Yummy in my tummy

Before I head into this post, I just want to let you know that I switched back to the button that Rosi made for me, I just like them more than the ones I made. I am so bad at making up my mind. :P

Here is a recipe my mom ran across the other day, and in all truth and honesty these are the best cookies I have ever had! No kidding! :D

Now before you freak out about the amount of ingredients, let me just tell you that we normally half or even quarter this recipe. But I can tell you they are ddddd-licious!

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe 

Ingredients

• 2 cups butter
• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 cups blended oatmeal
• 24 ounces chocolate chips
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) Hershey Bars (grated) (this ingredient is optional, we normally put butterscotch chips in instead)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Directions

1. Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
2. Cream the butter and both sugars.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
4. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda.
5. Add chocolate chips, grated Hershey Bar and nuts.
6. Roll into 1 inch balls and place 2-inches apart on a cookie sheet.

7. Bake for 10 minutes at 375° or until golden. 

 

Shabbat Shalom!! We will be enjoying our rest day with friends tomorrow, what will you be doing?

Autumn
 

Cherries in the Snow...

Our Cherries in the Snow Dessert for Shabbat:

PART 1:
Using a 9 x 13-in. pan, make a crust of:

• 20 or more graham crackers, made into crumbs.
• 1/2 c. Sugar
• 1/2 c. Butter

Bake at 350 degrees, for 10-15 minutes. Then let cool.

PART 2:

• 1 pt. Cream, whipped stiff
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1 c. Sugar
• 14-16 oz. of Cherries (with the juice)

Mix cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Put whipped cream in cheese mixture, and stir well. Then pour cheese and cream mixture in to the 9 x 13-in. pan.
Pour cherry mixture on top of the cream mixture; DO NOT MIX IT IN!! Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

This is a good way to use up extra cherries... Hope you enjoy!!!

~Sabbath Pear Pie~

Fresh juicy pears, combined with cinnamon make a delicious pie. Any pear can be used, but winter pears such as Bosc and Bartlett bake especially well.

Ingredients:

Filling:
½ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 pears (about 6 cups)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare pastry for one 9 inch double-crust pie. Line a 9 inch pie pan with the bottom pastry.

Filling:
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Peel, core, and dice pears into wedges, about ¼ inches thick. Toss pear pieces into sugar mixture, stir until well mixed. Sprinkle lemon juice over pear mixture, stir until well mixed.

Spread pear mixture in the pastry-lined pie pan. Cover filling with the top pastry. (I did a lattice top, but you can do any design you want, just as long as there is a way for the steam to escape)

Bake:
Bake 15 minutes at 425. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F. Bake an additional 60 minutes, or until the pear juices are bubbling and the crust is a golden brown. Tip: During baking, if crust is getting too brown, loosely place a piece of foil over the top to prevent the crust from over-browning. Also, put your pie pan onto a cookie sheet before placing into the oven, less of a mess to clean up later...... 8D

Remove from oven. Cool on a wire cooling rack before cutting and serving.

Serving suggestion: Serve pie either when cooled to room temperature or still slightly warm. Spoon a dollop of whipped cream on top, or serve Ala-mode with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

NPHCM: Day 1

Today Mom and I decided to start the No "Poo" Hair Care Method. (NPHCM for short.) Here is how it works:

Here is what you'll need to make your ALL NATURAL (literally) Shampoo:

• The original recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon Baking soda to one cup water
• We modified our recipe here it is~ 
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Soda (put into a 32 oz. container)
• add 3 Drops Lemon Essential Oils(optional)
• add  32 Ounces Hot Water to container, put on lid and shake well to dissolve
• Wash hair as you normally would, using about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of solution per wash.

Here is what you'll need to make your ALL NATURAL (literally) Conditioner:

• 1 Tablespoon Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (put into a 32 oz. container)
• (add to container) 1 cup lukewarm water (put on lid and shake well)
• Wash hair as you normally would using about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of solution per wash. (if you have oily hair don't use on your roots, otherwise go ahead)

*Note: Our variation of the conditioner recipe worked really well too, and will save even more money:

2 Tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar to 32 ounces lukewarm water.

We also added 3 drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil.

