Trippin'

This will be my last post for a few days.  We're getting ready for a teeny, tiny vacation and we'll be heading out in the morning to Northwest Arkansas for the long weekend.

We love to camp and had planned to take the pop-up camper and stay in a campground on Beaver Lake, but our destination is almost four hours away.  We decided the last thing we would want to do after that drive is put up with a bunch of whining and crying while we set up camp for an hour (...and that's not even counting all the fussing Kat would do.) Also, our camper needs new tires before we can go on a trip that far from home. So, we decided to stay in a hotel instead.

Our true destination is Eureka Springs, but we'll be staying about an hour away in Bentonville; by doing so we can save quite a bit on the hotel since Eureka Springs is all touristy and gimmicky and expensive, and Bentonville is...well...not.  Despite being touristy and gimmicky and expensive, Eureka Springs is also beautiful, nestled as it is in the Arkansas Ozarks.  I've been there a half-dozen times before, but not since Shane and I were married there in 2000.  We'll be spending the better part of Saturday there.

On Sunday we'll go out and explore Beaver Lake, do some hiking and probably some Geocaching. We'll probably have a picnic while we're there. I don't think it will be warm enough to swim in the lake, but hey, that's what that indoor pool at the hotel is for, right?

I'm not sure what we'll do on Monday as we make our way home. We'll probably just wing it. There are some caves in the area, so we might see if any of those are open for touring. I have no idea why, but we seem to enjoy touring big holes in the ground.

I'll try to get a lot of pictures. Hope everyone has a great weekend and that all of you stay safe! See you Tuesday!

Stocking Up On Gifts

I did a little Christmas shopping this morning, yes I did. No sense waiting until the last minute.

I paired up some of Target's current sales with the Hasbro coupons from yesterday's paper and some Target.com printable coupons and got a boatload of stuff for Kat, most of which will be future gifts.

Here's what I got:

Monopoly board game: Sale Price $7 - $5 off Hasbro coupon = $2 (Christmas)
Connect 4 game: Sale price $7 - $4 off Hasbro coupon = $3 (Birthday)
Bop-It game: $15 - $5 Hasbro coupon = $10 (Christmas)
My Little Pony singles: - $5 each x 2 = $10 - BOGO Hasbro coupon = 2 for $5 (Christmas or Birthday, not sure yet)
Beach Towel: $2.50 - $2 Target coupon = 50¢ (Easter basket)
Hanes Girls Panties, 9 pk - $7 - $1 Target coupon = $6 (because she needs them)

The total was $29.02, including tax. That's a lotta loot for less than $30!

Now I just have to figure out where the heck I'm going to hide it all...

(Maybe Not Quite Authentic) Irish Beef Stew

Yesterday I made an Irish Beef Stew for St. Pat's Day.  It was, without dispute, delicious, but I don't know how authentic it really was.  For one thing, the recipe called for an Irish Stout.  I couldn't find one in a single bottle where I shopped.  (I like dark beer, but a stout is just too stout for me, so buying a 6-pack would've been pointless.)  I did find this English Cream Stout in a single, so I used it instead.

Here is the link to the recipe I used as my guide.  What follows is the way I tweaked it.


Irish Beef Stew

3 tablespoons bacon fat
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon Cavender's Greek seasoning (could use seasoned salt)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1-1/2 lbs. beef stew meat or beef roast, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups beef broth
12-ounce bottle Irish English stout beer
1/4 cup ketchup (no tomato sauce or paste on hand)
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 lb. baby carrots, cut in half crosswise
6 garlic cloves, minced
Fresh chopped parsley (optional)


Heat bacon fat in Dutch oven over medium heat. 

Combine flour, Cavender's, and mustard powder in medium bowl.  Add beef cubes and toss to coat well.

Transfer beef and ALL of the flour to the pan with the hot bacon drippings.  Cook, stirring frequently, until beef cubes are browned on all sides.  Stir in onion and cook for about a minute.

Add beef broth, beer and ketchup; stir until smooth and just slightly thickened.  Add potatoes, carrots and garlic.  Bring to a gentle boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat until meat and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.  Stir frequently, as gravy will thicken and may stick to bottom of pan.  I didn't need to, but if the gravy gets too thick, thin it with a little water, broth or beer.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley (if available) before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings.

