Tangy Meatballs

First, I apologize to any vegetarians out there, for searing your eyeballs and your soul with the snapshot above.

These meatballs are sweet, sticky, and tangy. Once a month, it's my responsibility to provide the food for the fellowship time between services at church. I decided meatballs would be a good addition to the other food I took this past Sunday, and since one of the families can't have gluten, I thought that a recipe that used oatmeal as the binder instead of bread would be perfect. Too bad I'm cheap and used generic ketchup (which may contain gluten...who knew? oh! and quick cooking oats do, too) instead of Heinz. Mrs. Eckley would be so ashamed of me.

Oh, well. Next time, I'll whip out a few extra pennies for the brand name. Until then, all of you people who can eat gluten may devour these. They're good.

MEATBALLS:
2 eggs
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3 pounds lean ground beef

SAUCE:
2 cups ketchup
1 and 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add oats, milk, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add the ground beef; mix well. Shape into 1 and 1/2 inch balls. Place in two greased 13x9 baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; drain. Place all of the meatballs in one of the pans. In a saucepan, bring sauce ingredients to a boil. Pour over meatballs. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until meatballs are done and sauce has reduced and is thicker and sticky.

This is supposed to make 4 dozen meatballs, but it made more than that for me, and I made one and one half times the sauce.

Scrumptious Pakistani/Indian Something-or-Other

I don’t know what to call this dish, and I don’t want to make something up for fear that a Pakistani who knows better will stumble across it and leave a critical comment about how I butchered a wonderful standard by crossbreeding it with others. But I didn’t butcher it! It’s delicious and has joined the permanent rotation of meals in our house. I like it best of the Pakistani meals I make. Anyway, it’s chicken in a masala sauce, served with the everpresent naan and basmati—it’s kind of a cross between butter chicken masala (thanks to a yummy recipe from Sandy), chicken bhuna, and the buriyani recipe I use, but it’s none of those exactly.

Mix the following in a large bowl:

1 and ¼ cups plain yogurt

1 tablespoon garlic paste (finely chop/crush about 4-5 garlic cloves)

1 tablespoon ginger paste (do the same to some ginger root)

¾ tsp. hot chilli powder or cayenne powder, or to taste

¼ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon garam masala (a spice blend found in most grocery stores, or make your own blend from the handful of internet recipes out there)

½ tsp. tumeric powder

1 tsp. dried cilantro leaves (use a few tablespoons of fresh in summertime)

½ tsp. cumin powder

1 tsp. cardamom powder (very expensive unless you can find it, like I do, at a place like Sweeney’s Meat Market five minutes across the Susquehanna River. Tone’s brand, ground cardamom, .45 oz, for $1.20. Woohoo!)

a pinch of black pepper

salt, to taste

* The spices aren’t always these exact measurements. I sometimes increase the sweet spices and decrease the hot spices, or vice versa.

Add a large can or two of diced tomatoes (I use tomatoes I canned last summer, almost a quart jar—about 3 cups or 24 oz)

Stir together until blended and then add 4-8 skinless (and boneless, if desired) chicken pieces (eight if using mixed parts; four if using breast halves). Make a few cuts in the chicken and stir to coat. Refrigerate for four hours or overnight.

Place in an ovenproof dish (I use a 13X9 glass pan) and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until chicken is fully cooked. My oven runs hot, so it only takes about 30-45 minutes for boneless, skinless breasts, and a bit more when I cut up a whole chicken and leave the bone in.

While chicken is baking, soak and cook the basmati rice (about 2 cups dry) and prepare the naan. Serve over rice with hot naan.

Makes enough for yummy leftovers on the following morning

Blueberry Coffee Cake

My friend Mary from church made this delicious coffee cake one day and was kind enough to share the recipe with me. I used frozen blueberries from last summer, but either fresh or frozen can be used. It’s a dense, rich cake with a crunchy topping and chock full of berries. I much prefer it cold to hot, as do the other taste-testers here, so make it the night before and eat it in the morning. This allows the topping to harden and the flavors to meld.

