Tomato Bounty Salsa

And yet another from Taste of Home.  Like I said, I'm really glad I bought the magazine. While cooking, I thought that I would like this salsa better than the spicy chunky salsa, but I although they are both good, I like the spicy chunky salsa better.  I think the cumin kind of takes over all the other smells while cooking so it didn't smell as good to me, but the taste was great.  This salsa tastes very good as well...just not as good as the other.  I have no pictures other than the finished product, I just got busy and forgot, but hey, it pretty much looks like the last one anyway.  :)  And now...on to the recipe.

9 pounds yellow tomatoes (I used mostly Romas instead, with some yellow pears tossed in.  I also just used the measurement from the other salsa that 6 pounds =9 cups peeled and chopped, then adjusted for the changed poundage)
4 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste
1 large sweet red pepper, finely chopped
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I used more of the Hungarian peppers)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp salt (I used about half this amount)
1/2 tsp pepper

Blanch tomatoes, then peel and finely chop.  Combine the remaining ingredients in a stockpot and stir in tomatoes.  Bring to a boil over med-high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until desired thickness.  Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot 1 pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids.  Process for 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Tomato Bounty Salsa is the jar on the right

I actually made only half this recipe and my yield was 4 pints.

Spicy Chunky Salsa

So here's another recipe from the Taste of Home magazine.

6 pounds tomatoes (I am seriously considering a kitchen scale so I can get these recipes right!)
3 large green peppers, chopped
3 large onions, chopped
2 cups white vinegar
1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
1 can (12 oz) tomato paste
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (I used the Hungarian peppers instead)
2 Serrano peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp salt (I used maybe half the salt!)
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp hot pepper sauce

Cilantro ready to chop

Blanch the tomatoes, then peel and finely chop to measure 9 cups.  In a stockpot, combine the tomatoes and remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.

green Serrano pepper, red and yellow Hungarian peppers

Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot 1 pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids.  Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.  This yeilded 4.5 pints for me.

Spicy Chunky Salsa is the middle jar

Tomato Lemon Marmalade

I bought the Taste of Home Canning and Preserving cookbook/magazine this summer and I am so glad I did!  There are lots of very yummy looking recipes!  I don't normally like marmalade...or maybe it's just orange marmalade I don't like, since that's the only kind I have had before...but this still sounded good to me, so I decided to try it.  And I am definitely glad I did!  This recipe yielded 3.5 pints.

Here's the recipe:
5 medium ripe tomatoes (this ended up being about 4 cups after I had peeled and chopped it)
4 cups chopped, peeled tart apples (about 4 large) (I used granny smith)
2 medium lemons, seeded and ground (I had no idea how to grind a lemon that isn't dried, so I just sliced it very thinly...almost could be considered shaved at times, and then chopped it into small pieces)
6 cups sugar
2.25 tspn ground ginger
8 whole cloves (I actually used 14, because mine are more than a year old, they are still very aromatic, though, so I have no idea if the flavor is diminished or not)

Peel (I blanched them to peel them), quarter and chop the tomatoes; place in a colander to drain.  Transfer to a dutch oven (I just used a large pot); add apples and lemons.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 15 minutes.  Add sugar and ginger.

Tie cloves in a cheesecloth spicebag; add to the pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and cook until the sugar has dissolved.  Reduce heat, simmer 40 minutes, stirring frequently.  (I actually cooked it quite a bit longer, and used my potato masher to break up some of the apple chunks, too.)  I can't remember for sure, but I think this was the recipe that I added 1 Tbsp pectin to, in order to help it set a little more.  Then boil for a minute or so longer after adding the pectin.

Remove spice bag.  Ladle hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

The jar on the left is the Tomato Lemon Marmalade

Tomato Preserves

I found this recipe in the Ball Blue Book of Preserving.  I found one called Yellow Pear Tomato Preserves on one of those forum threads I mentioned before.  I wrote them both down to try, but when I was looking at the recipes, I realized that they are essentially the same recipe, except that the one called Yellow Pear Tomato Preserves is a doubled batch, calls for using only the yellow pear tomatoes and has a tsp of ground cinnamon and a tsp of ground cloves added.   I decided to try the one from the Ball book first, then next time, I will probably try it with the added cinnamon and cloves.  My yield was 2.5 pints.

