Beef Sirloin Tip Roast

Ever have a roast turn out tough and chewy?  Want that deliciously tender and moist meat to fall apart with a touch of a fork?  Well, here's the recipe for you. 

 

Mind you, I've made plenty of roasts.  However, lately I've been buying sirloin tip roast because that's what's been on sale, and they just turn out tough and chewy no matter how 'low and slow' I cook them.  So after the second time this happened, I got smart and googled "how to cook a sirloin tip roast."  I figured it couldn't be any worse than cookin' it to death in the crockpot.  It turned out beautifully!  We omitted the mushrooms, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.

 

Beef Sirloin Tip Roast

Prep: 10 min. Bake: 2-1/2 hours

Ingredients

• 1 beef sirloin tip roast (3 pounds)
• 1-1/4 cups water, divided
• 1 can (8 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Place a large piece of heavy-duty foil (21-in. x 17-in.) in a shallow

roasting pan. Place roast on foil. Pour 1 cup water and mushrooms

over roast. Sprinkle with soup mix. Wrap foil around roast; seal

tightly.

 

Bake at 350° for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until meat reaches desired

doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 145°;

medium, 160°; well-done, 170°).

 

Remove roast to a serving platter and keep warm. Pour drippings and

mushrooms into a saucepan. Combine cornstarch and remaining water

until smooth; gradually stir into drippings. Bring to a boil; cook

and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with sliced beef.

 

Yield: 10-12 servings.

 

Recipe and photo from www.tasteofhome.com.  Click here for recipe.

Recipes

I apologize for the lack of recipe posts.  I was without a computer for a few months.  As I have time, I would still like to post recipes, so check back often!

Italian Beef Hoagies (Slow Cooker)

This is something I've made quite a few times, and we really enjoy it.  When you find roast on a BOGO sale, this is a great meal to make -- easy crockpot goodness!  We like to melt provolone cheese on our sandwiches in the broiler.  The recipe book also suggests spreading garlic butter on the bun before toasting it.  Mmm! Mmm!

 

Italian Beef Hoagies

 

3 to 4-lb beef chuck roast

2 .6-oz pkgs zesty Italian salad dressing mix

2 c water

24-oz jar pepperoncinis, drained and liquid reserved

15 to 18 hoagie rolls, toasted and split

Garnish: shredded provolone cheese

 

Slice roast across the grain into 4 pieces and trim any fat.  Place in bottom of a slow cooker.  Mix together dressing mix and water; pour over beef.  Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, until tender; use forks to shred beef in slow cooker.  Slice pepperoncinis into rings and add to slow cooker along with reserved liquid from jar.  Cover and cook for a few more minutes, until heated through.  Serve beef on toasted rolls, topped with cheese.  Serves 15 to 18.

 

Photo from bing.com and recipe from Gooseberry Patch Slow Cookers, Casseroles & Skillets.

Pumpkin Chip Mini Muffins

A box of spice cake mix has been lurking in my pantry for a while now.  Unfortunately, I can't remember why I bought it!  So off I went to Allrecipes.com.  I saw a recipe for pumpkin chip mini muffins that sounded good.  Friends of mine from college raved about their pumpkin chip cookie recipe, but the comments I read on other recipes that used the cake mix for cookies, said they were very cake like and not the greatest.  So I decided to stick with the muffins.  Glad I did.  They turned out yummy!

 

Pumpkin Chip Mini Muffins

1 box spice cake mix
1 - 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix spice cake mix, pumpkin and egg until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Line mini muffin pan with paper liners or spray lightly with cooking spray.  Scoop in a tablespoon of muffin mix into mini muffin pans.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Test with a toothpick.

Yield: 36 mini muffins

Apple Fritter Cake

I don't like to post a lot of dessert recipes, but it's been bugging me that I haven't been posting ANY recipes lately . . . SO dessert recipe it is.  Well, I guess I could say it's a breakfast recipe.  It was breakfast for the college class this week!  It received rave reviews, so I'll share it.

Since this blogger does such a great job showing and describing the steps, I'll just link you to the recipe.

