Pumpkin Dip!

Here is another one that is so good I have to share it with the rest of you! I found this recipe sometime around Thanksgiving, but never took the time to make it. Dang I should have! It whips up in five minutes.

3 oz Cream Cheese, softened (anything that starts with cream cheese has got to be good, right?)
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Cups canned Pumpkin
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Nutmeg (I prefer freshly grated)
1/8 tsp Ground Ginger
1/8 tsp Ground Cardamom (Optional)
8 oz container Cool Whip, thawed

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the pumpkin and spices and beat again til smooth.

Fold in the Cool Whip until completely blended. Chill for an hour. Serve with graham crackers, ginger snaps, apple slices... I think it has gone well with everything I've put it on, including my finger!

Enjoy!

Bacon Beer Cheese Dip

This is good! Really Good! And I don't like beer. In fact that picture is of this dip straight out of the refrigerator. We ate the first batch I made so fast I didn't get a chance to take a picture. This is the second batch that we started eating cold right out of the fridge. It is better hot though.

6-8 pieces of Bacon (a jar of Real Bacon Bits for salad also works.)
4-5 Green Onions, chopped fine (I use 1/2 small onion)
8 oz Cream Cheese, light works fine
8 oz Velveeta, for an extra kick use the Pepper Jack Velveeta
1 T Seasoning Blend, Mrs. Dash or whatever you like (1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp onion salt)
6 oz Beer, your favorite flavor

Cook the bacon till crisp. Remove from pan and crumble or chop into small pieces. Cook onion in the bacon fat till softened. To drain the grease from the onions I just push the onions to one side of the pan. Tilt the pan so the grease runs to the side with out the onions. Sop up the grease with a paper towel and throw the towel away.

In the inset for your crock pot or a microwave safe bowl melt the cheese. I cut the cheeses into cubes and microwave for about 3 minutes. Stirring every minute until melted and combined. Add the rest of the ingredients to the cheese except the beer. Stir to combine. Then add the beer about 1/3 at a time and stir well after each addition.

Keep warm in a small crock pot. Serve with chips, crackers and/or veggies. Enjoy!

Not that you will have this around long enough to worry about it, but if it tightens up or gets too stiff to scoop very well, just add some more beer. just a splash at a time and stir in. Allow to rewarm and keep eating.

Oatmeal Cookies Extraordinaire

So it's Christmas Day. The weather outside is frightful. I mean really frightful. Everything has been coming down out there, rain, sleet, ice, snow. The wind will start blowing next. Oh well, that's winter in the mid west. But it's Christmas so we have all been trying to get together as much as we can. I hope everyone has been safe out there!

I, on the other hand, have been baking and cooking. Or should I say experimenting? The things I have been trying are actually pretty good. The Beer Cheese and Bacon Dip is fantastic. (I'll put that on next.) The Apple Dip was so so. But these cookies are Extraordinary! Of course when you taste test one right off the pan before they are completely cool makes them even better.

I stole this out of a Cook's Illustrated magazine. With a few changes of my own, of course.

1 1/4 Cups Flour
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
Combine those items in a medium bowl.

1 1/4 Cups Oats (the original calls for old-fashioned rolled oats. I used quick-cooking oats. They turned out fine.)
1 Cup coarsely chopped Walnuts (they used pecans)
1 Cup Dole Raisins (Plumper and Moister)(they used chopped dried cherries)
1 Cup Cinnamon Chips (Hershey's puts them out this time of year.)(They used chocolate)
Combine those items in another medium bowl.

1 1/2 Sticks Butter, softened. (the real thing!)
1 1/2 Cups Dark Brown Sugar (You can use light, but dark is better)
1 Large Egg
1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Combine the softened butter and the brown sugar in a mixer. Beating till well combined. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing again till well combined. Add in the flour mixture just till combined. Do not over mix at this point.

Add in the oat mixture and mix till barely combined. Take the bowl off of the mixer and fold it over a few times to evenly distribute the nuts, chips and fruit.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, portion out onto your baking sheets. I ended up with 17 cookies. Press them to flatten them a bit, to get a better shape and even baking. Bake for 16 minutes. Don't over bake or they will be dry and hard instead of crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They may look under baked after 16 minutes, but trust me they are done enough.

Now I think it's time for a nap!

Brown Sugar Bread

People have told me not to give out my bread recipe. What is bread if you cannot share it? What is a (bread) recipe if you cannot share it?

I'm not sure where this one came from.(Surprise, Surprise!) I had it at the bed and breakfast.(1998-2000) We went through a lot of it there. It was the most requested thing that I made, and I made a lot of different things for guests. (I still miss that place!)

As I have said before, my shoulders are not what they used to be. So making this in the bread machine is a lot easier on me. I do it in the mixer every once in a while too. But if you know how to make bread by all means do it by hand. The list of ingredients is in the order for my bread machine.

1 1/2 Cup Water*
1 tsp Salt
3 T Butter, melted
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 oz All-Bran Cereal**
3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour
1 Scant T Instant Yeast***

Place the ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order listed for your machine. Turn to the dough cycle and start. When cycle is complete, remove dough. Knead dough a few times to deflate. Shape and place in a prepared bread pan. Allow to raise. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool. (if you can) Slice and eat!

* I microwave the water in the measuring cup for 30 seconds just to take the chill off.

