Chocolate Oatmeal

For some reason my husband associates Halloween with oatmeal. I don't know where the association comes from since he says he didn't usually have it for breakfast on Halloween when he was a kid or anything, but that's okay! I'm willing to roll with it. When he told me he wanted oatmeal for breakfast on Halloween last year I was happy to oblige and found this chocolate oatmeal recipe. I've changed it a bit (surprise!) and we love it. You could also add a touch of cinnamon or top individual bowls with mini marshmallows if you want.


Chocolate Oatmeal

2 C water
1/2 C milk
1 C old fashioned oats
1/4 t salt
1/2 C brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 C chocolate chips

optional: whipped cream and chocolate chips for garnish

Bring the water and milk to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Stir in oats and salt and simmer, stirring frequently, until oats are cooked and thickened (3-5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, vanilla extract and chocolate chips. If desired, spoon the oatmeal into bowls and top with whipped cream ghosts with chocolate chips for eyes.

Yield: 4 servings

Deviled Eyes

These spooky eyes are a yearly tradition for us. Mostly because we love any excuse to have deviled eggs and these are really cute! You can use your favorite deviled egg recipe. Normally I put dill in mine but I don't when I make these because I don't want little flecks of dill in the eyes.

Deviled Eyes

6 hard boiled eggs
4 T mayonnaise
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1/4 t onion powder
4 drops green food coloring
for garnish: sliced olives

Cut the eggs in half and place the yolks in a shallow bowl. Mash with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, seasoned salt, onion powder and food coloring and stir to combine. Alternatively, you can mix it all up in the food processor so you won't have any little bits of yellow yolk showing in your green filling. Scoop the mixture into a small plastic bag and snip off the tip of one corner, then pipe the filling into the egg halves. Press one sliced olive into each egg half and arrange on a plate to look like pairs of angry eyes.

Yield: 6-12 servings

Vampire Bat Legs (aka Spicy Chicken Legs)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Okay, I know you probably aren't going to rush out to make Vampire Bat Legs for Halloween dinner tonight and eating something called Vampire Bat Legs any other time of year is rather odd, but the good thing is the rest of the time you can just call them Spicy Chicken Legs since that's what they are. We had these chicken legs (er, bat legs!) for dinner last night and they were SO good! The flavors combined perfectly. Kind of sweet, limey, spicy. My husband handles spicy pretty well and he thought they were hot too. I don't eat the skin so wasn't subjected to the full heat blast but the sauce did get cooked onto the exposed part of the chicken legs and I put a little dollop of it on my plate. The recipe also includes a lime sour cream sauce to dip the chicken into and that helped temper the heat in a very delicious way. The original recipe actually called for a full teaspoon of cayenne pepper in addition to the chipotle peppers. I left that out because I wanted us to have some tastebuds remaining so we could enjoy our caramel apples. Regardless, this may not be a good choice for little kids. You could just put some BBQ sauce on some chicken legs and cook them in a separate dish at the same time. Oh and I served my Vampire Bat Legs with orzo (aka maggots- I know it's disgusting but I couldn't resist).

Do you have a digital probe thermometer? I mentioned it earlier but didn't go into a lot of detail. I love my digital probe thermometer. It's one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. The reason it's wonderful is that you can stick the probe into the meat (or whatever) and leave it there as it cooks so you can check the temperature without opening the oven door. You can also set it to beep once it reaches whatever temperature you specify. I'm very very safety conscious when it comes to raw meat and this means I don't have to worry about undercooking the meat but also don't have to worry about overcooking it. My thermometer also has a timer :D My pet cockatiels had babies last year and I ended up having to hand raise 2 batches of babies from when they were a week old and this thermometer was actually perfect for checking the temperature of their formula (vitally important) and monitoring the temperature of their brooder that was on a heating pad- I set it to go off if the temperature rose too high. Of course this is not the standard use for most people but it just shows one of the things you can do with digital probe thermometers :D

Anyway, on to the recipe:


Vampire Bat Legs (aka Spicy Chicken Legs)

Chicken:

8 chicken legs

2/3 C BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

1/2 of an 8 oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 t salt

1 T chili powder

1 T minced garlic

6 T lime juice

Cool Lime Sauce:

1 C sour cream

1-2 T lime juice (I used 2 T)

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1/4 t salt

Combine all ingredients for the chicken in a gallon zipper bag and squish it around so everything's mixed and all the chicken is coated. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. While it's refrigerating you can make the Cool Lime Sauce by simply stirring together the ingredients. Preheat oven to 425, line a 9 by 13 baking dish with aluminum foil, and grease the foil. When 30 minutes are up, pour everything from the bag into the baking dish and evenly arrange the chicken legs. Bake 15 minutes and then brush the chicken with the sauce in the dish. Bake 15 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the biggest chicken leg registers 165 degrees. Remove chicken from oven and brush again with the sauce (I suggest washing your brush first because there may be raw chicken juices on it from the first time you basted). Serve the chicken with the Cool Lime Sauce to help soothe the burn.

Yield: 4 servings (2 legs each)

Honey Caramel Apples

Before I moved to Alaska I worked for a few months at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. It was my favorite job that I've had. We made all kinds of amazing candy but by far the best thing we did was caramel apples. Plain ones, but also ones with all kinds of goodies stuck to the outside: chocolate, M&Ms, crushed Oreos, tiger butter (white chocolate mixed with peanut butter and swirled with milk chocolate), cheesecake apples, apple pie apples (dipped in white chocolate then rolled in cinnamon sugar), and many more. Even granola apples! Those caramel apples were completely amazing and the caramel was the best I ever had. While I never got to make the caramel myself, several times a week I watched my coworker stand over a giant copper vat, stirring the big pot of cream, butter and sugar for about an hour until it was done. I never got to dip the apples either but I did put sticks in hundreds of them! A job that hurt your hands for sure but ya got to take home any bruised apples so not too bad at all :D If only every job I worked at could have been that much fun. Most of our customers were people on vacation and they were in a giant chocolate shop so they tended to be in great moods. I only dealt with 2 grumps the entire time I worked there. When they hired me I'd hoped I'd get to actually make the caramel apples and fudge, but it turned out that I was great at being incessantly cheerful and was one of the best sellers so that's what I did. I haven't worked there for 6 years now but I always buy a caramel apple when I visit my family and I also always make caramel apples at Halloween.

Which brings us to this recipe! Usually I just use packaged caramels because I like them, but I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites and had to try it. Honey? Caramel? AND apples? Sign me up, I love all of those things! The recipe was very easy to follow and turned out great. Not to mention fun! I made a couple changes like doubling it (good call) and cooking it to 265 instead of 260 so it would get a little thicker. This resulted in easy to work with caramel that got a tad chewier than usual, you can cook to whichever of the two temperatures you think you'd prefer.