Apple Fritter Cake

As always, I have a comment or two.  This cake batter is VERY thick and difficult to spread.  I added another 1/2 cup of applesauce to make it a little more spreadable.  (I was in a hurry, so maybe I did something wrong.  You can try as written, and when you get to the "spreading" part, you can make your own decision.)  Also, make the glaze thick or possibly add a layer of glaze, let it set and add another layer.

Monterey Ranch Baked Chicken

Have you ever seen those packages in the dairy section of the store that have shredded cheese on one side and seasoned bread crumbs on the other?  I had a couple coupons, so I tried them.  We really enjoyed the flavor the seasoning and cheese gave the chicken.  (And I may or may not have tried the cheddar jack & bacon on pork chops.  I had planned to use it on chicken, but how can you go wrong with pork on pork!?!)  They are pricey if you don't have a coupon, and I hated throwing away the unused portion.

 

A couple week's ago, I came across this recipe on Pinterest that used bread crumbs, seasoning and cheese.  What made me like it even more was it was homemade, less expensive, made-to-your-desired portion -- perfect!  Not to mention, my family devoured it!

 

 

Monterey Ranch Baked Chicken

 

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 (1 oz) pkg ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup milk

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine the bread crumbs, Monterey Jack cheese, and ranch dressing mix in a large bowl; set aside.

3. Pour the milk into another bowl, then dip the chicken breasts into the milk. Gently press the chicken into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the chicken in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

4. Bake the chicken breasts in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 40 to 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F.

 

Recipe source: Allrecipes.  Photo source: Bing -- This picture looked closest to the real thing since I didn't take a picture.

Brussel Sprouts With Bacon

My family has a very limited list of veggies they like to eat.  I'm thankful they eat salad; however, alternating that with corn and peas becomes very boring, very quickly.  That, and I hate serving so many starches!  Mind you, they do eat some raw veggies -- carrots, cauliflower and celery -- as long as they can have some ranch dip.  Just seems strange to me to serve raw veggies as a side dish with dinner, so I've been on a hunt to find other veggie side dishes or new ways to present veggies to my family.

 

Last week, we tried brussel sprouts!  I think maybe once in my life I've had a brussel sprout.  Probably the time my parents said, "You need to at least try something before you say you don't like it." Since that's how I grew up, I figured my kids should have the same experience. Hey! I didn't die!  Well, only my oldest daughter and I liked them.  The hubby would rather do without them, but he said they wouldn't be too bad with more bacon and onion.  Whatdoyouknow?!?  Everything (even brussel sprouts) taste better with bacon!  And the younger two thought they were "disgusting"!  Personally, I think they taste similar to cooked cabbage.  I happened to like cooked cabbage, so brusssel sprouts are okay in my book.  Kinda strange to think I might actually go to the store and buy brussel sprouts on purpose though!

 

Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients

• 3 slices uncooked bacon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, small spouts left whole, larger spouts halved
• Salt and pepper, to your taste
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions

Brown bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan, 1 turn. Add shallots to the pan and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Add Brussels spouts and coat in oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook Brussels sprouts 2 to 3 minutes to begin to soften, then add broth. Bring broth to a bubble, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer sprouts to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and top with cooked bacon bits.

Receipe from Food Network.  Photo from Bing.com.

Hearty Breakfast

First of all, I apologize for not posting recipes for such a long time.  I honestly hadn't realize it had been that long . . .

 

This week, I decided do something special for Valentine's Day.  The kids really enjoyed it, and it wasn't too difficult.  Here's a picture of our breakfast.

 

 

Heart-shaped Bacon

 

Instructions: Fold bacon into a heart shape.  Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 18 mintues.

 

 

Heart Pancakes

I found this recipe here.  I adapted it a little bit since I didn't have a squeeze bottle.

Instructions:  Make your favorite pancake batter and heat your griddle.  Seperate about 1/3 of the batter and add pink or red food coloring.  Place the colored batter in a squeeze bottle or in a resealable bag and clip off a small corner of the bag. (NOTE: Make sure there are no lumps in the batter.) Pour the non-colored batter onto the griddle to form a pancake as normal.  Fairly quickly "draw" a heart on the top of the poured pancake.  Flip carefully when ready. Serve and enjoy!

