Category Archives: recipe

The Recipe Within

I remember very clearly when my friend go married.  We were in college.  I loved making the trips to her hometown for bridal showers, getting together to help, and finally, on the morning of her wedding, helping her color her hair.  It was the first and last time I ever applied hair dye.

On the day of her wedding.  Yup.

I remember playing games at her bridal shower.  I won one of them and got this great cookbook from the dollar store.  All these years later, it is still one of my favorite cookbooks.

Here is the recipe I use most from it:

2 Pie Crusts

  1. 1 cup vegetable shortening
  2. 3 cups white flour
  3. 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  4. 1/2 cup ice water

Mix shortening, flour and salt together.  Slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball.  Split dough and roll out into 2 crusts.

What is your favorite recipe?  Is there a story behind it?

Big Old Flop

We had a bunch of bananas that needed to become bread last night.  I asked hubby to pick up some banana yogurt so I could make my typical yummy bread.  He said, “oh, there has to be a recipe in one of your mom’s old cookbooks that is good.”

So I found this book:

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And found this recipe:

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I started mixing and mashing.  I thought, wow, this will be a fun one to show on my blog and Pinterest.

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We had so many bananas to use up that I did a double batch and put it in a 9×13 pan.

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Thing is, I’m pretty sure the second half will be in the pan forever, or until I feel like scraping it into the garbage disposal.  It is so dry.  My family normally inhales my zucchini and banana breads.  No one has touched this all day.

So, I took the pictures, and I shared them with you.  I showed you my mom’s awesome cookbook from my growing up years, but I can’t recommend you actually make this exact recipe.  This trip down memory lane just did not pan out.

 

 

It is Apple Season–Yum

I am not a food blogger, but as this time of year comes around, you will find me cooking, baking and crafting more.  One thing I have been making for years is Apple Pie.

We played hooky, this past week, from Church on Sunday and went apple picking at Erwins Orchards.

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We picked Macintosh, Cortland and Empire.  Most of them will become apple sauce, but a few are getting dipped in honey and munch on while others are finding their way into a pie.

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I originally started making pies when my great Aunt gave me a pie plate that had a recipe printed in the bottom and a lid that looked like lattice.  I used the recipe in that plate for a long time.  Then, I believe it was my Junior year of college, one of my best friends got married.  At her bridal shower I won a dollar store cookbook.  It has been the keeper of my go to crust recipe for 18 years.

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The recipe makes two crusts.

I have always been a rule follower, even in recipes. I always did them exactly as written.   My hubby is the opposite.  A recipe is lucky to even be a guide for him.  I think most of the time he sees recipes as something to be proven wrong.

I have made a couple adjustments to the crust recipe.  Here is “exactly” what I did last night.

  1. 3 cups flour
  2. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  3. 4-6 Tablespoons white sugar
  4. Mix the above together

Cut in 1 cup vegetable shortening with a pastry blender or two butter knives into pea sized pieces

Add 3/4 cup very cold water a bit at a time while stirring with a fork until a ball of dough forms. I actually dump in about half of the water to begin., then add it a little slower. I leave the dough ball a little wet. I find it rolls easier and it becomes the right consistency as I work to form it into a crust.

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I form one crust into the pie plate.  Mine is a little deeper plate than some.  The recipes typically call for granny smith apples, but personally, I use whatever I have on hand.

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

Next I peel core and slice them with my peeler/corer/slicer.  I did 5 apples to fill this pie.  If you use a large apple it will likely only use 3.  I chop the apples a little, and then add:

  1. 3 Tablespoons flour
  2. 1 cup white sugar
  3. a very liberal dash of cinnamon (easily a Tablespoon or more)
  4. 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine.  All told, I probably use 3 Tablespoons.
  5. 3 Tablespoons of milk or a splash of milk

Roll out second crust, put over pie, pinch closed, hit with fork tines, put in oven 35-45 minutes.

Here is the pie after the family got home from church and discovered it.

pie

 

It is yummy, albiet not neat and tidy to make.  My hubby always tells me after I make a pie, “NO more pies!  They make too much of a mess.”–until he wants another pie.

I love fall.  It seems like a return to the wonderful smells an sights of life.  I know some miss the warmth of summer, but for now I am happy.  Now, if you miss the heat, just think, this apple pie will warm up your house as you bake it and your belly as you partake of its “yummy goodness.”

