The Cookie Thing

Isn't it fun to bake cookies this time of year? Filling baskets and tins for teachers and friends and family and friends of family with beautifully decorated made-from-scratch pieces of fine art...

I can't even say that without gagging. Last year, I made a huge mistake. I tried to be perfect. I tried to make Martha Stewart-complicated cookie recipes that required too many steps and strange ingredients, and I was out of the holiday mood before the end of the first week of Advent. I was so frustrated in January that I left myself a little note to remind me to keep it simple so that I could enjoy the season this time around instead of drowning in eggs and flour. My gift to you is a short list of ideas to impress others without driving yourself crazy.

1. Don't bake, embellish. The lovely morsels in the picture at the top of this article are actually Amaretti cookies that I purchased. I dipped them in chocolate, and they became yummier and prettier. Had I wanted to really impress, I could have sprinkled them with holiday sprinkles or slivered almonds. The Amaretti cookie company makes their cookies far better than I ever could, so why not let them do it? Besides, technically when I added the chocolate I created ownership in the cookies, so I think saying I made them is not completely false. ;) So, find a good dipping chocolate and some fancy cookies, and dip away! I won't tell if you won't!

2. People who bake from scratch are great, but I don't have time. I also don't want to wash too many dishes. When I was grocery shopping the other day I noticed the holiday baking aisle agrees with me--they have a mix for pretty much everything these days. Snowball cookies, peanut butter ball candy, every cookie imaginable...it's impressive. These great mixes are a sanity-saver when I really just have time to dump and stir, not measure. Once baked, I recommend going back to tip #1--embellish, embellish, embellish. This Thursday is our MOPS Cookie Swap meeting, and my plan is to make sugar cookies from a mix that I have, dip them in white chocolate, and sprinkle crushed candy canes on them. Sure beats the from scratch Black Forest Cookie fiasco of last year, they will probably taste much better, and it's going to cost a lot less, too. (Also, I am making the sugar cookies from a mix because I already have it. I would totally get refrigerated sugar cookie dough for this otherwise!)

Enjoy the season this year, and take it easy on yourself! Got any tips for me? The easier the better!

Holiday Treats and Traditions: Polar Express Hot Chocolate

This weekend we broke out our holiday books and movies, including a family favorite: The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg. Both the book and the movie feature the one drink I could never go cold turkey on - hot chocolate as rich and smooth as melted chocolate bars.

In fact, as the kids donned their pajamas and settled in to watch the movie, I snuck into the kitchen and whipped up a batch of melted chocolate...a bag of semi-sweet morsels melted in the double boiler, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and milk (enough to achieve desired chocolate consistency/color), and a dash of cinnamon whisked smooth.

I delivered the steaming mugs of melted chocolate just as the dancing waiters presented the pajama-clad Polar Express passengers with their hot chocolate. Everyone declared it the BEST hot chocolate in the WORLD...even my husband, who only likes "good chocolate."

 It's definitely a tradition that bears repeating...several more times this Christmas season. As we read the book together this morning, our 3-year-old noted at the hot chocolate scene, "Hey, that's just like us, Mommy! We had hot chocolate, too!"

Enjoy!

Granola Bars

"Mother-love is not inevitable. The good mother is a great artist ever creating beauty out of chaos."

~ Alice Randall

This afternoon, Alex and I were making some homemade granola bars for him to take to school for snacks. I had visions of him helping me measure and poor, and toast and coat, but the reality was a little different than I pictured. Still, we do have granola bars, we did spend time in the same room, and we did not argue. We have success!

Alex "helping" me in the kitchen.

The granola bars are pretty easy, and I got the recipe from joyfulabode.com. I have tried a few other recipes from her site, and they are delicious.

As usual, I didn't have exactly all of the ingredients in her recipe, so I improvised. I toasted:
2 cups oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pecans
A handful or more of coconut flakes

Her recipe calls for wheat germ, which I have never used and do not keep on hand. I have made these bars twice without it, and they still taste great! She recommends toasting the dry ingredients at 400 degrees. I, of course, almost burnt mine while I was getting the sauce together, so I turned the oven down to 350.

For the sauce:
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix these ingredients and cook over medium heat until they simmer. Well, this time, I only had about 1/4 cup of honey, so I used all of that and a full cup of brown sugar. Again, this worked for our bars.

