Haggy HouseWife

Lemon Posset

2013-04-29T06:30:00.000-04:00

Do you ever find a recipe that no matter how time consuming or elaborate it is, but you HAVE to make it?

Lemon meringue pie is mine… I have managed to cut out a few steps/dishes and now can make it in record time…

I should be able to do that…I’ve made it enough

Lasagna with homemade pasta… takes all day but worth the hassle…

I have this idea in my head that the longer it takes to make… the better it is..

They say you put love into food, the longer you are at it the more love… maybe that’s what it is…

Or just my skin cells are tasty….

Ok that was an image I didn’t need to share…

This recipe is none of those… as in long and drawn out…

But this recipe tastes like one of those..

When you do serve this… to your guests, act as if you worked all day over it.. never never ever let them know it took less than 10 minutes to make…

Two cups of heavy whipping cream… Aldi sells heavy cream now… by the pint ( I could use it by the gallon if I could afford it) so easy.. just open and dump into a pot.. a large one… this will boil over if you don’t watch it..

Pour your sugar into the cream and slowly bring to a boil

Wait… before you turn on the cream ( we don’t want it to scorch) squeeze out some lemon juice… we only need 5 tablespoons.. use fresh only… none of that bottled stuff

Once you cream has come to a boil, set your timer for 5 minutes…

Grungy nasty timer….anyways… five minutes.. we want all that sugar to be dissolved

Pour in your lemon juice

Stir well and let cool 5 minutes..

We want it out of the metal pot… so into a glass bowl or individual serving dishes to cool completely…. Shove it in the fridge and wait at least 2 hours…

Print Recipe

Lemon Posset

Serves 4

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cups granulated sugar

5 tablespoons lemon juice

In a large saucepan, heat cream and sugar to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Continue boiling for 5 minutes. Watch the heat - don’t let the cream boil over.

Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let cool, about 5 minutes.

Pour even amounts into four ramekins. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until set.

Serve with unsweetened whipped cream, or shortbread cookies to dunk.

Desserts: The final chapter in Danish Pastry Dough adventures

2013-04-26T08:07:00.000-04:00

*Note: All props were provided by Jessica @ Mosquito Creek Farm*

So far we have covered empanadas and spinach puffs…

What else can you do?

Pot pies…

Strudels (savory)

Croissants

Anything that you would use pastry dough as…

Oh… and pastries…

So that brings me to the final chapter

Dessert..

Simple really…

Cut your dough into squares…

Take one corner and bring it to the middle like so…

Take opposite corner and bring to the middle…

Jam, jelly, whatever your heart desires will work here… you could even make some cream cheese filling and drop a blob in the middle..

Lay them out on a pan and bake @350 for 15 minutes

Let cool for 10 minutes and the serve…

What about some cheese danishes??

Take some cream cheese

Dump some sugar in there

Zest a lemon

Add some vanilla

Mix well

Roll out your dough till yay thick 1/8 inch

Cut out to 12 equal rectangles

Score all around… about one inch in from the sides

Spread cheese mixture and egg wash the edges…

Bake WAY too long

Reduce the oven temp and cooking time… forget that you have some in the oven and bake again too long…

They don’t look good… but man do they taste good.

Print Recipe

Cheese Danish

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 sheet of pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla together in bowl.

Roll pastry into 12 by 9-inch rectangle on lightly floured counter and cut into twelve 4 1/2 by 4-inch rectangles. Transfer pastry to prepared baking sheet, spaced about 1 inch apart. Using tip of paring knife, score 1/2-inch border around edge of each pastry, then brush borders with egg wash. Prick pastry with fork every 1 inch within border. Place generous 2 tablespoons filling in center of each pastry and spread into even layer, leaving border uncovered.

Bake Danish until fully puffed and golden, about 20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer Danish to wire rack and let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Haggy Housewife's Spinach Puffs for a crowd ( or hungry teenager): Part Two of filling recipes

2013-04-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

So many recipes.. so little time….

To blog

I’m working on it… really I am…

Here is part two of what to do with Danish pastry dough…

I really should call it something else… because so far I haven’t made one Danish with it..

“Waist expanding dough”?

“Sheets of buttery goodness”…

“The perfect dough to wrap everything in”

That last one was too long

I will think of something… later.. or if anyone has any idea’s let me know.

I am gonna eat some crow here…

And admit I am still using some packaged foods.. seasoning packets really… I should go and find some recipes for them… but… it is so easy to just buy them…

Well at least your dough is homemade..

Ranch dressing mix… Aldi carries these.. about half the price of the name brand stuff at Krogers.. and not near as salty too…

And I love salt… everything goes better with salt..

And butter…

Cream…

Butter…

Garlic…

Potatoes..

Butter...

( I shouldn’t blog when I am hungry)

Ok.. enough.. back to what I was talking about

I used to mince my garlic.. but washing the mincer was so frustrating I decided to just start slicing…

Onion diced

Plop some cream cheese in a mixing bowl

Dump in your ranch dressing mix

Sauté your onions and garlic and dump those in too

Now your chopped spinach

Mix those up really good.. 5 to 7 minutes

That pastry rolled out and cut, my biscuit cutter is somewhere enjoying it’s vacation… so I used a wide mouth ring… takes a little more elbow grease to use but it is the perfect size…

Plop some filling in the middle of the circle…

Press the seams together… repeat till all filling is used up..

I made 48 spinach puffs, using two of the three sheets of dough I made… laying them on a cookie sheet I shoved them in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then off into a plastic bag and back into the freezer until I needed them for the next day.

Print Recipe

Haggy Housewife Spinach Puffs for a crowd

Two packages of ranch dressing mix.. ( the dry stuff)

Three 8 ounces packages of cream cheese

One large onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, diced, sliced, minced… whatever your poison is

Two packages of frozen chopped spinach ( the small boxes)

Two sheets of pastry dough

One egg white well beaten

Instructions

Thaw out pastry dough and spinach ( squeeze spinach really good after it is thawed.)

Slice and dice up spinach and garlic.. sauté till caramelized

Add all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix till combined

Cut out dough

Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in circle

Press seams together and lay out on ungreased baking sheet

Continue until all dough is used ( I had about ½ tablespoon of filling left over when my dough was finished)

Place in freezer for about 30 minutes.. then remove from pan into a freezer safe container or bag.

Before baking brush puffs with beaten egg white

Bake for 30 minutes @ 375

Haggy Housewifes Pork Empanadas : "Danish" dough filling recipes part one

2013-04-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

I’m all about convenience…

Pull out something from the freezer… pop it in the oven and TAADAA!! Dinner is done…

That becomes a challenge when you’ve sworn off processed food.

Dinner or snacks are thought about at least three hours ahead.. Actually… I figure out what I am making for dinner before breakfast… I usually don’t get around to start making it until almost 4 pm… I’m just that lazy..

If I were to take one day and spend it prepping my food for the week… I could have more time to procrastinate on other things.

This is why I like the Danish pastry dough…. You can make it one day… shove it in the freezer.. and when you have time you can assemble some filling… shape and then throw them back in the freezer for later.

These are almost a meal in themselves…

Pork empanadas… well… my version of empanadas…

This… my favorite seasoning pack… when I make my taco seasoning… this gives it the ommmf you need… over fish.. rice… and now empanadas.

