Raisin Filled Cookies

This started off as Golden Raisin cookies from King Arthur Flour. Some basic changes had to happen though because I don't like hard chewy raisins.  So I simmered the raisins in cinnamon water until they were soft and then chopped them up a little. The drawback to that was while they were really good, they don't keep over night. The raisins make the cookies soft, which was actually delicious as well.


2 c. flour

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, frozen

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. coconut oil

7-8 Tbsp. ice water

Filling

2 c. raisins

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

water to cover

Cream

Coarse Sugar

Simmer the raisins together with the cinnamon. Once they are plump and soft drain and chop. Put them on a paper towel for a little while preparing the dough to dry out as much as possible.

Another change I made was cream on the top instead of egg with the sugar to top.

The rest of the directions are the same as on the King Arthur web site so you can look there for directions. 

Cabbage Broccoli Salad

I made something very similar to this a few months ago with a sesame dressing and mandarin oranges in the salad. I made it this time almost exactly like my mom used to make it but with the addition of broccoli. 

And since Ramen noodles are technically pasta (I checked) I am sending this to Presto Pasta Nights 258 at Once upon a Feast.

1 small head cabbage or 1/2 large head

1 head broccoli

2 pkg oriental ramen noodles

3/4 c. sunflower seeds

1  - 2 c. sliced almonds

2 lb. chicken breasts

season salt

oil

Dressing (Recipe follows)

Cut the cabbage into quarters and cut out the core. Cut each quarter in half again, lengthwise and then slice into thin ribbons. Dump into a really large bowl.

Chop the broccoli pretty fine and place in the bowl with the cabbage. Add the sunflower seeds and the almonds. Crush the ramen noodles pretty well before opening the package and add the noodles to the bowl, reserving the seasoning packets for the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir well to combine.

When that is all done trim the chicken breasts and season generously with season salt. Cook in hot oil until no longer pink in the middle and both sides are browned. Immediately chop the chicken into small pieces and add to the cabbage bowl. Stir to combine. You can use leftover chicken here, I like to add it hot to the salad though because it cooks the broccoli ever so slightly and makes it a nice bright green color. 

Dressing:

1 c. oil

6 Tbsp Red wine vinegar

2 Oriental ramen seasoning packets

3 Tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all together and set aside. 

In a pinch you can use apple cider vinegar in place of the red wine vinegar but you will need to reduce the oil by 2 Tablespoon and make up the difference with vinegar since apple cider doesnt have the same flavor as the red wine. 

Candy Easter Eggs

Our first guest recipe from fellow blogger Cecilotta. 

And a picture to help put things into perspective. 

If we were really lucky at Easter-time our mom would make these eggs for us. They are fun to give away, and especially fun to eat, and they look nice on the table while drooling children wait to slice them.

While a little time consuming to make, they really are not hard at all and well worth the effort. Especially if you have people in your house with allergies, you can make sure these are safe to eat.

With Easter only a little over a month now is a great time to start getting ideas together to celebrate.

4 c. white sugar

1 c. corn syrup

1 c. water

1/3 c. - 3 oz (about 3) egg white

(Make sure there isn't ANY yolk in the white or they wont beat right)

Orange - Peanut Butter - 1 c. creamy peanut butter

Blue - Chocolate Nut - 3/4 c. dark chocolate melted + 1 c. walnuts, chopped

White - Coconut - 1 c. flaked coconut
1/4 - 1/4 c. melted white chocolate
Splash of coconut extract

Yellow - Maple Nut - 1 Tbsp. real maple extract + 1 c. walnuts, chopped

Pink - Fruit and Nut - 1 c. candied fruit + 1 c. walnuts

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook syrup to 261. Remove from heat, let stand until bubbles stop.

Meanwhile beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Slowly add, in a thin stream, sugar syrup and beat until gloss is gone. Fold in desired flavor. Shape into eggs, you can make them small or large. Let cool, chill.

Coat with chocolate by dipping the egg into melted chocolate and use your hands to coat. Place on a tray lined with wax paper, place a confection flower in to top to indicate what flavor it is. Let set up at room temperature and then chill to firm.

Frozen Crumble Pie

Apple Crumble pie with my moms home bottled apple pie filling

This has been my week of freezer cooking. 

So I wanted to share this little gem with you as well. 

It's not a freezer to oven thing, it does take some work,

but the hardest part is already done. 

To add nuts reduce the oatmeal to 1/2 c. and 

add a 1/2 cup nuts of your choice.

1/2 c.unsalted butter

1 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. oatmeal

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Large batch

6 sticks unsalted butter

6 c. brown sugar

4 1/2 c. flour

4 1/2 c. oatmeal

3 tsp. cinnamon

3 tsp. salt

Mix everything together really well. 

