White Rose Cookies ("The Cookie Momster")

My very talented daughter, Natalie,  has started a Cookie Business and she comes up with some of the cutest designs and ideas, these are only a sampling of some she has done recently with many more to come.

It is amazing to see her creative talent come out in such a wonderful way.  More and more people are finding her and ordering for special occasions and holidays.  Anyone interested could contact her on Facebook at White Rose Cookies.  She can also do Gluten Free Cookies.  She is always accepting orders

Briques (Brik in Tunisia)

This is a copy cat of sorts from the Gourmet Guys father from his time working in Tunisia.  It is his version of Briques that are served in Tunisia.  It is a family favorite that we only make occasionally because they are deep fried!

Briques

12 inch thin flour tortillas
leftover ham, pork roast,  turkey or chicken, cut into cubes (We prefer Ham)
eggs
green onions, diced finely (optional)

Take a tortilla, place ham in a circle in the center with the green onion, place egg in the center.  With egg white seal the tortilla in half and deep fry until golden brown, drain and cool.( The Gourmet Guy and his father liked them so that the eggs were barely cooked but the rest of us like it done a little more!) Eat it like an upside down Taco.

 

The Gourmet Guys dad was the original Gourmet Guy!  He was the real cook in his family while my Gourmet Guy was growing up.  He traveled a great deal and had a knack for tasting something that he liked and being able to replicate it when he got home.

 

(In Tunisia is made with a sticky lump dough and filled with tuna, or ground meat, and topped with anchovies, capers and cheese.)

It's a Graduation Celebration (Natalie's cookie fun)

Time to Celebrate Rachel's accomplishment!  She has been working hard to earn her Master's Degree.  She is a wife, mother of two little ones, as well as a full time teacher, and teacher on special assignment at her school.  To say she has been busy the last couple of years is an understatement.  A good portion of our extended family were able to go and cheer her on as she received her diploma.  Natalie made her some of her fabulous cookies to celebrate with afterwards.  Time to play!

Pool Gogi (Korean Fire Meat)

 Pool Gogi

1 1/2 T sesame seeds
1/4 c green onions, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 T sesame oil
1/4 c soy sauce (to make gluten free use La Choy)
3 T sugar
1 lb. tender beef, sliced thin

Combine all of the ingredients and marinate for at least an hour.  Remove the meat and grill.  Cut the meat in bite size pieces (kitchen sheers work wonderfully).  Serve over hot rice or in romaine or iceberg lettuce with rice and roll. 

Bran Muffins-Grandma Homberg (update)

(originally posted this recipe earlier this year.  Today I made it but substituted applesauce for the shortening,  1/2 c. applesauce for 1 c. shortening.  Same great flavor as I remember with Grandma's just a little healthier approach.)

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

 

1 c. boiling water
1 c. Nabisco 100% Bran or Kellogg’s Bran Buds
½ c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 c. buttermilk
2½ c. flour, sifted
2 t. soda
½ t salt
2 c. Kellogg’s All bran

Combine boiling water and add 1 c. bran and let cool.  Cream shortening, add sugar gradually and beat until blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add buttermilk and cooled bran mixture and blend.  Sift flour with soda and salt; add remaining bran to creamed mixture, stirring just until all dry ingredients are moistened.  Bake or store in covered container in fridge and bake as needed.  (Batter will keep for 1-2 months)  To bake, fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake in preheated 400 oven for 25 minutes.  Makes 2 ½ dozen muffins.

(Grandma Holmberg had these at her home all of the time when we would visit her.  They also freeze very well)

 

Rainbow Cake-1st birthday magic

This little girl doesn't know how "lucky" she is.  Her talented Mommy created this rainbow cake to celebrate her 1st birthday.  Can't believe that Grandchild number 11 is already a year old. 

