recipes

Oh dear! Does it suffice to say that I have been on my deathbed for a week and have now come back to the land of the living? Can you say “FLU”? And quite honestly, I don’t know if I had the pig flu or not, but whatever it was it was awful. Oh I hope that none of you get it. My sister says that even the flu virus is supposed to be especially bad this year and coming from one who knows, take my advice and start a Vitamin C regimen as soon as is humanly possible.

As with all things, though you might be sicker than a dog, the world does not stop. In fact, besides work (of which I missed 4 1/2 days) there was a funeral and a wedding. And it has started to chill up around here. The leaves are turning and there are patches and flecks of red, yellow, orange and gold dotting the mountainside. And as I’ve now emerged from my bed with a bit of a froggy voice and a little cough I’m in need of some easy and warm delightful comforts. Yes, this is turning into a food blog, I know. But, we must eat. So here are two easy treats for you to make. And when I say easy, they really are. Especially the soup. Both are some of my favorite fall dishes and some that I’m sure you will enjoy.

Taco Soup

1 lb. hamburger, browned, seasoned and drained
1 15 oz. can of corn, drained
1 15 oz. can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, juice and all
1/3 Cup chunky salsa
1 4 oz. can green chiles
4-5 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

In a large stew pot, brown hamburger and season with worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Add all the rest of the ingredients and season with chili powder and salt and pepper. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Serve with sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and corn or tortilla chips.

Yield – 8 servings

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Maple or Orange Dream Icing

2 1/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
1 Cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit (175 degrees Celsius). In a large bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls. Bake for 12-15 minutes in preheated oven. Cool cookies and drizzle with either maple or orange dream glaze.

Maple Glaze
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
3 Tablespoons water
1 3/4 Cup powdered sugar

Combine and drizzle over cookies.

Orange Dream Glaze
2 Cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 Tablespoon butter

Combine all of the above ingredients adding orange juice until perfect drizzling consistency is achieved.

I hope your harvest is cool with some warm delights beckoning at home. Enjoy!! And don’t get sick!

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I took the day off work today. Still recovering from that camping trip. And to help my full recovery get well underway, I baked the first of many fall-ish treats that are always made within my family. We went to the market today and I noticed that pears were looking particularly good and what could be more luscious than to usher in that first taste of Fall with the Mum Dear’s spectacular pear pie? Most people don’t know that you can make pie with pears. It’s a great treat to serve on a cold day with friends and family gathering round to complete the homey-ness of this dessert. I think you’ll enjoy it. We always did growing up. I’m quite surprised my Lil Sis hasn’t yet posted the recipe. Oh! and need I forget the exquisite and quite simple Perfect Pastry Pie Crust. A recipe stolen from a restaurant long ago when my sister and I were made to work some horrid summer job. Up at 5am every morning just to get these special tarts made for a local Shakespearean Festival. And yes, we hated every moment of it, but loved eating all the tart rejects which were made using the most heavenly crust imaginable. So we wrote down the recipe and use it still. Here’s the revenge for the waking up so early as a teenager, a secret restaurant recipe shared:

The Mum Dear’s Luscious Pear Pie

1 unbaked pie crust – bottom only, frozen or handmade (see below for Perfect Pastry Pie Crust)
1/4 Cup flour
1 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Cup heavy whipping cream
4 large pears, skinned, deveined and thinly sliced
Cinnamon

Fill 1/2 of the pie shell with pears. In a small bowl, stir the rest of the ingredients together (except cinnamon) and pour over pears. Sprinkle top with cinnamon.
Bake @ 425 degrees Farenheit for approximately 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Yield – 1 pie, serves 6 – 8

Perfect Pastry Pie Crust

1 1/2 Cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup cold butter
1/2 Cup cold margarine
Ice Cold Water

Note: A mixer or hand held mixer is required for this pastry.

In a mixer or large bowl, add all ingredients except cold water. Begin mixing on low until butter and margarine are broken up.Begin slowly adding cold water. Must be ice cold water, but do not allow ice to get into the mixture. Only 1/4 Cup or so is needed. Mix until mixture becomes a more dough-like and butter and margarine are fully mixed in. Hand mixing might be necessary at this point. If needed, add a little more flour if dough is too sticky.

Turn out half of pastry dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Roll with a rolling pin into a circle and leave dough approximately 1/4 inch thick. Fold in quarters and transfer dough into a pie dish. Trim off edges with a knife and finger press edges in ridges or use a fork to pin-prick edges.

Yield – 2 pie crusts

Mum Dear’s Pear Pie & Perfect Pastry Pie Crust

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Just checking in my little cupcakers!!! I’ve been busy with updating ye old Cupcake Goddess Emporium. You will see the updates this coming weekend. I’ve been madly making fabulous aprons, mad hattering, and I’ve got a little Valentine Surprise up my sleeve for the buying. In the meantime, I thought I would write a little of my lovely weekend. We had some close friends over for dinner. I cooked and slaved away all day Saturday. It was such fun. Remember that fabric? Well, here is what it turned out to be. A small tablecloth for my little retro table. I’ll be back with a tutorial shortly. Just a simple little thing.

