13 February 2010
They’re small. They’re pies. And they’re oh-so-sweet! Just in time for Valentine’s day, you can make these delicious pastries for your family!
All it takes is pie dough, jam, and a little bit of powdered sugar (for extra beauty).
Begin by flouring the counter and rolling pin and flatten out the pie dough.
Using a cookie cutter, cut out hearts in the dough.
Lay out the cut pie dough on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spoon strawberry jam onto the centers, being careful not to fill them too full.
Wet the edges of the dough with water and place a second piece of dough on top.
Use a fork to crimp and seal the edges.
Poke a fork into the middle of each little pie so that the heat can escape.
Bake at 425° F for 13-15 minutes, or until golden.
Perfectly golden on the bottom!
Sprinkle with powered sugar for extra beauty.
They are delicious and will probably disappear quickly!
The pie dough was extra flaky, making the perfect texture.
We decided that these are the cutest little desserts that we have ever made!
This idea can be easily adjusted for any holiday or celebration by changing the shape of the cookie cutter and type of jam/jelly/preserves used for the filling.
{Original idea from here.}
6 February 2010
Yes, stuffed French Toast. As if French toast wasn’t good enough—it just got better!
This morning my dear mother prepared this delightful dish! We ate it while listening to Mr. Botkin’s Saturday Morning Online Mentoring.
Stuffed French Toast
1 loaf French bread, cut into 8 diagonal slices (making very large slices)
1 cup homemade cream cheese (recipe below)
1/2 cup fruit preserves (we used peach)
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Cut a each thick bread slice almost in half by cutting from the top crust almost to the bottom crust, making a pocket. Be careful to not slice completely through the bread. Mix cream cheese and preserves in small bowl. Spoon cream mixture evenly into each pocket.
Beat eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a small bowl, until well mixed. Dip stuffed bread slices in egg mixture, making sure to let the excess drip off.
Spray griddle (our favorite!) or skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cook bread slices over medium heat until golden brown, flip, and cook on other side.
For extra beauty, sprinkle each slice with powdered sugar. Serve with maple syrup, fruits, and/or whipped cream, if desired. Makes 8 slices of delicious Stuffed French Toast!
Homemade Cream Cheese
(it’s as easy as can be!)
1 1/2 cups nonfat plain yogurt
Line strainer with cheese cloth. Place strainer in bowl, large enough to hold the drained liquid without touching the strainer. Let strain in refrigerator for 4-8 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
The homemade cream cheese is what is left in the strainer! You can do this the day before it is needed, and store the cream cheese in a container after being drained.
We all thought it tasted delicious! The filling was great, but I think we put a little too much in the pocket. Next time we’ll put in less, and it will be perfect!
25 December 2009
On Christmas Eve we had a delicious dinner of Pork Chops and Rice. We only have this meal one or two times a year, making it extra special. The Chops are lightly breaded and we sprinkle the rice with brown sugar.
After our meal Breezy and I read aloud a few poems, a story, and sang duets of several of our favorite Christmas carols by the candle light.
Bently wishing he new what was in the five packages behind him under the tree. He was quite the patient puppy . . . and he was well rewarded with a stuffed squeaking beaver (just a toy, just a toy) and some very special dog treats. He especially enjoyed pretending the beaver was a rat.
But first Daddy read aloud the story of Christ’s birth from Luke 1:57-2:40.
Little packages under the tree. We were low on brown paper, so Momma cut up a small brown paper sack which worked perfectly!
Hand-embroidered ornaments from my dear mother – what a delightful surprise! She finished them on the morning of Christmas Eve. These will be safely tucked away into my hope chest.
Momma crocheted Breezy and I each an afghan in our colors of choice. We were allowed to see them while she was working on them . . . until they grew large and she kept them hidden. Not until Christmas Eve were we able to see their full size – they are beautiful and cozy, and most definitely large enough for ourselves and a few wee ones!
My dear parents! What a blessing it has been to be raised by such wonderful, godly parents! I am thankful to the Lord for making them my mother and father!
Our Christmas Sugar Cookies that we make every year. We enjoyed these cookies, pretzels, cheese, and donuts (inspired by the dear Chancey family) while watching Scrooge (1935).
And as we do every Christmas morning . . . Momma and I made the Monkey Bread.
Over the river and through the woods (really and truly) to grandmother’s house we go!
I hope that you all have had a most wonderfully happy and blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
15 December 2009
Welcome to A Homemade Christmas! This is No. 3 of 4 A Homemade Christmas events.
I hope you’ll join us in sharing about homemade gifts, decorations, foods, and/or handmade things that make your home extra special for Christmas!
{Feel free to learn more about A Homemade Christmas here.}
It is a joy to make special treats for gifts and family gatherings. Our top five choices (of sweets) are Cinnamon Rolls (using our bread recipe), Beluga Babies (Oreo Truffles), Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Peanut Butter Fudge. All of these treats can be packaged creatively, making the presentation quite charming!
