berry pie

This pie is one of my favorites that I made this fall. It was my first lattice-top pie and it was fun to make that pattern. I like that about pie: it's easy to decorate.

Ozark Mountain Berry Pie

Taste of Home

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, optional

dash salt

1 cup blueberries

1 cup strawberries

3/4 cup blackberries

3/4 cup red raspberries

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

pastry for double crust pie

2 Tbsp. butter

1. In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in berries. Add water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture just comes to a boil.

2. Line a 9 inch pie plaste with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge. Fill with berry filling and dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry; make lattice crust. Trim, seal, and flute edges. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until crust is golden. Cool on wire rack. Store in refrigerator.

banana cream pie

This one would be great with a graham cracker crust too.

Banana Cream Pie

Betty Crocker

Pastry for one crust pie

4 large egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups milk

2 Tbsp. butter or stick margarine, softened

4 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sweetened whipped cream

1. Bake pastry for one crust pie.

2. Beat egg yolks with fork in medium bowl; set aside. Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2 quart saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

3. Immediately stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks, then stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Cool filling slightly. Slice 2 large bananas into pie crust; pour warm filling over bananas. Press plastic wrap on filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.

4. Remove plastic wrap. Top pie with whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate cooled pie until serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

French Silk Pie

Sorry for the break, but we were out of town for a few weeks. Back to pie-making! Yesterday I made my favorite pie so far. When I was little we lived outside Kansas City, Kansas and I remember my parents going on dates to eat at KC Masterpiece and picking up pies from Tippins. The one kind of pie I remember them bringing home was a french silk pie. I found a recipe for that and tried it last night. It was really, really good and pretty easy. I think I'll make it one of my traditional pies this time of year.

French Silk Pie

Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book

1 baked pastry shell

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (6 ounces)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 beaten egg yolks

3 tablespoons creme de cacao or whipping cream

1 cup whipped cream

chocolate curls, optional

1. In a medium heavy saucepan combine 1 cup whipping cream, chocolate pieces, butter and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat. Gradually stir half of chocolate mixture into beaten egg yolks. Return egg mixture to chocolate mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and begins to bubble (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat. (Mixture may appear to separate.) Stir in creme de cacao. Place the saucepan in a bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally, until the mixture stiffens and becomes hard to stir (about 20 minutes). Transfer to medium mixing bowl.

2. Beat cooled chocolate mixture with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Spread filling into baked (and cooled) pastry shell. Cover and refrigerate pie for 5-24 hours. To serve, top with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate curls.

pumpkin pie

Pie Sunday #2 has come and gone. I tried a new crust recipe and you make it in a mixer, which was nice. I love my kitchen aid, you know. The recipe actually made crust for three pies, or one two-crust and one one-crust, so I've got some for the coming Sundays. Should be fun!

Pumpkin Pie

from the Lion House Cookbook

1 1/2 cups pumpkin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup water (this made too much filling for my pie, so I would omit the water next time)

Pastry for 1-crust pie

Whipped cream, if desired

Place pumpkin in large mixing bowl. In separate bowl, mix cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Add to pumpkin and mix until well blended. Add eggs and evaporated milk and mix until blended. Add water and mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Top with whipped cream, if desired. Makes 1 pie.

tradition!

I just started a new one. I decided to make apple pie on Sunday and then, on a whim, announced that I will be making a pie every Sunday until the end of the year. So, I went through all of my cookbooks and picked the five pie recipes I want to try and I put them on the calendar. No turning back now. I think I may even try a new crust recipe every time. I wasn't a huge fan of the one I did on Sunday, but how can you go wrong with sweet and cinnamony apple filling? It was still tasty. So... I'll post my recipes, and my favorite crust recipe once the Sundays are all spent. Happy baking!

Apple Pie

from Betty Crocker

Pastry for 2-crust pie

1/3-2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

dash of salt

8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (8 medium)

2 Tbsp. butter or stick margarine, if desired

1. Heat oven to 425 and make pastry.

2. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl. Stir in apples. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over apples. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2-to-3 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

3. Bake 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool on wire rack at least 2 hours. Refrigerate after 24 hours.

I used my frozen apples from our berry order, so that made it so much more pleasant to make an apple pie. Eight apples is a lot to skin and thinly sliced. I am not quite patient enough for that. So, thank goodness for the fruit order!

halloween treats: part 4

This tart didn't work out as well as I wanted, logistically at least. But it is delicious. It tastes a lot like hello dollies, if you've ever had those.

dark side chocolate caramel tart

from the Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Pastry for single-crust pie (9 in.)

