Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

I've made this sauce with and without cloves. The cloves added a really great flavor, and this tasted fantastic with turkey!

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 12-oz package fresh cranberries
Dash ground cloves (optional)

Heat water and sugar to boiling in medium saucepan. Add berries. Return to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Berries will pop and release their juices, making some fun little noises! Remove from heat and add cloves if desired. Cool completely at room temperature, and chill in refrigerator.

The berried contain natural pectins that jellify the sauce, making it almost like a jam. It's so pretty!

Bigger Post Coming Soon!

I've got a couple recipes and some pictures to share, which I will be posting sometime after tomorrow. My sister lives in this area, as well as my parents and grandparents. But big sis is going to spend Thanksgiving with her husband's parents on the other side of the state. Our family being as close as we are, we decided that we'd have a big Thanksgiving-like family dinner this Saturday, so I've been working on preparing for that today. I've got my freezer crescent rolls thawing in the fridge, and I made another batch of cranberry butter. I also made some cranberry sauce with the leftover cranberries, and a deliciously creamy, easy chocolate pie. I'll share those recipes later, as well as pictures of our delicious dinner and that wonderful turkey I keep raving about. I'm so excited! Is it weird that the prospect of a big dinner gets me excited, or is that normal?...

Oatmeal Cookie "Bars" and Another Award!

Today was kind of rough. I have a cold, with an enormously aching throat, a stuffy nose, a cough, and a migraine. Plus I spent a lot of time packing, and sorting through boxes that we hadn't even unpacked yet from when we moved to our current apartment. I've been trying to bear it all with a smile, and I am pleased with how much I got done today. But by this evening I was in need of some serious relief and comfort! So I did what any self-respecting person would do - I got high on cough drops and drunk off DayQuil (generic brand, of course), and baked up some intense cookie bars!

Well, cookie "bars" is a sort of loose term here. The pan size suggested in the recipe was, in my opinion, incorrect. The bars didn't really cook all the way through and sort of ended up being a big gooey cookie mess, as evidenced by the above picture. A delicious mess, and I keep eating it anyway. But I'll post the pan size that I think they should be cooked in, not the size that I used.

Oatmeal Cookie Bars
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups oats, regular or quick-cooking
1 cup flour
1/2 cup each butterscotch chips and chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients except oats, flour, and chips. Beat with mixer until smooth. Stir in oats, flour and chips. Spread dough into ungreased 9x13 baking pan (not 8x8 unless you actually want an uncooked gooey mess). Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until browned. Cool in pan on wire rack, and cut into bars.

See, the 8x8 was way too small. The bars are practically spilling out over the sides!

Despite being incompletely cooked, the cookie bars were definitely delicious. As a variation, you could make these into actual cookies - Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes. Remove from pan immediately to wire racks to cool.



********Update: After cooling overnight, the cookie bars have actually hardened into bars, instead of goo. I guess all that saturated fat in the butter and shortening had a chance to solidify or something. They hardened so much, actually, that I had to re-slice them. So if you're willing to wait for the bars to cool completely before cutting them, I guess that the 8x8 pan really is acceptable for this recipe. :-)






Shelby, aka HoneyB, aka Grumpy's Honeybunch, has given me an award! Hooray, two in a row! It's nice to know that people are reading and enjoying my cheapo, tightwad recipes. I sure enjoy having this blog, and I'm glad others are enjoying it as well.

As this is the Inspiration Award, I'm passing it on to blogs that inspire me. Not all will be cooking blogs, because I get inspired by lots more than just food. But food is big in my life too! :-)

Memories and Mayhem - My cousin Rachel has a cute family and always keeps a good attitude about life and the adventures it brings when there are three young children around. She helps me to remember to see the good and the humorous things in everyday life, whether it's pooping in the leaves or a child that wants to do chores!

The American Homemaker - I love seeing all the wonderful vintage delights that Angie posts about - her old memo book and address book, her pink chamber pot, and her delightful vintage cookbook, from which she made a delicious looking coffee cake. She helps me see old things in a new light.

A Year of CrockPotting - Stephanie made a New Year's resolution to use her crock pot every single day of 2008, and so far she has! She's on day 324 right now, with a delicious crock pot turkey. I have been using my crock pot more often thanks to Stephanie's inspiring blog. And check out her post on how using a crock pot can save you money.

