Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
2 small butternut squash, peeled (or 1 lg)
Nutmeg (to taste)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
6 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup tomato soup (for color)
1 tbsp sugar
Balsamic vinegar
Heavy Cream


Directions
Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash,stock & tomato soup. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Use broth & cream to help puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Serve.

Note: You can add more or less cream to have a thicker or thinner texture

Mac 'n Cheese

Ingredients

1 (12 ounce) package macaroni
1 egg
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste



Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.
In a large pot of salted water, lightly boil the macaroni for about 5 minutes until half-cooked.
Whisk the egg and milk together in a large cup. Add butter and cheese to the egg and milk. Stir well.
Place the lightly cooked macaroni in the prepared baking dish. Pour the egg and cheese liquid over the macaroni, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir well. Press the mixture evenly around the baking dish.
Bake uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is brown.

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup unsulfured molasses
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour


Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the melted margarine, evaporated milk, molasses, vanilla, and lemon extracts. Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. The dough should be stiff enough to handle without sticking to fingers. If necessary, increase flour by up to 1/2 cup to prevent sticking.
When the dough is smooth, roll it out to 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface, and cut into cookies. Place cookies on the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies are done when the top springs back when touched. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.


Makes 5 dozen (60 cookies)

Homemade Taffy to Make With the Kids!

2 1/2 cups white sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup light corn syrup

1 1/3 cups water

2 tablespoons butter (plus lots extra to butter hands)

1 teaspoon salt

1 - .21oz (6g) package unsweetened, fruit-flavored drink mix (like Kool-Aid)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Butter large jelly roll pan or a cookie sheet with sides.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch.  Add corn syrup, water, butter and salt and stir well until butter is melted. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stop stirring. Cook mixture until candy thermometer read 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). This takes some time to get it to 250 degrees. Once it approaches 250 degrees watch very closely because it cooks quickly at the end.  Immediately remove from heat. Carefully stir in vanilla and drink mix. Stir well. We should have stirred ours more-- notice some bits of drink mix (dark spots) on our taffy. Pour mixture onto buttered baking pan. Allow to cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

Directions:
Once the taffy has cooled enough to handle, butter hands and begin pulling. (It starts kind of translucent)
Then pull...and pull...butter hands again...pull...
and stretch...pull...more hand buttering...pull...
It will become more opaque and lighten in color depending on the attention span of your workers! This takes about 10-15 minutes of pulling.
Pull into long ropes and cut with buttered scissors and cut!
Wrap pieces of taffy in pieces of waxed paper and give it a good twist on each end.

Pulled Pork

I got this recipe from a friend, it goes great with the Cilantro-Lime Rice recipe!






2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Cilantro Salad Dressing

This recipe is just like the Cafe Rio house dressing. It is delicious!


1 Jalepeno - If you like spicy, leave the seeds in... If not, take them out!
2 medium tomatillo's, husks removed
1 Packet Original Hidden Valley Ranch mix (NOT buttermilk)
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Cloves garlic
Juice of one lime
1/2 bunch cilantro

Mix all ingredients together in a blender or food processor.

Baklava

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 2 cups chopped pistachios
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter over low heat. Pour 2 tablespoons of the butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Layer 3 sheets of the phyllo dough in the pan. Trim dough to fit. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of pecans over the phyllo dough. Layer 3 more sheets of dough, brush generously with the melted butter, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of pecans. Continue dough -butter- pistachio layers   until pan is 3/4 full.
3. With a sharp knife, score phyllo dough to form diamonds. Pour remaining butter over the dough.
4. Bake 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.
5. While the baklava is cooling start the syrup recipe below.
6. Pour syrup over the baklava. Cut into diamonds and cool on wire rack.

Syrup:

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 Cup water

1 Cinnamon stick

2 thin slices of ginger

2 inches lemon peel (Yellow part only)

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla

1 tbsp orange juice

1/2 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

1. Add water, cinnamon stick, ginger, lemon peel & lemon juice into a pan and let boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes. (you will have approx 1 cup of liquid)
2. Add the sugar, vanilla & orange juice and turn off the heat. Stir ingredients together.
3. Stir in honey.
4. You can add 1/2 tsp of rose water or jasmine water.
5. Check to see if the baklava has cooled to a lower temperature than the syrup.

NOTE: If the baklava and the syrup are the same temperature the baklava will be soggy.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

a pie pumpkin - I use one 6 inch pumpkin or two 3 inch... you should end up with about 3 cups of pumpkin insides...

1 cup sugar (or 1 cup splenda, or 3/4 cup honey - honey makes a heavier pie.)

1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional, I don't use any)

4 large eggs

All of the Sieved cooked pumpkin (should be about 3 cups)

1.5 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk for best results.

If you can't get canned evaporated milk, make your own from nonfat dried milk and make it twice as concentrated as the directions on the box call for!

If you can't get nonfat dried milk, just use milk.

Note: if you do not have cinnamon, cloves, allspice and ginger, you can substitute 3 teaspoons of "pumpkin pie spice". It's not exactly the same, but it will do.

Prepare pumpkin for cooking:

Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.

Cut the pumpkin in half. A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best.

Scoop out the seeds.

Cook the Pumpkins:

Steam the pumpkin in a steamer or double boiler for 15 minutes. (or until cooked)

You can also cook in the microwave, just put some water in the bottom of the bowl and cover it. It still takes about 15 min.

Scoop out the pumpkin, the skin almost always just falls off when its cooked all the way. Puree or mash the pumpkin. It should be smooth with little or no chunks. A blender or handblender works fine for this.

If the pumpkin is watery after you puree it let it sit for 30 min and pour off any free water.

Mix all of the ingredients together with the blender (or whatever you used to mash the pumpkin. For best results use the seperate spices rather than pumpkin pie spice.)

Pour the filling into the crust. If you feel that your filling is too runny, ITS NOT!

Bake at 425 F for 15 min then at 350 F for another 45-60 minutes, until when you stick a knife in the center it comes out clean.

First Decorated Cakes

I took Wilton courses I, II & III. Here are some of the things I did in those classes...

Clown Cupcakes. Made with Wilton Recipe buttercream icing.

Plain Yellow Rose Cake. All Wilton Buttercream.

This cake was not part of the class but I did make it during course II. This was my brother's 19th birthday cake. Made with all buttercream and chocolate candy.

Basket weave and several different types of flowers made with Royal Icing. Made in course II.

Fondant Bow cake. Made in course III.