Stephen's Birthday Cake

So... I realize just how little amount of brain I had last year- being pregnant. I found this draft when I was looking through my blog posts... I have forgotten what type of cake we made. I remember it being too dense, so I was probably wondering if I should share it anyway... but I really don't remember. Anyway, Stephen helped make it and he wanted to decorate it. He had me help by putting a few leaves in, as his birthday is in the fall and he really enjoys making his cakes fit the season.

Chicken Mac & Cheese

Creative name, isn't it? Let me know if you have a better one. Ok- 2 out of 4 kids didn't like this. It's because they don't like homemade mac & cheese- specifically: melted cheese. But the rest of us thought it was wonderful! I've been fasinated with homemade mac & cheese for the last few months. I made it once several years ago, following a recipe online (because I had never had it before- ever, only the boxed junk), it called for a sauce to be made, poured over the pasta and baked. It was gross- the sauce clumped up and didn't taste good either. So when Titus was born, I knew my midwife could make Mac & Cheese- so I asked her to make it while she was here. It was delicious. But this was her husbands preferred recipe, so she told me how she likes- basically, there are a bunch of different ways.

I started watching the food network when I nurse Titus... and they were making mac & cheese- everyone had their own twist, so I started experimenting. I haven't made a bad one yet! Ok, I'll admit that Jesse and Stephen haven't enjoyed my experiments- but Luke has been loving it. Guess it's payback for all the rice dishes I make that they love and Luke despises. So here's my latest and honestly, I think it's my best!

Chicken Mac & Cheese
16 oz pasta, cooked in salted water to al dente, drained (I used Cappelletti this time)
1/3 c. sundried tomatoes, diced (in olive oil- I have the julienne ones, so I had to chop them up some more)
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1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes and cooked in frying pan, until done.
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1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 c. shredded cheddar (sharp is good for this, but Med. or Mild is fine too)
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3 slices white bread
2 TB parsley flakes
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 TB butter*

Toss pasta and sundried tomatoes, then mix in cheese and chicken. Pour into 9"x13" baking dish.
In food processor:
Tear up bread and put in, add the parsley and parmesan- blend until fine.
Sprinkle bread crumbs over the pasta, dot with butter*, bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes. Broil for a couple minutes at the end- just to brown the top.
*ok, this time I dotted the top with butter- but next time, I'm going to freeze the butter, after I cut it into a couple smaller pieces and then mix it in the food processor with the bread crumbs. The purpose of the butter is to help the bread crumbs brown pretty.

Meal Cost
Pasta; $1.33
Chicken: $1.88
Mozzarella Cheese: $.82
Cheddar Cheese: $1.00
Parmesan Cheese: $.40
Sundried Tomatoes: $.66
Meal total: $6.09
We had enough for 5 big eaters, Naomi and 2 leftover servings: $.87/serving.

I did buy my cheese, Sundried tomato, and Pasta at Costco, which cuts the cost of this dish.

Molasses, Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

I love these cookies. They take me back to growing up- When I was a teenager I lived in a tiny little town and had very few friends (read: 1, until a year before I moved away and then I had 2...), anyway, Gwen was my one friend and her family had a ranch. I would spend alot of time up there- they totally took me in and adopted me, it was great. Gwen's mom had this recipe- so if we ever wanted to make cookies, this was it.



Molasses, Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

Mix thoroughly:
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. molasses
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Sift together and then stir into shorten/sugar mixture:
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
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Then stir in:
2 c. rolled oats
1 c. rainsins

Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes (no longer than that) at 400˚. These cookies are kind of chewy and very hearty.

Snickerdoodles

Naomi has been helping me cook alot- it's amazing how she pays attention and mimics me. Girls and boys are so different!

Snickerdoodles
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix butter, sugar and eggs add dry ingredients. Roll into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll the balls into a mixture of 2 TB. sugar and2 tsp. cinnamon. Place about 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake. They won't brown much.

Valentine Banquet 2009

Last year our group at church (Y.A.M.S. Young Adults Married & Single) hosted a Valentine Banquet (2008) for the rest of the Church.
Everyone had a great time, so we decided to do it again this year. It was a beautiful- we had so many people helping, setting up, decorating, cleaning, serving, doing dishes- it went really well. It was a little more challenging with having a 2 month old, but YAMS is a pretty good group of friends and they did so much.


