Parmesan Knots

This recipe is from the Frank family. If you are interested in a recipe that is not all sugar, you are in luck! These little babies are always requested by my husband. They really could be used any time of year - but for no specific reason, we only make them at Christmas time. Most of the Frank family wonders why, but no one ever breaks from tradition. Well, this year, I broke from tradition! I just made some this past weekend - and they were devoured.  


Recipe:

3 cans Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits

1 1/2 cups oil

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon oregano ( I sometimes use less if I'm using the powdered)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

Cut each biscuit into thirds.

Roll and stretch each piece into long round strip and tie into a knot.

Bake as package directs...until golden brown.  As soon as the knots are out of the oven put them into the oil mixture to soak up the flavors.

Drain then on a cookie cooling rack set on a paper bag lined jelly roll pan.

These can be made ahead and frozen.

To serve:  Warm in the microwave or they can be reheated in the oven at 350* for 10-15 minutes.

Pretty Party Cookies

This is a Carson family recipe. If you like chocolate and marshmallows, this is for you. I have also heard these called stained glass chocolates.

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1 bag colored mini marshmallows
aluminum foil

1. Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave. Stop every 30 seconds or so to stir.
2. Fold in marshmallows until fully covered.
3. Make 2 sheets of foil about 15"long for each. Dump half the mixture onto each foil sheet into a log. Fold foil around mixture to seal in a log formation.
4. Refrigerate for a few hours until firm. Slice and enjoy. These don't have to be refrigerated but are less messy if they are cold.

This is seriously simple and yummy! These are also great for birthdays.

3-layer bars

These are from the Frank family and are my hubby's favorites. These are time consuming, only because you have to keep waiting for things to chill. This is a good one to do in steps and make other simple cookies in between steps.

Mix together in a bowl:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup finely chopped coconut ( Bakers flaked coconut works well)

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Mix together in a double boiler:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter (don't substitute)

1 egg, slightly beaten

Cream butter, sugar and egg.  Cook in double boiler until egg is cooked and slightly thick (5-6 minutes).  Pour over crumb mixture.  Mix well and press into a greased 9"X 13" pan to form first layer.  Chill for an hour or so.

Mix together:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter softened (don't substitute)

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread on crumb layer.  Chill again until powdered sugar layer is firm.

Melt:

7  Hershey bars (I usually use milk chocolate chips) (original recipe called for 5 cent Hershey bars) and spread over powdered sugar layer.  Chill and cut into squares.  Store in refrigerator.

Buckeyes

This is a Carson family recipe and is a favorite of just about EVERYONE that ever tries them. Basically it is a homemade version of Reese's  PB cups. And really - can that ever be bad?

Warning, the original recipe makes a TON. I always half this recipe.

2 lb Peanut Butter
1 lb Butter
3 lb Powdered Sugar

2 bags semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1 stick paraffin



1. Line cookie sheets with wax paper. I like to use 2-3 smaller sheets instead of one large. Comes in handy when dipping.

2. Melt butter. Mix with Peanut Butter and Powdered Sugar. Form into balls. Place on cookie sheets. Refrigerate overnight (or 2 hours).
3. Use a double boiler and melt chips and paraffin.  Dip each ball into chocolate mixture (I use a spoon as my candy dipper broke and I have yet to replace it)- covering 3/4 of each ball. (you can also just cover the whole ball, it just won't look like a buckeye.) Return to wax paper. Refrigerate. I take one sheet out at a time to keep balls chilled as long as possible.

The amount of chocolate always seems to be too much for just this recipe, but works great if you are combining with the Coconut Indulgences and 3-layer bars.


If you are wondering why these are called buckeyes - it is because they look like the nut from a buckeye tree. But really, most regions have no idea what a buckeye tree looks like. Here is a little info. See, you do learn new things every day. :)

And, if you missed it, I have also used this recipe at Halloween time to make eyeballs. Always a big hit.