 

It was a little tricky to flip the pancake without smearing the heart design.  Next time I might try drawing the heart first and pouring the other batter on top.  My 5 year old was slightly confused.  He asked if I had put icing on the pancakes and then cooked it.  He kept trying to figure out how I made them.  I finally had to show him the bowls I mixed the batter in before he understood.  He was too cute.

This is another idea I found . . . if you follow this link, you'll find some pretty amazing breakfast ideas!

Cream Cheese Danish

In my quest for new breakfast ideas, I came across a recipe a cream cheese danish.  I made it.  Everybody liked it (especially my mother-in-law), and it was yummy.  Seemed like it needed a little tweeking to become even yummier, so I looked around for similar recipes.  I pinned another recipe to make Christmas morning since we were spending it with my inlaws.  Horror of all horrors, Pinterest wasn't working Christmas morning, so I had to make it from memory!  (Always a scary thing with my sketchy memory.)  We LOVED how it turned out.

Here's what I did (since I couldn't remember the recipe exactly) . . . I used one package of cream cheese (on purpose - two is too much) as well as cut the sugar back to 1/2 cup in the filling.  The first recipe I made had a cinnamon sugar topping, so I did that . . . Instead of brushing with the egg white, I melted 1/4 cup (or less) of butter and brushed it on top of the uncooked danish.  Then generously sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before baking.    I'll also add that I used Pillsbury's Crescent Sheets.  SO much easier than using the rolls and having to pinch all the seams together!  (Photo from Chocolate Therapy.)

Recipe and photo from The Adventures of Kitchen Girl although the plate in the picture is the same plate I have in my kitchen.

 

Ingredients:
2 cans ready to use refrigerated crescent rolls
2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 350* degrees and grease a 13X9-inch baking pan. Lay a pack of crescent rolls in the pan and pinch the openings together. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls evenly and then lay the second pack of crescent rolls on top of the cheese mixture and brush with egg white. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with glaze after cooling for 20 minutes.

Kitchen Notes:
I have made this danish using low fat cream cheese and splenda (sugar substitute) and it was delicious! Also, the amount of filling the original recipe calls for makes a VERY heavily filled danish. I have halved the filling using 1 package of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 whole egg, and a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and it was still very good. If you use the half filling method, bake for closer to 30-35 minutes.

Pretzel Bread

Pretzel Bread!?!  Yes please!  I was very impressed with this bread (even considering my yeast was a little out of date, and I didn't have bread flour).  The only down side was the quantity was small.  I guess I underestimated the yield of "two small loaves".   I didn't brush the bread with butter after it came out of the oven.  I did, however, eat a ham sandwich with melted cheese and mustard with it. Mmm. Mmm!

Pretzel Bread

1 packet (2 1/4 tsps) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 – 120 degrees)
2 Tbsp. milk, room temperature
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
3 Tbsps. melted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. coarse salt
3 cups bread flour (spooned and leveled)

4 quarts of water
1/2 cup baking soda

Coarse salt to taste
2 Tbsps. melted butter

Directions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the yeast, water, milk, brown sugar, and butter. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes so the yeast come alive.
• Mix in the coarse salt, then the flour, one cup at a time. The dough will be tacky.
• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray or coat with oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, flip to coat on both sides, and cover with plastic wrap for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Return the dough to the bowl, flip to cover both sides, and re-cover for an hour, or until roughly doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bring 4 quarts (16 cups) of water to a boil. Gently deflate the dough and cut in half using a sharp knife or bench scraper. Shape each half into a round loaf.
• Slowly add the 1/2 cup of baking soda to the boiling water (it will bubble). Place one piece of dough onto a large slotted spoon and gently lower into the boiling water. Use the spoon to flip the dough in the boiling water for around 20 seconds, then lift the dough out of the water with the slotted spoon – allow the excess water to drip back into the pot.
• Set the dough onto a greased baking sheet. Repeat the water bath with the remaining dough. Sprinkle both rounds with coarse salt, then slash an X on the top of each with a sharp knife so the bread can expand while it bakes.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter.

