Sunday, September 27, 2009

Cranberry Pecan Cookies

This is the last recipe I have marked in Sept/Oct '09 Simple & Delicious. The picture with these cookies looks fabulous. It uses prepared cookie dough so I can't rationalize it like I usually can--no preservatives, etc. But I will tell you that these are tasty little cookies. Steve doesn't like pecans, and today we are making a meal for someone at church that just had a baby so I thought this would be a good time to make them. It's a good thing I did, because none of the kids liked the looks of these either. Steve might eat them and deal with it but he wouldn't really like it. Which would leave me the entire batch. Which I would eat. They are that good. Here's the recipe:

Cranberry Pecan Cookies
1 tube (16.5 oz) refrigerated cookie dough, softened
1 cup chopped pecans (this looked like too many once I dumped them in, so I took a bunch out...maybe 2/3 cup would be better, like the other ingredients)
2/3 cup vanilla or white chips
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the cookie dough, pecans, vanilla chips, cranberries, and vanilla. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Store in airtight container (you would think that would be obvious. Maybe not). Yield: 3 1/2 dozen (yeah right...if you are making them for elves or hamsters. I got 2 1/2 dozen and these cookies are way smaller than a usual sized cookie).

When I was mixing this dough, it seemed like 95% ingredients and 5% cookie dough. I thought it was going to be a flop, that after baking the cookie sheets would be filled with hot bits of cranberry and pecans, melted together by vanilla chips. But no, this prepackaged dough must have quite the leaven in it, because the cookie part seemed to come out of nowhere and bake the stuff all together. I liked pecans before, but this cookie has made me love them. The pecans are so yummy and browned, almost toasted in the cookies. I will tell you what, these are so so so good. Too bad nobody but me will like them in my house. I'll have to make them for women's Bible study, or something like it when I won't be eating a whole batch by myself. Try these. You really should. I am eating my third one while I type this (so bad!! But they are little, I told you).

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Chocolate-Orange Scones

This recipe is from this month's Simple & Delicious, Sept/Oct 2009. It's in a section called "Morning Treats." But we had it for supper last night with scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage. The kids were like "what's scones?" I told them they were like breakfast cookies. The actual definition is: A small, thick biscuit, usually rich with cream and eggs, that is cut into diamond or stick-like shapes and baked in an oven or cooked on a griddle (thank you Google and some website called "Mr. Breakfast.com"). These were very easy and fast because they use pancake mix.

Chocolate-Orange Scones
1 1/2 cups complete buttermilk pancake mix
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 to 3 tsp grated orange peel (I used 2 but I think it could've used more)
2 Hershey bars, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the pancake mix, cream, and orange peel. Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead 6 times. Knead in chocolate. Pat into a 9-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake @ 400 for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Nathan wouldn't try these because he didn't like how they looked. But the two big kids LOVED them. Too bad it only makes 8. Definitely a keeper. I don't know how hard scones are to make from scratch. Steve said other scones he has had in the past have been dry, and these were light and fluffy, so maybe it's harder than I think. Maybe it's like cake. Yes, you can make it from scratch, but it's usually drier and denser than that made from a mix. I don't know. But these were good anyway.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Slow-Cooker Lasagna

I was just looking at the sidebar there and realized that September has been a very prolific month for cooking/baking. And there's still over a week left to go! Guess it's because it's fall and I always like to cook more in the fall, I think. Anyway this is tonight's supper. It's from the Kraft Food & Family Fall (2009) magazine that I get free in the mail, you can go to the link at the right sidebar to get to their website and get your own issues of this, it comes once a season. This one had quite a few coupons in it, for Kraft products of course, but that was very exciting for me because I like coupons! Last week my sister and I had a race to the kitchen at my mom's house to see who could get the coupons first (neither one of us gets the paper and we have an unspoken rivalry about who will get mom's coupons. It's never mom). Jessica threatened to kick me in my bad leg so she would beat me to them. I started out ahead of her, then, predictably, she passed me. As we got into the kitchen, she reached for them, grabbed her laptop with one hand, and went for the coupons with the other hand (the coupons were under the laptop. Yes, she had put them there out of my sight). As she did this, she went up on one leg, so her balance was off. I pushed her so she would lose her balance and use her other hand to save the laptop instead of grab the coupons. It worked. You would have done the same, I bet, for $0.55 off two boxes of cereal. She was fine and I won. She was all miffed that I pushed her, but she is the one who opened that can by threatening to kick me in my bad leg. Anyway here's the recipe. It's a crock-pot one, plus it's lasagna, so I knew it would be a hit with the fam. Will this be like Hamburger Helper lasagna?? Well, let's see.