We both have long hair and were able to comb through it with no problem.

And our hair smells like citrus NOT like vinegar.... Haha!

Hope you decide to try it!!!

We'll update again soon!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Butter (Melted)
•  3/4 Cup Sugar
•  3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
•  2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoons Vanilla
• 2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
•  1 teaspoon Salt
•  2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

 Heat oven to 375 degrees.
1.Cream melted butter and sugars together in an electric mixer.
2.Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3.In a separate bowl combine the flour, soda, salt and chocolate chips.
4.Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir well.
5.Drop dough by rinded Tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
6.Bake 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. (Remember, ALL OVENS ARE DIFFERENT, SO MAKE SURE THEY DON'T BURN!!!!!!)
Remove from cookies sheet onto a cooling rack.

Sugar Cookies

• 2 3/4 Cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 1 Cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened
• 2 Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• Additional sugar for rolling

1. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Set aside. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.

2. Refrigerate dough about 2 hours or until firm.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.

4. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

5. ENJOY!!!

Buttermilk Cookies

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 Cup Shortening
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3 Cups Flour

1. Combine all ingredients, except flour. Mix well.
2. Add flour.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. Adding chocolate chips are optional.

This is a good way to use up extra buttermilk that will spoil otherwise. Hope you enjoy!

Icing Recipe:

    1. 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

    2. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

    3. 3 Tablespoons Buttermilk

*mix the three ingredients together. Frost the cookies while they are still warm. Serve once the icing is set.

Auntie Doll's Coffee Cake

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Cups Flour
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Oil (any kind will do)
• 1 Egg
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

1. Combine all ingredients, and beat well.
2. Pour batter into 2 8x8 greased cake pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. (Start out at 25 mins to make sure ir doesn't burn)

Auntie Doll says that it's a good recipe and everyone likes it...... I hope you do too!!!! So just grab a cup of coffee and dig in!!!

Victoria's Killer Brownies

Here is another recipe my good friend Victoria Brumlow sent me. I hope you like it!!!

~Killer Brownies~

4 ounces chocolate

1 cup margarine or butter

1 3/4 cups Sucanat or brown sugar
4 Large eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x9 or 8x8-inch baking pan. Over the lowest possible heat, melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Combine the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a medium-size mixing bowl. Whisk together until slightly frothy. Add cooled chocolate mixture and mix until just combined. Place batter in pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Thanks sooo much Victoria! They are REALLY YUMMY!!!

Justice's Very Blue Blueberry Pancakes

My son Justice is feeling a little left out of this whole blog thing~ So Autumn and I decided that it would be fun to let him post something weekly! So this is Autumn's little brother Justices' addition for this week(Oh! and I just had to add the funny story behind this picture!)~Mom

So this morning my son Justice(Autumn's little brother) asked if he could make some blueberry pancakes for breakfast? I said sure! I left Autumn to supervise him, and I took our dog buddy for a walk. When I returned home the house smelt wonderful! Justice and Autumn had almost finished and said "look mom we made BLUE pancakes"! I of course thought ,well when you add blueberries, you will have some blue color! But when I looked at them, I realized they were "REALLY BLUE"(or more of a turquoise blue)!! My wonderfully creative children thought adding food coloring would be great fun! I on the other hand, started thinking to myself, I have to eat that! O.K. so they may not look very appetizing, but I confess they really are YUMMY(Oh, the food coloring is optional)!!! Thanks for breakfast guy's!!!!

Love, Mom

Justices Very Blue Blueberry Pancake's
Recipe Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 Tablespoons unsalted softened butter
(plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle)
1 1/2 cups blueberries
*Optional ~For VERY  BLUE-berry pancakes add 10-20 drops of BLUE food coloring.

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk and softened butter; whisk to combine. The batter should have small-to-medium lumps in it.

2. Using a ladle or a very large spoon, pour pancake batter onto pre-heated griddle in pools, spaced 2 inches apart. Evenly sprinkle blueberries over each pancake. When pancakes bubble on top and are slightly dry around the edges (about 2 minutes) turn. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute more. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping cooked pancakes warm on a heat-proof plate in the oven until ready o serve.

