Pumpkin Biscotti

I made these yesterday as a test.  They came our really good.  On half I did drizzle some white chocolate over them.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together flour, baking powder and spices in a large bowl.

In another bowl mix together eggs, pumpkin, sugar and vanilla.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and add nuts and raisins. Stir until combined.  The dough will be crumbly.

Flour a clean surface and knead the dough.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form the dough into a large log.  The loaf should be somewhat flat.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the center is firm.

Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.  Lower oven temp to 300.  After cooling cut the biscotti diagonally with a serrated knife into 1 inch slices. 

Place the slices back on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Turn slices over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let cool completely.  You may also drizzle them with white chocolate.  They may still be a bit chewy in the center, you may leave them uncovered for a few hours and they will crisp up nicely.

Makes about 14 cookies.

Kids in the kitchen and grocery shopping

One of pet peeves is when people say they hate when their kids are in the kitchen and make a huge mess or they hate bringing them to the grocery store.  To me it is a learning experience. 

So what is a little mess?  Teach them to clean up after themselves.  Victoria knows that if she makes something she cleans up the counter and puts dishes in the dishwasher or she will hand wash items that do not go in the dishwasher.

She loved to be in the kitchen even before going to cooking classes.  She took classes for a few years and even became a Master Chef in 2009.  Unfortunately the cooking school closed and I make it a point to encourage her to keep cooking and learning new recipes and kitchen facts.

Today we decided that she could look through her old binders and pick dinner and dessert.

She picked her recipes and then made her shopping list.

Then we headed out to Publix.

She knows how to pick out ripe fruits and veggies.

She also knows to look for what is the best price for items.

And when she does her own shopping, she likes to push the cart.

S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies for National S'mores day!

This is an old post from 8/10/09.

Happy National S'Mores Day!!

Today is National S'Mores Day and also National Banana Split Day, so of course we need to celebrate, right? (shake your head yes.....)
I found a good looking recipe on the Hershey's website for S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies.
Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz. each), unwrapped
3 cups miniature marshmallows
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.
3. Arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. 16 bars.

Yes her adorable t-shirt from Justice does say Friends have S'more Fun!  Good thing she had it in her closet already.



If those just don't do it for you, check out my other recipes below:

S'mores bars
Magic S'mores Cresent Puffs
Don't feel like cooking, try some Ben & Jerry's S'mores ice cream!

Bread Bowls

Yesterday it was a rainy and gloomy day here in SW Florida and as much as I know the calendar says it is August, Miss V was asking for chili for supper.

I found the recipe for the bread bowls on BreadWorld.  We didn't actually use them for our chili.  I sliced one up and had it on the side.  They didn't come out exactly like I was thinking.  I was hoping for a crispier crust.  Maybe next time I make them I will have to use and egg white wash.  Also when I slashed one of the bowls, it deflated a bit.

Makes 2 (6-inch) bread bowls

3 / 4 cup + 1 tablespoon water
1 / 2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3 / 4 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Fleischmann's® Bread Machine Yeast

Directions
Add ingredients to bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough/manual cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions; shape each into smooth ball. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

With sharp knife, make 4 (1 / 4-inch deep) slashes in crisscross fashion on top of loaves. Bake at 375° F for 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheet; cool on wire rack.

Cut off 1 / 3 of loaf; hollow out loaf to form 1 / 4-inch thick bowl. Fill bowl with soup.

Another thing, is they are huge!  I think next time I will just make four small bowls.

Rustic Peach Tart

I had some more peaches that were ripe and I went in search of a tart recipe. I went to one of my favorite sites The Joy of Baking and followed the Peach Tart Recipe.

It wasn't a total failure, but just didn't wow me.  Disclaimer....I am horrible at making pie crusts and next time I will just stick to a store bought one.  I did peel my peaches and well the skins didn't come off very easy either. 

Two peach desserts lately and two flops.... I don't even feel worthy of posting the recipe, but you can find it linked above.

Back to the drawing board....anyone have any good tried, true and easy peach recipes?  If so link me up!

Cranberry Pork Loin (updated with pictures)

1 boneless whole pork loin roast (2 pounds)
1 can (14 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard (used a stone ground mustard this time)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Place roast in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine the cranberry sauce, mustard, brown sugar and lemon juice; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 4-1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.

Remove roast and keep warm. Strain cooking juices into a 2-cup measuring cup; add enough water to measure 2 cups. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with pork.

Yield: 8 servings.

Easy Peach Cobbler

I had a few ripe peaches and attempted to make an easy peach cobber.  The recipe is from Food Network.  Well I am not sure what really went wrong.  It just didn't come out the way I pictured.  I am not sure if it was because I halved the recipe and baked it in a 11x7 pan.  Maybe I should have done it in a smaller square pan.  The flavor was good but the texture is not what I thought it would be.