(Somewhat) Traditional New Year's Day Meal

I know this may not be the most visually appealing of meals, but we all ate and ate...and ate...and would have eaten more if there'd been any gravy left.

In the south, it's a tradition to eat beans and greens on New Year's Day. I think the most common combination is black-eyed peas and collard greens. They are thought to symbolize prosperity (the beans stand for coins and the greens symbolize bills).

In our house, I'm trying hard to make it a tradition to "use whatcha got", so I scoured my pantry and freezer and found pigeon peas instead of black-eyeds and a package of Swiss chard from our garden last summer.

I like to serve these lucky beans and greens with Ham Hock Gravy over Homemade Biscuits -- this year I made Sweet Potato Biscuits. I think my baking soda may be past its prime, because they didn't rise as much as last time I used this recipe. They tasted good anyway. I also cooked some green beans because I knew I'd be hard pressed to get Kat to take more than her required bite of the peas or chard.



Ham Hock Gravy

1 large (about 1/2 -3/4 lb.) smoked ham hock or equivalent package of sliced smoked pork shanks
1 qt. of water
salt and pepper to taste
approximately 4 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed into about 1/2 cup water

Place ham hock in water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for at least an hour.

Remove ham hock from broth. The meat will literally fall off the bone.

Remove any fat and bones, shred the pork and return it to the broth. Taste for seasonings, adding salt and pepper as desired.

Bring broth and meat back to a gentle boil.

Stir in cornstarch and water mixture and stir until gravy thickens. (You may have to add additional cornstarch and water mixture.)

Serve over split, buttered biscuits.



Sweet Potato Biscuits

2 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons cold butter
1 cup cooked sweet potato, mashed
approximately 1/2 cup milk

Heat oven to 400°F. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Using food processor or pastry blender, but cold butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in sweet potato. Add milk and mix just until soft dough forms.

Roll dough on lightly floured surface about 1/2-inch thick and cut into rounds using biscuit or cookie cutter. Place on baking stone or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.

Makes about 1 dozen biscuits.



Swiss Chard (or other fresh or frozen greens)

1 "mess" of greens, enough to feed your family
small amount of oil or bacon drippings
1/2 to 1 cup water or the liquid from simmering the ham hock above
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil or drippings in a large pan. When hot, add greens, stirring and simmering until wilted.

Add liquid, reduce heat to low. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until greens are tender.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.



Pigeon Peas (or Black-Eyed Peas)

1 cup dried pigeon peas or black-eyed peas
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bacon drippings or oil
pepper to taste

Sort peas for any bad peas or small bits of dirt. Rinse thoroughly.

Place peas in medium pan with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Stir in salt and bacon drippings.

Bring peas to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours or until peas are tender, adding small amounts of water to the pan as needed.

Season with pepper and additional salt as desired.

Makes about 3 cups of cooked peas.

Our Leftovers Have Leftovers!

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready for tomorrow to arrive and for things to get back to normal.

We hosted a small crowd here for Thanksgiving...my daughter and son-in-law, my parents and my older brother. I like to send leftovers home with my guests so they don't have to scrounge their supper, so between the main meal and the leftover packages, an entire turkey was consumed.

Never fear...Shane deep-fried a second one so we could have our own leftovers. I wound up with about 12 cups of diced turkey, enough sliced turkey for a couple rounds of sandwiches, and 5 quarts of rich turkey stock!

Whether you still have leftovers in the fridge or you just want to plan ahead for the next turkey-centric meal, here is the list of dishes on my use-it-up list:

Turkey Stuffed Shells. The better the gravy, the better this dish will turn out. We enjoyed it a lot and although I cut the amount of filling in half, we had enough for two meals. (leftovers of our leftovers)

Turkey Nachos. I got the idea from the link, but when it came time to put it all together, I opted to use the seasoned turkey to build individual taco salads. It was a nice change from the turkey and dressing flavors.

Cold Turkey Sammies. I'm a bit of a purest when it comes to turkey sandwiches. All I want on mine is turkey, mayo and dill pickle slices. Shane adds mustard and cranberry sauce to his. Kat likes hers on leftover dinner rolls.

