The Pie Chronicle

Rhubarb Oat Bars

2014-06-18T11:31:00.000-06:00

Today I start with an apology: Sorry I have no picture of this yummy treat. I haven't been able to keep any around long enough to get a snapshot. After finding this recipe this spring I have made it a few times for different groups of people, and the whole pan disappears so fast! I just made them again for Father's Day, where my daughter brought her new boyfriend. He had never eaten rhubarb before and I think these bars sold him on this new vegetable because he ate three! So you just have to trust me that they look good, and boy do they taste good! I improved the original recipe quite a bit by decreasing the amount of sugar, increasing the amount of rhubarb, and using butter instead of shortening. Try this spring treat, the rhubarb is still thriving out there!

RHUBARB OAT BARS

Filling:
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
4 cups fresh rhubarb, cut up
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Crust:
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I have used both walnuts and pecans, and the bars were delicious with each)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Filling: Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and cook until thick, stirring often. 8-10 minutes.

Crust: Mix all ingredients in a bowl until crumbly. Pat three quarters of the mixture into an un-greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Pour the rhubarb mixture over the crust (it's fine to do this while the filling is hot). Top with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

Cool before cutting into bars. Or you can spoon it out hot and serve with ice cream or whipped cream for a crumble dessert. Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes 16 bars.

Pie Plant Season

2014-05-19T14:27:00.000-06:00

Here we are, back to the peak season for "Pie Plant". Rhubarb earned that nickname honestly, it really is perfect in pies! Last night we had a couple of families over for pie so I made two rhubarb pie variations: with pineapple and with cherries. I thought I'd be able to choose a favorite but really liked both. So I recommend you try each of these pies this spring. A little ice cream or whipped cream makes them perfect!

Pineapple Rhubarb Pie

9 or 10 inch double pie dough

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
1 20-oz can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups sliced fresh rhubarb

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a 9 or 10 inch pie pan with crust. Roll out top crust. Set both aside.

Stir all filling ingredients together until well blended and pour into the pastry lined pie pan. Cover with the top crust and flute edges. Cut steam vents in the top of the pie then brush with ice water and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15 minutes, then lower heat to 375 and bake an additional 30 minutes. The filling should be bubbling. Serve warm.

Cherry Rhubarb Pie

9 or 10 inch double pie dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a 9 or 10 inch pie pan with crust. Roll out top crust. Set both aside.

4 cups fresh rhubarb, sliced
2 cups tart pie cherries - fresh (pitted), frozen (thawed) or canned (drained)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Stir all filling ingredients together and let stand 10-15 minutes, then pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with 1 tablespoon butter if desired and add top crust. Flute edges and cut steam vents in the top of the pie. Brush with ice water and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15 minutes, then lower heat to 375 and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until filling bubbles and crust is golden. Serve warm.

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

2013-09-06T18:43:00.001-06:00

I work with an attorney who has access to really great tickets to my alma mater's football games. He also LOVES Peanut Butter Cups and pie. So I combined the best chocolate pie filling I've got with the best peanut butter filling I've found and made him a custom PB Cup pie. (This recipe actually makes two pies - so I had one take to work for him and one for my family to enjoy. Win/win). This pie was a hit at work, everybody who got to try it loved it. And if my bribe was successful I should be enjoying the homecoming game from the 50 yard line next week :-)

Kirk's Peanut Butter Cup Pie

2 Nine or Ten inch pie shells. I used pastry, but a graham cracker or cookie crust would be fantastic as well.

Chocolate layer:
3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 oz. baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the chocolate and vanilla.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for four minutes (this step is very important to get the silky texture you want in this layer).
Spoon half the chocolate filling into each pie shell and refrigerate while you prepare the peanut butter layer.

Peanut butter layer:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

Beat the peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.
Fold in the whipped topping.
Divide the mixture between the two pie shells, layering it on top of the chocolate.
Top with chopped up mini peanut butter cups.
Refrigerate at least three hours before serving.

Why I've been baking less during the past year.

