new eats

I've been on a 'trying new recipes' kick.  Dinner was in need of some shakin' up!  Some recipes have resulted in lots of smiles.  Others have been tossed (recipe AND leftovers) for the dumpster rats to enjoy.  The experiment tonight yielded 12 thumbs up.  Well, Lea didn't exactly get to taste it 1st hand to give her opinion, but I'm sure she'll love it when solids become a part of her repertoire.  Anyway...I stole it from my fab friend, Shaina, so I'll just link you to it here.  Enjoy!

in like a lion...

They called it a 'snow day,' those big-wigs at the school district. Sure, there were some flurries this morning, but by mid-day, this was the view out my window.Oh well. We decided that in order to make the most of our day off, sugar would most definitely need to be involved. After perusing my stash of 'treats-to-make-someday' recipes we came up with the idea to make homemade doughnuts! Dal and I mixed up the dough while Kate was at school (yes, our preschool co-op will carry on, no matter what those yahoos at ASD20 say the weather is going to do!) Turns out, this recipe makes a LOT of doughnuts. I started making phone calls to round up some doughnut eating helpers.We ended up with 2 dozen doughnuts, 2 dozen doughnut holes, 11 kids and 3 moms.
And, lots of yum!P.S. I followed the recipe linked above, but didn't make the glaze. Instead, we made a simple powdered sugar/milk/vanilla glaze and used chocolate syrup as another option. The kids also enjoyed 'topping' their treats with sprinkles, cinnamon sugar, coconut or chopped up chocolate chips.

new family fave

A while ago I clipped this recipe for Ham and Cheese Empanadas from FamilyFun magazine. I'm always looking for dinner ideas that appeal especially to kids for all those nights I'm cooking and Chad is working. {Nothing frustrates Mommy more than a dinner gone cold because the kids don't like it and the hubby is at work.} "Ham and Cheese" sounded promising, although I wasn't entirely sure what empanadas were. So, off to the store I went in search of empanada wrappers. No luck. I guess we're a little too far from the border for this type of thing to be in my local freezer section. The recipe said you could use frozen puff pastry, but who wants to spend $7 on puff pastry? Not I.

So, I turned to trusty Google. Have you ever looked up recipes for puff pastry? No wonder they charge $7 for the stuff. The recipes I found involved rolling out butter (yes, butter), layering it between dough, rolling it again, folding it, refrigerating, rolling, folding, refrigerating, rolling, folding, refrigerating. all. day. long. Pepperidge Farms really earns their $.

But, then, glory be...a cheater's recipe. Completely for me! I was a little skeptical (sour cream in a pastry?), but it was seriously YUMMY! The empanadas turned out very tasty. Chad even loved them re-warmed when he got home.

I didn't take any pics of our final product. Sorry. But, here is the recipe exactly as I did it, which made 9 empanadas and enough pastry for 4 apple turn-overs for dessert (which I made using food-storage dried apples. So, so proud.) Enjoy!

Puff Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter, chilled and diced (I reduced the butter from the original recipe because I'm at 6,000 feet....but it worked fine for me)
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup cold water

1. Place flour in a medium bowl. Cut in butter, using a pastry blender, until mixture is the size of small peas.
2. Add sour cream. Stir with a fork, adding water, drop by drop, as needed, until pastry forms a ball. It should still be fairly dry. Don't add too much water!
3. Wrap in plastic and chill 6 hours or overnight.
   
4. When ready to use, roll pastry thinly (about 1/8 inch).

Yield: 12-13 5" rounds

Ham and Cheese Empanada Filling (I halved the original)

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
  
• 4 ounces cooked ham, chopped
• 1 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 4 ounces mild Cheddar, shredded
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten; divided
  
• Pinch of black pepper

1. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and parsley, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is transparent, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, transfer the mixture to a medium-size bowl, and allow it to cool.

2. Add the ham, bread crumbs, cheese, sour cream, 1/2 of the beaten egg, and a pinch of black pepper to the bowl, and mix well.

3. Roll pastry on well-floured surface until 1/8" thick. Cut into 5" rounds. Dust with flour, as needed, to keep from sticking.
   

4. To assemble the turnovers: Place 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of a pastry round and lightly moisten the edge of the circle with the egg mixture (add 1 tablespoon water to remaining egg). Fold the pastry in half and press the edges firmly to seal. Crimp the edge with a fork dipped in flour and pierce the top with the fork to allow steam to escape. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling, then refrigerate the empanadas for 30 minutes or freeze for later use. (I didn't have time to refrigerate, but it didn't seem to matter)

5. Heat the oven to 375°. Brush the turnovers with the egg wash and bake them on a parchment-lined baking sheet on the upper oven rack until golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the empanadas to cool for a few minutes before serving. Makes 8-9 medium-size turnovers.

Hot From the Oven

There are a lot of things I'm not doing much of with a newborn, including blogging...

But, I've been asked for this recipe many times lately so I thought it would be nice to put SOMETHING up on my blog. This is a no-fail bread recipe from the bread queen herself: my sister-in-law, Cheryl. Enjoy!

