Food Friday - Halloween Treats

from Tracey G.

When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it - I've had the darn thing for a couple years now and I'd yet to make it - until now. Yeah! Finally!  The dip tastes just like pumpkin pie - it's so yummy! And the pie crust dippers are perfect with it, only next time I think I'd do something a little "stronger" to dip - the cats legs kept breaking off and the tails barely made it off the cookie sheets, lol. Maybe pumpkin cut outs or ghosts or something - but the cats are pretty darn cute, lol. Another good thing about this recipe is it's holiday-versatile, lol. I mean, you could make it around Thanksgiving, using leaf cookie cutters in place of the Halloween themed cutters. Just tint the egg wash the appropriate color for the leaves and you're all set. :-)

This was a pretty easy recipe to execute - which was really nice! Would be a good last minute thing to throw together - I had everything on hand that I needed. I always have pumpkin puree in the freezer (canned is called for in the recipe though, but I always make my own every fall and freeze it), the pie crusts are usually in the freezer and the cream cheese is usually in the fridge, lol. So, this was an easy throw-together for me! :-)

Here's the filling ingredients - Honey, pumpkin pie spice, cream cheese, pumpkin and powdered sugar. I also make my own pumpkin pie spice as well, and that's super easy too - I'll include my recipe in this post as well. :-)

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy (this is not the bowl I beat it in, lol, this is the one I used to store it in the fridge in while the dippers were baking). Add the pumpkin, honey, powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice.

The dipper ingredients are cinnamon, granulated sugar, milk, refrigerated pie crusts, an egg and black paste food coloring (I used the new Wilton Color Right system Black color). 

Roll out the dough directly on the cookie sheet to 1/8-in thickness...

Cut out the dippers leaving about an inch in between them, just peel the excess dough from between them - you can re-roll the scraps too if you'd like, I did. 

Beat the egg, add milk and food color. Mix the cinnamon with the sugar and set aside. Brush the colored egg mixture over the cats, then sprinkle with some cinnamon sugar. 

Bake at 400°F for 6-7 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Cook on wire racks. Serve with pumpkin dip!

Pumpkin Pie Dip with Black Cat Dippers

courtesy of Taste of Home

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 15 oz. can solid-pack pumpkin

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp honey

Dippers:

1 pkg (15 oz.) refrigerated pie pastry

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

black paste food coloring

1/4 c granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1) In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, honey and powdered sugar; mix until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

2) Roll out each pastry sheet directly on an ungreased cookie sheet to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-in. cookie cutter, leaving at least 1 inch in between cutouts. Remove excess dough, and re-roll scraps if desired. Beat the egg with the milk and food coloring; brush over cut outs. Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over cutouts.

3) Bake at 400°F for 6-7 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. Serve pumpkin dip.

Pumpkin Pie Spice:

Makes about 7 1/2 tsp

4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix all together and store in an airtight container. I have made it before without using ginger and I've also added a bit more clove - because I love clove, lol. Feel free to add or subtract whatever to suit your tastes :-) 

from Kris B.

All I can say is that it is a good thing that Tracey titled this week’s post because if I had done it, it would have been “the agony of defeat.”  LOL!  First of all, time got away from me and I found myself scrambling to get things done at the end of the week.  I had everything planned out, but the execution certainly did not work according to that plan.  That I can actually cope with since I have on ongoing struggle with time management.  And time whoops me in every battle!

The second defeat was in the recipe itself.  Looking back, this is because I didn’t trust my own instincts.

So here’s the story…

A few Sunday’s ago at church, someone had made for coffee hour the good, old fashioned, remind you of your childhood, Rice Krispie treats.  Weber had one and commented as to he couldn’t remember when he had last had one and that he really liked them.  That afternoon, I made a batch of the tried and true off -the-box recipe for us to take in our lunches that week.  When Tracey and I started talking about Halloween treats, I had the idea to just add pumpkin spices to the original Rice Krispie Treats recipe to give them a little festive spirit.  