Here's what we had on the menu: (recipes on the bottom of post)

Soup

Pasta e Fagioli

Fresh Artisan Bread

Penne Rigate with Grilled Chicken Alfredo

Topped with Diced Tomatoes and Basil

Roasted Asparagus

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

with Chocolate Drizzle

Last year at the banquet we were low on silverware... so when I found a huge amount at a garage sale this summer I grabbed them. There was soup spoons, so I was determined to make a soup for the first course of the banquet. I got this recipe from my friend Suzanne. It's supposed to be like the soup at Olive Garden. I don't know- because it has been so long since I have tried their soup. But Brian loved this, so I went ahead and made it for the banquet. I stuck the soup in 3 crock pots for the day, adding the pasta and sauce a little while before serving. The smell apparently drove the pastor and his wife nuts while it was cooking, so they had to go get some lunch alot earlier than what is normal for them.

Pasta e Fagioli
1 lb ground meat
olive oil for browning, if needed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, quartered and diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 24 oz can tomatoes
6 c. beef stock
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 tsp. parsley
3/4 tsp. tobasco sauce
1 can Hunts Chunky Vegetable Spaghetti sauce
1 c. (8 oz.) ditalini pasta, cooked and drained

Brown the meet in oil, until crumbly. Drain if needed. Stir in carrots, onions, celery and tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain the kidney bean, then stir in. Add beef stock, spices and tobasco. Simmer for 45 min, until celery and carrots are tender. Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta. Serve.


Artisan Bread
A few months ago I read this post on a blog I follow. I sent the link to my mom, who then bought the cook book. Of which, I borrowed. I found it very interesting and enjoyed reading it. I liked the basic bread, so I used it for the Valentine Banquet and everyone loved it. I changed it a little, so I'll post what I did here. The book inspired me. It was alot of fun and nice to have the dough ready. I really liked the way the crust was so nice and crunchy and crackled when it came out of the oven- just lovely. The texture was great as well and just what I was looking for in an artisan bread.
For the banquet I made all the bread the day before and then before the banquet stuck them in a hot oven with a pan of water for 5-10 minutes. They were great. That made the crust crunchy again.

So, here's what I did:
Artisan Bread
3 c. warm water
1 T. kosher salt (coarse salt)
1 1/2 T. yeast
6 1/2 c. flour

Mix thoroughly, but don't knead. Let rise for about 2 hours, dump onto a floured surface, cut in half and then cut the halves into 3 equal portions. Shape into round loaves and set on parchment paper. Let rise. (This dough was easier to work with after it sat in the fridge for a day, like they suggest.)
Heat oven to 450˚ for 20 minutes before baking with an empty broiler pan (or another metal pan) and pizza stone. When the bread is ready, take a serrated knife and slice three 1/4" deep slits in the top. (Or an "X".) Slide the parchment and bread onto the hot pizza stone. pour 1 c. of warm/hot water into the empty broiler pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool before cutting.
The first time I made it I used unbleached flour, but then for the banquet I used bleach- because that's what I had a 25 lb. bag of. It worked fine, I think they were a little better with unbleached- but really, I would prefer to use unbleached in everything, but it's not so inexpensive here, at least not for the amount of flour I go through in a month.

And since we had 24 loaves of bread to slice- and were limited in our appliances, we used an electric meat carving knife- it worked great.

The loaves were cut into about 5 slices, so we put one loaf between each couple.


Alfredo Sauce
1 qt. Heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat whipping cream on medium, stirring constantly with whisk. When it starts to boil, add cheese about 1/4 c. at a time. Stir until melted before adding more cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. I think this would taste great with some garlic, but I had a lady who was allergic to garlic, so I didn't add any. I will another time when I make it just for us.

I used the fully cooked grilled chicken strips you can find frozen at Costco. I used a little less than 1/2 the package and mixed the sauce with 1 lb cooked Penne Rigate.
Top with diced fresh tomatoes and basil.

Roasted Asparagus
I love roasted asparagus. Just trim the ends off, line in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. My favorite is no pepper- but garlic salt. YUM!
Bake at 400˚ for 10-15 minutes. You want them to be slightly crunchy (not soft and mushy) and a beautiful green color.


