Omie's Pecan Pie

Omie’s Pecan Pie
Brad tells me that Omie's real secret is to double the butter--it won't taste like hers unless doubled.

Crust (makes 2)
2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
½ cup cold water

Combine flour and salt. Add butter, slicing it and mixing with a pastry blender until it resembles
a coarse meal. Add water. Stir and form into a ball. Divide in two. Roll it about 1 ½ inch larger
than the pie pan.

Pecan Pie

1 ¼ cup sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup butter or margerine
1 generous cup of chopped pecans
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Stirring continually, bring to a boil and then
remove from heat. Beat eggs separately. Continuing to stir sugar mixture, add eggs slowly,
careful not to scramble the eggs when you add them. Add pecans and vanilla. Pour into an
unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Mom's Toasted Pecan White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mom, I know you were into these for a while, and rightly so. The toasted pecans make this a savory treat!

White Toasted Pecan Cookies 

1 1/4 cups whole pecans, or 1 cup chopped (Toast pecans first, to bring out more flavor.)

2 stks margarine (one stick I Can’t believe it's not butter & 1 stick Smart Balance Butter Blend...)

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp bak soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup Nestle Toll House premier white morsels (chips)

Preheat oven to 350. Toast pecans by placing in pan, in a single layer and bake for 6-8 minutes, stirring after  about 4 minutes.  They turn slightly darker brown and are more crisp when cool. Remove from oven to cool. (SO easy to walk away and let them burn, so resist the temptation!) Chop them if needed.

Mix margarine and sugars. Add egg and stir well.  Stir in remaining ingredients, including pecans. Place on non-greased cookie sheet in rounded teaspoon portions.  Bake for 11 min, even though they are not brown.  Let sit for 2 or more minutes to set before removing to racks to cool. Yield: approx. 50 cookies

7/16/2011

minus 2T marg

minus 1/4 c sugar

Mom's Potato Rolls (and cinnamon rolls)

We all love this recipe. It's amazing.

Cinnamon Rolls/ Potato Bread

1 cup scalded milk
½ cup margarine
1 c. mashed potatoes, cooled (May use reconstituted instant mashed potatoes)
½ cup warm water
1 Tbls. Yeast (1 package)
1/2 -3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
5-6 cups flour
(Melted margarine for rolls.)

This is original recipe. Scald milk by heating in microwave for 2 minutes. Add margarine,
potatoes, yeast mixture**, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, blending well. May mix all
items except total amount of flour with hand mixer. Gradually work in more flour by hand.
Consistency should be slightly sticky. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Oil hands before forming
rolls. (Current mixers/methods could simplify this.)

**May use quick mix method described on yeast packet, which means blend in yeast with flour;
combine the very warm liquids totaling 1 ½ cups.

Mix all well, knead 4-5 minutes. May refrigerate in oiled container for later use or use
immediately. May also divide dough into 4 sections and freeze separately.

To use as rolls: Pinch off golf size balls of dough. Dip dough into melted butter. Place on
greased -pan, 1 ½” apart. Let rise for one hour in warm place with light towel covering. Bake at
400° for 10 minutes, or until light brown.

For cinnamon rolls: Roll out section of dough to large rectangle, ¼” or a little less in thickness.
Spread with 2 Tbls. melted margarine, sprinkle with 4 Tbls. Sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. On long
side edge of dough, roll up tightly and pinch edges to seal. Cut into ¾” slices using knife or
piece of string. Place 1” apart in greased 9 x 13 pan. Flatten slightly with palm of hand. Let rise
until double. (see option below) Bake at 400° for 9-10 minutes, or until light brown. Frost with
light glaze made from 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbl. Hot water, 1 Tbls milk, 1 tsp vanilla.

[Either rolls or cinnamon rolls may use the Quick rise method: Warm oven to 200°, turn off.
Place rolls in warm oven at least 40 minutes, until rolls are near double in size. May turn on
oven to 375° with rolls still in it, where they will rise a little more and begin to cook. Bake until
golden brown, 8-10 minutes.]

Sweet Potato Soup

Remember how I tried to make potato and carrot soup previously? Well, this is way better than that, and it's with SWEET potatoes! I didn't know that I liked them so much until I started going out of my way to find ways to make meals out of them since Cooper enjoys them so much. I found the recipe from the blog, Vegan Yak Attack but made some modifications that I've changed for you below. It's super thick, so you might want to add more liquids, but I like it thick.

