Wine Lables

How is this for festive? I used those sticker gift tags to label everyone's wine glass.

Baked Brie

I've done this one before right? Well, stop reading then.

• 1 wheel of brie
• 1/4 cup or so of slice almonds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam
• 1 sheet of puffed pastry
• 1 egg

Slice the brie in half, spreed jam inside. Top almonds on the jam. Put on the other half of the brie. Wrap up with puffed pastry. Do a quick egg wash. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so. Let the pastry get a nice golden color. Serve on water crackers. Seriously, this is all the basic food groups. Cheese, jam, carbs, nuts and love. Lots of love.

Cheddar Rosemary Crisps

• 2 cups of finely shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 cups of soften butter
• 2 and 1/4 cup of AP flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of finely chopped rosemary

Combine the cheese and butter in your mixer. Add the pepper, salt and rosemary. Then slowly add the flour. Once mixed, divide in two. Roll into two long cylinders, and wrap in saran wrap. About an inch wide or so, it will be almost a foot long. Put in the fridge over night. Next day, slice super thin, about an eighth of an inch. Put on a Silpat and bake at 375 for 9 minutes. Allow 1 minute to cool on the baking tray, then move to a wire cooling rack. Serve with wine and friends.

Oreo Cheesecake Balls

• 1 package of Oreos 17 ounces (I used Wal-mart's Twist and Shout generics)
• 1 package of cream cheese 8 ounces
• almond bark
• sprinkles

In food processor, combine Oreos and cream cheese. Form into balls, I used my small cookie scoop to make the balls more uniformed. Put in the freezer for a half hour or so. Dip into the melted almond bark, and sprinkle right away with the sugar/sprinkles/whatever. I bought new dusting sugar, and Connor covered it with his construction stickers. I love it.
Allow the almond bark to harden, store in the fridge. Tasty if you let them sit out a bit, to get more room temp before eating it.

Jar of Memories

I came up with this fabulous idea all on my own. I had a photo box I was keeping of "memory" pieces of Connor. I don't like to keep stuff, so I try to keep only the important stuff. I wanted a nice way to keep things. So, here it is.

1 quart mason jars. One for each year of Connor's life. The first one has his onesie he wore home from the hospital, his nuk + chain, and a hand print. The second one has some favorite cars, and it goes on. I intend to put some nice sticker labels on them. All in good time. So, now as we approach year 4, I can save little momentos throughout the year.

Cranberry Mash

This was a true, off the cuff, Heather Creation.

1 bag of cranberries
2 apples
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of vanilla vodka

Peal and slice up the apples, pretty thin. Let them cook down a bit, mash them a bit with a potato masher. Add the sugar and the cranberries. Allow to cook till they cranberries start to burst. Then add the vodka. For fun, light it on fire.

Serve over ice cream, serve by its self, bake up apple crisp, and put it on as a top layer. I did all 3, and I liked all 3.

Grilled Acorn Squash

Make an infused olive oil, by cooking the oil at a low heat with sage. Dunk the sliced (quarter to half inch thick) and pealed squash into the oil. Grill 4 minutes on a medium heat on each side.

Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.

Purple Carrots

Purple Carrots. Need I say more?

Pumpkin Soup

I had a whole pumpkin, and wanted to try something different. Once I pureed up the pumpkin, it looked like it would make good soup. And it did.

• 1 Whole Pumpkin, pureed (maybe that is a can's worth)
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 1 cup half and half
• 3 tablespoons of brown butter
• rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste (you won't need much salt)
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup potato flakes

Toss all into crock pot, on low for about 2 hours, ta-da!

Cider Soco

• 2 cups ginger ale
• 2 cups apple cider
• 4 shots Southern Comfort
• 1 orange, studded with cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Put everything into a pot, and bring up to a steamy hotness. Cook it slow, want is more orangy? Zest the orange a bit.

Leaf Bowl

This beautiful leaf shaped bowl:
Better Homes and Gardens Brand for Wal-mart, $10, dishwasher, microwave safe. Apple Beautiful.
Seriously, $10.

Garage Light

How is that for a quick makeover? Got rid of the old one brassy light (there was only one) and replaced with two more modern looking ones. Fabulous.

