My Caramel Corn

Well, I must say that Caramel Corn is my downfall - one of my MANY downfalls when it comes to sweets.  I took the liberty of customizing and ENLARGING a regular recipe to make this one.  I figure, make it once and make it BIG. :)

I'm getting ready to start my holiday baking/cooking/craziness, so I thought I'd start blogging again with this oldie but goodie.  It's probably one of my most signature "Libby" things I make.  Friends, tell me if I'm wrong.  Here you all go!  Make it and tell me what you think!

Oh, and HOPEFULLY, don't quote me on this, but my goal is to start getting some pictures up on here too.  Can you believe it?  Actually looking all professional and stuff.  I guess we'll have to just wait and see, won't we?

Caramel Corn

2/3 C popcorn, popped
9 T light corn syrup (1/2 C plus 1 T)
2 1/4 C packed brown sugar
18 T butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 300.  Place the popped corn in a large roasting pan.  In a medium saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup and brown sugar.  Cook and stir on medium to medium-high heat until butter melts and mixture comes to a boil.  When it comes to a boil, turn down to medium-low and boil WITHOUT stirring for 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes is up, remove from the heat and stir in extracts and soda.  Stir to combine.  Careful, it bubbles up and gets really foamy.  Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir to completely coat.  Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Stir caramel corn and then continue baking for 5 more minutes.

After the last 5 minutes, check a piece to see if it's got the crunchiness you're looking for.  If not, bake a few more minutes and check again!  Remove from oven and pour onto a counter covered with waxed paper, foil or parchment and allow to cool.  Break apart and enjoy!

You can make this a salted caramel by adding some fleur de sal or sea salt with the extracts and soda, and then by putting a small amout on the corn after you pour it on the counter to cool.

Ham and Lentil Stew

Okay, so I know this is the second post in a day, but I'm trying to make up for lost time.  This was our dinner tonight, and dare I say it was a HUGE HIT with the munchkins!  My kids always turn their nose up at soup for dinner.  I think it's genetic because their dad is the same way - unless it's accompanied by a nice big meaty sandwich.  My kids think this is just "ham and lentils", which is just fine with me.  It's like how we call every meat "Steak" or "Chicken", and every vegetable they may not like is a "different colored carrot".  Whoops, my train of thought has been derailed.  Back to the task at hand - here's my recipe!  Super yummy!

Ham and Lentil Stew

2 C small diced ham
1 C water
32 oz beef broth
8 oz dried lentils (this is by weight, not measurement)
1 C cut carrots
1/2 C diced bell peppers
1 small bag frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 small bag frozen cut green beans, thawed
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 C shredded cheddar cheese, if desired

Combine all ingredients into a crock pot and stir to combine well.  Turn the crock pot on High and cook 3 1/2 to 4 hrs.

Place a small handful of cheese in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup on top.  YUM!

Herb Focaccia

So, I was talking to one of my best friends from childhood, Shannon, and she was talking to me about her new love of baking!  How exciting is THAT?!  One more thing to bond over!  Anyway, I told her that I'd get my focaccia recipe on here and, like the great friend I am, it's taken me over a week to get it on here!  Whoops.  I hate it when life gets in the way of things you want to do.  Am I right?

Anyway, this is a great, easy focaccia recipe that takes just over an hour, start to finish.  I love it!  Nothing makes a house smell better than fresh baked bread, either.  This can make two small loaves or one large one.  Put whatever type of herbs on it you want.  YUM!  And Shannon, you've got to let me know how it turns out!

Herb Focaccia

3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pkg fast-acting yeast
1 C water
2 T vegetable oil
1 egg
3-4 T olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary or basil leaves, crushed (I like a little garlic too)

Grease a cookie sheet.  I a large bowl, combine 1 C of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast; mix well.  In a small saucepan, heat the water and oil until very warm, 120-130 degrees.  Add warm liquid and the egg to the flour mixture.  Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes at medium speed.  By hand, stir in an additional 1 3/4 C flour until dough pulls away from the sides of a bowl.  On a floured surface, knead in 3/4 C flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Cover with large bowl (or your mixing bowl) and let rest for 5 minutes. (You can also do the "by hand and kneading" part with the dough hook on your mixer)

Place dough on greased cookie sheet.  Roll or press to a 12-inch circle.  Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and a cloth towel.  Let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees) until light and doubled in size, about 30 minutes.  You can also proof it in the oven by placing a small metal bowl with water down in the bottom my the element, turning your oven onto the lowest setting, then, after it reaches temp, turning it off and letting the bread rise in there.

