Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

My family is not the type to accept anything in return for doing you a favor. Get a Grandma or Aunt to watch the baby at the last minute? (Or, in the case of my mom, on a regular basis in place of daycare?) If you try to pay them, not only will you offend them, but you'll get an earful about it. (I have a few funny stories about that, too.) So, I have just learned to provide 'payment' with food. "Oh, you watched the baby for me? Here, have a batch of cookies." No one turns down food. (Not in my family, at least.)

So when Mama agreed to watch Gabriel overnight the other day, in addition to watching him during the week, I knew I should do something nice for her. What to do, what to do. I wanted to try a new recipe for her, one I knew she would like--and I've been eyeing the raspberry oatmeal bars over at Heavenly Homemakers (an awesome blog, btw) since she posted them a couple weeks ago. It's something she's guaranteed to like, but was easy to make when I made the decision at 9:30 at night. 

Essentially, it's a bit like a cereal bar, with jam between 2 layers of an oat mixture. Mmmm!

They even have whole wheat flour & oats--that makes them good for you, right? ;)

It did stress me out to use an entire jar of strawberry jam for this. If these hadn't turned out, I think I would've cried.

 

I did play with the recipe a bit, but there are more changes I would recommend. 1, if using sweetened jam (like I did with my homemade jam), cut down on the brown sugar. Maybe ¼ cup? And 2, cut down on the butter. A lot. I would try ½ to ¾ cup; 1 cup is entirely too much for my tastes. The pan may need to be greased if you cut it down too much, but it would be worth taking the extra butter out. (And please let me know if you try this! I would love to hear how it turns out!) 
 

 Remember: Comments are love! And if you have a problem commenting on the blog, please let me know! I know people have in the past, but I think that should be resolved,
 

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ cups rolled oats
• ¼ - ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ - 1 cup butter, melted
• ¾ cup strawberry jam, warmed (Or blackberry, or blueberry, or peach, or apple jelly, or....whatever!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Stir in melted butter until crumbly. (You need to be able to press it into the pan, but don't necessarily want it to be soaked in butter.) 
3. Press half of the mixture into an 8”x8” baking pan.  Spread jam evenly over the top.  Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top of the jam layer, pressing down to cover.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield/Time

20 pieces

45 minutes

Source (for original): Heavenly Homemakers 

Jam Tarts! (Or, what to do with leftover pie crusts)

So, do you remember all those pies I've been making? Well, I don't know about you, but every time I make pie crust, I always have extra. I'll eat a bit of it just plain, but my all time favorite thing to do with extra pie crust is make jam tarts.

This is something I would do at my Grandma's house, when I was little. If she was rolling out pie crusts, she would let me use to extra crust. It was always fun, and they tasted so good with the hot pastry shell & jam! It's like a mini, Serena-sized blackberry pie! (Because, of course, you have to use blackberry jam!)

I don't remember exactly how we did it then, but now I roll out the extra, use a cup to cut out muffin tin sized circles, and place the pastry in a muffin tin. Press it in slightly, then add a bit of jam. Maybe 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls? I just plop some in there; there is no measuring. (And, of course, homemade jam is best. I've made them with blackberry, strawberry, & apple jelly; blackberry & strawberry being my favorites of course!) Bake it at whatever you are baking the pie at (350 or 375 usually) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pastry is as browned as you want it to be & the jam is hot & bubbly.

Then try not to burn yourself when biting into that warm deliciousness.

(But if you don't succeed, I don't judge you. I burn myself every time. Every. Time. You would think I would learn to wait like a grown-up.)

Do you have something fun you do with leftover pie crust?

Apple Pie: Some For Now, Some For Later....

This may be surprising, but my love of sweets doesn't really extend to pie. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike pie, it's just not my first choice for a yummy sweet after a meal. However, we had a lot of apples this year. In addition to the 1/2 bushel we got at the orchard, we got another bushel or so from my in-laws. 

