Monday, August 31, 2009

Peach Muffins

We had a bumper crop of peaches on our little tree this year. They weren't huge but there were a lot. I used them to make some of the muffins for Natalie's shower. Allan loves these.

Peach Muffins

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups white sugar
2 cups peeled, pitted and chopped peaches

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, eggs and sugar. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture, just until moist. Fold in the peaches. Spoon into paper lined muffin tins.
Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Mini Quiche

Charis's original plan was to buy ready made mini quiches for the shower. But when we went to buy them, we found out that Costco only sells them during the holidays. So she decided to make her own. The recipe called for Swiss or cheddar cheese but she used Monterrey Jack instead. They turned out really well. There were several left over and, because Craig doesn't like quiche, she sent them home with me. Cuyler ate them all.

Mini Quiche

1 (8 oz.) tube
butterflake rolls
1
sm. pkg. breakfast sausage, cooked (or crumbled bacon)
4 oz. Swiss cheese grated or Cheddar or both
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. light cream
2 tbsp. green onion, minced

Grease 24 miniature muffin cups. Divide each roll into halves and press into a muffin cup to make a shell. Distribute sausage, cheese and onion evenly in shells.
Mix egg and cream with salt and pepper and put 1-2 teaspoons into each shell. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Dip for Fresh Fruit

Charis hosted her shower for Natalie on Saturday. I think everything went smoothly if you don't count the mirror falling off the bathroom wall and shattering all over the floor a half hour before the shower. Michael was in the shower at the time and was pretty scared. It was a very large mirror. Luckily nobody got hurt and it just added to the excitement of the day.
Charis served mini quiches, finger sandwiches, mini muffins and fresh fruit with dip. Everything was delicious. Natalie got some nice gifts and I think everybody had a good time.

Dip for Fresh Fruit

1 6oz container of light vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup light cool whip
zest of one orange
1/8 -1/4 t. grated ginger root
cinnamon (to taste)

fold yogurt and cool whip together. mix in other ingredients.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Almond Poppy Seed Bread

I got this recipe from Laurie Carruth several years ago. Everybody loves it. Unless I put it somewhere out of sight, it's gone before you know it. In our house there is a phenomenon called "spontaneous cookie combustion". It is when you open a package of cookies, and within minutes, they are all gone. Everybody claims they only ate one. Nobody knows where the rest went. They're just gone. This bread has been known to be the victim of this phenomenon.
The recipe calls for almond extract. I use imitation because Cuyler is allergic to the real stuff. I can't tell a huge difference. It's still yummy.

Almond Poppy Seed Bread

3 eggs 1½ tsp. Salt
1⅛ cup oil 1½ tsp. Baking powder
2¼ cup sugar 1½ tsp. Butter extract
1½ cups milk 1½ tsp. Almond extract
3 cups flour 1½ Tbsp. Poppy seeds

Beat eggs, oil, sugar and milk, sift flour salt and baking powder together and mix into egg mixture. Add extracts and poppy seeds. Bake at 350º. For 50 minutes in 2 slightly greased medium loaf pans with waxed paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan. A double batch can make 5 medium loaves.

Glaze
¼ cup orange juice.
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp. each of butter, almond and vanilla extracts.
Mix well together. Spoon over bread pricked with holes, while still warm, allowing time to soak into bread.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Peaches & Cream Ice Cream

My peaches are ripe. I love peach season. I love peaches. I love peaches and cream (or peaches and milk). I love peach ice cream. I don't love peach cobler. I love peach jam. I just plain love peaches.
Many years ago, Allan's office had a summer party. They had an ice cream making contest. This was the winning entry. The lemon ice cream we made came in second.
This is sooo good!

Peaches ‘n Cream Ice Cream

Juice of 2 lemons
9 ripe peaches mashed
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 pint half and half (or 1 can evaporated milk)
1 pint cream
1 pint milk

Blend and Freeze in an Ice Cream Freezer

Monday, August 24, 2009

Seven Layer Mexican Dip

Rosalie called me this morning to find out how to make Seven Layer Dip. It is pretty easy to make and it is always a winner. Wherever I go, if this is served, it is one of the first things gone.

