Key Lime for Beth

Key Lime Pie

Baked pie shell

½ c chocolate Fudge topping

2/3 c chopped macadamia nuts (optional)

Whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

1 c sugar

1 tsp unflavored gelatin

1 c milk

1/3 c key lime juice

¼ c cornstarch

3 egg yolks lightly beaten

¼ c butter flavored shortening

8 oz sour cream

In a saucepan mix the sugar, cornstarch, gelatin.  Add the lightly beaten eggs and milk.  Let it stand for a few minutes and then turn on low heat.  Stir constantly until thickened and then boil for one minute.  Remove from heat and add shortening.  Add lime juice and cool in fridge for about 35 minutes.  When it starts to set up add the sour cream.  Line the bottom of a baked pie crust with a layer of fudge topping.  After it sets, pour in the key lime filling.  Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  Serve cold.

Key Lime Cupcakes with Coconut Meringue

1 large lime, scrubbed (for 1 teaspoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice)


4 large eggs


1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix


1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix


1 1/4 cups water


1/3 cup vegetable oil


1 teaspoon coconut flavoring

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Zest the lime and reserve 1 teaspoon. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice over a strainer into a small bowl; you should have 2 tablespoons. Set aside. Separate 3 of the eggs; place the whites in a large clean mixing bowl and the yolks in another mixing bowl.  Add the remaining egg, cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, coconut flavoring and lime zest and juice to the yolks. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Spoon or scoop ¼ cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full.  Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Increase the oven heat to 450 degrees.  Cool for 15 minutes before filling.

Filling

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk


1/3 cup Key lime juice

Place the sweetened condensed milk and Key lime juice in a small bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a medium tip. Press the tip 1/4 inch into the top center of each cooked cupcake and squeeze the bag to release about 1 tablespoon filling into the cupcake.

Coconut Meringue

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar


Reserved 3 large egg whites


1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring


1/3 cup granulated sugar

Add the cream of tartar to the reserved egg whites and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until frothy, 45 seconds. Add the coconut flavoring and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Continue beating on high, adding 1 tablespoon sugar at a time, until the whites form stiff peaks. Spoon 2 tablespoons meringue onto the top of each cupcake and swirl to spread it just to the edges with a short metal spatula or a spoon. Place the pan in the oven. Bake until the meringue is light nutty brown in color, 5 to 6 minutes.  Serve at once.

Pumpkin Roll

This recipe doesn't even need an explanation.  It's positively delicious.  Plus, every morsel screams of the holidays...and what could be better than that??

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel-the thin dish clothes with no fuzzies on them)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup LIBBY'S 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.
2. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.
3. BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.
4. BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

ENJOY!

Fall Food

Fall is already half over here in Alaska.  The leaves have changed and have fallen. I'm already craving all my favorite fall dishes.  I have to get them in before the snow comes.  Here is one of my favorites...

Apple Apricot Stuffed Pork Chops

6 Loin Pork Chops, 1 Inch Thick

½ Cup Chopped Onion

½ Cup Chopped Celery

1 Tbsp. Butter

½ Cup Soft Breadcrumbs

½ Cup Chopped Apple

1/3 Cup Golden or Dark Raisins

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

½ Tsp. Ginger

¼ Cup Apricot Preserves

Cut deep pockets in each pork chop.  In a skillet, cook onion and celery in butter until crisp-tender.  Add breadcrumbs, apple, raisins, brown sugar, ginger and 2 Tbsp. preserves and mix well.  Stuff each chop with about ¼ cup stuffing mixture.  Place in a un-greased 9x13 pan and cover.  Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees.  Uncover and spread top of chops with remaining 2 Tbsp. preserves.  Bake uncovered an additional 15-20 minutes or until pork chops are tender. Serve with smashed potatoes and green beans.

This recipe reminds me of my Grammy.  I think most of you have met my Grandma Laine.  She always makes her applesauce cakes at Christmas with cherries on top of the loaves.  I made her recipe into cupcakes this week and they turned out splendidly.  I'm not a huge fan of raisins, nuts, or cherries in my cupcakes, so plain with a little cream cheese frosting was heavenly to me.  Make them however you like!  They are also good with a caramel filling, with caramel and nuts sprinkled over the top (like a caramel apple cupcake)!  Yum.

