Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

Even though we aren't through Thanksgiving yet. I want to share this with you. I will be honest and tell you these aren't my pictures. I haven't made mine yet this year. It is on my agenda for this coming weekend. I want to show you these and tell you how much I love them. Not only do they smell wonderful and fill your house with wonderful spice smells, they have a very warm place in my heart. 

Many years ago I lived in Germany. I was there about 6 years. My time there was marked with beauty and culture. My time there was also marked by sadness of all kinds. One Christmas I got a box from my Mom. It was full of all these handmade ornaments. There were these dough/baked ornaments, pasta ornaments, and then these little gingerbread men shaped ornaments that smelled like heaven. I have never told my mother this but it was one of the most welcome things. I remember running my finger over them knowing her hands had touched them just a few weeks before. I was so homesick. I hung them all on my tree and held onto everything. Year after year they would break and fall apart. So year after year I would lose a little more of all the handmade ornaments my Mom had sent to me. When I finally got back state side it took over ten years before we (my Mom and I ) made more. We made them last year. It was so much fun. I didn't tell her what they really meant to my heart. To this day these smells bring back that moment I opened that box and smelled the scent of things my Mom's hands had touched. So here is the recipe and I hope you give them a try. They are wonderful. I'm going to hang them all over my house from clear string from the ceiling. Just in corners (so no one knocks into them with their heads.) My kids will come in and smell them and have wonderful warm fuzzies for a second. What more could I ask. 

In the past I have always used cookie cutters. This year I am going to try and find some stamps and make stamped ones like the very top picture. Wish me luck. I may look for the German cookie stamps. 

I know I don't have to tell you this but to be safe: THESE ARE NOT EDIBLE. They smell so good you may want to eat them, but don't.

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

1 Cup Cinnamon

1/2 Tbl. ground cloves

1 Tbl. nutmeg

3/4 Cup applesauce

2 Tbl. Elmers white glue

other materials you will need:

Rolling Pin

Plastic wrap

Cookie cutters

Wire rack (for drying. or just leave them out on the plastic wrap and turn them over after the top has dried

bowl and spoon

Drinking straw (to poke hole for string to hang your ornaments)

Ribbon or string to hang your ornaments

paints (I like the little squeeze bottle paints you can get at craft stores, but acrylic paint and brushes are great too.) optional

glitter glue in squeeze bottles (if you want glitter on your ornaments) optional

cover work surface with plastic or a cheap shower curtain liner. 

1. Combine the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in bowl

2. Add applesauce and glue. Stir together

3. Work mixture with your hands for 2-3 minutes until dough is smooth and all ingredients are mixed.

To Make Ornaments:

1. Divide dough into thirds. Roll out each portion to 1/4 inch thickness (cover the dough your not using so that it doesn't dry out.)

2. Use cookie cutter to cut desired shapes in dough.

3. Use the end of a drinking straw to make a small hole in the top of each ornament.

4. Place ornaments on wire rack or wax paper to dry at room temp. for several days. (I think ours dried within a couple days.)

Hint: Each time you roll out a piece of dough, knead it first 4 or 5 times. This keeps it moist and prevents cracks.

5. Once the dough has dried you can decorate them as you want. Paint, glitter etc......

I wish you the happiest of Holidays.

Baked Beans

Oh how I love good baked beans. It surprises me how hard it is to find good baked beans. They either taste more like a Ranch Bean or too tomato sauce tasting. I like a sweet and smokey baked bean. Not too heavy on tomato flavor and not a spicy chili powder flavor of Ranch Beans. I think this one is just the thing.

Baked Beans

4 bacon slices ( I use applewood smoked bacon. It is the best)

1 small onion, diced

4 (15 oz.) can pork in beans, drained

1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 Cup ketchup

1/4 Cup molasses

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dry mustard

Cook bacon in cast iron skillet till crisp. Remove to drain on paper towel and crumble. Saute onion in bacon grease till transluciant, about 7 minutes. Stin in drained beans, brown sugar, ketchup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce and dry mustard. Stir together well. Now you can add the bacon back in now or wait and top the cooked beans when done. Its up to you. Place skillet in oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or so. The longer you cook them the thicker the final product will be. I actually would cook them less. Just watch them and take them out when they are to your liking. Stir them half way through. Only stir again if they look like they are looking like they are too cooked. If that happens you can also just pull them out of the oven and call them done. You want them to thicken. After that they can be removed from the oven and topped with the bacon pieces.

