Fireside Coffee Mix

01 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Holidays, New Favorite

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Curling up by the fire with a good cup of coffee or hot chocolate is one of the things I look forward to as we approach the holidays and cold, snowy weather.

Last year, my daughter, Megan, introduced me to Fireside Coffee and I was a big fan. I kept a container ready all of last winter and will do the same this year. I made my Fireside Coffee with decafinated coffee so I could enjoy it day or evening.

What a wonderful gift this would be for neighbors and friends.

FIRESIDE COFFEE MIX

2 cups powdered cocoa mix (15 packets of Swiss Miss individual servings)
2 cups powdered coffee creamer
1 cup instant coffee (I used decaffinated)
1.5 cups sugar (I used 1.5 tablespoons of Stevia instead)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix ingredients well. Store in tins, jars, or plastic bags.
Mix 2 heaping tablespoons mix with 2/3 cup very hot water. Stir and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Family Favorites

21 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Family, Family Favorites, Holidays, Home

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bars, Bread, brussel sprouts, dessert, family, pecans, Pie, Pumpkin, squash, Thanksgiving, Turkey

And these are a few of my favorite things! Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

CRANBERRY RELISH

Cranberry Relish

CRANBERRY BREAD

Warm Cranberry Bread

PUMPKIN PIE

The Best Ever Pumpkin Pie

PUMPKIN BREAD

Pumpkin Bread Loaf

PUMPKIN BARS

Pumpkin Bar Square

QUINOA WITH ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, PINE NUTS, FETA

ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS, CINNAMON SQUASH, PECANS & DRIED CHERRIES

TURKEY AND DRESSING

TURKEY VEGETABLE SOUP

Turkey Vegetable Soup

Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans and Dried Cherries

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Gluten Free, New Favorite, Vegan, Vegetarian

≈ 1 Comment

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brussel sprouts, cherries, cinnamon, craisins, honey, pecans, roasted, squash

Autumn brings cooler weather, falling leaves and wonderful vegetables. I’ve become a huge fan of roasted vegetables and loved the idea of combining squash with Brussel sprouts. Adding cherries, nuts and honey were the icing on top of the vegetables.

This is a wonderful dish for a potluck, holiday and just an ordinary night at home.

ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS

4 cups Brussel Sprouts, ends trimmed, yellow leaved removed, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

1.5 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and dubbed into 1 inch cubes (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Other ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans or halves
1/2 cup dried cherries (or Craisins)
optional: 2-4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (I did not add additional honey)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease the foil-lined baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, combine halved Brussel sprouts, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt (to taste) and toss. Place on foil-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, turn them over for even browning. The cut sides should be nicely browned and partially charred.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a foil-lined baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, combine cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded), olive oil, honey, and cinnamon. Toss to mix.
Place butternut squash in even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once half-way through baking, until squash is softened.

NOTE: You can roast both the Brussel sprouts and the butternut squash on 2 separate baking sheets at the same time .

Assembly

In a large bowl, combine the roasted Brussel sprouts, roasted butternut squash, pecans, and cherries (or cranberries) and mix to combine.

OPTIONAL: For more sweetness, add 2-4 tablespoons or honey or maple syrup…add slowly to desired amount of sweetness.

Adapted from Juliasalbum.com

Cherry Bars

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Family, My Roots, New Favorite, New Traditions

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almond, aunt, bars, cherry, dessert, recipe card, tradition

Cherry desserts are one of my favorites and I had to try this Cherry Bars recipe from my late Aunt Joyce’s recipe box. While I don’t recall ever having these, they are wonderful. The combination of almond and cherry…yum!

Leafing through old, handwritten recipe cards is such a treasure…a lost tradition in today’s world.

CHERRY BARS

1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, beat after addition of each egg
3 cups flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1 can cherry pie filling

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease 10×15″ pan.
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition.
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
Slowly add flour mixture to batter. Then add vanilla and almond extract.
Spread 1/2 of batter into pan. Spool filling on top and spread to cover. Drop the remaining batter by spoonfuls over the top.
Bake for about 40 minutes. Watch it to just golden brown.
Drizzle with glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar, 4 or more tsp. milk, a few drops of almond extract. Add milk until the drizzle consistency is reached.

