Christmas Left overs

We always end up with more leftovers then we really want to think about, or eat...however this year we only had one dish from our Christmas dinner left over...Lamb.

What to do with half a lamb roast that doesn't taste all that good by itself?

Crock Pot Stew

So, in the process of using up our leftovers, we were also able to clean out our fridge by using lots of different veggies.  Add some garlic and pepper and you got yourself a delicious Lamb Stew :D

Christmas Time Baking

I haven't been doing much baking for church lately which as given me LOTs of time to bake for family and friends.

The topic of this week was...COOKIES

Thanksgiving week...

That's right, it was a week of thanksgiving prep...Monday evening was our church's Thanksgiving dinner and Thursday we were having family down for the real thanksgiving meal. This meant LOTS of baking!!

Church Thanksgiving Prep

It all started Sunday evening with pumpkin pies (another grandmother recipe) 

Then came the blueberry pies - 1st time ever made

Then the apple crisp - 1st time I've made these as well

Chocolate Turtle pie - This is another 1st for me...mom made this last year, this year it was my turn

And lastly Blueberry Lemon Cobbler

7 Pies in all for Monday night dinner and 0 leftovers...I think they liked them

Our family Thanksgiving dinner

This dinner was filled with homemade everything including the stuffing and chunky mashed potatoes.

As for the desserts... (before)

More pumpkin Pies, apple chrisp, mint fudge, Oreo truffles, Black Forest Pie, Cran-raspberry jello.

(after)

 Dinner Table Before

another before picture

Dinner table after...

 look at all that mess...I'm sure every cooking utensil in the house was dirtied up during this 2 day adventure

4 loads of dishes later I think we finally found the kitchen counters

The family after a tummy full of great turkey and desserts

7 people and 5 new recipes later I would have to say this was a great thanksgiving dinner...I'm thinking we'll have to do this more often!!

Week 7 - Florence Banana Cake

Another family recipe my grandmother used to make for my mom and her sisters growing up. It is moist and delicious!!!

I have tried making other types of banana breads and cakes but this is my favorite! Enjoy at dinner time with some creamcheese or buttercream frosting...YUM!!!

Week 6 - Fudge Oatmeal Cookies (No Bake)

My grandmother made these for my mom and her sisters when she was a kid and loved them, so when my brother and I were growing up she made them for us and we didn't like them so much...she never made them again :(


We found this recipe while going though a box of family recipes and I decided that they would make a good Monday Night treat.  Having never made them before I was a little worried about the taste and texture since, apparently, I didn't like them as a kid.


Because it is a family recipe, I am saddened to say that I cannot share the recipe but I can tell you this...
Basic Ingredients:

• sugar
• milk
• baking cocoa
• butter
• oatmeal
• vanilla

Happy Halloween!!!

I have never made red velvet cupcakes and have always wanted to but every recipe i looked at took a box of German Chocolate cake mix, and I don't do cake mixes. I'm an "everything from scratch" type of girl.

One day in practice I brought up the topic of Red Velvet Cupcakes with some of my gymnasts and they were all for taste testing them for me.  So for a treat on Halloween I brought in Red Velvet Cupcakes for those that stayed the whole workout so they could Trick-or-Treat at the end of practice.

Week 5 - Oatmeal, Caramel and Chocolate...YUM!

Oatmeal Caramel Bars

Enjoy at MNM on 10/24/11

Oatmeal Mix:
1 1/2 c Butter, melted
2 c Flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 c oatmeal
1 1/2 c brown sugar
8 oz chocolate chips


Caramel Mix:
1 c caramel ice cream topping
4 TBSP flour (different from above)

Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with the oatmeal mixture and bake at 350F for 10 mins. Let cool.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips and drizzle the caramel mixture on top.

Crumble the remaining oatmeal batter on top and bake for another 15-18 mins (will be gooey when it comes out of the oven but it will solidify when cooled)

Let cool

Cut up and ENJOY!!!

Week 3 & 4 - The Joys of Oreo Crumbles

• Oreo Cookie Cake
• 
  
• 1 (20 ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

Directions

• Crush cookies into bite size pieces. Reserve 1 cup for top. Melt butter and mix with rest of cookies. Press into 9x13 pan. Put in freezer for 5 minutes.

• Blend 1/2 of the whipped topping, all of the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Spread over crust and place cake back in freezer.

• Prepare instant pudding with the milk according to package directions then spread over top of cake. Spread the remaining whipped topping on top of the pudding then sprinkle with the remaining cookies. Keep cake refrigerated.

This is a Great no bake cake!  I made 3 9x11 pans and all were gone within a couple days. Sorry I forgot to take pictures :(

                                    Allrecipes Pict.

Easy Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg.  (16.6 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups),divided

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.

SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator. (I kept them in the freezer to keep them nice and cold)

These are rich and delicious! Add peppermint candies for a great Christmas dessert.

Monday Night Desserts

My hometown church asked if I would become the designated dessert maker for our Community Monday Night Dinner.  This is a great opportunity for me to help out my community and church, as well as a chance to try out new recipes.  Most I will share, but other I have to keep secret due to it being a family recipe.


I started making desserts September 19, 2011, so this will be the 4th week (missed one week), and so far no one has complained...They only want more :D


I have made the following to date (recipes will follow):
Black and Blue Coffee Cake 9/18
Ghirardelli Brownies 10/3
Oreo Cookie Cake 10/10
Oreo Truffles 10/17 (pictures to come)


I feel as though this is a great opportunity for me to help and it is something that I love to do.


What is your favorite dessert??

Stew for Thought

While creating my blog today, I was thinking to myself...How does cooking relate to my everyday life? 


Combining vegetables together to make a savory stew helped me to realize that even if you don't like the foods individually, once added to similar ingredients they make a wonderful dish.  I compared this thought to my everyday life and found that usually if I am by myself, I sometimes feel bored, but when hanging out with my friends I usually end up having a terrific time.  


So in theory...our lives are like a bowl of carefully picked vegetables...when all the right ingredients are added we usually want more.


How does cooking relate to your lives?