December 30, 2011

The last post of the year, and what a year it has been! Hard to think that way back in April I began this blog and have since found so many great recipes to share. My family has tried out many more recipes than have made it here as "keepers", and they have been great sports about the whole process. Hannah and Liam are my primary kitchen helpers, and Ryan and Owen will try just about anything.

I guessed it would be kind of a light week of new recipes, and I was right. In addition to what I shared here we tried out another dinner recipe which was good (a braised beef stew I served with mashed potatoes), but needs a little tweaking. It called for sun dried tomatoes (which you know I LOVE), but they seemed a bit out of place. I think mushrooms would do better in the recipe, so I will try that in the future. We did make the candy cane shaped bread that my mom used to make for Christmas when I was growing up, and for my first attempt it wasn't too shabby. The flavor was great (I tasted like I remembered it), but making one big loaf was a bit much; I should have made two loaves out of it. Now I know for next time. It was fun to make something for my kids that was from my childhood, and they loved it (bonus!). I would have loved to use raspberry filling, but I couldn't find any, and I didn't have time to make any myself.

The other new recipe that was voted a keeper is definitely a family friendly option. The dish came together very quickly, used only one pot (fantastic!), and went over well with everyone at the table. My husband even took the leftovers to work for lunch, much to the chagrin of my big kids who were hoping to have it for lunch themselves the next day; I guess that proves it was a winner! This is not a fancy meal, not one you'd want to serve to someone you were hoping to impress, but if you are looking for an easy weeknight meal that keeps the dishes to a minimum and will put a smile on everyone's face, than One Pot Chili Pasta might be just right!

If you can believe it next week's entry will be January 6, 2012. Happy New Year to all, and as I love to say around this time, see you next year!

New Recipes
Candy Cane Shaped Bread
One Pot Chili Pasta

Candy Cane Shaped Bread

Ingredients
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 package active dry yeast
* 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
* 2 tbsp butter, softened
* 2 tbsp + 1.5 tsp sugar
* 2 tsp salt
* 1 eggs
* 3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
1. Heat sour cream over low heat just until lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in the warm water (110-115 F). Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt, eggs and 1.5 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make it easy to handle.
3. Turn dough onto well-floured board. Knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl. Turn once to bring greased side up. Cover. Let rise in warm place until double, about 1 hour. To test for rising, stick two fingers in dough. If holes remain but top stays smooth, dough is ready.
4. Heat oven to 375° F. Punch down dough.
5. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Place on greased baking sheet. With scissors or a knife, make 2-inch cuts at 1/2-inch intervals on both long sides of the rectangles.
6. Place the filling down the center of the rectangle.
7. Crisscross strips over the filling. Stretch dough to 22 inches. Curve to form a “cane.”
8. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. While warm, brush with butter and drizzle canes with Thin Icing (recipe follows). If desired, decorate with cherry halves or pieces.

For thin icing:

Blend 2 cups powdered sugar with about 2 tablespoons water. If icing is too stiff, add water a drop at a time. If too thin, add more powdered sugar a little at a time.

Notes
The original recipe is double all of these ingredients and makes 3 loaves. I halved the recipe (what I used is what is shown above in the ingredients list) and made one large one. I bet I could have made two small size ones with the same amount of ingredients as I used because it came out really large. Also, the original recipe has a recipe for a mixed fruit filling using apricots and maraschino cherries, but during my childhood my mom would use pie filling as the bread filling. I followed her example. I used apple filling, but raspberry or cherry would look quite festive, and I bet blueberry would taste great as well! You'll see in the pictures below that I used parchment paper to ensure that bread wouldn't stick!

One other tip...when Hannah and Owen saw this bread, they told me we could make it for Halloween and have it be Mummy Bread! That would be cute too!

One Pot Chili Pasta

Ingredients
* 1 lb. extra lean ground beef
* 1 yellow onion, chopped
* 1 cup each chopped red and yellow peppers
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 tbsp chili powder
* 3 cups water
* 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
* 3 cups wagon wheel pasta, uncooked
* 1/2 cup frozen corn
* 1 cup shredded cheese, your choice on flavor
* green onions, diagonally cut into thin slices (we used 4)

Directions
1. Brown the meat with onions in Dutch oven or deep large nonstick skillet. Add peppers; cook 5 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and chili powder; cook 1 min.
2. Add water and sauce; stir. Bring to boil. Stir in pasta; cover. Simmer 15 min. or just until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn; cook 3 to 4 min. or until heated through.
3. Serve, letting each person top with cheese and green onions.

Notes
My kids love pasta, and I love one pot meals. The fact that the pasta cooks right in with the sauce thereby using one less pot made it a recipe I wanted to test. This was a hit. By no means is this a company worthy meal (unless all your guests are under the age of 10), and it is reminiscent of a Hamburger Helper type meal. I have a hard time with the original recipe name (One pot taco pasta) since it didn't taste like tacos to us. We are calling it One pot chili pasta as that is what it tasted like to us. Maybe for kicks next time we'll replace the chili powder with taco seasoning and see how that goes over!