Here's the recipe:
1.5 quarts small yellow, green or red tomatoes (about 2 pounds)
(I used a mix of the chocolate cherry tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes)
1Tbsp mixed pickling spices
1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger
4 cups sugar
1 cup thinly sliced and seeded lemon (about 2 medium)
3/4 cup water

Wash and peel tomatoes (I skipped the peeling based on my experience with the yellow pear tomato jam, I did however, chop them into quarters.  The cherry tomato peels didn't completely melt away like the yellow ones did, but they were not bad at all.)  Tie spices and fresh ginger in a spice bag.  Combine sugar, lemon, water and spicebag in a large saucepot.  Simmer 15 minutes. 

Add tomatoes; cook gently until the tomatoes become transparent, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.  Remove from heat.  Cover and let stand 12 to 18 hours in a cool place.  Remove spice bag.  Remove tomatoes and lemon from syrup (I didn't do this, there wasn't much to remove!)  Boil syrup 3 minutes or longer to thicken (It was probably closer to 10 for me, but remember, the tomatoes were still in it.) 

Return tomatoes and lemon from syrup (I think I also added 1 Tbsp pectin at this point) boil 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Skim foam if necessary.  (I found that simply stirring gently made the foam disappear.)  Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Adjust 2 piece caps.  Process 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.

The jar on the right is the tomato preserves

Yellow Pear Tomato Jam

Since we have such an abundance of the yellow pear tomatoes, I went searching for things to make with them.  Apparently this tomato plant is very prolific for most people because I saw things come up in my search such as "What to do with a gazillion yellow pear tomatoes."  I followed the link to several of those, which took me to a few different forums, where people responded with what they like to do with them, and there were even a few recipes.  The one I found for Yellow Pear Tomato Jam is one of those.  I have to say that I am VERY glad that I wrote the recipe down, because right now, I have no idea where the forum or thread is where I originally saw the recipe...or the couple of others that I also wrote down.  The taste of this jam is very different...but I like it quite a bit.  The poster of the recipe had recommended eating it with goat cheese and crackers.  I think that would be great...or with cream cheese, possibly even on a biscuit, but it is definitely not something you would eat with peanut butter on a sandwich!

Anyway, here's the recipe:
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
6 cups yellow pear tomatoes (the recipe didn't say to, but I went ahead and roughly chopped them)
3 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (I used Hungarian hot peppers which are larger, but not as hot)
3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

1.)  In a 6 qt saucepan, combine sugar and water.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until the syrup reaches 234F on a cooking thermometer.  (If I remember correctly, this is the soft ball stage.)

2.)  Remove from heat and add tomatoes, mixing well.  The syrup may change consistency, but keep stirring and eventually the tomatoes will mix evenly.

3.)  Return to the heat and add the chilies, basil, lemon juice and vinegar.  Simmer, uncovered, on very low heat until the mixture thickens, about 1.5 to 2 hours.  Stir often, being careful not to burn.  The jam will darken.

4.)  Ladle into clean jars, leaving 1/4" headspace.  Cap and seal.

5.)  Process 15 min in a boiling water bath canner.

The middle jar is the yellow pear tomato jam.

A couple of notes:  This recipe yielded 2.5 pints.  It is not necessary to blanch and peel the tomatoes before starting.  The poster of the recipe said that the peels of these tomatoes would just melt away and she was right.  When I made this, the jam didn't seem to be setting up so I added pectin...a whole box.  I shouldn't have...my jam is VERY stiff.  It still tastes great, but it is very stiff.  Next time I will only add, at most, half a box, or maybe just try the recipe the way it is written.  The part about the jam darkening...I did notice this some while I was cooking, but when it REALLY darkened up was while it was processing in the canner.  The jars came out MUCH darker than they went in.  I'm glad I was warned or I might have been afraid that it was ruined!

Fig Jam

Last week, Brent's mom called and said that there were many figs on the tree and we were welcome to come get them.  I picked for about an hour and a half.  There were plenty more figs that would be ready in a couple of days and there were many completely green figs as well.  This is what we came home with.

