Roasted Carrots- Cook's Illustrated

1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled, halved crosswise, and cut lengthwise if necessary to create even pieces
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Table salt and pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, combine carrots with butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; toss to coat. Transfer carrots to foil- or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread in single layer.


2. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook, stirring twice, until carrots are well browned and tender, 30 to 35 minutes.

*I haven't tried the sauce yet. We really liked the roasted carrots.

Optional Chermoula Sauce

1 tablespoon oil
1 medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon

While carrots roast, heat 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, and cayenne in small skillet over medium-low heat; cook, stirring frequently until sizzling and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, then stir in cilantro and lemon juice.


4. Transfer roasted carrots to serving bowl and toss with oil mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Organized Cooking Class

I've been asked to teach a class at my church about how I organize meals. So, I'm asking anyone who reads these for some feedback. What stops you from getting dinner organized or what do you do that works?

Peanut Butter Fudge

Love this chocolate
peanut butter fudge. Yummy and easy.
Click here for link.

Sugar Cookies

These are the best sugar cookies I have ever had. Recipe is from Bridgette Jankowski. Bridgette recommends Betty Crocker's Rich & Creamy Vanilla frosting. I have yet to find a really good homemade sugar cookie frosting. One of those recipes I'm on the hunt for.

Add ingredients into bowl in the order listed:

1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
6 cups flour

Chill in fridge for about an hour. Roll dough out on floured counter. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 9 min.

Cookie Dough Truffles

I love these and they are easy.













* Prep: 1 hour + chilling

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
* 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
* 1-1/2 pounds dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped

Directions

* In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.
* In a microwave bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating; allow excess to drip off; Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 5-1/2 dozen.


Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (2 each) equals 240 calories, 12 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 12 mg cholesterol, 46 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

This is another cookie that I like to make for Christmas plates.








Ingredients

* 1 cup butter-flavored shortening
* 1 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
*

FILLING:
* 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
* 3 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
* 5 to 6 tablespoons milk

Directions

* In a large bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
* Shape into 1-in. balls and place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 3/8-in. thickness with fork. Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks to cool.
* For filling, in a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread on half of the cookies and top each with another cookie. Yield: 44 sandwich cookies.

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (I use regular milk)

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the oats, flours, baking soda, salt and sugar. In another small bowl, beat the egg, oil and buttermilk. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Pour batter by 1/3 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until the second side is golden brown. Yield: about 10 pancakes.

*I double this recipe for my family of 6.


Nutrition Facts: One serving (2 each) equals 263 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 44 mg cholesterol, 433 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Mini Spatula

This is one of my favorite kitchen tools. The Pampered Chef mini spatula. Anytime I bake treats in a 9x13 or 8x8 dish (like brownies, bar cookies, etc) this is the best spatula to get my treats out with making a mess. It's a great little gift for anyone you know who likes to bake.
Pampered Chef Mini Serving Spatula

Streusel Topping for Sweet Potatoes

If you are not fond of marshmallows on top of your Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes try this streusel topping instead. This should make enough for a 9x13 dish. This is from Cook's Illustrated.

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces and softened, plus a little extra for
greasing the pan
1 cup pecans

Butter the dish. Pulse flour, brown sugar, and salt in food processor until blended, about 4 1 second pulses. Sprinkle butter pieces over flour mixture and pulse until crumbly mass forms, six to eight 1 second pulses. Sprinkle nuts over mixture and pulse until combined but some large nut pieces remain, four to six 1 second pulses. Sprinkle topping over sweet potatoes, breaking up any large pieces with fingers. The original recipe says to bake til topping is well browned and filling is slightly puffed around the edges about 40 min and baking at 375 degrees.
Depending on what type of filling you use the baking time may vary. If you oven tends to run hot you may want to reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.

Creamy Sweet Potatoes

Servings 10-12
Prep Time: 15 min.
Bake Time 40 min.

Ingredients:
5 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Marshmallows

In a large bowl, mash sweet potatoes. Add eggs, orange juice, butter, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Transfer to a greased 3 qt baking dish. (I used a 9x13 pan) Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until set. Top with marshmallows; return to oven until they just begin to puff and melt about 5-10 minutes.

Thanksgiving Plans

This is a Thanksgiving tip I heard on a Martha Stewart show that I used the year I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Pull out all the serving dishes or pans you plan on using/cooking with. On a little slip of paper write the name of what is going in that dish/pan and set the paper inside of it. That helps you to make sure you have enough pans and it is much easier to just look for the label instead of hunting around the kitchen the day of trying to find them. I also made a time line for myself for when things needed to be prepared and cooked. Then I just followed the plan.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

These are some of the cookies that I use for Christmas treats that I take to neighbors and friends. The orange zest in them is so yummy with the white chocolate chips and cranberries.

