Holiday Goodies

So there won't be any handmade gifts this year... there's just no time. Well, there were the homemade gifts of sweets and such, but that's it. I am going to finish shopping today, and tommorow & Wed. will do some preparations for Christmas morning Brunch!

There will be some Mexican Brunch Casserole... (will post recipe later)

Latkes (I'm not Jewish I know, but I make these every year after I had some awesome roommates who were Jewish)...

Ebelskivers (I'm not Danish.... but I also like to make these each year...)

Sausage Balls...

And whatever caramels & Pumpkin Surprise Pie is leftover from Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house!

There is one cookie I'd love to make, but will prob. not have time for -- here's the recipe. It looked delicious in this month's Country Living.

Oh, one more thing-- check out her adorable cookies! I'm totally making the cherry cookies next year!

Quick and Easy Recipes & A Few More Sweets

So I spent most of the weekend preparing some meals and cookie plates for some folks who needed a little something. Thinking I ought to pick easy but yummy favorites, I tried to keep it simple. I thought for sure I could spare an hour here and there, but by Sunday it became apparent that I needed some help... called in my sister-in-law Sam for help! Thank goodness for her, couldn't have done it without her help!

(I'll Post A Picture Soon of the Cookies... need to upload to our slow computer....)

For the meals, I quadrupuled this recipe... but I love to use Corn Flakes on top of the casserole instead of bread crumbs.

We used Martha's Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing (both were actually much less complicated than her usual recipes-- make sure you use only 2 egg whites for the icing, not the 5 she says on the video); White and Milk Chocolate dipped pretzel rods; Spitzbuben; and Kim's Christmas Caramels.

You MUST make the caramels ... I don't know anyone who doesn't like them and I'm making a second batch today. Here's the recipe:

Kim's Christmas Caramels
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt
-Combine ingredients in heavy pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon until temperature reaches soft-ball state on candy thermometer (about 15 minutes). Pour into buttered 7x11'' pan. Cool, cut into squares, and wrap in wax paper. Makes about 75 pieces.

Jeremy's been a big help in the lunch and dinner department lately, but I still love to spend a little time in the kitchen. This week I discovered two really easy things to throw together that are both pretty good (of course, it's much better when it's homemade, but who has the time???): Chicken Noodle Soup and Peppermint Patty Brownies:

Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup:
2-4 cans chicken broth (low sodium!)
2-3 carrots, cut into small pieces
2-3 stalks celery, cut into small pieces
roasted chicken, about 2 cups, shredded
2-3 portions pasta, uncooked
a little salt and pepper
-Combine all but the pasta in the broth, allow to boil. Add pasta. Soup's ready when the pasta is!!!

Peppermint Patty Brownies:
1 bag of Peppermint Patties
your favorite brownie mix
-Make brownie mix according to directions. Pour half the mixture into baking dish. Top with Patties. Cover Patties with remaining mixture & bake.

Baking-- Recipes Reviewed

I wanted to share a few baking recipes that you should definetely try. Believe me, I'm much more of a cook than a baker (I don't like how precise everything needs to be!), so these recipes are a little more relaxed than your usual ones....

Iced Pumpkin Cookies. De-lish!!! I saw these on Angry Chicken back in October and had to try. They really are rather cake-like, and they were gone so quickly that I have no photos...

No Knead Bread. So I think it'dbe fun to this out again. Mine turned out a little too crusty-- I mean, that's often what I like best about store-bought bread-- the crust, but my jaw hurt after chewing so much. But this lady's kid sure makes it look easy, huh!

Pumpkin Surprise Pie. This was yummy and was a big hit on Thanksgiving.


Barefoot Contessa's Sticky Buns. I tried this recipe out within a day of seeing her on Good Morning America. Soooooooooooooo good! Soooooooooo easy!

I'd love to have some more recipes-- the simple & easy ones are best right now-- if you want to pass any on. Hope you're having a good week.

Easy Dinner and Bread

Found the chicken recipe on MSN yesterday. I've always wanted to try the 40 Cloves of Garlic and Chicken recipes, but have been frightened by the amount of garlic... this was less scary. I do have to admit that our house will probably smell of garlic until March, but it was worth it.