Yes, I think it is safe to say this is a good year for figs!  Since figs don't last very long, I got busy making fig jam.  Brent's mom gave me Nanny's instructions a couple of years ago.  It includes soaking the figs in brine prior to making the preserves.  I think this is to soften the skins, but these figs are so small and tender that the skins break down easily, so I just skipped that step, and it worked out just fine. 

Then you cook 9 cups of chopped figs with 3 cups of sugar and a little less than 1/2 cup (half of 3/4 to be exact) of water.

And cook it, and cook it, and cook it.  I use a potato masher when everything is getting really soft to break the skins down a little more.  I like the chunks in my jam to be fairly small.   (Nanny's instructions did not inclde the next part, but I read that you need it to make the jam acidic enough to store safely.) Then when everything has thickened up nicely, you add 1/8 cup lemon juice, cook for an additional minute., then ladle into hot jars and process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.  I made two batches...one made 4.5 pints and one made 5.5 pints...and we still had figs left for fresh eating and for a drying attempt. 

Finished jam

I know you aren't supposed to double jam batches because of problems with inconsistent jelling, but the recipe in my canning book calls for 6 cups of sugar with the figs, so I think that it would have been fine to make both of these batches at the same time.

Stained Glass Cake

I've been very busy gardening and canning lately...but that's not what I'm talking about today. I will tell you all about that another day. Today I'm talking about the cake I made for Bunco tonight. I haven't tried it yet, but I am so sure that it will be fabulous that I am posting about it now. I found the recipe in a magazine while we were waiting for Samantha's physical therapy to begin and promptly decided that I NEEDED to make this cake. The picture looked that good! So I bought the ingredients and started thinking of a good reson to make it...and hosting Bunco in the summer is the perfect reason! The magazine said that the recipe is from a 1950s ad for Jell-O and that it is also known as Crown Jewel Cake of Broken Glass Cake. Whatever, it just looks light and yummy! I did make a couple of changes to the recipe, but I will tell you what the recipe said, with my changes in parentheses. I forgot to take any pics while I was making it...with 2 children helping, I sort of had my hands full anyway...but I will take a pic once I cut the cake so you, too, can see how pretty it is. :)

(It didn't come out gorgeous like the magazine picture did, but I still think it looks yummy) Ingredients: 12 graham crackers, crushed to fine crumbs, about 1.5 cups 3/4 cup sugar, divided 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted 3 (3oz) boxes Jell-O 4.5 cups boiling water (I used 2.25 cups boiling water and 2.25 cups cold water) 3/4 cup pineapple juice 1 envelope unflavored gelatin 2 cups heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp salt (I also added some pinepple tidbits that I squeezed the juice out of and tore, and some mandarin oranges that I squeezed the juice out of. I'm not sure how much I used, maybe about 3/4 cup all together) Crust: Preheat oven to 325F. Stir cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and melted butter together until crumbs resemble fine sand. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan (I used 14 graham crackers and also made a 7inch cake so that my family could have some while we enjoy the large one at Bunco. There were plenty of crumbs and filling for both cakes.) Bake until the edges are golden brown. (The recipe says 12 to 15 minutes, but mine was done after 10 minutes.) Cool on a wire rack. Filling: In 3 seperate large bowls, whisk each box of Jell-O with 1.5 cups boiling water until dissolved. (I used 3/4 cup boiling water to dissolve the Jell-O, and then added 3/4 cup cold water to speed the setting) Pour Jello into 3 loaf pans, pie plates, etc and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Once the Jell-O has solidified, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and keep chilled. Combine 1/4 cup pineapple juice and unflavored gelatin in a bowl. Microwave, stirring occassionally, until gelatin is dissolved, 1-3 minutes. Slowly whisk in remaining pineapple juice. In a large bowl, with electric mixer on med-high speed, whip cream, vanilla, remaining sugar and salt until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add juice mixture until combined. (I added the fruit at this point, just mixing a little) Gently fold Jell-O cubes into cream mixture. Scrape into prepared pan and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Calzone

I tried making homemade calzone the other night. I used a hodgepodge of recipes to do it, and they didn't turn out exactly right...or at least not the way you think it should. I still liked them...a lot in fact, especially the inside, but Brent said that they are strange, and while OK, not worth the time and effort.