Resulting chaos

She recommends adding dried fruit to the bars, which would be delicious. Since I didn't have any dried fruit, I did what any good mom would do. I added marshmallows and miniature Hershey Kisses! I think Alex's teacher will be really glad snack time is at the very end of the day.

Finally, some help with the granola bars.

I must say I feel a little like the little red hen! He is cute though. It reminds me of a line from one of my husband's favorite movies, Blazing Saddles. BTW, if you haven't ever watched the movie, you must know it is unbelievably crude - not a kid's movie.

"Y'know, Nietzsche says 'Out of chaos comes order.'"

~ Howard Johnson

Some Easy Recipes We Like

Sausage Rice Casserole

1 pound sausage
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
3 3/4 cups chicken broth (I have used the College Inn white wine and herb flavor broth and don't have to add any seasoning...and it contains no MSG)

Directions:
Brown sausage and drain off grease. Saute the onions and celery. Grease a large, covered casserole* and put all ingredients in it. Stir to combine.
Bake covered at 350 F for about an hour, until liquid is absorbed.

*I use my dutch oven so I can brown ingredients and bake all in one pot...love that! I might experiment with adding greens of some sort. Fresh spinach leaves could certainly be added after removing casserole from the oven. Replace the lid for a few minutes to allow the spinach to steam.


Turkey In a Bag (a.k.a. The Most Awesome, Tenderest Turkey We've Ever Tasted!)

My mother-in-law has been baking the Thanksgiving turkey this way as long as my husband can remember and it's always delicious!

Butter entire inside of a large brown paper grocery bag. Slide your prepared bird in and staple the bag shut. Bake at 325 F 1 hour for every 6 lbs.
No basting...Yea!!!!!!

Your Kitchen Tips for the Holidays

This weekend I made a huge batch of chili, and when it wasn't eaten completely I was faced with a dilemma--eat chili every day this week or freeze it for later and hope that I remember it's there. Bryssy told me to freeze the chili in sandwich bags so I could just heat it up one bowl at a time, and I'm convinced she is a genius. It's easier to defrost that way, we can eat it whenever we want, and it easily replaces the canned stuff. So, holiday kitchen tip #1, thanks to Bryssy, is:

1. Freeze individual portions of leftovers so that they can be used as single meals later when you're too busy to cook.

Now, back to the chili. Liz graciously gave me her White Chicken Chili recipe, and that is what I made. It is amazing! What's even better is that when I defrosted my baggie today for lunch, I realized that it would make a great burrito filling, too. Really, any chili is great for eating as is, filling burritos and tacos, and making yummy Mexican lasagnas. Holiday kitchen tip #2 is:

2. Chili is your friend and is very versatile. If your family likes it, keep it on hand to make a variety of dishes.

Kitchen tip #3 is up to you, and so is #4, #5, etc. How do you make meals easier during the hectic rush of the holiday season? Do you have any favorite go-to meals or ingredients? Let's hear them!

Food Snob & a Great Pumpkin Recipe (not to be Confused with THE Great Pumpkin)

As a SAHM, one of my most important jobs is preparing delicious, healthy, home cooked meals for my family on shoestring budget. As a girl who stess-eats and loves carbs, I also know that if you look hard enough, you can find a diet that justifies almost any food. Well, I have found THE exception.

On Saturday, we ate lunch out at a fast food place (Gasp!). This is a rare treat for us for lots of reasons. First, all three of us usually do not agree on where to go. Strangely enough, Alex loves McDonald's. It seems like kids are innately born with few instincts, but one of them seems to be a love of Happy Meals. Ironically, I just noticed a few weeks ago that McDonald's is a proud sponsor of Sesame Street. You bet they are.

Second, we try to avoid artificial preservatives, flavors and food colors in Alex's diet. I have also declared war on high fructose corn syrup. Yes, I know it is all natural, and I do live in the heartland of corn production. At the risk of offending corn farmers, many of whom are our good friends, I hate corn syrup. Our bodies are not made to metabolize it, and I blame corn syrup for my extra pounds around my waistline, the decline in our economy and poor test scores among elementary students in Sheboygan. OK, I actually only blame corn syrup for my five extra pounds.

