Wow, I'm far behind!!

I didn't realize it had been this long since I blogged!! I have plenty of recipes to blog about and I'll have tons of blogging after my Christmas baking so stay tuned!

Peach Pie

This is a very late post so sorry about that...I made this pie back at the end of August. I absolutely love the end of the summer and early fall. It is the time of year for the very best peaches. Georgia peaches have nothing on the delicious juicy peaches that come from Colorado. Mike and I buy at least 2 big crates each year. I look forward to them starting in June, but they aren't available until about mid-August or so. We end up having so many peaches, there is no way to possible eat them all just in there own glorious peachy goodness, so I need to use them in desserts and breakfast foods to get through all of them. This year I tried my hand at Peach Pie. This is a recipe I sort of came up with own my own. I looked at about 3 or 4 different recipes and just used what I had around the house. Pie crust is tricky sometimes. I struggle to find the very best pie crust. Oil crusts lend a great texture but butter crusts have great flavor. For this pie, I tried a shortening and butter mixture crust. I turned out pretty well. It stood up great to the filling of this peach pie because it was pretty juicy. It was a little thicker than I would like for perhaps a less saucy pie such as an apple pie. I also probably could have rolled it thinner too. I am no good at fluting the edges of my pies so I just made some leave cut outs and decorated the edge with that. Anyways, this was a delicious pie. Peach pie really hit the spot...now I have to wait another year for the best peaches.

You can use any type of crust you like. If you use a butter or shortening crust or the one I used here are some tips. Make sure you butter and shortening are cold. Cut up your butter and rechill before using to ensure it is completely cold. Use a food processor or pastry cutter to combine your ingredients. Don't use your hands because that will start to melt the fats in your crust. The key to a flakey crust having nice cold butter and/or shortening because as your crust bakes the fats melt and evaporate leaving nice air pockets and thus a flakey crust. Make sure your water is truly ice cold and not just cool.

Peach Pie
Crust: From Goodhousekeeping
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp butter, cold and cut up
6 tbsp shortening, cold
6 1/2 Tbsp ice water

In a food processor, combine flour and salt. Pulse until combined. Add in butter and shortening. Pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time until large moist crumbs begin to form. Remove from food processor and shape into 2 discs with one slightly larger than the other. Chill for 30 minutes.

Filling: Adapted from Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks
6 c. peeled and sliced peaches
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp. minute tapioca
1 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for about 20 minutes if using fresh peaches or 45 minutes if using frozen peaches. Roll out larger dough disc and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Pour in peach mixture. Roll out second disc and place over top. Trim pie edges and flute edges. To add decorative edges, tuck in top crust into bottom crust and secure decorative cut outs around the edge with an egg wash. Egg wash top of pie crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Place three slits on top of pie to vent steam. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Cool, cut and serve.

Homemade Kit Kat Bars

I have seen this recipe for Homemade Kit Kat Bars all over it seems like. This recipe was published in an issue of Paula Deen's Magazine. Where has Miss Paula ever steered anyone wrong in the dessert department? Being an avid fan of the Kit Kat Bar, I had to try this recipe. In all honesty, it doesn't taste anything like a Kit Kat Bar...it's way way better. It has a great caramel-toffee flavor and some peanut butter and butterscotch notes going on in the topping. The "wafer" part of this bar is made with Club Crackers and it lends a great sweet-salty combination, and who doesn't just love that? These are some serious bars and they are a hit. Everyone loves them! You've got to give these a try!!

Homemade Kit Kat Bars
From Paula Deen

80 Club Crackers
1 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs, this is about 14 sheets or so
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c.milk
1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. butterscotch chips

Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil making sure you have excess hanging out the ends. Line the bottom with a single layer of Club Crackers. You may need to trim the crackers to fit.

In a large sauce pan, melt your butter over medium heat. Add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, milk, and white sugar. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour half of this mixture over the Club crackers. Then, top with another layer of Club Crackers, pour on remaining sauce mixture. Finish off with a final layer of Club Crackers.

In another sauce pan, melt your peanut butter, semisweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Stir until smooth. Pour over crackers and spread evenly. Cover and chill bars for 1 hour or until set (mine probably set in about 1 1/2 hours). Lift bars from pan with foil from pan and cut. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 1 (9x13) pan (I cut mine into 36 bars)

I had some lumps but they were still great!

Look at those lovely layers!

Grandma Bush's Oatmeal Cookies

I love oatmeal. Put it in a cookie and it is even better. I remember having these cookies when I was little and they are delicious. No raisins, nuts or chocolate chips in these. Just pure delicious oatmeal goodness. They have an amazing crispness outside and a nice tender chewy inside. These are phenomenal. This recipe is from my Grandma Bush. She makes some of the best sweets from homemade carmels to bing bars to sugar cookies and these fantastic cookies. Now this recipe calls for shortening, normally I like to substitute butter for shortening because it has more flavor, but in this recipe you MUST use shortening. It just won't turn out the same with butter. I recommend taking these out of the oven just when the outside of the cookie begins to brown and the middle is still slightly soft. As they cool, the middle becomes tender and chewy. If you prefer a crispier cookie, just bake them slightly longer and they are still fantastic.