Yield: 2 small loaves

Recipe and photo from The Apron Archives.

Grilled Mozzarella Cheese Sandwich

This is one of those instances where you say, "Why didn't I think of that?"  I came across this idea on Pinterest a while back.  The novelty has worn off a little, but the kids and I were eating it a couple times a week for lunch after we learned about it.

 

Grilled Cheese . . . using Mozzarella cheese (or provolone, which is our preference) . . . served with a side of marinara sauce.  {sigh}  HELLO!!! It's amazing!

 

Here's a side bar:  I just went on the assumption that the recipe said, "make grilled cheese sandwich the original way but use mozzarella."  Well, Martha Stewart has her own high-calorie, high-fat version of the Grilled Mozzarella Cheese sandwich.  I'm sure it tastes great if you can afford buffalo mozzarella and all the other ingredients, but the cheese we use from the local discount store works just as well also.  I've also seen recipes that include tomato and basil, pesto or spinach as a combo with the mozzarella if you want to try something a little more extravagant.

 

Best Burger Ever

Have you ever had someone ask you a question like, "If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?"  Well my answer would be hamburgers.  My husband teases me that I always get a burger when we go out to eat.  I just like a good burger, a moist and flavorful burger.  This recipe makes a good, moist and flavorful burger.  It's best cooked inside (see notes below), so it's great for this time of year.

 

Recipe and photo from Little Miss Momma.

 

Best Burger Ever with Secret Sauce

 

Ingredients

 

Burger

• 2 lbs ground beef 85/15
• sesame seed buns
• ½ cup of grated Monterrey jack cheese
• ¼ cup BBQ sauce
• season salt to taste
• cracked black pepper
• onion powder

 

Secret Sauce

• ¾ cup of mayo
• ¼ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup relish
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire
• seasoned salt

Instructions

1. Combine the ground beef, grated cheese, bbq sauce, and seasonings. Shape patties that are about 1 inch thick.
2. Then it is very important to push a ½ inch indent into the center of the patty–this is what prevents the patty from becoming a dome. These burgers stay extra moist because the bbq sauce and cheese are mixed in with the meat.
3. Wait for the skillet to get super hot and then apply a very thin layer of butter to the pan. Place the patties on the pan, indent side up.
4. Reduce heat to medium and allow this side of the patty to cook for about 4-6 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t burn. Then flip the burger over and cook until done.
5. For the sauce: Combine all ingredients and whisk until well mixed. Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking.
6. Assemble the burgers and serve with avocado, lettuce or your choice of toppings!

 

 

Notes: 

 

I also butter and toast the buns on a skillet Pioneer Woman style. Something about a sesame seed bun makes the burger seem more legit. 

 

Many of you have had trouble with the burgers falling apart. For some reason, I have made these burgers many times and this has not yet happened to me. But for those who are experiencing this, here are a few of my suggestions. 1. I don’t ever put this type of burger on the grill because it is too moist and will fall through the grates–which is why I use a grill pan. 2. I wait to flip the burger until one side is very thoroughly cooked, so that it holds together better before flipping. 3. If you are worried about them falling apart still, perhaps use less BBQ sauce than what I have listed in the recipe (try 2 tablespoons instead). 4. Some commenters have suggested adding some bread crumbs. I hope these tips help. These really do have a yummy flavor, sorry for those having trouble.

Creamy Garlic Pasta

I've never had this pasta from Olive Garden, but I've heard this recipe is just as delicious!  I believe it's served with Italian sausage, but we used it as a side dish with grilled pork chops (if I remember correctly).

 

My tips:  I used roasted garlic (that I make myself).  You can cut down the olive oil and just diffuse your butter with the roasted garlic.  (Did you know that adding oil to butter in a pan will help keep the butter from burning?)  And I add a little extra chicken broth to thin it out just before serving because it thickens up more than I prefer.  I've also learned you have to cover the pan while cooking the noodles because the broth doesn't cover the pasta well enough to cook thoroughly.  I might also add . . . it's not as good reheated.

 

One of my latest Pinterest finds . . . ENJOY!