Slow-Cooker Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked


Brown meat in lg skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 tbsp parmesan, egg, and parsley. Spoon 1 cup of meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit, and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups of the remaining sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit, cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 minutes, or until melted. (Then it says for best results do not cook on high setting).

So this was actually quite good. Once it was on the plates you couldn't even tell that it had been in a crock pot. I thought it was a bit too cheesy but nobody else thought that. Nathan did not eat it. He had chicken nuggets. But the rest of us ate it and liked it. There were two big servings left over for Steve's lunches. So I think this one will be a keeper. It was easy. Whenenver I don't cook the lasagna noodles I can always tell, and this time was no different. They're a bit chewier or something. But still, a good easy supper. We had it with garlic bread.

Monkey Muffins

This was a very yummy recipe! We had these last week but I've been too busy to post the recipe until today. My kids like those mini-muffins from Hostess or whoever makes them, so I thought these would be a good replacement. It's from Simple & Delicious Sept/Oct 2009.

Monkey Muffins
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the bananas, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined miniature muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake @ 350 for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. 6 dozen.

I only got 4 dozen mini muffins out of these, not 6. But they still lasted a few days and the kids liked them. Sam liked them best. Nathan wasn't crazy about them but I think he'll come around. These were moist enough that you wouldn't miss putting butter on them, like you would if you made them regular sized. Definitely a keeper!!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread

This is Lani Quimby's recipe that she posted a few weeks ago. I decided to try it in my breadmaker. I'll list the recipe then tell you our results...

Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread
This bread makes great toast, is light and fluffy, slightly sweet with just a hint of banana flavor. I can't wait to make french toast with it.

Use the whole wheat setting on your bread machine

Add all ingredients to bread pan in order given (or follow order from your machine's instructions)

2 lb. loaf.

2/3 Cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp butter or oil
1/4 cup honey (Lani used agave nectar...I guess you can use any sweetener)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup bread flour
1 banana, sliced
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tsp active dry yeast

So this recipe is for a 2 lb loaf, and I have a 1.5 pound machine. But, it has 3 cups of flour, which is what all of the recipes in my little booklet call for for a 1.5 lb loaf. So I decided to just go for it, and not change anything. Hee hee. It was totally fine until it started baking. It smelled so good, by the way. Pretty soon I heard some weird thunks and I looked at the machine and the bread was smooshed up against the glass window at the top of the machine! My mom said that once her bread rose so high it ended up opening the cover of the machine, the bread was ruined and she had to throw it away. I was nervous about this happening to me and contemplated taping the machine shut, but then changed my mind. It never popped the top, so to speak. This morning when I cut into it, the top of the loaf has a huge air bubble. But all in all, it was worth it. The bread was very light, in contrast to the half whole wheat bread that I made a while back. So I think I will keep this one as it is.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Cheeseburger Cups

This is what we had for supper last night. Emma and Nathan don't like cheeseburgers (they say) so I told them they were like mini-shepherds pies. Nathan still didn't eat his. I don't think he knew exactly how to approach it. It's from Simple & Delicious Sept/Oct 2009.

Cheeseburger Cups
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp prepared mustard
1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tube (12 oz) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup velveeta, cubed (I didn't have any velveeta; I just sprinkled shredded taco cheese on top after it was done)

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink;drain. Stir in the the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and worcestershire sauce. Remove from heat; set aside. Press each biscuit onto the bottom and up the sides of greased muffin cups. Spoon beef mixture into cups; top with cheese cubes (if using). Bake at 400 for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. (Then sprinkle with shredded cheese if you're using that instead of the velveeta) 5 servings.

