Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Pecan Pie ~ with a twist!
Pecan Pie In A Truffle
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| Excuse the Christmas Trees. Sometimes the kids get excited |
Fall is fast approaching which means Pecans (and other nuts) are going to be falling soon. Fall means THANKSGIVING! Now, I know you don't want to think that far ahead, but I like "Thanksgiving" foods all the time. One of my favorites is Pecan Pie. I just love a gooey and sweet pecan pie. I can just taste it now, can't you? As a rule of tradition in our family, we try a "new" dish or desert every year. This year I have a spin on the traditional pecan pie.
Pecan Pie Truffles!
That is right! Little bite sized morsels of pie goodness. These are a favorite with my son. He does not care for pie crust, but loves the pies I make. I will often find the top part of the crust left discarded like the his bread crust. So, to save some time by not making crust, why not just dip that filling in chocolate and enjoy? Sounds like a win for everyone! So push up your sleeves and lets enjoy some pecan pie without heating up the kitchen.
Ingredient List:
2 dozen truffles
2 dozen truffles
- 2 ½ cups of pecans, toasted and finely chopped
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 7oz dark chocolate (can substitute for milk chocolate if you prefer)
READY! SET! ENJOY!
- Stir together pecans, graham crack crumbs, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until well blended. Add in maple syrup and vanilla and stir thoroughly. I like to dig my hands in to ensure it is fully mixed.
- In your hands, for a walnut sized ball with the mixture. Place each one on a wax covered cookie sheet and freeze for 2 hours. (I know! The agony!)
- In the top of a double boiler, melt your chocolate. If you don't have a double boiler, place a stainless steel bowl over another pot of simmering water. you can use the microwave as well, but it make take longer since the chocolate will start to harden once it starts cooling.
- Dip your frozen chocolate balls into the melted chocolate, then place back on your cookie sheet with wax sheet or parchment paper.
- Let sit for 15 minutes or until firm. (The hardest part!) If you want your to have a special topping like ours, now is the time before they cool. Otherwise, the toppings won't stick.
- ENJOY! (The best part!)
While preparing my truffles, I have a few gadgets that help me out. I am fortunate to live in the South, so I have pecan trees in my yard. When it is time to gather them, I use my Nut Wizard to gather and crack them with a Duke Pecan Cracker. I chop my pecans with this handy little Nut Chopper. For the graham crackers I use a general Food Chopper. It comes in handy for anything from herbs, to vegetables, to even chocolate. For the graham crackers, I break them up and place in a bowl, then I stick the food chopper right in there and chop away. I like to also break my chocolate up to help it melt quicker. I place it on my chopping board and chop it up with the same food chopper.
All of these products can we found on our website at
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Cinnamon Pear Applesauce and Sweet Friends
It is the time of year to gather Apples and Pears, then get to baking! I decided to take my children to visit my Dad this weekend and gather pears from a tree at his home. We all had a wonderful time using our large NutWizard to pick the pears right off the ground after my son climbed up the tree to shake the branches. Those of us who were waiting to use the Nut Wizard had a Harvesting Bag that we strapped on like a belt and slipped our pears right into. I tried to snap a photo, but they were too fast for me!
After visiting a while we loaded up our bounty so we could go home and make Pear Applesauce! Before we got started, we made a little detour across the road to share some of these goodies with this sweet lady. We picked a large laundry basket full of pears, so they will be divided between sauces and pie fillings....and probably a pear cake... so we can enjoy them year round.
Now, I am excited to share our recipe for Pear Applesauce. Guilt-free and no sugar added...ready for it? Do you have some apples, pears, and cinnamon? Perfect!
Ingredients:
3 Apples
4 Pears
Cinnamon
Preparation:
- Slice and core your apples and pears. You can peel them if you prefer, but I don't because the skins will curl up and can be removed later.
- Place all together in your crock pot and sprinkle cinnamon over them. I like cinnamon, so I am heavy handed with mine. Of course, if you don't like cinnamon, leave it out.
