Double Layer Pumpkin Pe

INGREDIENTS

4 oz (1/2 of 8 oz package) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tub (8oz) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6oz)
1 cup milk
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
2 pkg. (4servings size each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

MIX cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk, and the sugar in a large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended. Gently stir in half of the whipped topping. (I accidentally skipped this step and everyone loved it.) Spread onto bottom of crust.

POUR 1 cup milk into large bowl. Add pumpkin, dry pudding mixes and spices. Beat with a wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread over cream cheese layer.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until set. Top with remaining whipped topping just before serving. Store leftover pie in the refrigerator.

"Better Than Campbell's" Tomato Soup

Difficulty: easy

Time: 30 minutes

Serving: 4

Gluten Free option!

Ingredients:

9 oz of Muir Glen organic fire roasted tomato's 

1/2 c. Ground almonds OR you can use plain bread crumbs (not the italian, do not want flavor)

3 3/4 c. Chicken or vegetable stock

3 T. Butter

2/3 c. Heavy cream or milk

1 t. Sugar

Handful chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend almonds in food processor (I used a Vitamix) until finely ground, add tomato's, butter, sugar and 1/2 c. stock and blend until smooth.  Pour soup into a pot and put stove on low*.  Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low until heated through.  Top with fresh basil and a grilled cheese sandwich on the side!

*Make sure to not have the stove any higher than a low setting or it will cause the milk to curdle.

Recipe By: Tracy Lytle

Celebrate Apple Week

I found this website, The Southern Plate, where they are offering lots of great apple recipes to try and enjoy.

Coconut Banana Cream Pie

I have an amazing cookbook by Cook's Illustrated titled, Baking Illustrated. It teaches you how to make the best of every dessert possible. Like a baking encyclopedia. I love it. This original recipe for Coconut Cream Pie came from them - I tweaked it a bit to make it my own, and now Tom's favorite.

INGREDIENTS

1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk, well stirred. (not cream of coconut!)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 1/4) oz.) unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 t. salt
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 T. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 - 2 bananas sliced
whipped topping

DIRECTIONS

Bring the coconut milk, milk, shredded coconut, 1/3 c. sugar and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture reaches a simmer, whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl to break them up, then whisk in the remaining 1/3 c. sugar and cornstarch until well combined and no lumps remain. Gradually whisk the simmering liquid into the yolk mixture to temper it, then return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened, about 30 seconds (it actually took a few minutes for me). Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Pour half the filling into a cooled, baked pie crust. Slice the bananas on top of filling and add remaining filling on top of bananas. Press a sheet of plastic wrap over the surface of the pie and refrigerate until the filling is cold and firm, at least 3 hours.

Serve with whipped topping. You can add toasted coconut on the top of the whipped cream, but I preferred not to. The coconut in the filling was sufficient to my taste.

Posted by Debi

U.S. 1 Blueberry Key Lime Pie

2008 AMERICAN PIECOUNCIL/CRISCO NATIONAL PIECHAMPIONSHIP
AMATEUR BEST OF SHOW

BY JOHN SUNVOLD, WINTER SPRINGS, FLA.



CRUST


1½ cups graham cracker
crumbs

½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted


Mix all ingredients together and press mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake in a 375 -degree oven for 20* minutes, or until brown. Allow to cool down to room temperature.
*Kitchen Ade note: I found this pie crust only needed 10 minutes to brown.




KEY LIME LAYER


2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

¾ cup Key lime juice


Mix all of the ingredients and pour mixture into the cooled pie shell. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 2 hours.



BLUEBERRY PRESERVES LAYER


Spread ¾ cup Smucker’s blueberry preserves on the top of the Key lime layer.

Cover fully from crust to crust. Do not let preserves touch the crust, as it may get soggy with contact. Chill.



WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE LAYER


2 ½ cups heavy cream

¼-pound (4 ounces) white chocolate, broken into small pieces


Bring ½ cup of cream to a boil over medium heat. Add white chocolate and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted, and the mixture is combined. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.



In a large bowl, beat the rest of the heavy cream with an electric mixer on high speed. Beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add the white chocolate mixture and continue to beat until stiff. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Top the blueberry preserves layer with the white chocolate mousse. Garnish with fresh blueberries and grated lime peel (for color). Chill for 2 hours. Serves 8.

Posted by Debi Walter

Picture to follow when I bake this pie this weekend for Ashley's BD.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

I found this recipe on the Good Life Eats blog. Believe it or not, it was a delicious soup to enjoy on a hot summer day. Try it for yourself - I like this one BETTER than the one Panera offers on their menu.

