Recipe Organization - My Way

When I first got married, long, long ago, I received my first Betty Crocker Cookbook and another recipe book that has become very dear to me over the years. The woman who gave it to me, those thirty plus years ago, also gave me a sugar cookie recipe that I use to this day.

 

However, as time went on and I acquired more and more recipes, my poor little book had to be rubber banded closed to keep stuff from falling out. That's when I "upgraded" to the recipe file.

Truth be known, I only switched to this a few years ago and it didn't hold up very well. The fuller it got (which was more so than you see here), the more it tore.

 

So in a burst of inspiration, with a nice dose of dreaming, I decided I was going to get organized.

 

HAAAAA, HAAAA, HAAAA!!!!!!

 

Yes, being organized has always been a dream of mine. I have yet to achieve a state of organization, but I'm working on it. Small steps, you know. Starting with my recipes.

 

To get this ball rolling, I needed some cool stuff to inspire me. And how wonderful that it happened when they were bringing out all those wonderful back-to-school supplies. Oh, how I love that time of year. And it's not just the prospect of a quieter house. It all those school supplies. Colored pens, cool folders and binders, colored pens, notebooks, colored pens.... Okay, so you get the point.

 

I already had my trusty label maker, so all I needed was a colorful binder, some pocket dividers with tabs (I went for the 8 pack), and some sheet protectors (very cheap this time of year).

 

I put my dividers in first, then made nice little labels for each one. As you can see, this is still a work in progress. And my bread label needs to be straightened. :)

 

Then, in each category, I sorted my recipes. Alphabetical overall, but I also grouped them by like items. Holiday stuff, Mexican, Italian... Oh, and the pockets on the dividers came in handy for small cut-out recipes that I don't use very often.

 

Each recipe went into a sheet protector. As you can see from my beloved pumpkin bread recipe, this will save them from any further damage. I can goober the pages all I want, then simply wipe them clean. (No, goobering is not something I make a habit of, but hey...sometimes the pumpkin flies)

 

And for those small recipes that I use frequently, I taped those to a plain sheet of copy paper, usually more than one per page, then slide that page into the sheet protector.

See, both appetizers that would go great with a Mexican-themed meal.

 

I can't wait to finish this project, but I've still been able reap the fruits of my labor a time or two. I love it. It lays flat when I open it and I can even mark on the page with a dry erase marker, should I so desire. (Hey, any excuse to use those colorful pens)

 

Oh, and I can't wait to add a cool cover to the front of the binder. Just imagine the possibilities.

 

What do you do with your recipes?



Of Mice and Men and Cakes

Hello all! The Fresh Pioneer is back and even though we're in the thick of produce heaven. I thought I'd share my recent cake adventure. (Also, I'm hugely competitive and saw Mindy's post on chocolate cake. I just can't let her get away with that kind of thing. So, watch and learn. Nominate your favorite. Winner gets.... cake at midnight with no guilt.)

  Now, I saw this recipe in a cookbook at the library and jotted it down. (Those last three words are important. I have notoriously bad handwriting. And am lazy. And take lots of shortcuts telling myself I'll remember what language I was writing in later, "for sure"!)

 

  It was for a green grasshopper cake. Not the bug, the flavor. It looks sort of like this.

 

But with chocolate inside, so maybe sort of like this. But also a bit like this...

(pictures removed so we don't get sued for copyright!)

You get the gist. I had some ingredients and some VAGUE idea of the order and an even vaguer idea of what it was going to look like, except that is was going to be stunning. And everyone would ooh over it and think I should take up professional cake decorating. All my friends would want one for their birthdays, I just knew it!

The recipe called for heavy cream. That should have been my first hint of impending disaster. Heavy cream and lemon juice mixed together in a bowl?? Probably wrote something down wrong but I told myself it would be FINE.

