Joy in the Kitchen!

Home made Christmas goodies are half the fun of Christmas!  By the end of November I'm thinking about which candies and cookies I'll make THIS year.  Some tried before aren't favorites so we won't bother with them... some are so much tradition they're hard to get out of. :)   Like FUDGE!    My husband makes the best fudge!  I don't even attempt it... that's his territory & I just stay out of the way. LOL   Personally, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3:1....   it says "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."   In my own twisted interpretation of that, I figure we are just heading into the Season for Chocolate.   :) The photo above is from goody trays made 2 years ago.  (last year I had a 6 month old who loved to be held so not as much time to cook!... this year he'll just hang on my leg while I cook. lol )   We have on that tray:  Caramels in the middle, raspberry marzipa

I blended recipes from both of Dave's Grandmothers for this.  In one I liked the spices better. :)  My Mom uses the recipe off of the can of Libby's pumpkin and that is my next favorite.  Mmmm!  This makes 2 9 inch pies with a little to spare.  Usually I have a small pie tin with extra pie dough rolled into it - and I fill that with the left over filling. Pumpkin Pie Filling 3 C. cooked pumpkin pureed (or winter squash) or 1 large can of pumpkin 1 1/2 C. sugar 4 eggs 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. cloves 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp ginger 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 2 12 oz. cans of evaporated milk Mix all but the milk until well blended.  Slowly mix in milk and pour into unbaked pie crusts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean. Joy's Notes :  I was forever pouring the filling into the crust and then spilling it as I placed it in the oven.  I've found it works easiest, to set the unfilled crust on t

This crust is a different taste, texture and color than a Crisco crust.  I like that it makes enough dough for 4 single or 2 double crusts. (plus usually enough to roll out 1 more small crust from the trimmings)  The dough is easy to work with, and comes out tender and flaky.  If you don't need 4 crusts worth of dough, divide dough into 4 pieces, gently press each into a ball, and flatten to about 1 inch thick.  Wrap this well in plastic wrap and freeze.  To use later, thaw on counter for an hour or so and roll out as usual. This year I recruited help from the kids with food prep and McKay, my 14 year old son, chose to do the pie crusts.  He did a terrific job!  It helps to have 2 people once you get to the point of adding the liquid, but you can work it out with one person as well. My Favorite Pie Crust 4 C. flour 1 lb. all vegetable margarine 1/4 C. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt Put dry ingredients in large bowl, mix together with a fork.  Add all 4 cubes of ma

Wow!  I got an email from Betty Crocker (I'm sure she wrote it herself - what a thoughtful woman! lol ) with Thanksgiving recipes.  The one that caught my eye was this Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake.  I LOVE cheesecake!  I LOVE pumpkin!  (I LOVE easy!)  I had all the ingredients on hand, so I gave it a try last night. When you cut and dish this up, you're going to think pumpkin pie, but the texture is heavier, and the cream cheese flavor really does hold its own.  I think I baked mine a few minutes too long as the top cracked and the edges were drier than I think they should be.  We served ours with whipped cream.  Very satisfying.  If you're looking for a Thanksgiving dessert that LOOKS like it took some work but doesn't, you might want to give this a try.  I'm definitely making it again.  Two Thumbs Up!  :) Follow this link straight to the Betty Crocker website and this recipe.  I'll post it here as well, but you might have fun hanging out with Bett

These showy little cookies are actually pretty easy to make.  Even better, the dough can be frozen in rolls for a quick and easy treat.  Christmas baking is coming up and having this dough in the freezer will make for some quick additions to cookie and candy plates for friends and neighbors.  These cookies are not too sweet and turn out fairly thin and crisp.  My 14 year old son says to be sure and mention how good they are dipped in milk!  Yummy! The original recipe is from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook.  The basic recipe is chocolate, but to make pinwheels or other contrasting creations, you'll mix up the batch without the cocoa first, take out half, and then add the cocoa to the second half.  Honestly, I find it easiest to just make 2 batches.  One chocolate and one vanilla.  Refrigerator Pinwheel Cookies 1 3/4 C. powdered sugar 1 1/4 C. margarine or butter, softened 1 egg 1/2 tsp. vanilla 3 C. flour 1/4 C. cocoa 1/4 tsp. salt Mix powdered sugar,