2 cups unsifted flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ cup butter (1/2 stick)

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

½ cup milk

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (I used 2 ½ cups berries)

½ cup light brown sugar

½ cups chopped nuts, optional

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg. Add flour mixture and milk. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in blueberries carefully. Turn into greased angel-food pan (or Bundt, or 8-inch square). Combine brown sugar, walnuts (if desired), cinnamon, butter, and flour, and spread over the top. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. If top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.

Greek Potato Wedges

Around this house, we eat enough potatoes each week to feed an army of hungry, Irish men. John waxes eloquent about the virtues of the humble Potato, and we eat them in myriad incarnations. These potatoes pair well with Greek food and also with fish (try a lemon and onion white wine sauce...yum). They also taste good at midnight, but don't ask me how I know this.

Combine the following ingredients and marinate in the fridge for one hour:
6-8 potatoes, washed and cut into wedges
4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the following:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tsp. rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. black pepper

After potatoes have marinated, add them (along with the lemon juice and minced garlic) to the bowl and toss until potatoes are evenly coated with seasoning. Spread onto a cookie sheet with edges (or a jellyroll pan) and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 1 hour. Turn potatoes every 15 minutes and sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning; bake until the liquid has evaporated and potatoes are nicely brown and crisp.

Hot potato!

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

EDIT:  Sorry for the lacking updated snapshot, but don't fuss with toothpicks, etc., for this delicious meal.  Simply slice each breast nearly but not completely in half, starting from the thickest side, in order to form a pocket.  Spoon the filling into the pockets, and bake as directed.  So much easier and just as delicious!  If you want to still brown the chicken, simply brown them after slicing but before filling it, and then proceed with filling them.

Edit, again:  The last time I made these, I had no sour cream.   I mixed four or so tbsp. of cream cheese with several tbsp. homemade, full-fat yogurt, and liked the results even better.

Mix the following ingredients in a small bowl:

3-5 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp. pepper
salt, to taste
1 tsp. oregano, or to taste
4 cloves finely minced or pressed garlic
one small onion, very finely minced
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Pound four boneless, skinless chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness (one at a time) between two pieces of plastic wrap. If you don't have a kitchen mallet, do what I do-- a hammer, a large rock, a heavy bottle, or glass-jarred candle will do the trick. Spread spinach mixture evenly over chicken, to within one half inch of edge, roll up and secure with toothpicks. In a shallow bowl, sift 1/4 cup flour, and salt and pepper, to taste. Roll each stuffed chicken breast in flour mixture until dusted. Brown both sides of chicken breasts in a few tablespoons of butter and some olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

Place browned chicken breasts in a lightly greased ovenproof dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Oh, yeah. Make sure you remove the toothpicks before you eat the chicken, okay?

We ate this with Greek Potato Wedges, savory herb rolls, and salad with this Greek dressing. You can, too, if you'd like.

Crispy Baked Oatmeal

My sister Becky shared this recipe with me, and I've edited it with a few alterations. It's the perfect comfort food for frosty, winter mornings, and it's very easy to make. It's a cross between granola and....dessert. (And because I offer information that no one needs to know, on the frosty, winter morning that I made it, I ate hearty helpings, and I was perfectly comforted.)

4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (I don't use this much, though. See-- healthy!)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar (I cut back on this, too)
6 cups old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
generous splash of vanilla
1/3 cup flaked coconut (I don't use this anymore, for thriftiness)
1/3 cup raisins (usually we don't have these in the house anymore, either!)
Sometimes, 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used nearly a cup in this years-old picture, though. See-- unhealthy!)

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil, vanilla, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add to the egg mixture, stirring just until moistened. Stir in the coconut, raisins, and chocolate chips, if you're making the dessert version.

Spoon into a greased jelly roll pan and bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring once. This must be served over homemade yogurt. (Not really, but that's how we eat  it, and I highly recommend it served so.)

Cheesy Herb Bread

The smell that fills the house as this bread bakes is alone worth the making of it. (Don't let that keep you from also eating it, though. It's good!)

I'm glad that after I slid these in the oven, I jotted down the spices I used, because although this bread is amenable to variations and additions, it was so good, I think I'll stick with the following amounts for a while in fear of ruining a good thing. Feel free to twiddle and tweedle it up yourself.

Without further ado, make this yummy bread!