Enjoy!
Chef Justice

Lazy Daisy Cake

This is one of my favorite desserts EVER!!!

It is so good! I hope you like it as much as I do!

~Lazy Daisy Cake~

2 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 Cup Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp. Butter

#1. Combine eggs, sugar and vanilla and beat until thick.
#2. Add sifted dry ingredients.
#3. Heat milk and butter to boiling point, add to above mixture.
#4. Bake in buttered 8 x 8-in. pan.
#5. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. (Check the cake at about 35 minutes to make sure it isn't overdone)
#6. Remove from oven and let cool, then frost.

~Lazy Daisy Cake Frosting Recipe~

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter, Melted
1/4 Cup Cream or Milk
1 Cup Coconut

#1. Combine all ingredients; blend well.
#2. Frost cake and ENJOY!!!!
#3. To store: Cover with Tin-Foil and set in or on top of refrigerator.

Note: (I normally double the recipe because it makes such a small portion.)
Let me know about your results in the comment section below each post!

~Carrot Cake~

This is a recipe my friend Victoria Brumlow gave me, she likes to make it especially for Sabbaths. Thank you Victoria!!!

Carrot cake Recipe

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

2 cups organic sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups finely shredded carrot

1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs                                                                              

in a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add carrot, oil, and eggs. beat with an electric mixer till combined. Pour into 2 greased 9x1 1/2 round baking pans (if your going to make cupcakes just use cupcake pan.) Bake in a 350 oven for 30-35 min or until toothpick comes out clean. it makes 12-15 servings if you do cupcakes it makes 3x12.

Here is the frosting recipe I always use!!

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 3-ounce packages cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2-1 cup organic sugar

(use an electric mixer)

 

Thanks again Victoria! YUM!!!!!

~ Autumn~

P.S.  We would love to hear how you like the recipes we post!

Picture of Victoria and I

Oatmeal Crackers

Some of our good friends shared this recipe with us, and we just thought you might like it too, ENJOY!!!

Oatmeal Cracker Recipe:

4 cups rolled oats(good old quaker oats)
3/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup water or milk
4 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup oil(we use olive oil)
1 cup additional oats(for work surface, will be folded into dough)

#1. grind 5 cups of oats (in blender or coffee grinder)set 1 cup aside

#2. in a large bowl combine salt and  4 cups ground oats

#3. combine water, honey, and oil, pour into 4 cups oats
      (will be a little loose, let sit for a couple minutes)

#4. dust work surface with your 1 cup additional oat flour, pour out
      dough, roll out dough to about 1/8 of an inch thick, score, transfer to cookie
      sheet and prick with a fork(can also roll onto parchment paper)

#5. bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until  golden brown (cook times may vary a little, depending
     on oven and altitude) cool on wire racks

We really hope you like these!!!!
Mom & Autumn
(We want to say Thank You to Jeanna Lee Natural Babyfood Cookbook for this recipe!!)

Something Healthy

The first two recipes we posted were not that healthy, So this recipe is something a lot better for you......Our whole family love these!

Garlic Parmesan Flax Seed Crackers
1 cup freshly ground flax seed(easily done in coffee grinder)
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
thoroughly mix dry ingredients
then stir in 1/2 cup water
(Be creative with your ingredients, substitute different spices or add sun dried tomatoes etc..)

*(dehydrator) spread onto flexible dehydrator sheet, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, score them with pizza cutter into desired shape(done when crunchy)

*(oven)spread thin layer onto lightly greased parchment paper, about 1/8 to an 1/4 thick,score them with pizza cutter, bake at lowest temperature until crunchy. Or bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes until crunchy. (Baking at high temperature will reduce health benefits some, but they taste yummy, if you want a quick snack)

HealthCastle.com
Benefits of flax seed as shown in many studies include lowering total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the Bad cholesterol) levels, also help lower blood triglyceride and blood pressure. It may also keep platelets from becoming sticky therefore reducing the risk of a heart attack. Lignan is a type phytoestrogen (antioxidant) and also provides fiber. Researches reveal that lignan in flax seed shows a lot of promise in fighting disease -- including a possible role in cancer prevention especially breast cancer. It is thought that lignan metabolites can bind to estrogen receptors, hence inhibiting the onset of estrogen-stimulated breast cancer.
(NOTE FROM MOM: Be sure to drink plenty of water any time you eat flax seed, this will eliminate stomach bloat!