Heat the oven to 400.  Uncover the dough.  With fingers or handle of wooden spoon, poke holes in dough at 1 inch intervals.  Drizzle 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of dough.  Sprinkle evenly with rosemary.

Bake at 400 for 17-27 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire rack.  If you're making 2 smaller 8-inch loaves, bake for 10-20 minutes.

Pumpkin Biscotti

Okay friends.  So I've decided to venture into the world of fancy schmancy (yes, I said it) biscotti!  This one, I know, is not the most gourmet of flavors, but it certainly is yummy!  Any of you who usually get big plates of cookies or bags of my Christmas cookies may be getting all sorts of scrumptious biscotti this year. Here's the recipe for one of my favorite flavors - Pumpkin!  Hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Biscotti

2 1/2 C flour
1 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 C pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 350.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and the spices - including the salt.  Sift together or mix very well to combine.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin and vanilla.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture.  Give it as good a stir as you can to generally incorporate the ingredients.  This will be a very dry, crumbly dough.

Flour your hands and lightly knead the dough.  You can do this in the bowl, or on a lightly floured surface.  Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment.  Form the dough into ONE large log, roughly 15-20 inches long, 6 inches wide, but only 1/2 inch thick.  Bake 22-30 minutes, or until the center is firm to the touch.  Mine took about 26 minutes.

Remove from oven and let biscotti cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.  Remove from the sheet and place on a cutting board.  Cut loaves into 1/2 inch slices.

Turn oven to 300 and return the sliced biscotti to the baking sheet.  Bake an additional 15-20 minutes.  Cool completely.

I like to dip these into white chocolate or melted cinnamon chips.  Enjoy!

Red Beans and Rice

So I had EVERY intention of making this for dinner tonight, until I realized that I had no canned red beans.  I'm kind of a canned food addict, and LOVE buying things for the pantry - black beans being a staple.  Unfortunately, I'm always thinking I'm out of black beans, so I buy those, completely forgetting those wonderful little red beans.  I have them all dried in my huge pantry as well, but those don't lend themselves to last minute preparation, which I find myself doing all too often.

This is a tried and tested family favorite recipe here at our house.  I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do!

Red Beans and Rice

2 tsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 c)
1 T flour
1-15oz can red beans, rinsed and drained
1-8oz can tomato sauce
4 oz low fat sausage patties or links, cooked, drained and chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp Tabasco (optional)
3 c hot cooked rice (or more like we do!)
1/4 c sour cream (optional)

Melt butter in a skillet until sizzling.  Add onion.  Cook over medium heat until onion is softened, 2-3 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, sprinkle flour over onion; stir to mix well.  Continue to cook another minute to get rid of the "flour" taste.

Stir in beans, tomato sauce, sausage, bay leaf, pepper, and Tabasco if desired.  Cover and continue to cook until heated through and the flavors are blended, usually 10-15 minutes.  Remove bay leaf.

Serve the bean mixture over the rice, topping with the sour cream if you'd like.

Pork Chop Casserole

I LOVE casseroles!  There's something so homey and warm and inviting about an "all in one" meal, especially this time of year.  My friend Jen and I were baking biscotti and scones yesterday and I was already planning on making this casserole for dinner.  It's easy, tastes great and has those canned fried onions in it, so it's BOUND to be a winner!

I've made it a couple times before, and we've always loved it.  Jen said that I had to post it on my blog because, and I'm quoting of course, "I want this recipe and I'm too lazy to write it down.  Will you post it for me?"  What a good friend I am!  I'm totally posting this for you, my lazy friend Jen. :)

Pork Chops O'Brien

6-1/2 to 3/4 inch thick pork chops
1 T oil
1- 24 oz bag O'Brien hash browned potatoes, thawed
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 1/3 c fried onions from the can
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a frying pan, brown the pork chops in the oil on both sides and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix together the soup, sour cream, milk, pepper and seasoned salt.  Stir in the thawed potatoes, 1/2 cup of the cheese and 1 cup of the fried onions.  Make sure it's completely mixed.

