Pumpkin Bread

I used the last of the pumpkin puree that I had in the freezer to make pumpkin bread for when my grandparents came into town.  The recipe makes two loaves.  One was used for breakfast with the abuelos and the other for my in-laws for a dessert! I still can't believe how much I like this bread and it is so surprising because I never would have thought of pumpkin bread! I will continue to make pumpkin bread as long as I have access to pumpkin! 

Pumpkin Bread:
(recipe modified from Tastes from Lizzy T's)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie (see notes)

Directions:

1. Mix together oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and pumpkin.
2. Mix together remaining ingredients. 
3. Incorporate the dry and wet ingredients together. 
4. Pour mixture evenly into two well-greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Notes:

• So delicious! Enjoy w/ butter, fruit on top, whipped cream, or plain! 

See you in the kitchen,

Katie 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

My adorable little sister passed this recipe along to me.  She was married just two months after me and moved to Fort Knox with her new husband.  She has taken an interest in cooking and even prepared her first turkey before I did! Ah! But this recipe she came across, tried it out, and approved (and thought I might like it :D).

It is wonderful.  A good chicken soup is hard to rival anytime.  However, this creamy pot of goodness topped with crunchy pie crust does a good job! 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup:
(recipe modified from Shugarysweets
provided by my little sister)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2-1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 cup broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 package pie crust, thawed

Directions:

1. Melt butter in large pot, adding onions, celery, and broccoli.  Cook to soften 3-5 minutes.
2. Sprinkle with flour and cook another minute.
3. Pour in broth, cream, milk, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
4. Add in cooked chicken. Cook over medium heat, 10-15 minutes.
5. Making the crust strips - Cut strips from the pie crust and lay on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
6. Bake at 450 degrees for 6-8 minutes, until browned.
7. Pour soup into bowls, top with shredded cheese, and top with strips of baked pie crust.

Notes:

• Instead of chicken broth, I usually substitute chicken bouillon to taste and add the same amount of water.

See you in the kitchen!

Katie 

Decorating Sugar Cookies

I do a horrible job decorating cookies.  They always end up looking like a mess or I resort to just spreading blue frosting, red frosting, so on! But one thing that I really like to do with my sugar cookies is to dip them in chocolate and then add a topping such as M&Ms! It is easier to make it look nice and clean and they almost look fancy! 

Chocolate Dip for Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:

• Chocolate (chocolate chips, baking chocolate, candy melts, etc.)
• 1-2 tablespoons of butter
• Sprinkles/Candy pieces (M&Ms, crushed cookies, sprinkles, etc.)

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate and butter on the stovetop or in a microwave safe bowl.  (Be careful when melting in the microwave as it doesn't take long for the chocolate to burn) Heat for ~30 seconds at a time or so, stirring often.
2. When you like the consistency such that it will stick to the cookies, dip the cooled sugar cookies into the chocolate.  I like to dip the cookie about halfway.
3. Place on wax paper to cool.
4. Sprinkle on topping.
5. Let cool.
6. ENJOY!

Notes:

• Choose your favorite chocolate and your favorite topping! 

See you in the kitchen!

Katie

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

This is probably my MOST FAVORITE sugar cookie recipe to date.  Easy, not too sweet, nice texture, and just plain delicious!

It does make quite a few cookies, so below you will see that you divide the dough.

Making and rolling out these cookies has become a tradition with my husband's family my new family :D. We all have fun with the flour and punching out our favorite shapes.  Then of course the fun continues with decorating and eating them! 

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks), softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together.
3. Beat in eggs and add vanilla.
4. Mix in sour cream and then the dry ingredients.
5. Divide dough in four balls. Wrap each ball in wax paper and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
6. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
7. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough out. (*you will want to work in more flour at this point-work enough flour in until you find it easy to work with)
8. With cookie/biscuit cutters, cut out as many cookies as possible, keeping the trimmings.
9. Place cookies on ungreased baking sheets and cook for about 8 minutes.
10. Let cool and then decorate.

Notes:

• I usually roll out just one ball at a time.  The 3 other dough balls I freeze to use later.  You will have to work more flour into the dough - especially those that you have frozen.  DO NOT add in more flour before sticking in the fridge/freezer.  It will result in very hard sugar cookies - only work in the necessary amount when rolling out the dough.
• These cookies are SO GOOD dipped in coffee!
• Get creative when decorating - I usually don't decorate cookies because they always look incredibly unappealing with my decorating job :D However, I like to dip them in chocolate! 

