ginger spice

To contact us Click HERE

Not to be confused with Geri Halliwell. Any Spice Girlsfans out there? No? I won't lie, I liked 'em for a hot second. Correction: I liked a few of their songs; I was never a great admirer of the girls themselves.*


Nope, I prefer my spices alphabetically arranged in my spice rack, ready to be used in baking. I've learned to accept the unrelenting cold of winter simply because it occurs at the same time as the emergence of heavy spice usage. You can't walk near a bakery in October without detecting the aroma of cinnamon, cloves, or ginger, and I love it.


These cookies are the quintessential batch of fall cookies. Not only do they have all the important spices of the season, but they also crackle like my skin upon contact with the cold, dry air. The scent alone is reason enough to make these, but their flavor is a nice bonus. The coating of sugar that dissolves on your tongue is simply the crowning touch.


*Oh, Spice Girls. You could've been great. What about you, friends? Did you care for them at all? Did you come up with your own Spice Girl name? I think I would've been Snarky Spice.

Spice Up Your Life Crinkle Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars.
Add egg and beat well.
Beat in molasses.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices; gradually add to creamed mixture.
Refrigerate for one hour or until dough is easy to handle.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll in sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned and cracked on top.
Cool one minute before removing to wire racks.

Th-th-th-that's all, folks!

chocolate-challenged

To contact us Click HERE

It's been ages since I've posted anything chocolate! I think that I'm not like most female humanoids because I don't really ever crave chocolate. Caramel, yes, but very rarely chocolate.


You're calling me a freak under your breath right now, aren't you. That hurts. That hurts, but I can't really deny it.

These chocolate cupcakes are so chocolatey that they should make up for the dearth of chocolate on this blog. It's a chocolate trifecta: You've got your fluffy and moist chocolate cake. You've got your rich and luscious ganache filling. You've got your creamy and flavorful chocolate buttercream frosting.


What you should also have is a tall, cold glass of milk at the ready.

Chocolate Cubed Cupcakes (not to be confused with Cubed Chocolate Cupcakes)
Makes 24
Ingredients:
One batch of chocolate cupcakes
One batch of chocolate buttercream frosting
Ganache filling:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 7 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 ounce butter, room temperature

Directions:
Make the cupcakes as directed and let them cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the ganache filling by heating the cream and corn syrup over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Place the butter and chocolate in a large bowl and immediately pour the liquids it that bowl. Let this mixture sit for a moment before stirring it until smooth.
Prepare the frosting as directed.
To fill the cupcakes, carve out a cone-shaped hole and squirt the ganache inside. Apply frosting generously to the cupcakes and, after giving the components a few minutes to get to know each other, devour.

the roof of your mouth will thank you

To contact us Click HERE

I like peanut butter, but I'm somewhat annoyed by the way it coats the inside of my mouth when I try to eat a spoonful of it. It's even a problem between two slices of bread or crackers, particularly if there's no jelly or jam to moisten things up.*

*Ever had a sandwich consisting of saltines and peanut butter? That's dry mouth at its finest!

What better way to combat this dilemma than to lighten the stuff up with whipped cream? Let's put it all in a pie shell and top it with chocolate while we're at it.

Folks, this is a really good pie. The recipe comes from Joy of Cookingso you know it's legitimate. I changed it a little--I bumped up the whipped cream portion by 50% because I love a super light and fluffy filling, but feel free to use just 1 cup of cream. It'll still be magnificent.


The peanuts on top are entirely optional, but I'd encourage that you use them (with stipulations**). The salty crunch that they provide is a nice contrast to the creamy filling.

**What stipulations, you ask? I beg you, please use salted peanuts. As far as I'm concerned, there's no need to ever purchase any unsalted nuts. Those of you feeding folks with salt-intake issues need not heed this plea.


And just like that, we have defeated peanut butter in its attempt to coat the entirety of our mouths. Huzzah!