1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp. black pepper
@ 1/4 tsp. rosemary, crushed (just smush it with a pestle or with the superman strength of your fingers)
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
@ 3 tablespoons finely minced onion
@4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
@ 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

@ 5 cups all-purpose flour (with one or two tablespoons of wheat gluten added) or 5 cups bread flour. You can use all purpose without the gluten and the flavor will still be superb, but the texture won't be quite as nice.

Dissolve yeast, sugar, and salt in warm water. Let proof for about ten minutes (until foamy). Add sour cream, butter, eggs, and stir. Add the spices and about three cups of flour and mix. Add enough flour until dough is the right consistency for kneading. Work the grated cheese into the dough as you knead, and knead until dough is smooth and somewhat elastic (in spite of the lumpy bits of cheese). Place in greased bowl, cover top, and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Punch down and place in two greased, 8-inch bread pans (I used my quick bread pans, otherwise the loaves would be too flat). Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown and hollow-sounding when thumped on the bottom, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

*My oven runs hot, and these were done in 20 minutes.
*If you want to make rolls with the dough, bake for @ 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
*I can't wait until summertime to try this with fresh garden herbs. You should, too!
*Vary the kind of cheese and use alternate spices, if desired. I bet it will be yummy any way you slice it (get it?!).

Lame joke-- check.
Time to post this recipe, then.

Mopsy's Party Cake!

It's vanilla with vanilla cream filling and wild raspberry jam between the layers. Pink butter frosting.

White Cake Supreme

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp. salt
¾ cup shortening
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 cup milk (preferably whole)
5 eggs whites (reserve yolks for filling)

Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 1 ½ inch round baking pans. Set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. In mixing bowl, beat shortening on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition till just combined.

In small mixer bowl, with clean beaters, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the batter, and turn into prepared pans. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place on wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans to cool thoroughly.

Slice each cake layer in half horizontally. Spread each layer with raspberry jam, then with almost third of this basic cream filling. Frost the cake with butter frosting, tinted if desired, (recipe below), chocolate decorations, and one pink candle.

For chocolate decorations, melt 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips with 1/2 tablespoon shortening. Spread into a rectangle on a sheet of waxed paper, and let sit until it nearly sets. Cut shapes out with a knife or cookie cutters and then allow to harden completely. Finally, plop them on a frosted cake however you like.

Toffee-Mocha Cheesecake

I created this cheesecake for Mom's party. It was yummy. Feel free to fiddle around with the ingredients as your tastebuds demand.

Crust:
About 3 1/2 cups crushed chocolate crumbs (out of thriftiness, I use generic oreos, but chocolate graham cracker crumbs also work, and you could add some finely chopped almonds, too.)

If using generic oreos, stir in about 1/3 cup melted butter, enough to help the mixture stick together. If using chocolate graham cracker crumbs, stir in 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup melted butter.

Press onto the bottom and 1 and 3/4 inch up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for five minutes in a 350 degree oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling:
three packages regular cream cheese, softened (8 oz. each)
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature, gently blended
1 additional egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons ground coffee
1 bag Heath bits or about 2 cups crushed chocolate+toffee pieces (see recipe below)

Topping:
1 cup sour cream
instant cappuccino hot drink mix OR finely-ground coffee (powder-like consistency) and sugar

Additional toffee (large-chunk homemade)

In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat until very hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and add 1 and 1/2 tablespoons ground coffee (NOT powder-ground). Let steep for about five minutes or until very strong. Strain the grounds out with cheesecloth and set the coffee-cream aside.

In a mixer, mix the cream cheese just until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix just till combined. Add the heavy cream mixture, vanilla, and, if desired, either powder-like ground coffee or mocha cappuccino drink mix powder, to taste. (I bought a tub of mocha cappuccino mix for rolling truffles, and I just dumped in a bunch, to taste, to create a strong mocha flavor). Gently stir in one cup of fine toffee bits (either Heath bits or crushed homemade toffee).

Pour cheesecake batter into chocolate crust and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the center is almost set. (Center can be a bit soft still, but it should not be glossy.) Cool in cracked-open oven for ten minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust. Cool for one more hour and then refrigerate overnight to let the flavors ripen. Before serving, mix one cup sour cream with cappuccino drink mix OR powder-ground coffee and sugar, to taste, and top the cheesecake. Sprinkle on about 1 cup toffee bits and additional large-chunk toffee (see recipe below).

