Creating Holiday Favorites with "FRESH" Ingredients

One of the best pies around this time of year is the classic homemade pumpkin pie. This is a tried and true recipe that we have created using fresh pie pumpkins. There is nothing that compares to making fresh pie fillings, and this is the first one of a series of pie fillings made from scratch. We have also included for your enjoyment our famous no fail pie crust recipe! We will also share our directions for making your own pumpkin puree, and how to store it for later use. We've included other fabulous recipes for your pumpkin puree! We hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Puree:

1: pie pumpkin (makes 1- 9 in. pie)

Instructions:

1- Cut pumpkin in half w/o stem

2- Scoop out seeds of pumpkin

3- Place on foil lined baking sheets

4- Cover pumpkin with foil

5- Place pumpkins so the inside is facing down

6- Bake at 350 F until tender for 1- 1 1/2 hours

7- Scoop out of pumpkin shell and puree in blender or food processor

8- Use immediately or put in freezer-safe bags for later use

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

Ingredients-

~1 1/3 cup pumpkin puree

~1 1/3 cup sweet condensed milk

~ 1 egg

~ 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

~ 1/2 tsp nutmeg

~ 1/2 tsp ginger

~ 1/4 tsp cloves

~ 1 cup hot water

Directions-

1: mix ingredients together

2: pour in 9 in. pie shell

3: Bake at 375 F for 55-65 min.  

Pie Crust: Makes 3 pie crusts

Ingredients-

~3 1/4 cups flour

~ 1 1/4 tsp salt

~ 1 cup shortening

~ 1/2 cup ice water

Directions-

1: use hands to mix together flour, salt, and shortening

2: make ingredients cornmeal consistency 

3: add water and lift dough to make a ball( may take less or more water)

4: roll out thin ( we use a plastic bag over the top to roll out the dough)

5: place in pie dish and seal the sides by pinching the crust 

6: place foil over the sides of crust ( take off the last 10 min. of baking)

LOOK FORWARD TO FUTURE PIE CRUST VARIATIONS...... YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS OUT!!!

Pumpkin Rolls:

Ingredients-

~ 2 eggs

~ 1 c. sugar

~ 2/3 c. pumpkin

~ 1 tsp. lemon

~ 3/4 c. flour

~ 1 tsp. baking powder

~ 2 tsp. cinnamon

~ 1 tsp. ginger

~ 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions- Beat eggs for 5 minutes. Add sugar, pumpkin, and lemon. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Add to sugar mixture. Put on a large jelly roll pan lined with foil, or a baking sheet, well greased. Bake at 350 F for 10 min. When done turn out onto a dishtowel that is sprinkled heavily with powdered sugar. let stand for 2 min. Then pull off foil. Roll up in towel and place in refrigerator to cool.

Filling:

Ingredients-

~ 1 cup powdered sugar

~ 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

~ 4 Tablespoons butter

~ 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions- Mix butter and cream cheese well. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix well, spread on pumpkin roll side. After you roll out flat. Then re-roll up and place in refrigerator until it sets up. Remove, slice, and serve.

Erin's Famous Banana Bread

One of our family's all time favorite quick bread recipes is Banana Bread! Bananas in the winter time are hard to come by, but we found that you can freeze bananas instead of throwing them away. We have also found other ingredients to give variety to the Banana Bread.

Preserving bananas all year long:
~ Instead of throwing away your ripe bananas, take a freezer bag and place whole bananas unpeeled in freezer bag. Place in freezer unthaw as needed.

Ingredients:
~ 1 cup sugar
~ 2 medium bananas mashed
~ 1/2 cup butter softened
~ 1/4 cup milk
~ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~ 2 eggs
~ 2 cups flour
~ 1 teaspoon baking soda
~ 1/2 teaspoon salt
~ Optional ingredients: 1/2 cup crushed pineapple drained, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips ( in this picture we have used pineapple which is our favorite)
~ Topping: brown sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top of batter

Directions:
~ heat oven to 350 F
~ grease a 9x5 or 8x4 loaf pan
~ In large bowl blend first 6 ingredients
~ beat 1 min. at medium speed
~ stir in dry ingredients until moistened
~ pour batter into prepared pan
~ bake for 50-60 min. or until toothpick inserted comes out clean
~ cool 5 min. and remove from pan
~ makes 1 loaf

Grandmother Wilkinsons' Famous Lasagna

Grandmother Wilkinson is a fabulous cook, and we have had wonderful years of learning from her. She always believed in preserving your garden tomatoes, so you can make wonderful tomato juice to use in various recipes. This is Grandmother Wilkinson's famous recipe made with her homemade tomato juice. We have taken this recipe, and added our own seasonings to make it more flavorful. We have also found a few secrets in making this recipe even more perfect!