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie
Adapted from Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006

Ingredients:

• One chocolate cookie crust
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• l cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped salted peanuts (optional)

Directions:
Prepare the chocolate crust as directed.
To make the pie filling, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla on medium speed just until smoothly blended.
In a separate bowl, beat 1-1/2 cups cold heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
Using a large rubber spatula, fold half of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining cream.
Spread the mixture evenly in the pie crust.
Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
To make the ganache topping, bring 1/3 cup heavy cream and the butter to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
Remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until smooth.
Let cool to lukewarm, then pour the glaze over the pie and spread evenly.
Sprinkle with 1/3 cup chopped salted peanuts, if desired.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Grandma's Beef Stew

To contact us Click HERE

Last month, I made a post about how to plan a soup party. This evening, as I was making beef stew for dinner, I realized I forgot to include that recipe in my list of favorites for a soup party. I decided I’d post this recipe now.

Stew is wonderful any time of the year, but especially when it’s cold outside. Okay…here in Dallas, it’s not exactly cold…at least by Midwest standards..but it’s still somewhat chilly. So tonight the stew really hit the spot.

I got this recipe from my grandmother when I was a teenager, and have fond memories eating it at her house when I was growing up. I’ve made it for my own family a lot over the years, and it’s one of my husband’s and sons’ favorite meals. You may enjoy this recipe too.

GRANDMA’S BEEF STEW

4 lbs. beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes (cube when beef is semi-frozen, for easy cutting!)
4 T. oil
5 cups water
2 large yellow onions, sliced thinly
3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 ½ tsp. garlic powder
3 bay leaves
1 T. salt
2 tsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. ground cloves
2 lb. bag carrots, peeled and sliced in ¼-inch slices
3 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ to ¾ inch cubes
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Brown beef cubes in oil in large Dutch oven. Then add 5 cups of water and the onions, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, bay leaves, salt, sugar, paprika, pepper and cloves. Let simmer over stove, uncovered, for an hour. Remove bay leaves. Add carrots and potatoes. Cover pot and cook for another 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. At the end of the cooking time, blend 2/3 cup water and flour together in a small bowl. Pour into stew and blend in and stir another 2-3 minutes—until stew is thickened. Makes about 10 to 12 large servings.

Enjoy!
~Becky

Hot 'n Spicy Crock Pot Chili

To contact us Click HERE
I said it before...and I'll say it again: I love my crock pots! (I say "crock pots" plural, because I have seven of them, in varying sizes. I use them all, often multiple crock pots for one meal. The main entree might go in a large 6 1/2- or 7-quart crock pot, and then I may have several side dishes cooking in the smaller or medium-sized crock pots. If I've got a large crowd coming over, I might have both of my two 7-quart crock pots cooking the same main entree such as roast beef.)

Cooking in a crock pot is an easy and stree-free way to entertain. You start the food cooking in the morning (You can even do all your advance food prep the night before and put the filled crock pot in the fridge until cooking time), and have very little, if any, food prep to do before your guests arrive (which means you can be relaxing beforehand!). And if it's a chilly day outside, you have the added plus of taking in all those wonderful smells coming from the kitchen all day.

I took advantage of my crock pot this past weekend. As I mentioned in previous posts, we had a Super Bowl party this past Sunday. We also had overnight, out-of-town guests coming over Saturday evening. I already had a lot to do Saturday night, with getting ready for the Super Bowl party. There wasn't going to be a lot of "free" time Saturday evening for fixing a big dinner. So my crock pot came to the rescue....again! I used my large crock pot, and made crock pot chili...which was enough for about 12 people. On the side we served sour cream, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, diced onions, and Fritoes. Our guests brought corn bread and tossed salad. It was a very yummy...and filling meal. I made up the chili the day before--on Friday--and kept it in the fridge until Saturday morning. It cooked all day Saturday, and about 6 pm when our guests arrived, dinner was ready!

