Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a quiet inner peace for Christmas as you celebrate all of God's very best for you and your family. Christmas blessings...

Chunky Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

This recipe is for those who love pecan pie and chocolate, but don't have a lot of time, or the desire, to make a pie. The recipe goes together quickly and tastes so rich, you will hardly miss the pie-shape on your plate. Blessings...

Recipe:

Crust:
1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Filling:
3 eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pkg. (11-12 oz.) dark chocolate chunks (or semisweet, if you prefer)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1. To prepare crust, beat flour, butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until crumbly. Press into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. In mixing bowl, beat eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until combined.
3. Stir in chocolate and nuts. Pour evenly over baked crust. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set.
4. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yield: 36 bars

Pat-In-Pan Pie Crust

If you are like many of the people that I have talked with who love a good piece of pie, but really struggles with making the crust, this recipe might be a good solution for you. The crust is a no-roll crust that is literally patted into the pan; I would call it a no-fail crust. The only drawback is that you can not make a double-crust pie, but the crust is very tender and good for a single-crust pie and I would think much cheaper than a premade or packaged crust. I used this recipe before I found the other recipe that I have posted on the blog, that one is whipped up quickly in the food processor. I would recommend either recipe, but the pat-in-pan is faster and for those who do not like to roll out the crust, this one is a keeper. This recipe comes from Marcia Adam's book "Cooking from Quilt Country", one of my favorites. Christmas-pie-making blessings...

Recipe:

1-1/2 cups plus 3 tbsps. flour
1-1/2 tsps. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsps. cold milk

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the pie pan and mix with your fingers until blended.
2. In a measuring cup, combine the oil and milk and beat with a fork until creamy. Pour all at once over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork until the flour mixture is completely moistened.
3. Pat the dough with your fingers, first up the sides of the plate, then across the bottom. Flute the edges.
4. Pie shell is now ready to be filled. If you are preparing a shell to fill later, or your recipe requires a prebaked crust, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake 15 minutes, checking often, and pricking more if needed.

Yield: 1 9-inch pie crust

Beer Bread-2

I have been making the same beer bread recipe for years, which is posted on the blog, but when I saw this recipe in a recent spice catalog I knew I had to give it a try to compare. I'm sure glad I did! This recipe is a keeper, and even a little better than the other recipe. The thing we really like about this bread is that melted butter is poured over the top of the loaf before baking to make a wonderful rich, crunchy topping. The butter also seeps down around the loaf, making it rich and delicious. So much so, that we didn't feel the need for more butter when we enjoyed the bread with our Beef Barley Soup, recipe posted on 12/11/12. I hope you might try this recipe soon for your family, blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tbsps. baking powder
1-1/2 tsps. salt
1 12-oz. bottle of beer, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, melted for topping

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees if using a metal loaf pan and 350 degrees if using a glass pan. Lightly grease 5 x 9-inch loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; stir to mix well. Add the beer and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Pour the melted butter over the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until bread tests done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool slightly before slicing.

Yield: 12 slices

Hearty Beef Barley Soup

This soup recipe is another one of our favorites. It is indeed a hearty soup, and a complete meal with bread and maybe a salad. The recipe doesn't make a large batch, it only serves four, but could easily be doubled for a larger family. I have another recipe for this soup in an Amish cookbook that serves twelve, which I cut down for six, so I could also post that recipe at some point in time. I love the combination of tender beef chunks and barley in this recipe, and it is ready to serve within an hour.

The bread is a new Beer Bread recipe that I just tried. It is excellent, and I will post it later this week, blessings...

Recipe:

1 lb. boneless beef sirloin, or tri-tip steak, also called culotte steak in my market. The tri-tip steak is very tender and juicy.
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3-1/2 cups beef broth or more
2 medium carrots, sliced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley
2 tbsps. minced parsley

1. In a large saucepan, brown beef until juices evaporate, stirring often. (Add a little oil if needed) If there is a lot of juice, and the beef is brown, just add the mushrooms and garlic and continue cooking.
2. Add broth, carrots, thyme and pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in barley.
3. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until barley is tender. Stir in parsley.

Yield: 4 servings

Turkey Potato Pie

When the Thanksgiving weekend is done and if there is leftover turkey stored in the freezer, this casserole is an easy dinner fix. This recipe is similar to a turkey pot pie in that the turkey and vegetables are combined in a creamy sauce, but it is easier because the casserole is topped with a wonderful combination of mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese instead of the pie crust. A simple dinner salad completes your meal, unless of coarse, dessert is in order. For us, this is always the case, even if it is nothing more than a cookie or two. Blessings...

Recipe:

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tbsps. butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
2 cups chopped cooked  turkey
1 10-1/2 oz. pkg. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups hot mashed potatoes (mashed with butter and milk)

1. Cook and stir mushrooms and onion in butter over medium heat for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, tarragon and pepper.
3. Gradually add broth and milk; cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.
4. Reduce heat to low; stir in turkey, vegetables and 1 cup of the cheese, simmer 5 minutes.
5. Stir 3/4 cup cheese into hot mashed potatoes.
6. Spoon hot turkey mixture into a 1-1/2 qt. casserole dish; top with potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serves: 5-6

Cranberry Pecan Muffins

If you haven't guessed by now, I love cranberries and it doesn't matter what time of the year it is, but it is especially true during the holiday season. I clipped this recipe out of a Family Circle Magazine years ago and it is probably my favorite cranberry muffin.
The cranberry and lemon flavor is bright and zesty; perfect for breakfast or snack. Blessings...

Recipe:

1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 cups sifted unbleached flour
4-1/2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tsps. grated lemon rind
2 eggs
1 cup milk

1. In a small bowl, combine the chopped cranberries and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in pecans and lemon rind.
3. In a small bowl, beat eggs until light; stir in milk.
4. Add liquid all at once to flour mixture, stirring just until moist with a spoon. Stir in cranberry mixture.
5. Spoon batter into greased medium-size muffin pan cups, filling each 2/3 full.
6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until muffins test done with a toothpick. Be careful to not over bake as they will get very crumbly. Cool on wire racks or serve warm from the oven.

Yield: 1 dozen
Note: 2 cups whole fresh cranberries will result in the 1-1/2 cups chopped called for in the recipe.