Fun with Food

So we are realizing how tough it sometimes to get dinner on the table -let alone document it in photos - hence the sparseness of posts around these parts lately

Today is a simple one though - fun with food.

Being a crafter as well as a gardener and devourer of all things yummy, I frequent the website CraftGossip, where I am often linked to great ideas food related.

Like this one - molded cheese!  (that is 'molded', not 'moldy')

Using silicone molds, mozzarella cheese, a microwave and a fridge -you too can turn a big block of cheese into your favorite fun shape.  And around our house - that means LEGO!

I see all sorts of party snack possibilities, here!!!  But since there are no parties in our near future -these will find their way into the Munchkin's lunchbox (and mine, too!)

Halloween Leftovers -if there is such a thing

The first Halloween Matt and I spent together, away from our respective families, we did what our parents had always done - we went out and bought candy for the neighborhood kids who would come trick-or-treating.

We did not even stop to think that we lived at THE dead end of a dead-end road (the end of the road turned into our driveway) and that this road was a turn off of another dead-end road, and that most of the homes were summer cottages, and those few people who were left were years older than we were and unlikely to go trick or treating.

Needless to say we had leftover candy - LOTS of leftover candy (I think I bought four bags).

It was SweeTARTS - I will never ever ever forget that it was SweeTARTS, because I think we were still eating them in August - 2 years later.

Not a lot you can do with leftover SweeTARTS.

We stayed away from buying candy for a while after that - until we bought our house, which is at the corner of a subdivision, right in the village, right across the street from two houses that go OVER THE TOP decorating - and we realized we would get a lot of traffic.

Right then we decided two things:

1. we would buy GOOD candy that kids would actually eat, and not be the house with the strange candy or 'gasp' non-candy toys.

2. we would buy candy that we could use in other ways.

... and of course we would buy candy that WE liked.

Our choice ended up being plain chocolate Hershey Bars - very versatile, very yummy. We even used them in lieu of cigars as birth announcements when the Munchkin was born.

Ah - The Munchkin -the new wild card in this Halloween equation. See, now that we have a family member out collecting candy from others, we have lost what delicate control we had over the contents of our candy dish at home.

Enter the "baking with candy" quest - Mommy's proactive search of the internet to see what ideas I could come up with to help wrangle the candy influx. Surprisingly I did not find many ideas - but those that I did find I decided to copy here. Since links are tenuous - and many dead links were found in this quest, I decided to copy the recipes here but to tell you that these little tidbits came from The San Marcos Record in San Marcos, TX.

These have not been field tested by our team - YET. If you try these and have any feedback, please let us know.

Baby Ruth Crater Bars

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups coarse chopped Baby Ruth

Preparation
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

Beat brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and peanut butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread dough evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with Baby Ruth; press in lightly. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.


Three Musketeers Fried Pies

Ingredients
1 (10-count) can biscuits
1 large Three Musketeers bar
confectioners sugar

Preparation
Separate biscuits and roll thin. Cut candy bar into 10 pieces. Place 1 piece in center of each biscuit; fold over and seal edges. Deep fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Oatmeal Brownie Crunch Bars

Ingredients
1 (18.5-ounce) fudge cake mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
2 eggs
4 ounces finely chopped Hershey’s Special Dark (or semi-sweet chocolate bar)
2-3/4 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted honey peanuts
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
1-3/4 cups M&Ms or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan with non-stick foil.

Stir cake mix, water, butter, and eggs until combined. Add chopped chocolate and combine. Set aside.

In large bowl combine oats, flour, sugar, nuts and baking soda; add butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Toss in M&Ms until evenly distributed. Reserve 3 cups mixture.

Pat remaining mixture onto bottom of baking pan to form crust. Pour prepared fudge cake mix over crust, carefully spreading into thin layer. Sprinkle reserved oatmeal crumb mixture over top of fudge mixture; pat down lightly.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely. Cut into bars. Store in tightly covered container.


