Month: November 2012

Desserts · Fruit

Baked Peaches with Almond Frangipane

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When I began this blog, I promised myself I would never share a recipe that I couldn’t pronounce. But……this one just looks so delicious and really enticed me to go buy almond paste and make.  I still cannot pronounce “frangipane”,  so let’s just call it Baked Peaches with Yummy Yummy Flling! Plus you can make the “Yummy Yummy Filling” up to 2 days ahead and just keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.

8 oz almond paste, broken into small pieces

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3 tables sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 large fresh, ripe peaches

Put the almond paste, butter and sugar in the bowl and beat on high until well mixed, 1-2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until egg is blended before adding the other egg.

Scrap down sides of bowl and reduce the speed to low. Mix in the flour and blend until the “yummy yummy sauce” becomes a thick, wet paste. This just keeps sounding better and better, doesn’t it. Nothing better than a thick, wet paste to whet your appetite.

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the peaches in half and take out pits. Put the pitted peaches cut side up in a shallow baking dish the will hold them snugly. (now there’s a great invention, a peach snuggy)

Bake just until heated through, abut 10 mins. Spoon 2 tables of the paste into the hollow of each peach half and bake until the filling develops a golden crust, 10-15 min. As it bakes, the sauce will spread over the cut surface of each peach. Serve warm with whipping cream or ice cream, if desired.

Breads · Casseroles

Breakfast Bread

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

We are down to 13 days before turkey day and if you are like me, (if you are, you poor thing), you are probably looking through magazines for new recipes to welcome family around the table. But not just any recipes, you want ones that are easy, quick but taste like Paula Deen, herself, were in your kitchen. This my dear ladies and gentlemen, is one of those recipes. It is like a breakfast bread pudding, without the cream sauce. I guess if you wanted you could make a gravy for those who think that any breakfast should include gravy. But make a batch this weekend to see how great it is.

2 cups shredded cheese

1 lb sausage, cooked and drained

8 eggs, beaten (we are sorry we always have to beat you, but it gets any hostility out before our hubby gets home)

3 tables chopped green chiles

1/2 cup chopped onion (optional, if you prefer, sprinkle in 1 teas of onion powder)

1 large can Grand biscuits, quartered

Mix all ingredients together. Spray a bundt pan with Pam (or Harriet, or Jane).  Pour mixture into pan. Bake in 350 preheated oven for 35-40 min….I told you it was easy…now get to the store and buy your sausage and biscuits and make it this weekend.

Daily Thoughts

Chocolate BIscotti

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This recipe has already been posted but I made it again yesterday and had to remind you that this is just an amazing and easy biscotti. I am hooked on making it and since the batch I made yesterday is all gone, (no I didn’t eat it all by myself) I have another batch in the oven. We meet friends for Mexican food tonight so will take some to share. Makes such a great hostess gift in a pretty little bag tied with ribbon during the holidays. Bake some and have it for coffee for guests that arrive during this festive season. They will think you have spent hours in the kitchen and you will be proud to serve it. This is my new favorite recipe to make to take to friends in the hospital or just to “snack” (if you can call eating 6-8 of them, “snacking”) on while watching The Voice…..Just type in Chocolate Biscotti in the bottom space beside the magnifying mirror and it will pop up…

Breads · Soups · Starches

Homemade Egg Noodles

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Because of the cooler weather, I have been in a major cooking mood. Yesterday, I remembered my Aunt making homemade egg noodles and thought to myself, “self…how hard could that be?” So I went online and googled recipes for egg noodles and up popped this recipe below. After making these incredible little dumpling noodles, I was transformed to my Aunt’s kitchen back in Ardmore, OK where she would roll out the dough until it was paper thin and drop them in boiling chicken stock. 

This recipe does not disappoint. It is easy, although it does take up time. While the noodles were drying, I left and ran errands and when I came back, I proceeded to make the chicken stock and dropped them in. Depending on how thick you roll the dough is how long they need to cook. So you will need to adjust the time to fit the size noodle. They really were so good and so different from just the noodles that come out of the package. Make a pot of turkey noodle soup, using leftover turkey the Fri after Thanksgiving. These will impress your family. These came from the food.com network!

