autumn in a dish.....

i know i have posted this recipe before, but i am going to do it again, since it is season appropriate and all. i have made few revisions to this recipe as well.

first let me say...

my fabulous mother always made this and a pot of soup in the fall and took us to our local campground many, many, many fall nights. creating such a flood of warm memories for us kids. we now do the same thing in our family. this is me crowning my childhood friend kellie with the first piece of autumn in a dish for the season, quite an honor!


apple pudding

1 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1 egg
4 lg apples, shredded
2 C flour
2 t soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 C pecans (optional)
1/2 t. salt

cream sugar and butter. add egg and apples. add flour and dry ingredients. bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes in a 9 by 13 pan.

caramel sauce

1 C butter
2 C sugar
1 C cream or canned milk
1 1/2 t vanilla (add after removed from heat to ensure the flavor)

bring to a slow rolling boil, about 5-6 minutes.

DRENCH a piece of cake in this and you will be so happy....


*we cooked this in a dutch oven. 8 coals on top, 9 on bottom, 35 - 40 minutes {heaven}

dutch oven quiche....

is the best way to eat my quiche. i thought i had eaten until i had it from the dutch oven....

mercy! it cooks perfectly, 9 coals on the bottom, 8 on top and cook for 45 minutes. it comes out perfect. i think next time we cook it, i will pop it in the dutch oven and cook it in the oven....

orange fritters with cinnamon cream syrup

sound delightful don't they. truly they are. i ate these first years ago dining here for breakfast. they were so good. on our last excursion here i found they took them off the menu and i was glad the year before i came up with my own recipe.

well, this is a concept really, i can't give you an exact recipe, it will depend on what scone mix you like.

i have found a really good boxed scone dough by a local company, honeyville.
i buy their scone box and follow the directions adding a few ingredients.

i add the zest of one orange. for the liquid, i squeeze one orange and whatever i get from that i use as part of the liquid requirement for the recipe.

here is a picture of the dough once it rises.


we took this camping and after it was done rising i put it in a container and kept it in the cooler {fridge if you are not camping} until i was ready to use it.

i fried them in oil until they were brown on each side. they are wonderful!


especially with this syrup: {which can be used on a wide variety of breakfast foods, pancakes, french toast, or you can drink it, ahem......}

Cinnamon Cream Syrup

5 T melted butter
1 C heavy cream
3 T brown sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t maple extract (i have left this out before and it was fine)

combine all ingredients in a small saucepan on medium to high heat. cook, whisking constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly (3-4 minutes)

you can make this ahead and heat to serve when you are ready for it!

Apple Crumb Pie

OK, I just took another trip out to the apple orchard today to pick some fabulous apples and I am always just inspired by the feeling of fall in the air this time of year. It's amazing! And every time that I have a stock of apples on hand, this delicious dessert comes to mind and I have to make it. I like apple pie. It's a good thing. I really, truly, passionately LOVE crumb topping from apple crisp. The beauty of this recipe is that it combines the goodness of both of those desserts into one, amazing whole.

I got this recipe several years back from another one of our New Haven friends, Jen Brewer. We made it while she so graciously hosted our family for an away rotation at the Mayo Clinic. I learned a lot of great recipes from her on that trip that I adore. Thanks, Jen! BTW, I seem to remember this recipe coming from an ex-girlfriend of Jerry's! Kinda funny :-)
APPLE CRUMB PIE:
Filling:
10-15 apples, peeled & cut into chunks
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup sugar (+)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (+)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Topping:
1 cube butter, chilled, but not too hard
1/3 cup heaping sugar
1/2 cup heaping flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 pie crust

Put pie crust in bottom of pie dish. Load apple mixture on top - should be heaping. Make the topping by cutting the butter into sugar and flour until crumbly, then sprinkle over top of apple pie. Wrap tin foil around edges of crust to keep from burning. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. This tastes fabulous served warm with ice cream.

Don't you just love that this recipe uses "heaping" so many times. That's just my kinda thing :-) Enjoy!

heaven, bliss and good fortune

my favorite new recipe....

i love lindsays blog, she has my kind of taste you see. everything i make from her turns to gold and this is no exception! this one is super easy but takes patience as it needs time to freeze. it is best when frozen overnight.

frozen coconut key lime tart

you can find lindsays recipe and tutorial here.

i browned some coconut in the oven and then added some lime green food coloring to my whipped cream. i piped it with a large ziploc and cut a little hole in the tip and kind of swirled it.

additional info - i made this and served it in quantity at my recent coupon class. in an effort to make all of it pretty, i wanted to use my 1 tart pan for all 5 tarts, but i decided to try and make this in a large pyrex. i made the crust and cooked it in the tart pan and then crumbled it and put it in the pyrex adding the filling and cream over top, it was a great way to serve in quantity and tasted great even tho it wasn't as pretty!

{p.s. the cream of coconut is right by the drink mix section of the drink isle, and make sure to note it is cream of coconut, not coconut milk. and stock up, you will want this often!}

hired...

here is grayce's birthday cake, in a stunning photo shoot with my mountain man brother. too bad he lives in the great white north....

you can find the recipe here

Ranchero Mexi-Chicken Crostada

As I have been browsing other food blogs, I came across this food blog called, "The Picky Palate" As I have gone threw this gals recipes, I have been so impressed! She is so creative with the way she makes her food and I found this yummy recipe on there that I wanted to share with you all. Follow the link here. This recipe was so easy and so flavorful! I served this with a side of seasoned black beans and watermelon. We loved it!

Chicken Stew with Dumplings

The weather has really cooled off this week and yesterday it was rainy and cold. I was craving some kind of soup and ended up making this. It was really yummy and total comfort food.

STEW:
3 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I used part of a rotisserie chicken)
5 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 pound new potatoes, quartered
3 carrots cut into 2-inch pieces (I just used baby carrots)
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 medium onion, cut into eighths
1 (10oz) package frozen peas

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add all the ingredients except the chicken and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cooked chicken.

Dissolve 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch in 1 cup of half and half, cream or milk and stir into soup mixture. This step is optional but helps to thicken the stew a little bit.

DUMPLINGS:

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley (I just used a few shakes of dried)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and parsley. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into simmering stew. Cover and let cook for about 15 minutes or until the dumplings are tender.

Wheat Sandwich Bread

I'm no great breadmaker, but I love the texture of this bread--while other homemade breads crumble, this bread is sturdy enough for the sandwich challenge. For white bread, use all white flour.

This recipe is from The Joy of Cooking (the format to the recipe is a little different than most, so read through it entirely before starting)

*Combine in a bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes:
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup (110-115 degrees) water

*Warm to 105 degrees:
1 cup milk

*Add to the milk and stir to dissolve the sugar:
1 cup warm (105 degrees) water
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter or shortening, softened
2 tablespoons sugar or honey
1 tablespoon salt

*Stir the milk mixture into the yeast. Have ready:
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 1/2-3 cups bread flour

*Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough is moist but not sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Knead the dough briefly, return it to the bowl, and let rise again until doubled, about 1 hour.

Grease 2 8 1/2x4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Punch the dough down, divide in half, and form into 2 loaves. Place seam side down in the pans. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the loaves crest about the pan, making a nice dome, about one hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake the loaves for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until the bottom of the loaves sound hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes more. Remove the loaves from the pans to a rack and let cool completely.


So, there's my bread recipe, but I'd love to read any others (hint, hint, Ebberts!) I'm always on the lookout for bread-making tips, so leave some if you've got 'em!