Snickerdoodle Pie

Something about cold weather put me in a pie frame of mind. I could happily eat pie all year around but I always tend to really think about them with the first cold snap. It also might have been the fact that I received an email chalked full of pie recipe from All You late last week.

So put together the facts that I love pie and the fact that my best friend and I were sitting on her couch chit-chatting Friday night discussing what I’ll be bringing to the girls poker party on Saturday and I remembered that her favorite cookie is a snickerdoodle and ta-da I knew exactly what I was making.

Now, let me explain the poor photos, it isn’t the prettiest pie. Although I am certain someone could or has taken a better photo of it. Let me also explain that it doesn’t quite taste like a snicker doodle, it’s more like a chess pie with some sweetness on top. When I make it again, because despite the fact that it wasn’t spot on snickerdoodle it was really good, I’ll be baking it without the cinnamon sugar on top and instead sprinkling that over after it’s baked. I might also try to come up with some sort of sugar cookie crust. I know that seems like a lot of changes but even without them the pie actually tasted very good like I said above. I brought home half from the party and there is only one piece left as of this writing. That either means it's really good or I am a cow, heck, let's go with both.


Snickerdoodle Pie
recipe from myrecipes.com

1 frozen pie crust, thawed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Fit pie crust dough into a 9-inch pie pan and crimp edge decoratively. Place in refrigerator to chill while preparing filling.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Set a rack in lower third of oven. Line a baking sheet with foil and set it on oven rack.

In a small bowl, stir together cinnamon and 1 Tbsp. sugar.

In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, egg yolks, flour, vanilla, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar. Pour into chilled pie shell.

Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over custard.

Set pie on preheated baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Without opening oven, reduce temperature to 325ºF and bake until pie is set, puffed and golden, about 20 minutes longer.

Let cool on a wire rack, then serve, or cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate to serve cold.


The girls said that it had a slight lemon taste which I am assuming is from the buttermilk. It actually reminded me of a pie that Baby Cakes’ Granny makes, incidently a lemon chess pie. I really did enjoy it.

XOXO,

Stroganoff-Style Spaghetti and Meatballs

Baby Cakes and I ate off this recipe for 3 meals. First, the night I cooked it then for a late lunch on Saturday and again for lunch on Sunday. 3 times, and I am not a leftover fan that alone should tell you how amazing I found this recipe to be.

Now you might notice that it is similar to my Aunt Maggie’s Beef Stroganoff that I shared when I first started blogging only better, so much better. I plan on recreating Aunt Maggie’s recipe with these ingredients sometime in the very near future.

To bring the cost down you could use ground meat, stew meat or even chicken, although frozen prepared meatballs do occasionally go on sale (that's how I got mine). Get creative.


Stroganoff-Style Spaghetti and Meatballs
recipe from Taste of Home Simple & Delicious magazine, January/February 2010, p27

1 lb. uncooked spaghetti
1 package (28 ounces) frozen fully cooked Italian meatballs, thawed
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cans (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoon beef broth
1 tablespoon seasoning blend
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups sour cream

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté the meatballs, onion and garlic in oil for 4-5 minutes or until meatballs are browned. Stir in the soup, milk, broth and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until heated through.

Gradually stir in sour cream; heat through but do not boil. Drain the spaghetti; stir into the skillet. Serve immediately.


So amahzing!

XOXO,

Smothered Pork Chops

Have I ever shared with you how much I love anything pickled? I am a pickle eater. In fact when I was younger my Mom and Dad would give me a giant jar of pickles for Christmas. At family functions the pickle tray is put out last minute because they know either I or my brother will get into them and they will be mostly gone before the supper takes place. I always order fried pickles if they have them on a menu. At night if I feel like having a snack it’s more than likely eating pickles from the jar until I can’t eat anymore. I’ve had pickled eggs, pickled corn, carrots, green beans, okra, sweet, spicy or dill, anything pickled. I have been on a search for the pickled coleslaw recipe that Baby Cakes and I had on our honeymoon since our, well, honeymoon, can’t find anything close by the way, perhaps a good reason to go back to the B&B we stayed at. My favorite snow cone flavor is pickle. Yeah, I love pickles. So you know that when I came across this recipe on $5 Dinners it was on like Donkey Kong. I had to try it.

