Brown Sugar Chewies

A friend of mine suggested a few non-chocolate desserts for me to try out. This was one of them (from Paula Dean) and it was a hit. Marc requested "just a few chocolate chips be thrown in"--which I did. I didn't realize that the dough is warm, so the chips melted and this ended up being a swirled brown sugar-chocolate chewy....VERY yummy.

Brown Sugar Chewies
(thanks to Silvia Winert, who got the recipe from Paula Dean)

1/4 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Turn off the heat, add the brown sugar and stir until smooth. Stir in the egg. Stir together the flour and baking powder and stir into the brown sugar mixture. Stir in the vanilla and pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. When cool, dust the top with a sifting of confectioners' sugar.

(Oh, I doubled the recipe, like always, and put it in a 9 X 13 pan)

Peasant Bread

We were invited over to a friends house for dinner on Saturday night. I was asked to bring bread...so this is what I made.

Peasant Bread
(thanks to Emily Owsley, who introduced the "Favorites" cookbook to me!)

1 pkg. rapid rise yeast
2 c. warm water
1 Tblspn. Sugar
2 tsp. Salt

Dissolve the 4 above ingredients together.
Then add:

4 c. flour
Stir until blended.

Do not knead!
Just cover and let sit for about 1-1 ½ hours, until it doubles in size.
With floured hands, remove dough and divide into two pieces.
Grease cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal.
Put two shaped pieces of dough onto cookie sheet , cover, and let rise again for about another 1 ½ hrs.
Brush top of bread with melted butter (**this is when I also sprinkle with parmesan cheese)
Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes. Then add another basting of butter and turn down the oven to 375 degrees for another 15 minutes.

OPTIONS!! You can add anything to the bread dough (ie. rosemary, parmesan, sundried tomatoes, etc.) This bread comes out looking like 2 rounds of foccacia bread--very rustic looking.

Baked Pork Chops

A friend in our ward brought this recipe to us after Soren was born. It was so good, not only because I didn't do the cooking, but because it was the most tender pork chop I had ever had. I made the recipe myself last night, and sure enough, the pork chop was just as tender. This is a pretty basic recipe, but the pork turns out so good. I served it over rice, which was great. My friend who made this for me also put caramelized onions on top, which was awesome and made it a bit more "gourmet", but I didn't take the time to do that last night.

Baked Pork Chops
(thanks to Audra Croft who got the recipe from www.allrecipes.com)

6 pork chops
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

Hearty Greek Pasta

My friend Veronica made this for me when I was visiting her a few years ago. So it isn't a new recipe to me, or to anyone else who has my cookbook. But it's worth sharing with those who don't. It is super easy, but tastes complicated--I love that! It is seriously "restaurant quality," as Marc would say.

Hearty Greek Pasta
(thanks to Veronica Haymore, a GREAT friend)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, sliced diagonally
3 Tblspn. olive oil
1 8oz. jar sundried tomatoes, drained and julienned
3 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ c. fresh basil (or smaller amount of dried basil)
1 12oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
¼ c. + heavy cream (I use a pint)
1 lb. pasta (bowties or rotini)
1 tsp. Dried oregano
salt & pepper

Brown chicken in oil until cooked.
Add sundried tomatoes and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add basil and artichokes to pan and sauté for one minute.
Stir in cream; remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Season with oregano, salt, and pepper.
Drain pasta and place in bowl.
Toss with sauce and feta cheese.

2 Pies!

Because I am trying to avoid chocolate, I am compensating by trying out new desserts to curb my sweet tooth. Here are 2 pies I made this weekend...both were great!

Sweet Banana Cream & Berry Pie
(thanks to Silvia Winert, a friend here in Cedar Park)

NOTE: I changed the name from "Banana Cream" to this--it is not a traditional banana cream, but a great twist on the traditional classic.

9 inch Baked Pie Shell
3 medium bananas
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla

Bake pie shell. Slice 2 of the bananas; arrange in pie shell. Beat cream cheese in small mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in milk until well blended. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into pie shell. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Slice remaining banana; arrange on pie.

Whipped Cream Topping
1 cup cold whipping cream
¼ cup powder sugar
1 tsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
spec of salt
1 box raspberries

Beat all the ingredients until soft peaks form . When whipped cream is firm fold in a box of fresh raspberries. Top the pie with the whipped cream and enjoy!

Pie #2

Key Lime Pie
(thanks to Angie Gubler, a "roommate"--but not really--from BYU)

Filling:
4 tsp. grated lime zest
½ c. FRESH lime juice
4 large egg yolks
1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Mix yolks and lime zest.
Add rest of ingredients and pour into crust.
Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes (it usually takes a little longer than this) until center is set.

Crust:
1 ½ c. graham cracker crumbs
1 Tbspn. sugar
6 Tbspn. melted butter

Mix crust ingredients, press into greased pie pan.
Bake at 325 until crust begins to brown (approx. 15 min.)
OR just pie an already made Keebler crust!

Top with dollop of REAL whipping cream!

A new look!

I was tired of looking at my boring ole' blog site. So I decided to take a few extra minutes and spice it up a bit. I found the background template at http://www.pyzam.com/ Looks rather springy to me--fits the mood around here. I'll probably change it as my mood or the weather changes. But for now, we are going with green grass.
I also have started adding pictures of my food due to multiple requests. Guess we are all visual learners--I know I am, I just didn't know how to put the pictures in. It was easier than I thought, so I will try to have pictures from here on out.
Hope you like the new look!