Quick Note: Use decent quality honey. I didn't want to use my $16 a pound raw Alaskan honey because it's so expensive and wonderful on its own, but you should use a honey that tastes good to you. The good Alaskan honey has spoiled me because cheap grocery store honey tastes almost bad in comparison now. I did use some of the cheapo honey (as in the cheapest the store had) in the caramel and it definitely came through in the flavor. Next time I make this recipe I'll use a middle quality honey. Also, make sure to use a big enough pot! The caramel simmers up as it cooks and it could easily overflow in a too small pan. And last of all, I used a digital probe thermometer instead of a candy thermometer. It's one of my favorite kitchen items!

Here are my tasty apples (the light spots are just bubbles):


Honey Caramel Apples

6 apples (mine weighed 3.5 lbs in all)

bamboo skewers, popsicle sticks or disposable wooden chopsticks

2 C heavy cream

2 C decent quality honey

1/4 t salt

1/2 t vanilla extract

To prepare apples, peel off the stickers, rinse well, dry thoroughly, then put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so they're cold. Combine cream, honey and salt in a large pot over medium-high heat. While stirring occasionally, bring mixture to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally (more frequently near the end when it thickens) until the temperature reaches 160-165 degrees with a candy thermometer or digital probe thermometer. Remove the pot from the heat and let cook for a minute or two, then stir in the vanilla extract.

Allow caramel to cool until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. While caramel cools, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and insert your stick of choice into the tops of the apples. Then the caramel is ready to dip, pour into a 4 cup measuring cup. One at a time, dip the apples into the caramel, using a spoon to get caramel around the top. Twirl to remove excess caramel and scrape off the bottom of the apple with the spoon before placing on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining apples. You can warm it on the stove again if it thickens too much. Once all the apples have been dipped, place them in the refrigerator so the caramel can set. Serve after an hour or so. The caramel apples will keep well at room temperature for 2-3 days or you can refrigerate them. Just bring them to room temperature before you eat them or you won't have any teeth left for next year's caramel apples!

Below is a picture of how I learned to cut the caramel apples at the candy store, it's just 4 cuts:

Baked Mice (aka Mini Meatloaves)

I got the idea for these cute (or as cute as meatloaf can be) little Halloween mice from this recipe. They were easy to make and ended up tasting really good too. I would make these mini meatloaves the rest of the year sans mousie features. Lean ground turkey is usually pretty dry when made into meatballs or meatloaf, but I think the little hunk of cheese in the middle helped because mine didn't turn out dry at all. The cheese did leak a bit out of some of the mice but I think that just added to the effect! And yes, the noodle tails do cook completely in the oven. Serve the mice with mashed potatoes (the sauce is good on them) and a veggie.


Baked Mice

1.25 lb package ground turkey

1 egg

1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder
1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

8 3/4 inch cubes cheddar cheese

3 spaghetti noodles, broken into thirds

16 oz can tomato sauce

4 T brown sugar

3 T yellow mustard

2 T Heinz chili sauce (not the spicy Asian kind- this is optional)

1/4 t black pepper

16 very thin carrot slices

16 black olive slices

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 7 by 11 baking dish. Combine the ground turkey, egg, bread crumbs and spices. Form 1/8 of the meat around a cheese cube, sealing well. Form a point on one end and make the other end rounded. Place in baking dish and stick one of the spaghetti thirds into the rounded end to make a tail. Repeat with the rest of the meat, cheese cubes and noodles. Stir together tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard, chili sauce and pepper and pour over the mice, making sure to cover the tails. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake until mice are cooked through (165 degrees in the middle), about 20 minutes longer. Arrange mice on plates, cut a small slit on either side of the heads, and insert carrot slices for ears. Place olive slices on the face to make eyes.

Yield: 8 mice, 4-8 servings

deconstructed lasagna

cold and rainy in your neck of the woods too? it's the perfect time of the year for hot, steamy bowls of pasta! lasagna is one of my favorites, yet i make it maybe once a year, simply because i don't have the patience for it. and seem to burn the tips of my fingers every time i make it while handling hot noodles during assembly. so dealing with the noodles is completely cut out and instead, the meat sauce and alfredo sauce are layered with short cut pasta. simple. delicious. and ready in about 30 minutes.

there's an obvious absence of ricotta cheese from this recipe. i am not a fan of ricotta in lasagna, and ever since a good friend turned me on to bechamel with stuffed shells, i haven't looked back. if you simply can't live without it, add a tablespoon or two to the bottom of your pasta bowl before you add the pasta.

deconstructed lasagna
adapted from rachael ray
30 minutes, serves 4-6 adults

1 pound short cut pasta, any shape (i used campanelle)
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef stock
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese + more for passing
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh basil
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1. cook the pasta al dente. reserve one cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and set aside.
2. while the pasta is cooling, make the meat sauce. heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. coat the bottom with olive oil and add the meat. break up the meat and cook until it starts to brown, about five minutes.add the garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. season with salt, pepper, allspice, and worchestershire sauce. stir well and cook about five minutes, or until most of the liquid has cooked out of the mixture. deglaze the pan with the wine then add the beef stock. stir in the tomatoes and bring to a boil. keep the tomato sauce at a steady simmer while preparing the alfredo sauce.
3. make the alfredo sauce. melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. add the flour and whisk about 3 minutes until the flour cooks (turns light brown. if you skip this step, the sauce will taste like flour - no good!). whisk in the milk. make sure you continuously whisk, or the milk will scorch on the bottom of the pan. turn up the heat to medium-high. simmer for about three minutes, until it thickens, and whisk the whole time. once thickened, stir in the parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper and a pinch (or two) of nutmeg. add pasta cooking water, about a half a cup at a time, to thin out the sauce to the consistency that you like.
4. assemble your bowls by layering noodles, meat sauce, a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, alfredo sauce, and a few torn basil leaves.

Chicken Strips

This recipe is from one of my favorite blogs, Southern Plate. If you've never checked out Southern Plate, you should. Christy is so sweet and nice! I've tried a lot of her recipes and have rarely been disappointed. This recipe for chicken strips (or chicken planks as she calls them) is no different. I first made them a year ago. It was my first time ever frying anything and I was a bit concerned but they turned out great! Tonight was my second time making them and again, great. Very easy to make and very good for an occasional treat if you want something really simple and homey. After tasting them you wouldn't guess they're breaded with only egg and crushed saltine crackers. They're quite filling too so I usually just serve them with a veggie.

I tend to only buy chicken breasts every 3 or 4 months and get a big package so I can get all the goo cleaned off and cut it into whatever size pieces I'll need for recipes before freezing. It works very well to pound the chicken and cut it into strips at this time so when I'm ready to make the chicken strips, all I need to do is thaw and bread them.