Taco Soup, Tag, and Award

Three birds with one stone in this post. First up is the delicious soup I made tonight out of things that we usually don't have in our pantry and fridge. Tonight's dinner was all about making do with what we had on hand, and making dinner fast because it was too late and I was too tired and the kids were too impatient for me to do a big fancy meal.

We happened to have a variety of things in the fridge and pantry that just happened to go really well together. Jeff happened to boil up some chicken a couple nights ago, and we had the broth left from that (always save your chicken broth, you can use it in so many ways!). I happened to make some refried beans from bean flour the other night, and we had lots left from that. We made salsa a while back and there happened to be plenty of that in the fridge. I happened to have some TVP in the pantry (texturized vegetable protein, an inexpensive meat alternative) that I've been experimenting with in a variety of recipes.

I did some thinking and decided that taco soup would be a good way to use these miscellaneous food items. No real recipe here - my taco soup "recipe" is basically to throw together whatever foods we have that would make a good taco-like soup. Usually it includes taco meat and broth or bouillon. Tonight all I did was whisk together a couple cups of chicken broth, about 3/4 cup refried beans, 1/2 cup salsa, and a handful of TVP. I heated that over medium-high heat until it was hot and the TVP was reconstituted. Then I spooned it into bowls and topped it with shredded cheese. It was simple and quick, and surprisingly delicious! See, I told you that I might be utilizing some interesting ingredients while we're in the process of moving. :-)



Next up is a tag from Tina of The Adventures of a Working Mom and Hayley of Away With The Fairycakes. It's the Seven Random Things tag.

So here are The Rules:

• Link the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.

• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links.

• Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I have a sore throat right now that's really bugging me.

2. I absolutely love romantic chic flicks. But I don't like watching them with my husband. I always get the feeling that he's laughing at the characters and their problems, and at me for getting so caught up in the characters and their problems. So that's a treat I reserve for nights when the kids are in bed and Jeff is working late. And I like eating ice cream or other fattening desserts while I watch. :-)

3. Speaking of movies, we don't usually buy new movies. We wait for my younger sister to buy them, and then borrow them from her. Unfortunately, that won't work anymore after we move, because we won't live five minutes away from her anymore!

4. My 3-year-old daughter is going through a clothes-changing phase lately. She changes her clothes about six times a day, alternating between pants-and-shirt outfits and princess dresses. It's getting hard to clean up after her, so her room tends to be strewn with clothes most of the time.

5. I play the organ.

6. I wash my dishes in big red dishpans, because for the past several months our kitchen sinks do not drain, and management hasn't fixed them yet. They tried once, but it didn't work.

7. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, even more favorite than Christmas, because I'm totally addicted to all the delicious traditional Thanksgiving dishes. Especially my family's favorite Oven Smoked Turkey. That stuff is fantastic.

I'm tagging:
Megan's Munchies
Priscilla's Baking Adventures
Real Mom Kitchen
What's for Dinner
Tummy Yummies
Eat From Your Pantry
Life and Cooking With Littles Underfoot


And lastly, an award given to me by JadeMerie of Living Frugally. It's fun to receive awards, and it's fun to pass them on! :-)

Lucky everyone that I just tagged - I'm passing this award on to all of you! These are all blogs that I love to read, and I keep up with every post.

Chocolate Chess Pie

This has got to be the absolute best pie that I've ever made. And that is really saying a lot, because I like every pie I make. Chess pie is a Southern classic, and is defined in Wikipedia as "a single crust and a filling composed of eggs, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. What sets chess pie apart from many other custard pies is the substitution of corn meal for flour." This particular pie adds melted chocolate into the equation. It has a texture similar to pecan pie, but without the pecans. The corn meal, to my surprise, didn't add any grittiness at all - the pie was smooth and gelatinous, and deliciously rich. Present this at your Thanksgiving meal, and let the compliments fly!

Chocolate Chess Pie
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you prefer your pie. I used 1 cup and it was really sweet. We all loved it!)
1 tbsp. corn meal
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 unbaked 9" pastry shell

Melt butter with chocolate. In a mixing bowl, combine the chocolate and butter mixture with sugar, flour, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla; beat with electric mixer for 5 to 6 minutes (I couldn't find my mom's mixer, so I used a whisk and beat it vigorously by hand. It worked out fine). Pour filling into prepared pastry shell; bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, until set. Serve at room temperature, with whipped cream if desired.


