Happy Easter!

I tried a new way to dye eggs this year. Aren't they colorful?!?

I'm making a quilt out of old ties and consequently have an abundance of ties I have been collecting over the years. I picked out a few that were 100% silk. 

Cut a piece large enough to fit around an uncooked egg. Wrap it around the egg and secure it tightly with cotton string. Place in water with 3 Tablespoons of vinegar and boil for 15 minutes. Cool. Unwrap. The tie patterns and colors will have transferred onto the surface of your egg!

Super fun and easy! Just be careful not to drop one while wrapping them like I did! 

Lucky Leprechaun Stew!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 

I made stew and shamrock rolls. The stew turned out fabulous! If you want an awesome recipe for stew, check the pioneer woman's blog; it offers all the details on how to make a good stew.  

This is just a basic stew recipe...brown the stew meat in olive oil and set it aside. Cook the onion and some garlic in the drippings. Throw in a can of tomato paste, some beef stock and a few dashes of Worcestershire  Toss the meat back in and cook it covered for a couple of hours. Toss in some diced carrots and turnips and cook for another 30 minutes or so until tender. Meanwhile, boil some potatoes and make your favorite mashed potatoes. Serve them with the beef stew sprinkled with parsley (had to have something green!).

The rolls are just my favorite recipe rolled into three balls and cooked in muffin tins. 

Strawberry Tart

I received a new magazine subscription for Christmas called Cuisine at home. It is a fun collection of recipes and tips, but the best part is NO ADVERTISEMENTS! 

I tried this recipe for strawberry-frangipane tart in this month's edition and it turned out pretty.

March seems to be the best month for strawberries; they are so delicious!

In a food processor, pulse 1 and 1/2 cups flour, 5 tbsp. sugar, and 10 tbsp. cold butter until mixture is fine. Whisk 3 egg yolks and 3 tbsp. cream together. With machine running, pour the yolk mixture in and process till it forms a ball. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick; transfer to a 10 inch tart pan. Trim and form dough to fit pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes or more. 

Preheat oven 375*.

Process (in food processor) 1 cup slivered toasted almonds, 3/4 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp. flour until smooth. Add 1 stick soft butter, 2 eggs, and 1/2 tsp. almond extract. Process until smooth, then spread onto chilled crust. Chill until firm.

Bake on a baking sheet until frangipane is golden, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic and chill.

In food processor, pulse 2 cups strawberries and transfer to a bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice; let sit for 30 minutes (up to two hours). Strain mixture through a sieve and discard solids. Add water to yield 3/4 cup juice and pour into a small saucepan. Sprinkle 1 and 1/4 tsp. unsweetened gelatin over the juice and let sit 5 minutes. Heat mixture over medium heat until gelatin dissolves. Cool to room temperature. Pour almost all the gelee over the tart. Arrange freshly cut strawberries on top and drizzle with remaining gelee. 

Serve at room temperature.

Chocolate-Orange Fudge Cake

This quick cake-mix enhancement turns into an elegant dessert, perfect for those you love.

Chocolate-Orange Fudge Cake

1 pkg. German chocolate cake mix

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 C. water

1/2 C. oil

4 eggs

1 small package instant chocolate pudding

1/4 C. chocolate syrup

2 Tbsp. orange zest

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 pkg. semisweet chocolate chips

Combine cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs, pudding, syrup, orange peel, and cinnamon. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350* for 50 minutes. Cool. Dust with powdered sugar.

You should know me by now and I must admit the things I did differently....I didn't have a chocolate cake mix and just added 4 Tbsp. of cocoa to a yellow one. I didn't have chocolate pudding and used vanilla instead. I also melted part of a dark chocolate candy bar in place of the syrup.

It's what's for dinner

Made some stuffed green peppers for dinner last night and my kids, including the finicky one, actually ate them! I scanned several recipes on the web and then improvised using the ingredients I had on hand.

Stuffed Green Peppers

1 lb. of ground beef

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 C. diced onion

2 C. brown rice, cooked

1/2 C. Parmesan cheese

4 or 5 green peppers

1 C. mozzarella cheese, grated

2 cans tomato sauce

Brown the ground beef with onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Add the cooked rice and Parmesan cheese. Slice peppers in half, remove the seeds, and place them in a greased baking pan. Stuff the meat mixture in them pushing it down with a spoon. Pour two cans of tomato sauce over them. Bake at 375* for 35 minutes. Cover them with mozzarella cheese and return to the oven for 15 minutes.

I used to boil my peppers prior to filling them. This was the first time I tried it without that step. I loved the fresh taste! Feel free to substitute sausage for the ground beef, add additional spices that suite your taste, or experiment with other cheeses as well. 

Happy Heart Day!

Tried a new sugar cookie recipe this year and loved it! Messed up the first batch of frosting by substituting almond milk....made a second batch today that turned out perfectly creamy.

Ever frosted all your sugar cookies and then been perplexed at how to properly store them without making a mess? Tried this sandwich solution and discovered my cookies were sooooo easy to stack in a container! 

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1 C. butter

2 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

1 C. sour cream

6 1/2 C. flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix well. Roll out 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350*. Frost with your favorite icing. I use 1/3 C. butter mixed with 4 1/2 C. powdered sugar, 1/4 C. milk, and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla. 

Belgian Waffles

Through the bacon grease fog that engulfed my kitchen this morning, emerged one of the most delicious breakfasts I have ever attempted. These are delicious! Don't let the entire cup of butter scare you! Well...I suppose it should scare you...but all good things are made with real butter! I got this recipe from a dear friend and received permission to share it with you. I fed four hungry boys and two girls with one batch. They are so good, you can eat them plain. Now, I just need an extra waffle maker.  