Sprinkle the mixture flat on a cookies 

tray and freeze until solid. 

When solid put into a freezer safe bag and freeze until ready to use. 

To use

1 pre-baked pie crust (optional)

2 can pie filling

1 recipe of frozen crumble

Pour the pie fillings in the baked crust and top with the frozen crumble. 

Bake at 350 for 35 - 45 minutes or until the crumb topping is browned and crisp. 
If you wish to make this without the pie crust to make cobbler, 
pour the pie fillings into the bottom of a glass baking dish and 
top with oat mix. Bake the same as with the crust

Colonial Peanut Soup

I love history, especially early American history. 

And I love food.

And since this soup is from Kings Arm Tavern is Colonial
Williamsburg it kinda fits both doesn't it?

********

2 Tbsp. Butter

1 medium onion, chopped really fine

2 stalks celery, chopped really fine

2 Tbsp flour

4 c. chicken broth

3/4 c. peanut butter*

3/4 c. heavy cream

Saute the onion and celery in the butter until tender. 

Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes. 

Stir in the broth and bring to a boil, 

reduce heat and stir in the peanut butter. 

Pour the soup into a blender and blend the 

broth and peanut butter mixture until smooth. 

Return to pan and whisk in cream. 

Cook until heated through.

Garnish with shopped peanuts and celery leaves.

Come see what else is featured at Cast Party Wednesday

*The quality of peanut butter you use will directly effect the quality of your soup. I like an all-natural, but not an unsweetened peanut butter. And for some reason my soup looks all gloopy but it's not really.

Chicken Cabbage Salad

1 medium head of cabbage, chopped

3/4 c. sunflower seeds

1/2 c. sliced almonds

2 pkg oriental ramen

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained (optional)

3 large chicken breasts

Dressing:

1 c. oil

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Ramen noodle seasoning packet

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and set aside. 

Toss all the salad ingredients together and then toss with the dressing. 

This can be served immediately but is better after it has sat for a few hours.

English Toffee

This candy is not hard to make, just make sure you set all the ingredients out first and it goes smoother. A problem we have had is altitude, right at sea level we cook it until 285, higher up on the western side of Virginia we cooked it until 288, in Utah we couldn't make it at all without the butter separating, you can fix that with corn syrup but then that's what it tastes like and flavor wise it ruins the candy. 

1 lb salted butter, room temperature

2 c. white sugar

1 c. slivered almonds

1 c. chocolate chips

1 - 2 c. pecan meal

1 heavy, flat bottom pot

1 rubber spoon, that can withstand 500*

1 candy thermometer

1 large metal cookie sheet

In the large flat bottom pot, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and stir to mix. Keep stirring over medium heat, making sure to scrape the bottom well. The mixture will bubble a lot but you don't want it to be a heavy boil. Keep boiling and stirring until the mixture reaches 285 on your candy thermometer. Dump in the nuts and remove from heat. Stir in the nuts and immediately pour onto your cookie sheet. Spread the candy to your desired thickness. When the candy is set a little bit but still hot, sprinkle with the chocolate chips and let sit a few minutes until they melt; when the chocolate is melted spread it on top to cover and sprinkle with the pecan meal. Let sit until the chocolate is set. Sprinkle off the extra pecans, break into pieces and enjoy.

Cranberry Orange Bread

I used two eggs in this but I think next I want to try it with three,
It didn't rise as much as I would have liked.
I also would have like the craisins in smaller pieces, 
so either chop them or drop them in the vitamix. 

 2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. craisins

1/2 c. sour cream

2 eggs

1 orange

4 Tbsp butter, softened

3/4 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Combine the craisins and 1 cup of water in a sauce pan. Simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and the craisins are plump. Drain and set aside to cool. 

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 

In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, sour cream, and butter. Add the zest of the orange. Juice the inside and add enough water to  make 1 1/2 c. liquid. Whisk into the sour cream mix.

Mix together the flour mix and the sour cream/ orange mix. Stir in the craisins, and nuts if using. 

Grease 4 mini loaf pans and fill halfway with batter. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until browned on top. 

Twice-Baked Praline Sweet Potatoes

3 large sweet potatoes

1/4 c. sweetened condensed milk

1/4 - 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 stick butter

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

3 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

Scrub and poke the sweet potatoes with a fork all over. Microwave for 5 minutes on both sides or until cooked through. 

When cool enough to handle cut the potatoes in half and scrape put the centers leaving the skins intact. Mash the potatoes. Using a hand whisk, whisk together the mashed sweet potatoes, condensed milk, sugar, butter, spice, egg whites, and vanilla. Whisk it all really well, taste and adjust seasonings keeping in mind you want it a little sweeter than you want it to taste after it's cooked.