Quick Note: This particular chicken strip has pretty big pieces of cracker. It was just fine but feel free to crush them more if you want! My sleeve of crackers popped open on the end before I could get them crushed really finely and I just went with it.

Also, this recipe can be easily doubled. Just cook half the chicken, then add more oil and let it heat up again before cooking the rest!


Chicken Strips

1/2 lb chicken breasts
1 egg
about half a sleeve of saltine crackers
vegetable oil

Lightly beat the egg in a bowl. Thoroughly crush the saltine crackers with your hands while still in the plastic sleeve (if you only crush half the crackers, the rest should remain intact for later!) and then pour into a bowl. Place the chicken into 2 Ziploc bags (one inside the other) and pound to 1/4 inch thick with a meat mallet. Cut the breasts into strips as big as you'd like. One at a time, dip the chicken strips into the beaten egg, then press into the crushed crackers and set on a plate. I like to use a fork to move the chicken around because things don't get as messy that way. Once all the chicken has been coated, pour 1/4 inch of oil into a large skillet and heat over medium. When the oil is hot enough that a little piece of crushed cracker sizzles when you toss it in, add the chicken strips. Cook on one side until golden brown, then turn the strips with a fork and cook on the other side, about 4 minutes on each side. I always cut one of the fatter ones open at this point to make sure they're cooked through but I haven't had a problem with them being under done. When the chicken strips are cooked, remove them to a paper towel lined plate and let drain for a minute or two. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. We like barbecue sauce!

Yield: 2-3 servings

Fudge Icing

For a teaching with technology class I'm in I had to create a survey for my classmates to fill out. Unsurprisingly, I picked desserts for my topic and promised to bring in the class's favorite dessert. The options were cookies, ice cream, cupcakes, pie and brownies. Then they were to pick their favorite type of each dessert (ex: peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookes, etc). Brownies ended up winning (I was the only one who picked cupcakes!) and fudge iced brownies were the preferred type of brownie, so that's what I brought in to class today!

To be honest, I just used a big box of brownie mix for the brownies. It's the one baked good that to me without fail tastes better from a box than homemade. I did make this delicious fudge icing myself though, from this recipe. It's perfect! Easy to make, delicious, soft but not runny, creamy, glossy, chocolaty... YUM! The recipe says it's for brownies and it was perfect on them, but I think it would also be great on a cake baked in a 9 by 13 pan. I don't suggest trying to use it for a layer cake though because it's really runny at first and you'd probably either end up with a big mess or icing that's set up too much to spread.

Quick Note: Boil the icing for exactly 30 seconds and start counting once the mixture has reached a rolling boil. If you start earlier it will be too soft. Also be sure to pour it over the brownies or cake right after you take it out of the oven because some reviewers complained about the icing separating from the brownies or cake otherwise.

Sorry about the ugly picture, there weren't a lot of brownie survivors left to photograph. They went over quite well with my class and several other students and the teacher brought in cookies when they heard I was bringing brownies.


Fudge Icing

1 1/2 C sugar
6 T butter
6 T milk
1 C chocolate chips
1 t vanilla extract

Combine sugar, butter and milk in a small sauce pan and heat over medium-high, stirring with a wooden spoon frequently at first and constantly once it starts to simmer. Once the mixture comes to a rolling boil, let it cook for exactly 30 seconds while you stir. Remove from the heat, let it cool until it stops boiling, then stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over still piping hot 9 by 13 pan of brownies or cake and spread to cover. Let set for several hours before serving.

Yield: Depends on how big you like your brownies or cake!

Wrapped Hot Dogs

My sophomore year of high school I was a foreign exchange student in Austria. The family I lived with was wonderful and the daughter is still my closest friend. She flew from Austria to Alaska to be in my wedding last year. My host mother (who is still one of my all time favorite people) made these frequently. Quick fact: In Austria they call hot dogs Frankfurters and another small sausage Wieners. In Germany, they call the hot dogs Wieners and the small sausages Frankfurters :D I always thought that was funny!

Anyway, my recipe for pizza dough makes enough for 2 pizzas so I often leave the extra dough in the fridge for a day or two and then make these. The dough is great after being in the fridge, it ages and the texture becomes chewier and more flavorful. You could make these with fresh dough too though. My host mother always topped them with cheese and caraway seeds. I'm not a big fan of caraway but feel free to include it!

Quick Note: You could easily make these into adorable mummy dogs for Halloween by leaving a gap in the dough at one end and then dabbing on mustard eyes when they come out of the oven, like this. I kinda meant to do that and made one of the hot dogs with a face peeking out, but... there was an "incident"... and that hot dog is no longer available to be photographed :D


Wrapped Hot Dogs

pizza dough, prepared according to recipe through first rise
hot dogs
grated cheese (optional)
caraway seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or greased aluminum foil. Dry off the hot dogs. Divide the dough into balls about 2 inches across and, one at a time, roll the dough into a snake about 16 inches long. Flatten the snake slightly and wrap around the hotdog, pressing the seams to seal so the hot dog is completely encased. Repeat with the remaining dough and hot dogs. Sprinkle with grated cheese and caraway seeds if desired. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Yield: Depends on how much pizza dough you use! A full batch will get you about 12 hot dogs.

Serpentine Stromboli

I love holidays and Halloween is especially fun. Today marks the beginning of several spooky Halloween recipes that I'll share. A couple of weeks ago I ran across the idea for this snake stromboli and thought it was so cute! I used my favorite pizza dough recipe from Our Best Bites and filled the snake with pesto, cheese, pepperoni and olives. It turned out adorable and VERY tasty!

My very favorite pesto is from DeLaurenti Specialty Food and Wine at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. To me it has the perfect blend of flavors and perfect texture. We like it so much that when I go visit my family, we bring home a couple large containers of it, divide it into smaller containers, and keep it in the freezer. How much pesto you use in this recipe will really depend on how strong your pesto is. I used about half a cup in mine but if you have a really strong pesto you may only use 3 or 4 tablespoons. My stromboli split open as it was baking and some oil from the pesto leaked out. This didn't bother me at all (it looked like he had a green belly!) but you could leave out the pesto entirely and dip the slices in pizza sauce if you'd prefer.

This snake was so yummy that I'm definitely going to make it other times of the year just baked as a log.

