Everything Goes with Ice Cream

It is almost 8:00 in the evening as I write this.  I have been gone from the house all day, and came home kind of tired and in a put-your-feet-up kind of mood.  However, that mood quickly changed when I found a parcel on my doorstep from Amazon.  I had placed an order earlier this week, but wasn't even expecting it so soon.  Upon opening the package, my tiredness immediately disappeared and was replaced with a happy dance because inside was a book I've been looking forward to receiving.  It is called "Everything Goes with Ice Cream" by my blogging friend, Koralee Teichroeb.  Koralee is the resident blogger over at Bluebird Notes, which happens to be one of my very favorite blogs.  Since I've only just received the book this evening, I haven't had a chance to try any of the recipes; however, upon initial perusal, I know it is going to be such a fun book.  Not only is it filled with delicious looking recipes, she has also included craft projects, and little introductions to her daughters and a few of her friends that contributed recipes to the book.  It is filled with beautiful photography, which I'm going to guess is all by Koralee herself, being the amazing photographer that she is.  I can already tell that it will be a late night for me because I want to start reading through this delightful book and start planning on what I want to make first.  Stay tuned, I will keep you posted of everything I try.

Saturday's Book Choice

Today we are in the midst of quite the little snow storm.  What started out as a bit of a drizzly gray morning, has turned into gusty winds blowing snow horizontally, and piling up inch by inch.  The kind of day that for me is the best kind of day to just stay inside where it is warm and cozy, sewing, cooking, and looking through some of my books.  One such book that I enjoy looking through is Country Living The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much by Serena Thompson and Teri Edwards. 

I first became acquainted with The Farm Chicks from my sister, Kass.  She told me about their blog and thought I would enjoy it.  She was right about that.  And soon after I started visiting their blog, they came out with this book.   I purchased a copy, and a good friend of mine and I headed over to Spokane one afternoon to a book signing and to meet The Farm Chicks themselves. 

Since that day I have gone through this book many times.  If you haven't seen the book before, it is a combination of a history of The Farm Chicks, a cookbook, and also a craft book.  I think at present our very favorite recipe in the book is the Big & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies recipe.  In fact if you turn to that page of the book, you will undoubtedly find crumbs and splatters like all favorite cookbook pages develop over time.

Saturday's Book Choice (on Sunday yet again)

The title, Desserts to Die for, by Marcel Desaulniers says it all.  This cookbook is filled with so many wonderful and amazing recipes.  I'm not sure how many times I have read through it, but each time I do I am inspired to get out in the kitchen and bring his words to life.  Not to say that each time I am inspired to do so, it actually gets done, but I am inspired nonetheless.  I have made a few things out of this book, and each time it isn't a disappointment.  He gives very clear and detailed instructions on how to accomplish these amazing desserts, and even though they can be a long time in the making, the end result never disappoints.  The author even breaks down the recipes into possible steps that can be made a day or two ahead of the date that the dessert is needed just in case you want to spread the process over a few days.  The recommended ingredients are easily found, and unless you just really don't like to spend time in the kitchen creating incredible desserts, then I suggest you at least check for this book at your local library and give it a try.  If nothing else, simply reading through the pages and looking at the amazing pictures will be satisfying in itself.

Saturday's Book Choice

This week's choice is another jewel that my daughter's found at the library.  I was surprised when they brought it home as it is a rather new book.  Somebody at the library is on top of things by keeping up with current popular reads.

I found "Where Women Cook:  Celebrate!" a very refreshing twist on a typical cookbook.  We are introduced to 28 creative women from many walks of life.  From artists, blog writers, jewelry store owners, to my personal favorite, Serena Thompson, founder of The Farm Chicks.   Each woman is introduced, and then proceeds to give details of a specific party that each of them has given, complete with decorations and recipes.  The photography is exceptional, and their stories are very interesting.  It's a great book, and I will be adding it to my Amazon wish list.  In the meantime though I will enjoy paging through the library's copy.

Recipes, Recipes, and More Recipes

I find a great deal of pleasure in sitting down and looking through a cookbook.  When I check books out at the library, typically the larger percentage of them are cookbooks.  I can hardly bear to throw a magazine away until I've clipped out the good looking recipes.  I have a nice collection of cookbooks, old and new.  In fact, I realize that there probably aren't enough hours left in my lifetime to be able to make all of the delicious recipes that I want to try. 

In my "dream" house, I think I would like to have a second kitchen.  This kitchen would always be set up and ready for me to step into it to make any pie or cake at a moment's notice.  And of course since my family wouldn't possibly be able to eat all of the decadent desserts that I would be making, I would love to just be able to give them away to anyone who would have them .... after I have been able to have a small piece first of course.

