Streusel Rhubarb Bread, with recipe

We had a bunch of Rhubarb from this year's Rhubarb crop- so I decided I should try a new recipe or two...I made this Rhubarb Bread from Land o'Lakes.

I hear it was a big hit ;)

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, softened

1/3 cup orange juice

2 Land O Lakes® Eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 stalks (1 1/2 cups) fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces*

Streusel

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon Land O Lakes® Butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour 8x4-inch loaf pan; set aside.

Combine 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add orange juice and eggs; beat at low speed just until mixed. (Mixture will look slightly curdled.) Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Gently stir in rhubarb. (Batter will be thick.)

Reserve 1 1/2 cups batter.  Spread remaining batter into prepared pan. 

Combine all streusel ingredients in bowl; stir until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle half of streusel over batter in pan; gently press into batter. Carefully spread reserved batter into pan; top with remaining streusel. Press streusel into batter.

Bake 65-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. 

Just in case

From my friend Jennifer :)

"I wanted to share with all of you.  The gofundme seen below is an account I helped set up for a dear friend of mine.  She had an amazing experience at CCF main campus and was so thankful for the Ronald McDonald house while her surviving son stayed in the NICU.

I am asking that you please share their story, as you never know who is able to help them during this difficult time.

I appreciate this so much.

Have a wonderful day!

Go Check it out HERE"

Easy Beef Wellington, with recipe

Easy Beef Wellington

Made Hubby Father's day dinner the Saturday night before. One of his favorites- Beef Wellington. 

2011 post

2012 post

I went to take the temp and it looks like a Vampire got to it... haha

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients: 

• 2 filet mignon, 1-inch thick (This year I bought a Filet loin)
• 2 sheets puff pastry-1 box has 2 sheets  (I used one per loin)
• Salt and pepper to taste (I use some garlic and onion powder too) 
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 egg


Preparation: 
1. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.

2. Season meat generously with salt and pepper. (and whatever else you want)

3. Pre-heat a medium (10-inch) non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add butter and swirl in pan to melt. 

4. Cook meat on both sides for about 3 minutes until well-browned, then brown the edges. Note: Regularly check the internal temperature of the filet, they should not be cooked past 120F at the center.*** Allow filet to cool, then wrap in plastic and chill for at least a couple of hours.

5. Heat oven to 400F. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water (egg wash). 

6. Wrap the filet in puff pastry. Brush with egg wash, and bake in center of oven until golden brown; about 30 minutes. 
(I just wrap it to make sure all the meat is covered to seal in all of the juice.)

Happy 4th of July!

We hope you have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!!!

Credit

credit

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies, with recipe

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies, Food.com

I have had this recipe in the vault forevah lol so the time came to make them for my guys.

They were like fudge- very yummy.

Crock Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff, with recipe

I had a bunch of recipes tabbed off in my Fix it and Forget it Christmas Cookbook and found this to try. Online the recipe can be found here. As normal I didn't use the exact recipe...who really wants onions and mushrooms in their dinner...

Sloppy Joes, with recipe

I found this recipe in Taste Of Home Freezer Pleasers Cookbook. It is for easy Sloppy Joes that supposedly freeze well...ours didn't make it to the freezer. I of course strayed from the actual recipe as normal. I use the cookbook as "Inspiration". 

Penzey's Peanut Butter Banana Bread, with recipe

Hubby and I were walking around Penzey's a while back and he found this recipe for me. 

I of course added chocolate chips to this haha. It was good- it didn't last long =)

Crockpot "Spicy" Pot Roast, with recipe

I went to my trusty Fix it and Forget it Christmas Cookbook for some dinner ideas and decided to try this one. We didn't think it was particularly spicy...and it was much better on the second day than day 1. 

Online- the recipe can be found here.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies, with Recipe

If you google Mini Pot Pies- the same recipe appears online at Pillsbury, Allrecipes and Food

I feel like everyone I know has been making these lately, so I had to try them for myself. 

Note to self- next time you canned veg not frozen...I am not a frozen veg fan so I a

don't know what I was thinking. 