Serpentine Stromboli

For the dough:

1 1/2 C warm water
1 T sugar
1 packet yeast
1/2 t salt
about 4 C flour

Stir together warm water, sugar and yeast in bowl of electric mixer and let sit until yeast blooms (10 minutes). Stir in salt and 3 C flour by hand. Place bowl on electric mixer with dough hook and add 1/2 C flour. Knead on the lowest or second lowest speed and add flour a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough is only slightly sticky. It should feel like a wad of chewing gum (gross description, but accurate!). Pour about a teaspoon of oil over the ball of dough, spread the oil with your fingers, and turn the dough and spread the oil over the other side too. Cover with a dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. I've found the perfect place for dough to rise is in my oven. I set the temperature to 300 and let the oven heat for 45 seconds, turn it off, then put in the bowl of dough. You may need to tweak the temperature and time slightly.

For the stromboli:

pesto sauce
1-2 C shredded mozzarella
sliced pepperoni, 1 reserved
1 small can sliced olives, 2 reserved
garlic bread seasoning (optional)
1 egg white
food coloring

Once the dough has risen, grease a large cookie sheet and punch the dough down. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and refrigerate it for another use the next day (this is what I did), or you could make an extra large stromboli. On the cookie sheet, pat the dough out into a 12 by 15 inch rectangle (make it longer if you used the full amount of dough). Spread to within 1 inch of the edges the desired amount of pesto sauce, then top with cheese, sliced olives and pepperoni. Sprinkle with a little bit of garlic bread seasoning if desired. Roll the dough up like a cinnamon roll, starting on a long side. Press edges to seal as best you can and arrange the stromboli into a snake shape on the cookie sheet, seam side down, or you can just leave it as a log and have a regular stromboli. Press the ends to seal and tuck them under. Make one end pointy to look like a tail and one end rounded to look like a head.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white and food coloring of your choice with a fork. Brush the egg white on the snake in whatever pattern you desire. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until snake is slightly golden. While snake is baking, cut the reserved pepperoni slice so it looks like a snake tongue. After you remove the snake from the oven, place the tongue under the snake's head so it sticks out and place the olive slices to look like eyes. Let the snake cool for 5 minutes before cutting into 1 inch slices to serve.

Yield: 4-6 servings (more if you make a big snake)

Granola

A friend of mine shared this recipe for granola with me the other day and I made a half batch tonight. I had to make some alterations based on what I had but it turned out great! It isn't as sweet as regular store bought granola but sweet enough and the light molasses flavor is a great touch. Also some granola forms little clumps when it's baked but this one doesn't. I actually prefer it this way because it's easier to eat! For the nuts I used some pistachios, cashews and almonds that I had, and the fruit was just golden raisins. In any case, it's definitely the best granola I've made. When you make it, feel free to customize it however you want (maybe add flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, wheat bran, even mini chocolate chips once it's cooled if you feel so inclined), just keep the amount of dry ingredients pretty much the same.

Quick note: I bought the sesame seeds and unsweetened dried coconut (which is chopped finely) from the bulk bins at the store. It's MUCH cheaper that way- each was only $3 a pound. Also, when the granola is still in the oven it's going to seem soft still even if it's cooked enough. What I do is put a little scoop of it into a bowl and let it cool (this will only take about 5 minutes). If it's crunchy enough, take the whole pan out of the oven. If not, just cook another 15 minutes!


Granola

5 C oats
1 C nuts, roughly chopped
1 C wheat germ
4 oz dried coconut
1/2 C sesame seeds
1/2 C brown sugar
3/4 C water
1/3 plus 1 T vegetable oil
1/4 C honey
1/4 C molasses
1 t cinnamon
3/4 t salt
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300 and line a 13 by 18 jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Stir together oats, nuts, wheat germ, coconut and sesame seeds. In a small saucepan stir together water, oil, honey, molasses, cinnamon and salt. Heat while stirring until sugar dissolves (do not boil). Pour over dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine. Spread evenly in pan and bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until granola is golden and crisp. This will take about 1 hour. Let cool and then stir in dried fruit. Store in a covered container for up to 6 months.

Yield: about 20 servings

caramel pear butter

my canner is getting a workout this year. i started with cherry almond jam, the moved into spiced plum butter with smitten kitchen's peach butter thrown in somewhere, and a few unmentionables that will show up around christmas time. it seems like every other weekend i've canned something. now that it's pear season - and two quarts of pears cost a mere $2 at the farmer's market - it's finally time for this pear butter that i bookmarked back in august. it's a play on one of my all time favorite combinations: caramel and fresh fruit. and if you love that combination even half as much as i do, this pear butter is to die for.

caramel pear butter
adapted from bon apetit
makes three full pints

3 tablespoons apple juice or water
4 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
5 pounds ripe pears
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. combine apple juice or water and three tablespoons lemon juice in a heavy, large pot. peel, core, and cut the pears into evenly sized chunks and add to the pan. toss with the lemon juice to keep the pears from turning brown.
2. cook over medium heat until pears start to boil, about fifteen minutes. reduce heat to low, cover, and cook about twenty minutes, until pears are tender, stirring every five minutes to make sure the pears don't scorch.
3. using an immersion blender, puree the pears until smooth. 
4. add the remaining one and a half tablespoons of lemon juice, brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine. bring to a boil and stir to ensure the sugar is dissolved. once boiling, turn the heat down so the mixture is at a low simmer. simmer uncovered for about an hour, until thickened. be sure to stir the mixture about every five minutes to ensure it doesn't burn.
5. while the pear butter is cooking down, prepare your jars, lids, rings, and water bath canner.
6. when the butter is finished cooking, ladle into hot jars, leaving about a half inch headspace. screw on the lid and process in a boiling water canner for ten minutes. 
7. store in a cool, dry place.

Blueberry Buckle

This afternoon I whipped up my very first Blueberry Buckle! The name is adorable and it looked yummy so I had to try it. Got the recipe from AllRecipes. For once I made no changes, other than to bake it in a pie pan because I didn't have the 9 by 9 pan the recipe calls for. Okay and I also streamlined the assembly a bit. The resulting... thing... is wonderful, the bread part is perfect and the topping is to die for. Is it a cake? Is it for breakfast or dessert? Is it a giant muffin? I'm not really sure, but I DO know it's delicious and you should try it too!

Note: The batter is very thick and almost more like a dough. If you use frozen blueberries I suggest letting them thaw first. I didn't do this and it was a real bear getting them stirred in!


Blueberry Buckle

1/4 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 C milk
2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 C blueberries

Topping:
2/3 C sugar
1/2 C flour
1/2 t cinnamon
1/3 C cold butter, cut into half inch cubes

Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a deep dish pie plate or 9 by 9 baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together butter, sugar and egg. Pour in milk and add flour, baking powder and salt. Stir just until everything is combined, then gently fold in the blueberries. Spread the batter (will be very thick) into the prepared dish. To make the topping, stir together the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender or else use your fingers to rub the butter and dry ingredients together until you have pea sized pieces of topping. Sprinkle over the batter and bake about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yield: 8 servings

Pizza Spaghetti Lasagna

First of all, let me apologize for the lack of recipes this past week! I'm not losing interest in sharing my recipes, I just haven't made anything worth sharing. We had leftovers, things out of the freezer, we went to a Thai restaurant, and I made teriyaki chicken legs using a bottle of teriyaki sauce I found in the pantry that was about to expire. I did actually consider sharing it but chicken + bottle of sauce is hardly a recipe and I have a great teriyaki chicken recipe with homemade sauce that I'd rather share later.