** This one is tricky. They don't always have the All-Bran that looks like little sticks or twigs. That measures differently than the All-Brand Buds. Twigs = 1 1/2 Cups, Buds = 1 Cup to get 3 oz. If using the buds heat the water for 1 minute in the microwave and pour over the buds in the pan and let sit for about 20 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

*** Or use 1 package, but I buy mine in bulk, so it's a scant tablespoon.

Now for the Kristi Twist. I add in a few things to make it 'better'. The things I add do give a boost to the flavor. They may seem insignificant in small amounts but really do add flavor to the finished product.

1 T Toasted Wheat Germ
1 T Flax Seed or Flax Meal
1 T Malt Powder
1 T Honey

Add any one, or combination of, or all of the above. Enjoy!

Christmas Time is Here!

Wow! What a holiday season so far! We have done nothing but run. But, I have most of my shopping done!!!

December 5th Pocahontas had it's Christmas Celebration. Lot's of things going on in town. One of those things was a Chili Challenge. We made "Smokin Chili". It's not a taste everyone would enjoy so I was happy to place third.

I've also been baking cookies. I do not decorate sugar cookies. My cookies don't look good but they darn well better taste good!



These are m&m, Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Blossom and plain old Chocolate Chip.

Brunswick Stew

Here is another one for the crock pot!

1 T Chicken Soup Base (or bouillon)
3 T Dried Chopped Onion
1 T Cornstarch
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Dried Oragano
Salt and Pepper to taste
10 to 12 oz of precooked Chicken
6 oz Diced Ham
1 (15 oz) Can Green Beans, undrained
1 (15 oz) Can Whole Kernel Corn, undrained
1 (15 oz) Can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
2 (15 oz) Cans Chicken Broth

I like to combine everything down to the salt and pepper in a small bowl. Put all the rest of the ingredients in and then the dry mixture on top. Then stir every thing together.

Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.(more or less, 6 hours or 10, not a problem)

Again, you can use any leftover meats that you like or have. Use different canned vegetables that your family prefers.

I have this in the crock pot for supper tonight. It smells so good! I love the smell of oragano!

Black Bean and Corn Soup for the Crock Pot

I like beans. Ron, however does not. Too bad for him!

Add meat to this if you want. Like smoked turkey, leftover turkey, chicken, ham, beef, any meat you like. Leftovers are great for this. Add what ever you want of pre-cooked meat.

This is so quick and easy. You can dump it all in the crock pot, stir and leave it to cook all day.

2 (14.5 oz) Cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) Can Whole Kernel Corn (not drained)
1 (14.5 oz) Can Mexican Style Diced Tomatoes (not drained)
1 (14.5 oz) Chicken Broth
1 Bag Spice Mixture

Spice Bag: (make up ahead to have on hand)

1 T Ground Cumin
1 T Dried Chopped Onion
1 tsp Dried Minced Garlic
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

Combine spice ingredients in a small bowl and put in a small zip top bag. Label it and keep it on hand with the canned goods. When you have some leftover meat throw it all in the crock pot.

Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours. (More or less.) Serve with cornbread, tortilla chips, warm buttered tortillas... whatever you like.

I made this one Sunday. We left for some reason and didn't get back for supper. So I put it in single serve containers. 3 went in the freezer and 2 in the refrigerator to take to work. Perfect!

See what you think.

Pumpkin Raisin Scones

Well, the original recipe for this is just too much like a muffin for me. If I wanted a muffin I would make muffins. Scones are different.

Scones are glorified baking powder biscuits. I love plain BP biscuits if we are going to have sausage gravy to pour over them, or turkey and noodle gravy, or any kind of gravy. Scones are generally sweetened and have nuts and/or dried fruit mixed in, or made with sweet spices. Scones are meant to be eaten with a hot drink. (TEA) When you have time to relax and enjoy. At least that's what they are to me. How about you?

Having said that though, they were good. The next time I make them they will be scones; less sugar, more fat, less moisture.

Here is the original:
(Verla Carlson, Webster City IA)

3 Cups Flour
2/3 Cup Sugar, plus 1 T Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
4 T cold Butter, cut into cubes
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1 Egg
3/4 Cup Raisins

Lightly butter a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, powder, soda, salt and 1/2 tsp spice. Add butter and mix in with a pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk pumpkin, buttermilk and egg. Gently stir into dough with raisins. Drop by 1/2 cupfuls onto baking sheet.In a small bowl, mix 1 T sugar and 1/2 tsp spice. Sprinkle over scones. Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

My version:


3 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
8 T Cold Unsalted Butter, sliced
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/3 Cup Buttermilk
1 Egg
1 Cup Dried Cranberries or Raisins
Topping:
2T Sugar
1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the first 6 ingredients. With the mixer running on low, add the butter in one piece at a time. Let the mixer do the work of breaking down the butter and flour till you have what looks like crumbs. In another small bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Dump all at once into the mixer, still running on low, with the cranberries until just combined. Dump out on a well floured counter space and knead just enough for it to hang together. Pat out into a circle not quite an inch thick and cut into 12 wedges. Place the wedges on the baking sheet so they are not touching, evenly spaced. Pour 2 T of buttermilk into the bowl you whisked the wet ingredients in and brush the buttermilk onto the tops of the scones. Combine the 2 topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of the buttermilk. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven 15 to 20 minutes or golden brown.

Cool and EAT! Yummy!

I Found It! Coffee Cake!

I found the coffee cake recipe I was looking for a week ago! Oh happy day!

This is my basic dough with a couple of variations. Again I have no idea where I started from for this one. I know it started with the dough and then I found a different recipe that was similar so I just adjusted this one to make it work. Then I tried different toppings. The Cinnamon one is my favorite.