Seven Layer Mexican Dip

Layer the following items in a 9x13 pan or serving tray:

2 cans refried beans (or bean dip)
3 mashed avocados mixed with 1 t. lemon juice
8 oz. sour cream mixed with 1 pkg. or less of Taco seasoning.
grated cheese
1 can chopped olives
1 bunch chopped green onions
chopped tomatoes.


Serve with lots of tortilla chips

Lasagna

Like I said in my last post, I'm a very lazy Lasagna maker. I never bother to layer the sauce and the cheeses. I just mix them all together and layer them with the cooked noodles. I can't tell the difference and I think it saves time.

Lasagna

Spaghetti sauce
1 16 oz container cottage cheese
1 lb. medium cheddar cheese (grated)
8 oz.
mozzarella cheese (grated)
cooked lasagna noodles

Spray a large casserole dish with PAM. Make spaghetti sauce (recipe in previous post). Spread a small amount of sauce in casserole dish. cover with first layer of noodles. Mix cheeses with remaining sauce. Continue layering sauce alternating with noodles until the pan is full, ending with sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Spaghetti Sauce

Saturday, I picked a lot of tomatoes from our garden. I decided to make spaghetti using fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs. I've never done that before. Sunday was the Oquirrh Temple dedication, so we were done with church by 10:30. Therefore, I was able to spend the day cooking down my fresh tomatoes. Charis & Craig and their kids and Naaman & Becky and C.J. came for dinner Sunday afternoon. So, after working all day making the spaghetti sauce from scratch, the general consensus was that everybody likes the kind I normally make better. It is much easier and a lot less work. It is also much less creative. But, I'm willing to sacrifice labor and creativity for flavor. So much for "mama mia, that's Italian". I'm sticking with the Shillings mix.
I use my spaghetti sauce for
lasagna, too. I'm a very lazy lasagna maker. I mix all the spaghetti sauce, meat and cheese together and then layer it with the cooked lasagna noodles. It works great.

Spaghetti Sauce

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can slice mushrooms
1 package Shillings Spaghetti sauce mix
1 lb. ground beef

Brown ground beef. Drain and
rinse off excess grease. Add tomatoes. Drain mushrooms and add them to beef and tomatoes. Stir in Spaghetti sauce mix. Cook until thickened. Serve over cooked spaghetti.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Cheese Cake

I think this is the best recipe for plain cheese cake that I have found. It is from Martha Stewart. It is really good with the blueberry topping I posted earlier. Our peaches are just about ready to pick. I may try to figure out some sort of peach topping for this.

Cheese Cake

PAM
6 T. butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 T. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon

16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
16 oz. sour cream
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 12 t. finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Boiling water for roasting pan

Make crust. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Spray sides with PAM. Wrap exterior of pan (including Base with a sheet of aluminum foil. (make sure there are no holes).
Stir together butter, graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Press mixture firmly into the bottom and 3 inches up sides of pan. Refrigerate 15 minutes While you make the filling.
Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. add sour cream, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Beat until well combined (do nor over mix). Pour into chilled crust.
Set spring form pan in a large, shallow roasting pan. Place in oven. Carefully ladle enough boiling water into roasting panto come halfway up sides of spring form pan. Bake until cheesecake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer roasting pan to a wire rack. Let cake cool in roasting pan 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake form roasting pan and refrigerator, uncovered, at least 8 hours or over night.
Run a knife around edge of cake, and unmold. Spoon desired topping over cake.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Easy Cheese Ball

This is the recipe for Bouncing Baby Cheese balls. I just made them about 1 inch in diameter and piled them up.

Easy Cheese Balls

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
1 bunch green onions, Chopped
l-2 Cloves garlic (minced)
sliced almonds

Mix Cream cheese, onions and garlic. Form into ball. Roll ball in sliced almonds. Refrigerate, till ready to serve. Serve with Crackers.

You can add some chopped pimento or chopped red pepper to make it look more festive (for Christmas)

Mini Cheesecake

This is the recipe for the cheese cakes that we served at the baby shower. I used mini muffin tinns. You may need to trim the vanilla wafers to fit the muffin tins. I put 1 cherry on each. If you use regular muffin tins, you need more cherries.

