Let's Get Cooking!

As if I didn't have enough on my plate I decided to take over my sisters cooking blog and she took over my book blog.  We are strange that way. 

I've just been so excited to share some new things that I have been making and I'm getting into my baking mood for the winter.  I hope to tempt you all with yummy desserts and savory meals for lunch and dinner.  Some things I have found through the blogasphere others are my moms recipes and my auntie Bernice's(she used to be a chef)  I can't wait to share them and also fun meals for the kids to help make.

Since we are in the heart of the Fall season  I thought I would share a great crockpot recipe that I found using apples and apple cider.  We went apple picking a couple of weeks ago(I'm still working on that post).  The kids and I got a half bushel of Granny Smiths and Red delicious and sampled many other varieties of apples.   The recipe is called Crockpot Cider Beef Stew here is what you need to make it:

Sorry I forgot to add the stew meat in the picture!

 

Crockpot Cider Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean beef stew meat
• 8 carrots , sliced thin
• 6 medium potatoes , sliced thin
• 2 apples , chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups apple cider

Directions

• Place carrots, potatoes, and apples in Crock Pot. Add meat and sprinkle with salt, thyme, and chopped onion. Pour cider over meat. Cover and cook on LOW heat for 8 to 10 hours. Thicken juices with a flour and cold water mixture (about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons water), cooking on HIGH in slow cooker until thickened (or transfer to a large stockpot over medium heat and cook down juices then thicken.

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Now when I made this I followed the recipe to the letter.  But now that I have had it I would cut the apple cider to maybe 1 1/2 cups and add another 1/2 cup of water. It was a bit strong for me.  I suggest you follow the directions to the letter and if you think it needs to be doctored up then next time you make it experiment with it.  I hope you enjoy this and I can't wait to share more with you. 

What's your favorite Fall recipe with apples or cider?

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Key Lime Cupcakes!

I've never been that enamored with lime.  
 I will drink a gin and tonic with a nice slice of lime dangling from the side.  Ahhh! Deliciousness!  Anything else and that's just pushing it.  

My friend Stephanie knows how much I love to bake and so sent me this Betty Crocker recipe for Key Lime Cupcakes.  I've been putting it off and putting it off for weeks now because I keep forgetting to buy lime jello.  

This past week I've been preparing for a visit to see family.  We're supposed to have a nice dinner on Saturday night.  Michael and I are assigned drinks.  But I thought this would be a great opportunity to try these little babies out.

You are supposed to start with a box of lemon cake.  I only had two boxes of yellow and two boxes of chocolate.  So I used the yellow.  You mix a whole packet of lime jello.  Then add in all the normal cake ingredients except for the oil and replace it with a whole bunch of freshly squeezed lime juice.  I love doing this because then if you don't get dirty you can spend the next few hours smelling of citrus.  Heavenly!  

Anywhoo, you just pop those bad boys in the oven and off you go.  

Once they are cool you poke holes in the tops and drizzle them with a glaze mixture of lime and confectioners' sugar.  After about half an hour the drizzle has soaked in and you can just eat the cupcake like this.  At this point I couldn't help eating just one.  

But, oh my, is there more.  Cream cheese frosting more!  Yep, a whole package of cream cheese, butter, vanilla and more confectioners' sugar to make this rich, creamy frosting.  Smother your cupcakes in  this and then lay back and enjoy.  

This is what I call a great summer recipe!  So thank you Steph, because on my own I probably never would have tried this. 

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Fruit Festival Recipe Swap!

I'm so glad you all could come and join in the Recipe Swap!  I thought this would be the best way to share some delicious recipes, find new blogs, and make new friends !

Anywhoo, here are the rules....

*find a recipe that you absolutely love

*write a post about making it/ or find one you have written in the past about it

*link up here and share with the rest of us your piece of deliciousness

*then check out what others have been cooking 

*and be sure to leave a comment to let them know your stopping by from the Recipe Swap

I've decided to leave the Linky open until August 1st.

If anyone wants to come back and contribute, I'd be delighted to have your recipe included!

Check out some of the other recipes from the Fruit Festival!

Brown Butter Raspberry Tart

Blueberry Poundcake

Raspberries With Sour Cream Custard

Easy Strawberry Pie

Citrus Mango Muffins

Peach Pie

Frozen Lemon Mousse

Angel Pie

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Guest Post: Angel Pie

Today my special guest poster is Carolina from Expect Moore!

I hope you enjoy her recipe.

Be sure to stop by her blog for Pocket Week as well!

I'm so excited to be guest posting today here at Gimme Some Suga! Although I spend much of my son "Little Moore's" nap times up in the sewing room doing sewing and scrap booking projects, I love to take a break from the hum of the sewing machine every now and then to make something in the kitchen (other than dinner).

When I think of summertime fruits, the first thing that comes to mind are lemons. Our house in California had this fantastic lemon tree... made more fantastic by the fact that it was growing in the neighbor's yard, and there were two beautiful fruit-covered branches that stretched into our yard, giving me all the lemons I could wish for, all summer long.{Score!}

I got this recipe for "Angel Pie" from my mother in law. I entered it in a pie contest after moving to Vegas, and it won third place (in part because my S'Mores Pie won first). The Angel Pie is different from a traditional Lemon Meringue because the meringue is the crust, and because of the yummy addition whipped cream.