I started out with the dough for crust. I wanted to make a whole wheat crust but the recipe called for wheat germ and I didn't have any. So I used a recipe that calls for all purpose flour, but used the rule that you can substitute up to half of the flour with whole wheat and then just add a little extrra water. I also used pizza dough yeast, but then still let it rise.
So here are the ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1 pkg yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
about 3/4 cup hot water (about 110F, not too hot so you don't kill the yeast)
1Tbsp olive oil

In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup water, leave in a warm place until frothy. (It ought to get frothy within 5-10 minutes. If it doesn't get frothy within 15-20 minutes, you may have made the water too hot and killed the yeast or you might just have yeast that is too old...yes, I know both of these answers from experience) Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add yeast mix to flour mix along with the oil and remaining water. Mix to a soft dough. (With the whole wheat flour, I had to add quite a bit more water, but I don't know how much...I just kept adding a little at a time until all the ingredients came together as a dough.) Knead on a floured surface 10 minutes until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes)
Punch dough down and knead briefly. Pinch off a ball of dough and roll into a 6-8 inch circle, depending on how big you want your calzone.


Place fillings in the center, fold over and seal the edges with a fork.

Place on a greased baking sheet, brush calzone with olive oil and bake in a 450F oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

You see how the cheese is oozing out of the one on the bottom? Well the calzon on the left, yes, the one that is cut off a little, had A LOT of cheese oozing out...and when I took it off the baking sheet, that cheese separated from the calzon, so I ate it...yes just the little chunk of cheese...and BOY WAS IT YUMMY!

Now for the filling ingredients. I got a Pioneer Woman cookbook for Christmas and she has a recipe for calzone in it. I sort of used her cheese mix and then just added other stuff. I used 1 cup ricotta cheese, .75 cup shredded mozzerella, and .75 cup shredded colby/monterey jack and mixed them all up. Then I added frozen chopped spinach that had been thawed and drained. I also cooked sweet italian sausage with onions and garlic, then drained the grease and added some of that on top of the cheese and spinach, I also added fresh sliced mushrooms. I tried tomatos, but they made it too watery. We used pizza sauce for dipping.

Overall, Samantha ate the ones that didn;t have any spinach, Jacob loved it all and inhaled it, Brent said it was OK, and I thought they were really yummy, even though the crust was a little crunchy instead of being like bread. I might need to work on the the dough a little, but I think the rest of it was just right! :)

Cinnamon Rolls

Yesterday I decided to make homemade cinnamon rolls. I scoured several cookbooks and didn't find a single recipe that was exactly what I wanted, so I ended up making the dough from the Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book, and then just made up the filling and glaze on my own.

I accidentally made a double batch of dough, because I was looking at the wrong side of the page when I put the milk in the pan, and I added 2 cups rather than one. I decided that I would make kolaches with the extra portion, but then when it came time to make the rolls, I forgot about doing that and just made a massive quantity of cinnamon rolls. After we ate the rolls this morning, though, I decided that the dough really would be perfect for kolaches, so you can expect to see something about how that goes before too much longer. :)

Here's how we got our results.

Dough:
4.75- 5.25 cups all purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
small amount of half and half or light cream (I used heavy cream because that's what I had in the fridge)

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2.25 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan, heat and stir the milk, butter, granulated sugar and salt until just warm (120-130F) and the butter almost melts. Add the milk mixture to the dry mixture, along with the eggs. (The directions now say to mix with an electric mixer for 30 seconds, then beat in as much of the remaining flour as you can...but I don't do that) Mix well. Add most of the remaining flour, about 1 cup at a time, until you can no longer mix with a spoon.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch dough down and then turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, cover and let rest for about 10 minutes. Lightly grease baking sheets. Roll each half of the dough into a 12X8 inch rectangle. (I completely ignore the dimensions and just roll until it looks good to me...this usually means that I roll it out to a larger size than the recipe calls for.)

Spread filling over the rectangle, then roll up, jelly roll style from the long side and seal seams. Slice each roll into approximately 1 to 1.5 inch pieces and place on prepared baking sheets.

Filling:
I actually did 3 different fillings, one with raisins, one with cream cheese and one that was just cinnamon. I mixed granulated sugar with cinnamon until I liked the color of it. On the rolled out dough, I spread very soft butter, then heavily sprinkled the cinnamon sugar mixture over it. One I left like that and rolled up, and the other I added raisins to before rolling. The cream cheese rolls had cream cheese rather than butter, and I put a much heavier coat of cream cheese than I did butter.