Spread the potato mixture in a lightly greased 9x13 pan.  Lay the browned pork chops on top of the potato mixture.  Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.  Remove foil and top with the remaining cheese and fried onions.  Bake for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.  Remove from the oven and enjoy all the gooey, cheesy, potatoey goodness!

Crock Pot Stew

Well, it's feeling like "Stew Weather" more and more these days. As I sat down to plan out this weeks meals, I had a hankering for stew AND didn't want to have to cook it when I got home from work at 6:30. I also had an overwhelming desire for Kettle Corn, but that's another story completely!

I ended up finding this great recipe for beef stew and tweaked it to my liking. I ALWAYS use those wonderful crock pot liners you find at the store too. They are a life saver! Hope you enjoy!

Crock Pot Beef Stew

3 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 carrots, cut into chunks

2 onions, cut into chunks

3 ribs of celery, sliced

2 lbs stew meat

2 c tomato juice

1 c water

1/3 c quick cooking tapioca, the small ones

1 T sugar

1 T salt

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp black pepper

Grease the crock pot and place the potatoes in the bottom. Top with raw meat chunks. Place the remaining vegetables on top of the meat. In a small bowl, mix together juice, water, tapioca and all the seasonings. Pour over the vegetables and meat mixture.

Cook on Low for 8-10 hours. Stir and enjoy!

Blueberry Cinnamon Biscotti

Well, for back to school night I thought it would be nice to take a little something to the kids' teachers. No, it was NOT a kissing up thing either! LOL I was in a baking mood and didn't want to take cookies, so I decided to make biscotti. I found this basic recipe, tweaked it a little bit and came out with a great result. Biscotti means twice baked, which is the secret to getting crunchy little cookies! Hope you enjoy!

Blueberry Cinnamon Biscotti

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

4 eggs

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon extract

3 c flour

1 T baking powder

3/4 c dried blueberries

3/4 c cinnamon chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and cinnamon extracts. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in cranberries and vanilla chips. This is a sticky dough.

On an ungreased baking sheet, divide into 3 portions. With lightly wet hands, shape each into a 10x2 rectangle. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes.

transfer to a cutting board and cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2-inch slices. Place cut side down back on the ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, flip to the other side and bake for 5 to 8 more minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

For an easy glaze, take the remaining cinnamon chips and put them in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each, to melt the chips. Pour into a zip top bag and snip a little bit of one corner off. Drizzle over the cooled biscotti. If you don't want to drizzle, simply dip the ends in the melted chips. Happy baking!

Barley, Lentil and Sun-dried Tomato Soup

I have this wonderful cookbook called "Wandering and Feasting", and it goes through Washington state area by area and gives a recipe specific to each. From Oroville to Yelm and Dayton, there are recipes from all over the state. It's a great book! Well, that's where I got this recipe. All I had to do was turn to the most wrinkled, crispy page and there's one of my favorite soup recipes! I made this when I was 19 for our valentines dinner at church and it was a big hit!

Sometimes I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make a great vegan soup! Let me know what you think! This one's for you, Janet. :)

Barley, Lentil and Sun-dried Tomato Soup

2 T vegetable oil

1/2 c chopped red bell pepper

1/2 c chopped onion

1 c chopped celery

1/4 c chopped carrots

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

5-14oz cans of chicken broth or 8 1/2 c homemade stock

1-28oz can of crushed tomatoes with juice

1 c pearled or whole grain barley

1 c dry lentils, any color, rinsed and drained

1 c tomato juice

2 c water

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried thyme

8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

In a large kettle or stock pot, add oil and over medium heat saute red pepper, onion, celery, carrots and garlic until tender.

Add salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. (If using whole grain barley, cook for 2 hours or until barley is tender.) Check and stir occasionally. May be thinned with broth or water. Ladle into soup bowls and ENJOY!