Big Country Breakfast Bread Pudding

24 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Family Favorites, New Traditions

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bacon, Bread, bread pudding, breakfast, Casserole, cream cheese, easy, eggs, overnight, sausage, shredded cheese

Breakfast casseroles are always a treat and easy peasy when you make it the night before. This casserole has a wonderful cream cheese surprise in many bites. Why have I never thought of that?

Serve this dish with a wonderful fruit bowl, a cup of hot coffee (or tea), and wonderful conversation.

BIG COUNTRY BREAKFAST BREAD PUDDING

1 loaf Brioche bread, cubed (I used French Bread)
1 cup heavy cream (I used half & half)
1 /2 cup milk
9 eggs
4 oz. can chopped green chiles
2 c. + 1 c. shredded sharp white cheddar (or any shredded cheese of your liking)
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
10 oz. browned breakfast sausage (optional)
5 strips of applewood smoked bacon, cooked until crisp, chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt & 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or 1 tsp. McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning)

Spray a 9×13″ extra deep baking dish and place 1/2 to 2/3 of the bread cubes in the dish.
Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl, add cream, milk, salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth. Reserve 1 to 1.5 cups of mixture and pour remaining over the bread cubes.
Spread green chiles on top of bread. Sprinkle with 2 cups of shredded cheese. Lightly press the bread down to aid in absorption of the egg mixture. Top with cream cheese, sausage and bacon, if desired.
Top with remaining bread and pour reserved egg mixture over the bread. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper, if desired.
The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake on middle rack for 45-55 minutes or until the center is firm. Cover the bread pudding with foil about halfway through the cooking time and remove for the last 5 minutes or so.
Serves 12.

Recipe adapted from foodforayear.com

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

11 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Book Club, New Favorite

≈ 1 Comment

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Asian, cashews, chicken, rice, Slow cooker, stir-fry

Our book club met at my home for our March review of Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien. I must admit I did not care for the book and did not finish it. Others had the same difficulty finding it complex and hard to follow, especially in the beginning. However, for those that finished the book, they thoroughly enjoyed it finding the Chinese Cultural Revolution to be similar to world experiences today.

Our potluck cuisine was Asian and my Asian recipe file is devoid of recipes. I found this wonderful Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken recipe online and will definitely make it again and again. Very flavorful and wonderful with rice and stir fry vegetables.

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup cashews

Combine cornstarch and pepper in resealable food storage bag. Add chicken and shake to coat with cornstarch.
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker. (Frankly, next time I make it I will skip this step)
Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sweet chili sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and cashews in small bowl; pour over chicken. (Optional: If you like the cashews to be softer, you can add them during the cooking process. If you like more crunch, add them right before serving.)
Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
Service over rice. Optional: Garnish with chopped scallions.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Recipe slightly adapated from therecipecritic.com

Chocolate Cake…Vegan and Absolutely Delicious

25 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Gluten Free, New Favorite, Vegan, Vegetarian

≈ 2 Comments

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cake, chocolate, easy, gluten free, vegan, yummy

Who doesn’t like chocolate cake? I wanted to make a chocolate cake for a gathering of friends, two of which are Vegan. We all love to share salads, fruits, pastas, but dessert is always a bit tricky.

This cake was moist, delicious and almost healthy! I would make it again and again whether my guests were Vegan or not. Even one of my Grand Dogs thought it was worthy of his attention!

CHOCOLATE CAKE…VEGAN AND ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS

Cake:

3/4 cup plain flour/GF flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3C unrefined cane sugar/brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

This makes a small amount of frosting as the cake doesn’t need much, but for a full batch

1 1/2 tbsp lite Nuttelex or other dairy free butter/margarine alternative
1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F.
Grease and line a small cake tin (or cupcake tins)
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate medium mixing bowl combine applesauce, sugar and vanilla and pour into dry ingredients.
Mix until just combined and pour into cake tin.
Bake for 20-35 minutes or until cooked through and a skewer inserted removes clean. If making cupcakes, cook for ~10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
For the frosting, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a mixer, adding in the cocoa and vanilla and mixing until combined. If needed, add a couple of drops of milk/non dairy milk until your desired consistency is reached

Recipe from Southerininlaw.com

Sugar Cookies for Valentine’s Day

12 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by cathysmaha in Family Favorites, Holidays, New Traditions

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cookie, family, frosted, tradition, valentine

Sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day is such a treat. I’m usually not a big fan of actually making them (but always a fan of eating them) because of the work involved. This year, however, I was motivated and found the process fun…walk down memory lane. The cookie recipe came from my sister, Carolyn. She made these when her kids were younger and I loved them.

