White Bread

I normally use my friend Susanna's bread recipe when baking, but decided to try something different over the weekend. I used this recipe from Allrecipes.com. My husband and daughter really liked it. I prefer Susanna's recipe.

It did make a pretty loaf, though.

Aunt Pat's Spicy Corn Muffins

I was so pleased with the pulled pork BBQ recipe found in the back of Delicious and Suspicious by Riley Adams that I just had to try another one of her recipes. This time I made the corn muffins. I've mentioned several times here that my husband doesn't do spicy, so I left out the peppers and used a mild picante sauce. Also, I subbed canola oil for the shortening.

They turned out great and are definitely worth making again. Sorry - no photos, but here's the recipe.


Aunt Pat's Spicy Corn Muffins

2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening, melted
1 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 cup sour cream (not low fat)
1 8-ounce can creamed corn
3/4 cup picante sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno
1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
Beat the eggs into the melted shortening (after it has cooled somewhat).
Stir cornmeal into egg-shortening mixture. Add sour cream, creamed corn, picante sauce, and jalapeno. Beat well.
Spoon half the batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with remaining batter.
Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Yellow Squash Muffins

With less than an hour until supper and a mess of squash on my counter last night, I did a quick search on the internet and found this recipe at Cooks.com. Although I cut the recipe in half, I used all of my squash (without measuring) and I ended up with a dozen muffins. They were quite tasty!

Yellow Squash Muffins

2 lb. yellow squash (about 8 med.)
2 eggs
1 c. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Wash squash thoroughly, trim ends. Cut into 1 inch slices. Cook in small amount of boiling water 15 to 20 minutes until tender. Drain well, mash. Measure enough of the squash to make 2 cups.

Combine squash, eggs and butter. Stir well and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Add squash mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spoon into greased muffin pan, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 275 degrees for 20 minutes or until done. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

Fresh Herb Spoon Rolls

My daughter planned and prepared the majority of tonight's supper which included two new recipes. The Apple-Raisin Stuffed Chicken Breasts were good, but a big pain to make. Since they probably won't be repeated (and I didn't get a photo), I won't bother to post the recipe (unless someone really wants it). The other recipe, however, was delicious and will most definitely be fixed again! Don't these look yummy?!?

Fresh Herb Spoon Rolls
from Southern Living Magazine

1 (1-1/4 oz.) envelope active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110F)
4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine yeast and 2 cups warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in flour and remaining ingredients. Spoon batter into 2 lightly greased 12-cup muffin pans, filling three-fourths full.

Bake at 400F for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 2 dozen.

Susanna's Brown Oatmeal Bread

There's nothing quite like the smell of baking bread and it's been far too long since I treated myself to that heavenly aroma. I got this recipe from one of my internet friends and use to make it all the time. I don't think she'll mind me sharing it here. When I make a batch I usually do three plain loaves and one loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread. This bread freezes well so if I don't have someone to share with I can put the extra in the freezer for another time.



Susanna's Brown Oatmeal Bread

4 cups boiling water
2 cups old-fashioned oats

Pour boiling water over the oats and let cool for 1/2 hour or so.

Mix together:

2 Tbs. yeast
2/3 cup warm water
1-1/3 cup brown sugar OR 2/3 cup honey
4 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. oil
Oatmeal mixture

Add about 8 cups of bread flour OR unbleached all-purpose flour. Stir in and then knead in additional flour (up to 10 cups total flour) until bread is smooth and not too sticky. Put into large bowl or pan and add oil to moisten the surface of the bread. Cover and let rise until double in size. Punch down and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes. Make into 4 loaves in greased loaf pans and let rise until double. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Let cool several minutes before removing from pans.

For cinnamon-raisin bread:

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces after you have let it rest for the 20 minutes. Roll each piece out about 1/2 inch thick on a floured surface. Spread soft butter sparingly over it then sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins. Roll up like cinnamon rolls, trying to keep it tight. Place in the loaf pan, seam side down, and let it rise before baking the same as the plain bread.

A new year

My husband and I welcomed in the new year in our usual way. We gathered with two other couples, ate entirely too much food, laughed, talked and played boards games. We've done it for years and years and always have a good time.

Today we slept in, had a late lunch of Black-Eyed Pea Soup and Mexican Cornbread, then headed to the movies to see Avatar. Considering my attention span is sometimes a bit short I wondered if I would enjoy an almost three hour movie. I did have to shift around in my seat and peek at my watch a couple of times, but the movie was wonderful and I really liked it!

When I finish here and shut down my computer for the evening I plan to settle in with my handwritten journal to make my annual New Year's entry. I'm not always good about writing on a regular basis throughout the year, but I always write on New Year's Day. It's my time to look back and reflect on how well I met the goals I set a year ago and to decide what I want to work on in the coming year. First, though, I'll share a few recipes from our New Year's eating.

Eggnog Tube Cake

Contributed to Simple & Delicious by Mary Ellen Severance of Biggs, CA

1 pkg. (18-1/4 oz) white cake mix

1 pkg. (3.9 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp. rum extract

1-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp. rum extract

3 to 4 tsp. eggnog

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix. pudding mix, eggs, eggnog, oil, extract and nutmeg. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into a well-greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350F for 38-41 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, extract and enough eggnog to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Contributed to American Profile by Joyce Gates of Clovis NM

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 pound Polish sausage, cut into bite-size pieces

2 (15 oz) cans black-eyed peas with jalapenos, undrained

1 (14 oz) can reduced-sodium beef broth

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10 oz) can mild diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

1 (4 oz) can chopped mild green chilies

1 to 2 medium jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups water

Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and onions and cook until beef is browned, stirring frequently. Drain excess grease.

Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover tightly. Simmer 45 minutes.

Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Reheat before serving.

Mexican Cornbread

(my mother's recipe from when I was growing up)

Sift together:

1-1/2 cup cornmeal

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Add in:

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs, one at a time

1 cup sour cream

1 (no. 2) can cream-style corn

1 cup grated cheese

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (I sub dried, chopped chives)

Bake in a greased, square glass dish at 425F about 45 minutes.