Baking Days!

I woke up hungry today, and hungrier than usual. My routine morning cup of coffee didn’t quite cut it for me. After snacking on some fruit and yogurt, I realized my hunger was a lovely combination of the typical “I need food to survive” and “I’m craving something.” I was brought up in a house where the motto was Food is Love and I think I’ve done a fair job of instituting that same motto here in our house. The rising of the cravings, especially the fall cravings tend to lead to loaves of bread, muffins, cookies and pies for sharing, and the occasional “experimental dessert.” With the temperatures slightly dipping, I find myself more likely to turn the oven on and create some surprises for my family.

While searching for things to bake, of course I stumbled upon the fall favorites: pies – oh glorious, pies!!! I recently watched one of those short little videos on making some pretty amazing pie crusts – you know one of those that make it look SO EASY. Perhaps after a trip to the apple farm I’ll try out one of those fancy crusts. But in scouring my recipe box, I found my favorite – pecan pie. So delicious, so decadent.

My favorite recipe comes from Sally’s Baking Addiction. She tells the story of trying to perfect her pecan pie, and finding that her grandmother’s recipe is the best one of the bunch. Well, Sally, yes – I have to agree. Wonderful recipe…….

Ingredients:

Pie crust

2 and ½ cups chopped pecans (Sally uses only Diamond of California)

3 large eggs

1 cup dark corn syrup

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

1 and ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

½ teaspoon salt           

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll out the pie crust onto a lightly floured surface, to a 12-inch diameter circle. Place the dough into a 9x2 inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth.

Spread pecans evenly inside pie crust. Set aside. In a large bowl using, using a wooden spoon, whisk the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, melted butter, salt and cinnamon together. Once combined and thick, pour evenly over pecans in pie crust.

Bake the pie for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. You may want to place a pie crust shield on top of the pie, after the first 20 minutes of baking time, to prevent the edges from browning too fast. Remove the pie from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

And for those of you gals that love your crock pot, in my search for new recipes, I found this at Spicy Southern Kitchen. 

Yes! CROCKPOT PECAN PIE!!!

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup dark corn syrup

1/3 cup melted butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and ½ cups chopped pecans

Vanilla ice cream for garnish

Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray. Place pie crust in crock pot and mold it to fit the shape of the crock pot. Please note, the recipe is easier if you have a round crock pot instead of an oval one, but this didn’t stop me.

Stir remaining ingredients together, except pecans, until mixed well. Stir in pecans next. You may want to leave a few pecans to arrange on top of the filling to make it look pretty.

Pour filling into the pie crust. If you did reserve some pecans, gently place them on top of the filling. Cover the crock pot and cook on HIGH for 2 and ½ to 3 hours.

Serve warm with ice cream!

And of course, there’s pumpkin – Pumpkin Soufflé – that is! Courtesy of Delish.

Ingredients:

3 sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Large pinch of kosher salt

4 egg whites

And for the topping:

¼ cup finely chopped pecans

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for the ramekins

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and poke holes in all potatoes with a fork. Roast under tender, about 50 minutes and let cool completely.

Scoop out flesh from potatoes and transfer to a food processor along with cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Add egg whites and continue to process until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix all crumble ingredients until well combined.

Butter two small ramekins and divide batter evenly between the two, smoothing the tops. Sprinkle each with crumble topping. Bake until puffy and completely set, about 38-40 minutes. Serve immediately.

Now, are you hungry too??? I'll be in the kitchen!!!!

The Outside Air

There’s just something about being outside in the fresh air – the cool breeze, the scent of the pine trees, the crispness of the air itself. It’s not often that city girls like me get to experience being out in nature, but when I have the chance, I take it! Being a “boy-mom” has given me more opportunities to experience the great outdoors, although as a college student I was quite the adventurous type. I even taught my first lab how to swim in the Black River, during a camping trip nestled in the fields near the San Carlos Reservation. Snow camping along the Mogollon Rim – did that too – again, I was young and adventurous. It was cold, I won’t lie and I can honestly say I can live the rest of my days without trying that again.

