Caramel Puff Corn

Caramel puff corn is the best - no kernels to stick in your teeth!  This is the microwave recipe, so you do not have to bake it for an hour and then scrub your pan like crazy.  You just throw away the paper bag!  Easy peasy.  I used the caramel recipe from my mom but the technique from the link.

1 1/2 bag puffed corn (7 oz)
2 stick butter
2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup karo syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

Melt butter in a large mixing bowl, stir in brown sugar, karo syrup, and salt.  Microwave until hot and bubbly, then add vanilla and baking soda.  The baking soda is what makes it foamy.  Stir in the puff corn until well coated, then pour into the paper bag.  Microwave for 1 minute, stir, repeat for a total of 3 minutes of microwaving,  Rip open the bag and pour onto waxed paper to cool.  Store in airtight container.

Allergy Free Sugar Cookies or Snickerdoodles

This recipe is based on the Allergen Free Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (and it doubled).  We have made them this way a few times as Henry doesn't really like chocolate that much.  He does, however, like sprinkles, cinnamon, and sugar :)

Allergen Free Sugar Cookies or Snickerdoodles

1 cup oat flour
1 1/2 cup gluten free all purpose blend (bob's red mill - garbanzo bean flour main ingredient)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening - cold
1/4 cup applesauce - cold
sprinkles or cinnamon & sugar mixture

Whisk together flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Cut shortening into tablespoon-sized pieces and cut in with a pastry cutter.  Keep cutting until the shortening is about pea-sized.  Stir in applesauce until dough comes together.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Use a small cookie scoop to portion out dough.  Roll into a ball and roll in the sprinkles or cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Flatten slightly on cookie sheets and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Cheesy Corn Chowder

I have been on a Pioneer Woman kick lately, she is just so good!  I made another one of her soups this week and in spite of not liking corn chowder, Jer liked this!

Cheesy Corn Chowder

1/2 stick butter
1 onion - diced
10 slices ready cooked bacon - cut into 1/2" strips
1 green pepper - diced
2 can corn - drained
1/4 cup flour
3 cup chicken broth
2 cup half-and-half
1 1/2 cup (heaping) shredded colby jack cheese
4 slices pepperjack cheese

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onions and peppers for a couple of minutes. Add bacon and cook for another minute or so, then add corn and cook for a minute. Sprinkle flour evenly over the top and stir to combine. Pour in broth and stir well. Allow this to thicken for 3-4 minutes, then reduce heat to low. Stir in half-and-half, then cover and allow to simmer/thicken for 15 minutes. Stir in cheeses. When cheese is melted and the soup is hot, check seasonings. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I was looking for something else on the Pioneer Woman's website and came across soups.  Since it has been slightly cold the last few days, it sounded good.  After I made this, it smelled delicious, but I was worried that I wouldn't like it since there were so many peppers and tomatoes in it, but it is really really good!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breasts
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
dash salt & pepper
1 onion - diced
1 green pepper - diced
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 can rotel
3 cup chicken broth
4 oz tomato paste
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed

Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle on the chili powder, cumin, and salt & pepper. Add the onion, pepper, tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato paste, and black beans. Stir, place the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on high for 5 hours or 8 hours on low. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken, return to the soup, and stir to combine.

Sweet Corn

Quite a few years ago I got a bunch of sweet corn from a vendor at work and my mom and I shucked, boiled, cut the corn off the cob, and froze it.  I did not have enough room in my freezer for it all, so my mom took most of it home to "store" it for me.  I loved it, I am not sure why it has taken me so long to do it again (ahem, kids).  Today I did 28 ears of corn (ate 3) and ended up with approximately 10-14 cups of corn (7 sandwich bags).  It took me 1 1/2 hours shucking through washing dishes.

Sweet Corn

a few dozen ears of sweet corn

Shuck the corn.  Take a large pot, fill most of the way with water, leaving some room for the corn.  Bring the water to a boil.  Some websites say not to salt the water because it can make the kernels tough.  I did salt the water because I already had my water heating up by the time I read that, and mine tasted just fine.  Boil the corn for about 5 minutes, or at least until the water comes back to a boil.  If you will be cutting off from the cob and freezing, fill your sink with cold water and place the corn cobs in the cold water after they are done cooking.  This will stop the cooking process and also cool them enough to make them easy to handle when you are cutting the corn off from the cob.  I recommend inverting a small bowl into a larger bowl so that you have something to set the ear on while you cut and still have room for the corn that has been cut.

Fluffy Slime

Our kids have been BEGGING me to make slime all summer.  It was time.

Fluffy Slime

1 cup white glue
1/2 cup water
4 cup shaving cream (not gel)
food coloring
2 T contact solution
2-3 T borax solution (see recipe below)

In a large mixing bowl, mix together glue, water, and shaving cream.  Add food coloring and mix.  Stir in contact solution, then borax solution 1 T at a time, until it is no longer sticky.  Store in airtight container.  Enjoy!


Borax Solution

1 cup hot water
1 T borax

Stir borax into hot water until the water is clear.

