Pistachio Wedding Cookies

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Angie

Pistachio Cookies

The 2015 Christmas cookie extravaganza commenced yesterday. I had no plans other than to be in the kitchen baking and that is exactly what I did. I made 4 different batches of cookies, sampled one of each and brought them all into work.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, divided
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 box (3.4 oz) of pistachio instant pudding mix
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation:

In a large bowl cream the butter and gradually add in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract. In a medium bowl combine flour, pudding mix, and salt. Gradually mix flour mixture into wet ingredients and stir until combined.

Divide dough in half, wrap in saran wrap and place in refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from the plastic wrap and roll into small balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and press down on the balls slightly spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Don’t over bake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes. At 5 minutes, remove from baking sheet and toss in remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and set on wire rack until completely cooled.

Source: http://www.motherthyme.com/2012/11/pistachio-wedding-cookies.html

 

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Marranitos (little pigs)

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Angie

Marranitos

My husband and I never really dated. It’s a long story, and like any good love story, had a bit of drama associated with it. While I’m not going to go into our “love story”, I will tell you this: I knew when we met he was going to be the man I married. This is not a manufactured memory either (our brains can play tricks on us, you know) I have the November 28, 1995 journal entry to prove it. At any rate, beginning a relationship with him was a journey in which I’m forever grateful and one in which I learned a lot of culture. He’s Hispanic (though he’s a big, beefy guy and sometimes gets mistaken for a Samoan) and from Texas. I’m blonde, blue eyed and grew up in a very WASP(y) way in Colorado. We lovingly refer to our daughters as our beanerschnitzels because we’re into terms of endearment and such. Anyhow, bridging the cultural gap was fun. We each had our moments: I learning about cunanderas and how that rivaled everything I knew about healing and health (my mom is a nurse) and the first time he’d eaten green bean casserole for Thanksgiving and thought it was the most amazing thing EVER! I’m not even kidding; he raved about it for days. Food is a key component to culture and that’s where these little guys come into play. Whenever we go to a Mexican bakery, Chris always buys these. I’d categorize them as a cookie. Soft and not very sweet, which is what he likes.

One day while perusing Facebook, a mutual friend posted a link to the recipe. I immediately got online, ordered a pig cookie cutter and the unsulphured molasses and hoped he wouldn’t also see the link because I was on a mission to surprise him. Yeah, not so much. As soon as he saw it, he forwarded it to me.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 1/2 tsps. baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsps. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup unsulphured molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 6 cups all-purpose flour

Egg wash: 1 egg

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together brown sugar, shortening, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla until the mixture forms a paste. Add, mixing after each addition until blended, the molasses, egg, and milk. Gradually, add the flour, mixing to form a dough. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut with a pig shaped cutter. Place each cookie on the baking sheet. In a small cup, beat the egg for the egg wash and using a pastry/ basting brush, paint the tops of the marranitos lightly with the egg wash. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Note: This dough is very dense and super sticky. It’s what I imagine it would be like to work with tar! While the directions didn’t talk about sprinkling flour down, flouring the rolling pin, and dipping the cookie cutter in flour after each and every use, let me tell you this is of utmost importance. Tar, I tell you! I had to prompt the dough out of the cookie cutter and then reshape parts of its head, tail, and hooves. After one large baking sheet of little pigs and nearly an hour later, I relented and used a standard dough cutter for the remaining dough. I figured it’d still taste the same. When it was all said and done, even as I muttered about the damn tar pigs, I had a happy hubby and that’s all that matters, most of the time 🙂

Posted in Cookies, Mexican, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pecan Pie

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Angie

Good pecan pie.jpg

Pecan pie is one of my favorites. I’ve made it only a handful of times, if even that. I love the nutty caramel filling goodness. It’s so decadent and something that I only ever have on occasion. I don’t recall having it as a child, but I do remember ordering it way back when while I was working on my undergraduate degree and all the late night “studying” (wink, wink) my friends and I did.

