• 3 cups oats
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 Tb
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• zest of two oranges
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 40 oz of frozen berries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  In a large bowl, toss together oats, 1/2 cup flour, pecans (I used pecans that were already covered in cinnamon and sugar from a local orchard), brown sugar, 1/2 of the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and zest of 1 of the oranges.  Add butter and gently press with fingers to incorporate into mixture; set aside.
2. Place berries (I used 16 oz of raspberries, 16 oz of blackberries and 8 oz of blueberries) in a 12-inch cast iron skillet.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, zest of second orange, and 2 TB of flour and gently toss.  Scatter oat mixture over berries.  Transfer to oven and bake until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden about 35-45 minutes.

(Taken from Country Living magazine and tweaked a bit to my taste.)

• 2 Tb unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium white onion, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch-thick coins
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 2 baby Yukon gold potatoes, sliced
• 3 Tb all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups roasted chicken breast meat
• 3/4 cup of frozen peas and pearl onions
• 1/2 cup of frozen sweet corn
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 (9-inch) store-bought pie crust
• 1 egg, beaten
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. You have two options for the roasted chicken in this recipe.  The first is to buy a grocery-store roasted chicken and just use all of the meat from it.  However, I roasted my own chicken breasts and LOVED the taste when I made this pot pie.  To do what I did, take 3 large split breasts that still have skin and pat them until they are completely dry.  Generously, salt and pepper, add a pat or two of butter and add a sprig of thyme to each breast under the skin. Drizzle the skin with a tsp of olive oil and roast all three on a jelly roll pan at 400° F for 45 minutes or until chicken is juicy and almost cooked.  Chicken may be 5-10 minutes from being completely cooked but remember that if will finish cooking in the pot pie. Once chicken is cooled, chop into large chunks and set aside.
2. Heat butter in 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, and garlic and cook until carrots and potatoes begin to soften.  Season generously with salt and pepper from the start.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in flour.  Cook 1 minute. Stir in heavy cream and broth, using a whisk, until combined.  Stir in chicken, peas and onions, corn and 2 thyme sprigs and bring mixture to a boil.  Make sure to taste mixture and season accordingly.Cook mixture on stove until all ingredients are heated thoroughly.  Remove from heat.
4. Gently roll out store-bought pie crust until it reaches 12 inches in diameter.  Place dough atop chicken mixture and brush with egg; cut vents in pastry.  Transfer skillet to over and bake until crust is browned and flaky, about 35 minutes at 400° F.

(Modified from Country Living recipe)

* Mild Curry Paste
* 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into 1 inch cubes
* Bag of frozen green beans
* Bag of frozen crinkle-cut carrots
* 1 can of coconut milk
* 2 Tb vegetable oil
* 2 Tb fish sauce
* 2 cups of jasmine rice

Begin by rinsing rice in cool water until water is runs clear through rice.  Cook rice  according to package or following these instructions.  Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and add chicken to 1 Tb of hot oil in wok or large skill.  Cook chicken completely.  At the same time reheat vegetables in an additional pot until veggies are cooked through.  Combine veggies into chicken and add fish sauce, coconut milk, and curry to taste.  (I usually add 1/3 to 1/2 of jar.)  Cook for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and coated chicken and veggies.  Serve over rice and enjoy!

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake
Makes 1 (9-inch) 2 layer cake
1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
1 (3-ounce) box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2cup vegetable oil
1/4cup water
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Garnish: sliced fresh strawberries
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2 round 9-inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, if desired.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 4 cups
1/4cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream sheese,m softened
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1/2teaspoon strawberry extract
7 cups confectioners’ sugar
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup strawberry puree, reserving remaining for another use. Beat in extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth.
Note: For pinker frosting, add 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring to frosting.

Mrs. C’s Brown Bag Turkey:

1 lg. paper grocery bag
1 stick butter
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

Use whole stick of butter to grease inside of bag starting with the bottom and working your way out.  All butter must be rubbed into bag.  This creates an oil sack that bastes the birds as it cooks.  Salt and pepper the cavity and top of the turkey.  Slide turkey into the bag breast down.  Twist ends shut and tie with string.  Put on rack in broiler pan and back at 325 degrees.  For a bird 12lbs or smaller cook 20 minutes per pound.  For a bird larger than 12 lbs cook 25 minutes per pound.  Don’t peek, poke or baste.  Juices will run into the bottom of pan. Remove after allotted time and let set for thirty minutes.  Carve and enjoy.

Dreamsicle Delights

1 cup Tang orange drink mix
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups white chocolate/vanilla baking chips

-Beat together all ingredients, except the vanilla chips.
-Stir in vanilla chips.
-Drop by Tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
-Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes.

Red, White and Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie:
·    1 1/4 cup flour
·    1/4 tsp salt
·    1/3 cup shortening
·    1 Tb cold water
·    3-4 more Tb cold water

Filling:
·    6 oz. (1 Cup) semisweet chocolate pieces
·    1 Tb margarine
·    8 oz cream cheese, softened
·     2 Tb freshly squeezed orange juice (squeeze after you’ve grated the rind)
·    1/4 c. powdered sugar
·    1 qt. fresh strawberries with stems removed.
·    1 cup fresh blueberries or raspberries
·    2 Tb red currant jelly *(opt.)