I love to experiment. In high school I loved 9th grade science class. We got to go into the lab and do experiments at least once a week or more. Very basic stuff but Mr. Tuttle let us figure it all out on our own. He always answered a question with a question. It was frustrating to talk to him but we learned to figure it out. And no one got hurt, that I remember.

So this is one of my experiments that came out very well.

I use a bread machine for the dough most of the time. My shoulders have gotten bad so the machine saves me from a lot of pain. You can use a stand mixer if you don't have a bread machine or do it by hand. What ever works for you.

7 Ounces of Milk (this really is an important measurement)
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 Egg (slightly beaten)
2 T Butter (Softened)
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 1/2 Cups Bread Flour

If using a bread machine, put it into the pan in the order recommended by your machine. If you are doing it by hand you already know how to make a dough. So you can figure it out for yourself. If using a stand mixer use the instruction that are in the book that came with your machine, kneading till smooth and elastic.

This is a very sticky dough. That's a good thing. You want as much of the topping to stick to it as possible.

After letting the dough rise the first time, knead it for a minute to get the large air bubbles out. Now you have the 'cake' part of the coffee cake. The good part is next!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Mix together to make a crumb topping:

3/4 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar (I use dark brown sugar. It has more flavor)
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon (Penzey's)
Dash of salt
6 T Cold Butter cut into pieces

Cut in the butter until the whole mixture is "crumbly".

Grease a 9x13 pan. Place the dough in the pan and stretch it to fit as best you can. It's bumpy and uneven. It will not fit very well and seem like it's never gonna work. Trust me! Sprinkle with the topping (all over, let it fall down the sides)and set aside to raise covered with a dish towel. After about 45 minutes pop it into a 375 degree preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Allow to cool but still warm and serve. It's really good like this but you can also drizzle with icing made from 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1 T milk.

Enjoy!

Should I give you the Chocolate version now or wait for another time? I think I'll wait. Just to see if any one is paying attention! Now I have to go make some to get a picture for you! oh darn!

Egg Bake

I have several Egg Bake recipes that I use. This first one is good for large groups, but can be cut down if needed. I'm not sure where it came from, but like all of my recipes, it's not exactly the same as when it came to me. Lets just say I modified it.

24 Eggs
3 to 4 Cups Milk
1 T Pepper Blend
1 T Salt
3 to 4 Cups Meat (diced ham or sausage)
2 lb Frozen Hash Browns, thawed
4 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or any mixture of shredded cheeses)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the pan(s) with cooking spray and set aside.

Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. If you want to use 2 9x13 pans, make this in two batches; 12 eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk, etc. Beat the eggs enough to bust up the yolks. Then add the milk, salt and pepper blend. Whisk together until well blended. Spread the hash browns in the pan(s). Layer the meat on top of the hash browns. Gently pour the egg mixture into the pan. Top with the shredded cheese.

Bake for about an hour or until set. The cheese should be golden and not too dark. If it looks like it's getting darker than you want or like, cover with foil to finish baking.

This should feed 15 to 20 people, depending on what else you serve with it.

So... I'm a Pile-It

Ron calls me a Pile-It. He says I'm the best one there has ever been. OK, so I have a problem. Like no one else ever does it. But apparently I belong in the hall of fame. (If there even is one?)

I make piles of recipes. Be it cookbooks or hand written or printed off the computer, there's a pile for it. Sometimes they even sit on the counter for days. Ron says weeks, but I beg to differ. Anyway, I'm a Pile-It. There, I admitted it. Isn't admitting you have a problem the bigger share of fixing it? Not that I need to fix it, mind you.

The only reason I bring this up is because I lost a recipe. No, I misplaced a recipe. It must have gotten in the wrong pile. Now that I want to get my hands on it I can't find it. It's for a coffee cake that I like to make for the guys at Allied. (I bake for their coffee brake in the mornings.) It's one that is easy and good. One that I made up by combining several recipes into one. It is frustrating not to be able to get my hands on it when I want it. It'll turn up eventually.

The good thing is... I found so many more that I want to get on here, that I want to share with the world! (Yes, I now have a new pile!) Where would you like me to begin? Main dishes, sides, breads, deserts? Cookies, bars or muffins?

Potato Salad
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Greek Pasta Salad
Lasagna
Brown Sugar Bread
Barm Brack
Bread Pudding
Egg Bake
Grandma O's Sugar Cookies
Cream Cheese Cookies
House Seasoning
Granola Bars

Those are just a few I pulled off of the "pile" that needs to be sorted. I just realized that to post the recipes I will have to make them to get pictures. Oh Darn! Oh, and by the way, I'm not going to take a picture of my piles. That would be just a bit too revealing!

My daughter, Jodi, asked me for an Egg Bake recipe, so maybe I will start there. That may not get a picture until she makes it though. I'm not a big egg eater myself and Ron doesn't need to eat a whole egg bake himself. It starts with 24 eggs!

Please let me know what you would like to see for recipes here. I won't put in a recipe I haven't made myself. If it doesn't turn out for me I will let you know that too. I would love some feedback!

Low Fat Granola

As I said before I am going to work on making my own granola. Well here goes my first try. (How many do you think it will take?)

1 1/2 pounds Regular Rolled Oats
1 pound Quick Oats
1/2 Cup Flax Meal
1/2 Cup Spelt Flour (YES, I have this on hand)
3 Cup Crisp Rice Cereal
1 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1 Cup Brown Sugar

Combine all that stuff in a very large bowl. Oats are very light weight.

