Oatmeal Fudge Bars

I christened my new Test Kitchen Cookbook (Thanks, big brother!) with this recipe for New Year's Eve. It was a good choice for sure!

 Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. quick cooking oats
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling:
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
4 tsp. instant coffee powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
18 oz. (3 c.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 eggs

Directions:
For the crust:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Prep a 9x13 pan by creating a foil sling and greasing.  In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  Stir in butter.  Measure out 1 1/4 cups of the mixture and set aside for the topping.  Sprinkle the remaining mixture in the prepared pan, and press firm with the bottom of a measuring cup.  Bake crust for 8 minutes, until light golden brown.  Let cool on wire rack for an hour.

For the filling:
Whisk together flour, sugar, coffee, salt, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave for 1-3 minutes, until smooth, stirring frequently.  Let cool slightly, then whisk in the eggs.  Stir with the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Spread evenly over the cooled crust.

Sprinkle the filling with reserved topping.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 2 hours before cutting.  Makes 24 squares.

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Cinnamon Roll Cake

Yes, I found this on Pinterest. And yes, I will repin this on Pinterest. I love Pinterest. I love this cake even more!

My brother loves cinnamon rolls, and as often as he'd love for me to make them, I just don't have the time.  So, this year for his birthday, I decided to try out this Pinterest recipe that combined Cinnamon Roll and Cake.  He (and all his co-workers) LOVED it.  He said, "How did you do this?! It's a cinnamon roll, but its cake! It's perfect!" He almost didn't share, but it's a good thing he did considering how much butter there is in this! (Oh well, can't live with it, can't live without it!)

Original recipe from: http://cookinupnorth.blogspot.com/2011/07/cinnamon-roll-cake.html

Ingredients:

Cake:

3 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. white sugar (I used a little less)

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:

1 c. butter softened,

1 c. brown sugar

2 T. flour

1 T. cinnamon

Glaze:

2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

5 T. milk

Directions:

For the cake, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla, then add to the flour mixture.  Slowly stir in the melted butter.  Spread evenly in a greased 9x13 pan.  For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined (I used my food processor).  Drop evenly over the batter and "swirl" with a knife.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

For the glaze, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.  Drizzle over the cake while warm.

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Baked Apples

Need a quick, healthy dessert?  Here's your answer!

Ingredients (per 1 serving):

1 apple

1/2-1 T butter

2 T. brown sugar

Cinnamon

Directions:

Hollow out the apple (I just used a knife to get out the core, then a spoon to make the hole a little bigger).  Peel a thin strip off the apple so that it can breathe in the oven.  In a small dish, mix together the butter and brown sugar, then put the mixture inside the apple. Place the apples in a baking dish and cover the base of the dish with water.  Sprinkle apple generously with cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees until desired softness, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, or just gobble up!

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Christmas Tree

So, technically, this isn't a recipe post...

... sorry...

it's sort of related to food.

Sort of.

Tomato cages is "sort of related to food", right?

Okay, it's a stretch.

Anyways... I just really wanted to share this cute and frugal decorating idea, as we get in the Christmas spirit!

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree! 

Ha.

Not sure if I love it or not, but it's cute. =)

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Pumpkin Scones

As you all are well aware, I'm on a pumpkin kick....

Pumpkin Scones - Delicious!

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/14 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar (brown will give a richer flavor)
1/2 c. butter, cubed and chilled
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 T. white sugar mixed with 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate bowl, beat together egg and pumpkin.  Fold this mixture into the dry ingredients, just until moistened.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat into two circles, about 1/2-3/4" thick.  Cut each circle into 6-8 wedges (depending on how big you want them).

Place triangles on ungreased cookie sheets.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes.

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Pumpkin Cake

Happy Birthday, Beth! 

I didn't get around to taking a picture of this, which is a little sad, consider how much I know you all love the food photos, but it was just gobbled up too quickly! Instead you can look at this really cool superhero cake that Krissa's friend made for her baby shower: 

(it's relevant, right? cake?) ...

(pretty cool, huh?)

(if you think THIS is cool, you should see baby Aiden's nursery!)

(you can catch a glimpse of the theme in my present to them over at my ~Words~ blog)

... anyways, back to THIS cake!

I adapted the recipe from allrecipes.com - it was the perfect amount of sweet and spice (not too much of either!)

