Busy, busy, busy!

I am really not trying to neglect my blog!  The past 7 days have just been so insane that at times I feel like I'm spinning in circles.  But I have been cooking, and thinking about blogging....does that count?  Either way, I have some good ideas spinning around in my head that I'm working on trying to get transferred from in my head onto my blog. 

The weather has changed a bit here, and I can just feel fall coming on!  I love fall cooking - the spices, the pumpkin, the pumpkin, and, oh, did I mention pumpkin!!  Last year our neighbor share a gooseneck pumpkin and I cooked it down and used in my faux Starbucks Pumpkin scones and it was wonderful.  I am hoping to find some on my own this year, as his was a leftover from making pumpkin ale, and I'm not sure if he's repeating that or not this year.  Canned pumpkin will work of course, but fresh cooked pumpkin really added a sweetness and texture that I liked.  A lot.  Maybe a bit too much! 

So, I'm off to get some more to-do's checked off of my list before the little munchkins get up from nap.  But I'll be back here soon, and hopefully ready to share some pics and recipes!

Cookbook Memories

As a kid, I was the dinner cook in my house.  I made a lot of dinners, usually some potato, venison or fish, and vegetable. Nothing spectacular but the usual fare.  I always thought I was a decent cook.  Then I got married to my husband, Troy and tasted his mom's cooking.  Oh my.  I wasn't in the same class as her.  That was for darn sure!!  She baked from scratch, made meals from magazines and cookbooks that looked like the pictures and I was completely in awe, and very intimidated.

I was able to cook with some prepared ingredients, could make cookies, and knew the basics but it was really my mother-in-law who really sparked my love of real cooking.  Her food brought the family together and it was an event every time.  You could feel the love for her family through her cooking and I wanted that for my young family.

My husband's first request proved to be a "test" of sorts, although it was an innocent enough sounding request from him, was no-bakes.  Okay, so some of you out there may be laughing at me.  No-bakes was a test?  Really?  And I call myself a foodie.  Well, for me, at that point, he may as well have been asking me to scale Mt. Everest.  Because a) I had no idea what a no-bake was b) I had no idea how to make them even after he explained what it was.

So, off to his mom I went.  And she laughed at me too - nicely, but still a laugh.  She then handed me a cookbook that I could have that had a recipe in it for no-bakes. So, I made them.   Well, I followed the recipe anyway.  They did not set.  They were a mushy mess that tasted like them but weren't no-bakes.  So I boiled the sugar mixture longer the next time.  Then the cookies set but they crumbled apart and were grainy tasting, and so the back and forth dance of me and the no bakes went for years.  Now, if I'm distracted while cooking we will sometimes get a bit of the graininess in them and it always brings back the flood of memories of those first bits of trial and error in the kitchen.  And the love of a family who fostered my love of cooking.  I am thankful that this cookbook has become battered and beat up looking but it's one of the places I love to look for ideas that make me feel connected to something bigger than myself.  It's an era of cooking before the internet - I can imagine the thrill of first getting a new cookbook like this and getting all the ideas like I do when I visit the blogs I love.

So, last night I told Troy I'd make him cookies if he'd go running with me.  I knew what he'd ask for before we even got done.  So, no bakes were made last night and it inspired this blog post.  I wanted to share how blessed I have been in my life with all my friends, online and otherwise.

 

My No-Bake Cookie Recipe (adapted from above cookbook after much trial and error!)

1 c peanut butter, I use creamy

1 1/2 T cocoa

1/4 milk

1 1/2 c quick cooking oats (dry)

1 c sugar

1/4 c butter

1/2 t salt

1/2 t vanilla

Put sugar, butter, milk, cocoa and salt in larger sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Do not overcook - once at a rolling boil, remove from heat and add peanut butter, oats and vanilla and mix well.  Drop my teaspoon onto waxed paper and allow to cool and set.  

Makes about 2 dozen. 

Dessert first, please!

Easy dinner tonight...Beef Stew in the crockpot.  What could be easier than that?  Not much.  So, once that was all set and cooking, I got to work on a nice dessert.  Something not as easy.  Why?  I don't know.  Because that's me.  I spied some phyllo dough in the freezer and the wheels were set in motion.  I devised a berry strudel made from phyllo dough thinking I had some leftover pie filling to use.  Alas, no, I didn't.  Hmmmm.....well....I remembered there was a triple berry mix of dried berries in the cupboard (I almost always have dried fruit in the house, I love it!)  and I boiled it with enough water to cover it until the berries were soft and then drained them, reserving about half of the liquid and added some rose wine to reduce to a sauce.  Once cooled, I spread the berries onto the dough with walnuts and brown sugar, rolled it into a log shape and brushed it with butter.  I did save a few berries for garnish and also whipped some goat cheese, confectioners sugar and milk together to drizzle on top for a nice creamy note with zing.  I loved how it came out.  I did eat my stew, minus the beef, but was sure to leave plenty of room for what was coming after dinner!

