Mom's Pie Crust

Some things just need to come from the house you grew up in. While the original recipe used Crisco, it was changed to all butter a long time ago and still seems the same, just because of where it came from. This pie crust recipe makes 4 single crust pies or 2 double crust. Why not make a large batch like this if you are going to the trouble to make crust? It freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap inside a freezer ziplock bag. So you could save some for later to make a pot pie, or galette, or other type of pastry weeks later.

The dough trimmed and partially folded under for a single crust pie. 

Mom's Pie Crust

2 double crust pies or 4 single crust pies

Ingredients 

4 cups flour

2 tsp salt

1Tbs sugar

1 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold

2 eggs used separately 

1 tbs white vinegar

1/2 cup ice water 

Directions 

Whisk together flour, salt, and sugar.

Cut butter into flour mixture until pea size pieces form. Set aside.

Whisk together 1 egg, vinegar, and ice water.

Stir into flour and butter until it barely comes together. 

Knead 10 times.

Cut into 4 equal pieces, form disks and wrap in plastic wrap.

Freeze 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 to bake a single shell. 

Roll out out on floured surface to about 16 inch diameter circle, checking occasionally that it is not stuck to the counter. Add more flour below if it is getting too sticky. 

Carefully, not to crease or break the dough, fold in half and fold in half again, transfer to a pie plate and unfold to evenly cover it. DO NOT STRETCH the dough. Pie crust shrinks as it cooks. If you refrigerate your dough all rolled out and ready in the pan for 10 min or so before baking this also can help it from shrinking.  Just be careful not leave it in the fridge too long. If you put a very cold, or freezing pan into a hot oven, it could shatter from the heat.

**If forming a SINGLE crust pie, cut excess dough off so there is about an inch over hang from where you want your edge to be. Fold the over hang under and start pinching whatever pattern you'd like. Carefully press down as you go to help the dough stick to the edge of pan. Prick a few fork holes on the bottom of crust to avoid bubbles. 

Whisk remaining egg with 1 Tbs water to make an egg wash and lightly coat the crust. 

Bake at 350 for 20-30 min

**For DOUBLE crust pies, place bottom crust in pie plate. Cut off all excess to make the edge of the crust flush with the edge of the pan. Fill crust with your filling and cover with second rolled out crust using the folding method. 

Cut the excess top crust leaving about 1/2 inch over hang that you fold under the bottom crust. Then crimp how you would like, slice a few vents, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with a small amount of sugar if you'd like. 

Ham and Cheese Strata

I thought I'd attempt my first strata since I've been drooling over pictures of them for the past couple weeks. I'm for sure making more of them! Prep the night before and cook it in the morning for an easy breakfast or brunch. And what doesn't go better with eggs than ham, cheese, and bread? Then throw in a little onion for flavor and spinach for color. I basically followed America's Test Kitchen's method with ingredients that I had on hand. And I might add, that it's so nice that I can still have fresh spinach from my garden this late in the season here. But frozen spinach will do fine as well, just be sure to drain and squeeze all the liquid from it before you add any. 

Ham and Cheese Strata

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Breakfast Strata

One 8x8 pan

Ingredients

10, 1/2 inch thick slices French bread or other artisan/Italian bread 

Unsalted Butter

1/4 medium onion sliced

7 oz ham diced 

4 oz cheddar cheese grated

2 oz mozzarella cheese grated

1 1/2- 2 cups sliced fresh baby spinach

6 lg eggs

1 3/4 cup whole milk or half and half

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

Directions

With oven rack in middle position, preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Place bread on on large baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp. About 40 minutes flipping halfway through. 

Remove from oven and spread a bit of butter on one side of each piece when they've cooled.  

**While the bread is baking**spray a nonstick pan generously with Cooking spray and heat over medium/low heat. 

Add onions and a few good shakes of salt, stir often until they become caramelized, about 30 minutes. You don't want them to brown. Low and slow.

Add spinach to the pan, allow to wilt and lose most of its moisture. Only a 3-4 minutes here, if you used frozen spinach it may take a bit longer, but not much. Remove from heat. 

Whisk together eggs, half and half, and mustard in small bowl, set aside. 

Butter a 8x8 glass baking dish

Lay one layer of bread onto the bottom of the dish, followed by half the onions and spinach, half the ham, and half of the cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

Slowly pour egg mixture over the bread layers to evenly coat. 

