A Big Thank You

For those of you who check this blog out a BIG THANK YOU! I really appreciate it very much.
If there are any recipes that you maybe looking for and I can help you with please feel free to contact me. I will help whereever I can.

Also if you could go to my blog page and hit the follow button, you will never miss a posting that I may make. The more followers the merrier.

The holidays are just around the corner and everyone will be getting busier & busier. Shopping, decorating the homes, & of course baking. I will be posting lots of holiday recipes in the near future. As I have already started my baking for the holiday season. We usually host both Christmas Eve & Christmas Day at our house so the earlier I can get started the better.

I make all kinds of cookies, bars & candy. I even have some very simple, festive cookies that I do that you can have your children & grandchildren help. They will have a blast with these easy fun recipes.

Lastly my prayers and thoughts go out to all on the East Coast and hope you and your families are all safe and continue to be safe. The season of Blessing is approaching and we all need to take a moment and give thanks for all that each of us has.

Happy Eating!!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 brown sugar, packed

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, fresh or canned

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (optional)

 

 

MAPLE DRIZZLE

 

2/3 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. You'll need 20 muffin cups lined with paper liners. Beat sugars, butter,

spices, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda & salt in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, until blended.

 

2. Beat in eggs & egg whites. Beat in pumpkin puree on low speed until just combined.

Alternately beat in flour, then milk, until just blended. Stir in berries (optional).

 

3. Put 1/4 cup batter in each muffin cup. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick insertes into centers comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans on rack, remove from pans and cool completely.

 

4. DRIZZLE: up to 4 hours before serving, stir ingredients in small bowl until smooth. Scrape into a small ziploc bag. Cut a small tip from one corner of bag and drizzle over cupcakes.

 

Garnish with pumpkins if you wish.

 

This recipe is courtesy of Woman's Day

Poor Man's Stroganoff

Brown:

 

2 pounds hamburger with 1 medium sized onion (chopped)

 

Season with Lawry's Salt & Pepper

 

Add on can of cream of chicken soup

 

Heat throughly.

 

Add 1  8oz container of sour cream (more or less to taste)

 

Cook 1  16oz pkg egg noodles or spinach noodles.

 

 

Serve Sauce over noodles.

 

 

A very quick and easy meal that will be filling and delicous.

Spiced Pumpkin Fudge

2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3 cup (5 oz can) evaporated milk

1/2 cup pumpkin

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 cups (12 oz pkg) Premier White Morsels

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecan (optional)

 

Line 9 x 13 pan with foil or parchment paper.

 

Combine: sugar, brown sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter & spice in medium, heavy duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil, stirring constantly, for 10 - 12 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 - 240 degrees (soft-ball stage).

 

Quickly stir in morsels, marshmallow creme and vanilla. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until morsels are melted. Immediately pour into prepared pan, Let stand on wire rack for 2 hours or until completely cooked. Refrigerare tightly covered.

To cut lift foil out of pan.

 

I used parchment paper & it worked really well.

This is an awesome treat..

 

I got this recipe out of my Nestle Cookbook.

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

12 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted, plus room temperature butter for pan)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups fresh pumpkin (or 1 can canned pumpkin)

3 large eggs

 

Preheat oven to 375. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger and salt. In medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pimpkin, melted butter and eggs; add flour mixture and stir until just combined.

 

Divide batter between prepared pans. bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean. about 50 minutes Let cool 10 minutes; inverted pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely. Glaze if desired

 

 

SUGAR GLAZE

 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

 

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar with 2 - 3 tablespoons of water until mixture is smoth but thick.

Place waxed paper under rack for a quick cleanup. For easy pouring, transfer glaze to a liquid measuring cup, and drizzle over loaves. Let dry 15 minutes before serving.

Makes enough for 2 loaves

 

 

This recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart



Pumpkin Crunch Dessert

Mix in order:

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups fresh pumpkin (or 1 large can or 2 small cans cannned pumpkin)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon (I use 2 tsp)

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 can carnation evaporated milk

 

Pour this mixture into 9 x 13 pan

 

Sprinkle over top of mixture:

1 white or yellow dry cake mix

 

Drizzle over top:

1 cup melted butter

 

 

Bake at 325 for 1 - 1 1/2 hours

 

Serve with cool whip on top.

Better if made the day before

Processing Pimpkin

Going to start working on all the pumpkin I have from my garden. I always plant what is called Pie Pumpkin. They get to be 5 - 7 pounds and are very easy to handle. They contain alot less water than a traditional pumpkin and that is why I use them and they are great for all your pumpkin needs.