After adding the filling and putting the rolls on the baking sheets, you can let the rolls rise for 30 minutes, then bake. However, since I wanted them for breakfast and didn't want to start cooking at midnight, I made the rolls yesterday afternoon, placed them on the baking sheets, covered loosely with saran wrap and put them in the refrigerator overnight. This morning, I took them out of the oven, let them sit out for 30 minutes. Just before putting them in the oven, I brushed the dough with the cream and then baked at 375F for about 20 minutes.

Glaze:
While the rolls were baking, Samantha and I made the glaze. I have to warn you, I didn't measure anything. I put some cream cheese in a bowl and microwaved it until it was super soft...almost liquid. I splashed some vanilla into the bowl and stirred it up, then started adding powdered sugar. I added a splash of whole milk, then kept adding powdered sugar until it was a good consistency for glazing the warm rolls.

When the rolls were done baking, I immediately moved them, one by one, to a platter or a clean baking dish. This step is VERY important, I almost didn't do it. The only reason I did is that the baking sheet didn't have edges on 2 sides and I didn't want to have the glaze dripping all over the place. I am so glad that I did move them, because I used a large baking sheet and by the time I got to the last quarter of the rolls, they were sticking very badly. Next time, I will use smaller baking sheets and just bake more batches so that the rolls don't have time to cool too much and get stuck before I get to the end of the sheet. As soon as the rolls were on their new container, we put the glaze over the tops by drizzling with a spoon or fork. Since the rolls were still warm, the glaze spread perfectly.
And they sure were yummy!

Chicken Enchiladas

I'm not sure how long I have been making these enchiladas...since sometime in college is all I know. I got them from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and I mostly follow the recipe, but sometimes do a little more or less of some things. I start with a bag of chicken leg quarters and use most of the 10 lb bag, so I always end up making chicken and dumplings AND enchiladas since there is so much chicken. I also find that the recipe makes much more than the 8 enchiladas that it says it makes, but the amount varies each time...probably because I don't follow the recipe exactly :) You could probably make it quite a bit easier by using pre-cooked or canned chicken...but I really like the taste of the chicken that I have made for chicken soup and of homemade chicken broth. Even though they take a bit of time, these enchiladas are really yummy, so I thought that I would share.

6 inch tortillas (I use some corn and some flour. I like the corn better, Brent likes the flour better...and honestly, the flour tortillas are much easier to roll into enchiladas)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I usually just use a whole onion)
4 cloves garlic, minced (We have a jar of minced garlic in the fridge and I just through some in...it is quite a bit more than the 4 cloves that are called for)
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 8 oz carton sour cream
2 cups chicken broth
1 small can diced green chili peppers
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I usually use 1.5 to 2 cups)
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (if you make your own broth, the chicken doesn't have to be chopped, just cook until the chicken falls apart on its own and then you have shredded chicken that works great)
sliced black olives
chopped tomatoes
sliced green onions

In a saucepan, cook onion, garlic, coriander and pepper in margarine until onion is tender. Stir flour into sour cream, then add to onion mixture. Stir in broth and chili peppers. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese (I usually add a full cup or so at this point) Stir 1/2 cup sauce into the chicken (sometimes it takes a little more than that) I often end up adding more chicken b/c I have so much sauce left over, just do a little at a time so that you will still have sauce left over to top the enchiladas.

If you are using corn tortillas, I prepare them by microwaving no more than 4 at a time in between wet paper towels...about 30 seconds is usually good...when they are hot and moist, they are less likely to crack as you roll them. Flour tortillas do not require any preparation.

Place filling on top a tortilla, then roll and place seam side down in a lightly greased baking dish. Repeat until baking dish is full. Top tortillas with some of the remaining sauce. Cover and bake at 350F for about 35 minutes. (If you forget to cover the dish, like I did this last time, the enchiladas will be too dry, so make sure you cover them!) Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake uncovered for about 5 more minutes, or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions, tomatoes and olives if desired.

