Merry Christmas 2012!

I'm sitting here Christmas eve afternoon listening to one of my little darlings play Christmas carols on the piano and planning dessert for tonight and breakfast for in the morning!   I love this time of year and the smells of baking wafting through the house announce that the holiday has arrived and solidify the memories for each of us forever!  So today, on Christmas eve my kiddos and I are going to make lots of our traditional goodies, the candied nuts and bon bons of Christmas posts past, as well as Gingerbread cookies and pecan bars (like pumpkin pie in a nice neat package!).  I hope you enjoy these traditions as much as we do at our house!  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!  May 2013 be wonderful and merry for everyone!

I got the pecan bar recipe from my Aunt Marilynn I don't know where she first found it but they are moist and delicious and should be enjoyed at holiday celebrations everywhere!

Pecan Bars

Crust:

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1/2 cup corn starch

 Mix and press into a cookie sheet with sides.  Bake at 350 for 15 min.

 

Filling:

1lb brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp vanilla

2 cup pecans chopped

 

Mix ingredients and pour over hot baked curst.  Bake at 300 degrees for 15 min then at 350 for 5 min.  Cool and frost.

 

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

4 oz cream cheese

1lb box powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

 

Combine softened butter and cream cheese on low speed of electric mixer until smooth.  Gradually add powdered sugar until frosting is smooth, add vanilla and spread over cooled pecan bars.  Cut into small squares, these are very rich so a little goes a long way!!

 

 

I got the recipe for these gingerbread cookies from a taste of home magazine.  I love them because the recipe is simple ingredients that I almost always have in my pantry and they taste ever so yummy! 

Gingerbread Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup molasses

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Vanilla frosting of your choice

 

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. Tint some of the frosting red and some green. Decorate cookies. Yield: 5 dozen.

 

 



Fall Flours...

May showers may bring May flowers but Fall showers bring Fall FLOURS!!  Ok, so that was cheesy but I just couldn't help myself!  And I realy can't help myself in the kitchen, I just keep baking!  This week I made Zucchini bread, Banana Bread, and finally yesterday I made PUMPKIN BREAD!!!  The signal of the real fall at our house, the way that my children know that we are only a month away from Halloween and only 100 days from Christmas is by the smell of Pumpkin and cinnamon wafting through the house.  When the baking begins the holidays and all the fun are right around the corner! I have already shared my Banana bread recipe in the past but I made a few changes to improve it so I thought I'd share it again along with the recipes for the zucchini and pumpkin bread that I used.  Here's a little known tip, you can use any "sweet bread" recipe that you want as a base and then just change up the spices and fruit or veggie.  So if you have a favorite recipe try altering it just slightly and using it for all of your favorite breads!!  Happy fall and even happier baking!!

Monday's Zucchini Bread



 

8 oz melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream (not no fat!!)
1/2 cup coarsley chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325. Line loaf pan with wax paper (for easy removal). Mix butter, sugar, and honey, then add eggs and zucchini; mix until almost smooth. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, and salt together; add flour mixture and sour cream to wet mixture alternately (one scoop sour cream, then a portion of dry ingredients etc.) then mix in nuts. Pour into loaf pan and bake until firm on top and a toothpick in the center comes out dry and clean (about 70 min). The result is a very moist incredibly tasty bread!! Enjoy!!

Wednesday's Banana Bread

8 oz melted butter 

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream (not no fat!!)
1/2 cup coarsley chopped nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 325. Line loaf pan with wax paper (for easy removal). Mix butter, sugar, and honey, then add eggs and bananas; mix until almost smooth. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together; add flour mixture and sour cream to wet mixture alternately (one scoop sour cream, then a portion of dry ingredients etc.) then mix in nuts. Pour into loaf pan and bake until firm on top and a toothpick in the center comes out dry and clean (about 70 min). The result is a very moist incredibly tasty bread!! Enjoy!! 

* I originally found this recipe in the book "Butter, Sugar, Four, Eggs" by Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto, and Julia Moskin.