INGREDIENTS:

For The Chicken:
1 lb. chicken - boneless, skinless breasts
1 stalk celery, cut into thirds
half of lemon sliced
handful of fresh parsley
1/4 t. each, salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth (I added more to cover chicken)

For The Soup:
1 onion, dices
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
3 carrots, sliced into rounds
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 - 3/4 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
3 egg yolks
2 - 3 T. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. fresh parsley, minced
1 1/4 t. fresh thyme
2 - 3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

For the chicken:
Combine all the ingredients in a medium pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove from heat. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside. Shred with a fork when cool. Toss remaining ingredients. (the original recipe called for using a pressure cooker. See their website for all the directions if you choose to use one.)

For the soup:
Add 1 T. of olive oil in a large dutch oven. Saute the onion over medium-high heat until golden and tender. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more.

Add the white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the broth and carrots. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and lemon together. Add 1 cup of hot broth from the dutch oven very slowly to the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you pour. Then, transfer the mixture to the dutch oven, Stir in the orzo and chicken.

Continue cooking over medium-low until the pasta and carrots are tender. Just before serving, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the thyme, parsley, and spinach. Serve immediately

Serve with hot fresh bread, or a handful of oyster crackers. ENJOY!

posted by Debi Walter

Spicy Veggie Frittata

Ingredients:

1 t. coconut oil

1/4 c. onion 

1/2 jalapeno (you can leave seeds in or take out depending on how spicy you want it)

1 clove garlic

2 baby bella mushrooms

2 heads of steamed broccoli

3 egg whites

1/4 c. spicy cheese (I used raw milk jalapeno jack cheese)

few chopped tomatoes 

parsley for garnish

Heat coconut oil in a small sauce pan.  Finely chop all ingredients.  Add onion, jalapeno and saute until tender.  Add garlic, mushrooms and broccoli and saute until heated.  Pat down all the ingredients, covering the bottom of the pan.  Slowly pour the egg whites over the veggies and cover with lid.  Let cook for 1 minute or until slightly browned on bottom.  Flip the frittata and sprinkle with cheese and cover again until cheese is melted.  Put on plate and garnish with tomatoes and parsley.  I also added hot sauce on the side.

Be careful to not overcook!!

Lemon Meringue Pie

This is my Husband's absolute favorite pie.  Being Father's Day I decided to tackle it.  I have always been nervous to make one, I don't know why, it just seemed daunting to get the meringue the right consistency.  This recipe was super easy and made a delicious pie!  Definitely going to make it again real soon.

**Note** The lemon dropped on the side of the pie was an accident turned into a "garnish".  Ha!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2-3 lemons, juiced and zested, depending on the size
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 4 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
3. To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 298 | Total Fat: 10.3g | Cholesterol: 110mg

Recipe taken from: Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie

Posted by: Tracy

Sourdough Starter for Boule Bread

This is a recipe adapted from the book Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes A Day.  I say adapted because of the type of flour I use.  I recently purchased Hard White Wheat, Soft White Wheat and Hard Red Wheat berries and I am working on adapting all my recipes to include these flours instead of the all-purpose white flour.  My changes are in italics.

The purpose of a sourdough starter is one for the flavor and two for the convenience (for me) of having fresh dough readily available to bake bread quickly.  Since we started milling our own flour the time involved in baking bread has slightly increased and for me that is not a good thing.

Here is the recipe. If you can get through all the wording (it does seem extensive) and just follow the steps one by one you will realize making fresh bread every day really is not that daunting.  Once you have your starter you will have 4 lbs of fresh dough to make bread with for the next 2 weeks.

Ingredients:

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packets)

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt or 1 1/2 tablespoons other coarse salt

6 1/2 cups flour, unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose (not strong) I used my Hard White Wheat flour

1 Preparing Dough for Storage:

2 Warm the water slightly. It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours. With cold water it will need 3-4 hours.

3 Add the yeast to the water in a 5 quart bowl or, preferably, in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container or food-grade bucket. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.

4 Mix in the flour and salt - kneading is unnecessary. Add all of the flour at once, measuring it in with dry-ingredient measuring cups, by gently scooping up the flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula. Don't press down into the flour as you scoop or you'll throw off the measurement. Mix with a wooden spoon, a high-capacity food processor (14 cups or larger) fitted with the dough attachment, or a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until the mixture is uniform. If you're hand mixing and it becomes too difficult to incorporate all the flour with the spoon, you can reach into your mixing vessel with very wet hands and press the mixture together. Don't knead, it isn't necessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. It takes a few minutes, and will yield a dough that is wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container.