The recipe below is the full recipe:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
1 cup milk
4 cups peeled, pitted and thinly sliced fresh peaches (5 to 6 medium peaches)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Several dashes ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour the melted butter into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup sugar, the baking powder, and the salt and mix well. Stir in the milk, mixing until just combined. Pour this batter over the butter but do not stir them together.

In a small saucepan, combine the peaches, lemon juice, and remaining cup of sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Pour the peaches over the batter but do not stir them together. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden-brown. Serve warm or cold.

Craving something sweet

I was craving something sweet earlier so we went to Publix.  Bakery...eh....nothing really jumped out at me and then I suggested ice cream.

While standing in front of the Ben & Jerry's....I couldn't find one of my favorites so I just looked at each tub for a little while and finally settled on the Smores.

Oh my word.....................It was sooooooooooooooo goooooooooood!  I will definitely have to get this one again.

Almost Famous Soft Pretzels

Miss V and I spied this recipe a few months back in our Food Network Magazine and knew that we had to try it.

Yesterday I had to run out and get the yeast since I do not normally use active dry, I use a jar of yeast designed for bread machines.

For the Pretzels:

1 cup milk
1 package active dry yeast
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/3 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons coarse salt

For the Sauce: (We did not make the sauce, we just don't like it)1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup dijon mustard
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

Directions

Make the pretzels:

Warm the milk in a saucepan until it's about 110 degrees; pour into a medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let the yeast soften, about 2 minutes; stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup flour with a wooden spoon. Dice 2 tablespoons butter and soften; stir into the mix. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and the fine salt to make a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and grease a large baking sheet.

Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. (If the dough seems tight, cover and let rest until it relaxes.) Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 30-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch. Form each rope into a pretzel shape. (We made just pretzel sticks)Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups warm water in a shallow baking dish. Gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. (Ours more like 8 minutes)Prepare the sauce: Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, brown sugar and vinegar in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a shallow dish. Dip the hot pretzels in the butter, turning to coat; place on a wire rack to let excess butter drip off. Serve the pretzels warm with the sweet mustard sauce.
















These were so incredibly yummy!!! We are definitely going to make them again.

Lime Sugar Cookies

I had a few limes that needed to be used up so Miss V and I came up with Lime Sugar Cookies.  They are sweet but also tart.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 tbs fresh lime juice
zest of 2 or 3 limes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup shortening

Sugar Mixture
1/3 cup granulated sugar
zest of 2 limes

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift the dry ingredients (except sugar) together.

Cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add egg, vanilla, lime juice and zest. 

Slowly incorporate your dry ingredients.

Use a medium cookie scoop and shape rounded scoops of dough; roll dough in the sugar mixture.  Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with the bottom of a glass until about 1 1/2 inch circles.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly browned, do not over bake.

Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can see the pretty bits of lime zest.

Sugar Mixture

Flattened and ready for baking

From the oven and cooled

These came out soft, chewy and tart....oh so good!!

McDonald's Bogo Coupon

Just wanted to share a coupon that I found yesterday.  McDonald's is having a bogo on their Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, Frappe' or Real Fruit Smoothies.

Click HERE for the coupon, the coupon expires July 31, 2011.

Have you ever heard of House Party?

I know most of the world knows about Swagbucks, BzzAgent and a few other sites like that, but have you ever heard about House Party?  I hadn't until about a month ago when one of my iVillage Mom's said that she belonged and that there was a party that I might enjoy. She sent me the referral and I immediately signed up and applied for the Freeze and Shake Cocktail party. I didn't hold out much hope that I would actually be picked.

You probably are wondering what is House Party?

What is a House Party™?



House Party™ lets people who really love something host a special event featuring a fun, free, exclusive experience sponsored by the world's leading brands.


Cool people sharing cool stuff. A House Party™ is thousands of parties happening across the country on a single day, hosted by people just like you. Each event is sponsored by a leading brand and focuses on something cool–like a new product, hit TV show, or great cause–that the sponsor wants its best fans to experience firsthand and share with their friends. (Check out some of our recent events


You host. Everyone wins. House Party lets you share the stuff you like with the people you like, through a fantastic, free party experience. What's the catch? There is none: Our partners understand that if they share something good with the right people in a fun way, we'll all help spread the word.

Well to my surprise, yesterday I received and email from them saying that I had been picked to hostess a Freeze & Shake Cocktail party.  I followed the directions on their site and set up my party.  I am inviting 10 or 11 neighborhood moms and will combine this with a game night.  They also send a party pack and I can't wait to see what is in it.

What's inside the party packs?



Each event has a unique Party Pack filled with all kinds of free stuff to make your party a success. We've thrown all kinds of events: TV Viewing, Wine & Chocolate Pairing, Kid-centric, you name it.