2013-08-14T10:19:00.001-06:00

I love to bake. I love to eat what I bake. And my body has paid the price. Last summer I finally decided to get serious about losing the excess weight I've accumulated over many years, and that meant baking less frequently. I haven't done anything drastic to lose weight - no pills or surgery or crazy low calorie diets. Just upped the exercise (a lot!) and tracked what I eat to stay within a reasonable calorie limit. So I do still bake, and I do still eat yummy stuff - but I had to cut it down a bit! I will be posting more delicious treats as the weather cools and I'm able to use the oven more comfortably, but did want to share the difference a year of mindful eating and steady exercise can make. I'm about halfway to my goal weight now:

Grandma and Violet

Rhubarb Cake

2013-05-19T13:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we had a dinner guest, and that's always an occasion calling for dessert. Since I have plentiful rhubarb growing in the garden I wanted to use it, but didn't have time to make a pie. This cake ended up fitting the bill perfectly, and our guest liked it so much that she happily took several pieces home and asked for the recipe. That was pretty impressive considering that she had never heard of rhubarb before!

RHUBARB CAKE

Topping:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter

Cake:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups finely chopped fresh rhubarb
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.

Topping:
Mix the dry ingredients together, then cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

Cake:
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the salt and soda. Beat in the flour alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in the rhubarb and nuts. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake.

Bake 45 minutes.

We enjoyed this served with sweetened whipped cream. It would also be great served warm with ice cream.

Spring = Rhubarb!

2013-05-15T09:55:00.000-06:00

The snow has finally melted, the lilacs are blooming, sun is shining....and my rhubarb plant is thriving. Time to enjoy this unique taste of spring. Here's a yummy snack idea to take advantage of the rhubarb that is at it's peak right now. These are like the bar cookies I usually make with peach or apricot jam, and I think they are even better with rhubarb. My son enjoyed these for snacking as well as for breakfast with a big glass of milk.

OATMEAL RHUBARB SQUARES

Filling:
3 cups fresh rhubarb, diced
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust:
1 1/2 cups oats (quick-cooking or regular rolled oats)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Filling: Combine ingredients in a saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring frequently. This will take about 10 minutes.

Crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients until combined and crumbly. Press 3/4 of the mixture into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Pour the rhubarb filling over the crust. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture evenly over the top. Bake 30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Snickerbutters

2013-03-11T11:24:00.003-06:00

After this week's time change, my husband was a very sleepy guy. Because of the effect of "springing forward" on the computers at his job he was up most of the night, but still got up for church in the morning. He really earned a Sunday afternoon nap. While he snoozed in a chair I thought it would be nice to make his favorite cookies to show my appreciation for what a hard working guy he is. He really loves Snickerdoodles so I happily started to get everything out to make them, then discovered that I was out of the cream of tartar those cookies require. We did have some peanut butter on the shelf so I decided that peanut butter cookies would still make him a happy man when he woke up. As I mixed the dough I realized that there was no reason the cinnamon-sugar coating that makes Snickerdoodles so yummy shouldn't be delightful with peanut butter too. The result was these cookies that my eleven year-old son named "Snickerbutters". These were a hit with both of my guys.

SNICKERBUTTERS

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1-1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg. Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Shape the dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar. Place on ungreased baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.

More muffins!

2013-02-22T09:05:00.001-07:00

I'm getting ready for a weekend away with friends, and decided to take some muffins so we can have a quick breakfast before a snowshoeing activity we have planned. I had some cranberries in the freezer and it's snowing, so some comforting winter flavors seemed in order. The muffins turned out moist and yummy. Give these a try.

Orange Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup brown sugar (NOT packed)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
2 Tablespoons orange zest
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 24 muffins cups with baking spray or use paper liners.

Heat cranberries with one tablespoon of water until the cranberries burst open. Mash slightly with a fork.

Beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil and orange zest until smooth.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, spices and salt. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mixture, then mix together with a spoon just until moistened. Fold in the cranberries and their liquid.

Spoon into the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes.

Apple-Raisin Bran Muffins

2013-02-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

This winter I've been paying more attention to what I eat - guess it's time to get more "mindful" about such things. So there's been less pie and more high fiber/nutritious food being made around here. My favorite breakfast lately has been a bran muffin. Gosh, I must be getting old! I have been making and freezing the Raisin Bran muffins I posted a few months ago, which I can grab and quickly microwave in the morning. Then I found another muffin version which is my new favorite. The original recipe came from a box of Western Family brand Raisin Bran cereal. These also freeze beautifully and microwave from frozen to "oven fresh" in about 30 seconds.