Ingredients:

2 c. white sugar

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

2 c. pumpkin puree

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 c. all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices, and set aside.  In a separate bowl, beat together sugar, oil, and applesauce until smooth. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla, then beat in eggs, one at a time.  Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until combined.  (I just kept the Kitchenaid running on medium speed while I added each step).  

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.  Delicious!

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Apple-Stuffed Pork Chops

I forgot to take a picture of this simple and delicious dinner, but this is kinda what it looked like:

We served this with asparagus and mashed potatoes: quick and hearty! Thanks to Matt for the recipe!

Ingredients:

4-6 thick-cut pork chops, sliced in half (I didn't cut through so that I would have a pocket)

1 small onion, diced

1 medium apple, peel and diced

2 cloves of garlic

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Saute the garlic in oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add in the onion and apple and saute until tender, about 5-6 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool.  

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.  Fill the chops with the onion-apple mixture (I used a spoon, which worked great).  Sear the chops, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer the pan to the preheated oven, and let cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pork is no longer pink.  

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Test Kitchen Pumpkin Bread

In my personal, unprofessional opinion, this bread had the best texture... so moist and dense! The crust was perfect, though this loaf may have had more dough than most people like (I credit that to my finicky oven).  I made two loaves, one plain and one with chocolate chips for the hubby.

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 (15-oz) can pumpkin (make sure its unsweetened, NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1 c. white sugar

1 stick (8 Tbs) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. pecans/walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse (I omitted these in one loaf, replaced the with chocolate in the other)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prep a 9 by 5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger together in a large bowl.  Whisk the pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a separate bowl until frothy.

Gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined.  Fold in the nuts (if using).  The batter will be very thick.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.  Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 45-55 minutes.  

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

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Obsession

I have an obsession with cinnamon rolls.

Sweet dough, slightly undercooked.
Brown sugar and cinnamon.
Butter. Lots of butter.
Cream cheese frosting.

Who wouldn't be obsessed?

Granted, I think I can blame the obsession on my husband who's answer to "What do you want for breakfast" is always... you guessed it, "Cinnamon Rolls".  Every holiday, birthday, special day is celebrated with cinnamon roll indulgence.

If you don't believe that I'm obsessed, just look at how many recipes I've posted for cinnamon rolls:
Grandma Johnson's
Test Kitchen
Apple Dumpling Version
Mary's
Pioneer Woman's

I've also made cappuccino cinnamon rolls, but can't seem to find the recipe on the blog. There's one to post!

All that to say, I've found a new recipe to try... it combines cinnamon rolls with my other fall obsession: pumpkin.  It donned on me yesterday that it's mid-November, Halloween has passed, and I have yet to make ANY pumpkin recipes!  That changed quickly; 4 cans of pumpkin puree later, and plans to make my own in the near future, there are 2 loaves of pumpkin bread filling my house with its spicy aroma.  Pumpkin scones are next on the agenda, then these:

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.  Welcome, autumn flavors!!

Check out this recipe and let me know if you try it!

http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/09/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls.html

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Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls

All I can say is mmmmmm...!

Pioneer Woman has done it - these are amazing.  Best cinnamon rolls I've ever made.. The rolls aren't too sweet, which pairs perfectly with the maple frosting.  Just overlook how much butter is in this recipe, and remind yourself that its enough cinnamon rolls to feed a village.  

Head on over to Pioneer Woman for the recipe... I can't compete with her step-by-step photo tutorial or her humor.  

Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls

While you're there, you should probably check out the rest of her site.. she's pretty amazing. I aspire to be her someday.. in my dream world, of course.  

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are SO yummy! Perfect texture, perfect taste. Yum. Thanks, Justin Shinn, for the recipe base!

Ingredients:
4 oz. low-fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. butter, melted and cooled
1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. plus 3 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

* Yes, it is CORRECT that there are no eggs in this recipe. It makes them nice and dense.

Directions:

Cream together cream cheese, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients, then add to butter mixture.  Stir in the chips.  Bake at 325 for 8-12 minutes, until lightly brown.  Let cool 5 more minutes on the pan before moving to a cooling rack.

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Surprise Success!

What a spread.

Last weekend, we hosted a surprise 30th anniversary party for my parents.  It was a HUGE success.  Over 30 people came and honored the happy couple, and to top it off, Mom and Dad had no idea that we had this planned! I served brunch theme food, including Bacon Quiche Tarts and Quiche Lorraine Muffins.  I know it looks like a lot of work, but there are two tricks: 1. Bake almost everything on a free day and freeze.  2. Don't be afraid of store-bought delights.

