Raspberry Cream Cheese Danish!

My sweet sister in law gave me this recipe. It is to DIE for! Seriously.

Danish

Dissolve 1 T. yeast in 1/3 C. warm water

Heat 1/2 C. sour cream to 110* and add to yeast. Add 1/4 C. melted butter, 1/4 C. sugar, 1 t. salt, and one egg. Combine. Add 2 & 1/2 C. flour and combine. Knead about 20 times in mixer. Transfer to a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise till doubled (about an hour and a half).

Place dough on a floured surface and divide in half. Roll each half into two 12X8 rectangles. 

While the dough is rising, combine 1 softened pkg. of cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 C. sugar, 1 t. vanilla, and 1/8 t. salt.

Spread this filling on the two halves keeping it about an inch from the edge. Spread 1/4 C. raspberry jam on each half. 

Roll each half up like a jelly roll and pinch the edges tight. Place on baking pan and cut slices into it like you would french bread. Bake at 375* for 20 minutes.

After it is cool, drizzle with 1 & 1/2 C. powdered sugar, 1 t. vanilla, and 2 T. milk combined.

Individual Tamales

I am not one to repeat meals very frequently. Variety is the spice of life! For instance, I made corned beef and cabbage the other day and my daughter asked if she had ever had it before. I told her she had and then she queried whether she liked it or not, I told her she did. She couldn't remember eating it because I think it was about 5 years ago that I last made it. I do have some recipes that are my standbys that I try to make once a year at least! 

So when I tell you that I loved this recipe enough to make it twice in one week, you can be sure it impressed me! Well, that or it hit the spot for what I was in the mood for this week...or maybe because I had some cooked chicken that needed to be used...or perhaps because anything drowning in cheese is delicious...

Chicken Tamales

1/2 C. each diced red onion and red bell pepper

1/2 C. frozen corn kernels

1/2 C. black beans drained and rinsed

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. coriander

1 tbsp. minced fresh garlic

1 tbsp. olive oil

Combine above ingredients in a large skillet and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add 2 tbsp. flour and mix to coat.

Whisk in 1/2 C. sour cream mixed with 1 & 1/2 C. chicken broth. Continue cooking for 5 more minutes. 

Add 1 C. cooked diced chicken, 1 C. shredded monterey jack cheese, and 1 tbsp. lime juice.

Preheat oven to 400* with a jumbo muffin tin inside it (or use individual casserole dishes).

Combine 3/4 C. flour, 2/3 C. cornmeal, 1 tbsp. diced jalapeno, 1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add combined wet ingredients to dry; 1 C. milk, 1 egg, 1/4 C. oil, and zest of one lime. Mix until combined. Scoop 1/4 C. cornmeal batter into each well of hot pan(s). Bake for 3 minutes. Remove from oven and add 1/2 C. chicken filling mixture to each center of cornbread. Bake 18 minutes. Sprinkle each pie with grated cheese and cook 5 more minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes! Remove carefully from pan and serve with salsa.

Sugar cookies Galore!

Happy Valentines Day!

I love the day set aside for LOVE!

I got a little carried away with sugar cookies this year. You know how you are always in search of the best sugar cookie recipe? I have one that is my stand by and I do love it. However, I decided it would be fun to try a few different kinds and I got carried away.

Cookies with almond flavoring have always held appeal for me....I wasn't overly fond of this recipe even though it had great reviews. To each their own, but it was a bit too dry for my tastes. Flavor-wise it was good.

Almond Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

 1 egg

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon baking soda

 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

 1/4 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Mix as usual; beat butter and sugar, add egg. Add sifted dry ingredients. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

I thought perhaps a chocolate brownie sugar cookie would be delicious. I wasn't fond of this one either; too chocolatey...

Chocolate brownie cookie

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, softened 

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa 

Preheat oven at 350 degrees Do the usual sugar and butter, add egg then the dry ingredients. Bake for 9 min at 350

I made a brown sugar cookie too...

Sugar Cookie

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream shortening, butter, and.brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. I rolled these out too thin and they were crunchy! Good flavor except I can taste things made from shortening opposed to butter and I prefer a delicious buttery taste. 

Then I decided to try a recipe I have that has nutmeg in it. I really liked this one; especially as the days went by. It stayed very soft!

Nutmeg sugar cookies

1 c. butter
1 & 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. whole milk or cream
4 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Cream the first two things. Add eggs and milk. Blend in flour and other dry ingredients. Chill for at least one hour. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.

AND I also made some orange sugar cookies (yes, it is okay if you think I'm crazy at this point). :) I can offer an explanation...
I had just finished up my midterms and I hadn't been able to take the time to bake for a few weeks! So I was starving for some time in the kitchen! 
It was VERY satisfying!