Caramel Apples

We bought some caramel apples from Ferguson's. They were super yummy, so yummy it turned Connor into the Incredible Hulk who does not share!

We decided to make our own, but they did not turn out as lovely as the Ferguson's one. I just melted some caramel candies down, and dipped the apples in. Of course, I had no Popsicle sticks, so I used plastic forks. Decorated them with M&Ms. The caramel got way too hard when it hardened. So, next time I will make my own caramel. I need to get a candy thermometer.

Potato Topper

Inspired by Topper's Potato Topper Pizza.
Here we go:

• Heather's Special Ranch Dressing (mayo, sour cream, fresh dill, garlic, thyme, oregano, kosher salt, pepper)
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 4 potatoes
• 5 slices of bacon
• 1 minced garlic clove

I used my standard crust, but did 3 cups AP flour, 1 cup whole wheat.
Cut the bacon up into smallish pieces, and fry up. Remove bacon, let sit on some paper towels. I boiled the potatoes till they were nearly done, then cut them up into 1 inch chunks. Fry the potatoes up in the bacon grease with the garlic. Get them a little crisp.
I blind baked the crust for about ten minutes at 400, just get it ready for all the ranch.
Spread the ranch, I used about 3/4 a cup of it. Top with cheddar cheese, the potatoes and bacon. Bake for about 10 minutes.

I talked to an employee of Toppers, and they said that Toppers uses garlic butter for the sauce and puts ranch on top. But, they don't use Heather's Special Ranch either. I like the way mayo tastes when it bakes, so that is why I did it this way.

I really loved this. John did too. Blind baking the crust really helped make it nice and crisp.

Eggplant Parm

1 eggplant, pealed and slice in 1/4 inch slices
bread crumbs
garlic, minced
salt
egg
parm cheese

After slicing the eggplant, sprinle salt onto both sides and let it sit for awhile, the longer the better. I like at least 1 hour. This removes that weird biter flavor if you buy the wrong sex of eggplant. I can never remember how to properly sex a eggplant. How dirty is that?

Rinse the eggplant slices well. Remove all the salt you can. Dip the eggplant into a beaten egg, then dip it into the breadcrumb/garlic. Shallow fry it in canola oil, 2 to 3 minutes a side. Remove from oil, put onto a paper towel, sprinkle with shredded parm. The eggplant is hot enough that it will naturally melt the parm cheese.

Devour.

Fajitas

Shredded chicken, from the whole chicken I made on Friday
Poblano Peppers
Zavory Peppers (these crazy little guys, look like habanero, taste like them, without the heat....so they are actually fruity)
Fresh Cilantro
Salt and Pepper

Chop and saute everything together with a splash of Canola Oil. Fabulous.

Apple Crisp, Strawberry style

Filling:

• 1 pound of strawberries
• 2 pounds of apples (I used firecrisp - that is right - firecrisp apples)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

• 2 cups oats
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Combine all the filling ingredients, I slice and peal the apples. You don't need to peal. It's up to you. Put the filling into a greased 9 by 13 inch Pyrex baking dish. Combine all topping ingredients, I cut it with a pastry blender. Sprinkle on top of the filling. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Try to let it cool a tiny bit, then serve with ice cream.

Creamy Sweet Squash

Acorn Squash
Butter
Sugar
Kosher Salt
Half & Half

Half the squash, remove the seeds, put a tablespoon of butter in each half. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 400 for 75 minutes. Make sure the squash is tender, scoop it out into a large bowl. Add a some half and half to making is nice and creamy.

This is crazy good, and I ate nearly all of it in one sitting. 4 hours later, I still felt like there was a lead balloon in my stomach. Everything in MODERATION.

Hot Crash Potatoes

Easy stuff.

• New/Red Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper
• Rosemary

Boil the potatoes in salted water till fork tender. Then, get your potato masher out, and crush the potatoes onto a baking sheet. I always use a Silpat, and I always put olive oil down first. Brush more olive oil on the top of the crashed potatoes, then put lots of salt, some pepper and rosemary on top. Cook at 400 for about 20 minutes. Adapted from Pioneer Woman.

