Dutch Babies

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  While it is preheating, melt 3/4 stick of butter in a 9" x 13" cake pan.  Meanwhile, mix 6 eggs, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of milk (either with a mixer or by hand) in a bowl.  When butter is melted, pour the batter into the butter.  (It works best if you take the pan of butter out of the oven and immediately pour the batter into the butter and put back into the oven.  So you want to time putting the butter into the oven just right so the butter doesn't burn before the oven is preheated.)

Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with powdered sugar and lemon juice or syrup (or whatever toppings sound good)

Rising in the oven

Just out of the oven

Deflated after being out of the oven

Blueberry Bars

Blueberry Bars


Crust and Crumb Topping
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

Blueberry Filling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 pound blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 pan.  Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.
Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside.  Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan.  Bake until golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the blueberry filling.
For the filling:
In the same food processor  pulse together sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together.  Add the blueberries, lemon juice and butter and pulse 3-4 times mixture is gently combined.   
Finish bars by spreading the blueberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan half way through cooking time, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days.

from www.mynameissnickerdoodle.com 

Baked Beans

Baked Beans


2 cups dried navy beans
1/2 pound sliced bacon chopped 
1 medium onion finely diced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard

• Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover.
• After soaking, cover with fresh water and bring to a simmer over low heat.  Continue to simmer until beans begin to soften, about 1 hour.  Drain and reserve liquid.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• In a large  skillet cook bacon and onion until both begin to brown, about 10 minutes
• Combine drained beans, browned bacon and onion, and remaining ingredients in an ovenproof pan and stir to combine.  Pour in enough of the reserved bean cooking water to cover beans, probably about 3 cups.  Cover pan.  Bake, stirring every hour or so, until beans are tender, 2 to 3 hours.  Remove lid about halfway through cooking, and add more liquid if necessary to prevent beans from becoming dry.

This recipe adapted from "Family Feasts for $75 a Week" by Mary Ostyn

Cornmeal Cereal

Cornmeal Cereal - This was  OK, but we probably won't make it again for a while
6 C water
3 C milk
4 C cornmeal
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp Butter

Combine water, milk, cornmeal, and salt in a saucepan, stirring briskly to combine.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches a boil, about 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low.  Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens.

Remove from heat.  Stir in butter, ladle into bowls.

Variation:  Stir in pancake syrup and sprinkle with raisins.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar (do not mix into cookies)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients (except powdered sugar) slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. *If using a non stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.