Category Archives: cooking

Apple Braid

cooking, Fall, Recipes, , , , ,

What says fall more than apples!

 I decided to make an Apple Braid for dessert.  It smelled so good cooking and it warmed up the house as well as the soul!

Braided bread looks like it is hard to do, but it is really very easy–so let’s get started.  You will need on loaf of bread dough.  I used frozen Rhodes Bread, but you can use your own homemade recipe, or you can even buy scone dough at a lot of your bakeries.

Roll the dough out a little bit , then place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. With your fingers, spread the dough out into a rectangle on the baking sheet.  You kind of have to work with the dough to get it to stretch out.

Using a 4″ putty knife, cut the dough into 1 inch slits like this.

You read that right!  I use a regular putty knife (a new one, not one I used to scrap paint with!)  I learned this trick in a bread class that I took a few years ago!  Just just go to the hardware store and buy a plastic 4″ putty knife to keep in your kitchen drawer!

(Sorry about this picture, I was in a hurry and only took one pic, and this was it!)

 For the filling, I used this canned apple pie filling.  You could make your own filling, just make sure that you cook that apples part way before filling the braid.  You could use any kind of fruit, that you would use for a pie!  Another version that is good is a cinnamon crumb with nuts added to it!

 Spread the filling down the center of the braid.  Then start braiding.  Fold the first strip over the top of the filling on a diagonal to the second strip. Go back and forth like this all the way down.  Tuck the ends in to secure.

 This is what it will look like.  Cover the pan and let it raise for about 20-25 mins.

 Bake at 375 degrees F  for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown.  I learned at that same bread class that you can tell when bread is done by looking at the bottom.  If it is a golden brown on the bottom, the bread is done.

Let the braid cool for 15-20 minutes and then drizzle with a glaze of: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 c. softened butter, 1/2 tsp almond extract, mix this together then add 1-2 TBLS of milk, a little at a time,  just until thin enough to drizzle.

Looks delish!

What kind of fall desserts are your favorite?  I hope that you will try this one because you just might want to add it to your list!

My cooking class with the Food Nanny/ Best Day Ever!