Mini Cheese Cake

2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 T. lemon juice
vanilla wafers
Let cheese rest at room temperature. Beat until smooth. Beat eggs. Add sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix thoroughly into cream cheese. Spoon into paper lined muffin tins with vanilla wafer in the bottom. Bake at 375º for 15 minutes. Top with fruit pie filling.

Absentee Baby Shower

Josh & Sarah, and Rosalie & Tom, all moved out of state when they got married. Consequently, their babies have all been born out of state as well. When their first babies were due, neither of them had plans to come back home any time before the babies came. So, we decided to have a baby shower for them without them attending. We had people bring their gifts unwrapped and so we could all see what they were getting. Then we had them wrap them and make cards for them at the shower. we delivered the gifts when we went to see the babies. We also had a quilt on for people to work on.
All the food we served were baby themed. We had baby carrots, sweet little tomatoes, sweet peas, mini cheesecakes, sweetheart tarts, bouncing baby cheese balls, shrimp salad and Squirt.


Invitation

Josh and Sarah soon will have
A brand new bundle of joy.
The doctor tells them it will be
A bouncing baby boy.

or

Josh And Sarah soon will have
A brand new little one.
She will be a lot of work,
But also lots of fun.


Although they are so far away,
Their needs could not be greater.
We'll have a shower just for them.
You can visit with them later.

We know it may seem rather strange
That they will not attend.
But then again, you never know,
We could start a whole new trend.

Please bring your gift unwrapped
So that everyone can see
The kinds of things that they receive
For their brand new baby!

We'll wrap the presents at the shower.
You can bring paper, ribbon and bows.
Or we will have some you can use.
It could be quite fun -- who knows?

Then we'll send them in the U.S. Mail,
FedEx or U.P.S.
And hope they get them in plenty of time,
So their baby they can dress.

Double Shower

2006 was the year of the weddings at our house. We had 4 kids get married in 8 months. Three of the weddings were in 2 months. In addition to our own kids that got married, we had several nieces and nephews get married, as well. It was a busy, crazy time. But it was a ton of fun. Because there was so much going on it was difficult to fit everything in. So as a result, Charis and Rosalie had a combined neighborhood wedding shower. and Rosalie and Kristen had a combined family shower. It worked out nicely, however, I wouldn't recommend a double shower if you have different guest lists. Everybody that was invited to the shower for Charis & Rosalie knew them both so things went very smoothly. Almost everyone at Rosalie and Kristen's shower knew them both, so things went well there too. It has been a lot of fun getting to know my children in law. They have added so much to our family.

Invitation

Rosalie's getting married.
Kristen will be, too.
They're both so excited.
They can't believe it's true.

Two beautiful brides.
Two handsome grooms.
Two wedding days.
Two honeymoons.

Two wedding cakes.
Two wedding gowns.
Two sets of rings.
Two different towns.

One bridal shower
For both to share.
We really hope
You can be there!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Firsts Shower

This is a fun theme for a shower. Each guest is assigned a different "first". They are supposed to bring a gift for the couples first experiences together a married couple. You can just switch the names out on the invitation. Make sure to fill in the blank with a different first on each invitation.

Invitation

Adam and Lara are soon to be wed.
Brand new paths they are going to tread.
It's a whole now world, a world of firsts.
They are so excited, they are ready to burst.

We're
having a shower to help them prepare
For some of the first adventures they'll share.
Please bring a gift that will help get them through
Some of the things that to them are brand new.

Please bring something for their first _________.


First Shower Ideas

first breakfast
first lunch
first dinner
first snack
first time entertaining in laws
first time entertaining friends
first Family Home Evening
first game
first night
first chance to relax
first boring night at home
first date after the wedding/honeymoon
first fight
first emergency
first illness
first injury
first finals week
first garden
first home repair
first car repair
first car wash
first house cleaning
first kitchen
first bathroom
first home decoration
first picnic
first vacation
first camping trip
first holiday
Christmas
Halloween
Valentine's Day
Fourth of July
Easter
Thanksgiving

Orange Rolls

I got this recipe from Margaret. These rolls are delicious. You have to plan ahead if you want to make them, because you have to refrigerate the dough before you roll it out (otherwise it will be to sticky to work with). And it takes several hours for it to rise. Don't add extra flour! The dough is supposed to be very soft and sticky. 
Orange Rolls 
 Grease Muffin Tins.......Don’t add flour to recipe. This is a very gooey dough. 

