Evie's Pecan Pie (without corn syrup!)

This version of the traditional Christmas pecan pie is so much better than the sicky-sweet, artificial taste imparted by the ones made with corn syrup. Yum!

Ingredients:
unbaked 9-in (NOT deep dish) pie shell from your favorite recipe

1 C dark brown sugar
1/4 C white sugar
1/2 C butter, melted
2 eggs
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp milk
1tsp vanilla
1 C+ hand-broken pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, then stir in melted butter.

Stir in sugars and flour; mix well.

Add the milk, vanilla, and nuts.

Pour into the unbaked 9-in (NOT deep-dish) pie shell.  (You can double the filling and make this is a deep-dish pie plate if you like.)

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes or until done.  Partway through, you will need to cover the crust--and maybe the whole pie--with aluminum foil or an aluminum pie crust cover, to prevent over-browning. 

NOTE: This year for Easter (2015) Evie used this same recipe to make a peanut pie. It's delicioys that way, too. Just be sure to chop the peanuts, or it's a little too big-chunk nutty!

And don't forget it's NOT a deep-dish recipe. Double the filling if you want to maje a deep-dish pie. 

Rum Cake from Scratch

Rum Cake from Scratch
Adapted by Always Order Dessert to be completely homemade from a recipe found on Food.com 

Ingredients

for the cake: 
1/2 cups walnuts, crushed
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3 tablespoons + 1/2 cup grapeseed or canola oil, separated
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup DIY vanilla instant pudding mix
(click for my easy homemade pudding mix recipe!; you can also use packaged pudding mix)
3/4 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
3/4 cup dark rum (recommended: Tortuga Rum)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

for the rum syrup:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup dark rum

Special Equipment: One 10-15 cup Bundt pan

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan, and drop crushed walnuts into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

In the base of a mixer, cream the 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and the 1/2 cup butter. Add the 3 tablespoons oil, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and kosher salt combining until evenly distributed. (Mixture will look like fine crumbs.) Mix in the pudding mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, rum, vanilla extract, and remaining vegetable oil. Add to the dry mixture and mix well until combined. The batter will be smooth, thin, and pour easily.

Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the cake comes up clean.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

While the cake cools, prepare the rum syrup: In a large saucepan with high sides, combine the butter, water, granulated sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the butter completely melts and the sugar dissolves. Let reduce slightly, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum (it will bubble).

Wash and dry the bundt pan, then place over the cool cake and invert the cake back into the pan. Pour the hot rum syrup all over the cake and let soak for 8 hours (overnight). In morning, invert the cake back onto a serving platter. Keeps covered for 1 week at room temperature.

Martha's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Martha Matzke's chocolate chip cookie recipe, which she insists really is "the best"--but which must be cooked on a stoneware baking pan (think Pampered Chef) to qualify!

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 1/2 cup flour
12 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup pecans

Directions:

1. In large mixing bowl, cream together sugars and oil.  Beat in one egg at a time.  Blend in vanilla.

2. Add dry ingredients in order listed, mixing after each.  Dough will be sticky.

3.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer for ease of handling.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes on middle rack in oven preheated to 350 degrees.  Let stand for two minutes; remove to wire
racks to cool completely.

Notes:
(1) For best results, bake cookies on a pizza stone.  You may have to increase the baking time to about 11 minutes, but do not overbake, as they will continue to harden after removing from oven.
(2) For uniform appearance, you may roll dough gently into a ball rather than dropping
by tablespoons.
(3) Bake only one sheet at a time.

Crock Pot Spaghetti

1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage
1-2 onions, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper (green, yellow, or orange), chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
45-oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained (save juice for soups)
24-oz can tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1-2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Crumble and brown ground beef and sausage together with onion and garlic.
2. Drain excess fat.
3. Place meat mixture into Crock Pot with remaining ingredients.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.
5. Serve over spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente.

Healthful Peanut Butter Fudge

 Peanut Butter Freezer Fudge

1 cup natural peanut butter
4 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons maple syrup
4 ounces quality dark chocolate (I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt


Cream peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt together in a bowl.

Pour mixture into a foil-lined 8×8 baking dish.

Top with chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and freeze for at least two hours.

Remove from freezer and remove fudge from foil.

Cut into one-inch squares and and store in an airtight freezer bag. Makes 20 servings.

Recipe adapted from Food Babe.

Breakfast Muffin Eggs

1. Fry up sausage patties.

2. Place one in each (greased) muffin tin.

3. Crack one egg into each tin on top of sausage patty.

4. Gently rupture egg yolk and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5. Bake at 350 degrees until egg is poached.

6. Delicious served with sliced avocado and fresh salsa, if desired.

NOTE: I've made this with sliced, cooked bacon in place of the sausage patties in a pinch. Just tear the pre-cooked bacon slice into thirds and line the bottom of the (greased) muffin tin with the pieces, overlapped to form a solid layer, almost like a cup in the bottom of the muffin tin.

