Russian Refresher

I have no idea why this is considered "Russian"-- Madison just requests "Yummy Hot Orange Drink". It is however a nice alternative to hot cocoa or hot apple cider. This makes a large batch of the mix. I often package it and share with friends in the fall time.

2 cups Tang
3 ounces presweetened lemonade mix
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. To make a single serving of the drink, use 3 teaspoons in 6 ounces of hot water.

This recipe plus lots of cute fall ideas at this website rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2009/10/hot-spiced-orange-drink.html

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

This recipe is from King Arthur Flour. They are very exact with their recipes and often call for specific items not in your normal everyday pantry. For example, in this recipe it calls for "cake enhancer" and xanthan gum. I left those things out, but they were still yummy! I love all these fall spices and flavors.

This is the original recipe that they based the mini version on. To make mini whoopie pies you just use the 1 inch scoop instead of the muffin size scoop.

CAKE

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons King Arthur Cake Enhancer, optional
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce can) pumpkin
• 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour

FILLING

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons soft butter
• 2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional
• 1/4 cup diced crystallized ginger, optional

Directions

1) To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

2) Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, cake enhancer, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3) Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until fluffy.

4) Stir in the pumpkin.

5) Add the flour in two additions, mixing well after each addition.

6) Use a muffin scoop to deposit the thick batter onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2" around each mound.

7) Bake until the cookies feel firm; a slight indentation will remain when you gently press them in the middle, about 16 to 18 minutes.

8) Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

9) To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.

10) Beat in the sugar in two additions.

11) Add the vanilla and xanthan gum. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until very fluffy.

12) Stir in the crystallized ginger.

13) To assemble: Sandwich two cookies around 2 tablespoons of filling. For best storage, wrap each pie in plastic wrap.

Yield: 1 dozen 4" whoopie pies. (OR 30 mini whoopie pies)

Clean Counter Tip

When I cook and bake I am a real mess in the kitchen. So, this is what I do whenever I am going to anything in my mixer-- especially make multiple batches of butter cream frosting! I cover the counter in wax paper, then set up the mixer. Then once I start I can put my messy measuring spoons and cups and spatula down and have it not dirtying up the counter. When it comes time to clean up I just wad up the wax paper and throw it away--mess and all!

Truffles

Oreo Truffles

1 1-pound package of oreos
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

Pulse oreos in food processor until you have fine crumbs and no traces of the cream filling remain. Transfer into mixer bowl. Blend in softened cream cheese until totally combined. Form into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Freeze about 45 minutes or until firm. Melt 1 12-ounce package of chocolate chips. You can use milk chocolate, dark or semi-sweet. Dip balls into melted chocolate using a wooden skewer. Let excess drip and swirl off. Slide off onto another cookie sheet covered with wax paper with a fork. Drizzle with more chocolate, or do white chocolate.

Variations: these truffles can be done with mint oreos (best with dark chocolate covering). I recently tried using Nutter Butters instead with good results- Try dipping these in milk chocolate! For parties and holidays use the Wilton Candy Melts to cover the truffles or just do the drizzle. They come in practically every color. (Great for your football parties!)

Perfect balance!

World Famous Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

Sarah mentioned to me a while back that I should try this recipe, so I made them tonight. They are really good-- I like it because it looks as good as it tastes, like a real bakery cookie. The cake flour makes all the difference, I'm sure. I used my large cookie scoop for these. 

 

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups shortening
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
41/3 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sugar for decorating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars and shortening using an electric mixer.
Mix on slow speed 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. Slowly add vanilla and beaten egg while mixing.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, mixing on slow speed until just blended. Do not overmix.
Dough may be rolled out on a lightly floured board and cut with cookie cutters, or scooped with an ice-cream scoop and placed directly on cookie sheet. If scooped, flatten with palm of hand.
Bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes. Cookies are done when small cracks appear. Ideally, the edges do not brown.
Sprinkle liberally with sugar after baking. Makes about 3 dozen small cookies.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/style/hfe/recipes/articles/0131cornerrec231-CR.html#ixzz0zeb6moNz

Cheesy Chicken Rotini

Notice I am trying a lot of new recipes this week with the word "cheesy" in the title. I can do that while the non cheese lover is out of town. Tomorrow we are going for "Four Cheese" in the dish. Tonight I did this recipe from Velveeta, so technically it may not be real cheese, but it is "cheesy". This recipe also fits my favorite category of one-pot dishes. Makes clean-up much easier. One note, I only had broccoli and cauliflower combo in my freezer, so that's what I used (no carrots).

1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups water

3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend

1 can (10 oz.) RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

COOK and stir chicken in large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 5 min. or until no longer pink.

STIR in water. Bring to boil. Add pasta; stir. Cover; simmer on medium-low 10 min. or until pasta is tender.

ADD remaining ingredients; stir. Cook, covered, 5 to 7 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted and vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring frequently.

Cheesy Breakfast Skillet

Breakfast for dinner is very popular at my house, so I was glad to find this recipe from Kraft Food and Family. I halved the recipe since there were just three of us.