This cheesecake was delicious, but I might add a bit more cream cheese to it the next time I make it. (Perhaps another 4 oz.?) Anyway, yum. I hope you enjoy it like we did.

Tips:
Place foil or a cookie sheet under the cheesecake because many springform pans leak.

Dip a knife in warm water before cutting the cheesecake, and wipe and dip again in warm water before making each cut in order to make clean cuts.

Butter Toffee

Note: I only made a ¼ batch of this to top the cheesecake.

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
12 oz. semisweet chocolate (chips are fine)
1 cup finely chopped toasted nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, and/or cashews) if desired

Grease a 15x10x1 inch pan  (for a quarter batch, use a 8 x 8 pan); set aside.

In a 3-4 quart saucepan (if making smaller batch, use a smaller pan), melt butter and sugar over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Avoid splashing sides of pan. Carefully clip a candy thermometer to pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring only if mixture begins to scorch, until thermometer registers 290 degrees, soft-crack stage (about 15 minutes), brushing down the sides with a pastry brush dipped in water if needed.   Mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over entire surface. Remove from heat; remove thermometer. *** If you want to make English toffee, let the mixture reach 300 degrees (hard-crack stage) before removing from heat.***

Pour mixture into prepared pan; spread evenly. Cool about 5 minutes or until it begins to set and then score the surface. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces; let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate over candy. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired, and press into chocolate. Cool several hours or until set.

Break or cut into pieces and store in a tightly covered container.

Tips:

*When in doubt, always use a lower heat rather than a higher while making candy. If the temperature is rising steadily (even more slowly than you’d like, it will reach the desired temp.). Burnt toffee is not tasty and the pans are a pain to clean (how do I know this, you wonder?).

*Be sure that the thermometer is not touching the pan, or the reading will be inaccurate.

*Test your candy thermometer first by placing it in a pan of boiling water for several minutes. It should read 212 degrees. If it rises above or does not reach 212 degrees, add or subtract the difference (e.g. if your candy thermometer reads 206 degrees in boiling water instead of 212 degrees, then only cook your toffee to 284 degrees).

*If you don’t use a candy thermometer, you can use the cold-water test for candy, though it’s not as easy. When the toffee mixture becomes golden and it’s been close to 15 minutes, drop a small amount of the hot candy mixture into a bowl of cold water. When it cools and is removed from the water, the candy will separate into strands that are hard but not brittle. To test for the hard-crack stage for English toffee, do the same thing. When the candy has reached the hard-crack stage, it will separate into hard, brittle threads when removed from the water.

Fill -In-The-Blank Cheese Braid

I just made this for the first time last week for church, and I love it. One, it completes its first rising overnight in the refrigerator. Two, it pleases my belly. Three, in spite of this post's length, it's really quite easy to make. Four, it didn't allow me to ruin it. I used bits of two different recipes to make it, then because I didn't tell my kind husband the dough needed to rise a second time the next morning, he watched the girls while I accidentally slept in. Sooo, I shaped the dough in a mighty-awful-rush and threw it in the oven without letting it rise a second time like I was supposed to. Whaddya know, it still turned out lovely, and we made it to church with seconds to spare. (And, yes, those are the loaves on our car floor, but they're on a cookie sheet, for Pete's sake! Try to guess which loaf was my first try at braiding...)

The cheese filling can be altered to suit your tastes, and the dough doesn't have to braided (see end of recipe for both).

Bread
2 scant tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup sour cream (I even used fat free sour cream. Still could't ruin it!)
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 cups all-pupose flour

Filling (I'll give the flavoring I used this last time, but alter it to suit.)
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
a bit less than 3/4 cup sugar
1 egg + one egg yolk
a bit over 1 tsp. almond extract