Coconut Indulgences

This recipe if from the Frank family - but has become one of MY favorites. No one else really likes coconut like I do - so I must be REALLY careful when making these. I try to give a lot of them away - although at times it feels like I am giving away a child. Ok, maybe not the separation is not THAT bad, but I really do love these.

5 ounces condensed milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (14-ounce) package sweetened flaked coconut

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Stir well until thoroughly incorporated and smooth.  add the coconut and stir well to combine.

With a tablespoon, scoop out portions of the candy mixture onto a a baking sheet.  With wet hands, roll the candies into rounds.  Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

In the top of a double boiler or metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate chips.  Dip the coconut balls into the chocolate and roll to coat completely.  Shake off the excess chocolate and place on a rack set over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Let air dry or refrigerate to harden.  store in a cool place.

Note:  You can add a 1/4 to 1/2 bar of paraffin wax to the chocolate to make the dipping easier and the candies shiny. 

I make all the buckeyes and these beauties and just do one round of dipping. This year, once I was done dipping, I added a bag of milk chips to the left over chocolate and used that on top of the 3-layer bars. Yes, I am all about conserving energy and supplies - but it is more about doing fewer dishes.

Christmas Baking

The holiday season, aka the season of eating LOTS of junk food and gaining LOTS of weight. We don't have any family close by, sometimes we are with family for Christmas (which requires a lot of travel for at least one family) and sometimes we are on our own. Either way, I always bake all of our favorite cookies, candies, bars, etc since there is no one else really to do it.

How to STOP eating everything?

Well, I don't really know. BUT, I do have a few strategies that at least help.
1. Give half of everything to other friends or the teachers at school. If my butt is going to get bigger, everyone else's will as well. :)
2. I then freeze half of what is left to save for Christmas. The remainder can be eaten immediately.
3. Don't keep everything out in plain sight - use containers. I tend to eat less if it is out of sight.

I will be making posts of all the treats I have been making - so I don't have to search for my recipes anymore. Since we moved (in January) I have yet to find my recipe box. So, I will be cataloging all of our family favorites here.  If you are trying to avoid sugar - you may want to skip the next several posts.

I tried a new cut out cookie and ginger cookie recipe. Both turned out fine, but I will cut back a little on the flour next time, I like mine a little softer. But, I measure flour all wrong, so the amount may be accurate. I need to cut back on the scoop, shack, and dump method - it's just soooo much easier (as long as I adjust accordingly, things usually turn out just fine).

You will notice a few themes emerge.
1. I like chocolate.
2. The majority of my Christmas baking, doesn't actually involve baking.
3. I am all about minimizing effort and mess and therefore combine efforts whenever possible. I do all dipping at one time. Any leftovers are used to coat or top other bars.
4. On the lines of minimizing the mess, I always line my 9x13 pans with foil. Seriously makes cutting MUCH easier and leaves the pans easy to wash. YEAH!

And, once done with all these goodies, I will have some major exercising to do.

How do you manage all the holiday goodies?

Peaches and Blackberries

We love peaches around here. Sadly, we don't get good peaches very often. I was fortunate enough to find a road side stand this year that is selling peaches from South Caroline. They have been sooooo good!!! I have gone back to buy more, twice. I hope to go back and buy a whole case to can, but we shall see how much time I have on my hands.

I have made a low sugar peach jam. Yum.

Peach crisp. Put over ice cream, extra yum.

And my first attempt at canning peaches: let's just say, my mother-in-law and I decided to quit while we were behind. I think the end result was good, but the process did not go overly well. I was so glad to have her by my side - otherwise I really would have thought I was crazy and completely inept. Turns out, it was the peaches, not me. Phew. I hope to try again next week.

And yes, I have made some blackberry jelly too. I love to have a bit of jelly with some of my homemade peanut butter.

The first berries of the season were really pretty. The last week, not so much. I am not sure what has gone wrong, but I assume all the rain has something to do with it. The jelly still tastes good, but is a little more cloudy. Oh well, I will still enjoy the jelly come this winter!