Start frying that pork

I ran out of onions and garlic, so I used several tablespoons of dried onions

Goya seasonings…

Cream cheese

Done… try not to sample any… it makes it hard to stop once you get started.

Pastry dough rolled out… and cut

Fill and crimp edges

What happens when you use hot filling… it activates the yeast and you get a misshapen empanada…. Does it matter? I think not… Remember.. I make less than attractive food…

My hands became covered in the sauce… the dough was refusing to stay closed… resulting in some pathetic looking pockets…

Baked… all good… you are supposed to brush the outside with egg whites… I am really fresh out of excuses here…

Print Recipe

Haggy Housewife's Pork Empanadas

Pastry dough (2 sheets), thawed

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 packet Goya seasoning with annato (achiote)

1 pound ground pork

Salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces cream cheese

1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

Prepare the filling: Place a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium skillet and cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragrant.

Add the ground pork, 1 packet of Goya seasoning, and cumin to the pork and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pork is well browned.

Remove from heat and stir in the cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place one sheet of pastry on floured surface, and sprinkle with flour. Roll it out to about 12 by 18 inches

Using a sharp round cutter (like a large biscuit cutter), cut about 8 rounds of dough, 3-4 inches in diameter.

Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in each round. Dip a finger in water and run your finger around the edge of the circle of dough, then fold the dough in half to form a half moon shape over the filling. Seal edges firmly. Fold sealed edge over on itself and crimp to secure the seal.

Place empanadas on a greased cookie sheet (or line cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper). Mix egg with one tablespoon of water and brush egg wash lightly over the empanadas, then place them in the oven to bake. Bake empanadas until they are puffy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Empanadas can be filled and shaped, and then frozen until ready to bake. Remove from freezer, brush with egg wash, and place straight into the oven to bake.

Danish Pastry Dough

2013-04-20T15:58:00.000-04:00

Ever walk into a bakery and see their pastries?

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past 100 years, you have.

Ever buy some of their divine calorie laden danishes and bring it home only to be horribly disappointed in their lack of taste and dryness that only dunking them in coffee makes them edible?

I have…

And more times than I like to admit, I buy them again… hoping that this time will be the time they taste as good as they look.

I often cruise by the bakery.. looking at their cherry and cheese danishes… mouth watering at the sight of their bear claws…

Pondering why can’t they taste like I want them too..

I can’t promise that this recipe will make you pump out some picture perfect goods…

But it will make them taste picture perfect..

That’s all that really matters in home cooking right? That it tastes like it should be in a magazine?

Reminds me of a insult I heard once…

“She is so beautiful… she could model socks on the radio”

Like 95% of my recipes… we start off with some butter…

They remind me of soldiers… lining up in formation… ready for war…

Only these guys are going to war on your thighs.

Slice them in half, length wise… saving one half aside for the dough

In between two sheets of wax paper roll out your butter… you want a pretty good size of a butter slab.

Set aside and start working on the dough….

In a mixing bowl add your flour, sugar, salt and yeast

With your hands or a spoon, mix well…

Remember that butter we put aside? Well we are going to mix this in… it helps make a even more flaky crust…

I use my hands, because a pastry cutter is to hard to use… ( flash backs of my childhood and having to make pie crusts) smoosh all together till butter is the size of pea’s…

In that we add… eggs

Milk and water

And with a dough hook mix until dough is smooth

Will look like this.. let it rest 10 minutes…

While you have one project going, start dinner (pasta dough starting here)…. I find that it really helps me to have 20 irons in the fire so I can fall behind and start up the unnecessary screaming at the passerby’s…

Wrap up your second project and pat out your dough in a rectangle…

Roll it out in a bigger rectangle… make sure it is more even than mine…

Butter slab that was set aside… cut it in half..

Lay it in the middle of your dough… attempt to smear it more evenly… give up and fold over one side of the dough..

Place second half of butter on dough like so….. and fold over

"Hi"

Butter peeking out…. Cover him up… we want all the dough covering the butter…

Like so…

Now… roll out again..

Fold… and roll out the second time.. place in fridge for 20 minutes to let the dough relax and the butter to harden back up… repeat the whole roll out, fold, roll out fold cycle again.

I like to divide dough up into three equal “ sheets” like the puff pastry you get in the store… wrap them each in wax paper and then into a plastic sealed bag into the freezer… this way if I only need one sheet ( most of the time two) there isn’t a ice pick and a mallet involved.

Just place in fridge over night to thaw.

So what do you do with this dough???

Mexican pastry's

Spinach stuffed pastry's

And Jam pastry's

Recipes coming soon...

Print Recipe

Danish Pastry dough

2 cups salted butter, at cool room temperature

5 1/2 Flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

4 teaspoons instant yeast

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup cold milk

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 large eggs

Begin by cutting 1/4" butter off the end of each of the 4 sticks in the pound; you'll have about 4 tablespoons butter. Set them (and the remaining butter) aside. You'll be using the 4 tablespoons butter immediately, but won't need the remaining butter until after you've made the dough.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the 4 tablespoons cold butter, working it in with your fingers until no large lumps remain. This step coats the flour a bit with fat, making the pastry a tiny bit more tender.

3) Add the milk, water, and eggs. Mix and knead to make a cohesive, but quite sticky dough.

4) Scrape the dough into a ball, and transfer it to a floured work surface. Cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the butter.

5) Cut each stick of butter in half lengthwise, to make 8 long rectangles. On a piece of floured parchment or plastic wrap, line up 4 of the butter pieces side by side, to form a rectangle. Sprinkle lightly with flour, and cover with another piece of parchment or plastic wrap.

6) Gently pound and roll the butter until it's about 6" x 9". The pieces may or may not meld together. If they do, great, they'll be easier to work with. If not, though, that's OK; don't stress about it.

7) Repeat with the remaining 4 pieces of butter. You should now have two butter rectangles, about 6" x 9" each.

8) Roll the dough into a rectangle about 12" wide and 24" long. Don't worry about being ultra-precise; this is just a guide, though you should try to get fairly close.

9) Place one of the butter pieces onto the center third of the dough. Fold one side over the butter to cover it. Place the other butter piece atop the folded-over dough, and fold the remaining dough up over it. You now have a rectangular "packet" of dough-enclosed butter. Pinch the open ends and side closed as best you can.

10) Turn the dough 90°, so a 12" side is closest to you. Roll the dough into a 10" x 24" rectangle (approximately). Fold each side into the center; then fold one side over the other to make a rectangular packet about 6" x 10".

11) Dust the surface of the dough with flour, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

12) Remove the dough from the fridge, and again roll it into a rectangle about 10" x 24". Fold it into a packet as you did in step #10; it'll be about 7" x 12". Roll one final time, fold into a packet, and flour the dough lightly. Wrap loosely (but completely) in plastic, and chill it for 2 hours, or up to 16 hours. Or in fridge up to three months.

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

2013-04-12T08:22:00.000-04:00

Last night for the first time in weeks I went to bed with no dirty dishes…

I know you’re thinking “ what a pig!”

And you are right…

There is usually a dozen glasses and some plates that made it to the sink after dinner dishes were attempted to be washed… I give up and go to bed.. leaving them for the morning… so then after breakfast… once again the pile has tripled and it is a chore.

After everyone went to bed I had some quiet time and attacked the kitchen..

What was the point of airing my dirty laundry??