1/2 cup each chopped pecans (I used walnuts), milk chocolate chips, and semisweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

Drizzle:

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. milk

1. In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture turns an amber color, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat; slowly stir in cream (mixture will appear lumpy). Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is completely smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9 in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom; trim edges. Prick the botom with a fork. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips into crust. Whisk eggs, one at a time, into warm caramel mixture. Pour over chocolate and pecans.

4. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until top is completely bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

5. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips with milk; stir until smooth. Cut a small hole in corner of plastic bag. Fill with chocolate mixture; pipe a spider's web over tart. Store in refrigerator.

Yield 12 servings.

halloween treats: part 3

This recipe was much better than I thought it would be. It's easy, fast and really quite good. It's also really good to give away since it packs well. That's what I did with most of the batch I made. But I can make it again, and I think I just might.

halloween layered fudge

from Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

1 tsp butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, divided

8 oz. white candy coating

1/4 tsp. orange extract

2-4 drops orange paste food coloring

1. Line an 8 in. square pan with foil; butter foil and set aside.

2. In microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and 1 cup milk on high for 30 seconds; stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Chill 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating with remaining milk. Stir in extract and food coloring. Spread over chocolate layer.

4. Chill for 1 hour or until firm. Using foil, remove fudge from pan. Cut into 1 in. squares.

Yield: about 2 pounds

halloween treats: part 2

These little ghosts didn't quite turn out like the picture in the magazine, but they tasted good. They even looked spooky when poorly done, so I may try them again next year. They can't look any worse than they did this year, right?

hosts of ghosts

(from Taste of Homes Halloween magazine 2008)

10 oreos

3 oz. softened cream cheese

6 oz. white candy coating, chopped (I used candy melts, so that may be part of my problem)

1 tsp. shortening

1. In food processor, cover and process cookies until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Cut cream cheese in to three pieces; add to food processor. Cover and process until mixture forms a soft dough.

2. Using 2 tsp. of dough for each, form 26 ghost shapes. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (This is where my problems began: my ghosts didn't hold their shape very well at all. They look pretty squatty, huh?)

3. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating and shortening; stir until smooth. Slowly spoon over each ghost shape to cover.

4. Use a toothpick to create eyes. (My favorite one also had a mouth and they were fun to experiment with.) Store in the refrigerator.

halloween treats: part 1

Joey and I made these fun little Halloween fruit cups for dinner on Saturday. She loves oranges and went crazy eating the leftovers. She is a great kitchen companion when you need someone to come up with creative faces for the jack-o-lanterns. The kids loved them, although William tried to take a bite of the whole thing, orange rind and all, and was a little put off. He enjoyed it when I showed him how to eat it right.

Jack-O'-Lantern oranges

from Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

8 small navel oranges (or one for each person you're feeding)

1 small apple, chopped

1/2 cup halved seedless grapes

1. Choose which side of the orange will be the jack-o'-lantern's face; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each so that it rests flat. Cut another small slice from the top. Spoon out pulp. (They make that sound so easy. I cut around the edges with a knife and then scooped out what I could with the spoon.) Chop pulp and combine with apples and grapes; set aside.

2. Cut faces as desired. (You just have to cut through the orange layer, so don't slice in too far.) Optional: decorate with cloves and/or slivered almonds (for teeth). Spoon mixture into jack-o'-lanterns.

ps

I am planning some fun Halloween treats, so stay tuned for those posts.

cookies

I took these cookies to church on Tuesday night and the recipe was requested. Since they are so easy and we really like them, I thought I'd share. This is a variation of the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe I love. I use a similar variation for mint chocolate cookies during Christmas time.

Chocolate Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies (did you get all that?)

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips (I like the Hershey's special dark ones)

1 cup peanut butter chips

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and mix well. Add all dry ingredients at once and mix well. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips last.

Drop by spoonful onto baking sheets and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

brownies in review

Here is the first of the brownie recipes I've tried. They were a big hit at the baby shower and I got a request for the recipe, which came from Jessica. They are definitely worth a try. Thanks for sharing!

Best Brownies – Jessica

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

2 c. sugar

1/3 c. cocoa

1 ½ c. flour

¼ t. salt

2 t. vanilla

4 eggs

1 ½ c. chopped nuts (optional)

Melt butter. Add sugar and cocoa and mix. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Put in greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Frost.