1 c butter/marg, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 c quick-cooking oats
1 c coarsely chopped fresh/frozen cranberries (I use Craisins)
1 T grated orange peel
1 pkg white chocolate chips (I like Nestle white chocolate chips)

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, on at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture. Stir in oats, cranberries and orange peel. Stir in vanilla chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 10-12 min or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Yield 6 dozen

Thanksgiving Stuffing

I make two batches of this. One goes in the turkey, the other gets baked separately. Then mix the two together after they are baked. This is an adaption of Cook's Illustrated Holiday Stuffing.

Stuffing
1 loaf bread, cubed and dried (leave out overnight to dry)
1 diced onion
1 egg, beaten
1/2 bottle rubbed sage
1 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
2 cups chopped celery
1 cube butter, melted and slightly cooled

Mix together with hands and sprinkle with a little water to moisten stuffing before placing inside turkey. After turkey is baked take the stuffing out immediately.

The stuffing that gets baked outside of the turkey is slightly different.
The ingredient list is the same plus 1 more egg and 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9x13 dish. Heat the 1 stick of butter in large skillet over med high heat, pour off 2 T. and reserve; add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Stir in sage, pepper, and cook about 1 min longer. Turn onion mix into large mixing bowl. Add bread cubes, broth, eggs, and salt and toss gently to distribute wet and dry ingredients. Turn mix into prepared dish. Drizzle with reserved melted butter. Cover tightly with foil and bake 25 min. Remove foil and bake another 15 min til top is golden brown. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

This is by far my favorite pumpkin pie. It's a long standing tradition on my side of the family after Thanksgiving dinner.

1/3 c cold water
1 envelope no flavor gelatin
3 eggs, separate whites from yolks, save egg whites
4 oz can evaporated milk
10 oz canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/3 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 t. cinnamon
1/6 t. cloves
1/3 t. ginger

In a double boiler beat 3 egg yolks and add the milk, pumpkin, salt, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Cook until mix becomes very thick. About 20 min. When thick remove from heat, dissolve gelatin in cold water and add to pumpkin mix. Beat 3 egg whites with a little allspice 1/6 tsp salt and 1/3 tsp vanilla and 1/3 c sugar until stiff peaks form and fold into pumpkin mix. Pour into pre baked pie shells.


(original recipe makes 3 pies, so this was adjusted to make 1 pie…that’s why the amounts are kind of funny)

Apple Pie Jam

I think I found my Christmas gift for neighbors and friends this year.

6 cups peeled and diced granny smith apples (6-7 med size apples)
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp butter
3 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 box powdered pectin

Cook apples, water and butter over low heat, stirring til apples are soft, but not mushy. Stir in pectin and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add sugars and cinnamon and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam (if there is any). If you feel the jam is not thick enough for your taste, add another small box of pectin. Start by adding half of the second box and then go from there.

Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 min. Makes 7 half-pints.

*I found that one box of pectin is fine.

Halloween Cake Pops

If you haven't dived into the fun world of cake pops, you should give it a try.
Click here for Bakerella's Halloween Cake Pops.

Orange Zucchini Bread

This is Kim Rolfe's recipe.

2 cups zucchini, grated
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
grated zest from 2 oranges
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/2- 1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in large bowl. In separate bowl, beat eggs just until mixed. Add zucchini, orange juice, sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir til combined. Add flour mixture and stir gently. Don't over mix. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes.

To get rid of excess moisture from the zucchini give it a good squeeze in paper towels before adding. Also, this recipe makes great muffins. They bake for around 20 min. To give them an extra shot of sweetness throw in chocolate chips.

When I get more zucchini that I can use before it spoils, I grate it and freeze it. The amount I use most often in recipes is how much I put into each bag. So I have it pre-measured into the freezer ready to go. I just have to thaw it in the microwave and squeeze out the extra water.

Corn and Squash Soup

I love this soup. My kids, not so much.... I need to keep trying it to see if I can get them to come around.
Click here for the recipe.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of my all time favorite cookies. I could eat them for breakfast.



2 1/2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/2c sugar
1 c canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 c chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Beat til light and creamy. Mix in dry ingredients until well blended. Drop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 11-15 min.

Organized Grocery Shopping

I use Splash Shopper software on my palm pilot to keep my grocery list organized. In it I can mark what items I want, the quantity, the price and also if I have a coupon/price match for that item. I can also show what grocery store different items are at. It keeps a running total for me while I shop and I can check off each item as I put it in the cart. I have used it enough now that almost all of the items I buy are in my master list. I can make a list before I go shopping and have a very good idea of how much I'll spend before I even get to the store. This has been a huge help in general, but especially since now I shop with only cash. Check it out.They have it available for lots of different phones and PDA's. You can also use it make multiple types of lists (packing for trips, birthdays, Christmas, clothing, etc. I mostly use it for grocery shopping.
Click here to learn more about splash shopper software.