Third, my husband is at high risk for cancer, and I have a 75% of dying of a heart attack, so I try to fix meals that are low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables. I have recently declared war on white flour too, so I am paying an arm and a leg for whole grain wheat bread with no added high fructose corn syrup or artificial anythings. The extra money I spend could be used to send a ton of white flour to hungry children in another country. Although I really like eating like this, my husband has come to accept it as his lot in life. He loves cheeseburgers and french fries, buffalo chicken wings and egg rolls. If it is fried, it is his favorite.

So on Saturday, we all agreed to eat at a Long John Silver's/A&W combo restaurant. Long John Silvers is one of my guilty pleasures, and Charlie loves his cheeseburgers. Alex was super happy to see a statue in the checkout line, so we had a winner! I tried to fight the temptation as I ordered, but I was weak. I asked for a side order of crispies. I sat down at the table and looked at my small order of crispies staring back at me, and I smiled in delight. I wondered how many calories could be in that small cardboard square. I thought about although they were fried, which is OK for Atkins, they were essentially fried flour, probably my nemesis - white flour! I have to say they were delicious, and I am really proud of myself for not eating the whole serving! I actually threw away almost a whole teaspoonful.

Today, I am back on the wagon again - taking my vitamins, drinking 64 ounces of water, and eating my 5-11 servings of fruits and vegetables. We have been trying to add some fall favorites to our menus this season, and here is a great soup recipe you might like too. It calls for cubed, peeled pie pumpkin, so the canned pumpkin will not due. I don't know if it is jut my knives, but I have the worst time cutting up pumpkin, so I usually take the top off, scoop out the seeds and then bake it in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes. This will let you cut, chop or puree it with ease. I found this recipe at a Kathy's Pumpkin Patch in eastern Iowa, and it is really good.

Autumn Soup
4 bacon strips, diced
1/4 c cup chopped onion
2 cups cubed peeled pie pumpkin
2 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 cup cubed cooked chicken
1/3 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup cooked small pasta shells

In a large saucepan, cook the bacon and onion over medium heat until the bacon is crisp; drain. Add the pumpkin, broth, tomatoes, and curry; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender (if using raw pumpkin). Stir in the chicken, corn, and pasta; heat through.

Enjoy!

Let the baking begin!

It's October, and that means we have officially entered the holiday season! For me, that means it's time to break out the sprinkles and work on honing my baking skills. I am a pumpkin fanatic, so when I saw this recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies on the Martha Stewart website, I had to try them.

A couple notes before you get to the actual recipe:

1. I swear that when I read this recipe I thought it called for nutmeg, so before I realized it didn't, I had added a whole tablespoon of it to the batter. Guess what? It was great--I highly recommend adding nutmeg to the recipe along with the full amounts of the other spices.

2. I used canned pumpkin and it was fine. I also forgot to chill it, but that didn't seem to be a problem.

3. I baked the pies as directed, but at 15 minutes they were still pretty doughy in the middle. I ended up baking them for 20 minutes instead of 15, and they were perfectly done.

4. We let the kids fill these, and they had fun doing it. They looked really pretty rolled in sprinkles, too.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Makes 12 large sandwich cookies

Ingredients
FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
4. Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
5. Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

From The Martha Stewart Show October 2008

Being Lucy

I was very lucky to grow up with four wonderful Grandparents. I have so many great memories of spending time with them as a child and adult that watching them leave this earth has been some of the most difficult times of my life. Lately, I have been thinking about my mom's mom a lot. Her name was Lucile McMahon, and she survived the Great Depression. My grandparents lived on a self-sustainable farm way before that was en vogue or even defined. Each summer we would spend one Saturday freezing corn and one Saturday cleaning chickens. I could tell you horror stories about the cleaning chickens, but I will spare you. Let's just say my family learned early on that I was better suited for the inside work on those days. And in case you were wondering, chickens really do run around after their heads have been chopped off. We found it best to hang them on a close line, but I digress.

My grandparents also had peach trees and a grape vineyard, so grandma would do a lot of canning and she would always make jelly. I loved picking the grapes and helping with the jelly. Nothing in the world smells as good as concord grapes cooking up into juice.

A few weekends ago, our family took a day trip to this historic town not too far from us. We wandered around the historic homes and state park, then we made our way to the town's winery. I really don't like too many wines, but it is fun to try a sample or two. When I walked into the winery, I smelled that smell, instantly recognizable from my past - concord grapes cooking. Even better, I found some concord grapes for sale! I know I keep emphasizing the concord variety, but it does matter. This farm girl would not consider using any other grapes for jelly. I am sure someone out there has, but it sounds crazy to me.