I think the last time I made it was also for Thanksgiving 10 years or so ago when we had quite the crew joining us. I forgot how temperamental it can be and was quickly reminded when I opened the oven to discover this hot mess:

Flop pecan pie

Cooking mishaps happen, right? At some time during the baking cycle, the filling busted through the edge of the crust, spilled onto the pan (thank God, I had it on a baking sheet), and reared it’s ugly head and I thought I had a major flop on my hands. I moved quickly not wanting that caramel to forever take residence on my pan and cleared away what I could salvage onto a plate and what wouldn’t come off at once, I allowed to soak. But you know what? The smell was incredible and the stuff I moved onto a plate was quickly nibbled up. All was not lost!

Ingredients:

  • 1 9 inch pie crust
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
  • 2 cups chopped pecans

Preparation:

Partially pre-bake a pie crust in a 9″ pie pan according to instructions, then heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon; add eggs and whisk until smooth.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until the butter turns brown and fragrant. Slowly pour butter into the sugar mixture, and whisk to combine. Stir in chopped pecans, the pour filling into prepared pie crust. If desired, line the top of the filling with additional pecans.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the filling is set and only slightly jiggly. Once set, remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack for 3-4 hours before slicing.

Source: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/best-pecan-pie-recipe/

Note: Admittedly, I used a ready made pie crust and followed the instructions as noted on the package. I’m not sure what I could have done differently to prevent the side explosion, but thankfully, the taste was unaltered and sometimes you just don’t care what the food looks like when it tastes so good a little thing I like to call Real Life!

 

 

 

Posted in Desserts, Pie, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pumpkin Pie

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Angie

Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving has come and gone as has this pie. While it’s not so much a favorite of mine, I do enjoy the annual slice come this holiday. The girls; however, love pumpkin pie and look forward to it every year so I do my part and oblige.

Ingredients:

  • 1 15oz. can of pure pumpkin or 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 12oz. can of evaporated milk
  • 1 unbaked 9″pie crust
  • Fresh whipped cream/ Cool Whip, optional

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, stir in the pumpkin, and blend in the sugar spice mix until thoroughly incorporated. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk.

Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350; bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before serving. Top with homemade whipped cream, or if you’re like my girls, Cool Whip.

Posted in Desserts, Pie, Pumpkin, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Spicy Pasta, Kielbasa, & Green Beans

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Angie

Spicy pasta, kielbasa, & green beans

When pressed for time, and you’re in need of a quick meal, this one has all the main attractions: protein, carb, and veggie.

Ingredients:

  • 2 packages kielbasa or smoked sausage, sliced
  • 2 15oz cans green beans, water drained
  • 1 14.5oz package of penne pasta
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, per taste
  • 15 cranks of a black pepper grinder
  • 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet to medium-high heat, add the sliced kielbasa and stir occasionally to heat and brown the sausage. Once the pasta is done cooking, reduce the heat to low, drain the water and return the pasta to the pot and add the olive oil and butter, stirring until well coated. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and sprinkle in the parmesan cheese.

Once the sausage is browned and heated, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any grease. Using another paper towel, dab the tops of the sausage slices as well and once done, transfer the sausage slices into the pot with the pasta; stir. Drain the water from the green beans, and put green beans in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 1/2 minutes. Once heated, add to the pot with the pasta and sausage; stir and serve.

Posted in Pasta, Sausage, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Spiced Pear Crumble Bars

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Angie

Spiced Pear Crumble Bars

Just as nice as it is to try something different for dinner, I sometimes like to try something new for dessert too. It’s not as though I’ve ever heard anyone talk of being in a dessert rut (as if!), but I think overall, we tend to follow our routines across the board. Now, I know the preferred tastes of those in my circle and so when I stumble across something different, I pretty much file that into the, “I’ll make it for a potluck” category. A few weeks ago, that’s what I did with this recipe. It sounded good to me, but I knew no one else in the family would care for it, and Lord knows, I don’t need a dessert in the house that no one else will touch but me. So I did what any other self respecting/ restraining person would do: bake it, sample it, sample it again because it was that good, and then cut into pieces, place on a plate, cover and take to work the following day where it was eaten up.

