Soft Molassas Cookies

Judy Brown's Soft Molassas Cookies
( aka supersoft gingersnaps - from Favorites)
1 1/2 c butter
2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c molasses
4 1/2 c flour
4 teaspoons baking soda (this is not a typo!)
2 teaspoons cinnamon2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and molasses and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Roll into balls with a cookie scoop and roll balls in sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 375 for 10 minutes.These make wonderful holiday cookies!

Gram's Gingerbread Boys

Today I made Gingerbread boys with Cori. She hummed and serenaded me with beautiful Christmas songs as I mixed, rolled and cut out the most delish little men ever to be covered with frosting. Cori is a wonderful baker and an amazing song writer- what a gift to be able to turn tender feelings into words.

Thank you Cori for filling my kitchen today with wonderful smells, treats and sounds! Here's the recipe for her gingerbread cookies and for her music visit http://www.coriconnors.com/

Gram's Gingerbread Boys (via Cori) * revised

1/4 c butter

1/4 c butter flavored crisco

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c molasses

1/2 t cider vinegar

1/2 c buttermilk

3 c flour

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t ground ginger

2 t cinnamon

First off follow the recipe EXACTLY! (or your cookies will be less than delish- trust me!) Cream shortening, butter and sugar. Mix in molasses and vinegar. Mix a cup of flour with the spices. and mix into batter. Then alternate adding flour and buttermilk. ("start with flour and end with flour") CHILL for at least a few hours to over night. Roll out thick and bake at 375 for 6-10 minutes. (6 min was perfect in my oven- don't over bake if you want them soft). Cool and frost with butter cream frosting.

Yummy butter cream frosting

1/2 cup butter softened

1t vanilla

1/4 t salt

1/3-1/2 cup EVAPORATED milk

4 cups powdered sugar

beat the butter until fluffy, add additional ingredients, alternate adding powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency, should be thin enough to spread so the frosting appears smooth on the top of the cookie. The frosting will harden slightly and you can used a pastry bag to pipe on additional decorations.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rachaels' Pumpkin Cookies (from Favorites)
3 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 cup oil
2 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
3 cups sugar
1 t salt
5 cups flour
1 1/2 c chocolate chips


In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt and mix well. Add flour and mix to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.



Browned Butter Frosting
1 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c milk ( i use evaporated milk in frosting)
1 t vanilla


melt the butter on the stove in small sauce pan until melted and it begins to brown. (watch it close so it doesn't burn) add to powdered sugar and slowly add milk until smooth, add vanilla -Frost and enjoy!!!

Brown Sugar Muffins

1/2 butter softened
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 c. milk
2 c. flour
1/4 t salt
1 t baking soda

Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in milk. Add dry ingredients and stir. Pour into greased muffin pan. (makes about 12 regular sized muffins) Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

We had these tonight with Cauliflower soup!! yummmmm!!!

Uncle Steve's Peach Ice Cream

5 years ago my uncle Steve passed away. At his funeral we ate the most delicious homemade peach ice cream. This summer I called around to the wonderful women who provided lunch to find this recipe because it was such a vivid memory for me! Another great way to remember Steve!

4 eggs

2 1/2 c. sugar

2 c. milk

1 t vanilla

1/4 t almond

8-10 large peaches. pealed and pureed

2 c. whipping cream

Beat eggs until think and lemon colored (about 5 minutes). Beat the sugar in until dissolved. Stir in milk, vanilla and almond. Stir pureed peaches into egg mixture and then fold in the whipping cream. Pour into Ice Cream Freezer! (makes 4 quarts)

creamy bacon farfalle

!ell lets be honest, I don't cook much during the summer. We grill a lot and I make a few different pasta salads. My new summer fav is the one Ashley posted below. It is awesome cold with Feta!!

Another favorite pasta salad Gretel and I created by sharing ideas and substitutions back and forth and viola!! delish pasta.

CREAMY BACON FARFALLE

handful pine nuts (about 1/2 cup)
6- 8 mushrooms sliced
1 c. frozen peas
1 bunch asparagus cooked and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
a handful (about 1/2 cup) cooked and crumbled bacon. ( I buy the Kirkland brand cooked bacon from Costco- LOVE IT)

1 cup half and half
1 c. chicken broth
2-4 T butter
1 clove garlic ( I like the minced garlic)
2 T. lemon juice
1 c. parm cheese
cornstarch

1 lb farfalle cooked and drained.

In a large skillet toast pine nuts. Then add butter, garlic, mushrooms and bacon saute until soft. Add asparagus and frozen peas- cover and simmer on low.

In a small sauce pan warm broth over med heat. In separate bowl mix 2 T cornstarch and 1/4 c. of the cream add rue to broth and stir until thick. Add the remaining cream (3/4 cup) lemon juice and 1/2 c parm cheese.

In a large bowl combine cooked mushroom/bacon/pine nuts, sauce and noodles. Depending on your veggie to noodle ratio you may not want to use all of the noodles. This pasta is also great with grilled chicken left over from a previous day of grilling! Sprinkle with remaining parm cheese and enjoy!!