St. Spencer's Day (Patricks)

One of my favorite things to do for St. Patrick's Day is to add the green food color to change up normal foods.  When I did waffles the first time, when my children were quite young, was to do add the green to the waffles, the bacon is a family favorite as it cooks right along the batter.  Note the bacon must be the one sided kind, sliced super thin in order to completely cook.  My oldest daughter refused to eat the waffles and to drink the green milk, she was convinced that it changed the flavor as well.  We have also had really green Shepherds pie, pot pie, pancakes and waffles to name a few things.  Since my second grandson made the 17th his day it has become St. Spencer's Day in our family.  Happy St. Spencer's Day.

Copy Cat - Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut Butter Cups

1 pkg. graham crackers

2 c. peanut butter
4 c. powdered sugar
2 sticks softened butter, not melted
1 pkg. chocolate chips.

Mix together graham crackers, peanut butter, powdered sugar and softened butter, blend well.  Form into balls or place in mini cupcake holders.  Melt chocolate chips and spread over the peanut butter mixture. 

(Grandpa Smith really loved these for special treats.)

 

Homemade Chicken and Noodles

Feeling a little ambitious today as I start my largest batch of homemade noodles ever.  Intending to share with others and have a meal for us as well.  Wish I still had little ones to help me roll them out on the counter to dry.  I will always be grateful that my mom shared this skill with me as my family was just beginning. on my large island in my kitchen the noodles filled a space of about a 4.5x 4.5 area.  I think mom would be proud.

Fudge

Fudge

4½ c. sugar

1 can evaporated milk
2 sticks butter
1 pint jar of marshmallow cream
1 t. vanilla
1 pkg. semi sweet or milk chocolate chips
nuts, optional

In a medium heavy saucepan combine sugar, milk, and butter.  Boil hard for 9-10 mins. or to as soft ball candy stage. Remove from the heat and add chocolate chips, vanilla and marshmallow.  Beat until the fudge stands in peaks or changes in texture.  Pour and let stand 24 hours.

Grandma Rayda's Butter horn Rolls

Butter Horn Rolls
 

2c. milk, scalded

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
3 t salt
2 pkgs. yeast
1 c. water
6 eggs, beaten
8-10 c. flour, add until dough is soft but not stiff

Bake at 400 for 15 mins.

 

(Grandma Rayda Stevenson made these rolls all of the time.  She had it down to an art and had made them so often that she made them from memory.  The aroma in the house was wonderful as they baked.  We could always look forward to them buttered and toasted the next morning for breakfast; we loved the “breakfast toast”.)

Pumpkin Roll (modification)

 

 Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs, beat on high for 5 minutes.

1 c. sugar gradually added to the eggs
2/3 c. pumpkin (stir into the above mixture)
1 t. lemon juice

In another bowl mix.

3/4 c. flour                                         

1 t. baking powder                               
2 t. cinnamon                                       
1 t. ginger
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt
 

Stir the above together and fold into pumpkin mixture.  Spread in a greased and floured jelly roll pan. (Parchment lined then floured and greased makes it easier to roll.  Wax paper can also be used) Top with 1 c. finely chopped walnuts (optional)  Bake at 375 for 15 mins.  Turn out on tea towel, cool.  Spread filling over cake.  Roll and chill.

Filling

1 c powdered sugar               (note we do one and half of the filling recipe to make a thicker filling)

8 oz. cream cheese
4 T. butter
½ t. vanilla

Beat until smooth.

(lg can of prepared pumpkin pie filling makes five pumpkin rolls.  The pumpkin roll freezes well.  Any left over pumpkin can also be frozen, simply measure out and place in a zipper freezer  label and freeze.)

Orange Bread

Orange Bread

3 c, flour
2 c. sugar
¾ c. orange juice
2 eggs
½ c. oil
1 c. milk
zest from 1 orange
1 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt

Mix ingredients and pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake in 350 oven for 45-50-minutes.

 

We use this to make French toast and it is heavenly!  Just after we were married the Gourmet Guy went with  a couple of friends to a wedding in California.  While they were there they picked fresh oranges and brought them home.  We had a lot for a young couple so we tried making bread from them and discovered that it was really good also makes really good French toast.  Some trial and error is just worth the effort.

