Grandama Blankespoor's Snicker Bars

So the time has come for Christmas goodies. Our family had a sit down over coffee the day after Thanksgiving to discuss who would be making which cookies. As kids we each got to request one kind. Now mom makes the favorites, I make a few differnt ones & the sisters fill in with a mix of old & new & gluten free! My mom's list of old favorites includes very little candy because Grandma always made the candy! Well Grandma's not cooking anymore so I decided to pick up her old recipe & add it to the list thus year. Of course I made the first batch today & I don't think they will last till Christmas!

Snicker Bars

Layer One:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
Melt together & spread in a 9x13 inch pan, let cool

Layer Two:
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup margarine
Boil 5 minutes, remove from heat & stir in
1 cup marshmallow cream
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
Pour over first layer

Layer Three:
One cup crushed peanuts. Spread over layer two

Layer Four:
30 caramels or one bag caramel bits
2 tablespoons water
Melt in the microwave or double boiler & drizzel over the peanut layer

Layer Five: Same as layer one
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
Melt & spread over the other layers.

Cool & cut into one inch squares.








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Sloppy Genies & Johnny Corn Cakes

So I live in the Saint Louis, MO area. This recipe is adapted from a recipe put out by one of our local grocery stores. I really love that they have a someone cooking fab recipes in the store and handing out samples. I know it's a ploy to sell more product, but mmmmm, several of my latest favorites have come from the shiny recipe cards they hand out!!

This recipe can be tweaked to your liking. I add a bit of chili powder and cumin to the meat mixture and top my serving with black beans, shredded cheese & sour cream. The kids prefer theirs plain!

Sloppy Genies

1 TBS Canola Oil
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red or yellow bell pepper diced
16 oz ground turkey
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic & onions
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

In a skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic & peper and cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Add ground turkey and cook until turkey is no longer pink, breaking it up as it cooks. Stir in tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, salt & Tabasco. Reduce heat to low and simmer 4 to 5 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in cilantro.

Johnny Corn Cakes
2-3 TBS oil
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 can (8.5 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 package (8.5 oz) corn muffin mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place oil in a heave, oven safe cast iron or stainless steel skillet, swirl pan to coat the bottom with oil.

Melt butter & mix with corn, dry muffin mix, eggs & milk. Stir until moistened.

Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake 15-18 minutes or until edges are brown and pull away from the side of the pan.

Cut corn cakes into wedges and serves with meat mixture.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes mommies need chocolate. This recipe fit the bill for me on day four of my husband being out of town and my son insisting on waking up at 5am AGAIN. And when my husband returned and declared "awesome cookies!", I knew this recipe was a keeper. He hates most of my cookies. :)  

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Apple Hand Pies

It's that time of year for me. I want to pick apples. I want to eat apples. I want to drink apple cider. I want to make stuff with apples like pie & crisp & sauce and baked apples and caramel apples. mmmm apples.

Today I was on a search for something the kids could help with so we tried these Apple Hand Pies. They only sort of helped with the pie part but were a great help with peeling the apples. Thanks again to Grandma Sally for giving us the super cool apple peeler! If we do this again I will roll the whole mess of dough out and cut circles with a bowl or something. And apply an egg wash and sprinkle of sugar on the top. Jonah has been up since 5am though so I'm not on my game!


For CRUST:

1 1/8 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
8 T chilled butter, cut into cubes
3 T ice water

Add flour, salt & sugar to the bowl of a food processor and pulse once or twice. Add butter and pulse until it looks like cornmeal. Sprinkle water over the top and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Add more water if necessary. Form dough into a log and slice into 6 equal portions. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least 10 mintues.

For FILLING:

3 apples
1 T lemon juice
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Peel and core apples and slice into thin slices. Mix with flour sugar & cinnamon.

To assemble pies. Roll out each portion of dough until thin. Place a small amount of filling in the center of each one. Fold over dough and press with fingers to seal. Vent each one with two small slits in the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden.






oh and see that napkin!? I sewed it. It's an attempt to get the kids to use cloth napkins instead of a mountain of paper ones.