5 Allow to rise. Cover with lid (not airtight or it could explode the lid off). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on the top), approx 2 hours, depending on room temperature, and initial water temperature Longer rising times, up to 5 hours, won't harm the result.

6 You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Fully refrigerated dough is less sticky and easier to work with than dough at room temperature.

7 On Baking Day:

8 prepare your loaf tin, tray, or whatever you're baking it in/on. Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with four. Pull up and cut of a grapefruit-size piece of dough (c 1 lb), using a serrated knife.

9 Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all 4 sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off - that's fine, it isn't meant to be incorporated. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will sort itself out during resting and baking.

10 The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should take no more than 30 - 60 seconds.

11 Rest the loaf and let it rise in the form, on the tray/pizza peel, for about 40 minutes Depending on the age of the dough, you may not see much rise during this period. That's fine, more rising will occur during baking.

12 Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.

13 Dust and Slash. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, which will allow the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Slash a quarter inch deep cross, diagonal lines, or tic-tac-toe pattern on top using a serrated knife.

14 After a 20 min preheat you're ready to bake, even though the oven thermometer won't be at full temperature yet. Put your loaf in the oven. Pour about 1 cup of hot water (from the tap) into the broiler tray and close the oven to trap the steam.

15 Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.

16 Store the rest of the dough in the fridge in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 14 days.

 

The flavour and texture improves, becoming like sourdough. Even 24 hours of storage improves the flavour.

17 This is the standard bread. There are loads of variations - both savory and sweet - in the book.

I would highly recommend buying this book or borrowing it from your local library.  

Recipe posted by: Tracy Lytle

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/5-minute-artisan-bread-325571#ixzz1NH4CBBeQ

Whole Wheat Waffles

Serving: 6

Difficulty: Intermediate

2 eggs

1 3/4 c. milk

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil)

1/4 c. plain applesauce

1 t. vanilla

_______________________mix together

1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. oatmeal

2 T. brown sugar

4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. kosher salt

________________________mix together

Combine wet and dry ingredient and stir until all lumps are gone.  Heat waffle machine and cook according to manufacture specifications.  Makes 6 medium waffles.

Recipe By: Tracy Lytle

Whole Wheat Strawberry Poptarts

I found a really cool blog Cheekykitchen.com.  I cannot wait to try more of her recipes.  This recipe for poptarts was amazing!  This is her recipe with a few of my own changes in italics.

Crust:
1 C whole wheat
1/2 C white flour (I used 1 1/2 cups of soft white wheat berries, milled)
2 t sugar (I used brown sugar)
1/2 t salt
½ c. cold butter, sliced
4-5 Tbsp. cold milk 

In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, and salt. Cut in slices of butter using a pastry cutter (or fork, if you have to) until the largest pieces resemble peas. It’s important that you don’t touch the crust with your bare hands, no matter how tempting that mixing option might be. You want the butter to stay as cold as possible and your hands will warm it up and make the crust less flaky. Pour the milk over the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until moistened enough to hold the dough together. Use a fork to stir the dough after you’ve added each Tablespoon of milk. Quickly form the crust into a ball. Refrigerate until ready to use. (I stuck it in the freezer for 20 minutes and it was perfect!)

1 prepared batch of  Whole Wheat Pie Crust (listed above)

Fresh Strawberry Filling:
1 T. butter, sliced
1 c. strawberries
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ c. sugar (I cut this in half)
1 T. cornstarch (I did not have cornstarch on hand so I substituted whole wheat flour)

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 T. heavy cream (I used whole milk and it came out fine)
Pink Icing gel
Sprinkles

In a small saucepan, combine all Strawberry Filling ingredients. Heat over medium-high heat until mixture begins to thicken. Allow to cool. On a lightly-floured cutting board, roll pie crust ¼” thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut pie dough into same-sized rectangles, approximately 4” tall x 3” wide. Spoon a 2-3 Tablespoons of the strawberry mixture on top of one of the rectangles. Gently place a second rectangle of pie dough atop. Secure edges together by pressing them gently with the tines of a fork. Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the tart begin to brown slightly. Remove and cool.

To make the glaze, stir together all ingredients until a thick, spreadable consistency is reached. Spoon a thin layer of the frosting on top of cooled strawberry tarts. Allow frosting to harden before serving.

ENJOY!