Turkey Enchiladas. I'll be subbing diced turkey for the ground beef in this recipe.

Turkey Noodle Soup. I'll be using some of the stock and some wide rolled dumplings to make soup.

Turkey Curry. Odd ingredients, but good reviews. Can't wait to try it.

Kentucky Hot Browns. A classic open-face turkey sandwich.

Turkey Pot Pie with Cranberry-Thyme Crust. I just found this recipe today and had to add it to my list.

Then, after all the bird recipes, I'm going to make a big juicy hunk of cow.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful day with family and friends!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Takin' Care of Busy-ness

The bathroom remodel is almost done. Shane was true to his word that he'd have it 90% finished by the end of the day Sunday. It was close, but that remaining 10% is details, and we all know that's where the devil is. All that is left to do is a little touch up painting, put the towel racks up and hang a few do-dads on the walls. Done or not, I'll be posting pictures tomorrow.

**********

Today Kat and the rest of the 1st Graders are having their Thanksgiving Feast, and I'll be heading to school in a few minutes to take some hot rolls and join in. I think it will be a pretty good feast, although I'm not sure how well turkey cold cuts are going to go over instead of an actual bird.

**********

Speaking of turkey, how long does it really take one of those things to thaw?

Every year I move it from my deep freeze to the spare fridge and come time to cook it, it's still a little frozen in the middle, resulting in us scrambling to get it thawed by running warm water in the cavity. This year, I moved the bird from the deep freeze last Thursday, allowing it a full week to thaw. When I checked it on Sunday, it was still rock solid. So I put a cooler filled with cold water on the back deck and stuck it in there, making sure to bungee down the lid to keep out any stray raccoons.

Yesterday, the water was so cold it hurt my hands, but the turkey was starting to thaw. This morning, the water is still nice and cold and the turkeys feel like their coming along. By tomorrow, I'm sure they'll be ready for Shane to inject with some yummy Cajun-spiced butter and store over night in the spare fridge again. Then by Thursday, it'll be ready for him to deep-fry. We love deep-fried turkey, and it frees up my oven for other things on Thanksgiving morning.

How are the rest of you doing with your holiday preps? Anyone else frying their turkey?

Last Minute Dress-Up

I finally made the decision to dress up just a few minutes before we were to take Kat trick or treating last night. I ratted my hair and put on a witch "costume" (more Stevie Nicks than the Wicked Witch) I'd picked up at a garage sale last summer, not knowing if it would even fit. My pointy hat seems to have fallen over. And thank goodness for black tights, since that skirt was short! (Not to mention drafty.)

We're still not sure what Shane was supposed to be. He was going to be a tree, but couldn't pull that together in the five minutes I gave him to get ready, so he ended up being hunter/logger/redneck man. This is not the way he dresses all the time. As far as you know.

Kat Cat

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A Celebration

My daughter's and son-in-law's reception was last Saturday evening. You might remember that they eloped, more or less, back in July. Since then, the groom's mother thought it would be nice to have a reception, somewhat defeating the point of eloping (they didn't want a fuss made).

Fuss or no fuss, everyone had a great time, and the food...most of it Mediterranean, much of it vegetarian...was outstanding. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the beautiful buffet before everyone started digging in, but if you are interested you can get an idea by clicking here, then going to the menu and catering sections.

Here's a picture of my son-in-law and daughter (left and center), along with my daughter's best friend, who also officiated at their wedding (right).


The pretty cake was a light and tender ginger spice cake with lemon curd between the layers. Outside was persimmon-colored buttercream (to match the invitations and decorations) with edible sugar orchids.


Here is my sister with her grandson. He was the most handsome man in the room.


Finally, here's one of Kat feigning sleep on the way home. Believe me, she was wide awake then and for a few hours after.

**********

In other news, life has calmed down a little for me. I'd say I'm 90% recovered from my surgery (still no heavy lifting), so I can't use that as an excuse to bail out of my housework anymore.

I'm slowly looking toward the holidays now, considering things like what will be on the Thanksgiving menu, where we'll put the Christmas tree this year and whether and when I'll change my blog to a winter theme. I have to say, happily, that our holidays this year will be more laid back and low key than they've ever been, so I'm approaching it all at a very leisurely pace.