Cover with plastic wrap and weigh the strata down with 2 lbs of evenly distributed pressure. I used a bag full of 2 lbs of rice. 

Place In fridge at least 1 hr and up to 24 hrs. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and while its preheating remove the dish from the fridge and allow to sit at room temp for 20 min before putting in the oven. 

Remove the weight and plastic wrap. 

Bake for 50-60 minutes until the edges AND center have puffed and the edges seem to have pulled away slightly from the edges.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minute. And serve. This thing stays piping hot for a while, careful not to burn your tongue! 

Butter Toffee Popcorn

This popcorn is pretty addictive.  I didn't used to be quite a fan of toffee flavored anything but since I have now been married to my husband for 7.5 years, he has slightly converted me. Slightly.  I find myself seeing recipes and wanting them, needing them, in my life, when in the past I could have cared less and passed right by.  But, I really am a sucker for anything popcorn, besides the Jelly Belly popcorn flavored bean. That's just not right.  Back to this butter toffee popcorn.  It's for sure making its appearance on my neighborhood gift plate this year.  You can make it ahead of time, and its simple so no stress there.  I found this from treatssf, a lady I follow on Instagram. Her treats and goodies she makes are so pretty.  She has a blog too but I'm all about the pictures on Instagram.  She got the recipe for this popcorn from Cooks Country (of course the recipe is from them, its so good). I think the only difference are the nuts.  They suggest salted peanuts but I put in raw pecans that roasted in the oven, and I think that's what treatsf did too.  yum yum.

Butter Toffee Popcorn

Cook's Country

3 1/2 quarts

Ingredients

3 quarts popped popcorn (just shy of 1/2 cup un-popped)

10 Tbs unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1-2 cups raw pecan halves

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. 

Grease large roasting pan and place popcorn in the pan.

Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium/high heat. 

Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer stirring occasionally until it's slightly thickened ~3 min.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and baking soda (it will foam)

Add nuts and pour over popcorn, toss to coat.
Bake, stirring occasionally until popcorn is deep golden brown and caramel has set.  1-1 1/2 Hours

Cool and serve.  

Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to about 5 days.

Almost No Knead Bread

You have to make this bread. This week. You will not be completely happy until you do. America's Test Kitchen has done it again, giving such fantastic results. It's so easy the only problem I have is remembering to start the dough the night before to give it its proper amount of rest time. Next time I make it I will make two loaves -it gets eaten too quickly. My four year old tonight at dinner told me, "Mom, every time you make this bread I say, mmmmm breeeaaaaad". He and my two year old love it. I especially love it for breakfast the next morning. We eat this crusty bread at most family get togethers and I have to thank my Mom for trying the recipe first and sharing her results. 

**Here's a helpful hint: I buy one can of beer and measure 1/4 cup amounts into ziploc bags and freeze them. Then, when I make bread I pull out a bag and add the other wet ingredients to the frozen bag to thaw it, then add it all to the flour mixture. I think one large can gave me 20 portions of lager. That's a lot of bread! 

Almost No Knead Bread

America's Test Kitchen

Makes one loaf

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp yeast

1-1.5 tsp salt

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs water

1/4 cup mild lager, or water

1 Tbs white vinegar 

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Be sure to incorporate all flour. Knead a few times to form a ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature 12-18hrs. 

Knead a few times and form into a loaf. Line bowl with a parchment paper and place dough on paper. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rise at room temperature 1-2 hours. 

With 30-40 minutes left of rising time, place a large oven safe pot with lid on the middle rack in the oven and Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Let the pot sit in there and heat up 30 minutes. 

Turn the oven down to 400 degrees.

Slice 1 or 2 shallow slashes on top of dough with a serrated knife. 

Pick up parchment paper carrying loaf to the preheated pot. Cover with lid and bake 20 minutes. 

Remove lid and bake 20 minutes more. 

Loaf should be beautiful dark golden brown.

Remove from pot, let it cool on a rack. 

Devour.