cooking, Family, , , ,
This post is courtesy of my cute DIL!  She had the opportunity to go to a cooking class with the Food Nanny.  Boy, was I jealous!  But at least she shared her experience with us and even better, she made the rolls from a recipe in the cookbook from the Food Nanny.  She got the ultimate compliment on them at our Sunday family dinner, my oldest son told her that they reminded him of Grandma Stevens rolls!  My mom was the best bread/roll maker around, and so that was quite a compliment.  I told my DIL that we all wanted a girls night out with a demo on how to make the rolls and she said that she would, so I think that we will have to hold her to that one! :)
This is her post:
So you may or may not know that I am a HUGE fan of the Food Nanny on BYU-TV. I first read about her on a blog last spring and then I saw the book in Costco (where else?) and had to pick it up. I was instantly hooked. She is a huge advocate of family mealtime, which is something that I had been struggling with for a while. My husband works most evenings and is only home for dinner once or twice a week. This leaves me with four small kids and a great excuse to scrounge up some lame food most nights and not make anything special. I had a nagging feeling that I should be doing more, because I do love to cook, but was I being wasteful by making nice food for little kids who didn’t appreciate it? And should I be eating well/gaining weight if I didn’t have to? Cereal seemed to be the answer most of the time. I’d cook up something that sounded good once in a while and overindulge, then feel guilty and swear to eat cereal for a few days. My kids seemed to be happy with whatever I put in front of them, so I didn’t have the motivation to make any changes. Then I found the Food Nanny, Liz Edmunds. She has raised seven children and attributes her success as a mother to consistent family meal times. What I can most relate to about her is that her husband was gone most of the time (he was a pilot), and she still brought her family together every single night for a home-cooked meal at the dinner table. She says she just needed something for her and her family to look forward to every single day. It was like a light bulb went off in my head after learning that. (What, her husband was gone all the time, too, and she STILL did all this? Well, why can’t I?) I also love her philosophy about eating real and not dieting. She says you should eat what your body craves, but only until you are satisfied. Then you just push your plate back. And she obviously practices what she preaches because she is tiny! (So you mean I can make good food for my family AND eat it? And not spend my life counting calories? Sign me up!) Her cookbook is nothing short of amazing. Her recipes are simple but gourmet at the same time. Everything I have tried has been great. Everything. I absolutely love her philosophy about Family Dinner. “It’s the most important time of the day!” she says repeatedly on her show. You can watch every episode on byutv.org and I highly, highly recommend it. I have tried so many new recipes and methods of cooking that I never thought I would even attempt. Most importantly, my family has come to expect Family Dinner every night (or most nights!) whether Dad is home or not. It’s not always fantastically planned out with the table set and wonderful food, but the kids don’t seem to care. I just do my best that day, whatever it is. My kids love sitting at the dinner table together and discussing their days. We each tell the best part and worst part of our day and it leads to some pretty interesting conversations! Abby can’t seem to distinguish the present day from the past, so we all have some great laughs over what she thinks happened that day, which probably happened several weeks ago, if at all. The other night Jason was with us and he was telling me all about what happened at work that day when I noticed Dallin was pouting. I asked him what was wrong and he said, “Why don’t we just call this Mom and Dad Dinner instead of Family Dinner, since you two are the only ones talking?” I had to laugh. I asked him what he wanted to talk about and he was just busting to tell everyone about how his CapriSun had sprung a leak in his lunchbox that day and ruined his lunch. I love that he was saving something that was important to him to share with the family at dinner.
You can imagine my excitement a few weeks ago when I saw on the Food Nanny’s Facebook page that she was going to be hosting a cooking class AT HER HOME for a very reasonable price, and it would include one of her cookbooks (Happy Birthday, Mom!)!! I immediately signed up and trusted that it would work out, and it did. I told Jason that it was my present for him going to Texas to hunt whitetails this week, which he had to agree with. It was SUCH a fun day. The thing I love most about Liz (I can call her Liz now, we are kind of tight like that) is her energy. She is a TINY little thing, but she is so excited about life and so full of passion about what she teaches. I always thought she was adorable, but wondered if maybe she was just a rich lady that loved to cook and had a lot of breaks in life. Not so. She is a humble, kind and hard-working lady who has made the best out of everything she has had to deal with in life. Her house is amazing, but it is not fancy. Just simple and beautiful and functional. Mostly, it is welcoming and comfortable. Very down to earth. I loved it. There were about fifteen people in the class and she made all of us feel so at home. I wanted to just stay afterward and hang out and help her do the dishes, but I had a babysitter at home and an hour drive ahead of me so I was sad to have to leave. The class was GREAT. She made so much food and ALL of it was fantastic. Apple Pie, Apple Crisp, French Baquettes, Bruschetta, Arugula Pizza, Chicken Marsala With Mushrooms, Spaghetti Carbonara… am I missing anything? She impressed me so much with her passion about cooking for her family. It’s not like she just had her kids grow up and leave the house and got bored so she decided to write a book. She really lives it. She has lived this philosophy for 40 years and made a rich, wonderful life in the process. That is what I want! I want my kids to know what HOME feels like, and I think family meals around the dinner table on a consistent basis are the foundation for what I have been looking for. Even if it’s just the kids and me most of the time. When Jason is home it is just all the more special.

Baquettes fresh out of the oven! So easy, and how cute is that little pan?
Liz made a special bruschetta that will be featured in her next cookbook (can’t wait!!). It was amazing. I am still thinking about it.

