Tasty Treat Friday!!!!

Christmas is coming, as I if I needed to tell you, since I'm sure you've seen Christmas items down every isle, and heard the Christmas carols played in almost every store. I decided to start some of my Christmas cookie and candy recipes that are new to me. I haven't made very many candy items before, maybe fudge and caramels, peanut butter balls, but that's not much compared to all the candies out there. So I wanted to try them out before I'm making them for my cookie trays next month. I glanced around my pantry baking shelf and found I had all the ingredients for Mixed Nut Brittle. I've never made peanut brittle, but this recipe seemed so simple that I wanted to give it a try. 

Verdict? SOOOO GOOD!! It was so easy and tastes so good, I wonder why I've never tried to make brittle before! The hardest part is cleaning the bowl and forks that I used to make the brittle, because as soon as the sugar mixture begins to cool, its hardens. So be prepared to soak your dishes a bit.

Mixed Nut Brittle

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup of salted mixed nuts

1 T. butter

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. baking soda

Grease a small baking sheet (I used a square 8"x8"); set aside. 

In a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup, combine sugar and corn syrup.

Microwave mixture, uncovered, on high for 5 minutes; stirring twice.

Stir in nuts and butter. 

Microwave mixture, uncovered on high for 1-2 minutes more, or just until mixture turns golden 

(mixture will continue to cook and become more golden when removed from the microwave)

Stir in the vanilla and baking soda.

Immediately pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet.

Use two forks to lift and pull candy into a thin sheet as it cool (this helps make the brittle crisp)

Cool completely. Break up into pieces.

The mixture will bubble and foam a bit when you add the butter and then again when you add the baking soda. This is completely normal! The only problem with this recipe: Doesn't make enough!! Especially when you are going to give some of it away!

Thanksgiving tips..because if you have a picky mother in law you need all the help you can get!

Thanksgiving is almost here, though after wondering down the isles of the grocery store you'd think it was Christmas next week. I'm super excited about Thanksgiving...and stressed. Even though I've done it almost every year for the past 5-6 years, I always get nervous. I'm notorious for not having my turkey done on time. I always plan for it to be done at a certain point but then I realize its not ready and have to sweat it out in the kitchen constantly checking it, because now all the sides I've so carefully planned to be done at the same time, are done and at risk of becoming cold. How to solve this problem? Put the turkey in an hour or two even, before I'm technically supposed to so that if it needs more time, I'll still be golden and no one will ever know.

Then I'm been trying to make the simplest yet most delicious meal possible. I make my stuffing from scratch, but its an easy recipe that everyone loves. Then I thought about doing slow cooker mashed potatoes, but the recipe I found that was simple I can no longer find, and all the other recipes call for cooking them in a big pot prior and I'm sorry but that defeats the purpose to me. The purpose of the slow cooker is to do it for me. I understand I still have to peel and everything, but not cook them in a huge pot, mash them, throw 8 other ingredients in there with it and then have it cook more..um no. I think I'll stick to the traditional way, although my tip for this is: You can peel your potatoes and put them in a pot of cold water (the pot you will cook them in saves dishes) and then drain out the water and put in fresh water when your ready to cook them. This will prevent them from turning brown and can be done UP TO 24 hours prior. So the night before when you have time to peel, or in the morning before anything else is ready to be prepared.

My next tip that I found was using the slow cooker as your bread warmer. Set slow cooker to lowest setting and place rolls inside. Rolls will stay warm without drying up for UP TO 1 hour. So if your rolls come out of the oven and you still have 30 minutes left before dinner, pop them in your slow cooker till dinner is ready and don't worry about cold rolls, or rubbery ones from the microwave (I think I'll use this tip!)

So there are my tips for now. I'm hoping to stumble across a few others before the big day, but either way I just have to remind myself that I've done it before, its not that hard, and always accept help when offered!!

Tasty Treat Friday!!!

I'm back on track!! Delicious pie just out of the oven! This morning I was wondering what I should make for the treat. You'd think that I would have already figured that out, but no...I have a stack about 20 high of recipes, but I hadn't commited myself to one. That is until I saw the bowl of apples that no one has seemed to want to eat...probably because the mini one has 2 front teeth loose and apples are NOT her friend right now, and for the man of the house..eating an apple would be a shocking event..and lucky he loves me and doesn't want to give me a heart attack!

So what to do with this bowl of apples no one is inclined to eat? My wonderful mom made a suggestion...apple pie anyone?? My dutch apple pie recipe is as simple as it gets. I can remember making this countless times in Nick and I's tiny apartment kitchen. It was so easy for a beginner cook, and it made the house warm and smell divine. There's nothing intimidating about this recipe, and if you bake, the ingredients are usually in your pantry. Plus we still have vanilla ice cream from the peanut fudge pudding cake. Score!