Whipped Cream:
·    1/2 cup whipping cream
·    2 Tb powdered sugar
·    1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel

Directions:
For Crust:
Stir flour and salt together.  Cut shortening into flour mixture with pastry blender or two knives until pieces are pea-sized.  Sprinkle 2 Tb water over mixture; gently toss with fork.  Keep adding water 1 Tb at a time until mixture is moistened. Form dough into a ball. Don’t handle it any more than necessary. On a floured surface, roll dough into 12″ circle. Fold into fourths. Put in pie plate and unfold. Trim edges 1/2″ beyond plate. Fold under and crimp edge. Prick bottom and sides of dough with a fork. Line with a double thickness of foil. Bake in 450 oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 5 more minutes or until golden brown.

Filling:
In saucepan, combine margarine and chocolate and heat over medium-low heat until melted.  Add cream cheese to chocolate mixture and stir.  Add orange juice to chocolate mixture and stir (heat should still be on).  Turn off heat and stir powdered sugar into mixture.  Spread that mixture in baked pastry shell.  Arrange all strawberries stem side down on top of chocolate mixture.  Fill in gaps with blueberries. Melt jelly and brush over berries. Cover, chill for 4 hours.

Whipped Cream:
Beat all ingredients together in chilled bowl with chilled beaters until soft peaks form. Spoon or pipe into center of pie.

Laurel’s Homemade Pancakes

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Separate egg white from egg yolk and set white aside. Mix yolk and liquid ingredients. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients and slowly mix them into wet mixture. When dry and wet ingredients are completely mixed, beat egg white until it forms soft-medium peaks. Fold egg white into batter. Spoon 1/3 cup servings onto hot griddle and flip only when bubbles form, break, and do not fill back in.

It had been a month since I’d had time to spend time in the kitchen for fun, and I was looking forward to a marathon baking session. As always, I was not planning to make a dozen or so cookies and be done. Nope, I was counting on making at least 150 cookies to deliver to a friend’s workplace for their birthday today, neighbors including my helper’s family, a box of goodies I needed to mail to a friend, and my twenty-eight student workers for our staff meetings the next two nights. After insisting that we both put our aprons on before we began, my personal baking helper and I started to gather the needed ingredients for cookies. I had considered tackling a more extravagant cookie recipe like Dreamsicle cookies or Snickerdoodles but decided that there really was nothing better than simple, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and I had just the recipe. I’m not sure about you but when I think of the perfect chocolate chip cookie I think about soft, chewy cookies that are more likely to melt in your mouth than break your teeth. This recipe creates the most amazing, perfect cookies that will have people asking if you bought them from a bakery or the store. My only recommendation to you if you do decide to trust me and try this recipe is don’t enlist a three year-old to be your sous chef. They might look adorable in your apron, but they really just want to spend the whole time tasting the dough.

Fluffy, Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 18 oz. mini semisweet chocolate chips

Fluffy, Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and allow butter to soften.

2) In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

3) Sift together the flour and baking soda. Slowly, add flour mixture into creamed mixture until well-mixed. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

4) Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. (I use my small cookie scoop for cookie uniformity.)

5) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

6 ) Once you remove the cookie sheets from the oven, bang the sheet on a hard surface causing the cookies to deflate. This will remove all of the air from the cookies and all them to stay soft longer. Place on cooling rack until firm enough to stack in air-tight container. This should make between 80-100 cookies depending on size.

Another Hint: Thirty minutes before I serve the chicken, I take it out (keeping it warm) and add another can of El Pato, two small cans of Salsa Casera, and boiling water to the spicy chicken broth mixture left in the crockpot. Then, I add instant rice to this mixture and cover keeping the ratio 1.5 parts liquid to 1 part rice for instant spicy Spanish rice!

Green Chili Beef Taco Meat:
I make green chili beef the same way with just a few modifications. First of all, when I can find it on-sale ($2/lb) I prefer to use London broil but have also used pork loin and various roasts when needed. Instead of El Pato, I use Herdez’s Salsa Verde, a Mexican salsa with tomatillos, chiles, onions, garlic and cilantro, for beef and pork in a ratio of a 16 oz. jar of salsa to every 3-4 lbs of meat using half at the start and the rest about an hour before serving. Keep in mind, London broil tends to take longer to cook than chicken so make sure to cook it on high for at least 8 hours before serving. This mixture will need to be shredded with a fork before serving. If it doesn’t shred easily, it’s not cooked completely.

The best part of these meats is you can use them in so many ways. Usually, I serve them on corn tortillas that I’ve quickly dipped in hot oil, hard taco shells, or soft-taco sized flour tortillas with a wide range of condiments including cheese, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, rice, beans, and salsa. However, you can make taco salads, enchiladas, nachos, taquitos, or anything else you can come up with. So the next time you need to feed a hundred for less than $0.60 a person or are looking to make dinner easily while you’re at work for the day… these tacos are the way to go, I promise.