Apple-Raisin Bran Muffins

Makes about 18 muffins

1 1/2 cups raisin bran cereal (if you don't like raisins, use plain bran cereal)
2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large or 2 small apples, peeled and chopped finely (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pans with nonstick spray. Combine the cereal, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir to break up the cereal, then stir in the apples and nuts. In a separate bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the cereal mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened, it will be a thick batter. Spoon into the muffin pans and bake 16 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Apple-Pineapple Pie

2012-11-10T13:18:00.001-07:00

The election made our household sad. We had hopes for some actual hope and change. So, when my husband also had a hard day at work the next day I wanted to cheer him up with a pie. His favorite pie is apple, but I didn't have enough apples on hand so I went to the pantry for ideas. That was pretty bare too - but I did have a can of pineapple chunks and thought that apples and pineapple should be able to get along pretty well. The resulting pie turned out great! We all loved it, and we do feel better now! If someone you know needs some comfort, serve them this pie warm with a little ice cream. It's sure to brighten anybody's day.

Apple-Pineapple Pie

Dough for two crust pie

5 apples (almost any variety will work, I used a mix of Gala and Golden Delicious)

1 20-oz can of pineapple chunks in juice, drained except for 1-2 tablespoons of juice

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line pie plate with rolled out dough, and roll out dough for top of pie and set aside.
Peel and slice apples into a large bowl. Add the mostly drained pineapple chunks.
Stir in the flour, sugar, and spices, and spoon into the pastry lined pie pan. Dot with butter.
Top with pastry and flute edges and cut vents into the top. Brush with cold water and sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees and bake an additional 40 minutes.

Moist and Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake

2012-09-18T21:12:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. And it came on a day with a nip of Autumn in the air. The mountains outside the window are accented with red and orange and temperatures are definitely cooler. He really likes the smells and flavors of Fall (apple, pumpkin, spice) so I wanted to honor "his" season with an appropriate cake. I had some leftover pumpkin in the fridge from something I made last week, so started looking for pumpkin cake recipes. The internet is overflowing with recipes for pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread, but pumpkin CAKE seemed to be lacking. Finally I found a recipe that called for adding pumpkin and instant pudding mix to a cake mix. This sounded good....except for the addition of even more sugar and chemicals to a mix. I decided to try just adding the pumpkin to a cake mix. Ding, ding, ding - it was a winner! Here's the cake and how I made it (it seriously couldn't be easier or tastier!):

Moist and Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 spice cake mix (I used the cheapie store brand)

1 cup pureed pumpkin

eggs, oil and water as specified on the cake mix box

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch cake pans (I used 8 inch square pans) and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend all ingredients on low speed until moistened, then mix on medium speed for two minutes.
Divide batter evenly between the two cake pans, then bake for 30 minutes or until done.
Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then tip out. Frost with maple buttercream icing when cooled.

Everybody at the party loved this cake. It took all my willpower to eat only one piece. So easy and soooo yummy!

Delicious Bran Muffins

2012-08-24T18:16:00.000-06:00

Somehow I accumulated a few boxes of Raisin Bran. I guess it was because it kept going on sale....then I got tired of eating it. Several times I thought about using the cereal to make muffins, but my past experience with bran muffins hasn't been all that positive. In an effort to make them extra healthy, most of the bran muffins I've been served were made with whole wheat flour - which left them kind of heavy and dry. I finally decided that since the bran is providing a good dose of fiber, there would be no sin in making them with regular all purpose flour and they might turn out better. I was right! These were so moist and delicious that I had to fight off my 10 year-old son so that a batch of muffins wouldn't be gone in one day. Now he has started asking for these because he likes them so much. I put them in a plastic bag in the freezer and we have a fast and easy breakfast on hectic mornings (30 seconds in the microwave thaws and warms them beautifully). I make the muffins in standard muffin tins, for one dozen muffins.

Raisin Bran Muffins

2 cups Raisin Bran cereal

1 1/3 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Grease the BOTTOMS ONLY of 12 standard muffin cups with shortening, or spray with cooking spray.

Crush the Raisin Bran - I do this by putting it in a bowl and mashing it with a potato masher. You can also put it in a bag and run a rolling pin over it several times. Mix the crushed cereal with the milk and vanilla. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Mix in the egg and oil with a fork. Then stir in the remaining ingredients just until everything is moistened. Be sure not to overmix so that your muffins will be nice and tender.

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups, then bake for 20 minutes.

Let stand in the pan for a couple of minutes, then run a knife around the edge of each muffin and tip out of the pan. These are delightful served warm!