Graham Cracker Toffee

I have a serious problem. I have 8 weeks left in this pregnancy and this might be my number one craving lately. And maybe a small craving for a Machine Gun sandwich from Bruges Waffles and Frites in SLC, mmmm. A few months ago I wanted a bahn mi from Oh Mia Vietnamese restaurant in SLC, now this. Breaking up the sandwich cravings. And this one isn't located 400 miles from my house and can easily be made in my own kitchen. I'm not even a toffee lover. Or a nut lover. The combination of the graham crackers, carmel, and chocolate is perfect. Then top it off with some nuts for even more crunch... drool. I think this version of toffee is so good to me because it's not a teeth breaking variety. The graham crackers are what really give the carmel it's crunch so it's not at all damaging to your jaw. 

My mom shared this recipe with me about a year ago when she found it in the newspaper.  I think it's pretty well known but for some reason my family must live under a rock. The ingredients are always on hand in my pantry and it's so easy even this big and tired 32 week pregnant mom can have it whipped up in no time. Pair it with an apple and it's like a delicious, no fuss carmel apple.  Try this recipe this week, you won't regret it.  

Graham Cracker Toffee 

Ingredients 

2 pkgs graham crackers

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup gently packed brown sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

1/2 cup chopped nuts, or other topping of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment and lay out graham crackers covering the whole pan. 

In a medium, microwave safe bowl, heat the butter and sugar for a minute and stir. Watch it so it doesn't boil over.

Continue until it's all melted and has had a chance to boil for about 2 minutes. About 3-4 minutes total time in the microwave. 

Pour over the graham crackers spreading with a spoon to coat them evenly. 

Place in the oven for 7 minutes or until it's all bubbly. 

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let them sit for a couple minutes to melt then spread with the back of a spoon. 

Sprinkle with chopped pecans, almonds or other topping and allow to cools to room temperature. This may take a couple hours. 

I place my pan in the fridge to cool it off much faster. I would put it in the freezer but it doesn't fit in mine. 

Enjoy! 

Macaroni Salad

The weather is starting to really warm up here down in southern Utah. I imagine in about a month the northern states will feel the warmth and people will start to pull out their grills. This macaroni salad is pretty addictive for me. It's sweet, salty, and tangy all at once, perfect for any outdoor party. Why buy a macaroni salad at a store deli when this one can be whipped up so quickly? The bits of small chopped veggies give a good texture change to the macaroni. 

I'm pretty sure it was my sister-in-law that introduced my family to this macaroni salad. I got the recipe from my mom a few years back. Delicious. 

Macaroni Salad

Serves 6-8

Ingredients 

4 cups uncooked macaroni 

1 cup mayo

1/3 cup sugar 

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 1/2 T yellow mustard

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 Small chopped onion (I prefer a few dashes of onion powder so you don't chomp down on raw onion)

2 stalks celery, chopped 

1 small green pepper, chopped 

1 large carrot, grated

Directions 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until just al dente. 

While its cooking mix all the other ingredients in large bowl. 

Drain and rinse pasta to cool it off.

Add pasta to the large bowl and stir together. 

Refrigerate until needed. 

 

French Bread (loaves or rolls)

Since discovering this french bread on epicurious I've made it quite a bit. French bread is so versatile, it goes with dinner, can be used for any type of sanwich and I also like to make quick pizzas on it. My boys and I like to eat this French bread just with some butter and jam. This bread also freezes well so French bread rolls are pretty ideal for my family, who had about a million sandwiches a month. The French bread rolls also work well as just a side with dinner. I'd say the crust on these is pretty in he middle as chewiness goes. Not too hard for my little ones to chew but still enough for me, even though I love a crusty chewy crust. This French bread will not disappoint. 

French bread rolls on their second rise. 

French Bread (loaves or rolls)

Adapted from epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/french-bread-235423)

2 loaves or 12 rolls

Ingredients 

4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp distilled vinegar

2 tsp yeast

1 2/3 cup lukewarm water 

1 Tbs olive oil 

Directions

In a stand mixer mix flour, salt and vinegar well. Scraping down sides once or twice. 

Mix yeast with water in small bowl for a few minutes allowing it to bubble and foam. 

Add olive oil and yeast water to the flour and mix well until a smooth dough ball has formed. About 5 minutes. 

Cover with plastic wrap and raise unt doubled in size 1-2 hours depending on the room temp. 

Line one large baking sheet with parchment.

Pour dough out on a well floured surface and cut into two even pieces. 

If you are making loaves: roll one section of dough into about 5"x15". 

Fold into thirds length wise making a long loaf and gently pinch to seal it closed.