Applesauce Cake – Grandma Elaine

2 c sugar (1 c white, 1 c brown)

1 c butter

3 ½ c flour

2 tsp baking soda (mixed in applesauce)

3 c applesauce

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

2 eggs

1 c nuts

2 c raisins

1 tsp vanilla

Cherries for top

Bake in loaves or a cake pan for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  If making cupcakes, fill tins 2/3 of the way full and bake at 350 for 19 minutes.  Freeze or refrigerate cakes if not serving immediately or before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

Happy fall everyone!

Em 

Truffles and Bread Pudding

Hi lovely ladies! Ever since I quit my job about a month ago I have been taking advantage of the Goodrich Goodies blog constantly and I love it. I have always wanted to be able to make a really good truffle so I have been experimenting and this is what I have found:

White Truffles
Ingredients

2 tablespoons heavy cream
7 ounces good white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (recommended: Baileys)
1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
6 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate, choppedDirections

Directions
Place the cream in a heat-proof bowl, and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cook until heated through. Using a wire whisk, slowly stir the white chocolate into the warm cream until completely melted. Whisk in the liqueur and vanilla. Cover and chill for 1 hour or until pliable but firm enough to scoop.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
With 2 teaspoons or a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop, make dollops of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until firm enough to roll into rough spheres.
Place the chopped hazelnuts on a sheet pan and place them in the oven for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, set over a pan of simmering water.
Drizzle the melted bittersweet chocolate over 10 of the truffles. Roll the remaining truffles in the chopped nuts. Chill until ready to serve. (They taste SO much better when they are at room temp. I just kept them in the fridge and pulled out a plate full a few hours before anyone came over.)

I also made some simple bittersweet ghirardelli truffles and rolled all of them in chopped white chocolate, walnuts, and toffee.

Bread Pudding
Well since I bought that huge bottle of Bailey's I thought I would take advantage of it by making a delightful bread pudding. If your going to make one, you might as well take the plunge and make the other...

Sauce
2 cups whipping cream
6 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

Bread Pudding
14 cups 3/4-inch cubes French bread with crust (about 12 ounces)
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 ounces imported white chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup whole milk
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

For sauce:
Bring cream, liqueur, sugar, and vanilla to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Mix cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water in small bowl to blend; whisk into cream mixture. Boil until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Cool, then cover and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.) 

For Bread Pudding:
Combine bread, chocolate, and white chocolate in large bowl; toss to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla in another large bowl to blend. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups cream and milk. Add cream mixture to bread mixture; stir to combine. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Transfer bread mixture to prepared dish, spreading evenly. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup cream. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake pudding until edges are golden and custard is set in center, about 1 hour. Cool pudding slightly.

Drizzle bread pudding with sauce and serve warm. 

This one takes a long time but if you make the sauce ahead of time it helps. Oh and its worth it. 

Much Love, Jerica

(P.S. Does anyone have a good Quiche recipe? I have been experimenting with no avail...)

Mel's Gingerbread

I usually double it. My mixer can take most of the dry ingredients, and then I knead in the last of it by hand.

Mix all the dry ingredients. Set aside.
5--5 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 t. ginger
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cloves

Cream together wet ingredients then add the dry ingredients.

1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. molasses
2 eggs

I knead the last bit of flour in by hand out on the counter until it's in a nice big ball.
Keeps two weeks in the fridge wrapped in plastic.

Bake at 375*. For soft cookies, only cook about 5 minutes. (They'll puff a little...take them out even though they don't look fully done, they'll keep cooking on the sheet for a few minutes) For house pieces, I pretty much cook them to death....12 minutes or more.

Icing for cookies.... Just powdered sugar, milk, and lemon extract....keep it thick (like toothpaste)!

-Melanie Wilkes

If you like Peanut Butter...

Then you will love these! Chocolaty Peanut Butter Cupcakes
1 pkg plain devil’s food cake mix
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 c buttermilk
½ c vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
24 peanut butter cups

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cake mix, cocoa powder, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low for one minute. Top and scrape down the sides. Increase speed to medium and blend 2 minutes more. The batter should look thick and combined. Pour the batter into lined cupcake tins. Push in a peanut butter cup into each tin. Bake until the cake springs back lightly when touched, about 18 minutes. Cool while preparing the frosting.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting
1 c creamy peanut butter
8 Tbsp butter, room temperature
2 c powdered sugar, sifted
3 to 4 Tbsp milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Place the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy for 30 seconds. Stop and add the sugar, milk, and vanilla. Blend on low speed until the sugar is well combined, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting lightens and is fluffy, about 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 Tbsp of milk if the frosting seems too stiff.