6 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon (Cook more bacon if you want more than 1 piece per person!) 1 small  Onion, chopped (I use minced dry onion)

4 cups (1/2 of 32-oz. pkg.) frozen Southern-style hash browns

1-1/2 cups  KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Cheddar Cheese

6 Eggs

COOK bacon in large nonstick skillet on medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet, reserving 3 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels.

ADD onions and potatoes to skillet; cover. Cook on medium-high heat 14 min. or until potatoes are browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in cheese.
MAKE 6 small wells in potato mixture; fill with eggs. Top with bacon; cook, covered, 3 to 4 min. or just until eggs are set. Let stand, covered, 1 min.

My half recipe version, cooked in electric skillet.

The crispy potatoes made a wonderful "crust"!

Madison's plate -- mmmm.

Pork Chops with Apples

This is one of my go-to recipes, but I kind of forgot about it and had not made it in a while. I got a bunch of apples last week for the girls lunches, so I decided to put it the meal plan this week. The apples are delicious and tender, the perfect compliment to the pork chops. I like to do this recipe in my electric skillet.

Ingredients

* 4 medium apples
* Juice of half an orange or lemon (I use orange)
* 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
* Oil for the pan (or just spray)

* 4 pork chops
* Salt and pepper
* 1/4 cup apple cider or juice
* 1 tbsp. butter, optional

Instructions

1.Peel, core and cube the apples, and sprinkle them with lemon juice and nutmeg. (I use apple pie spice which includes nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice).

2.Put a 10-inch or larger skillet over medium-high heat, and put in enough oil just to keep the pork from sticking. When the skillet is hot, add the chops, and add a pinch of salt and pepper. After about 6 minutes, turn the chops to brown on the other side. After 5 minutes, add the apples and cover the pan.

3.Remove the chops from the pan to a serving platter.

4.Deglaze the pan with the cider or juice, turning up the heat as you stir the juice and apples, and scrape up browned bits. To make a richer sauce, you can swirl in a tablespoon of butter as you remove the pan from the heat and before pouring the apples over the pork. You can also sprinkle on more cinnamon and sugar, depending on the sweetness of your apples. (Note: The time the chops take to cook will be determined by their thickness. The center of a chop should be white, and the juices should run clear.)

I served this dish with some broccoli and a baked sweet potato. Perfect for autumn!

BYOSF

I am such a recipe girl, it almost scares me to cook without one. We have been to several build your own stir fry restaurants and I have really craved it at home. I did glance at a few real recipes and noticed they did follow a certain formula. I had on hand in the freezer some smaller portions of chicken, pork tenderloin and petite sirloin steak (left over from the fondue meal), so I decided to use it for a build your own stir fry night. Great results! Everyone got to cook their own and it was really fun. Start by heating up the pan and spray with non-stick spray. Add in as much meat as you would like, all cut in smaller pieces so they cook quickly. When the meat is done on the outside, add in the veggies. You can use the frozen mix specifically designed for stir-fry that has water chestnuts. Or you can just use what you like! There are all sorts of options-- I used all broccoli with my beef. Madison used regular mixed veggies with her pork and Jared used the oriental veggie mix. In with the veggies add about 1/2 cup of stir-fry sauce. I used a teriyaki marinade, others used a bottled stir-fry sauce. Stir and mix around and then cover and steam cook until the veggies are tender, just a few more minutes. I had cooked rice before, so you could mix it in at the end if you wanted fried rice style or just put your stir fry on top of the steamed rice. I loved it and it was a great way to use up small amounts of meat and veggies.

Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole

I got this recipe from Hy-vee. I made it for Sunday dinner. At first I thought it was going to be a lot of sauce, but as it cooked it soaked it up and even flavored the pasta. Interesting recipe!

1 lb lean ground beef (I used Italian sausage instead-- more flavor!)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 16oz package linguine, cooked
2 15oz cans pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook the meat and onion, drain.

Spray slow-cooker with non-stick spray, or use a crock pot liner. In slow-cooker, layer 1/2 the linguine, 1/2 the meat, 1 can of the sauce and 1/2 the cheese. Repeat layers.

Cook on LOW for 3 hours.

Serves 12 (or for me, lots of leftovers for lunches the next week!)

Pizza on the Grill

When you don't have a brick oven, this is the next best thing! We have done this method of pizza several times this summer. It gives the pizza a nice crispy crust. You can use the Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough, or make your own. Prehat the grill on medium high. Spray with non-stick spray. Roll out your dough out on a flour dusted board and then get a big sheet of heavy duty foil. Spray the foil with non-stick spray, then put you dough on the foil. Head out to the grill and flip your dough out onto the oiled grill. Grill the first side about 3 minutes. Flip over with tongs and start grilling the other side. Top with sauce and toppings of your choice. You can also just grill the dough as bread and serve with olive oil, marinara sauce, or hummus for dipping. I love topping mine with pesto and fresh tomatoes.

Muffins to Go

This isn't really a recipe per se, but you can do them with any type of muffin and any recipe. Since Madison is out the door before 6 and Gabrielle has to be ready to go before 7, we needed some quick grab and go breakfasts. The other night I made up batches of 3 different kinds of mini muffins and bagged them in zip-loc bags. The girls helped label them and then we popped them in the freezer. The girls have been grabbing them in the mornings with some milk or fruit and I feel a little better that I have fed them!