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

I LOVE chocolate chip cookies, and I make pretty good ones too.

But I am not going to share my recipe, not because I am mean, but because chances are you have a perfect recipe too- you are just making them wrong. (I know this is possible because people have used my recipe and made terrible cookies)

So here is how to use your recipe to make PERFECT chocolate chip cookies:

Fresh Ingredients: Don't pull out 4 year old baking soda and hope that is works.

Correct Measuring: make sure that your measuring spoons/cups all add up. I used to have a 1/2 cup that was more like a 1/3 and I couldn't figure out why my cookies didn't work.

Use 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter at room temperature: whatever the recipe calls for use 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening.

Mix it by hand. Seriously. Let it be the arm workout that justifies all of the cookies you are going to eat!

Don't Overmix: Cream the butter and sugar and then add the eggs one at a time. (if you can't mix it all by hand- STOP using the mixer after you add the eggs) From here on out stir in the flour mixture and chocolate chips.

Refrigerate your dough if you have time- even it is only 30 minutes.

DON'T spray your cookie sheets and preheat your oven.

Use a cookie scoop so that your cookies are all the same size

And MOST IMPORTANTLY pull your cookies out of the oven before they are done. (I have a grandma who will not take anything out of the oven until the timer goes off. The rolls can be black on top- and still no matter- they are not done until the timer dings.)

Be patient: Put just a few on the cookie sheet to start out with. Start with 8 minutes. If you can see they are still gooey- leave them in for another minute or two. But if they look like just one more minute and they will be perfect: Pull them out and let them set. I think that you'll be surprised that they keep cooking on the pan. If they are still too gooey then next time cook them a minute longer.

I would love to hear if these tips (and any others) help you make AWESOME, no-fail chocolate chip cookies!

* disclaimer- that is not my picture at the top, but it was the best I could find. Guess I'll have to make some!

Fruit Pizza

Another summer fav: Fruit Pizza
The first time I ever made this, I totally ruined the dough. My cute boyfriend at the time(hubby now) showed superior cooking skills and told me the 2 1/2 C. flour was indeed that and not two half cups of flour (yes- that equaling one total cup of flour). Lucky for him I have gotten better at cooking, and can read a recipe now.
I made individual pizzas this time. You can make a big one and cook it on your pizza stone, or use your cookie cutter and make small ones. The small ones were fun because I could give them away!!
Crust: Use this sugar cookie recipe.
Filling: Mix 8oz. softened cream cheese with 1/2 C. sugar and 2 t. clear vanilla- mix until light
Toppings: Whatever assortment of fruit you desire. I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi and bananas. I have also used peaches and mandarin oranges.
Let the cookies cool and then top them with filling and fruit!

Julie's Pesto Pasta Salad

Guest blogger here. I am a sister to this salty cook. And I love her a lot. Seriously. I also love her enough to make a post on a cooking blog. I say that because I am not always super confident in my cooking skills... but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that seem to be people pleasers. Summer cooking for me is a LOT of pasta salads. Mostly cold ones that I make in the day and stick in the fridge ready for dinner that night. But the other day my cute bff from elementary school (who's birthday is today!) brought this pasta salad to a shower and I have salivated over it ever since. It was so simple- yet had such a fun fresh flavor. Love it!

Julie's Pesto Pasta Salad


box of bowtie pasta
chicken cooked on the grill- and cut into pieces
purple or sweet onion
craisins
pesto sauce ( I use Costco's- I know she makes her own sometimes)


Cook your chicken on the grill. It looks so much prettier when done on the grill, and for this pasta it adds a nice smoky touch. Cut it up and set aside. While your chicken is grilling, cut your onion and throw it on the stove with some olive oil. I let these caramelize for a really long time. Like almost a half an hour- til they are nice and clear and stringy! After your noodles are cooked, drain and then toss them with the pesto sauce. Add the chicken, onions, and craisins. Serve warm.


My own twist: I added a little half and half to the sauce to make it a bit creamier. Also it was delicious topped with crumbled feta. Another addition you could add would be toasted pine nuts.

Salmon Tacos

voila! one of the best and easiest cinco de mayo dinners!!


salmon

cajun seasoning

1-2 T butter per pound of salmon

small corn tortillas

cheese ( I like pepper jack)

shredded cabbage

mayo

1 lime

cilantro

salt & Pepper

Gently spread butter on salmon fillet in small pats, then sprinkle cajun seasoning on salmon according to your own personal spicy threshold. Wrap entire piece of salmon in foil and cook on the BBQ for about 20 minutes until light pink and flaky. (no need to flip)

while your salmon is cooking, melt pepper jack cheese between two small corn tortillas (just lightly spray the pan with Pam so they don't stick)

Place hot salmon on the tortilla and add shredded cabbage (I love the pre-made cole slaw mix because it saves on the chopping)

Then top with lime cilantro sauce: 1/2 c mayo, juice from one lime, 1 t salt, 1 t pepper, 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh cilantro ( I like to thin my sauce with a little milk to make it spread easier)

And for dessert: Fried Ice Cream. Just roll a ball of vanilla ice cream in honey bunches of oats, or granola and then drizzle with caramel. It is a lot easier and you won't run the risk of burning your house down or having to endure hot oil smoke for days!!

