Fresh Ginger

Fresh Ginger is super delicious when added to stir-fry, meats, soups and all kinds of things. You can buy a fresh ginger root at the grocery store very inexpensively. I grate off what I want and then store it in the freezer in a plastic bag. Each time I need some, I just pull it out of the freezer and grate some more off. It works splendidly and now I always have fresh ginger when I want it!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Delicious Cream Cheese Frosting

How cute are these? I made them for Valentine's Day, and here's how:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 fluid ounce red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 12 cup muffin pans or line with 20 paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack.
   

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. I stored this in the fridge until I was ready to use it so that it was a little stiffer when I piped it onto my cupcakes. Delicious!

Stuffed Acron Squash

It's Shake n' Bake, and I helped! Well, not really, but it's Acorn squash, and I grew it! It is so rewarding eating food that you grew in your own backyard!

3 medium Acorn squash, cut in half and seeded
9-12 oz sausage ( I like Bob Evan's original, but you can't get that everywhere).
half of an onion, chopped
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1 box stuffing and seasonings (like stovetop) (any variety, 6 oz)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds (spread your almonds out on a cookie sheet or cake pan, cook on 350 until they are just getting "toasted" looking. Watch them carefully, I am notorious for burning these.)

Place your squashes face down in a glass dish and microwave for about 8-10 minutes. While this is happening, brown and crumble your sausage, with onions and celery. When your squash is done, scoop out the pulp (the squash part) onto a cutting board. Leave about a 1/4 inch lining of squash still in the shell. Coarsely chop the squash you scooped out. Add Chicken broth, brown sugar, and cranberries to your sausage mixture. Let this come to a boil. Then, add your stuffing packet, chopped squash and toasted almonds to the pan. Stir it up and then remove from heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Spoon this into your squash shells and cook on a baking sheet 30 minutes at 350.
This dish is yummy served with a green salad and rolls.

Flax Bran Muffins

I have been looking for a good recipe for breakfast muffins with flax seed and bran. I've finally found it! These muffins are tasty. (well, not tasty compared to say chocolate cheesecake, but tasty in a healthy way!)

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups ground flax seeds
3/4 cups oat or wheat bran
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
Combine these ingredients and then add to mixture:
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
2 apples peeled and shredded
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

combine the following and then add to above mixture:
3/4 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Fill your muffin cups 2/3 of the way full, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cinnamon Syrup

Some of you may not know, but I consider myself a syrup snob. Pure maple is the only way to go. I usually don't even like to think of what that other sticky stuff is made of. I think I posted this on my personal blog, but I once took my own heated syrup in an insulated mug to a church pancake breakfast. Only problem . . . pure maple syrup is incredibly expensive. I recently found out why--you have to boil down 40 gallons of maple sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. That just isn't a ratio that lends itself to good prices. 

Here is a syrup recipe a good friend here in Iowa gave me. I think it is actually the first thing I have ever made with corn syrup. It definitely isn't the liquid gold that is maple syrup, but it is still pretty good and definitely cheap. My kids gobbled it up too. I doubled the recipe so as not to waste most of the can of evaporated milk.

CINNAMON SYRUP
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/4 c. water
1 tsp cinnamon

Boil for 2 min. Let stand 5 min, then add:

1/2 c. evaporated milk

Pam's Granola

So we are now on our second batch of Pam's granola. Love it!! I like to put craisins in it when I eat it. I just saw Max head to his study room with a bowl of it--with added chocolate chips.

Thanks Pam!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Mmmmm. We Neals devour this peanut butter fudge. This is a recipe that Jared's mom makes perfectly every year...and I think I've finally mastered after a lot of fudge-making lessons from Mama Rosemary....

2 sticks of butter
1 can evaporated milk
5 cups white sugar (use a good pure cane sugar such as domino or c&h, if you don't, your fudge might turn out grainy)
2 cups (1 package) butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in your saucepan. Add sugar and canned milk. Bring to a boil, boil approximately 15 minutes. Test in cold water (get a small bowl of cold water, drizzle some of the hot mixture into it. If you can pinch it together into a soft/firm ball and it stays, then you are good.) Remove from heat and add p.b.,salt, butterscotch chips and vanilla. Pour into a 13X9 pan lined with parchment paper (enough that it is hanging over the edge about 3 inches. Once cool (several hours) pull the fudge out by the parchment paper and cut into desired sized pieces. Store in an airtight container. so yummy.

Lemon Meringue Pie

This is another of my grandmother's recipes that my mom makes every year.

1 graham cracker crust (I usually buy one, but if your feeling ambitious...)

Mix together and stir till smooth:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 egg yolks

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 c fresh squeezed lemon juice

Pour into graham cracker crust.

For the meringue:

Beat 3 egg whites on high. As the eggs begin to set up, slowly add 1/4 c sugar. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully smooth meringue over the pie filling and then pat it with a knife or spatula to raise peaks all over the top.