Cherry Cobbler by lantern light

2012-08-13T14:27:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy summer with camping, visiting family, and the arrival of a new baby granddaughter. It's also been an extra hot summer, and with no air conditioning in our house I haven't felt much like baking. But on our July camping trip we enjoyed some delicious cherry cobbler prepared by my husband. We aren't big fans of the overly sweet and chemical laden cobbler made by dumping a cake mix on top of pie filling or fruit in a Dutch oven, so this is the way we prepare it like a "real" cobbler. Still super easy and delicious. A spray of whipped cream tops it off wonderfully.

You can make this cobbler with either prepared pie filling or bottled/canned fruit. Just oil the Dutch oven and dump in the amount or fruit or pie filling you want. (On this trip there were only four of us so we just did one can of cherry pie filling.....but wished we had doubled that!) Next, prepare a recipe of biscuit dough with 1/2 cup of sugar, or more if you want it sweeter, and a teaspoon or two of cinnamon. Add extra milk to make the dough a consistency that will drop easily from a spoon. You can also use a biscuit mix, adding the sugar and cinnamon and extra milk. Top the fruit with the sweetened biscuit topping. Then just cook in a medium Dutch oven until the biscuit topping is cooked through.

Sorry I don't have a more "official" recipe - but isn't improvising a lot of the fun of cooking while camping?

A little Trifle for Dad

2012-06-18T19:04:00.001-06:00

For most of the years of my marriage (and there have been many), I have prepared a meal and pie for my dad and/or father-in-law. My husband's father passed away about three years ago, and my dad is far away in The Philippines this year, so the father of my children had Father's Day all to himself this year. Since everything else was different about the holiday this time, I went all the way with the changes and prepared a different kind of meal (instead of a cookout) and a different dessert. My husband loves Trifle, so I fixed this favorite for him. It's easy and fun to make, and really pretty served in a glass bowl. It's fun to experiment with different kinds of berries and fruit, and different cake and pudding flavors. The possibilities are endless, as they say!

STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE TRIFLE

1 9-inch yellow, white or pound cake; baked and cooled

1 package of vanilla pudding, prepared, or a recipe for vanilla pudding cooked and cooled

2 quarts strawberries, hulled and cut in half, sprinkled with sugar and allowed to juice for 15-20 minutes or so

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream

Cut the cake into cubes, approximately 2 inches square (nothing about this recipe has to be exact)
Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, then slowly add the whipping cream. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until light and fluffy.
Arrange cake cubes in the bottom of the bowl so that they cover completely.
Drizzle half of the juice from the strawberries over the cake cubes.
Spoon half the pudding on the cake cubes.
Arrange about half the strawberries over the cake.
Spoon half the cream cheese mixture over the berries in the bowl.
Repeat the layers, and garnish top with a few strawberries.
Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Enjoy!

Strawberry Pie nights

2012-06-13T20:37:00.001-06:00

Back in the summer of 1981 I was very pregnant and enjoying the last of the time my husband and I would have together to just do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted (well, within the constraints of our "starving college student" budget). He was working at the campus radio station, and many nights I would go over there with a pot full of dinner so we could eat together when he had a break. When he got off at midnight we sometimes went to JB's for a treat. JB's was the only restaurant in town that was open late at night back then. The next summer, we had a cute little baby girl who we took along on these middle of the night outings. It turned out that Cara didn't actually cramp our style at all. Often our friends Jim and Neil were with us for those middle of the night snack attacks....and in the spring we all usually ordered the strawberry pie.

Strawberry pie still reminds me of those carefree nights when we laughed a lot and ingested too much pie and too many chocolate milkshakes. I miss the company we had on those cool summer nights in Logan, but I am no longer so fond of those restaurant strawberry pies covered with plastic-like glaze. Now I make it "all natural", and it's delicious. Give this easy and yummy pie a try this summer.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 9-inch baked pie shell
2 quarts strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch

Separate the "prettiest" strawberries (about half of them) to put into the pie shell whole or halved, depending on how big they are. Remove the stems from the remaining strawberries and smash them up with a fork or potato masher until they are juicy mush.
Add the sugar and cornstarch to the mashed up strawberries and heat on medium, stirring often, until the mixture is thick and boils. Let cool.
Remove the stems from the remaining strawberries and arrange them in the pie shell. You can leave small strawberries whole, but cut large ones in half.
Cover with the cooked strawberry mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Rhubarb Pie from Sweety Pies

2012-05-16T12:10:00.000-06:00

My son Trevor and his wife Ali are expecting their first baby, a girl, this summer. I'm pretty excited about getting another granddaughter, especially since she'll live much closer than my other grandbabies. I should be able to see her more often than every few months! Years ago I taught natural birth classes, and really enjoyed it, but after I joined the "workforce" in 1996 I stopped - there just wasn't time, especially since I didn't charge enough money to really make it worth my time. After looking at the options in our community, Trevor and Ali asked if I would do a birthing class for them. This week we started with a little intro and discussed what they want to learn. But the first thing we did was enjoy a dinner of chicken stir fry on the front porch, and finished off with some rhubarb pie.