Belgian Waffles

2 C. flour

3/4 C. sugar

3-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 C. milk

2 eggs separated

1 C. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Beat egg yolks and add milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir into dry mixture until just combined. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into batter. Bake in a preheated waffle iron until browned. Serve with your favorite toppings. Fruit is wonderful with them. 

Fondant centers for chocolates

Life is like a box or counter full of chocolates. I love a good challenge in the kitchen and that is why I taught myself to make fondant centers.

My kitchen transforms into a chocolate factory for a week or two in December. There is something about being able to test and second guess the humidity in the air, the temperature at which water boils and many other factors and variables on any particular day.....well, it provides some intrigue for me anyway....yes, I am admittedly a tad crazy...but only on days that end in Y.

I have posted my favorite fondant recipe in the past, but I haven't ever taken a picture of the centers prior to being dunked in tempered chocolate.

Here they are in all their raw beauty! (p.s. I didn't actually take this picture either...someone else did or I wouldn't have one).

This year I made; grand opera cream, lemon, raspberry, coconut, maple nut, pear, eggnog, and rum nut. The rum nut is by far my favorite!

Here is a picture after they have been dipped and have a bite taken out of them...and by the way, that was the best part of this photo shoot!  

Pictured here is raspberry, maple nut, and eggnog.  Don't they look divine?  Ahhhhh...mission accomplished!

Special Dinners

I enjoy trying to have a nice dinner at least once per week. The past few months have found me very busy with the classes I took during this semester. I only got around to making rolls a couple of times. My teenage son made the comment that I never make nice meals anymore. I have tried to do better. 

I made a nice Sunday dinner when one of my older boys came for a visit and was able to find the time to make a nice Christmas Eve dinner as I thought a friend was going to join us; as it turned out, he did not so I tried to invite others as I had prepared too much food! In the end, it ended up just being myself and my two youngest kids. 

My son and daughter set the table for me and even used the Christmas dishes. I thought that even though it was small, it was very special. I was very glad I was not alone.  

Homemade Rolls

I love this roll recipe. They are great the next day and even freeze well. 

2Tblsp. yeast dissolved in 2 C. warm water

Add: 1/3 C. sugar, 1/3 C. shortening, 2 & 1/2 tsp. salt, 2/3 C. powdered milk, 1 egg, and 2 C. flour. Beat until smooth. Add 2 C. flour and knead until smooth. Add 1 C. flour and again, knead. Let rise until triple in bulk. Roll out and shape. Place on greased baking sheet. Rise for 1 & 1/2 hours. Bake at 375* for 15-20 minutes.

Pretzel/Raspberry Salad

This is a yummy combination of sweet and salty.

Combine and press into a 9X13 pan; 2 C. crushed pretzels, 2 Tblsp. sugar, and 3/4 C. melted butter.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350*.

Mix 1 C. sugar with 8 ounces of cream cheese.  Fold in a small carton of Cool Whip.  Spread on the pretzel mixture.

Dissolve a large blackberry jello in 2 cups of boiling water.  Add about 10 ounces of partially thawed raspberries.  Let it sit until thick and pour over the cream cheese layer. 

Lake Trout

I have been fishing a few times this winter and was showing some of my pics to my Dad.  He asked me to post my pictures on here so he can show them off to the guys at work.  The water is so beautiful in the winter time.

This little guy had a deformity....strangest looking fish ever!

A couple of larger fish.

This one had tried to eat too much at once...greedy little sucker.

And finally, my favorite picture of the day.  A sampling of the beauty captured in the canyon.

Gingerbread Cake with Rum Butter Sauce

Gingerbread Cake

2 eggs

1/2 C. melted butter

1/2 C. molasses

2 C. flour

1 C. sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 C. hot water

Combine ingredients in order given.  Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes in pan, finish cooling on a cooling rack.

Rum Butter Sauce

1 C. butter

2 C. sugar

1 and 1/2 C. cream

Combine and boil for one minute.  Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. rum flavoring.

Generously drizzle over sliced cake.  

This is one of my favorite things to make during the holidays.  I made it in two mini bundt cake pans, but it does fit into one as well.  It does have issues with sticking to the pan so grease and flour well!  

Cheese Ball

My Aunt gave me this recipe.  I used to go to great lengths to make a much more complicated cheese ball but ever since she brought this and shared, I have stuck to this recipe.  It is oh, so easy, very pleasing, and also cheesy!!

Cheese Ball

1 bottle of Kraft Old English Cheese spread

1 bottle of Kraft Roka Blue Cheese spread

1- 8 ounce package of cream cheese

1/2 of an onion grated

1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

  

Combine all ingredients and blend well.  Refrigerate overnight and roll in chopped nuts.  Serve with crackers.

Homemade Coconut Cream Pie

 Coconut Cream Pie

1/3 C. flour

2/3 C. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 C. scalded milk

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

2 Tblsp. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 C. coconut

1 baked 9 inch pastry shell

Mix flour, sugar, and salt.  Gradually add milk with a wire whisk.  Cook over moderate heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.  Cook 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add a small amount of cream mixture to egg yolk, stir and then add egg to the cream mixture.  Cook one minute stirring constantly.  Add butter and vanilla, take off heat and cool.  Add coconut.  Pour into pie crust.  Refrigerate.  Serve the same day or later.  Stays good for about a week.

Pie is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving.  I got this recipe years ago from a distant relative.  It is my favorite!