'Tis the season for pumpkin

Last year I heard that a pumpkin shortage was coming in the future...so I stocked up and I'm really glad I did because the price of pumpkin this year is double what I paid last year.  Sure, there's pumpkin out there, I'm just not sure I'd be willing to pay almost $3 a can for it!  Now I'm really glad I have it because I've been craving pumpkin goodies and after my cookie disaster of a couple weeks ago I am feeling the need to redeem myself in the cookie making department.
I don't care so much for the store bought pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (although my family loves them) but the homemade kind are heavenly.  They are especially good slathered with cream cheese frosting (hey, you're eating cookies...who's counting calories?)  This recipe is really a good one and it makes about 7 dozen cookies.  I suppose you could cut the recipe in half, but then you'd blink and the cookies would be gone. I prefer these cookies cold so the chocolate chips are crunchy.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
3 cups canned pumpkin (this is just shy of a 29 oz. can so you need to measure)
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (that's 2 full bags--and yes, it's a lot but you're going to have to trust me that if you cut it in half you'll be sorry)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, butter and eggs and mix well (for some reason, the butter sometimes goes chunky in this mixture but it all works out in the end so just mix it the best you can and move on)  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add to the wet mixture, along with the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and mix well.  Add the chocolate chips (you can also add a cup of chopped nuts if you want, but I'm not a fan).
Using a paper towel, rub a baking sheet with butter to grease it. (I tried cooking spray but it doesn't work as well and gives the cookies a flavor)  Drop batter onto the greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12-16 minutes or until FIRM (poke them with your finger to check for doneness-if they're jiggly they aren't done.  Mine took 16 minutes exactly)  Let them cool on the pan for about 10 minutes before removing. Re-grease your cookie sheet between batches to ensure that the cookies don't stick.

A Cookie Boo Boo

I never professed to be a professional baker, but I do tend to do okay most of the time.  Unfortunately today was one of those "doh!" moments when I was making mistake after mistake.  I think someone was telling me I wasn't supposed to be making or eating cookies.

Here's the dough...

Here's the balls of dough waiting to be baked...

To look at them, you might not guess there is anything wrong, but you're just going to have to trust me that this is NOT the way they are supposed to be.  First of all, these are NOT chocolate chip cookies, even though it looks that way.  Secondly, that dough is supposed to be dark brown...as in, chocolate.  So what did I do wrong, you ask?
Well... it all started innocently with me wanting to make some of my FAVORITE COOKIES EVER...cookies that I haven't made in a long time.  The recipe calls for a whole cup of cocoa, which I didn't have...but I did have baker's chocolate.  So I substituted it.  It was a great idea until I added the melted chocolate to the nice, cold, dough and it all set up before getting mixed in properly.  Hence the look of chocolate chips... But by then the dough was made so I figured I might as well continue and see how they turned out. By the way, after all was said and done I realized I left out the HOT water completely...which might have made all the difference... *sigh*
The cookies seemed to bake okay, but they weren't fluffy like they were supposed to be.  Then, when I tried to remove them from the pan they were all sticking.  That's when I looked back at my measurements and realized I had only put in half as much shortening and baking soda as I was supposed to.  Oops.  So for the next batch I sprayed the pan.  Not a good plan...as that batch spread all over the baking sheet and turned into thin, crispy biscuits.  Ugh.  But the fun was still not over...
Next came the filling....and SURPRISE!  I didn't have enough butter OR shortening to make a full batch, so I had to cut it in half.  I guess this was just as well, since the cookies had become thin little disks anyway.
So, when all was said and done, they are still good.  They look weird, but they taste okay.  They should be poofy little cakes filled with delicious creamy goodness. (Technically, they are supposed to look and taste a little like a Suzy Q (only a TON better) and instead they look a little more like bakery rejects.)  I'm putting the actual correct recipe on here... and you're just going to have to trust me that they're delicious because normally they are.  I'm including the picture of my finished cookies...just ignore it and know if they look like this then you, too, have screwed them up! Someday when I make them again I will come back and add a better picture.

WHOOPIE PIES
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup cocoa
1 cup HOT water
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Cream sugar and shortening.  Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix well.  Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda.  Add to mixture.  Mix in hot water.  Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

FILLING
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup shortening
6 cups powdered sugar
6-7 Tablespoons milk

Cream butter and shortening, then add vanilla and sugar and beat vigorously.  Add milk one tablespoon at a time until frosting has a creamy consistency.  Frost cookies generously and sandwich them.
 

