptation of Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes.

1 can of (16 oz)  crab meat                                               
6 tablespoons unsalted butter                                       
1 small shallot                                                               
1 teaspoon Durkee's Grill Creations                               
1 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper                                          
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup panko, oriental
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup canola oil

Put the crab in a bowl and pick through for any shells, then set aside. Combine the butter and  shallot in a small pot over medium heat.  When the butter is melted, add Grill Creations, salt, pepper, and mustard.  Stir together, remove from heat, add cream and blend well.  Pour the mixture over the crab.  Add the chives. Fold together gently so not to mash the crab. Cover with plastic and put in the refrigerator for 1 hour or over night.  The mixture will appear wet but the crab will absorb the moisture. 

When ready to cook, form the crab mixture into 6 patties.  I used a large ice cream scoop to measure it out.  Put flour in one bowl, eggs and two tablespoon water that have been whisked together in bowl two and the panko in the third bowl. Dredge, dip, dredge very gently. Carefully place three patties in a skillet that has been heated with half the butter and oil.    Brown for three or four minutes.  Repeat with the last three patties.  Enjoy
.
I am planning on making his Grilled Bacon Wrapped Peaches with aged Balsamic and piave vecchio cheese tomorrow.  I love this book and I am sure you will, too.

Check it out at: http://www.amazon.com/Michaels-Genuine-Food-Down---Earth/dp/0307591379/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1375147186&sr=8-6&keywords

Going to the bar!

I still have plenty of mulberries even with the wind and stormy weather that has gone through here.  So yesterday  when I went out  to pick some more mulberries, I went past the currant bushes and they were full of red, ripe, succulent berries.  So busy, busy purple hands from the mulberries picked a large pan of currants for jelly.

When my parents bought their house in Lorain, there were currant bushes growing in the backyard along with many other things.  Dad would always wait for them to grow ripe with fruit.  He had to fight the birds for them, so he would sit outside with his badminton racquet, swat cabbage moths and swing it wildly at the birds. This  made for an entertaining view.  When he would catch us laughing, he would tell us to come try it. Then he got to laugh. Let me tell you that swatting the cabbage moths is no easy task as they go every which way.   I challenge you to try it!

I do not have problems with birds because they are all in the mulberry tree.  They leave the currants, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries alone.  Another good reason to have a mulberry tree.  (If you live near me I have a beautiful sapling that needs a home or it will be soon be pulled out and dumped over the hill.  So if you are interested, let me know.  I also have two small ones that are going to need new homes, too.

Yesterday, I made fruit bars.   The recipe was adapted from the blog site, TastyKitchens.com and was added to that site by kelly dee.  Her recipe was Blueberry Rhubarb Bars. I made Rhubarb-Mulberry- Strawberry Bars.  I am a firm believer that anytime you use fruit in a 9x12 dish you should have 8 cups of fruit or more.

Here is my adaptation. preheat oven 350 degree F

 

Ingredients :

4 cups of rhubarb  cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups of mulberries, stems removed (I use scissors)
1 cup cut up fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons corn starch

 1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 1/2 cups Quick cooking oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and corn starch.  Set aside.

Combine he first  5 ingredients in a large sauce pan and  cook over medium heat until fruit is soft. Mash with a potato masher to smooth out large chunks. add sugar and cornstarch mixture.  Continue to stir until thickened.

While mixture is cooking,combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, until well mixed and crumbly to make the crust.  Reserve a cup and a half for topping. Spray a 9x12 pan and press remaining crust mixture in the pan.

Pour the thickened fruit mixture over the crust.  Top with reserved mixture.  Bake 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Enjoy.

Three Berry Crisp

Walked over by the mulberry tree this morning and the fruit is just falling off the tree ( with the help of the birds).  The tree is about 65 feet tall so there is plenty to share with them.  Picked about two cups and will get some more tomorrow.  I couldn't decide what to make with them so I hit a search engine to find a recipe that had mulberries and rhubarb.  I had picked some rhubarb the day before.

I found a recipe that was called Three Berry Crisp.  It was on Food.com.  Why it is called three berry when it only calls for strawberries I cannot tell you.  It is okay because I didn't use strawberries nor did I use three berries. But it was quite tasty.

Here I s my adaptation of the recipe.