Frosting:

½ c (1 stick) butter

1/3 c. cocoa

2 ½ c. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/3 c. evaporated milk

Melt butter. Combine remaining ingredients and spread over brownies.

Don't you just want to eat them up?

October, here we come!

Yeah, it's a new month! That means I can stop feeling guilty about not posting daily. Who was I kidding with that schedule? So, we're lowering our expectations and moving into some of my favorite baking time of the year. Are you ready? I'm getting there.

I'm going to be trying some brownie recipes tomorrow. I get to take a treat to a baby shower, so it's the perfect excuse to try a couple batches and not have to eat them all by myself. Oh, what torture that would be, right?

I'll let you know how it all goes...

And thank you to everyone who contributed a recipe for me to try!

calling for help

I am looking for an absolutely wonderful, we're talking to-die-for, brownie recipe. If you have one you love I'd love to try it. Leave a comment or email me if you have my info. Thanks!

random recipe

Some of you have seen this recipe before, but I wanted to post it anyway. I love this simple treat. It's easy and fun to make. And, of course, it's yummy as can be.

Kettle Corn

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

1/4 cup sugar

You just heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat until hot and then add the popcorn. (I added three popcorn kernels with the oil so when they popped I knew it was hot enough.) Sprinkle the sugar and a little bit of salt on top and cover. Then you just let the pot sit on the heat for three seconds and then shake the pot for three seconds, then repeat until the popping slows to once every two or three seconds. Then take it off the heat and pour it into a bowl and stir it to keep it from sticking together too much. Once it's cool you can eat it up!

Menus on Monday

I have been totally slacking, I know. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, my kids have been sick this past week and, sadly, it's not over yet. Luckily it's not too miserable, just contagious. That means I have to keep the older ones home from school and some how keep everyone happy and busy. Which brings me to reason number two: the computer. I have been hesitant to turn it on lately because of the strange magical powers it possesses. As soon as it is on, my kids' eyeballs are immediately turned away from whatever they are doing and glued to this screen. It doesn't much matter what is on the screen, just that it's on. This causes many difficulties, as you might imagine. These include fussiness, territorial behavior, no homework getting done, and me going crazy. And then, of course, I have to clean off the remnants of eyeball and IQ that are stuck to the screen. So, I have opted for keeping it turned off.

But I am back to start with a menu and maybe get something else posted this week, if we're lucky.

Monday: chicken nuggets and fruit salad

Tuesday: Karen's bbq pork sandwiches and Sunday carrots

Wednesday: eggs and cheese

Thursday: baked potatoes

Friday: pizza

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Italian chicken and rice

Menus on Monday

Sorry, I spaced last Friday. So, how about a fancy colored Monday menu? Does that make up for it?

Monday: pancakes and smoothie

Tuesday: chicken nuggets and fruit

Wednesday: zucchini soup and rolls

Thursday: tacos

Friday: pizza

Saturday: Macaroni and cheese

Sunday: spaghetti and breadsticks and green beans

Thrifty Thursdays

This morning my kids ate donuts for breakfast. Totally sugary and void of any nutritional value, right? But they are cheap. They are the cheapest breakfast-away-from-home option I know of. So, that's kind of thrifty. Maybe cheap really is the best word for it: you get little nutritional value for your buck. It's a good thing I don't let them have them very often.

Today's real tip is something I really should do more often. When you have left-overs, don't offer anything else for dinner until they're gone. When I avoid the left-overs at my house I end up throwing them away, which means I spend money on a new meal and waste the extra money on that big dinner I thought might make good left-overs. So, make the most of your time and money and eat your left-overs until they're gone. A pretty good rule for homemade left-overs is to eat them within a week. Most stuff from a restaurant needs to be eaten in about 2 days. Depending on what you've got sitting in your fridge, this is sometimes a good diet tip too. :)

Words for Wednesday

Today's word is fiber. Fun, huh? Well, actually it doesn't really bring to mind anything fun at all. But, it's important and easier to find and fit into a simple diet than one might think.

"For good health, the National Cancer Institute and American Diabetes Association recommend routine consumption of high fiber foods. They suggest daily dietary fiber intake of 20 – 35 g per day. The USDA 2005 dietary guidelines recommend 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables, and a minimum of 1.5 whole grain food servings (for babies of 2 -3 years old) per day. The number of all fiber food servings increases with age. For a person of 9 years and older, the recommended whole grain serving is 3 – 6 per day.