I am pretty sure these enchilada's are not an authentic ethnic recipe.  LOL  Regardless, they are so good!  I don't stick hard and fast to any recipe but I'll give some direction and approximate amounts.  My family loves chicken enchilada's... only one out of ten of us doesn't care for it. (and she's 6 years old, so I just keep telling her when she's bigger she'll probably like it. )  Tonight I actually used turkey in my filling since I roasted a turkey Sunday.  We also used whole wheat tortilla's and 2 of the 3 cans of cream soup were Healthy Request 98% fat free.  I didn't notice much difference at all in taste or texture with these healthy changes!  Chicken Enchilada's Filling: 3-4 C. chicken, cooked and diced or shredded 1 C. cooked rice 1 onion, chopped 2-3 stalks of celery, chopped 1 T. oil, butter or margarine 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 can cream of chicken soup 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese Sauce: 2 cans

My family loves No-Bake Cookies .  I have recipes for both chocolate and peanut butter.  They prefer chocolate, but we love both.  (I have seen recipes out there for cookies that are chocolate with peanut butter in them - I haven't tried those yet but I'll bet they're great!) The chocolate cookies can be a little finicky about heat.  If they're overcooked, they crumble (chocolate granola! lol ) and if they are undercooked they will stay sticky.  Have all of your ingredients ready when you begin, and have that timer handy as well. Chocolate No-Bake Cookies 2 C. sugar 2 T. baking cocoa 1/4 C. margarine 1/2 C. water pinch of salt Mix the above in a 3 quart pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and boil 3 minutes. (use the timer!)  Quickly remove from heat and add: 3 C. quick oats 2 tsp. vanilla Quickly drop by heaped spoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Cool.  Makes about 2 dozen smallish cookies. Joy's Notes:   IF your pan has a thick bottom, one tha

Dave and I were able to enjoy a Date Night at home again!  I've been itching to try a new recipe or two, and it's fun to cook new things for just the two of us.  (The little girls don't always appreciate dishes out of the norm. Silly girls. lol )  Last month Mom took me to Johnny Carino's for my birthday.  We had their Bowtie Festival, which was chicken, bacon, tomatoes and onion in Alfredo sauce, tossed with bowtie pasta.  Divine!   I had shrimp I wanted to use, and figured I could make up the rest.  It did come out similar.  My sauce was thicker, and I think I would have LOVED freshly grated Parmesan cheese, but I just had a jar of pregrated in the fridge.  Often, we end up with regular tossed green salad with ranch dressing, but last night we tried Mandarin Almond Salad and it was a wonderful change!  We'll have both dishes again!  If I hadn't been trying to watch our portions, I would also have served a small loaf of crusty French or Italian bread with thi

I had 3 freckly banana's on the counter and figured I'd make them into banana bread soon.  My daughter was reading through a cookbook and mentioned blueberry banana bread and that sounded like a fun new twist to the usual recipe! I decided to just alter the recipe I usually use...I'm still trying to add more whole grains into our diet, so I used part whole wheat flour in this.  I also reduced the margarine by 3 T. and added some applesauce. (both to help replace the margarine and because I was about 1/2 C. short on banana's)  We really like the results!  The blueberries make it more moist and the flavors blend really well. YUMMY!  The only thing I had a problem with was that the blueberries settled to the bottom half of the loaf for the most part... but they WERE, giant sized berries.  Maybe smaller berries would stay put better.  I did a 2 loaf batch and post that amount - easy to cut in half if you only need one loaf. Blueberry Banana Bread 1 C. sugar 1/2 C.