This recipe comes from the fun book my daughter Cara gave me for my birthday last year. The pie was great with freshly whipped cream, and would also be great warm with ice cream. This one is for people who enjoy the sweet-tart flavor of rhubarb. We loved it.

Miss Maude McCracken's Rhubarb Pie (from Sweety Pies by Patty Pinner)

One 9-inch single pie crust, rolled out, fitted into a pie plate, and edge trimmed and crimped.

1-1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind

1/4 cup orange juice (I used the juice of one large orange)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (I used regular, salted butter with great results)

4 cups trimmed red rhubarb stalks, sliced 1 inch thick (we prefer smaller chunks of rhubarb, I cut it into 1/2 inch slices)

Crumb topping

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened (I used regular butter and omitted the salt)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare the pie crust and set aside.

Combine the sugar, flour, and cloves in a medium-size, heavy saucepan and whisk until well blended. Stir in the orange rind and juice, and the butter. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring, until thickened and bubbly, then add the rhubarb. Stir to coat the rhubarb, then remove from the heat and spoon the filling into the crust. Place in the oven and bake until the rhubarb is tender and the juice bubbles, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the crumb topping. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, work it into the dry mixture until pea-sized crumbs form.

Take the pie out of the oven and sprinkle evenly with the topping. Return to the oven and bake until the topping is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Spicy Tamale Pie

2012-03-20T23:04:00.001-06:00

This is a very popular casserole at my house. I just discovered a cool ingredient to make it even better - spicy olives! Of course regular olives are the usual in this recipe, but if you can find these in your grocery store give them a try to make this dish a little more unique. (Sorry about the picture quality - I'm still having to depend on my cell phone for photos until I can save up enough money for a real camera).

This is dish is yummy served with sour cream.

SPICY TAMALE PIE

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 chopped bell peppers (I like to use one green and one red)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 12-oz can corn
1 small can sliced olives
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water

Cook ground beef, onion, peppers and garlic until the meat is browned. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, olives, sugar and spices and simmer until thickened (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the cheese and stir until it is melted.
While meat mixture simmers, stir the cornmeal and 1/2 teaspoon salt into the cold water in a saucepan. Heat to boiling, cook and stir until thickened (about 1 minute).
Pour the hot meat mixture into a two quart casserole and top with the cornmeal mixture.
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Easy and moist Lemon Bundt Cake

2012-03-13T23:26:00.000-06:00

The birthday tradition where my husband works is to draw names at the beginning of each year to "sponsor" somebody's special day. At staff meeting the week of their birthday, the responsible person brings a treat to share with everyone for a birthday celebration. My husband drew Brian's name and needed a good treat to take to work. Brian requested something with "tart fruit" and asked that my husband NOT make it - since his cooking usually involves Spam. So I made this moist and delicious lemon bundt cake....but swore my husband to secrecy about the convenience foods used in the recipe! Let Brian think I had to have some serious mad baking skills to make this.

Lemon Bundt Cake

For the cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water
4 eggs
3 oz. package lemon gelatin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
zest of one lemon
3/4 cup sour cream

For the glaze:
2/3 cup orange juice
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Prepare a bundt cake pan by coating with shortening and dusting with flour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Combine all cake ingredients in mixing bowl. Blend to moisten, then beat for two minutes. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Combine glaze ingredients in a small pan and bring to a boil, then simmer 5 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes.
Return the cake to the cake pan, Poke holes all over the bottom of the cake with a toothpick or fork, then spoon or brush about half the glaze onto the bottom of the cake. Invert cake onto a plate and poke holes all over the top, then brush or pour remaining glaze all over the cake.
Garnish with lemon slices and let cool completely before serving. Can be served with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Reminiscing...looking back as well as looking forward - with Peanut Butter Fingers