 Three Berry Crisp
  
Ingredients :
3 medium apples,sliced
2 cups of mulberries
4 cups rhubarb, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons sugar
 3 tablespoons flour
1 slight teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
3 envelopes of maple cinnamon instant oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
Spray a 5 quart baking dish and lay apples in the bottom.
Add berries and rhubarb on top of apples.
Mix together the sugar, flour and cinnamon, stir gently through the fruit
Mix together topping ingredients until integrated, sprinkle over fruit.

Bake 350 F for 1 hour

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy!

I chose to use the instant oatmeal because I did not have any regular oats.  It worked really well and I probably will do it again. It is a quick and good way to use up the oatmeal that does not get eaten in the summer.

OOPS!! Sudden wind and rain are attacking the mulberry tree( and everything outside).  It is near the pond so I guess the vegan fish will have some mulberries.

 No power, no internet, no post for now.  30% chance of rain!!!

Aw, Mom meatballs again????

I learned at a very young age that if you rename food it will be eaten.  My brother was always the picky eater.  He hated lots of thing but especially onions.  My mom would cook onions and tell him that they were ooyons.  Down the hatch they went. YUM!!

My husband hates turkey but he loves pork burgers.  I buy Jennie O turkey patties, take them out of the box and put them in a zip lock bag.  Instant pork burgers.  He loves them.

Well, my youngest daughter hates meatloaf.  It does not pass her lips. Meatloaf  makes me cringe but the hubby loves it, so after 24 years I broke down and made some.

I got the recipe from watching Ree Drummond on the Food Channel.  She made a meatloaf wrapped in bacon and then sauced it.  She claimed that everyone always liked it.  Okay, Maybe?  I will give this baby a try.  Yelp, she was correct.  Everyone at the dinner table loved it. 

 I made the recipe but I made them into large meatballs, wrapped them with bacon and put her magical sauce (left out the hot stuff) on it.  Baked them for 40 minutes added more sauce and then cooked them for 20 more minutes on 400 degrees to make sure the bacon was done.

Ate them with corn on  the cob and fresh fruit salad.  So good!

Eating leftovers tonight.  This is a definite make again food.

For the recipe go to :
foodnetwork.com , click chefs at the top, click Ree 'Drummond picture, and click her top recipes. Download. This is a don't pass up recipe.

Enjoy!

Beef Meatballs and Sauce with Rigatono

Yes, I am still alive.  I've been busy with the outdoor stuff and  when I  come in, I am not in the mood to cook anything but simple standbys.  Sunday, my friend , Sandy and I are going to Kingsdale Giant Eagle in Columbus to see Alex Guarnaschelli from the Food Channel.  So I had to get her book and make something from it (plus it was cheaper on line than it would be there).  It is titled, Old School Comfort Food.  The way I learned to Cook.  This book is very refreshing.  The introduction gives you insight to where she comes from and how it influenced her cooking. 

The book stars out with snacks.  Some are simple  such as a English muffin with tomato slices and cheddar ( not inspirational but kind of a sign that says, Hey, it is okay to make something simple as long as you enjoy it).  She also had some others that I am more than willing to try such as pickled grapes with prosciutto and baked clams with bacon.

The salad section has some really interesting recipes.  I would estimate that out of the ten recipes I would make eight of them.  Marinated asparagus spears, baked potato salad are among them.

The meat section varies from beef meatballs and sauce with rigatoni to bacon wrapped pork chops with apple and Brussels sprouts.


Poultry was not quite as interesting as the meat.  I think I will try the brined and roasted whole chicken and Cornish hens on the grill.

When you live in the heartland of the country fresh seafood is not something you can always get at the local grocery.  But I think mussels with white mushrooms and hazelnuts and scallop gratin with scallions is on my to do list.

The veggie section is always my favorite  The roasted Brussels sprouts and the mashed potato "Chantilly" read and look mouth watering.

And then there is dessert.  I never met a dessert that I did not like and  I am sure that these are all test worthy. MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm!

No,  that is not the end.  Alex gives us a section titled, Sunday Brunch Dishes from my mom's pantry to yours.  This really is a great section. When you have those unexpected guest or know someone is coming over but you are not sure when, then this is a really go to section.

Her last section is a titled, made it from scratch for the fridge door.  Now when you run out of an item and the store doesn't carry it , you can make it.  Easy pickles, barbecue sauce, homemade ricotta  and more.Throughout this book, Alex gives us glimpses of what makes her the chef that she is.