(Side note: the worst thing my husband has ever called me is 'stubborn woman'. Not too bad, eh? But in his conservative culture, being a stubborn woman ranks right down there with psychopathic axe murderer. Now, I've been raised to embrace that stubborn streak. It's got me where I am today! Which is... making this cake.)

Now, I added and mixed and melted chocolate and turned around three times with my arms in the air. It came out of the oven looking like this. SUCCESS!! Of course I celebrated because I KNEW this would be beautiful.

And my first clue was this sad little layer. But hey, it's on the bottom. No one will notice.

Um, you know, a little of that pretty green frosting with peppprmint extract and we still have a chance. I KNOW IT WILL BE AMAZING! So, I mix the frosting with (I think it said this, pretty sure... sort of) more heavy cream, cup of real butter, powdered sugar.

Um. Um, um, um. I'm sweating now. Where is the pretty cake?? Don't panic. THINK. Kids are in the next room, excited to see the work of art. Husband is... I think he gave up and went outside somwhere around the time I couldn't read the instructions, about an hour and a half ago.

So, I have these leftover pieces of the cake when it fell apart. Maybe this? Maybe not. Looks like a gangrenous zombie bear gone bad.

Okay, zombies, scary... Hey, it's close to Hallowe'en! We usually straddle the line somewhere between All Saint's Day (dress as your favorite martyr, the bloodier the better) and avoid those crazy costumes that scare small children. We always have candy for the trick or treaters, carve pumpkins, celebrate the fun holiday, and go to church the next day. So, hey, I'm all over a Hallowe'en cake... in September.

Um, after some hair and eyes and blue pimples...

He needed a mouth! A scary red mouth...

Now, this is why everyone should be surrounded by young children at least once a day. Because whatever you do is AWESOME. He thinks this is wayyyyy better than that other green one with the chocolate shavings. This one has a MOUTH.
  Don't know what I'll do when they're teenagers and can't be distracted by candy eyeballs.
 My oldest daughter looked at it and said, "Hey this reminds me of that poem with the mouse. You know, the one who loses his nest?"

 Ohhhhh, right. Here's the famous part that Steinbeck made more famous.

"But little Mouse, you are not alone,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often awry,

And leave us nothing but grief and pain,

For promised joy!"

 
  If he were here, I'd offer Mr. Burns a bit of this cake. I think he might appreciate the tragedy of it all. He could have a slice with some hair AND some eyeballs. Because we disappointed types have to stick together.


So, go ahead and vote for the one you'd want to see on your table. (Sorry, Mindy, I already know what they're going to say. Who'd want to see that sky-high tower of chocolatey goodness when they could have a cake with HAIR??)

Figs!

Missy, here. The year before last, we spent Thanksgiving with my husband's side of the family. Actually, with his brother-in-law's family. They had a fig tree, and I had my first ever fresh fig. Or should I say figS--plural!

Oh my goodness,  they were so amazing. Forget turkey and dressing. I just about filled up on figs. I was so excited the other day when I got an email from Martha Stewart.com with a link to fig recipes. I found this amazing one and thought I'd share it with you. I haven't made it yet, but I plan to soon. Figs are in season right now so shouldn't be too hard to find.

So what about you? Have you tried fresh figs?

Open-Faced Fig Sandwiches with Arugula and Parmesan
From Wholeliving.com

Ingredients

Serves 6.

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 pound fresh figs (any type), halved lengthwise
• 2 ounces walnuts, toasted (1/3 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 6 slices rustic whole-wheat (or white) bread
• 2 ounces baby arugula (about 3 cups)
• 1 ounce shaved Parmesan cheese (1 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Combine sugar, cayenne, and teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until light gold, about 12 minutes. Add 1/3 of the figs, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon sugar mixture, and cook, stirring often, until sugar caramelizes, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then pulse onion-fig mixture and walnuts in a food processor. Add pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. (Spread can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
3. Place remaining figs, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Roast until tender and caramelized on cut sides, about 10 minutes.
4. Spread 3 tablespoons onion-fig mixture on each slice of bread. Top each with arugula, cheese, and several warm fig halves, and cut into 3 or 4 pieces. Serve immediately.