The following are examples of one dietary fiber servings.

Example 1: One fruit and vegetables fiber servings:

• a small glass of 100% fruit or vegetable juice (3/4 cup or 6 oz)
• a medium-size piece of fruit (an orange, small banana, medium-size apple)
• 1 cup of raw salad greens
• ½ cup of cooked vegetables
• 1/2 cup of cut-up fruit or vegetables
• 1/4 cup of dried fruit
• 1/2 cup of dried beans or peas

Example 2: Whole grain fiber servings :

• 1/2 cup cooked rice, pasta, or cooked cereal
• 1 ounce dry pasta, rice or other dry grain
• 1 slice bread
• 1 small muffin (weighing one ounce)
• 1 cup ready-to-eat cereal flake"

You can read more here if you're interested.

treats on Tuesday

I made these brownies for Sunday dessert this week. They are not my favorite brownie, but they are chocolate so they're worth making. And sometimes I would just rather have these than the gooey chewy kind. Sunday was one of those days. I like to cut them really small and eat 12 bite-sized pieces instead of 2 or 3 big ones.

Brownies

beat together:

2 sticks butter or margarine, melted

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

add to:

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cups cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when done.

Menus on Monday

Last week I totally abandoned my menu and did whatever on most days. That's how it goes around here sometimes. But I still love to make the list just in case I'm at a loss when dinner time rolls around. Here's the plan for this week.

Monday: french toast

Tuesday: rice a roni with green beans

Wednesday: pesto pasta with pears and peaches

Thursday: tacos with corn

Friday: pizza

Saturday: stir fry vegetables with rice

Sunday: spaghetti with breadsticks and green beans

Fancy Fridays

Today I found a site that goes through table setting etiquette. That's the kind of thing I thought I'd learn about and share on our "fancy fridays". Okay, so it's not so fancy, but it's a start. You can find the site here. This is a little taste of what you can find there.

What goes where on the table

and which glasses go with what drinks

Real easy, the etiquette experts tell us. The general rule with utensils is to start from the outside of your place setting, and work your way toward the service plate (the main meal plate): soup spoon first, then fish knife and fork, then service knife and fork.

A	B	C	D	E
Serviette (napkin)	Service plate	Soup bowl on plate	Bread & butter plate with butter knife	Water glass
F	G	H	I	J
White wine	Red wine	Fish fork	Dinner Fork	Salad fork
K	L	M	N
Service knife	Fish knife	Soup spoon	Dessert spoon and cake fork
Note that it often is recommended that the salad fork (J) is placed to the left of the dinner fork (I). However, in this formal setting the dinner fork is placed to be used before the salad fork because it is suggested that the guest awaits the main meal before helping him/herself to the salad.

Thrifty Thursdays

I did a little cost analysis a few weeks ago after making a dozen bagels. I wondered if it was worth doing that regularly since my kids love bagels for breakfast. While I had the numbers in front of me I figured out how much it costs to make homemade breads from the recipes I use most. Here it goes:

Wheat Bread: $ .58/ loaf

Whole Wheat Bagels: $ .70/dozen

Whole Wheat Tortillas: $ .68/ dozen

Whole Wheat Pancakes: $ .60/ dozen

Granola: $ .38/cup

Oatmeal: $ .08/ serving (1/2 cup uncooked)

Breadsticks: $ .70/ batch (16 breadsticks)

Pizza dough: $ .45/ large

Hamburger buns: $ 1.10/ dozen

Puffy Pancake: $ .68/ pan (nine servings)

These numbers are calculated using the cost of dry milk, oats, and wheat from the church cannery. I grind my own wheat, so using store bought wheat flour would make the numbers different. I think some things are worth making at home and some are probably worth buying. Those hamburger buns are pretty close to store costs, but if I don't have them on hand, it's nice to know I can make them without lugging five kids to the store for a last minute trip. I am convinced that the bagels are a bargain. Seriously, they are $2 for a dozen plain bagels at Walmart. I think those and the granola are the best bargains.

Words for Wednesday

Today's "words" will just be more recipes because someone asked for them.