- Cook on low for 6 hours. When finished either mash them up with a potato masher, or to make it even more simple, use a Food Strainer. TIME TO ENJOY!
This recipe make about 4 servings. I normally triple or quadruple the recipe to store in a jar in the fridge. It is perfect for when we have a sweet tooth and helps get even more fruit it. It is also a great recipe to can and put away. I LOVE my Canner. It is so worth the investment because of all of the money we save by putting away fresh picked fruits and vegetables rather than buying from the store. Even better than that, I know there is nothing extra added and my family is getting nothing but what I want when I open those jars. Another great way to enjoy pears would be Pear Chips. I use our Dehydrator to make sliced pears, apples, bananas,...I could go on...into healthy snacks perfect for school lunch boxes and growing tummies.
You can find Strainers, Canners, Dehydrators, NutWizards (of all sizes), and so much more right on our website
Cherry Nut Bread
Holiday season is fast approaching. For me, that means a lot of social gatherings. I hate showing up empty handed without a gift for my host or hostess. They have come to expect some sort of goody from me. This Cherry Nut Bread is a BIG hit! Wrap it in pretty tissue paper or colorful saran wrap, tie it up with a ribbon, and let the gift giving begin. This Taste of Home recipe is my go to every time!
Ingredients:
Yield: 4 loaves (16 slices each)
Yield: 4 loaves (16 slices each)
2C butter, room temp
3C sugar
5 eggs, seperated
1t pure vanilla extract
5C all-purpose flour
1t baking soda
½t baking powder
½t salt
1C buttermilk
2 jars (10oz each) maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
1C chopped pecans
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks & vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk until just blended. Batter will be thick.
3. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter, then fold in cherries and pecans.
4. Transfer into 4 greased and floured 8in x 4in loaf pans. Bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and loaves are golden brown.
5.Cool for 10 minutes before removing loaves from the pan onto wire racks.
5.Cool for 10 minutes before removing loaves from the pan onto wire racks.
This quick bread has such a rich and unique flavor. Sometimes, my loaves even have a pink tint to them, which I love. You can also bake the batter in muffin pans for a handheld treat, just watch them and adjust your time accordingly. You can also swap out the pecans for walnuts or another nut you love. Of course, you can leave them out all together if needed. I have also used fresh cherries when I had them. I pit extras to juice and mix the juice with a little whole milk. I hope you enjoy this bread as much as I do.
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When making these loaves, I have a few things in the kitchen that always help me out. To chop nuts I have a great little Nut Chopper that lets me get them as crunchy or fine as I like. For cherries I use a Food Chopper. It is great for fruit, vegetables, cheese, herbs, and even chocolate. When I decide to use fresh cherries for anything..pies, jam, cookies.. I use a Cherry Pitter to save time (and clothes). It neatly pops the pits into a see through container and my pretty cherries into a waiting bowl. My 5lb Kitchen Scale helps me ensure an accurate weight on those cherries, along with many other kitchen prep measurements. I am lucky to live in the South with beautiful pecan trees in my yard. I use a Nut Wizard to gather my pecans and an Electric Pecan Cracker to crack them fast.
You can find all of these items and so much more right on our websites.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Pico De Gallo: A quick treat!
Ready for a garden fresh snack?
This weekend kicks off College Football season! I love this weekend every year because it signifies the beginning of Fall for me. Fall is my favorite season and always inspires me to bake, host gatherings, and see life with a fresh passion. In our home, our favorite Collegiate team brings excitement every weekend and a tradition must have snack is my Pico De Gallo. I have been asked to can and jar it before, but honestly there is never any left! Another thing I love about it is that most of the ingredients come straight from my garden. This recipe is suited to our tastes, but I always encourage testing it out and playing with it until you get your perfect mix.