Place on a baking sheet sealed side down. 

Repeat with second piece of dough. 

Brush with olive oil and allow to raise 1 hr or until doubled in size. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Place a baking dish with 1" of water in it on the bottom rack. 

Slice shallow slashes across top of loaves with sharp knife and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Remove from oven and rub the smallest amount of olive oil on the tops while they are warm. 

Cool on a cooling rack completely before slicing. 

To make rolls: shape both dough pieces into about 12" long loaves and cut to divide each into 6 even sections. 

Shape all 12 into evenly shaped balls. 

Place on baking sheet. 

Brush with olive oil and allow to raise for 1 hour or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place a baking dish with 1 inch of water in it on the bottom rack of the oven. 

Make one shallow slash across tops of rolls with sharp knife. 

Bake 20-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush with a very small amount of olive oil while they are still warm. 

Allow to cool on a cooling rack completely before slicing. 

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are the key to any mans heart, I'd say. Make these for someone you're dating and he'll want to marry you.  These cinnamon rolls are just slightly more dense than my original cinnamon rolls I posted (grew up with those and will always be a favorite). But this new version is right up there and the denser dough, I think, actually thaws better than the fluffier kind. I like to freeze cinnamon rolls since the recipes usually make so many and they taste just as fabulous thawed. I just slide them into a freezer bag or put them in a pan that my freezer has room for and cover them with press and seal then foil. Cinnamon rolls are great for when you have to bring something to a large party or holiday dinner or even to hand out to the neighbors. A bit of simple work feeds a large crowd. And you WILL get loads of compliments for these, promise. 

This dough is actually the same dough I like to make dinner rolls out of as well. I'll have to post the directions for those soon as well. 

Before its risen 

Buttered dough

Buttered, sugared and cinnamoned 

Rolled up ready to slice

On the pan, half pressed gently down with my fingers almost ready to rise. 

Cinnamon Rolls 

4 dozen

Ingredients 

4 1/2 tsp yeast

2 cups hot water 

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

6 eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

8 1/2 cups flour

Filling:

1/2 - 1 cup salted butter

~4+ cups brown sugar

~2+ Tbs ground cinnamon

Directions 

Heat water in the microwave about 2 minutes. 

In a stand mixer add the granulated sugar and unsalted butter. 

Pour hot water over the sugar and butter. Allow butter and sugar to melt (doesn't have to melt completely) and cool to just luke warm (If it's too warm you will kill the yeast you're about to add)

Stir in yeast and allow to sit a few minutes until it's bubbles/foams. 

Add eggs and salt and mix well. 

Slowly add flour. 

Cover with plastic wrap and raise in a warm, draft free spot until double in size. Varies from 1-2 hours depending on the temperature. 

Line two large baking sheets with parchment. 

Pour dough out on a floured surface and divide dough into 4 equal balls.

Take one ball and roll it out to about a 14" by 10" rectangle. 

Use a spatula or the back of a large spoon and spread about 1/8 cup of the salted butter onto the dough keeping about an inch away from the edge. Just evenly coat the dough. 

Sprinkle about 1/8-1/4 inch of brown sugar evenly onto the buttered dough and gently press it down.  Again leaving about and inch around the edge. 

Sprinkle cinnamon evenly on the brown sugar. 

Roll up carefully length wise (hotdog style) and gently pinch to seal  so it doesn't unroll. 

Turn the seal toward the counter. 

Cut the rolled up dough into 12 evenly sized slices and lay them on half of a baking sheet (two dozen on one pan). 

Do this with the remaining 3 dough balls.

A trick I learned from my mom- gently press each cinnamon roll slice down otherwise when you bake them the middles will rise to make huge cinnamon roll mountains. 

Cover for about an hour until doubled in size. 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees after 30 minutes of rising. 

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown and the middles look done. My oven is about 13 minutes.

Allow to cool then frost. 

These are great with cream cheese frosting- but not too overly sweet. 