Brittany's Sweet & Sour Chicken

how cute is that apron??

Brittany's Sweet and Sour Chicken
1/2 c flour
1 T baking powder
2 c water
2 T cornstarch

4 chicken breasts, boned & skinned and cut into cubes
Mix ingredients & marinate the chicken for at least an hour

2 c cracker meal (I haven't yet been able to find cracker meal so I have used fish fry and it works great. You'll find the McCormick 12 oz boxes near the Seafood Counter)

Dip marinated chicken pieces in cracker meal and fry in oil for about 2-3 min per side. Drain on paper towel.

Sauce
2 T ketchup
1/2 c sugar
2 squirts of lemon or orange juice
1/2 T vinegar
3/4 c + 1 1/2 T water ( I know it's a weird measurement, but it works)
Combine ingredients and bring to a boil on med-high heat, stirring frequently. Boil 2 min.
Then combine 1 T cornstarch & 1 T water and then add to sauce and stir until boiling and thick.

(note on the sauce- Brittany adds an extra cup water, but I liked the thicker and heavier syrup. So if it too much for you add more water)

Fried Rice
3 c cooked rice (rice is actually better if it is a day old)
1 c carrots, diced
1 c onion, diced
1 c celery diced
1 c broccoli florets diced

1 c. frozen peas (add the peas when the other veggies are almost soft)
2-3 T butter OR 2/3 c. veg oil. (I prefer butter, Britt likes oil)
Stir-fry vegetables for 10 min. Add rice and soy sauce (3-4 T) to taste, breaking up rice clumps.

Free Cone Day!!

Tuesday April 21st is Free Cone Day

at Ben & Jerry's noon to 8pm



wow! that's long enough to go back a couple of times!!



ohh! and think of the fun shopping you can do at the gateway in between cones!



your welcome!

Toffee Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 1/4 c. flour

2 c. oatmeal (non-instant)
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c toffee pieces
1/2 c. coconut

Cream the butter until fluffy, add the sugar and mix well. Add the eggs and vanilla. whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then slowly add to creamy mixture until well combined. I then stir in the toppings (oatmeal, choc chips, toffee and coconut) by hand.

Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes. Don't overbake!

Enjoy!

April Fool's Cookies

These are darling little April fools day cookies that my cute friend Gretel made for preschool this morning. They aren't too complicated and they taste pretty good.

thought I would pass along the how to

• the buns: vanilla wafers


• meat: york peppermint patty


• lettuce: coconut turned green with a little food coloring


• mustard and ketchup: red and yellow frosting


• sesame seeds are stuck to the bun by melting a little jam (preferably a light color like apricot and spreading a little on the wafer and then sprinkling on the sesame seeds).

Happy April Fool's day!

Med Student Cinnamon Rolls

One morning I was at work when thee most delicious cinnamon rolls I had ever seen arrived. They were uniformly perfect. Who made these AMAZING cinnamon rolls??

"I did" piped up a med student.

"No. No you didn't" answered snotty me. (honestly these were bakery quality, NOT Rhoades.)

"ya, I did"

"You mean your wife did?" I insisted. (What a dork I thought. Does he really think that I would believe that he made these.)

"Really. I made them."

"SO, where did you buy them?" I asked again, not backing down. (I make cinnamon rolls A LOT. I have tried lots of recipes, and although most turn out good these were stop the car fantastic.)

"Seriously I made them."

After asking at least 5 more times, (and was told by a co-worker I was being rude) I conceded. "Can I have the recipe?"

And so here it is: in his own words

MED STUDENT CINNAMON ROLLS

4 eggs

2 1/2 c warm water

3/4 c sugar

2 tbs yeast

1 c semi-melted butter

ADD and mix, then knead:

7 1/2 c flour

2 tsp salt

let rise 20 minutes

roll out into a rectangle

pour on about 1/2 c butter

spread on brown sugar/cinnamon mix :cinnamon such that it tastes like it is almost too much)make it uniform and more that you would think. (I used 1 c brown sugar and 2 Tbs cinnamon)

roll into whatever size roll you desire. (He would make 16-24 rolls I made 30)

let rise about 25 minutes

bake these at 350 for about 14-17 minutes

let them cool about 5 minutes before frosting and frost such that they are completely covered so they don't dry out.

general frosting idear

soften 1/4 c butter and 2 Tbs cream cheese until both are nice and soft, mix together

add in about 3 tbs of milk and 1 tsp of vanilla, mix like crazy

add in enough powdered sugar to make it about as thick as good cake frosting

P.S. spend the extra $.75 and get the good butter, it really makes a difference with these.