 

Creamy Garlic Pasta

2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 cups chicken stock
½ lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta (I use angel hair)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
¾ cup heavy cream (I use 2% milk or skim)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used 1 Tsp dry parsley)

 

In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in the butter until melted. Add the salt, pepper and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil.

 

Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for as long as the box’s directions indicate. Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the parmesan until completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream and parsley. Serve immediately.

For a direct link to the recipe, click here.

Taco Ring

Another submitted recipe!! Notes have been made by submitter.  You can choose to make original recipe or with changes noted.  Enjoy!

Taco Ring

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 package (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix
• 1 c. (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 T. water* (I omitted - see explanation below)
• 2 8-oz packages refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 medium green bell pepper (optional)
• 1 c. salsa (optional)
• 3 c. lettuce, shredded (we used more -- ¾ a head)
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• ¼ c. onion, chopped
• ½ c. pitted ripe olives
• sour cream

Preheat oven to 375°. Brown the ground beef, then drain. The directions say to add in the taco seasoning mix, cheese, and 2 T. water.

Instead, I cooked the beef and seasoning in the pan according to the taco seasoning directions, and since it was still moist from the water called for on the package, I omitted the 2T. water. I added the cheese, and stirred to get it melted. The cheese sort of helps hold the meat together.
Unroll the crescent dough; separate into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on a pizza pan with the wide ends toward the center of the pan, overlapping each other. It will look like a large sun with the points hanging half off the pan.

There should be a 5 or 6 inch opening in the center. Spoon the meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough. (Filling will not be completely covered). Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

(I didn't do this next part -- I just made more salad to put into the center.)

Cut off the top of the bell pepper. Discard top, membrane, and seeds. Fill pepper with the salsa.

Shred lettuce, and dice tomato and onions. Slice the olives. Place the bell pepper in the center of the taco ring, and arrange other salad items around the green pepper.

Pepperoni Rolls (from scratch)

Someone has come to my aid by submitting recipes! YAY!

If this recipe is as good as her other recipes, I can guarantee it's a winner.  And from what I've heard, it is!  Thanks, C!

Pepperoni Rolls

Dough:

2 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 c warm water

2 c milk, scalded *
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c shortening
2 tsp salt
7 c sifted flour
2 eggs

* 185 degrees = 3 minutes in microwave (2 minutes, stir, 1 minute, stir)

Soften yeast in warm water (110 degrees).  Combine milk, sugar, shortening, and salt; cool to lukewarm.  Add 1 1/2 c flour; beat well.  Beat in yeast and egg. Gradually add remaining flour to form soft dough, beating well.  (Dough is stiffer than regular bread dough.)  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.  Cover and let rise till double (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

Insides:

1 pound thinly sliced sandwich size pepperoni
1 1/2 pounds grated Mozzarella cheese

Punch down and take by 1/3 cupfuls and roll to a 5"x7" rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  Arrange 6 slices of pepperoni in the center leaving a 1/4" - 1/2" margin the whole way around.  Top with 1/3 cup of grated mozzarella cheese.  Roll up from 5" side pinching and sealing edges.

Cover and let rise till double (about 45 minutes).  Bake at 350 to 375 degrees approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. (Used reduced temperature for glass pans.)

Dough can be made the night before.  Let it rise in the refrigerator overnight.

Photos take from bing.com.

Apple Topper

My wonderful neighbor dropped by last week and brought us dessert.  It's similar to an Apple Crisp, but the topping is different.  It was so yummy and became my breakfast for several days!  She graciously agreed to give me her recipe, so I could share it with you.

Apple Topper

6 medium apples, peeled and sliced
Cinnamon sugar
1 c sugar
1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp paking powder
1 egg
1 stick of butter

Fill 9x9 pan about 3/4 full with sliced apples.  Sprinkle with a moderate amount cinnamon sugar over the apple slices.

Mix next 5 ingredients in a bowl until crumbly.  Sprinkle over apples.  Melt 1 stick of butter and pour over crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown.

6 servings

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I LOVE PUMPKIN!  I can't wait for this time of year, so I eat all kinds of tasty, pumpkiny things!  Did you know that most stores don't sell canned pumpkin year round?  A few years ago there was a shortage in northwest Pennsylvania, and canned pumpkin was sparse (and has been the last couple years).  I was disappointed to find that out when I went to buy it to make something for my dad, a fellow pumpkin lover.  Now I stock up in the fall.