Now her version is baked, as are a few others version I found online, but I am trying it in a large skillet like the original recipe calls for. Infact, here is the exact recipe borrowed from $5 Dinners blog.


It turned out really tasty and although it didn't actually taste like pickles it was very very good. Baby Cakes gave it a 9 and I give it 7. I would make it again though, overall it was a yummy and fairly simple dish to make.


Smothered Pork Chops
recipe from $5 Dinners

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4-5 pork chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons pickle juice
1 tablespoon water
salt and pepper to taste

In a shallow dish mix the flour, salt and pepper until combined. Dip the pork chops on both sides in the flour mixture to coat.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown the pork chops on both side. Turn the heat down to low.

Cover the browned pork chops with the onions, celery, pickle juice and water; cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour or until the onions are soft and meat is cooked through.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over buttered rice or mashed potatoes.


I think one of the best thing about this recipe is that it is from so long ago. I love things with history.

Nom Nom Nom,

Potato Kielbasa Skillet‏

Get your taste buds ready y’all, this dish is wonderful.

Until this recipe came along I was quite unhappy with the quality of Taste of Homes’ Simple & Delicious recipes. Their ideas were good, or I wouldn’t have made them in the first place, but they left a lot to be desired in way of taste. My opinion has officially changed and this recipe is to thank for that.

In the original recipe it only called for half of the sauce but regarding my love of flavor I doubled it. I am glad I did. It cooks down to a glaze of sorts and was fantastic. And one more small change, I used processed wild hog link sausage courtesy of my Father in Law's hog last season.

Baby Cakes and I both polished off the entire skillets worth. Yes, I admit to being a total oinker, that’s just how good this was.


Potato Kielbasa Skillet‏
recipe from Simple & Delicious, November/December 2008, p9

1 pound red potatoes, cubed
3 tablespoons water
3/4 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups fresh baby spinach
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.

In a large skillet, sauté kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; sauté 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.

Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add spinach and bacon; cook and stir until spinach is wilted.


This meal will be served again and again in the Bennett household.

XOXO,

Buttermilk Biscuits

I have a little confession to make. I have never made certain, most, baked good from scratch. I have never made a pie crust, cookies, rolls or biscuits. I’ve always been intimidated by the rolling out and cutting process but today is the day that changes. I have pumpkin butter to share with loved ones and I need to send something to use along with it. Biscuits are perfect.

Every once in a while I receive emails with cooking tips. Have you guys seen them? I’ll be posting a few of them beginning with a microwave corn recipe in a day or two. Anyway, back to the sharing at hand, the email for the biscuits recipe was of a little old lady showing someone, the video taker, how she makes her families recipe. She made it look so easy. I had to try it.



Now some parts of the recipe are missing due to malfunctions with the video camera so I used my own judgment on measurements. Below are my measurements.


Buttermilk Biscuits
recipe lightly adapted from Gertrude Lindley

3 cups self rising flour
1 cup crisco, chilled
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Scoop a well into the middle of the flour. Put the shortening and buttermilk into the well. Using your hand, work the milk and crisco together until there are no large lumps of crisco. Slowly go around the bowl mixing the flour, little by little, into the milk and shortening mixture until combined. Once there is no raw flour left in the bowl and if the dough is still sticky add a bit more flour, about 1/4 cup at a time, working it in until it is no longer sticky.

Turn out onto a floured board and roll to about 1 inch thick. Cut with a round cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place onto a greased cookie sheet.

If your going to freeze them bake for 7 minutes or until they rise and then take out of the oven, let cool and then freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen you can transfer to a freezer bag. When your ready to bake off just set on a cookie sheet and let thaw, then bake off in a 450 oven for about 12 minutes.

If your going to cook them now, brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden on top.

Once out of the oven, brush the tops again with melted butter.


They turned out just fantastic. I am just amazed that my first attempt at biscuits turned out to be so good.

