Kit's Waffles

My daughter loves the American Girl dolls and has Kit Kittredge doll whose time period was during the depression.   For my daughter's birthday she received a cooking apron and a Kit Cooking Studio Cookbook (thank you Auntie...it is a hit!).  She has been begging to make something from her cookbook and has marked all the pages of things she wants to make.    She somehow talked me into making waffles this morning from the cookbook.   I make waffles frequently, at least a few times a month, but they are usually the box mix/add water version.   These are definitely from scratch and was a little more labor intensive, but soooo WORTH IT!!!!   After taking a bite, I totally had to take a picture and post the recipe.    They were soooo good!!!    We had them for breakfast and lunch, and wishing I had more batter left to have for dinner, too!

Kit's Waffles

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup oats
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Butter
Syrup

Directions
1)  Sift into a large mixing bowl the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.  Mix in the oats and set aside.

2)  Measure the milk, honey, and vanilla into a medium bowl.   Set aside.

3)  Separate egg whites and egg yolks.  Let the whites drip into one small bowl and drop the yolks into another small bowl.

4)  Stir the egg yolks into the milk mixture.   Slowly stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients.  Stir in the oil.

5)  Beat the egg whites with the mixer until the whites are shiny and slightly stiff, forming soft peaks when you pull out the beaters.

6)  Fold, or gently mix, the egg whites into the waffle batter.  The batter will be fluffy, with some lumps of egg white.

7)  Cook the waffles according the directions on your waffle maker.   Serve warm with butter and syrup, or with fresh fruit and fruit syrup.

"Buffet suppers were a popular Sunday night supper, and many people served them at casual dinner parties.  Waffles were topped with cheese, creamed meats, or vegetables as well as fruit, jam, whipped cream, and ice cream"

Davy Crockett Bars

I (Denise) had five kids in my home today and we decided to make cookies for snack time.   I chose this recipe as it is easy for small helpers, fun and delicious, plus a little educational, too, and what mom doesn't like that!!!   I think a college friend originally gave me this recipe and its been years since I made it.   I pre-measured all of the ingredients in separate bowls and the kids took turns (youngest to oldest; their idea) standing on a chair and emptying the ingredient in the bowl, stirring and eating loose chocolate chips as reward at the end.  We looked up some pictures and information on the internet about Davy Crockett while we were waiting for the cookies to bake.     I've put the mix in a 9X12 pan before, but then you'll need to increase the cooking time.   I like the jelly roll pan the best as it makes very thin cookies and then you don't feel as guilty giving your kids "the LARGEST cookie ever!"
          
Davy Crockett Bars

Mix:
2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Add:
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups quick oats
1 cup chocolate chips
(2 Tbls flax seed meal) optional ingredients Laurie uses
(1/2 cup coconut flakes) optional ingredients Laurie uses
(1/2 cup peanut butter chips) optional ingredients Laurie uses
(1/2 cup m&m's) optional ingredients Laurie uses

Combine, then stir into dry mixture:

2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
(2-3 Tbls rice milk) add if using optional ingredients from Laurie 

Press into ungreased 15X10X1 jelly roll pan, or line with parchment paper for easy clean up.

Bake 350 degrees    15 minutes  (depending on your oven)

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I really don't intend to go this long between posts, but keeping up with my boys and not being a night-owl, means there are only so many hours of daylight to bake and blog.  So here's hoping your Valentine Week was filled with love!

Mine was.  Red roses, homemade love cards, dinner out, and sweet treats.  I decided it was time I made a Red Velvet Cake.  The Pioneer Woman has one in her new cookbook. Bakerella has pops on her blog. The CakeJournal lady has a more healthy version and there's also the Best Cupcake Recipes blog too, along with The Joy of Cooking cookbooks splendid tips.  So I need to land somewhere on my own with a little inspiration from each of these fantastic ladies.  

Read on to see what I came up with. I hope you'll try it out too.

What you'll need:

• 2 ½ cup minus 5 Tb flour sifted
• 1 HEAPING teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, (**OR** if you use unprocessed cocoa you can leave out the food dyes and you'll get a warm red/brown color)
• 1/2 ounce red food coloring (see my notes on red food coloring) , **OR*    4 ounces beet juice instead of food coloring
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + ricemilk enough, to = 1 cup, mix and let stand 10 minutes before using.  BTW, what you just made is DF buttermilk.
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Here's what you do:

• Preheat oven to 325 convection or 350 standard degrees.
• Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and-or grease cake pan.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. This is how I sift my ingredients.

• If using food color or beet juice, in a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and/or beet juice and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside. Smooth with no lumps is what you want to achieve....but I didn't.