I had to look around to see what I had to make one of  Alex's recipe.  Ta da!   Beef Meatballs and sauce with rigatoni. Only I used whole grain spaghetti.  Sorry Alex but  I just did no want to make the
trip into town for rigatoni.   The consensus was that the favor was phenomenal but it needed to be a thicker sauce.  They are just use to that thick Mids sauce.  It was voted as a make again.  Really worth the effort!

 

 

You can get this recipe at foodtv.com and type in the name of the recipe.  There are many of the recipes from this book in Alex's top 100 recipe.  Enjoy!!

Oatmeal cookies

The hubby was craving cookies so 'I told him to find a recipe he wanted.  Oatmeal cookies???? Okie dokie that is fine with me.  The recipe is from a paperback titled, Southern Living Cookies Cookbook.  It has an array of recipes including Bar cookies, Drop cookies, refrigerator cookies , rolled cookies, and shape cookies. 

These cookies were super quick and easy.  The recipe ,Oatmeal Macaroons, actually seemed pretty healthy.  It called for salad oil (I used canola oil), only 1/2 cup flour and 1 egg. The only thing I disagreed with was that it made 3 1/2  dozen cookies.  I used a small scoop to make equal size cookies and came out with 25.  OF course if you count them there is only 24 because one fell apart and I had to hide it in my mouth. MMMM!

Here is my adaptation :

1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 egg, well beaten (domestic violence!)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup regular oats, uncooked

Beat oil and sugar together. Add extract and beaten egg. Mix well.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and whisk to mix.  Add to sugar -oil mixture.  Stir in oats and chips.
Drop by teaspoon or use a small scoop,  Bake 379 degrees for 10 -12 minutes.  My oven acts up so it took 15 minutes.  Cool for a minute then put on cooling rack.
Click here for the cookbook $.01 wow!! 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Living-Cookies-Cookbook-Sturges/dp/B001PEM6BG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367958462&sr=8-2&keywords=southern+living+cookies+cookbook

Strawberry -Rhubarb Crisp

 Daffodils ,pussy willows, forsythia, garlic chives, various perennial herbs and best of all RHUBARB! If you have never had rhubarb it is a bit sour bitter flavor but when stewed, baked or cooked with sugar or fruit or both it is magical.  It is a shame that it is not a vegetable (fruit by are standards) that is highlighted in our diets.  It grows anywhere and you can harvest it basically all summer long.  When you plant it , it needs to be left alone for a year and then it is fair game!!

Went to Kroger's yesterday and saw that the stems were $4.99 a pound.  Really?  Yes, stems.  The leaves are toxic  but they can go into a compost pile or lay them down around the plants. They did have pretty red stems.  Mine are green and red.  Some from my Dad and some from my mother-in -law (god rest their souls). If you know someone that has plants ask them for a start.  They can be divided and then planted.  Well enough about my favorite spring food. 

I watched Anne Burrell , who made a strawberry-rhubarb crisp. So excited, I ran out and picked some rhubarb and grabbed the strawberries that were earmarked for something else and made it.

 

 

The recipe calls for 1 quart of strawberries and 4 stalks of rhubarb but a fruit dessert always deserves to have 8 cups of  fruit so I added more fruit and increase the cornstarch to 1/3 cup.  It calls for balsamic vinegar but I used peach balsamic vinegar.  It is only two tablespoons but it added another dimension in flavor. Don't leave it out.  If you do not have some, try a bit of red wine vinegar.  I made mine in a 9 x 13 dish and served it after dinner.  Four stuffed people ate three-fourths of the yummy concoction.

 

We also had it over vanilla ice cream which melted under the warmth of the crisp.

 

For the recipe go to foodtv.com, click on Anne Burrell, click on top one hundred and it is on the first part of the list. Enjoy!!





Chicken Provencale in the slow cooker

I am sorry that I have been so neglectful in writing this blog.  There hasn't been anyone to really cook for except my husband and I, so sometimes we eat like we were back in college.  Last night for dinner we had buttered popcorn and a movie. I have promised my self to write at least a few times a week on this blog.  Today I knew I wanted to work outside and would not feel like cooking when I came inside so slow cooker it was!

I was looking at food sites and came across this recipe for Provençale Chicken Supper(Cooking Light Mag. September 1999) on the Recipe.com site.  It had good bone but not a big hit with the reviewers because it was somewhat bland.  Okay, there was the challenge. Here is my adaptation of that recipe.