Now I have time to blog… aside from my coffee cup there is nothing to wash…

Making me want to cook something…

Cinnamon rolls came to mind…

And I remembered how I never shared this insanely easy, perfect every time recipe…

Makes the cinnabon rolls pale in comparison

In warm water proof yeast with some sugar ( to feed it)

In mixing bowl add half of your flour and all the salt..

Melt your milk.. ( melt milk?? I might need some more coffee) and butter.. let it cool somewhat… I like to melt the butter and then add the milk… it brings the temperature down enough not to kill your yeast, yet warm enough to help it grow…

Add milk/butter mixture along with an egg to the flour salt mix

Mix till almost combined..

Add your yeast that should be proofed by now..

Add the rest of your flour

Mix till dough is smooth and silky.. form a ball in bowl and cover till doubled in size

Have your oldest daughter start making something completely different in the middle of your own project..

After dough is doubled shape into a rectangle and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick

Smear some very softened butter all over…

Sprinkle some brown sugar… over that sprinkle some cinnamon

Start at widest side, gently roll up… careful not to stretch the dough..

Here I have two prepared pans ( you can make them all at once or save half for a later craving. Cut into 12 equal pieces …

With the later batch I placed, pan and all into a plastic bag and placed in freezer ( just pull out of freezer the night before and let rise in fridge for 12 hours and then bake)

While the rolls are in the oven I just dump some confectioners’ sugar in a bowl and add heavy whipping cream till I feel it is enough…. Feel free to use your own icing here…

Bake until golden brown

Top with icing and serve…

Print Recipe

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
1 packet (or 2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
½ cup warm water
½ tsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup whole milk
1 tsp kosher salt
1 large egg
4 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Glaze:
1 - 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tbsp whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Method:
Dough:
In a small glass bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar to "feed" the yeast. Stir to combine and let sit for about 10 minutes. The yeast should become foamy and bubbly. This means it's active.
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add melted butter, milk, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour.
Mix on a medium speed to combine.
Add the yeast mixture and continue to mix, slowly adding the remaining 2 cups of flour. Mix for about 3 minutes, until a dough forms around the hook.
Remove dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes.
Form the dough into a ball and place in a well-greased bowl.
Cover the bowl with a damp towel, and set the bowl in a warm, dry place for 1 hour, or until the dough almost doubles in size.
Remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface and punch it down, releasing the air bubbles.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 9 x13" rectangle.
Once the dough is rolled out, use a pastry brush to cover the dough rectangle with melted butter.
Evenly spread the brown sugar across the dough and sprinkle with pecans.
Dust with cinnamon.
Starting from the edge of dough closest to you, roll from the bottom up, like a jelly roll.
Trim the ends, and then slice the roll into 2-2 ½-inch pieces with a very sharp knife, yielding 8-12 rolls.
Place each piece into a greased 9x13" baking dish.
Cover the pan once again with a damp towel and return it the warm, dry place for another 30 minutes, or until the dough is risen.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake cinnamon buns for 30 minutes, or until light-golden brown.
Meanwhile, construct the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients until smooth.
Add more powdered sugar (for a thicker glaze), or milk (for a thinner glaze).
Pour the glaze over the hot cinnamon buns, and serve hot.

Citrus Pudding Cake

2013-04-10T11:15:00.000-04:00

A whole paragraph on why I haven’t been blogging…

Various excuses on time management and lack of batteries for camera….

A halfhearted promise to blog more…

Now… on to the recipe..

Lemons… I’m on the lemon kick again… could be something to do with scurvy paranoia that I convinced myself of…

Not that consuming sugar and flour will help… but hey! The wind is blowing in from the east… let’s eat some!

I have several baking pans I go to all the time… large oversized pans this way I can use one pan instead of two… feeding teenagers and a husband requires a lot of food… and I tend to be on the sloth side of living and the less I have to wash the easier life is…

So when my 9x9 baking dish bit the dust several years back I never bothered to replace it… I usually double the recipe anyways so why waste the money??

Until it comes time to make something in a small dish… then I am on a mad hunt trying to find a “small dish”

Ehhh this is close enough…

Making sure every corner is covered.. slather that pan with butter..

Set aside and start zesting your lemons…

Measure out your sugar… if you’re using a tart citrus… use more.. sweet, use less…

Butter…

Sugar and lemon zest

Cream together until fluffy…

Separate your eggs… making sure you break a yolk so you can’t take a pretty picture

Whites in a mixing bowl to be whipped up later

Add your yolks to the butter sugar mixture…

Mix well

Add cream, flour and lemon juice

Perfect….

Now beat those egg whites till stiff… add to batter.

Mix lightly… we don’t want to mix too much … just enough to incorporate the whites into the batter

Pour into well buttered dish

Place dish into a larger baking dish with at least 3” sides… fill with water at least ½ way up the sides…. Careful not to let any water into batter…

Bake….

Try and take a picture… but since you’ve been smelling this for the past hour, the thought of actually being poetic with your setup is unrealistic.. just sit down and savor each bite of this luscious cake….

Really… there isn’t a picture that could do this cake justice… it is smooth and creamy at the same time cakey and… well… just go make it..

Don’t complain to me that you ate the whole pan…

Print Recipe

Citrus pudding cake

5 tablespoons butter, softened *note: 1 tablespoon shall be reserved for greasing the dish*

1-1.5 cup sugar (if your citrus is very sweet, use less sugar)

1-2 tablespoon lemon zest (however you can swap for any citrus - lime, grapefruit, orange, blood orange)

3 large eggs, separated

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup half and half

6 tablespoons lemon juice (swap for any citrus)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease 9"X9" oven safe dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl (or bowl of electric mixer), using hand mixer, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time until incorporated.

Add the flour and half and half alternatively until incorporated, then add the lemon juice until you have a smooth and silky batter.

In a separate bowl, using hand mixer beat egg whites until fluffy and glossy white, but stiff.

Fold the lemon batter and egg whites together until just combined and pour into baking dish.

Place your baking dish into a larger pan that is at least 1/2 the height of your dessert's dish and fill with hot (not boiling) water until it reaches 1/2 the way up your lemon dessert's dish bake for 50 minutes, or until top of dessert is golden brown and cracking. The dessert will still seem giggly, but this is ok as there is a sinful layer of curd at the bottom that will make you swoon. The longer you cook it, the “cakeier” it will become.

Bad Parents!!

2013-03-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

*Note: I am perched on my soap box here… throwing my opinion around like it is worth something… so if you were looking for the latest pound packing recipe… look elsewhere*

I probably shouldn’t write this post in the mood I am in…

But here goes…

I am an avid reader of several Mommy blogs… most of the mommy blogs had to do with unthinkable problems that they had to deal with… incurable disease, that would only take their children away or their daily struggles with a special needs child… I tend to have a bratty outlook in life and love to wallow in self-pity… reading how these women with such heartache can be a real eye opener and I get off my “me attitude” and be that much more thankful for the health of my children and their ability to smart mouth me back.

