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Thursday, November 26, 2009

Grandma Smout's Green Beans

I don't have a single holiday meal memory from my childhood that doesn't involve this delicious bean dish. The smell of them cooking in the oven brings back all sorts of memories. They are so easy to make too!


Grandma Smout's Green Beans
4-5 Cups of green Beans Canned Frozen or fresh
1 Green or Red bell pepper sliced into circles 
1 tomatoes sliced into rounds
1/2 sweet yellow onion sliced into circles
1 Tbsp Yellow mustard
1-2 Tbsp horseradish depending on your taste
1/2 cup Butter
Salt and pepper
Method:
In a casserole dish layer the green beans first. Layer the onion then the peppers followed by the tomato's. Salt and pepper everything. 
In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and then stir the horseradish and the yellow mustard.  Stir it well and then drizzle the butter mixture over the contents of the casserole dish. Bake covered with tinfoil at 375 degrees until the peppers are done (about 20 mins.) Uncover and bake an additional 7-10 minutes to let the tomatoes get some color. 

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Cinnamon Honey Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Method:
Whip softened butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, cinnamon and honey gradually. Whip for 10-15 minutes. Makes 1 cup.

Lion House Rolls

This recipe is the only recipe that I've found that the rolls work out every single time! They always taste and look wonderful. The recipe is also very versatile-- I use this dough when I make cinnamon rolls and orange rolls as well.

Lion House Rolls

2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup butter, shortening, or margarine
1 egg
5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Method:
In large bowl or electric mixer, combine warm water and powdered milk. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed.
Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand).
Add ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour). If the dough is still sticky  add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.
Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about one tablespoon of vegetable oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. (This helps prevent dough from drying out). Cover with plastic and allow to rise in warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Scrape dough out onto floured board. Turn dough over so it is floured on both sides; gently flatten to about 1 inch thick. With rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle about 18 inches long, 8 inches wide, and ¼ inch thick. Brush with melted butter. With pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut dough in half to make two strips about 4 inches wide. Make cuts through strips of dough every 2 inches, making about 18 pieces of dough.

Starting with short end, roll up one piece of dough, with butter on the inside. Place roll on parchment-lined pan with other short end down on the paper. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Be sure all rolls face the same direction on baking pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light to medium golden brown. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Serve with Honey Butter. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls.

Helpful Tips for Making Rolls

Always add flour gradually and keep dough as soft as you can handle. Soft dough will produce a lighter roll.

It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour called for in this recipe—add only enough flour to make dough manageable.


 ** I often make these rolls and after they are shaped instead of letting them rise and baking them-I freeze them on a cookie sheet first and transfer them to a zip bag to use them later. When I am ready to use them I just pull them out of the freezer and place them on a baking sheet and then allow them to defrost and rise. I brush them with butter and then bake them. It takes a little longer to rise but it's totally worth the wait!

Monday, November 23, 2009

What are your Thanksgiving Plans?

Well I just want to document what I am bringing to thanksgiving dinner for both sides of my family also I will post the recipes for all of the dishes throughout the next couple of day's so watch for them......

Wall- We (by we I mean my Mother-in-law and sisters in-law) are doing the whole shebang for both sides of my husband's family all at once, and I am excited to get to help.

Mashed Potatoes for 20 No One makes them quite like the Pioneer Woman.
Dinner Rolls and Honey Butter
Mini Cornucopia place-settings for 100
Apple Pie
Ginger cookies for the little kids to decorate.

My Parents and family are planning to spend the day skiing as usual, without me darn it! But they will be home in the afternoon and we will have dinner that evening. I am bringing--

Grandma Smout's Green Beans (nothing like Campbell's version)
Apple Pie
Cranberry Sauce

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Bliggity Bloggity Boo!

So this week I have Disney on the brain due to the fact that the Disney Princesses on Ice were in town --So I owe the title of this post entirely to that Mogul Mouse we all love!

On a totally cool but completely unrelated note....
My close friend/BFF Desiree wrote a Cookbook as a joint venture with The Green Smoothie Girl. The recipes are not only sooo yummy they healthy to boot. Check out the teaser on GSG's blog.

What?
You are not familiar with The Green Smoothie Girl- well then I recommend that you get to know her because Robyn Openshaw is one with it woman when it comes to eating healthy, growing healthy gardens and children. I am able to sneak all sorts of things into my girls diets in one simple smoothie. Thanks A MILLION Green Smoothie Girl!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Stuffed Green Peppers

This dish happens to be my husband's favorite. Wait now that I think about it he tells me that about everything I make! How Lucky am I :) ?

Stuffed Green Peppers 
½ cup brown rice, cooked
6 medium sized green peppers
2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 lb. lean ground beef
½ cup water
¼ cup chopped onion
½ tsp salt
4 oz. cheese, grated

Method:
-Cut off top of green peppers and clean out. For softer peppers, precook in boiling water for five minutes. For crunchier peppers, skip the precooking.
-In a skillet, cook ground beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; season with salt and pepper. Drain.
-Add spaghetti sauce and cooked rice to the meat mixture. Remove from heat.
-Stir in cheese and stuff the green peppers.
-Stand upright in a 10”x6½” baking pan.  Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.
-Bake uncovered at 350° for 30-40 minutes. This dish freezes quite well.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Apple Orange Cranberry Sauce

Apple Orange Cranberry Sauce

1/2 orange
1 tart apple
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Directions:
Squeeze the juice from the orange and set the juice aside. Zest the bright orange just off of the Orange. Peel, core and quarter the apple. Cut into 1/2-inch dice and place in a saucepan. Sort the cranberries, discarding any soft ones. Add to the apples along with the orange juice, orange zest, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan partially. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, the apple is tender and the cranberries have burst, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cranberry sauce to a heatproof bowl and let cool for 1 hour before serving. Or cover and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before serving. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 cups.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I am not a huge fan of the classic pumpkin pie that everyone serves after Thanksgiving dinner so about 7 years ago I started making a pumpkin cheesecake instead. Now my husband requests it every year. 


Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust
1 1/4 cups crushed gingersnap cookie crumbs (in a pinch I'll substitute graham cracker crumbs)
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp melted butter
Filling
4 8oz pkgs cream cheese, very soft
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, room temp


Method:
Oven 350 degrees
Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cookie/cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of nonstick 9" spring-form pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overmix). Add in pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next one.
Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening)
Take out of the oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving. 
*Drizzle with caramel sauce or serve with a dollop of whipped cream garnished with a pecan and a shake of cinnamon.


Notes**In order to prevent the top from cracking, be careful not to overmix the batter. As tempting as it may be,  do not open the oven door while the cake is baking or cooling inside the oven!