Chicken Provençale Supper                                                

4 chicken bone in breast,skinned
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon Herb Provence
1/8 teaspoon each  salt and pepper
1 cup dice yellow or orange pepper
1 (15.5 oz.) can cannellini bean, rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes in basil, garlic and oregano
1 chopped onion
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 zucchini, chunked
1 8 oz. package of mushrooms, quartered
splash of red wine vinegar ( 1/4 of cup or less)
1/2 cup water

Place chicken in slow cooker , sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper.  Put veggies on top.  Stir to mix and add water.  Cook high 4 hours or low 8 hours.

I was going to use wine but all I had that would go with this was a big bottle and it was way to early in the morning to open a bottle and find myself with a glass of wine instead of coffee. I, therefore, opted for the red wine vinegar which turned out to be a good choice. I normally keep those little bottles of wine from the grocery but I had none that would go well with this combination of food.

This recipe is a keeper if I say so myself.  Filling, tasty and easy to prepare.

If you haven't got Herb Provence you can make It yourself which takes a lot of different herbs or you can get it from Penzy's.  There is a Penzy store in Columbus ,Ohio and several are scattered around the country.  They have a wonderful catalog you can order from, or order on line.

Roll 'n Rice

Made a pork roast on Monday and turned into pulled pork last night.  I love, love,love pulled pork. To up it a bit I made some homemade buns.  They we light, fluffy but sturdy enough for the pulled pork or any sandwich you might want to make for yourself.  I have sour dough starter and I am always looking for new ways to use it.  This time  I just side stepped the sourdough and made straight up buns.  This recipe is from King Arthur Flour and was developed by "Moomie"  (Ellen).  I sure wish I had her ability to develop yeast breads.  This recipe is very simple.  If you have never made rolls try this recipe.  I followed the recipe except before I baked it, I added some Kimmelwick topping that I brought home from Buffalo.  It is just large crystal salt and caraway seed.  For the recipe go to King Arthur Flour and type in Beautiful Burger Buns.  And beautiful they were.





I put the dough for the initial rise in a prewarmed oven.  It was a bit warmer that it should have been and the rise was approximately 40 minutes.  I then shaped the rolls, put them in the oven with the light bulb on and in about a half hour they were puffy.(see above).  I then brushed with melted butter, and sprinkled with the topping. Baked for about i6 minutes and removed.  It made eight good size buns. 

 

 

TAH DAH the final result. Everyone thought that they were delicious and wish that there were more

for lunch the next day.  My daughter and her boyfriend did get to take the last two rolls filled with

BBQ pulled pork for their lunch. 

I had an excess of milk, so to use some of it up I made rice pudding.  I used the recipe that has become standard because it is quick and easy.  It comes from a cookbook I bought for my first daughter when she went away to college.  She hardly used it and gave it back. The book is Where's Mom Now That I Need Her? Surviving Away From Home  by Kathryn J., Betty Rae, and Kent P. Frandsen.  Not only does it have simple and doable recipes for the first time cook, it gives valuable advise for shopping for food, how to do laundry, health information  guide to decide if a hospital or a doctor visit is necessary.  If not, there is first aid information to help one deal with the problem.  The book also helps with car and bike maintenance.  A great book to share.

One Pan Rice (adapted)

1/2 cup regular rice
1 cup water
4 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pour rice slowly into boiling water.  Cover and cook seven minutes.  (Keep an eye on it so it doesn't dry up and stick to the pan)  If it does stick and is not burnt, add the milk and butter then with a flat bottom utensil stir and get the rice floating. After stirring, bring to a boil, cover, turn to low and cook for an hour.  Half way through, lift the cover and give a quick stir.  Meanwhile, beat the eggs, add sugar and vanilla.  Pour mixture into rice, stirring slowly until rice thickens and bubbles.  Serve hot or cold.  You can add dried fruit, raisins, dried cherries with the egg mixture.  Serve it with cinnamon sugar or whipped cream.  I added sultanas but never again.  My daughter picked them out.  Dried cherries or dried cranberries is the addition of choice.

You can add some orange flavor and zest for a twist.  Be creative.

Te find some more quick and easy recipes or to get a copy for someone in need click here:

 

 

Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies

This morning we were watching a program that brought up Bruce Jenner's name.  I contended that he was a past Olympian swimmer and my husband said no he was not.  I bet him cookies,  He won, I was thinking of Mark Spitts.  So Peanut butter cookies were his choice. Cookies are his favorite food group.

