Spider Cheesecake

Oh, yum... this cheesecake was so good.  I made it for a halloween party we did with our friends tonight.  Do you like my dead flower arrangement in the background?  This recipe comes from Martha Stewart so you know it's going to be good.  It is a no-bake cheesecake and without any cooking time it came together really quickly.  It turned out so great and looked so perfect for halloween that I had to post at least the pictures tonight.

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I am going to be really lazy and just give you the link to this recipe on Martha's website.

Here it is.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I couldn't find a recipe that had all the ingredients I wanted so I combined two recipes! This recipe was the result.

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. peanut butter

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. oats

2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, shortening, peanut butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir together dry ingredients. Add to wet ingredients a cup at a time. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into balls and smash slightly on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 min or until set.

Baked Oatmeal

I am not a big fan of the normal, mushy oatmeal.  The texture just doesn't appeal to me.  However, the health benefits of oatmeal prompted me to keep searching to find an oatmeal recipe that my family really liked.  This is the one.  We have this for breakfast at least once a week.  I found it on allrecipes.com several months ago and the lady said it was an Amish recipe from her grandmother that was at least 100 years old.  It has a stiffer consistency that tastes like soft granola bars.  I used a little bit of apple pie filling as a topping today.  You can make the recipe for sauteed apples or top it with whatever you normally like on oatmeal- syrup, berries, fresh apples, nuts, etc or just eat it plain.  It is so good and gives you a great start in the morning.

 1/2 C. Applesauce
1/2 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 C. Milk
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 T. Baking Powder
3 C. Quick Oats
1/2 C. Raisins (optional)
2 T. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Mix applesauce and sugar together.  Add eggs, milk, salt, baking powder and oatmeal.  Pour into a greased 8x8 pan or similar sized casserole dish.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  You can either make this in the morning and bake it right away or make it the night before and refrigerate it overnight. Serves 6-8.

Sauteed Apples:
1/4 C. Butter
4 Large Tart Apples
2 tsp. Corn Starch
1/2 C. Cold Water
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Saute apples, sugar, and cinnamon in butter until soft.  In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the water then pour into the pan.  Stir until thickened.  You can add a little bit more water if you want to thin the sauce down a little bit.

Chocolate Banana Cookies

My kids got a little burned out on banana bread at the beginning of the school year after I froze 3 dozen banana muffins for quick breakfasts.  We had them a couple of times a week for several weeks in a row.  Consequently, I had to come up with other ways to use those over ripe bananas on my counter and this is one of the recipes I found that I my kids have liked.  This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies so you are bound to have left overs.  Because of the banana, these cookies will get mushy and too soft if you store them in an air tight container.  Last time I made them I just left them on my counter on a plate uncovered and they were great the next day.  You could also cover them lightly with saran wrap.

1 C. Mashed Bananas (2 medium bananas)
1 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Butter, melted
1 Egg
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Flour (I used white wheat flour)
1/2 C. Cocoa
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 C. Coarsely Chopped Nuts (I used walnuts)
1/2 C. Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease cookie sheet(s).  Set aside.  In a mixer, combine bananas, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla.  Beat together until well blended.  Add in all dry ingredients except nuts and choc. chips. Beat at low speed until a soft dough forms.  Stir in nuts and chocolate chips by hand.  Drop dough in heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheet and bake for 14 minutes.  Let cookies cool for 5 minutes or longer before removing to cooling racks or cookies will fall apart.

The "Noodle" in Chicken Noodle

Yesterday I made Chicken Noodle Soup for a friend and I got to thinking that maybe there are some people who have never made homemade noodles before.  I learned from a friend a couple of years ago and it is so easy I would never go back to throwing in a package of egg noodles.  In fact, it is so easy that I am almost embarrassed to post it but these noodles really give soup that homemade taste and really are so much better. 

1 C. Flour
1 Egg
1/4 tsp. Salt
Water

Combine the flour, salt and egg in a small mixing bowl and stir with a spoon until mixture is crumbly.  Fill a glass with cold water and start pour in about 1/4 C. amounts of water at a time and stirring until it forms a dough similar to bread dough or pie crust dough.  Generously Flour your counter so that the dough doesn't stick after it is rolled out and roll out dough to 1/8", about the same as a pie crust.  Use a pizza cutter to cut up the dough into noodles.  Cut them as thick or as thin as you like them.  I like to cut my strips in thirds so they are not quite as long but you can leave them long if you would rather.  When you are completely done with your soup, chicken shredded and vegetables almost done, it is time to add the noodles to your pot.  Keep the soup at a rolling boil.  Using a spatula, lift several noodles off the counter at once and drop them into the soup.  They will separate as soon as they hit the broth as long as they are well cut and are not stuck together when you drop them in.  Add all the noodles and boil the soup for 10 minutes.  These noodles really can't get soggy so you can freeze this soup or serve it as left overs and it will taste just like it did the day you made it.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

If Fall has a taste, it is pumpkin.  The spicy smell of pumpkin bread or a pumpkin pie baking seems to pair so nicely with crisp Fall weather and helps you appreciate the season better.  I love this recipe and I really love the use of whole grains and pumpkin. Such a healthy start in the morning.  The muffins hold together well and aren't as crumbly as some recipes can be.  Someday I would like to try it as a loaf of bread instead of as muffins. 