Enjoy!

Em

Nacho Libre Night

see my blog for details of our night!

Banana Licuados
2 c ice
3 c 2% milk
splash of vanilla
1 ½ Tbsp sugar
3 large bananas

Blend until smooth and enjoy.

BBQ Chicken CPK Salad
Salad:
½ head iceberg lettuce
½ head romaine lettuce
12 large fresh basil leaves, dieed
1 lb jicama, chopped
2 c shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 c canned black beans
1 c canned sweet white corn kernels
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 lb ripe tomatoes diced
½ c sweet/spicy bbq sauce
¼ c green onions
tortilla strips

Herb Ranch Dressing (if you don't have time to make this dressing, just use your favorite ranch...it's still good!)
½ tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp cold water
2 ¾ c mayonnaise
1 c buttermilk
7 Tbsp sour cream
2 ½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 ½ Tbsp scallions (greens and whites)
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced fresh Italian parsley
1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced fresh dill
½ tsp minced fresh oregano (1/4 tsp dried)
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp minced fresh basil

Chicken:
1 1/3 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
¼ c good sweet/spicy bbq sauce

To make the ranch dressing, use a fork to stir the mustard and water, forming a paste. Set aside for 10 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl and use an electric mixer at low speed to blend together until smooth. Try not to incorporate too much air into the dressing. To make the chicken, preheat a grill or broiler. Mix together the olive oil, garlic, soy, and salt. Marinade the breasts at room temperature for 15 minutes. Grill or broil until cooked through (5-6 minutes per side). Chill thoroughly and then cut chicken into cubes. Toss with the bbq sauce to coat well. Mix all ingredients for the salad and top served with chicken, bbq sauce, and dressing. Garnish with scallions and tortilla chips.

Fried Ice Cream
1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 c crushed frosted flakes
1 ½ c sweetened coconut flakes
3 large eggs
3 Tbsp sugar
vegetable oil for frying
hot fudge
caramel sauce
whipped cream

With an ice cream scoop, form 4-8 large balls of ice cream. Place on a waxed paper lined sheet and cover with plastic wrap or in place in cupcake tins. Freeze for at least 2 hours. In a bowl, combine the cornflake crumbs with the coconut. Spread the mixture in a shallow dish. Dip the ice cream balls in the crumb mixture and freeze for 30 minutes. In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Dip the coated ice cream balls into the eggs, then roll in the crumb mixture, coating completely. Freeze for 1 hour. (If necessary, or for a thicker crust, roll again in eggs and crumbs until the balls are completely coated.) Heat the oil in a large pot or fryer to 400 degrees F. One at a time, lower the balls into the oil and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the oil and place in a dessert bowl. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream, as desired. Repeat with the remaining ice cream and serve immediately.

So much fun! Enjoy!

Pan Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cream sugar, butter, cream cheese, egg and extracts. Combine dry ingredients. Add a little at a time to creamed ingredients. Set aside. Grease jelly roll pan with a vegetable spray like Pam. Add just a little flour to the dough to keep it from sticking as you work with it. Spread dough in pan with a knife. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Do not overbake.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
dash of salt
half-n-half cream add to get right consistency

After cookies have cooled, add frosting. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Kathy

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just found this recipe online, and these are good! (I've never baked anything with pumpkin before, so I am impressed)!
These may sound elementary, but if you're in need of a fabulous recipe... here ya go!

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

This ended up making more than two dozen for me, and they're a good size! These are also a little cakey, which I LOVE! So enjoy!


adrianne

Chocolate Raspberry Cake Balls

Hi everyone! It's Maggie!

I think long, long ago someone tagged me to include a recipe of my favorite messy meal. Well...basically everything I do in the kitchen leaves a path of destruction, but today I discovered THE MESSIEST DESSERT EVER! But It's so good that it's totally worth it.

I call these cake balls.

you'll need:
A chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
apple sauce
1/2 can of chocolate frosting
a package of fresh raspberries
a bag of milk chocolate chips

First you bake a chocolate cake using the lowfat directions. The cake mix I used called for a cup of water, 3 eggs, and 1/3 cup applesauce. Bake and cool.

Next scoop 1/2 a can of chocolate frosting in a large bowl and add about a 1/3 of a cup of applesauce. Mix in about 3/4 a package of raspberries. Using a hand mixer on the lowest speed, mix the ingredients until they are blended. The raspberries will be chunky.