The box of grapes looked pretty small, too small to make a batch of jelly, so I had to ask if they were good for eating. These grapes were so valuable to my family that apparently we weren't allowed to eat any. All grapes were used for juice or jelly. Yes, I could eat them, and they were great, but I just had to try to make some jelly even if it were only a small batch.

Typically, my family uses Sure Jell in all of their jellies, but I did not have any on hand, and I didn't have the spare $1.86 in my budget (Dave Ramsey) until the next payday. So, I did what my grandma would do. I improvised. Fortunately, I have one tool she didn't - the Internet. After much searching, I found a recipe at epicurean.com that didn't require the Sure Jell.

With much excitement, I cooked the grapes. After they cooled, Alex and I ran them through the food mill. Then I cooked the juice and sugar until it jelled. The smell was heavenly. I wish our computers had smell-o-vision so I could share it with you. I eagerly toasted a piece of bread to see if the recipe worked, and it did! It made two beautiful pint jars of jelly, which was perfect because I only had two jars on hand too!



So, this weekend, we traveled back down to the winery to buy more grapes. I have decided to make the jelly for Christmas gifts, and I will be using Sure Jell in this batch. It really shortens your cooking time and gives more consistent results. I have also budgeted for some cute little jelly jars for the gifts. I love thinking about my Grandma while making the jelly, and I am so lucky to have learned so much from her. Some of the things she taught me, but many of them, my mom taught me because of her. It is a great legacy.

Now, since I have 16 pounds of grapes in my refrigerator, I should really get started. The grapes won't cook themselves!

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

I LOVE to bake, and since Alex was little, I would let him help me in the kitchen. He is getting better at pouring and stirring, and I am getting better at living with the mess. Alex can even crack an egg all by himself now! Sure, we have dropped an egg or two along the way, wiped egg all over his shirt and mine, and baked some cupcakes with egg shells, but that is all behind us.

Here is one of my favorite cookie recipes. It is simple with only 4 ingredients, and very kid friendly. I would love to take credit for it, but it is actually Paula Deen's Magical Peanut Butter Cookies. I also like this recipe because for a cookie, it is healthy. Well, it is at least justifiable.

For each batch, you will need:
1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Since I am high maintenance and like to personalize my recipes, I have started adding a pinch of salt. After you mix all ingredients in no particular order, you roll the cookies into small balls and then roll cookie balls in sugar. Then place on an ungreased cookie sheet and squash them with a fork. OR, my personal favorite, roll them into balls, place them on a cookie sheet and squash them with a Hershey's Kiss. You are supposed to preheat the oven to 350, which I always forget. The cookies need to bake for about 12 minutes. I let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to firm up before I remove them.

The biggest obstacle in this recipe is not allowing your small child to eat the dough, on account of the raw egg. I finally gave up after Alex had eaten about four or five small raw cookie balls. It didn't hurt me growing up, so I hope he will be OK too. You have to pick your battles, right?

Did I mention that the cookies (both baked and unbaked) taste great too?

Frozen Treats for the Last Days of Summer

The Little Guy and I decided to make "Cheerios Frozen Bananas" after after I received the recipe in my email (It came in the Dinner Made Easy newsletter from Betty Crocker). We had a blast making them, and he absolutely loved eating them. (Shhh...they're pretty healthy, too!)

We used strawberry yogurt and plain Cheerios. What I like most about this recipe is that there are so many options for the cereal and yogurt, and I can control which ones we use.

It was also a fun activity to do together--I was in charge of the cutting and yogurt dipping, and he was in charge of coating the bananas with the cereal. When they were finally frozen, he got to be the taste-tester, and he devoured one in minutes saying, "Mmmm...good ice cream," while he ate. He wanted it for his dessert after dinner. I can handle that kind of dessert!

