Blueberry Bran Muffins

12/12/12! Which means that it has been over one month since my last post. I'm not sure if I can commit to this, but I hope to post almost everyday till Christmas Day!

This recipe is my favorite breakfast muffin. It's great fresh and frozen. Sometimes I add chocolate chips sometimes instead of blueberries if I'm feeling naughty. (and this is not part of my Christmas baking, which recipes are to come...)

Here's the recipe(from Allrecipes.com):
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix the wheat bran and buttermilk and let sit for 10 minutes. Mix dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients (kind of a dump it all together recipe). Add blueberries last and put into muffin cups.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

**Note the new muffin pan that my sister insisted I needed after seeing one of my blogs that had my old Thrift Shop muffin pan...

Pumpkin Spiced and Iced Cookies

It may have been a month since my last post, but I am planning to kick it up a notch with the Holiday baking season starting! To say that the last month has been busy is an understatement, for example it took me 2 weeks to get all my laundry done and move my suitcase after my last trip...

Well, anyways. Since I had not baked in a month, I decided to make these great Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies! This recipe is from the Cookie Bible

Here's the recipe:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsps pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups Chocolate Chips

Preheat over to 375. Beat butter and sugar in the mixer until creamy. Add and mix pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add in flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drip by tablespoon (or cookie scoop) onto baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes or so.

Vanilla Glaze (I didn't do this part because Jordan does not like icing, weird!)

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 to 1 1/2 tbps milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla. 

Enjoy!

Waffles

What is Saturday without waffles? These were so yummy!! Putting peaches (from my tree) and blueberries on top was the perfect combination.

This recipe comes from my mom and my sister

Waffles:
1 2/3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 2/3 cups milk
6 tbsp melted butter
2 egg whites, beaten

Beat egg whites till stiff, set aside. Beat egg yolks, add milk & butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat till smooth.

Topping (don't forget the pudding!)
6 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine and microwave until thickened.

Plain Cheesecake - TOP SECRET

I've gone back and forth on if I should share this recipe on here, since I often make cheesecakes for others and even sell them sometimes (call me to order!). But, since I didn't create the recipe and it came from the web, I figure I should be willing to share... (The picture above is of white chocolate raspberry since I couldn't find a good picture of a plain one!)

I have been making cheesecakes for around 5 years, ever since my friend Amanda and I made one for the youth group auction. Since then I have tried many different kinds and have lots of favorites! I have made cheesecake for wedding receptions, a women's church event and for interested individuals. I would love to make cheesecakes full time, but that's really not too feasible at this point.... (although Jordan would love it!)

Enough of my ramblings - now to the recipe. Here are the top tips I have learned to make a perfect cheesecake:
1. All ingredients should be at room temp (take them out at least 2 hours before you make it)
2. DO NOT OVER BAKE - Over baking guarantees that a cheesecake will crack. You may think it's perfect when it comes out of the oven, and then 10-15 minutes later craaaack. And there's nothing you can do to stop it! (believe me, I've tried) It's something to do with the internal temperature getting too high. The cheesecake must still be wobbly in the middle when you take it out. This just takes practice
3. Once the cheesecake is out of the oven, wait 5 minutes a run a knife around the outside of the pan. This will save it from cracking.

First - Make the crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Stir together and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of a 9" springform. I usually put parchment paper on the bottom and spray the sides well. Put into the freezer

Second - Make the cheesecake

1 1/2 lbs cream cheese (3 blocks)
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
16 oz sour cream
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Start by beating the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Keep the mixer on low throughout the beating process. Add the sugar a little at a time and continue beating until creamy. While mixing, turn on the oven to 325 F and place a cookie sheet with 1/2 inch of water in it into the oven.

Add one egg at a time and beat after each egg. When eggs have been mixed into the cream cheese, add flour, vanilla and lemon juice, mix well.

Add the sour cream last and beat well. Pour cream cheese into the spring form pan.

Third - Bake it

Wrap the pan with tin foil on the outside and place in the water bath. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Take out when still a little wobbly and cool for 4 hours on wire rack. Place in the fridge and eat for a week! Also freezes well.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

It almost seems a little early to be jumping into baking fall goodies, but since I have had a can of pumpkin sitting on my shelves all summer, I figured it would be good to get it used up! And what's better then making pumpkin muffins! (I was also a little sad to not get any of this kind of muffins at the youth retreat...)

I like to pretend this recipe is healthy since it has some whole wheat flour, but is basically just tasty.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix together and bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls

Although I'm not convinced this is the best cinnamon roll recipe out there, every time I try a new one I end up coming back to this "old faithful". This recipe comes from the Mennonite Disaster Service Cookbook.

Here's the recipe:
1 cup scalded milk
1 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 pkgs yeast
1/2 cup & 1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
5 cups of flour

For the filling:
2 cups (or so) of brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
Cinnamon

Scald milk. Mix lukewarm water, yeast, 1/2 tsp sugar and salt. Add melted butter and 1/2 cup sugar to scalded milk. Beat eggs and add to scalded milk. Beat until lukewarm; add yeast. Add enough flour to make a soft dough and let rise 1 hour, about double.

Roll out thin. Spread melted butter, sugar and cinnamon. Roll up dough and cut. It should look super yummy like this!

Place on pan to rise. I always cover with saran wrap and a tea towel, and then put them in the oven with the light on.