Here she is adding the chicken to the Chicken Marsala. Wow, so good!
Here are just a few of my favorite recipes from the book, for your FYI (ha ha, I love it when people say “For your FYI” because it doesn’t even make any sense!):
p. 34 Roast Chicken with Gravy – I make this for my VERY special friends when they have babies. It is probably my favorite meal to make in the world. I used to have a fear of raw chicken, and what the heck do you do with a whole chicken anyway, but Liz helps a lady who HATES raw meat make this on one of the shows (It’s called “Chicken Chicken”) and suggests using plastic gloves when handling raw meat! I picked up a box of surgical gloves and my life hasn’t been the same since. I feel so liberated!
p. 78 Chicken Marsala With Mushrooms – I was so excited when she made this at the cooking class! It is the first thing I have ever made with cooking wine and it is SO fun and delicious. I love making it.
p. 182 Slow-Cooked Chicken Noodle Soup – Easiest and best chicken soup I have ever made! Sometimes I use potatoes instead of noodles. I also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs and it is fantastic.
p. 149 Grilled Salmon – I had never made salmon on the grill before, and this is now one of my go-to meals because it is so simple and my kids love it! Plus, I’m so excited to be feeding them fish! I feel like Mom of the Year.
p. 234 Liz’s Crescent Dinner Rolls – Hands down, my favorite recipe. These are better than Lion House Rolls, in my opinion, and so easy! I make them way too much. I’m making them today, in fact. The best part of this recipe is that it makes one big pan of rolls that only needs 12 minutes in the oven, instead of three pans for 20 minutes each. Who has that kind of time? I can whip up the dough in ten minutes in the afternoon and pop them in the oven a few minutes before dinner, and wow. According to Luke, it’s heaven.
There are so many more recipes that I love, and my secret goal is to try every recipe in the book. Probably won’t really happen, but at least we will be eating good in the mean time!

Mom’s Chili

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This recipe is one of those that you just can’t hurry…but is worth the wait!

Is there anything better than a good hearty bowl of chili on a cold, and dreary day?

Mom’s Chili Beans

1 1/2 -2 cups red kidney beans-rinse well, then soak in a big kettle, (covering beans with hot water) for a couple of hours, then simmer over low heat until done (2-3 hours). You may need to add more water, so the beans do not boil dry.

Brown 1 lb hamburger,

add 1 onion diced and

1 green pepper-chopped

Add to beans along with:

1 large can diced tomatoes, or 3-4 cups tomato juice (I usually do a combination of juice a 1 small can tomatoes)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cheyenne pepper

1 bay leaf

1-2 tsp chili powder (depending on how spicy you want it!)

Simmer beans and rest of ingredients all together for 1/2 hour.  Remove bay leaf before serving. To serve you can top with shredded cheese, sour cream, corn chips, bread cubes or croutons.  Serve with a big slice of bread or your favorite crackers!

Great comfort food!

 

Getting Ready for Our Halloween Party

cooking, Crafts, Fall, Halloween, Parties, , , , , , ,

I have been baking, cooking and crafting up a storm the past couple of days trying to get ready for our Halloween Party this weekend!  Thank goodness for Pinterest, I got tons of ideas.

Here’s what I have been up to:

Edible Eyeballs

Black Licorice Skeleton Hands

Juice Mummy Box

Glo Sticks in A Jar

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Candy Corn Pom PomsI made Halloween mini donuts, Halloween Crunch Popcorn, and that is not any of the food part yet!  Whew! What are you doing for Halloween?  I know lots of you are helping at the schools and in your work places.  I love Halloween, I think that it is my 2nd favorite holiday only next to Christmas!

Apple Pie Caramel Apples!

cooking, Fall, Gift ideas, Tutorials, , , , ,

We made our caramel apples last weekend.  They are so yummy and really quite easy to do.  My family all prefer these caramel apples to the ones dipped in milk chocolate and candies.  So this year, this is the only kind we made.  But you could definitely use milk chocolate instead of the white, and candies or nuts, instead of the cinnamon/sugar!

