Cinnamon Twists

I tried out this recipe last night and then today tried it out with a bit of a variation. I loved it! It's a great, easy, and delicious dessert idea! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Twists
Makes: 20
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. yeast
3 1/2 cups flour (I used a combination of white and wheat flour which was yummy)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs. butter
Cinnamon Sugar mixture (Make however much you want!)

Directions:
Combine first three ingredients and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Add in flour and salt. Mix until smooth. Let this sit for 10 minutes, covered.
Roll out dough into a large square on a floured surface. Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Fold in half and slice into one inch strips. Twist and place on a cookie sheet. Let those sit for another 15-20 minutes.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar as desire.
Drizzle with or dip in frosting and enjoy!

Frosting: So I don't measure out my ingredients for frosting. I do about a tablespoon of butter, 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, a splash of milk and a couple teaspoons of vanilla. I just mess with it until it gets to the consistency I want and it tastes good.

Homemade Chili and Cornbread

Williams Chili

Serves: 8

Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

1.5-2 lbs hamburger (depending on how meaty you'd like your chili)

3 cups tomato juice

1 can pinto beans, half drained

1 pkg. Williams Chili Seasoning (you can find this at Smith's, Walmart, and Fred Meyer)

Cook hamburger in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until combined. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with cheese.

Buttermilk Cornbread (via)

Serves 9

Time:45 Minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour (either wheat or white. longer cooking time for wheat)

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and add sugar. Mix well. Quickly add eggs and mix unto combined. Mix buttermilk and baking soda in separate bowl and add to butter mixture. Mix well. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt.

Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Eggnog

Sorry I've been completely absent lately. Life is busy and the truth of the matter is, I haven't cooked or baked a whole lot in the past few weeks. After next Thursday I will be done with school and be back in the kitchen and back to posting more on this blog.

For now, here's something new I tried tonight. I made homemade eggnog! And it's actually quite delicious. It's not as thick and heavy as store-bought eggnog. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

4 eggs, separated into whites and yolks

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups milk

1 cup whipping cream (I used half and half because dinner tonight called for half and half and I didn't want to buy both and have both go bad. Plus, I think the half and half is a teensy bit healthier)

3 tsp vanilla

1 tsp rum extract (or you can use orange extract, just use a little less)

Dash of salt

Ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in milk, cream, vanilla and rum.

2. Add salt to egg whites and beat until they stand in peaks. Fold into egg yolk mixture.

3. Serve in punch cups. Sprinkle each serving with nutmeg.

This recipe is delish, but must be consumed kinda quickly. Because of the eggs, try to drink all of this in a couple days. Which will not be difficult because it's so good!

Pork, Mushroom, and Snow-Pea Stir Fry and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut

Yep, two recipes at once! This is what I made for dinner and dessert tonight. Delish! Be careful with the cookies though, they're so goo I could probably eat a dozen. :) Sorry, I don't have pictures. Please don't hate me.

Pork, Mushroom, and Snow-Pea Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and very thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 pound snow peas, strings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
• 1/2 pound sliced cremini mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

• Accompaniment: steamed rice

preparation

Toss pork with cornstarch and 1 teaspoon salt.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Stir-fry pork until pale golden and almost cooked through, about 4 minutes, then transfer to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and stir-fry snow peas with garlic until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to plate.

Add mushrooms to wok with water and remaining tablespoon oil and cook, covered, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add pork, snow peas, and teriyaki sauce and stir-fry until pork is cooked through, about 2 minutes.

(via)

And here's the recipe for the cookies:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 (6.5 ounce) jar macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the white chocolate and nuts. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. When cool, store in an airtight container.

(Via)

Rye Bread

I decided I wanted to try and make some rye bread this week. It is delish! I didn't get around to taking pictures, but here's the recipe anyway. I found it on tablespoon.com

Ingredients

• 2 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115°F.)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups Rye Flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (105 to 115°F.)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons shortening, melted
• 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour

Directions

1. 1Generously grease two 8x4 or 9x5-inch loaf pans. Dissolve yeast in warm waterand 1 tablespoon sugar. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine rye flour, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, 1 1/4 cups warm water,molasses and shortening. Stir in dissolved yeast. Gradually add all purposeflour to form a stiff dough. On floured surface, knead in remaining flouruntil smooth, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; cover loosely withplastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85°F.) untildoubled in size, about 45 to 75 minutes.
2. 2Punch down dough. Divide into 2 parts; shape into loaves. Place in prepared
3. 3pans; brush tops with additional melted shortening. Cover; let rise in warm
4. 4place until doubled in size, about 45 to 75 minutes. Heat oven to 375°F.
5. 5Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
6. 6Remove from pans immediately; cool on wire racks.

(Sorry the formatting is all messed up on here, I just copied and pasted from the website.)

Chicken Fajitas

Sorry I've been absent lately. But here's a yummy dinner we had the other night. It's from marthastewart.com. Enjoy!!!

• Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets (about 8)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
• 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 8 flour tortillas (6-inch)
• Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
• Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Arrange chicken on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil; rub with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with chili powder, and season with salt and pepper. Broil, without turning, until chicken is opaque throughout, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.
2. On another rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, toss peppers, onion, garlic, and remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Broil, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender and slightly charred, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, thinly slice chicken crosswise. Stack and wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel; microwave on high until warm, about 1 minute. Transfer chicken and pepper mixture to a platter, and serve with tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, and lime wedges.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite cookies ever!!! Especially in the Fall!

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I did 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 
  

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 365 degrees F for approximately 12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.