Monthly Archives: September 2010

Bacon Popper Mac and Cheese

08 Wednesday Sep 2010

Posted by in bacon, jalapeno, Mac and cheese, main dish recipe, pasta, Recipe

≈ 1 Comment


This recipe is my own creation. I combined my love of bacon cheddar poppers with my love of mac and cheese.
If you have never had bacon cheddar poppers, they are jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheddar cheese and wrapped with bacon.
They are so good.
My daughter and I were looking forward to having them, but the garden didn’t turn out too good. So, not enough hot peppers to make any.
I came up with this dish to give us the flavor.

You will need a 2 quart oven safe casserole dish.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked macaroni
4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
6 Serrano or jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried minced onion or 2 Tablespoons fresh onion
pinch dry mustard
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 dry bread crumbs

Bring salted water to a boil in a large saucepan.
Cook the macaroni about 8 minutes.
Drain.
Meanwhile, cook and crumble the bacon and seed and chop the peppers.
After draining the macaroni, put the pan back on the stove.
Over low heat, melt the butter.
Add the flour, salt, pepper, dry mustard and onion.
Stir in and raise the heat to medium.
Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to bubble.
Keep stirring and cooking for about a minute.
Take off heat and add the milk.
Put back on heat.
Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and bubbles.
Lower the heat to low.
Add 1 cup of the cheese and stir in until smooth and melted.
Repeat with the rest.
Transfer the macaroni, peppers, and most of the bacon to the casserole.
Pour the cheese sauce over the top and stir everything together.
Over the top, sprinkle the remaining bacon and bread crumbs.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the mac and cheese is all bubbly and hot.

Serves 4-6.

Fruit Coffee Cake

07 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by in apples, apricots, blueberries, coffee cake, dessert, peaches, pineapple, raspberries, Recipe

≈ 2 Comments

You can use many different fruits for this coffee cake. I used blueberries because I grow them and we had plenty.

You will need an 8″ square pan.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups chopped, peeled apple, apricots, peaches or pineapple; you can also use 1-1/2 cups blueberries or raspberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons butter

In a saucepan, combine the fruit and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
Simmer for 5 minutes, unless you are using the raspberries. Do not simmer those-they fall apart.
Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch and stir into the fruit.
Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thick and bubbly.
Cook and stir 2 more minutes.
Remove from heat.
In a bowl, combine the 1-1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
Cut in the butter til you have coarse crumbs.
Set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
Add that mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened.
Spread half the batter into baking pan.
Spread fruit mixture over that.
Drop remaining batter in mounds atop the fruit filling.
Mix together the remaining sugar and flour. Cut in the 2 Tablespoons butter til you have coarse crumbs.
Sprinkle that over the coffee cake.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden.

Serves 9.

Yellow Cupcakes

07 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by in cupcake recipe, dessert, Recipe, yellow cupcakes

≈ 1 Comment


I love cupcakes. Who says they are just for kids? They are just fun. These cupcakes can be frosted with white or chocolate frosting.
These are very easy to put together. And ever so yummy!

You will need liners and pans for 12 regular size cupcakes,6 extra large cupcakes, or 42 mini cupcakes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg, yolk, and sugar til light colored and thickened. If using a mixer, this will take just a couple minutes.
Scrape down the bowl.
Mix in the oil and vanilla extract.
Add the sour cream and blend til no white streaks remain.
Add the flour mixture and beat until batter is smooth.
Divide the batter among the cupcake liners in whatever size you are using.

Bake for 18-23 minutes.
They are done when the tops spring back when lightly touched.
Turn out of the pans and let cool.

Eat or frost and eat. Enjoy!

100% Whole Wheat Honey Bread

06 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by in 100%whole wheat bread recipe, honey, honey wheat bread, wheat bread

≈ 1 Comment


This bread is made totally with wheat flour. Most wheat breads have a mix of white and wheat flours. Not this one. It is also flavored with honey instead of sugar.
If you thought that whole wheat flour bread dough will not rise like white flour bread dough, you will quickly realize that is not the case.