Now's the FUN part! When the cake is cool, cut it up into large pieces and dump them a few pieces at a time into the large bowl with the frosting mixture. Use a hand mixer to blend everything together. The consistency should be very moist but the mixture should hold together enough to hand-form balls.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Using a spoon, scoop up the "dough" and shape it into small bite-sized balls (kind of the size of a donut hole) with the palms of your hands. Place the balls on the wax paper. You can place the balls fairly close together on the wax paper but just not touching.

When all the dough has been formed into balls and placed on the wax paper. Put in fridge for about 1 hour to cool and firm.

After cooling, pour 1 package of milk chocolate chips into a small saucepan (the smaller the better because you want it to be deep enough to dip the balls in the melted chocolate). Melt the chocolate on very low temperature. Add a little milk if you think you need more moisture. Once melted, hand-dip each ball into the chocolate so it is completely coated. You can also pour spoonfuls of the melted chocolate over the ball while holding it over the melted chocolate. Be careful to not burn yourself if the chocolate is too hot, because throughout this process your fingers will be absolutely covered in the melted chocolate!

Place each chocolate covered ball back on the wax-papered cookie sheet and when all the balls are covered in chocolate, be sure to lick all the remaining chocolate off your fingers!!! :) Place the cookie sheet back in the fridge for another hour or so to chill before serving.

Serve chilled on a plate garnished with the leftover fresh raspberries.

In this recipe I cut back on the fat by using the lowfat baking method, plus cutting back on the frosting by adding applesauce. The result is still a delicious moist chocolate and raspberry flavor. You can probably see that this recipe is very alterable. You could use any cake mix flavor or frosting flavor and could use white chocolate to cover the balls if you want. You could also add different fruit flavors. I'm serving these ToNigHt at a dessert party so I'll let you know how they go!

Miss you all!
Maggie

Chocolate Torte

Tonight I was in the mood to make a yummy dessert but had no butter, so I pulled out the old ward cookbook and searched through it. The first recipe I found looked simple enough, and I decided to try it out. HOLY HECK! So yummy! And so easy! And so elegant!

Chocolate Torte

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. cocoa
1 c. sugar

combine. Make a "well."

1 c. water
1/3 c. oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp vanilla

Add to dry ingredients. Spoon into regular-sized or miniature lined or sprayed muffin tins. Fill 1/2 full

Filling

Combine 8 ounces cream cheese (softened), 1 egg, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Stir well. Add 6 ounces of chocolate chips. Spoon 1 tsp over chocolate mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes about a dozen and a half (with regular-sized muffin pan)

I greased a cookie sheet and flipped the finished tortes upside down on the sheet. They popped right out and looked like mini lava cakes.

SOOOOOO yummy!

Enjoy!

Adrienne's Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

I'm not trying to confuse you, but this recipe was given to me by my friend Adrienne (this is Adrianne). We're both part of the large network of APX wives here in Louisville. All of us decided to have a recipe swap earlier this week, so I now have an arsenal of delicious recipes to try once we move home next week (Meaning, I better see some of you at the Goodrich reunion next weekend). I haven't tried this recipe myself, but Adrienne brought some over to me, and they were DELICIOUS. I snarfed it in seconds!!
I will definitely be adding more recipes as I try the ones that have been given to me!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze:
prep: 15 minutes cook time:15 min. makes 44 cookies

Ingredients:
cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp lemon juices
1 lemon zested

Directions:
preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cookies:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with the parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookies) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:
combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. spoon about 1/2 teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookie into decorative container.

P.S. I am making Emily's french chicken with cool whip tonight, so I'm excited to see how it turns out!
P.P.S. I cannot wait to get back to Utah. Another cousins' part, please?

Easy Greek Feast!

Greek Salad and Souvlaki

This is Di! Today is Greece's independance day, so we had to celebrate. Why? Because it's a reason to eat Greek food! I looked up some recipes on the internet that were so easy and turned out so well, that I had to share! Our menu consisted of Greek kabobs called souvlaki, white rice, and Greek salad with baklava for dessert. Then enjoy your favorite Greek movie like My Big Fat Greek Wedding or Mama Mia.

Keep in mind I had to convert the measurements, so they aren't exact.

Souvlaki
3 lbs tender pork or beef (I used a pork roast)
3 T olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
3 T oregano
1 T thyme
Salt and Pepper

Cut meat up into cubes removing any fat or gristle. Thread on to skewers (if you're using wood skewers they need to be soaked in water for a few minutes) brush with olive oil, season with oregano, thyme, and lots of salt and pepper.