Have you been preserving any of this summer's bounty? What are your favorite methods?

Until later...
Jill

7-up biscuits

Yep, I've made them too. YUM!

There are a ton of recipes out there, all a little different. Of course, all have Bisquick. I had no Bisquick in the house. Bummer. So, to Google I went to find a way to make my own Bisquick from scratch. Yes, I wanted the biscuits that bad. Again, there are a million recipes out there, all a little different. So, I decided to just wing it and see what happened.

Homemade Bisquick:
http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-bisquick-mix-69051

I also added 2 TBSP sugar, as most of the other recipes used sugar. Although, not sure it matters. I will probably omit it the 'next' time I make this - assuming there is a next time. Yes, it's good, but it takes time. Just depends on how desperate I am.

I used my food processor to cut the shortening into the flour. You have to do this in stages, unless you have a massive sized machine. Then I just kind of mixed it all together.

Biscuits:
4 cups Bisquick
1 cup 7-Up
1 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Put butter in a 9x13" pan. Put pan in oven to melt butter. Don't over cook this, burned butter is no good. :)

Mix everything else together. The dough will be wet. Put some flour on the counter. WARNING: the next part is messy. Grab about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dough (I just guessed here). Roll dough in flour lightly and form it into a ball. Place in the pan. Repeat to make 12 biscuits.

Bake until golden brown approximately 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven.

And when they come out, you really should wait a FEW minutes so you don't burn your mouth. But, if you are anything like me, have a glass of water on hand and just bite and swig at the same time. Yeah, I am not very patient.

I will be working on a slightly healthier version - to see if I can keep the same great taste and texture but reduce the calories and fat while increasing the good stuff.

Until next time, increase your exercise to help counteract these little lovelies.

Jill

Semi-Healthy Banana Bread

I LOVE banana bread. Like most of my baked goods, I always strive to make them at least a little bit healthier than the original recipe. Every little bit helps. I have seen recipes that say you can use all whole wheat flour and it is yummy. Well, I disagree. The texture and flavor are all wrong - when what you are expecting is a fully loaded piece of banana bread.

I have a standard recipe I have used for years. It came from a school fundraiser recipe cook book (Brown School Sampler - 1995). The recipe I really like is called Grandmother's Banana Nut Bread. I have made several tweaks to increase the whole grains and of course have omitted the nuts as my kids don't like nuts in things. I have also played around with the fat content in this recipe. Since there is only 1/4 cup to begin with, I usually don't bother. You can substitute up to half of the fat with a non-fat yogurt and still have a decent texture.

So, when I have bananas that look like this:

I know it is time to make some bread!

1/4 c shortening (or 2 TBSP shortening plus 2 TBSP yogurt)
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2.5 TBSP milk
1/2 TBSP cider vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 SMALL bananas
(a total of 2 cups 'flour' is needed. The exact combination is not as important as the ratio of white flour to everything else. I would not use any less than 3/4 c white all purpose flour. The rest just depends on what I have on hand.)
3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c quick oats
optional: you can add nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Mix everything together. If you don't have a mixer, you can certainly mix everything by hand, but you will want to mash the bananas first.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Sometimes I run into the problem of the top getting dark before the loaf is done. I check at the 30 minute mark and if it looks like it is getting dark, place foil loosely over the top of the bread. 

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Until Later...

Low Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam

I think I finally have a Strawberry Jam recipe I really like! AND, it is a freezer jam that is LOW in sugar. BONUS! In general, I prefer freezer jams because they retain the fabulous fresh flavor (say that 5 times fast) of just picked fruit. However, there are not many recipes out there for freezer jams using the low/no sugar pectin. Last year I made a variety of jam recipes ranging in sugar amounts. I found the full sugar recipes taste more like sugar than fruit. AND, since I am dealing with too much sugar in our diets, I really wanted to use a low or no sugar recipe.

