Cranberry Muffins

 Cranberry Muffins!

My first merit badge in 'Girl Scouts' was for baking muffins. I've been addicted ever since!

Cranberries are wonderfully tart, crisp, and make nice muffins with a bit of grated orange rind.

This recipe is an old favorite I've used for many years. One of my pet peeves is a muffin that is very gluey. A muffin should rise quickly, and brown nicely. Muffins should be a little dry in consistency as well as moist yet crumbly.  


Cranberry Muffins 

2 C Flour

3/4 C Sugar
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
4 Tbsp Melted Unsalted Butter (cooled)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 C Milk
1 Egg
1 C Cranberries
1-2 Tsp grated orange rind

Grease large muffin tin or 2 small muffin tins.
Pre-heat Oven to 425.

• Wash, drain cranberries. 
• Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, add cranberries to dry mixture, toss to coat. 
• Add cooled butter, milk, and egg (beat egg slightly before adding to dry ingredients). Grate orange rind. Mix ONLY until all are moistened. 

• Fill greased muffin tins to just about the top. Sprinkle with pastry or regular sugar.

• Bake for 20 minutes (Large) or 12 minutes for small. I usually set my timer a few minutes before to be certain they don't burn. (Do not open the oven during baking or the muffins might drop).

• Remove from oven to wire racks. Cool for 3 minutes.Loosen edges only with a sharp knife. Allow to cool until just warm. Remove from tins to wire wrack.

I hope you'll love these muffins as much as I do!

Enjoy!

Refrigerator Pickles

Refrigerator Pickles

This summer I decided to make pickles! I had an excellent source from my one vine this year. 

It was such a hot summer here I made the refrigerator variety. They are very easy to make and the rewards are almost instantaneous! 

Supplies: Quart size canning jars. Depending on the size of the slices you will use 4 Quart size or 6 Pint size jars. Most supermarkets sell the jars and the plastic lids for refrigerator canning.

Clean jars and plastic lids in hot soapy water. Set aside to air dry.

Recipe

10 pickling cucumbers (approximately 6 Cups sliced)

3 Onions Sliced
4 Cups Vinegar
4 Cups Sugar
1/3 Cup Kosher Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Tumeric, Mustard Seeds, Celery Seed

Slice cucumbers to 1/2" or desired thickness. Slice onions. (I used a ridged knife to get the rippled effect for pickles).

Layer onions and cucumbers in jars. 
Pack VERY tightly. 

Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices over low heat to dissolve sugar. 

Mixture will be hot. (Do not boil). Remove from heat once mixture is blended.

Ladle hot slurry over jarred cucumbers and onions up to 1/4" from rim of jar. 

Wipe rims clean and seal jars with plastic lids. 

Refrigerate for 24 hours. 

Pickles will last up to one year in fridge.

Enjoy! 

Portuguese Chourico

Recently on a cold snowy day I decided to make a 'HOT' Portuguese sandwich of Chourico with Peppers and Onions.


The picture below lists the ingredients that make up Chourico.

I purchased the ground Chourico at my local supermarket. Chourico is also sold in links by many other companies here in New England. I decided to try the ground sausage for a change and ease of use.

• 1 Pkg of Chourico (either ground or link style)
• 1 Lg Green Pepper Diced
• 1 Tbsp Minced garlic
• 1 Onion Diced
• 1/2 C Tomato Sauce
• 1/4 C Water
• Hot Pepper Flakes to taste

• Brown Chourico in saucepan

• Add all the rest to browned Chourico
• Cover lower heat and simmer till peppers and onions are tender (about 20 mins on medium low heat)

Serve hot on any type roll you'd like.  Add a little Port Wine and ENJOY!!

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Lemon Chiffon Cake

This cake came out lemony, light, and delicious! 

Lemon Chiffon Cake

2 C Flour (sifted)

1 1/2 C Granulated Sugar

3 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Salt

3/4 C Cold Water

1/2 C Vegetable Oil

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Tsp Lemon Extract

7 Egg Yolks

8 Egg Whites

1/2 Tsp Cream of Tartar

2 Tsp Lemon Peel Grated

Glaze

5 Tbsp Butter

2 C Powdered Sugar

1 Tsp Lemon Peel

3-4 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Separate the eggs being careful not to get any yolk in the whites. 

The whites will not whip properly even with one drop of egg yolk. 

 If you can find an egg separator like this one it's a great help. Otherwise, crack the shell of the egg and pour it back and forth with a bowl underneath to catch the whites. Reserve yolks in a second bowl.

Grate lemon rind. Only use the very edge of the lemon peel as the white part (called the pith) can be bitter.

Sift flour, baking soda, salt together.

