Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day calls for a special dinner. It is a different kind of day for me now, but my memories are sweet. I had a couple of friends over for dinner, friends who have the same situation I have. We had a nice dinner and shared Valentine's Day memories of our husbands. 

Good Memories

When I think of Valentine's Day and Sam I can't help but think of conversation hearts.  :)

In the days leading up to Valentine's Day Sam was famous for buying a bag (maybe more) of these and handing them out to me and I think to the girls, too. He might silently hand me one that said "My Girl" or "Kiss Me". It always made me smile when he would hand these to me one by one. Sometimes he would pour out a handful for me and we would have silent "conversations". He would give me "Kiss Me" and I might respond with "Bad Boy" which might bring his "Later". Well, you get the idea. Sometimes the "conversations" were a bit sketchy, but they always ended well. The memories of it all make me smile.

Back to the purpose of this blog, sharing the possibility of good food.

Ranch Parmesan Chicken

This was one of Sam's favorites and I baked it for tonight's dinner. Here's the easy to do recipe, which was one of the most requested recipes from my Foods II class at NHS.

1/2 cup crushed cornflakes

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons Ranch dressing mix

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/4 cup butter, melted

Line baking dish with parchment paper or grease the dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a shallow bowl combine the cornflakes, Parmesan cheese and ranch dressing mix. 

Dip chicken in the melted butter, then roll in cornflake mixture to coat. Place chicken in prepared baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until juices run clear from chicken. Serve at once.

Just a little bit more . . .

I use the flat side of my meat mallet to gently crush the cornflakes in a ziplock freezer bag. You could also use a rolling pin.

My chicken breast halves were too big for one serving, so I cut them in half. If it is very thick on one end I pound it a bit with the flat side of my meat mallet to flatten it a little.

This is very flavorful and has a nice crunch on the outside. Don't over bake or the chicken will be dried out and tough.

Tonight I served this with some green beans with cherry tomatoes and a fruit salad. Nice dinner. We started the meal with a Strawberry Bellini and ended it with Chocolate Valentine Cookies.

Enjoy!

Here's A Green Bean Winner!

At Christmas time I wanted a new way to jazz up some veggies for dinner. In perusing the internet searching for recipes I ran across Green Beans With Cherry Tomatoes at allrecipes.com and thought it would look rather festive on the table. This dish was a hit and now that I have made it 3 times I have my tweaks down to where I am happy to share the recipe.

Green Beans With Cherry Tomatoes

serves 8

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. chopped fresh basil

1 pint cherry tomatoes

Place beans and water in large saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. 

While beans are cooking melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic salt, pepper and basil. Add tomatoes, and stir just until tomatoes are soft.

Drain water off beans and pour the tomato mixture over the green beans. Toss gently to blend. Serve at once. 

A Short Bit More . . .

If the tomatoes are large you might want to cut them in half. I left them whole this time and they seemed a bit too big.

If you don't have fresh basil you can use dried, but only use 3/4 teaspoon.

I have only used frozen beans, but I look forward to using fresh beans from my garden this summer. Two 12 ounce bags of frozen beans are needed for this recipe. If serving fewer than 8, it is easy to cut the recipe in half. 

These beans not only look pretty, but they are very tasty. I think a crumble of bacon on top would be a nice addition, too.

Bonus 

I found this at the store last week . . .

So, I turned it into this . . .

It turned out very yummy! I followed the directions on the package, but I baked the fish instead of frying. 

I made a little cole slaw with cabbage, green onion, green pepper. I used salsa and plain greek yogurt with some cumin for the dressing and topped the fish in the shells. I topped my green salad with tomatoes, yellow and red peppers and a bit of salsa. 

Delicious dinner on a very cold night!

Two More Cookies

I promise to get back to more nutritious recipes soon, but first I must write about two more of my favorite Christmas cookies. I know most of us are finished with our Christmas baking, but now the recipes will be on file for next year. 

I found the recipe for this Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookie quite a few years ago in The Taste of Home magazine. It is a dark chocolate cookie with a maraschino cherry in the center and a rich chocolate frosting on top. If you like chocolate covered cherries you will love this cookie! They are a little labor intensive, but well worth the effort.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. baking cocoa

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

48 maraschino cherries, blotted dry

for frosting:

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk

1 to 2 Tbsp. maraschino cherry juice

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla.  Sift together the dry ingredients gradually add to creamed mixture. The dough will be very firm. Shape into 1 inch balls (or a little smaller) and place on ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Push one cherry into each ball of dough. For frosting, melt chocolate chips in sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add cherry juice and stir until smooth. Spoon 1 teaspoon of frosting over each cherry. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. 