P. P.S. turns out the med student used to work in a bakery

March Cookie of the Month- Mint Oreos!

mint oreo cookies

1 chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c. oil

mix well (batter will be thick) scoop onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes at 350. For the bigger size I used a Tablespoon and the mini cookies was a teaspoon (which only baked for 5 minutes). My kids loved the little size. Let cool completely and then frost the back of one cookie with mint frosting and stick two together to make a sandwich. enjoy!!

Mint Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

¼ t salt

1/4 t mint flavoring

1/3 – ½ c milk

green food coloring

P.S. I promise to move beyond green and onto spring this weekend!! happy spring!

St Patrick's Day Dinner: Part II

Not like anyone (except maybe Maddie) cares what we are really having for St. Patricks day dinner (since my family will just show up and eat here) so I have slacked in announcing to the blog world what's for dinner!

It was going to be corned beef in a crock pot, but Dan spearheaded a revolt and my invited guest almost had "other plans" . . . so i have reconsidered and we will have brisket instead. What's the difference you wonder? Ah, corned beef is the salted (or brined version) of brisket. The brine has always worked for me before, but the pink spam look doesn't work for Dan. I am sure it is good and I might have to cook it up next week just to try it. Hey I never thought I would like cabbage rolls either, but we had them at the Steelers party and they were good!

Oh yes, dinner.

Brisket, breadsticks, broccoli smashed potatoes, and whatever green or Irish things Courtney & Scott, Nicole, and Ash & fam are bringing. (yes Ash I bought a 6 lb brisket would love you to come unless your wonderful neighbor friend and you want to have brisket there instead.) Some green additions might be a salad, or asparagus, or cabbage, or jello (the kids would love it).

Sorry Marianne I am not crock potting it. But slow cooker in the oven (about 4 hours) from the recipe in April's Martha Stewart Living.

But a fun addition to the meal will be our green
Broccoli Smashed Potatoes
4 lbs yukon gold potatoes (I like them best for smashed potatoes)
1 lb broccoli
milk
butter
sour cream
salt
garlic
milk

sorry but I make my mashed potatoes without a real recipe. But here is the basic idea:
peel, cube and cook potatoes until soft. Steam broccoli until soft- allow broccoli to cool and then puree in blender with a little milk . For the potatoes ( i like to mix them in my kitchen aid) add milk, butter, sour cream and garlic until whipped and creamy! Fold in the broccoli puree and adjust seasonings to taste!!

Happy St. Patrick's day!

Shamrock Stamps

Kate and I had a little "alone" time today and we made placemats for our upcoming St. Patrick's Day Dinner! Easy (and cheap) potato stamps using a heart or shamrock cookie cutter.

1. Cut potato in half and push cookie cutter into the flesh of potato.

2. Cut around the cookie cutter.

3. Dip into paint (and make sure you don't get too much on the stamp or it slides.)

4. Three little hearts make great leaves

5. and then paint a stem

Kate also found that two heart shapes also make great butterflies!

(we made 7 placemats! hope that Nicole & Naomi are planning on joining us for dinner!)

St Patrick's Day Dinner: Part I

St Patricks Day is next week, and we all know I hardly need a holiday to have a celebration.

Will your family enjoy a meal of all green food?? Like Asparagas, peas,beans, broccoli, salad, green jello- or maybe even green eggs and ham??

Shephards Pie then? that seems kid friendly.

OR Will you go with the traditional Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage? Maybe Marianne will try this out with me in the crockpot.

For today though: Shamrock Breadsticks

1 1/2 c. warm water

1 T yeast

1 T sugar

1/4 c. sugar

3-4 c flour

1 t salt

Pour warm water into a small bowl. And yeast and 1 T sugar. It should become bubbly in a few minutes. In your mixer mix sugar, salt and about half the flour. When the yeast mixture is bubbly add it to the flour mixture and mix on low speed to combine. slowly add more flour until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides. (If this is your first time making rolls/breadsticks don't be surprised if it takes a few minutes to get shinny and smooth- if it is still too wet add more flour, and it is too dry add a little water.)

Take the dough and form it into a log roll. Then cut 1 inch pieces and roll in between your hands to form a long snake. Start with one end for the stem, and make 3-4 loops for clovers depending on how lucky you are feeling.

Place on a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 400 for about 10 minutes. Brush with butter and sprinkle with just a hint of garlic salt while still hot!

Enjoy!!

How does your Garden Grow??

I love to garden, the flower variety that is, but last summer we planted our very first vegetable garden. We grew summer, crookneck, acorn and spaghetti squash, 3 varieties of pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, basil and zucchini. It was one of the easiest things I have ever done. My brother-in-law made me some garden boxes which I filled with topsoil. I planted some little starts from Home Depot and just like magic I had a garden full of vegetables!!
Did you know that you can start planting your vegetable garden in March?? Yes now is the time to plant peas, onions, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, beets, parsley, spinach, carrots, radishes and turnips, potatoes and lettuce.