Moroccan Couscous & Chickpea Salad

Mom is cooking this up in her kitchen right this very minute. The cumin and ginger are tickling my nose. This is such a pretty salad that it deserves a photo and we will take one when lunch time rolls around. Also, mom usually makes this with quinoa instead of couscous.

1 cup couscous or quinoa
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup boiling water
5 TBLS olive oil divided
1 orange bell pepper cut into one inch sticks
1 large onion sliced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
3 TBL rice wine vinegar
3 TL orange juice concentrate

Place couscous & cherries in bowl. Add boiling water & cover with plastic wrap. (If using quinoa; cook 1 cup quinoa in one cup chicken broth according to package directions)

Saute onion, pepper & spices for five minutes in 2 TBL olive oil.

Add vegetables, chickpeas & cilantro to couscous.

Whisk together remaining olive oil, orange juice concentrate & vinegar. Add to other ingredients and chill.

Mom says this recipe is adapted from one printed in USA Weekend in the summer of 2009

Easy Homemade Granola

Guess this recipe is a shout out to my sister Meagan who is supposed to be posting on this blog since this is her recipe. I'm putting it here since we are at my parents and my daughter Leah declared "I LOVE this granola". That means I'll probably be pressured into making it at our house too. Fresh fruit + yogurt + granola is always a popular breakfast choice in the morning.

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 - 3/4 cup dried fruit (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable or coconut oil
1/4 cup honey or brown rice syrup
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut flakes, cinnamon, salt & almonds.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them. Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly leaving a few clumps for texture.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 250 degrees. Add fruit in the last 15 minutes of baking. Cool on parchment paper.

adapted from "Baked: New Frontiers in Baking" by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito

Chicken Divan

So the recipe card I used to make this last night came out of the recipe box I made for my high school home-ec class a long time ago! Guess that means this recipe has been around a while, and I'm sure around even longer than when I copied for the recipe box project since the note on my card says it came from a Mason City cookbook where my parents lived when I was little! SO yeah, old recipe!

This one is easy comfort food for me in the winter and is a good way to use up leftover chicken or turkey. I often divide this into two 8x8 pans and freeze one for later or give one to a friend like I did last night to a friend whose father recently passed away. Her husband said he was never so happy to see a casserole since they have been eating take out and freezer food the past month while dealing with her dad's illness.

CHICKEN DIVAN

2 pkgs frozen broccoli or 2 large crowns of fresh broccoli cooked
2-3 cups cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 -1 cup bread crumbs
melted butter

Cook broccoli and spread in a 9x13 inch casserole pan. Cover with cooked chicken. Combine soups, mayonnaise, and lemon juice; pour over chicken. Spread cheese over the top. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter and spread over cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350.

Grilled Salmon with Fresh Lime Cream

Many thanks to my friend Ronda for sharing this recipe. Would have taken a photo but it just doesn't always happen when I'm trying to get two hungry little people and a busy husband to the table. This wasn't a huge hit with the kids but they both tried. Paul declared it a winner though.

Also, I'm thinking I could bake this salmon in the winter when I don't feel like messing with my grill.

Grilled Salmon with Fresh Lime Cream

Salmon
1 tsp grated lime peel
1/4 c lime juice
2 tbs honey
1 tbs fresh dill or tsp dried
2 tsp canola or soybean oil
1 1/2 lb salmon fillets cut into 6 pcs
1/2 tsp salt

Fresh Lime Cream
1/3 c fat free mayo
1 tsp grated lime peel
2 tsp lime juice



Arrange salmon skin side up in 8 in glass backing dish, pour marinade (in smal bowl mix lime peel lime juice, honey dill weed and oil) over it and turn to cover all sides cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20-30 minutes or more.

Brush grill rack with oil& heat grill for direct heat. Remove salmon from marinade sprinkle with salt and place on grill skin side down grill. Cook over medium heat 10-15 min until done.