As I mentioned before, if I ask my husband what he wants for dinner when I'm making up my weekly meal plans, without fail he says he wants casserole. If I ask him what kind of casserole, he says he wants this one. It's adapted from this recipe but we call it Pizza Spaghetti Lasagna. Clunky for sure and I've TRIED to change the name without success, but Pizza Spaghetti Lasagna sums it up perfectly. It has our favorite pizza toppings and pizza sauce, spaghetti, and is baked like a lasagna. Italians would probably be horrified by this travesty and for that I apologize! We aren't Italian thought and we love it. I first tried the recipe 4 1/2 years ago and I've probably made it 15 times since then (that's a lot for me!). The recipe looked so odd that I just had to try it and I've altered it some over the years.

Be warned: this is is a particularly unattractive casserole and I'm almost a little bit embarrassed to share it. When you mix up everything in the pot and see how runny it is, you're probably going to doubt me pretty hard and wonder if you're going to end up with PBJs for dinner, but trust me. Just stir everything up and bake it and it will turn out fine! The noodles absorb the extra liquid and it ends up creamy, noodly, tomatoey, pizza-y, spaghetti-y and lasagna-y.

Quick note: For this particular version I used spaghetti sauce from the freezer and added some more spices, but I usually use my pizza sauce. If you go the pizza sauce route, you can triple the recipe and either use 1/2 cup for something else or just add it all in. It will be fine. You can also substitute your favorite pizza toppings instead of the pepperoni, mushrooms and olives. The casserole freezes well too so you can freeze half in a Ziploc bag before you bake it, then thaw, pour into a greased 8 by 8 pan, sprinkle with a cup of cheese, and bake half an our or so.

Behold, my culinary delight:


Pizza Spaghetti Lasagna

1/2 lb spaghetti noodles, broken into quarters

1/4 to 1/2 lb sliced pepperoni, cut into quarters
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms

1 small can sliced olives, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 C milk
2 1/2 C pizza sauce
1/2 t salt
2 C shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 baking dish. Cook spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Drain. Saute pepperoni in skillet until crisp and remove to a plate (this will only take a couple of minutes). Saute the mushrooms in the grease left in the skillet (you may need to add olive oil if you used turkey pepperoni). Add to pot with drained spaghetti and all other ingredients except cheese. Spoon into prepared dish, sprinkle with cheese, and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until cheese is golden and casserole is bubbly.

Yield: 8 servings

good eats near zion national park

last month's vacation didn't only take us to las vegas. we rented a car and headed straight for utah, stopping first at valley of fire state park to check out the red rocks before continuing onto springdale and zion national park.

each year from about the age of twelve to eighteen my mom, dad, sister and i took a trip out west. (sorry dad, i can't remember the exact years and places we went each year with even half of the accuracy that you have. many of the trips blend together for me. which really isn't so bad, i just remember it all started with yellowstone and ended with the raft down the colorado, with mesa verde, taos, arches, canyon de chelly, and others thrown in.) every year around christmas the four of us would talk about where we'd go the next summer, what did we want to see, what did we want to do. and once decided, dad spent months pouring over books, calling far off places to make reservations because of course, the only internet we got at our house was through a phone cord strung across the kitchen floor, into the laundry room where the computer was kept. and we'd spend our time riding horses, hiking to arches, floating down rivers, looking at old churches, eating navajo tacos and watching the mittens through the rental car window in monument valley. i wouldn't trade it for the world. it's hard to believe it's been ten years since i've been out there.

it's not all that surprising that i took jason to the desert on what was initially billed as his surprise birthday trip and which turned out to also be our anniversary trip. i was nervous about getting on a plane, renting a car, driving, and not telling him where we were going until we got there. but he loved it. and is asking when we can go back again.

so if you've never made it out to the desert i have only one thing to say: go now. i guarantee it's not what you think it is and that red dirt will get under your skin, and you'll find yourself a year later finding a reason to go back. and when you do, here are some great spots to eat in springdale, near zion national park.

mean bean coffeehouse, 932 zion park boulevard (next door to oscar's cafe)

we stopped here for breakfast every morning before heading into the park. their mocha is one of the best i've ever had - not overly sweet & not overly chocolatey. and the muffins are super. while the peach cobbler and strawberry shortcake muffins were good, the blackberry lemon was amazing. jason had a breakfast sandwich one morning that was also really good. and you can't beat the view off the second story patio.

whiptail grill, 445 zion park boulevard

i read the reviews on tripadvisor before we headed out to dinner and since we wanted something a bit casual (since we went straight from our day at the park to dinner), we headed for the whiptail grill, an old gas station that's been converted to a restaurant. there's a few seats inside, but most of the seating is outside, where the pumps used to be.

the food is definitely the star at this place, but there's one major factor - the wait. we got to the restaurant a bit late, around 8:00 and waited about fifteen minutes to be seated. no big deal. we spent the next hour waiting for our food to come out. and we weren't the only ones. there were about six or eight tables total, each with one couple seated at the table. orders came out one at a time, with a good fifteen minutes between orders. we tried to order chips and salsa, but they were out of chips. on a weekday. when we finally got our food - a burrito for jason and carne asada tacos for me - it was good. definitely homemade, definitely made fresh, but was it worth the wait? i don't know.

oscar's cafe, 948 zion park boulevard (next door to mean bean)

after the previous night's wait at the whiptail, we opted for oscar's cafe, which we had checked out that morning when we got our muffins and coffee from mean bean. the breakfast at oscar's smelled amazing, so we tried it for dinner. we sat outside on the patio and the smell of barbecue sauce hung thick in the air. jason went for the ribs. the service was prompt, my enchiladas were a bit spicy, covered in cheese and sauce and jason's ribs weren't very exciting as the only flavor was from the sauce they were bathed in. all in all, i give whiptail's food the edge, but oscar's definitely had better service.

pumpkin gingersnap cookies

in the last week, i went from complete and total denial of the changing of the seasons, to full on in love with fall. i went from refusing to wear a jacket (or long sleeves for that matter) to work to apple picking, chili making, and hot cider drinking. the only thing that speaks fall just as much, if not more than apples, is pumpkin. last fall kicked off with mini pumpkin spice cupcakes, moved on to pumpkin spice scones, and ended with an iced pumpkin chocolate spiced bundt cake for my mom's annual halloween party. this year i am kicking off fall with these pumpkin gingersnap cookies i saw last week on two peas & their pod.

these cookies were almost exactly what i was looking for - perfectly sweet, spicy, with a hint of pumpkin flavor. but the one difference between my cookies and maria's is the rise. mine came out a touch on the cakey side. next time i'll reduce the baking soda a bit.

pumpkin gingersnap cookies
30 minutes, makes 3 dozen cookies

i made the recipe exactly how maria at two peas & their pod created it. my cookies were done in about twelve minutes. click the link to get the recipe at two peas & their pod.