First you need to wash your apples to get all of the wax off.  You can use warm soapy water.  Then make sure that they are completely dry.  Put a wooden stick in the center of each apple and then refrigerate for at least an hour to make sure the apples are cold. I used Fuji apples because they are my very favorite kind of apples!

To make “Apple Pie” caramel apples you will need this yummy Peters Caramel that you can buy here.  I also used the Guittard Vanilla Flavored  white chocolate from the same place.Cut off about 1/4 of the loaf of caramel and put into a large microwaveable measuring cup or bowl.  I like to use a 1 1/2 quart bowl that I have because it is kind of skinny and tall, just right for dipping an apple into!  A 4 cup measure will work also.  Melt your caramel in the microwave.  Cook on high for 1 minute.  Stir.  Cook on 50% power for 1 minute.  Stir again.  Repeat at 50% until thoroughly melted, being careful to avoid scorching.  Dip apples into melted caramel and let caramel drip off the end of apple.  You can dip all the way or about 3/4 of the way, whichever you prefer.  I take a spoon and scrape off the bottom of the apple so there is no carmel on the bottom.  This helps so there is not a big puddle of caramel on the bottom of the apple. Repeat until all the apples have been dipped in caramel. Place dipped apples on a parchment covered baking sheet. Depending on how many apples you are making, you may have to melt more caramel.  A 5 pound box of caramel will cover about 15-18 large apples. Put apples back in fridge to cool.Prepare a bowl of sugar and cinnamon mix.  I used about 3/4 cup of sugar to 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. (That is really just a guess, because I just dump until it looks good!  I like quite a bit of cinnamon in mine.) Melt your chocolate in microwave on 50% power for about 1 min.  Then stir.  Repeat until chocolate is melted.  Be careful not to burn!  Dip the caramel apples into the chocolate and let the excess drip off.  Then immediately spoon the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the chocolate.  I do this over a wide bowl, this is like sprinkling glitter onto glue.  It will only stick where the chocolate is.

Put some of the melted white chocolate into a ziplock baggie with the corner cut off very small, or use a pastry bag with a small tip.  Pipe squiggly lines up and down the apple to make it look oh so pretty! Let all the chocolate set up and then you can tie them up in a cellophane bag with a cute ribbon!   YUMMM!

This is a great gift idea for teachers, friends or heck, is there anyone who would not love to recieve one of these?Next is how to cut a caramel apple!

First you cut on both sides of the stick, along the core.Then turn the apple 90 degrees and cut again on both sides of the stick, along the core and you have perfect little wedges that are just the right size for serving and EATING!

Best of Both Worlds

cooking, Fall, , ,

I decided to make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and then I decided to add a penuche frosting!  To me it was making better…BEST!  I loved the flavor combo of the pumpkin and chocolate, with the carmel frosting!

I did not make the good old Weight Watchers version of pumpkin cookies, which is just a spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin, but I decided to make my recipe that I have used for years, I am not sure where it even came from, because I have had it for so long.  I needed a big batch of cookies this time so I doubled this recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 c. pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 package chocolate chips

Beat butter for 30 seconds, add brown sugar, mix well.  Add egg, pumpkin, and vanilla, beat well.  Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Drop from teaspoon on greased cookie sheet ( or I used parchment paper)  Bake at 375 degrees F. for 8-10 mins.  Let cool on wire racks then frost.

This frosting recipe is from Southern Food

Easy Penuche Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, more or less
  • hot water, optional

Preparation:

In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add sifted confectioners’ sugar. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water. Frosts top and sides of a 2-layer cake or a 13×9-inch cake.
I love how these turned out.  If you love pumpkin cookies, you just might love the flavor of the Penuche frosting with it too!
Happy Baking!

Apple Pie in a Jar!

cooking, Fall, Gift ideas, Printables, Recipes, , , , , ,

My daughter-in-law taught a class on how to make these darling pies! You can see a great tutorial here from Our Best Bites.  She made little mini apple pies in glass jars.   First you prepare the apples-peel and slice them, about 6 cups. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon  lemon juice.  Mix well and set aside.