German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake

½ c. shortening

1 ½ c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten separately
pinch of salt
1 t. soda
1½ c. buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1½ squares of baker’s chocolate

Cream sugar and shortening, add egg yolks, melted chocolate and a little red food coloring

Alternate buttermilk, with soda added, with flour.  Fold in egg whites.  Bake in layer pans 30-35 minutes at 350.

German Cake Icing:

1 can evaporated milk

1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1 t. vanilla
¾ small package of coconut
pecans, finely chopped

Mix ingredients except the coconut and cook, about 12 minutes at a boil.  Stirring constantly not to let it scorch.  Cool and spread on cake.

(This was a recipe that Grandma Smith was well known for.  It was a treat for my sister and me to get this cake for our birthdays.  Two days before she passed away she was concerned that she had not been able to get a birthday cake made for Rosemarie. She had all of the ingredients purchased and waiting on her counter top.  We were all touched that she worried about the cake not being taken care of even as she was dying.  I love the frosting but cheat and put it on a much moister cake than the above recipe.  However, this is her true recipe.)

Bread Sticks (repeat)

Bread sticks

1 T. yeast

2 T. sugar
1½ c. warm water
Add:
1 t. salt
3½ c. flour

Mix slightly sticky dough.  Let raise once.  Roll out, cut, and twist.  Put on cookie sheet with 1 cube melted butter.  Sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and sesame seeds.  Let rise until double and bake at 400 until golden brown.

I also use this recipe to make Calzones!  Cydney uses this to make the bread sticks as well as cinnamon knots for her family.

Trick or Treat 2014

After time of for another and lengthy recovery I was starting to feel like doing fun things in the kitchen again!  Who better for than my Grandkids!

 

Rather than giving them an extra large candy bar like in the past I decided to do something I borrowed from Pinterest.  The adults thought they were kind of creepy but I thought they were fun and different.

Looking through some of my old recipes I found my file on Harry Potter party themes and it made me want to do something for fun since it was Halloween I actually got more response to these little loaves of bread than from the hands.  I hadn't made bread in a very long time and I couldn't believe that I didn't have my original recipe in my "binder" or on the blog.  We, the Gourmet Guy and I, even tried a recipe for Butterbeer but it didn't turn out as well I had hoped. It was fun trying and seeing responses.  Oh to have the recipe from Universal Studios! It felt so good to be back at the creative stuff again.

 

 

We love Frozen!

Like so many our family has been struck by the movie Frozen!  With five daughters the message of sisterly love touched me deeply.  At family gatherings we often turn on the music and before long all of us are singing at full volume.  The grand kids love to have the music playing out on our deck and I am sure the neighbors think we are nuts, but we have a great time, memories abound. 

For recent birthdays the love of the theme has been prevalent.  Three different cakes made for three different granddaughters by three different mothers with who are so talented. 

 

1. The most recent

 

2. Frozen in the summer time

 

     

3. The first. (several sides)

 

Love my creative and imaginative girls!!!

Cutest Cookies-Natalie does it again.

I have the most talented girls, they do so many things and cooking is one they all do well.  It was a big day for our youngest Granddaughter and Natalie made the adorable cookies for all of those her attended the blessing.  Nothing more needs to be said except maybe YUM!

Kerry's Vanilla Ice Cream

French Vanilla Ice Cream

2 c. whole milk
3 beaten egg yolks
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t salt
1 c. half and half

Thoroughly combine milk, egg yolks, salt, and sugar.  Cook slowly in double boiler until mixture thickens and coats spoon.  Cook, and add vanilla.  Add half and half.  chill 20 mins.  Churn freeze according to directions on ice cream maker.

(This is an old family recipe that signifies tradition for our family!)

Standards Night by Natalie

All of these cookies were made by Natalie for her Ward's Standards Night.  Lot's of time and patience for this project.