Molasses Lace Cookies

This is what my mom calls an heirloom recipe. It's been in the family for ages and the recipe that I have for it is a photocopy of an index card that was handwritten by my mother back in the 1960s and had to copy down a handful of her favorite recipes to bring to her middle school and make in Home Ec. I think they're a favorite of pretty much everyone in the family! They were my uncle's all time favorite and he and my grandma both died 6 years ago so I think of them when I make them.

These cookies definitely earned their title as a family favorite. They're spicy with cinnamon, ginger and cloves and have lots of molasses flavor but aren't overwhelming. They're a little crunchy around the edges but soft in the middle and the perfect thickness: not too thin, not too thick. They also stay delicious for at least a week (I think it's the molasses) so are ideal for a cookie jar or to mail to someone. I hope you make them and love them too!


Molasses Lace Cookies

1 C shortening
1 C white sugar
1/4 C molasses (spray the measuring cup with no stick spray first so it comes out easily)
1 egg
2 C flour
2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t salt

3 T sugar to roll them in

Preheat oven to 375 and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cream together the shortening, sugar, molasses and egg. Add the remaining ingredients (except the extra sugar!) all at once and mix until everything is combined. Pour the 3 tablespoons of extra sugar in a small bowl. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in the sugar before arranging 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake until edges darken just a tad and the center is set, about 10-12 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Yield: 24 cookies

Beef and Bean Burritos

I had never actually made beef and bean burritos until I stumbled upon this recipe over at The Pioneer Woman blog about a year ago. It looked so simple and quick that I had to try it! As usual, I changed it around a bit to make the recipe even more straightforward and to suit our tastes. Of course, it doesn't matter HOW easy a recipe is if it doesn't actually taste good, but I'm happy to report that this one is a winner. Uncomplicated but delicious, my husband especially likes them.  You can either enjoy them as they are (in which case they are highly portable) or lay them on a plate and spiff them up with more El Pato sauce, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro- whatever floats your boat! 

I should also say that most of my favorite dinner recipes I don't make more than once a year at best. Not because I don't like them (obviously) but because I love trying new recipes! This is one of those things that I've made at least four times in the past year.

The key ingredient in these burritos is the El Pato tomato sauce. I'd never tried it before this recipe but it's great! It's quite spicy and has tomatoes, chiles, garlic and onion. You can find it in the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store. I'd imagine if we have it here in Alaska, if you're in the United States you'll be able to find it too :) If you can't get it, you could probably just use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and add a boatload of hot sauce and garlic to it, but no guarantees on how the burritos will turn out! This is what you want to look for at the store:


I'd like to note that these burritos freeze great, too. Just cool them in the fridge completely, then individually wrap each burrito in foil and toss in the freezer.  Remove the foil (obviously) then microwave on a plate for a couple of minutes. 

Many apologies for this exceptionally uninspiring photo, my husband was eating them as I made them and I had to take a picture quickly before they all disappeared:


Beef and Bean Burritos

1 lb ground beef
2 16 oz cans refried beans
1 8 oz can El Pato sauce (the yellow one)
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t oregano
1/2-1 t salt (this will depend on how salty your beans are)
1/2 lb shredded cheese
12 medium (8 inch) flour tortillas

Brown the ground beef in a skillet and add beans, sauce, and seasonings. Heat through. Warm tortillas 5 at a time in the microwave to make them pliable, then put a spoonful of the filling down the center of a tortilla. Top with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese and fold in the ends of the tortilla before rolling it up. Repeat with the other tortillas. Serve either as is (very easy to hold!), or place on plates and top with a bit more El Pato sauce and shredded cheese, then microwave to melt the cheese. You can add your other favorite toppings too and eat the burrito with a fork. You can also freeze the plain burritos and microwave them later for a quick lunch or dinner.

slow cooker french onion soup with beef

i really need to get on the slow cooker bandwagon. what has taken me so long?! it all started with the chicken tacos i made a couple weeks ago - before vacations and conferences and weddings got in the way - and i realized the only thing better than eating a homecooked meal every night, is eating one that's been cooked while you were at work. 

this time i tackled soup. french onion soup. one of my absolute favorite soups. i attempted a garlicky version  a year and a half ago but have yet to master the original. this time i decided to let the slow cooker do the work of cooking down the onions and added beef. yes, i know beef is not traditionally in french onion soup, but around these parts, i knew i needed to add some meat to the soup to get a certain someone to at least try it.

the verdict? the beef is good. really good. i ended up cooking the soup for a good 10 hours while i was at work. the beef was falling apart, so i removed any visible pieces of fat, shredded the meat with a fork, and mixed it into the soup. it was really good. 

the onions on the other hand, were still a bit hard. they still had a bite to them. i was expecting after ten hours of cooking that they would be soft and was almost afraid they would be mushy, but they were the exact opposite. i am undecided if i like them better a bit softer or not.

have a favorite slow cooker recipe?? please share it in the comments!

slow cooker french onion soup with beef
adapted from sweet anna's

because i made this soup during the week, i prepped the onions the night before and cooked it a good ten hours while i was gone to work for the day. if you prefer, skip refrigerating the cooked onions in step 3 and continue with the rest of the recipe.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4-5 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons flour
2 pound lean beef roast
12 ounce can or bottle of beer
6 cups beef stock
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
crusty bread & gruyere for serving

1. turn your slow cooker onto high and add the butter. slice the onions and mince the garlic while the butter melts. once melted, add the onions, garlic, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and worcestershire sauce. mix well, cover, and cook for one hour.
2. add the flour and stir to combine. turn the slow cooker off and let cool about 15 minutes. 
3. cover the slow cooker sleeve and refrigerate until the next morning.
4. nestle the beef in the onions. add the beer, beef stock, and fresh thyme. cook on low for at least 6 hours.
5. remove the sprigs of thyme and any big pieces of fat from the beef and shred the meat. add it back to the soup. 
6. there's only one way i like this soup - sprinkle the top with cheese and dip crusty bread into it. if you like the soggy bread on top, add a slice to your soup, cover with cheese, and broil and minute or two until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Buttermilk Cheddar Chive Bread

Whoops, I thought I posted this recipe a couple of days ago! I had the whole thing all typed up but didn't post it. Sorry about the lack of recipes the past couple of days. We've been having things that aren't worth sharing on the blog! For instance, I tried a new recipe for swiss and broccoli pasta but it wasn't that great and I don't want to share recipes that aren't really good.