Next, in a small sauce pan on the stove top, not in the microwave, mix together 1/4 Cup of Canola Oil and 1/4 Cup Honey. Heat it just to warm. Do not let it boil!

Off the heat stir in 1 Tbsp of Vanilla. Pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Stir with a spoon until it's mixed in and not hot to the touch, then use your hands. At this point your hands will work the best for mixing.

Divide this mixture onto 3 or 4 sheet pans. I have 3 racks in my oven and large sheet pans so I used 3. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for about an hour. Stirring at 10 minute intervals until toasty.

In my research on "Low Fat Granola", I discovered that granola is not 'low fat' always because of the ingredients that are in it. Nuts and seeds have fats and oils. Most of those fats and oils are good for you. So 10g of fat from nuts IS better for you that 10g of fat from the french fries you had for lunch. So as long as you don't add a bunch of oil to it, I'm not going to worry about the fat content. And 300 calories of a good granola is far better than 300 calories of candy. Am I making any sense?

Well I think it's toasty enough to take out of the oven now. I will let it cool and add a couple of cups of dried fruit. And it's ready to eat. Let's see, I have some bananas. Yep, there is some strawberry yogurt. Frozen blueberries, check. I could open a can of pineapple chunks, too. I'm looking forward to breakfast!

Impromptu Breakfast

This morning we had an impromptu breakfast in the garage. Not everybody can set up a restaurant in their garage at a moments notice.

Most people that bring home strays, bring home puppies or kittens. My husband brings home every stray refrigerator he comes across. I would think he would stop doing it because if there is a refrigerator, that works, and not full, I will fill it. He brings it home, I fill it. What can I say? The local grocery store, Wood's Supermarket, just loves us.

Anyway, I always have plenty of eggs (4 dozen at least) on hand. As well as many other things needed to make breakfast for Ron. Like: hashbrowns, onions, peppers, sausage gravy, biscuits... and if they aren't made up, it doesn't take long to make them... usually. Depending on the request we can make just about anything you might want for breakfast. (Even a breakfast banana split!)

We need a little practice on setting up for breakfast with the new (to us) griddle. We are planning on doing a large scale friends and family breakfast on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Even with just a small group we learned a lot of things. Like, Ron figured out he didn't want to try to do bacon on the griddle. I'll be making that in the oven like it should be done. (see post "Bacon") He also figured out what needs to go where. Placement is huge for efficiency. So the practice was a good thing.


Mom and Dad showed up as well as Courtney and Preston. Mary came with Justin and Danielle. I think that was it, besides Ron and I. So just a small group. I think everybody went home full,too!

Quesadilla for Supper

For supper tonight I made quesadilla. So simple, so easy, so gooooood!

Ingredients:
Tortillas
Chopped Cooked Chicken
Chopped Onion
Chopped Sweet Peppers
Chopped Bacon
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Those are the ingredients I used last night. When I was cooking at the bowling alley (Family Fun Zone) I used a few other things like Corn and Black Beans... You can use what ever you have on hand and like.

The first thing I do is heat up some of the ingredients in a frying pan. Last night I had some bacon so I chopped that up and put it in the pan first to get some fat in there without adding any more than necessary. Once there was a bit of fat in the pan I added the onion and peppers. I prefer them cooked al dente, not raw but not mushy. Then add the chicken so it can get heated through.

In another pan you need to start the tortillas. I brush a very small amount of butter flavored oil (1/2 tsp) on one side of a tortilla. Place it oil side down in a hot pan. Then spread about a 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on and let it start to melt. Add the chicken mixture from the other pan onto the cheese.

Take the second tortilla and place it in the hot pan that cooked the chicken. That's to warm it up, not to cook it. Place a small amount of cheese on top of the meat mixture then the warmed tortilla and allow them to heat through for a minute or two. After that, slide it out onto a cutting board. Cut into 4, 6 or 8 wedges like a pizza. Place on a serving plate and eat.

You can serve it with sour cream and salsa on the side. Guacamole too,if you have some.

There are so many ways to make this. Everyone has a different way of doing it. The general idea though is to at least put cheese between two tortillas and heat it to melt the cheese. From that basic idea comes a multitude of variations. Any meat, any vegetable, any cheese that melts, any toppings...

So play with your food and see what happens! Tell me what you end up with.

My birthday was fantastic!

Yes, it was my birthday. So why did I let Ron choose where we would go and what we would eat? Not sure, but he chose a very good place to go. The Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs is a great place to stay. The room was nice and the food was superb.

The room was just a basic room. It had a large flat screen TV. Ron liked that. Beds were comfortable. The water was soft and that you don't find just everywhere. It was quiet and that's huge for a light sleeper like me. Of course we were on the third floor and that helps. Basic but nice.

The slot machines were pretty tight. I never did see what the percentage was. My $20 went pretty fast as always. (last of the big time spenders here!) Ron played with $100 for quite a while and was only down $10 by the time we were done. So I guess it wasn't too bad, after all. It was fun.

Now about the food!

We got to the hotel about 2:00pm. It was too early to check in. So we wandered around to see what was available. The fancy restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday, the days we were there. So we checked out the sports bar. Typical sports bar food; burgers, fries and wings. Looked good but not what we were after. Next came the cafe and bakery. Right up my alley! It looked like a good place for breakfast. (and it was) Lastly came the buffet. All you can eat Prime Rib Buffet. Just what Ron was looking for!