 In a pan heat and melt one cube of margarine, 1 cup water, ½ cup sugar and 2 tsp. salt. Cool ... And add 3 beaten eggs. 
In a large bowl put ¼ cup warm water. Sprinkle with 2 pkg (2 Tbsp) yeast. And 2 tsp. sugar. Combine yeast mixture and margarine mixture.Add 4½ cups flour. 
Let rise 1 hour. Punch down. Cover and chill overnight. 
3-3½ hours before baking divide into 3 parts. Roll each part into a rectangle (about 12”x9”. Pour orange mix over. Roll like jelly roll. Cut into 12. Place cut side up on muffin tin. Let rise 3 hours. Bake at 400º for 8-10 minutes. 

Orange mix 1 stick margarine, ½ cup sugar and zest from 3-4 oranges. 

Glaze: juice of 1 orange and 1 16 oz box powdered sugar

Quiche

Charis hasn't decided on a menu for Natalie's shower. But when we had the shower for Steven and Ashley we served Quiche, Orange rolls and some other sweet breads. 

Quiche 
from the Lion House Cookbook 

1 9” pie shell 
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Swiss Cheese 
6 slices of bacon (cooked and crumbled) 
1/4 cup ham minced 
2 green onions sliced 
½ green (or red) pepper chopped 
3 eggs beaten 
1 cup cream 
½ teaspoon lemon zest  
½ teaspoon salt 
¼ dry mustard 

Bakee shell for 5 minutes At 425º. Remove from oven. Arange cheese, bacon and ham in shell. Sprinkle with onion and green pepper. Mix eggs and cream and pour over top. Bake at 325º for 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Wedding Shower Invitation

My niece Natalie is getting married next month. Charis is hosting a shower for her in a couple of weeks. She came over last night to have me find an invitation for her. It seems that I am often in charge of the invitations for showers and things. I really should have all my invitations stored in one place on my computer. But alas, I don't so I had to search. I know these aren't recipes, but I decided if I put them all on my blog, I'll know where they are if someone asks. I'm just putting the ideas on, not the actual invitations. Charis is using an invitation that I made for a shower for my nephew a couple of years ago. She just switched the names.

Invitation

Ashley's getting married.
Stephen is the groom.
After that, they'll be off
To share their honeymoon.

Then they'll live together
With all the joy that marriage brings.
But, when they're starting out,
They will need a lot of different things.

They'll need towels & cups, pot & pans,
And pillows, spoons and such.
Some plates & sheets & baking stuff,
They really need so much.

They'll need things to clean the house with,
Food for Breakfast,Dinner & Lunch
So that is why, we're having
A Bridal Shower Brunch

We want to help them to prepare
And we want to have some fun.
We'd really like to see you.
We hope that you can come.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Orange Julius

Long before there was Jamba Juice or anything similar, there was Orange Julius. There was an Orange Julius store in every mall. Now there is just one left in Salt Late. Orange Julius was delicious. Whenever we were shopping and were in a rather indulgent mood, we would dig 35 cents out of our purse and buy one. It was so refreshing. As I recall they used fresh squeezed orange juice. It also had a secret ingredient that was magically delicious. The employees of the store were sworn to secrecy and refused to divulge the secret. Margaret thought she had it figured out. She used Similac for the magic ingredient. But I think it may have just been powdered milk. Sometimes they had different flavors, like strawberry or mango. But the orange was always the best.

Orange Julius

8 - 10 ice cubes
1 12 oz can frozen orange juice (slightly thawed)
1½ cups milk
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 t. vanilla

Put all ingredients in blender. Blend on medium to high speed until ice cubes are completely chopped and the mixture is foamy.
Serve immediately.

Blueberry Topping

I am amazed at how long fresh blueberries keep in the refrigerator. I am still using the blueberries we picked in Oregon. I froze some, but the ones I put in the fridge are still very good. Last night I made Blueberry Ice Cream Topping for dessert for FHE. We had it on vanilla ice cream. It was delicious.

