Harvest Cook-Off

A fall harvest dinner/“Cook-Off“that was actually held last September. Our Senior Singles Family Home Evening was a delightful little "cook-off" where the seniors brought some of their favorite recipes to be served in addition to Connie’s incredible vegetable-beef soup and Sophia’s homemade whole wheat bread. Everyone else's dishes made for quite the feast! We had amazing baked carrots, several sweet treats, chicken salad on puff tarts, an awesome pasta salad, coleslaw…fabulous foods!

The tablescape was all about food and harvest and preserving, with a bountiful basket of garden produce and preserved goods to go along with the devotional message about spiritual self-reliance.A few empty canning jars with small votive candles inside them brought a little extra light!

For table talk, each Senior was asked to tell about their favorite thing that their mother cooked. The conversation was fascinating. The foods that these seniors ate as children included lots of "bread and milk", mushes made from things that I'd never heard of and many other foods that we'd never consider today as a "staple".

My sister-in-law grows some of the most fascinating flowers and vegetables in her garden and the basket/centerpiece was filled with many of them. Beautimous, if I do say so myself!

Easy Roasted Tomatoes

Blogging friend, Laura, sent me this recipe last fall when I had fifty-six tomato plants ripening by the dozens every day. After canning 120 quarts of tomatoes, 100+ quarts of salsa, giving away 15 bushels of tomatoes, I still had tomatoes coming out my ears! Thankfully! This was one of our favorite ways to prepare the tomatoes. They can be eaten right out of the oven or put in freezer bags for winter. Serve them over pasta or put them into soups. Anyway around it, they are fabulous!

Cut tomatoes into to small pieces (no need to blanch or peel!) Snip fresh basil on top. Press about 10-12 cloves of garlic. (I buy garlic by the quart at Sam's Club and add tablespoons.) Add Sea-salt, lots of pepper, and sugar (Lara uses Splenda or Stevia)Sprinkle extra-virgin olive oil over the top. Mix with your hands. Roast at 450 for an hour or longer, stirring once. You can roast with juices left in the pan, or until the juices are evaporated. Enjoy!

Connie's chocolate cakes

Connie is one of my favorite cooks in this world. Her homemade caramels and handdipped chocolates are divine... as in truly heavenly. Connie is one of those friends that everyone dreams of because I can break a fingernail and she's there with something fresh and nummy to make me feel better. My two favorite things that she makes, however, are her chocolate cakes. The cake is homemade and moist and marvelous. But. The frostings. Oh. My. Heck. They are out of this world delish. I can't share the recipes without sharing this story....

For almost thirty years now, I've been "expected" to take my secret brownies to every single Corbridge family event ever held. This past summer, on the week of the Corbridge Reunion in our back yard, I was overwhelmingly busy with things to do, including host the reunion and teach Relief Society the next day. The whole week was a blur of business. Connie, being Connie, offered several times to help. Finally, I took her up on the offer and she baked her delicious German Chocolate Cake for me. On the day of the reunion, it was a hit to all who tried it. Fast forward two weeks, when my nephew was leaving for his LDS mission and the family dinner was to be held following church. As my sister-in-law was handing out food assignments and checking off her list, she asked that I make... me expecting "what else but brownies".... that nummy german chocolate cake that we had at the reunion! My brownies had been forgotten!

Now for the rest of the story... I had another insane week with more than any sane woman should ever have on her plate, the week of the Farewell. The night before, I was just about in panic mode after baking two cakes before frosting the cakes. Connie came over and basically said, "Move over. Let me do it." and made the german chocolate frosting. The next morning, with me in Overdrive and still trying to catch up with the To Do list and being prepared to reach my Relief Society lesson, I ended up staying home in our ward and Doug took off to the mission farewell. As he loaded the kids, he placed my much stressed over cakes on the roof of his van and took off down the street. The crashing noise that he heard was "an angel catching the cakes and placing them not so gently right side up on the street!", according to Doug. Needless to say, not wanting me to totally meltdown, he picked them up off the street and headed to the family gathering. I found out about the accident after the fact, thanks to a wise husband and a wise sister-in-law, who insisted, "Soph will be better off not knowing about this." They scooped the scrambled cakes into plates and served them anyway. Everyone said they tasted great, regardless of how they looked. Seriously. MUST TRY Recipes!

CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cube butter or margarine, softened
4 TBS. Cocoa – I use heaping spoons full

¾ cup water
¾ cup cooking oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ tsp. soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
½ cup milk
Put first four ingredients in mixing bowl.
Bring oil and water to a boil and pour over ingredients in mixing bowl - beat together.
Add eggs, vanilla, soda and salt – mix well.
Add milk - mix well - pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. My oven will bake the cake in 28 minutes.