The Chocolate Entries

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my daughters and I enjoy entering the chocolate contest at our local fair each year. We didn't win any ribbons this year; but I thought I would share with you what we entered anyway. The winning entry was a brownie type of cake with Reese's peanut butter cups in it. I have to agree with the judges, what could possibly top that!

One of my daughters made some delicious orange/chocolate chip bars. They were from a cookbook published in 1967 entitled, "Our Favorite Desserts. Favorites from Home Economics Teachers". After making them however, she decided that they just weren't chocolaty enough for a chocolate competition. So we immediately tasted them, and enjoyed them at home. Sorry, no pictures though, we ate them too quickly.

Another daughter made a double-chocolate bundt cake. This recipe included adding instant espresso powder in the cake, as well as in the frosting. She chose this recipe from the "Good Housekeeping Great Baking" cookbook.

And my entry was a chocolate walnut crunch cake, from the "Death by Chocolate Cakes" cookbook. In my cake I actually made a type of walnut brittle which I used in the decorating of it; but also, the walnut brittle (or crunch as the book referred to it) is actually chopped back up in a food processor and added to the frosting. Very tasty!!


We can now spend the coming year finding just the perfect chocolate recipe that might take the prize next year. What a great task!!

Farm Chicks Come Through

The fair has now come to a close; but with that closing comes good results. My daughter chose the Farm Chicks' peanut butter cookies to enter as her 4H baking project this year. And as you can see from the photo, she did very well with them. The judges gave her a perfect score, and even mentioned how good the cookies were in taste, color, and texture. The recipe comes from the book, "The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen". We highly recommend the cookies and the book.

Salsa Chicken

I love a quick meal just as much as anyone. This recipe is so easy, it is just too good to be true. My family really enjoyed it, and I plan on adding it to my list of regular recipes. I found it in my Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook . In the book, the recipe is actually entitled, "Can-You-Believe-It's-So-Simple Salsa Chicken", and can be found on page 375 for those of you that might have the cookbook.

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
16-oz. jar chunky-style salsa, your choice of heat
2 cups shredded cheese, your choice of flavor

Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour salsa over chicken. Cover and cook on low 5-8 hours, or until chicken is tender but not dry. Top individual servings with shredded cheese. Serve this over cooked rice, or in a whole wheat or cheddar cheese wrap.

How about that for an easy dinner.

Banana Apple Bread

A few days ago, I mentioned the banana apple bread recipe that I really wanted to bake from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. I just happened to have all of the ingredients, and so I gave it a try.


This bread baked up so beautifully, and was delicious!! The apples really made it moist, and the spices used gave it a most wonderful flavor. I am now definitely sold on the idea of buying this cookbook. Try this recipe out, and see what you think.

A great gift idea would be to give someone who likes to bake, a copy of this cookbook. If you wanted to go another step, you could also include some of this homemade bread on a pretty plate, or in a loaf pan, so that they could make some of their own bread; because after they have eaten the loaf you have baked for them, they will definitely want more.

Mom's Banana Apple Bread

For the apples:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 Granny Smith (I actually used winesap) apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the banana bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups very ripe mashed bananas (2 to 3)

Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Lightly butter and flour a 1-1/2 quart loaf pan.

To make the apples:
Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and brown sugar and heat until bubbling. Add the apples and cinnamon and saute until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To make the banana bread:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and vanilla.

4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the orange juice mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each flour addition. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined. Then stir in the reserved apples.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool further.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The banana bread keeps well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Defrost still wrapped at room temperature.

Freezing Bananas

I have recently been reading through a cookbook that my daughters checked out at the library. It is entitled, "The Sweet Melissa Baking Book". This is an awesome cookbook. In fact I have decided that it is one that I will need to purchase some day to add to my collection. I plan on making a recipe out of it this weekend. It is called "Mom's Banana Apple Bread". It sounds like such a good idea to combine the apples and bananas in a quick bread. At the end of the recipe, the author gives a wonderful tip that I have never thought of before. She says that if your bananas turn black before you are ready to bake with them, you can peel them, puree them, and store them in an airtight plastic container in your freezer. Apparently the bananas will keep a very long time, and just need to be defrosted before using them. This is great news for me because I typically make plans to make banana bread, but then the bananas go bad before I get a chance to actually make the bread. I really don't like having to throw the bananas out, but now I don't have to. In fact the other day I did freeze some. I didn't puree them though, I just mashed them up with a fork like I normally would when I bake with them. And having a store of frozen mashed bananas in my freezer means I can make banana bread at a moment's notice instead of buying bananas and waiting for them to soften up.