When I was 10 years old, my grandparents came to visit us and for dinner one night we went to the house of one of their old friends. It was a very memorable meal for a picky kid like me because it was so GOOD. She served some kind of chicken with cranberries (my mom told me how to make it when I talked to her the other day so that recipe should be coming soon!), as well as cheddar bread. That bread was amazing! It was a tiny bit sweet and tender and studded with cheddar cheese. I've tried to replicate the bread a few times over the years but was never successful- until now, that is!

Much to my surprise, the bread recipe that I made up this afternoon completely hit the nail on the head. It was more or less an accident, too. When I made biscuits earlier to use up leftover buttermilk, I accidentally used leftover whipping cream instead of buttermilk! Hey, the containers are both yellow and the same size and shape. So much for that! I didn't want to waste the buttermilk though so just kinda made up this bread. Thankfully, it turned out perfectly :D Even better than the original really because of the flavor from the chives!

Quick note: The dough doesn't rise as much as other bread recipes. Don't worry. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the buttermilk or because of the chives (onion, garlic and salt all inhibit yeast growth), but the finished bread is great so don't worry about it! And if you don't have a mixer, just do all the kneading by hand. You may want to knead it for a couple more minutes.

Also, to make a warm spot for my dough to rise, I always do the same thing. Turn the oven to 300 degrees for 45 seconds, then turn it off. For my oven at least, that makes a perfectly warm place for the dough to do its thang.

See the cheese pockets? Mmmm!


Buttermilk Cheddar Chive Bread

3 C flour

3 T sugar

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 T dried chives

1 packet yeast (2 1/4 t)

1/2 C butter

1/2 C buttermilk (plus a bit more!)

1/4 lb cheddar, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

Melt the butter and set aside so it can cool for a couple of minutes. Stir together flour, sugar, salt, chives and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir the 1/2 C buttermilk into the melted butter and then stir into the dry ingredients. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and knead until all the ingredients are incorporated, adding more buttermilk (probably about 1/4 cup) or flour as necessary to make a non sticky dough. Knead 7-8 minutes on low speed, then knead the cheese in by hand.

Form the dough into a ball and coat with a teaspoon or so of oil. Cover the bowl with a piece of greased plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise 1 hour. The dough will grow to be only about half again as big as the original size but that's okay. Punch the dough down and place in a greased 9 by 5 inch bread pan. Re-cover with the plastic wrap and let rise 1 more hour in a warm place. The middle of the loaf should reach the top of the pan by this point.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake in a 350 degree oven until the loaf is cooked through (I test it by sticking a toothpick into the center, just like with a cake), about 30-40 minutes. You can cover the loaf with foil if it browns too much. Let the bread cool for a few minutes and then slice and serve warm.

Let the leftover bread cool completely, wrap it in foil, and stick it in the fridge. It will be great toasted for several more days!

Beggagel Breakfast Sandwich

A friend of mine told me about this sandwich several years ago. The silly name is my contribution. I made them shortly after she told me about them and we've been enjoying them ever since! I know it doesn't sound like it would be all that special- just a bagel with cream cheese on it and a fried egg? But it really is great. The flavors and textures are perfect together and it's one of the quickest breakfasts you could possibly make.


Beggagel

1 egg per person
salt and pepper
1 bagel per person
cream cheese

Fry the eggs in a greased skillet until they're as cooked as you'd like. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. While the eggs cook, toast the bagels. Spread cream cheese on one half of each bagel. Top with the fried eggs and the other bagel halves. Enjoy!

secret recipe club: double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies

on the surface, deeba from passionate about baking and i don't have a whole lot in common. she lives in a country - a whole continent - i've never even visited, outside new delhi, india. deeba is a stay at home mom to two teenagers. i am a workaholic newlywed (when exactly do you move from newly wed to just plain married?). deeba's photos are absolutely gorgeous and she freelances in her spare time. but once you start really digging into who she is - a woman passionate about baking (as the name suggests), dedicated to making from scratch, and a supporter of all things local - it's easy to see how i got engrossed in her blog so easily. the fact that her current passion is baking with fruit had me hook, line, and sinker. if you haven't noticed, it's one of my favorites too.

for this month's secret recipe club, i followed the same method to choose a recipe - working from 2007 (the farthest back in the archives), i read through every recipe in october, until settling on these double chocolate oatmeal cookies. honestly, i would have loved to try her macarons, donuts, or pie, but i simply did not have the time. this last month has been crazy - it started with a week vacation, a week in chicago for a conference, my sister's wedding (a mere two days ago), and my mother in law arriving for a two week visit on our anniversary (today). needless to say, the only free time i had in the last month was in about 30 minute intervals, which was perfect for these cookies.

i've never made cookies with honey, and to be perfectly honest was both very skeptical and unbelievably surprised at how much i liked it. i tasted the raw dough - for quality control, of course - and couldn't keep my hand out of the bowl. it's hard to describe - the honey adds a flavor much different from plain white or brown sugar. in a completely delicious way. i followed deeba's recipe almost exactly, swapping out crushed almonds for peanut butter chips. because if there's anything that doesn't last long in this house, it's the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. next time, i'm adding even more chips.

check out some of deeba's other recipes that are on my short list:
october 2007: healthy apple crumble
october 2009: vanilla macarons with vanilla bean buttercream, roasted plum brown sugar cakes
october 2010: alton brown's donuts, apple and pear open pie, chocolate macarons

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website!

check out my previous src posts below
butterscotch peach cakewhole wheat honey pancakesminted pineapple lime agua frescabreakfast tacos
simple almond sandwich cookies
roasted banana rum cake

double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies
adapted from passionate about baking
30 minutes, makes 2 dozen

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey
2 cups oats
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1. preheat your oven to 350F. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. mix in the egg and egg yolk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. mix in the honey and vanilla extract.
3. add the oats, cocoa powder, and salt and mix until combined. add the baking powder, baking soda, and flour and mix until combined.
4. stir in the chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips.
5. drop dough by the tablespoon or tablespoon and a half on the cookie sheets. bake 13 to 15 minutes until cooked completely. cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

check out more sweet treats at sweet tooth friday!

Pumpkin Fluff

I stumbled upon the base recipe for this a few months ago and was intrigued but wanted to use real whipped cream and make a few other changes. Last night we went over to a friend's house and I decided it was my chance! The resulting dip/spread/whatever is very light and fluffy with great pumpkin flavor and a little bit of spice. It reminds me a lot of the filling my mother makes for her Pumpkin Chiffon Pie at Thanksgiving. If you love pumpkin and pumpkin pie, you're bound to like this!