To do these is actually easy but time consuming. I cut the top off and then slice the pumpkin into slices. Cut the insides out (save those seed if you like roasted pumpkin seeds). Make sure that when you cut the hard outer peel off that you dont accidentially leave any on the pumpkin (this is very very bitter tasting). Cut cleaned pumpkin into cubes and put into a steamer and cook until tender. About 15 minutes. Then put in food processor and process until creamy. Then move pumpkin into a strainer and let any access water drip off. I them measure it into 2 cups and put into a ziploc freezer bag and then I put that bag into a food saver bag and seal. this will ensure that you gt no ice build up in the bag. When I know that I want to make something with pumpkin I take a bag out of freezer the day before and let unthaw in fridge.

Like I said it is easy to do but time consuming.
Look for lots and lots of pumpkin recipes coming to you. Amazing what you can do with pumpkin and my whole family loves it.

Happy eating!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin & More Pumpkin

I have almost 55 pumpkins sitting on my dining room table. They are screaming at me to get them processed.
It is alot of work to cut them, clean them & get them processed. But it is totally worth it in the long run because I have fresh pumpkin for all my cooking and baking needs.
Amazing the things that can be made with pumpkin. Soup, bars, pies, cookies, cheesecake and the list goes on.
I will post over the weekend on how to take of the pumpkin so that you have it all winter long.
There is nothing better than a completly made from scratch pumpkin pie. I actually have people pay me every year to make Pumpkin Pie for them for Thanksgiving.
I will be posting alot of pumpkin recipes for you all in the coming days also. So please stay  tuned.

Also I would apprciate if you would leave me a comment on my blog so I know who was here. And dont be afraid to ask me if you have questions or there is a recipe that you may be looking for and I may be able to help you out with it.

Happy Eating

Potato, Ham and Cheese Soup

Bake a ham. Save the Ham juice you get, this is excellent in this soup. Gives is lots more flavor.

 

In a large kettle put about 1 quart of ham juice and 1 quart of water, 1 - 2 large onions, about 12 - 15 potatoes(peeled & diced) and about 1 pound of cooked, diced ham.

 

Cook this until potatoes are tender. Add about 2 pounds velveeta cheese (whole or cubed) and 1 cup milk.

 

Cook until chesse is melted and the soup is heated throughly.

 

I take my leftover soup and put into quart jars and I freeze it. Fresh soup anytime you want it (I take it out the day before we want it again).

 

 

I like to use 2 quarts of ham juice and 1 quart of water. I use 1 onion instead of 2. I use 1 1/2 - 2 cups milk depending on thick it is. And I usually use 1 - 1 1/2 pounds cheese. We garnish it with fresh ground black pepper jsut before eating.

 

You could twwek this recipe anyway you would like to.

 

Simple and easy to make and very tasty.

Fruit Dip

1 8oz package softened cream cheese

 

3/4 cup brown sugar

 

1 tsp vanilla

 

1 tsp milk

 

Mix together and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

Serve with fresh fruit

Spiced Apple Butter

16 cups thick apple pulp

8 cups sugar

1 cup vinegar

4 tsp cinnamon

 

Cofre and slice apples, dud do not peel. Add enough water to cook apples until soft.

Press thru fine sieve and measure. Combine all ingredients. Cook about 90 minutes

until ixture remains a smooth mass when slightly cooled. Stir frequently to prevent

burning, Pour into sterlized jars and seal while hot. Good with meat and noodles as well as bread ans toast.

Apple Dumplings

12 red Rome Apples peeled/cored, placed in lemon water

 

Mix Together:

 

1 cup brown sugar                                         1/2 tsp nutmeg

 

1 cup white sugar                                          1 1/2 - 2 tsp cinnamon

 

3/4 cup raisins                                               3/4 cup peacan pieces

 

 

Drain and pat dry apples, then fill center of apple with abouve mixture.

Keep extra mixture for caramel sauce.

 

Place apple in a 4 x 4 puff pastry square or piecrust and brush corners of pastry

with egg eash. Now fold each corner up to center of apple, pinch seams, and

brush top with egg wash. Place on wax paper on sheet pan and bake. Bake at

350. Bake until crust is golden brown and Apple is tender. Do not over bake or

apple will become mushy.

Remove from pan while hot to prevent sticking, serve with warm caramel sauce

or ice cream.

 

Caramel Sauce

 

Melt together:

 

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

 

Then add leftover filling mixture. If you have no filling leftover, use the filling

recipe and add butter, and  heavy cream.

 

Pie Crust Recipe

 

Mix together:

 

3 cup flour

1 cup lard

1 tsp salt

 

Add:

 

1 egg

1 Tblsp vinegar

5 Tblsp water

 

 

 

 



Fun Fact About Apples

 

 

Apples

 

True American Immigrants

 

 

Fun Fact:  While apples are consider, well - as American as apple pie-

 

they most likely descended from wild apples in Kazakhstan, Central Asia.