The Oreo Truffle

I don't know how these avoided my radar for so long. I'm a huge fan of chocolate and all things Oreo, yet for some reason this apparent party favorite did not get my attention until two weeks ago while I was talking to a friend. She told me how delicious these are, but while it piqued my curiousity I forgot about them until a few days later when in a new issue of a magazine I saw a recipe for them. Twice in a matter of days? I decided they were calling me, and I needed to make them. And make them I did. I ate a few, too. Are you ready for a simple, yummy, and fun recipe just in time for your 4th of July potluck? Here it is:

You will need: 1 regular package of Oreo cookies, 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (softened), and some melting chocolate (melted)

Step 1: Crush the Oreos. I put mine in a Ziploc bag, crushed them with my hands, and called it exercise. I guess if you're lazy you could throw them into a food processor. It's your call. ;)

Step 2: Mix in the cream cheese. I used a hand mixer for this one because the cheese was still a little firm. The finished mixture will look like dirt. It is delicious dirt, however, and I highly recommend tasting it to verify that!

Step 3: Roll the "dirt" into balls. Smaller is better for this as the finished product is pretty rich. You can eat more of them if they are smaller. Chill the balls in the refrigerator for about an hour or until you just can't wait any longer.

Step 4: Dip the balls in the chocolate. I let my son and nephew sprinkle these with patriotic sprinkles for the 4th.

That's it. Seriously. And they are wonderful. So wonderful that I am going to eat some more of them now. Enjoy! :)

There's more than one way to top a waffle.

When it's hot outside I love the ease of popping a frozen waffle into the toaster oven for breakfast, but I'm not a big fan of the sugary syrups that usually go with them. I've come up with two alternatives to dress up our whole-grain Eggos while adding a little extra nutrition:

1. We cut the waffles into strips and then dip them into yogurt. This is easy to make, easy to eat (especially for toddlers), fast, and versatile--everybody gets to choose a cup, so no arguments over flavors and ingredients!

2. I sweeten Ricotta cheese (an excellent source of protein) with honey to taste, spread it on the waffles, and then arrange seasonal fruit on top. Sometimes I drizzle a little honey on the fruit to enhance the flavor. This is by far my favorite way to dress waffles, and I actually do this on toast as well. Berries are great for this, but so are the yummy nectarines and apricots of summer.

Do you have any breakfast food makeovers in your family? Let's hear them!

Easier Than Pie: Make a Rustic Tart

I should probably keep more cooking secrets to myself, especially when I find something like this that is so easy yet so impressive, but this is too good not to share with my busy Mommy friends. Sturdy enough for pot lucks, pretty enough for tea, the rustic tart is en vogue and it couldn't be more simple to make!

Be warned, I am not giving you a recipe--I'm giving you a method with some shortcuts and helpful hints that I have learned along the way. If you need a recipe, google "rustic tart" and you will find many.

I used strawberries for this tart, but it's fun to make this with fresh fruit that is in season. I'm looking forward to doing this with nectarines and cherries later in the summer, and then apples and pears in the fall. This would make a great savory tart, too, with tomatoes and cheese. It's so simple to do, why not experiment with different flavors?

Step 1: Prepare the filling.

You will need about 1/2 pound of fresh or frozen fruit for a 9" round pie crust (this will make about 6 nice servings). Cut the fruit into small pieces (slices, quarters...whatever is appropriate), and toss it with sugar (approximately 1/4 cup) and cornstarch (about 1 tablespoon). Add any flavorings you want--lemon peel is great with strawberries, cinnamon with apples, etc. Allow the fruit to mingle with the seasonings while you...

Step 2: Prepare the crust:

For this tart you will need a pie crust. This step is the proverbial fork in the road for this dessert. If you enjoy making crusts, please feel free to make one. It needs to be about 9" round. When I made this tart for our meeting, I ran out of time and could not make my own, so I grabbed the next best thing--a rolled, ready-to-use pie crust. You can find these in boxes of two in the refrigerated-canned-biscuit section of your grocery store.

Whatever crust you use, roll it onto a parchment paper or easy-release foil lined cookie sheet. Now for...

The Most Important Step:

Fruit juices make pie crusts soggy, and this tart will fall apart unless the crust is sealed. Take an egg white or some liquefied jam or jelly (microwave it for a few seconds) and brush it all over the top of the crust. In my research I also found that sprinkling cookie crumbs on the crust can absorb some of the liquid from the fruit, so I crushed some amaretti cookies (pictured below) and scattered a thin layer in the middle of the circle where the fruit would be. Now you are ready to...