1 1/4 C. Quick Oats
1 C. Flour (you can use white wheat flour instead)
1/3 C. Chopped Pecans
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Cloves
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 C. Canned Pumpkin
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Oil
1/4 C. Milk
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla

Topping:
1/4 C. Oats
1/4 C. Flour (can use wheat)
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
3 T. Chopped Pecans
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 C. Cold Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients for muffins and blend until barely moistened.  In a small mixing bowl combine the topping ingredients and use a pastry blender to cut in butter.  Grease muffin cups and fill 2/3 full.  Sprinkle about 1 Tablespoon of topping  (just use the 1 Tbsp measuring spoon) over top of each muffin before baking.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.  This recipe makes about 15 muffins for me.  You can fill the muffin cups a little bit higher if you really want to use only one muffin pan. 

Glazed Lemon Muffins

When Deanna married our brother we (the sisters) threw her a bridal shower.  I tried 15 new muffin recipes trying to come up with the perfect muffins to serve.  This recipe is simply wonderful.  I actually didn't choose this for the shower because it is a pretty time consuming recipe but this one was my favorite of all that I tried.  With a whole cube of butter in the recipe plus streusel topping and glaze this recipe is a special treat for a special occasion and not a muffin I make frequently but when I do...yummmm.

1 1/2 C. Flour
1 C. Sugar
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
2 Eggs
1/2 C. Plain Yogurt or Sour Cream
1/2 C. Butter, melted
Zest from 1 Lemon
Juice from 1 Lemon

Streusel:
3 T. Flour
3 T. Sugar
1 T. Cold Butter
*Cut these ingredients in together with a pastry blender or 2 knives and set aside.

Glaze:
1/4 C. Powdered Sugar
1 T. Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add wet ingredients and mix until just combined and moistened.  Don't over mix or you won't get fluffy muffins.  Let the batter rest for a few minutes while you grease your muffin tin.  Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full.  Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tsp. of streusel topping over each muffin before you put it in the oven.  Then bake muffins for 25 minutes.  Mix up glaze while the muffins are baking.  When the muffins come out of the oven let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a plate.  Drizzle a small amount of glaze over top of each muffin.  These are great warm or cold.  Makes 12 muffins.

Lemon Chicken Linguine

Okay, girls, you MUST try this recipe.  You may wonder about the use of Cajun seasoning combined with lemon but seriously... wow.  This recipe has been on my "to-try" list for at least a month and tonight with every bite I was asking myself why I waited so long.  Garrett says we should have this again tomorrow...I'm considering it.  The whole meal came together in about 20-25 minutes because the chicken had been marinading in the refrigerator all afternoon.  Fast, easy and completely delicious!

2 Chicken Breasts, thawed and sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic, pressed
1/2 C. Olive Oil
Juice from 1 lemon (zest it first and save the zest in the refrigerator for later.)
2 T. Brown Sugar
2 T. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Dried Parsley
1 T. Cajun Seasoning (don't worry about heat, this dish is not spicy at all.)

Combine all these ingredients in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. 

1 lb. Linguine (or any other pasta you really like)
2 T. Olive Oil
2 T. Lemon Juice (if you don't want to use another lemon just use bottled lemon juice)
Zest from 1 Lemon (reserved from earlier)
3 Green Onions, sliced
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Dried Parsley
Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta according to pkg directions.  While pasta is cooking put the chicken along with all the marinade juices into a skillet and cook until chicken is completely cooked through.  Combine the oil, lemon juice, zest, onions, salt, pepper, and parsley in a small bowl.  When pasta is cooked, drain it and then put it back in the hot pot and stir in the oil mixture.  Then pour the chicken and all the juices over top of the pasta and mix.  Transfer to a serving dish and grate Parmesan over top. 

Whole Wheat Bread

I love this bread! It has great flavor and texture. This is my favorite wheat bread recipe.


2 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 TBS yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup molasses, brown sugar, or honey (I use a little of all three)
2 tsp salt
6 to 7 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used 1 cup of white, 1 cup of oat flour, and white wheat for the rest)


Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the oil and then the sugar. Mix in 5 cups of flour and the salt. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, then add enough flour so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, but is still sticky. Oil hands and working surface. Separate dough in half. Roll each piece to remove air bubbles. Roll up, pinching bottom and tuck ends under. Place in greased loaf pan and let rise about 1 inch above the top of the pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Oil top of bread when hot. Enjoy!

Homemade Doughnuts

These bad boys were darn tasty! We all loved them as our Sunday treat! They are really easy and don't require much work. They just take a some time for the dough to raise. These are by far the best home made doughnuts I have had.

• 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup shortening (or margarine, that's what I used)
  
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut. I used a small bowl for the outside, and a baby bottle for the hole. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
5. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack or paper towels. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess, (or set them on a plate so they can be nice and sticky!)