Since I was up to my ears in apples, I had to find things to do with them. I made 3 batches of applesauce, 2 batches of apple jelly, 2 batches of apple crisp, 2 batches of peanut butter apple muffins, 2 loaves of apple bread, 1 dehydrator full of dried apples, and still had enough apples that I decided to make some pies to put in the freezer.  (This is, of course, in addition to the apples that we've just eaten plain.)

So far, I have made 5: 1 to make sure I can make a decent apple pie, and 4 to freeze once we determined that I do make a good pie. (Between Mama, Nate, and two of my coworkers, I got plenty of compliments; apparently it's more than decent. Again, I'm not really a pie fan, so it's honestly hard for me to tell.) 

Since I am making so many, I had quite a bit of fun with the top crusts, too. Out of the five, I only did one 'normal' crust. (Which I don't have a picture of, because honestly, who cares about that one?)

 I've made 2 lattice-one we ate (pictured), and one for the freezer.

I got creative and had fun with cookie cutters, too! One star....

And one tree! At some point around Christmas I know we'll wind up getting a pie out of the freezer, and this one will be perfect!

Now, neither of the cookie-cutter pies pictured above is cooked. To freeze them, I prepared as directed below & froze prior to baking. Per my awesome big brother who has done this before, you just have to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes when you take it out of the freezer. 

Don't they look yummy? Everyone seems quite excited that we are going to have fresh apple pie into the winter/spring/summer (if they last that long). I'm just glad I have most of the apples used up.... only another dozen or so left. That should be enough for another apple pie, and maybe some apple bread too....

Before I get too overwhelmed with the amount of apple-something-making I need to do still, here's the apple pie recipe I used!

 Remember, comments are love! Do you make apple pie regularly? How do you decorate the crust?

 

Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour   
• ¾ teaspoon salt   
• ⅔ cup butter-flavored shortening   
• ¼ - 1 cup cold water  
• 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples
• ¼ to ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl stir together 2 ¼ cups flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle small amounts of the water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using small amounts of the water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. (I always use more than they recommend, which is 1/4 cup. My crusts turn out great, so I just go into the mixture is moistened enough; never really measure.)  Form pastry into 2 balls.
2. On a lightly floured surface, slightly flatten each pastry. Roll from center to edges into a circle about 12” in diameter. Wrap pastry circle around the rolling pin. Unroll into a 9” pie plate, without stretching it. Trim pastry to ½” beyond edge of pie plate.
3. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger (if desired). Add apple slices; toss to coat.
4. Transfer apple mixture to pie plate. Cut slits in remaining pastry shell and cover apples; crimp as desired. 
5. (Alternatively, can also prepare lattice shell or cookie-cutter designs. For lattice: cut the dough into even strips, approximately ½” wide. Place strips across the apples, with about ½” space between each. Fold back alternating strips, halfway across the pie. Place a strip perpendicular to the parallel strips. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip. Repeat with original strips that were not folded back originally. Keep repeating steps until half the pie is covered, then repeat with the other half. Crimp edges. (For a picture tutorial, go here. This is the site I used when I was trying to figure out an easy way.) For cutouts, use desired cookie cutter shapes to cut out enough pastry to cover the pie. Form extra dough into a ball and roll out again as needed to obtain enough shapes. Place around edge of pie, moving in circles to cover the pie in slightly overlapping layers. Leave some small sections of pie uncovered to let out steam. See pictures above.) I apologize for the cruddy directions... there's a reason I'm not a teacher.
6. Cover edges of pie with foil to prevent overbrowning.
7. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes. Remove foil, bake for an additional 20 minutes or until apples are tender and filling is bubbly.

Yield/Time

8 servings

1 ½ hours

Nutrition Facts

395 calories, 18 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 219 mg sodium, 57 g carb

Comments

For sweeter apples, use smaller amount of sugar. For the apples I used, I only used ¼ cup.