Hosts of some of our recent events have received:*


Advanced copies of TV Shows
Sneak Previews of Movies
Board Games
Action-figures
Gourmet Chocolate
Gourmet Coffee Samples
Coffee Maker
Coupons
Special Offers
Party Favors
Party Decorations
Stickers
T-Shirt Transfers
Window Clings
Health & Beauty Products
Baby Products
and much more...
* not all in the same pack

For this House Party, they will send coupons to purchase the Freeze and Shake products.  Luckily I looked up where I could find them and they are sold at Sweetbay in Venice.  Since this party contains alcohol, I was reading that if my guests are not registered on the House Party site then they will have to fill out a waiver and I can just email them back.

I am really excited for my first House Party.  If you would like to sign up please leave a comment with your email address and I will send you a referral.

Flip Flop Chardonnay and Flip Flop Riesling

A while ago I blogged about trying Flip Flop Pinot Grigio.  Anyway, I posted a comment on their Facebook Page letting them know how much that we enjoyed their wine.  I also wanted to try their Chardonnay and Riesling.

Well to my surprise they offered to send me a bottle of each!  I had a little bump in the road with the shipping and since I wasn't home to sign for it, I had to pick it up at the local Fed Ex location which was fine.

When we got home last Thursday I put them in the fridge to chill.  I read all the info on each wine and the Soles4Souls information.  I am very impressed with their mission.

So on Friday after a long week I made a quick pasta salad with chicken and my husband and I tried the Riesling.  It was absolutely wonderful!!!  It was very light, refreshing and fruity.  It was sweet, but not overly sweet.  Would I buy this...YOU BET!!! 

Saturday night we had grilled chicken and tried the Chardonnay.  We are very picky when it comes to Chardonnay.  We both like lightly oaked and not to dry.  We were not disappointed with this Chardonnay.  After the first sip, my husband and I looked at each other and said that it reminded us of another Chardonnay that we had years ago.  Anyway, this Chardonnay is light, not to dry and had a nice light oaky flavor.  Would I buy this, YOU BET!!!

So next time you are at the store, you must check them out!!!  You will not be disappointed!

I just want to say a huge THANK YOU for the samples!!!

Disclosure: I received two sample bottles for review purposes. No other compensation was given and the opinions in this post are solely mine and are based on my experience with their product.

Oh and do not forget!  For every bottle of Flip Flop wine purchased, Soles4Souls will distribute a pair of shoes to someone in need.

Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I wanted to shake up our July 4th menu a bit and I found a great recipe for Pulled Pork Sandwiches in Woman's World magazine.

Of course I didn't think it would be enough, so I doubled the recipe and luckily it fit in our crock pot. I am putting the original recipe here.

1 onion chopped, about 1 cup
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 lbs boneless pork butt shoulder roast
1 tbs dry fajita seasoning
2/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
12 hamburger buns split
2 cups prepared coleslaw

Place onion and garlic in the bottom of the crock pot. Top with pork; sprinkle with seasoning.

In a small bowl, whisk together, ketchup, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and salt until smoother. Pour over pork.

Cover and cook on low for 12 hours.

Transfer pork to plate, reserving sauce in the crock pot; cool slightly. Using two forks shred pork into bite size piece; stir back into sauce.

Fill buns with pork mixture, dividing evenly; top with coleslaw.

Marcel was wonderful and put it in the crock pot Friday night around 10ish.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

I made this again for July 4th but I went all out and bought 17 pounds of pork butt.  I wanted to make sure that I would hopefully have left overs.  I used the above recipe but quadrupaled it.  I put it in the oven at 2 am and let it cook at 250 for about 11 hours and then turned the oven down to 225 to keep it warm.  About half an hour before the party, I pulled it and put it in the crock pot to keep warm and for easy serving.  I strained the liquid and skimmed off the fat and pour the sauce over the pork in the crock pot.

It again came out super yummy!  AND the best part, I have leftovers!!!!!

I use my own fajita seasoning.  I love making big batches of this and storing it in a Gladware containter.  I do use more than 1 tablespoon.  It was more like 1/2 cup per butt.  Miss V helped me by sprinkling it on so we didn't get an exact measurement.  I also did the rub on Sunday afternoon so that it would have time to get happy in the fridge.

This is what it looked like after cooking, it smelled wonderful!

I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of it after I pulled it.  If I can remember at dinner time I will take one.

Blue Wine Spritzer

I make these every July 4th and yesterday it was perfect.
3 cups chilled Chardonnay (I used Chablis)
2 1/4 cups chilled club soda (this time I used mandarin orange seltzer)
3/4 cup blue curacao

Mix all ingredients in a pretty pitcher and serve over ice.