Kathy's Southern Potato Salad

Every Southern cook has their own version (and the one they swear by) of Southern Potato Salad. In my opinion Southern Potato Salad has to be yellow (mustard) potato salad. Don't get me wrong, I have a killer white potato salad, but nothing beats the good ole yummy in your tummy Southern Potato Salad. Now that isn't the only thing Southerners feel strong about regarding their potato salad. ONIONS! Do you or don't you? I DON"T. Now don't think I'm hating on the onion. I love onions. Just not in my Southern Potato Salad. See, I think good Southern Potato Salad tastes like a potato and a deviled egg got together and had a baby. My potato salad tastes a lot like deviled eggs. It is popular and I have spent many years coming up with what I think is the perfect taste. Now the problem came in that I had never ever measured anything in my potato salad when I made it. I just threw everything in and adjusted the flavor as needed because I knew what taste I was going for. So to create a recipe to put here was the task. Today is BBQ brisket sandwiches (a future post.) and we need potato salad and baked beans. So I measured everything as I made it. I think I did pretty good. The measurements might seem weird though because again I added till it had "That" taste. So here ya go.

Southern Potato Salad

5 lbs. potatoes peeled and cut up in bite size pieces. (You want your water you boil your potatoes in to be salted like pasta water. Ocean salty)

15 hard boiled eggs (trust me. I actually have been known to use 18! Shocking, I know.)

2 Cups Mayo (I only believe in Hellmans. DO NOT USE M-WHIP!! That should be outlawed.)

1/4 Cup + 1TBL. yellow mustard

1/4 Cup + 2TBL. sweet pickle relish

1 tsp. salt, plus more for the boiling water

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Peel, chop and boil potatoes till tender. Drain and place in bowl to cool (you want them cooled but slightly warm so they break up easily as you mix all your ingredients.) Remove eggs from shells and chop all the eggs and add to the potaotoes. Add the mayo, mustard, sweet pickle relish, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Mix everything well. I will be honest. I remove my rings and wash my hands and mix by hand. It is just the easiest way to blend it all and I can squish and break up the potaotes along the way.

Now the fun part. Taste for seasoning. I wipe as much off my hands as I can and then I go to the sink and lick all the yummy stuff off and then wash my hands. I know that is probably TMI. I just want you to know the whole thing is a great experience. Then call you taste tester in (in my case my husband John) and have them taste it for mayo/mustard ratio. Plus pickle relish. Usually if I need to do anything its add more salt , more relish or once in a while a little more mustard. But since I have measured this all out for you hopefully it will be pretty close to wonderful. 

Enjoy

Macaroni and Cheese

I like boxed Mac and Cheese. I LOVE homemade. In fact I don't make boxed unless I'm lazy and need easy peasy. Thank goodness that isn't often. This is really good. I'm always on the look for the bigger and better but this is pretty wonderful. You will thank me. Go ahead.....I'm waiting......thank me..............

Well fine. Try it first then thank me. Here we go....

Mac and Cheese

• 6 cups dried macaroni
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2  teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
• 1 lb. sharp Cheddar, grated (not pre-grated cheese), plus more for baking ( I change up the amounts of the cheeses I use. Sometimes its less cheddar than this and more Gruyere and sometimes its just cheddar. It will be good no matter what you use.) or don't use Gruyere and add velveeta. Velveeta makes it very creamy. Or add all the cheese. it is up to you. Its cheese. How can you go wrong.
•  1/4 lb. grated Gruyere cheese (optional. It good with just the sharp cheddar and velveeta cheeses.
• 4 ounces velveeta cubed
• 1/2 tsp. salt (salt to taste through out)
•  1 tsp. Seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the macaroni until still slightly firm. Drain and set aside.

 In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook for a couple of minutes, whisking constantly. Don't let it burn. Pour in the milk, add the mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

 Add in the cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt and the pepper. Taste the sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in the drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Serve immediately (while it's still very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese and bake until bubbly and golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

Sunrise Punch

I love Pioneer Woman. Nuff said. I watched her show every week while it was on The Food Network. I was so excited. I don't know what that says about me. I'm easily pleased? My Mom may tell you thats not true. But!.......this punch pleases me. Pioneer Woman made this on one of her shows. Oh my goodness is this good. I want to share it with you. We make it often and I can drink the whole pitcher of it by myself. You will be happy if you try this. I make it for breakfast when we are having something savory to eat. Just sets right with all that yummy bacon and eggs. Give it a try.

