She Who Cooks A Lot

I have decided to resurrect this little blog.  It's been idle for so long, I sort of feel like I'm starting from scratch with it.  :0)  So here goes.  I'm 37 years old, a stay at home wife and mom.  I have two teens that I homeschool (and currently trying to ttc #3!  Yes, I know that means we'll be starting all over.  :0)  My husband works in IT and works from his home office 4 out of 5 days.  So, this means that on almost every single day for every single meal...I have got a house full of hungry people to feed!  I will also admit that my family snacks a lot more than (or at least what I think is a lot more than) your average family.  My husband has a high metabolism and is constantly hungry.  That is not an exaggeration.  Throw two teens and a few of their friends into the mix and there is never a day that I don't spend a good portion of it in my kitchen.  So I'm going to share what's cooking in my kitchen on this blog.  Some days I may ramble about my life in general and other days I might slap up a recipe and call it good.  :0)

So on that note, here we go!!

Buttermilk Salad (pictured above)

This is an old (old, old, old) recipe that has been in my family for decades.  I much prefer old recipes.  I trust them.  Their reputation proceeds them.  They are like old friends.

1 large can of crushed pineapple

1 small box of strawberry jello

2 C. buttermilk

1 C. chopped pecans

8 oz. tub of Cool Whip

Drain about three quarters of the liquid from the pineapple.  Pour the pineapple and the rest of the liquid into a small pot and warm up.  Mix in the jello.  Now stir in the buttermilk.  Refrigerate overnight.  Gently fold the cool whip and pecans into the mixture and place in your serving bowl.  

 Enjoy!!

Tuesdays with Dorie ~ Tarte Tatin

*apples soaking in pinapple juice while waiting to be cooked

Laurie from Slush hosted Jan. 5th's Tuesdays with Dorie. (Yes, I'm painfully late. But better late than never right?)

It was a choice between two recipes and I chose to do the Tarte Tatin. It's sort of Dorie's take on a rustic farmhouse apple tart. It was so easy and sooo good. She says that if you make it once you will never need a recipe to make it again and I can see that that is true.

The only changes I made were using my own puff pastry for the crust and sprinkling the apples with a bit of cinnamon while cooking on the stovetop.

It did get a bit messy on me when I flipped it upside down after baking per the recipe. So I probably should have let the apples cook longer before baking. But it turned out soooooo delicious. I didn't expect to love this recipe as much as I did. This will definitely get made again. My husband loved it too. But maybe next time, I'll forgo the whole flip-it-upside-down part. I think it's pretty as can be straight out of the oven.

Homemade Bladerdeeg * better known as Puff Pastry

I've always wanted to try a puff pastry from scratch but, quite honestly, have been too intimidated to do so. So for my first attempt, I searched for a recipe that looked fairly easy and straight forward. This particular one got very good reviews so I chose it as my starting point.

Bladerdeeg

**********

1 1/2 C. flour

1 C. butter (*I know the pic only shows 1/2 C. but the whole cup's worth made it into the recipe.)

1/2 C. sour cream

Cut butter into flour until it resembles crumbs.

Stir in sour cream. Turn onto a floured board and knead until it just holds together.

Form it into a ball, flatten it just a bit and then wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight.

Cut dough in half, working with one half at a time while keeping the other half in the refrigerator.

Pound the dough with a heavy rolling pin to make it pliable.

Yield: 2 puff pastry

I know this isn't a 100% traditional puff pastry, but it was easy, it did puff up prettily, and the flavor was sooo good! It didn't puff up in quite the same way a store bought one does but it still puffed none the less. I'm quite happy with it and this will be a keeper recipe. It is now my go-to-guy for puff pastry.

TWD

Taking care of a sick child ~ so no TWD today. I hope to be back with bells on next week!

Creamiest Lime Cream Pie

This week's TWD was picked by Linda at Tender Crumb. I tweaked a few things in this recipe to make it more to our liking. First of all, I cut the amount of butter used. The recipe called for 2 1/2 sticks of butter to go in the cream. Holy. Cow. I remember just how buttery the buttercream frosting tasted in the Perfect Party Cake and I didn't want to repeat that. So I used 1 1/2 sticks of butter instead. It tasted just fine with that and, truth be told, I could have gotten away with just one stick.