Orange sugar cookies

1 & 1/2 c. sugar
1 & 1/3 c. butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. whole milk plus 2 tsp. of whole milk

Mix the sugar and butter, add eggs, zest and vanilla. Blend in flour, salt, and powder. Add milk until just combined. Refrigerate for a couple hours at least.
Roll out and cut into shapes. Bake at 350* for 9 minutes.
I frosted these with an orange juice icing. They were fabulous!!

For most of these cookies, I simply made variations of my go-to frosting...

1/3 c. butter
1/4 c. liquid (milk, orange juice, etc.)
4 and 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring

Cream butter and add about half the powdered sugar. Beat in the flavoring and liquid. Adjust as needed by adding more powdered sugar or more liquid. 

 

Turkey Pot Pies with phyllo crust

Turkey Pot Pies are one of my favorite things to eat....now, I'm not talking about the cheap freezer versions. Real homemade pot pies are the best!
I found a great recipe for them using phyllo dough. I used homemade phyllo dough, but it is probably easier and more tasty to just buy the stuff!

Cook some mushrooms and 1 Tbsp. thyme in 6 Tbsp. butter over medium heat until browned. Stir in 1/2 C. flour and cook for 1 minute.

Deglaze pan with 1/2 C. cooking wine. Add 2 C. chicken broth and 1 C. whole milk. Cook until thick. Add 2 tsp. lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 2 C. chopped cooked turkey or chicken and 2 C. cooked assorted veggies (whatever suits your fancy). 

Divide mixture among 4 personal baking dishes. Place these on a foil lined cookie sheet. Lightly brush phyllo dough sheets with melted margarine. Roll into loose tubes. Form the rolled phyllo dough onto the top of each personal pie. Bake till golden and bubbly. 400* for 20 minutes. Cool a bit before serving.

Sauerbraten roast beef

I love lazy Sunday cooking! It is so nice to put a roast in the crock pot and set some rolls out to rise while at church. Coming home a few hours later with famished kids and having dinner just a few steps from being served.

This is a yummy way to make a roast.

Brown a roast cut into 2 inch chunks in a couple Tbsp. olive oil for about 5 minutes. Place beef in slow cooker.

In a frying pan, combine 1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger and 2 Tbsp. tomato paste cooking for 1 minute.

Deglaze skillet with 1 C. red cooking wine (or alternative). Whisk in 1 and 1/4 C. beef broth, 1/2 C. red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. cardamom, 1 Tbsp. dry tapioca, and 1 tsp. kosher salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over beef mixture adding a satchel (homemade with cheesecloth and string) of 2 Tbsp. pickling spices tied up. Cook on high for 2 and 1/2 hours. Add 6 carrots cut up, 4 stalks of celery, and one onion. Stir in 10 gingersnap cookies, crushed. Continue to cook on high till veggies are tender.

Serve over warm mashed potatoes.

My cat plays Fetch!!

One of my Sons came home for the holidays and while he was here, he taught my cat to play fetch!

I have never seen a cat behave so much like a dog. Not only does she play fetch, but she opens doors, tackles legs, and chases off dogs that come close to our property.

Her name is Figaro or Sylvester depending on who you talk to.

As much as she is dog-like, some things remain innate.

Wizard of Oz

Our Young Women in Excellence program sported a Wizard of Oz theme. We had lovely decorations; a 'watch out for tornadoes' sign along the path of tornadoes, a 'Lollipop gang' poster along with giant lollipops, winged monkey place mats and a rainbow of values table for displaying the young women's projects.

The food table was fun as well including melted witch punch, witch repellent (water), Ding-dongs (the witch is dead), and melted witch cupcakes. The cupcakes are a basic chocolate cake mix with a surprise filling that is white.

The recipe is fairly simple and easy to make. Make the cake mix according to directions on the package and fill each cupcake 2/3 of the way full. Drop a tablespoon of the following mixture on top. 4 oz. cream cheese, 2 Tbsp. butter, 1/4 C. sugar. Add 1 egg, 1 Tbsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 C. chocolate chips, and 1/2 C. coconut. Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes. Cool and frost.

I also made a ruby slipper for each girl. The slipper pattern can be found online. These were placed on a boxed candy wrapped in yellow brick road paper and tied with a cute saying.

 

Crumpets!

Crumpets anyone?

This breakfast takes some time for rising, but is well worth the wait!

Serve them warm with lemon curd, apricot, or chokecherry syrup!

3 tsp. yeast

3 tsp. sugar

3/4 C. warm water

1 C. milk

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 C. melted butter

3 C. flour

1 and 1/2 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Mix milk, eggs and butter and add to yeast mixture. Mix flour and salt together and form a well. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cover and let double. Heat griddle to med/low. Grease griddle and rings. Fill 1/3 full. Cook 3-5 minutes, flip over and cook for 3 more minutes. 

If you don't have english muffin rings, you could probably use a large mouth jar lid.

Italian Sausage Soup

I love the cooler weather as it comes with the desire to make soups and homemade bread.