The recipe I use for chili is one that I adapted and tweaked from the small recipe booklet that came with my West Bend crockery cooker. Here it is:

3 lbs. lean ground beef
2 ½ cups chopped yellow onions (3-4 large onions)
2 ½ cups chopped green bell pepper (3-4 large bell peppers)
3 tsp. crushed garlic
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies, drained
4 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes (undrained), cut up
2 (15 oz.) cans dark red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 oz.) cans light red kidney beans, drained
4 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper and garlic in large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess grease. Transfer mixture to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients; stir to blend. Cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Enjoy!

~Becky

Grandma Spencer's Strawberry Spinach Salad

To contact us Click HERE

Yesterday was my dad, the "Big Man's", birthday.  In our family we don't go all out or anything for birthdays, but we did all head over to Mom and Dad's house to have a nice family dinner.  Mom had to work late yesterday and my offer of making dinner was turned down because it would've apparently taken too much time so we ended up ordering pizza for dinner.  As a nice little side to go along with our pizza I decided to make this strawberry spinach salad.

This salad is a family favorite.  When we were kids (well maybe not my brother who also wouldn't eat ketchup) we would always gobble it up even though it was full of spinach!  My Grandma Spencer used to always make it and it was a recipe that we made sure to get from our grandpa once she had passed away.  Now we make it for special dinners every once in a while or it's also great to take to pot lucks as well. 


And in case you were wondering, there was no cake for dessert, Dad is not a big cake person.  Instead we had brownies, his all time favorite.  My sister Avery made the brownies and added pecans to half of them because that's the way dad likes them.  (Well Dad would prefer the whole pan have nuts but some other people in the family are picky.)  
Ingredients

• 12 oz fresh baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cider or raspberry vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced

Directions

1. Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, green onion, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours (or longer.)
2. Toast sesame seeds at 350 degrees for about ten minutes (150 for about 5 minutes in a toaster oven.)
3. Toss spinach, sesame seeds, dressing, and strawberries in a large bowl.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin French Toast Bread Pudding

To contact us Click HERE

Food and I have not been getting along lately. There has been a lot of cooking and eating, but will sub par success. Failed attempts at the perfect pumpkin Bourbon bread pudding (determination pays off people). Restaurant meals not meeting my highly anticipated expectations. Burning cookies.

Buying the same smoked butterkase, on two separate occasions, for a Badger Cheese Club Meeting, and I call myself president. Don't worry, I caught the mistake in time to dash to the store and by smoked mozzarella, but really I had already been to three stores for cheese that same day. Where was my head at?!



I made biscuits that were over mixed and poorly risen. The whole reasoning for making them was because they are the perfect fail safe. Biscuits are supposed to be my friend. It seemed like there wasn't anything to lose by giving the pumpkin bread pudding a fourth try at perfection.


A lot of lessons were learned on the road to this fabulous baked french toast bread pudding. Brioche bread makes better bread pudding than french bread. If you do chose to use french or country bread, try to use drier day old bread.

More bourbon for me and less for the bread pudding. Too much for the pudding and it gets a sick texture and taste. Same goes for too much bourbon for me, but that's a whole other story. Be sure to really let all the bread get well coated with the pumpkin custard mixture. Keep stirring it in a large bowl, until it is mostly all absorbed. Its important.


If you find the texture of bread pudding unpleasant, this may be for you. Its more like french toast, hence the name. It's super delicious and not too sweet. Double it to feed a crowd french toast, minus the hour standing in front of the griddle, for breakfast, on Thanksgiving morning. Give it a try with ice cream and caramel sauce, for dessert.

xo
April

Serves: 6
Ingredients:
5 cups brioche bread (11 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk
2 whole large eggs, 1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon bourbon
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch ground cloves

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, with rack in middle.
2. Whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices and bourbon in a medium bowl.
3. In another large bowl, pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes. Toss the bread cubes until well coated and mostly absorbed. Transfer to a 8x8 inch ungreased baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25-30 minutes.

Adapted from Gourmet