 

Friday's Fabulous Pumpkin Bread
 

8 oz melted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup sour cream (not no fat!!)
1/2 cup coarsley chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325. Line loaf pan with wax paper (for easy removal). Mix butter, sugar, and honey, then add eggs and pumpkin; mix until almost smooth. Mix flour, baking soda, spices and salt together; add flour mixture and sour cream to wet mixture alternately (one scoop sour cream, then a portion of dry ingredients etc.) then mix in nuts. Pour into loaf pan and bake until firm on top and a toothpick in the center comes out dry and clean (about 70 min). The result is a very moist incredibly tasty bread!! Enjoy!!

Fall is here and so are easy meals for back to school!!

I know technically it begins September 22 this year but for me and my family fall begins with back to school shopping,and includes everything that comes after that such as college football, the first day of school, soccer season and so much more!! I love the ALL of those events and of course I feel like almost all of them call for special menus to commemorate the occasion! In this post I'll just offer some ideas for back to school and then I'll post about the others in the next few days!

My sweet Reagan enjoying her fried smiley face pancake!

At our house for the first day of school this year we have "deep fried" smiley face pancakes! Not a special recipe really but a special way to make them! Just in case you haven't ever made them here are the directions: First make any kind of pancake mix you'd like, then heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan drop two small spoonfulls of batter into the top off the pan and another in the shape of a smile wait about 20 seconds and then cover completely with about a cup of batter. Cook until the top is covered with bubbles and looks dry, flip and cook until golden brown! It's like a pancake/Funnel cake!! You'll never have anything better! I have included a picture, no it's not burned!! LOL!!!

This year the first day of school was not only an exciting occasion for my babies, but this year was especially exciting because my niece moved to Utah from California to go to College!! To celebrate with her, my sister and mother and I spent a week straight cooking a ton of her favorite meals, junk food, and goodies (I will include some of those recipes later) and then finally we helped her move into her very own apartment and stock her very own kitchen!

Hailey in her new apartment on her beautiful new bed!

It was then that we realized that my sweet Hailey (and some of her roommates) don't have a clue how to cook for themselves!! She did not buy anything but frozen meals!! Well I can't stand for that!!! So I promised I'd post some easy recipes with only a few ingredients so all of the college students I love (I also have a sister in her sophmore year and a cousin in his freshman year) could have a home cooked meal more often that once a week at MY house!! Here are the first three and these are favorites at my house:

Chicken Stroganoff
(I have posted this before but college students won't search so I'm reposting!)
1 chicken breast chopped (optional)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1-1 1/2 cup of sour cream
1 pkg. pasta (egg noodles are the best for this recipe but any will work)

Boil pasta according to package while pasta is cooking (if using chicken brown it in a sauce pan with a tablespoon of oil or pam), Mix all other ingredients in a sauce pan and heat through. When pasta is cooked mix it into the sauce and serve! This dinner is Yummy served with a green salad and garlic bread!

Lasagna Casserole
1 bottle of Bertolli pasta sauce (four cheese Rosa or Vodka are the best)
2 cup of mozzerella cheese
1 cup of parmesean cheese
1 cup of Ricotta cheese (optional)
1 box of short pasta noodles (rigattoni works best)

Boil pasta according to package directions while pasta is cooking mix together cheese and sauce (saving one coup of mozzerella for the top) mix pasta with sauce mix cover with remaining cheese and back in the oven until cheese is melty and brown.

African Beans and Rice
2 Tbs of olive oil
1 clove of garlic or Tbs of minced garlic
1 white onion chopped
1 can Tomato Paste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
2 cans white beans
Minute Rice

Cook rice according to directions on the box. Brown onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. When it is nice and brown reduce heat and add tomato paste and stir until completely mixed with oil and onions then add juice from beans and cook while stirring for about 5 minutes. Then add both cans of beans and one cup of water and cook another 5 minutes. Add cayenne, salt, and pepper until you like the flavor *cayenne is super hot!!*

This is Hailey unpacking on move in day!