The rest of the scoop . . . 

I make a double batch of the dough and a single batch of the frosting. I never run out of frosting. 

I cut the cherries in half, or even thirds. I also make the cookies smaller than 1 inch. I use my small cookie scoop and the balls are probably about 3/4 inch. 

Use parchment paper on cookie sheets. If a bit of frosting runs off the cookie it sticks badly and parchment paper will save the day when it comes to clean-up.

Yes, the frosting goes on before you bake the cookie! I know that doesn't seem right, but it is. Trust me. 

Like most other cookies, I take them out of the oven when the edges begin to set up. Let the cookies finish baking on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove and let completely cool on wax paper on the counter.

I know the recipe says it makes 4 dozen cookies, but I usually get at least 5 dozen from each single batch. I make the cookies just a little smaller. At Christmas time I like small cookies so I can sample lots of different ones. 

These cookies freeze well. I pack them in a covered container with wax paper between the layers. You can take out just a few at a time as they are ready to eat within minutes. Delicious!

I use this little spoon to make an indentation in each cookie.

Put the cherry in the indentation.

Frosting goes on top and this cookie is ready for the oven.

Baked and cooking on the counter.
Don't pack them away until completely cooled.

The next cookie is much easier to make. It is a simple drop cookie which is a lightly spiced cookie. My friend Robin gave me this recipe about 25 years ago right before Christmas and I have made it every year since. I do not know how this cookie acquired the name "Letha's", but that is what it is called. I suppose someone named Letha created the recipe at one time or another. Interestingly, I have an Aunt Letha and I always think of her, but the recipe did not come from her. Enough of that, here's the good stuff . . .

Letha's

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. shortening

2 eggs

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

pinch of ground cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugars and the shortening until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift the dry ingredients and add gradually to the creamed mixture. Drop onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees 6-7 minutes. 

A little more scoop on this . . .

About the only thing I do differently is to use parchment paper (don't I always?) instead of greasing the cookie sheets. I use my smallest cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets and this recipe gives me about 8 dozen little cookies. Lovely!

This is a wonderful little cookie which is perfect with a nice cup of tea.

And that, my friends, is more than enough cookie baking for one year! But I must share one more bit of Christmas fun.

Shortly before my mother died she gave away many of her Christmas ornaments and decorations. I had many Christmas things of my own, but I did take a few things. My girls each took a box of the vintage ornaments. I have been using them ever since. I brought them home and they went on my tree that very Christmas. I love them. Every one is different, and beautiful. As tonight's snow is beginning to fall I am sitting in the twinkle of my Christmas tree, these ornaments are shining in the living room and it is so very pretty. I know one day these ornaments will look beautiful on my daughters' trees, too, and I imagine they will be making some of these same cookies, too. Aaah, traditions!

Merry Christmas!
Karen

Mom's Cream Caramels

Christmas time has always meant it was time for Mom's caramels. She began making them the first Christmas of her marriage and over time the tradition took on a life of its own. I just remember caramels were always yummy and Mom was a little bit famous for Audrey's Caramels. She once told me that God gave us an extravagant gift that first Christmas and this was one way she honored that extravagance. Some years she made over 30 batches of these to give away. Last night I was reminded that she often donated a batch to their church's annual auction and big money was paid by the winning bidder. 

My sister Karla and I have tried to keep up her tradition but between us we don't come close to Mom's total! I think we have come closer in quality than in quantity and for that I am grateful.

I have had a couple of people ask for tips and advice since I shared the recipe on my Facebook page yesterday. I decided this would be the best place to do just that. After all, my daughters and Karla's might some day need this advice, too.

Don't they look scrumptious?

All that deliciousness from these simple ingredients.

Audrey's Cream Caramels

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. light corn syrup

1/2 c. butter

2 c. cream

Mix first 3 ingredients plus 1 cup of cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Then stir in rest of cream. Stir frequently as mixture begins to thicken, constantly as it darkens. Cook to 254 degrees. (A little dropped into cold water forms a hard ball.) Pour into buttered 7 or 8 inch square pan with 1/2 cup nuts scattered on the bottom if desired. when cold, cut into squares. 