I won’t say names here…

*Inside joke here… My Granny would say that very thing… “ I won’t say names but that person that is sitting in the next room blablabla you know WHO I am talking about” getting out of actually saying the name… but making sure even a two year old would understand who she was talking about*

Is in the news trying to get her 15 minutes of fame…

*No… not PW… she is on a completely different list of soap box complaints…*

I used to follow her blog faithfully… she was a homebirther… something I feel very strong about… (That and adding butter to anything that sits still long enough) and to make her even crunchier in my eyes… she had triplets at home… one of her triplets caught a virus and became brain damaged as an infant... I read her struggles as a parent… I felt admiration in her will to go on… she wasn’t super woman she was a mom… who I felt like would walk on coals to care for her kids in any situation…

They didn’t have money either… her kids destroyed her house… her back hurt… she was human… and I enjoyed reading what she wrote..

Time went on for me and I lost track of her blog… every now and then I would think of her family and how she was coping with her children..

A few days ago I read about her in the news…

And here is where my opinion is going to probably get me in trouble…

I was disgusted…

Here is why..

“6 year old, born a male triplet, has behaved like a girl since she was 18 months old. When her brother *** was consumed with dinosaurs, she was playing with Barbie dolls. By 4, she was telling her mother that something was wrong with her body”

I could puke…

As a mother of four, I know that in order for a child to get a parents attention, when they are not the only ones demanding such… they say, do things to have attention… I also know that children don’t really become aware of their gender fully until about five… so tell me please?? How can an 18 year old know he was supposed to be a girl when he isn’t even potty trained??

I can tell you the problem…

The parents…

As a parent you can convince your child anything…

When my oldest son was 18 months old, we had been saying to him… ‘let’s wash your face’ and wash his chin/ mouth area… so for about a month he argued with us, saying that his chin really wasn’t his chin… it was called his face… we finally convinced him otherwise… but it stuck with me… you could convince your kids of anything… and of course being the wonderful mother I was… I had convinced them that my coffee creamer that they loved to sneak and drink all up… was yak milk… I remember my 5 year old son explaining to my 2 year old daughter… “Don’t drink that!! It’s yak milk!!”

As a parent we are left with the responsibility to teach right and wrong… not everyone’s right and wrongs are the same… that is the freedom we have living in this country… we are to teach them their colors.. The names of animals… how to talk, walk, feed themselves…

We also mold their minds to look at the world a certain way… our religion outlook is taught … our political outlooks shape theirs… our views on marriage, finances, charity, it all adds to the way they view the world.. We raise them to become independent, to make their own choices in all of that…

While we prod them towards our own beliefs and pray that they accept them as their own when they are grown, when they are toddlers and before they can make such life decisions… they do what we tell them too…

That might ruffle some feathers, but honestly, are you going to tell me that you let your child run wild and make his or her own choices at the age of 4? You teach them your values, your morals… your outlook on life.. Whether you think you do or not… they watch how you react to other people… they watch how you talk, walk, and eat… you are teaching them how to approach life.

I have two sons… my oldest was experiencing me being pregnant twice before his 3^rd birthday… he seen me carry his little sisters around.

At a yard sale… he spotted a baby doll that he had to have… an ugly freaky looking thing for a quarter… he carried it around playing mommy for about two weeks…

Did I mess up and not run out right then and buy him some dresses and start calling him a girl?

My youngest son would have rather had his skin peeled off then pick up a doll…

Does this make my oldest less manly? Or does this mean absolutely nothing and he was just acting out what he seen everyday.

Because I didn’t react… and make a big deal about it… he didn’t milk it for all it is worth…

If you ever had your child fall… you know how you reacted was how they reacted… they fall and barely bump their heads and you flip out… guaranteed they will milk it for all it is worth… you stay calm and nonchalant… they pick themselves up and carry on.

Now I could go on with my uneducated analogies but I will stop… I’ve made my point…

These are horrible parents. Setting up their son for years of hell…

All for their 15 minutes of fame.

Here is a link to the story if you interested in being disgusted in parenting now days...
Click here to be amazed!!

How to make Brown Sugar

2013-02-10T18:00:00.002-05:00

Brown sugar…

A staple in making chewy cookies, gooey cinnamon buns, luscious honey bun cake….

So what do you do when you have everything in your house to satisfy that craving for something fattening, but the brown sugar???

You make some….

I grew up making brown sugar… in fact it was my job to make it… and boy did I hate making it…

Since we had no electricity, it was a pastry cutter and a large bowl… instead of taking only five minutes to make… I was at the horrid job for at least 20 minutes…

That was 20 minutes I could have been reading or drawing…

I swore I was never going to grow up and make brown sugar… I was gonna be like normal people and just buy it…

Normal is so overrated..

So in order to cut even more costs around the kitchen, I started making my own again..

I had another moment of feeling like a lousy parent, ( one of many lately) when telling my oldest daughter that we were going to make brown sugar.. she looked at me with wide eyes in complete amazement and said…

“ You can MAKE brown sugar?”

So I had to go into a rant how, yes you can and actually white sugar is just brown sugar with all the molasses spun out of it… (Whether that is true or not, I just repeated what my own Mama told me when I asked that very question… I guess I could go look it up, but again… laziness has won again)

So here we have molasses…. I have several different brands DH kept picking up bottles, thinking we had none… I am pretty sure I could make about 10 lbs of dark brown sugar with all that I have…

Here is the deadliest sin in a health nuts kitchen… white sugar ( last two words said in a deep scary voice)

Dump some molasses over some white sugar.. I don’t measure.. just eye ball it..

If it ends up to too dark add some more sugar… too light add more molasses

With your mixers whisk.. beat on low for a good 5 to 10 minutes… till all the molasses is completely mixed in…

We can see here it isn’t done

Now it is… continue with midnight sweet craving or store in air tight container…

Vermont Cheddar Cheese Bread

2012-12-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

When I think of this bread I think of avocado sandwiches…

Ham, or chicken…

And then my mind goes to the baloney that we would oogle at when we went to the store… the one where it already has the cheese in the baloney…

I remember as a kid always wanting Mama to buy some… and thought what a treat it would be to have cheese already mixed in…

I finally got over that obsession when I seen some that the cheese was moldy and the “meat” looked good as new…

Ok… I completely ruined my train of thought…

Just make this bread…

Don’t think of moldy cheese or slimy baloney…

Mix together everything but the water….

Mix in the water

Bake…

Print Recipe

Vermont Cheddar Cheese Bread

Makes four 1 pound loaves

3 cups of warm water

1 ½ tablespoons yeast

1 ½ tablespoons salt

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

6 ½ cups of bread flour

2 cups of cheddar cheese (sharp is the best)

Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, cheese and flour

Add water.

Mix till all the flour is moistened

Cover (not airtight or you will have an explosion on your counter) and allow to rest at room temp until dough rises and collapse.. About 2 hours

You can then shape and bake the dough, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate the dough in a covered (again not airtight container) up to 7 business days

On baking day, shape loafs to desired size and either place on a well oiled sheet of wax paper or a well flour dusted towel

Allow to rest one hour (40 minutes for non refrigerated dough)

On a well preheated pizza stone bake at 450 for about 25 minutes..

Allow to cool before eating the whole loaf by yourself.

Haggy Housewife's Holiday

2012-12-16T23:49:00.000-05:00

Growing up Thanksgiving and Christmas was something “other” people did…

Once I got married I was determined to celebrate them….

But as a lazy person, I had a hard time coming up with my own traditional dinner…

It is a work in progress, but these are the Haggy Housewifes holiday side dishes…

Broccoli and Cheese Casserole Printable Recipe

I could eat this every week… but I like to save it for special times…

Like when the sun sets in the west..