I think that this year is a wonderful time to plant early and often. (Seeds and starts only cost a few dollars and think of all the money you will save). Start now and you will have a long growing season filled with wonderful fresh veggies!

1. Pick a spot with lots of sunlight and make sure the soil is good. Use top soil to fill new garden boxes or amend the soil with nutra mulch or bumber crop to replenish nutrients to the soil.

2. Make a list of veggies that you most often buy or eat. (don't plant a bunch of silly veggies that you and your kids are not going to eat- we had squash and pumpkins coming out our ears. And although it was fun this year I want to plant veggies that we eat a lot of so that I don't need to buy them from the store. ) Right now I might only plant onions and carrots and lettuce but at least I know we will eat what I grow!

3. Know when to plant.
March is a great time to start planting root vegetables.
J&L Garden Center has a wonderful (day by day) schedule on their website of when to plant here in Northern Utah.

4. Watch for great recipes on the blog using fresh veggies like inside out carrot cake cookies!

Pumpkin Pancakes

And to finish off the week with a bang- my favorite . . . Pumpkin pancakes! Yes I am totally out of season, (and so are my shoes) but they are my favorite and so I'll enjoy them year round. The first recipe is my moms, the second is one that a friend from Boston sent me. So try one or both but either way I hope you have enjoyed Pancake Week. I know we have!!

Pumpkin Pancakes
2 c. flour
3 T brown sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t all spice
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1 1/2- 1 3/4 c milk
1 egg
2 T oil
1 c. canned pumpkin

Mix all ingredients in the mixer. The batter is thick- so use a little extra milk if you would like, And don't be afraid to cook them a little longer than regular pancakes. This is my mom's recipe and she loves them with homemade syrup and a dollop of real whipping cream!

Pumpkin Pancakes II
1 c flour (I use wheat flour)
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (I substitute 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon & nutmeg)
1 egg
1 c plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 c pumpkin puree
2 Tbs butter melted

In bowl, stir all dry ingredients. In other bowl beat the egg for 30 seconds. Add yogurt, pumpkin, butter and beat well. Stir in dry ingredients and beat until combined. Cook on nonstick skillet on med high heat.
For the treat version: I add about three chocolate chips as I am cooking the batter on the skillet. Then I make a smiley face with whip cream.

Crepes

We had crepes for dinner on Tuesday Night for Pancake day! My kids were in heaven. Crepes stuffed with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas, topped with whipped cream and syrup! This was the first time I had made crepes and they turned out great!! Reminds me of freshman year when we would go to crepe parties. I'm not quite sure what I was putting on my crepe but I don't remember liking them very much. Silly me I was probably lathering them with Nutella and then gagging them down!

Crepes
4 eggs lightly beaten
1 1/3 cup milk
2 T butter melted
1 cup flour
2 T sugar
½ t salt
2 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients in the blender until smooth, and then refrigerate for a couple of hours if you have the time. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil applied with a brush or paper towel. (I used Pam and it worked great) Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 2- 3 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. If the batter is the right consistency it should spread out into a nice little circle for you. (add a little milk if you need to) Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Serve immediately with berries, cream, syrup and Nutella if you are into that!

Banana Pancakes & Homemade Syrup

Homemade Syrup
1 c. water
2 c. sugar
1/2 t imitation maple flavoring
1/2 t vanilla

Combine water and sugar in a sauce pan and stir frequently to dissolve sugar. Bring to a soft boil. Add maple flavoring and vanilla and then while you are enjoying breakfast allow to simmer and syrup will become (a little) thicker.

Banana Pancakes
1 cup flour
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk
¼ t salt
2 T vegetable oil
1 ripe banana mashed

hint: mash your banana in a small Ziploc bag and then cut the corner off and squeeze into bowl.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl mix egg milk, oil and mashed banana, combine wet and dry ingredients but don’t over mix. It is okay if it is lumpy. Pour ¼-1/2 cup batter on hot griddle and flip when bubbles start to form on top. Add chopped pecans or chocolate chips to batter on griddle before flipping if you would like!

German Pancakes

German Pancakes
6 eggs
1 cup milk
½ t salt
1 c. flour
6 T butter
1 t vanilla

Beat eggs until thick and lemon colored. Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in the oven in 9X13 pan. Mix flour, eggs, salt and milk, and pour into hot pan with melted butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot with butter, and powdered sugar or syrup. Enjoy!!

We're Having Pancakes Tonight . . .

Growing up my dad was the one who would make us breakfast and get us off to school. On the weekends he would make us pancakes. I still love his pancakes- straight from the mix, all the same size, hot off the griddle with homemade syrup! love them!


So tonight whip out the pancake mix and celebrate PANCAKE DAY! (Steph's kids will be in heaven). To spice it up gather a few extra ingredients and drop them onto the pancake after you pour batter onto the griddle before it is ready to flip.


Everyone can have their favorite mix in.