Perfect Playtime Lunch

As a child care provider, I feel obligated to serve healthy foods and snacks to the little ones we share our home with each day.  I try very hard to not give them too much processed food, too much sugar, too much of anything that isn't natural and good for them.  One occasional exception is hot dogs.  I do buy the most natural types I can but it is just one of the those "must have" childhood foods.  However, how I serve it is different than the norm.  I make a muffin or cornbread that is based on its' unhealthy fair food cousin, the corn dog.  I make cornbread, one of my favorite things, add in some corn, chopped hot dogs and bake.  Served with some fresh fruit, it's pretty good lunch.  Kids love it and it's healthy! 

Recipe:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 hot dogs, quarter and diced
1/2 cup of cut corn, either fresh or thawed from frozen

Mix all ingredients together, either put into 12 greased muffin tins or into an 8X8 greased pan and bake at 375 for 20 minutes for muffins, 25 for an 8X8 pan, or until toothpick inserted is clear. 

I should add that the artwork was provided by Lucas, one of our little guys here.  He loves painting and this was his interpretation of a watercolor flower study.  :-)

Okay, so this was my first tag from another blog so thanks to Chic Gorgeous for making me smile! And here I am faced with sorting through my little blog's posts to make this a great list...  Well, here goes...

1. The Most Beautiful Post

So, if I have to choose it would by my Yellow Tomato Jam post.   I just thought this was the prettiest color of jam and being outside the light just hit it perfectly. 

2. The Most Popular Post
I don't have a lot of comments, but the post that I have gotten the most feedback on was my post that included a picture of homemade tomato soup and cheese crackers.  It seemed like everyone was loving that!  

3. The Most Controversial Post
Hmm...not much controversy here.  But I would say that My Eclairs post was the least homemade and least fitting into my blog's purpose, so that makes it a bit controversial.  Yummy but not entirely homemade. 

4. The Most Helpful Post
This was an easy pick!  My Oatmeal Bread Tutorial  really gave a good overview of breadmaking my way and I know several friends have tried it using those instructions and been successful. 

5. Post That Was Surprisingly Successful
Lunch Awesomeness  was really a creative use of leftovers but people really liked it!!  It goes to show that you can't plan everything!! 

6. Post That Did Not Get The Attention It Deserved
I really thought my Brownie Peanut Butter Cheesecake Muffins would have been a more popular post.  Maybe I should have shortened the name and made it catchier.  :-)

7. Post You're Most Proud Of
My first step by step post I'm most proud of.  I know my photography isn't up to par - not that any of mine are fantastic but I'm getting there  - but it really shows my thought process and "me" in it.  Baking Mood  is just how I do things...I go with my feelings and try and share it too. 

My Reward

This is not an amaze-all-your-friends super difficult type of dessert but it's one of my favorites.  Yesterday, I rode in my first group bike ride ever, and not only that, it was a metric century, or 100 km.  I was panic-stricken in the days leading up to it, sure I would crash into something, or worse yet, someone, and cause all kinds of havoc.  Add that fear to the forecast of rain showers and I was a mess.  So much so that my hubby had to keep talking me down and reassuring me that I COULD DO THIS!  And, he was right, 'cause I totally did it!  Yesterday was a lot of sleeping and resting because I got a bit dehydrated so today, while the kids were napping, I made a special treat for myself.  Oh, okay, I made enough for the whole family.  But it was what I wanted. 

A simple chocolate pudding parfait, with a ribbon of crushed Late July sandwich cookies in the middle and topped off with some whipped cream and a little cookie.  Yummy!  And it just hit the spot.  If you've never tried Late July snacks, you just don't know what you're missing!  (no paid endorsement here - I bought my own snacks, just a shout out to a great product!)  We love just about all of their products here!!

Lunch Awesomeness!

Okay, so awesomeness may not really be a word.  But I have no other words to describe what I ate for lunch.  It was simple, but amazing, two things I love in food!  I had some leftover ground turkey breast from dinner last night and since it is one of the few meats I actually like, I wanted to use it in something special.  What better way to showcase my tomato jam from yesterday than to put them together?  So, I decided on a creamy version of sloppy joe, with goat cheese as the binder for the meat with just a little salt and pepper because I really wanted the jam to be the star.  And it was.  Oh my...I never wanted my little sandwich to be done! 