Peanut Butter Milk Duds Cookie Cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine (not the type in a tub)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated white sugar, packed
1/2 light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 (10 ounces) package Milk Duds candies
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Optional Glaze:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp smooth peanut butter

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, peanut butter, egg, white sugar, and brown sugar. In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture, half at a time, to margarine mixture, beating well to combine. Place a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough into the palm of your hand. Press one candy into the center and press dough around it to form a ball. Roll in confectioners' sugar and place in ungreased mini-muffin tin. Bake 12-14 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Let cool in the baking tins at least 15 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Optional Glaze:

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together until smooth. Pour into a plastic zip-top bag, squeeze out the air, and seal. Cut a small corner from the bottom of the bag and drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cooled cookie cups.

Note: Rollo candies, Reese's Bites or any other candies that will mix well with peanut butter can be substituted for Milk Duds.

Candy Corn Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients
1/2 cups butter
10 cups Crispy rice cereal
9 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups of candy corn
3/4 c miniature chocolate chips
Candy pumpkins
Yellow and red food coloring

Preparation

Melt butter and marshmallows; stir until smooth. In a large bowl, mix rice cereal, candy corn and miniature chips together. To marshmallow mixture, blend in 2 drops yellow food coloring and 1 drop red food coloring, adding more coloring if necessary to reach desired shade.

Add marshmallow mixture to cereal mixture; stir quickly to combine. Spread on a large buttered pan; press with buttered hands. While warm, press on candy pumpkins spaced 1 to 1/2-2 inches apart. Refrigerate and cut into squares.

Smashed Bugs Candy Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups (about) square snack pretzels
1 package (12 ounces) Rollo chocolate-covered caramel candies
8 (about) large marshmallows, each cut into 8 pieces
1 cup (about) pecan halves

Preparation
Preheat oven to 300 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place pretzels in rows 1 inch apart on lined baking sheets. Top with chocolate caramel candies.

Place marshmallow on top. Bake for 3 minutes only. Immediately place pecan half on top of each and gently press down so all layers stick together.


Snickers Cookie Bars Recipe

Ingredients

1 package (12 ounces) Snickers Popables chocolate candy pieces, chilled
1 roll (1 pound) chocolate chip cookie dough, at room temperature

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with non-stick foil.

Cut cookie dough in half lengthwise. Oil your hands and use your fingers to gently press the dough into the bottom of the pan.

The layer will be thin. Evenly distribute the chocolate candy pieces on top of the dough and gently press down so they don’t roll.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes, then cut into bars while warm.

Tootsie Roll Ice Cream Sauce

Ingredients

35 Tootsie Roll Midgees
1/4 cup of water
1 extra cup of water

Preparation
Using the cutting board, cut up each Tootsie Roll Midgee into three or four pieces.

Place the Tootsie Roll pieces and 1/4 cup of water in the smaller of the two pots. Pour the extra 1 cup of water into the bigger pot. Place the smaller pot into the bigger pot (it will float on the water).

Heat on stove, on medium heat, until Tootsie Roll pieces melt.

Stir them together with the water.

Let the mixture cool and then pour on top of ice cream.

Fine Weather Fare

Around these parts (Matt and I live in Western NY), autumn "falls" pretty quickly, and by Columbus Day weekend we have very often had our first hard killing frost, and sometimes even our first snow flurries.

This year we had the unexpected luxury of a later frost, a relatively balmy September (ok - there were a few days that were downright cold and miserable), and a furnace that did not get turned on until last weekend. We also experienced a picture perfect Columbus Day weekend - blue sky, low humidity, enough breeze to rustle leaves but not be annoying, and best of all - warm temperatures. T-shirt and shorts warm. Picnic lunch warm.

Our attention this weekend has been on the yard, the gardens, and the garage - getting everything cleaned up, put up, and organized (although the Munchkin enjoyed some good quality sandbox time, too), and food has been somewhat of an afterthought (gasp!)...

