Thursday, December 17, 2009

Teri's Lemon Drop

Teri's Lemon Drop

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice, chilled
1/2 oz vodka, chilled
1/2 oz simple syrup, chilled
ice
martini shaker
baking sugar, ground fine
chilled martini glass

Mix first three ingredients in shaker with ice. Dip the rim of the glass in water and coat with ground sugar. Shake, shake, shake. Pour. Drink. Smile.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Cookie Dough Truffles

Cookie Dough Truffles
(tasteofhome.com)

These are the most fabulous little candies. Easy and so very yummy. I got my recipe from a co-worker. I thought I'd better check their origin and found it at the site noted above.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or regular chocolate chips roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I prefer pecans)
1-1/2 pounds dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped - I prefer Ghiradelli Chocolate.

Directions
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.

Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating, using two forks, allowing excess to drip off; place on waxed paper-lined or paarchment-paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator.

Yield: 5-1/2 dozen.

Lawry's Substitute

Lawry's Seasoned Salt Substitute
(From tastebook.com)

I was making the Pioneer Woman's Macaroni and Cheese recipe and realized I didn't have any Lowry's, a staple in her mind. Thank goodness for the Internet and Penzey's. I had all the ingredients. P.S. This is the best Mac & Cheese recipe I've found.

This is an MSG-free recipe for Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. (5 min 5 min prep)
1 spice bottle
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cornstarch
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Pour the blend into an empty spice bottle to store.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Weekend Baking for the Holidays


Turkey Pot Pie

Turkey Pot Pie

I credit the perfect ingredient list to Pioneer Woman and the Gravy Recipe to Chef Kent and the Pie Crust to King Arthur Flour. Get ready for a slice of heaven and actually looking forward to the weekend AFTER Thanksgiving.

Prepare pie crust divide into 2/3 and 1/3 sections. Roll out bottom third and line pie pan. Don't trim yet. Place in refrigerator to set. Form top 1/3 into a disk and refrigerate.

2-1/2 cups diced turkey
3-4 carrots
3-4 stalks of celery
1/2-1 onion (medium or small)
6 teaspoons butter
small bag of frozen peas
1-2 cups leftover gravy
1/4-1/2 cup cream
chicken or turkey stock or broth as needed to thin the gravy
thyme
salt and pepper (watch the salt if you brined the turkey!)
cornstarch/water if you over liquify
Pie crust for a 9-1/2 inch pie pan. I used the recipe above and squeezed off 1/3 for the top crust and 2/3's for the bottom crust.

Peel the carrots. Chop the carrots, onion and celery into a medium dice. Melt the butter and add the chopped mix to the butter and cook over medium heat until the onion is nearly clear. The carrots will still be a bit crunchy. Add the turkey, peas and thyme. Add about a cup to a cup and a half of your leftover gravy, let it melt and add some cream until you have the desired richness. Salt and pepper to taste. If the mixture is still too thick, add some stock. If you over liquify, add some cornstarch mixed with water. Allow to simmer (near boil) to thicken the liquid. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400.

Remove pie crust from refrigerator.

Add the filling to the pie crust. Roll out the top crust and withe the bottom crust. Cut in slits to allow steam to escape. Bake about 30 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serve it with your leftover cranberry sauce of an extra treat.

Stop eating before the pie plate is empty.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Fluffy Jello Stuff

Fluffy Jello Stuff

This recipe is easy to make and a crowd pleaser for young and old alike.

Small package of Jello gelatin - ORANGE flavor (You can use other flavors, but why would you want to?)
Small can of crushed pineapple, drained
Can of Mandarin oranges (I like the tall can), drained
12 ounces of Cool Whip or whipped cream
16 ounces of cottage cheese

Mix. Refrigerate. Dig in. Smile!

Doggy Biscuits

Doggy Biscuits

I do baked items for my out of state family every year. This year I added a bonus for those with pooches.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup natural peanut butter (grind it yourself for extra love)
1 cup skim milk

Additionally you can add:
Ground or sliced almonds
Raisins
Carob chips (chocolate is bad for dogs)

Mix together. Prepare baking pans by lining them with parchment paper. Roll out and use cookie cutters to make shapes or a cookie scoop to make mounds (the bigger the dog, the bigger the scoop [Oh isn't that true for the other scoop too?]). Flatten the rounds with the bottom of a drinking glass that has been dipped in flour.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Woof!

B