Enjoy!

See you in the kitchen,

Katie

Graham Cracker Crust

Making graham cracker crust is easy.  The only hard part is resisting to eat it before actually pressing it into the pan! At this point in my life, I find that I enjoy pastry pie crusts fine enough from the refrigerated section at the grocery store, but graham cracker crusts must be made in my own kitchen. Hmm, couldn't tell you why!  

I always use this crust when making my Banana Pudding Pie! 

Graham Cracker Crust:
(for a 9" pie pan)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham crackers
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Crush crackers to a fine or a nice crumble.  Use a food processor or do it by hand in a ziploc baggy. 
3. Mix crushed crackers, sugar, and melted butter together.
4. Press mix firmly against both bottom and sides of the pie plate.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Cool.

Notes:

• Feel free to mix up the flavor of crackers used: chocolate graham crackers, honey, regular, etc.
• I am still working on making it look pretty! 

See you in the kitchen!

Katie

Mom's Apple Pie

So I spent my first Valentine's Day with my husband.  We kept things simple - supper by candlelight (yes!) with his favorite treat for dessert afterward.  

My mother makes the BEST apple pie.  Throughout the entirety of my courtship with my now husband, every time my mom saw him, she would have a warm apple pie for him.  What a mother! :D 

Mom and Me

Well, it quickly became his favorite dessert.  So when I asked him what he would like for dessert, he said of course apple pie.  Now, there is something special about a mom's touch in the kitchen, so I am still working on perfecting her pie.  Nonetheless, it is delicious! And quite simple.  An apple pie for everyone! So I hope you enjoy courtesy of my wonderful mom!   

Mom's Apple Pie:

Ingredients:

• 2 pie crusts (1 for the bottom, 1 for the top)
• 6-8 apples, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• Dash of salt
• 2-4 tablespoons of butter

Directions:

1. Put crust in pie pan.
2. Mix together apples, sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Let sit for five minutes. 
4. Place apple mixture into pie pan.
5. Slice the butter into 4-5 pieces and place on top of apples.
6. Then add top crust - seal.
7. Brush with milk or cream, then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.
8. Cut small slits in top.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes.

Notes:

• Use your favorite pie crust recipe or just buy the store-brand frozen dough (that's what I usually use!).
• Substitute flour or cornstarch if you don't have the tapioca on hand.
• Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Yum!

*The pictures below were not taken for the same pie! I have different pictures at different steps.

See you in the kitchen!

Katie

Coffee Crumb Cake

Wow! I came across this gem of course looking through pinterest.com.  Best eaten with a hot cup of coffee.  Below you will find the recipe.

New York Crumb Cake:
(recipe modified from bakedbree)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons canola oil
• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
• confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Mix together until the batter comes together.
3. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Spread the batter evenly and set aside.
4. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a bowl.
5. Add the butter and mix until it forms large crumbs.
6. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the batter.
7. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan at least once during baking.

Notes:

• It is going to be torture. Your kitchen is going to smell like vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar. But you need to wait a little while before you devour this crumb cake. When the cake has cooled, dust confectioners’ sugar on top.

See you in the kitchen,

Katie

Chocolate Pudding (Or Vanilla!)

My dad and brother were visiting over President's Day weekend to go skiing! We went to Powder Mountain outside of Ogden, Utah and it was wonderful! Snow was a little crunchy and icy, but it was my 2nd time out this season! And I got to spend it with some family.  It was wonderful.  

After a long day on the slopes, my husband and I cooked supper for the two of them.  As a special treat, I made chocolate pudding and of course whipped up some cream to top it with! This actually is one of my dad's favorite treats.  My mom has been making this chocolate pudding for as long as I can remember.  When my dad was off his legs for a good several weeks after a knee surgery, I probably made this for him every other day! Such a comfort!

Chocolate Pudding:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Separate egg yolks into a glass bowl, set aside momentarily.
2. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa in saucepan.
3. Stir in milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (burns quickly).
4. When it starts to boil, let boil for one minute.
5. Gently pour a small portion of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks and stir together letting the hot mixture cook the egg yolks.
6. Pour this now back into the saucepan and let boil for one more minute.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Stir in butter and vanilla.

