Ginger Snaps

This is such a good recipe for ginger snaps! I've been using it for a couple years now. I apologize, I don't have a picture of what they normally look like as regular gingersnaps. I did, however, take pictures today while making them and afterward decorating them with my family. Decorated Ginger Snaps, you ask? Well, it worked great as a **rolling and cutting cookie dough, like a sugar cookie or gingerbread! I was up for a little experimenting and fun with my kids and husband today.:) Our results were creative and yummy!

Ginger Snaps
3/4 cup shortening or real butter
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tsp. white vinegar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves


In an electric mixer, cream together the butter (I like butter), egg, and sugar. Add molasses and vinegar. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. While mixing on low, add the dry ingredients to the wet. Increase the speed and watch for the dough to start forming a ball, or clumping together well. It should be thick, not runny.

Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Afterward, roll dough into 1" balls and coat in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes on an ungreased baking sheet.

** for cut-out cookies: Find a gingerbread man cookie cutter (or any holiday cookie cutters as desired). Prepare dough as directed and after chilling, evenly roll out the dough onto a slightly floured surface. The dough should be not much thinner than 1/4" thick. Cut out cookies and repeat, laying the cutout cookies on baking sheets with 1/2" of space between each. Bake at same temperature and for same amount of time as above. Let cookies completely cool on cooling racks. Decorate with frosting and candies as desired. Who says you have to decorate them like men?

Pork Tenderloin with Apple Chutney

My awesome cousin Crystal gave me permission to feature one of her recipes here on our blog. Doesn't this look delish!?! I can't wait ot give it a try!


Recipe:

I just bought the pre-marinated tenderloin from the store; any one works. Prepare with package instructions.

Apple Chutney:

4 tbsp butter
2 apples- chopped
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar


Heat butter in a medium saucepan; add apple, brown sugar, spices, vinegar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until apple is tender, and liquid has boiled away. If necessary, add a little more vinegar to keep the mixture from scorching. Serve warm or chilled with ham or pork.
Makes about 2 cups.

And let me tell you; it was FANTASTIC!!!

German Pancakes- aka Dutch Baby Pancakes

This was something my mother made often at our house. (It's a tasty way to use up eggs)
I make it more often than I make regular pancakes. It really is nothing like pancakes or waffles except that it's made in a pan and it is a breakfast item. We love them around here!


Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour (bread flour works the best)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract


You'll note that in the picture the pancake is in a cast iron skillet. If you have one use it. Its a good way to distribute the heat evenly while cooking. I don't have one so I use a shallow pan like a pie plate. I learned something while researching the recipe before this post. Your pan should be greased well and hot when you pour the batter into it. This will also allow it to cook all the way through, help create that fluffiness you are looking for and not stick to the pan. I also learned that using bread flour will allow the pancake to rise more spectacularly.

Preheat your oven to 450 F. Place your pan greased on the middle rack to heat while you prepare the batter.

Using an electric beater, beat the eggs in a medium stainless steel bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and 1/4th cup of the flour. Beat. Add 1/4 cup milk and beat again. Add another 1/4th cup flour and beat, then another 1/4th cup milk and beat. Repeat the process a final time using up all the flour and milk called for. Stir in the vanilla.

This recipe actually make enough for two german pancakes, so at this point I will pour the batter into two pie plates and cook it for 20 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. If you use it all in one pan, try to use a larger pan so the pancake will still be thin and puff up. I have found if I allow too much batter into one pan, the pancake will be thick and not rise as well. Some people like them thicker though. You're welcome to try it that way. These are so very very tasty and such a fast meal to make. We love them!

Here are some suggested toppings for your pancake:

Sifted powdered (confectioners) sugar
Fresh applesauce with a dash of cinnamon
Crushed pineapple, drained
Whipped cream and sliced fresh strawberries
Syrups (maple, your favorite fruit syrup, or honey)
Canned pie filling, cold or warm

Lemon Sugar Crusted Blueberry Muffins

This recipe was borrowed from this blog: http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com
I made these today and had to hide them from myself. I fell in love. Soo moist and tangy. But still had that beautiful classic blueberry muffin taste. THE perfect summer muffin. Enjoy!

Lemon Sugar Crusted Blueberry Muffins
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Lemon-Sugar Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
zest from one lemon

Muffins:
2 cups frozen blueberries (or 2 cups fresh)
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping, stir together sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

For the muffins, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Rinse one cup frozen berries under cold water and spread on a double layer of paper towels to dry well. Bring remaining one cup berries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon several times and stirring frequently, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Toss the berries that have dried on the paper towels in with the flour mixture. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in the butter and oil until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. The batter will be lumpy with a few dry spots of flour - don't overmix. This is the key to moist and tender muffins.

Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide the batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill the cups). Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into the center of each mound of batter. Using a skewer (or a chopstick), gently swirl the berry filling into the batter using a figure eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over the muffins.

Bake until the top of the muffins are golden and just firm, 17-18 minutes. Cool muffins in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Sweet Cafe Rio Pulled Pork

This amazing recipe comes from a cookbook my grandmother gave me. We had some uncooked pork spare ribs to use up and this was the perfect solution. I think David and I both ate three sandwiches in one sitting when it was done! Yes, that is Coke, as in the cola product- but have no fear, caffeine free will do just fine. Just don't use diet (the recipe says not to).

Sweet Cafe Rio Pork
6lb. pork (or smaller pork roast)
1 (16 oz.) bottle salsa
1 can Coke (not diet)
2 cups brown sugar

Place pork in crock pot and fill 1/2 way up with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain off water. Clean fat off pork and shred with forks. Mix together sauce ingredients and put on top of Pork. Place it back in the crock pot for an additional 3 hours. Keep on low until ready to serve. Serve on hamurger buns for a scrumptous sandwich!

Dinners in the Freezer website!

A while ago we were looking for recipes for freezing. I just came across this site tonight! Check it out! The address is: http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com. The recipes are really simple and look good.

French Bread Rolls

I stole this from a favorite cooking blog, My Kitchen Cafe (See the link on the side bar). I just had to have it and share it!

[This part was written by the author of the post, not me...]
I have to confess I am kind of a roll snob. I love to make homemade rolls and have come across two, maybe three recipes, that are so tried-and-true I don't make any other kind. I know, I know, I should be more open-minded, but when it comes to fresh, fluffy, tender rolls, I just have to stick with what I love. These french bread rolls are my go-to rolls when I don't have eggs or butter in the house but want to make a fresh batch of rolls with relatively few ingredients (now, if you want a delicious, rich roll recipe with eggs AND butter, let me know...Lion House rolls are the only kind to make). They are exactly what their name implies - a little nugget of french bread goodness in roll-form. Really, they are scrumptious. If you want to make them crusty instead of soft, spray some water into the oven three times in the first five to six minutes of baking and brush them with an egg white/water mixture prior to baking. I'm kind of partial to the soft exterior, so I bake them unadulterated and then rub them down with butter hot out of the oven. (I made these for Christmas Eve since we had company with allergies to dairy.)

Trade Secrets: The original recipe calls for bread flour. Since I usually don't have that on hand, I've always used all-purpose flour and it works brilliantly. However, if you are a bread flour user, I bet the rolls will come out even more tender. I also cut the baking time down from the original 18 minutes to about 12 minutes. And finally, these rolls rise QUICKLY (probably due to the 1 tablespoon of yeast) so don't forget about them or you may have a big mess on your hands.

French Bread Rolls

adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.