The buffet itself was set up very well I thought, close but not crowded. A variety of cuisines were represented, the most popular ones. There was Yankee Pot Roast, Lasagna and some stir fry. Baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, steamed green beans and buttered corn for your choosing. There were salads, a beautiful spinach salad sat next to a Cesar salad. You could also put your own salad together with the fixins that were available. And the desert bar was right up front. Now that was a feast for the eyes. A chocolate fountain was the center of attention. Cheesecakes, pie and cupcakes...

Ron had 6, 1/2" slices of Prime Rib and 2 Baked potatoes. Oh ya, and a bit of ice-cream to fill in the cracks. (As if there were any cracks left!) I had 2 or 3 bites of... oh just a lot of things, so many I don't think I could name them all. It was all very good. Ron seemed to be in pain by the time he was done so we just went back to our room. Just like home, Ron watched football while I read. (maybe we are getting old?)

Most buffet have gotten to be prepackaged foods that someone just reheats. This one seemed to actually be prepared on site foods. I was impressed.


Breakfast! It was heaven! I was so wrapped up in my own breakfast I'm not sure what Ron did have. I'm sure it was eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and sausage gravy. That's his favorite. Mine was simple and Divine! They called it a Breakfast Banana Split. Vanilla Yogurt, sliced Banana, sliced Strawberries, Blueberries, Red Raspberries and Granola. Now how wonderful does that sound? It was scrumptious! Oh, I also had a toasted English muffin. Only ate half the muffin though.




If you ever get a chance to stay at the Ameristar Casino and hotel in Council Bluffs, do. We had a great time!

I know this is supposed to be about recipes. I'm working on a low fat granola recipe. most of them have so much fat in them as well as a bunch of sugar. I'll let you all know what I come up with. If you have a recipe for low fat granola please share!

"Life is good!" Love that saying!

When I turned 30 years old I thought I was gonna die. That was going to be the worst day of my life. Suddenly there would be gray hair and wrinkles. Everyone would then know I wasn't in my 20's anymore. But that day came and went with NO change. Nothing happened. It wasn't so bad after all! With another birthday here and it the big 5 0, I'm wondering what all the fuss is about. Heck, it's better than the alternative. That 'dirt nap' can wait.

Food and food service has been a huge part of my life. The way it has changed for me over time has been interesting. The more things change the more they stay the same. Not sure who said that but they were right. No life is set in stone. We all make choices and changes in our lives. Yet we all live until our dying day. (May we all die in our sleep at a ripe old age.)But until then, 'Live'!!! Play with your food like I do and enjoy.

Did you think I wouldn't give you a recipe? This is one that has been with me a long time. It has had some changes over time. And I have played with this one a lot and always come back to this version.

Krispie Bars

Melt 1 stick of butter (or margarine) in a big glass bowl in the microwave. Then add 20 ounces ( 2-10 ounce bags) of Marshmallows. Big ones little ones doesn't matter. Stir to coat the marshmallows with the butter. At this point I also add some Peanut Butter. How much? That depends on how much I have. Usually about 1/2 Cup. Then back in the microwave to melt those . While that is happening I get out a large stainless steel bowl and put 12 cups of Krispy Rice cereal into it. Then spray a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Leave the spray on the counter, you are gonna need it.

Stir the melted marshmallows to combine everything together. Pour on top of the cereal and mix together. Dump onto the cookie sheet. Spray your hands with cooking spray and spread the coated cereal out on the pan. Set that aside and melt 1- 20 ounce package of chocolate almond bark, or chocolate chips. Use whatever you like best. Melt that in the microwave. It doesn't take long so keep an eye on it and stir a couple of times. Pour the chocolate on the cereal and spread it out like frosting.

The hard part is letting it cool. We usually cut into it while the chocolate is still soft. But when the rest of it is firm to the touch, cut it into bars and wrap in plastic wrap. Sometimes I use cheap zip top bags, sometimes plastic wrap, just depends on what I'm going to do with them.

For the car show on Main Street in Poky last August, I made them to go with our pulled pork sandwiches. People loved them! Maybe it's the 'childhood memory' thing, but people really enjoyed that treat. I hope you make a batch and enjoy them too.

Thawing Frozen Items

This isn't a recipe but a tip, or trick if you prefer.

A customer was in the store this morning telling Russ this. Russ had no idea this was true and didn't believe him. We talked about it after the customer left.

If you have something in the freezer in a vacuum sealed bag, you can thaw it quickly in some cool water. Do not use hot water. Hot water will start to cook the outside while the inside is still froze. Cold tap water is almost too cold and it will take longer to thaw. Cool water will thaw a steak out in 20 to 30 minutes depending on thickness.

Having it in a vacuum bag will keep the item from getting soggy. A zip top bag works if you get as much air out as possible. I don't know or care how it works. I just know that it works when I need it to.

About 3 months ago we cooked on the smoker a couple of pork loins that we had cut into chops. When they were cooked we put them into "sucker bags", (That's what my Dad calls Food Saver bags.) 2-3-4 per bag. To cook them we just put them in a pan of water on the stove top on medium heat until they were just starting to simmer. Mmmmmm

Bacon

It has come to my attention that I need to let people know how I cook bacon. I was working with a woman that wanted to buy a new stove. She wanted to go from a coil top to a smooth top for easier cleaning. "My husband fries bacon and makes a mess of everything!" Most people, including me for a long time, cook bacon in a pan on top of the stove and make a mess. Grease splatters every where and is not fun to clean up. So this is how I have learned to make bacon from being in food service most of my life. No splatters and hardly any mess.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Or you don't have to preheat. There are 2 schools of thought here. Preheating cooks faster and makes a crispier bacon. Setting a pan in a cold oven and then turning it on gives you more rendered fat and limp bacon. Your choice.