Fruit Leather

This is easy, but it takes a long time so you have to be patient.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12-15 hours
Serves: Probably 8 to 12 depending on big you cut them


Ingredients:


2 1/2 C. Chopped strawberries (or any other fruit)
1 T. Sugar
1/4 C. Water
1 T. Freshly Squeezed Lemon (about half of a lemon)

Cut strawberries and combine all ingredients in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and let it cook down until fruit is soft.  Pour fruit mixture in a food processor or blender and blend until pureed.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.  Spray generously with cooking spray.  Spread fruit mixture over sheet and place in a warm oven.  I put my in my warming drawer on the low setting, you could also turn your oven on 170 and dry it in there.  I would prop the door open though for ventilation if you used your oven.

Then you let the waiting game begin!  I put mine in the oven at 7:00pm and it was ready the next morning by 7:15am.  Most recipes say you have to flip it half way through the process, but I didn't want to bother with it so I just let it be and it came out just fine!  So no extra work, always a plus! :)

Recipe by: Tracy Lytle

Cereal Breakfast Bars

This is quick, easy and really yummy!  Definitely worth making at least once :)

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy


Ingredients:
1/2 c. natural peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar (any kind will work)
1/2 c. honey ( if using agave honey cut the quantity in half)
1/2c. cranberries or raisins
1/4 c. ground flax seed
1/2 c. roasted peanuts
3 cups of your favorite cereal - I used plain cheerios

Grease 13x9 pan.  Add dry ingredients to pan and mix together.  In a medium sauce pan, melt sugar, honey and peanut butter together over medium/high heat.  Be careful to not burn, stir constantly!  Just when it starts to boil remove from heat and carefully pour over cereal mixture.  Combine well and press into pan.

Let cool and cut into bars.  Enjoy!

This recipe is easy to change around.  Add whatever you have to mix it up.  Almonds, sunflower seeds, M&M's...whatever you can find!  Share you variation of this with us.


Recipe by: Tracy Lytle

Pasta Tuna Salad

Difficulty: Easy

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: A LOT :)

Dressing:
1/3 c. Mayo
3/4 c. Plain Greek yogurt
1 T. Apple cider vinegar
1/2 t. Spicy brown mustard
Squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 t. Paprika
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. Onion powder

Combine all ingredients well, set aside.

Pasta:
1 (1lb) Package egg noodles, cooked, drained and cooled
2 Cans of tuna, drained
1 Cucumber
1/2 c. Mix of red, orange and yellow peppers
1 Small sweet onion
2 Stalks of celery
2 Carrots
3 to 4 Hard boiled eggs
2 T. Fresh chopped parsley

Chop all veggies finely.  Combine all ingredients in a 13x9 pan and stir in dressing.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or longer.

The fun thing with this recipe is you can add as many fresh veggies and other ingredients as you want!  Try broccoli, olives, cheese, or some chopped turkey or salami if you are not a fan of tuna.  Have fun with it and share your versions with us!


Recipe by: Tracy Lytle

No Knead, No Bread Machine Bread

This bread is great for sandwiches!  It is so super easy I am convinced anyone can make fresh, homemade bread!  

Get out your mixer and get ready for the most delicious bread!  

1/2 C. warm milk

1/2 C. hot water (I just turned on my faucet on the hottest it could go and took my water from here)

4 T. melted butter

3 T. brown sugar

3 C. flour

1 1/4 t. salt 

2 t. instant yeast

In order listed, place in your mixers bowl.  With the paddle attachment mix on high until it forms a dough that pulls away from the edges of the bowl.  Change to a bread kneading hook and mix on med. speed until a smooth ball forms (about 5 minutes).

Lightly grease bread pan and with lightly oiled hands press dough into the pan.  Cover with lightly greased plastic and place in a warm spot for 60 minutes or until risen just above the rim of the pan.

Bake bread at 350 for about 35 minutes, until it's light golden brown.

Simple Couscous

Again, no picture!  Sorry. 


Simple Couscous


1 cup uncooked couscous
1 cup water
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. yellow bell pepper
1/4 c. orange bell pepper
1/4 c. red bell pepper
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

•  Boil 1 cup of water and quickly stir in the couscous, remove from heat and cover.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Chop peppers, onion and garlic.  Saute in butter until soft.  Add garlic for the last minute.  
• Chop parsley, set aside.
• After couscous is finished stir pepper mixture, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe By: Tracy Lytle

*I served this with the lemon roasted chicken and greek yogurt sauce.