I also supplemented the fresh squeezed lime juice with bottled because my 3 limes only gave half the amount needed. No biggie. Instead of using a regular pie crust or a graham cracker one, I made my own from pecan sandies. Have you ever had a pie with a pecan sandie crust? Oh my you must try it. Those little cookies translate perfectly into a cookie crumb crust.

Very pretty.

I also didn't do the meringue. I'm not a fan. So I just topped it with Cool Whip instead.

This was a good pie and got the thumbs up around here, but it was a little more labor intensive than I had thought, what with all the whisking for such a long time while making the cream. I have another recipe for a "Creamy Lemon Pie" that I've been making for years that tastes very similar to this one and is a breeze to make. Considering the flavors are so similar and the work involved is so drastically different, I think I'll stick with my old favorite. :-)

Classic Banana Bundt Cake -- with a twist

This week's submission was pretty much a straight forward banana bundt cake. But since a friend had gifted me with a large bag of zucchini, I decided to use half zucchini and half bananas. This turned out to be perfect because while I like banana cakes and breads, I'm not too fond of an overly strong banana flavor. This cut the banana flavor a bit and made for one very moist cake. I used 2 cups total of banana/zucchini mixture.

There was no need for icing or glaze because it was so moist and had a good flavor all on it's own.

This week's host is Mary at the Food Librarian. She has the recipe posted on her blog if you want to give it a try. ~~~

TWD - Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies

I actually made these brownies twice. The first time I followed the recipe to the T with the exception of the nuts. I left them out because we have someone here who is allergic. The first batch...well, quite honestly we are not big fans of coffee flavoring in our chocolate. Chocolate? We love it. Coffee? We love that too. We just don't like it together.

Also, that first batch turned out rather runny. I'm not sure why. I know they were supposed to be rich and gooey, but this was just waaaay more gooey than anyone could have intended them.

So, I made a second batch. I made a few changes and made them in a more traditional way. I left out the coffee and the cinnamon and I used semi-sweet chocolate.

And you know what? They were wonderful. They were thin, ooey gooey and rich just like others have said.

Batch #1 - no so good

Batch #2 - Yum ~~~~~

Head on over to this week's host blog, Surviving Oz, if you want the recipe.

Yogurt Bundt Cake

This cake was so simple to make and it came together very quickly. If a cake batter could ever be described as pretty, this one was. Very smooth and almost glossy ~ more so than other cake batters. The yogurt makes the cake bake up like a pudding cake ~ very moist. The top comes out with just a hint of crunch. I think it would be good to bake it with a crumb topping. Maybe I'll try that out in the future. I also think cinnamon would be a good addition. There is no need for any icing or even powdered sugar on this one. It stands alone on it's own just fine.

I did substitute white sugar for the brown sugar because I wanted it to be a light cake. And it was. Also, I didn't bake as long as recommended. In my oven it was ready at 37 minutes. And I know I had the temperature right because I had my oven thermometer inside the oven keeping track. :-)

This recipe is a keeper.

Yogurt Bundt Cake

*******************

1/2 C. butter, softened

1 C. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

2 C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 C. plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour a 9 inch bundt pan. Cream butter, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in egg till smooth. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder; stir in the batter alternately with the yogurt. Spread batter in the pan. Bake for 50 minutes until knife comes out clean.

Perfect Party Cake ~ TWD, 2 days late ~~

I'm excited to be making my first TWD post! Granted, it's two days late but as I said earlier, I had to wait for my cookbook to arrive. This is a gorgeous book and if you love to bake I would definitely say it's going to be one to add to your collection. (Because don't all people who love to cook have a huge cookbook collection? I think so.)

This weeks' TWD recipe was the "Perfect Party Cake" and it was hosted by Carol of mix, mix... stir, stir. I was glad to see that this was the first recipe for me to participate in ~ because who doesn't love a party cake?? Fun!

But I knew right away that for my family I was going to have to make a few adjustments or "play around" with the recipe as Dorie calls it. The very first thing I knew I needed to change was the use of raspberry filling. I know alot of people love various jams and such in their layer cakes but we do not. I knew that if I had used any type of jam between my layers no one in this house would eat this cake. And I definitely wanted this cake to be eaten and enjoyed! So I just used the butter cream frosting between all the layers. (And I do mean BUTTER cream. Paula Dean would be proud of this recipe y'all.)