Glaze
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. almond extract
(Or, do as I did, and use sweetened condensed milk and the tiniest amount of regular milk.)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a saucepan, heat sour cream and butter to 110 to 115 degrees F (I just heated it and finger-tested it to the same warmth I use in water for bread recipes). Add to yeast mixture. Add sugar and eggs; mix well. Gradually add flour; mix well. Do not knead. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, in a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and extract until smooth; set aside. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into two portions and roll each into a roughly 16 X 10-inch rectagle. Place dough on greased baking sheets. Spoon half of the filling down the center third of each rectangle. If you want to braid the dough, make cuts on either side of the filling, creating strips about one-inch wide and about three inches long. Then, simply fold the strips over the filling, angling them slightly and alternating sides as you lay them across. Pinch the end seam shut if filling is spilling out; otherwise, it should be fine. Cover and let rise in a warm place util doubled, about one hour (remember now, this is the step I skipped without ruining them). Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over warm loaves. Cool on wire racks and refrigerate any leftovers.

Alternate Loaves
If you don't want to braid the dough, roll it into two 16 by 10 inch rectangles and place on greased baking sheets. Spread filling down the center of each rectangle. Fold lengthwise into thirds; pinch side seam and ends to seal. Also, if you want, you can make several one-inch diagonal slits in the center of the loaf before baking to enhance its appearance. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled and bake as for the braided loaves.

Future Filling Alternatives
* Use any flavor extract, to taste, in place of the almond (e.g. vanilla, lemon, cherry)
* Add a bit of lemon or orange peel
* Spread loaf with raspberry jam (or peach, etc.) before spreading filling over dough
* Spread some cherry pie filling on top of the cream cheese filling before folding dough and sealing
* And, lastly, I'd like to try thinly slicing some canned peaches and spreading them on top of the filling before sealing. Yum.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Kuchen

This yummy kuchen is akin to coffee cake.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 and 1/3 cups sugar, divided
4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening. Gradually add 2 cups sugar; beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine milk and vanilla; set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating just enough after each addition to keep the batter smooth. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle 1 and 1/2 tsp. into a greased 10-inch tube pan. Pour a third of the batter into pan. Sprinkle with half of the remaining cinnamon-sugar; top with a third of the batter. Repeat layers. Smooth with spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour, 15 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, and remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

* I nearly double the cinnamon-sugar mixture, sprinkling 2 tsp. into the greased pan, and then using most of the rest layered in with the batter. I add more sugar to what I have left to use on morning toast (and afternoon and evening and midnight toast, if you must know).

* I drizzled on a glaze made from between 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups confectionary sugar, a few tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk (because I had some leftover in my fridge and, besides, it creates a nice glaze), a splash of vanilla extract, and a teensy amount of regular milk to make the glaze the right consistency.

* I bake this in a bundt pan. It could probably be baked in a 13 x 9 pan, too, though I've not tried that. It would bake much more quickly in a 13 x 9, so just keep an eye on it while it bakes.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This one's for you, Mary. (And, for the rest of you, I'll add a nicer picture the next time I make it. This was snapped at church yesterday morning. Not that you care or that it matters one whit...)

I usually add chocolate chips, because if I'm going to eat unhealthy foods, I might as well eat really unhealthy foods, but they can be omitted if you wish. This recipe is easily doubled, tripled, and quadrupled.

1/3 cup vegetable shortening (e.g. any kin to Crisco)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup ripe, mashed bananas
1 cup chocolate chips, if desired

Beat the shortening and sugar well. Add eggs and beat well. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately to the shortening mixture with the mashed banana, mixing between each addition. Pour into well-greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

* Allow your bananas to become as black as a moonless night before you mash them, but use them the split-second before they begin to ferment.

* I usually tent aluminum foil over the loaves during the last 15-20 minutes of baking so they aren't overbrowned.

* Wrap bread and allow it to sit overnight for fullest flavor.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

These are some of the best cookies I've ever tasted. They're a Johnson tradition at all times of the year, but no Christmas is complete without untold dozens stacked in Tupperware bowls. The picture above isn't completely accurate, because we hadn't yet spooned the rich, fudgy topping on the cookies, but you get the idea.
Soft chocolate cookie bottom
Cherry in the middle
Fudgy chocolate on top

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 10 oz. jar maraschino cherries (reserve some juice)

Cream together butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and blend for one minute. Shape into one-inch balls and place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Make a thumbprint indentation in each ball. Cut cherries in half and place one half in each indentation, cut side up. Prepare frosting and use immediately.