Apple Pie #3

Over the weekend I tried out another new apple pie recipe. This one intrigued me because of the orange juice used in it. My family thought it was great. The orange juice and nutmeg gave it a very good flavor. It was very juicy though, and I thought that next time I would add some more flour for thickening. And then it dawned on me that the recipe calls for a lattice crust; however, I just used a regular crust on top. In hindsight, I think next time I will use a lattice top crust because that would perhaps allow for the orange juice mixture to evaporate more and thicken up on its own.

This recipe comes from the "Ladies' Home Journal 100 Great Pie & Pastry Recipes" cookbook. I really enjoy looking through this cookbook. There is a recipe in it for a chocolate peanut butter ice cream pie that has 720 calories per slice! Wow - that's a lot!! But it looks so delicious that I plan on making it some day.

Apple Pie #3

Pastry for a two crust pie
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
8 cups Winesap or Rome Beauty apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.

For the filling, combine the sugar, orange juice, butter, flour, and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and butter is melted.

Roll out the bottom crust for your pie and place it in your pie plate. Spoon the sliced apples into the pastry. Pour the sugar-orange mixture over the apples.

Prepare a lattice crust with your remaining pastry, and arrange on the top of your pie.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 deg. F. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes more or until the apples are tender. Cool pie completely on a wire rack or serve warm.

Enjoy!!

The Library

When my kids were very young, I started taking them to the library. They loved wandering up and down the aisles looking at all of the books, and bringing home their quota. I allowed each of them to bring home 10 books because that seemed the easiest way for me to keep track of all of them when they were younger. Whenever I would tell them we would be going to the library, their eyes would light up. It was always something they looked forward to. We still enjoy going to the library. I took my youngest daughter yesterday, and she brought home a bag literally filled to the brim with books. I personally always head for the cookbook shelves. I find so much enjoyment looking at and reading cookbooks. There is such a huge variety of cookbooks there that I always find something new to bring home. Another advantage is that you don't have to spend a lot of money on a cookbook that you may only make one or two recipes out of. So if you are wanting to get some new recipes, or just try some different types of foods, check out the cookbook section at your library. You will be amazed at the variety they have to offer.

A New Cookbook

I love to use my crockpot. It is so handy to just pop a meal in it in the morning, and then by dinnertime all that needs doing is to set the table. Recently I was talking to a friend, and she told me about a series of cookbooks entitled "Fix-It and Forget-It". She said that every recipe she has tried from the cookbooks has been good. I hadn't heard of these before, and made a mental note to look them up. You can imagine my surprise when on a recent trip to Costco I was very pleased to find this book just sitting there on the shelf waiting for me to pick it up:



This cookbook is a collection of 1400 of the best recipes from all 5 of the cookbooks in the series. Of course I bought it, and have been looking through it deciding which recipes I want to try first. I will keep you posted on our favorites.

Apple Pie #2

Here is the recipe for the next Apple Pie, or in this case it shall be referred to as Apple Pie #2. This pie recipe comes from yet another of my favorite cookbooks, "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book" by Marion Cunningham. In the cookbook, it is entitled "Basic Master Recipe: American Apple Pie". It is written for someone who has never made a pie before, and takes up a little more than 9 pages in a cookbook. That is a lot of pages! It gives extremely detailed directions along with illustrations of everything involved. So if you have never made a pie before, and are in need of being walked through the process step by step, then this cookbook is for you. I am going to limit my recipe to the most important part -- the apple filling; and assume that you either already know how to make a pie crust, or know where to find ready made crusts in your local grocery store. And as a side note, I used to buy the ready made crusts. When my children were younger, that seemed to be the easiest way to get a pie baked in a hurry. And then one day, I was referring to how my mom makes the best pie crusts in the world. One of my daughters looked at me with a surprised look on her face and said, "you mean you can make pie crusts?" At that moment I decided I needed to stop buying the ready made pie crusts, and start making them from scratch. It doesn't take that much time, and they really are far more superior to the store bought. Besides the fact that I felt horrified that my kids didn't even know that someone could "make" them.

My kitchen is very tiny, so when I do make pie crusts, I take over the kitchen table since I don't have the cupboard space. Here is proof that I did indeed make a homemade crust for "Apple Pie #2":

And now on to the recipe.

Apple Pie #2

Unbaked pie crusts for a double crust pie

8 cups sliced and peeled apples

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 T. flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 T. (1/4 stick) butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and salt. Combine with the apple slices. Sprinkle the lemon juice over this mixture and mix together. Pour the apple mixture into your unbaked pie crust. Slice the butter into small pieces onto the top of the apples. Place the top crust over all, press the edges of the crusts together and flute. Don't forget to cut a few slits into the top crust before baking. If you like, you can cover the edges of the pie crust with foil to keep them from browning too much.