Bring on the Soup!

So now that we have dessert, I guess I should post the soup!  There is nothing better than hot soup on a rainy day...

CREAMY CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP
4 cups chicken broth (or reserved liquid from cooking the chicken)
2 cups water
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 package Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chicken broth (or butter--depending how fattening you want your soup to be)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups milk


(If your chicken is not already cooked, you can cook it now and use the cooking liquid as your broth.  Place it in a large pan and cover with water.  Add sliced onion, green bell pepper, a couple stalks of celery and 2 bullion cubes.  Cover and simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Remove chicken and strain the liquid, reserving for the soup.  If you don't want to do this, just use canned broth--they taste about the same)
In a large pot over medium heat, combine the 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water.  Bring just to boiling, then stir in the rice but keep the seasoning packet for later.  If you're using the quick cooking rice, add the chicken now and cover and remove from heat.  If you're using the original rice, continue to cook according to package directions (25 minutes boiling) and add chicken five minutes before the time is up.  
In a separate sauce pan, heat 1/4 cup chicken broth and stir in contents of seasoning packet, salt and pepper.  Cook until mixture is bubbly.  Reduce heat and add flour to form a roux.  Whisk in cream and milk slowly, keeping the mixture smooth as you go.  Cook until thickened, approximately 5 minutes, but don't boil.  Stir the cream mixture into the broth and rice.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, stirring often, allowing the liquids to blend together.  If the soup seems too thick, add water to thin to desired thickness.


NOTE:  When I made this I didn't have enough whipping cream so I had to improvise.  I used 1/2 pint of whipping cream and added an 8 oz. block of fat free cream cheese. I used skim milk and increased the amount to 3 cups.  The flavor was fabulous, but the soup was really thick so I added another 1 1/2 cups water.  The original recipe is still better, but if you need to improvise, the soup is still doable!

Fall Food

One of the best things about living where the seasons change is getting to change what kind of food you cook.  I love fall the best, because by the time summer is over I am really ready for warm soups and stews... homemade breads and rolls... and just about anything that comes out of the oven.  I've been craving soup...so yesterday seemed like the perfect day to start!  And of course, soup is no good without some kind of bread or roll to go with it.

GLAZED CINNAMON TWISTS

1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
4 cups flour
1 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Put yeast in the warm water and sit it aside.  Meanwhile, mix the 1/4 cup butter, 3 Tbsp. sugar, egg and salt.  Heat the milk in the microwave until it's just barely warm (about 30 seconds) and add to the butter mixture and mix well.  Add one cup of flour and mix thoroughly, then add the yeast and water mixture.  Add the flour one cup at a time until mixed well.  The dough doesn't really need to be kneaded, but mix it until the flour is thoroughly incorporated and the dough is soft and smooth.  Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.  Put the dough in the bowl, turning it once so the top is coated with cooking spray too.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size.

Once the dough is doubled, roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle to about 1/2 inch thickness. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough into strips about 1/4 inch wide.

Using three strips at a time, braid the strips of dough.  The dough will stretch as you work with it, so when I'm done braiding I usually cut them in half so each braid was about 5 inches long.  

Place the braids on a greased baking sheet about 1/2-1 inch apart.

Pour or brush the melted butter over all the braids--be very liberal with the butter!  Mix the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon and sprinkle on top.  Allow to rise for about an hour.








Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  The twists should be good and brown (not lightly golden brown) or they won't be cooked in the middle.  You may want to check the middles before deciding that they're finished.  Pour on the glaze while the twists are still hot.



GLAZE
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla (add another 1/2 tsp. in you're using imitation)
1/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together.  The glaze should be thick but you should still be able to pour it.

YUMMY, CHEESY GOODNESS...

I have been negligent in my blogging lately but I am going to try and change all that.  Since right now my diet is restricted and I am about to have gallbladder surgery, naturally all I can think about is FOOD...and of course that means all the food I can't eat right now.  This Italian dish is one of my favorites, and I meant to post this one awhile ago.  The best thing about this one is that I have never had it spill over in my oven like a regular lasagna. I wish I could cook it for dinner tonight, but, alas, with the cheese and sour cream I will wait.  Hopefully somewhere, someone will enjoy this and think of me while they're eating it.