For chocolate caramels, add 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate with first ingredients.

The rest of the story . . .

Mom's hand written recipe credits the Betty Crocker cookbook, probably the one she received as a wedding gift in 1951. 

Before starting to cook, get everything set up. I have a heavy 4 quart saucepan. You need one about that big. A candy thermometer is helpful. I splurged on a digital one a couple of years ago and have been glad every time I make another batch. I use a wooden spoon to stir.

Butter the pan and set it on a cooling rack. Butter another small dish and set it aside.

Although the recipe says to cook to 254 degrees, I pull it off the heat at 252. The thermometer moves very slowly until it reaches 240 degrees. Then it begins to move a little faster and by the time it reaches 250 degrees it is climbing quickly. At 252, immediately pour the mixture into the buttered pan, but do not scrape the sauce pan! Scrape the last bit out of the pan into the little dish you have buttered. That remaining mixture has usually cooked to 254 degrees or beyond simply by remaining in the hot pan. I will leave to your imagination what you should do with this last little bit. 

The caramel is very hot. Take care not to drop any on your skin. It will burn and blister. I speak from experience. Be careful! Whatever you do, do not lick the spoon! 

Buttered pan on cooling rack, small buttered dish near by,
thermometer in place

 

Mixture is light colored when cooking begins.
I begin with medium high heat.
When mixture boils, turn to slightly below medium.

As mixture darkens, stir constantly.
Now you are making progress!

Here's that last bit I put in the little dish. You can see that some
of it is darker. It will be more hard than what is in the pan.

Once the pan of caramel has cooled it is time to cut the caramels. My Dad was always the cutter and Mom was the wrapper. They wrapped each caramel in little squares of foil. Each one was wrapped like a tiny present. Now that I think of it those little silver cubes sort of go along with the story of extravagance. Karla is true to tradition as she wraps her caramels in foil. I have switched to waxed paper. I find it easier to wrap and easier to unwrap as well. Your choice.

I tear off strips of waxed paper and cut it into fourths. I pile up about 10 and cut them altogether. I do this while watching TV and I keep them in a plastic container, just waiting for action.

My little pieces of waxed paper waiting to wrap caramels.

I lay a caramel diagonally on a piece of waxed paper and wrap it starting in one corner and all the way across. Then I twist the ends. Voila! One wrapped caramel and 143 or so to go!

All wrapped up and waiting to be given away.

I am a little bit ahead of myself. The caramels need to be cut before they can be wrapped! 

Turn the pan upside down on a cutting board. If it doesn't fall out of the pan you need to put a thin metal spatula down the side of the pan and loosen it up. You might have to do this on all 4 sides. It will come out. Trust me!

Cutting is a bit tedious, but well worth it!

I use a sharp knife with a long blade. I cut across into 12 strips, sometimes 13 if it works out that way. Then each strip is subcut into 12.

These keep well for several months, maybe more. I store them in tins or plastic containers with tight fitting lids. I usually store in a cool spot like my basement or my garage. 

You will know if the mixture is gets overcooked. It will be difficult to cut. In fact it might shatter or crack. In this case be very careful of dental work! 

I can't help but remember Mom while making these caramels. I can see her standing by the stove stirring. I also have fond memories of watching my parents cutting and wrapping caramels late at night as we kids trotted upstairs to bed. 

I love hearing comments from people who recall enjoying Mom's caramels. I doubt if she had any idea what a tradition she was birthing back 60 some years ago while she was pouring over those new cookbooks choosing her Christmas recipes. I guess that's the way traditions are born, completely unplanned, simply a success that is repeated. 

Enjoy!

More Christmas Cookies

After another busy day of baking cookies I discovered some horrible news about the death of a young man with a big personality in our community. My cookie baking endeavor seemed so trite and unimportant in the shadow of that loss. Many of the emotions of my husband's death came rushing back as that news became real. Later in the evening one of my good friends put it into perspective for me by saying that my cookie baking was not insignificant, that we need beauty and delicious in our insane and painful world. She helped me keep my focus on the hope of heaven, that beautiful gift of our Savior which we celebrate this season. So, on we go, living in this sinful world, but keeping our eyes on heaven, our real home with our glorious God and Father.