Knowing that virtually no ideas are really original, I turned to the Internet to see what had been done along these lines.  Of course I discovered that my thoughts were not original; no surprise there.  LOL!  What I did find, is that several recipes added pumpkin purée.  Though I was hesitant about that, I read this blog where the writer chronicled her own process of trying to create pumpkin Rice Krispie treats.  She told of several failed attempts, but finally, by paying careful attention to the cooling process of the marshmallow and pumpkin mixture, was successful.  Being that she had gone through the trial and error, I decided to follow her recipe, with full disclosure.  

Here it is:

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats

serves 12

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 (10 ounce) bag mini marshmallows plus one cup

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of allspice

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of kosher salt

6 cups crispy rice cereal

 Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish (or a smaller dish — see Note below).

 In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add the pumpkin puree and continue to cook until it is warmed through. Fold in 10 ounces of the marshmallows, stirring frequently until almost completely melted. 

Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt, and remove from heat. 

Allow the marshmallow mixture to cool 10 minutes; fold in the remaining cup of marshmallows.

 Continue to cool the mixture for another 20 to 25 minutes until it is room temperature (failure to cool the mixture will result in soggy rice crispy treats.) Add the puffed rice cereal and stir, using a silicone spatula, until combined. 

Press the mixture into the greased rectangular baking dish. Let set for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

 • Note: I call for a 9x13-inch dish here, but I often use an 8x11-inch because I like taller treats. Any size in this range should do.

I'll admit that when it comes to cooking I do not always measure ingredients exactly, nor to I always follow suggested timing for things.  I have learned to adjust for me own taste and the quirks of my own oven.  That said, I followed this recipe exactly because I knew that there was a fine line between success and failure.  I actually set a timer for the two different cooling periods.  All seemed well.

After allowing the pan to fully cool, I gave Weber the first square.  His comment, "The flavor is really good, but the Rice Krispies are tough."  Ooh.  Not a good thing.  I tasted them.  He was right, the flavor is good.  What he described as "tough" was actually soggy, masked by the stickiness of the marshmallow mixture.  So, they tasted good, but didn't feel good in your mouth, especially since we all know what Rice Krispie Treats are supposed to taste like both in flavor and texture.

So what did I learn?  I am not one who thinks that I know everything.  I'm far from that.  But, in this case, I knew that the added liquid from the pumpkin purée would change the science of this recipe and I should have followed my initial instinct to only add the pumpkin pie spices.  And honestly, the pumpkin purée adds no additional flavor.  So, if you want to make Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie treats, skip the "bad guy,"

and follow the basic recipe on the cereal box, 

1. Melt 3 TBS of butter in a heavy sauce pan over low heat.  Add the marshmallows, stirring until completely melted.

 and add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg and allspice to taste, to the marshmallow mixture.   

2. Stir in 6 Cups of Rice Krispies.

3. Using a buttered spatula, spread the mixture into a buttered 9x15 pan, or a smaller pan for thicker treats.  Let cool completely and then cut into squares. 

Most often the "KISS" method (Keep It Simple Stupid) is best.  Lesson learned.  LOL!

So there you have it, my story of being defeated by Rice Krispie Treats.  If any of you choose to take on the pumpkin puree in this arena, I'd love to know your secrets!

Tuesday in Texas - Morning and Night

Are you a morning person, or a night owl?  

Yes!

It is somewhat amazing and a little bit scary the things that you learn about yourself when you take the time to ponder such a seemingly simple and straightforward question.  My instinctive answer is that I am both.  In trying to reconcile that somewhat oxymoronic state of being, I learned some things about my own discipline and routines as well as my attitudes toward them.

On the surface, I have to be both a morning person and a night owl to get done first those things that I have to do and then those that I want to do.  In an ideal world, I would not need sleep and would have a full twenty four hours in every day to accomplish all of the tasks before me.  Sadly, this is not my world; I need sleep, perhaps even more sleep than most people.  Do I get enough sleep?  No.  Am I doing anything consciously to remedy that situation?  No.  But, I have had a wicked cold or something for the past week that has forced me to get more rest than I normally do.  I'm sure there is a lesson in that somewhere.  LOL.

So, back to morning person or night owl...

My husband is going to call me a liar when he reads this, but I am going to say that I am a morning person; but admittedly, that statement comes with a serious caveat.  I am a morning person IF there is no external structure imposed on my morning process.  If I don't HAVE to be up at a certain time, prepare meals, get dressed and out of the house, then I am happy to get up and be a part of the day's unfolding rhythm.  I want to awaken as gently as the sun does, slowly opening my eyes and my spirit to newness and possibilities that each new day brings.

