Recipe Book Organizing

I love organizing things (and people) - my problem is sticking with the program I have organized and ending up with things all in a mess.

Perhaps it's due to the New Year so I've been making lists (and checking them twice) and trying to re-organize some things.

Today it was my binder cookbook.

Most of my recipes come from the internet and some are torn from magazines. I usually get a hard copy of an internet recipe and then hole punch it and file it in a binder. Lots of times I'm too lazy to do the hole punching part so the recipes get shoved into the binder. My binder wasn't in too bad of shape until recently when the rings came loose and things fell out and mixed up. I decided it was time for a new plan.

I decided to streamline the book and to format all the recipes so that they looked the same. Not as hard as it seems since a lot of the recipes already had the URL - so I could copy the recipe and re-format it and make any changes to the recipe that I had on my original copy. I also pitched some recipes I figured I didn't need.

So far I've re-formatted about 40 recipes and it's looking good. I still have another stack to go through - but I think I might pitch a bunch of them as they fall into the "dessert" category and I don't make a whole lot of desserts. And really isn't ice-cream just about the perfect dessert? I could just keep a carton of that in the freezer and pull it out when need be - problem is that the "need be" would be daily. I'm not an ice-cream connoisseur so Aldi Vanilla Brand at less than $2 a carton is good enough for me (and the kids!...though they always try to persuade me to get chocolate or chocolate chip...I like vanilla b/c it tastes the best and it's more versatile...though I do give in occasionally and let the kids pick).

I figure that once I have gone through all my recipes I'm on the road to menu planning (something that has never worked for me yet)...or at the very least I'll have some tried and true recipes that I can get my hands on in a jiffy.

Pizza Buns

Pizza buns are like cinnamon buns (or rolls as some may say) - but instead of using a lethal sweet concoction of sugar, cinnamon and butter inside - you add some savory goodness.

The recipe is pretty simple - b/c you just use whatever regular bread recipe you use. I used a combo of whole wheat and white flour on these ones.

You prepare your dough as if you are making cinnamon buns - all the same steps except what you put inside.

Once you've rolled out the dough - spread on a thin layer of pizza sauce, sprinkle with shredded cheese and pepperoni (as much or as little as you want). Roll it up - slice and put in a pan to rise the second time.

Bake for about 25 min at about 375 degrees...

It's a little more healthy than a slice of pizza (well guess depends on how "healthy" your bread recipe is) and less messy - so it's something that is easy to take along in a lunch or in the car. They are best a little warm - but they are good at room temperature also.

Ds loves them...dd isn't as crazy about them...I think partly due to the fact that there isn't a whole lot of cheese and pepperoni inside...but again - you can add as much or as little as you desire.

Cookies and Craziness

I did something kind of crazy today, not that that is newsworthy or even all that unusual.

I baked about 240 cookies today. Thing is, I hadn't planned on making 240 cookies. It all started with The Sparrow's Nest having a cyber cookie exchange...and Be It Ever So Humble posted her picture of some beautiful peppermint pinwheel cookies from this recipe. When I saw these very cool looking cookies I knew I wanted to try making them.

So I did.

Except for some reason, my dough turned out more pink than red, but that was fine b/c my dd loves anything pink.

Then I thought I should make some cookies for a few people from church...and I couldn't just give one kind of cookie - so I decided to make some of my delicious (if I may say so myself) gingersnap cookies. So I made some of those.

This is about the point the craziness part sets in...

Meanwhile I got to thinking how I had about 15 bags of coconut (you know how it is when you are shopping without a list and you see something - coconut in my case - and figure you need one of those for your Christmas baking?). Well that shopping without a list or buying something that wasn't on a list that I had - happened a few too many times.

I used up some of the coconut on the CherryLICIOUS bars - but needed something else. I searched and found a recipe for some kind of white cookie with white chocolate chips that called for a cup of coconut - I was doubling the recipe, so that took care of 2 cups of coconut.

By this point I'm thinking I need to make one more kind of cookie b/c a variety of 4 cookies sounded nice - and I needed something with chocolate. As usual, I did not read through the recipe completely before I began and too late found out this was a recipe that had to be refrigerated TWICE. It is about 2 pm at that point, and I needed to have everything packaged up, labels made etc. by about 5:15 pm.