 EASY BAKED ZITI (OR PENNE)

1 lb. dry ziti or penne pasta (I prefer penne, and I always use whole wheat)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 lb. extra lean ground beef or ground turkey

2 jars spaghetti sauce (26 oz. each)

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

6 oz. provolone cheese slices

1 1/2 cup sour cream

12 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

In a large skillet, brown meat and onion over medium heat.  Add spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce and simmer about 15 minutes.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente, approximately 8 minutes; drain.  Grease a 9X13 baking dish.  Layer as follows: 1/2 the pasta, Provolone cheese slices, sour cream, 1/2 the sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce.  Top with grated parmesan cheese.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly.  Because the sauce is hot, it doesn't take too long.

This dish requires lots of yummy, buttery garlic bread to dip in the sauce.  I make garlic butter with 1-2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt, a couple dashes of italian seasoning, and a cube of butter.  Spread it on thick (if it doesn't drip down all over your hand while you're eating it, you need more butter)... and we wonder why I have gallbladder problems :)

Teresa's Most Awesome Jam of All Time

I love, love, love homemade jam!  Nothing you can buy can even come close to what you can make with fresh berries and other yummy ingredients (like sugar).  Having said that, I can now also say that my friend Teresa introduced me to the absolute best, most wonderful homemade jam of all time and I love it above all others.  I could just open a jar and eat it with a spoon--it really is THAT good.  So when I make it, I usually have to make at least three batches because my family loves it too and we go through it like crazy.  It's also really easy...so if you're a fan of homemade jam, this is a must!

PEACH RASPBERRY JAM

8 cups peaches, pureed (about 10 good sized peaches)

8 cups sugar

1 10-oz package frozen raspberries

2 large packages raspberry Jell-o

Mix together (in a VERY large pan) pureed peaches, sugar and raspberries.  Bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add Jell-O and continue to cook and stir until it dissolves completely (just a couple of minutes).  Pour into hot jelly jars (I usually run them through the dishwasher with the heat dry on, then pull them out and fill them).  Heat lids and rings in a pan on the stove (not quite boiling but hot) and then transfer to jars.  Seal in a water bath for 10 minutes.

NOTE:  Even though the recipe says to use a water bath, I don't.  The jam is boiling and jars are hot, so I screw the lids on finger tight and turn them upside down on a towel until they cool.  I have never had one not seal.  The food safety people and extension service people would probably frown and shake their finger at me, but oh well.  If you're worried go ahead and process them--not a big deal.

Now go ahead and load a whole gallon of it onto some yummy homemade rolls and you've got yourself a little piece of heaven!

  

A Merry Belated Cinco de Mayo...

I happen to LOVE Mexican food....and I'm not talking about the nasty Americanized version.  We always have Mexican food for Cinco De Mayo...and this year I went all out and it took most of the day...sheesh!  But it was tasty.
My sister-in-law, Cindy, makes the most awesome salsa...(Her mother-in-law is a bonafide Mexican woman that has taught her how to make bonafide Mexican food...it is one of the clear cut advantages of going to visit her...someday I hope to talk her into teaching me how to make tamales.)  Ever since she gave me her salsa recipe, I have become a salsa snob...and it's the only kind I like.  The recipe sounds a lot harder or complicated than it really is...I can usually whip up a batch in about 15 minutes once the veggies are roasted. The salsa is HOT...just the way I like it.  If it isn't taking the skin off the roof of your mouth, it's not hot enough (not really, but you get the picture)
As for tortillas...there is nothing like a good freshly made tortilla.  The ones you buy and cook at Costco are great, but I decided awhile ago that I needed to learn how to make them for myself because tortillas are something we just can't live without.  I don't make them often, but when I do I usually make extra because they freeze well.
So here's my Cinco De Mayo fare...I also made  shredded beef and rice and we had burritos with chips and salsa for dinner!  Delicious!

CINDY'S FABULOUS FRESH SALSA

*A note about this salsa recipe:  I have only made this salsa fresh and we eat it all up...I don't bottle it.  Canning salsa is a scary proposition because if you end up with a bad ph/acid level with tomatoes you can get bolulism. It is recommended that only a tried and true salsa-for-canning recipe should be used when canning.  Besides that, this salsa is so good it will disappear before your eyes. 

