Sunday, October 20, 2019

Aunt Judi's Caramel Brownies

Oven:  350

48-50 Caramels (I prefer to use 1 - 1.5 bags of caramel bits)
1/3 C. evaporated milk

1 box German chocolate cake mix (just the dry mix)
1/2 C. melted butter
1/2 C. evaporated milk
.5-1 C. chopped nuts (I'd love these, but my family not so much, so I omit them)
1 pkg milk chocolate chips

Melt caramels and evaporated milk in double boiler (or microwave).

Mix in large bowl until moist:  cake mix, butter, evaporated milk, nuts.

Spread 1/2 of mixture in greased 9x13 pan (I often use a slightly smaller pan).

Bake 6 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over baked crust.  Put rest of crumbled batter over crust and drizzle caramel over that.

Bake 15 more minutes.

Cool, mark into 2" squares and refrigerate until set (I don't typically refrigerate them).

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Southern Peach Cobbler

Southern Peach Cobbler 
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
 
Recipe slightly adapted from and with thanks to Allrecipes.com
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Ingredients
Peach Filling
  • 8 medium-size fresh peaches sliced into thin wedges or bite size chunks - about 9-10 cups
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons arrowroot or cornstarch
Crust Topping
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour *
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter chilled and grated
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
* Gluten-Free Substitution
  • 1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 2/3 cup tapioca starch
  • 1/3 cup potato starch
Cinnamon Sugar Topping Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a large baking sheet covered in foil on the lowest rack in the oven. This cobbler overflows a bit almost every time I make it. The baking pan will catch the drips and prevent a mess in the oven.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the peaches and the lemon juice and then add the rest of the filling ingredients. Stir to coat and then pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
  3. Bake the peach mixture in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. While the peaches are baking, combine the  dry topping ingredients and whisk to combine. Toss the grated butter in the flour mixture. Stir in the boiling water, just until combined, leaving plenty of little lumps of butter.
  4. Remove the peaches from the oven and drop the topping over them in spoonfuls. (I like to use my smallest cookie scoop to do this.) Sprinkle the cobbler topping with the cinnamon sugar topping. Bake until the crust is golden and a toothpick inserted into the crust comes out clean, about 28 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
  5. FREEZER DIRECTIONS: The peach filling can be prepared and frozen in advance. I have frozen it for up to a year without any problems. Combine the peach filling ingredients in a large ziploc bag, press the air out and freeze flat. When you are ready to bake the cobbler, thaw in the refrigerator and then pour into the baking dish and proceed with the recipe.
Notes
Using a cheese-grater to "grate" cold butter is my favorite hassle free wait to cut in the butter. It takes just a moment and I think it's simpler than the more traditional methods. If you choose not to use the grater, simply cut the cold butter into small pieces and then blend it into the flour mixture, using a pastry blender or your fingertips.
It is entirely up to you whether or not you choose to peel the peaches for this cobbler. For years, I took the time to peel the peaches and loved the recipe like mad. About a year ago, I stopped peeling the peaches and I've never looked back. I can hardly tell a difference and I doubt I'll ever again peel the peaches for a dessert.

Friday, February 8, 2019

Instant Pot Cooking Times

Here's a website I found with a table of pressure cooker cooking times for various cuts/types of meat:

Pressure Cooker Cooking Times

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Alfredo Sauce

Colin LOVES the chicken alfredo from Costco, but it costs a fortune and the girls don't like it very much ("there's too much chicken!").  Colin's always asking for it, so I thought I'd search for a recipe I could make from scratch.  I found this from a random Google search.  I omitted the Parmesan cheese because I don't like cheese, and instead thickened the sauce with about a tablespoon of flour.  It was delicious served over some penne.  The only complaints were that sometimes there was something crunchy and gritty - it must be the coarse-ground pepper I used.  So, if you have it on hand, you might use fine-ground pepper instead :).

Here's where I found the recipe:

Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 
Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce is rich, creamy, and packed with garlic [parmesan] flavor!  This Alfredo Sauce is easy to make and perfect with your favorite pasta!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings2 Cups
Calories535 kcal [bonus:  less if you omit the cheese :)]
Ingredients
  • 1/2 Cup Butter
  • 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream [I only had 1 cup of regular whipping cream, so I used that plus 1/2 cup of whole milk]
  • 2 Teaspoons Garlic Minced
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
  • 2 Cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese [I left this out completely and substituted 1 Tbsp of flour]
  • [1 Tbsp flour]
Instructions
  1. Add the butter and cream to a large skillet.
  2. Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
  3. Whisk in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper for one minute.
  4. Whisk in the parmesan cheese until melted [or the flour (liquefied so it's not clumpy) until thickened].
  5. Serve immediately.