The Ball pectin is what was available to me here, so that is what I am using. I started with the recipe for no sugar jam on their label - as is. I suspect if you have really sweet berries, this would work well. I ended up using 1TBPS of sugar in this first round. I added it while in the cooking stage. I tasted as I went and found it needed sugar to balance out the tartness. I probably could have added more sugar. The jam is fine and we will finish eating it, but since this is a cooked recipe, I wanted to keep experimenting.

Last year I tried this recipe. Mine did not set - but then none of mine set last year, so likely it was user error. So this year, I came up with a solution that is somewhere in between the cooked version from Ball and the recipe I tried last year. The result is a big success! At least it is to me. :)

One tip I learned - work with small batches. Yes, that is written on the label of the pectin, but I missed that previously. Ooops. Probably why things failed last year.

I have found, I like using my food processor to 'mash' the strawberries. I know, I know - most other recipes will tell you absolutely do NOT use a food processor. Well, I like the texture. Small to medium bits of strawberries without the stringiness I get when I hand mash. I like to use the pulse function to get the right texture. Do Not puree the strawberries, we are making jam, not baby food. :) Also, don't do all the berries at once. I do 3-4 rounds to get the 2 cups.

What you need:

• 2 cups processed strawberries
• 1.5 TBSP low sugar pectin
• 1/3 cup 100% apple juice concentrate
• 2 TBSP sugar (This is flexible and can be omitted entirely if your strawberries are nice and sweet, or you can add more if you have really tart strawberries.)
• 3 - 8oz Jars - prepped as per jar instructions (either boil for 10 mins to sterilize or run through the dishwasher)
• sauce pan
• metal strainer
• spatula

Pour the strawberries into a metal mesh strainer. Catch the juice - I like to use the sauce pan I will be cooking the juices in (let's not dirty more dishes than necessary). Use the spatula to mush things around a bit to get as much of the juice into the sauce pan as necessary.

1. Combine the strawberry juice, pectin, and juice concentrate in the sauce pan. 
2. Bring to a rapid boil. Hard boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. Add strawberries and sugar to taste.  Stir all together.
4. Pour into jars. Clean the rims, put lids on, finger tighten. Let cool. Put in freezer.

Yes, it is a bit more work than other recipes, but combines the best of both worlds. And look at that mess!!! Luckily, it cleans up fast. 

Are you ready to make jam?! I hope to use this base recipe for other fruits this year too. I will let you know how it goes. 

Until next time...

Jill

Cake Pops and Chocolate

Yes, I have posted before about the cake pops I have made here. Everyone seems to enjoy them. After the last party, I had a ton of left over cake. I did NOT want to be eating cake forever, so I made cake balls. This time I stepped it up a notch and dipped in chocolate. This could be a good Mother's Day dessert!

A chocolatier I am NOT. But, these were SOOO good. I just used chocolate melts, half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate. Melt in the microwave (50%power) and then dip chilled cake balls. I placed them into mini cup cake liners to help limit the mess. I think it makes the presentation nice too - not that anyone around here cares about presentation! I had to freeze them so I didn't eat them all super fast. These were an even bigger hit that the plain cake balls.

What is your favorite way to deal with left over cake? I probably should just throw it out, but I have yet to be able to bring myself to do that.

Later.

More Birthday Celebrations

Yep - more birthday fun these days. My son turned 10! YIKES! Not sure how I can be old enough to have a 10 year old - when did that happen?!

We had quite a delay between the actual birthday and the party with friends. Seemed every time we started to think about the party, we got sidetracked or had a full weekend with other events. Finally, we just decided to do it. I sure wish I would have taken pictures. Really, I was so busy with all the party stuff, I didn't take a SINGLE picture! Oops. At least I have some great memories.

My son continues to push my cake making skills. He wanted a battleship at first, but then I was able to convince him it would NOT look like the professional cake pictures we were finding. Sorry, my skills are NOT that good. We finally decided on a Mayan Temple. I would have loved to have had trees and more decor  but really, I ran out of steam. This is what I ended up with.