With sons in Scouts, there’s always an outing planned – a very large percentage of them, overnights in tents! Of course, they’ve done far more “camping nights” than I have. One of the boys spent 13 days at Philmont in New Mexico, hiking for 11 of those days with all his belongings strapped to his back in a 50 pound external frame pack. Now that’s roughing it. Over the years, though, we’ve acquired “necessities” to make the family camping experience a bit more enjoyable. After our last trip to the Colorado River, I realized how important the jet boil is to camping. I honestly LOVE it!! I bought two more - so convenient, especially for backpacking trips.

On this weekend's adventure, the trees of the forest slowly turning to fall seemed to beckon us to hours of wandering – finding a path through the thick pines, discovering all that nature has to offer. The simplicity and beauty of it all is amazing! Gone is all the bustling, the traffic, the noise and all you can hear is the wind whistling through the treetops and birds chirping happily - like something out of a magazine. I think most boys have an explorer within them, at least mine have always proven this to me! When they were little, they would find a favorite rock that would accompany them back from their outdoor adventures. For each of them, the collection grew - there were smooth ones, and round ones, colored ones and rough ones. A year ago or so, some of those little stones fell out of a box from under one of the beds, and so many memories came rushing back. As I watched them explore, I saw the "stone hunting" begin. Every once in a while, one of them would stop, stoop and tuck something into their pocket. It’s fun to see that some things haven’t changed much – they just dig deeper in the woods for their treasures.

Of course camping requires shelter and since we are not RV campers, this always involves packing up the SUV with a tent. When our boys were young we purchased our first “family tent.” I remember the first time we assembled (struggled is more appropriate) this tent. The other scout families commented on how large it was, nicknaming it the “Taj Mahal”  - the following year, we showed up at one of the campouts, minus the poles to hold that tent up – and had to drive into town and purchase another tent. Do you think we went small? No way – go big or go home, right? So now we have these two sizeable tents, which about four years later has worked out just fine! You see, with boys that are six footers (and then some), and my husband and I not exactly height disadvantaged, these two tents have come in handy.  Thanks to Pinterest, not only for the amazing “camping hacks” that I now incorporate into our trips, but to this really great idea….room for everyone!!  

And how do you wrap up a really great camping adventure? S’mores over a campfire, that’s how. I’ve never been a fan of sticky, gooey marshmallow but a s’more is a different story. And the roasting part is always fun! The crackling of the campfire and the laughter that usually accompanies someone's marshmallow falling into the flames - surely memories to be tucked away along with the stones.

As the weather is Arizona cools off and the northern part of the state revels in all its glory, hopefully more weekends will be spent wandering in the woods and enjoying the beauty nature has to offer!

'til next time.....

Puppy Love

There's just something about puppies. All my life, I have had dogs - my first was a beautiful German Shepard who was larger than life. Eventually we took in a beautiful Lab mix and a feisty Cocker Spaniel that rounded out our family perfectly. But my heart has always belonged to Labs. Labeled as the wildest of puppies, Labs become some of the best dogs - loyal and smart, affectionate and great with children.

Naturally, as an adult I found myself in need (yes, I said need) of a black lab. My husband and I watched as our sons grew up with our dogs, their protectors. Playtime was one of my favorites - as I watched little boys run through the grass playing fetch with our two four legged friends. I watched them learn kindness, learn to respect and most of all learn to love. As we all know, our four legged friends are never with us long enough, and when that time came for us, I watched my children with angst as they said goodbye to their beloved friends.

The joy came again when it came time for us to bring another furry friend home. A beautiful golden girl found her way into our lives - sweet and cuddly, warm and fuzzy. She became the princess of our house and so adored. Joined later on by yet another lab and together these two lent new meaning to spoiled. We lived by the rule of "if you love a dog, spoil a dog." Fancy treats became a favorite in our household - and with a mixer and some imagination, the options are limitless.