You will need three 8-1/2″x4-1/2″ bread pans, greased

Ingredients:

Approximately 9-10 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons salt
4-1/2 teaspoons(2 packages) dry yeast
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup honey
6 Tablespoons butter, plus more for brushing

In a very large mixing bowl, blend 3 cups of the flour, salt, and yeast.
Set aside.
In a saucepan over low heat, combine the milk, water, honey, and butter.
When the mixture is warm, gradually add it to the flour mixture in the large bowl.
With a mixer, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.
Scrape down the bowl and add an additional cup of flour.
Beat with the mixer at high speed for 3 minutes.
Add more flour and stir in with a spoon. When too thick to stir with a spoon, mix it in with your hands until a soft mass is formed.
Flour a counter.
Turn out the dough and cover it with the bowl and let rest for 10 minutes.
Knead the dough, adding flour as needed if the dough seems very moist.
Make sure to not add much more flour than the 10 cups called for.
Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. This will take about 8 minutes.
Wash out your large bowl and grease it.
Drop the dough into it, turning over to grease it all over.
Cover with plastic wrap and put in warm place until the dough has doubled in size. This will take about an hour.
When the dough has risen, punch down the dough and turn it out unto your counter.
Divide into three equal pieces. Shape into leaves.
Put into loaf pans.
Cover pans with a towel and let rise until double.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake the loaves for about 40 minutes.
The loaves will be deep brown and when you tap them, they will have a hollow sound.
Remove from the oven and turn out of pans.
Brush each loaf with butter.

This bread is great served with honey or even to make sandwiches.



These are also great for dinner rolls. Roll some of the dough into balls and place in a greased pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

To Chop First Or Measure First

06 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by in coarsely chop, finely chop, measurements, sliced, weigh

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When a recipe tells you to slice or chop something how do you know whether you chop first and measure or measure first and than chop?

If you weigh everything, it doesn’t really matter.

But, if you are using a measuring cup, it matters.

How you know is by looking for the comma.

If your recipe calls for 1 cup sliced mushrooms, you slice and than measure.
If it says 1 cup mushrooms, sliced you measure out the mushrooms and than you slice them.

When you cut and how you cut an ingredient can make a difference in how much ends up in the finished product.

Another example is if a recipes calls for 1 cup chopped onions.
If you chop them in coarse chop, you won’t have nearly as many onions as you would if you finely chopped them.

It can affect the taste and texture of the dish.

Knowing when to cut your ingredients will help you make your dish turn out like it should.

Economy Beef Stroganoff

06 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by in beef broth, beef stroganoff, dinner, economy beef stroganoff, Recipe

≈ 1 Comment


Beef stroganoff is great comfort food. It is great on a cool day or any day actually.
You don’t need to buy expensive beef tenderloin for this meal. Use stew meat or even a roast instead.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds beef roast or stew meat sliced into 1-1/2″x1/2 inch pieces

2 Tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups beef broth

2 Tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon salt

1 small clove garlic, chopped or 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped(1/2 cup)

3 Tablespoons flour

1 cup sour cream

16 oz noodles or 1 batch homemade noodles, cooked and drained

Melt the butter in a dutch oven over low heat.
Add the meat and cook and stir until browned.
Set aside 1/3 cup beef broth.
Pour the rest into the pan with the meat.
Add the ketchup, salt, and garlic.
Cover and simmer for an hour.
Stir in mushrooms and onion. Cook for 5 minutes until onion is tender.
Add the flour to the reserved broth and stir til smooth.
Stir into beef mixture and heat to boiling. Stir the whole time.
Boil and stir for 1 minute.
Stir in the sour cream.
Heat through.
Stir in the cooked noodles.

Serves 6-8.

If you want to use a tender cut of meat to save time, use beef tenderloin and simmer it with the broth, ketchup, garlic, and salt for only 10 minutes before finishing the dish.