Blueberry Topping

1 1/2 pints (3 cups) fresh blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 T. butter
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. cornstarch

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Add blueberries and cook until juices begin to be released from the berries and the sugar is dissolved. Serve warm over ice cream. or refrigerate and use for cheese cake topping

Monday, August 17, 2009

Peas & Tuna Fish

This is another recipe that I grew up on. My mother served this often. She used canned peas and she served it over toast. Allan's mother occasionally made a similar dish without the peas. She served hers over biscuits. Consequently, that is how I serve it, now (over biscuits, not without the peas). Some of my kids really like this. Others don't particularly care for it. Whenever I serve it Allan asks me if we are broke. He calls it poor man food.

Peas and Tuna Fish

¼ cup margarine
½ cup flour
½ t. salt
3 cups milk
½ pkg. frozen peas
2 cans tuna fish (drained)

Melt margarine and mix with flour. Add salt. Add milk and cook until thickened. Add peas and tuna fish and heat until peas are thawed.
Serve over warm biscuits or toast.

Bowtie Cookies

I really like these cookies because they are really easy to make (although a little messy). They look impressive (like you really know how to cook) and they taste really good. We made these for Charis and Craig's wedding.
A few years ago, Allan's mom found an old, large red velvet bow tie (quite ugly I might add) that I had made for Allan when we were dating. As I recall it was quite fashionable, for about a minute, 35 years ago. She gave it to Dallin and he loved it. He wore it to church for several weeks. He really liked the comments he got about it (none of them, very flattering). After a few weeks, he went to the store and bought a real bow tie (one that you tie). That was the kind he wore until he went on his mission. I think he would still wear them if he thought he could get away with it.
Because of Dallin's great fondness for bow ties, we served these cookies at his mission farewell party.

Butterfly Cookies/BowTie Cookies
Almond Twists

½ of a 17 ½ ounce package (1 sheet) frozen puff pastry
½ cup almond paste
1 egg
¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
¼ t. vanilla
½ t. almond extract
1 T. milk
Coarsely chopped sliced almonds (optional)

Let pastry stand at room temperature for 20 minutes or till easy to roll. On a lightly floured surface, unfold pastry. Roll into a 14-inch square. Using a fluted pastry cutter or a pizza cutter, cut square in half.
For filling, in a small mixing bowl crumble the almond past. Add the egg and brown sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed till well mixed.
Spread filling over on portion of pastry. Place remaining pastry half on top of filling. Using a fluted pastry wheel or a pizza cutter, cut dough into seven 14x1 inch strips. Then cut each strip crosswise into quarters. You should have 28 pieces. Twist each piece twice.
Place twist about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 400˚ oven for 12 to 15 minutes or till golden. Remove twists and cool on wire racks.
Meanwhile, for icing, in a small mixing bowl stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla almond extract and milk. Drizzle icing over twists. If desired, sprinkle with almonds.

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

I got the recipe for these cookies from my friend, Danette. I really like these cookies. I usually make these in my heart shaped waffle iron. You can use a regular waffle iron as well. In fact, they probably work better that way. But they are cuter if you use a heart shaped one. I sold my regular waffle iron at a yard sale last year. I never used it for waffles (Allan likes Belgian Waffles better) and I forgot that I used it occasionally to make these cookies. Oh well. My heart shaped waffle iron is wearing out. Charis had one that she never used, so she gave it to me. My old one works better because the holes are deeper. These cookies are really cute for Valentine's day. They are a nice change from the traditional sugar cookies (but I like those, too).

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

Melt together: 3 tbsp cocoa and ½Cup margarine or
2 sq Chocolate

mix in:
2 Eggs
¾ Cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup flour

Drop by tbsp onto waffle iron. Cook 1½ minutes Cool and frost then top with nuts.