I had made a recipe similar to this in the past called mini meatloaves or some such thing, where you did not precook the hamburger, and it was so awful...this was definitely a much better success. I think I will keep this one, because it was fun for the kids. Sam loves shepherd's pie so he was excited about this and ate all of his. Steve ate 2. I thought I would want 2 but 1 was plenty for me. 3 leftover, which I know will get eaten by Steve.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Brownies

This is very exciting...this is the 200th blog post on New Recipe Night!! Can I get a woot woot? It has been about 5 years since we started doing New Recipe Night, and about 3ish years or so that we have been doing the blog, so 200 doesn't seem like too much, but that's okay, it is what it is. We had some hiatuses due to Haiti trips, childbirth, etc. Anyway, tonight my husband went to the Stand for Marriage rally in Augusta, and I stayed home with my kiddos and baked brownies. I have been trying to bake more lately, in an effort to cut our Little Debbie consumption. My kids have become conditioned to have dessert every day after lunch. Of course at the store they each want their own box of Little Debbie treats. And of course they are so bad for us! So far my plan is working, I haven't bought any LD for the last 2 big shopping trips, and the kids haven't noticed. I let Sam in on the plan, because I reminded him that those things are not good for us, and he is the oldest child and most likely to notice the change. Homemade cookies and brownies are not exactly healthy, but they are cheaper and less preservatives etc than the LD variety. He is down with the plan. These brownies are a variation listed under the "Chocolate Brownies" recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook I am working my way through; Steve loves peanut butter so I thought we would give these a try. I am going to list the peanut butter way, which is how I made them, rather than typing the regular recipe with the variation on the bottom like it is in the book.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Brownies
1/3 cup stick margarine or butter (I love real butter, so that's what I used)
1/3 cup peanut butter
5 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, cut into pieces (used my PC food chopper)
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup flour
16 mini peanut butter cups

Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of 9x9 pan with shortening. Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Cool slightly (I only let it cool long enough to do the next step, which is the mixing). Beat sugar, vanilla, and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes (this made it very light and foamy and almost looked like cream). Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed. Beat in flour just until blended. Spread in pan. Arrange the peanut butter cups over top; press into batter so tops of cups are even with top of batter. Bake 40-45 minutes or just until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan (that never happened for me, maybe because I used cooking spray instead of shortening). Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into about 2-inch squares.

As you can clearly see, this is A LOT more work than my usual method of brownie making, which is to open the box, add egg, oil, and water to the mix, and bake. The million dollar question: is it worth it? Well, I don't know...I know every ingredient that went into these brownies, even if some of them are "unhealthy," like the butter and sugar. The brownie mix I have in my cupboard has: bleached flour (I always buy unbleached now...it's the same price and eating bleach is apparently bad for you, although I have not read any studies, just talked to friends who say that white flour and white sugar = the devil); both corn syrup AND high fructose corn syrup (which another of my friends HATES and has joined a group on facebook called "I hate HFCS" which is apparently it's nickname since the whole name is rather long); a preservative called potassium sorbate (don't know what that is exactly but I know it's not in the from-scratch ones); and, since I bought the "supreme" mix because I had a coupon, this box also contains a packet of chocolate syrup that you mix into the batter before cooking, and that has mono and diglycerides in it as well as 3 other ingredients with long names that I don't know what they are or do. When I type it out like this, it seems like a no-brainer to only make them from scratch. But it seriously took me like 4 times longer to make this kind. Granted, I have never made them before, and maybe going forward it would be faster. Not sure. Anyway, these definitely tasted different than our usual fare, probably because I am used to all the artificial stuff...the kids & hubby haven't tried them yet because by the time they were cool it was way too late for brownies. I had one, though, and thought they were pretty good. 4-times-longer good? Don't know...I will have to wait for Steve's input once he tries them. I know of course the fewer ingredients the better. I am sure you have reached the same conclusion that I am about to come to: make from scratch when time allows, and use the mix I have when time is short. And once that mix is used, never buy one again. Ha ha.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

White Bread from the Bread Machine

I made this today too, while the cookies were baking. It was a very domestic day. Love days off. Anyway, I wanted to try white bread. The wheat bread didn't rise as much as I had hoped, whereas this one raised so well that it went over the top of the pan. It of course smelled fabulous while it was baking. We are having it for supper tonight, probably with scrambled eggs and hash browns or something.