German Chocolate Frosting
1 cup cream
3 egg yolks - beaten
1 cup sugar
1 square butter or margarine
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a slow boil and cook 3 or 4 minutes or until mixture appears it has thickened.
Remove from heat - Add 8-10 ounces of coconut and 1 – 2 cups of chopped pecans, walnuts or sliced almonds - more if you like.
Pour over cake and let cool before cutting.

Plain chocolate frosting
1 lb. powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa
1 cube butter or margarine softened
½ - ¾ tsp. almond flavoring – more if desired
Slowly add enough milk to desired spreading consistency

Enjoy!

Summer Garden Casserole

We made this simple and healthy casserole at our Relief Society Activity Night as a group, then each of us brought one home for dinner tonight. All of the women loved it and I can't wait to bake mine this afternoon. It's a great way to use some of the zucchini that gets piled up during the harvest season of the year! Loved it and it's so versatile. There were no specific amounts to any of the ingredients. It's a "little of this and a little of that" type recipe.

Layer loosely in the pan...(enough to cover the layer below)
chopped zucchini (quartered lengthwise then sliced)

chopped carrots (quartered lengthwise, then sliced)

salt and pepper to taste

frozen corn or fresh corn cut off the cob

about 1/2 cup uncooked rice

finely chopped onion

browned hamburger (cooked with onions and peppers or how you like it...mine had garlic too)salt and pepper again to taste

Pour tomato juice over the entire thing (don't make things float, but add enough that it will moisten everything in the pan). Cover with foil and bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees. Enjoy!

Fresh Peach Cobbler

Oh my gosh! This is so dang good! This recipe was a combination recipe. I used the fruit recipe from a friend and the cobbler from my sister-in-law's mother's recipe. Together, we've made the perfect pair! It's a little labor intensive, but, this is seriously one great cobbler! It was so good that it didn't need ice cream!

1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

8 cups sliced peaches

2 tsp. lemon juice

Peel and slice peaches. (To peel peaches quickly, drop whole peach into a pan of boiling water. Leave in water about ten seconds then remove and drop into cold water. The skin will just slip off.) Put peaches in a large saucepan and cover with above ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly until it thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute and pour into an ungreased 9x13" pan.

(One of my favorite cooking tips is used with butter. Whenever a recipe tells you to "cut" in the butter, chill the butter and then shred it into the flour with a large cheese grater. The butter melts in perfectly during baking!)

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix well and cut in 1/2 cup butter

Then, mix:

1/2 cup milk

2 slightly beaten eggs

Toss the liquid mixture into the dry mixture but do not mix too much. Drop by spoonfuls on the hot fruit. Pat smooth. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the topping is golden. Serve warm with ice cream or half and half.

I loved this recipe! Make sure to be generous with the sugar on top of the cobbler before baking and I even added a touch more after for looks. ENJOY!

Great ways to use French Bread

French Bread is one of the most versatile breads ever. I use it frequently and quite often, it becomes the main dish. Here's a few of our favorite ways to serve it:

• Slice it in half lengthwise. Cover both halves with a tuna fish spread. (2 cans tuna, mayo to taste, about 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish, salt and pepper) Then, top with sliced fresh tomatoes, more salt and pepper. Smother in shredded colby-jack cheese. Broil on low with the oven door open until the cheese is melted or bake for about fifteen minutes.


• Slice it in half lengthwise. Spread your favorite or leftover spaghetti sauce. Cover with your favorite pizza toppings. Smother in mozzarella cheese. Bake or broil.


• Slice it in half lengthwise. Cover with a fresh breshetta. Load it up with salt and pepper and fresh Romano cheese. Broil or bake.


• Slice it in half lengthwise. Cover with ground hamburger (cooked with peppers, onions and garlic) OR shredded chicken or pork. Cover with BBQ sauce. Cover with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake or broil till cheese is melted.


• Slice it in half lengthwise. Chop a mixture of your favorite veggies finely or in a food processor. (We use broccoli, carrots, green onions, tomatoes...) In another bowl, mix 1 cup ranch dressing and 8 ounces of cream cheese. (Or add ranch until spreadable consistency.) Spread the ranch and cream cheese mixture. Cover entire bread with veggies. Eat fresh!


• Use leftover french bread for french toast. Slice into 1" slices. VERY good!


• Mix up some fantastic spinach artichoke dip or sausage and cheese dip, let everyone just tear the bread and dip! Num! Serve with a good salad and you've got a great quick meal!

Enjoy!

Fabulous French Bread

I discovered this fabulous and simple french bread recipe a while ago and we all loved it so much, I could bake it a few times a week. This recipe makes two large loaves and the longer you let it raise, the better and lighter the bread is, so start it early.