Dessert
My friend Dawn makes the most beautiful cakes. I asked her to make the desserts last year too and they were gorgeous. She uses this opportunity to branch out from the typical cakes. This cheesecake was wonderful and she shared the recipe- so you get it too!

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
2 c. packaged chocolate wafer crumbs
1/3 c. butter, melted
3 T. sugar
2 1/2 c. fresh or lightly sweetened, frozen red raspberries, thawed
2/3 c. sugar
2 T cornstarch
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 T flour
1 tsp. vanilla
2 egg whites
1 c. whipping cream

Crust:
combine wafer crumbs, butter and 3 T. sugar. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of an ungreased 8 or 9 inch spring-form pan. Chill while preparing filling.
Raspberries:
In a blender container, blend the 2 1/2 c. raspberries until smooth. Press though a sieve to remove seed. Add water to sieved raspberries if necessary to equal 1 c. Combine 2/3 c. sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Stir in raspberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Stir in lemon juice. Remove 3/4 c. sauce; cool slightly without stirring. Cover remaining sauce and chill until serving time.
Filling:
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, 1/2 c. sugar, flour and vanilla. Beat with mixer until fluffy. Add egg whites, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in cream.
Our half of the mixture into crust-lined pan. Drizzle the 3/4 c. raspberry sauce over cheese mixture in pan. Carefully spoon on remaining cheese mixture, covering sauce. Place in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a 375˚ oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until center appears nearly set when shaken.
Cool in spring-form pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan and cool 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool 1 hour. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.
To serve top with remaining raspberry sauce.

Pumpkin Pie

Well, I don't know how much better tasting pumpkin pie is when you start with just a pumpkin. It's very good, but I didn't notice much difference. I have friends that say there is no comparison, they won't eat anything other than completely homemade pumpkin pie. I myself, don't lovepumpkin pie, I just like it... so maybe that's the difference. :-)




Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust:
For 1 two-crusted pie (9") or 2 one-crust pie (9")

2 c. flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
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1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. oil
Mix the water and oil with a fork until "creamy" looking, then pour it into the flour, sugar & salt mixture. Stir until moistened and the dough is in one ball. Separate into 2 equal portions. I roll it out in between 2 layers of wax paper or large plastic wrap, then peel off the top layer of wax paper, slip your hand under the bottom layer, under the rolled out dough, "flip" it onto the pie pan, press it into the corners of the pie pan and then peel that paper off.
Save the other portion of dough of the top of the pie.


Pumpkin Pie
2 c. mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes at 400˚or until a knife is inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.

Apple Pie

Mmmm Apple Pie! I like my apple pie without spices in it. It's how my mom always made it and I'm not really a fan of spiced desserts, plus, this way really brings out the good flavor of the apples. You could always add 1 tsp. of cinnamon or nutmeg, but I would encourage you to try it without if you never have.

Apple Pie

Pie Crust:
For 1 two-crusted pie (9") or 2 one-crust pie (9")

2 c. flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
~
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. oil
Mix the water and oil with a fork until "creamy" looking, then pour it into the flour, sugar & salt mixture. Stir until moistened and the dough is in one ball. Separate into 2 equal portions. I roll it out in between 2 layers of wax paper or large plastic wrap, then peel off the top layer of wax paper, slip your hand under the bottom layer, under the rolled out dough, "flip" it onto the pie pan, press it into the corners of the pie pan and then peel that paper off.
Save the other portion of dough of the top of the pie.

Apple Pie Filling:
4 normal sized Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled and sliced.*
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
Mix the sugar and flour into the apples. Spread the apple mixture into the unbaked pie shell.
Roll out the top pie crust, cut some slits in it for steam to escape, lay onto the top of the apples, remove wax paper and press the edges of the top and bottom crusts together. Here are some good directions to make a decorative edge or you can just press them with your fingers or a fork.
Bake at 425˚ for 50-60 minutes. The pie will be a golden brown on top.
I place some tin foil on the bottom of the oven when I make pies- sometimes they bubble over, some times they don't. To avoid bubbling over you can put some small pats of butter on the pie just before putting on the top crust. Though, for me, I haven't noticed any difference. I used to put the butter on all the time, until I was pregnant and kept forgetting that step- but then found that it didn't matter, so I have since quit.


*A food processor is great for slicing, just quarter the apple after it's peeled, drop them in and let it slice them up. There are also Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer tools, like the one Pampered Chef sells.