I Survived Roasting Garlic!

Missy, here. Some of you may remember last week when we got to talking (in the comments section) about roasting garlic. Well, after trying it years ago and stinking us out of the house--literally (we actually had to turn on the fans and leave), I decided to give it another go. Thanks to Jan's encouragement, I went back to that day's blog and followed her directions.


I had success!

Well, it wasn't instant success. I cut the wrong end of the head of garlic the first time so it just fell apart (above). :) I went ahead and wrapped the pieces up, and it roasted just fine, though. :)

The wrong cut made the cloves fall apart. But I used it anyway.

So, take a whole head of garlic and cut a thin slice off the pointy end (not the root end). Like this...

Then place the head cut side down on a small square of foil and drizzles with olive oil.

Pull the sides up and wrap it in a little bundle. Place the bundle on a baking sheet. I roasted three bulbs. Figured I might as well make plenty while I had the oven going.

Roast in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Then open the foil and see all the yumminess inside! Yes, the house smelled like garlic. But it was mostly pleasant and made me crave Italian food.

Here, above, I flipped over one of the heads and could see all the nice caramelization.

Then you're ready to squeeze the softly roasted garlic out into a bowl. Once you've squeezed it all out, just toss the outer part. (Would it be called husks? Skins?) Oh, well, you know what I'm talking about. Make sure you don't get any of the papery part in with the garlic. :)

Mash and use as desired. Jan says she mixes it in with mashed potatoes. I had leftover Italian food from eating out the night before, so I knew I wanted to make dip for the Italian bread. I took a cue from one of our favorite restaurants and mixed some of the roasted garlic with olive oil and parmesan cheese. I also like to add salt and pepper. YUM!

Do you dare to try it? :) I have more in the fridge. What should I use it for?

Comfort Food

It's the Belle, here. And I'm sad to say it's turning cold in Georgia. Dropping from the 80's to 50's! So I thought I'd share some good, cold-weather comfort food: My dad's spaghetti recipe. I usually call it Frank's Spaghetti (but then the kids had to say, "You don't call him Frank. You should name it Papaw's Spaghetti.) So here, I present to you...

Papaw's Spaghetti

First, gather your ingredients. My dad usually makes massive amounts and freezes, but I usually cook for 4 to 6. For a crew my size, you'll need 1 pound of ground beef. One or two large cans of whole tomatoes (San Marzano are the best!), depending on how tomato-y you like your sauce. And 2 packets of spaghetti seasoning. Chop one half of a green bell pepper. As you can see, I only had a red pepper when I made this, and it was just as good. Also chop about a half a large onion.

Oh, and you'll need garlic. I like to buy the jars of minced or chopped garlic for convenience. The day I made this, I had to get dinner on the table quickly so grabbed the jar.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, add onions, peppers and garlic. Cook until softened.

Add the ground beef and packets of spaghetti seasoning. I have a handy tool (from Pampered Chef) that I use to break up the beef. You just mash as you twist, and it breaks it up nice and small!

I usually buy lean beef so there's nothing to drain. If you use higher fat meat, drain off the grease. Then add the canned tomatoes and break them up with the same tool. Mash until you have the texture sauce you prefer. (My dad actually puts the tomatoes in the blender, but I don't like the extra dishes to wash. :)) Then let simmer while you cook the spaghetti noodles. Give angel hair pasta a try if you're in a hurry.

Don't forget the garlic bread! Around here, we use old hamburger and hotdog buns to help clean out the pantry. Spray with olive oil (see my nifty refillable sprayer!). Sprinkle with garlic salt and broil until golden.

Voila! A nice, hearty, homey dinner.

What's your favorite dish on a cold day?

I Did It! Kale Chips!

Missy, here. I finally made the kale chips that Valerie and Mary recommended last week. I thought I'd share!