That was last night. The news is still reality, but celebrating is reality, too. We had a beautiful cantata sung in church this morning, the Sunday School children did a delightful little program, we had a church fellowship lunch and all the while the beautiful white snow was falling and blowing around. I came home, turned on the carols and the oven and the baking continued!

Chocolate Cutout Cookies

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. 

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.

Stir in the dry ingredients to form a soft dough. Divide dough in half, flatten into a disk and wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8" thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutter. Add flour to counter as needed. Use a flat thin spatula to move cut cookies to cookie sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes or until edges begin to firm. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets before removing

                                     

****************************************

This cookie has tons of chocolate flavor, serious chocolate, and is delicious with a touch of frosting. 

Sugar Cookies

In my mind this is a traditional Christmas Cookie. My mom baked lots of cutout cookies and set us kids at the table with bowls of colored frosting, containers of colored sugar, and those little silver balls, and we went to it! Mom's cookies always looked so much better than the ones done by us kids, but she let us "help" none the less. My brothers soon tired of the whole project and if my memory serves me correctly they would begin mixing the colors together inappropriately and were soon allowed to be off to something more to their liking. Mom would then pack away the cookies into some big metal cans she had and she kept them in the cold unheated stairway. I can still remember how delicious those cookies tasted. 

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Sift the dry ingredients and stir into the creamed mixture to form a soft dough.

Cover dough and refrigerate at least two hours. 

Roll dough to 1/4" thick on a well floured counter. Cut into desired shapes with cutters.

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven when cookies begin to firm at the edges. For soft cookies do not let the edges brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before removing.

*************************************

This recipe came from one of Mom's friends. The recipe is written in my mother's handwriting and Inez Koch is credited for the recipe. These recipes hand written by Mom are precious to me. It isn't even the recipe Mom usually used, but I love it anyway. 

I don't have many words of wisdom for these recipes that I haven't given before. I can highlight a few but read my other cookie posts for more detailed explanations if necessary.

Measure carefully. Follow the directions for mixing. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Do not over bake. Have fun!

I use the frosting recipe from my last post. Over the years I have streamlined the process by using only my very favorite cutters and frosting all cookies the same. I put a different color of frosting in each bag and do one color at a time with cookies laying out flat on the counter. With a little practice you will make beautiful cookies, much more easily and quickly than you can by frosting with a knife or spatula. Allow the frosting to harden before packing the cookies in tightly covered containers with waxed paper between the layers. The cookies will stay soft and fresh if frozen or kept in a cold place. If you don't have freezer room keep them in a cooler on your back deck or in an unheated garage. If packaged carefully you will have delicious cookies till Christmas time.

The Back Story . . .

I can not bake without making a mess. Need I say more? 

Beauty of the season . . . 

View out my door as I finished my Chocolate Trees this evening.
Let It Snow!

Christmas Cookies

I have enjoyed baking since I was old enough to watch/help my Mom bake cookies. I was hooked back in the days when we did it all with a big bowl and a wooden spoon. In our family Christmas cookies have always been a step above a regular every day cookie; it had to be something a bit special. So, I still have some cookies that only get made at Christmas time or maybe for some other special holiday. 

About 25 years ago our church began the Cookie Sale on the second Saturday of December. For $12 the customer gets a red plastic bucket with a lid, puts on a plastic glove and fills the bucket from the many trays of beautiful cookies spread out on the tables. This wonderful event has given me a good excuse to go a bit overboard on my Christmas cookie baking. 

Yesterday was the day the annual baking began at my house. It was Chocolate and Mint day and I made two fun recipes, multiple batches. Today was frosted sugar cookie day. Oh, these are fun to make! Tomorrow continues with rolled cut out sugar cookies, but that will be another blog post. 

On with it!

No Roll Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

2 1/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each egg. Stir in vanilla and almond flavoring. 

Sift together the dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Stir to combine.

Roll in balls or use a cookie scoop. Place on cookie sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake 6-7 minutes at 375 degrees.

When baked, the cookies look like this.
Add frosting if you wish.

Fantastic Frosting For Cookies (or eating)

I used to make frosting by guess and by golly, some butter, some powdered sugar, some milk, adding enough of each to get the consistency right. A few years ago the girls insisted that I write down the recipe so we did. I measured as I made the frosting, we wrote it down and the girls named the recipe. I have been measuring ever since!