I do not like red food color and the thought of using 2 bottles of it in a cake churns my stomach! Two bottles! Seriously, that's what every recipe I browsed said to use. I just couldn't do that. I used about 1/2 jar {.5 oz] of red food color gel mixed with the cocoa. It looks gross, and left a few small lumps in my batter I couldn't get out, but when all is mixed & done, it just looks like flecks of chocolate in the cake.

• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes.

 

• Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula.
• Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the rice-buttermilk.
• Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of rice-buttermilk.
• End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

 

• In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. This is kinda fun; it will fizz up, much to the delight of your kids. Add the vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine.
• Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a little under 3/4 full. No more because you want them to bake and rise flat-even to the top of the liners. These were too full.

I ended up with 24 mini cupcakes and 1 DeMarle flower mold which I cut into 4 hearts.

• Bake at 325 convection for approximately 8 minutes for mini cupcakes and 18 minutes for the flower mold.
• Bake at 350 standard oven for 10-30 minutes depending on pan size, rotating pans halfway through.
• The cakes are done when you are able to pat the tops and the cake springs back up. If it sinks down they are not ready.

 I decorated my cupcakes with an Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting, and for the heart cakes I used a Buttercream Frosting which I posted a while ago.

Happy baking to you from one joyfully tired mom!

Manhattan Clam Chowder

  I spent 4 years tasting Manhattan Clam Chowder at restaurants across the US, asking each chef if they had a special ingredient. This is the wonderful soup that evolved from my quest to satisfy the rich tomatoey soup my dear hubby was seeking. This aromatic soup is dairy free, making it a favorite of mine and my husband!

Now you can easily throw all the ingredients into a crockpot and enjoy the results at the end of the day.... but for the incredible rich flavor, you'll want to take the time to saute and simmer it according to my directions below. I'll warn you, it takes a lot of preparation from start to finish to meld the flavors...don't let that deter you. Plan ahead and put this on your meal plan menu.  I tend to double the recipe, freeze the soup and reheat it later. And your tastebuds will love it even more reheated!  

Stovetop:  at least 3 hours start to serve

Crockpot:  about 30 min prep, and 6-10 hours cooking on low

Here's what you need:

• 3 cans (6.5 ounces each) chopped clams, drained, juices reserved or 8 lbs. quahog or large cherrystone clams, scrubbed & rinsed, opened
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
• 2 medium onions, chopped (1 ½ cup)
• 2 stalks celery , chopped (2 cup)
• 1 med/lg carrot , chopped (3/4 cup)
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme , or 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled & chopped
• ¾ - 1 cup red wine (a great use for 2 buck chuck cab)
• 2 cups clam broth or bottled clam juice (left over from the canned clams)
• 1-2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, chopped & juices
• ¾ teaspoon dried parsley leaves, or 1/4 cup fresh chopped
• ½ tsp peppercorns
• Salt

Here's how to do it:

If using fresh clams, shell and clean them. Set aside. (That takes a lot more time than I have, so I go with the canned stuff. Just saying, if you live on the coast, you might be up for the whole shucking thing. Feel free. Let me know how that works for you.)

If using a crockpot, prep all your veggies and throw the whole ingredient list into your crockpot. You should put the peppercorns and bay leaf in a spice sack (or tea ball) for easy removal.  Cook on low for 6 to 10 hours depending on the heat of your crockpot. I can't double this recipe in the crockpot; even my 6 quart isn't large enough to hold all the ingredients.

For stovetop, read on. In a large heavy pot add bacon and render until golden and crispy. Pour off all fat except 4 tablespoons. Think about it - - how can a soup be anything but fabulous when it includes crisp slices of bacon!

Chop all the veggies while sauting bacon.

Add onions, celery and carrots and cook for 10 minutes or just until vegetables are softened. Do not allow to color.

Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Increase heat to high and add potatoes. 

Combine reserved clam juice (NOT the clams - - just the juice), chicken stock and red wine to equal 4 cups. I find this a great use for 2 buck chuck from Trader Joe's!  Seriously,  $2.00 a bottle!

Bring chowder to a boil, cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened somewhat. 

Here's where you pour yourself a glass of the good stuff and sit down for 20 minutes.

Add tomatoes - juice and all - and continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
 

Remove the pot from the heat and add reserved clams and parsley then season with pepper and salt to your taste.


Allow chowder to sit for up to 1 hour to allow flavors to meld, then reheat slowly over low fire if necessary. Do not allow to boil.

 

This soup freezes well, so double up like I do and divide it into canning jars. I hope your family enjoys it as much as we do!

 

Ice-Cream Cupcakes

I made these super, easy, cute cupcakes for my daughter's birthday.    Her favorite color is pink and we had everything pink, but you can use any flavor ice-cream or jam that you want.  