Peanut Butter Fudge
5 cups white sugar
5 TB white karo
1 can carnation milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt
Cook until soft ball (drop a drip or two in cold water, if it stays together it is at the soft ball stage). Stir with wooden spoon to keep the bottom from sticking. Remove from heat.
Add:
¾ stick butter
1¼ cups peanut butter
Stir until dissolved (do not beat). Pour into buttered 9×13 inch pan. Let cool. Cut and enjoy!
I will be adding a couple more posts throughout the next couple weeks to this week’s AHC which will probably include more handmade gifts, recipes, and decorations.
Are you having A Homemade Christmas? Yes? Then I invite you to join me here by adding your link to your post about homemade gift(s), decorations, foods, and/or handmade things that make your home extra special for Christmas!
To join us, just sign Mr. Linky below (make sure you use the direct post link). You can get the codes and instructions for adding an A Homemade Christmas icons to your blog by clicking here. The last A Homemade Christmas event will be December 29th! This Linky will be open for two weeks, until the next AHC event begins.
I hope you’ll join us while we learn, inspire, and encourage one another as we prepare to celebrate (though we celebrate all year round) the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!
View Other A Homemade Christmas Posts:
12 November 2009
This dip is delicious! Below are the recipes for Chili Seasoning Mix (what you’ll add to the meat), Chili Meat (what you’ll add to the dip), and Cheesy Chili Chip Dip (which you will eat). This is the perfect snack-ish dish that goes quite quickly (if you have more than eight feasting upon it, you may wish to make a second pie plate of it!).
Chili Seasoning Mix
1 Tb. all-purpose flour
2 Tb. minced dried onion
1½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. ground red pepper
½ tsp. instant minced garlic
½ tsp. sugar
½ tsp. ground cumin
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Makes 1 package or about 1/4 cup Chili Seasoning Mix. We make this in bulk so that we have it on hand and do not have to mix a small batch every time we need it.
(If you are just wanting to make the seasoning mix for future use, store in a small jar or bag that is airtight. Use within 6 months.)
Chili Meat
1 lb. ground beef
1 – 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
Chili mix (recipe above)
Fry ground beef in skillet, making sure to chop thoroughly. Add crushed tomatoes and chili mix to the fully cooked meat in skillet and mix well.
Cheesy Chili Chip Dip
1 – 8 oz. pkg. neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese)
1/2 of the Chili Meat (above)
1-1½ cups shredded cheese (sharp or Mexican)
Evenly spread the cream cheese in pie plate. Layer the chili meat on top (only half of the recipe above, you can freeze the rest of the chili meat for another dish of this delicious dip or a batch of chili). Sprinkle shredded cheese over meat. Microwave for 5-6 minutes (checking on it every minute), or bake in oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes (I’m guessing, so you’ll want to check in on it). Serve with tortilla chips.
I hope you enjoy it! When the Seasoning Mix and Chili Meat has been prepared ahead of time, it makes for a quick and easy dish. This was one of the things we ate while Sarah Mae and her family were staying with us . . . we all thought it was scrumptious!
13 October 2009
Don’t those look delicious? When Mom found this recipe for Onion Strings at the Tasty Kitchen, she knew it was something we would try. Onion Strings are very much like onion rings — the only difference being the fact that they are narrow rather than thick strips.
Just when we thought our only options for good onion rings was at a restaurant or at the fair, this little recipe saved the day (figuratively). They are simple to make and taste delicious (but with all the grease, not necessarily something we’d eat everyday).
Their thinness was perfect for me, as I do not like to crunch onions . . . but Daddy prefers them more thick and manly (which I completely understand — my sweet daddy has always really liked onions). It’s completely up to your own taste buds and senses.
Next time we plan on making strings and rings.
Have you tried any new recipes that your family has enjoyed?
8 October 2009
There is nothing that says Autumn quite like the first step into the little store at the apple orchard. The smell is enchanting and brings back many memories of cider, pumpkins, and pounds upon pounds of apples.
Unlike some, the apples at our local orchard are already picked. It does sound most pleasant to pick ones own apples, though! As the apples are already picked, each type of apple is labeled by section and contained by bushel baskets.
Not only are there apples, there are also pumpkins and a variety of gourds. Behind the store are many, many pumpkins. There was a large pile of smaller ones, and past those there were rows of larger pumpkins. Although we did not purchase any, I went out back to capture a few shots of them (as well as the brimming apple tree at the top of the post).
During our latest trip to the orchard we purchased 60 lbs of apples, the majority of which have been turned into canned applesauce. We plan on going back again soon to get more apples, and in addition to those, plenty of pears to can for pear pies!
10 August 2009
“Cutting in the Butter”
August is a busy month this year! The Lord has blessed our family with a large and exciting project which we will be spending the majority of our time on for the next several weeks. I think you all will really like it . . . but it isn’t ready to be unveiled yet.
In the meantime you can enjoy the photos that I post as you eagerly await the announcement!
So you don’t miss out on our new adventure, stay updated by subscribing here!