I have yet to write down the exact measurements for the frosting but it's 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese, a splash of milk, dash of salt, squeeze of lemon juice- cream those then begin adding the powdered sugar by the cup full until it tastes right haha 😁

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My Dad's favorite kind of cookie is oatmeal raisin and they have been steadily rising to the top of my list over the years. I think it has something to do with age. You never wanted them as a kid but now, all the overly sweet desserts and cookies seem too much for your aging palate. America's Test Kitchen has come up with my favorite variety of oatmeal raisin cookies, their Big and Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies. They don't, however, put any cinnamon in the dough and depending on my mood I will follow the recipe or add just 1/4 of a teaspoon. Lately I've been leaving it out like they suggest.  I also don't make them as big as they suggest either. Mine are probably half the size, using about 1 Tbs of dough per cookie. 

I should add that these oatmeal cookies get crispy real quick if you over cook them. That's why my cook time is weird like 16-17 minutes. Keep an eye on them toward the end so you know how your oven cooks them. Remember that the recipe says to keep them on the pan for two minutes so maybe error on the slightly under done side for your first time cooking them. 

Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen medium size cookies 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp nutmeg 

16 Tbs unsalted butter, softened 

1 c packed light brown sugar

1 c granulated sugar

2 lg eggs

 3 c old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 c raisins

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and both sugars.

While they are creaming whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. 

Add eggs to the butter mixture just until combined.

Add flour mixture to the butter mixture.

Stir in the oats and raisins just until combined. 

Scoop out about a Tbs of dough per cookie and keep it pretty rounded, roll with your hands if you'd like. 

Place 2 inches apart on pan. 

Bake about 16-17 minutes, until edges are just golden brown and the middles still look a bit wet.  Allow to sit on pan for two minutes after removing them from oven. 

Transfer to a cooling rack. 

Olive Cheese Bread

This is a result of a Dad not coming home for dinner. My husband was out of town and I wanted something cheesy, and bready, salty, and... just plain good. I'm easily making this to take to a party or if there is football game on.  It was goooood. I may or may not have eaten just a few pieces shy of the whole thing. 

The crust is fantastic and was found on Carlsbad Cravings

Olive Cheese Bread 

Makes 2 large pizzas 

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups luke warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for brushing onto dough

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup chopped pimento green olives

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup mozzarella

dried parsley

Directions

Combine yeast, water, olive oil, sugar, flour and salt into a stand mixer (can do by hand as well) until it forms a smooooth dough ball.  If the dough is too wet and not pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it becomes smooth and uniform.  

Place in a bowl and cover to rise until double in size.  about 1-2 hours

Preheat oven to 475 degrees with the pizza stone in the oven.

Punch down the dough and divide into equal balls. Cover with a towel and rise another 15 minutes

Roll out one dough ball into a rectangle on top of a parchment paper.

brush with olive oil, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and top with half the cheese and olives then sprinkle with some parsley.

Bake about 12 minutes 

Repeat with second dough ball.  

Yummm

Pasta Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

I needed something new and cold for dinner tonight. We are sweating our way through the middle of our first St. George summer. Every time I put my kids in the car I feel like they may suffer from heatstroke just from the time it takes me to strap them in then walk around the car to get in and start the AC. The sweet, sweet AC. 

I saw vegetables in my fridge and contemplated what I could make with them without having to use any heat. I guess I used a little flame to boil my water and cook pasta but I still count this as a win because my 3 year old had seconds and my husband had thirds. This pasta would be good as a side dish or a main entree with a baguette on the side. While eating it I imagined it would be great to take to a barbecue and have it along side a nice juicy steak. Mmmm

Pasta Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette 

Serves 4-5 as a main dish, or plenty to go around as a side. 

Ingredients

1 lb cooked and drained pasta (shells, penne, spirals)

7 oz kielbasa diced small 

1 lg bunch broccoli chopped very small

1 red bell pepper diced very small 

1 celery stalk diced small 

1/2 small English cucumber diced 

1 tablespoon very finely chopped red onion

Vinaigrette 

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup prepared blue cheese dressing (I used Lighthouse Chunky Blue Cheese) 

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Stir together vinagrette ingredients in a small bowl.

Stir together chopped vegetables, kielbasa, and pasta in a large bowl.

Pour dressing over the salad and stir until everything I coated.  

Refrigerate if not eating right away. 

Homemade Pretzel Balls

Homemade Pretzel Balls

3 cups warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons (one package) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups bread flour
6 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups water
3 tablespoons baking soda
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon coarse grain sea salt

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the water and allow that to sit and foam up for 5-6 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the salt, bread flour, and all-purpose flour. Pour the yeast water into the bowl. Stir until combined. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-6 minutes. This flour is probably more water-based than you might be used to (if you bake bread often), so feel free to really flour your hands or the surface as you work. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 1 hour (or until doubled in size).