Fattigman

This recipe was made by Hayley, a sweet, young friend and piano student of mine. She was making something Norwegian for a geography party she and my daughter EL were having. She saved me one for after the party, and they were delicious!!

Here is the recipe, for posterity's sake. Fattigman are apparently also known as "Poor Man's Cookies."

2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. cream
1/2 C. melted butter
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2-1/2 -- 3 C. flour
1/4 tsp. vanilla or cardamom
powdered sugar for dusting

Beat eggs and sugar. Add butter and cream. Stir in baking powder. Slowly add 2-1/2 C. flour. Add more flour, if necessary, to get the right rolling consistency.

Roll dough out about 1/2 in. thick. Cut dough into diamond shapes, 3 in. long and 1-1/2 in. wide. Cut a slit in the center of each cookie. Pull bottom point of cookie through the slit. This makes the cookies into a bow shape.

Drop cookies into hot oil and fry until light brown.

Drain on newspaper and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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For a fun video lesson I found online--and a little bit different recipe--see here.

Here's "Wally's mother's recipe," demonstrated in the video above, which looks to be a little bit different from Hayley's recipe:

4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
6 Tbsp. sugar (NOT 6 C. like he says at the first in the video!)
1/2 C. thick sweet cream (later in the video he says 1 C., but it looks like 1/2 C. to me)
1 generous Tbsp. brandy
dash salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3ish C. flour

EL's Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

EL was supposed to make some cookies for a service project at Awana last night. So yesterday afternoon, while I taught piano lessons, she got online, found this recipe, and made some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted! Here's the recipe, originally from AllRecipes.com.

I will experiment later with using freshly ground whole wheat flour and adding some oats and nuts, but here's what she made yesterday. Delicious!

(NOTE: I am sad to report that there is a big difference if you use whole-wheat flour in these cookies.  They're lots better with all white flour.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
   
   

Black Bean Tostadas

OG made our lunch today, from a recipe she found online. I have no idea where, or I'd give credit where credit is due. Anyway, I just found a document open on the computer where she had copied the recipe. It was delicious, so I figured I'd share:

• 6 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil--we used olive oil
• 3 small onion, chopped
• 1-1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained--we used Trader Joe's organic black beans
• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno peppers
• 9 ounces cream cheese
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven heated to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through.
2. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Place onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapenos in skillet, cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour beans into skillet, cook 3 minutes stirring.
3. Cut cream cheese into cubes and add to skillet with salt. Cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir cilantro into mixture.
4. Spoon mixture evenly down center of warmed tortilla and roll tortillas up. Serve immediately.

EV made our tortillas homemade from freshly ground whole wheat--and she left out the baking powder--so they were more like flat crispy tortillas. We ate these like tostadas. We added a little salsa and leftover rice and a can of Trader Joe's corn (the only canned corn that is any good; otherwise use frozen) and topped it off with avocado slices. We didn't have fresh cilantro, though I would have loved it!

Yum!

Miss Cheri's Cobb Salad

This salad is delicious with a blend of mixed lettuces: Romaine, chopped mixed greens, some iceberg if I have it. I also shave thin carrot slices with a vegetable peeler into the lettuce mix. I serve with Ranch dressing and crackers with Boursin.

Toppings:

Chopped chicken breasts, breaded or just grilled

Grated egg

Diced dill pickles

Grated sharp cheddar

Diced colored peppers

Diced tomatoes

Cubed avocado (opt)

Real bacon bits (opt)

Chili, Team-Fahs Style

Chili Team-Fahs Style

This makes a HUGE crock pot with plenty for dinner plus leftovers – After all, we’re cooking for 6! 

What you need:

1 large onion, diced (or more if you’d like)

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1 28 oz. can of Bush’s Baked Beans – choose your favorite flavor (I like Country Style and Onion.)

3 10-oz. cans Rotel or 2 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 14 oz. can dark red kidney beans (You can choose just the light or dark red kidney beans if you don’t like a lot of beans in your chili)

1 14 oz. can light red kidney beans

1 14.5 oz. can of tomato sauce

4 or more tablespoons of chili powder – depending on your taste

Crushed red pepper for kick (if you’d like)

Fixin’s  (To me, chili is just a vehicle for fixin’s!)

White rice (We love our chili over rice!)

Scallions/green onions or diced onions

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Cilantro (If you haven’t tried cilantro on your chili, please do!)

Diced jalapenos (Optional, of course, but so good!)

Fritos, if you’re really in the mood for a fun chili!

What you need to do:

1. Saute the onion in olive or canola oil, then add in the ground beef and sausage to brown.  Drain well.

2. Add all the cans of stuff!  You can simply add the cans of stuff to the meat in a deep pot, or you can transfer everything to a crock pot.

3. Add the chili powder and crushed red pepper, if you’re using it.

4. Heat to boiling, then simmer on low for half an hour or so, or cook in your crock pot until it’s piping hot – 4 hours on low, 6 or so hours on high.

5. Enjoy!