Notes:

• Make sure to 'cook' egg yolks in separate bowl to pour back into saucepan.  Skipping this step may leave you with cooked chunks of egg yolk in your pudding!
• It is enjoyable both hot and cold from the fridge!
• Whip up some heavy whipping cream to plop on top of the pudding! So good! The chocolate pudding can be a little rich, so it provides a nice contrast. 
• To make vanilla pudding instead, reduce sugar to 1/3 cup and do not add the cocoa.  Vanilla pudding!

See you in the kitchen!

Katie

English Muffin Bread

Okay, so this is the first yeast bread recipe I feel comfortable posting!  I have made a couple, no several, no probably over 10 different bread recipes looking for the perfects ones.  

Like I said in an earlier post, I would like different recipes that satisfy the need for a good sandwich bread, good bread for toast, a good whole wheat bread, etc.  (Most of the breads that I have tried, while delicious, are often crumbly) Well this is a good toast bread! The bread is tasty anytime, but the best way to eat this bread is really toasted topped with your favorite butter (and maybe a little honey, sometimes!).  

The only drawback to this recipe is that it makes four loaves at a time. How is this a drawback? Well, I only have two loaf pans! :D So what I did, and you can see this in the picture below...is that I separated the dough into four like the recipe calls for.  Then the two balls that I couldn't bake right away, I wrapped in plastic wrap, set them side-by-side in a square glass baking pan, and put it in the freezer to be baked later. Well, well, well, what do you know. The yeast was so active, the bread rose in the freezer before it froze.  One of the loaves grew so fast, that it broke through the plastic wrap freezing in a bubble above the pan! I opened the freezer and started to laugh when I saw it. (When I did bake those two loaves later, they turned out just fine, though I might just buy two more loaf pans to make this a smoother process for next time :D)

Whoops!

English Muffin Bread:
(recipe mostly reproduced from onegoodthingbyjillee)

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups warm water
• 3 packages rapid rise yeast
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 11 cups flour

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Divide dough into four parts, and place in four different greased loaf pans.
3. Let rise in pans until dough reaches top of pans.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
5. 10 minutes before taking out of the oven, brush with melted butter.
6. Allow to cool before slicing!

Notes:

• For nice step by step pictures, click the link for the original recipe!
• You can use regular yeast, you just need to let the dough rise twice.
• Original author of recipe says to use either all-purpose flour or bread flour.  I have so far only used all-purpose and it is great!

See you in the kitchen,

Katie

Bread, Bread, Bread

I have this grand idea that there will always be delicious homemade bread in the kitchen.  Bread for sandwiches, bread for dessert, bread as basically a vehicle to get any kind of food into my mouth.  But most importantly, my favorite, favorite thing about homemade bread is simple.  Give me homemade, fresh bread and some good butter. YUM!!!! This does it for me! Better than chocolate, ice cream, cake, etc.  I enjoy bread and butter. Simple. 

Because of this, over the past two months or so about every other week I have been trying out most bread recipes I have come across.  This includes French breads, sandwich breads, white, wheat, cornmeal, breads that use oil, some that don't, etc.  I ultimately desire to put together a list of my go-to bread recipes.  To have a bread for every occasion and appetite. 

Most of the recipes I have used are tasty, yes.  However, I am having trouble baking a bread that can hold its shape.  Most recipes have produced tasty bread, but after being sliced it is really crumbly.  You can imagine that this doesn't work so well for sandwiches.  My hunt continues then for good, reliable recipes that produce the 'whole package' types of breads :D Those that basically are tasty and that hold their form. 

Today, because we ran out of bread, I decided to try a new recipe.  I also decided to make more tortillas (a triple batch to freeze most), and Cream Cheese Banana Bread.  So I used many, many cups of flour today! Wo!

If the bread I made today comes out well, I will post the recipe in a separate post.  Also, look for the recipe for the Cream Cheese Banana Bread soon!

The pictures are some taken during the process! The bread rising, making the banana bread, and the tortillas ready to go into the freezer!

See you in the kitchen!

Katie

Cinnamon Honey Butter

What better way to top your freshly baked bread or rolls with than cinnamon honey butter? 

The honey makes the butter melt right into the bread and is absolutely scrumptious.

Cinnamon Honey Butter:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Beat butter with electric mixer (or by hand).
2. Mix in remaining ingredients.

Notes:

• Lather over everything!

 

 

See you in the kitchen,

 

Katie