So, I used a fresh roll from yesterday, scooped out the bottom a little to hold my "sloppy joe" mix, added some spinach, lots of tomato jam and had the yummiest lunch in a long time!  I'm still debating whether to make another one...trying hard to resist!

Yellow Tomato Jam

Just as all good things must come to an end, so must summer.  Although I won't miss running and biking in the heat, I will miss my garden.  My tomatoes have been overproducing this year, especially the yellow grape ones. I wanted a way to capture the harvest, so I decided to make some tomato jam to warm up those winter days.  However, since I've never made tomato jam before, I decided to make a small batch and get the taste right before chopping up pounds and pounds of tomatoes. 


My recipe:

About 2 cups of diced tomatoes - any variety - I used yellow grape tomatoes
1/3 cup sugar
1 T lime juice
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1/2 t red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicy)
pinch of ground cloves
Optional: I added a teaspoon of a spicy honey mustard sauce about halfway through cooking because I felt like something was missing.  The brand I used was Bold and Brassy from Tastefully Simple but I imagine any would do.

Put everything together, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until reduced.  My small batch took about a half hour to cook down with stirring about every 2-3 minutes.  Let cool and serve on just about anything.  I tried mine out on a fresh roll but I imagine it could be used in place of ketchup, as a salad dressing, anywhere that a tomato taste would add that kick.  It really turned out so well that I can't wait to make a big batch and can it. 


And just because this batch of rolls was too beautiful not to share...nothing spectacular, just my regular bread recipe but rolled into logs and twisted into rolls.  I brushed a little melted butter on top and they just looked perfect!

Pina Colada Heaven in a Muffin

This may be the easiest dessert I ever made.  It does use a store bought mix so it's not entirely homemade but it's pretty awesome - and healthy!  I have seen variations of this recipe on other sites but decided to take it a step further. 

My Ingredients:
1 20 oz can of pineapple
1 angel cake mix
3/4 cup of coconut, about 1/4 cup saved for toasting
Roughly chopped roasted almonds, about 1/4 cup.  I used cocoa roasted but whatever your preference
Whipped cream for topping

So, you mix the pineapple, untoasted coconut and the cake mix together.  Put in muffin tins, either well greased or in cups, or even in a 9 X 13 pan if you'd prefer a cake version.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes for muffins, probably about 20 tops for the cake version. 

While the cakes are cooking, toast the remaining coconut and put aside to top the muffins with later.

It's that simple!  Let the cakes cool, top with whipped topping, toasted coconut and almonds. 

The best part of this is it is so versatile.  My hubby doesn't like coconut so I left it out of half of ours and made his with just pineapple, as many of the other blogs have mentioned doing.  I loved the texture of the chewy coconut, tangy pineapple, the crunch of the almond and the airy feel of the angel food cake.  It was just Pina Colada Heaven in a Muffin! 

Strawberries...for dinner!

At market this week I found some turkey pepperoni on sale and so I planned on making a pizza for my guys for dinner tonight...but what was I to eat?  Hmmm....well, I did get some goat cheese that somehow remained unopened throughout the weekend and then there were a few strawberries to use up.  After a few more minutes of rummaging, I had a healthy vegetarian-friendly (non-meat, not vegan) pizza vision.

First I used a whole wheat tortilla, drizzled a bit of peach vanilla poppyseed dressing (store bought but high-quality and YUMMY!)  on it, added some fresh spinach, goat cheese and strawberries on top and then drizzled some more dressing.  I put it in the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes.  Quick, easy and totally scrumptious!

Blueberry Molasses Cake aka Blueberry Pancake Breakfast in a Cake

So, ever since I saw this post on Chef Dennis' site, Blueberry Molasses Cake, I've been dying to try it. And, I'm so glad that I did!!!  What a yummy treat.  The cake itself is so filled with blueberries that a blueberry lover like myself can't help but be in love with it, and the coffee flavored glaze just is the right touch.  Hubby barely let the cake cool before asking for a slice, so my glaze didn't have as much time to set but it was still beautiful. 

After the first bite, he declared it tasted a blueberry pancake breakfast, complete with the coffee.  :-)  I agreed completely.  I'm so glad I gave it a try!!  Just the perfect snack cake, whether a dessert, a breakfast or as an anytime treat.

Oh My Strawberry Goodness!