Besides the recipes mentioned above, we also had:

• Whole Wheat Banana Bread
• Ham & Cheese Bake
• Veggie Dip
• Fruit Dip
• Brownies (from a Ghiradeli box)
• Costco-bought Cinnamon Rolls (Mac almost likes them better than my homemade ones!)
• Aunty Christy's Cinnamon Muffins

The dips were delicious and easy to make; an easy must-have for any gathering.

Fruit Dip:

Cream together 1-(8 oz) package of cream cheese (softened) and 1 jar of marshmallow creme.  Simple as that.

Lemon-Dill Veggie Dip:

Ingredients:

3/4 c. mayonnaise (I usually avoid mayo at all costs, but it's hard to make a creamy dip without it)

3/4 c. sour cream

4 T. fresh lemon juice

4 oz. crumbled feta

2 T. fresh dill

Salt and Pepper

Mix all of the ingredients well. Again, simple as that.

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Bacon Quiche Tartlets

It was brunch week at our house. Also, muffin week.  Brunch because bacon is delicious; muffin because my new pampered chef tins are my current obsession.  Make these. Eat them. Don't judge me for using store bought crescent rolls.

Ingredients:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

5 tsp. milk

2 eggs

1/2 c. shredded Colby cheese

2 T. chopped green pepper

1 T. finely chopped onion

1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls

5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

*I did TRIPLE this recipe to make 24 tarts, but that was because I needed them for a party... you can make however many you'll eat (which will probably be all 24).

Directions:

1.  In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth.  Add the eggs, cheese, green pepper and onion; mix well.

2. Separate dough into eight triangles; press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased muffin cups.  Sprinkle half of the bacon into cups.  Pour egg mixture over bacon; top with remaining bacon.

3.  Bake uncovered at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.  Serve warm.

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Tollhouse Pie

Picture from verybestbaking.com

The four-year journey of graduate school has begun, and I find myself completely powerless to make Mac's life any easier.  I can't create more time in his day, help him study biochemistry or pharmaceutics, keep his clothes dry on the rainy bike ride, convince him that his six hours of work are just too much, or accomplish anything else remotely helpful.  What I can do, though, is bake.  And bake I will, until his taste buds are satisfied.

He asks for tollhouse pie, I make tollhouse pie.

Enough said.

You should make it too.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. butter, softened (I think melted and cooled would be a better option here)
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts (I only used 1/2 c. and only put it in half the pie)

1 - 9" unbaked pie crust

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy.  Beat in the sugars and flour, then beat in the butter.  (I used softened butter, but I really think this will be smoother if you use melted butter.  Just be sure to cool it completely, otherwise it will change the texture of the final pie).  Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts, then spoon batter evenly in the unbaked pie crust.  Bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes (in my oven's case, only about 40).  You may also want to cover the pie crust for part of the bake time so that it doesn't get too brown.  Just a thought.  You also may want to serve this warm with vanilla ice cream.  That's a command.

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Quiche Lorraine Muffins

I have a new pampered chef muffin tin that has been begging me to make something delicious in it.  I'm feeling a little sugar-overloaded, so I went for a savory muffin.  These were fairly simple to make and have quite a few variations - I made them with mushrooms rather than bacon (only because I made another quiche dish with lots of bacon).  Enjoy!


Ingredients:
1/4 c. canola/vegetable oil
6 strips bacon, roughly chopped (I substituted 1 1/2 c. thinly sliced mushrooms)
4 medium scallions, thinly sliced
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. yellow or white cornmeal
1 T. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 c. whole milk
1 1/4 c. shredded Gruyere (5 oz) (This is pretty spendy... I read a lot of reviews that said you can sub swiss cheese for Gruyere and get similar flavor. I used colby jack, and it was a little bland)


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prep your muffin tin (if it's nonstick, don't spray it)

2. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Swirl in 1 T. of the oil, then add the bacon and saute for 1 minute.  Add the scallions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the scallions are wilted and the bacon is lightly browned.  Transfer to a large bowl and cool for 10 minutes.  (If using mushrooms, saute mushrooms and scallions for 4 minutes).

3.  Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl util well blended.  Set aside. Whisk the egg, egg yolks, and the remaining oil into the bowl with the bacon.  Stir in the milk and cheese until well incorporated.  Finally, stir in the dry ingredients until moistened.

4.  Fill the tins three-quarters full.  Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out with a few crumbs attached.