2012-02-18T22:01:00.002-07:00

When I was a kid we didn't have "lunch ladies" in our school cafeteria. We had COOKS. Sturdy ladies in large aprons who filled the halls of the school with the aroma of rolls baking all morning and who whipped real potatoes in a huge mixer that stood on the floor. There were no pre-packaged chicken nuggets getting heated up and thrown on a plastic tray, we had real food served up on glass plates that made a loud crash if you were the poor kid having a bad day who dropped his tray on the floor. I was reminiscing about school lunch after I found a recipe for Peanut Butter Fingers while looking for ideas to make a dessert for a family function. Peanut Butter Fingers were one of the home made treats we often had beside our potatoes and hamburger gravy or made from scratch chili, and once I made these treats it really took me back to the school cafeteria.

The family function I was baking for today is my parent's mission farewell. Tomorrow after church they will have a houseful of people at their house for lunch and to tell them goodbye as they embark on a big adventure together. They'll be going to Quezon City in the Philippines for 18 months to serve an LDS mission. When I said I would bring dessert for this event I thought it was going to be mainly for our family, but as time went on and my mother invited more and more people I had to find something to feed over fifty people. A couple of batches of these treats are what I made, since each tray can be cut into more than 30 cookies (depending on how big you want to make them).

As I think about my parents going so far away for so long I again feel like the awkward and skinny redhead who found comfort in those old fashioned school lunches. Just as I was strengthened by some of the rejection and loneliness every shy kid goes through, I will grow through the separation from my parents and be enriched by their experiences.

Make these peanut butter treats and think back on your own school days. And give your parents a hug.

PEANUT BUTTER FINGERS

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Glaze:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

4+ tablespoons milk

Cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the peanut butter. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla, baking soda and salt. Add the four and oats and mix well.
Pat dough evenly into a greased 15 inch x 10 inchx 1 inch baking pan (jelly roll pan or deep cookie sheet with sides).
Bake at 325 degrees for 18 minutes. Take out of the oven and immediately sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Return to the oven for two minutes. Remove from oven again and let cool two minutes. Spread the softened chocolate chips evenly over the top.
For glaze, beat the peanut butter and sugar. Add enough milk to make a spreading consistency. Spread over the warm bars.

A non-pie treat for National Pie Day

2012-01-23T16:44:00.003-07:00

National Pie Day should be a day of pie baking, right? But instead I spent today at the Utah Capitol building with my husband and am going to the movies with three of my girls in the evening - so there's no pie making around here today. But I would like to share this fast and easy treat for anybody who needs a good sugar injection on a snowy day. I took it to an evening of sewing at My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe in Logan, Utah and the ladies there really liked it.

Peanut butter and Butterscotch Marshmallow Treats

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 bag butterscotch baking chips

1 stick butter

1 bag miniature marshmallows (colored are more fun than plain white - but you can use either)

Melt the peanut butter, chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir while melting and until the mixture is smooth.

Let cool for 15 minutes (so that the marshmallows won't melt).

Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.

Refrigerate until set. Ideally this will be at least a couple of hours....if you can wait that long!

Thumbprint cookies for New Year's

2011-12-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

These tasty and pretty cookies are a staple for my family at Christmas, but I also make them for our New Year's Eve gatherings. They seem a little complicated to make, but they are actually quite fast and easy. Definitely faster than making sugar cookies with all the rolling out and frosting - but these are so much more elegant. For Christmas I usually use jewel-like currant jelly or even mint jelly, the picture shows the cookies I made this time with raspberry jam. The jam doesn't look as showy but it is really delicious on these little morsels. Make a batch of these for a great way to start out the new year!

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg yolk

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg white

1 cup finely chopped nuts (I use walnuts, but you can use the nut of your choice)

About 6 tablespoons jelly or jam

Heat oven to 350 degrees F
Beat brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg yolk with electric mixer. Stir in flour and salt.
Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Beat egg white slightly with fork. Dip each ball into egg white then roll in nuts. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb into center of each cookie to make indentation, but do not press all the way to the cookie sheet.
Bake about 10 minutes, or until light brown. Quickly remake indentations with the end of a wooden spoon if necessary. Immediately remove from the cookie sheet to cooling rack. Fill each thumbprint with about 1/2 teaspoon of the jam or jelly.