And the ants stop invading my sugar bowl.

Yorkshire Pudding Printable Recipe

Don’t make these any time ahead… they will fall flat and become nasty lumps… but when fresh they are to die for…

Pumpkin Roll Printable Recipe

I’ve tried countless recipes for pumpkin roll…. None of them looked like what they sell in the deli… and since I have this obsession with having my food look as good as they taste… this roll was a battle for me..

One day… I was extra lazy… and decided instead of finding a plastic container for the rest of the canned pumpkin that was left over… I would double the recipe..

Not only did it work wonderfully… I didn’t have to find a spot in the fridge to shove 2/3 cup of pumpkin…

Fresh Cranberry Sauce Printable Recipe

DH loves tart sour stuff…

No thanks.. but this is far better than the canned stuff

Classic Green Bean Casserole Printable Recipe

My oldest daughter loves this casserole..

I stay away from it, I would rather over do it with calories with mashed potatoes

Cheeseball Printable Recipe

My oldest son could live off of chips, cereal, hamburgers and cheese ball…

I get to slip in onions

Candied Carrots Printable Recipe

These are the best…

Another dish to save for special occasions

Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts Printable Recipe

This is the only way to make brussel sprouts… loaded up with butter and salt… how can you go wrong?

Click here on a step by step guild on how to go completely insane

I am not a stuffing person..

( do we see a trend here?? Unless I like it, I don’t bother making it from scratch?) my DH and a few of the dozen kids are…

Click here for a instructional print out on how to buy stuffing.

Cheddar Cheese Crackers

2012-11-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

Cheese crackers…

The best of both worlds… cheese and crackers…

I wonder who thought of them, really…

I bet you anything it was a lazy person… who got tired of placing the cheese on the crackers… who just wanted to shove a whole handful in their mouth… “Why not make a cracker that is both?”

Tada! A lazy mans snack…

Let’s make that snack…

Cheese… beautiful cheese…

Butter… gorgeous butter..

Salt

Pepper

Mix those together until creamy-ish

Dump in your flour

Mix till everything is crumbly like so..

Add water, a tablespoon at a time till dough comes together in a soft ball.

Plop it in a plastic bag and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes

Cut in half for easier handling

Roll out… the thinner the better…

If you have one of those fancy scallop cutter thingys… use it and then with a fork , indent in the middle of cracker

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes

Store in airtight container for up to three days if they last that long…

Printer Recipe

Cheddar Cheese Crackers

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cold water

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter, cheese, salt and pepper. With mixer on low-speed, slowly add flour. Mixture will become dry and crumbly. Add two tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time. Beat until mixture just comes together into a ball. The mixture may take an extra teaspoon of water, but don’t add too much. The dough should be moist but not wet.

Wrap cracker dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (an hour is better). The dough can also be frozen for future use.

While dough chills, place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets with oil and set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough very thin, about an eighth of an inch thick. Dot center of cracker with a fork, or the end of a paint brush. Place crackers on prepared baking sheets. The pieces can be close together as they won’t expand much when baking. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until fragrant, golden brown, and crisp. Allow to cool before serving.

The crackers can be stored in an airtight container for two or three days.

Cauliflower Soup

2012-11-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

Health Benefits of Cauliflower

The allicin in cauliflower is known to promote a healthy heart and reduce the risk of strokes

Cauliflower contains selenium and vitamin C, both of which work together to strengthen the immune system.

Cauliflower has been associated with the maintenance of a healthy cholesterol level.

Being rich in folate, cauliflower is known to help improve cell growth and replication.

The high amount of fiber in cauliflower improves colon health and can even help prevent cancer.

Recently, it was found that cauliflower contains 'indole-3-carbinol', a substance that can prevent breast and other female cancers.

The glucosinolates and thiocyanates, present in cauliflower, increase the ability of liver to neutralize potentially toxic substances.

Cauliflower acts as a blood and liver detoxifier.

Sulforaphane, a substance in cauliflower, can remove cancer causing chemicals and also stop the spread of cancer cells, even in the later stages of their growth.

Researches have suggested that cauliflower contains certain phyto-chemicals that might help reduce the risk of some hereditary cancers"

Sorce

I am constantly trying to find ways to fix cauliflower.. And this soup is one way to cook this delectable vegetable…

The base I usually start off with when making soup… onions, celery and carrots..

OoOoOOooo there is the star of the show…

Sauté the onions for about 5 to 7 minutes… or until translucent.

Add your carrots and celery and sauté for about 5 more minutes

Add the cauliflower, turn heat down to low and cook for about 15 minutes.. Stirring frequently.

Then add some broth to the cauliflower.. Simmer

In med size pot add stick of butter… (You really didn't think I wouldn't have butter in this recipe did you??)

Flour

Milk added to the flour, added to the melted butter.

Stir well until thickened..

Add some more milk or use cream if you have it.

Add your thickened milk mixture.. Simmer

Once your soup is finished.. Add sour cream

Serve at once…

Print Recipe

Recipe:

Oil for sautéing

1 whole Onion, Finely Diced

2 whole Carrot Finely Diced

1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced

2 whole Cauliflower Heads (roughly Chopped)

4 quarts Chicken Broth or Stock

1 stick Butter,

1/2 cup All-purpose Flour

2 cups Whole Milk

2 cup Half-and-half

Salt, pepper To Taste

2 cup Sour Cream, Room Temperature

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, add oil. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.

Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and stir to combine.

Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Add the sour cream and serve immediately.

Thankfulness....

2012-11-12T11:45:00.000-05:00

November…

Everyone seems to be doing a daily “Thankful for” …

Since I am always pulling up the end and a day late and ten dollars short, I’ve decided to start halfway through the month…

I am thankful for this one…

The one who is giving me the most problems… the one who is testing every line I lay out for her… the one who is becoming a woman with a roar…

Who, when I decided dinner is a free for all, I am not making squat… decides on her own to make this…

And makes us all sit down and have dinner together…

Who leaves me these…

Who one day will make it out of puberty…

Granola Bread

2012-10-24T12:36:00.000-04:00

Note: I forgot to go off on my tangent about store bought granola... then I remembered I already did, and it came with a handy dandy printable recipe... Granola recipe

I’m on a bread baking roll…

I already have a roll from cookies, a roll from pies… and a roll from butter…

My roll are getting lopsided so I need to even them out..

I am talking about fat rolls to all the skinny people… never mind you haven’t heard of those yet…

I love the idea of being able to pull out dough from the fridge, shaping it and having fresh baked bread for dinner… company is coming… husband had a bad day… the wind is blowing in from the east… every excuse to have warm bread…

I have a little list of breads I want to make..

Potato garlic bread

Cheddar bread

Pita bread

Bagels ( need to find the perfect recipe)

Oatmeal pumpkin bread

~~Granola bread~~

I am on a mission to make our food fulfilling.. to be nutritious… and lasting..

And to make the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches more inviting.

Granola bread seems to be the ticket for that.

Warm water

Yeast

Sugar ( I ran out of honey making the granola)

Oil

Flour

Salt

Granola

Mix well and let sit for several hours until doubled

This dough is pretty stiff.. and doesn’t spread out like my moses bread sometimes does… so I smear a little oil on the counter and there rests my shaped loaf

Once an one hour or one and half (depending on if the dough was refrigerated or not) is up place dough on

Preheated pizza stone..