My daughter just wanted a strawberry, so that was easy.

And yes, I made cake balls like this with the left over cuts of cake. And now, after the party, I have made additional cake balls with all the left over cake. Into the freezer they will go until another time. We have had ENOUGH cake for a while. :)

We ended up doing a BIG birthday bash with friends and their families for both the oldest and the youngest (which worked out great since so many of our friends have siblings that overlap). We broke out the smoker and had pulled pork and ribs. YUM! Our friends were wonderful enough to bring some sides as well.

My hubby has worked a lot on converting the hayloft of the barn into a 'club house'. We put up some twinkle lights, a few hay bales, a white sheet, and brought in a movie projector. So, when it was time to settle down for the night, the movie viewing began. All the boys were in the barn for the night, cuddled up watching movies. Yeah - it got a bit cold. The girls and little ones were in the house with me. :) I was plenty warm.

I will say - having lots of space to run around really helps to wear out the kids.

We are looking forward to the next party - in a few months. ;) We did NOTHING most of the day sun as we just rested and tried to recover. It really was a lot of work, but well worth it. And, thank you to Sunday afternoon chick flick-a-thon. I took an early shower and curled up in the playroom watching girly movies and doing a little crochet. Pizza was delivered for dinner. The girls did my hair and the kids basically let hubby and I do nothing.

It was a fabulous weekend!

Birthday Cakes and Cake Pops

Happy Birthday my sweet Lucy.

 The youngest of 3, she has been a pleasure - most of the time. She puts up with her big brother and sister and gets dragged around everywhere. She makes me laugh every day and I love to see how her mind works. She is her own person. And yes, she has to wear a skirt every day. Good thing Gma and I sew! She has some style.

Yes, she has had 2 cakes so far. One on her actual birthday (Mickey Mouse) and one while celebrating with Gma and Gpa Frank (Zooter - from Jungle Junction). 

As usual, both cakes were last minute requests and I had to look to the internet for ideas and do the best I could. Here is a little tutorial on making the Mickey Mouse cake and how I handle all the 'extras'. 

1. I started with a standard 9x13 cake. I used 2 different sized bowls to cut the circles. Cake left overs when into the larger bowl. The circles were transferred to a sheet cake pan lined with foil. I don't know where my cake board is - probably in the attic. I decided to make due with the pan.

                                                   

2. Then, on to the crumb layer. Spread a thin layer of thin frosting over the cake. This doesn't need to be pretty, just needs to contain all the crumbs. Place in the fridge for a bit to let the frosting set.

3. On to the main frosting. I am so glad we can get easily gel food coloring now! Makes getting colors other than pastels much easier. 

Now - what to do with all that extra cake and frosting??? Mush them all together and make cake balls!

Add a little frosting at a time and mix really well. 

Add frosting until you get what looks like a stiff cookie dough.

Then just roll into balls and chill. Now, if you want to be really fancy, you can dip these in chocolate. By this time, I am too tired to worry about anything other than getting these to be in a somewhat round shape. They get gobbled up so fast, no one has cared about how they look. Phew - no need to do more work. ;)

If you still have left over frosting, you can just spread some on graham crackers. Yes it is YUMMY! However, I just threw mine out. Really, there are soooo many sweets in our house right now, I don't need to be temped with MORE.

Homemade Peanut Butter

I have tried several rounds of homemade peanut butter. After the first round, I thought 'well, that was fun but I doubt I will do it again'. I was wrong. The second round was much better and the third round has been the best. There are TONS of recipes out there. I got the idea from Pinterest here. Just peanuts - sounded intriguing. Nope - definitely NOT what I was looking for. You know how PB tends to stick to your mouth - well, multiply that by a thousand. And, well I am use to store bought which a bit more sweet. So I did a little experimenting and added some white sugar and some coconut oil. This made it edible, but grainy.

The second round I used honey as the sweetener and again coconut oil to help smooth out. This was good. but the flavor was not quite what I was looking for. If you really like all natural type stuff, this is probably perfect for you. I still need a little more of the refined, not good for you, sugar flavor. I know - crazy, but true.