Sunrise Punch

2 Cups orange juice

2 Cups pineapple juice

2 Cups whole milk

1/2 Cup powdered sugar

2 Tbl. meringue powder (Wiltons is easy to find. Walmart has it in the cake decorating area. Hobby Lobby, Michaels etc.... all carry it.)

2 tsp. vanilla

ice

(Now this makes a full blender full. The meringue powder really froths this. Watch for over flow in your blender.)

Add the orange juice, pineapple juice, milk, sugar, meringue powder and vanilla extract to a blender. Fill the rest of the blender with ice and blend!

Brownie Trifle

This is another easy peasy recipe. It also is my son's (all of them) favorite dessert. I could slave over some magnificent decadence and they wouldn't like it half as much as this. Go figure. I thought I would list it for you all. Its easy and a way to create a little nicer dessert for a special occasion. I have to make it for them on all holidays. All I can do is shake my head. But whats a Mom to do. They love it.

   Brownie Trifle
One brownie mix (you want one that has recipe for cake like brownies.) Bake cake like brownies according to directions and let cool.
2 large packages instant chocolate pudding mix. Make according to directions but use 1 Cup less of milk than it calls for.
1 (16oz.) container of cool whip (you might want to buy a 12oz. container as well. To make sure you have enough.)
1 package chocolate toffee bits

Cut the brownie into small squares (1 inch or so) Make pudding and mix with 1 Cup Cool Whip. Start layering in trifle bowl. Place enough brownies to cover bottom of bowl. Them top with pudding, sprinkle layer of toffee bits then cool whip. Continue till you have used all up. Finish with pudding then cool whip. Sprinkle toffee bits on top. Place in fridge to chill completely.

Three way chili, Frito chili pie!!!! Either way its a great pot of Chili

I love chili. I love Cincinnati Chili or 3 way chili or Frito chili pie. Its all good. This is my fairly new and staple chili recipe. I use it for frito chili pie. I use it over spaghetti (if you have never done this you must. You will thank me.0 We have Pioneer Woman to thank for the inspiration. I have ate my chili on spaghetti noodles for years and years. Try it you wont be sorry. Add some cheddar cheese and onions if you like on top. Very good. I promise.
Before we go on lets tackle the "to bean or not to bean" issue. I don't care if it means I'm not a true Texan, or Southerner, or human being. I like beans. I like beans in my chili. So I put them in my chili. Feel free to leave them out if it insults your chili sensibilities. I'm ok with that. I want everyone to just get along and eat this good chili.
Chili

• 2 pounds Ground Chuck
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced (optional)
• 1 can (12 To 14 Ounce) Tomato Sauce
• 1 can (10 Ounce) Ro-tel tomatoes (as spicy as suits your buds)
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 can (14-ounce) Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can (14-ounce) Pinto Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1/4 cup Masa (corn Flour) This is a very important flavor component. 
• 1/2 cup Warm Water
• package cooked spaghetti noodles
• Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Diced Red Onion (Optional)

How do I cook the chili Kathy?

Brown ground chuck with garlic in a pot over medium-high heat. Add tomato sauce, Rotel, salt, oregano, cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes or so.
Add drained and rinsed beans. Stir to combine, then cover and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
Mix masa with water, then add to the chili. Stir to combine and simmer for a final 5 minutes or so. 
To serve place a mound of pasta on plate and top with chili and cheese and anything else your using. YUM YUM!

Easy Peasy Cheddar Cheese/garlic/chive biscuits

In a pinch these work great. They are actually very good. My family loves them. I love them when I'm in a hurry and don't want to deal with scratch biscuits.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits (This makes about 8-12. Depending on how large you scoop and drop them.)

1 1/2 Cups biscuit mix (I used Bisquick)

1/2 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1-2 tsp. dried or fresh chives ( just as much as you like really)

1/2 Cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together and drop onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 12 minutes or till golden brown and done. Take out of oven and immediately  brush with garlic butter.

Garlic Butter (for brushing the tops of biscuits after they are done.)

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Melt butter and mix in garlic powder and salt. Brush on biscuits with pastry brush as soon as they come out of the oven.

Zuppa di Gnocchi e Pesto/Soup with Gnocchi and Pesto

It's the time of year that all I can think about is warm fires in the fireplace and soups and stews. Of course here in Texas the state of the Bi-Polar weather system its hard to know how to feel from one day to the next. Keeps us on our toes and in the doctors office with cold symptoms. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a cold weather person, always have been. So Texas and I struggle a lot. But Texas does take pity on me and hands out a few cold days to brighten my fall mood. Now this weekend it is suppose to be 80 degrees! Texas has to remind me who's boss. 