Bake till done.. Usually 30 minutes.. depending on your oven..

If you have a meat thermometer shove it in the side and when the temp reaches 195 your bread is done… there is a whole science to that, the yeast finally dies off at that temp yadda yadda yadda but I won’t go into that.

Print Recipe

Granola bread

This recipe can be easily doubled or halved…

2 cups warm water

1½ Tablespoons yeast

½ cup honey (or ¼ cup of sugar)

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon salt

4 cups white flour, or 2 ½ cups of white & 1 ½ cups of whole wheat

2 cups of granola

Mix water, yeast, honey, and oil in 5 quart mixing bowl.

Mix in the flour, granola and salt without kneading, using a spoon.

Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), about 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold.. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days.

On baking day, grease your counter or pizza peel dust your dough with flour and divide dough in half.. Shape dough into a ball and allow to rest and rise for 1½ hours (or just one hour if you’re using fresh unrefrigerated dough).

Preheat oven with pizza stone on middle shelf to 400 degrees. Slid dough onto pizza stone and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until richly brown and firm.

Try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting.

Pizza Crusts

2012-09-27T10:10:00.000-04:00

I was going to give you a little history on pizza….

Then I decided just sharing my pizza crust recipe is enough….

Do your own research….

We start with the MosesBread dough… that we have shoved in the fridge last week and never got around to using over the weekend…

One recipe of dough will make three good sized pizza crusts…

Lightly dust your hands, shirt and counter so your dough doesn’t stick

Shape

Roll out,

Stretch

Pull

Till you get the shape and size you need for your pan…

In a lightly greased pan, drizzle olive oil over dough…

Then sprinkle herbs of your choice lightly over the oil

Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes… you want the crust to be slightly golden brown… if not still pasty white…

Like me…

Bourbon Chicken

2012-09-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

Too many times I have been dragged to the mall… waddling behind the skinny girls as they window shop at clothes that I am sure my big toe would not have enough room to breath in… when they were finally exhausted, and admitting that they are hungry … that’s when I get excited…

Not that mall food is the slightest bit good… and in my arrogant opinion… it is down right slop... and the only thing worth eating, is the bourbon chicken…

Guaranteed to be full of MSG and sodium, you are presented with a wimpy Styrofoam plate full of chicken…. And then with just a spork, you have to control yourself from tipping the plate up and inhaling the whole pile at once…

Makes it almost worth it to be dragged to the mall….

But now, I can skip all of the people, over priced sales, and the reminder of how out of touch with fashion I am…

And no matter how much I find sporks entertaining…. There is no way you can eat lady like with them…

Now for that sauce…

Pineapple juice

Brown sugar

Ketchup

Water

Soy sauce

Cornstarch

Garlic minced

Give it a good stir

Dice your chicken

Sauté

I added carrots to mine… sauté till caramelized

Toss together and add the sauce

On medium heat, cook till sauce has thickened and reduced somewhat..

Serve over rice.

Print Recipes

Bourbon Chicken

Into a medium sized mixing bowl combine

3 teaspoon garlic

1/2 Cup pineapple juice

1/3 Cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons ketchup

2 Teaspoons of powdered chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 Cup water

1/2 Cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Whisk it all together until the cornstarch is dissolved and all ingredients are well combined.

Cut your chicken into small 1-2 inch pieces

Heat up a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 T Olive Oil into it.

Add your chicken pieces to the pan and let them cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The chicken will start to get a bit juicy and bubbly. Put the lid on the pan,

slightly tilted and drain the juices out into the sink.

Return the pan to the stove top and continue cooking over medium high heat.

When your chicken has a nice brown sear on some of the pieces…

pour the sauce into the pan. Stir it around to cover all the chicken pieces.

Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the pan with the lid at an angle to allow some of the steam to escape.

Let this baby simmer away for about 7 minutes, stirring a couple of times during the cooking period.

If the sauce gets a bit too thick, simply add a tablespoon or two of Chicken broth to thin it.

Serve over white or brown rice.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

2012-09-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

I grew up on biscuits….

Granny made the best….

Then I got married to an anti-biscuit eater….

Till now…

So what do you do with the Bisquick mix from the last post???

Garlic cheese biscuits is one recipe you can use….

Think Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesdays

Larger waistline…

Plop some butter in some dry mix…

Mix it till good and crumbly..

Add some cheddar cheese and garlic powder

Add some milk…

Mix till moist..

Spoonfuls of dough

Bake till golden brown…

Brush with melted butter and garlic powder

Print Recipe

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1 cup Cheddar cheese; finely grated

3/4 cup Whole milk

2 tablespoons Butter

1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder

1/4 cup Butter

1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Combine Bisquick with cheddar cheese, milk, 2 tablespoons of softened butter, and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder in a medium bowl.

Mix until dry ingredients are moistened.

Drop approximately 1/4-cup portions of the dough onto an un-greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

Combine 1/4 cup butter with 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.

Brush this mixture over the tops of each baked biscuit.

Homemade Bisquick Mix

2012-09-20T15:40:00.000-04:00

I am not above admitting that I love the idea of boxed mixes… just add water… heat and serve… throw in chicken … and all the rest of the open, dump, stir and serve dinners out there…

Dinner in five and one pot to wash….

But that would be too easy for me…. Lets make everything from scratch…

I’ve almost completed my arsenal of homemade mixes…. Only a few more to experiment with and I will have every pre-made mix I need to use….

Someone adjusted the camera… and I didn’t see how lousy the pictures were till I uploaded them… so forget the grayish unappetizing photo’s.

Just pretend you went color blind for a little bit.

Flour, salt, baking powder and butter

Add all the dry ingredients together

Cube the butter and add it to your flour….

With mixer , or by hand, mix till mixture looks like sand… Store in fridge…

Print Recipe

Homemade Bisquick Mix

5 cups flour

1/4 cup baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup butter

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks or in the freezer for longer storage.

Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

2012-09-05T17:05:00.001-04:00

Cauliflower….

Bread it, steam it, broil it, sauté it, as long as it isn’t raw ( the best way for you) I will inhale it…

So when I found this recipe I was excited….

Even the anti-vegy eaters of the family enjoy this dinner.

I am always trolling for new recipes… the ones I find interesting and feasible I print them off and store them in my “folder”, a plastic freezer bag… once in a while I go through and toss the ones I know tasted like caulk and wasn’t worth my butter… then there are some that I have already reconstructed and made them worth my butter.

I am in the mood for this one again…

Yeah… the cauliflower… I knew I was doing something…

This is a perfect one pot dinner… well… actually one pot, one baking pan, some foil, mixing bowl and several stirring spoons…

You get the point.

So wash and slice your cauliflower …

I like to slice them thick so they are nicely browned, yet still a bit

crunchy… Cauliflower tends to mush up and disappear if over cooked..