Frosting
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened, condensed milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1- 1 1/2 tsp. reserved cherry juice

Mix together and carefully melt in microwave or on stovetop, stirring often to avoid scorching. With a teaspoon, generously spoon a heaping swirl of frosting over each cookie, and then bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.

Pizza Dough

EDIT: I haven't used this recipe in a good, long time. We prefer the other pizza dough recipe on buildabelly, but if you prefer a thicker, puffier crust, use this one instead.

2 1/2 cups flour (I usually use all-purpose flour, but you can use a white/wheat mixture if you're a moral person.)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp. oil

1. Combine salt, sugar, yeast, then add water and oil. Let sit for proofing ('til frothy on top).
2. Mix yeast mixture with flour. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. (*At this point, I usually work more flour--about 1/2 cup-- into the dough as I knead)
3. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size. Punch down and pat into a roughly 12" circle on a cornmeal-dusted pizza pan or cookie sheet.
4. If I've planned ahead, I cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours or up to 24 hours. The flavor improves greatly, and I like the texture better, as well. This last step really is the key reason for my liking this dough. (If you haven't planned ahead, bake immediately after placing toppings. More often than not, that's what I do...)

So there you have it.
Eat up.

Sugar-topped Blueberry Muffins

We broke into our first quart of summer-frozen blueberries on Saturday morning to make these yummy muffins for the second time ever. This recipe makes a very rich, indulgent muffin with a scrumptious sugar topping that I'm always tempted to eat off of everyone else's muffins... (I usually make Mopsy's recipe of blueberry muffins, which makes a light, springy muffin with even more blueberries; the next time I make them, I'll post the recipe for a change of taste and texture.)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
In a large bowl, cut butter into sugar.

2 eggs
Beat until light and fluffy, then fold into butter/sugar mixture.

In a bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla. Mash 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or thawed) and add to the dough. Fold in 2 additional cups unmashed blueberries and spoon batter into muffin tins.

Mix together 4 tablespoons sugar with 1 tablespoon vanilla and crumble on the top of muffins. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

Makes 12 unhealthy, real-good muffins.

Raspberry Ribbons

These cookies are made primarily with four ingredients that have stood the test of time-- butter, sugar, vanilla, and raspberry-- and they have an uncomplicated and thoroughly delicious taste. They are crisp-edged, soft-crumbed, and melt-in-your-mouth-ish when fresh. After storing in an airtight container, they become simple, soft butter cookies but are still yummy.

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 - 3/4 cup wild raspberry jam (or regular raspberry if you don't have access to a jam-making Mopsy Johnson)

Glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough into four porions; shape each into a 10-in. x 2 1/2 in. log. Place 4 inches apart on greased or foil-lined baking sheets.

Make a 1/2 inch depression down center of each log. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 10 mintues (or a bit less). Fill depressions with jam. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes and cut into 3/4 inch slices. In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredents until smooth and drizzle over warm cookies. Cool completely (if they last that long). Makes about 5 dozen (but I usually cut them wider, so this recipe makes about 3 dozen.)

Homey (Country) White Bread

The last few weeks, I've used this recipe for the Communion loaf, and I think I'm sticking with it. The texture is soft and tender, the flavor is somewhat sweet with a hint of buttery richness (even though it contains no butter), and, very importantly, the crust is soft enough for Elder Jones to break the loaf without popping a blood vessel. I like to eat this bread by the handful.

2 packages (1/4 oz. each) active dry yeast (about 4 and 1/2 teaspoons)
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs beaten, room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 1/2 to 7 cups flour, divided (I use a 50/50 mixture of all-purpose and bread flour)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast, sugar, and salt in warm water. Let sit to proof (until foamy on top). In a large bowl, combine eggs and oil. Add yeast mixture to this, and stir in about half the flour until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky, and you can add extra flour, as needed, but use as little as possible in order to handle it.  (Although I love to knead bread, for this recipe, I use the dough hook on my stand mixer, so that it can be kneaded without adding too much extra flour.)  If you don't have a stand mixer with a dough hook, turn onto a floured surface and knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour.