Ice-Cream Cupcakes

1 store bought pound cake (16 oz), sliced 1/2" thick
1/4 cup jam (I used strawberry)
2 pints ice cream (I used strawberry), softened
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1)   Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.   Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut 12 circles from the slices of pound cake.   Spread 1 teaspoon of jam over each pound cake circle, then lay inside the cupcake liners.

2)  Place a nicely rounded scoop of ice cream on top of each pound cake circle.   Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

3)  Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form.   Top each scoop of ice-cream with a scoop of the whipped cream.   Freeze, uncovered, until the whipped cream has set, about 4 hours.

The cupcakes (whipped cream and all) can be frozen, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week.

Beef and Cabbage Rolls

Here's a yummy recipe I hope your family will enjoy.  Its one of those recipes I cut from one of my magazine: Sunset, Cooking Light, Cooks, or Bon Appettite.  You know which recpies I mean - - those recipes that get clipped, copied, but never cooked.  Or cooked, but never properly filed, so never repeated.  This is one of those I made a long time ago and had never repeated, but I remembered that it was a hit.  

Well, now I have a super cool recipe program on my Mac which I love, and I am organzing all my recipes.  In the near future, expect to find more gems I've uncovered and rediscovered.  So with this one I didn't create it, but as always, I made minor adjustments to it for my family.  My husband LOVES it, and my kids like it. 

It looks difficult, but really it's just a bit time consuming - like about 45 to 75 minutes of prep and cook time.  It's so worth it! Tell me what your family thinks.

What you'll need:

• ½ cup green onion, chopped
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil, dark
• 1 tablespoon sherry, dry, cooking
• 2 teaspoons splenda
• ¼ teaspoon pepper, fresh ground
• ¼ teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1 or 2 clove garlic, to taste
• ½ lb sirloin, ground
• 2 cups cabbage, green, thinly sliced

*** Dough ***

• 4 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ⅓ cups water
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

***topping***

• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed

How to make it:

In a non-stick large skillet, over medium-high heat, combine all the filling ingredients except cabbage. Cook beef mixture for about 4-8 minutes, until beef is no longer pink.

Stir in cabbage and cook about 3-4 minutes until cabbage is wilted and tender. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350 convection; 375 standard. (I tend to prefer to cook with convection).

For the dough: Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir gently.

 

Combine water, honey and canola oil in measuring cup. Whisk until honey is completely blended.

Add water to flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. (The flour is mostly moistened).

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (This is fun! Get into it! Take out all your frustrations of the day and work that dough!)

 

Now cover the dough and let it sit 5 minutes. If you haven't done so yet, open a bottle of wine and pour yourself a glass. Sip and breath in and out for 5 minutes.

 

Roll the dough into a large rectangle 16 x 12 or 20 x 15, depending on how thick you like your roll. Either way, you want the dough thin. Cut the dough into 12 (4 or 5 inch) squares.

 

Take out 1 square and cover the rest. Place one scoop (I love the Pampered Chef large scoop!) in the center of the dough.

Dip your finger in a lil bowl of water to moisten all four edges of the square. Bring 2 opposite corners together, and pinch them together to seal. Do this to the other 2 corners. Make sure it is all sealed or your yummy juices will run out.

Place rolls seam side down on silpat baking sheet (or on parchment paper). Proceed with the other 11 squares.

Combine water and egg white; lightly brush tops of rolls. Sprinkle each roll with 1/4 teaspoon of sesame seeds.

Bake at 350 convection for 20 minutes or 375 standard for 25 minutes, until lightly browned.

The above photo is how thick the dough will be if you make a 4 inch square. For thinner dough shell, roll flatter into a 5 inch square.

Be sure to let me know your families thoughts!  Blessings,  Laurie

Secret Soup Recipe

Ever since the craziness of Christmas, I haven't had the time to post any recipes.   I did try a couple of new recipes out last week that were really fun to make.  I even took pictures of  them to post, but after tasting the food decided that it wasn't as tasty or worth sharing. 

So I still don't have a recipe to share, but I do have a soup secret weapon to share.   I recently discovered McCormick Chicken Base.   The closest thing I can think to compare it to is chicken stock.  It is not overly salty and it's MSG free.   I use it for everything.  Its what I add to all my soups and it adds just the right amount of flavoring, but not too salty.  Every soup recipe I've added it to has turned out fabulous.   Usually no other salt is needed.   I'll even add a little to my rice to enhance the flavor. 

You can purchase it in the spice isle of your local grocery store (I've even found a large container of it at Business Costco) and then once opened, store in the refrigerator.