The other change was the coconut on the outside of the cake. Now, if had been for just me I would soooo have put that coconut on there! I luuuuuvv me some coconut on the outside of my cakes! (Love, love, love) But my daughter does not and again I knew that a coconut laden cake would render it inedible to those under my roof so I left it out to keep all invovled happy and full of cake. :-)

This cake was pretty easy to make and I didn't have any problems with it.

My layers didn't rise up as high as I wanted, but that didn't upset me too much. It doesn't effect the taste any. But next time, I would be tempted to double the recipe to 4 layers thus getting a really tall cake.

I did like this cake and the frosting. But to be honest that butter cream was a bit toooo buttercream for me. If I made this frosting again I would cut the amount of butter used. But overall I liked the lemon flavor. It was just enough lemon to be good but not so much that it knocks you over.

If you want this recipe, head over to mix, mix... stir, stir and Carol has it listed there.

"Tuesdays With Dorie"

I just wanted to post that I am soooo happy to be participating in Tuesdays With Dorie. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, but membership was never open when I would check. But recently, membership was opened up and I emailed in to participate. Shortly after that, open membership was instated for the summer. I do not think that my blog link has made it into the sidebar at TWD yet, but nevertheless I'm in! Yahooo!

Right now, I am awaiting delivery of my cookbook from Amazon. Just as soon as it arrives, I'll starting baking and posting with the TWD bloggers.

Country Loaf Bread

I finally found a homemade bread recipe that my family will eat! I have been having the worst luck with bread. I almost gave up. But yesterday I made Country Loaf Bread from "Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Cookbook" which I got from the library.

My husband (who is my pickiest eater) usually turns his nose up at any homemade bread. This one he said was ok but that he would really like it if it were toasted. I asked him if I toasted the bread if he would like it for sandwiches and he said yes. And that, my dears, makes this recipe a keeper.

I made a few small changes to the recipe. I only made half because I only wanted one loaf. If no one liked it, I didn't want 2 full loaves hanging around. And my husband is really funny about his bread. He doesn't want it if it's ever been frozen, so making ahead and freezing it isn't good. I didn't go through the whole dough making/kneading process. I just dumped it all in my bread machine and put it on the dough cycle. Then I did the rest from there like normal. I think next time I will add just a smidge more salt and maybe a touch more sugar. But overall, the results were good.

Let me share. Here it is.
Country Loaf Bread
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
2 packages active dry yeast
2 C. warm water
1/2 C. sugar, divided
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
6 C. all purpose flour

In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add 1 tbls. of sugar and stir. Set aside for 5 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together the remaining sugar, eggs, oil, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and half of the flour, mixing well. Gradually stir in the remaining flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 8-10 min. or until smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball. Place in a well greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and set aside to rise in a warm draft free area until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When dough is properly risen, an imprint will remain when you press lightly with your fingers.

Grease 2 9x5x3 loaf pans. Punch dough down and divide it in half. Place the dough on a floured surface. Roll each half into a rectangular shape. Beginning t the narrow edge, roll up the dough, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets. Place the loaves seam side down into the prepared pans. Brush the tops lightly with oil. Cover the loaves and set them aside to rise again until almost double in size. Bake at 350 on the lower rack of the over for 30-35 min. or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove at once from the pans. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Yield: 2 loaves

Our Favorite Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are so good and are a family favorite. They keep very well. And despite the toppings, are sturdy enough to stack in a cookie jar all together and not get mushed up.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
1/2 C. butter, softened
1 C. sugar
1 egg
1/4 C. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 C. all purpose flour
1/3 C. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16-18 large marshmallows
Icing
6 Tbls. butter
2 Tbls. baking cocoa
1/4 C. milk
1 3/4 C. confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; beat into creamed mixture.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, cut marshmallows in half. Press a marshmallow half cut side down onto each cookie. Bake 2 minutes longer. Remove to wire racks to cool.

For icing, combine the butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool slightly, transfer to a small mixing bowl. Add confectioner's sugar and vanilla; beat well. spread over the cooled cookies.