Quick note: If you don't want to use the instant pudding, I'd imagine you could also leave it out and use extra vanilla extract and extra granulated or powdered sugar. No promises on how it would turn out but I don't really see how it could be bad! Maybe a little runnier.

Also, I know it isn't the prettiest thing ever but there are lots of things you could do it make it look nicer. Put it in a pretty bowl or a small hollowed out pumpkin and put it on a nice platter along with carefully arranged apples and cookies.

Pumpkin Fluff

15 oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

3 oz box instant cheesecake pudding mix

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t ginger

1/8 t nutmeg

1 t vanilla extract

1 1/2 C whipping cream

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together everything except whipping cream until well combined. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the cream. Start it on a medium low setting until the cream begins to thicken, then raise the speed and beat until it's reached the consistency of whipped cream. Be careful not to over beat or you'll have butter! Gently fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for an hour or two if possible. Serve with sliced apples and cinnamon graham crackers, gingersnaps, or homemade molasses cookies.

Yield: About 5 cups

Baking Powder Biscuits

As promised earlier, here is a great recipe that uses buttermilk! You can actually use regular milk too, or a combination. Whatever you have. I'm willing to bet it would turn out okay with water too but I'd stick to some form of milk if you have it on hand. The base recipe is from here but, as usual, I make some changes. The most significant change is in how the biscuits are formed. With biscuit dough, you want to handle it as little as possible or the biscuits will be tough and flat. To avoid over handling the dough (and to avoid getting the table, rolling pin and a glass dirty), I've always just formed the dough into little balls instead of rolling it out. It works out great! If you follow the directions exactly, you'll end up with perfect, fluffy, yummy biscuits that can't be beat.

Quick note: Just like you can use regular milk or buttermilk, you can use shortening or butter (cold or room temperature) for the fat or a combination. I've made these biscuits many times and done them all the possible ways. They always turn out perfectly. You could also brush melted butter on them after removing them from the oven if the urge strikes you.


Baking Powder Biscuits

2 C flour
1 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/3 C shortening or butter
at least 1/2 C buttermilk or milk

Preheat your oven to 425 and grease a round cake pan. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and sat. Cut the shortening or butter into pieces (about 8) and add it to the flour mixture. Use your hand to crumble the fat into the dry stuff until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Stir in the milk with a spoon. Add a little bit more until you have a dough that is just a tiny bit wet. Just stir until it's combined and be careful not to over mix! If you put in too much milk you can add flour a tablespoon at a time to fix it, but it's best to just not add too much milk to begin with. Once your dough is ready, gently form it into 8 balls and flatten them slightly so they're 1 inch thick. Arrange in the cake pan. Bake 15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are golden.

Yield: 8 biscuits

pesto cream pasta

since i am out of town again this week, i'll keep this one short and sweet.

have some end of the summer - better eat them up soon before the plants die - tomatoes? how about some basil that you know won't last too much longer? do yourself a favor and whip them up in this pesto cream pasta. there are few things that stretch out summer like a bowl of fresh pesto.

pesto cream pasta
adapted from the pioneer woman
15 minutes, serves 4

jason really does not care for cream based pasta sauces, but this one is relatively light, with a quarter of a cup of cream. it's just enough to coat the pasta without feeling heavy or greasy. if you want to lighten it even more, try half and half instead.

1/2 pound (8 ounces) pasta, your choice (i used rotini)
1/2 cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons almonds
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves peeled garlic
about 1/3 cup olive oil
about 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes, cored
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. cook the pasta  in salted water according to the package directions.
2. while the pasta is cooking, make the pesto. in the bowl of your food processor, pulse the basil, almonds, parmesan cheese, and garlic until coarse. while pulsing, slowly stream in the olive oil until the mixture is well blended. add the diced tomatoes and blend until smooth.
3. when the pasta has finished cooking, toss it with the pesto, heavy cream, and butter, until the butter melts and the sauce coats the pasta. serve with crusty bread and additional freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Mint Orzo Salad

The other night when I cooked orzo to go with my Zucchini Patties, I just cooked the entire 1 pound bag. We ate it for 2 meals and then I used the rest in this yummy, refreshing salad that's perfect for lunch. I saw the recipe on AllRecipes and knew it was something I would love because it has 4 of my favorite things: pasta, lemon, mint and most of all... PEAS! I am a lifelong lover of peas. Only fresh or frozen though, canned ones are evil. Story time: when I was in second grade I wrote and illustrated a short story that was published through the school. There was an "about the author" section and much to the surprise of many kids (and adults) who read it, my two favorite foods were listed as macaroni and cheese and peas. The lady who typed up the page even put several exclamation points in parentheses after it. I'm well aware that many people hate peas for some reason, but I am definitely not one of them!

Quick note: You definitely want to mince the mint leaves finely for this one. If you don't, the salad will have a distinct... leafy quality to it. Ahem.

Mint Orzo Salad

3 C cooked orzo
1 1/2 C frozen peas, thawed
5 fresh mint leaves, minced finely (or to taste)
2 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil
3/4 t salt
1/4 t onion powder or 1/4 C sliced green onion
sprinkle black pepper

Combine everything in a bowl and serve cold.

Yield: 3-4 servings

Zucchini Rice Casserole

This recipe is my spin on Spicy Mexican Style Zucchini Casserole from AllRecipes. It turned out really, really well in my opinion! The funny thing is that I used a lot more rice than the recipe called for but my husband still thought it needed more. He loves rice though and would just as soon eat a big bowl of rice with nothing else for dinner every night :)

Quick note: I use Spice Island chili powder. There are a few herbs and spices that we use a lot of so buy in the jumbo container from Sam's. It's about $5 for a big container. I really like Spice Island chili powder but all brands are different since chili powder is a blend of spices. Spice Island chili powder is pretty spicy and seems to have a lot of cumin in it so I didn't add any pepper to the dish and used just a little cumin. The 2 teaspoons in the recipe may be too much or not enough depending on what kind you have.

Also to make this recipe more efficient, I suggest using either leftover rice or cooking enough rice for you to have with another meal. I plan to make Japanese Zucchini and Onions the day after tomorrow so will use the rest of the rice I cooked then.


Zucchini Rice Casserole

1 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick half moons
2 T olive oil
1 can pinto beans, drained
16 oz can tomato sauce
2 C cooked rice
2 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t salt
1 C shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, whatever)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 2 quart baking dish. In a large skillet, saute the zucchini in the olive oil over medium-high heat until tender. This will take 5-10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the cheese. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

Yield: 6 servings