Make No Fail Pie Crust and roll out quite thin.  Using the rim of the jar, cut a round circle for the top of the pie.  Then roll out another circle large enough to put down inside the bottle.  Or you can just take pieces and press them into the jar.  Make sure that you push the dough down into the bottom of the jar, and that you press it all the way to the top. Add prepared fruit, approximately 1/2 cup per jar.  These are 1/2 pint wide mouth jars.Add the dough circle to the top.  You will need to vent them by cutting slits in them or using a small cookie cutter, like the leaf to cut a hole in the top.  Gently press down the top, so the edges of the circle are completely inside the jar. (The braided top should have been pressed down to be completely inside the jar, so learn from us!) Using a fork press the dough from the top to seal with the dough in the jar.  Here are several versions of how you can make the tops…Lattice, braided edge, or leaf cutout.  You could also use a crumb topping.Sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar.  You could also brush the tops with a little bit of butter before sprinkling the sugar on.  Doesn’t this look Heavenly?!Place the jars on a baking sheet. Bake them at 375 degrees F. for 45-55 minutes or until tops are golden brown.After they cool down you can wipe the edges off and add these cute toppers to your jars!  What a fun gift idea!  The holidays are coming up soon and these would be fun neighbor gifts, or for your friends with a carton of icecream and fun scoop…you get the idea.She did a great job and look how yummy they are!Here is the printable for the top of the jars.  Just right click and go to copy, then open your favorite program, like word, and right click and paste.  These are the right size for a wide mouth lid.Here are some cute tags to tie on with the ribbon.

You could buy all ready made pie crust and canned pie filling if you want a faster version of making these.  I am thinking it would be way fun to do Pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving!

This is a recipe for No Fail Pie Crust, that I have in an old church cookbook.  I cannot remember how long ago, but at least 20 years ago!  And I know that it has stood the test of time! I have never had this recipe fail me!  Just make sure that you do not over mix the dough.

Happy Pie Making!

No Fail Pie Crust Recipe

4 cups flour

1 3/4 cup shortening

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/2 cup cold water

Mix flour, salt and sugar together.  Beat egg, vinegar and water until thouroughly blended.  Cut shortening into dry ingredients until it is the size of peas.  Sprinkle egg mixture over it, a tablespoon at a time, tossing and stirring lightly with a fork.  Mix until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Do not overmix or it will make a tough dough.

Form ball.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  Makes 4 shells or 2 double-crust pies.  Bake shells 8-10 mins at 450 degrees F.

Oh Baby Cakes!

cooking, Parties, Recipes, , , , ,

I was watching Studio 5 the other day and they made some darling mini donuts!  I think that donuts are the new thing, right there along side of the cupcake craze.They looked so fun that I really wanted to try them!

 I do not like to have a lot of kitchen appliances and gadgets, (I do not even own an electric can opener!) but when I saw this donut maker I was completely and totally hooked!  So I ran out to Kohls and bought one and came home that day and my granddaughter and I made these yummy pumpkin spice donuts with maple frosting! The recipe is here along with a double chocolate one!

 Aren’t they just so cute!The donut maker is called Baby Cakes they make all kinds of these little cookers for cake pops, whoopie pies, cupcakes, mini pies, waffles, donuts, etc.  The donuts make six mini donuts at a time and they only take 4-5 minutes for each batch to cook.  This recipe made about 2 1/2 dozen donuts. You put the batter into a frosting bag and just squeeze the batter into the little round molds. We cooked the donuts and then dipped them in the frosting and then into the sprinkles.  Easy peasy!  I can see me making these for alot of our family parties!  They look great and they taste great.  I want to try the chocolate ones and the sour cream ones. Yumm!  Is your mouth watering yet?  Mine sure is!