My most creative self flourishes in the quiet calm of the morning.  This is the part of me that is free to think and wonder and imagine and dream.  It is the part of me that has eluded my  inner critic, who is apparently not a morning person.  So, if i get up early, I can accomplish many things before she meets the day and me and talks me down from my dreams.  

One of my favorite things to do in the morning is to write.  I always start my days with morning pages.  This writing, for me, is the gateway to the more creative endeavors - blog posts, poetry, essays, even a few stories here and there...as long as I am not bothered by anyone or anything.  The key here is for me to not get derailed by structure.  This is the time of day where I go off in my own little world, a world that really does revolve around me.   You may be wondering how often a total escape to this place happens...unfortunately, not often enough.  Work, especially two days of a 7:30am class, and church choir on Sunday mornings make for a life totally driven by external structure.  See, it is not my fault that I am perceived as not being a morning person; it is the world conspiring against the needs of my innermost being.  LOL!

Which brings me to the night owl part...

Honestly, I am a night owl by necessity.  Late at night is when I DO things.  I clean.  I cook.  I do laundry.  I grade papers.  I practice the piano.  I process photos.  By nighttime, my brain is tired.  Most of the things that I do at night are routine.  They don't require creative energy.  As long as I have a concrete task to accomplish, I can and will see it through, even if that means staying up into the wee hours of the night.  I am just not generative during the  nighttime hours, probably because my inner critic is now wide awake and, by late in the day,  has gathered a whole bunch of fodder on which to feed!

Someday I will retire and will have the luxury of finding and living the daily rhythm that truly works best for my body and spirit.  Maybe I'll become a real morning person, or perhaps a hardcore night owl.  Who knows?  Until then, I'll rise early, do what I can before the grip of the world's demands take hold, and on my way out the door check the oil pot to make sure that it is filled so that I can burn the midnight oil when I get home.

Monday in Michigan - The Reluctant Morning Person

by Tracey G

When Kris and I talked about some fun topics to write about, and "are you a morning person or night owl?" came up out of the pool of ideas, we agreed it would be a fun thing to think on and write about.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool Night Owl, always have been ever since I was a kid. Love the night, I seem to come up with the best stuff then, even if it's not feasible to do any of the things I come up with during the wee hours, lol. I have always been the up until 3 a.m. person, and happily. I could stay up working on this, that or the other thing, or reading and so forth. If it wasn't a noisy project and likely to wake Harry up, I'd probably bake or cook in those hours too, lol.

That all changed when Harry started school. Say hello to forced-into-being-a-morning-person!

 There's a serious conflict between going to bed at 3 a.m. and waking up at 5:30 a.m. It just doesn't work - oh sure, in the short term it's ok - not fabulous, but doable, long term though? Um, no. Not a good thing. Even with "enough" sleep (which I've yet to find that magic number of hours - you know, the one where you're supposed to just jump out bed feeling refreshed and whatnot...) I've done some stupid things in my morning stupor, that's for sure. So, I now make sure everything is set out and ready to go the night before to help ease the morning mess-ups. Honestly, some days it's amazing I leave the house with Harry in the car and not drive to school without him, lol.

But getting up at 5:30 a.m. now means I have to have a reasonable bedtime and I have a hard time with that! It's like my body and brain rebel against the numbers on the clock. I may be dead tired, falling asleep in my chair, but it feels wrong to be tired and ready to go bed at 9:30, lol. My Night Owlness served me well when Harry wasn't in school - the only time for me to get some "me" time, as in time to work on things I want to - like my photos etc, was after he went to bed. So, my time started about 9 when all was said and done and he was asleep for the night (for sure, lol). That's not a lot of time to accomplish everything you want to, providing you go to bed at 11. 2 measly hours??? Soooo, up til 3 solved that issue, lol.