The kids love: chocolate chips, blueberries, and m&ms.

Dan & my new favorite is apple cinnamon pancakes:
Peal and dice apples into small pieces, cook in a small saute pan on the stove until the apples are soft, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and then drop the apples onto the batter as above.

NO mix (or feeling adventurous) NO Problem


Light and Fluffy Pancakes

1 ½ cups flour
3 ½ t baking powder
1 t salt
1T sugar
1 ¼ cup milk
1 egg
3 T butter melted (unsalted if you have it, or omit the salt)1/2 t vanilla

Hints: they will be lighter and fluffier if you sift the dry ingredients twice and let the egg and milk sit at room temp, and don't smash or pat the pancake after you flip!

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter and vanilla; mix until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat (350-375). Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. (add your mix ins) wait for the bubbles and then flip to the other side. Serve them hot with your favorite toppings.



Stackers Pancakes (more like the ones my dad used to make)
1 c. flour
1 T sugar
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 scant tsp salt
1 c. milk
1 egg
1 T oil
1 t vanilla


In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and oil and vanilla; mix until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat (350-375). Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. (add your mix ins) wait for the bubbles and then flip to the other side. Serve them hot with your favorite toppings.

Pancake Week

Did you know that another name for MARDI GRAS or FAT TUESDAY is Pancake Day? Yep this Tuesday is National Pancake Day and Ihop is celebrating by giving away a free short stack. Pancake Day dates back to the middle ages when making pancakes was a great way to use up eggs, butter and sugar before the fasting season of Lent. In Russia they celebrate pancake week so we will too! For the next few days there will be a collection of fabulous tried and true pancake recipes!



Do you call them pancakes, flapjacks, hotcakes or silver dollars?



Buttermilk, or whole wheat?



Do you eat them in a stack or one huge one at a time?



Do you like to add bananas, blueberries, apples, nuts, chocolate chips, vanilla and spice to the mix?



A fluffy German pancake, or paper thin crepes filled with nutella, strawberries, bananas and powdered sugar?



And how about the toppings? Butter first? Do you butter the whole stack or just the one on top? Jam, crunchy peanut butter, powdered sugar, fruit and whipping cream, or just syrup?



And we know that all syrup is not created equal. Cold or warm? runny or thick? real maple syrup or straight Karo syrup? Homemade or Mrs. Butterworths?



My perfect pancake you ask? Krusteaz whole wheat pancakes, thin in a stack of about four with butter (on every one) and HOT homemade maple syrup. Mmmm!



Your kids will think you are awesome when you have pancakes for dinner on National Pancake Day! So check back daily to see what's flippin'.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

CONGRATS to Paige, Jenny H., Marianne, Lori, Liz and Brittany you are my lucky winners!!

Remember to post a similar give away on your blogs!

Will you email me at justahintofsalt@gmail.com so we can swap some details?

thanks!

You're a Winner!!

I was lucky enough to happen upon (my sister's cute sister-in law) Holly's blog the other day. And it was a crafty give away tag! I am feeling very crafty at the moment (just made a darling reversible apron, and homemade soap) and I am in to perpetuating good deeds. Makes everybody feel good right?

So here it is...

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

My choice.

Just for you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. (but i will try)
2- What I create will be just for you. (this is the best part- a personalized gift. I like to create- but it is even more fun to do it for a specific someone)
3- It'll be done this year. (actually this month- let's be honest. I am feeling crafty now and I dread doing it 11 months from now)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be photography or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may sew or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. (but more likely an apron- cause I am in to that right now, or soap- got lots of left overs, or dinner for a week, or a cute egg wreath for Easter) Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. (but I won't- I will want you to LOVE what I craft for you!)

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 5 of your own lucky blog readers. So, the first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it.The end.

And the fine print? my family can't win. They get my craftiness all the time. And who knows, I am always in the mood to bake so don't be shy about commenting if you aren't in the first 5 I might make you cookies!

Cauliflower Soup

Is it cold today where you are? I found this fabulous soup recipe on the Pioneer Woman’s Blog. It is delish and even my kids ate it (they called it WHITE BROCCOLI SOUP) I didn’t add the sour cream and it was still plenty creamy and rich! Here is just the basic recipe as copied from her blog (with a couple of my notes) - but she takes amazing step by step pictures if you want to see them here! Enjoy! Hope it warms up your day!

PW’s Mom’s Cauliflower Soup
1 stick butter
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 to 2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped (the more the better)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried parsley
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth or stock
2 cups whole milk (just used the 1% I had)
6 tablespoons flour
1 cup half & half
2 to 4 teaspoons salt, to taste
(1 generous cup sour cream, at room temperature- I didn’t add this)

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown. Add the carrots and celery and cook an addition couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half & half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir. Serve immediately.

Did any of you try the Tomato Soup? Did you like it?

Presidential Food Trivia

Which US President . . . .