It calls for extra lean ground beef because you don't drain the meat after you brown it. If you use a higher fat content ground beef, I would suggest you drain it before adding the peppers. You could also try this with ground turkey or ground chicken, and whole grain pasta.

December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas (almost)! I can't believe that this weekend is Christmas, and the new year is around the corner.

This week has been busy with last minute preparations for the holidays and festive activities, so it really didn't leave much time to try out new recipes. I can't guarantee that we are going to make a lot of new things this coming week, either, but we'll see what happens. We made one fabulous new dinner (Pork and Mushrooms over Noodles), and I have a few cookie recipes to share. Additionally, we made Shepherd's pie again, so I included the recipe for the way that I make it. This "recipe" can be tweaked to suit your own tastes.

The weather hasn't been cooperating in terms of snow and cold weather, which is a bummer for our winter break. Since we were hoping to build a snowman, we had to build one inside. Everyone at the holiday luncheon we hosted this week loved it, kids and moms alike!

At the luncheon I served Ham & Swiss Quiche and Cranberry Chicken Salad for the adults. Both were a big hit, and I was so glad to make the quiche. I absolutely LOVE quiche (any kind), but for some reason my family doesn't love it, so I don't have many opportunities or excuses to make it very often.

I attended my sister's annual cookie exchange party this week, and there were some really fabulous cookies. Mint seemed to be a theme as there were a few varieties of mint cookies, but my favorite from the night was a cookie called Petite Peppermint Sandwiches that my sister made. I added the link to the recipe she used below. While I haven't made these myself, I certainly plan to in the future!!!!

I made my absolute favorite Christmas cookies this week, Creme de Menthe bars. I make these every year, and eating them transports me back to my childhood. My mom always makes a few types of Christmas cookies, and I always reached for these first. The picture with the recipe isn't great, but the bar certainly was!

Merry Christmas!


New Recipes
Pork and Mushrooms over Noodles
Shepherd's Pie
Creme de Menthe Bars

Shout out Recipe
Petite Peppermint Sandwiches

Creme de Menthe Bars

Ingredients

BOTTOM LAYER
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 4 eggs
* 1 (16 ounce) can chocolate syrup
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup unbleached self-rising flour (if you have all purpose flour, see note below)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

MIDDLE LAYER
* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 tablespoons Creme de Menthe

GLAZE
* 1 cup chocolate chips
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream together the sugar, butter, and eggs. Add the chocolate syrup and the vanilla and mix well.
3. Stir the flour and salt together in a small bowl, then add to the mixer bowl a little at a time. Mix well.
4. Spread the mixture evenly in a prepared 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 25 -30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, about 30 to 60 minutes.
5. Make the middle layer: In the bowl of the stand mixer, mix together the powdered sugar, butter, and Creme de Menthe. Spread all over the chocolate bottom layer, and then put the pan in the refrigerator.
6. Make the glaze: In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter together and stir until combined. Allow to cool slightly, and then spread all over the top of the mint layer. Put the pan back in the refrigerator and allow to chill thoroughly. Cut into small squares and keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes
Growing up my mom used to make a few different kinds of cookies each Christmas season, and these were my absolute favorite! Making them and eating them now transports me back to my childhood...I hope you will enjoy them, too!

If you do not have self-rising flour, you can make it. For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Mix to combine.

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients
* left over roast
* left over carrots
* left over gravy
* onion
* frozen peas
* mashed potatoes

Directions
1. Make mashed potatoes.
2. Put roast and the onion (1/2 onion or whole depending on how much leftover roast you have) in your food processor, mix together.
3. Place the meat and onion in oven proof bowls.
4. Mix chopped leftover carrots and frozen peas with the meat.
5. Heat up the gravy, and spoon over the meat and vegetable mixture.
6. Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over the top of the meat, vegetables and gravy.
7. Heat until bubbling in a 350 degree oven.

Notes
We most recently made this with the cola braised pot roast, and it was delicious!!! When we make it we love to individualize it - Owen and Liam love peas but not carrots, Hannah doesn't like either, Ryan and I have both. Instead of doing one big one, which also works out really well, the individual servings are fun and everyone is much happier at the dinner table.

Pork and Mushrooms over Noodles

Ingredients
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 tbsp butter
* 1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into two inch pieces
* 8 oz button mushrooms, quartered
* 1/2 cup shallots, sliced
* 1 carrot, diced
* 2 tbsp flour
* 1cup apple cider
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 tsp dried thyme
* salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
* egg noodles

Directions
1. Remove the silver skin from the pork tenderloin then cut into small bite size pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel then season the pork with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot add the pork and sauté until brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove pork to a plate.
3. Add the mushrooms, carrot, and shallots in the same skillet over medium heat. Cook until softened, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the apple cider to deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Add pork with residual juices and the thyme.
5. Simmer for 15 -20, taste and re-season with salt and pepper. Serve over egg noodles.

Notes
I was initially skeptical about cider in this dinner, but it was a huge hit! All 5 of us enjoyed this, and will definitely be making it again. This is a great fall meal - such autumnal flavors with the pork and cider, and very warm and homey. It would be great to serve after a day of apple picking or a trip to the pumpkin patch!