Yesterday was a nice chilly day. My built in winter instincts started screaming for soup. So having seen this on another blog I thought it looked good. I also thought "I'm tired and lazy." Not a good combo if your planning soups and home made breads to soothe your need to feel arctic. This soup was fairly simple. I'm a cook from scratch kinda gal but every now and again when I have "one of those days" (and I'm having them more and more as I age) I try and choose easy peasy stuff. 

This soup was pretty easy peasy. I made cheddar/chive/garlic biscuits to go with the soup. The biscuits are made from the boxed biscuit mixes (I know, I know......shame on me. My Grandmother is rolling over in her grave.) But when your tired and lazy it works in a pinch. Last night was a pinch. However, what I put on the table in my tired and lazy mood was simply wonderful and filling. My family loved it. As shameful as it is I will also list my biscuit mix cheddar cheese biscuits for those of you who also feel tired and lazy from time to time. The soup was a winner for us. I was a little afraid of the pesto being too strong, but don't worry yourself. It wasn't. The broth was delicious. I served it with the biscuits and a Ceasar salad. We also popped open a few bottles (yes, I said a few) of Chianti to wash it down. Then warm coffee and a little dessert cake (I purchased at the store. Oh how the truth hurts.) We sat and ate our meal and drank our wine as we watched the fired dance its dance in the fire place. The soup was warm. The family time was warm. The fire was warm. It was a wonderful family time to be had. We had a guest and I think he didn't want to leave. Who could blame him. We are pretty wonderful.  The meal and company was wonderful from beginning to end.

 

Soup (I double this for my family)

3 chicken breasts on the bone

1 yellow onion, quartered

8 garlic cloves, skins still on

3 Tbl. olive oil

3 pinches of salt

3 pinches of pepper

2 (32oz) cartons chicken stock or broth

1 (6-8oz) jar prepared pesto

1 (16oz.) package Gnocchi

 (the Gnocchi and pesto can be made from scratch but remember I was tired and lazy. I have good recipes for both. I will post them on here one of these days.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken on sheet pan or roasting pan. Place garlic (with skins on. We are basically roasting the garlic while the chicken cooks. It wont flavor the chicken, but is used in the soup. Two birds, one stone kinda thing.)around the chicken but not on the chicken. Break apart the quartered onion and place on and around the chicken. Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil and salt and pepper the chicken. Roast the chicken in the oven till just cooked. My chicken breasts were large so it took 45 min or a little more. 35-45 minutes should do it. Just check the chicken. Once baked allow the chicken breasts to cool. Take the onions and put into a blender. Peel the garlic and place in the blender as well. Pour one box of stock in the blender and one box of stock in pot for the soup. Heat the stock pot of broth up. When it comes to a boil add the Gnocchi. Gnocchi are done when they rise to the top. Just follow package directions for cooking the Gnocchi. Now back to the blender. Add  about 3 Tbl. of the pesto to the blender of onion, garlic, and broth. Blend till completely smooth. Pour this into the soup pot and go ahead and add the rest of the Pesto also. Shred the chicken and add to the pot. We found the soup did not need salt or pepper but you decide about the seasoning at this point. Make sure everything is heated through. Serve with some good bread, or biscuits (even the tired and lazy kind.)

You can find the recipe for the cheddar cheese biscuits under breads on my blog. Enjoy!

Decadent Coconut Cake

I love this cake. It is moist and delicious. I don't make it often because I can't quit eating it. It makes a great holiday cake.

Coconut Cake

1 box white cake mix (ingredients to bake according to package)

1 Can Coco Lopez cream coconut

1 (12oz) cool whip

1 large can crushed pineapple

1 Cup sweetened coconut (toasted or not. Its up to you)

Bake the cake according to directions in a 9x13 cake pan. Let it cool (but not completely) and poke holes in the cake. Open the can of Coco Lopez cream of coconut and stir it well and pour over cake and using a knife spread it out and help force the cream down into the holes. Cover and place in fridge. When cake is cooled completely top it with Cool whip that has been mixed with the pineapple that has been drained very well and squeezed of as much liquid as you can. Then spread cool whip/pineapple mixture over cake. Sprinkle with coconut. Cover and return to refrigerator till time to serve.

Best ever Bacon/jalapeno/cheese/bbq sliders

Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about. These are delish, delish, delish. Did I tell you these are delish? For my large family these are great. Because you bake them in the oven you can cook a bunch at once. Made it really easy to feed my huge family of men. They are delish. Did I tell you that? I also found cute little slider buns at the grocery store. If you can't find those little gems then just buy the little dinner rolls. They work great too.