Dutch Apple Pie

2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter (melted)

1/2 cup oats

Filling:

 2/3 cup of sugar

3 Tablespoons of corn starch

1 1/4 cups of water

3 cups of peeled, diced apples

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Set aside 1 cup of mixture for topping your pie.

Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9 in pie plate to make your crust; set aside.

For the filling, combine sugar, cornstarch, and water in a medium saucepan on medium high, stirring frequently,

Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in apples, cinnamon, and vanilla. 

Pour into crust, then top with reserved crust mixture by crumbling the chunks all over the top of the pie. 

Bake at 350* F for 40-45 minutes.

I have redeemed myself!!!

After creating bricks of bread earlier today, I have redeemed myself and made the most delicious cake!!  Peanut Fudge Pudding Cake...amazing!! I was going through my mother in law's cookbooks (she has over 100!) and copied recipes from the slow cookers ones since fall and winter seem to be the time I use mine the most. That's when I stumbled across a cake recipe made in the slow cooker, what could be easier? But how would it taste? Would it be gross and overcooked, or delicious and moist like everything the slow cooker makes? Answer of course was AMAZING!! So here were go:

Peanut Fudge Pudding Cake

1 c . flour

1 c. sugar, divided

1 1/2 t. baking powder

2 T. vegetable oil

2/3 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. boiling water

Coat the slow cooker with non-stick spray. 

Combine flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, and baking powder in medium bowl.

Add milk, oil, vanilla, and peanut butter. 

Mix until well-blended.

Pour batter into slow cooker. 

Combine remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cocoa powder in small bowl.

Stir in boiling water. Pour into crockpot.

DO NOT STIR!!!

Cover. Cook on high for 1 hr and 20min-1 hour and 30min. until toothpick comes out clean.

Allow cake to rest 10 minutes then scoop into serving dishes or onto serving platter.

Serve warm with chopped peanuts and ice cream.

doesn't look to pretty, but its sooo good!!

This truly was so simple. I, however, got so excited by the sheer smell that I forgot to let it rest for 10 minutes! But it seemed to create this warm fudge sauce that was perfect with the ice cream.  I also used chunky peanut butter, it was all I had, and I actually think I'd prefer it that way. But its your choice. One other thing is I think you could add a little espresso powder to the cocoa powder and sugar mixture to add a grown up twist to it. Ice cream goes perfectly with it, but you could do whipped cream too. Its pretty versatile.

*Note: I saw slow cookers were on sale at Target for $15 this week! For those of you who don't have one! Get one!!

Lovely Smell...bad results....

So today I decided I'd face my nemesis- bread. I had a simple bread recipe and decided to give it a try.
Its Everything Braid Bread. I carefully followed the recipe, doing exactly what it said, measuring as carefully as possible. Taking my time, making sure everything was right. I got through the 1st rise thinking I'm golden! Look at the rise on that! Braided the bread, left it to rise, came back and hour later..nothing...2 hours later..nothing. It was already hard. Rock anyone? You don't really need that tooth right?

So I prayed silently over my rock bread, and thought maybe while it bakes it will magically rise and become beautiful and delicious. Otherwise I'm going to end up with two doorstops.  I slid the oven door shut, with another little prayer, and left the room. The whole time I'm smelling this amazing aroma from all the spices and seeds on the bed, thinking its going to be amazing. It beeps. I slowly walk into the kitchen, and slowly open the oven door as though it the gingerbread man going to pop out at me...and I see it. One flat, lifeless doorstop. It didn't fluff up at all, I think it shrunk. I've made shrinky dinks bread. Lovely.

However, if you are able to produce a lovely loaf of bread then this recipe would be wonderful. Even if you just make your regular white bread dough, then roll it out to 12x8, cut it into 6 long strips, take three and braid, put it on a greased baking sheet, and repeat with the next 3 strips.  Let it rise for about an hour more, brush it with one egg + 1 T. of water, and then sprinkle a mixture of 1 tsp. each of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, kosher salt, toasted onion flakes and dried rosemary. Bake at 400* for 25-30 minutes...tap bread, if it sounds hollow its done. Mine sounds like hitting piece of cherry hardwood. Bummer.

I hope that my horrible experience doesn't deter you from trying this bread. The smell is absolutely amazing.  I would even consider mixing some of the herbs into the dough for extra flavor. Plus if I think about it, this whole failure will actually save me money. No need to buy the dogs chewies this week. We're set now.

Soo maybe I'm a bit of a slacker....

After confessing my short comings a couple weeks ago, and renewing myself to posting more, and cooking new things, I've once again slacked off. I've been so busy with our PTO that I haven't had time to do a whole lot. We've been eating things that I've already posted (and now come to love) and I'm trying to drop the millionth pound that I've put on with all the candy and treats around. So today there is no treat...so sad, but I spent 6 hours popping and bagging popcorn with wonderful ladies in our PTO but I can't come home at this point and want to even look at food or think about cooking. Bleh. So I'm going to make it my goal to make something new this weekend and do some new posts! Just keep looking! :)