These also freeze very well as long as you have not put the tomatoes, green onions and olives on top yet.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I saw this recipe at Joy of Baking.com when I was looking for a good shortbread recipe. I wasn't looking for cheesecake that day, but it looked so good that I printed the recipe and decided to try it for myself. If you want to get the recipe from the original site, along with some tips for cheesecake success, or find some more goodies to make, the recipe is HERE. Or if you just want to know how to do it, keep on reading:

I have to admit, this wasn't my favorite cheesecake that I have made. I think that title belongs to the cranberry swirl cheesecake that I made just after Christmas. (Don't worry, I will post the recipe the next time I make it...or if you desperately want it now, let me know and I can e-mail it to you.) Anyway...back to the pumpkin cheesecake. I liked it, it just isn't my favorite and I'm not sure how often I will actually make it...but I did want to make sure that I can find the recipe again. That's why I'm posting it here. The crust is made with graham cracker (I used cinnamon graham crackers) and ginger snap crumbs and I REALLY like that combination. The cheesecake is good, but tastes a little more like pumpkin pie than cheesecake. So if you like pumpkin pie, go ahead and try this, if you don't...you will not like the cheesecake.

Crust: 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup finely ground ginger cookies
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
4-5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
(I like the crust on my cheesecake to come up the sides, so I doubled the graham cracker and ginger cookie crumbs. I left the sugar the same, but did have to add a little more butter to get the crust moist enough.)
Butter (or spray with a nonstick spray) the bottom and sides of an 8 inch springform pan. (I forgot to do this, and it still came out of the pan just fine, I guess there was enough butter in the crust to keep it from sticking?) Combine the crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a medium sized bowl. Press the mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the cheesecake filling.

Filling:
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned is fine)

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the sugar, salt and spices in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on low speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar mixture and beat until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Pour the filling over the crust and place the springform pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 30 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 and continue to bake another 10-20 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake are puffed but the center is still wet and jiggles when gently shaken. (This was more like 25-30 additional minutes for me.)

While cheesecake is baking, prepare topping.
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Whisk all ingredients together. Pour over the top of the baked cheesecake. Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake about 10 minutes to set the topping. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Loosen the cake by running a knife around the inside edge to help prevent the cake from cracking. Place a piece of foil over the top of the pan so that the cheesecake will cool slowly. When completely cooled, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferable overnight before serving.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I picked up some mushrooms from Sam's one day and they were HUGE, so I decided to make stuffed mushrooms. I didn't have the exact ingredients that the recipe called for, so I adapted it to what I did have on hand. I like it so much that I decided I would make them for Christmas...of course, then in the midst of everything else on Christmas, I completely forgot about the mushrooms. So I made them while Dave and Staci were here after Christmas...and I think they were a big hit. I know that Brent and I really enjoyed them. One word of caution, though, they really need to be served warm...they don't taste very good when they get cold from sitting out.

Here is the recipe that I adapted from a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook:

about 15-20 large mushrooms
5 or 6 green onions, chopped
several cloves of minced garlic (really, I have no idea how much I used, I just put several heaping spoons from our jar of minced garlic)
a little more than 1 cup crushed croutons (because I didn't have any bread crumbs like the recipe called for)
1/2 lb sage flavored breakfast sausage
about 1 cup gorgonzola or feta cheese (I'm not really sure how much it was, I started out adding half of the container, and then kept adding more until it looked right to me. I think it was an 8 oz container)
optional: Margarine, butter or olive oil for sauteing (I used a little, but not much when I added the mushrooms to the sausage)

Wash and drain mushrooms, remove stems. Place caps in a shallow baking dish (I used a cookie sheet that has edges on all 4 sides) Chop the stems and set aside.
Cook sauage on stove, drain fat. Add chopped mushrooms, green onions and garlic. Cook until mushrooms and onions are tender. Add crumbs and stir. Add cheese. Spoon mixture into mushroom caps and bake in a 425F oven about 10 minutes or until heated through.

I had about 3/4 cup of the mixture left after stuffing the mushrooms and we used it as a warm dip on crackers. Yummy!
I didn't think to take a picture when I made these, so I will add a pic the next time I do make them...just in case you want to see how yummy they look :) And they taste even better!

Black Eyed Pea Dip

I don't like Black eyed peas. I force one spoonful down on New Year's Day only if someone makes me. If Brent wants them for New Year's, he has to make them, I don't do it. But on New Year's Eve, I was reading a blog that mentioned Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. He asked what Pioneer Woman is, so I went to her blog to show him, and we went to the recipe section to see if the cinnamon rolls where there.

