Candied Yams

Candied Yams have been a Thanksgiving tradition for my family for as long as I can remember. The combination of yams, peaches, and nutmeg is just incredible. I add a little cinnamon in my version.




Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
2 tbsp butter
2 cans yams (17oz)
1 can peaches (16oz)
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmellow

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Drain yams and peaches and place in baking dish.


3. In a separate bowl, mixtogether the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon.


4. Add the spice mixture to the yams and peaches and carefully stir.


5. Add the butter, cut in small pieces, on top .


6. Place in preheated oven and cook for 35 minutes.


7. Remove from oven and top with marshmellows. Return to oven and set the temperature to broil. Watch carefully to prevent the marshmellows from burning.

Snickerdoodle

Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies. Over the years I have attempted to make them, but have never been satisfied with the results. Finally I found a snickerdoodle recipe I like. This one is from the allrecipes.com website.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened and room temp
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar ( or 2 tsp lemon juice)
1 teaspoon baking soda - fresh
1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons white sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon. Set aside
3. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs, and the vanilla. Mix the flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Do not over mix.
4. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. Roll balls of dough in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
5. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets a few minutes.

Scones

I grew up eating 'scones' made by my father. As today is Fathers' Day, it is only appropriate that I share a recipe that I learned from him. My dad is a wonderful baker/cook and I am grateful for his example which has inspired me towards my love of cooking.

This is not the traditional scone from Europe. According to wikipedia:
"In Utah, the bread products locally called 'scones' are similar to Indian Frybread and are made from a sweet yeast dough, with buttermilk and baking powder and/or soda added, and they are fried rather than baked. They are customarily served with butter and honey."

This recipe is probably closer to sopapillas or Indian Frybread and I use them in a similar fashion. Usually I fry up some dough to make some 'Navajo' Tacos, and then follow up with some cinnamon sugar desert ones. They are also wonderful with butter and honey.

Caution!
This recipe makes a lot! Either cut in half or else form extra into rolls and let rise. Bake in 350F oven.





3 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast

Mix the water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes to let the yeast start.

1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp salt
7 - 8 cups flour

Add the oil and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix in flour until desired consistency. The dough should be slightly sticky.

Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.

Roll out dough and cut into rectangles.

Fry in hot oil and drain on paper towels.

For 'Navajo' Tacos, I poke holes with a fork in the dough rectangles before frying. This helps keep the bread flat instead of puffing up like a balloon. For desert, I sprinkle the fried bread with a cinnamon sugar mixture as soon as I pull it out of the hot oil. Delicious!

Navajo Taco

ground beef
kidney beans
taco seasoning

Toppings
cheese, shredded
refried beans
tomato, diced
olives, sliced
avocado


Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain excess fat.

Add kidney beans to meat. Mix in taco seasoning to taste. Add water and let simmer.

Serve on fried bread along with refried beans, cheese, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, salsa, etc.

Auntie Anne's Pretzels - Copycat

This is another family favorite. The kids absolutely love the cinnamon sugar while Sarah enjoys the salt pretzels. Even plain ones are great. Check out this video link for instructions on rolling out the dough. There are other videos on how to twist, etc.


Picture is from a double batch I made to share with friends.

From Copykat.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups flour

2 cups water
2 tbsp baking soda
2-4 tablespoons butter (melted)
coarse salt
cinnamon sugar

Procedure:
1. Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve.

2. Add sugar, salt, and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic.

3. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

4. While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda.

5. Be certain to stir often

6. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape.

7. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet.

8. Allow pretzels to rise again.

9. Bake in oven at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden.

10. Brush with melted butter.

11. Toppings: After you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt.

12. Or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

13. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously.

14. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture.

15. Notes: the longer and thinner you can make the dough rope, the more like Auntie Anne's they will be.

"Café Rio Style" Pulled Prok

Ingredients
3 1/2 - 4 lb prok roast
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp red cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 can coke
1 cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 small onions, chopped
1 cup brown sugar

Procedure
Night before
1. Mix together brown sugar, cayenne, cumin and salt. Rub on roast.
2. Put in crock pot on LOW all night.

Next morning
3. Add coke, chicken broth, garlic and onions. Keep on LOW until ready to serve.
4. About 1 hour before serving, shred roast and add 1 cup brown sugar.

Use in salads, tacos, or burritos.
Serves 12

Orange Julius

This recipe is almost a necessity to survive the hot Arizona summers. Try mixing it up with different frozen juice concentrates. Some of my favorite are Pineapple Orange, Welch's Strawberry Breeze, etc.



Ingredients
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups ice

Procedure
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.

2. Blend until ice is crushed. Server immediately.

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

I've been watching the Food Network lately trying to find some new recipies. This recipe is from Giada De Laurentils from the show Everyday Italian. I really like this recipie because of all the different kinds of good vegetables in it.

Unfortunatly, the kids didn't really like this too much. They really are not that used to eating vegetables. Perhaps as we try to include more vegetables in their diet they will come around on this one.

[I'll try to add a photo the next time I make this]

Prep Time: 25
Cook Time: 40
Yield: 6 servings

2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cremini mushrooms, halved
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb mix or herbs de Provence
1 pound penne pasta
3 cups marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is till hard. Drain in a colander.

In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.

Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and butter pieces. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.