 Punch dough down. Divide in half and shape into two loaves (see below). Place in two greased 9x5x3 loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and hollow-sounding when thumped on the bottom.  If they don't sound hollow, pop them in for a few more minutes. If they begin to brown too much on the tops before they're done, loosely tent them with aluminum foil.

To shape loaves:
To create evenly-rounded loaves (using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface), roll each ball of dough into a roughly 12-inch x 8-inch rectangle (you may hear air bubbles pop as you do this). Dust off any loose flour clinging to the dough, and, beginning at the short end, tightly roll up each rectangle. Pinch the seam and the ends to seal. Place seam side down in bread pans.

Two-Tone Cheesecake

Cheeeeeesecake.

Most of the times I've made this simple cheesecake, it's been exceptional. The other times, it's still been delicious enough to eat a third helping, but I'm easily swayed by cheesecake of nearly any variety, so that doesn't say all that much. I'll post a picture the next time I make it, but, until then, this is a two-layer cheesecake: chocolate crust, chocolate cheesecake layer, plain cheesecake layer, topped with grated semisweet chocolate.

Here is the recipe, as nearly as I recall, as I cobbled it together from a handful of other recipes. It's okay if it's not exact, because cheesecakes are very forgiving creatures.

Crust:
About 3 cups crushed chocolate crumbs (out of thriftiness, I use generic oreos from Aldi, but chocolate graham cracker crumbs might work better, and, if you aren't thrifty, you could add some finely chopped almonds, too.)

If using generic oreos, stir in about 1/3 cup melted butter, enough to help the mixture stick together.
If using chocolate graham cracker crumbs, stir in 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup melted butter.

Press onto the bottom and 1 and 3/4 inch up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for five minutes in a 350 degree oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling:
3 packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, and beat on low speed just until combined. Beat in vanilla just until blended. Set cheesecake mixture aside. Meanwhile, melt about 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or 6 oz. semisweet chocolate) in the microwave, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Divide the cheesecake filling into two bowls, with one bowl holding about one cup less than the other. Fold the melted chocolate into the smaller amount of filling until fully incorporated.

Spread the chocolate cheesecake filling evenly over the cooled crust. Then, carefully spread the white cheesecake filling over the chocolate layer, spreading gently so that the white layer rests on top of the chocolate instead of sinking into it. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for ten minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust. Cool for one more hour and then refrigerate overnight to let the flavors ripen. Throw a cup of semisweet chocolate chips in the blender, coffee grinder, or food processor OR grate 6 oz. of semisweet chocolate and sprinkle on top of cheesecake.

Tips:
Place foil or a cookie sheet under the cheesecake because many springform pans leak, and a houseful of burnt butter's smell and sting isn't pleasant.

Dip a knife in warm water before cutting the cheesecake, and wipe and dip again in warm water before making each cut in order to make clean cuts.

Molasses Whole Wheat Bread

We usually make this with only whole wheat flour, but since Sneaky Mouse ate some of our whole wheat flour, I used a 50/50 mixture of regular whole wheat flour and white bread flour for the last batch, which resulted in a lighter, higher loaf. Our usual practice of using all whole wheat in this recipe makes a dense, flavorful loaf, which is excellent toasted and slathered with butter. Do as you desire with the flour; if you're finicky about 100% whole wheat taste or dense texture, then use a proportion of white flour to suit.

The molasses isn't too pronounced, but it adds a nice, deep flavor.

3 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses (I usually add a tad more; we use unsulphered, dark, blackstrap, but other types can be substituted)
2 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup warm water
about 8 cups flour; either all whole wheat or a mixture of wheat and white (all-purpose flour or bread flour; if using all-purpose, you can also add a tablespoon of wheat gluten per loaf, if desired)

In a small saucepan, combine milk, butter, salt, honey, and molasses. Heat and stir until warm and blended. Remove from heat and cool until warm but not hot. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Pour liquids from saucepan into large bowl and add yeast. Let proof until foamy on top. Stir in some of the flour and beat well. Dough will be quite soft and very sticky. Stir in remaining flour and knead until smooth and elastic, adding a bit of extra flour as needed to knead (but only just enough). Let rise in covered, greased bowl until doubled. Punch down and shape into two loaves. Place in two well-greased pans, cover, and let rise until almost doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.