Oatmeal Cookies:
1 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2-3 c. oatmeal (I use 3 because I like a lot of oatmeal)

Cream together shortening and sugars. Mix in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Mix in flours, salt and baking soda. Combine well. Stir in oatmeal. Drop onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack. Yield 32 cookies.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Casseroles (or as we Minnesotans call them, "hotdish") are such a super easy, comforting, filling and delish supper. They are also perfect for my husband and I because it's just the two of us and casseroles usually reheat pretty well. This Chicken Tamale Casserole I found on the Cooking Light Website. This is filling, and you can't tell that it has been lightened up. By all means, feel free to substitute back in the full fat ingredients. For this chicken, I like to take some help from the store and buy a rotessierie chicken. It already got great flavor and seasonings, plus it is super moist and I don't have to worry about it drying out in the oven. This is definitely a regular meal for us since we love Mexican food and are always looking for other ways to eat Mexican besides tacos. You can make this spicy by purchasing spicy enchilada sauce; we prefer to use the mild variety.

Chicken Tamale Casserole
From Cooking Light
Yield: 8 servings

*9 POINTS+ per serving
 

4 ouces pre-shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
1/3 c. fat-free milk
1 egg
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4 oz) can Cream Style Corn
1 (8.5 oz) box Corn Bread mix (Like Jiffy Brand)
1 (4 oz) can green chiles, drained
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
2 c. shredded chicken breast
1/2 c sour cream, reduced fat

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Oreo Truffles

No one can deny that Oreo Cookies are uber delicious. So, what could be better than turning them into a truffle?!? Lately I've been really into trying to make different types of chocolates and candies. I first had these truffles at my husband's cousin's wedding. Then, my sister-in-law Joni made them for my other sister-in-law's baby shower. They are fantastic. I dusted mine with cocoa powder, but they would be adorable sprinkled with Oreo crumbs. This made about 42 truffles for me. Next time, I will try to temper my chocolate so that it gets nice and shiny and won't get so soft at room temperature. If your chocolate chips are a little too thick, add about 1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil per 1 cup of chocolate chips until desired consistency is reached. Here is the recipe from Joni:

Oreo Truffles

8 oz block of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 package of regular Oreo Cookies
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips

Twist apart Oreo cookies. Scrap out cream filling and place in mixing bowl. Crush cookies in ziplock bag with a rolling pin. Add to bowl with oreo cream filling. Add cream cheese and vanilla. Beat with mixture until no white remains. Roll into balls and place on parchment paper or wax paper lined baking sheet. Refridgerate for 1 hour. Melt chocolate chips over double boiler or in a microwavable bowl at 30 second intervals stirring until smooth. (Add oil to choclate if necessary to thin out for dipping if chocolate is too thick) Dip or Roll oreo mixture in melted chocolate. Place back on lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with cocoa powder or cookie crumbs. Refridgerate until hardened. Store in the refridgerator.

My First Ever Cake Roll & Some Tasty Lasagna

On Friday my husband, Mike, and I had some friends over for dinner. I decided to go with a no fail entree, lasagna. Who doesn't love lasagna? All those layers of cheesy, saucy, pasta-packed goodness. Oh, I'm drooling just thinking about it. For the sake of being healthy since Mike and I will be eating these leftovers for a few days, I opted to try to healthify this lasagna a bit. My general rule of thumb is that I make the recipe exactly as written the first time and from there I modify where I see fit. Since I've made this lasagna before, I knew I'd be safe lightening it up a bit. I used part-skim ricotta cheese and italian turkey sausage to trim down this pan of Italian deliciousness. I find in this recipe the egg in the ricotta helps hide that it is lighter. I wouldn't use anything lighter than part-skim ricotta as it could get slightly too watery and you'd lose out on the richness. As far as using turkey sausage, I've found a brand that I love. It is the only brand I've found thus far that can compete with the full fat pork sausage. I find it at Hy-Vee and it's Honeysuckle brand. They also make great Turkey Brats and Turkey Breakfast Sausage. This recipe if from the back of the Creamette No Bake Lasagna noodles. Well, it use to be. The recipe on the back of my last few packages has changed. As far as the amounts of ingredients, I sometimes need more of the cheese, ricotta, and sauce depending on the size of my pan and how many layers I get. This batch ended up being 4 layers. This is also best made the night before. As it sits in the fridge, the flavors meld together and the noodles will soften up a bit too.