XOXO,

Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter

So you saw the Crock Pot Pumpkin Puree right? Well so far I’ve used pumpkin puree in the Pumpkin Banana Bread and now I am going to use it to make pumpkin butter. This was super simple to do. The most difficult part being the stirring every once in a while, if you even call that difficult.

This makes for an incredibly sweet, thick pumpkin butter. It looks like apple butter, which the Bennett house loves, but after a finger in the mouth to taste it does not taste like apple butter. I’m okay with that though because it is so good.


Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter
recipe from Laura Williams’ Musings

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Combine all ingredients in a crock-pot and stir well to mix.

Cook on high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally, about every 30 minutes. Do not let it burn or stick.

After it is done, fill the pint jars or 1/2 pint jars, leaving ¼ inch head space and seal.


Now I skipped the canning process because it only made about 2 ½ cups worth and we were sharing with so many people that I just packaged it up and sent it along with a note and some biscuits to be eaten right away. The note did tell the recipients of the pumpkin butter that it could last about a month when stored in the icebox.

If you do care to can it you can find directions on how to do that over at Laura Williams’ Musings.


Both Baby Cakes and I loved this. It was really rich butter served sparingly over buttered biscuits it was delish.

Love, love, love,

Pumpkin Banana Strudel Sweet Bread

Y’all know I had to share a recipe featuring pumpkin, especially using pumpkin puree since I just made a crock pot version the other day. I love pumpkin pie but it’s too early for all that, for some reason I don’t really want pumpkin pie until Thanksgiving. So I was trying to figure out what to make with some of this puree. Well, luckily we are still in the in-between seasons here in Texas. It’s not cool enough to cast away summer foods just yet but then again it’s not our regular 100 degrees either so this is my attempt at marrying the seasons.


Pumpkin Banana Strudel Sweet Bread

3 medium overripe bananas
½ cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter flavored extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Spray smooth, dark coated bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas and pumpkin together until semi-smooth. Set aside.

In a separate small bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder until combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the sugars and butter with a whisk. Stir in the extracts. Add the eggs until blended. Add the mashed mix; mix 30 seconds. Stir in the dry ingredients until just moistened.

Pour half of the mixture into prepared pan. In a small bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to combine and sprinkle on top of first layer or batter. Pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon mixture.

Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. About 50 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.


I can’t tell you how moist this bread is. If you ever made my banana bread then you have an idea but if you haven’t well, what are you waiting for? Get in that kitchen right now and make some, either one, just make one!

Yum-O!

Crock Pot Pumpkin Puree

So this year I have seen a ton of other bloggers making their own pumpkin puree and I decided I wanted to jump on that hay ride, for a couple of reasons. The top reason being flavor, I wanted to see for myself if fresh pumpkin puree was better than canned. The second reason being that canned pumpkin can get pricey at certain times of the year, although I do typically stock up during the sales. In regards to fresh pumpkin, stores are currently having sales on their pie pumpkins which is the type you want to cook with.


Crock Pot Pumpkin Puree
recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet

1 pie pumpkin, small enough to fit into your slow cooker

Wash the outside of the pumpkin; dry. Poke the pumpkin a few times with a fork and place in the slow cooker. (If your pumpkin doesn’t fit cut in half or quarters.)

Cook on low for 8 hours, or until the flesh easily pulls away from the skin; let cool.

Remove from the slow cooker and let cool.

Once cooled, scoop out the seeds and discard or roast, scoop out the pumpkin flesh and puree in a food processor or blender until well blended.

Measure by the cup full and store in plastic food storage bags. You can store in a freezer for up to 1 year, in a freezer storage bag. Use in recipes as desired.


After making it I am not sure that I'll make this my regular method as in homemade versus canned. It only made 2 cups worth of pumpkin puree, which is about a can and a half. The crock pot part was easy, the scooping, scraping and pureeing not so much. It wasn’t a headache per say but being all about convenience; well it’s harder than opening a can. However, ask me again once I use it to make pumpkin butter (don’t worry, I’ll post the recipe).

XOXO,