Monday, November 24, 2014

Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie

 I'm having some chai tea with a slice of this Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie, recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker.  



This Friendly Village teacup by Johnson Brothers is a favorite pattern of mine for the Fall and Winter months.  


Do any of you remember the "impossible pies" that were a hit back in the 1970's?  The pies made their own version of a "crust" and an ingredient was Bisquick.  One of my sons does not care for the crust in a pumpkin pie.  I decided to try this pie and see what he thought.   I made my own baking mix to use. Guess what? My son loved the pie!!  When I make this again, I will increase the amount of spice.

Here's the recipe for the pie, and I don't think you'll miss the crust! 
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup baking mix, such as Bisquick or a homemade version, found here
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Whipped topping, if desired

Directions

  •   Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease 9-inch pie plate.
  •   Stir all ingredients except whipped topping until blended. Pour into pie plate.
  •   Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. Serve with whipped topping. Store covered in refrigerator.

This is a turkey craft that my son, who is staying with me, created for my younger grandchildren.  I always like to participate, too, and this was my turkey.  He created a stencil and then had the kids (and me) paint the pieces with a folded square of photo quality paper.  We dipped the square into paints and painted our turkeys.  

Happy Thanksgiving blessings to All of You!!

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Full Plate
Foodie Friday
Weekend Potluck

Thank you for your visit!  xo

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Homemade Baking Mix

This Homemade Baking Mix recipe comes from King Arthur Flour.  Since I don't use a baking mix very often, I decided to make my own.  This turned out very well and is so easy!  Use it in place of Bisquick or Pioneer Baking Mix.  
Did you know there is Chalk fabric? Yes, there is!  I had some leftover from other projects and cut some out to add to my storage container.

9 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
5 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then cut the shortening in with a pastry blender.  Store the mixture in an air tight container or a large zip lock bag. 

NOTE:
If you substitute whole wheat flour for a portion of the unbleached all-purpose flour, the mixture will need to be refrigerated or frozen  because the whole wheat flour can turn rancid.  

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Thank you for your visit!  xo

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Miz Helen's Cabbage and Sausage Stew

Miz Helen from Miz Helen's Country Cottage is always fixing up something comforting in her kitchen.  I made her Cabbage and Sausage Stew and am sharing it here for those of you that love cooked cabbage.  I hope you'll try this heartwarming stew and visit Miz Helen and tell her that I said "hi"!


1 1/4 pound Polish Kielbasa Sausage, Sliced (I used 2 -13 ounce packages of Turkey Kielbasa)
2 pounds unpeeled Red Potatoes,  medium chopped
2 medium size onions,  medium chopped
3 carrots chopped
7 to 8 cups cabbage chopped (this was about 3/4 of a large cabbage)
5 to 6 cups chicken broth (I used 5 cups) 2 cloves garlic chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons parsley chopped
1 teaspoon nutmeg (I used freshly grated nutmeg and didn't measure)
dash Cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a hot dutch oven brown the sausage in the oil and remove it from the pot.

Brown the vegetables in the sausage oil then add the sausage back into the pot.

Add the garlic, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, Cayenne, salt and pepper and mix well.

Add the Chicken Broth and mix well. Bring the stew to a boil and then cover, and reduce the heat to low and cook on low for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are beginning to break up.  (I actually put the pot in a low oven (200 degrees) and cooked it all afternoon).

To serve, I added a couple of dashes of hot sauce.


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Monday, November 17, 2014

Baked Pumpkin Donuts

 My tea today is taking place on the coffee table.  Brrrrr....it's cold outside!  Would you care to join me for some pumpkin spice tea and a donut?

 Here's a pretty shot of my table runner that I've had for years.  I love the old fashioned scene. 

 I'm using my calico teacup  for I love the color and design of it for Fall.

Pumpkin donuts with pumpkin spice tea is what we're having.  You can make the recipe in either a donut pan or a muffin pan.  The recipe is from King Arthur Flour and they turn into very moist donuts or muffins.  King Arthur recommends not storing them tightly wrapped, but loosely covered.  I had extras and froze the remaining ones.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
Coating



Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don't have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won't be doughnuts.

2) Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.

3) Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.

4) Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you're making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you'll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).

5) Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you're making muffins, they'll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

6) Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool. 

7) While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar. If you've made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.

8) Cool completely, and store (not wrapped tight) at room temperature for several days.
Makes: 12 doughnuts or 15 muffins.

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Monday, November 10, 2014

Baby Pumpkin Bundt Cake in Honor of a New Baby

 Kathleen from Cuisine Kathleen is having a bundt cake challenge this month at her Let's Dish! party,  with a coffee or tea setting.  This is just perfect for me and I set my tea outside on the patio.  You can choose a mug or a teacup to go with our pumpkin bundt cakes.  You can check out the party on November 12th, starting at 7 pm.