CHICKEN LICKIN’ CASSEROLE
(from Mrs. Cubbison's stuffing box/website)

Serves 6 to 8

1 package (10-oz.) Herb Seasoned Cube Stuffing
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth, heated
2 lbs. skinless and boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cans (10-3/4 oz ea.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 package (9-oz.) frozen cut green beans, thawed
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

In a bowl, mix stuffing, butter and broth. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13x2-inch baking pan; spread evenly. In a bowl, mix chicken, soup and green beans. Spread mixture evenly over stuffing. Cover and bake mixture in a preheated moderate oven (350 degrees F.) for 1 hour. Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Place back in oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

The roll recipe I use most is this one.

I often just wing it on the chicken noodle soup, but here's basically what I do.

1 lb. chicken, cooked and cubed

1 lb. baby carrots

2 stalks celery, chopped

6 oz. uncooked egg noodles

1 Tbsp. chicken base (you could substitute broth or bouillion cubes)

1 quart water

1 tsp. italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

You just throw it all together and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes (so the noodles cook) and as long as you want. It works well in a crock pot too.

The pasta casserole is also just thrown together, but it always tastes good to me.

Pasta casserole

8 oz. uncooked pasta, whatever shape you like

8 oz. shredded mozerella cheese

1/2-1 lb. ground beef or turkey, or italian sausage

1 jar spaghetti sauce, or homemade if you like it that way

Cook pasta according to package directions. While that's boiling, brown meat and then drain. Return to pan and add spaghetti sauce. Heat until warm.

In greased casserole dish (8x8), pour just enough sauce to cover bottom. Then layer 1/2 of pasta, 1/3 cheese, and 1/2 sauce. Then repeat layers again. Top with last 1/3 cheese. Cover and heat in 350 oven 30 minutes or until heated through.

treats on Tuesday

Sure, go ahead and believe that we only have treats on Tuesdays at our house.

Today's post is rich, delicious, and pretty easy. I can usually eat an endless amount of treats, no matter how rich, but I can only get through two or three of these before I am way done. They are so good though. If you like peanut butter these are worth a try. The title sometimes makes me think of pb&j cookies, which don't sound super appetizing to me, but these are really just like peanut butter oreos. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

from Taste of Home

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

5-6 Tbsp milk

1. In large mixing bowl, cream butter or margarine, peanut butter, and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.

2. Shape into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. (It says not to grease them, but I usually do anyway.) Flatten with fork. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Coll on wire racks.

3. For filling, beat peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and three tablespoons of miilk in large mixing bowl. Add more milk one tablespoon at a time and continue to beat until spreading consistency. Spread on half of the cookies and top each frosted cookie with another.

Menus on Monday

This week's menu at our house will include:

Monday: taco salad

Tuesday: spinach lasagna

Wednesday: chili and cornbread

Thursday: homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls

Friday: homemade pizza

Saturday: pasta casserole

Sunday: chicken stuffing casserole, Sunday carrots, and rolls

So, if there is anything on here you want to know more about, leave a comment and I'll post a recipe.

the plan

I've been thinking. I'm going to try this schedule out for a couple weeks:

Menus on Monday

Treats on Tuesday

Words for Wednesday

Thrifty Thursday

Fancy Friday

We'll see how it goes...

sharing time

Well, I am in between ideas for the next few weeks of sharing. I don't really want to do the alphabet thing again, just because. I like a little variety. So, for now I'm just sharing.

This recipe is for rolls and was given to me by Catherine. I tried it and loved it. The rolls were very good and the kids ate them up. I tried it again on Friday and used 1/2 wheat flour this time. They were still great and it's just so convenient to put a bowl of dough in the fridge for later. I also love that they use potato buds and powdered milk, which I have in my food storage. This is a keeper for me!

Refrigerator Dough For Quick Soft Rolls

Throw refrigerator dough together in the morning or evening, or whenever you have a few spare

moments. The small amount of yeast allows the dough to keep in the fridge for up to 5 days

without developing a "sour" taste. We kept one batch for 6 days; the rolls were a little denser, but still tasted good.

Note: If you plan to use the dough within 12 hours or so, knead it and then let it

rise at room temperature for 1 hour before refrigerating. — S.G.

4 cups (17 ounces)King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sugar*

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup (2 ounces, 1/2 stick) unsalted butter

6 tablespoons (2 1/4 ounces) potato flour OR 1/2 cup (1 ounce) dried potato buds

6 tablespoons (2 ounces) Baker's Special Dry Milk or non-fat dry milk

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) water

1 teaspoon instant yeast

*Use up to 4 tablespoons sugar if you like your rolls on the sweet side.