Frozen PB and Banana Bars, with recipe

Frozen Peanut Butter and Banana Bars

This was in the latest addition of Kraft Food Magazine...sorry Sarah- this page might be missing from your book... hahaha

FO- Baby Girl 2015 Blankie...

A friend of ours was having a baby so I made a blanket. She loves when the "Blanket Fairy" sends gifts . =) Her other 2 kids have ones I have made too. I used yarn that was gifted to me to make this. 

Asher's Blanket

I think- Annie's Blanket

FO: Project Q- OSU Pillow

I don't know what my problem was...I started this IN AUGUST. YES, August...I could NOT get into it. I wanted him to have it for Christmas. Totally didn't happen. I think it was because it was stripes.

I wanted to make a pillow cover to match the blanket he made a while back.

Crock Pot Chicken and Gravy, with recipe

My mom has made something like this forever. This is just a different variation of it...

Go check out The Country Cook Blog HERE for this and other great recipes!

Oats and Banana muffins, with recipe

Mrs G makes these all the time and I am lucky enough to get some...so I tried to make them...

Her's are waaaay better. Mine puffed up huge, they were still tasty, but her's are nice and dense. I am not sure what I did vs what she does. 

FO: Fire on the Beach

I love my new shawl. LOVE. IT. I think I need more of this color....I love this yarn too- its a pleasure to work with and block out so well- it has a nice drape...I need more in lots of colors haha

Details

Started: March 26 2015

Finished: April 26 2015

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Sunseeker- #19 Flame

Hook: 4.5 MM - my new hooks!

Pattern: Coral Beach Shawl by A la Sascha

Measurements: 

Before Blocking: 23.5 X 47.5 inches

On the Block: 30 x 60

After Blocking: 26.5 x 56

ETA: 5/31/15 pics

Pasta alla carbonara, with recipe

Pasta alla Carbonara, The Chew

We were watching Cutthroat Kitchen on Food Network 2 weekends ago and the dish was Pasta Carbonara. We got into a discussion about it and since I had all of the ingredients  I made it the following week. I always wanted to make it but the egg part weirds me out. It turned out ok and we all lived to tell so it must have been cooked through enough. 

ingredients

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

• 1 pound Spaghetti
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 pound Thick Sliced Bacon; diced
• 2 Garlic Cloves; thinly sliced
• 4 Eggs; room temperature
• 1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese; plus more to garnish
• Salt
• Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

step-by-step directions

• Bring a large pot of Salted Water to a boil.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-low with a few tablespoons of Olive Oil. Add the Bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until Bacon is crisp.
• Add the Spaghetti to the boiling water and cook 1 minute short of the package instructions. Drain, reserving a cup of pasta water.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the Eggs and Cheese with a generous amount of Freshly Cracked Black Pepper. Loosen with a small amount of pasta water.
• When the Pasta has 1 minute left to cook add the Garlic to the rendered Bacon and cook until fragrant. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss to coat.
• Remove from heat and stir in the egg mixture until creamy. Add a small amount of reserved pasta water if pan is too dry.
• Garnish with more Parmesan to serve.

Just for fun

Bacon and Corn Pasta, with Recipe

Bacon and Corn Pasta,
Michael Symon The Chew

I made this originally May 2013. I saw it in my recipe pile and thought it was time to make it again...I should have looked at that May 2013 post before I made this. Hubby looked at me like I had 3 heads when I said I made this before- I knew I made it- I had the printed recipe in the "Made" cookbook...but didn't remember him not eating it. Q missed out on this twice already too. This was more of a garlic pasta this time- I didn't add pasta sauce. Didn't even occur to me to do so. 

Picnic Chicken, with recipe

Picnic Chicken

I made this for the first time last year and we enjoyed it. See the post HERE. This is easy and not a lot of ingredients are involved. It will feed a crowd! Maybe that's why they call it picnic chicken...because I feel like this isn't really picnic food. 