Herbed Parmesan Chicken Breasts

This one's for you, Carrie. Like the terrible blogger I am, I didn't see your request you made WAY BACK WHEN. Whoops. This is the chicken I made for the Valentine's dinner at our church last year. It's easy and very tasty! It's a good "go to" recipe for those days where you don't want something really difficult, but also want something that tastes like it took forever to make! You can also make them and freeze to cook later. Here you go!

Herbed Parmesan Chicken Breast

1/2 c Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp garlic

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 c butter, melted

4, 4 oz chicken breasts

Heat oven to 400. Combine cheese, basil, garlic and oregano in a pie pan or shallow bowl. Place the melted butter in another shallow bowl or pan. Dip chicken in butter and coat with cheese mixture

Place chicken into ungreased 8 or 9-inch square baking dish and bake for 17-22 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear when pierced with a fork. They say to temp it out at 165.

If you want to freeze and bake later, simply place your chicken in the square dish as directed but don't bake it. Cover it tightly with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw it, just place the pan in the fridge for 24 hours. Then, heat oven to 400 and bake as directed.

Back to School Monster Cookies

HOLY COW! It's been since JANUARY? You've GOT to be kidding! Well, will you guys, you few followers, keep me on my toes about posting? Please and thank you.

Well, school starts tomorrow, and that's got me thinking about things. This is going to be the year, like I say EVERY year, that I have fresh cookies for the kids after school. This is the year where they get fantastic lunches and they eat everything without complaining (not that I'd hear the complaint at school anyway). This is the year I really complete my transformation to SUPERMOM!

Now that the twins are starting all-day kindergarten, I can maybe keep my house clean? MAYBE?! If nothing else, I'll be able to get back to all the baking I used to do and enjoy my kitchen a little more frequently.

As for this post, my friend Leslie gave me a wonderful Monster Cookie recipe. We're starting a moms of preschoolers group at our church, and THIS is the go home treat for the first one. It's called m&m - for "mommy and me". If you can't make it this Friday, the 10th of Sept, then make these yummy big batch cookies for yourself! By the way, that IS lb's and there is no flour in this recipe. :)

Happy Monstering!

Les's Monster Cookies

1 c butter

2 c sugar

1 lb brown sugar

6 eggs

1 1/2 lb crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 T maple syrup (real maple syrup please)

9 c quick oats

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

14 oz plain m&m's

Preheat your oven to 350. In a VERY large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars. Mix in the eggs, peanut butter, vanilla, baking soda and maple syrup. Stir in the quick oats, mixing well. Stir int he chocolate chips and m&m's, making sure it's well combined.

Drop large cookies onto a baking sheet and bake for approximately 12 minutes. Remove from sheet to rack to cool. This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies! Great to make ahead and freeze!

Beir-Ox's...Beerox...or however you say them!

So my cousins wife Gena makes these fantastic little bundles of cheap yumminess called "Beer Ox's". I don't know how that's really spelled, and neither does she, so for the sake of simplicity, we're going to spell it like it sounds. Everybody good on that one?

Gena's Beer Ox's are basically bread rolls filled with ground beef, cabbage and onion. They are really inexpensive and fast to make. The kids love to dip them in ketchup and call them Hamburger rolls. Here's my version with ground turkey.

Beer Ox's (would that be Beer Oxen for a whole pan?)

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)

1/2 head cabbage, shredded and diced

1 medium to large onion, diced

1/2 tsp thyme

salt and pepper to taste

12 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls

Place dinner rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 pan and allow to thaw to room temperature, but not rise - about 2 hours. In a saute pan, cook the turkey until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, saute the onion until translucent, adding a little oil if necessary. Add diced cabbage and continue to cook until cabbage is cooked through. Add the turkey, thyme and salt and pepper and stir together. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350. Take a defrosted rolland press flat until it's about a 5" circle. Add 2 tablespoons (more or less) to the center of the roll and pull the sides up, pinching to seal. Place filled roll back in the pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining 11 rolls.

Place full pan of filled rolls in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until rolls are lightly browned on the top. Remove from the oven and enjoy! Great dipped in ketchup or hot mustard.