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!