Penzey's Spicy Hot Chicken Soup, with recipe

Spicy Hot Chicken Soup

I have been wanting to try this recipe for a long time now. I found it in Penzey's Catalog well over a year ago. Spicy isn't normally my thing, but I couldn't resist. I modified it...of course. As Mrs George would say- I used the recipe as inspiration...haha. Q ate this up like it was his job. Which is good because he had been under the weather and he is not normally a soup eater unless Ramen is in the name. I also enjoyed it- I couldn't eat a TON like I wanted to because of the Cayenne. 

Mississippi Pot Roast, with Recipe

Mississippi Pot Roast

Cheryl sent me this recipe a while back and I just go to making it...and I am glad I did! Not something that will be in the monthly rotation, but I would like it to be! haha. If you google the recipe title you will find many recipes out there for this, with a few variations. The main ingredients are the same...all 4 of them. YEP only 4 ingredients! 

Hand Sanitizer Cozys

Next on the "New items to try list" were a few hand sanitizer cozy's. I only made 4 and all 4 went!

The pink one just below was my favorite. The blue/yellow one I accidentally made larger, to fit a 2 oz bottle. The other 3 fit the 1 oz bottles. These are always pretty quick to make, except the button part- but after the first 2, sewing the buttons on the last 2 went quick. 

FO: Dish Scrubbies

I thought I would try a new item for the vendor sale- dish scrubbies. I just used cotton yarn to create these. It was an easy and quick pattern- I added some modifications to the pattern and I am happy with the results. They were a hit- all 6 sold. Again, I am not sure why the last set didn't get a photo shoot...I must have been too busy hooking away! =)

FO: Flower Key Chain

I made 6 Flower Key chains for the vendor fair at work, for some reason these are the only ones what had a photo shoot! The other 2 were a mix of pink, yellow and orange...those were the first to sell! 

I think I need to make one for myself! 

Fudgy Chocolate Crock Pot Cake, with recipe

I found this recipe in a Fix it and Forget it cookbook from the library. If you Google this recipe there are several with just a few variations. 

Fudgy Chocolate Cake, 4 qt crock pot

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1 cup brown sugar, divided

3 Tbsp, plus 1/3 cup Dutch Processed Cocoa, Divided

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup milk

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 cup hot water

1. Coat the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder, set aside. 

3. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate chips in the microwave. Mix well. 

4. Whisk in 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 3 Tbsp cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, milk and egg yolk. 

5. Add the flour mixture and stir until mixed.

6. Pour batter into slow cooker and spread evenly.

7. Whisk together remaining 1/3 brown sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 1 1/2 cups hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over batter in crock pot and NO NOT stir. 

8. Cover and cook on High for 1/2 hours. You will know the cake is set when the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pot. 

9. Turn off crock pot and remove lid- try to not get the condensed steam from the lid onto the cake. 

10. Let cool for 30 minutes. Spoon into bowls- make sure to get all the way to the bottom to get the gooey fudge. 

Lemon Cookies, with Recipe

Lemon Chip Cookies

Best lemon cookies EVARRRR. They were soft and oh so good. I want more...now.
I had bought some Lemon Chips from Nuts.com and have been wanting to use them. This recipe calls for White Chocolate Chips, so I replaced them with the lemon chips. I put a few of the white chips on top of the cookies for looks.

Crock Pot Easter Ham, with directions

The night before Easter I told hubby that one day I would like to try warming a ham up in the crock pot vs in the oven. After the words came out of my mouth I though- no time like the present. I Googled "How to cook a ham in the Crock Pot" and found THIS. SUPER easy. I will never do it in the oven again. Less stressful and I didn't have to worry about it drying out, or being cold in the center like it always is when I cook it in the oven. 

What I did differed from the instructions of course. I cooked it for an hour on high then dropped it to low for 4 more hours. I used Ham Stock as my liquid. I did NOT take it out of the crock pot and put it in the oven for the glaze. After it was on for 3 hours, I cooked up the glaze packet as directed and just poured it over the ham. 

I have no after pics hahaha but it was good. 

Mini April 2015