5.  Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.  They can freeze for up to 3 months in the freezer.

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And there it goes...

... summer. How did it escape me? Somehow those hot, sunny days came and went without even a blink of an eye.  Oh, that's right.... I live in Oregon; we had cold, rainy days.

Nevertheless, my favorite season is upon us; a time for harvesting, preserving, and feasting!  I have every intention of updating this blog more regularly with delicious, mouth-watering recipes, but I've said that before.

To close out the summer days, I thought I'd celebrate by sharing photos of the ridiculously amazing food that we feasted on during our Hawaii trip (mainly because I have done ZERO cooking exploration over the last few weeks and have nothing to post).  Please don't grow tired of me or assume this blog is extinct... while it may seem endangered at the moment, I promise it will be up and running in full capacity in the coming months - you can count on it! For now, enjoy salivating over these covetous meals:

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Jam-time!

When you pick 25 pounds of fresh, organic strawberries it's time for some jam!

This is only about 1/8 of the berries we picked.  I only used this much on a double batch of jam! The rest went in the freezer to use throughout the year...

 First, you need to hull the strawberries.  The easiest way to do this is using a straw, as seen here:

After you hull, you mash. (Next time, I might puree... I think I like smooth jam best).

Then, you mix the mash with lots of sugar. Lots. I tell you, do not skimp on the sugar...

I did not want to put in as much sugar as I did, but it's necessary for the jam to gel.

For 4 quarts of berries, you use approximately 10-12 cups of sugar.

I know. Ridiculous.

But necessary.

 So, go ahead... pour it in...

Then slowly bring that to a boil.  You want to try to get it up to 220 degrees. 

 Meanwhile, start sanitizing your jars and lids (lids on the stove, jars in the dishwasher)...

And start your water bath...

 ... and make a yummy strawberry beverage.

(Strawberry puree, lemonade, and ginger ale)

... and start some strawberry fruit leather in the dehydrator

(accompanied by 5 layers of drying apples!)

Once the jam starts boiling, and the water bath gets going, I get too busy to take pictures.  It's easy; you just ladle the hot jam into hot jars (straight out of the dishwasher), and process in the boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.  Key points are to make sure:

1. Rims of the jars are clean.

2. Lid pieces are secure.

3. Jars are completely covered by water in the water bath.

After 15 minutes, remove the jars CAREFULLY, and voila!

Jam for the next 6 months! (or Christmas presents!)

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Homemade Nutella

I've been too busy lately to update posts, but I promise to have new recipes up sometime next week! For now, jump on over to Brynna Begins, and check out her awesome homemade nutella recipe!!

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Lemon-Yogurt Mousse with Blueberry Sauce

Nothing goes together better than good dessert and good friends!

God has blessed me with three irreplaceable "kindred spirits" (yes, I'm an Anne Junkie)!  We all live in different cities now, so any chance the four of us get to be together, we take advantage of it.  This year, there happened to be ONE night that all four of us close to Corvallis, so we made it happen.  In addition to enjoying fantastic fellowship and laughter, we also enjoyed this:

Lemon Yogurt Mousse with Blueberry Sauce

I always wish that fancy desserts came in larger portions... This was so delicious and refreshing... my only complaint was that I wanted more!  

Ingredients:

3/4 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

2 Tbl. sugar

2 Tbl. water

pinch salt

3 Tbl. water

3/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1/2 c. whole milk Greek yogurt

1/4 c. heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest plus

3 Tbl. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

3 large egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

6 Tbl. sugar

Directions:

For the blueberry sauce, bring the blueberries, sugar, water, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the fruit is heated through, 2-4 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth, about 20 seconds.  Strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the solids to extract as much puree as possible (there should be about 1/2 cup sauce).  Spoon the sauce evenly into six 4-ounce ramekins and refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.  

For the Mousse:  Meanwhile, pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top.  Set aside to let the gelatin hydrate for 10 minutes.  In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt together until smooth.

Whisk the egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar together in a large bowl.  Set the bowl over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.  Heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until it has tripled in size and registers about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 5-10 minutes.

Off the heat, quickly whisk in the hydrated gelatin until melted.  Whip the warm mixture with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until it forms stiff, shiny peaks, 4-6 minutes.  Add the yogurt mixture and continue to whip until just combined, 30 to 60 seconds.

Divide the mousse evenly among the chilled ramekins with the blueberry sauce, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled and set, 6-8 hours (I left it in the fridge overnight).  Serve chilled.

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