The chocolate cookie dough is EXTREMELY gloppy, hence the twice refrigeration. I move it into a flatter container and pop it into the freezer, trying to hasten the process. I'm moving fast now. Trying to find enough containers to package everything in b/c the little boxes I bought last year on sale, are too narrow to hold much of anything. So I try this and that - and end up with a hodgepodge of containers...some looking nice - some looking like they were those plastic re-usable or throw-away containers from Aldi (b/c they were)....but I perked them up with a colorful ribbon.

With about an hour to go - my ds starts complaining of a stomach ache...nothing unusual in that...at least at 4 pm.

At 5:15 - the kitchen and dining room and office areas are a mess - but the cookies are packaged (with some help from my dd).

We head out to church where we are having a meal - and where the kids will deliver the cookies to our friends. That all seemed to go well. Meanwhile ds is not eating - which does not bode well...but I also noticed it was grub he doesn't care much for anyway. Soon the boy tells me his stomach is hurting again and he feels crummy.

We head home.

He talks of being cold (which he never does) - I take his temperature and he has a slight fever. He falls asleep almost instantly.

I clean up the cookie mess.

Incidentally the chocolate cookies were the best...they tasted like brownies. And they actually look better than the photo shows.

CherryLICIOUS!!

The Sparrow's Nest is hosting a Cyber Christmas Cookie Exchange. These are not exactly what you'd call a cookie - but it's a "bar" - so I hope it counts!

I found this old recipe card for a "dainty" called Cherry Bars. A pretty bland name. So I am officially renaming it - CherryLICIOUS Chews! This recipe belonged to my mother, and I remember her making this treat on occasion - for Christmas or for church functions. It looks like the recipe was cut from a magazine or an old cookbook.

I thought I'd give it a try this morning. And man, am I glad I did (well the part of me that is NOT concerned about my weight, was glad I did).

These cherry bars remind me of those chocolate covered cherries. Or back "home" when I was a girl I'd buy these little chocolate confections called "Cherry Blossoms"...kind of like a chocolate covered cherry but much, much larger. There is a flat bottomed chocolate/coconut ball that houses a runny/creamy/cherry/sugary syrup and a maraschino cherry.

The original cherry bar recipe did not include any chocolate - I added that to make it more Cherry Blossom-ish.

If you are trying to lose weight/watch what you eat or suffer from hyperactivity - DO NOT try this recipe. It will only tempt you. Don't think you can only try a little nibble and be satisfied. It doesn't work. Oh I first was only going to have a "taste"...you know baker's rights...then I needed a bit more of a taste. Then I was eating the "bad pieces" or edges that had to be cut off to make the squares look more shapely (and me less so).

Here is the recipe:

CherryLICIOUS Chews

Base:
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 c icing sugar
1/2 c soft butter

Topping:
2 eggs
1 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1 c coconut
1 c cut-up red glace cherries (all I had was a jar of maraschino cherries so I used those)
1/2 t almond flavoring
1/2 a hollow chocolate Santa Claus (sorry but I didn't have any other chocolate that would work for melting and drizzling on top)

Measure flour w/out sifting into bowl. Add icing sugar; stir well to blend. Blend in butter w/fingertips until mixture is very fine and mealy. Pat firmly into bottom of lightly greased 7x11" oblong pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 min. Remove from oven.

Beat eggs well then add brown sugar and beat until well mixed. Stir in cherries, coconut and almond flavoring.

Spread mixture evenly over partially baked based.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min or until golden. When cool - melt your chocolate Santa Claus (or some other milk chocolate morsels) and drizzle over top, cut into bars - and devour. You can use as much or as little chocolate as you want. I wish I had thrown the whole Santa in the microwave to melt.

Works For Me Wednesday - What Do I Fix Edition

Rock's in My Dryer is featuring a "What Do I Fix Edition" of "Works For Me Wednesday". It's almost supper time and you need to fix something quick and with ingredients on hand (which does not include bread - so no sandwiches).

I think most of my daily supper meals could fit into the above. I do usually have a large store of canned goods on hand - and my freezer does usually contain some form of leftovers or browned ground beef/cooked chicken that I can add to anything at the last minute.

One fast great recipe I came across a couple of years ago is Simple, Spicy Black Bean Soup. As a bonus, it is healthy and almost fat-free.

Simple Spicy Black Bean Soup

2 15 1/2-ounce cans black beans (rinsed)
1 c salsa (whatever kind you have on hand - I like Aldi's Mexican salsa)
2 c canned chicken broth
salt/pepper if needed

Cook on medium heat for about 15 min and you are done!

Hopefully you have some crackers & cheese that you could have as a side dish. Or just slice up some fresh fruit.