To freeze, prepare as directed then freeze prior to baking. When you want one, remove from freezer then bake as directed, adding an additional 10-15 minutes of baking time.

Source (for original): Better Homes & Gardens

Candy Bark

Originally published 11/1/13, updated 10/30/16

There are some people who, whether it's from years or practice or God-given talent, can appear to throw a bunch of random foods together & have it turn out amazing. I grew up watching my Mama & Grandma do that, and I have to admit it drives me crazy sometimes. Which makes me a filthy hypocrite, because I do it all the time. Not usually with baking (that's harder to correct when the cookies are already in the oven) but with most of my entrees. Even if I am 'following' a recipe, I usually just guess. 1 cup of veggies? Eh, that looks like enough corn. 1/3 cup of milk? Here, I'll pour some in. Hmm, that looks too thick, let's add more. However, it really makes it hard to duplicate something if you don't know how much of anything was used.

That being said... what I am about to post isn't really a recipe.  More of an idea. And you don't have to be THAT kind of cook to make it. Promise.

I've seen candy bark all over: melt some chocolate (or vanilla) candy coating, spread it out in a pan (or in candy molds), put a bunch of yummy stuff (sometimes following a theme) on top (or in the candy itself), then let it harden & break it into pieces (unless you used the candy molds, then if you break it I think you missed the point). Get the idea? Super easy, fun, and you can do whatever you want with it. 

For some reason, I've never done this before. Growing up, I helped Mama make chocolate-covered pretzels (and Ritz bits, and whatever else we could convince her to dip), but I don't recall ever using candy coating to make something like this.  I've seen it many times, and thought 'oh, I need to get some candy coating so I can do that,' but then I never actually did it. Finally, when I saw The Pioneer Woman posting about it, I remembered to put it on my grocery list so I could.

Remember when I said this isn't really a recipe? I did write it in a recipe, but the only thing I actually measured was the candy coating... and that's only because I used half a block. The rest I recorded in recipe format just to have an idea of how much was used. (And wrote down so I can use this theme again.... peanut butter & chocolate!!!)

Use whatever you have on hand, or whatever flavors or themes you like. It's good to have some salt (or this could get way too sweet way too fast), but you can do whatever your little heart desires.

When I saw the idea recently, I liked how she put it on graham crackers--it makes a nice base. The Reese's Pieces go well with the chocolate/peanut butter theme, and the pretzels add a nice crunch along with the salt. Some other ideas would be to use M&M's, candy bars broken into pieces, used wafers as a base, various nuts, etc.

So, what are you going to put on/in your candy bark? 

Printable Recipe

Candy Bark

Ingredients (remember, I didn't actually measure any of this)

• 8 ounces chocolate candy coating
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 3 graham crackers
• 2 tablespoons peanuts
• ¼ cup broken stick pretzels
• ¼ cup Reese’s Pieces

Directions

1. Melt candy coating & peanut butter chips in a double-boiler. Meanwhile, break half of the peanuts into smaller pieces.
2. Place aluminum foil in a 8”x8” baking pan, going at least 1” up all sides. Place graham crackers as close as possible in dish, breaking into pieces as needed.
3. Once chocolate & peanut butter is melted, spread over the graham crackers, making sure to cover crackers entirely. Spread toppings over chocolate, one at a time, spreading each out evenly.
4. Let harden, then break into small (or large!) pieces. Enjoy!

Yield/Time

15 minutes
Approximately 24 chunks

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

117/chunk (based on 24)

Source (for original): Pioneer Woman
Remember, comments are loved! What would you put on your candy bark?

A Favorite Entree: Cheesy Chicken & Tortillas!

I am one of those people who finds a recipe they really like, then makes it over & over in a short period of time. Much to the annoyance of my husband, who wants things changed up regularly. To compromise, when I have a current favorite dinner, I only put it on the menu about once a month. That's enough that I feel like I am not going through withdrawal, and Nathan will tolerate eating it.