Cover one or two cookie sheets (with a rim) with parchment paper or foil. Lay the bacon out on the pan so that the slices are flat and just barely touching. Depending on how much and what kind you are making, a pound of bacon will cover 1 to 2 sheets. Thick sliced bacon has fewer slices per pound than thin sliced bacon.

Put the cookie sheets in the hot or cold oven and bake for 15 to 30 minutes. The first couple of times you do this keep a close watch on it. Thin bacon in a hot oven cooks faster than thick sliced in a cold oven. Play with your food and figure out what works best for you.

When you take the pans out of the oven (with pot holders) have a container ready for the rendered fat. I use pint Mason jars. Now, I pour off the fat right away. It can be tricky to do with the bacon still on the pan, but I have always lived dangerously. You can transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined oven safe plate then pour off the fat. If you don't want to save the fat let the pans cool and the fat solidify and just throw the parchment or foil away.

If you are not ready to eat just yet set the plate in the oven that has been turned off. It will stay hot. If left too long it will cook more, but that risk is minimal around our house. Hope it is at your house too.

Enjoy!

Bacon Ham and Bean Soup

(I'll have to add a picture later. I ate it then put the rest in the freezer and forgot to take a picture.)

I'm not as big of a purist as I might lead you to believe. When I make Ham and Bean soup I use jarred beans. I have done the "soak the beans" thing and it is good and not hard to do, just time consuming. The local grocery store here, "Wood's Supermarket", carries the Randall brand of Great Northern Beans. They are good and fast and easy.


First I brown some bacon. Use as much or as little as you like. With Ron in the house I have gotten used to using a lot of bacon in a lot of recipes. In this soup though, I only use 6-8 slices, or equivalent. (I buy 5 pound boxes of ends and pieces)Chop up the slices and brown in a large skillet or the pot you will make the soup in. We are after the bacon flavor and the fat to brown a few more things in.

Next, chop an onion. Here again use as much or as little as you want. Or none at all if you don't like onion. Sometimes I shred a carrot at this point and brown it too. Potatoes are good diced small and thrown in. I had a Parsnip left from something else one time and used it too. (This is soup, not rocket science)The key here is to begin the cooking process by browning the meat and veggies to give them some color and flavor.

Now that all the veggies are browned add some ham. We usually have some diced ham in the refrigerator or have some that can be diced. Throw in as much as you want or have or need. (If I have a ham bone I use that too.)

OK, so we have some bacon, some ham and some veggies. Time to add the beans and broth to the pot. The beans I use have some liquid with them but not much. Chicken broth works well for this or vegetable broth. Chicken broth is just always in my pantry. Use one approximately 15 ounce can of broth for this. You can use more if you like a thinner soup. I use the least amount of liquid cause I like a fuller soup, less liquid more stuff.

Now the really hard part, waiting. All of this should be in a soup pot. Set this on a burner on the stove on low heat and let it cook for several hours. It should not boil, just barely simmer, if that. Stir it every now and again and smell. If you want to add a bay leaf by all means do. The ham usually has enough salt. Add some pepper if that suits you. I don't add too many seasonings because there are enough things in there already that I want to taste. Sometimes a lot of seasonings can hide the good stuff if you use too much.

After about 3 to 5 hours, eat! By this time I have usually made something to go with it, cornbread, white bread, wheat bread, biscuits,... whatever strikes my fancy. (more of those recipes to come)

Banana Bread

Yes, I know, there is nothing easier or more simple than Banana Bread. But sometimes we want to just have something easy and satisfying. As a beginner cook this is one of the things my mother would let me make.

With 5 kids and sometimes their friends, our house was a loud mass of unruly children. After school we all came home hungry. Most of the time it was a bowl of cereal or a sandwich for us. Occasionally there would be cookies left from the weekend baking. By Thursday or Friday we were down to Jeff's favorite sandwich, (if you are squeamish don't read this) mayo and ketchup. I would watch in awe as he would make and eat it. But with 5 kids and not a lot of money we made do with what was there.

Weekend baking was a treat for me. Mom would make homemade bread and fill the house with delectable smells. Sometimes she would make up a batch of sweet dough and have me put together cinnamon rolls. That was the treat of all treats. Mom didn't like the mess and time involved in making the rolls but I really enjoyed it. I guess the reward of having everyone eat them as soon as they could from the oven was enough for me. (I'm drooling and need to grab a towel.)

I digress. Baking on the weekends might include banana bread. With nuts or without, all of us would eat it. It never lasted long either. In fact one time I wanted to make some for a boyfriend. I had to make 2 batches of bread and hide one loaf just to have some to try and impress my boyfriend with. If my memory serves me, he liked it.

Banana Bread

Combine:
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Mashed Bananas (the blacker the better)
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Pure Vanilla
1 Cup Buttermilk or Sour Cream

In a separate bowl, combine:
2 2/3 Cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Cardamom

Whisk or sift the dry ingredients together. Then stir into the wet ingredients just till moistened. Add a cup of chopped walnuts if you want nuts.

Spray a 9X5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into the pan and bake in a 350 degree, preheated, oven. Bake for about an hour. Check at 45 minutes. If it's getting too brown on top tent with foil. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Try not to slice into this until it has at least cooled enough to handle. Spread it with a little butter and enjoy.