Of all the things I make, cookies are my least favorite thing to make unless they are bar cookies.  They seem to take more effort and time than it is worth.  When I am begged for peanut butter cookies, I generally do 1 jar peanut butter, 2 eggs, 2 cups of sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Mix it altogether, ball them, flatten and bake them. 

For my birthday, Steve gave me a box of cookie recipes called great cookies by Carol Walter.  It has fifty of her favorite recipes.  There are various kinds: bars, drops, around the world, big boys, rolled and glaze recipes.  In the big boy recipes there is a recipe called White Chocolate Whalers.  One of the main ingredients is crispy rice cereal.  A good one to use, to use up that uneaten box of cereal that is sitting on the shelf. ( nothing like crispy bars)  They all sound yummy but the bars are what I am leaning toward next or the White Chocolate Whalers are sticking in my mind since there is some crispy rice cereal sitting on the shelf.

I must say that these peanut butter cookies are really tasty.  The honey add just a wonderful touch.  The cookies were soft but not crumbly and best of all they were easy to make.  In the traditional form of peanut cookies, the instruction say to make a ball and then flatten them with a fork. I use a small cookie scoop to form them (no icky hands).  I like to use a glass with a pretty bottom or the meat pounder.  I chose the meat pounder for this batch.  I also dipped the pounder in sugar instead of flour to give the cookies an extra layer of flavor and texture.

The cookies went really well with a cup of tea this cold February Sunday.

Notice the bubbles on the tea.  When I was a little girl, my grandmother would pour us tea and then have us hurry and gather the bubbles in a teaspoon before they touched the side of the teacup, then sip the bubbles off the spoon. If you did, you would have good luck or something nice would happen to you.  The something nice was that I was spending time with her.

Her is the adapted recipe.

Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cup pastry flour (or AP)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 jar peanut butter
1/2 stick room temperature butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts ( crushed in a sandwich bag)

Whisk the first 4 ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, mix the next three ingredients until well blended.

Add sugars and mix for 1 minute.  Then add the egg and vanilla and beat until mix is light and fluffy.  Fold in crushed peanuts. Chill for an hour.  Put scoops of dough on cookie sheet lined with a silicon sheet, flatten and bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes or until the cookies just turn brownish on the edge.

Cool on sheet for about a minute and finish cooling on the rack.  Mine made 60 cookies but the recipe said made 40 cookies.  So expect to have the amount somewhere in the middle.

If you like this recipe and would like to get the cookie box  .click here: You won't be sorry.

Chocolate Chip Dessert Ball

I am visiting my brother in Florida while everyone in my family is shivering in the cold at home.
We are going to a  Super Bowl party (can someone tell me who is playing??) so I offered to be a good sister and make a treat to take to the party.  I have made this several times before and was turned on to it, when I worked, by a colleague.

It taste like a ball of cheesecake .  You can serve it with vanilla wafers, chocolate wafers , graham cracker sticks or wheat thins for a different taste.    For a different approach you can make several different cheese balls and make them small (small cookie scoop).  That way there are no double dippers and less mess. Since I am making one, It will be just a normal size ball.  I promise that you will not bring any home. 

I do not have cookbooks available so I went to Allrecipes.com and found this one.  It is very similar to the one I have at home,  You can add other things to the basic ball to give it a change of flavor.  Instead of vanilla, almond would be nice, add chopped strawberries and coat with sliced almonds.

Here is the recipe:

1 package of regular cream cheese,softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

For directions go to allrecipes.com and type in  Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball.  Make sure to take a look at the reviews.

Oranged Iced Banana Bars

Having friends over to dinner so I had to do a dessert without having to make the five mile trek to Kroger's.  I still had oranges left, from the box of oranges my brother sent me and some bananas that were perfect for baking but not eating ala natural.  I was paging through  Judith M Fertig"s book, All American Dessert , and found the two produced sitting hand and hand on page 82.  So here is another recipe adapted from her book.  Make a standard banana cake, (hers or yours) . when done baking, turn off the oven, take the banana cake out, cover with mini marshmallows, put back in the oven for ten minutes, take out let cool.  Mix zest and juice from one orange, a cup of confectioner's sugar(sifted) and  two tablespoons of melted butter.  Whip it with a whisk or use a mixer to make a smooth glaze and to incorporate the sugar .  Pour over the cooled cake.  Enjoy!!

Just took a small piece from the corner. MMM ...M tastes tropical!  The marshmallows are still gooey and the other flavors are distinct but still blend well together.  If you like the marshmallow topping, I am sure it will go well with any cake you would make with a complementary glaze.