Manual /Mixer Method: Combine all of the ingredients and mix till cohesive. Knead the dough,

by hand or mixer, till it's smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes, adding up to 4 tablespoons additional

water if needed. The dough will become shiny and elastic, but should stay very soft, since it firms

up quite a bit in the refrigerator. Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, cover it, and

refrigerate at least overnight, or for up to 5 days.

Bread Machine Method: Place all of the ingredients into the bucket of your bread machine.

Program the machine for dough or manual, and press Start. Check the dough after about 15

minutes; it should be smooth-looking, but very soft. Add additional water or flour as needed.

Cancel the machine after the final kneading cycle, and refrigerate the dough as directed at left.

Shaping: Remove the dough from the refrigerator, fold it over gently a few times, and cut off the

desired amount for the number of rolls you want. You'll need about 1 1/2 to 2 ounces dough per

dinner roll (golf-ball sized pieces); about 4 1/2 ounces per hamburger bun (a ball of dough about

2 1/2 inches in diameter); or 3 ounces per hotdog bun (about 2 1/4 inches in diameter). Return

the remaining dough to the refrigerator.

To form dinner rolls, shape the pieces into balls, then roll them under your lightly cupped fingers

on an unfloured work surface to make smooth balls.

To form hamburger buns, shape each piece into a smooth ball, and flatten the balls till they're about 4 inches in diameter, trying to keep the tops of the rolls smooth; the nicer the top looks at this point, the nicer it will turn out to be once it's baked.

To form hotdog buns, roll the balls into cylinders 5 1/2 inches in length. Flatten the cylinders slightly; dough rises more in the center, so this will give the buns gently rounded tops.

Place the shaped rolls onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover them, and let them

rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until they're very puffy.

**Note that these rolls need to rise longer than rolls made from unrefrigerated dough; be sure to leave yourself sufficient time for this extra rise.

Baking: Bake the dinner rolls in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes. Bake the

hamburger or hotdog buns in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 22 minutes. The rolls or buns will be golden brown when done. Yield: 36 ounces of dough, enough for 18 to 24 rolls, 8 hamburger buns, or 12 hotdog buns.

Nutrition information per serving (1 roll, 27g): 72 cal, 1g fat, 2g protein, 12g complex

carbohydrates, 1g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 4mg cholesterol, 126mg sodium, 71mg potassium, 19RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 17mg calcium, 29mg phosphorus.

Nutrition information per serving (1 hamburger bun, 124g): 325 cal, 6g fat, 9g protein, 53g

complex carbohydrates, 3g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 18mg cholesterol, 568mg sodium, 321mg

potassium, 85RE vitamin A, 2mg vitamin C, 5mg iron, 77mg calcium, 131mg phosphorus.

Nutrition information per serving (1 hotdog bun, 82g): 216 cal, 4g fat, 6g protein, 36g complex

carbohydrates, 2g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 12mg cholesterol, 379mg sodium, 214mg potassium,

56RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 3mg iron, 51mg calcium, 87mg phosphorus.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. XII, No. 5, Summer 2001

issue.

announcing...

I'm sure the two people who commented on my last post are waiting anxiously to find out just how much cereal we had in our house. Or not. Either way it's time to announce the winner. Catherine was closest with a guess of 14 boxes of cereal. We actually only had 9 at the time. I hope you enjoy those spatulas as much as I enjoy mine!

Thanks for your feedback, Courtney and Catherine. I will keep posting for my own sanity. I'm glad someone enjoys it!

prize time

We made it through the whole alphabet! On the off chance that anyone might still be around to read post #27 I'm going to celebrate with a give-away. Remember those mini spatulas that I posted about here? Well, I will send some to someone who comments with the following information:

1. the post you liked reading the best

2. the post you liked reading the least

3. something you'd like me to post about in the near future

4. your best guess as to how many boxes of cereal are in my home right now.

If you can get #4 right or be the closest to right by noon on Monday, I'll send you those spatulas. If no one cares to comment, I'll buy myself another set to enjoy! It's a win-win. Good luck and thanks for putting up with my posts!

z is for zucchini

Zucchini bread is a favorite with my kids. It's easy and healthy, especially when you use whole wheat flour and no chocolate chips. My kids will eat it for breakfast, snacks, lunch, more snacks, and even with dinner. If it has chocolate chips I could probably convince them it was dessert too. They love it. Here is the recipe I use for our beloved zucchini bread:

Zucchini/Pumpkin Bread (Betty Crocker)

3 cups shredded zucchini or 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

½ tsp. baking powder

½ cup coarsely chopped nuts

½ cup raisins or chocolate chips, if desired

Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans with shortening.