I have my "new" antique scale to hold the baby bundt.  A wooden bowl is filled with gourds, pine cones and dried corn.  The leaf tealight holder is from the Dollar Tree and my pewter Williamsburg teapot was given to me from my late Great Aunt Kitty.

I used the recipe from my Colonial Pumpkin Bars to make the baby bundts.   You can find the recipe here. The cake recipe worked out so well in my mini bundt cake pans.  I tried to decorate them like the Nothing Bundt Cakes company does.  Have you ever tried them?  They are so good, but I have to say, I like mine better!!  I put the icing in a plastic bag, cut one corner off and squeezed the icing onto the cakes.  Since I had some pumpkin candies, I decorated the tops with those.  I'm serving them on my Mikasa pumpkin platter.

My special "Blessing" mug is perfect for today's tea for I have a new little blessing in my life!  My youngest son and dear daughter-in-law had a BABY GIRL on November 5th!  This makes my seventh grandchild.  I have so much to be grateful for. 


I am taking two of these baby bundt cakes along with a special meal for the new little family to celebrate the birth of their little pumpkin. 

 Here are the mini bundt pans, which come in handy for so many cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc.  I seem to use these and a set of six mini bundts that are like a muffin pan, for most of my baking.  They make for wonderful gift giving. I prefer them over my bigger bundt pans, which include the Nordic Heart and the Holiday tree. Another recipe to try in a bundt pan is my Chocolate Pistachio Cake, which can be found here.


Welcome to the world Harper Lee!   I loved you before you were even born.  

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Thank you for your visit!  xo

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Wise Owl Cheese Ball

This fun cheese ball inspiration comes from my Great Balls of Cheese cookbook, by Michelle Buffardi.  I adapted the recipe for what I had on hand and I think he turned out pretty cute.    My friend Debbie, from Mountain Breaths is going to LOVE this owl! 
Here's the recipe, if you give a "hoot"!

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 8-ounce tub of cream cheese with onion and chives
1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese (I used white)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
a dash of Worcestershire sauce

For Decorating the owl:

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 small round butter crackers
2 small pitted black olives, sliced
1 carrot
2 scoop-shaped corn chips, such as Fritos Scoops

crackers for serving

Using a stand mixer, mix together the cream cheeses, cheddar, mustard, salt and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.  Set aside 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture for attaching the eyes.  Form the remaining mixture into an owl shape-it should look like a large egg.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.  

When ready to serve, layer the almonds around the back and sides of the owl for the feathers, leaving the breast area plain.  To make the eyes, spread each small butter cracker with a little of the reserved cream cheese mixture, and stick an olive in the middle.  Affix the eyes to where the owl's face will be.  To make the beak, slice two 1/4" pieces of the carrot into triangles, and make a mouth below the owl's eyes.    To make the feet, slice six slivers from the remaining carrot and arrange at the bottom of the owl.  Finish the owl by pressing the 2 corn chips into the head for ears.  

This would be fun to serve for a Thanksgiving appetizer.  You can also check out my Turkey Cheese Ball recipe here

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Thank you for your visit!  xo


Monday, November 3, 2014

Harvest Bars and A Snickerdoodle Candle

 My tea today is in honor of my Snickerdoodle candle that I won from bj at bj's Sweet Nothings!  Oh my goodness I wish you could smell this heavenly aroma!  The lovely people at Goose Creek Candles let me choose the scent that I wanted.  I, of course, LOVE foodie scented candles and chose Snickerdoodles.

 I'm a blogger copy catter and made this sweater-encased pumpkin that I found from
Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict.   You can find the directions here.  I even had a few of my grandchildren make these. 


 Here's a close up of my candle.  I couldn't for the life of me get a good picture when it was lit!  Thank you bj and Goose Creek Candle Company for this wonderful candle.  When I light it, my house smells like I've been baking.  The candle came wonderfully packaged, too. You can find the candles at their website here   Stop by and say "Hi" to bj for me.  Bj is like the Susan Branch of Texas.  When you visit her blog, she just makes you smile and she oozes warmth and happiness.


Now for these delicious Harvest Cookie Bars, which won first place in the Easy Cookie Category of Holiday Cookies at the Dallas Morning News in 2013.  My adaptations are italicized.
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked (I used Old Fashioned Oats)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 (5-ounce) package dried cranberries
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups prepared pumpkin butter (I used Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter, which is only 10 ozs, but worked and it's only $2.29!)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Combine flour, soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add oats, sugar and dried cranberries. Stir in margarine and mix well. Press half the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Top with pumpkin butter. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until brown. Cool and cut into bars.

Makes 36 bar cookies.

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Thank you for your visit!  xo


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