For some reason the turkey tenderloins are still not done and the guest are making the cake an appetizer.  Guess it is a hit!  Simple but good.

Coffee Glazed Spice Bars

Chili outside, Chili in the slow cooker.  Dessert is fresh out of  the oven and cornbread is waiting to be made. 

When I was a kid, my mom would buy a spice loaf cake with white frosting from the A&P store. It was my brother's favorite store bought cake.  Coincidentally, spice cake is one of my hubby's, too. So I found a recipe titled, Coffee glazed Bars. The recipe called for raisins, but having a family not found of raisins I used Sultanas.  It is like using dried plums instead of prunes.

The book that I used was Judith M. Fertig's, All American Desserts  It is full of wonderful down to earth recipes.  Recipes that you wonder how did they use make that. ( My grandmother use to make George Washington Pudding from the sour cherry tree that grew in our backyard.  Wish I had that one.)  The recipes are all accompanied by a blurb about the recipe.  She covers a wide selection:
preserves and desserts, cookies, cakes, puddings, custard, flans, ice cream, candy syrups,and beverages.  Definitely a book to add to your collection. Go here to get the book. You won't be disappointed!!

Here is my adapted recipe for Coffee Glazed Bars. 375 degrees for 20 minutes


Bars:
1 cup sultanas                                                       1 teaspoon cinnamon
a cup water                                                           1 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup canola oil                                                 1 teaspoon ground cloves                                         
1 beaten egg                                                          1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Coffee glaze:
!/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
2 cups powder sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven 375.  Spray a 9x13 pan.
Put sultanas in a pan with water.  Bring to a boil, remove, let sit until luke warm.  Put into s medium sized mixing bowl.  Add egg, incorporate and add beaten egg. Sift the rest of the ingredients except almond in a separate bowl.  Add almonds to dry ingredients then stir into sultana mixture.  Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean (about twenty minutes)

Make glaze.  Dissolve espresso powder in water, add almond extract and sift powder sugar into mixture. Beat with an electric beater. 

 

Sorry but the cake was attacked before I could get a picture.  It is very good.  Not like the A&P cake in texture but its taste is reminiscent of that by gone cake.  I will look for another but I am happy with this recipe.  I am going to put the spices in a sandwich bag and when I go to Florida to visit my brother, I can make it for him.  I hope security at the airport does not mistake it for drugs!!

Bread today and bread tomorow

Today was bread day.  I have sourdough starter that needs attention to stay alive and healthy.  One of my cultures got shoved to the back of the refrigerator so it needed extra love and revitalization.
So for two days it has kept me company on the counter and to reward it for good behavior, I used it to make some bread.  I had an open bag of King Arthur Flour and some inexpensive flour.  So I decided to test if the cheap flour could perform as well as the more expensive flour.  The results were not as big as I thought they would be.  The KA flour loaves were bigger and the taste tester like the flavor better.  The other flour loaves were a bit smaller and were tasty but not as good as the KA loaves.

Remember you can always make dessert out of bread!!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Have to say the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup wassoooooooooooo goooooood!  I had blue Hubbard squash soup a very long time ago when we went to Frankenmuth, MI .  I then grew blue Hubbard squash so I too may make that soup.  However, the squash grew but the soup never materialized.   Definitely will make this again.  We ate it for lunch and we ate it again for dinner. I looked at several recipes and decided to make the recipe that was in the Cook's Illustrated 2010 Winter edition of Soups and Stews.  It really is a great issue and is on Amazon get it here.

Sorry this was not up last night but there was a problem with my blog site but we are up and running.  There is now no soup left to eat.  Steve ate it for lunch and then asked me to make more.  Sorry this was bread day.




The main difference between this and most squash soup is that it the squash (3lbs.approximately) and an onion are cut up into large cubes, tossed with vegetable oil and roasted at 400 degree oven until golden.  Add a 1/2 can of chicken broth ,stir the vegetables, and cook another 5 minute.  Put the other half of  the can of broth in the blender and puree the vegetables.  Do this in two batches (you will need three cans of chicken broth, total) So open another can of chicken broth and finish pureeing the vegetables.  Put the broth and the vegetables in a medium pot.  Add a splash of apple cider vinegar and maple syrup, and 1/2 cup of fat free half and half, and a pinch of nutmeg.
Stir and enjoy.  Do not add half and half until just about to serve.  The dribbles in the soup was an attempt to embellish it.

Remember to eat dessert not desert.!