Add one teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of sugar

6 Tablespoons of olive oil

Toss well and then carefully spoon onto a baking sheet. Off to the oven at 450f

Now for the garlic… ends sliced off

I don’t have a garlic roasting pan, so I just use tinfoil … sprinkle salt over garlic

And then drizzle olive oil over garlic…

Wrap up garlic like so and pop in oven along side of cauliflower

Cauliflower is roasted…. Keep the wooden spoon handy to smack hands from grabbing a taste…

Garlic is too…

Squeeze over a bowl and then mash with a fork …

Campanelle pasta… Who cares what kind of pasta you use… well to me pasta is important… the shape, the texture…. The taste… yes there is a difference in the taste of campanelle verses penne…

Cook till al dente, drain. Add two cups of cream

One to two cups of parmesan. Depending on your taste.. oh and your garlic too.. everyone was asking when dinner was going to be done and setting timers to hold me to my word, and I forgot to take that picture.

Stir well.

Add your cauliflower and lightly toss…

My only complaint of this dish is that everything is white… I am sure that if you roasted some red peppers and had those sliced up in the dish it wouldn’t look so albino…

Serve to the ingrates.

Print Recipe

Recipe:

Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

*Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

2 heads garlic, papery skins removed, top quarter of heads cut off (on the pointy side of the garlic) and discarded

6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 pound short pasta (such as campanelle)

2 cups of cream

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded (about 1 cup)

DIRECTIONS:

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, and heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Trim the outer leaves of the cauliflower and cut the stem flush with the bottom. Cut the head from pole to pole into 8 equal wedges and then cut the cauliflower into large bite-sized pieces. Place the cauliflower in a large bowl; toss with 6 tablespoons oil, salt, and sugar.

Carefully transfer the cauliflower to the baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Roast until the cauliflower is well browned and tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut one 12-inch sheet of foil and spread it flat on the counter. Place the garlic heads, cut-side up, in the center of the foil. Salt and drizzle ½ teaspoon olive oil over each head and fold up the sides of the foil to seal well. Place the foil packet directly on the oven and roast until the garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil packet from the oven, open the foil and set it aside to cool.

While the cauliflower and garlic are roasting, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook until al dente. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins into a small bowl. Using a fork, mash the garlic to a smooth paste.

Drain the pasta, and return the pasta to the pot. Add the cream, garlic and parmesan cheese to the pasta. Stir well and add the roasted cauliflower.

Serve immediately.

Chocolate Fudge cake with Marshmallow Icing

2012-08-11T23:22:00.000-04:00

I was about 12 years old when Mama had mailed in some stuff to some place and in return received some paper back cookbooks…

I poured over those, again and again… each and every picture made me want to run to the kitchen and use up all of Mama’s butter…. ( or Papa’s butter, however you wanted to look at it) blueberry muffins, popovers, and various other baked goods, that I promptly scarffed down once the timer went off.

But no matter how many times I made a recipe… they could never look like the picture…

Even now.. I get a little ticked when I work all day on a cake or other baked goods and it comes out looking like a 12 year old made it.. or 5 year old… depends on how foul I feel.

My latest kick in the face on how elementary my food looks, was when I was trolling in a certain site called foodgawker…. Apparently you submit your recipe/blog and it can get more hits, meanwhile troll around and look at other people’s blogs/recipes…. Problem is…..

They ALL look like from the same person… these people must spend hours setting up the back ground to take a picture of one cookie.. and none of them look like they even thought about using flash... as they set up their slice of cake on a table made from walnut….

Makes my burnt Formica countertop look like… well… burnt formica…

Oh well…

I can only hope their food tastes like crap.

Here is a cake that doesn’t taste like crap… in fact this is my go to recipe for chocolate cake…

Sugar, flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl

Coco powder, butter, and water in a pot… bring to a boil or heat till butter is melted

Add your dry ingredients

Add some eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla

Prepare you pans… for this time I used two round cake pans… that I have oiled and dusted with coco powder.. don’t skip that step.. the dusting part.. other wise your cake will come out of the pans in chunks, and that isn’t very pretty…

I made a marshmallow icing this time, added some pastel psychedelic colors and walla!! An ugly cake!

Print Recipe

Recipe:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup hot water

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9" x 13" cake pan. ( or pan of your liking.. bundt, two round pans . Just make sure you adjust your time accordingly.. it took 25 minutes for the round pans)

Melt the butter; stir in the cocoa and hot water. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, soda and salt. Pour the cocoa mixture over the dry ingredients, stirring to blend. Beat in the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until it tests done. (You'll smell the chocolate aroma, and the cake will begin to pull away from the edge of the pan). Remove from the oven and cool on a rack

Marshmallow Frosting:

Yield: 4-1/2 cups
ingredients
1 1/2 Cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 16 ounces jars marshmallow crème
1 Cup powdered sugar

Directions

In very large mixing bowl beat softened butter with mixer on medium for 30 seconds, until light and fluffy. Add marshmallow creme. Beat until smooth, scraping sides of bowl. Add powdered sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Frost Cake. To store frosting, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature before frosting cake. Makes 3 cups.

Becoming my Mama, one day at a time...

2012-08-09T14:22:00.001-04:00

I am almost my mother….

The one thing I remember about getting out of the hollow and going to town was the frantic clean-up we had to do BEFORE we left the house…

Why did we have to wash dishes??

Why did the floors have to be swept?

Who cares if there is clutter all over the floor! We wouldn’t be there!!

So naturally, as normal ingrates do, we managed to irritate Mama even before we got to the store…

So when I do go anywhere I try and have no dirty dishes, laundry picked up… and if someone were to come home with me there would be a path to the toilet.

And in tune the ingrates chime in… “why wash dishes?”, who cares if there is three feet of sanddirtleavestwigstoycarsdirtysocks on the floor?

Going to church is no different…

Usually I am up before the rooster next door… cooking.. while everyone is still sleeping…

Washing up all the dishes…. While everyone is still sleeping…

Cleaning…. While… yeah.. you guessed it…. Everyone is still sleeping

It is awesome!! Next time you should try it..

So by the time they all wake up I have worked myself into such a foul mood, that reaching octaves that only dogs can hear, is an ease ….

Puff Pastry

2012-08-04T12:23:00.001-04:00

I feel so French….

I am even thinking about letting my mustache grow out and have those little swirly ends...

Even more I feel like I stuck it once again to Pepperidge farm….

That itself is worth my arms feeling like they are going to fall off…

Every time I came across a recipe that called for puff pastry I avoided it.. not that I disliked the pastry… it was more to the fact I disliked spending any amount of money on something I was viewing as a extravagant expense.

And when I felt adventurous I would go trolling for recipes on how to make it.. “ lots of work” , “ takes forever to make” , “ be prepared to be all day making it” .

The lazy person inside of me was screaming, “NO!”

Then last night as I was recipe browsing for brunch idea’s… puff pastry was one that kept popping up… and I just felt like I could do it…

It was really just the fact I was majorly sleep deprived, I tend to make some stupid decisions when there is bags under my eyes.

So I made it…

I had a Silence of the lambs moment …After the final roll of this dough I wanted to wear it… it was so smooth and silky….

Butter…. I slice the sticks length wise like so…

With another piece of wax paper laid on top I flattened the butter to about ½ inch thick. Stick that in the freezer for about 20 minutes

In mixing bowl add your flour and salt

With the dough hook add the water

Mix until the sides of your bowl is clean…

In a floured counter pat our your disk of “dough” to a large flat round thingy… let rest 10 minutes…

Get side tracked with the cake you are making and everything ends up resting for about ten minutes more…

Roll out your dough to a large rectangle. Add your disk of butter

Add fold the dough over the sides of the butter like so…

Roll out… carefully.. with this first round of rolling, your butter can pop out, just make sure you smoosh the dough back around it before you roll over it.. we want the butter IN the dough… not out.

