Monday, September 21, 2009

Kaylynn's low-fat carrot cake

1 3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. water
1 c. applesauce
2 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. baking soda
3 c. grated carrots
1/2 c. raisins (optional)
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients well and stir in raisins last. Bake in sprayed 9x13 inch pan at 350 for approximately 30 minutes. Cool and frost with low-fat cream cheese frosting.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Salsa (for canning)

5 lbs tomatoes (10 cups peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes)
2 lbs chile pepers (6 cups seeded, chopped chili peppers) I use anaheims
1 lb onions (4 cups chopped onions)
1 cup bottled lemon juice or 1 cup vinegar (5%)
3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Yield 6-8 pints

Peel chile peppers if desired (I don't). Wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until skins split. Dip in cold water, slip off skins & remove cores. Coarsely chop tomatoes (I drain the juice off my tomatoes and them measure them) and combine chopped peppers, onions, and remaining ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat to a boil, & simmer 10 minutes. Fill jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and pricess pints in boiling water canner for 20 minutes (1,000-6,000 ft).

You may use any mixture of mild & hot peppers. Use all mild peppers if you want a nice soup/chili base.

You can use spices and herbs of your choice. Salt and pepper may be eliminated.

Pumpkin White Chip Macadamia Bars

2 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1 c butter (softened)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c solid pack pumpkin
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 c white baking chips
2/3 c chopped macadamia nuts

In a small bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until blended; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1 1/2 c white chips and nuts. Spread into greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2-in jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350 for 18-22 min or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Place remaining chips in heavy-duty plastic bag. Microwave on medium-high for 45 sec; knead. Microwave at additional 10-sec intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over bars. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

1 1/4 c butter or margarine, softened
2 1/4 c confectioners' sugar
1/3 c baking cocoa
1/4 c sour cream
1 T vanilla
2 1/4 c flour
2 c (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (this is where I use the Andes Mint pieces)
1/4 c chocolate sprinkles

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and cocoa until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate 1 hour. Roll into 1-in balls; dip in chocolate sprinkles. Place, sprinkled side up, 2 in apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 for 10 min or until set. Cool 5 min before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 5 1/2 dozen.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Simple Marinara Sauce

My friend Sarah just sent me this recipe. It's a great way to use up those extra zucchini and tomatoes.

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 small or 1 large zucchini

2 tbsp. each chopped fresh parsley and basil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes or 2 qts. fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 dried bay leaves

Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Add bay leaves. Add the tomato, salt pepper, and the parsley and basil. Let simmer for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. When finished simmering, remove bay leaves, and puree until smooth.

Can add carrots, celery, etc. as needed during simmering process.

Roasted Marinara Sauce

Use above proportions. Cut all vegetables in 1” pieces. Slice garlic. Place all on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 400°, stirring occasionally, about an hour or till very dark. Put in pot with rest of ingredients. Simmer till thick. Puree.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Roxanne's Tortellini Salad

7oz Box tortellini (9 oz fresh)
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, quartered
2- 14 oz cans artichoke hearts, quartered
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 can med olives
1- 16 oz bottle Newmans or Bernsteins reduced fat Italian dressing

Cook tortellinis. Rinse with cold water. Add to all ingredients. Pour ½ bottle of dressing on top and refrigerate. (overnight is best, but it doesn’t matter) Pour remaining dressing on before serving.

Standard Pastry (Pie Crust)

8-9 inch one crust pie 10 inch one crust pie
1 c flour 1 1/3 c flour
½ t. salt ½ t. salt
1/3 cup plus 1 T shortening ½ c shortening
2 to 3 T. cold water 3 to 4 T. cold water

Measure flour and salt into bowl. Cut in shortening thoroughly. Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until all flour is moistened and dough almost cleans side of bowl (1-2 tsp. water can be added if needed).

Gather dough into ball; shape into flattened round on lightly floured cloth-covered board. With floured rolling pin, roll dough 2 inches larger than inverted pie pan. Fold pastry into quarters; unfold and ease into pan.

For one-crust pie: Trim overhanging edge or pastry 1 inch from rim of pan. Fold and roll pastry under, even with pan; flute. Fill and bake 425 degrees in preheated oven.
For baked pie shell: Prick bottom and sides thoroughly with fork. Bake at 475 for 8-10 minutes in preheated oven.

For two-crust pie: Turn desired filling into pastry lined pie pan. Trim overhanging edge of pastry ½ inch from edge of pan. Roll second round of dough. Fold into quarters; cut slits so steam can escape. Place over filling and unfold. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pan. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute. Cover edge with 203 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 40 to 50 min. or until crust is brown. 425 degree preheated oven.

Snickerdoodles

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until well blended.Mix together the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Shape in to 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until light and golden. You don't want to over bake these. This recipe makes about 3 dozen.

Shake & Make Ice Cream

1 Cup half & half
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ tsp vanilla or chocolate syrup

Mix. Place in pint size bag & seal. Fill gallon size baggie ½ full of crushed ice. Add 6 tablespoons rock salt. Place sealed quart sized bag with ice cream mixture in gallon baggie and seal. Shake the bag for 5 to 15 minutes.
When I make this I usually have a pair of gloves on hand for each kid. There seem to always be a couple of ice cream fatalities, so it's wise to get a couple of extras ready. Kids ages 7 and up seem to do really well. Younger ones always want a grown up to do theirs for them.