Step 3: Fill the crust:

Using a slotted spoon (to drain the syrup from the fruit), mound the fruit into the middle of the crust, and place some cold, cubed butter on top (one or two tablespoons). Leave a two-inch margin on the outside of the crust. Fold the margin of the crust over the fruit as shown in the picture and brush it with egg white. Sprinkle one or two tablespoons of sugar onto the egg white brushed dough, and bake the tart at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. The pastry will be browned and glossy on top when it is ready. Don't worry if the crust splits or fruit syrup drizzles down the sides--that is normal and part of the charm of this rustic treat.

Step 4: Dress it up a little:

Take a jam that is roughly the same color as the fruit (raspberry jam for strawberries, apricot jam for apples, etc.) and microwave it for a few seconds to liquefy it. Brush it over the fruit to add a little extra flavor and some gloss.

Enjoy this tart on its own, or top it with whipped cream or ice cream.

I have to laugh when I think of how this tart was probably created--you know the original baker either misplaced or simply didn't have a pie pan, so she decided to fold up the sides of the dough in hopes that the filling would stay put. Now this fun and tasty tart is on the cover of magazines and graces even the fanciest of cookbooks. I wonder if its creator ever got a royalty?

If you like this kitchen tip you can find more at Kitchen Tip Tuesday on Tammy's blog!

Looking for more great recipes? Check out Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace!

Slowing Down

Somedays I don't know which way is up. Seriously. I just seem to spend all my time spinning my wheels. I add more to my "To Do" list than I cross off. I juggle a lot of stuff.

Just like every mom I know.

One thing that has really been life changing is to make time just to be with my kids every week.

A couple weeks ago, I took my planning period and went to help with THE Princess's class study on Dr. Seuss. After reading The Foot Book, THE Princess and her classmates rolled up their pant legs and got their feet painted.

Then, they listened to the story being read again, acting out with their feet what they heard.

There was a lot of giggling. Paint went all over the place, but mostly on the paper.

This was a rare moment where THE Princess didn't mind getting dirty (painty, actually). We cleaned up by giving each child pedicures (tubs of warm soapy water to soak their feet in) while they waited to have their feet scrubbed clean.

Last week, we made no-cook play clay. It's easy and fun. THE Princess mixes hers in a zip-top baggie to minimize the gooeyness. KOTJ and I mashed it up with our bare hands. Our recipe makes a great kid-sized amount and the more you mash it, the better it is.

[Play Clay: Mix together 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon oil & as much food coloring as you like in a cup. Mix 6 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons salt in another cup or bowl (or baggie). Dump it all together and smoosh! ]

In another turn of events, KOTJ has discovered our dog's water bowl. He has taken to dumping and playing in the water about once a day. I just keep a towel nearby and let him splash it up!

I'm trying not to sweat the small stuff.

What fun stuff have you been up to lately?

Hello, old friend...

If you are a regular reader of our Motley Moms blog, you have certainly heard about our adventures in Once a Month Cooking. Since last summer several of us have gathered one day a month to, well, cook (hence the title Once a Month Cooking). On that day we prepared enough meals to feed our families for the month, and doing this saved us time and money.

For several reasons we have decided to skip cooking this month, and I was more than a little nervous when I realized that my normally full-of-dinner freezer would no longer be able to help me feed my family. Even more unnerving was the realization that I would need to begin actually planning our meals again. I have never been good at this. I always end up at the grocery store hastily grabbing things that look like dinner only to return home and discover that I bought sauce but no pasta or marinade but no meat.

Well, yesterday after a morning at the question-writing office, I grocery store-ed and produce stand-ed my way home to a kitchen just waiting for dinner prep. I took out our standard Saturday night spaghetti sauce and started browning some ground beef. I remembered the squash and zucchini I had purchased, and I reached into the drawer for my knife. My knife. I watched as she sliced effortlessly through green and yellow and left a confetti of little cubes to add to our sauce. I remembered how excited I was the first time I chopped garlic with her after bringing her home from the store on my birthday. The poor thing hasn't seen much action lately since my cooking has been so sporadic. We worked together to create a beautiful meal, and I felt like a Teppanyaki chef at his hibachi (though I probably looked more like the Swedish Chef on the Muppet Show). I was a creator of food, not just a cook, and it felt good to do that again.

So, I'm still not that comfortable with planning our meals, and I will probably still need to improvise when I forget a few ingredients on my shopping trips, but I am excited about using some creativity again in the kitchen. I think my knife is happy to be back in the game, too.