Cheryl’s Bread
2 cups water
1/2 stick butter
2 1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. oatmeal
1/4 c. 9-grain cereal (or wheat germ, or oatmeal)
1/8 c. vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 c. white flour (plus extra for kneading)
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 TBSP yeast
1 or 2 eggs

Microwave water and butter on high for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, mix salt, sugar, oatmeal, cereal, flour and yeast. Add egg(s) and water/butter and mix (I use a Kitchenaid) for 1 minute, until combined. Put bread hook on mixer and mix (knead) for 10 minutes, adding flour (about 3/4 cup) until it doesn’t stick to the bowl any longer. After 10 minutes of kneading, cover and let rise 1 hour. Divide dough in 2 loaves, roll under, and put in prepared loaf pans. Raise, lightly covered, for 30-60 minutes, until double in size. Bake at 350˚ for 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack (but cut a slice for yourself while it's hot....you deserve it!)

Friday is Cookie Day!

My sister recently reminded me that our mom used to bake cookies with us after school on Fridays. We invited neighbors, we got a good sugar high, and Mom usually ended up with a plate of treats to deliver to her visiting teachees.


The tradition continues! We have had fun with our Friday Cookie Days so far. Sometimes we have friends with us. Sometimes it is just our family. Today we did sugar cookies. I found this recipe a few years ago and it has become my favorite sugar cookie recipe because the cookies stay so soft! (I think it is the honey) Yum!

Soft Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

BEAT butter, sugar, honey, egg and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well. Cover. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. (This step can be skipped in a pinch. Also, when you take them out of the fridge, let them warm up for a few minutes to make rolling easier)
PLACE dough on lightly floured surface; roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with floured cookie cutters.
BAKE at 350°F for 6 to 8 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

P.S. If you live at 6,000 feet, like me, you might want to add up to 1/4 cup extra flour, too!

winter?

Aughhh!!! It snowed last night. Really, I'm so so so sick of winter. Springtime, where are you????

If it can't be Spring outside, at least we can have a little sunshine inside, right? This is my favorite salad to bring to Springtime pot luck dinners.
Lemon Shrimp Pasta Salad
3 cups (8 oz) Farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked
3/4 lb fresh asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 cup zesty Italian dressing
1 tsp dried oregano leaves (or 1 TBSP fresh oregano, chopped)
1 tsp grated lemon peel zest
3/4 lb cooked shrimp
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 pkg (8oz) Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese Crumbles (or 8 oz finely diced cheese)

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding asparagus to the cooking water for the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking time; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well.

Mix dressing, oregano, and lemon peel in large bowl. Add pasta mixture to dressing mixture and stir to coat. Add shrimp, tomatoes and cheese and mix lightly. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

12-15 side dish servings

Chocolate Break

I haven't been in a writing mood lately, but I HAVE been in an eating mood. Go figure. So, I thought I'd post this little recipe in case anyone else has the munchies. These really are the best, and when they are in my house, I can't stop eating them. So, consider yourself warned!


Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. Neufchatel cheese (4 oz)
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 c. ground oatmeal (measure about 4 cups into your blender then grind it to 2 cups)
2 c. flour (can substitute up to half with whole wheat flour, if you believe cookies can be 'healthy')
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
12 oz chocolate chips
1/2 large (5 oz) Hershey bar, frozen

Preheat oven to 375˚. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine oatmeal, flour, salt, soda and powder and mix into creamed mixture. Grind the frozen Hershey bar in the blender until it is a fine consistency. Add chocolate chips and grated Hershey bar into mixture, stirring by hand. Roll into golf ball size balls (or use a medium-sized cookie scoop) and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Gently press on each ball to slightly flatten. Bake at 375˚ for 10-12 minutes.

Hot and Cold

It is definitely soup season. So, I thought I'd share one of my favorites, in case you are in the mood. Enjoy!


Minestrone Soup
1/2 c. (or less) chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. oil
1/4 tsp pepper
3 c. beef broth
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes + 1/4 can water
1-2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
4 cups chopped veggies (potatoes, carrots, zucchini)
3/4 c. (about 1/2 can) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 oz small shell pasta
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated (for garnish-optional)

Saute onion, celery and garlic in oil, in large soup pot, until tender. Add broth, tomatoes, water and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20-30 minutes. Add veggies, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes (depending on how big your pieces are chopped). Stir in bean and pasta and cook until pasta is al dente. Remove bay leaf, sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired, and serve.

Serves 4

'Tis the Season

My kids are super excited to finally be able to eat pomegranates, or as Kate calls them, pom-it-gram-its. Mmmm!


My favorite dish at Thanksgiving dinner isn't the turkey or stuffing....it is Mom's salad, made with pomegranates.


Aunt Fay’s Thanksgiving Day Apple Salad
3-4 apples, various types, peeled and chopped (I like granny smith and golden delicious)
1 pomegranate, peeled and seeded
2 pears, peeled and chopped
1 bunch red grapes, halved
1 large can mandarin orange slices, drained
2-3 bananas, sliced
3/4 – 1 pint whipping cream chopped
nuts (optional)

Toss fruit together in large bowl. Whip cream with beaters until thick. Add sugar to taste. Stir cream into fruit until covered. Sprinkle nuts on top, if desired.

Mmmm...the Taste of Fall

While our boys spent the afternoon at Home Depot, K. and I baked a fall-time favorite: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.



Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all spice
chocolate chips

Cream together butter, applesauce and sugar. Add eggs and pumpkin; blend until well mixed. Stir together dry ingredients, add to pumpkin mixture, and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Place by tablespoons full on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting, if desired.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Cream Cheese Frosting
3 oz cream cheese, softened
6 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk
3/4 lb. powdered sugar

Cream together all ingredients until smooth. This recipe covers 1 cake or a double batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.