Cookies claimed by multiple countries

2011-12-14T23:11:00.002-07:00

I first made these cookies many years ago when I had small children and thought these would be good ones they could make with me, since the dough needs to be rolled into balls. At that time we called them Mexican Wedding cookies. Later I lost my original recipe and then re-found it in Betty Crocker's Cookbook.....where they are called Russian Tea Cakes. Recently I heard someone call them Italian cookies. So apparently everybody wants to claim these yummy morsels as their own! These are one of three kinds of cookies that I always make for Christmas. They are delicious and easy to make, but look fun and festive. (However, they turned out not to be good ones to have young kids help with making the balls of dough....the dough needs to be kneaded a little to hold together well...but kids can roll the cookies in powdered sugar).

Mexican Wedding Cakes/Russian Teacakes

As always, please use "real" ingredients in these cookies. Real butter and real vanilla. It makes such a difference in the quality of the finished product!

1 cup butter, softened (it is important that the butter be softened)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 -1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I have always used walnuts, but you can use any kind of nuts)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Mix the butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla with a mixer. Stir in the flour, nuts and salt and beat until the dough holds together somewhat. It will look mostly crumbly but should hold together when you squeeze a ball of dough.
Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. You will probably need to work each ball in your hands a little to get the dough holding together well. Place about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are set but not brown. However, be careful not to undercook the cookies or they may crumble when you try to remove them from the cookie sheet.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes.
Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar, then let cool another 5 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar again.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Eggnog Cheese Pie

2011-11-30T19:23:00.001-07:00

The Christmas lights are on the house and the ornaments are on the tree, I'm so excited for the music and flavors of the holidays! One flavor I like is eggnog, but I need it milder than the straight out of the carton taste. This pie gives you that eggnog experience without being overpowering, and the cream cheese texture is really nice. I grated some nutmeg over the top and it really finished the pie off well.

(I apologize again for the photography - some day I'll have a real camera again).

Eggnog Cheese Pie

Baked pie shell or baked graham cracker or cookie crust
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup eggnog
Beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add the eggs and beat on low speed until combined. Beat in eggnog. Pour into crust.
Bake at 325° for 45-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate overnight.

Easy Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein

2011-11-28T17:04:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I received an email from familyfun.com which contained links to a couple of recipes. I'm always up for something new to try for dinner so I checked them out. This Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein sounded good, and fast, so I stopped at the store for the necessary ingredients after work. I had the butcher at the grocery store cut the meat for me while I did the rest of the shopping, then prepared everything else at home while the spaghetti was cooking. I had this dinner done in 20 minutes! And....it was delicious. My 9 year-old son requested the Lo Mein for his birthday party this week. I neglected to get a picture of the main dish, but check out the birthday cake my sister made for him.

Try this dish for a fast and yummy dinner. It's good enough for company (we served it with egg rolls from the freezer section at Costco - they were perfect!)

Easy Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein - from Family Fun

8 ounces thin spaghetti, broken in half
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups chopped broccoli
1 1/2 cups sliced onion
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces sirloin tips, cut crosswise into thin strips (I used sirloin steaks because there were no tips in my store)
3 tablespoons beef broth
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Instructions
Stir the spaghetti into a pot of lightly salted boiling water and cook it according to the package directions. Drain the noodles well, then return them to the pot and toss them with the sesame oil.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and onion and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and continue stirring while the mixture cooks for another 30 seconds. Add the sirloin and cook it, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink.

In a small bowl, mix the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, and oyster sauce. Add the soy sauce mixture and the pasta to the skillet and continue cooking, stirring often, for 1 to 2 minutes or until everything is heated through. Serve the lo mein hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Strawberry Banana Bread

2011-11-16T10:33:00.001-07:00

I always feel so virtuous when I make banana bread. I'm saving those close-to-rotten bananas from being wasted! Imagine how awesome I felt when I also rescued some slightly sad strawberries by adding them to a batch of banana bread! When I tried this little experiment I had no idea how delicious it would turn out to be. This was really good. Another one of those accidental foods that I would make again on purpose. Give this a try some time.

Strawberry Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

2 eggs

3 or 4 mashed over ripe bananas

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts

1 quart strawberries, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms of two 8 1/2 inch loaf pans.
Cream together the sugar and butter. Stir in the eggs until well blended. Stir in the bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla then beat the mixture until it's smooth.
Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt gently just until the mixture is moistened. Carefully stir in the nuts and strawberries by hand. Pour into the loaf pans.
Bake about 1 hour, then cool 10 minutes before removing from the pans.