Mix zucchini (or pumpkin), sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and raisins or chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly between pans.

Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on wire rack.

Remove from pans. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

y is for yummy!

I made this a while ago and decided it was time to finally post it. Courtney asked for a curry recipe and this is the first one I tried. It is super easy and pretty good. Curry recipes are everywhere and all the ones I looked through were pretty different. There's a lot of versatility with this meal. I just did a basic curry chicken over rice and we served it with our naan bread. Once the kids got past the bright yellow color they loved it. It was great. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Curry

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 lbs. chicken, cut up

1 tsp. salt

1 medium onion, chipped

2 Tbsp. water

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. curry powder

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cumin

Heat oil in skillet and cook chicken over medium heat until brown. Sprinkle chicken with salt, onion and water. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Stir together in skillet: sour cream, curry powder, ginger and cumin. Heat, stirring constantly, just until hot. Pour sauce over chicken. Serve over rice.

x is for x-ray

Okay, this is totally a stretch. But, I'm going to run with it anyway. So... let's get down to what's really going on in the kitchen. Let's take a look inside what holds it all together.

1. cleanliness: Anyone who has been in my kitchen knows I am not one for keeping it squeaky clean. I don't scrub as often as I should in there. But, I have to keep it in pretty good order or I go crazy. I can't function when my kitchen counter is covered in anything: food, papers, children, crayons, anything. It's imperative that I have clean space to work with. This is especially true of my sink. I lose all my patience just looking at a sink full of dishes. I can't handle it. I need at least one side totally empty in order to keep the peace as I do the dishes.

2. the basics: I recently organized my grocery lists and put the food we use on a rotation. I made a list of things I need to buy every week and those I need to get a couple times each month. Then there is a list of things to pick up monthly. Then I separated these and made weekly lists and put them in my planner on sticky-notes. So, when I get the ads each week I know what I'm looking in the sales. This helps me resist the temptation to buy things just because they are on sale. And it helps me to be prepared to make staple meals that don't require much planning. I don't want to make pancakes and go to the pantry and find that we're out of syrup. That would signal a melt-down for me pretty quickly. So, it's good to have the basics on hand.

3. no kids in the kitchen!: Okay, I'm a little lenient on this one. Mostly it means while I'm cooking. My kids are all at the age where they get under my feet quickly and stay there, no matter how fast I move. It's a pretty impressive ability, actually. I must be predictable because they seem to know exactly where I'm headed. So, generally speaking, I have a "no kids in the kitchen" policy while meals are being prepared and served. They are restricted to the dining area if they need to be near the kitchen at all.

4. Sharing the work: I grew up doing a dish-job every day. I have been excited to share this opportunity with my own kids, but it gets a little sticky in the organization. Like I said in #3, it's often much easier just to have the kids out of the kitchen. I have given Caleb the chore of unloading the dishwasher for me. He does whatever he can reach and leaves the rest for me. It has been so nice to share this job! I used to dread starting the dishwashing cycle because I knew that meant I had to unload the dishwasher again at the end of it. Now it's much less stressful and it's teaching him to help out a little. He sometimes complains, but he's pretty happy to do it most of the time. The ultimate example of helping me out is my husband. He does the dishes often and always without my asking him. I do not like to ask for help and he is gracious enough to pick it up and do it on his own. He's my hero.

So, there you have it: an x-ray of my kitchen. Okay, now let's move on to something more interesting!

w is for will

William is my little angel. Unfortunately, he knows there is a soft spot in my heart for him and he is as devious as he is adorable. Well, almost. He loves to eat sweets of any sort. He likes most foods, but can't be fussed about eating when there is just about anything else to do. He loves balls and cars and playing with his siblings. He loves to be tickled and chased and he loves the wii. William's favorite things to do in the kitchen are eat, drink, and color. Breakfast is his favorite meal, unless you can call dessert a meal. He has at least one bowl of cereal and anything else I offer. Berries are a favorite with him too. He is also one of my best helpers in the kitchen. Whenever he sees me getting out my mixer he comes in to be my little side-kick. I love his red hair, blue eyes, and sheepish grin. I love my Billy-boy.