Open Faced Blueberry Pie

06 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by in Blueberry, blueberry pie, Blueberry recipe, dessert, open faced blueberry pie

≈ 1 Comment


This is my favorite type of blueberry pie. It is made with a prebaked pie crust filled with fresh berries in a syrup. It is super good.
I got this recipe from one of my Rose Levy Beranbaum cookbooks. She is one of my favorite cookbook authors.

Ingredients

9 ” prebaked pie crust

2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Bake your pie crust as directed and set it to the side until ready to be filled.
Stir together 2 Tablespoons water and the cornstarch. Set aside.
Place 1 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan, cover and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes. The blueberries will start to burst and the juices will start to thicken.
As you stir, add the cornstarch mixture, sugar, lemon juice, and salt.
Simmer for another minute until the mixture becomes translucent.
Remove from the heat and fold in the other 3 cups of blueberries.
Spoon the blueberries into the pie crust.
Let sit for 2 hours before serving so the pie will set up.
Serves 6-8.

You may keep this pie at room temperature for two days. No longer.
If you have some left after that time, store it in the fridge.

Cutting In Butter Or Shortening

04 Saturday Sep 2010

Posted by in baking tips, butter, cut in butter, cut in shortening, hands, pastry cutter, shortening

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What does it mean when a recipe says to cut butter into a flour mixture?

It means breaking up the butter or shortening into the flour.

For pastry, you break up the butter/shortening into smaller pieces so that the flour gets coated with some fat and the flour won’t absorb too much liquid.
For a struesel topping, you cut in butter to get a crunchy crumbly topping.

There are pastry cutters you can buy to cut in the butter/shortening.
You can also use a fork to just break it up.

What I prefer to do is to work the butter into the flour or sugar/flour mix with my hands.
To do this, just stick your hands into the bowl with the butter and just rub it into the flour.
Make sure you end up with coarse crumbs.

For pastry, leave some of the pieces of butter larger and some smaller.

For a struesel topping, all the butter should be uniform so all the crumbs are about the same size.

Blueberry Buckle

03 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by in Blueberry, blueberry buckle, Blueberry recipe, dessert, raspberry buckle

≈ 1 Comment



Blueberry buckle is like a coffee cake with blueberries sprinkled over before baking. It is great made with fresh or frozen blueberries.

Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 8″ or 9″ square baking pan.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Combine the 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
In another bowl, pour your oil. Add the 3/4 cup sugar and blend well.
Beat in the egg.
Add the milk and flour mixture alternately. Make sure mixture is smooth after each addition before mixing more in.
Spoon that batter into the baking pan.
Sprinkle with the blueberries.
Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon.
Cut in the butter until it is crumbly.
Sprinkle the crumbles over the blueberries.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until the buckle is golden.

Serves 9.

To make a raspberry buckle, just substitute raspberries for the blueberries. Do everything else the same.

Seafood Lasagna

03 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by in crab, dinner, lasagna, Recipe, seafood, seafood lasagna, shrimp

≈ 1 Comment


Seafood lasagna is a nice change from your traditional Italian lasagna.
It is made with tiny shrimp and crab meat. Use imitation crab meat if you like. It is yummy that way as well.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
You will need an ungreased 9″x13″ pan.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup cottage cheese
1 (7-1/2 oz) can crab meat
1 (4-1/2 oz) can tiny shrimp, drained or 4 oz frozen salad shrimp, thawed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic.
Stir in the flour and salt.
Cook until bubbly, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add the milk and chicken broth.
Put back on heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Boil and stir for a minute.
Add the onion, mozzarella cheese, basil, and pepper.
Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.
Take off the heat.
Spread 1-1/2 cups of the cheese sauce in the bottom of the baking pan.
Lay three noodles over the sauce.
Spread the cottage cheese over the noodles in the pan.
Add another 1-1/2 cups cheese sauce.
Add three more noodles.
Add the crab meat(or imitation crab meat) and the shrimp.
Add another 1-1/2 cups cheese sauce.
Layer with the last three noodles and the last of the cheese sauce.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until the noodles are done.
Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Serves 12.

Enjoy!