1. Enjoyed ice cream so much that he had two ice cream freezers installed in his home?

2. Preferred simple foods like hot dogs, scrambled eggs and grilled cheese?

3. Liked garden peas so much that there were 19 varieties growing in the kitchen garden?

4. Loved New England Fish Chowder? (hint it is said Chowda)

5. Favorites were beef stew and vegetable soup?

6. Enjoyed whole fruits, especially apples?

7. Loves Mexican Food and hates Broccoli?

8. Is allergic to chocolate and dairy?

9. Was a peanut farmer who loves nuts?

10. Loved chili and said "Chili concocted outside of Texas is usually a weak apologetic imitation to the real thing?"

11. Loves shrimp, grits and chili?

Thanks to http://www.kaboose.com/ for the fun!!

1. Washington 2. Franklin D. Roosevelt 3. Thomas Jefferson 4. JFK 5. Eisenhower 6. Lincoln 7. George W. Bush 8. Clinton 9. Carter 10. Lyndon B Johnson 11. Obama

Happy Valentines Weekend!!

Happy Valentines to you and yours!

Spread Love Not Germs!

How to make homemade soap

By Annie

1. First gather your supplies: clear Glycerin soap, soap dye and fragrance (all available at the craft store), rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, cookie cutter or mold

2. Take soap and cut it up into little pieces and put into a bowl.

3. Next put the bowl into the microwave. It might take a long time until it is melted. (melt for 1-2 minutes at a time- and it will take about 10 minutes)

4. After it is melted add smell and color.

5. Pour into a cookie pan. Spray with special spray (rubbing alcohol) very quickly to get the bubbles away.

6. Next put it in the fridge and wait about 10 minutes and when it is hard you can cut it out with a cookie cutter.

7. Or after step 4 you can pour it into a mold. The refrigerate until hardened.

8. Last deliver them to your friends with a little note that says " Spread Love Not Germs."

mmm! Valentines Candy!

I am not usually a candy person. But something about the limited engagement of my favorite treats makes me an absolute lunatic in the candy aisle. LOVE, LOVE the sugar covered cinnamon hearts. And although cinnamon shapes appear for almost every holiday ie cinnamon devils and santas - only for valentines are they generously covered in sugar! But please don't confuse them with the jelly hearts- yuck.

I would NEVER buy six bags of candy unless of course it was all in the name of holiday candy! When loading your cart full of assorted varieties is not seen as a weakness but a necessity. It is completely acceptable for the "seasonal aisle" to be jammed with women placing 4, 5 or even 6 bags of candy in their carts. But you would mutter under your breath if you saw similar behavior in the regular candy aisle.

Just like with Girl Scout Cookies we have moments of temporary insanity. Justifying our sweet tooth with that great "limited edition" item. Like today when in search of said cinnamon hearts I discovered Red fruit Starburst Jellybeans - just the Red fruits. Wow! I thought I was going to have to wait until Easter for these. And have you seen the new all green M&Ms. They are rumored to increase your romance levels! Haven't heard whether it is true or not (I was just going to buy them the day after Valentines for my St. Patty's Day candy) but it really makes me wonder which one of my Jr. High Buddies is working for marketing at M&M!

mmm! the jelly beans are awesome!

By Popular Demand . . . .

The original sugar cookie recipe!! Happy baking!

A's Sugar Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda

cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, then vanilla, then gradually add flour salt and baking soda. Put the dough into a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Then roll out & cut into holiday shape of choice. I put my cookies on the pan in the fridge for 10-20 minutes before baking and it helps them to hold their shapes better. Then bake for 10 minutes at 350. cool completely before frosting.

Yummy butter cream frosting
1/2 cup butter softened
1t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/3-1/2 cup EVAPORATED milk
4 cups powdered sugar

beat the butter until fluffy, add additional ingredients, alternate adding powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency, should be thin enough to spread so the frosting appears smooth on the top of the cookie. The frosting will harden slightly and you can used a pastry bag to pipe on additional decorations.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Well here it is, February's cookie of the month! enjoy!!

½ c butter, softened
1 ¼ c sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
½ c. sour cream

2 ½ c flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
½ c. cocoa

In a small bowl add dry ingredients and wisk together. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (about 3- 4 minutes) Beat in egg then vanilla and sour cream and mix well. Add flour mixture slowly and beat until well combined. Place the dough in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight.

Then roll out & cut into shape of your choice. (I cut out two hearts the same size and then cut a cookie out of one of the hearts) Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet. I refrigerate for 10-20 minutes before baking and it helps the cookies to hold their shape better. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ t salt
1 t vanilla
1/3 – ½ c EVAPORATED milk – your frosting will look smooth instead of grainy.

Beat the butter until fluffy, add additional ingredients, alternate adding powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency, should be thin enough to spread so the frosting appears smooth on the top of the cookie. The frosting will harden slightly and you can used a pastry bag to pipe on additional decorations.