Bake in a 300 degree oven until top is golden brown (at least 1/2 hour). Cool on a rack and let set up in the fridge. The colder it is served, the better it will taste. 

My favorite rolls

Got this recipe from a cute little old lady in my neighborhood in Utah. They take a little effort, but they are soft and flaky and delicious!

Mix together:

3/4 cup sugar (or honey)

3/4 cup shorting (or butter)

1 cup potato flakes

1 Tbsp. salt

3 cups scalded milk (microwave for 5 minutes)

Stir in 2 cups flour

Add:

4 eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp yeast SAF

Stir in 4 1/2-5 cups flour (this makes 6 1/2 to 7 cups total)

Let rise until double (about 1 1/2 hours). Make into rolls by dividing dough in half. Roll one half of dough into a rectangle. Spread soft butter over and fold into thirds. Flatten with rolling pin. Cut with pizza cutter into strips no more than one inch wide. Twist and knot. Repeat with other half. Cover and let rise 3 hours. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 36 rolls.

Yams

I'm making these later this week so I'll have a photo to add then. It will probably make more sense with the photo.

So I love yams. I know some people don't, but I always have. My mom has always done yams the way her mom did them--in rick-racked orange peels.

Buy as many oranges as people you plan to serve. Cut off the top 1/4 of the orange, carefully scoop out the inside. With scissors, cut a rick-rack or zig zag pattern around the top edge of the orange.

Bake them well (as if for mashed potatoes), mash them up, and add butter, brown sugar, a little juice and/or zest from the oranges, salt, and pepper to taste. You could also add pecans or sprinkle some on top at the end. Fill oranges with yams.

When you are getting close to serving, place marshmallows on top of yams and heat in oven until marshmallows are browned.

Carrot Puff

We first ate this at a wedding lunch for some good friends. Max says that this should be the only way to eat carrots--lots of sugar, butter, and cinnamon.

1 pound carrots--cut in1" pieces, cover with water and cook to tender, then drain

Process them in the blender with 3/4 cups milk

Add: 

3 beaten eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix well

Put into 1/2 quart baking dish, bake at 350 for 30 minutes until center is set and a knife comes out clean.

Double this for a 9 x 13 pan and bake a bit longer.

Can garnish with orange slices and grated carrots or parsley.

Yikes.....Thanksgiving.....need.....help.....

So, this year, we find ourselves alone for thanksgiving....which means that I will be doing all of the cooking. So, I could really use your recipes!... Anything that you love to make or have for thanksgiving!
Don't disappoint me girls! I DO NOT want to be having cold cereal on thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Soup

The idea for this recipe came from a couple of things: a recipe that my sister in law, Kristy gave me for pumpkin soup got me thinking, and I had a pumpkin that I used for halloween decorating that I wanted to try and use! Jared was very skeptical about me making soup out of a pumpkin, but he loved the finished product!

Cut your pumpkin in half and clean out the seeds, then place each half face down on a cookie sheet. Bake at about 375 for about 45 minutes or until you can poke a fork through the outside. Let it cool for a minute and then scrape the pumpkin out of the shell. I suppose if you wanted a really smooth soup, you could food process it, but I like my soup a little chunky, so i just mashed it with a potato masher. And all of these measurements are approximate since all pumpkins are different sizes!

32 oz chicken broth (1 box)
1 1/2 - 2 cups milk (I used 2 % b/c that's what I had, but you could use whole, or even light cream if you wanted to)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt (or more, according to taste)
1 1/2 - 2 tsp chili powder

So, put your pumpkin in a large saucepan / pot. Add your chicken broth and milk and mix until it is a consistency that you like. Bring it to a boil. Add all of your spices and the sugar. Lower your heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Garnish with Cilantro, cheese, sour cream and extra chili powder. yum!

* if you don't have a pumpkin, you could always just used canned. I think this recipe would work best with about 30 oz of canned pumpkin.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These little cookies are my favorite for fall. So tasty! Make these!
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil & egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture and combine. Dissolve the soda in milk and add. Mix. Add vanilla and chocolate chips. Mix. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm in a 350 degree oven. (Really make sure these are done, this is a cake-like cookie and will be gross after a couple of days if they are not completely done).
Quite honestly, I don't know what the meaning of the dissolving of the milk and soda is. All I know is that these cookies are magically delicious.

Summer Broccoli Salad

I got this recipe from my mom in law. It is one of my favorite summertime recipes.

2 crowns of broccoli, coarsely chopped

1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 to 1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds

shredded mozzarella cheese to taste

dressing:

3/4 cups mayonnaise (not miracle whip)

1/8-1/4 cup vinegar (i prefer apple cider, but white works ok, too)

1-3 tablespoons of white sugar

celery seed to taste

Toss dressing and salad together. It is best chilled for a little before you eat it. This recipe serves about 4-5 people.