Baked Blueberry Pie

It is Jeremy's birthday today, and his favorite dessert is pie.  I gave him the option of fresh strawberry, fresh blueberry, or baked blueberry and he chose baked blueberry.  I didn't have a premade pie crust in the house, so I decided to try to make one from scratch by Ina Garten.  I used Sally's Baking Addiction's recipe for the filling (mostly).

Baked Blueberry Pie

2 pie crust (see recipe below)
6 cup blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T butter - cubed

Place bottom pie crust in pie pan.  Mix blueberries with sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon.  Spoon blueberry mixture into pie, leaving any extra liquid behind.  Dot with butter, then cut second crust into 1" strips and weave them over the top of the pie.  Crimp edges to seal and place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400° for 20 minutes, then turn oven down to 350°.  Bake 10 minutes then cover with tin foil so that the crust does not burn and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Let cool 3 hours for liquid to set.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Pie Crust

3 cup flour
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup shortening
4 oz ice cold water

Measure shortening and place in plastic wrap, then cut butter into cubes and place both in freezer for at least 15 minutes.  Place flour, sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse a few times to mix.  Add butter and shortening to processor and blend until the butter is the size of peas.  Add cold water and process until dough forms.  Turn out on floured surface and press dough a few times, then form a ball.  Wrap with plastic and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Set out for 5 minutes, then cut in half.  Roll out dough into 12" circle for crust.

Strawberry Shortcake

This recipe is a staple of my mom's.  She made it all of the time during strawberry season.

Strawberry Shortcake

2 1/4 cup bisquick baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
3 T butter - melted
1 egg
2 LB strawberries
sugar

Stir baking mix, sugar, milk, butter, and egg together by hand. Place in ungreased 9" round pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Mash berries and sweeten with sugar to taste.

Blueberry Muffins

I was making bran muffins like usual this morning and Jer requested a different type of muffin and suggested blueberry.  I tend to think that blueberry muffins can be dry, but I searched the internet and found a couple that included blueberries in the batter to make them extra moist.  I took bits and pieces from each recipe and made my own up.

Blueberry Muffins

1 stick butter - softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2-2 1/2 cup blueberries
raw sugar

Beat together butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Alternately add in flour mixture and milk and beat until smooth.  Add half of the blueberries and beat until smooth.  Fold in remaining blueberries and spoon into muffin tins with cupcake liners.  Top with raw sugar.  Bake at 375° for 30 minutes.  Leave in pan at least 30 minutes, then place on rack to cool.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sister-in-law Sue brought these to a get together the other night and I had to get the recipe from her.  She said her niece Rebecca always brings these to gatherings and everyone always needs to get the recipe.  They are that good.  The original recipe is for unsalted butter and calls for 1 1/2 tsp salt.  I always use salted butter, so I reduced the salt to 1 tsp.  It also called to bake them at 375° for 13-15 minutes, but I found that they were almost overdone at 11-12 minutes, so watch them!  I also decided to try 350° next time since they ended up a little bit darker than I would have liked, so that is what I put in the recipe instructions.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 stick butter - melted
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs - 2 whole eggs plus 1 3/4 T of the 3rd egg, beaten
3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Beat together butter and sugars.  Add vanilla and eggs (picky, see above) and beat until blended.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda and beat until the dough forms.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Scoop out 1/4 cup of dough and flatten into 3" diameter, six per baking sheet.  Bake at 350° for 11-12 minutes, checking the first batch at 10 minutes to make sure they are not overbaking.  They are done when the edges are lightly browned and the center is still slightly undercooked.  Leave them on the pan for 5-7 minutes to set, then place on a wire rack to cool.

Frosted Brownies

I keep making variations on my scratch brownie recipes.  I blended the brownie base from this recipe with the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from this recipe.  They are just as awesome as I was hoping.  I get requests at work to bring these in.

Frosted Brownies

Brownies:
2 stick butter - melted
2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:
1/2 stick butter - melted
2 T milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Stir together butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Add eggs, stirring after each addition. Stir in cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Pour into a lightly greased 9x13" baking dish.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.  While the brownies are baking, make frosting.  Beat together butter, milk, vanilla, cocoa, and powdered sugar.  After the brownies have cooled for 5 minutes, spread the frosting.

Beef Enchiladas

We were craving enchiladas the other day so I looked for a recipe online.  I found quite a few that looked good, but went with this one from Betty Crocker because I did not want to stink up the house by frying the shells.  I did however add the onion to the beef like Ree's recipe.  Another one I found had black beans added, I think that would be great but I did not think my kids would eat them.  They were delicious, but needed sour cream to tone down the spice - but that is just me and I think everything is spicy.

Beef Enchiladas

1 LB hamburger
1/2 cup onion - diced
1 can green chiles - drained, diced
2 10 oz can enchilada sauce
10 flour tortilla shells
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese - shredded

Brown hamburger with onion and chiles.  Add 3/4 of a can of enchilada sauce to the meat mixture.  Spoon about 1/4 cup of meat mixture onto each tortilla shell, top with some cheese.  Roll up tortilla and place in a 9x13" baking dish with the rest of the first can of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.  After all shells are filled and placed in the pan, top with remaining can of enchilada sauce and top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.