A smoky, slightly spicy, soup filled with sweet potatoes, carrots and red onion. Paired with jalapeño cornbread, it’s the perfect meal!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C. Chopped Red onion
• 2 C. Chopped Carrots (I used 5 big ones)
• 4 C. Chopped Sweet potatoes, (I used 3 really big potatoes, and peeled most of the skins)
• 4 Whole Cloves of Garlic
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/3 tsp. Smoked Sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. Black pepper
• 4 C. Vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
• 1 C. Water
• 1 Tbsp. Maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. Red (or chipotle) Pepper Flakes 
• 1/8 tsp. curry powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Get a large bowl and a large baking sheet ready.
2. Place the red onion, carrots, sweet potatoes and garlic into the large bowl and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Add the smoked sea salt and black pepper to the bowl and stir until all pieces are evenly coated.
3. Spread the veggie mixture out into a single layer on the baking sheet and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes/carrots are soft and have browned a little.
4. Next, warm the vegetable broth and water in a large pot on the stove, over medium heat.
5. Carefully add the roasted vegetables to the broth mixture and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low-medium heat for 5 minutes.
6. At this point, you can either use an immersion blender to puree the soup or blend a little at a time. If you use a blender or food processor be VERY careful! I used an immersion blender, but didn’t completely puree the soup; it’s great slightly chunky.
7. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and have the soup simmer for 10 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes!

These are a huge hit for a special breakfast. They are seriously cinnamon rolls that take like 10 minutes from start to finish. The recipes is found HERE and below. You only need to make like 1/3 the amount of the cinnamon stuff.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes from Life as a Lofthouse

 

   I love breakfast foods, especially pancakes. They remind me of my Momma. She used to make us pancakes all the time when we were little. Mom always used Bisquick pancake mix, and it is what I now use too. I love it. They have great flavor and they're a cinch to make.

   When I saw these Cinnamon Roll Pancakes on Pinterest (of course) I thought they looked amazing and had to make them asap. I used our trusty box of Bisquick for the pancake batter instead of using the homemade one on the recipe. Let me just tell you... These pancakes are FABULOSITY! I've now made them 3 weekends in a row because they're SO good!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Recipe adapted from: Recipe Girl

For Pancakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

(OR use a boxed pancake batter)

Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Glaze:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS:
Prepare Cinnamon Filling first: In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. (You want this to rest and 'set up' while your preparing the other ingredients. Its best if it gets a little thicker, you dont want it liquidy)

Prepare Pancake batter:  In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg just until batter is moistened.  (a few small lumps are fine)
OR If using a boxed mix, prepare according to package directions.

Prepare Cream Cheese glaze: In a medium glass or microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth, then whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla. Set aside.


Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop about 1/2 cup of pancake batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your cinnamon filling baggie and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a spatula and cook until lightly browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer pancake to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you make the rest of the pancakes.

When ready to serve, spoon warmed cream cheese glaze on top of each pancake. Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

We LOVE this soup. Mom first introduced it to me courtesy of Abby Shuler from the Tallahassee Stake Cookbook, and after trying it the first time, we thought it needed a little bit of a kick, so we now use sausage, and it's delicious. Everyone who tries it likes it. We've made it with green peppers for a more traditional "stuffed pepper" taste, but also with the yellow/red/orange little peppers you can find at Costco. So, without further ado...

Stuffed Pepper Soup
1 lbs. ground turkey (beef is fine if you're into that kinda thing)
1/2 or 1 lbs. ground sausage (it's extra good if you get a spicy kind)
2-14 oz. cans tomato sauce (we usually just use about a cup of prepared pasta sauce, like ragu, and use add in some fresh tomatoes)
2-14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, undrained (we use the kinds with a bit of flavor)
2 c. cooked rice (we've used white, brown, and instant)
2 c. chopped pepper
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/4-1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
2-3 c. water

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, brown turkey and sausage, then drain (this is essential when using the sausage). Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until peppers are tender. You can also make it in the crockpot by first browning the meat, and cooking on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. It honestly gets better with time and makes for delicious leftovers.

Clay's Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are Clay's cookies that we happen to make ALL the time. Maybe I'll add a picture later, but for now, here is the delicious recipe:

4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks butter (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter (I only Use 2 1/4 sticks, and sometimes it's margarine)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
chocolate chips (1 cup or more--your preference)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
2. Using mixer, cream butter and sugars until very light, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients, just until incorporated.  Mix in chocolate chips. 
3.  For best cookies, scoop out large generous golf-ball sized balls of dough onto the baking sheet (seriously, these are big--should make around a 5 inch cookie).  Back for 18-20 minutes.  Let cool on sheet for several minutes, then transfer to rack.  A smaller size will change the time. and you'd just have to do trial and error.  Presumably a normal cookie size would do about 10-11 minutes.