Ingredients

    • 2 cups flour
    • 3 egg yolks
    • 1 eggs
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 1/4-1/2 cup water

Directions

  1. Measure flour into bowl; make a well in the center and add egg yolks, whole egg and salt.
  2. With hands, thoroughly mix egg into flour.
  3. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
  4. (Add only enough water to form dough into a ball.).
  5. Turn dough onto well-floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
  6. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
  7. Divide dough into 4 equal parts.
  8. Roll dough, 1 part at a time, into paper-thin rectangle, keeping remaining dough covered.
  9. Roll rectangle around rolling pin; slip out rolling pin.
  10. Cut dough cross-wise into 1/8-inch strips for narrow noodles and 1/4-inch for wide noodles.
  11. Shake out strips and place on towel to dry, about 2 hours.
  12. When dry, break dry strips into smaller pieces.
  13. Cook in 3 quarts boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt) (We use chicken broth.) 12 to 15 minutes or until tender.
  14. Drain thoroughly.
Daily Thoughts

Post Election Thoughts

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

As we went to bed last night learning that our country will be under the leadership of President Obama, both Randy and I were, to say the least, disappointed, saddened and surprised that he had won. As many of you across the country have been setting special times of prayer to pray for our country and this election, and probably feeling like we were, I couldn’t help but wonder, “why did God not answer our prayers”….were there not enough of us praying?, did we not have the right attitude in our hearts?  Had we really been praying, believing? As I laid there last night, not being able to sleep, I could not help but go over these questions, asking God, “why”?

This morning, after waking up to realize that America had indeed voted for a President that does not support what we feel is a Biblical approach to lead this supposedly, “One Nation Under God”, something occurred to me.

Over 2000 years ago, was this not what the disciples were thinking and struggling with the night Jesus was arrested? They must have been asking the same questions, “wasn’t Jesus suppose to be setting up His kingdom” and if everything they had been taught were true, why was God allowing Jesus to die? What was happening to their perfect plan to have Jesus as their leader and what would they do now, that Jesus had been crucified?”

In 3 days, they found the answers to all their questions. God had a better plan. A plan that would bring salvation to all who believed and a plan that would last throughout generations to bring eternal life and joy and peace that the world had never known.

We might not find out in 3 days what God’s plan is, but we can be sure of this.God does have a perfect plan and He is still on His throne. Let’s commit to pray for our President and leaders. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see salvation come to the White House.  We, just like the disciples, will be watching expectedly for God’s Perfect Plan” to unfold!

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He lives, all fear is gone, because I know Who holds the future and life is worth the living, just because He lives.”

Beef · Daily Thoughts · Meats

Gingersnap Meatballs

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I’m BACK! Ready to cook and had to share this recipe with you. Jane Warren, one of my mom’s friends who allows me to stay at her house while I am in Corpus, served these one night and I must say they are delicious. She had given me the recipe years back and I had never tried them. They are now going to  be served during the Thanksgiving holidays while the kids are here. They are simple and delicious. You can actually freeze them, as Jane did and she just pulled them out of the freezer and covered them with foil (still frozen) and baked them. The last 15 min of baking, she removed the foil so they could brown. I think it made them even more moist cooking them that way. The gingersnaps just give them a very deep, almost a sweet and sour flavor. Everyone there just went crazy over them.

 

1 1/4 cups gingersnaps, crushed
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground lean pork
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
parsley
Directions:

Crush gingersnaps, approximately 20, 2 inch cookies, to make 1 1/4 cups.
In large bowl, combine crushed gingersnaps with milk and egg.
Add ground beef, pork, onion, salt, pepper and allspice. Mix well to combine.
Refrigerate, covered for one hour.
With moistened hands, shape mixture into meatballs, 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

Preheat oven to 325.
Place meatballs on a cookie sheet with sides and bake about 25 min or until meatballs are brown.

Remove to a 2 quart greased (pam) oven proof casserole dish as they brown. Pour off drippings to measure 1/4 cup, adding more butter if necessary.

Add drippings back to skillet heat and add flour stirring to make a smooth mixture.
Gradually stir in beef broth and bring mixture to boil, stirring constantly.

Add garlic, thyme and bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste simmer for 5 minutes for flavors to mingle.
Pour over meatballs and bake covered one hour.
Garnish with parsley and serve with noodles.