But first we have to get through this weekend. School is closed tomorrow and Friday for parent-teacher meetings. Since when did Halloween become a four-day weekend? Just thinking of all that sugar-laced free time? By Sunday, one of us is sure to be crying.

It will probably be me.

Holiday Weekend

Public Service Announcement: When going on an extended weekend road trip, it's always nice to have a vehicle that's "fully loaded".


We'll be heading out as soon as Kat gets out of school this afternoon to go camping and have a big family picnic with my parents, siblings and all the kids/grandkids. I'll be back online either late Sunday or sometime on Monday.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun-filled weekend!

Tuesday Tidbits

I'm a few days late, but I hope all of you (especially you female readers) had a Happy Mother's Day. I spent the holiday cleaning my kitchen from top to bottom. I know that doesn't sound like much of a holiday, but it's what I wanted to do, so I did.

Instead of going out to eat, Shane and I went to the grocery store and bought some food for the grill that we wouldn't ordinarily buy: sea scallops and a couple of store-prepared stuffed salmon fillets. We had a nice seafood dinner at home instead of enduring a crowd and a long wait at a restaurant.

I'm over the cold bug I had last week, but Kat has it now. She stayed home from school yesterday, which meant I didn't have a lot of time for the computer. She went back to school today and I'm spending the day trying to catch up on laundry and other chores. I spent the entire morning outside working in the garden and (finally) re-potting the herbs I started from seeds last month. I planted some beet seeds in the one remaining empty space in our garden, and planted some asters and African daisies that my daughter gave me for Mother's Day in a deep window box. I watered everything, using captured rain water where it was convenient to do so, and a hose where it wasn't. The forecast calls for rain this afternoon, but I watered a little anyway because Missouri forecasts aren't exactly reliable.

As if I'm not busy enough around here, my daughter sent me a link to Tastespotting. It's a website that features hundreds (probably thousands) of foods photographs. The photos alone would keep me enthralled for hours, but here's the kicker: just click on the photo and you'll end up at the blog or website that includes the written recipe.

OMG! I'll never get away from the computer now. And I swear I'm going to make these Bacon-Maple Cookies. How can they not be fantastic?

Fun With Frosting (aka Holiday Confusion)

Unable to decide if we should celebrate Valentine's Day today
or Friday the 13th yesterday, Kat and I did both.

(This was ready-made Wilton cookie frosting inthe squeeze bottles.
Tastes kind of yucky, but it's fun to play with.)

Flaky Sausage Foldovers

There's still time to add these quick snacks to your New Year's Eve menu, especially if you take the easy route like I did and use refrigerated pie crust.


Flaky Sausage Foldovers

1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage (regular or hot)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 15-oz can or jar of pizza sauce
1 pkg. refrigerated pie crusts, near room temperature
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 425°F. Brown sausage in small skillet; drain well. Stir in garlic powder. Add 1/4 cup of the pizza sauce; mix well.

Unfold 1 pie crust. With rolling pin, roll into 13-inch round. With 3-inch cutter, cut 11 rounds*. Repeat with second pie crust

Spoon about 1 teaspoon sausage mixture onto each round. Fold each in half; seal edges with fork or fingers. Cut slit in top of each with sharp knife. Place on ungreased (or parchment-lined) cookie sheet. Brush each foldover with beaten egg.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, heat remaining pizza sauce in small pan until hot. Serve warm appetizers with warm pizza sauce for dipping.

Makes 22 appetizers. *

Source: Pillsbury Holiday Appetizers and Desserts December 2003


* I was able to get 20 rounds from each crust and had plenty of filling for a total of 40 appetizers.

The Holiday Snacks Just Keep Coming

Clockwise from top: Fresh veggies for dipping, Easy Baklava Bars,
Guacamole-Cheese Crisps, Mini-Hamburgers.

Here are some of the treats we had on Christmas Day. I decided to share the recipes with you; they'd make great snacks for a stay-at-home New Year's Eve Celebration.

The Mini-Hamburgers are a copycat of White Castle burgers; they are fun to make and yes, you really do cook them right on the buns.