White Bread
9 oz warm milk
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour
2 tsp yeast

Put ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Turn it on. There. So easy, it should be a crime.

Oatmeal Surprise Cookies

This is from the newest issue of Simple & Delicious Sept/Oct 2009. I always get so excited when it comes in the mail! This sounded like a good cookie recipe to try for a change. They are called "Oatmeal Surprise" cookies because they have chocolate covered raisins in them instead of the regular kind. Turns out the real "surprise" in these cookies is how much chocolate-covered raisins cost. Not counting any of the other ingredients, just the Raisinets at Walmart, cost $3.00. Maybe they would be cheaper someplace else, I don't know. Anyway, they were good, so here's the recipe:

Oatmeal Surprise Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups chocolate covered raisins

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets (I used stoneware and didn't "grease" them). Flatten slightly. Bake @ 350 for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. Store in an airtight container. 3 dozen.

Oatmeal raisin is one of my favorite cookies, so I knew I would like this one. I told Steve last night I was going to make them, and that I was sorry I was making cookies that he didn't like. He said that just because he didn't like raisins, didn't mean he wasn't going to eat the cookies!! We all had these today after lunch. The kids all ate one, and although they did not have the crazy mass appeal of chocolate chip, wherein they fight each other to lick the bowl and Nathan steals cookies when I'm not looking, I think they did like them. A keeper, even if I'm the only one that thinks they're scrumptious.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Spanish Rice

We had this last night. I was hoping for a bit more, I must say. It wasn't spicy, but actually not that flavorful, either. It's from the Betty Crocker cookbook that I mentioned in a previous posting.

Spanish Rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked regular long grain rice
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 small green pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)(I cut mine into big enough chunks for Sam to pick out)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 pound hambuger, cooked and drained

Heat oil in 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Cook rice and onion in oil about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice is golden brown and onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender.

Okay, so someone can help me out here and tell me why, in every recipe that I make that has real rice in it, not minute rice (even though Minute brown rice isn't so bad for you), the rice never cooks all the way! Every single time, the rice ends up crunchy because it's not cooked all the way. I anticipated that this might happen with this recipe, as it has with so many others, so I cooked it for 10 minutes longer than the recipe calls for. I buy exactly the type of rice, to the letter, that it calls for, and still. Partially cooked rice. So frustrating. But besides that, as I said above, there just wasn't a whole lot of flavor to this rice. If you have success with rice, and adding additional spice/flavor, then go ahead and try this one...and tell me your tips!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Partial Whole Wheat Bread

This is what's in the machine right now. Don't really like the name, seems too plain. But they did not ask me. I am posting these bread recipes, but I have no idea how they will translate for other people...I don't know how much variance there is between various breadmakers. I suppose if something sounds good and you have a 1.5 lb loaf machine you could just dive in. Otherwise you might have to do a google search or something for your size machine.

Partial Whole Wheat Bread (1.5 lb loaf)
9 oz water
2 tbsp molasses
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour
1 1/2 cups bread machine flour
2 tsp active dry yeast

Add ingredients to pan in the order they are listed. Select setting to "whole wheat." Change crust color if desired. For a higher rising bread, add 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp vital gluten (I don't have any of this...).

So this one smelled SO good baking...we had it with our homemade macaroni and cheese last night. Everyone liked it; Sam ate 2 pieces, Nathan ate half a one but that's still pretty good. Since it's wheat bread it is of course more dense than the white bread I made the day before, but I am eating it for toast right now and it is pretty good just with butter on it, I must say. My friend and fellow cooking/baking enthusiast Jess Harvey suggested making the dough in the breadmaker but baking it in the oven. A fan on the FB page, Tenille, suggested the same thing. They said you get more bread that way, with a better crust. So I may try that next week, I have to work 4 in a row (ugh) starting tomorrow. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!