Strawberry Sauce Bubbling Away

Here in Pennsylvania, it's been pouring all morning.  The kids have been crabby, which in turn makes me crabby and we just needed something to brighten the mood in here.  I think I did the trick.  Once they all settled in on nap mats, I headed to the kitchen for some inspiration...  First thing I saw was some fresh strawberries, and immediately started craving cheesecake.  My mind works like that sometimes.  But then, I had a flash of something, we'll call it genius, and decided to make "Strawberry Cheesecake Baby Bundt Cakes"  I decided on a single serving size because I like lemon curd with my strawberries and my husband does not.  However, after making these and a beautiful strawberry sauce to accompany it, the lemon curd fell by the wayside.  Why over complicate things? 

First I heated the oven to 350, and I thouroughly greased my baby bundt pan This is the kind of pan I used in case you don't know what I'm referring to.

Then, I made the Cheesecake Base:  I used 8 oz of room temp cream cheese (low-fat was all I had but any kind would do), 1 egg, about 1/4 cup of sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of lemon juice made up the cheesecake base.  I diced about 4 medium strawberries and added to the mixture.  I filled 9 bundt cakes to about halfway. 

Next, I made the crumb bottom.  I crushed 5 large graham crackers, added 1/3 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of melted butter.  I gently spooned enough crumb mixture on top of the cheesecake batter to cover it.  I filled in until all mixture was used up.  I carefully pressed the mixture together to make it "stick" together. 

I put the pan in the oven and baked for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted was clean.  I wanted to be sure it didn't overly burn. 

Then I put the pan on a cooling rack until the cakes were cooled.  I ran a then knife just around the crust to make it easier to pop them out, put a cookie sheet on top, and flipped it.  They were beautiful!! 

Instead of the thick, cheesecake texture, the strawberries inside gave more moisture and it was more of a cheesecake custard.  Not exactly what I had envisioned but completely and utterly delicious.  I wish more experiments ended that yummy!  Another aspect that I didn't plan but was (well, at least to me) a welcome surprise was that some of the crust "caved in" to make a crumbly, gooey center and I loved it.  The crust is my favorite part so I was in heaven.  I can't describe it enough, you just have to give it a try and make it!

Don't you want to take a bite of that?

My Daily Bread

Actually, a more apt title would be my twice a week, sometimes three, bread but took some creative license.

Some background - I have been making all of our sliced bread, and some of the rolls, etc for my family for almost two years.  At first, it was just an attempt at something new and then I found I like the kneading, the pounding and just the creation of the dough out of a few ingredients.  It made me feel proud to serve (and give away) fresh bread because people just respond to it in a way that is reserved for the elite of the homemade items.  I daresay it's in the category of homemade jams and jellies.  Dessert items, for the most part, just don't command the same respect.  Just my curious ramblings on an early Saturday morning.

So, in an effort to demystify breadmaking, I have posted before about my Oatmeal Bread experience but thought it might be nice to share my go-to, easily adaptable, everyday bread recipe.  I say easily adaptable because it really takes change easily and the end result doesn't suffer usually.  I have had some loaves that are better than others and I can usually pinpoint the reason, but that is something that comes in time with breadmaking.  You learn the process and know what causes what after a bit.

My Everyday Bread

Ingredients:
6-7 cups of flour  - I use my own combo of fresh ground whole wheat, store bought bread flour but this is very flexible!  The only suggestion I would make is if you use all whole wheat, add a bit of gluten in or it won't rise easily
4 1/2 teaspoons of instant yeast - I use Red Star because I find it in bulk but any brand will do.  If you have packets, it's 2 packets.
3 tablespoons of sugar or honey or agave syrup, I've used them all
1 tablespoon salt - don't omit this or your bread will not be as flavorful
2 tablespoons of shortening or oil or melted butter, again, I've used them all with great results.
1 1/4 cup of hot water - not boiling, but not warm.  Should be a little hot to the touch.
1 cup of milk that's been warmed.  I put mine in the microwave for about a minute and a half and it's perfect.

To start, I mix the water, milk and sugar together and then gently stir in the yeast.  I allow it to "proof" for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Proofing just means that the yeast starts to look a little puffy for lack of a better term and it really has a soft look to the whole mixture. 

Once that is done, I add 3 cups of flour, salt and whatever variation of fat is being added.  I use my mixer to work it together until it's well mixed and has a stringy look to the dough.  I then add cup by cup of flour until it's a workable texture that isn't sticky.  Carefully add flour at the end, even going to 1/2 cup increments because dry dough is bad! You can always add more flour, but it doesn't work the same way to add water at the end.  I leave my dough just barely not sticky in the mixer and knead in the rest of the flour by hand to get a good feel for the dough. 