I got one bunch of curly kale. Washed it. Then laid it out on paper towels to dry. I actually ended up pretty much hand drying the leaves so I didn't have to wait.

Then I broke it into bite-sized pieces and placed in a large bowl.

The video on YouTube (Thank you, Mary!) said to sprinkle on 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt (I use Kosher salt). I LOVE olive oil. In fact, I could just about drink it from the bottle (my favorite is Colavita). So I got carried away and probably used more like a tablespoon plus. It was really more than I needed. I also over-salted. So follow the directions and measure out 2 tsp. oil and 1/2 tsp. salt! :)

Then dig in with your hands and rub until all the leaves are totally coated and shiny.

Place in a single layer on two baking sheets.

Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

When they come out, they're a little brown around the edges. They're crunchy and yummy!! I'll do this next time I'm craving a salty snack. Thanks to you ladies for sharing!

Does anyone else have a suggestion for a healthy alternative to snack cravings? Or gosh, who says it has to be healthy?? ;)

Missy

Peanut Butter Surprises!

Missy, here. And I want to talk about...

Peanut butter.

Oh, my. One of my very favorite things. I love it on toast. On bagels. On waffles. On bread with jelly. In cookies. In cookie bars.

Oh, and don't forget...by the spoonful. And when I say spoonful, I'm talking big tablespoons. :)

Today's recipe is courtesy of author friend Tina Radcliffe! Well, it's actually courtesy of Martha Stewart. But Tina shared it with me. :)

Here's a link to the recipe on Martha Stewart's website. The website suggests eating while warm, right out of the oven. I agree. It's the only way to eat any cookie! Enjoy!

Do tell. Do you eat cookies right out of the oven? And please, someone else tell me you also eat peanut butter by the spoonful!

From Martha Stewart Living, October 2002

• YieldMakes about 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup roughly chopped, roasted, salted peanuts, plus 48 halves for pressing into tops
• 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1-inch chunks

Directions

1. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add peanut butter, and beat until combined.
2. Add the flour mixture all at once, and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the peanuts; beat until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pinch off about 2 tablespoons of dough, and make a well in your hand with the dough. Place one chunk of chocolate in the center, and enclose with the dough to cover completely. Roll dough into about a 1 3/4-inch ball with your hands.
4. Place the ball of dough on the baking sheet; repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate, placing cookies about 2 inches apart. Press 2 peanut halves into the top of each cookie.
5. Bake until cookies are golden, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven; transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly.

It's Pumpkin Spice Time!

Missy, here. And it's THAT time of year again! Time for pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks! Since I know some of our readers don't live near a coffee shop, I thought I'd share a couple of recipes. My grocery store carries Torani flavored syrups. If you can't find pumpkin spice there, maybe you can order it online. Or substitute another flavor your grocery store carries.

Also, one of these recipes is for iced coffee. If your weather is getting colder, then warm the milk and don't add the ice. And if you don't have an espresso machine, make regular coffee double strength.

Enjoy! I'd love to hear what types of coffee you love. Or if you're not a coffee drinker, how about your favorite fall teas?

Note: these recipes are from www.Torani.com. You can search for recipes for all their flavor syrups.

Iced Pumpkin Spice White Mocha

Ingredients Medium:

1 oz. Torani White Chocolate sauce
1/2 oz. Torani Pumpkin Spice syrup
8 oz. milk
2 shots espresso*, chilled
ice

Instructions:

Combine chilled espresso*, milk and Torani in a tall glass filled with ice
and sir well.*If needed, 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee can be substituted for 2 shots espresso.

Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino

Ingredients Medium:

1/2 oz. Torani Pumpkin Spice syrup
4 oz. milk
2 shots espresso*

Instructions:

Steam milk and Torani together. Pour heated, flavored milk into a 6-oz.
cup and add brewed espresso*. Spoon a thin layer of foamed milk over top of
beverage. *If needed, 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee can be substituted for 2
shots of espresso.