 

After saying all that, you'll probably be shocked to hear that I don't like this recipe that I'm posting.  I think it's just a preference, and I didn't want anyone to miss out on a fall dish just because of my taste.  I added more spices, sugar and milk to make it palatable for me, but I'd suggest you try as written and then tweak it.

 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

1 3/4 cup water
1 cup dry oats
1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Pecans
Maple Syrup, to taste

Cook the oats according to the package directions. Once the oats are almost done, add and mix the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice into the oatmeal. Transfer to a bowl and add the maple syrup on top. Sprinkle with the pecans and enjoy.

Recipe and photo from The Compulsive Culinaire.

Stablized Whip Cream Frosting

For years I've been trying to figure out what kind of whipped cream is used on Perkins Peanut Butter Pie . . .

and on Cheesecake Factory's White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle cheesecake.

 

Can I hear an AMEN!?!  Both of those desserts are unbelieveably good.

A couple months ago, I attempted a "sturdy whipped cream frosting" from Allrecipes.  It failed miseably.  I was so disappointed.  But recently, I came across a recipe on Pinterest.  I had occassion to try it, and it worked beautifully!

 

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting

• 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 1 cup whipping cream
• pinch salt
• 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar

1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in small bowl to soften.

2. Scald 2 tablespoon of the cream; pour over gelatin, stirring till dissolved.

3. Refrigerate until consistency of unbeaten egg white. (This takes about 10-15 minutes.) Then, with a whisk, beat until smooth.

4. In a stand mixer with a whip attachment, or with a hand beater, whip remaining cream, salt and sugar; whip in the smoothed gelatin mixture, stopping to scrape the bowl twice.

Fills and frosts top of 2 8" or 9" cake layers; or frosts 10" angel cake or spongecake. Tops one standard 9" pie with some left over to enjoy from a spoon. Stands up well, even in warm weather. Keep leftover frosting and any product topped with it in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Recipe from The Food Pusher.  Photos from The Food Pusher, Cheesecake Factory and Perkins website.

Snickers Cookies

Back in my middle school days, I had a teacher that would bring us a treat for our birthday.  We would greatly anticipate the special day when that cellophane wrapped cookie on a stick would arrive all decked out in ribbons!  Our teacher would bake a whole Snickers bar covered in a yummy peanut butter cookie on a popcicle stick.  It would make you wish your birthday happened every week!

Snickers Cookies
(I've adapted the recipe to use Snickers miniatures in regular sized cookies.)

1 c unsalted butter
1 1/4 c creamy peanut butter
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter. Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour. (Chilling is somewhat optional.  It helps the dough not be as sticky, but if you can't wait to get baking, try baking them without chilling them.)

3. Using a medium scoop, take about 1 1/2 tbs of dough and flatten in your hand.  Place one unwrapped Snickers miniature in the middle of the dough.  Wrap the dough around the candy and make sure it is sealed all the way around.  Place on a baking sheet.  Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for about 9 minutes or until cookies are no longer doughy and begin to slightly brown. Do not over-bake.  Immediately move to a cooling rack.  Enjoy warm or up to days later if stored in an airtight container.

Apple Cake with Dessert Sauce

Ms. Nancy has graciously shared her recipe for the apple cake she brought to our September 11 Titus Two meeting.  This is another great fall recipe!

Apple Cake

4 c apples, peeled and sliced

2 c sugar
2 c  flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
¾ c vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c chopped pecans (opt)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, stir together apples and sugar.  Add dry ingredients.  Stir well.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil and vanilla.  Stir egg mixture into apple mixture, blending until thoroughly moistened.  Stir in pecans.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Bake 50-60 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed.  Serve with warm Dessert Sauce.

Dessert Sauce

1 c sugar

½ c butter or margarine
½ c heavy cream or evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in saucepan, stir.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook 3 minutes.  Serve warm.

Yield:  12 to 15 servings

 

Photos taken from Bing.com.