I really enjoyed these, and since my family isn’t so adventurous to step outside their food comfort zone, I’ll make them again for another potluck.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp. allspice
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 pears
  • 1 tbsp. cornstarch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the salt, vanilla, and spices. Gradually add in the flour and mix until just combined. It will be crumbly.

Take about 2/3 of the dough and press into the bottom of a 9×9 pan using your hands to pat down. Peel and slice the pears. Slice them thin if they are crisp; thicker if softer. Toss the pears with the cornstarch and lemon juice until well coated. Place the pears on top of the pressed dough and top with the remaining dough, sprinkling evenly among the top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and you can hear the fruit bubbling.

Source: http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/pear-crumble-bars/

Note: After viewing the recipe and looking at the picture, I knew I would want more of the crumble so I doubled that part of the recipe. I hadn’t previously baked pears before, and while I used 4 pears, I didn’t know just how much they would bake down. I was happy with the doubled crumble mixture, but when I make it again, I’ll use 3 or 4 more pears for a better ratio. I also cut into it, served myself, and photographed a piece while it was still warm. It was quite delicious!

 

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Chicken Florentine Skillet

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Angie

Chicken Florentine Skillet.jpg

There’s such ease with dishes that are all inclusive. You don’t have to worry about a side because everything you need is already in there. And, aside from boiling the pasta, it’s all cooked in one big skillet. Now, if that’s not a two thumbs up on a busy night, I don’t know what is.

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 cups of uncooked farfalle pasta
  • 1 1/4 cups of half & half
  • 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1 package uncooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1 package fresh baby spinach (about 6 cups – which is not too much as it cooks down)
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preparation:

Cook and drain pasta according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the half & half, flour, salt, and nutmeg until smooth; set aside.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat and cook the chicken, until browned, and no longer pink in the middle, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and spinach and cook for about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the pasta and the half and half mixture. Stir in the remaining half and half, stir and allow to thicken. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top, cover and let sit for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has melted.

 

 

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Skillet Spinach & Artichoke Bread Ring Dip

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Angie

Spinach Artichoke Skillet

Chris sent me this recipe he found on Facebook and requested I make it. I followed up on his request one night when we had people over. It came together easily (just be sure to factor in the time necessary for the dough to rise). We both thought it needed a bit more kick and I thought it was really heavy, but nevertheless, it got eaten up. I’ve yet to find a spinach artichoke dip that I truly love and can label “the one” or at the least, my “go to” one. It seems the ones at restaurants are not as dense, lighter, and more flavorful. I’ll keep looking. If nothing else, cooking is a bit of an education and good ol’ trial and error.

Ingredients:

  • 10 frozen dinner roll dough balls
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup romano cheese
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
  • 1 1/2 cups artichokes, chopped
  • 1 tsp. garlic
  • 1 tsp. basil
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 10oz package of frozen spinach, thawed & excess liquid squeezed out

Preparation:

Grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet and place the dough balls around the skillet, cover with plastic wrap and thaw approximately 3-5 hours, depending upon the warmth of the kitchen.

When the dough balls are ready, preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine together all other ingredients, until well combined, and transfer to the center of the skillet. Brush the now raised dinner roll dough balls with olive oil or melted butter. Sprinkle the tops with Italian seasoning, if desired. Add extra cheese to the dip, if desired.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

 

Posted in Appetizers, Vegetarian | 2 Comments

Lemon Velvet Cake

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Angie

Lemon Cake candied lemons

Lemon Velvet Cake

I’m a licensed master’s level social worker and a few years ago, I worked at a skilled nursing facility. I knew within a few days in of starting the position, I would not work there for very long because I was not utilizing my skills. I stayed for 15 months, and in that time, I met some truly great people, staff and residents alike. It was there that I first made the chocolate peanut butter cake that resulted in people offering to pay me to make it for them. One of the coworkers that ended up paying me for the cake was one of the house cooks. After working 12 hour days, being on her feet all day, and preparing up to 25 meals for both breakfast and lunch, and cleaning up afterwards, I, too, would have little desire to spend much time in my own kitchen. Over the last couple of years, she usually orders a cake 2-3 times a year, or provides me a recipe and requests that I make it for her. And that’s the story behind this cake. If I’ve not made something before, and I’m going to be selling it, I want to know how long it takes: preparation, taste, and presentation. A trial run, if you will. She gave me the recipe and I’m set to make her one for Thanksgiving so I made it last week, tried it, shared with the family, and brought the rest into my current coworkers who ate it up.  Some of their comments: “Good cake!” “It’s great!” “Yummy!” “So good with my coffee!” and my favorite, “That was so good, omg!!!! I had one last piece for breakfast today as I was lucky it was still there!” Cake, the breakfast of champions.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