I cooked mine on a grill pan under a sheet of aluminum foil. This traps the heat in so they cook faster and more evenly. Over medium heat, they need about 3-5 minutes per side. You can use a thermometer to check if they're done, it should register at 170 degrees. These are also good cooked on a bbq or you could broil them in the oven.

When thoroughly cooked, put the skewers on a plate and pour lemon juice over them. I garnished it with some lemon peel, that is why you see yellow chunks on it in the picture.



Greek Salad

Make a yummy salad with romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese and Greek olives. Top with red wine vinegar and olive oil or your favorite salad dressing.

Baklava
Filling:
1 lb chopped walnuts (since my mom is allergic, I used almonds, and that was really good too!)
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Mix together in a bowl

Pastry:
8oz. Fyllo dough (you find this in the refrigerator section of the store)
1/2 c. melted butter (you may need more)

Butter the base and sides of a 9X13 pan. Put a sheet of fyllo dough on the bottom of pan, brush with butter, then another sheet and brush with butter, repeat five times. Keep in mind the dough may be too big for the pan, but it will shrink. Sprinkle some of the filling on. Layer more dough with butter brushed between each layer 3 times. Then sprinkle more filling, then layer 3 more sheets brushed with butter. Add the remainder of the filling. Layer the rest of the dough (there should be about 8 sheets left). Be sure to put a lot of butter on the top layer so the pastry gets nice and brown. Cut the pastry halfway through-don't cut it all the way to the bottom-in diamond shapes with a sharp knife. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake 20 minutes longer. Cool, pour the syrup over the top. It will be a little soupy, but that just makes it yummy. The pastry slowly soaks in the liquid, so this dish is good for days after it's made.

Syrup:
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
2 cinnamon sticks or 1 t. cinnamon
2 t. lemon juice
a few pieces of lemon peel
2 T honey

Put all the ingredients except the honey in a saucepan. Dissolve the sugar in the water simmer for 6-8 minutes. Add the honey, simmer 5 minutes more until it thickens.

Baklava (Obviously, I made two. You can't just make one and expect everyone to be happy!)

I got these recipes from http://www.greek-recipe.com/

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes

Di came over and we made these little delicacies:The kiddos were little angels just eating their fruit:It was the mamas that were having a hard time. After one boiling hot pot of ramen and a brand spankin' new gallon of milk dumped all over the kitchen floor, we were finally able to sit and enjoy this site (for a minute): Yeah...they're that good. Go ahead, try them for yourself:

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes
1 box yellow cake mix
1 sm vanilla instant pudding
2 c pitted cherries
½ c sugar
½ c water
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cornstarch

Cook cupcakes according to package. Add cherries, water, and vanilla to a pot. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat. Stir together sugar and cornstarch then stir into the cherries. Cook until thick, about 20 minutes. Fill cupcakes using the cone method once the filling has cooled. Top with frosting and a rinsed and dried maraschino cherry.

Vanilla Buttercream
1 stick butter
3 c powdered sugar
vanilla
milk

High-five team!Enjoy!

Di's Donuts

As much as I would like to, I cannot claim these donuts as my own. I got the recipe in my Foods class in high school. I never went to class, in fact, I missed the day that they did these donuts. I got the recipe and through many years of trial and error, I think I finally have it right. Because they have potato in them, they are actually Spudnuts.

Spudnuts:
2 pkg yeast
1/2 c. warm water
2 c. scalded milk, cooled
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. instant mashed potatoes ( I find the potato flakes rather than the pearls mix in better and taste better)
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 t. lemon extract (DO NOT substitute lemon juice. The extract is a MUST!)
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. mace
6 c. flour, divided

Prep the yeast by adding it to the water and letting it sit for five minutes. During this time, I heat the milk for 2 minutes in a microwave-safe dish in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then I add the instant potatoes to the milk to let it cool faster. (I like to use a Bosch mixer with the kneading hook when I make these, but a Kitchen Aid would work. Up until last year I always made them by hand, so that would work too. )

Mix all ingredients together except for 3 cups of the flour. Mix until smooth. Add the remaining 3 cups of flour. Cover and rise until double. Fold the dough together (punching it down will keep the donuts from puffing up as much in the grease), and let it rise until doubled again. Roll dough until 1/2" thick. Cut into donut shapes either with a donut cutter or a round cookie cutter and a smaller, round cutter for the middle. Let them rise for at least another 30 minutes.