Dinner Around Here

I modified two recipes I found on for dinner last night.

The first was Skinny Chicken and Alfredo. The original recipe can be found here.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled (I cooked it in a non-stick pan rather than grilling it) and cut into chunks (about 2 cups)

1 full head of roasted brocolli florets

8 ounces fettuccine

Extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic (I used garlic salt to taste)

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth (I added extra to accomodate extra brocolli.

1/4 cup plain Yoplait greek yogurt

1/4 cup skim milk

dash black pepper

1 pinch ground nutmeg

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic salt and cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes.

Whisk in the flour until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, Greek yogurt, milk, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan.

Add cooked chicken and broccoli to sauce mixture, followed by the cooked pasta. Toss to combine and serve with more Parmesan, if desired.

Prep Time:

10 minutes

Cook Time:

15 minutes

Servings:

4

Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread can be found here.  I didn’t alter this recipe much at all, except to add more blueberries.

  • FOR THE BREAD:
  • ½ cups Butter
  • ½ cups Sugar
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 whole Egg Yolks
  • 1-½ cup All-pupose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ⅓ cups Milk
  • 1-½ cup Blueberries (I did about 2 1/2 cups)
  • 1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
  • 2 whole Egg Whites
  • ¼ cups White Sugar
  • FOR THE FILLING:
  • 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
  • ½ cups Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Flour
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 1 Tablespoon Orange Zest
  • FOR THE GLAZE:
  • 2 Tablespoons Sugar
  • ½ teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon Water

Filling In a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, egg and orange zest. Set aside.

Glaze: Stir together the glaze ingredients and set aside.

For the bread: Cream butter and sugar (1/2 cup) until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Add egg yolks (save the egg whites as you’ll need them later) to the sugar mixture; beat until creamy.  Set aside.

In another bowl, combine flour (1 1/2 cups) and baking powder. Add this mixture, alternately with milk to egg yolk mixture.

Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add them to the batter.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar (1/4 cup), 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter.

Pour 1/2 of the batter (or a little less) into a floured and greased bread pan.  Layer the filling over the batter and then finish with remainder of batter.  This will create a layer of “cheesecake” between the blueberry batter.

Pour glaze over top of unbaked loaf and bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes–this actually took about 20 minutes longer to bake.

Sorry the photos aren’t that great.  I didn’t take any while cooking so these are what our leftovers look like.  I thought these two recipes would be pleasing to my kids.  Nope.  I’m afraid they are so used to refusing food that it just comes out of reflex.  Let me know if you make them and how your kids feel about them.

 

Cinco de Mayo My Way

We are having quesadillas/fajitas I found on and Key Lime Pie I found at my friend Pamela’s place.  She said it was good and she telleth the TRUTH!

Chunks of chicken seasoned with thyme flakes, salt, pepper, oregano, dill, cooked, removed from heat, sweet bell peppers sauted in same pan, chicken added back in, keep heating on low. Serve with tortillas, mexican style cheese, tomatoes and sour cream.

And we followed that up with Key lime pie.

I used a pre-made graham cracker crust, 1 block of cream cheese (at room temperature), 1/3 cup granulated sugar, key lime zest, lime juice from a medium sized lime, beat together with mixer, fold in tub of whipped topping, add food coloring to make green, pour into crust! Let chill at least four hours, (or 90 minutes if you can’t wait like us!)

Super Yum.

I woudld show you the whole pie, but it’s in my BELLY! And my hubby’s and my three daughters. Pam tells me it is even better if you let it chill. I shall report back tomorrow after breakfast at some point.

Oval Meatloaf

Mommy's cooking???

We had about two pounds of hamburger needing used tonight.  So I thought I would try a meatloaf.  I typically hate the stuff so rarely make it, but this one has promise.

I used:

  1. 2 lbs. hamburger
  2. 2 eggs
  3. 2 slices crumbled bread
  4. 8 big squirts of ketchup
  5. healthy dose of onion salt, table salt and pepper
  6. 1 cup milk

Mix all ingredients.  Shaped into an oval baking pan, mixed equal parts ketchup and bbq sauce and spread as a topping, baked at 350 degrees F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

I didn’t get a final picture, but it was yummy!