Banana White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

I'm back!  The past couple weeks have been crazy at our house. The respitory stuff of all types floating from person to person, leaving me, mom, exhausted.  I relied on tried and true recipes, or Trader Joes frozen entrees to get us through while recovering from my childs walking pneumonia and who knows what else was here.  Hope your family is missing it all.

Back to cooking and enjoying it this week!

So here's an easy one to get you started again.  This muffin recipe is great too because it's all in one saucepan, and no mixer is needed. Altho, I'm not too big a fan of "white" chocolate because the chocolate purist in me screams generally "there is no chocolate in white chocolate".  But the combination of flavors here is delicious, and the whole wheat stays moist, so I'll not be too picky about the white chocolate.

Prep time:  20 minutes with toddlers helping

Bake time:  15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup butter unsalted, melted
¾ cup sugar
2 egg, large
4 tablespoons rice sour cream
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tablespoons cranberries, dried, chopped
2-4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
3 bananas, very ripe, mashed

What to do:

• Melt the butter in a medium to large saucepan.
• Remove from heat. Add sugar, vanilla and mashed bananas. Stir well.

 

Stir in the rice sour cream and the eggs, using a wooden spoon.

• Add baking soda, baking powder and flour. Stir until flour is almost mixed, but not quite. This coats the cranberries and chocolate so they spread out in the muffins.

• Stir in the cranberries and chopped white chocolate until just blended. Don't overstir. You want the muffins to be light and airy.

 

• Scoop into 12 muffin cups. I love the Pampered Chef scoops for this!

• Cook for 15 to 20 minutes at 350.  I bake for 15 minutes at 325 convection.
• Cool on a baking rack.

These smell so delicious while baking.  Set a pot of tea on the stove, clean up your utensils, and the muffins will be ready to enjoy when your kids come in the door after school.

Blessings to your family!  Laurie

Cheesecake revisited

One of the first posts I made on this blog was for Roasted Sweet Potato Cheesecake which you can click on here or scroll down to read.  I went back, updated the recipe to make it more user friendly, and added some new photos.

If you haven't tried this one yet, be sure to add it to your recipe file of things to make when you want to impress someone you love. Or just make their tummy quite happy.

    bon appétit  ~ Laurie

How are you ending 2009?

As the sunsets on 2009 and we head into a brand new decade, I realized I just had my last supper for 2009: seared Ahi tuna and shrimp cocktail loving made by my husband.  So tell me what was your final meal for 2010. 

Really.  I'd LOVE to hear your comments.  

I'm looking forward to all the new possibilities for 2010: new goals, new hopes, new recipes, new friends.  

And here's a new adventure for you...take the plunge and don't just follow me....post a comment, send me your favorite recipe of 2009.   

I can't wait to hear from you! 

Happy New Year! from one joyfully tired mom to another  ~ Laurie

Chocolate Cream Pie

Oh do I have a treat for my diary-free friends tonight!  I made some fabulous desserts for Christmas that I am so excited to share with you.  I can't wait to hear how they turn out for you too!

First, I made this incredible chocolate cream pie because this is my dad's favorite dessert, and, oh my! I can't even tell you how long it has been since I have had chocolate cream pie. Well, mainly because it is just that - - a cream pie.  And when's the last time you went to Marie Callendars and asked for a dairy free cream pie. Yeah. That's what I thought.

Girlfriends, get ready to indulge...

First, the crust.  Roll out your favorite pie crust recipe. I was lucky to have my mom work her magic for me:

Now the ingredients for the amazing pie itself.

• 14 oz. coconut milk
• 3 ½ tablespoons corn or potato starch
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs yolks, separated
• 8 oz. dark chocolate 73%, chopped

*** Meringue ***

• 3 egg white
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

***Pastry for single crust pie ***

How to:

• Chop up your chocolate and add it to a medium saucepan with the coconut milk.

• Heat coconut milk and chocolate but do not allow to boil.
• In a small bowl separate the egg yolks and white. Set aside the whites for the meringue in another bowl.
• Beat egg yolks and set aside.
• In another bowl mix corn starch and sugar together, then whisk into hot chocolate milk mixture.
• Cook over low to medium heat stirring constantly until thickened. Remove about 1/2 cup of milk mixture and whisk it into the egg yolks. 

• Return that egg mixture back into the rest of the ingredients in your saucepan. Cook another 5-10 minutes on low heat until very thick.
• Remove from heat. Pour into a baked pie shell.
• Whip meringue.
• Cover pie with meringue while filling is still hot, and be sure to bring the meringue all the way to the edges. 

• Bake the pie at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the meringue is light brown. 

• Cool and serve.   

My family was impressed and happily ate the whole dairy free pie! I can't wait to hear from you.

     Rejoicing in the Season! Laurie