This is one of those recipes! When I first found this, I made it every week or so. Nathan was so incredibly sick of it after a few weeks that he would eat every other leftover in the fridge before he would finish this off. (And by then, I had usually finished it!) Since then, it's been relegated to every month or so. I always get excited when I realize it's been awhile since I made it, as that means I can make it again!

 I love the combination of flavors in taco seasoning, so I get excited when I see a recipe calling for it that's completely different from others I've tried. With this recipe, you can really vary the amount of seasoning to make it as spicy as you want. (Another benefit of making homemade taco seasoning-easy to vary the seasoning without wasting part of a packet of the store-bought stuff.) With Gabriel, I cut down on the spiciness, but it's all personal preference. 

I think that my favorite thing about this recipe is the tortillas being mixed in with everything-- it adds a fun texture/flavor!

 

Cheesy Chicken & Tortillas

Ingredients

• ½ pound cooked chicken, shredded
• 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
• 26 ounces Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (1 large can-if you want to sub with 2 small cans, increase the chicken broth to 1 3/4 cup)
• 20 taco-size flour tortillas, torn or cut into 1” pieces
• 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Hot cooked regular long-grain white rice (I usually cook 3 cups raw)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°.
2. Mix ½ of taco seasoning with chicken. Add remaining taco seasoning, broth, and soup.
3. Layer half of the chicken mixture, tortillas, and cheese in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Repeat the layer. (When layering tortillas, be careful not to layer them too thick.)
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve over rice.

Yield/Time

Approx 10 servings

Prep: 15 minutes Bake: 30 minutes

Nutrition Facts

½ cup + ¼ cup rice = 379 cals

Source (for original): Recipe.com

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins: The Taste of Fall!

I love fall. It's quite possibly my favorite time of the year, for some many reasons. My birthday, beautiful weather (sometimes; I do live in Michigan), changing of the leaves...

...and, of course, the food. There are endless great things about fall food. Fresh apples from the orchard (made into apple bread, applesauce, apple jelly, apple pie, apple crisp, etc.), peaches, warm thick stews, soups with Grandma's homemade noodles, fresh venison, pumpkin bread, pumpkin streusel muffins.... 

I could go on & on, but I'll stop there & actually share the recipe for the muffins!

I love to bake with pumpkin, but I restrain myself and only do it in the fall & winter. It just doesn't seem right to be eating pumpkin in the spring or summer. To make up for this, of course, I have to make quite a few pumpkin-themed baked goods while I can. I have a recipe for pumpkin bread that I love, and I usually make at least a couple batches of these muffins. 

They have just the right amount of pumpkin--I like pumpkin, but not if there's too much. (For example, I just don't like pumpkin pie. I've been told that mine is amazing, but I don't eat it.) The streusel topping adds quite a bit to it, too. And, if you are trying to watch your calories, these aren't even that bad for you. (The fact that they have pumpkin makes it a health food too, I'm sure.)

If you are a pumpkin fan, I would highly recommend these muffins. They are amazing!

Remember, comments are love!  

(Isn't the plate cute? I got a set of those & ones that say "Trick or Treat" clearance at Meijer a few years ago, after Halloween.)

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter, softened    
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar    
• ⅔ cup canned pumpkin
• ½ cup buttermilk (If, like me, you don't keep buttermilk on hand, you can easily sub with 1/2 tablespoon melted butter + enough milk to make 1/2 cup.)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons molasses   
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking soda    
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon    
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice    
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt    
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and ¼ cup brown sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs, & molasses. 
3. Combine 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices & salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture until blended. Fill prepared muffin cups ⅔ full.
4. For topping, combine ¼ cup flour and 3 tablespoons brown sugar; cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. 
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

Yield/Time

18 muffins

Prep: 15 min. Bake: 20 min.

Nutrition Facts

One muffin: 148 calories, 6 g fat (0 saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 336 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Source (for original): Taste of Home