*These cookies are really cute if you use a heart waffle iron.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the kind of cookies that you either love or hate. If you love them, it is easy to eat too many because they taste good and you can pretend that they are sort of good for you (even though they probably aren't). Dallin loves these cookies.
When Josh & Brad were on their missions, I never sent them cookies. It was too expensive and by the time they would have received them they would have been hard and stale. But with Dallin being in California, I can send them to him every now & then. It only takes a couple of days for him to get them. These are his favorite cookies. He loves it when he gets some in the mail. He tells me that he is tempted to horde them but he usually shares them with his companions.
I got this recipe from a Marilyn Hanson, who I was in the Primay Presidency with in Emerson Ward. These cookies are cake like cookies, they are meant to be soft and fluffy so don't overbake them.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix:
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
1 egg (beaten)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Add and mix:

2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

Add one bag of chocolate chips (6 oz.) Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375º

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Shrimp Scampi

Every now and then, the Priest leaders in our ward have a cooking night. They bring a lot of different kinds of food and let the boys imaginations run wild. They let them make anything they can think of using the ingredients they have on hand. They are supposedly trying to teach them how to get by on their missions. I actually like the idea. I think it is really good for the boys. But, how many missionaries do you know that just happen to have shrimp in their refrigerators? Hmmmm.
Anyway, this is what Cuyler and his group came up with one night. You can really add any kind of herbs that you want. It is very yummy!

Shrimp Scampi

2 lbs uncooked shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/2 cup butter
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 onion (chopped)
8 oz. sliced mushrooms.
dash of lemon juice

Melt the butter in a frying pan. Saute the garlic, onion and mushrooms in the butter until onions are transparent. Add shrimp. Cook just until shrimp is pink. Don't over cook the shrimp or it will be tough. Add lemon juice.

Ham & Cheese Rolls

The first time I made these rolls was for a party for Josh's mission farewell. My friends, Marianne and Danette & I got together and made about 200 of them. We made them again when Brad went on his mission. I used to make these quite often for family parties. They are very easy to make and very easy to serve for a luncheon or wedding or other kind of party. They are good for dinner with a bowl of soup. They would be easy to take on a picnic. Everybody likes them. You can also use leftover turkey and cranberry sauce with cream cheese. But I much prefer ham and cheese. You can use any roll recipe for the bread.

Ham and Cheese Rolls

1 batch roll dough
thinly sliced ham
grated cheese (medium cheddar or Colby jack)
mustard
mayonaise

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with PAM.
Roll dough to a rectangle about ⅜ inch thick. Spread with mayo and mustard. Cover with sliced ham and grated cheese. Roll like jelly rolls. Slice into 1” slices and place, cut side up, on baking sheet, about 2” apart.
Let rise. Bake at 400º for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

Store in refrigerator.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Red Velvet Cake

When Allan was a little kid, he always asked for a red chocolate cake with blue frosting, for his birthday. His mother was a nice mother and always made it for him. At least that's what I understand. I, on the other hand, am not as nice of a wife. In 31 years of marriage, I have yet to make, this cake. Charis did make him one this year for his birthday. She apparently is a better daughter than I am a wife as well. She found a cake mix for Red Velvet Cake. I have never been able to find one. I actually think Allan is OK with the fact that I have neglected this ritual. He has never really complained. In fact he ususally asks for some different kind of cake for his birthday, now.
This is actually his mom's recipe.

Red Velvet Cake
(aka Red Chocolate Cake with Blue Frosting)

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 T. cocoa
1-2 oz red food coloring
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 t. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 t. vinegar
1 t. soda
1 t. vanilla

Cream shortening, eggs and sugar. Make a paste of cocoa and pat of the food coloring. Add paste and food coloring to creamed mixture. Sift flour & salt & soda together. Add flour and
buttermilk alternately a little at a time. Add vinegar.
Bake in 2 8" pans at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Bottled Apple Pie Filling

As a fund raiser, the scouts used to go to an apple orchard, way out in the middle of nowhere, to pick apples for the people in my sister, Emma's ward. When our children were little, Emma, Mary & I decided it would be fun to go out to the orchard with our kids and pick them ourselves. The apples cost $5.00 a bushel. The kids had fun picking the apples and playing in the orchard with their cousins and avoiding all the red ants. We would sit the babies in a box so they couldn't crawl around and get stung by the ants or get poked by the puncture weeds and cockle burrs. We picked a lot of apples. We continued doing this for a few years, until there was a fire in the orchard and they lost all their trees. They eventually replaced some of the trees. But most of the orchard was subdivided and homes were built there. It was a real adventure going to the orchard, partly at least, because it was sooooo far away. Several years later, we bought our house in Sandy and discovered that the orchard was just a couple of miles from our house. It really is a small world.
Emma had this recipe so we used some of the apples to make bottled apple pie filling. It makes delicious apple pies. It's a little work to bottle it (but not too much). But it is worth the effort when all you have to do is make the crust, open a bottle and bake it to get a genuine homemade apple pie.

