Roasting up dinner . . . . .

Our Saturday evening dinner was an easy recipe that I've been making for at least 5 years now.  It always amazes me how quickly you get this prepared and in the oven.  And, the Hubby loves it. 

Roasted Chicken & Veggies

1 whole chicken (with skin on)

5-6 med red-skinned potatoes, cut in to large pieces

1-1/2 cup peeled carrots (thick sliced or you can use baby carrots)

10-12 whole unpeeled cloves of garlic

1 to 2 cups whole fresh mushrooms, cleaned & stems trimmed

1 red or green pepper, cut into large pieces

1 small onion, quartered (optional)

3 to 4 Tbsp olive oil

1 to 3 tsps dried rosemary blend (I use the Pamper Chef brand)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Wash/pat dry chicken, cut into quarters (or buy your chicken cut-up -- or, you can also use 4 large chicken breasts, bone-in and skin on).  Arrange chicken onto a large sheet pan or any large shallow baking dish. Just keep in mind that the chicken/veggies need to be one layer in order to roast evenly.  Place all veggies into a large bowl, drizzle with enough olive oil to coat, sprinkle in spices, salt & pepper; toss to coat completely.  Pour veggie/oil/spices over chicken, arranging veggies between chicken pieces.  Bake for 30 minutes, stir veggies and bake for additional 25-30 minutes or until chicken is completely done and veggies are roasted.  (Cooking time will depend on size of chicken pieces and veggies)  Remove from oven and cover with a large piece of aluminum foil, let rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

Note:  You can add any veggies you like (sweet potatoes, squash or beets), you might want to add veggies that bake quickly half-way through the roasting process.  I added green beans at the half-way point with this dish and they came out roasted but still with a bit of a crunch.  

 

First Recipe of the Fall

Filled with apples and spices - this recipe is truly 'Apple Pie' in bread form. Just right for the cool/rainy weather we are having here on the Southern Plains.

Apple Pie Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 cup granulated sugar

1-1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts

3 cups peeled/chopped apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pans with a cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, vanilla and sugars - mix well. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until blended. Add chopped apples and walnuts to bread batter and pour into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before slicing. May be frozen for up to 3 months.

Makes 2 large loaves.

Goes great with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Note: 1/2 cup golden raisins may be added, if desired. Bread can also be baked in a bundt pan or smaller loaf pans - adjust baking times accordingly.

Not much in the looks department . . . .

Coconut Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

3 cups white sugar

6 eggs

1 tsp coconut extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups flaked coconut

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan (or 2 large loaf pans)

With a mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until blended. Add sugar, and beat until light & fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in coconut & vanilla extracts. Gently mix in flour mixtures just until moistened. ***Stir in coconut. Spoon batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes (1 hour for lg loaf pan) or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting on a cooling rack.

When I made this over the weekend, I just ran down the ingredient list - not paying attention to the first sentence. The poor cake baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes before I caught my mistake and turned the oven temp down to 325. Apparently when you play fast & loose with oven temps for pound cakes, the nice crusty top tends to fall off after the cake cools. Will try very hard not to repeat that error again -- the crust is the best part ! And, even though my pound cake is not very attractive - - it's so good.

8/24/09: Add coconut here ***

Thanksgiving 1939

Two of the recipes from my Dad's cookbook. They both sound very tasty and I wonder if they could be reduced to a single cake or pie ?? I know my family loves pumpkin pies but I seriously doubt we could eat 35 pies !!!

And -- I don't think 'lard' or "cigars & cigarettes" are on anyone's diet this year !!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone -- may you make some holiday memories with the ones you love !!!

Blonde Brownies ::

Last night I baked these - - - -

Blonde Brownies

Absolutely the easier bar cookie recipe ever and a favorite of my daughter, Jessika.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9"x13" baking pan with PAM. In a small bowl, mix together flour, soda, baking powder and salt - set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat; remove from heat: add brown sugar, stirring to blend well and then stir in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture to saucepan mixture and mix well. Pour into prepared pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Store in air-tight container. Yield: 24 brownies

Yes, there is a portion of the brownies missing - - - -

I had to make sure they were fit for human consumption,

didn't I ??!!

Fall Bread Baking

The days are a bit cooler and the mornings crisp and clear - - which means I'm baking Pumpkin Bread again. Absolutely love this time of year - - -

Pumpkin Bread

• 3-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp each: ground nutmeg, cloves, & cinnamon
• 1-1/2 cup each: granulated sugar & brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup each raisin & chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix all dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine oil, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla; stir well. Pour pumpkin mixture over dry ingredients, stir just until blended (do not overmix). Add raisins and nuts. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-1/2" x 5" loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes (or until bread tests done with toothpick). Remove from pans and place on wire rack to cool completely. Store, tightly wrapped, at room temp for 2 days. Bread may be frozen up to 3 months.

This bread is moist and filled with the taste of pumpkin and spices. Great for breakfast with a piece of fruit -- (and, a Diet Dr. Pepper of course !)

Let me know if you try it --

Another post - another recipe . . . .

On a roll - two recipes in less than a week! I've been wanting to try making granola for some time now and yesterday I made my first batch.


Home-Made Granola ::

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds (or pecans/pumpkin seeds/walnuts)
• 3/4 cup flaked coconut
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground alspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, etc . . )

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together oats, nuts, coconut, brown sugar.

Melt butter with syrup over low heat, pour over granola mixture and toss well, spread out mixture on a baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add dried fruit, stir granola mixture and bake an additional 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from oven and allow to cool before storing in an air-tight container. Can be stored for 2 weeks at room temp. It was so easy and so tasty with yogurt -- I'm definitely making this again.

Give it a try and I guarantee you'll never buy granola again !!

Crock Pot = More Time

It's been misty/rainy here on the Southern Plains and that made me think of meals from my crock pot. And, also getting into my sewing corner too! Below is a new (to me anyway) recipe for chicken in the crock pot and Willie Jay pronounced it 'very good'. I will definitely make this again and there was even enough left over to make some Tortilla Soup this weekend. A 'keeper' of a recipe.

No pictures of the finished dish -- but, I will show your two more Fabric Bookmarks made after dinner last night. Love having dinner ready when I get home and the clean up was easy too. Gives me more time at the sewing machine -- and, unfortunately it also gives me more time with the washing machine too - but, we won't talk about that right now !

Crock Pot Southwestern

Chicken Breasts

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drain & rinse
• 1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drain
• 1 (10 oz) can Rotel* tomatoes
• salt, pepper and any other seasons you like

Lightly season the chicken breasts and place in the bottom of crock pot. Add corn & black beans. Pour Rotel over corn/beans. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve as is or with rice. *diced tomatoes w/green chilies

Details: assorted fabric scraps sewn together in strips, then fusible fleece applied and a backing added before machine quilting. Outline stitch bookmark shape, trim with pinking shears and add button accent. Total time: 20 minutes and most of that was deciding which fabrics (and button) to use.