SweeTango Apples

Here it is, the SweeTango apple. Have you heard about these? They were developed by University Minnesota, and are a cross between the Honey Crisp and Zestar! apples. So, it's very sweet, and very crisp. It may be the best apple I have ever tasted. I despise Red Delicious apples, always have. I don't like my fruit "mealy". Anyway, all the praises being said about how fantastic this apple is, still does not make it worth $2.70 a piece. FYI.

This is the first year you can get them, and quantities are EXTREMELY limited, so good luck. I got mine at Hy-vee last week. Hurry if you want them!

On a side note, I find apple trees disturbing. The ultimate in Frankenstein design.

Devil's Food Cake and Pasty Frosting

I used the standard recipe from the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook. So to avoid plagiarism, go look it up yourself. Con wanted to make chocolate cake, and it was the first recipe I found in my stack of books.

For frosting, I used this crazy recipe I found online.
5 tablespoons flour (AP white)
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar

Seemed like you almost start out making a roux, put the flour in a sauce pan and slowly add milk. Stir with a whisk, adding the milk a few tablespoons at a time to avoid the lumps. Continue to whisk (I was having a shit day, so I forcefully whisked) until it thickens. It becomes very thick. I continued to heat and whisk a bit, even after it was thick, to cook out the paste taste. Allow to cool.

After it has cooled, whisk in the vanilla. Add this mixture to a creamed butter and sugar.



OK. So, I am not sure what to think about this. The cake was fab, the frosting was a bit runny, and tasted pasty, and needs salt. I actually sprinkled a bit of Kosher salt on the top. I love my salt though. Con liked it

Garlic

Look at the size of that clove! The garlic head was the size of a normal one you would buy at the grocery store, but there was only 4 cloves on the head, normally there are like 10. Big Garlic = Big Love. I could have ate it raw.

Purple Beans

The beans were actually purple. I swear. It was crazy. When I cooked them, they turned green though.

Tomato Goodness

That is it. I have a new favorite food. I don't even know what to call this.

• Handful of Cherry tomatoes (I had green, red and orange ones)
• Sweet Red Pepper
• Clove of garlic
• Fresh Basil
• Salt & Pepper

Heat some olive oil to medium-low, add chopped garlic clove. Cook for a few moments, add the pepper. At this point, I added some kosher salt and pepper. Cook till the pepper is slighly mushy, I like mushy veggies. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and the fresh basil. Cook till warm. This is so good. I put it on ziti pasta and topped with some shredded parm. Seriously, this is my new favorite food. I had regular slicing tomatoes, that I just used. Removed the seeds, and they worked just as well. This dish is so pretty, I almost feel bad when I am licking the plate.

Sugar- Brookies

So, I'm working on a name still, but it's my own new creation. Brownies on the bottom, Sugar Cookie on top.

Brownie Bottom:

• 4 Eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup cocoa
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks of melted butter
• Handful of chocolate chips

Beat eggs till fluffy, add sugars. Add the rest of the ingredients, melted butter last. Put into a greased a floured 9 by 13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile

Sugar Cookie Top:

• 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup margerine
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 1/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Sprinkle of turbinado sugar

Cream butter/margarine/sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Sift together flour/baking powder/salt. Add to mixture.

After 20 minutes of baking the brownies, remove from oven and carefully spread the sugar cookie batter. I used it all, next time I'll use just half. So, keep that in mind. Top with turbinado sugar. Bake for another 25 minutes.

Tomato Pizza

Heather, you make too much pizza. Impossible. This one is completely different from any I have made in the past for these 3 reasons:

1. I used 50/50 wheat/white flour in the crust
   
2. I used "fresh mozzarella"
3. I reheated by placing it on a piece of aluminum foil on my NEW grill, and placing it on top

Those are 3 great new changes. I like it. Other toppings included my standard tomato sauce, sweet red pepper, cherry tomatoes and garlic gloves. John's half was peppers and pepperonis.

For my normal crust

For my normal tomato sauce

Ultimate sadness, I forgot I have some fresh basil in the fridge! Damn you dried convenient stuff.

Jar of Cars

Con loves his Pixar Racecars. Sometimes, they have to go to toy jail, which is this lovely canning jar. Don't they look pretty?

Flowers

Finally, Waterford gets an upgrade from it's normal dandelion flowers.