2 1/4 cups warm water

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. dry yeast

1 tbsp. shortening

1 tbsp. salt

6 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Mix in the remaining ingredients, adding the flour slowly. Knead for five minutes. Let raise until double. Divide the dough in half and roll out into 12x6" rectangle, then roll the dough to make a long french loaf. Slash the top of the loaves three times diagonally with a sharp knife. OR make two large balls of dough and slash a diagonal tic-tac-toe board on top. (Serve this way as pull-apart bread instead of slices.) Raise until doubled. Bake on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle the pan with corn meal, if desired. Just before baking, brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool a bit before cutting. Enjoy!

Hyde Park Honey Cookies

These cookies were made by my sister-in-law and became a favorite in our house instantly. They are quite a bit like snickerdoodles but much tastier and moister. I always double the batch and we never have leftovers.

2/3 cup oil (I usually only use 1/2 cup and they are still plenty moist)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour

2 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. cinnamon and 1/c up sugar (to roll the cookies in)

Mix oil, sugar and honey. Add eggs and vanilla. Add flour, soda, salt and vanilla. Form 1" balls and roll in cinnamnon sugar mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 for ten minutes. If doubling, do not double the soda, just add 1 teaspoon per and also go scant on the flour and salt.

Ruby's Raw Apple Cake

Since apples are so plentiful right now, here's a traditional Thanksgiving dessert served at our house, but it's delish anytime, especially in the fall! This is the recipe that I use from my own mother's kitchen and it will be one of those "passed down for generations" recipes, I hope. I have to laugh because I can literally smell the cake baking right now, just thinking about it!

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cup oil (I'm thinking of trying half oil and half applesauce next time I bake this.)

3 cups flour

3 cups shredded raw apples

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream oil and sugar together. Add eggs. Mix dry ingredients in. Add apples, vanilla and nuts. VERY THICK. Pour into greased floured bundt pan. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350°. Dust with powdered sugar when completely cool. Store loosely covered. Enjoy!

Fire and Ice

I only wish I'd had my camera last night at Book Group to photograph this very pretty and most tasty appetizer! April, fabulous friend and hostess, loved the name of them as much as the taste. This was a beautiful treat and I'll be making them soon so that I can add a photograph to the recipe. A must try, if you love fresh tomatoes! So simple! I can also see them served at Christmas because they are the perfect colors!

6 tomatoes

3 cucumbers

1 red onion

Slice the tomatoes about 3/8" thick. Slice the cucumbers about 1/4" thick. Place the tomatoes on a serving platter. Put one cucumber slice on each tomato slice.

1 pint sour cream

4 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

a dash of Tabasco Sauce (I'd add a bit more for some more fire!)

Mix the topping. Drop by spoonful onto the cucumber/tomato and then add a finely sliced sliver of the onion on top of that. OH MY! Enjoy

Julie's Wonder Dough!

While at a girls night out at the ranch last winter, Julie and Erin made Navajo Tacos that were to die for! Not only were they delish, they made them in no time flat! When they went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, I figured it would be 2 hours before we ate. We were eating in 30 minutes. They'd made Indian Frybread or Scones from scratch. I call them donuts without sugar. VERY TASTY. This is one of the most versatile things you'll ever cook and so so simple! A must try recipe!

1 Tbsp. dry yeast

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 cup warm water

1 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

Mix the yeast and sugar in warm water until bubbly and fluffy. (Let it sit for five minutes.) Add salt, oil and flour. Stir 20 times with a fork. Let rise about fifteen minutes.

For pizza: Bake 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees. Use all the dough to make one large pizza or split in half for a thinner crust. *For crispy crust, roll out in corn meal. (Yummy.)

Breadsticks

Roll out dough, cut and twist into strips. Coat with garlic butter and/or cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until golden.

Fry bread/scones

Stretch or roll dough out flat and fry in hot oil (375 degrees) until golden.

For Navajo Tacos: Serve all the toppings along with the fry bread and let your guest add what they'd like. Choose from:

Browned ground beef with onions, peppers and taco seasoning mix

Refried beans, pinto beans, chili

shredded cheddar cheese

lettuce

onions

olives

tomatoes

any of your favorite taco toppings

top with salsa and ranch dressing!

OR

Serve the scones for breakfast with a choice of toppings:

Jams and Jellies

Honey Butter

Powdered sugar

cinnamon sugar

Sugar

A powdered sugar glaze

fresh fruit and whipping cream

ENJOY!!!

Craisin Cookies

For some reason, I have abnormal children... they prefer broccoli to french fries, fresh fruit to cake and craisins to chocolate chips. Perhaps is that their father is commonly referred to as "Granola-Man". Regardless, here's their favorite cookie. And indeed, it's tasty and actually, pretty healthy compared to some. In the photo, they look pretty crumby. That's because I took them out of the cookie jar to photograph them. There were this dozen left because all the rest were eaten while cooling on the rack! First day of school will do that to ya!