The Easy Baklava Bars don't quite taste like the real thing, but they are so much simpler to make than traditional baklava that it seems a good trade.

Shane loves to toss a little shredded cheddar cheese in a skillet and toast it until it's golden brown and crispy, so when I found the recipe for Guacamole Cheese Crisps, I knew I'd have to make some.

And finally, my daughter Jeanne made a pot of Mulled Apple Cider (photo below) that was absolutely delicious. It would be wonderful for a fall party as well as a winter one. We couldn't find the apple brandy, so we substituted a lesser amount (1/2 cup) of DeKuyper Red Apple Liqueur added straight to the pot for flavor (simmering away the alcohol), then spiked each serving as desired.

Mini-Hamburgers

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 Tablespoon butter
1 - 1-1/2 pounds very lean ground beef (93% or leaner)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
40 mini rolls, split
40 dill pickle slices
10 slices American cheese, cut into 4 squares each (or uses shredded cheddar)

In a skillet, saute onion in butter. Transfer to a bowl; add meat, egg and seasonings.

Spread over bottom halves of the rolls: replace tops. Place on baking sheets; cover with foil. Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes. If desired, place a pickle slice and a cheese square on each burger; replace tops and foil, then return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Makes 40 mini burgers.


Easy Baklava Bars

Crust:
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

Filling:
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup coconut
1 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon brandy, if desired
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 whole cloves

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 15x10x1 jelly roll pan (mine was non-stick, so I did not grease it). Unroll crescent dough into 2 long rectangles. Place in pan; press over bottom to form crust. Firmly press perforations to seal*. Bake at 350°F. for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

In food processor, combine all filling ingredients. Process in brief intervals until mixture is finely chopped and blended well. Spoon evenly over partially baked crust; gently press down. Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown.

In small saucepan, combine all glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove whole cloves. Drizzle glaze evenly over warm bars. Score bars while still warm. Cool completely; cut into bars.

Makes about 48 bars.

*I used the new Pillsbury Recipe Creations Crescent rolls. It unrolls in one continuous sheet, so there are no perfs to seal.



Guacamole-Cheese Crisps

1 cup finely shredded cheddar or Mexican-style cheese (4 oz.)
1/2 cup guacamole (store-bought or your own recipe - here's mine)
3 Tablespoons sour cream (I used French onion dip)
3 Tablespoons salsa

Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. For each crisp, spoon 2 teaspoons cheese onto paper-lined cookie sheet; pat into 2-inch rounds (I used an open round cookie cutter as a quick guide). Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool until crisp.

Spoon 1-1/2 teaspoons guacamole onto each crisp along with about 1/2 teaspoon each of sour cream and salsa.

Makes about 16 appetizers.


Mulled Cider with Winter Spices


1 gallon apple cider
1/4 cup orange juice
Peel from 1 orange, cut into strips (or 1/2 teaspoon dehydrated orange peel)
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
2 whole allspice
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups applejack brandy (optional)

Combine all ingredients except brandy in a large pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain cider into mugs (to remove whole spices and any foam that may have formed on top). Serve hot cider, passing applejack brandy separately, if desired.

Makes about 1 gallon.

Dressed and Ready To Go

This is a special day for Kindergartners at Kat's school.

They wore their pajamas to school today and they will be listening to
the story The Polar Express, then watching the movie,
with related activities and discussion afterward.

Tomorrow is their classroom party, followed by their
end of quarter assembly. And then...VACATION!

Blah Humbug

The early shopping? The treat recipes I've been posting? The holiday crafts? To be honest, it's been nothing more than me going through the Christmas motions. I've been faking it, trying to get in "the mood".

I'm not saying I'm depressed; it doesn't feel like that. I don't think I'm ill; it doesn't feel like that, either. It's not even that the economy has dampened my spirits - not directly anyway.

I'm just not into the big to-do this year. I'm tired. I don't have much of an appetite lately. I haven't been in the mood to do any real cooking (thus all the junky treats lately).

Yet I still have gifts to wrap; food to buy and prepare. And I've somehow managed to lose my list of dishes I wanted to make for Christmas. I had it all planned out and now I can't find it. Which means I'll have to start over perusing my cookbooks or come up with a less than stellar array of goodies off the top of my head. Do you know how hard it is to do when you're just a week away from the big day and your lack of appetite means nothing sounds good?