Fold in thirds and roll out again..

Again in thirds , I poked two dimples on the pastry so I would know what number I was at with the rolling… since I had 15 irons in the fire and didn’t want to lose track

Continue two more times.. each time rolling out, folding, rolling out, folding.

I am making a Danish ring ( sticks out tongue at panera bread) for brunch so I just trimmed off the ends of the dough to bake some…

Print Recipe

Puff Pastry

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups bread flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water, or as needed
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:
Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Gradually stir in water until the dough holds together enough to clean the sides of the bowl. You may not need the full amount of water. Shape into a flat ball, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
Place the butter between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound into a flat disc using a rolling pin or other heavy object. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Place the disc of chilled butter in the center and fold the two ends over it so that it is completely encased in dough. Roll out the dough again, taking care not to let the butter break through the dough, to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold into thirds. This is the first ''turn''. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll out into a rectangle again. Fold into thirds. By this time the butter is starting to warm up. Place the dough on a baking sheet and mark it with two pokes from your finger (two turns). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Repeat this rolling, folding and turning two more times, then refrigerate until firm. Repeat two more times for a total of 6 ''turns''. Wrap and refrigerate. The dough is now ready to roll out and use in any recipe calling for puff pastry. Roll the dough out as thin as 1/4 inch to make pastries. Bake in a preheated oven of at least 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) to get the maximum puff from your pastry

Chocolate peanut butter filled cookies

2012-07-09T11:54:00.000-04:00

I was thinking a few days ago, of when I really started cooking… I always cooked… french fry’s were my specialty from the ages of 9 till I was 12 and then I started with pancakes, muffins and burning beans… when I was first married, I had three kids in four years, and boxed dinners I made a lot.. I would hang around the fridge section in the grocery store… there they sell cookies, brownies, biscuits, fresh pasta… (how fresh is that stuff really??) Pretty much everything they sold there I bought… My homemade stuff didn’t taste as good as that store bought stuff…

When I started giving up the premade food, the cookies were the first to go… My favorite was the filled ones.. The chocolate chip cookies filled with fudge… caramel , so on.. I don’t know if they sell them anymore, and now that I have found this recipe I could care less…..

But be warned… this is not a scoop and bake recipe, this is a roll this out… roll that out.. flatten, smoosh, roll and then bake.. and when everyone inhales them in less time it took to make them…

You will know it is worth making them all again.

In medium size bowl add your flour, coco , salt and baking soda

Then in mixing bowl add your sugars, ¼ cup peanut butter and butter

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth, creamy and fluffy….

Add egg and vanilla

Add the dry ingredients and beat well

Dough will be stiff…

Now for the filling,

Peanut butter, confectioner sugar. Mix well.

Filling on the left, base on the right…

With a tablespoon of dough, roll it out

Flatten and then add one teaspoon of filling in middle

Smoosh dough around filling careful not to smash the filling up to much..

All done… but ugly… so we

Roll it all again..

Do this two dozen more times…

I just dipped the bottom of a glass into some sugar and lightly pressed down… kinda sloppy, I know… bake 8 minutes..

Grab one before the kids swoop in and leave you none.

Print Recipe

Recipe:

Chocolate peanut butter filled cookies

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. Dutch cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 C. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Peanut butter Filling:

3/4 c. sifted confectioners' sugar

1/2 c. peanut butter

2 Tbls. granulated sugar

How to make it

Preheat oven to 350

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, 1/2 c. granulated sugar, brown sugar and 1/4 c. peanut butter until well combined. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well. Gently mix in the flour mixture until incorporated. Form the dough into 1 inch balls and set aside.

For the filling:

Combine confectioners' sugar and 1/2 c. peanut butter in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Form into 1/2 inch balls.

Gently flatten the chocolate balls. Place peanut butter ball in center of chocolate doughand carefully fold chocolate dough aroung the peanut butter filling. Roll back into a ball.

Place balls on a greased baking sheet about 2 inches a part.

Place the 2 Tbls. granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Using a flat - bottomed glass dipped in the sugar, lightly flatted the chocolate dough balls.

Bake cookies for 8 minutes, until the surface begins to slightly crack. Let cool for 1 minute on the sheet. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

Chicken Spaghetti

2012-07-03T11:40:00.001-04:00

Erase all memory of former posts about not eating processed foods… that was the healthy part of me that got smothered by the junk eating, processed addict part of me yesterday…

So now that I have got that out of the way let me show you how to incorporate more transfat into your diet…

Today we are making Chicken Spaghetti…. I have no clue why it is called that so don’t ask… when I think of spaghetti I think of tomato based sauce … not creamy velvetta sauce… and I don’t even use spaghetti noodles I like linguini noodles instead…

So anyways here is the recipe…

In large pot add your chicken breasts… I don’t salt it since there is enough sodium in the rest of the stuff I dump in this dish.. you can add some green peppers if you have them or sauté them with the onions in the next step since boiled peppers is like eating dirty socks…

While your chicken breasts are busy boiling away dice a large onion and sauté until translucent… again this would be the time you could add peppers.

Add your cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes I use two cans…

Add your cream of mushroom soup.. I use three cans

Give it a good stir , turn on low and add your velvetta cheese.. stir every now and then until cheese is completely melted.

Here is a easy way to chunk up that block of processed goodness…

Slice it down the middle

Flip it over and slice once again down the middle…

Then chop into chunks like so…

With a slotted spoon remove chicken from water… then add your noodles to the boiling water and cook till this side of al dente … it will cook even more in the oven and sorry but mushy noodles are not my thing..

Dice chicken and add to sauce…

Drain noodles add them to your sauce and then add all of that into your baking pan.

Bake @ 400 for 35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown…

This will make about two 9x13” pans of food… one to bake the other to freeze… When I was given this recipe umpteen years ago it was from a large family… and I never bothered to try and cut it down since it was nice to always have a dish I could pull out of the freezer anytime I needed it…

So what do you do when you only have 1,500 baking pans and you need 1,501?

Lay out some plastic wrap in your pan.. dish out your food in the pan

And wrap it like so… shove it in the freezer and when it is frozen just take out the wrapped food and shove it back in the freezer and then your pan is free for use again.. when you want to bake the food just unwrap and use the pan you froze it in…

Print Recipe

Recipe:

1 large onion

2 cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

One package (2 lbs) of velvetta cheese

3 to 4 large chicken breasts

One lb of pasta of your choice… I like linguini and sometimes use fettuccini in a pinch

Directions:

In large pot add 4 quarts of water, add your chicken breasts and cook till done … about 10 minutes

With a slotted spoon remove chicken and return water to a full boil and add your pasta.. cook pasta till almost al dente, drain. Dice chicken to 1 inch cubes

In large pan heat three tablespoons of oil and your onion that you have diced and cook till translucent. Add your Ro-Tel tomatoes and cream of mushroom soup, stir and add your velvetta cheese, turn on low and cook stirring often till cheese is completely melted.

Add chicken and pasta into sauce and stir well

Spoon into well greased baking dish and bake @ 400 for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and sauce is bubbly.

Notes:

I like a more saucy dish so I add more cream of mushroom… for a even more kick get the spicy Ro-Tel .