Cinnamon N' Raisin Bread

I just got a bread machine about 2 weeks ago at a yard sale. I have been anxious to use it, but a friend told me that you need to have special flour and yeast. So after getting those things, I was ready to try it. The only recipe I could make was this one because I didn't have powdered milk or wheat bread machine flour. So I made this yesterday. Then last night I was at Hannaford and I saw that the smallest box of powdered milk was $8.99. I didn't buy it. Then my mom told me that you only need the powdered milk if you're making it ahead, and if you're just making it right now, you can use milk for the water and not even add the dry milk powder. I told that to Steve and he said he already told me that. Well, if he did, I don't remember it. This recipe is from the book that came with the bread machine.

Cinnamon N' Raisin Bread (1.5 pound loaf)
9 oz water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 tbsp sugar
3 cups bread machine flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup raisins

Add ingredients to bread pan in order listed except raisins. Add the raisins when the beeping sounds during kneading (I don't know if every machine does this, but mine does).

This also says that all ingredients should be at room temperature when you start. Everyone liked this. Steve and I had toast last night after the kids went to bed, then we all had some this morning. The bread is gone already. I do have the 1.5 pound loaf-size bread machine, which apparently there is a 2-lb maker. If this bread thing ends up taking off, I may invest in a bigger machine. For right now though we'll do it this way. I have another loaf in right now, as I'm typing this recipe. I am excited to see how all this will work out!!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Oven-Barbecued Chicken


This was tonight's supper. This is from a "new" cookbook. I say that because I have had this cookbook so long that I can't even remember where it came from...maybe my grandmother, I don't know. But, I am just now starting to go through it and make things out of it. It is Betty Crocker's New Cookbook (copyright 1996 so not too new); Everything You Need to Know to Cook. This subtitle makes me think it might have come from my parents at some point, since my lack of cooking abilities used to cause much merriment among my family members. Anyway this is the same cookbook that the "Apple Tart Tanker" came from on Saturday, but I'm giving it another shot, since this is the cookbook I've been making banana bread out of for a long time.

Oven-Barbecued Chicken
3 to 3 1/2 pound cut-up broiler-fryer chicken (they did not have my usual brand of cut-up chicken at Wal-mart...I ended up getting an off brand that had the chicken parts listed on the label: 2 breasts, 4 thighs, 2 backs (huh???). So clearly this is from multiple chickens (I hope) or we have proof of that chain mail a while back that KFC was making mutant chickens to speed up their food production process is true...I have never made/eaten a "chicken back" and didn't want to start today...those went to the trash...so we have 2 breasts and 4 thighs...no drumsticks, no wings...BRING BACK THE TYSON CUT UP CHICKEN, WALMART!!!)
3/4 cup chili sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground mustard (dry)
1/2 tsp prepared horseradish (we don't like spice so I left this out)
1/2 tsp red pepper sauce (I did like 5 drops, because again, we don't like spice)(when I say we, I mean me. Steve likes it. Sam does too, to a point. But the little ones and I do not, so...you know how that goes)

Heat oven to 375. Place chicken, skin sides up, in ungreased rectangular 13x9x2 pan. Mix remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes longer or until juice is no longer pink when the thickest pieces are cut.

So this was pretty good. I kept the skin on it like the directions said, but when I cut it up for the kids I took the skin off. I took it off mine too. Steve ate his. I only like poultry skin if it's on a Thanksgiving turkey. Otherwise it seems a bit slimy and gross. I set Nathan's plate down, and he said "it's chicken, right?" I said yes. He ate it all, quite fast. I should give him more chicken every time. But as soon as I do that he'll cut way back. Not sure yet if this one is a keeper. I have to look through my recipe binder that has all my "keepers" to see if there's one like this already. But it was pretty good.