One of our very favorites are Peanut Butter dog bones. Our Bella just has to hear the pantry door opening and the peanut butter jar opening, and she comes running!

Dog Bones 

 

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 large egg

1/4 cup honey

1 cup oats

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup water

Icing
4 squares white almond bark
1 teaspoon oil
assorted sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In mixer, combine ingredients beating until stiff dough forms. Pat out dough into a rectangle, about 1 inch in depth. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter - my favorite of course, is the dog bone. Bake 30 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

To decorate, melt almond bark with oil in microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir every 30 seconds or so. Color melted almond bark if desired. Decorate after dipping, and let set for at least 30 minutes.

Since there are no preservatives, make sure your biscuits are completely dry before storing them in an airtight container.

'til next time.......

Spoonfuls of Comfort

It's a week into October and I suddenly have the urge to be in the kitchen - making soup and sandwiches, baking bread and large muffins topped with sugar. Call me old fashioned, but being in the kitchen warms my heart - my home smells like fresh baked goods and the smiles on my boys' faces just are the ... well, sugar on top.

A few recipes that have found their way into our kitchen lately....


Creamy Wild Rice Soup

1/2 cup wild rice
4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
2 carrots
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup Philadelphia cream cheese spread
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh chives

Cook rice, omitting salt. Cook and stir bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Drain bacon on paper towels. Add onions and carrots to drippings in pan, cook for  minutes. Stir in flour. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth and stir, bring to boil on high heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Stir in rice, cream cheese spread and pepper. Cook and stir for 3 minutes until soup has thickened. Stir in half of the bacon Ladle soup into bowls and top off with remaining bacon and chives.

Super yummy!!!

Loaded Potato Soup

1 pound baking potatoes (3 large), cubed
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1 green onion, sliced, divided
1/2 cup sour cream

Microwave potatoes in large bowl on high for 5 minutes, stirring after 2 1/2 minutes. Stir in broth and milk. Microwave 10 minutes, stirring after  minutes. Carefully smash potatoes with potato masher.

Reserve 2 tablespoons each bacon and cheese, and 1 tablespoon onions for topping. Stir remaining bacon, cheese and onions into soup.

Serve topped with sour cream and other reserved ingredients.

Now, all I need to do is start baking bread! 

'til next time......

Pumpkin Spice Everything!

Sugar Crusted Iced Pumpkin Bread

Such a wonderful recipe, thanks to Swanky Recipes, made with real pumpkin, warm spices and sweetened with yogurt and topped with a sugared crust icing. Serves 8. This was so amazing - barely lasted a day in this house!

Ingredients

1 + 1.2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 + 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 + 1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt 

3 egg whites 

Sugar Crust 

1/4 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 cup canned pumpkin 

1 cup powdered sugar 

6 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or great it. Whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl. Cream together sugar, yogurt and egg whites in a large bowl. Mix in pumpkin pie spice then slowly mix in dry ingredients. Pour into loaf pan. Mix together cinnamon and sugar then sprinkle evenly over the top of bread mixture. Bake in oven for 90 minutes. Half way through, press down sugar crust, if needed. To check for readiness, insert a butter knife into the center; if it comes out clean it's done, otherwise bake a little longer. Allow to cool before transferring to wire rack. Mix together powdered sugar and water to make icing then drizzle over the top.

And then there's coffee.....some days there's one cup, other days there's so much more! As the weather has cooled off a bit, pumpkin spice is back in season. So, kick back, relax and enjoy some coffee and pumpkin bread.

'til next time.....

Colors of the Season

Living in the Southwest, we don't typically see the changing leaves, nor do we feel the temperatures dipping when fall approaches. Still, we anxiously await the autumn days and look forward to shorter days. We plan for fall picnics, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and dinners on the patio.

Looking at other areas of the nation, changing beautifully from one season to another makes it feel just a bit more like fall - and all that the coming seasons bring. It's just around the corner!!

Until next time......