Great with the bread, too. Super easy.

Rosemary-Garlic Chicken
serves 6

Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 lbs. skinless, boneless chix breasts halves
1-9 oz. package frozen artichoke hearts
12 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup reduced sodium chix broth
2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 TBsp cornstarch
1 TBsp cold water
lemon wedges

Directions:
1. Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat. Brown chix, half at a time, in skillet. In 3 1/2 or 4 qt. slow cooker, combine artichokes, garlic, onion. In small bowl, combine broth, rosemary, lemon peel, and pepper. Pour over veggies in slow cooker. Add browned chicken; spoon some of the garlic mixture of chix.

2. Cover and cook either on low heat for 6-7 hrs. or on high heat for 3-3 1/2 hrs.

3. Transfer chix and artichokes to a serving platter, reserving cooking liquid. Cover chix and artichokes with foil.

4. (At this point I strained the remaining liquid because of all the minced garlic and artichoke bits...) Cooking liquid should be inside crock pot, turned to high heat. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Stir this mixture into cooking liquid. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spoon sauce over chix and artichokes. If desired, serve with lemon wedges.

Easy Beer Bread

3 cups self-rishing flour
1/2 cup sugar
1- 12oz. bottle really cheap beer (the cheaper the sweeter!)

Just mix ingredients and bake for 45 minutes at 350. Excellent with honey butter.

Spooky Soup

We're so lucky to with most of our parents at our school-- they're very supportive! They recently made lunch for the entire staff-- complete with a variety of soups, breads, and desserts. I wanted to share with you the recipe for one of the soups-- it's sooooo yummy!

Spooky Soup

You'll need: About 1 lb. ground beef; 1 chopped onion; 15 oz. chili without beans; 15 oz. stewing tomatoes; 2-16 oz. cans pinto beans; 10 oz. can tomatoes with chiles; 2 cups sour cream; 1 lb. cubed Velveeta; corn chips; sour cream (for topping)

Directions: Brown ground beef with onion, drain. Add chili, stewed tomatoes, pinto beans, and tomatoes with chiles. Simmer 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Before serving, stir in sour cream and cheese cubes until melted. Spoon into serving bowls over corn chips and garnish with extra sour cream.

New Cookbook and Recipe for You!

Now that it's Fall, I'm finding more excuses to be in the kitchen.... and to check out some new cookbooks out there. This is my latest addition:

Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros

I love, love, love the format she chose, the photos, the memories she includes! She's divided the foods not by type (appetizers, soups, etc.) but by color. Many of the pages actually include drawings by her kids, if not beautiful photos. The food is simple and unintimidating, and I can't wait to try more recipes. I tried this one tonight and it was fabulous!

Pear and Berry Crisp

Ingredients: 3 large pears, 1 cup mixed berries (I used blueberries and raspberries), 1/3 cup superfine sugar, 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar, 1/4 lb. plus 3 TBsp butter, softened, and 1 tsp vanilla.

How to: Preheat the oven to 375. Butter a 14x8 1/2x 2 1/2 inch ovenproof dish. Peel, core and slice the pears, laying them in the bottom of the dish. Add in the berries and scatter half the sugar over the fruit.

Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar and remaining sugar. Now add the butter and vanilla and rub them in with your fingertips. This mixture will not be smooth- instead it will be much like sand.

Scatter the topping over the fruit to cover it completely. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top nicely golden and some berry juice has oozed up a bit over the crust and darkened it here and there.

Let it cool down and then serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Try it, you'll like it!

Tonight I actually cooked. It had been a while, but since I discovered Everyday Food on PBS Saturday mornings, I've been more inspired. Thing is, I've been waitressing: love the food at the restaurant, but develop a sort of love-hate relationship with cooking at home.

So here's a really easy, easy recipe for anyone who likes fish! I wish I had a great camera, but this was the best photo I got. Hey, it's not easy to make an appealing photo with sour cream in the way! :)


The taste it leaves in your mouth is fabulous, even now (nearly 2 hours later!). Even Lulu wanted some... could you resist this sweet face? (She's rolling over on her back.)