Sliders: Makes 8

2 lbs ground beef (use good quality)

1 tsp. seasoned salt 

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. lemon pepper

1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce

8 strips bacon, cut in half

1/4 cup good BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

16 pickled jalapenos ( those jarred jalapenos you use for nachos. We use Mezzetta Tamed Deli sliced Jalapeno peppers. These are delish. They are not as hot as the other brands but still have a nice bite to the heat level.)

8 thinish slices of cheddar cheese from a block of cheddar. 

8 slider buns or rolls

Combine beef with seasoned salt, lemon pepper, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Form into 8 small  patties (I made them just slightly bigger than the buns. As they will shrink down some when cooked). Place two jalapenos on each pattie. Wrap bacon around criss cross with the ends wrapped and tucked under the bottom of the patties. Place patties on baking sheet with the cut ends of the bacon side down. You could use a drip pan style pan if you have it. I didn't and it worked just fine. Just use super lean meat. Gently push down on the patties to squeeze meat out of bacon a little. Refridgerate 20 minutes to firm up. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, half way through brush with BBQ sauce and continue to bake till bacon is cooked to your liking. Remove from oven and add cheese to each and put back in oven for a minute to melt the cheese and serve on rolls with extra BBQ sauce or mustard. Whatever your condiment choice is.

You of course can make these without the jalapenos but I can't tell you the wonderful flavor the jalapenos give these. My men loved, loved, loved them. I was able to feed everyone at once as well. That rarely happens when making burgers etc....... 

Enjoy!

Orange Chicken

We love Chinese food at our house. Learning to make our favorites is just better for my large family economically and also just better for us. This way I can control any and all things that go into it. This Orange Chicken in very good and my middle son is always very happy with me when I make it. I serve it with Asian style green beans (look under vegetables on this site.) Enjoy!

Orange Chicken: serves 6 (you know I make more)

chicken:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. (I used chicken tenders. Cheap and cut each into about three pieces.)

1 1/2 Cups corn starch

1 Cup plain Panko break crumbs (this gives the chicken a nice crunch)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 eggs beaten

oil for frying

Combine corn starch, salt and pepper into one bowl. Beat two eggs and put into another bowl. Put panko into another bowl. Dip chicken in cornstarch, then egg, then panko crumbs. Set aside. Heat pan of oil for frying to around 375 degrees. Fry chicken in batches and keep warm in oven till all chicken is cooked and sauce is made.

Orange Sauce:

1 1/2 Cups water

1/4 Cup orange juice

2 Tbl. lemon juice

1/3 Cup rice vinegar

2 1/2 Tbl. soy sauce

1 Tbl. orange zest, grated

1 Cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. minced ginger

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

2 Tbl. green onions, chopped

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 

3 Tbl. cornstarch

1/4 Cup waterr, soy sauce

In large sauce pan combine water, juices, rice vinegar, soy sauce. Blend well over med. heat. Stir in brown sugar, zest, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Combine the 3Tbl. of cornstarch with the water and add to the sauce. Stir till it thickens. Pour over the chicken and garnish with the chopped green onions.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Made Broccoli Cheese soup for the first time tonight. It was very good. We just had it with ham and turkey cheese croissant sandwiches. I will tell you what I did and what I might change next time. The flavor was great. I liked it just like it was. My husband thought more cheese would have been good. So you can decide for yourself and adjust it to your personal tastes.

This made a bunch. It filled a 6 1/2 quart cast iron dutch oven. But remember I feed a small army at my house.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 Sticks butter

2 onions, chopped 

1 Cup chicken stock, plus more if needed to thin out soup

2 quarts half and half

5 Cups whole milk

2 good size pinches of ground nutmeg

2-4 tsp. salt, to taste

1-2 tsp. pepper, to taste

4 (16oz.) bags frozen broccoli florets, semi thawed and chopped into small pieces

4 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 Cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 Cup instant mash potato flakes

Melt butter in large dutch oven. Add onions and fry till tender. Pour chicken broth, milk, half and half into pan and bring to a simmer. Add nutmeg and chopped broccoli. Add half of the salt and pepper. Cook till broccoli is tender. Stir in potato flakes and shredded cheese a little at a time. Stir till cheese is melted and then add more cheese. Don't cook at too high a temperature so the cheese melts evenly. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Now here is the personalizing part of it. If it is too thin add more potato flakes. If it is not cheesey enough add more cheese. If it is to thick add more chicken broth. You can also put half in a blender and blend the broccoli up finer if you prefer.