Ingredients:
Pico De Gallo
3 large diced tomatoes
1 diced medium sized onion
¼ bunch of cilantro (use more or less depending on your taste)
Juice of half a lime (lemon will work in a pinch)
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1½ tsp of salt (I always seem to need a little more. I prefer Sea Salt)
2 jalapenos (or more if you prefer it hotter)
Optional ingredients
(I do not use these personally, but know those who love them)
half a cucumber, peeled and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
Corn
Black Beans
Directions:
1. Wash tomatoes and cilantro.
2. Dice tomatoes, onions, chop cilantro, jalapenos, and the optional ingredients (avocado, cucumber)
3. Put ingredients in a bowl.
4. Add salt, garlic, the juice of half a lemon. Mix it up and serve.
*You can roast your tomatoes for great flavor.
Heat up a frying pan or skillet on medium high heat. Place whole tomatoes in the cookware and toast the outside of it until the skin begins to break and split apart. Remove from heat and continue with step two.
*Note if you prefer smooth salsa as opposed to chunky just put all this good stuff in the blender or our Tomato Press.
It really is as simple as that. Add in your favorite tortilla chips and you are set! This recipe was originally supposed to be for 8, but I have a man who loves to eat, and if you do also, figure this as more of 4-6. It does store well in the fridge if you want to make it ahead, but I prefer ours fresh. If you do allow it to sit in the fridge in a sealed container, certain flavors, like the onion or jalapeno, will intensify. I like to dice mine up a lot for more juice. I use a handheld chopper for that.
This Progressive Food Chopper is one of my favorite kitchen tools, hands down. I use it to chop up everything from nuts, to cheese, to vegetables. It even features a measuring cup right on the side of it. How convenient is that? So, for my Pico De Gallo salsa, I halve, then quarter my tomatoes and onion, slide them a little at a time under here and chop away. I repeat with my jalapeno and cilantro. Sometimes, after I have everything mixed in the bowl, I even stick my food chopper right in the bowl and chop even more for juicer salsa.
If you want to speed up your already short prep time (Hey, football isn't a joke!), then our EZ Chopper cutting board is perfect. The knife is attached straight to the board with a swivel action and that speeds up your cutting time tremendously. Then you can swivel the knife out of the way and food chop right on the cutting board, which is what I prefer to do.
I hope you love this Pico De Gallo as much as we do. Don't limit it to just a game day treat with chips, because it is also great on tacos, eggs, in mac-n-cheese, on a salad, over chicken or fish. The list goes on and on.
All of the products featured today are available on our website www.lawn-gardening-tools.com, along with many other great kitchen helpers.
Mexican Corn Salad
Mexican Corn Salad
Fresh corn is such a delightful treat. When I was looking for variety from the standard corn on the cob, corn off the cob, and creamed corn, I came across this refreshing recipe. Mexican Corn Salad is a great addition to any BBQ, taco night, or just as a different side item. I couldn't seem to get enough of this savory dish when I made it and I hope you love it too. Following recipe as found on the Schwans website.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups sweet corn kernels
- ½ cup diced red pepper
- ½ cup diced green pepper
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 cup crushed chili cheese corn chips
Directions:
- Combine corn, peppers, onions, mayo, and cheese.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.
- Stir in crushed chips right before serving.
I like to make this dish ahead and wait until I am ready to serve it before adding the corn chips. The crunch they provide is wonderful. When I make this dish, my Progressive Food Chopper gets quite the work out. It makes prep so simple and easy while saving me time. You can use canned corn if you prefer, I have in a pinch, but fresh corn really stands out in this dish. For my ears of corn I use my EZ Chopper board to cut the ends of the ear off before I husk it. I use a cute little de-silker brush to remove all the silk, and then use my Lee's Corn Cutter to remove all the kernels of corn. It sure beats using a knife to remove all of those kernels. A few swipes of the ear and it is clean of kernels. All of these items can be found on our website at www.lawn-gardening-tools.com or www.855sheller.com. I can't wait to hear what you think of this dish.
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