Prepare the fryer by adding oil and heating it to 375 degrees. Drop into the fryer turning until both sides are golden. Using the handle of a wooden spoon through the hole of the donut, dip the donut in the glaze while they are still hot. This is a two-person operation. One person to cook the donuts, the other to glaze them.

Glaze:*
1 2 lb. bag Powdered sugar
1 t.Vanilla
HOT water

*The glaze is a little bit tricky. The glaze will thicken as it cools, so you want to keep the glaze warm, and dip the donuts in it while they are still hot. It takes a LOT of sugar. I use about one 2 lb. bag of powdered sugar for every batch of donuts sometimes more. Poor the sugar into a microwave-safe bowl, add Vanilla, then very carefully and slowly add hot water while whisking being careful not to add too much. Whisk until all the lumps are gone and it has the consistancy of syrup. If you do add too much water, then add more sugar.
If the glaze starts to thicken too much while you are still cooking the donuts, stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Enjoy! Honestly, I think the donuts are even better on the second day, so don't get discouraged if they don't all get eaten right away... like they wouldn't!! ;)
Questions?

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Carmel Apples

Happy Fall! To get into the mood for fall, we made these deluxe goodies in mommy's group. I just melted a bunch of Kraft carmels in the crockpot but I put one of those crockpot covers in so there was no mess to clean up! We dipped the apples in the carmel and then rolled them in chopped pecans, peanuts, toffee bits, and coconut. We drizzled white and dark chocolate over the top. My absolute favorite is the carmel apple dipped in white chocolate and then rolled in cinnamon and sugar. It tastes like apple pie! This was so much fun and it would be a blast to do with the kiddos or for FHE or something. I tied a bunch up in celophane bags and gave them away. People were shocked at the 'gourmetness' which made me feel all proud (hey no one has to know how easy it is right?!). Have a happy delicious fall!

-Starving in Seattle
(Em)

Raspberry Cake (Jerica)

Okay I am a little embarrassed about this recipe because it is SO easy and I wouldn't even put it on here but its time for a new post. Anyways its an easy way to make a boring cake look a little more fun!

Take a bag of frozen raspberries and let completely thaw. Then drop them in a blender, add about 1/2 cup sugar and blend until smooth. Pour into a plastic bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner (that's my favorite trick). Set aside. Bake a cake using the directions on the back of the Betty Crocker box, and top with a cream cheese frosting. Drizzle that raspberry delight on top!

Okay so I stole the picture from google and my cake would never look like that but you get the idea right?

Caramel Popcorn (Beth)

1 cup butter
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 1/2 cups light brown sugar

Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil for 5 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup miniature marshmellows and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda.
Stir until marshmellows are melted, then pour over 4 bags of popped microwave popcorn (or pop 2 cups popcorn kernels).

This makes a lot!!! And it stays soft for days!!! Just be sure to follow the instructions exactly! And watch out when you add the baking soda, it foams up and may boil over.

If you don't have all of this stuff, my husbands family does a simpler version.

PEANUT BUTTER POPCORN

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring to a boil and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour over 2 bags popped microwave popcorn.

Caramel Fruit Dip

Brigitte is here visiting me in Des Moines, and we have been enjoying some fruit dip that I made for a Baby Shower.

8 0z softened cream cheese
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 T vanilla
Toffee pieces (you have to eye-ball it, I used about 1/4 the bag which would be about 1/2 cup)

Whip it all together and serve with apples, bananas, strawberries, etc.
SO YUMMY!!
This will probably be my last post from Des Moines! I'm looking forward to seeing all you Utahns!
Loves
Di

Key Lime Pie

Ever since making those Key Lime Cupcakes (see older post), I have been craving treats of a tart tasting nature. I have never had Key Lime Pie before but since I have all this extra lime juice on hand...I decided to give Logan an incentive to study for finals and try to make one! It is now a new favorite treat and SO FAST and EASY to make!!!

Key Lime Pie
9 inch pastry or graham cracker pie crust
3 egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ c key lime juice
cool whip
lime zest

Whisk together 3 egg yolks. Don’t over beat! Whisk in sweetened condensed milk until very well incorporated. Slowly add lime juice a bit at a time and whisk vigorously until it thickens. This is a fab arm workout! Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool and set. Zest a little lime over the top. Top with cool whip or for an extra delicious and lovely treat, make the coconut meringue from the cupcake recipe! It was so amazing on the pie!

Enjoy!

-Starving in Seattle (Emily)