Then I oil the bowl and toss the bread dough ball to coat it and cover it with plastic wrap, a towel over all of it and put it somewhere warm.  When it's risen and doubled in size (about 30-45 minutes), I roll it out to a large rectangle.  I cut the triangle in half, roll each side up and put into a greased loaf pan.  I cover it again with the plastic wrap and towel and let it rise to about 1 inch over the loaf pan.  Preheat the over to 400 degrees and do not put the bread in until it's hot!  Once baking, check at about 25 mins to see if the bread sounds hollow when you tap on it.  If so, remove from the oven, pop out of the pan and put on a cooling rack.  Once it's completely cooled, wrap in foil or plastic wrap and it will keep for a few days on the counter.  You can also freeze it but don't put it in the refrigerator. 

Wrapped and ready to go!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Cupcakes

What a mouthful...to say and to eat!  These were amazing...perfect texture for both the brownie and the cheesecake.  I liked that they were a sweet treat but not overly so...a perfect coffee complement after dinner.  Okay, okay, I'll confess...we ate ours before dinner.  Who could resist something that looked that good?

So, I actually followed a recipe.  My recipe was based on this Coconut Cream Cheese Brownies recipe and I used her brownie recipe, however, I swapped out the coconut cream cheese mixture for a peanut butter cheesecake mixture and made it into a cupcake.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter.

Cream the mixture together.  Grease your cupcake pan or use liners.  Fill each cup with brownie batter 1/2 way and then place a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on top.  Finish with a a tablespoon of brownie batter.  Bake at 350 for about 22-25 minutes.  Cool then remove from the pan.

Hope your your family enjoys them as much as we did!

Veggie Lasagna

What a beautiful lasagna!

Okay, so about a month ago, I told hubby that I was making vegetable lasagna for dinner.  I was surprised at how excited he was about it because he likes it but doesn't love it usually.  So I happily put it in the oven and couldn't wait to serve it.  Cutting him a large slice, I handed it over like a prized possession and waited for the accolades.  However, the reality of what happened was far different than expected.  "I thought this was going to be the white kind," is the response I got.  See, I had made a marinara sauced veggie lasagna, not an ooey-gooey alfredo-type lasagna.  He conceded that it was still good, and probably healthier, but just wasn't what he'd expected. 

Tonight, he should not have any issues with my vegetable lasagna.  On the menu, it said lasagna skillet for dinner.  What that means is that I cook up some mafalda noodles, some marinara and add some ricotta and we're good to go.  Easy and pretty tasty.  But I decided to do something a bit more complex and surprise him.  I did use bottled alfredo sauce instead of making my own because somehow a bottle ended up in the fridge and I wanted to use it up.

As usual for me, not a specific recipe, but this is how I made it.  In a 9" X 13" pan I put a coating of alfredo sauce on the bottom.  I topped it with lots of fresh spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and some green beans.  Then I put lasagna noodles (ready to bake variety) on top of that, and smeared a ricotta, mozzarella and egg mixture on top of that.  From there, I put another layer of spinach and veggies on and a thin layer of alfredo sauce.  More lasagna noodles over that, and then another ricotta mixture layer, and then layered spinach and fresh diced tomatoes,  Final layer of noodles goes on top, along with a thin layer of alfredo and some grated mozzarella.  I baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes so I can still pop it in the oven this evening for a warm through so it's bubbling from the oven for dinner. 

I can't wait for my husband to see this one...it might not make it to the oven to reheat. 

My new blog!

I have been posting my cooking adventures on my facebook and my personal blog and thought it was time that I gave them a place of their own!  I hope that others will enjoy my experiences and it will inspire them to try something new on their own. 
Yesterday, I made "goldfish" crackers based on a great blog I have been enjoying Dinners, Dishes and Desserts and they were exceptional!  Easy and tasty, a great combo!  I used a star shaped cutter instead of making my own goldfish one and I thought it was a really cute result.

And, when I spied the tomatoes sitting on the windowsill, I couldn't resist throwing together some homemade tomato soup.  Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how great it was.  I would have just eaten bowl after bowl of it.

I didn't use a true "recipe" but here's the best I can offer...

I diced up 4 largish tomatoes, 1 small onion, 1/2 a green bell pepper, 1 clove of garlic and 2 cups of vegetable stock.  I brought that to a boil, and then simmered for 20 minutes.  Once it was all soft, I put it through the food processor and then used a metal mesh strainer to get seeds, skin, etc out.  I set the liquid aside, and made a roux with butter and flour and then used the liquid from the tomatoes to whisk the mixture smooth.  It was that easy.  And I really can't say enough times how amazing the combo of the two together was.  My daycare kids loved it just as much!