Angel Pie:

Meringue Crust:

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

Filling:

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2tbsp lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 pint wipped cream

3 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Lightly grease your pie plate. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

2. Make the meringue. Beat the egg whites in a CLEAN metal bowl until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Beat until firm, then add sugar slowly, and keep beating.

3. Spoon about half of the meringue into the pie plate, forming to the shape of the plate. Put the rest of the Meringue in a piping bag with a large star tip, and make a decorative edge. I did a zig zag this time, but I've done some really pretty swirls in the past as well.

4. Bake for 20 min, then increase the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes, checking every 10 minutes or so to make sure your meringue doesn't get too brown.

5. While your meringue crust is baking, make the filling. Combine yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Cook over low heat until thick, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot. Allow to cool.

6. Whip up your whipped cream with the powdered sugar until firm, but do not over beat.

7. After your meringue crust has come out of the oven and cooled, spoon in half of the whipped cream into the shell cavity.

8. Cover with all the lemon filling, spreading nearly to edge.

9. Put the remaining whipped cream into a fresh piping bag with large star tip, and create a whipped cream border inside the meringue border.

10. Pie can be stored in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. Enjoy!

Thanks for inviting me over to share... feel free to visit me anytime!

Hope you can some back here to Gimme Some Suga on Wednesday July 28th for my Recipe Swap!

Link up your favorite summer recipe!

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Frozen Lemon Mousse

 


I love lemons!  They remind me of my mom.  She used to love everything lemon, from frosted lemon bars to lemon yogurt.  So whenever I make something like this I think whether or not she would have liked it.  I found this frozen lemon mousse recipe at Real Simple.  

This recipe may not be that "simple" but there are very few ingredients.  You get a strong lemon flavor with the use of only one lemon. 

You start by putting fresh squeezed lemon juice, egg yolks, and sugar in a pot and heat it up.  Just make sure that you are continually whisking as you go.

This was my first time making this and when I combined the egg yolks with the lemon juice and heated it up I don't think I was whisking enough and got a whole bunch of cooked egg chunks.  

Later when the recipe says to strain the mixture I couldn't because me hubby had left my strainer at his little brother's house.  In the end my mousse was delicious only it had tons of tiny chunks of cooked egg.  

Murphy Man helped me out with the whipping of the cream.  Then he insisted on licking the beaters.  

Once the lemon mixture has set in the refrigerator then you can fold in your whipped cream.  Pop it all in the freezer for a couple of hours and then enjoy your frozen treat.  I can't wait to make this again.  Hopefully, with a strainer.  This makes a great dessert for friends after a barbecue on a hot day.

 

 

 

Be sure to stop back on Wednesday July 28th for the Recipe Swap and link up your favorite fresh fruit recipe.

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Guest Post: Peach Pie!

My special guest blogger today is a homeschooling mommy of twins.  She also just happens to be my big sister and close friend.  I hope you'll check out Rana's blog Free To Learn An Lovin It!

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I love to cook with my kids and I try to give them every opportunity to cook.  When we go to the library I try to look for books that include cooking in the story and sometimes even share a recipe for us to try at the end of the book.

On our latest trip to the library we came across this book called "Easy as Pie":  After a long, hard day of school, Jacob loves to watch his favorite cooking show with Chef Monty. Even better than watching, though, is trying out recipes himself, and on the night of his parents’ anniversary, before his family leaves for a restaurant dinner, Jacob makes his first pie. Following all of Chef Monty’s rules, starting with “a happy baker bakes a happy pie,” Jacob puts together a peach pastry, facing each dilemma with more remembered advice, such as “if something unexpected happens, fix it as best as you can.” At last, just as his family is ready to leave, Jacob solves a final problem by cooling the too-hot-to-eat pie with ice cream and serves up “dessert before dinner” to his loving family before they all head off to the restaurant.

We thought we would share this recipe for my sisters Fruit Festival this month.

Here is what you need:

• 1 package of 2 ready-made pie crusts
• 1 egg, beaten
• 5 cups peeled and sliced ripe peaches
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Now let's bake!  

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan with one of the crusts.  Trim the edges

Brush the crust with some of the beaten egg using a pastry brush.

Place the peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Mix gently.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. 

Sprinkle over the peaches.  

Mix gently.

Pour the peach mixture into the pie crust.

Dot with butter.

Cover the peaches with the other pie crust.  Press down the edges with a fork and trim.

Brush some more of the egg over the top crust.

Cut several small triangles in the top crust.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, then at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is browned.

Enjoy with some delicious ice cream!

Rana Kacir is an Unschooling mama of 7 year old twins. She is married to her best friend of 13 years, trying to live more simply, and enjoys learning through life. She writes at her blog Free to learn an lovin it!

Rana

Don't forget that Wednesday July 28th you will all have a chance to link up and share your fresh fruit recipes. 

See you at the Recipe Swap!

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