Tilapia Tacos from Everyday Food
(makes about 4 Tacos)
3 Tilapia fillets, salt and peppered
1 head red cabbage
1 lime
3/4 sour cream
salt and pepper
diced, minced jalapeno
scallions, minced (I skipped the scallions)
package of tortillas

To make the sauce:
To the 3/4 cup sour cream add the juice of the lime. Reserve half to be a topping.

To make the cabbage-slaw:
Cut off a little more than 1/4 of the red cabbage, core and slice it into small strips. Add to the bowl of sour cream (not reserved), along with the jalapeno and scallions.

To prep the fish:
Put a pan on medium heat with some olive oil. Add fish when hot. You'll cook it about 3 minutes on each side, and it is ok if it breaks apart.

To warm the tortillas:
Place in a warm oven until they are flexible to work with. Place in a stack in a towel until you're ready to make your tacos.

To make the tacos:
Place fish in bottom of tortilla shell. Add a generous portion of the cabbage-slaw and top with the reserved sauce.

**The nutty flavor of the Tilapia is wonderful with the sweet cabbage, but I wonder what other kinds of fish might be good in these. Try it for yourself!

Mardi Gras- King's Cake

Laissez les bons temps roulez!

I had a blast with my French club these past few weeks... First we made masks, then had our Mardi Gras party and finally, on Mardi Gras, paraded thru every classroom with our masks and beads, dancing to Mardi Gras music playing over the loud-speakers! It was great to introduce something like this to the kids, they don't want it to be over! Alas, it is, but for you I'll share the easiest EVER Mardi Gras King's Cake!

King's Cake:
2 or 3 containers Pilsbury Cinnamon Rolls
food coloring
sugar (the decorative crystals look best)
clay baby, fish or unbaked bean

Preheat oven according to package directions. Grease a pizza pan or round baking sheet.

Open containers and separate "rolls". Inside of the first roll, place the clay baby or fish. Now ball it up and place it on the baking sheet. Now ball up, individually, all the rolls, placing two next to eachother on the pan (in a circle formation) and one on top, between the two. Continue until you are out of rolls. Make sure it's in a pretty good circle and bake until a toothpick comes clean. You'll probably only have to bake it a few extra minutes, and watch that it doesn't burn.

While it is baking, remove the icing from the containers. Separate into 3 equal portions into small bowls. With the food coloring, make one bowl green, another purple, and another yellow. Also add color to 3 small bowls of sugar.

Remove cake from oven, let cool about 5 minutes before you add the icing. You'll want to make sections of each color with coordinating sugar on top.

Enjoy!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Jeremy's been sick with a bad cold the past few days, and after a restless night last night, he finally took his first sick day of the year today. I have a sore throat, but that's nothing compared to his symptoms. Poor guy. I wanted to make him a nice bowl of soup, and dessert tempted me... so here are some recipes for you to enjoy, as we did. This really were the EASIEST Martha Stewart recipes I've ever made... nothing too fancy or time consuming... just perfect for a freezing cold night like this one!


Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 6 to 8
In addition to broad egg noodles, you can make this heavenly soup with angel-hair pasta broken into short lengths or other shapes, such as alphabet pasta or pastina, or add cooked grains like rice.
3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock , or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
3 carrots, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces medium egg noodles
Cooked chicken meat, shredded (from Homemade Chicken Stock recipe)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, or 1 tablespoon dried dill
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Place stock in a stockpot over medium-high heat, and bring just to a simmer. Add carrots, and simmer until tender, about 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook noodles until just tender, about 6 minutes. Drain noodles, and add them to the pot of stock, along with shredded chicken meat. Season with salt and pepper. Heat until very hot. When ready to serve, stir in dill and parsley.



Peach Cobbler
Serves 8
10 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced (2 quarts)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons dark-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
2/3 cup heavy cream
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Place peaches, cornstarch, dark-brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Toss until well combined. Pour mixture into an 8 1/2-by-11 1/2-inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Using a fork, two knives, or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Whisk together egg and cream in a liquid-measuring cup. Slowly add this mixture to dry ingredients; mix with a fork until dough just comes together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board, and roughly shape into a 12-inch log. Using a bench scraper, cut log into twelve equal portions.
4. Place rough balls of dough on top of peach mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack, and let cool slightly. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.