Are any of the rest of you feeling this way?

Do you think Santa would deliver a couple of pizzas if I'm really good the next seven days?

Not Quite Right...But Delicious

In my last post, I mentioned peanut butter bon bons that didn't turn out quite right. In this recipe, both the filling and the coating are made from ready-to-spread frosting. The coating was supposed to set up in about six hours at room temperature, but after 48 hours, some of them were still sticky and not quite set.

The recipe is from a 1980 Pillsbury booklet, and I suspect the problem is that frosting is not made the same way now as it was then and that a different type of fat is being used. This may explain why the frosting did not firm up again quickly.

However, because everyone who has tried them has liked the flavor so well, I've decided to post the recipe anyway. Feel free to try them as is, or to coat them with a sturdier chocolate, such as melted chocolate chips or chocolate bark.


Peanut Butter Bon Bons

1 can ready-to-spread vanilla frosting
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 can any flavor of ready-to-spread frosting (for coating)

In large bowl, combine vanilla frosting, peanut butter and butter with fork until well blended. Stir in crumbs until well mixed; Form into 1-inch balls and chill for 1 hour.

In small saucepan, melt remaining frosting over low heat, stirring occasionally. Dip chilled balls in melted frosting; allow excess to drip off. Place on cooling rack over waxed or parchment paper (or a clean cookie sheet); let stand at room temperature until dry, about 6 hours.

Makes 48-52 bon bons.

Tip: As frosting in saucepan thickens, reheat. You can also scrape the dripped frosting from the waxed or parchment paper and return it to the pan to reheat it.

Raspberry Coconut Bars

I had a post planned today for Peanut Butter Bon-Bons. For once, I followed the recipe exactly, but they didn't turn out quite right. Until I have time to figure out why they didn't work, I won't be posting the recipe.

Instead, here's one from last December. It was a hit at our family party, and also at a party my daughter took them too last spring. I found the recipe in Taste of Home magazine, but instead of the raspberry preserves called for, I used Raspberry-Mango Fruit Spread from Aldi. I'm not a jelly/jam/preserves eater, but that stuff has fantastic flavor!




Raspberry Coconut Bars

1-2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
2-2/3 cups flaked coconut
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup seedless raspberry preserves
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into a greased 13" x 9" baking dish. Sprinkle with coconut and drizzle with condensed milk. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Spread preserves over the crust. Sprinkle with walnuts. In a microwave-safe dish, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Drizzle over walnuts. Repeat with vanilla chips. Cut into bars. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until chocolate is set.

Makes 24 bars.

Notes: I think the bars would make a better presentation if the nuts were sprinkled on last, over the top of the chocolate drizzle, instead of under it.

So-Easy Sugar Cookies

This recipe comes from Pillsbury Bake-Off Cookies and Cakes from way back in April of 1991.

These cookies are a cinch to make and are light and flaky. We used red and green sugar for Christmas, but they are also pretty with pastel colors for Easter or red and blue for the 4th of July.

I used the maximum (2 teaspoons) of almond extract, but next time I will cut it back to 1 teaspoon. The cookies had a very nice initial flavor, but I detected an aftertaste from the extract; that may just be the brand I used.* I'd also let them bake the full 12 minutes. I baked them for 10 minutes and felt they could have been just a little more done, especially in the center of the pan.

Cut into diamonds as I did, I only got 2-1/2 dozen instead of the suggested 4 dozen.


So-Easy Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup oil (I used slightly less)
1 tablespoon milk
1 to 2 teaspoons almond extract
1 egg
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar (colored or white)

Heat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat 3/4 cup sugar, butter, oil, milk, almond extract and egg until light and fluffy.

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Stir flour, balking powder and salt into butter mixture. Blend well.

Spread evenly in ungreased 15x10x1 jelly roll pan; sprinkle with colored sugar.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; cut into bars.

Makes 4 dozen bar cookies.

*Edited a day later: I don't taste an aftertaste now, nor did Shane. I remember wiping a drop of extract off the bottle and licking my finger yesterday. I guess that's what the aftertaste came from.