My kids and I started a tradition last year of gathering around Valentine’s Day for a group dinner and, this year, the cookies will be our dessert. I loved cutting out the smaller hearts for the little ones. We need to enjoy it because who knows when I’ll be motivated once again!

SUGAR COOKIES

3 cup sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup shortening (butter, Crisco, etc.)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg in a bowl. Cut in shortening.
In a separate bowl beat eggs. Add sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat well.
Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and mix well.
Chill dough for at least one hour (I chilled overnight).
Roll out 1/2 dough on floured surface and return remaining dough to refrigerator until ready to roll out. (I found the dough a bit sticky so used quite a bit of flour while rolling out). Cut into desired shapes.
Optional: At this point you can sprinkle with decorative colored sugar if you don’t want to ice the cookies. I did this for half of the recipe.
Bake cookies on ungreased baking sheet at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes or until a light brown on the edges.

CREAMY ICING:

3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4-6 tablespoons cream (or half and half)
drop or two of red food coloring (to reach the desired color of pink or red)

Blend ingredients together to make an icing with a thin consistency. This will be enough icing for the entire cookie recipe. I made half of the icing recipe and iced half of the batch.

Cherry Kolaches, our Christmas Day Tradition

23 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by cathysmaha in Czech Heritage, Family Favorites, Holidays, Home, My Roots

≈ 3 Comments

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Baking, cherry, Christmas, Czech, family, Kolache, tradition

The gifts are wrapped, the house is decorated, and the baking is done. This year I thought I’d take a break from making Kolaches for Christmas Day until I mentioned this to my family. WHAT? BREAKING FROM TRADITION? So, I will not break the tradition and made them today. The truth is I love them as much as my daughters and their families.

This year I used my Mother’s Foundation sweet dough which she used for cinnamon rolls and Kolaches. My KitchenAid mixer makes easy work of making bread instead of taxing my arthritic wrists. The past several batches of bread I’ve made from standard flour have been too dense, so I decided to try King Arthur’s unbleached bread flour. I loved the result with a very light sweet dough that melts in your mouth.

The cherry filling started with a bucket of frozen sour cherries I purchased at the Farmer’s Market last summer.

There is nothing better than the taste of those cherries. Truly, I could eat a bowl of the cherry filling and forget the bread dough!

I also make a dozen chocolate kolaches which started as a request by one of son-in-laws, now a family favorite as well. I simply put chocolate chips (or this year a dove milk chocolate square) in the middle of the dough ball and then pinch it closed. Let it rise to double in size then bake. When you remove from the oven, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Another tradition for our Christmas Day celebration is the Nordic Kringla. Turns out Kringla is a big hit with my 3 year old grandson and 1 year old granddaughter. My 6 week old grandson has yet to weigh in…but next year…

Wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year!

CHERRY KOLACHES, our Christmas Day Tradition

Mom’s Foundation Sweet Dough

2 cakes (Packages) yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons shortening (I used unsalted butter)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6-7 cups flour (I used 6 cups King Arthur Bread Flour)
3 eggs, beaten

Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in lukewarm water. Set aside to soften and rise.
Scald milk. Add shortening, sugar and salt; cool to lukewarm. Add 2 cups flour to make a batter. Add the yeast mixture and beaten eggs, and beat well.
Add remaining flour or enough to make a soft dough. Knead lightly and place in greased bowl. Cover and let set in warm place, free from draft. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
When light, punch dough down and shape in balls about the size of a walnut and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise.
When risen, push the centers of balls down and fill with cherry filling (or filling of your choice). Let rise again.
Bake at preheated 400 degree oven (375 degrees for convectional oven) for about 7 minutes or until golden brown.

Cherry Filling
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup juice from cherries
3 cups pitted tart red cherries (water pack)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring

Combine 3/4 cup sugar with cornstarch. Stir in cherry juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, till mixture thickens and bubbles; cook 1 minute longer. Add remaining sugar, cherries, butter, and food coloring and cook until thickened. (Mixture will be very thick.) Let stand while preparing bread dough for Kolaches.

Reference:

KOLACHE … Bohemian Heritage and Christmas Tradition

Fork Lore

~ Tales from my kitchen.

Author Archives: cathysmaha