Fortunately for us, Matt's Saturday Night Pizza (tease... you will have to wait for that recipe) made plenty for leftovers, so we grabbed the container, a bag-o-chips, a few beverages, and the last remains of last year's order of Girl Scout cookies (need to make room for a fresh shipment), and converged on the Munchkin's Little Tikes picnic table for what is probably our last family picnic of 2008.

At least our last 'outdoor' picnic. We sometimes do these inside, too - in the middle of the living room - converged around another one of his little tables.

Picnics, they are good for the spirit!
So in the spirit of Columbus Day - today's recipe is to have a picnic - the menu is up to you.
Enjoy!

sunday morning waffles

We have a Sunday morning tradition around our house. We sleep in (the only day we REALLY get to), Munchkin watches PBS, Regina reads the paper (cover-to-cover), and I make waffles.

But not just waffles... my special waffles.

Years ago, I found a basic waffle recipe, and I've been tweaking ever since. Here we go...

Daddy's Special Waffles
(make 3-4 full waffles)

1-1/2 C all-purpose (AP) flour ( I prefer unbleached, unbromated)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted but not hot.
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (use the real stuff)
1-1/4 C (10 oz.) milk (I use 2% 'cuz it's on hand)

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Pour the melted butter into a medium mixing bowl (an 8-cup Pyrex measuring bowl works great because you can melt the butter in it to start.) Whisk the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly beaten. CAUTION: Be sure the melted butter is not too hot, we don't want the eggs to cook... yet.
3. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla.
4. Drizzle in the milk and whisk until combined.
5. Add the dry mixture, all at once, to the wet mixture*, and stir to combine, but don't over beat. Really, don't worry about the lumps... they cook out.
6. Set aside for a few minute to prep the waffle iron. The rest will let the baking powder start to do it's thang.
7. Plug your waffle iron to preheat it. Set it at the brown-ness level of your choice. Frankly, these things only need two settings: off and full-on.
8. Check you iron's owner's manual (you still have it, right? right?) to determine the batter-capacity. Ours holds one cup of batter, so to make it easier, we employ our 1/4 C. ladle (also great for pouring pancakes and ladling, well, ladley things).
9. When the iron tells you it's ready, and most models will, load it up and clamp down the lid and wait for "all done" signal, be it ding, buzz or blink.
10. Remove the waffley goodness to a place and ship it IMMEDIATELY to the table... or feel the wrath of a little boy who LOVES his waffles. If you decide to make a bunch and serve them all at once, just place the waffles on a wire rack, nestled in a 1/2 sheet pan, cover the lot with aluminum foil in a pre-heated 200°F oven.

*Yes, I know, I know, most recipes like this use the 'muffin method', where the wet is added to the dry. I choose the reverse because at 7AM on a Sunday morning, I'd rather shake out dry than scrape out wet.

Serving Variations
'Round these parts, we're partial to butter and good maple syrup. Notice I said 'good maple syrup', you know the REAL stuff. Yes, earlier in life I was smitten with the curvy temptress in brown glass with her sugary sweet goodness, but have since seen the errors of my ways. I'm a real maple syrup guy now, be it medium or dark amber grade.

Of course, when the blueberries are fresh and readily available at the local Farmers' Market (anyone need to buy a good farmer?), then the toppings go in this order: butter, blueberries, syrup, whipped cream (sorry, too early in the day to whip it myself so I use the canned stuff) and then, for a bit of flair, a sprinkle of confectioners' sugar (bam?)

Leftovers (you're kidding me, right?!?)
As I said before, Boomper loves waffles, so we always try to freeze a few from each batch. Wrap them tightly with plastic wrap (Press 'n Seal freezer wrap works great for this) and store in a freezer zip top bag. Don't worry about how long they'll last in the freezer... they won't last that long.

So, did you get all of that? I hope you like 'em!