 

Of the thousands of wild varieties in the world, we would find only a few

 

to be tasty. But we still benefit from their genetic strengths.

 

 

Johnny Appleseed may have planted his orchards from see, but if you

 

try planting an apple seed you will most likely not get an edible apple.

 

The apples we eat today are from grafted trees. This growing method

 

ensures production of the desired fruit.

Vegetable Soup

Now that fall is in full swing and winter is just around the corner (I know I should bite my tongue). It is soup season. I make many kinds of homemade soups and one of favorites is, of course, Vegetable Soup. I will take a whole afternoon on a Saturday and make a canning kettle full of vegetable soup and I can whatever we dont eat for supper. I will usually can about 15 quarts of soup. Then we have it whenever we want it all winter along. Here is my recipe for it.

1 -2 large soup bones (you can buy at grocery store or butcher shop)
1 -2 large onions
salt
pepper
carrots
beets
cabbage 1 medium sized head shredded
rice
corn
potatoes
any other vegetable that you like in soup

Cook soup bones and onions in water for at least 2 hours.
Take soup bones out, scrape meat off bone and set aside.
Add carrots, potaoes, cabbage (shredded), rice, corn & beets. I usually rinse my beets off good so that my soup doesn't get so red. Also add any other vegetables that you would like in soup.
Cook this for 2 hours or until vegetables are tender. You may need to add more salt & pepper, depending on your taste. I will taste my soup as it is cooking so I can add more salt & pepper if needed.

Hot soup is ready to eat. Goes well with fresh out of the oven bread.

After soup that is leftover is cooled off, I put into quart jars. I put quart jars into pressure cooker and bring pressure cooker up to 10 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes.
And there you have fresh homemade vegetable soup all winter long.

Happy eating

Hi Everyone

I love cooking and baking and canning. If you would like to see anything specific please let me know and I will do my best to accommadate you. Or if you have any recipes that you would to share with me and the world I will be happy to post on my blog and give you the credit you would deserve by stating that it is your recipe.

Things have been moving pretty slow for me getting this blog going. But my husband has been dealing with some health issues and is not able to do alot of things that he would normally do. So this all has fallen on my shoulders along with having a demanding full time job. My wonderful Sister has been trying to help me out here and there but we live 3 hours away from each other but she is a great inspiration to me. Her blog The Finishing Touches is attached to my blog and I certainly hope that you take a moment and check her out. She is a very crafty lady and loves to give people ideas on what can be done with that space that you just aren't sure about.
Hope you share this blog with everyone that you know and that you all enjoy it.
There will be pictures coming in the future (when i can figure out how to post them on here...LOL)

Happy Eating everyone.

Apple Butter

Well I am still dealing with apples. Feel like they multiple on their own sometimes.

Decided to do some apple butter this weekend.
Here is the recipe for you.

APPLE BUTTER

4 cups apples, peeled, cored and cut into pieces
8 cups water
1 1/2 qt cider
1 1/2 lb sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground cloves

Place apples in a large kettle and cover with water.
Bring to a boil and simmer until apples are quite soft.
Chop in food processor.
Bring cider to a boil and add the chopped apple pulp.
Add sugar and cook slowly, uncovered until the mixture is thick and dark on color, stirring
frequently to prevent from sticking.
Add spices and cook 20 minutes longer.
Sppon into hot, sterlized jars and seal in hot water bath for 20 minutes.
Store in a cool, dry place.

Now if you are a diabetic or if you just dont want all the sugar you can use Truvia or Stevia instead.
You cut the amount of sugar in half.

This is good on bagel, toast even ice cream

Happy eating

Apples, Apples and more Apples

Ever wonder what in the world you are going to do with all the apples that your tree produced this year?
Well you could give them away to neighbors, co-workers or people at your church.
But I have a few ideas for you. You could make applesauce, nothing better than fresh applesauce in the middle of winter. You could make pies, apple crisp, apple jelly, and the list goes on.
I canned sliced apples in a light syrup this weekend so that we could have the fresh apples this winter. My grandchildren really like to eat them also. The are so easy to make. Here is how you do it:

First you will need a apple peeler/corer. You can buy these at Fleet Farm for about $15. It is a worth while investment for this.

Attach apple to the peeler/corer. After you have apple peeled, slice them in half. Take off any bad spots and any peel that may still be on apple. Put into sink of cold water with fresh fruit in the water(this will keep apples from browning).
Pack apples in pint or quart jars tightly. Ladle a hot light syrup over the apples. Put lid & ring on, boil in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. Let jars sit on counter overnight. Make sure the lids sealed by pushing down in the middle of the lid (do this 24 hours after done processing).

Light Syrup recipe:

Heat on stove 5 1/4 cups water & 2 1/2 cups sugar.

Its that easy.