Place the pie in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 deg. and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes, or until done.

This is what mine looked like before I popped it into the freezer. We will be tasting Apple Pie #2 at a later time.

What's for Dinner?

We've all been there before. You wake up in the morning with the thought that you hope to make today very productive and organized. You think that perhaps you should decide on what you will be having for dinner in the morning to be able to cross that item off of your list. Nothing really comes to mind, but it is still early, so you put it off until later. Lunchtime rolls around and you remember that you still need to come up with something for dinner. Again, it is still early, no problem. And then about 4:30 in the afternoon, you realize that you have completely forgotten about what to plan for dinner. You actually begin to break out into a slight sweat because now you know that the pressure is on. It is only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, before someone walks into the kitchen with the age old question, "what's for dinner?" There is no answer to that question because you haven't planned anything. Time to fall back on an old standby, and calmly answer the question as if you had known all along what would be for dinner. Sometimes in our house the answer is Pasta and Meatball Soup. It is a recipe from one of my nieces that we got out of a great cookbook entitled, "Hot Providence". This is another of my cookbooks that gets pulled down from the shelf on a regular basis. So just in case you need a standby meal for those nights when you dread hearing the question that you have no answer to, the recipe follows:

Pasta & Meatball Soup

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 T. milk
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 t. marjoram
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 egg

Soup:
2 T. oil
1 onion
1 carrot, diced
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 package corkscrew pasta
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
3 cups water
1 t. salt
1 t. basil
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. rosemary
1 (28 oz.) can Italian plum tomatoes
1/4 t. pepper
Grated Parmesan or mozzarella cheese

To prepare meatballs: mix ingredients and form into round 1 inch balls. In soup pot cook the meatballs on medium/high heat until browned all around. Drain on paper towels. Save drippings.

To prepare soup: In the drippings cook onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, salt, spices, and bay leaves. Break up tomatoes. Add meatballs. Over high heat bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer 30 minutes and stir in pasta. Cook for 10 more minutes. Stir in spinach. Cook 5 minutes and garnish with cheese. Serve.

Tacos

Tacos -- who doesn't like tacos. At our house we have them once a month. They are so easy to make, and everyone's eyes light up around here when they find out that that is what we are having for dinner. For me, it is a quick meal to put together. The only thing out of the ordinary that I do is to make my own taco seasoning mix. Yes, I know you can just buy the little packets in the grocery store. That, of course, is the easiest. But it costs much less, and barely takes any time at all to make your own. So I am going to share my recipe for taco seasoning mix. It really isn't "my" recipe at all, but comes from another of my favorite cookbooks, "Make-A-Mix Cookery", by Eliason, Harward, & Westover. When I was first married, I came across this cookbook and liked it so much, that I bought it as gifts for several people. I believe it is out of print now, but I have begun to look for it at used bookstores to get my daughters all a copy of their own.

Taco Seasoning Mix

2 tsp. instant minced onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. crushed dried red pepper
1/2 tsp. instant minced garlic
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until evenly distributed. After browning 1 lb. of ground beef, add the seasoning mix, along with 1/2 cup water, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

And there you have it -- your very own taco seasoning mix.

Apple Pie #1

Apple season is upon us. My neighbors have been very generous with their apples this year, and have given us an abundance. They are delicious, and it is so wonderful to be able to grab a fresh apple for a snack. I wish that my boxes would stay full and crisp all year long; but unfortunately they need to be used up before they go bad. Actually it isn't unfortunate at all, because that means it is time to make up all sorts of fun apple treats. Today we had our first apple pie of the season. It really hit the spot. Every year I search for the absolutely perfect apple pie recipe. I haven't found it yet, but we sure have fun trying out different recipes. So I am going to post some of the different recipes that we try so that just in case there really is someone out there reading this blog, they can try them as well. So tonight's recipe comes from the cookbook entitled, "Just a Matter of Thyme" by Roxie Kelley and Shelly Reeves-Smith. This is actually one of my favorite cookbooks that I have. I turn to it quite often to make different things out of it. My brother and sister-in-law gave it to me for a birthday gift one year, and I still have the birthday card in it to use as a bookmark. I think birthday cards make great bookmarks ... but that is a topic for another time.

Apple Pie #1
Unbaked pie crust for double crust pie.
8 or 9 tart cooking apples, pared
¾ cup sugar, more if desired
6 Tbsp. Flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. Butter

In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle about ¼ cup of mixture on the bottom of the pie crust, and add the rest to the apples. Stir to coat apples. Fill pie crust heaping full of apple mixture, dot with butter. Place top crust over filling, flute edges. Cut slits on top crust and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 50 minutes at 400°. Serve with vanilla ice cream.