Spoon back into the skins. Top with the nut mix, and bake at 350 for 35 minutes until the nuts are cooked.

Nut topping:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. pecans

Dash pie spice and cayenne pepper

Combine all together. You can replace the nuts with oats if you have some one in you family who doesn't like nuts, or half nuts half oats to suit what you have on hand.

Port au Fino Salad

 My family isn't very big on traditional cranberry 

sauce, so we serve this every year instead.

1 (3 oz) box cranberry jello

1 (3 oz) box raspberry jello

1 c. boiling water

1 c. red grape juice

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 large apple, cored, peeled, and grated

3/4 c. chopped pecans

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

1 c. sour cream

Powdered sugar to taste

Place to two packages of jello in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. Add the whole berry sauce and stir until it is mixed in. Add the pineapple, apple, pecans, and red grape juice. Pour into a 9x13 and chill until thick but still viscous. Stir and continue to chill until set, at least 5 or 6 hours. 

Before serving mix together the cream cheese and the sour cream. Add powdered sugar to taste. I don't really like tons, just enough to make it slightly sweet and less tangy but not quite frosting. 

Spread the cream cheese mix on top of the cranberry layer and garnish with more chopped pecans.

Pecan Crusted Chicken - SRC

So this in only my second month in the Secret Recipe Club. For those of you who missed it last month, I am assigned a blog, and I get to pick any recipe from said blog. I then make the recipe and blog about it myself. Someone returns the favor and I get to see which of my recipes was enjoyed by someone else.

So I was given the blog "Everyday Mom".  One recipe really stood out to me a lot, the Pecan Crusted Chicken. Usually when I try out new recipes I don't stick exactly to the recipe, I tweak it a bit. But this was something I hadn't ever tried before, and I wanted to try it exactly as she meant it to be.

Next time I make it though I am going to make a few small changes. I am going to add a lot more mustard to the egg mix and use 4 shallots instead of the just the one. I still can't decide my stance on the lemon zest, I loved it! But it also felt a little out of place at the same time. It was juicy and tender and I liked it. I also only used 2 chicken breasts here, because I always cut mine in half lengthwise first, that change made it so I only needed 2 eggs. I'm also toying with the idea of making something with a bacon crust...

I served it with Packard Potatoes, and buttered peas. 

Pecan Crusted Chicken

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. Roughly chopped pecans
4 Tbs. Butter
1 Shallot, minced
1 c. Panko
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
3 Eggs
3 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Ground black pepper
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 c. All-purpose flour

"Using a fork to prick chicken several times then sprinkle with salt.  Place on wire rack set over baking sheet, refrigerate while preparing coating.

In a food processor, chop nuts until they resemble a coarse meal.  Over medium heat, melt butter, swirling pan constantly until butter is golden brown.  Add shallot and a pinch of kosher salt.  Cook shallots until light brown, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat, add Panko and nuts.  Stirring frequently cook until golden brown about 10-12 minutes.  Transfer mixture to shallow dish or coating plate.  Add lemon zest, thyme and cayenne, stir to combine.   

In second shallow dish beat eggs, mustard and black pepper. 

 In third shallow dish mix together flour and seasoned salt.

Remove chicken from refrigerator, pat dry with a paper towel.  Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge chicken in flour, then egg mixture,  allow extra to drip off.  Coat each side of chicken in panko nut mixture, pressing gently so crumbs adhere.  Transfer coated chicken to wire rack, set in baking sheet.  Repeat until all chicken is coated.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until thickest part of the chicken reads 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. "

Her recipe for Apple Rice Krispies also stood out to me, I will be trying it out this week and then let you know how it turns out later. And for Halloween I want to make some orange pumpkin ones as well.

And this recipe for hash was a close second for being my test recipe. 

Mysterious Cheese Ball

The "mysterious" cheese ball is my Grandmas secret cheese ball recipe, or it least it was until I posted it on the internet. I changed the ratio of ingredients a little bit and added the pimentos and almonds.

5 oz blue cheese, finely crumbled

6 oz sharp cheddar, finely grated
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 Tbsp minced parsley
1 Tbsp grated onion
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small bottle pimentos
2 Tbsp pecans
2 Tbsp almonds
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts for rolling

In a dry pan over medium heat toast the nuts and chop.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the remaining ingredients except walnuts.

Spread out a large thing of plastic wrap, sprinkle with the remaining nuts and top with cream cheese mix. Pull the saran wrap (and the nuts) up around the cream cheese and for into a ball. Chill until firm and serve with crackers.