I must confess that we did chop so much that we were able to divide last night's sauce into two meals, one of which is happily waiting in the freezer for another night. Hey, you don't expect me to cook every day, do you?

Need a potluck dish?

My Mammaw's Christmas dinner was today, and we decided to try a broccoli salad recipe from a favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes. We all loved the result, and my mom is even thinking about adding it to her catering menu! So, if you need a great last minute potluck recipe, this may do the trick:

Joan's Broccoli Madness Salad
Souplantation aka Sweet Tomatoes

6 - 8 servings

1 bunch uncooked broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon
1/2 cup cashews
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped red onion

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 T apple cider vinegar

Mix the broccoli, bacon, cashews, raisins and onions in a large bowl. In a second bowl, beat dressing ingredients together gently until smooth.

About 10 minutes before serving, toss the salad with the dressing to allow flavors to meld. Serve on chilled salad dishes.

Enjoy!

Osh Kosh...Ganache!

OK, so that's a really goofy title, but I couldn't get it out of my head once I thought of it. Forgive me.

It's that time of year, and with the holiday season comes potlucks, cookie swaps, and all kinds of bring-your-best-dish activities. Friends and neighbors stop by to visit, and if you're like me, you like having something festive on hand, even if it's just for munching while you're watching Rudolph on TV. I would like to propose to you the miracle of Chocolate Ganache.

Ganache is a super-simple thing to make, and it has oh-so-many uses. One batch can serve as a dish of luscious Amaretto Truffles, the frosting on a cake, the filling of a tart, or even a simmering pot of hot chocolate (not hot cocoa, hot chocolate). You could even stand in your kitchen and eat it from the bowl with a spoon (it's that wonderful), but I don't really recommend making a habit of that. Trust me.

This is the basic recipe and method. Take equal parts of chopped dark chocolate (chocolate chips are fine) and heavy whipping cream. Usually I use 2 cups of each so that I'm using the entire bag of chips without leftovers. Next, put the chocolate in a bowl by itself and heat the cream to boiling in a separate container. Once boiling (nearly boiling over, but not quite), pour the cream over the chocolate, tap the chocolate bowl to ensure that the cream has reached the bottom, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. After it sits, take a spoon or a whisk and stir until something magical happens. This somewhat-ugly chocolate-speckled cream mixture slowly transforms into this dreamy pool of silky, rich, but not-too-rich chocolate ganache. You'll know when it's ready because all you will be able to do is stare at the seductive mixture and restrain yourself from taking that spoon and going for it right then and there. Let it sit for about 15 minutes so that it can cool. Store the finished ganache covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

(Allow me to interject here that if you use larger chocolate chips such as the Ghirardelli baking chips, they do not always completely melt thus resulting in a less than perfect texture. Option 1: (Fun, but not recommended) Eat the whole bowl for yourself and start over. Chop the chips into smaller pieces next time. Option 2: Declare it a new recipe for "Chocolate Chunk Ganache" and use it anyway. If you sound like you did it on purpose, most people won't question it.)

Ganache on its own is lovely and can stand by itself, so don't feel compelled to flavor it too quickly, but if you would like there are two ways to do so. You can flavor the cream before adding it to the chocolate by infusing flavors like black tea, espresso, lavender flowers, and orange zest into the cream during the boiling process. You can also add ingredients to the finished ganache after it has cooled. Liqueurs like Amaretto and Grand Marnier can be stirred in as well as strained fruit purées or Nutella :).

Once you've mastered the basic recipe you can play with the cream-to-chocolate ratio to create a full spectrum of delicacies. Add less cream and whip the ganache to make a delectable frosting, and add more cream and some milk to create the richest hot chocolate you've ever tasted. If you need a firmer texture without sacrificing the cream (as for truffles), put the basic ganache into the refrigerator for a few hours. If you need a more pourable consistency (as for glazing cakes) heat it up a little. Do you get the idea?

So, go forth and experiment with this amazingly simple yet wonderfully elegant concoction called ganache, and tell me all about it! What's the worst that could happen? You'll have bowl full of molten chocolate to deal with? Grab a spoon!

(Note: I learned much of what I know about this technique from the book, The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard.)

TGIOAMC Day!!!

OAMC Day! OAMC Day! OAMC Day! OAMC Day! OAMC Day! OAMC Day!!!!!!!