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco (almost healthy, I said)

2 large eggs

Cream together the sugar, shortening and eggs until no longer crystally.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

Add the dry ingredients and mix, then add:

2 tsp. vanilla

1 hearty cup of craisins

Scoop by rounded teaspoons onto baking sheet. Bake about 10-12 minutes in a preheated 350degree oven until they start to turn golden. Do not overbake or they'll be crunchy. Makes about 50-60 cookies. Enjoy!

7 layer bars

This has to be my all time favorite treat. I remember the first time that I had them in 1969! It was Christmas-time and my Aunt Maxine brought them to a family party! I was in love them and am even more today. Actually, I mean that literally because I made them yesterday and by default (using what I had to work with before going grocery shopping), I made them better than ever! The Heath Bar bits were the secret! NUMMMMMMMM!

Crush one package of graham crackers to crumbs. (about 1 1/2 cups)

Melt 1/2 cup butter and pour over the crumbs in a 9x13 glass baking dish.

Mix the crumbs and spread to make a crust, pressing down with a fork.

Layer:

1 cup milk chocolate chips.

1 cup Heath Bar Tidbits (available near chocolate chips in the baking aisle.)

1 cup crushed pecans

1 cup shredded coconut

Pour 1 can of sweetened condensed milk over the crust.

Bake at 350 degrees until the coconut is toasted slightly brown. (about 20-25 minutes)
Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature. ENJOY!

Macaroni Salad ~ Amy Style

My friend, Amy Sorenson, posted this recipe on her blog and I thought I'd try it for a cool summer meatless meal. We drew mixed reviews on it from the kids. (As if that were any surprise...why can't kids love summer salads like grown-ups?) I liked it, Doug loved it. So, I called in my cooking friend, Connie, to get her opinion and she really loved it. So, here's the recipe, in Amy's words.

Macaroni Salad, Amy-Style
24 ounces ditalini or other small pasta

1/2 red onion, diced small

1/2 red pepper,diced small

2 1/4" thick slices of cheese, diced small (meunster, cheddar or swiss)

1 cup corn

3/4 cup petite peas

2 avocados, diced small (just barely ripe)

While the pasta is boiling in salted water, dice everything and make the dressing:
1 1/2 cups mayo

1/3 cup white vinegar

3 T sugar

3 T yellow mustard (not Dijon or honey or fancy or spicy—just yellow mustard)

2 tsp dill

1 1/2-2 tsp salt

tons of freshly-ground black pepper

When the pasta is tender—cook a little bit softer than al dente for cold macaroni salad, otherwise it's too firm—drain, preserving the water. Bring the hot pasta water back to boiling, then cook the corn and peas for about 3 minutes. Chill the pasta with ice (otherwise, it will melt the cheese). Chill the corn and peas in the same way. Stir all ingedients together carefully (if you are too rough the avocado will turn into guacamole), then add the dressing and mix. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Chill till serving. Or eat some slightly-warm for lunch.

***I usually put hardboiled eggs in my macaroni salad. The salad is still delicious without the eggs, but with it...even better!

And a note from me... I'm not big on mustard, so next time, I'll probably use a little less mustard. We're big on veggies, so I'll probably double the peas and corn. The bites with avocado were the best, so I'll add an extra avocado, too! Loved the dill! I used fresh from the garden! Enjoy!

Chinese Cabbage Salad

This salad has been around forever and there are lots of versions of the recipe. Here's the one that I fell in love with first! It's really not that much work and can be made to chill in less than 20 minutes. It serves a plethora of people and is great for a summer dish!

1 head of chinese cabbage (or regular)
1 bunch green onions
1 can Swanson's chicken breast (optional, but I prefer it)
1/2 cup butter
2 packages of ramen noodles (chicken flavored)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Chop cabbage and green onions. Drain the can of chicken and toss chicken into a large bowl and mix well. For dressing, combine the oil, sugar and vinegar in a container and mix well. Pour over the cabbage mix. Toss and coat well. Chill.

Melt butter in a large frypan. Crush the dry ramen noodles into tiny pieces and add to the melted butter. Add sesame seeds and almonds. Sautee until the almonds begin to turn golden brown. Sprinkle the seasoning packets from the raman into this mixture. Stir well and put in a bowl, cover and chill.

Just before serving, mix all of the ingredients into the large bowl of cabbage. Stir and toss well. It doesn't keep well, so don't mix too far in advance of serving or the noodles will not be crunchy. (Personally, I like it just as well when they aren't! It's good anytime!) Enjoy!