Pastry Shell (aka pie crust)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup shortening
3-4 tbsp. cold water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening. Mix in enough water to make dough hold together. Roll out on floured surface and ease into pie plate. Trim and flute edges. Use as directed in recipe.


This pie, oh my gosh, I can't say enough about it. It really was a fantastic pie! The filling separated out into two layers - the bottom layer was similar to the filling of a pecan pie, and the top layer had all the chocolate. On the very top of the filling was a thin, almost crispy topping that literally melts in your mouth. The result is a fabulous pie that looks and tastes like you put a ton of work into it, when really it's quite simple and easy to make.

My Kitchen My World - Puerto Rico

This week's chosen country isn't technically a country - it's a U.S. territory. But the MKMW moderator believes that Puerto Rico should be treated as its own country for the purposes of this blogging event. I'm glad - we got to enjoy a real treat this week! You see, Puerto Ricans are really smart when it comes to food. They make a deliciously creamy pudding, call it Maizena, and eat it for breakfast!

I made this on Thursday morning, and it was perfect. The morning was rainy, chilly, and dreary. It was wonderful to have this warm, creamy, comfort-food dish for breakfast.


Maizena
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups milk (I departed from authenticity here and used 3 eggs plus enough milk to make 2 cups. This cut down the cooking time and upped the protein)

Whisk together the cornstarch, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Stir in the milk (and eggs, in my case) to evenly blend ingredients, and set over medium-high heat. Continue whisking and cooking until custard reaches a thick consistency, 25 to 30 minutes (with the eggs, it took about 5-10 minutes). It is important to stir the entire time, or the custard can easily burn or clump. The custard will continue to thicken as it cools. Spoon into bowls to serve.


As I pointed out, I added eggs to the regular recipe. The idea of a shorter cooking time really appealed to me, since my kids don't like to stand around waiting for their breakfast - they want it now! It tasted absolutely delicious - my kids felt like they were getting a special treat for their breakfast, as did I! This would even work well as a dessert. But I would really love to try this recipe the way the Puerto Ricans make it - without eggs. That is, if I think my arm can hold up to 25 minutes of whisking...

Holiday Broccoli

Just so everyone knows, I will probably be posting with less frequency for a little while. My husband and I are in the middle of preparing to move. Today, we stuffed half of our possessions into neatly labeled boxes, which are now stacked precariously throughout the apartment. Over the next couple of weeks the rest of our stuff will be packed as well. Then we get to look forward to unpacking in our new home and getting settled in.

I'll still try to post yummy holiday dishes, as I am able. But they will have to be a little more simple, prepared with the most basic of kitchen equipment, since everything else is or will be packed. Some of my ingredients may get a little random sometimes too, as we are trying to avoid buying more food, so we're using what we have on hand and what we haven't packed yet. Fun stuff.


That said, here's another yummy veggie dish that we tried tonight. This dish starts as simple broccoli and cheese sauce, but is made special with the addition of stuffing mix. We all liked this a lot, except for Thomas, who seemed to think that the pieces of broccoli had just the perfect aerodynamics for being flung across the dining room. He's learning to dislike green vegetables, I think. Well, I'll break him of that eventually. :-)

Holiday Broccoli
4 tbsp. butter, divided
2 tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. minced onions (use fresh or dried)
1/2 cup diced Cheddar cheese
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp. mace (or substitute nutmeg)
Dash of hot sauce
2 (10 oz) pkg. frozen broccoli
1 1/2 cups seasoned stuffing mix

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, then blend in milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens. Stir in onions, cheese, salt, mace, and hot sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese melts.

Meanwhile, cook broccoli in a large covered pan in a small amount of water only until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. In a 1 1/2 quart buttered baking dish, spread half of the stuffing mix; arrange cooked broccoli over mix. Pour sauce over broccoli and sprinkle with remaining stuffing mix. Dot with remaining 2 tbsp. butter (I forgot this part, oops). Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes, until topping is golden brown and sauce bubbles.

To double recipe, cook in 9x13 dish.


This was pretty yummy. The sauce was creamy, and I really liked the addition of nutmeg and hot sauce - it was just enough to give it a great flavor. And I really liked the crunch of the stuffing mix on top.