Mr & Mrs Peters

This year I was in the mood to do a lot of holiday baking. I decided to make treats for our neighbors and hand them out with Christmas cards. This is the first year we have done it, and I think I will continue with this tradition in the future. I made the mistake of having Radar go with me to deliver the first set of popcorn, and the poor elderly lady who lives across from us looked a bit overwhelmed when he tried to bust down her door!

For our neighbors, I made Maple Brown Sugar Popcorn. It was delicious! I purchased super cute 1/2 gallon Christmas tins to put the popcorn in. Here is the recipe:

Prudy’s Maple Brown Sugar Popcorn

For Christmas Eve I made holiday bark to share with everyone. It was fun to make and because it is so rich- a little goes a long way.

Here are the two recipes I used for inspiration with the chocolate bark… I sort of mixed what I liked about the two. I ended up doing two kinds of bark: Double Chocolate Peppermint and Double Chocolate Pretzel with holiday sprinkles.

Noble Pig’s Double Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Maria’s Holiday Bark

Today’s recipe, Blueberry Cheesecake, is a byproduct of that oh-so-lovely phenomenon we know as “Blog Hopping.” Some of my favorite blogs are ones that I have come across purely by accident. This recipe comes from Pages, Pucks, and Pantry. Who knows how I originally got to her blog… but I did! I actually only ever visited once so I don’t even know the author’s name, but I sure am grateful for this recipe.

For the Crust:
9 whole graham crackers
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (measured from 2 envelopes)
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups fresh blueberries

For the topping:
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
approx 2-3 cups blueberries (some might want more of a “heaping” topping than others)
2/3 cup blueberry jam

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until graham crackers are finely ground. Add butter and vanilla; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Bake crust until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.

Filling: Pour 1/4 cup water into small saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir over very low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Set aside. Blend cream cheese, cream, sugar, and lemon juice in processor until smooth. Add berries; puree until smooth (some blueberry bits will remain). With machine running, add warm gelatin mixture through feed tube and blend well. Pour filling into crust. Cover; chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.) Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Transfer to platter.

Topping: Beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spread cream mixture thickly over top of cheesecake. Place berries in bowl. Heat jam in small saucepan over low heat until just melted. Pour jam over berries; toss to coat. Mound coated berries in center of cream, leaving 1-inch plain border. Chill cake at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Here is how mine turned out:

Enjoy!!

I have a confession to make…

I am not the most “mechanical’ of minds. Putting new things together/reading instructional manuals totally intimidates me. So… that’s my excuse for not using the great food processor I got for Christmas until the 4th of July. Lame, right?

When I first opened the box earlier in the year and saw all the sharp blades and caution notices for installing those blades… well, I just got overwhelmed. Thankfully, the recipe I made for the 4th required the use of a processor so I was forced to face my fears. That cheesecake was supposed to be our recipe for today but I have misplaced my camera and really want to wait to post it until I can show the accompanying pictures.

So, instead… we are going to learn how to make bread from Marjie.

You see, my bread maker falls under the same category of “mechanical” doo-dads… It took me 3 months to finally face my fears with that one. Thankfully, I had Marjie to pester with questions. I don’t know what I would have done without her guidance. So, go to her site, click on the bread tutorial and get started!!

Let me first warn you… this recipe is ridiculous. I mean it, it is over the top and a foe to your diet. Seriously, I am warning you now. But it is oh-so-delicious.

Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza
adapted from the Pampered Chef

1 package brownie mix (don’t buy anything other than good ‘ol fashioned “fudge” mix)
Ingredients needed to make brownies
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
peanut butter candy, chopped (you choose the amount)
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
2 sliced bananas

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit your pizza pan.
Prepare the brownie mix as listed on the box and spread on the pan. Batter should make a 13″ circle.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until set. (let cool completely)
Mix cream cheese, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Spread on brownie leaving a 1″ edge unfrosted.
Sprinkle peanuts, candy, and bananas over pizza.

This pizza originally had a chocolate sauce layer on the top, but to me it was over-kill. Enjoy!

This week I have chosen to share a very delicious, yet simple, recipe with ya’ll… This is an easy dinner to make and so far it has been very popular!

Baked Ziti (serves eight)
courtesy of All Recipes, with changes

1 (16oz) package ziti pasta
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (28oz) jars spaghetti sauce
6 oz sliced provolone cheese
6 oz sliced mozz cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped basil (fresh is preferrable, but I have also used dried basil in lesser quantities)

Turn on oven to 350
Cook pasta for approximately 8 minutes, drain
Brown beef in skillet, add onions and saute
Drain fat and add spaghetti sauce (Let simmer for 15 minutes)
Using your big casserole dish, add about half of the pasta and mix with sour cream
Top with layer with half of the provolone and mozz cheeses
Spread layer of spaghetti sauce mixture
Repeat steps with remaining ingredients
Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese and basil
Cook in oven for 30 minutes

Enjoy
Last night I made a half batch of this which worked well too! I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients and it STILL turned out yummy. This is also a recipe that works well with substitutions.

I am a simple girl. Most of the time, it takes very little to please me. This is no exception when it comes to food. My dad likes to tell the story about when I was a little girl and he would take me out to eat… All I would want was bread and water. Cheap date, huh?

I am not a “fancy” cook. I like food that is tasty, (somewhat/sort of) healthy, and does not take a long time to make. A girl that I went to high school with recently e-mailed me and asked if I could share with her some recipe ideas. She is newly married and has quickly realized that she can’t cook and/or has no clue what to make. Over the last 2 years or so I have begun to keep print-offs of recipes that I like from online. I scribble down my changes/additions and use these scraps of paper as my go-to “cook book.”

I thought that I would set Wednesdays aside as a day to share some of my favorite online finds. For our inaugural “Yummy Wednesday” I give you:

Banana Crumb Muffins
courtesy of all recipes, with changes made

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 mashed bananas
1/2 cup white sugar
1 lightly beaten egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Crumb Topping, prepare seperately
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbl flour
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbl butter (slightly soft, but not melted)

Lightly grease muffin tin
Mix dry ingredients
In another bowl beat together egg, oil, bananas, and sugar
Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients
Spoon mixture into muffin tins
Stir together crumb topping ingredients, sprinkle over muffins

Cook at 375 for 18 minutes
Depending on what size muffin tin you use, this should make up to 12 “regular” muffins

I used to hate how quickly bananas turn brown. Now I think of it as a fun excuse to bake goodies. Enjoy!