Now though, things are flip-flopped - I have the time (usually) while he's in school, during the day. I'm still trying to get used to that, as I said it feels like my brain and body rebel against that I now need to get to bed early. That it's OKAY to go to bed early, because you have the whole "day" tomorrow to have your "you" time. But I forget that come night time. It's a totally weird place to be! I start watching the clock, and counting down the minutes before I need to go to bed (provided that I didn't fall asleep while getting Harry to bed and reading the bedtime story, which, happens quite frequently, lol.), like bedtime's become a sentence of some sort, lol. It's crazy. I feel like the little kid when they're told it's bedtime, "aw mom, just a little longer? Pleeeeeeaaaseee??". Only I'm the kid AND the mom, lol. It's hard to police yourself sometimes!!

But, there's another side to this as well...there's a part of me who enjoys being up early and having lots of time - instead of getting up later in the day, like at 9, lol. It's weird, I'm in a weird place! Love being a Night Owl, yet, there's that draw to Morning Personness... But it's not enough of a draw that it will make me go to bed early on a non-school night, lol. There's still that "woo hoo" feeling - I can read late! I can watch movies late! I can work on photos, late! LOL Yep, I'm still a Night Owl, forced into being a Morning Person. *sigh* 

Food Friday - How About Them Apples?

 from Tracey G

I can't believe it's October already - and it's really feeling like fall here in Michigan! I will admit that this month is my favorite month of the whole year - I love the light, the weather, and it kind of kicks off apple season for me :-) I start seeing all the yummy apples out there - they may have been out in September, but for some reason, they don't make it on my radar until October, along with pumpkins...but that's another story! It's the time of year I start digging out my apple recipes - pies, crisps and sauce! But Kris has us covered for the sauce this go around - which is good, because I don't really have a recipe, I just wing it, so I'll be happy to have one!

I've tried what feels like a million crisp recipes, and I don't think I ever made the same one twice until I came across this one - this one has earned a permanent spot in my "book"! It's yummy and easy, but I won't pretend it's totally guilt-free, in fact, I'm pretty sure that it's heavy in the guilt, lol. But it's not made all the time, so it's a treat - and I am sure that it could easily be slimmed down with a few swaps or lessen the butter aspect, lol, IF you wanted to ;-)

The filling consists of peeled sliced apples, flour, cinnamon, sugar and butter.

Add the flour, sugar and cinnamon to the sliced apples in a large bowl. I like to mix up the dry ingredients in a little bowl first then toss them with the apples, it mixes up better.

Toss the apples with the sugar, cinnamon and flour.

Scoop the apple mixture into a 11x7-in. baking pan. Dot the apple mixture with butter, cut in cubes. Now it's time to mix up the topping...

The topping ingredients consist of granulated sugar, flour, butter, nutmeg, baking powder and a slightly beaten egg.

First, combine the flour, sugar, nutmeg and baking powder until well blended. Cut the butter into cubes....

Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture...

Cut the butter into the flour until it resembles crumbs...

Mix the slightly beaten egg into the flour-butter mixture, stir until moistened.

Spread the topping mixture evenly over the apple filling.

Bake at 375° F for 40-45 minutes until the topping brown and the apples are tender. You can also sub the fresh apples for a couple cans of apple pie filling if you want, would make it even speedier, lol. I like to serve it with ice cream or if I have some, I've been known to pour a little bit of heavy cream over my serving ;-)

And now, the recipe:

Easy Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 375° F

Filling:

6 c thinly sliced, peeled apples

1/2 c sugar

1 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp butter

Topping:

1 c flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c butter, cubed

1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl. Transfer to an 11x7-in. baking pan, dot with butter.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and nutmeg in another large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in egg just until moistened; sprinkle over filling.

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm.  

Happy Fall everyone!! 


from Kris B

The truth is that I have an apple for lunch every day, winter, spring, summer, and fall.  Call it habit, routine, or just plain lack of imagination, it is what it is.  Even though I eat them year round, there is something about apples in the fall that is different.  I’m not sure what it is.  They are just different, prettier and more flavorful.  Maybe its that fall is my favorite season and its not really the apples but that I have a better attitude toward everything during this time of year.  Who knows.  

Because my perception is that the apples are better during the fall, one of the things that I always do with fall apples is make applesauce..  I make it and freeze enough to last a good part of the year.