On to the menu of Saturday evening’s feast! We had those Stuffed Quinoa Pitas that I blogged about not too long ago. Hot Rolls, fruit salad with real whipped cream no less, roasted brussel sprouts and luscious Chocolate Fondue!

I got a little nuts with the fondue and made some cinnamon marshmallows. We also skewered cinnamon bears, pretzels, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries and bananas to coat in the chocolate goodness. If you have not fondued you really must. Oh my goodness! Such fun! And such a decadent little treat. I’ve added my little recipe below, which I can hardly call a recipe since there’s really only two ingredients. My oh my, it is good. Hope your weekend and week has gone beautifully. I’ll see you this weekend with the Shop Update!

Chocolate Fondue Sauce

1 12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Cup heavy whipping cream

In a saucepan, on medium-low heat, melt and continually stir your chocolate chips. Add heavy whipping cream and stir until chocolate chips and whipping cream coagulate. For thinner consistency, add more cream. Pour into your fondue pot and serve with fresh fruits, candies, pretzels, etc. Enjoy this melt-in-your-mouth treat! Perfect for parties!

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Happy 2009 little cupcakers! Isn’t it such a refreshing feeling to have a whole new year ahead of you? I’m so excited for what’s in store this year. I don’t even know what’s in store this year, but I’m still super excited for it! We had such fun last night. First off we met up with some dear friends and went bowling, something I hope turns into a yearly tradition. It really was fun. I love bowling, though I must admit I’m not very good. Afterwords, we all got together and played Pictionary at Josh and Cass’ house and celebrated (albeit briefly) the coming in of the New Year. I must confess that my artistic capabilities are rather poor when it comes to this game. Nonetheless, it was fun and we won!!! Such a Happy New Year!

Instead of giving you a long list of resolutions and being utterly disappointed when I don’t meet any of those goals, I’m working on one this year. And yes, this resolution is a “healthy” one. This year, instead of running around like a crazy fiend trying to get everything done and loading up my plate with more things to do, my number one priority is to cook more. I haven’t yet let you in on my little secret of how much I don’t cook. I cook occasionally and what with my shop getting started this year, I cook even less than occasionally. Bad habit. I’m not saying that I’ll be cooking every day, but I will be cooking more often during the week and trying to eat a little healthier. Eating out is so bad. Bad, bad, bad!!! We don’t even realize how much stuff and nonsense goes into the food we eat when we eat out. Not only that, we don’t even get to see it being made most of the time, and who knows what else goes on behind the kitchen’s closed doors in a restaurant. OK, I’m done with my little rant. So, to start things off this year, here’s a recipe right from old Martha’s kitchen that I hope you will enjoy. These were sensational, although there are a few modifications I’ve made to the recipe because they didn’t really work out the way the recipe said they would:

Greek Style Quinoa Burgers
(My altered version is called Stuffed Greek Pitas)

Ingredients

Serves 4.

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
1 medium carrot, cut in large chunks
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 thick slice of purple onion
15 ounces great northern beans(white beans), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Coarse salt
Ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemmon juice
4 pitas (each 6 inches)
1/2 a cucumber, thinly sliced diagonally

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil; add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes; set aside.

2. In a food processor, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add cooked quinoa, scallions, onion, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.

3. Refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook mixture until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine yogurt and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve burgers in pita topped with cucumber and yogurt sauce.

My modifications are already added here. You can click on the “original” name of the recipe for the version I found on Martha’s website. The burger part really doesn’t work. The mixture just doesn’t hold together, but letting it turn to stuffing is so good anyway, it really doesn’t matter. By the way, Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah) is a grain that is a perfect protein. It is sooooooo good for you and a very healthy alternative to meat. You can find it at your local health food store or sometimes I’ve found it in the grain and rice isle of my local grocer.

Now I would love to hear what your resolutions are. Happy Happy New Year! I wish all of my cupcakers the best and most beautiful luck for the New Year!

Love,

The Cupcake Goddess

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There’s just something about hot rolls fresh out of the oven that just makes your home actually feel like a home. And it makes a Thanksgiving Dinner extra special with some melt-in-your-mouth homemade rolls to offer those you love. In honor of the holiday, here is my favorite recipe for homemade rolls. They are sure to be a favorite for any holiday feast or any cold night when you need a little something to warm your soul.

Grandma’s Hot Rolls

2 Packages or TBL yeast
1 TBL sugar
1/4 C warm water
1/2 C margarine or butter
1 C milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp salt
3 – 4 C sifted flour

In a small bowl, mix yeast and sugar together and add warm water to dissolve. Set aside. Melt margarine or butter in large bowl. Add milk to cool. Beat eggs together with 1/4 Cup sugar until light. Combine with milk and yeast mixture. Add salt. Add flour, one cup at a time, until dough can be kneaded.(Note: May only require 3 – 4 Cups sifted flour.) Let stand 1.5 hours or more until dough has tripled in size. Knead. Roll into dinner rolls. Place in pan and let rise 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees Farenheit for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown. (Note: For crispier crust use margarine, for softer crust use butter.)

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