Yay! I've got my spreadsheets and charts ready to go. I ran out of frozen meals a couple of weeks ago and I'm so thankful that our Once-A-Month-Cooking Day is finally here!!!

This month we're enjoying:

• Mexican Chicken Manicotti
• Spinach-Bacon Lasagna
• Bacon-Wrapped Chicken
• Way Easy Pork Stir Fry
• Sweet Soy Marinated Chicken
• Panko-Parmesan Oven-Fried Chicken
• Sausage-Stuffed Shells
• Spice-Rubbed Chicken Breasts
• Chicken and Rice Wraps
• Shaker Chicken and Noodle Soup
• Molly's Sister-In-Law's Not Chili
• Mexican Torta

A few of us are even doubling the number of meals we take home, since we're not cooking again until January. Hopefully 24 prepared meals will really help alleviate holiday stress! We went heavy on chicken recipes (about half), but threw in a couple beef and pork meals for variety.

I'm looking forward to a fun day in the kitchen with 7 other women and all that professional kitchen equipment! Yipes! It is so awesome to be able to bake 8 chickens simultaneously! And brown 24 lbs. of ground beef in ONE BATCH! (We will use our church's brand-spanking-new kitchen facility, since we are an officially sponsored outreach ministry now...God is so good!)

Just pray that we don't scorch anything...especially the church kitchen...........that would be bad.

Oatmeal Apricot Cookies

Baking has become a special time in our house. It's a time when I can get the kiddos to peacefully help me work toward a common goal. Who wouldn't want to help out when the goal is cookies!?!

As soon as I ask "who wants to help me make cookies?" I hear little feet pattering down the hall ready to pull up a chair. They arm themselves, with a whisk in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other, anxious to help with whatever special task is assigned.

Here is a new recipe we have been thoroughly enjoying.

Oatmeal Apricot Cookies

3/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk shortening until smooth. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Whisk until well combined. Stir in eggs. Stir in the flour. Stir in the rolled oats and chopped apricots.
2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheet for one minute. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

I hope you all enjoy!

Homemade Baby Food - Easy Peasy!!

After having my second child in April, I have again started a baby food making factory in my kitchen. Okay, not so much a factory. Just production. It's inexpensive, easy, and quick. You don't need any special kitchen tools. (I do have some because I like to do canning and preserving and use it for those). Here's a quick tutorial, if you'd like to give it a try.

A few tips. Start with fruits and vegetables, they are easiest to make. This same method is used for most foods. The more you cook it, the fewer nutrients are left in it. Cook it for the least amount of time possible to make it soft. The microwave is good for this, although I prefer the stove top.

Peaches for Baby

Thoroughly wash the peaches. Anything on the outside of the peach, can be transferred to the inside when you cut them.



Core and peel the peaches. I was cutting a few up for dinner. If you have a squeezo type machine, leave the skins on and the squeezo will take them off.



Steam with a scant amount of filtered water on the stove until soft. (I skipped this step because my peaches were extremely ripe ans soft.



Run through a puree machine (I am using a squeezo type that I use for jelly and jam making with the apple/pumpkin screen.) You can also use a food processor or blender with a bit of filtered water.





Sterilize an ice cube tray or mini-muffin tin in the dishwasher or by boiling for 10 minutes, and dry with a clean towel. (I do this ahead of time.)



Fill the tray with the puree, 1 tablespoon is a great serving size, and put it in the freezer overnight.





Pop the frozen puree out of the ice cube try and transfer into a Ziploc freezer bag labeled with the name and date. These are good for 3-5 months. Here are some pears I did over the weekend.



Sometimes I freeze the pulp, like this kiwi pulp, so that I can add it into other foods. I'll be making kiwi banana and kiwi strawberry with this. (Plus, a kiwi sauce recipe I want to try out.)



Take out one cube at a time and thaw in the refrigerator or warm as needed.

This doesn't have to be a major project separate from your everyday cooking. I generally make it as I am getting supper ready in the evening. If you are looking for a great resource to making baby food, Feed Me, I'm Yours, is excellent. My mom passed me her copy that she used for my sister and me.

If you're asking yourself, "Why on earth would she do this?" The quick answer is that I know how everything is processed and exactly what is in it. It contains no preservatives or additives and because the servings are closer to what a baby will actually eat, so there is less waste. As a bonus, it saves money, because I make it out of food that I am already preparing for my family.

Or I'm just crazy. It could be that, too.