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2-4 Tbsp. milk

5 c. powdered sugar

Beat the dickens out of the butter so it is soft and creamy. (We got a little Grandma Audrey language in while writing this recipe) Add the vanilla and beat well. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and continue beating. Add 1 tablespoon milk and beat it some more. Add remaining powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well after each cup. Add another tablespoon of milk after the third cup and add more as necessary till the frosting is easy to spread. I usually use 3 and sometimes 4 tablespoons of milk. 

White Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 c. white baking chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar till light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Combine the cocoa, flour, and baking soda, gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

Bake 8 minutes until puffy but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on pans for 5 minutes before removing. 

                                 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The original recipe came from www.allrecipes.com, one of my favorite recipe sites.

I have made these cookies with many variations and this one used Holiday Mint M&M's instead of white chips.

Tips for great cookies . . .

1. Measure carefully. Spoon flour into the cup and level it off. Pack brown sugar. Use the cups and the spoons!
2. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cut one piece for each cookie sheet and use it all day. This not only protects cookies from burning on the bottom, but it makes clean up easy peasy.
3. Bake in the center of the oven. I bake cookies one pan at a time, but if you bake on two racks, rotate half way through.
4. Do not overbake! Take cookies out when they are beginning to feel firm-ish at the edges, but are still very soft in the center. Leave them on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and they will firm up. Then remove. Many recipes say to cool on wire racks. I spread waxed paper on the counter and cool cookies there.
5. Sift the dry ingredients. It will not only thoroughly mix everything, but it adds air.
6. Pack cookies away carefully. You want these cookies to stay fresh and tasty through the next weeks. Put waxed paper between the layers of cookies and put them in containers with tight fitting lid. Store in the freezer or somewhere cold. I stash cookies in my garage or in a cooler on the back deck.  Keep them cold, they thaw out quickly. 
7. Have fun! Take time to bake with your kids and grandchildren. Share, give and enjoy.

One More Note . . .

I love baking in my new kitchen. Everything is just a little bigger and there is more room to move around. Even though it is wonderful, it isn't exactly right. At the old house Sam was often home when I was doing the holiday baking. He would have the wood burning stove fired up in the sunroom and I would have the oven going in the kitchen. The house was cozy and warm, bordering on hot. He would walk through looking for cookies that weren't quite right. He would offer to take the ones that were a bit oddly shaped or a bit more brown than I liked. He might linger in the kitchen for a while before moving on to the computer or the TV or whatever he was doing. I miss that. Hold on tightly to those you love. 

Vegetable and Sausage Bake

I have been making something similar to this for several years, but recently daughter Rachel gave it a great new twist, sausage! This will give you a chance to get creative. I don't really have a recipe, but I can give you some guidelines to get started. I am giving this a name on the spot, Vegetable and Sausage Bake, but you can call it whatever you want. This is how it turned out tonight . . .

Can you identify everything here?

Here's What We Did . . .

Use a variety of vegetables. Root vegetables work really well, but so do many others. Tonight I had dinner with family friends. Two of the kids and I prepped these vegetables, carrots, celery, a parsnip, an acorn squash, brussel sprouts, a yam, and some cabbage. We peeled and we chopped. Then everything went into a big bowl. We added a drizzle of olive oil and stirred to coat it all. We added some salt and pepper and filled a baking sheet, one with sides. We covered it with foil to keep in the steam and we baked it at 350 for about a half hour. 

While that was baking some brats gently boiled in some water to get them pre-cooked part way. Put the brats on a cutting board and cut them into chunks. When the veggies have cooked about 30 minutes give them a stir and add in the sausages, cover and cook for another 20 minutes or until fork tender. 

Meanwhile, grate some parmesan cheese, or any kind you like. Now stir up the veggies and sausage and add the grated cheese. Put it back in the oven long enough to melt the cheese.

Some cut fruit, strawberries, blueberries, a kiwi, and banana and some breadsticks rounded out a simple and delicious meal for 6.

Make It However You Like . . .

When Rachel made this for me she used butternut squash, onion, a red pepper, a yam, and cabbage (one of her very favorite foods, just saying') and she used ground Italian sausage, browned in a skillet. She topped it with parmesan cheese. Super delicious!

I love, love, love learning things from my kids. Again, just saying'.