Mix lime cream ingredients with wire whisk serve with Salmon
- Show quoted text -

Turkey Burgers with Sour Cream Guacamole

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• Palmful chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons, half a palmful, cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander, half a palmful
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 ripe avocado
• 4 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 red leaf lettuce leaves
• 1 ripe tomato, sliced
• 4 whole grain buns

Directions

Combine bread crumbs, meat and beans with 1/2 red onion, spices, 2 cloves of garlic and grill seasoning. Form 4 big patties from the meat and bean mixture then heat 1 tablespoon oil, a turn of the pan, in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 7 to 8 minutes on each side. (I wanted to cook these on the grill so I wrapped the patties in tin foil to keep them from falling apart.)

While burgers cook, combine avocado with garlic, lime zest and juice, jalapeno and red onion. Mash to roughly combine, then stir in the sour cream.
Place burgers on buns with lettuce and tomato and top with sour cream guacamole and pepper co-jack cheese.

Delicious.


Adapted recipe, original is courtesy of Rachael Ray

Greek-Style Beef Kabobs with Tzatziki

Oh poor neglected recipe blog. We are cooking, really we are. I promise. Good stuff too. This one has become my new "company" recipe for summer. Pretty easy and super tasty. Sorry there is no photo, trust me, it's good.

Also, I have served this with a Greek style salad (tomatoes, onion, feta) and pitas and made sort of a make shift gyro out of it. Pita chips would make a good side dish as well.


GREEK STYLE BEEF KABOBS

2 small lemons
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T olive oil
1 T fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 lbs thick cut sirloin steak
bamboo or metal skewers

Grate the peel of one lemon and add 1 tsp of grated peel to a large ziplock plastic bag. Next, add 1 TBS lemon juice to bag. Also add garlic, oil, dill, oregano, salt & pepper.

Cut steak into chunks about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Add to bag with marinade. Seal bag and mix ingredients to combine. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

Thread steak on to skewers and grill 5 to 6 minutes on each side.

TZATZIKI

1/2 English cucumber peeled and grated (I used a regular one, just scoop out the seeds)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
16 oz Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBS fresh dill
1/4 tsp black pepper

Grate cucumber and mix with 1 tsp salt. Place in a strainer over a bowl and let stand for 30 minutes. Lightly press cucumber in strainer to remove as much liquid as possible; discard liquid.

Place cucumber in a small bowl and add 2 TBS lemon juice. Stir in yogurt, garlic, dill, pepper, & remaining salt. For best results refrigerate at least 8 hrs or up to 2 days to blend flavors.

2010 Schnucks Cooks

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake [wedding cake trial # 4]

As an intern at an interior design firm, I have found that the best way to find out if people enjoy a recipe is to bring the finished product to work. yes, i know employees at any work-place will eat about anything (especially if they forgot to make breakfast or pack a lunch) but I feel as though my most recent bundt cake recipe was definitely genuinely a "winner" at the workplace. I set the cake out at work around 9:00am and it was devoured by 4:00 [people at work are super busy so it is actually impressive.]. I was amazed. I think its  safe to say that this recipe was a winner.

Serves 10

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
2. In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and eggs. Whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Using a rubber spatula, fold in apples. Spoon batter into a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan, and smooth top. Bake until a tester inserted in cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes; invert onto rack to cool completely.
3. Make the Glaze: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and enough water to form a thick yet pourable glaze. Set rack with cake over a piece of wax paper (for easy cleanup); drizzle cake with glaze, and let set before serving.

This recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart at Marthastewart.com: Apple-Cinnamon Bundt Cake and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

Corn Sausage Soup

Every year for Valentine's Day Mom gifts each of us with a book. Sometimes it's a novel or a book of poetry, but last year I think we all got cookbooks! Yeah! I received the Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook. Having been a resident of the frozen tundra for seven years, the recipes I discovered in it's pages were a nice treat and even my husband (who rarely enters the kitchen unless it's to graze the fridge) enjoyed scanning the pages for diners & cafes he'd been too.