Bottled Apple Pie Filling

4 1/2 cups sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1 cup corn starch
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 t. salt
3 T. lemon juice
5 1/2 -6 lbs. peeled, cored and sliced apples.

In a large saucepan blend first 5 ingredients. Stir in 10 cups water. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Add juice.
Pack apples into hot jars, leaving 1" headspace. Fill with hot syrup leaving 1/2" headspace. (Use a spatula to help distribute evenly). Adjust lids. PRocess in boiling water bath. Pints 15 minutes. Quarts 20 minutes.
Makes 6 quarts

Before serving, prepare pastry for a double crust pie. line pie plate. Add 1 qt filling. Dot with butter. Adjust top crust. cut slits and seal. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Lime Slush

I first got this recipe from my cousin, Wilma. I think she made it for Aunt Thelma and Uncle Glen's 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration. Later it was submitted to one of the Karalee Ward BakeOff cookbooks by Jacci Timpson. It is very easy and very refreshing. When Charis got married, Craig wanted his mother's recipe for Lime Slush served at their wedding reception. It is very simlar to the one I had. It is very pretty (and tastes good too) if you add fresh raspberries to it.

Lime Slush

1 6 oz Frozen limeade
11 Cups water
3 Cups sugar
2 Quarts lemon lime carbonated beverage.
Lime Slices for garnish

Combine ingredients, except carbonated drink. Stir until sugar dissolves. Freeze until solid. Two hours before serving remove from freezer. Thaw to soften. Mash with potato masher. One hour before serving add carbonated drink. Garnish with Lime slices (and/or fresh raspberries).

Craig’s Lime Slush

1 12 oz can frozen limeade concentrate
6 cups water
3 cups sugar
Juice of 4 limes

1 2 liter bottle 7-up

Heat water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add lime juice and limeade concentrate. Stir until limeade is melted. Pour in 1 gallon Freezer Zipper bags. Freeze.
1-2 hours before serving, remove from freezer. Smash with potato masher. Pour 7-up over top.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Blueberry Filled Cookies

Someday, my cute little grandson, Sam, will be a famous chef. He loves to help cook. He loves to play in his play kitchen. And he loves to play in my flour and sugar drawers. He finds cups or spoons and pours sugar in the flour and flour in the sugar (and on the floor as well). I figure it doesn't hurt anything too much. If I'm making something that needs sugar and no flour, I just reach to the back of the drawer. I figure a little sugar in the flour might even make things better, because I've heard it said that you should always put a little salt in something sweet and a little sugar in something savory. So it probably doesn't matter much.
When I was making these cookies, I just used the sugar with the flour mixed in to make the filling. So I didn't add any flour. I think the flour is really just a matter of taste. If you want a runnier filling you can leave it out entirely.

Blueberry Filled Cookies

Filling:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 t. flour
zest of one lemon

Mix flour and sugar in a saucepan. Add berries, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Cook for a minute or two.

Make your favorite sugar cookie dough (a recipe for mine is on this blog). Roll dough to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter or glass, cut into circles. Place circles of dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment pater. Put about a teaspoon of filling (about 5-6 berries) on the center of each round. Moisten edges of dough. Place another circle of dough on top of the berries and crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Frost with cream cheese frosting if desired.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Classic Blueberry Pie

This is the pie we made at Rosalie's house using freshly picked Blueberries.