Salty-Sweet Nut Cookies

The original recipe comes from King Arthur Flour. However if you know me at all I can't ever leave a recipe alone. I try very hard to make a recipe just as it is written the first time. That's very hard for me to do. There are so many ways to "improve" things! Some of my 'improvements' leave a little to be desired though. Thankfully the guys at Allied Precision will eat just about anything. Very little goes to waste.

This batch that I made last night is going to Pocahontas Ford. Late last summer we bought an Envoy from them. Now that the cold weather has arrived I have been trying to use the seat heater. It wasn't working right. They fixed it for free! How great is that? So I thought I would thank them by baking some cookies for them. Last night I made Chocolate Chip and Salty Sweets. I hope they enjoy them.

1 1/2 Cup Pecan Halves
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar (I always use dark)
2/3 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter softened (always the real stuff)
1/2 Cup Shortening
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Vanilla (always the real stuff from Penzey's)
1 Large Egg
2 Cups Flour (Unbleached All-Purpose)
1 1/2 Cups Chips as in Chocolate, Butterscotch, White Chocolate, Cinnamon...
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Kosher or Flake Salt (table salt works but the larger crystal of the Kosher gives a better hit on the tongue)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the nuts out on it. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until toasted. Set aside to cool.

In your stand mixer bowl combine everything down to and including the vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and beat till smooth again. Fold in the flour, chips and nuts.

At this point you can chill the dough. An hour works well for me. I don't always do this though. If you chill it the cookie holds it's shape better. The warmer the dough the more the cookie will spread out on the baking sheet.

When you're ready to pan the cookies mix the last salt and sugar in a small bowl or bag.

I use my purple handled scooper for these cookies. It's a #40 or 3/4 ounce. Just a nice size for these. Scoop out the dough and drop in the sugar/salt mixture to coat. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.

I hope they like them at Poky Ford! Thanks Rob!

Salt Rising Bread

What follows is a post from the Smokin 4 U BBQ Blog. I started that last May. This is a recipe, so I thought I would include it here too. I love making this bread because it's such a challenge. It's not for everyone to attempt but for those of us who can't resist the taste of this bread, it's worth it.

Well, if you read a couple of posts ago I talked about the salt-rising bread that I was trying to make. (trying is the operative word here) It is a long, drawn out process. Especially when you make mistakes or have problems.

You start with the 'starter'. I had gotten some 'culture' from King Arthur Flour. I'm not sure I care for it though, because I have to add to it anyway to make it work. But, it's 3 tablespoons of culture and 2 tablespoons of dry milk mixed into 1 cup of boiling water. Yes, boiling water. This is not a yeast dough. The fermentation comes from natural cornmeal that you use. It needs to be natural or stone ground and still have the germ in it. (Call me if you have no idea what I'm talking about and actually want to know. I'll be happy to explain it to you.)

All this has to be kept at 110 degrees. That is not as easy as it sounds. The light bulb in your oven will keep the temperature at about 90 to 95 degrees. That's too cool. If you take out the 40 Watt bulb that is in your oven and replace it with a 100 Watt bulb, that works. But your oven is then tied up for 3 days. You say, "But I don't use my oven that much." It's one of those Murphy's Law things, If you can't use it you will want to, or need to. What I have found that works for me is my crock pot. I have a really nice crock pot that my son, Josh, gave me for Christmas one year. It has a 'keep warm' setting that is perfect. Just remember 110 degrees, NOT more or less, 110 degrees.

Also, if the water that you use is not boiling when you pour it into the mixing container it will not activate the cornmeal. I'm not sure how the pioneer women made this stuff without all of our modern conveniences, but this was a staple of the pioneer diet. They started with potato water and cornmeal and it worked. Yes, I tried that too. And yes it worked. Temperature is key in this process, have you noticed?

Now that we have it mixed together and in a container in the crock pot (no lid), we wait. 24 Hours we wait. After about 12 hours if it stinks, you're doing well. It should start to smell like a teenage boys dirty socks. Now that's appetizing don't you think? Or smells like Parmesan cheese. Trust me!

After the wait and if your significant other can stand the smell, you are ready for the next step. If you are still reading this, if I still have your attention, please stick with me for a bit longer. Now we need to mix the 'starter' with some flour and water to make the 'sponge'. Now this time the water cannot be boiling. It needs to be very hot but not boiling. I think it's because you don't want to kill the little guys you just nurtured for 24 hours. The flour will be at room temperature and the water extra hot so when you mix them together they are about (say it with me now) 110 degrees!

Now, you need to have mixed the flour and water in a bit larger container, but one that still fits inside your crock pot. Add the starter to your flour and water mixture and stir to combine. Then put it back in the crock pot to stay warm for another 12 to 24 hours. This will grow significantly. You have now fed the little guys so they will be making more little guys quickly. And just like teenagers they smell something awful! Trust me here. If you can stand the smell, it's worth it!

OK, so here we are 2 days later. Now we are ready to make the actual bread. The recipe is at the end here so I'm not going to go into all of the ingredients. After getting all that together you still have to wait. (Sorry) But not that much longer. You now have two formed loaves of bread in bread pans, right?

Cover the pans with plastic wrap that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Guess what you do with the dough to let it raise. Yep! Put it in a warm spot. The way that I do this is to turn the oven on and let it get just warmed. Not completely preheated but warmed (say it with me again) to about 110 degrees. When the oven is warmed put the pans in for 2 to 4 hours. These little guys are very unpredictable, so check the pans after about 1 1/2 hours. Cause you just never know. It's ready to bake when it's about doubled. Take them out of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees, then put them back in and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. If you don't know how to tell if bread is done, don't make this until you know.