This is one of my favorite soups!

Italian Sausage Soup

2 pounds Italian sausage

1 onion diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

28 oz crushed tomatoes

1 C. red cooking wine

5 C. chicken stock

2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

4 carrots peeled and diced

1 green pepper chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1 C. orzo pasta

2 small zucchini sliced

Brown sausage, onion and garlic. Drain grease. Add tomatoes, wine, stock, basil, oregano, carrots, pepper, salt and pepper, and parsley. Bring to a boil till veggies are not quite cooked to desired firmness. Add pasta and zucchini and boil for 15 minutes. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan!

Stroganoff

I had some roast beef I needed to use and decided to try a few different stroganoff recipes. The first one is my stand-by. I like it a lot! It is tasty and the celery is a fun addition. The sour cream gives it a great flavor.

1 lb. steak, cubed

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 can cream of celery soup

1 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

mushrooms (optional)

Brown meat add onions and celery saute until tender. Combine all ingredients in a slow-cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve over hot noodles or rice.

The next one is totally different and super yummy as well! The cream cheese lends it a very rich taste.

2 pounds cubed stew meat

2 cans Golden Mushroom Soup

1 largish onion diced

2-3-4 tbsp of Worcestershire 

1/2 cup water

8 oz of cream cheese 

couple of dashes of Garlic Salt 

couple dashes of Hot Paprika 

In the slow cooker stir in all the ingredients together, (except the meat AND the Cream Cheese). Once combined add the meat and mix together.

Cook on Low for 8 hours. 

Cut up the cream cheese into cubes just before serving and turn crock-pot on high. Stir the cream cheese in until all combined.

Peachy Benefits

I love this time of year! There is something about the change in the air and the harvest that gets me all giddy. I have been making things with peaches, zucchini, and tomatoes. This is a peach pie that is super easy to make!

You can find the recipe by typing, "peach pie" in the search this blog bar. The one I made previously has blueberries instead of raspberries. Both were delicious! 

I added a new feature to my photos on this blog. You can now hover over the photo and a pinterest icon will appear enabling you to pin my recipes for future reference! Give it a try. Happy harvest!

Granola Bites!

Granola bars are delicious. I found this recipe for granola bites and am in love! These are great because they are not only scrumptious, but healthy too! They contain flax and coconut oil. Plus, you can add good things like chia seeds, dried fruit, nuts, shredded coconut, or whatever your taste buds direct.

Granola Bites

2 cups quick oats

1 cup crispy rice cereal 

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup ground flaxseed

1 cup mini chocolate chips

2/3 cup honey or agave nectar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons coconut oil

chia seeds and coconut or dried fruit too

Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl, mixing gently so the crispy rice cereal doesn't get crushed. Mix until well-combined.

Roll into small balls and place on a wax paper lined cooking sheet. 

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. At this point you can serve them or place the chilled granola bites in a large tupperware-type container or ziploc bags to freeze or refrigerate. They will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week or for a few months in the freezer.

Be creative and experiment. I used butterscotch chips and next time, I will use white chocolate chips, craisins, and shredded coconut. Nice for school lunches or an after school snack!

Chokecherry Syrup

Chokecherries are so fun to gather from the mountains unless you happen to be allergic to the leaves! I have no problem consuming the stuff, but the leaves do NOT like me!

My dear Grandma gave me a bucket of already picked chokecherries last week! I still have some chokecherry jelly so I juiced them and made syrup of course!

I tried a new way to make it because last time I used pectin and it set up too solidly.

If you have never tried chokecherry syrup, you need to make it a priority! This stuff is so delicious and worth every minute it takes to make!!

Wash and remove stems and leaves from the cherries. I use a steam juicer to extract the juice.

In a large saucepan, combine 3 cups chokecherry juice and 6 cups granulated sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond extract. Pour in hot sterilized jars. Adjust two piece caps and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Pour any leftover generously over pancakes, waffles, or french toast!

Zucchini Bread

I have another zucchini bread recipe on this blog and I am undecided which one is my favorite. This is a fun one and so good! It is just hot out of the oven...I am going to go slather it with butter and some fresh raspberry jam!

Zucchini Bread

5 eggs

2 C. grated zucchini

1 C. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

2-1/2 C. flour

1-1/4 C. sugar

2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz)

1-1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Beat eggs, zucchini, oil and vanilla.  Stir into dry ingredients until moistened.  Stir in nuts if desired.

Bake in four small loaf pans for 45 minutes at 350*. 

Can you see the steam rising?!

Waterfall Braid with a Twist!

Look up how to do a waterfall braid on youtube. It is fairly easy and fun! Then take the "waterfall" parts and braid or twist them. Place them in the lower part of the braid in sequence. You could do this to both sides and pull the back up as well for a fun night out! 

This is several four strand braids that I pinned and twisted under to create a different waterfall look.