10-14 Roma tomatoes (as big as you can find)

4-5 jalapenos (as big as you can find)

3 tomatillos

1/2 medium sized onion

1/2 bunch cilantro

juice of 1/2-1 lemon

3-5 garlic cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1.  Preheat oven broiler on high.  Wash tomatoes, jalapenos, and tomatillos and  place them on a broiler pan (I usually wrap the pan on the bottom with foil for easy clean up but no foil on the top or the veggies will stick)  Roast the veggies under the broiler until their skins turn black all over, turning them as often as you need to cook them completely.  The tomato skins will pop and rip (and not go completely black). It's especially important to make sure the peppers are black all over so the skins will come off easily.

2.  As soon as the veggies get done, remove them from the pan and place them in a bowl, tomatoes on the bottom.  Wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave them to sweat and cool. (I usually leave them for hours--they are easier to handle when they are completely cool)  The plastic wrap will bubble up on top as the veggies sweat, then will suck down in as they cool.

3.  Now everything is going to go in the blender.  Start with the onion--chop it a little and grind it up.  Next, pull the tomatoes out of the bowl and slip their skins off.  Because they have been sweating, they should come right off.  Cut off the hard round core at the top and toss them in the blender.

4.  Next come the jalapenos.  Since you can get chemical burns from handling hot peppers, I recommend wearing disposable rubber gloves.  Put the pepper on the cutting board and pull the stem off (twist if you need to, but it should come right off).  Slip a knife just under the skin at the end you just opened, sharp end up, and slice down the skin of the pepper. (The skin should almost be like tissue paper.)  Once the skin is cut, it should peel right off.  Slice the pepper lengthwise and open it up.  Run the knife sideways down the middle, scraping out ALL THE SEEDS.  Keep the seeds in a pile just in case you need them later.  You may not want to add all the jalapenos yet, just in case the salsa gets too spicy.  Start with 3 and when you are done and tasting it, you can choose to add more.  The seeds will also heat it up if you need them. (I have gone overboard before and my salsa has turned into liquid fire...so remember you can't remove any of the heat once it's in there!)

5.  Cut the small stem part off the tomatillos and throw the whole thing in the blender.  (These don't have skin so don't try to peel them)  Blend all the veggies.

6.  Add the cilantro, salt, minced garlic, cumin, and squeeze one half of the lemon into the blender.  Blend again.  Now it's time to taste it.  You may want to add more garlic, more lemon juice, or more cumin (which makes it spicier) depending on your taste.  If you have reserved any jalapenos, you might want to add more. (Depending on where I buy my jalapenos, some are hotter than others--for some reason whenever I get them from Smith's they are way hotter than any others.  I don't know why) A couple of times I have added a small can of tomato sauce to try and tame the heat...but I don't like to do that unless it's absolutely necessary.

7.  Enjoy!  Beware of dragon breath.  I think it's the onions.  Or the garlic.  Who cares.

FLOUR TORTILLAS

Note:  I make both whole wheat and white flour tortillas.  The recipe works well both ways, but is written for wheat.  If you want plain white, just substitute all white flour.

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat)

1 cup shortening or oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1.  In a large bowl or a stand mixer, combine both types of flour and salt.  Mix in the shortening or oil until the mixture has the texture of cornmeal.  Make a well in the center and add the boiling water all at once.  Mix until the water is all mixed in and knead until the dough is smooth and soft.

2.  Roll the dough into balls (they don't need to be perfectly round).  How big you make the dough balls will determine how big your finished tortillas will be.  I wanted large burrito sized tortillas, so I made mine a little smaller than a baseball.  A dough ball the size of a golf ball will make a small, soft taco sized tortilla.  I ended up with 8 tortillas from one batch of dough.

3.  Place the dough balls on a tray or cookie sheet.  Cover with a couple of damp paper towels (this is necessary because of our dry climate in Utah) and then cover with a towel.  The balls will not rise--they are just resting.  Allow them to stand for at least one hour, or up to 8 hours.

4.  Roll out tortillas on a lightly floured surface.  The dough is soft and quite oily, so it rolls REALLY easily.  Rub the tortilla LIGHTLY with a little flour and then you can stack them as they are rolled and won't stick together.

5.  Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat.  Fry tortillas one at a time.  Place it on the griddle for about 10 seconds, and as soon as you see a few small bubbles start to form, flip it over.  Cook an additional 30 seconds or so.  Be careful not to overcook them or they will get hard.  Cover the finished tortillas with lightly damp paper towels and wrap with foil to keep them warm and soft.