Lasagna:

1 container ricotta cheese (15-16oz)
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 jars of pasta sauce + 1/2 c water
1 lb. No Cook Lasagna Noodles
1 lb. Italian Sausage, cooked and drained
4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the ricotta, parmesan, and eggs well. Combine the 2 jars of pasta sauce with the 1/2 c water. In the bottom of a greased lasagna pan, spread 1 cup of sauce. Top with 1 layer of noodles, then spread with some of the ricotta mixture, sprinkle with sausage. Spread more sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella. Repeat these layers until you have no more noodles left. On top of the last layer of noodles, pour remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. (I often need to use about another 1/2 jar of sauce and 1 c. mozzarella, sometimes I even need a little more ricotta too.) Cover with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before servings, cover with foil while it sits to hold the heat in.

This made 12 huge servings.

Feast your eyes of those lovely layers!

For dessert, I attempted something I've never made before, a cake roll. Mike got me a jelly roll pan for my birthday and I've been dying to try to make one, but I've always been so scared to try. Well, I sucked it up and just told myself that if I fail at least it will taste good. Much to my suprise, making cake rolls are so much easier that I thought. Next time I'll take pictures of the process to show you how to make assemble one (because there is a pumpkin one I plan to make this fall). The only thing I would do differently the next time I make this would be to whip my whipping cream stiffer. When I rolled it up in the cake roll it was a little loose and started to come out the edges and the bottom. This recipe is from a friend who hosted the monthly Bunco game. Her's looked so good and tasted so great, it inspired me attempt making a cake roll myself. I'm so proud of it and Mike was completely impressed. He even felt the need to show it off to our guests before I cut it up to serve. So here is the cake roll recipe from Miranda:

Strawberries & Cream Cake Roll

Cake:

4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 sifted cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Powdered sugar

Filling:
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cup strawberries, cut up
powdered sugar
more strawberries (optional)
whipped cream (optional)

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and vanilla on high for 5 min. gradually add sugar, beat until dissolved. Combine flour, baking powder and salt fold gently into egg mixture just until combined. Pour into a greased and waxed paper-lined jelly roll pan. Spread batter evenly over pan. Bake at 375 for 10-12 min. or until light brown. Turn out onto a cloth that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Peel off paper from cake; roll up cloth and cake. Cool. For filling, whip: cream, sugar, and vanilla. Unroll cake and spread filling over it, sprinkle with strawberries. Roll up cake again and chil 2 hours before serving. sprinkle with powdered sugar, garnish with strawberries and whipped cream.

Amazing Pumpkin Muffins

So the weather was chilly here in good old Minnesota for a few days. This got me on an absolute Fall kick...I know, I know it's still July. But, the crisp cool 60 degree weather kicked my pumpkin cravings into full gear. I got this recipe from my mom. It's super easy and so delish! These muffins are moist and dense, actually they are much more like a cupcake. I top mine with Fat Free Cool Whip and a drizzle of caramel sauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon...yum, yum, yum! Now I know some people would wonder why I would use Cool Whip let alone Fat Free Cool Whip. I'm not going to lie, I much prefer real whipped cream from scratch, but this is quicker since I usually use these muffins as a quick snack or dessert..and not going to lie even breakfast. (And by the way, these are even better topped with the real deal whipped cream).

Another shocker about this recipe is that it uses boxed cake mix. Now, I rarely ever use boxed cake mix, but these really do turn out amazing, and you can hardly tell it's boxed mix. I recommend using the Duncan Hines Super Moist variety.

Pumpkin Muffins
Yield: 18 muffins

1 box Spice Cake Mix
1/4 - 1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
15 oz. canned Pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with foil muffin cups. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. With the applesauce, add at least 1/4 c. and up to 1/3c to get a smooth consistency (Note: this batter will be very thick). Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer. If you don't beat the batter well enough, you'll end up with hard spots in your muffins. Pour equally into the muffin pans. Bake for around 12-15 minutes or until tops of muffins spring back when touched. Remove from muffin pan and cool on wire rack. Top with whipped cream, cinnamon, and caramel sauce.

*Note: I prefer using foil muffin tins because they don't stick to your muffins and are easy to pull off.

Looking good!

My mediocre attempt at making my plate pretty.

Oh it was so good, I could have licked the plate clean.

Welcome!

Welcome to Simply Delicious Living! I've decided to start this foodie blog to chronicle my adventures in the kitchen. I'm on a mission to make the most delicious, nutritious, and satisfying meals possible. I have loads of recipes I'm dying to try. What exactly is my food philosophy? Well, I think all food should be absolutely delicious and wonderful, but I also like to try healthy swaps in my cooking and baking. However, even when trying to healthify foods, we can't sacrifice on flavor. Oh, I should also mention that a guilty pleasure here or there (or perhaps weekly) is an absolute must. So, come on and join my on my journey of delicious living!