After they rise for 1 hour, bake at 375 for 20 minutes until lightly browned. You can add frosting, but I don't since Jordan doesn't like it :-(

Snickerdoodles

Although I used to make cookies every week for Jordan's lunch (and a few for mine!) it has been a while since I've routinely made any. Since I had some free time this fantasticlly rainy weekend, I decided to whip up a batch of Snickerdoodles. I'm not sure if these are supposed to be a "Christmas cookie", but I make them all year round.

Here's the recipe (I divided it in half):

1 lb butter

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

5 1/2 cups flour

4 tsp cream of tartar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

To roll cookies in:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cinnamon

Start by mixing up that fantastic amount of butter with the sugar. Then add the eggs and cream. Then I dump in all the dry ingredients and mix. At this point you can put the dough in the fridge for a while so that it is a little easier to work with, or be like me most of time and just make them right away. Form a ball with the dough, roll it in the sugar and cinnamon and then place it on the plan to bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Don't let them get brown, they are best soft (of course all cookies are!)

Grilled Sun-dried Tomato Chicken & Creamy Noodles

This recipe has been a favorite at the Miller household for quite a few years. It's almost always made for company, and is also an easy weekly meal. It's fast and tasty! and of course, it's made with cream so you just can't go wrong...

First of all marinate chicken in Sun-dried Tomato Salad Dressing. I use the chicken fillets so they grill quickly

While the chicken is grilling, I get to work on the pasta. Here is the recipe(I make a 1/2 recipe for the 2 of us):

1 pound penne noodles
6 tbsp butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

First set a pot of water and bring to boil. While waiting for that,  melt the butter. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes

Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the directions.

Add the cream to the butter, onion and garlic and let simmer until thick, about 5 minutes.

Now here comes the fun part, toss the cooked noodles with the cream sauce and add the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese! It's just that simple!

Don't forget about the chicken on the grill this whole time, making sure to turn it so it grills evenly.

And wala!

Salsa

It's been a little while since I canned salsa, but we are just starting to enjoy it! This year was great for tomatoes in Kansas (at least in my garden!).

Here are my tomato plants in early summer

I managed to put away many jars of salsa and a few of pizza sauce!

Here is my salsa recipe, credit to the Winkler Mennonite Bergthaler Church Cookbook - We're Cooking!

16 cups tomatoes (peeled)

8 cups chopped onion

8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup vinegar

5-6 jalapenos (add more if you like it hot!)

2-3 green chilies

8 tsp salt

1 can (12oz) tomato paste

I chop up the onion, garlic and peppers in my food processor. I blend the tomatoes (Jordan likes his salsa to be thin). Mix together a boil for 30 minutes or longer, till slightly thick.

To can I bake the jars at 250F for about 20-30 minutes, and then pour the hot salsa in. Put on the lids and they seal everytime!

And they look lovely sitting in the cupboard!

Freezing Peaches

Finally used up the last of the peaches that I picked last week, although I pulled another 3 bags off the tree yesterday, so I guess it will be more pie for the freezer!

With the last of the peaches, I cut them, spread fruit fresh on them and then froze them

This super sized baking sheet was very handy, although it didn't fit them all....

This morning I took them off the baking sheet,put them in Ziploc bags and set them in the freezer. Ready for winter!

I also canned a few using my mother's recipe for the syrup, 1 cup sugar and 3 cups water.

Peach Pie

So many peaches, so little time! In an effort to use up ripe peaches I decided to make pies in bulk (and freeze peach slices, but that's another story).

First I mixed up my pie crust in my Bosch mixer.

Here's my pie crust recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup crisco
1 tsp salt
1 to 2 Tbsps sugar
1/2 cup ice cold water

In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and shortening. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add ice cold water, little by little, mixing as you go until the dough can be gathered into a ball. The dough should not stick (I added a little too much water, but it still worked).

Divide the dough into two portions, one slightly larger then the other. Roll between wax paper. Keep rolling until the dough is less than a quarter of an inch thick.

For the fruit filling, I used the recipe from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook cookbook.

For peach filling add 1/2 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp flour, 3 Tbsp tapioca. Tossed with peeled and sliced peaches.

Pour into bottom shell and cover with second crust. Brush top with beaten egg white. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350F and bake for an additional 60 minutes.

I doubled the crust recipe and stretched it to make 3 pies, 2 for the freezer and 1 for now!

Peach Platz

Tonight I started using the first of our peaches, and it seems fitting to start this blog with a recipe from Canda, platz!











After trying a new recipe for supper that as Jordan put it "did not taste good" I figured a good dessert was in order. After dishing it up I went to change the laundry and came back to 2 empty plates. I guess it turned out...

Here's the recipe (I divided it in half and made it in a 9" square)
Adapted from the Moose Lake Cookbook

Platz:
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp shortening
1 cup cream
1 egg
Fruit

Ruebel:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp butter
Cream

Sift flour, baking powder and sugar (I didn't do this!) Add shortening and mix with fingers (I used my food processor) until mixture is fine crumbs. Add cream and egg. Mix well and pat out on 9x13 pan. Here's what it should look like:












Put on a layer of fruit (I used peaches but you can use almost anything)

Mix Ruebel by adding sugar, flour and baking powder and rubbing in the butter. Then add enough cream to make coarse crumbs. Sprinkle thickly over fruit. 

Bake at 350 F to 375F for 25 minutes. 

And tada!

Getting started...

Due to my love of baking I'm starting a blog to share my pictures and recipes. My posts might not be routine, but will include many of the tasty things that I am attempting to make!

This evening I finally picked the peaches from my tree. The birds have been trying to steal them, so I figured it was time to get picking!

Here are the peaches sitting in my backroom:

Soon I will be turning these into wonderful things!