The first thing we saw was this recipe for black eyed pea dip. As I scrolled down, I thought that the recipe would be great with some other kind of bean, such as black beans. But even with black eyed peas, it might be OK. Brent just thought that it looked great the way it was. I looked at the ingredients and the only thing we didn't have was the jalapenos, (which I would rather do without anyway) so I decided that I would make it for Brent the next day. And I must admit, even with the black eyed peas, it was still yummy.

Yesterday I made it for Samantha and me to have for lunch. We didn't have any more black eyed peas, I used black beans instead. And it was still very yummy. Samantha enjoyed it on her "chips with nacheos" (In case you were wondering, that is what she says rather than nachos.) and I did, as well. It was quite an enjoyable lunch, a lovely break from our usual sandwich, and had protein other than peanut butter for my non-meat eating daughter. And Jacob enjoyed leftovers with Daddy last night as a snack before dinner.


I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I left out the jalapenos and didn't measure the ingredients exactly, just kind of estimated, but just in case you want exacts, and don't want to go to Pioneer Woman's site, here it is:

1 can black eyed peas (or black beans, or probably other beans as well)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp jarred salsa
8 jalapeno slices (I left these out completely)
Tabasco sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Drain peas, pour into ovenproof dish and mash, leaving some chunks for texture. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Spread out in the baking dish and bake 25-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly and golden brown on top.
Enjoy with tortilla chips.

I think that we will be having this every New Years. Then I can get my black eyed peas in, so my grandma and Brent won't fuss at me, and I won't have to close my eyes and choke them down. I can actually enjoy them :)

Mediterranean Chicken and Orzo

I tried an new recipe earlier in the week and I really liked it. Brent said there wasn't enough flavor and added a bunch of garlic salt to his while he was eating it, but I think he is crazy. Anyway, the recipe is from Betty Crocker Casseroles and One Dish Meals and there are several more that I will probably be sharing soon. There are a lot of recipes that I want to try.

For this one you need:
1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
bonelss skinless chicken breasts - about 1.25 lbs
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I actually used quite a bit more 2 heaping teaspoons of minced garlic to be exact)
1 and 1/3 cups uncooked orzo pasta
1.75 cups chicken broth
.5 cups water
3 roma tomatos, sliced and cut into quarters (I actually used 4)
2 medium zucchini, sliced and then cut into quarters (I used 3)
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves (or 1 tbsp fresh)
.5 tsp salt
.25 cup crumbled feta cheese (I used .5 cups and think it really does need the larger amount)
sliced olives

In a 10 inch skillet, cook chicken in oil (about 10 minutes) until brown. Remove chicken from skillet and cover to keep warm. In the same skillet, mix pasta, garlic, broth and water. Heat to boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer stirring occassionally until most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese and olives. Add chicken (which I cubed to spread throughout) Cover and simmer about 5 minutes until bell pepper is crisp-tender and juice of chicken is clear. Sprinkle with cheese and olives.

The only thing I plan to do differently next time is that I will season the chicken before browning it...possibly just with garlic, maybe with a little onion, too, just to add a little more flavor to the chickenb itself.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Why you should ALWAYS investigate as soon as you realize that there is too much quiet while you are in the other room.


How did my baby girl turn into such a big girl?!


A brownie sandwich made with black bean brownies and peanut butter. YUM!!!
(and for those with milk and egg allergies, there is a way you CAN have brownies, buy a box of brownie mix that has no eggs or milk in the ingredient list, {Duncan Hines has a couple} then puree a can of black beans, add to the mix, add a little water or vegetable oil if the batter is too thick, and bake according to the package directions. I know it sounds gross, but it really does taste just like a brownie...and has extra protein!)

Mint Oreo Balls

One of the worst things about no dairy (beside missing cheese)is no chocolate. But that problem is no more :) For starters...Did you know that oreos don't have milk or eggs? Yes that is right! I discovered that happy fact about a month ago. Yes I was VERY happy. And I have been singing "Ice cold milk and an oreo cookie..." at random times at least every other day since then. My two year old has even started singing that jingle, and she has NEVER seen that commercial. Is that sad, or funny? I'm not sure.