This round, I used corn syrup and coconut oil. The good news, I needed much less sugar in this recipe as opposed to the honey version. I have actually started to prefer this to the store bought. BUT, they are different. Do not think you are getting store bought texture or flavor. You are never going to get the smoothness like a creamy PB in the store - at least I have not been able to. Maybe with a bit more experimenting. Instead it is more like a cross between crunchy and smooth - which I really like. You can see the texture  here. And yes, it is almost gone and I finally decided to write this post and take pics. :)

So, I case you are interested in how I made mine, I will share.

1 container of salted dry roasted peanuts. (I don't remember the size, 12-14 oz I think) - the one that is $2.88 at walmart - for the off brand.
2-3 TBSP coconut oil (FYI, it is solid at room temp)
3ish TBSP corn syrup

Put peanuts in the food processor. Let her go for several minutes. Wait until it is smooth - or the texture you want. Adding the other ingredients will make it so the peanuts don't get any smoother. Then, add the oil and sugar to taste. This is REALLY forgiving. I play with it until I like the texture and flavor, so the above amounts are an estimation.

Store in a jar with a tight lid in the fridge. I have read this lasts up to 2 months in the fridge - mine doesn't last that long. Also, it gets hard when stored in the fridge. I have to pop mine in the microwave to soften. I usually do about 20 sec at 50% power.

Note: You can also use a veggie oil, but you will have oil separation and have to mix every time before using. This does not happen with the coconut oil since it is solid at room temp - which is why I use it.

Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Who doesn't like cake? I LOVE it!  And, since yesterday was my birthday, I just HAD to make one. There are times it would be nice just to have one show up in my kitchen - poof. But, I am pretty particular about my desserts - I don't like most store bought cakes. I would LOVE the cakes from the bakery, but the budget does not allow for that (and really I am too cheap to not feel guilty about spending that kind of money on a cake). Good thing I like to bake!

This year I wanted something other than white or chocolate cake. Time for something different. But, I was not in the mood to spend tons of time baking. Off to Google and Pinterest I went, in search of cake, exactly what kind I was not sure. It did not take long for me to decide  - pumpkin cake. YES! But not just any pumpkin cake. I wanted stuff in it. A roll would have been good - but too putsy for the day. Then I cam upon this recipe. Yes, this is what I wanted to try.

Healthier Peanut Butter Bars

I know I have mentioned several times that I love to bake. I also, OBVIOUSLY, have to be careful not to bake so much that I gain a million pounds. Plus, I do like to attempt to make the desserts at least semi-healthy so I am not filling my family with completely empty calories.

Buckeyes for Halloween

This is a special treat I make most years for Halloween. And since we are getting close to Halloween, I thought I would share! These are ALWAYS a hit at school and parties. It has become a requested item.

You can use any buckeye recipe you prefer for the balls. There are even some healthier peanut butter ball recipes (like this one) you could use as the base. Using the white chocolate is the key to making them look like eyeballs. I have a hard time finding the red decorator gel before December, so mine have evolved into monster eyes - using whatever colors I can find at the time.

Whipped Frosting Recipe

We had another birthday celebration this past weekend. This time for my loving husband. We had a nice long relaxing day in which we did just about nothing. For us, it was a much needed break. I usually make all of our b-day cakes as I am too cheap to buy a good one from a bakery and the cheap ones at some of the local grocery stores are just not good. But, I also enjoy baking. The kids chose to have a vanilla chocolate swirl cake and my hubby's favorite frosting is a whipped frosting.

Peanut Butter Pie Makeover

Doesn't this look good???

I love peanut butter pie. Unfortunately, they are SOOOO not good for you. Loaded with fat and sugar. I have done a bit of a makeover with the recipe. It is still NOT 'healthy' but it is a TON better than the original. And well, I like to indulge from time to time (ok, everyday - but I am working on that).