Chocolate Waffles are a fun dessert for a special occasion!  They can be baked a little bit ahead so it is easy to serve in an Assemble-Your-Own fashion. When Dave's Grandma passed away, I inherited her Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook dated 1953.  The binding is worn, pages have slipped out, paper clips mark pages with favorite recipes, and there are slips of paper tucked in it here and there with hand written notes and recipes that Grandma wanted to save.  What a wonderful item to have handed down! In this cookbook is a recipe for Dessert Waffles.  We make the chocolate version and add a scoop of ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.  MMMmmmm!!! Chocolate Waffles 1 1/4 C. sifted flour (it calls for cake flour in the book, but I just use regular and have great results) 1/2 tsp. salt 3 tsp. baking powder 6 T. cocoa 1/2 C. sugar 2 well-beaten whole eggs 3/4 C. light cream 1/4 C. butter, melted 1/4 tsp. vanilla 2 stiff-beaten egg whites Sift dry

Twenty years ago when we bought a cool mixer/blender combo, we attended cooking classes for a few weeks to learn how to use it properly.  We learned how to make these pancakes in that class.  They are different than pancakes made with white flour.  They are thinner, have some crunch when you chew them, and they're FUN to watch when they're made!  They taste good as well.  This morning my children ate every bit as many of these as they do the regular Buttermilk Pancakes I usually make. You DO need RUMFORD brand baking powder for this recipe.  Trust me, the other brands don't work.  I don't know exactly why, other than Rumford doesn't have aluminum in it, but ONLY Rumford works like it should.  When the batter is all finished mixing, it will rise in the blender jar... be sure your griddle is hot and ready to pour onto!  Other baking powders, at least all the others I've tried, won't make this rise in the jar and get plenty of air bubbles in to lighten it.

The eating healthier challenge is still on, but I'm both craving cookies and feeling guilty for not baking treats for my school kids.  SO... I figured if I'm going to indulge in a "bad" food, I'll make it as healthful as possible. :o)  These contain both oats and whole wheat flour, both whole grains.  We also use butter and oil instead of shortening or margarine. (and this is one of those times I'm choosing healthy over cost and using real butter instead of subbing margarine) My friend Rebecca said she found this recipe in a magazine.  I have no idea what magazine or who Bev is, so that's the best credit I can give.  I CAN tell you that these chocolate chip cookies are delicious!  The texture is a bit grainier than recipes using all white flour, but they are light and crisp and the taste is terrific.  They really are worth a try. Bev's Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies 3/4 C. quick oats 1 C. whole wheat flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp.

I know, I know, but not everything done in the kitchen is edible!  Several years ago on Frugal Families , someone posted about making laundry detergent.  At the time I thought "I" would never take the time to do that.  I figured I was getting a good deal on the detergent I was already buying.  I tried making the powdered version just to say I did - ICK.  It didn't dissolve in cold water and left white granules all over everything!  A few years later however, I saw a recipe for liquid detergent (probably on Frugal Families too lol ) and gave that a try.  IT WORKS!   I was surprised a few weeks ago to find a similar recipe at the check out stand of a local grocery store.  It listed the cost per load at  3 cents!  THAT is one of the reasons I've kept making my own liquid detergent.  There are only 3 critical ingredients (okay - 4 if you count the water) to keep on hand:  Borax, Washing Soda, and bar soap such as Fels Naptha, Zote, or other pure soap. (I have a friend

My husband and I are beginning a contest to eat healthier.  Of course I will win, but in the process he gets to benefit from the healthier meals I fix as well.  These Shredded Chicken and Black Bean Stuffed Tortilla's fit right into our goals.  Tonight I made whole wheat tortilla's that use oil as the fat instead of my usual recipe using white flour and shortening. (though those are wonderful!  I'll post that recipe another time.)  If you haven't tried making flour tortilla's yet, it's REALLY worth the effort... so much more tender and tasty than the ones you purchase at the store.  I used a crockpot to cook the filling.  If you don't have time or don't have a crockpot, you can do it in the oven or stovetop on a low temperature for a little shorter time.  I didn't serve this with cheese OR sour cream tonight, but if I weren't determined to beat Dave in this contest I would.  LOL  Good luck Honey!  ;o) Shredded Chicken and Black Bean Stuf