Blueberry Pie

Basic Pie Dough

Filling ingredients:
6 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed and stems removed (if using frozen, defrost and drain first)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (for thickening)
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardomom
2 Tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into small pieces
Egg wash ingredients:
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

1 Prepare the crust. Roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle on a lightly floured work surface, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit the dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges to a 1/2 inch over the edge all around the pan.
2 Gently mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, cardomom, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot with butter pieces. Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Place on top of the berry filling. Tuck the top dough over and under the edge of the bottom dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers. Heat oven to 425°F.
3 Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash.
4 Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with 4 cuts (so steam can escape while cooking). Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven with a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking pan positioned on the lower rack to catch any filling that may bubble over. Bake for 20 minutes at 425°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until juices are bubbling and have thickened. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

Basic Pie Crust

I remember my mother making pie crust in a large bowl. She never measured anything. She never used any kind of tools (pastry blender, Knives, etc). She just used her fingers. She would make enough for 8 pies at a time and they always worked. I don't know how she did it. She only ever made pumpkin pies.
I think I got this recipe from my Junior High Home Ec. class at Roosevelt Jr. High. But I honestly don't remember. It has served me well for many years. I rarely double the recipe even if I am making a lot of pies.

Pie Crust

2 cups all purpose flour
2 t. salt
1 T. sugar (oprional)
2/3 cup shortening
7 T. cold water.

Mix flour and salt (and sugar). Using 2 knives or a pastry blender cut in shortening til it is the size of small peas. Using a fork, gradually mix in water (1 T. at a time). Form into 2 balls.
On a floured, smooth surface, roll one ball of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fold dough in half and place in a 9" pie plate. Unfold. Gently press dough to fit pan (do not strech dough) Trim sides to fit the pan. Crimp edges if using pie dough for a single shell pie. Use other ball of dough for another pie or for the top crust of a double crust pie. Follow instructions in your pie recipe to bake.

Cream Puffs with Lemon Mousse and Blueberry Sauce

Last week we spent the week in Portland Oregon, visiting Rosalie & Tom. It was great. We had a lot of fun. It was record breaking hot while we were there (106 in Portland). The beach was much cooler so we went to the ocean and played. We saw some tide pools with starfish and anemones.
One of my favorite things to do in Oregon is to go berry picking. Last year while we were there, we discovered a "you pick" blueberry farm just outside of Sandy, Oregon. It is owned by a cute old man. It is very overgrown so it kind of feels like you are picking blueberries in the wild. He only charges $1.00/pound. We picked 16 pounds in about an hour this year.
Watching little Owen reminded me of the book, "Blueberries for Sal". He loved the blueberries and would eat them by the handful.
The first year we went to Rosalie's we found a commercial farm and picked several different kinds of berries. when we returned to her house we spent the afternoon making all kinds of Jam. Last year when we returned we made a Blueberry pie. This year, we waited until the last day we were there to pick the berries so I just brought a lot of them home and am trying to find different things to make with them.
I found this idea at Martha Stewarts website. This is my version of her recipe. Allan loves cream puffs, lemon pie and blueberries. So this seemed like the perfect first choice. I was right. Allan loved these.

Cream Puffs with Lemon Mousse and Blueberry Sauce

For the Cream Puffs:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. boiling water
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
4 eggs
Put butter, water, salt and sugar in small saucepan; stir over high heat until melted and liquid is boiling rapidly. Add flour at once; raise saucepan a few inches above heat. Stir briskly. Mixture will come away from sides of pan and form a ball in center.
Cook and stir 30 seconds more. Remove from heat. Break 1 egg into the paste; beat fast until smooth and fluffy. Repeat until all the eggs are used.
Drop by whatever size you want (1/4 cup) onto ungreased cookie sheet 3 inches apart. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until puffed and golden about 35 more minutes. Turn of oven and open the door slightly. Leave in oven until oven is cool. Cool away from drafts.

For the Blueberry Sauce:
2 cups (1 pint) blueberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Bring 1 cup blueberries, the water, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer until most of the berries have burst, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining cup blueberries, and crush lightly.

For the Lemon Mousse:
1 large egg, plus 3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
Pinch of salt
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream

Whisk together egg, yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and salt. Bring to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook until mixture is thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in butter. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of lemon curd, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Just before serving, Whip cream and fold into lemon mixture.

Cut tops of cream puffs, spoon Lemon Mousse into bottom half, top with Blueberries. Replace cream puff top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.