Pretty Flower Cupcakes

(this is a Betty Crocker recipe)

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1 (8 ounce) tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
Few drops food coloring, any color
24 JET-PUFFED marshmallows
24 JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1/4 cup colored sugar or colored sprinkles

Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package for 24 cupcakes; cool completely. Pierce cupcakes with wooden skewer or large fork at 1/4-inch intervals. Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Spoon 2 tsp. of the gelatin over each cupcake. Refrigerate 3 hours. Tint whipped topping with food coloring; spread about 2 Tbsp. of the whipped topping onto each cupcake. Cut each large marshmallow crosswise into five pieces with clean kitchen scissors to resemble flower petals. Arrange five of the petals in flower shape on top of each cupcake; place a miniature marshmallow in center of each group of petals. Sprinkle each with 1/2 tsp. colored sugar.

Store in refrigerator.
Yield: 24 servings

Pumpkin punch

This is such a cute idea. I got it off of my Google home page. I bet it's really good too. I think I may let the kids do this later in the month for an activity.

Ingredients

• 1 L apple juice
• 11 ¾ fl oz pineapple juice
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 apple
• 1 tbsp whole cloves

Form little balls from the apple using a melon ball scoop. Place the apple balls into a bowl. Spike each ball through the center with a clove. Combine the apple juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, apple balls and the cinnamon stick in a saucepan over medium heat. Give it a quick stir and allow it to heat for only a few minutes. Remove it from the heat and let it cool (unless you want to serve it warm).

Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 C. Italian dressing
1 can cr. of chicken soup
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 C. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
12 0z. fettuccine, cooked and drained

Place chicken and salad dressing in a resealable container. Chill chicken for 8-10 hours. Transfer chicken and marinade to a slow cooker. Cook on med. about 4 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker. Shred chicken. Add soup, cream cheese, broth, thyme, basil, salt and pepper to liquid in slow cooker and mix well. Add chicken to the slow cooker. Cook on High until heated through, about 10 min. Serve over the pasta.

~~This and the following 2 recipes came from "Grandma's Kitchen"

Italian Chicken Sandwiches

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 Tbls. vegetable oil
1/2 C. chopped onion
2/3 C. water
1/4 C. tomato paste
3/4 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. each dried oregano and garlic salt
1 C. chopped green bell pepper
1 loaf Italian bread
1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

Chop chicken to yield about 3 cups. Heat vegetabel oil in a large skillet over med. heat. Cook chicken and onion in hot oil, stirring frequently, until chicken is browned, about 5 min. Combine water, tomato paste, basil, oregano and garlic salt and mix well. Stir into chicken mixture in the skillet. Add bell pepper and mix well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickend, about 2 min. Preheat broiler. Cut bread diagonally into 2 1/2 in. slices. Cut the slices in half horizontally. Arrange bottom halves on a baking sheet. Spoon equal portions of the chicken mixture on each slice. Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Broil just until mozzarella is melted. Top with the remaining bread slices. Serve immediately.

Spiced Plum Muffins

2 C. self rising flour
2 C. sugar
1 C. chopped walnuts
2 tsp. allspice
1 C. vegetable oil
2 (4 oz.) jars plum w/ apples baby food
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin cups w/ liners. (I don't like liners and will just grease my muffin tins.) Combine flour, sugar, walnuts and allspice and mix well. Combine vegetable oil, baby food and eggs in a medium bowl and stir to mix well. Add to flour mixture and mix gently. Fill muffin tins half full. Bake muffins until edges pull away from the sides. ~ 12-15 min. (This time is based on doing mini-muffins. I will be doing regular sized ones and will just have to adjust accordingly.)

Saucy Franks & Meatballs

3 slices bread, torn
1/4 C. milk
1 pound ground beef
1 lg. egg, beaten
1 tsp. onion salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 (12 oz.) bottle chili sauce
2/3 C. currant jelly
1 Tbls. lemon juice
1 Tbls. prepared yellow mustard
1 lb. cocktail franks

Place bread in a large bowl. Add milk. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add ground beef, egg, onion salt and black pepper and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls.
Cook meatballs in a large skillet over med-high heat, turning frequently, until browned, about 8 minutes.
Combine the chili sauce, currant jelly, lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl and mix well.
Spoon chili suace mixture into a slow cooker. Add meatballs and franks and mix well. Cook, covered, on high for 2 hours.

