Becka's blog

It's been a while since I last posted. Life has gotten in the way of blogging. Our family from Michigan was here this past week and we had several activities planned for the whole family. We really enjoyed having them all here and will miss them as they drove home today. We will see them again pretty soon when they come for Nora and Topher's wedding in April.

A while back I mentioned that I had been working on some projects that I couldn't show yet. Well, I have actually already given this one to a friend who will be going away for Christmas, so I'm free to show it now. I saw this post about making a wreath from a paperback book and thought I would try making it from an old hymnal for my friend, Judy, who teaches music.

I found this old hymnal at a thrift store and thought it would be perfect for this project. The pages were a little larger than a regular paperback book so I had to devise my own method for rolling the pages, but over all it was a very fun project to make and I was pleased with how it turned out. I'd like to make more of these in the future if I can find some more old hymnals.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week and making progress in your Christmas preparations.

Becka

We had pumpkin pie for dessert on Thanksgiving and there was some of the canned pumpkin leftover. I found a new recipe on the Tasty Kitchen website for Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins and DH made them for our breakfast on Sunday. We cut back on the butter and the topping a bit and they were still quite tasty. Here's the recipe with our modifications:

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (recipe follows)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl cream the butter and sugar and then add the egg. Mix in the pumpkin and vanilla. Add the flour and milk alternately to this mixture. Fill twelve greased and floured muffin tins 2/3 full (avoid using the paper liners for this recipe). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins. or until golden brown.
While the muffins are baking combine the 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Melt the butter. When you remove the muffins from the oven let them cool only slightly and then dip the tops in the melted butter and then dip them into the sugar and spice mixture. Serve warm and enjoy thoroughly.

To make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice for this recipe combine the following:
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (heaping)
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger (heaping)
Mix thoroughly. This should make enough for this recipe.

Becka

I enjoy poking around in thrift stores, an activity DD Megan also enjoys. When we get together we often plan a trip to a thrift store or two. A couple of our local thrift stores have large collections of books which are fun to look through searching for treasures. I figure if I can find a book or a cookbook for 50 cents or a dollar it's cheaper than buying a magazine and I can always give it away or donate it back to a charity when I'm through with it.

This past year Megan and I collected children's Christmas books for my grandson Drew. She wrapped them in Christmas paper and he is opening one each day this December in anticipation of Christmas day. Here is a picture of him opening the first book:

On a recent thrifting excursion I found a couple of Sunset cookbooks that looked interesting. One of them had this recipe for Fresh Corn Madeleines which I thought would be great for making savory madeleines in the new pans I got for my birthday. If you don't have madeleine pans you could make the recipe in regular muffin tins.

Fresh Corn Madeleines

1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup minced onion
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen, thawed corn kernals

Melt the butter in a skillet and cook the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl blend together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the egg and milk. Combine the butter and onion, the milk mixture, and the flour mixture, stirring gently until just mixed. Butter and flour the madeleine pans (I used a spray) and then fill the pans. The amount you use will vary according to the size pans you have. Fill them about 2/3rds full. Bake at 350 degrees until firm to the touch. They will look pale on top but should be nice and brown on the bottom. Mine took about 15 mins. If baking as muffins bake for about 25 minutes.

I served these with Easy Beans and Rice and we thought they were very tasty. You can also freeze them and then thaw and reheat them for about 10 minutes at 300 degrees before serving.

Becka

I tried a new recipe for supper one night this week that we really liked. The original recipe was from Taste of Home magazine. I made several changes in the original recipe, so I will post my version here.

Cheeseburger Buns

1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
3/4 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening, margarine, or butter
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2-4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or venison
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato sauce (I used canned spaghetti sauce)
pepper and garlic powder to taste
8 slices processed American cheese, quartered

I made the dough in the bread machine, so I just put all the ingredients in the machine on the dough cycle. If you use the bread machine you do not need to use warm liquids. Let rise in the bread machine according to the cycle.

If you do not have a bread machine combine the yeast with 2 cups of flour, the sugar, shortening, and salt. Add the egg and the warm liquids and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough and then knead for about 5 mins. Let rise until doubled, about 30 mins.
While the dough is rising cook the ground beef and onion until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Drain the fat and then add the tomato sauce and seasonings. Set aside to cool. This step could be done further ahead if you desire.

After the dough has risen sufficiently punch it down and divide it into 16 pieces. Roll or stretch each piece into a 5" circle. Place two of the small pieces of cheese on each round of dough and then add 3-4 Tbsps. of the meat filling. You can use a 1/4 cup measuring cup for this step. Bring the edges of the dough to the center and pinch closed. Place seam side down on a baking sheet. Grease the sheets heavily or cover with foil or use a liner such as a silpat or parchment. Cover loosely and let rise about 20 min. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 mins. or until golden brown.

Here is a picture of the dough circle with the cheese squares:

Here the meat has been added:

Here they are ready to bake:

Here's what they look like when you cut them open:

I hope you will try these. We thought they were really delicious.

Becka

Years ago my friend Jamie invited us over to her house for a turkey dinner where she served this delicious Corn Pudding. I asked her for the recipe and it is the one thing that must be included at all our holiday dinners. It is delicious and goes equally well with either turkey or ham. I hope you will try it.

Corn Pudding

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
hearty dash of white pepper
2 Tbsps. melted butter or margarine, slightly cooled
2 Tbsps. flour
1/2 cup milk
1 can cream style corn

Melt the butter or margarine and set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, flour, and white pepper. Add the melted butter, milk, and creamed corn. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Place the dish in a shallow pan of hot water. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until it tests clean when you insert a small knife in the middle.

Here is the Corn Pudding in its water bath:

If you want to bake this in the oven with your turkey or ham at a lower temperature just bake it a bit longer--it will be fine. Leftovers (if there are any) can be reheated in the microwave. It's a good idea to work out the arrangement of your baking pans ahead of time. I put my roaster which will hold the ham or turkey in first and then the other casserole dishes, etc. to see how far apart I need to space the oven racks. It's much easier to adjust everything when the pans are empty and the oven is cool!

Here's a picture of the Corn Pudding plated up and ready to be eaten:

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with all of your favorite dishes too.

Becka