I don’t remember my maternal grandmother being a cook as far as meals go, but I do remember that every time that we would go visit, she always pulled some homemade applesauce out of the freezer.  She always had an ample supply and I always looked forward to eating it!  As a young child, I was interested only in eating the applesauce, not in how it was made.  As a teenager, I wasn't interested in cooking or any kind of domesticity.  And, I was not as close to my grandmother during these years.  Looking back on those times, I am now fairly sure that she was an alcoholic.  She died when I was twenty.  I give all of these details to explain why I never got her applesauce recipe that I loved so much, something that makes me a little sad.

Once I matured (quite) a bit and had children of my own, I then wanted to know how to make applesauce.  My mom bought me a food mill and told me the basics of how to make it.  It never tasted like my grandmother’s.  I kept making applesauce, as well as all of the other baby food, for my girls.  I knew that it was missing something, but they didn’t.  

When I first started making the applesauce, I was trying to be a purist, no sugar.  It was plenty sweet without any sugar.  Then I thought that maybe sugar was the missing ingredient.  I added a little white sugar to the recipe.  Nope.  That wasn’t it.  Then I tried the addition of various spices - cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, a little allspice.  Though the spices were good, they weren’t what was missing either.

Well then, it has got to be the type of apples that I am using.  Again, I tried different varieties and combinations of different varieties.  I did come to the realization that using a mixture of apple types does make better applesauce, but even that still did not yield applesauce like my grandmother made.  Then came a significant realization; her applesauce was always a lot darker than any that I had ever made.  Even trying lots of different kinds of apples, I never got anything as dark as hers.

And then one day it hit me.  I wondered of she used brown sugar instead of white sugar.  I made a batch using brown sugar and SUCCESS!  Adding brown sugar and cinnamon resulted in applesauce that looked and tasted just like that that my grandmother made.  Now, this is how I make it every time.  Because I often eat it for dessert, I don’t worry too much about the added sugar.  I know how much I used and it is far less than most any other dessert choices that I could make.  Honestly, it is not that health merits of homemade applesauce that are foremost on my mind when I make it, but rather its ability to transport me back to my childhood and the good memories of my grandmother.

As I think about making applesauce, it involves more of a process rather than a recipe.  I’ll share my process.  You will probably want to adapt it and make it your own.  But I must say, it is pretty darn good just like this!

INGREDIENTS

 18-20 apples (I try to use a mixture of gala, fuji, granny smith, and yellow delicious, but really almost any kinds will do.)

The juice of one lemon

1/2 Cup brown sugar

Cinnamon and/or other spices to taste

Because I use a food mill, I don’t peel or core the apples before cooking.  I put them in a stock pot with enough water to cover the bottom layer and cook them over medium heat for 30 minutes or until they are soft.  

Once cooked, remove the apples from the pot using a slotted spoon.  

Place them in the food mill in small batches. Run the apples through the food mill.  

Place all of the apple sauce in a large bowl.  If your applesauce seems to thick and “dry,” add a tablespoon or two of the cooking liquid.  Do this in small increments until you achieve your desired texture and consistency.  This is necessary if you end up with apples that are not juicy.

If you do not have a food mill, peel and core the apples before cooking. Cook in the same manner as stated above.  Puree the apples in a food processor.  Or, if you prefer a chunkier style applesauce, use a potato masher.  In this realm, I am a purist and prefer to use the food mill.  Plus, I have no knife skills, so peeling apples with a knife is equivalent to one of Dante’s rings of hell as far as I am concerned!

Once all of you apples have been run through the food mill, pureed in the food processor, or mashed with the potato masher, add the brown sugar, lemon juice and spices to taste. 

It may take a few batches to figure out the proportions that you like best.  I probably use 1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon.  Maybe?  I don’t know exactly.  Because I always use the same bowl, the “correct” amount of cinnamon is to generously sprinkle it over the top of the applesauce in the bowl.

The applesauce can be eaten either hot or cold.  I definitely prefer it cold!

I freeze my applesauce in 2 cup freezer safe plastic containers.  

If properly sealed, they will last in the freezer for upwards of a year.  Once thawed and in the fridge, it should probably be eaten within 5-7 days.  One of the pluses to using sugar is that it acts as a preservative.

If you are an applesauce maker, I’d love to hear about your process!