Creamy Tomato Soup

3 large carrots
1 med onion chopped
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (28 oz size)
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
4 cups chicken broth
½ pint half and half
2 t dry basil
1 t salt
Pepper


Sauté carrots and onions in a 1 T butter in a large pot, until soft. Add tomatoes, sauce, broth, cream and spices and heat thoroughly. Simmer 10 min. Using a hand blender puree until smooth. (Or cool your soup and then puree in blender in small batches- make sure your soup is cool, and your batches are small, or you will end up with soup all over your ceiling!) Add a just a hint of salt, reheat and serve!

Recipe credit: my good friend Ash sent me a delish ward cookbook for my birthday. This soup is supposed to be Nordstrom’s Tomato Soup as submitted by Cindy Jermasek. I cut the recipe in half and made minor adjustments!

Enjoy! we are having it for dinner tonight and then I will post a picture! Let me know if you decide to try it and what you think!

Sledding

We enjoyed a wonderful day on Saturday sledding up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a beautiful day! Bright blue skies and nice and warm. We had our own little hill to ourselves. The girls thought it was awesome to play in the snow.

Why Salt?

So a new blog and a new title. You are either nodding your approval in agreement of the title or you are wondering why salt? so I will explain

I am salt. Or at least was once called salt - as part of an inseparable pair of cousins who looked as different as salt and pepper. My Aunt Annie called us salt and pepper.


Megan was killed in a car accident nearly 10 years ago and now I have a blond little Meg in my life as a reminder of my wonderful friend and cousin.

I am a little salty.
Feel free to read all of the definitions on dictionary.com but I liked
a lively character, sharp, and witty

and for the nature of the blog: interesting and agreeably stimulating

I like salt.
The four basic taste sensations are sweet, bitter, sour or salty. Salt is a THE most important spice in my cupboard. I may even be guilty of over salting my food. I love salt. And did you know that a little salt actually enhances sweetness?

And Salt is my favorite scripture allegory. As found in Matthew 5:13

so please take me with "just a hint of salt"

Families Helping Families

origionally posted Wednesday Jan 21 2009

Over the Christmas break Dan and I went with (part of) the Parker Family to Rocky Point Mexico to participate in a humanitarian project building houses as part of "Families Helping Families"

The premise behind the organization which is patterned after Habitat for Humanity- is that you can't get a loan in Mexico- and we all know we would never be able to save enough money to be able to pay cash for a house. So families can qualify for a house by a) having a job 2) working a certain number of hours on helping to build the houses and 3) paying back the foundation over the next x number of years.

That's how it all looks on paper- but what actually goes on is totally different. You can see in the slide show above the innocent sweet faces of the children that live in the cardboard makeshift house next to where we are building. One of the boys Angel asked if he could have the house we were building because he liked it better than the one he was living in- and then he wrote his name in the cement front porch.

American families give up their Christmas presents and time off from school and work to spend 8+ hours a day laying block, working with messy cement, making new friends, and working together on what will become someones dream home. We eat at road side taco stands and offer our new mexican friends pizza through the barbed wire fence. Families brought with them old clothes and small toys to give away to the children and families they met. We forgot about ourselves for a couple of days and were able to change the lives of 3 families (yes there was a large enough group that we actually built 3 houses)

The first year we went to Mexico to build was in 2005. I didn't get to spend much time on the house because I was in the Condo with my little kids. I honestly didn't love the experience and didn't really understand why my parents insisted on going back year after year. Well this year I caught the bug- I actually got to work (really hard) every day and I truly felt like I was making a difference. So next year we will let Ash & John go and we'll watch their kids. And when our kids are a little bigger we'll take them too so that they can see how blessed they are, and what a great experience it is to help other people.

And speaking of blessed- although this is a lesson that I want to teach my kids, maybe it is really just a lesson that I need to be reminded of first. It is easy to always want more stuff- to fill our large houses with. But watching the mexican kids happy as can be riding their old 1980's bikes and wearing clothes you and I donated to the DI humbled me beyond belief- my kids will wear their shoes a little longer this year, and I will be happier with my old jeans. And I will spend more time helping that glow in my children's faces to be brighter!

want to come next year?? it will change your life!!

Updated Slideshow

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 lb bitter sweet chocolate

1/4 c. butter

1 3/4 c. brown sugar

4 eggs

1 t. vanilla

5 heath bars (1.4oz size) broken into pieces about the size of a chocolate chip

1 c. walnuts chopped

melt chocolate and butter together

beat sugar and eggs until frothy about 5 minutes

mix in chocolate mixture and add vanilla

add flour, baking soda and salt

stir in heath bars and walnuts

The dough will be extremely runny so refrigerate for about 45 min. (any longer and you will bend your spoon trying to get the dough out) then use a med size cookie scoop and bake on parchment paper for 14 minutes at 350. They should be soft and cracked on top. It's okay if they don't look quite done- they will set up on the pan and Don't forget the parchment- you will be really sad when they won't come off the bottom of the pan!!

makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Dedicated with love to AS who prefers a brownie! these are for you! hope you can find bars of bittersweet chocolate in NZ.