Ribs

First, clean off the ribs. Cut away that pesky membrane from the back. It's tricky to do the first few times, but I got a hold of it now. Just take a sharp fillet knife in there, and dry off the part you cut away, get a good hold and tear it off.

Dry Rub:
Brown Sugar (about 1/3 of the mix)
Lawery's Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Coriander (I leave it whole)
Chili Powder
Cumin
Paprika

Mix these all together, and rub away! I like to put lots of salt, cause salt is yummy.

Put onto the grill for at least an hour, maybe even an hour and a quarter. Flip halfway through. Then take your BBQ sauce (I use a combo of Famous Daves Devil Spit and whatever other sweet sauce I have on hand), paint it on with a nice brush. I prefir those fancy silicone ones for a nice even coverage, with super cleaning powers. Grill for another 15 minutes or so. Allow to cool for a bit before chopping up.

Johnny loves it, 2 picky boys under 5 loved them, I call it a crowd pleaser.

Kale Chips

A bunch of clean ripped up Kale
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Parm Cheese

In a bowl, pour the olive oil over the kale. Add the salt and cheese, to your liking, and stir around with your hands. Make sure all the kale gets a good even covering.

Bake at 425 for a few (less than 10) minutes on a Silpat lined baking sheet. Comes out crispy.

It's not the best tasting, but what else are you going to do with kale? Seriously folks, what else are you going to do? I just read an article in TIME magazine about chimps and their sign language skills. They kind of make up their own phrases, and the chimp calls kale "Slow-Lettuce" cause it takes much longer to eat than lettuce, but resembles it. Cute.

Tomato Sauce

• About 20 Roma tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 sweet red pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• basil

Peal and de-seed the tomatoes. Chop into eighths. Do the same with the pepper. Head olive oil to medium, cook chopped garlic for a moment. Don't let it burn! Add the tomatoes and pepper. Add salt, pepper and basil and cook forever, stir every once in awhile on low heat. Seriously, I let it simmer for at least a half hour. The tomatoes will break down by themselves in that amount of time.

It's a crazy amount of work for sauce that will cover MAYBE 2 pounds of pasta, I know. But, I like to control what I eat. I hate onions, and all store bought sauce has onions in it. I normally make my own sauce with a can of crushed tomatoes, but with fresh tomatoes in season, it was time to try it the hard way.

As Connor would say, "Tomato sauce, it's not growssy!"

Crayons

You take broken crayons, put them into a silcon mold or into paper cupcake holders, bake at like 200 degrees. For a few minutes, not long, maybe 5. I like to swirl the wax with a tooth pick when they come out of the oven. Let the wax cool off, pop out, and you have a fun multi colored crayon.

Pancakes

• 

I tried a new recipe. I really love Perkin's Pancakes, and was reading somewhere that they use "club soda" instead of milk. So, I subbed it in.

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 1 and 1/4 cup club soda
• 2 tablespoons melted margarine (ewwww....)
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk

Mix it up, pour onto a medium hot griddle that has been slathered with canola oil. I added a handful of blueberries to mine, Con is a purest.

Fried Green Beans

• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon regular pepper
• frying oil

Dunk the beans into the buttermilk, then dredge them into a bowl of flour/salt/garlic/cayenne/pepper. Fry them for a minute or so until golden brown. Place onto a paper towel then sprinkle with salt, or even parm cheese.

Blueberry Lemonade Mintness

• From Real Simple:
• 
  
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup lemonade
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup of Vodka

Directions

1. In a blender, puree the blueberries, lemonade, mint, confectioners’ sugar, Vodka, and 3 cups ice until smooth.
2. Garnish with mint sprigs.

I liked it, Jbizz felt it was too "leafy"

6 green veggie beef Stir Fry

1 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup chopped kale

1/2 cup chopped Napa cabbage

1/2 cup broccoli

Garlic Scape

1 pound of some steak or beef strips

2 cups brown rice

Brown up the beef with some soy sauce. Add bell pepper, beens, broccoli and garlic scape. 4 minutes later, add cabbage and kale. Top on brown rice.

Think Jbizz is sick of stir fry yet? Nah, add some beef and he forgets all about the green veggie organic love.