Strawberry Pizza

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 stick softened butter

Mix together well and then press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan (it will seem like there isn't enough just keep pressing until the entire bottom is covered; it will be very thin).  Bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Cream cheese layer:
8 oz of cream cheese
2/3 cup of sugar

Mix well until smooth then smooth over cooled crust.

Strawberry Topping:
Slice 1-2 pounds of strawberries and cover with Strawberry gel (find in the produce section near strawberries) and layer over the top of the dish.

Serve with whipped cream or cool whip if desired.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!!   I absolutely love this time of year, but I've been so busy this year that it has been hard for my family and I to enjoy it so far.  So I've decided to put an end to that!  For me Christmas is about family, then friends, and especially FOOD!!  So I'v invited over my favorite friends and family for a fun filled Christmas goodie feast!  All the things that scream Christmas to me, like candied nuts, cheeseballs and fun fun games!  I added a new recipe to my arsenal this year though!  I learned how to make tamales!  I love adding traditions to our already existing fantastic family traditions!!  Merry Christmas and happy eating!

Top O the Mournin' to ya!! And Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

St. Patrick's Day was so fun this year!!  My kids are old enough to enjoy the silly holidays like this one and I love to make a celebration of it!!  So each girl got a shirt that said "Lucky Girl" on it (covered in green of course!) and the babies of course had special outfits too with their own green accents!!  But, it wouldn't be a Complete celebration without a special meal created just for the occasion!!  So I made Guiness Onion Soup with Irish Cheddar Cheese, Green beans, and Green jello salad.  YUMMM!!!  Then of course we invited over our friends and enjoyed a fabulous meal and wonderful company!!  I honestly don't even know why we celebrate St. Patrick's day and I'm really not that interested in finding out!  For me it's just another reason to create traditions and memories with my family and I love to see them smile!!!  So here's the recipe for the meal and really, the soup was FANTASTIC so make it any day of the year don't wait until next march!  (But be sure to use Irish Cheddar because its what makes the dish!!)

ONION SOUP WITH IRISH CHEDDAR CHEESE!!
Extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves minced garlic
8 cups thinly sliced onions

Salt

1 tablespoon dried Thyme 

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

2 cups Guinness Beer 

6 cups beef stock

6 slices sour dough bread cut 1/2-inch thick, toasted

1/2 pound Irish Cheddar, sliced

Chili powder

Salt and Pepper

Coat the bottom of large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high heat add minced garlic and breifly then add onions and salt and cook for 5 minutes then reduce heat and cook for 10-15 until onions are golden brown.  When onions are desired color add vinegar and beer and reduce in half (about 10 minutes).  Add beef stock and seasonings to taste and bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes.  Finally remove soup to oven safe serving dishes and cover with toasted bread and Irish Cheddar and broil until cheese is brown and bubbling!!  Serve hot and enjoy!!

Make up Eating and Low-fat Stroganoff!

After last nights splurge I woke up this morning with the sweet tooth blues, feeling guilty of course for every bite of sinful decadence I enjoyed!  So today I am going to make a recipe I recently learned about from my sister in law.  It is the most simple and enjoyable meal I've made in a long time and if made correctly can be a great compliment to a healthy diet!  And if you are a busy chef, it can even be done in the crock pot so that you just put it in and go, then when you return, viola a delicious dinner!

1 16.5 ounce container low-fat sour cream
1-2 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 cans 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
sliced mushrooms (canned or fresh as many as desired)
4 medium chix breasts
1 pkg. egg noodles

Put all ingredients but chicken into the crock pot and mix well.  Lay frozen chicken breasts on top of the sauce mixture and salt, pepper, and garlic breasts.  Cover and cook for 4-6 hours.  Cook one package of eggnoodles as directed on the package.  Remove from the water and mix in a small amount of olive oil to keep noodles from sticking.  Serve chicken stroganoff sauce over noodles with salad!