Soup is pretty important when you need something to warm you up, which is often when you live in a state that has snow on the ground from November to April. This recipe is adapted from the one used at the Amherst Cafe in Amherst, WI. Pick up the book and check out page 44 to read the story behind the soup.

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 T flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped onion
1 large pepper chopped, the original recipe calls for green but I used yellow.
1/2 pound smoked kielbasa or polish sausage, sliced. this time I used turkey sausage
2 T chopped fresh parsley
salt, pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste
1 can ( 14-16 oz) chopped tomatoes, undrained I use rotel or the kind the comes with chilies. I like the spice!
1 can (15oz) corn, undrained or 2 cups frozen corn. I use the frozen kind.
1-3 cups water or chicken stock, divided. I always use stock.

Begin by making a roux. This is magic stuff. You know the stuff that makes soup thick. Fat, plus flour plus heat. Heat the oil in a over medium heat in a large soup pot. Whisk in the flour & cook, stirring often, until the roux turns golden brown. Somewhere between three and five minutes. And really, stand there and stir and watch. I have burned roux or let it get too dark more than once.

When the roux reaches the magic color, stir in the onions and continue to cook & stir until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Next stir in the pepper, sausage, parsley, salt, pepper & cayenne. Add undrained tomatoes, corn with half of the liquid from the can, and one cup stock. Bring to a simmer & reduce heat and simmer slowly. Add more stock as the soup cooks to reach desired consistency.

This soup is a quick one and I have chopped up the veggies & sausage during nap time and thrown it in the pot just before supper. I have also made it and let it simmer on the stove for over an hour which gives it time to develop more flavor. And gave me time to add more and more cayenne!

Enjoy filling your belly with this taste of Wisconsin!

No Knead Bread

Over the Christmas holiday Abby raved about the recipe she was using for no knead bread. I asked her to share here but it didn't happen. I stumbled across this recipe this week and gave it a try. I've yet to try some the dough that has been sitting in the refrigerator but expect it to be as wonderful as this loaf was. It was some seriously tasty stuff and I was amazed that Leah, who usually leaves a nice little pile of crusts on her plate, gobbled this stuff right up!

Really, I'm convinced there is something magical about this bread. It was just too darn easy. . . . or maybe it was just the magic of having the smell of fresh baked bread filling the house or enjoying it for snack time smeared with raspberry jam and washed down with espresso on a foggy winter afternoon.

oh and can you believe I took this picture with my iphone!

3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (2 packages)
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons kosher salt, depending on your saltiness preference (or half as much table salt)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
6 1/2 cups flour (In the bread pictured, I used 3 cups white, 3 cups whole wheat
Cornmeal

Pour the water into a large bowl or plastic container, then sprinkle in the yeast, salt, and vinegar. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flours, and mix until there are no dry patches. Cover it with plastic wrap or a shower cap and let it rest and rise at a warm room temperature for at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours.

At this point, bake it or refrigerate it for up to two weeks to bake later. To bake it: sprinkle some flour across the surface of the dough and use a knife to cut off a piece that's about a third of it; refrigerate the remaining dough. Turn the dough in your hands to stretch its surface, pulling it under to create a taut, rounded top and a gathered-up bottom.

Sprinkle a pizza peel or wooden cutting board heavily with flour then lightly with cornmeal, put the loaf on it, sprinkle the top with flour, cover it lightly with a dish towel, and let it rest for 40 minutes (if you're using refrigerated dough, increase this rest time to 1 1/2 hours).

Half an hour before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450, and put a heavy, covered pot inside to heat. I use a Corning ceramic baking dish with a glass lid, I know other recipes call for using a dutch oven, but this worked just fine for me.

When the dough has rested, use a serrated or very sharp knife to slash an X across its top. Then take the heated pot out of the oven and put the loaf in. Don't worry if it doesn't go in exactly right, it will come out okay. Be careful not to burn yourself!

Bake the dough for 25 minutes, covered, then remove the cover and bake another 15 minutes. At this point it will be wonderfully brown and crusty!