Anyway, back to the point. We went shopping at Sprouts this past weekend because I read that they carry some of the dairy substitutes that we can't find at our Walmart or Kroger. We came home with soy yogurt, soy "cream cheese", veganaise (like miracle whip but with no dairy or eggs), soy "cheddar cheese" slices, coconut milk kefir and dairy free chocolate chips. You have no idea how happy I was about all of these!

Sometime last week I read in the newspaper about oreo ball recipes. I had those before when a friend made them and they are SOOO yummy. Oreos crumbs mixed with cream cheese and coated with chocolate. MMMMMmmmm!

So I decided that I would try a dairy free version. I started out with 4 ounces of the soy "cream cheese", a half package of mint oreo cookies (crushed with a rolling pin into crumbs), 1/2 tspn mint extract, and a package of choclate bakers squares (read the package carefully, some have milk but some don't...and it was a LOT cheaper for that than it was for the chocolate chips!) I mixed the cream cheese, mint extract and crushed oreos. I ended up adding more oreos, and ultimately used 3/4 of the package. The mixture was still very soft, so I refrigerated it for about an hour, then rolled balls of the mixture and placed them on waxed paper. The balls went back into the fridge for an hour.

I melted 2 bakers squares, following the directions on the package. (I did end up using the whole package, it just works best to do a small amount at a time so that you aren't reheating the chocolate too many times.) The chocolate wasn't quite sweet enough, so I added about a half tablespoon of powdered sugar, then microwaved it for about 10 more seconds. I dipped each oreo ball into the chocolate, rolled it in crushed peppermint candies and placed in back on the waxed paper. Then they were refrigerated for at least 3 hours and came out looking like this.

Not quite as good as with real cream cheese, but definitely yummy! And I had chocolate again :)

Apple Cranberry Chicken Couscous

I forgot to take a picture, but this was so good that I have to share the recipe (and have it somewhere that I can find it for Brent to make again ;)

Couscous:
2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 cups couscous
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
1.5 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
2 med green apples, diced
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chooped walnuts
cooked chicken breast, cubed

In saucepan, heat olive oil on med high heat. Add the couscous and cook, stirring occasionally, until the couscous is slightly browned and aromatic, abou 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the cooked couscous to a large bowl and set aside to cool. Add the remaining ingredients.


Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Combine last 4 ingredients, then whisk in olive oil until smooth. Poor over couscous and toss to coat.

Tomato Eggplant Pasta

Looks great, doesn't it? This was dinner last night :) My wonderful hubby has been working hard to think outside the box and find new things for us to eat...especially since nearly everything we used to eat involved cheese.

So, for those who are interested, here is the recipe he used:

olive oil
1 med onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large eggplant (about a pound), peeled and cubed
1 bell pepper, cubed
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatos
1/2 cup cooking wine
1 tsp dry basil (or 2 Tbsp fresh)
1 tsp dry oregano (or 2 Tbsp fresh)
salt and pepper to taste
spaghetti or another pasta of your choice

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until tender. Stir in eggplant, bell pepper, tomatos, wine, oregano, basil and salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

I really enjoyed this, but Brent didn't like it so much. He felt that there wasn't enough flavor. Some shredded parmesan would be a wonderful addition...but remember, we are working on dairy free. So...a couple of things that we might try differently next time: Use fresh herbs rather than dry, use a larger amount of the herbs, use red wine rather than white cooking wine, saute the peppers for a minute or two before adding the rest of the ingredients, and possibly cook a little longer.

Tomato Basil Chili

Brent has been great at seeking out new recipes that don't have dairy or eggs in them. Yesterday he made this yummy Tomato Basil Chili. Unfortunately, after we had eaten it, we discovered that parmesan cheese was one of the ingredients on the jar of chutney. However, the recipe was yummy enough, that I am still writing it here. I figure we can use a different tomato chutney (or make our own) next time.

1 TBS vegetable oil
1.5 lbs ground turkey
2 small onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (29oz) crushed tomatos
2 cans (15 oz each) great northern white beans, drained
12 oz (1.5 cups) tomato chutney
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp dried oregano

Heat oil in large saucepan over med-high heat. Add turkey, onions and garlic, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 1 hour.

And as a bonus, your whole house will smell yummy all day long :)