Squash Quick Bread with Cider Raisins

3/4 C. apple cider
1 C. raisins
3 C. cubed peeled butternut or other winter squash (1 sm. squash will do)
1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 C. unbleached flour
1/4 C. yellow cornmeal
1 Tbls. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 C. flavorless vegetable oil
1 C. light brown sugar
1 C. chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tsp. white sugar

Bring the cider to a boil in a saucepan and reduce by about half ~ it doesn't have to be exact. Add the raisins, cover and remove from the heat. Set aside.

Put the squash cubes in a large saucepan and cover with about a quart of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a low boil. Cook for about 20 min., until the squash is fort tender. Drain and then puree the squash in a blender. Measure out 1 C., reserving the rest for another use ~ is nice in soups. Butter and lightly flour 2 4x8 in. loaf pans ~ not dark ones ~ and preheat the oven to 350.

Sift the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and spices into a bowl; include any pieces of bran left in the sifter. In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Beat in the squash puree, oil, and brown sugar.

Stir the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture in several stages. Fold in the raisins and any unabsorbed cider and 2/3 C. walnuts.

Divide the batter evenly between the loaf pans and smooth the tops. Sprinkle nuts over both loaves, gently embedding them with your hand, then sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. sugar over each loaf. Bake the loaves for 50-55 min., until tests done. Cool in pan for 15 min. Put a piece of wax paper on your cooling rack, then turn the loaves out and place them right side up on the wax paper. Cool the loaves thoroughly, if you aren't going to eat them right away, this bread is great warm ~ then immediately wrap them in plastic and overwrap in foil. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Maple Mustard Filled Cornmeal Rolls

1 3/4 C. lukewarm water
1Tbls. blackstrap molasses
1 1/4 oz. pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 C. yellow cornmeal
1/2 C. whole wheat flour
3 1/2 C. (approx.) unbleached flour
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. unsalted butter, softened
1 C. grated Cheddar cheese

Filling
2 Tbls. unsalted butter
2 Tbls. pure maple syrup
2 Tbls. Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix the lukewarm water and molasses in a large bowl and stir in the yeast. Set aside for 5 min., then beat in the cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and 1 C. of the unbleached flour. With a wooden spoon, beat well for 1 min., then cover this sponge with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot for 15 min.

After 15 min., stir in the salt and softened butter, then begin mixing in the remaining unbleached flour about 1/2 C. at a time, stirring well after each addition. When you have a cohesive, kneadable dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 7 min., using sprinkles of flour to keep the dough from sticking. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn it to coat the entire surface. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft free spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling; melt the 2 Tbls. butter in a saucepan and whisk in the maple syrup and mustard. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat.
When the dough is fully risen, sprinkle half of the cheddar cheese over the top, then punch it down. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining cheese. Let the dough rest, covered in plastic wrap, on a floured surface for 10 min. Butter a 12x18 jelly roll pan or 20 large muffin cups.

Roll the dough intoa rectangle approx. 20 in. long by 12 in wide. Spread the maple-mustard mixture over the rolled out dough up to the short sides and to within 2 in. of each long edge; I find it is easiest just to use my hands to spread it. Dust the surface with black pepper.
Starting with the edge closest to you, begin rolling, keeping it snug but not overly tight. Using the pastry brush or finger dipped in water, lightly moisten the other long edge just as you get to it, then pinch the dough there to seal the log.

Using a sharp knife, saw the dough in half, then cut each half in half. Cut each quarter section ito 5 equal slices, then lay them on the sheet swirl side up, almost touching, or in the muffin tins. On the jelly roll pan, you'll probably get 4 rows of 5.

Cover the rolls loosely with oiled plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft free spot until doubled in bulk, usually 30 min. to 40 min.; about 15 min. before they reach this point, preheat the oven to 350. When doubled, bake the rolls for about 35 min. until lightly browned. Cut them apart and transfer the rolls to a cooling rack. If you want to keep them soft, rather than have a chewy, harder crust, brush them with a little melted butter when they first come out of the oven.