Our Favorite Challah Recipe

My mom makes Challah every Preparation Day(friday). Sometimes I help her but, often I'm cleaning and doing school work. But, I will usually take a break and braid a small loaf of my own. Anyway, here is our favorite Challah recipe and we hope you like it!!!
Mom & Autumn


CHALLAH:(looks harder than it really is~try it!)
#1. In a small bowl add 1/2 cup 110 degree water and 2 1/2 Tablespoons of yeast (set aside between 5 to 10 minutes to proof).

#2. In a large bowl add 1 1/2 cups 110 degree water, 1 Tablespoon salt, 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup honey and 3 beaten eggs.

#3. By this time your yeast should be proofed(foamy)Pour it into the large bowl (with the ingredients from #2)add first 3 cups of flour ~mix on low speed 5 minutes until smooth(stopping the mixer to scrape down flour from sides of bowl when necessary).

#4. Add approximately 3 more cups of flour one cup at a time VERY GRADUALLY to mixer(mix slowly, turning on and off mixer to scrape sides from time to time, then start mixing again)do this until a ball form and flour pulls away from sides
(NOTE:flour amounts will depend on the humidity in your area we live in a very humid area, in the past I have added as many as 6 cups at this stage. So, the BEST INDICATOR really is by the way it LOOKS and FEELS. You want it to be smooth, not sticky and not too dry, you should be able to touch it without it sticking to your fingers).

#5. Kneed 10 to 15 minutes at medium speed, or by hand. you can sprinkle VERY small amounts of flour if the dough starts to get sticky again( I find the longer you kneed the softer the bread).

#6. Cover mixing bowl with lightly oiled plastic wrap, then place in a nice warm spot to rise 45 minutes to an hour(until doubled).

#7. Punch down, then cut into two lumps(if you have children cut some dough off and let them play with it or shape it into their own loaves).

#8. One lump at a time, divide into 3 pieces and braid(or you can get a little fancy and do four pieces, weaving them- over under over under/ or six pieces and weave over two under one over two).

#9. Place braid loaves on baking sheets/ I usually use two cookie sheets because these are very large loaves~ cover again with lightly oiled plastic wrap, set in a warm spot to rise another 30 minutes.

#10.Make an egg wash(break an egg in a bowl and beat it) very lightly brush the loaves with a pastry brush, sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

#11.Place loaves into a preheated oven(350 degrees)bake for 20-30 minutes(these times will vary depending on ovens and altitude)to know whether or not it is done~ the Challah should be a beautiful golden brown color and sound hallow when you tap on the bottom of the loaf.

#12.Cool loaves on wire racks.

(Note from Mom- I hope you enjoy this recipe! here is a little Hebrew blessing we say before enjoying our bread~ Blessed are You, Oh LORD(YHVH) our EL, King of the Universe, who has brought forth bread from the earth, Amien!)

~CRAZY CAKE~

This cake recipe has been in our family for over 30 years, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! (our own family twist on this recipe, is the addition of chocolate chips) YUM!

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar (I usually only do 1 cup)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Sift above dry ingredients into large bowl
In a separate bowl, blend:
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbls. vinegar
3/4 cup oil (any oil is fine)
2 cups cold water
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Blend all ingredients together with a big spoon, mix thoroughly, add chocolate
chips, pour into 9x13 pan (greased) and place in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees
for 40-45 minutes (or until a wooden tooth-pick comes out clean).

When the cake is completely cool, dust it with powdered sugar~or it is super yummy with homemade whip cream and fresh berries! (Note from mom: When I was a little girl, I remember my mom and sisters taking a paper doily, putting it on the cake once it was cooled down, then dusting it with the powdered sugar, it looked so beautiful!)