Homemade Tomato Juice-

~ Take your favorite tomatoes wash them, and discard the stems
~ make an x in the bottom of the tomato with a paring knife
~ bring a pan of water to a boil
~ blanch tomatoes for 30-40 seconds
~ immediately put in a water bath of ice to cool
~ remove tomato
~ quarter the tomatoes, and spoon out the seeds (preserve the juice)
~ put the tomatoes and preserved juice in a pot
~ add 1/2 cup lemon juice for every 7 quarts of tomato juice
~simmer on low 3-4 hours until tomato juice has been reduced down
~ mash tomatoes to a puree
~ put in freezer-safe containers
~ good for 6-7 months

Lasagna Recipe-

 Ingredients:
~ 1 lb. ground beef
~ 1 clove garlic minced
~ 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
~ 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
~ 1 teaspoon salt
~ 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
~ 2 cups fresh tomato juice
~ 1- 6 oz. can tomato paste
~ 1 teaspoon onion onion salt
~ 1 teaspoon pepper


~ 12 oz. lasagna noodles
~ 1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese or sliced thin
~ 3 cups small curd cottage cheese
~ 2 beaten eggs
~ 1 teaspoon salt
~ 2 tablespoons parsley flakes
~ 1/2 cup parmesan grated cheese

Directions:
~ brown the ground beef slowly
~ spoon off excess fat
~ add garlic, parsley flakes, oregano, salt, tomato juice,onion salt, pepper and tomato paste
~ simmer slowly uncovered until sauce is thick
~ stir occasionally
~ cook noodles in boiling salted water until tender
~ remove from water and rinse with cold water
~ combine cottage cheese, eggs, salt, parsley flakes, and parmesan cheese
~ In a 13x9x12 in. pan place half the noodles in the bottom of the pan with 2 layers of noodles, and sealing the seams
~ put half of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles
~ layer half the mozzarella cheese, and half of the meat sauce
~ repeat process (make sure you double the layers of noodles each time)
~ Bake in 375 F oven for 30 min.
~ let stand for 15 min. before cutting in squares
~ makes 12 servings

Peach Upside-Down Cake

One of  our long time family traditional desserts is Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. We decided to put our own twist on this recipe, by using fresh peaches, and call it Peaches & Spice Upside-Down Cake! We hope you enjoy our version of this amazing traditional recipe.

Ingredients:
~1/4 Cup butter or Margarine
~ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
~ 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
~ 1 Cup packed brown sugar
~ 3 Cups drained fresh sliced peaches ( peeled and juice preserved)
~ 1  jar (6 oz.) maraschino cherries ( drained with no stems)
~ 1 box super moist yellow cake mix ( vegetable oil and eggs call for on cake mix box)
Directions:
~ Heat oven to 350 F
~ In a 13x9 in. pan, melt butter in oven (we prefer a bundt pan
~ Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon,and nutmeg over butter~ arrange peach slices on brown sugar mix
~ place cherries evenly around the peaches ( press gently into brown sugar)
~ add enough water to reserved peach juice to measure 1 cup
~ make cake batter as directed on box, substituting peach juice mixture for the water
~ mix together and pour in 13x9 in. pan on top of peaches
~ Bake 42-48 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
~ Immediately run knife around cake
~ Place heat proof serving platter upside down onto pan; turn plate and pan over
~ Leave the pan over cake for 5 min. so brown sugar topping can drizzle over cake; remove pan cool 30 min.
~ Serve warm or cool

Apple Cranberry Chutney with Pork Chops

We decided to kick off the Fall Season by starting with one of our families favorite recipes! Our recipe consists of Pork Chops and Apple Cranberry Chutney

Pork Chop Ingredients:
~ 8 pork chops

 Chutney Ingredients:
~ 3 Cups apple juice
~ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
~ 4 teaspoons cornstarch
~ 2 Cups chopped apples
~ 1 Cup boiled cranberries
~ 1 tablespoon cinnamon
~ 1 teaspoon nutmeg
~ 1 teaspoon allspice
~ 1 tablespoon brown sugar
~ 4 tablespoons butter                                                    

Directions:
1: Boil apple juice, lemon juice, and apples until reduced
2: Add cornstarch until thickened
3: Boil Cranberries in water until soft
4: Add cranberries to reduced sauce
5: Add in cinnamon, nutmeg,allspice, brown sugar, and butter
6: Sear pork chops
7: Place pork chops in a 9x13 pan
8: Pour chutney over the top of pork chops
9: Place foil on top of pork chops
10: Bake at 375 F for 40 min.
11: Serve with stuffing and enjoy!

Preserving your Fall Harvest

Grandmothers & Mothers, spent Fall harvesting their Summer time vegetables & fruits. They spent many hours in the kitchen preserving their Summer time garden, by bottling them for wintertime use.

We wanted to take their ideas by finding a simplified way to harvest your garden, and use it all winter long. So we have found ways to freeze dry your fruits & vegetables so that they stay all year.

Apples:
Directions-
1: take your favorite apple, wash, scrub, and rinse under cold water
2: peel apples using a paring knife or vegetable peeler
3: cut apples into desired slices
4: remove the core and seeds
5: put sliced apple in a bowl of water and 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
6: place apple slices on parchment paper on a cookie sheet ( make sure they aren't touching)
7: stick in freezer and freeze until firmly solid
8: remove apples of cookie sheet, and place into freezer-safe plastic bags or freezer-safe container
9: Place back in freezer
10: apples will last for 6-9 months
11: use in any cooking method

Peaches:
Directions-
1: wash and scrub peaches
2: peel peaches with a paring knife or vegetable peeler( our method we prefer to blanch peaches, because it makes them soft)
3: cut into desired slices or chunks
4: remove the pit
5: place them in a bowl of 1 Tablespoon lemon juice for every 2 cups of water
6: spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
7: freeze until firmly solid
8: remove peaches from cookie sheet, and place into freezer-safe plastic bags or freezer-safe containers
9: Place back in freezer
10: peaches will for 6-9 months
11: use in any cooking method or eat fresh from the freezer

Introduction

We are excited to bring together traditional family recipes, and adding a little seasoning of LOVE!

Through the study of Culinary Arts, and hands on experience in Cake Decorating plus Catering, We invite you to try new flavors that will bring you back in time. While encouraging ideas of time saving, cost saving, and everyday home cooking!