  • 1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cups vegetable oil (I used melted and cooled coconut oil)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp. pure lemon extract
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • zest of two small or one large lemons

For the frosting:

  • 8 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp. pure lemon extract
  • 1 tsp. minced lemon zest
  • 4 tbsp. milk

For candied lemon zest:

  • 2 lemons
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2 nine inch round cake pans and line the bottom with 2 circles of parchment paper, grease and flour; set aside. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a bowl, beat together the vegetable oil, shortening, vanilla and lemon extract. Beat well at high speed with whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. In a small bowl, add the sugar and with the back of a spoon, press the lemon zest into the sugar until fully incorporated.  Add the lemon sugar to the oil/ egg mixture. Fold in the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk beginning and ending with the flour additions (doing three divisions of the flour and 2 of the liquid). Do not over mix the batter. As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, pour into the two prepared 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

FOR THE FROSTING: Mix together the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and butter until it becomes sort of crumbly. Add the lemon extract and a little of the milk and beat until smooth and fluffy, adding only enough milk to bring the frosting to a creamy spreadable consistency. Fill and frost the cake. Garnish with candied lemon zest if desired. To make candied lemon zest, remove the zest with a sharp vegetable peeler in long strips, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible. Bring one cup of water and one cup of sugar to a slow boil. Add the pieces of lemon zest and boil for about 15 minutes. Drain the lemon zest on a wire rack. When cool, cut them in strips and roll in fine sugar.

FOR THE CANDIED LEMON ZEST: Using a sharp vegetable peeler, remove the zest in long strips, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible. In a small saucepan, bring together a cup of water and sugar to a slow boil. Once boiling, add the lemon zest and boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, add the 1/2 cup of sugar. Remove the strips from the syrup and toss in the sugar, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, arrange on the top of the cake, pressing slightly to secure in place.

Posted in Cake, Desserts | Leave a comment

Pumpkin Bars

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Angie

Pumpkin Bars

This recipe comes from my Auntie Karen who says she’s been making these pumpkin bars for 40 years, and to hear her tell it, she’s been making them since she was two because she is not a day over 42. Wink, wink. The first time I had these pumpkin bars was nearly a year ago at my grandmother’s funeral reception. That’s the peculiar thing about funerals: they tend to be family reunions & potlucks all rolled into one sad occasion. Truth be told, the last time I saw some of my extended family was at a cousin’s wedding 8 years prior. At another funeral a few years ago, I had another aunt say to me, “We’ve got to stop meeting this way” and yet the irony is that we both know that’s likely how it will happen. So, it was at the aforementioned reception in which many of us had these pumpkin bars and when your family requests you get this recipe, you know it’s a good one. I messaged my aunt and she posted the recipe on Facebook and one of my cousins commented: “a sweet spot on a sad day.” No need to wait for a sad day to make these because they are darned good. And bonus: dump all the ingredients into a bowl and stir.

Ingredients:

For the bars:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil (I used melted and cooled coconut oil)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsps. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 cups flour

For the frosting:

  • 6 tbsps. butter, melted
  • 3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. milk

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a sheetcake pan; set aside. Mix the above ingredients together until combined. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick entered into the center of the bars comes out clean.

Allow to cool then make the frosting. Pour the melted butter over the cream cheese and beat together, then add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk and mix until smooth. Frost the bars. Enjoy!

NOTE: I overlooked the sheetcake pan and used my 9×13 pan so the frosting was a bit much for Chris. I’ll likely halve it next time.

Posted in Bars/ Brownies, Desserts, Pumpkin | Leave a comment