You now have the best bread you have ever or will ever toast. It is fragrant, moist, a bit chewy from the corn meal and flavorful. Use real butter and you will be in heaven.

If you want some of this bread but don't want the challenge, call me. I'll make you some. But it may cost you. You never know when I may need a favor. Enjoy!

Recipe:
Starter - 1 Cup Boiling Water
3 T Salt-Rising Culture
2 T Nonfat Dry Milk
Sponge - 2 Cups Unbleached Bread Flour
1 Cup Hot Water
All of the Starter
Dough - 1 T Nonfat Dry Milk
1 T Yeast
1/2 Cup Warm Water
4 Cups Bread Flour
3 T Sugar
1 T Salt
1/4 Cup Solid Shortening (Crisco)

White Chocolate and Cranberry Scones

These are my favorite scones. To me there is nothing better on a cold morning than a hot cup of tea and a warm scone. (I'm drooling even now!)

I have tried using the white chocolate chips... just don't care for them. High quality white chocolate can be kind of spendy but I use it when I want to splurge. The almond bark chopped up works really well and not expensive. Play with your food, see what works best for you.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

8 to 10 ounces White Almond Bark (High quality white chocolate is best but expensive)

Chop into small pieces before you do anything else. Set aside.

2 Cups plus 2 Tblsp Flour
2 Tblsp Sugar
1 Tblsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

I put the dry ingredients into my stand mixer bowl and switch it on low just to combine.

1 Stick (8 Tblsp) cold Butter (real Butter)

Cut into 10 pieces and put into flour mixture with the mixer still running on low. Let it run for 3-4 minutes till the butter is in small, pea size pieces.

1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries (Craisins)
The chopped White Chocolate

Put the cream in first. Then add the cranberries and chocolate. Mix only until combined. It will be loose and crumbly. Dump it out onto a well floured surface. Knead it together into a round disc about an inch thick. Cut it into 8 or more pieces depending on how large of scones you want. Gently lift them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Let them rest in a cool place for 15 minutes. Brush them with milk or cream and sprinkle them with sugar. (I use Sugar in the Raw) Bake for about 20 minutes. May need more or less time depending on your oven.

Serve warm with a cup of Hot Tea! or Coffee! or Milk! or Hot Chocolate! or....

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Now this is some seriously good soup. That is if you like potatoes and ham and cheese and sour cream and onions and bacon... Of course if you wanted to make yourself feel like it's good for you, you could add some broccoli and carrots to it.

4 Large Baking Potatoes
10 Tblsp Butter (the real stuff)
2/3 Cup Flour
6 Cups Milk (low fat or skim is fine)
1 1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded (do not use the preshredded kind, it will make the soup grainy)
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
8 Slices Bacon (cooked and crumbled)
8 Ounces Sour Cream (low fat is fine)
1 Small Onion (Chopped and browned in the bacon fat)

If the potatoes are leftover this doesn't take very long to make. But if you have to start with baking the potatoes it's going to take a while so leave plenty of time.

Here goes:

Scrub the potatoes and wrap in foil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour to 1 1/2 hours depending on the size of your potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the oven, unwrap and cut in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the pulp into a bowl. Set aside. Save the skins for future use. They freeze well and I will have a recipe coming up for Baked Potato Skins. Save them, trust me. Or throw them out if you don't like potato skins.

Alternatively, you can peel the potatoes and dice them then cook them in chicken broth. Do not drain! You can use the cooking liquid in the soup.

In a stock pot melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour, stirring until smooth. Allow this to cook for 2 minutes. (Roux) Turn the heat up to medium and continue stirring while slowly adding in the milk. Continue to stir until mixture is thick. Add the cheese, salt, pepper, onion and bacon, stirring to combine and the cheese melts. Mash the potato with a masher or a fork to break down the large pieces. Add potato to the milk mixture and stir in. When all of this is heated through add the sour cream and stir in. Do not let this soup come to a boil or it will curdle.

This soup is very flexible. When I made it tonight I added ham. The potatoes were not baked ahead of time so I diced and boiled them. If you make this as written and do not add any more liquid than the milk that is called for it will be very thick. Thick enough to hold a spoon upright. I added the broth from cooking the potatoes and it was very nice thick cream soup. Four large baking potatoes should need 2 15 oz cans of broth to cook in.

Grandma Hermie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

When my kids were little I baked chocolate chip cookies for them just like any good mother would do. But they always preferred Grandma's. I wondered, "What is so special about her cookies?" So I asked her for the recipe. This is what I got and have been making ever since.

2 1/4 Cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Shortening
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs
2 Cups Chocolate Chips

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In the mixing bowl of your mixer combine the shortening and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Put in chocolate chips and stir until mixed in.

Bake in a 350 degree oven 10 to 12 minutes.

Nope, nothing special there. Almost exactly the same recipe I was making. Now that I have grand kids I know what the secret is. GRANDMA! Go figure!

Tonight I had to bake some for the neighbor. He fell off a grain bin this afternoon and hurt his leg. Is there anything better to make you feel better than a batch of chocolate chip cookies?

It's Gonna Happen Here!

Oh boy! Here we go! The smokin' blog has gone so well I decided to start one for recipes.

Please let me know if you try any of my recipes and how they turn out for you. If you have any questions, please ask them. I will not know all the answers but I will try to answer what I can. And we can all learn something along the way. (Hopefully!)

Pictures will be important here. EVERY recipe will have a picture! I'm not the best picture taker but I will give it my best shot.

Keep Reading!