 

Add egg yolks, grated lemon, water, vanilla and lemon extracts, and granulated sugar until smooth.

Beat 8 Egg whites on high speed in separate bowl with Cream of Tartar until stiff peaks form.

Fold egg yolk mixture into egg whites. Do not stir. Use fold method in video below:

Pour mixture into UNGREASED Angel Food Cake Pan (10" Tube Pan). Even batter out with a spatula.

Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Cake will spring back when done.

Take cake and turn over top of a bottle to completely cool.
Remove cake from pan when completely cool by running a flat sharp knife around all edges of pan.

Make glaze:
In saucepan on stove top, melt butter, remove from heat, add lemon juice, and confectioners sugar whisking till smooth. Add grated lemon rind and drizzle all over top of cake allowing glaze to drip down sides of cake.

Let glaze set on cake for about an hour before serving.

Enjoy!!

Valentine's Macaroni and Cheese

 

Who doesn't LOVE Macaroni and Cheese? 

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
8 oz Medium Size Shell Pasta (or Elbow Macaroni)
6 Tbsp Butter
1/4 C Flour
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
3 C Milk
3 C Cheese Shredded (Xtra Sharp, Monteray Jack or any combination of  your choice).
3/4 C breadcrumbs

Boil Pasta until al dente (firm)

 In separate small saucepan melt 4 Tbsp of butter over medium low heat, 
add spices mix well.

Add milk and stir in flour till well blended. 
This is called a 'rue'. 
Continue stirring over heat till thick and creamy. 
Stir almost constantly over heat so as not to burn.

3 Cups Shredded Cheese

Add shredded cheese into hot 'rue'. Stir quickly to melt cheese. 
Remove from heat.
Add Cheese to drained pasta, mix well.

Pour cheese and pasta mixture into casserole.  Melt remaining butter and add to breadcrumbs. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of pasta in casserole.

Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 45 mins or until hot and bubbly and top is golden and crispy.

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Apple Dumplings

My maternal grandmother used to make apple dumplings for me when I was in grammar school. I'd walk to her house every day after school. I have fond memories of sitting at her kitchen table and having a 'snack' of a home made apple dumpling with a glass of milk.

I found this old recipe book at a yard sale this summer for 25 cents! The book was old and moldy. I took it apart and dried the pages in the sun on and off all summer. I finally put it all back together recently and came across this recipe! I have updated it to save time while waiting for Trick or Treaters to arrive. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Apple Dumplings
4 Apples (any variety)
1 Box of pre-made Pastry
1/2 C Sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch of allspice
1 Tbsp raisins (opt)
2 Tbsp Milk
2 Tbsp Butter (cut in little pieces)
Oven 375 degrees

Core and peel the apples.

Mix sugar, cinnamon, allspice in a small bowl.

Roll pastry in between sheets of plastic wrap to about 1/4" thickness. (my sister taught me this trick but she's a pastry expert..she makes her own wonderful dough). Using plastic wrap stops the dough from sticking.

 

Cut 6" squares. Stack cut squares in separate sheets of plastic wrap until ready to assemble dumplings.

 
Put one heaping teaspoon of sugar, a few raisins (opt.) and little dabs of butter in hole of apple.

Fold corners of pastry up to apple and pinch along sides to close.

   The "pinch"         

Place in non-greased baking dish and brush each dumpling with a little milk.Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea..or maybe a glass of ice cold milk!

Portuguese Fava Beans!!

Fava Bean? Think Broad Bean..or Jack and the Beanstalk!

I decided to make a pan of Portuguese Fava Beans the way my maternal Grandmother made them.

I'm going to visit some relatives I haven't seen in a while and thought I'll bring these along for a fun surprise.




The old fashioned way to make the recipe is to start with 'dried' fava beans and soak them overnight.

I buy canned Fava Beans that work just as well if not better.

This is an easy recipe with few ingredients.

Fava Beans

2 Cans Fava Beans
1/2 C Ketchup
1/4 C Green Relish
1 Lg Onion Diced
1 tsp Garlic Salt (I substituted garlic powder)
1 tsp paprika
Oil or Margerine
Hot Pepper Flakes or Tabasco Sauce
Salt & Pepper

Drain Fava Beans reserving liquid. Put liquid aside for later use in this recipe









Dice onion, render in a little margarine or oil over medium heat until tender.









Add Ketchup, paprika, garlic powder. Let pan come back to simmer.









Add Fava beans, relish, salt&pepper, Tabasco Sauce.
If you like it really hot add more tabasco!













Add 1/2 C - 1 C of reserved bean juice.

Note: (Add more or less while cooking if beans seem too thick)

 
Let simmer over low heat stirring on occassion (until thick) about half an hour.






Serve up piping hot!