Fill a large pot with 3 cups water and 3 tablespoons baking soda. Stir to dissolve. Heat the water to a low boil. While the water heats up, on a floured surface, divide the dough into small balls, or roll into long ropes and shape like pretzels. 

Place each pretzel in the boiling water for 30 seconds, flipping halfway through cooking. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water, draining away as much water as you can. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Brush the tops of the pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle on the sea salt. Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes. The pretzels should look golden brown but still feel slightly spring-y to the touch. Dip them in anything, we chose melted garlic butter. So good.

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

Here's another family favorite but this time from my side of the family. My sister-in-law introduced it to us years ago and it's made many appearances since. I love these kind of cakes because of their easy method. This cake HERE is pretty similar. 

I made this particular cake for my husband to share with his coworkers because he finished his MBA this week! These two years went by fast but it will be so much stress off his shoulders (and mine) to not have to worry about school anymore. This cake is decadent and I thought it was perfect for such a fantastic occasion.  :) 

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients 

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup water

4 eggs

1 chocolate cake mix

1 30 oz instant chocolate pudding mix

12 oz (2 cups) chocolate chips

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together wet ingredients in a large bowl. 

Add the chocolate cake mix and stir well until it's smooth.

Add the pudding mix and stir well until combined. 

Add chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased Bundt pan and level it out. 

Bake 40-45 minutes 

Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes

Loosen the sides and middle by gently sliding a knife or fork between the pan and cake. Don't use a metal knife/fork to avoid scratching your pan. 

Lay a plate or platter on top of pan and flip it over to remove the cake. 

Allow to cool completely. 

Drizzle chocolate frosting on it or sprinkle with some powdered sugar. 

Applesauce Pudding

 

This is a family favorite of my in-laws and I have come to love it as well. It's a comfort food for me.  With cinnamon, apples, and cream, how could it not be? And it's so ridiculously easy to make. Is it pudding or is it cake? Well, it's a very moist cake. In the UK they ask, "What's for pudding?" (What's for dessert?) So, maybe this came from overseas and actually read more like, applesauce dessert? It's kind of like a bread pudding as well but not really haha. I'd have to ask my mother-in-law where she got the recipe, really, but either way I crave it pretty often. I'm partial to the no nut variety but either way, It's yummy. 

*I have made this with one cup applesauce and one cup finely grated Granny Smith apple, when my applesauce was gone. I tend to open a jar of applesauce thinking in advance I'd like to make this, then my kids eat too much applesauce and leave me with a minimal amount :)

Applesauce Pudding

One 9x13 pan

Ingredients

2 cups applesauce

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

~1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

2 cups cream + 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350

In a medium pour in all the wet ingredients. Mix well. 

Add all the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. 

Pour into a 9x13 glass baking dish

Bake 35-45 min until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack.

Whip the cream and sugar. 

Serve portions of pudding with a generous dollop of whipped cream.  

Hummus

Hummus is super easy and very customizable. Seems like every time I make it it turns out a little different than the last but still is good. I finally wrote down what I did and it still seems to taste different each time. I could be imagining it, who knows. I don't use tahini because of the price and, quite frankly, I like it just the same as the store bought kind with tahini. 

Hummus

Ingredients

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans

1 small clove garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt and pepper

1/8th cup water

About 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons olive oil 

Directions 

Place beans, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and water in a food processor. 

Turn it on and let it go for a couple minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. 

Drizzle in olive oil slowly until it reaches a good texture. I like it a little runnier than peanut butter. 

Taste it many times to make sure it's smooth. If it's not just process it bit longer. 

Mini Lemon Curd Shooters

Here is a super easy treat to make and especially fun to have at parties! Try it, You'll like it!

You Will Need:

mini cups

graham crackers

lemon curd (from trader joes or homemade)

whipping cream

sugar

vanilla

rasberries

mini spoons

First, make your homemade whipped cream. Beat the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff. Next, smash graham crackers to fine consistency. Layer graham crackers, lemon curd and whipped cream in the mini cups. Top it off with a rasberry and mini spoon. Chill until you are ready to serve!