What's More American Than... (1 Star)

...cherry pie!!



In my opinion, cherry pie (not from a can), ranks pretty high on "The Best Things in the World" list.



This may be the last pie that I ever make from cherries from our (tart) cherry tree. (Sniff.) It is dying and I am amazed that we got any cherries from it at all this year, but we got enough for about a half-pie's worth. So I made a little pie and (some of us) enjoyed it very much.



And I mean VERY much. Wow, just look at these pictures. I can hardly stand it because this pie is now gone and these pictures make me so hungry for it.



Cherry Pie Filling

2 pounds sour cherries, pitted
1 cup white sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, combine cherries, sugar and cornstarch. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the juices thicken and become translucent. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and almond extract. Mix thoroughly and set aside while you make the crust.

For fruit pies, I think my mother-in-law's pie crust recipe is the greatest. It is so flaky and perfectly crispy yet tender. It's pretty easy, too.

Janie's Pie Crust
(Makes enough for the top and bottom crust for a nine inch pie.)

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cold water

Stir to combine the flour and salt. Add the oil and cold water and stir with a fork until just combined. Roll out half the dough between two pieces of wax paper for the bottom crust. When it is about 13-14 inches diameter, peel off the top piece of wax paper and then lift up the piece of paper that still has the crust attached and flip it over onto the pie pan. Center it on the pan and then gently peel off the wax paper. Gently lift the sides of the crust until it lines the bottom of the pie pan snugly. With a small knife, trim the edges of the crust flush with the edge of the pan. Add any extra crust to the other half.

Fill with the cherry pie filling and then roll out the other half of dough between the wax paper and, using the same method described above, place the crust on top of the pie. Fold any excess top crust under the edge of the bottom crust to create a thicker edge crust. If there are any places where there is substantially more crust hanging over than others, trim the excess and add it to the thin spots. When all the crust has been folded over, using one finger from one hand (this finger presses from the top) and the thumb and forefinger from the other hand (these fingers press from the side of the crust with one on either side of the finger pressing from the top), press the crust together into flutes.

Brush the top of the crust with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar. Cut several slits in the top of the crust for steam to vent.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least an hour before serving so the filling can set.

Barbeque Chicken Ranch Spaghetti (0 Star)

This recipe is from Picky Palate (found here) and Brandon and I loved it. I was very surprised that the boys didn't like it AT ALL. Actually, I guess I should have know that onions in the spaghetti noodles would not be well received. Oh, well--toast for them, superb meal for Brandon and I.

I followed the recipe exactly. For the barbecue chicken, I cooked 2 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts in barbecue sauce on low in the crock pot for about 6-8 hours. Then I shredded them and added a teaspoon of salt, two tablespoons of brown sugar and a dash of liquid smoke.

French Bread (4 Star)

My first born loves to cook and bake. He recently learned how to make french bread (which he currently sells to a couple of our neighbors!) and it is really good and not that hard to make--in the bread maker, that is! He uses the dough setting on the bread maker and bakes it in the oven.



French Bread

2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
3 1/4 cups white bread flour (we actually just use Lehi Roller Mills unbleached all purpose and it still works well)
2 Tablespoons gluten flour
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 teaspoons active dry or 3 teaspoons rapid rise yeast

Place the above ingredients in the order listed into the bread maker pan. Follow the bread maker instructions for the "dough" cycle. When the "dough" cycle is finished, dump the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide in half. (He makes two small loaves with this recipe but you could also make one large loaf.)

At this point place a small metal pan on your oven floor and set your oven to 450 degrees to begin pre-heating.

Shape the dough halves into elongated loaves with your hands, if you want to be fast, and then place them side by side on a buttered jelly roll pan. If you want well formed loaves and don't mind taking a little more time, follow the instructions in this tutorial. It requires a little rolling but still isn't too difficult.

Allow the loaves to rise for about 20 minutes and with a sharp, serrated knife, make five to six diagonal slashes across the top of the loaf. Place the pan into the oven and immediately dump a half cup of water into the hot pan on the bottom of the stove. This creates steam that makes the crust crispy. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes for two small loaves, or 20-25 minutes for one large one.

If you don't have a bread maker or just want much better instructions than I have given, go here. This is the same tutorial I mentioned above--she has very thorough instructions with pictures.

Dutch Oven Sausage and Potatoes and Roasted Pineapple (4 Star)

Yesterday we went "camping" (just a super quick evening trip up the canyon for dinner) and we made our favorite dutch oven meal. It is our very favorite, and to be honest, I've only made one other meal in the dutch oven because we all love this so much that there hasn't been much incentive to try anything else. So here it is, Sausage and Potatoes. It is amazingly simple.

Dutch Oven Sausage and Potatoes

2 pounds of your favorite sausage, sliced into chunks if it is links (I used my homemade Sweet and Spicy Sausage this time. I've also used different kinds of Aidells sausage with awesome results. The sausage can either be raw or pre-cooked--this meal cooks long enough to cook raw sausage through and pre-cooked works just fine, too.)
15-20 peeled and diced medium potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick of butter (margarine=blech, butter=awesomeness)
1-1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper (to taste)
6-8 quart dutch oven (I can't remember what mine is! But one of those two, I think.)
50-60 charcoal briquettes

Heat the briquettes in a pile as per charcoal briquette instructions. When they are ready, place about 20-25 coals in the place you plan to cook with the dutch oven, enough to cover the bottom of the oven. Place the oven on top of the coals and allow to heat for several minutes.

When hot, put 2-3 Tablespoons of the butter into the dutch oven and swirl it around. It should sizzle. Dump in the onion and stir around a bit. Then put in the sausage and break it up if it is loose sausage like I used. Allow it to heat and sizzle a bit and then dump in the potatoes. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper and cut the rest of the butter into small chunks on top.



Place the lid onto the oven and put enough briquettes on top to cover. We had about 30 on top. Allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, then lift up lid and stir. Break up any large chunks of sausage, if necessary, and be sure that it is cooking properly. It should all be sizzling along nicely. Replace the lid and give it another 15-20 minutes to cook and then check. Cook longer if necessary. Ours was done at this point, the potatoes nice and soft. Give it a stir and serve.



This makes a fairly large amount, but we put it away so easily that we ate about 2/3 of it, leaving a little for the next day. Even my most pickiest boy had seconds.

Why does food cooked in a dutch oven in the woods taste so amazingly awesome? I think there's more to it than just slow, even cooking. Cast iron dutch ovens are like magic. So is a campfire in the woods.



Oooh, baby!



We tried something new this time--we roasted pineapple over the fire. We just used plain pineapple cut into spears and skewered on a roaster and roasted like hot dogs until they were a little blackened.



They were so good, even without any sauce, and a great accompaniment to the sausage and potatoes. We were thinking that for next time it would be fun to try a fruit kabob comprised of pineapple, banana, and peach, roasted over the fire. What do you think?

Becca's Dinner Rolls (4 Star)

I don't make these very often because I can easily eat ten in one sitting. In fact, it's hard for me not to eat ten in one sitting. If there were no negative consequences to this kind of consumption I would make them every day. But when I do make them, wowza! They are soft and just a smidgen chewy if you consume them warm; they are also sweet and buttery. Ahhh, it doesn't get too much better than fresh, warm dinner rolls. Unless, of course you make them into cinnamon rolls--but yikes! Let's not go there or these rolls won't get their chance to shine--or waft?





I got the recipe for these from my sister in law who is an amazing cook that I have long looked up to.

Becca's Dinner Rolls

1 Tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup scalded milk (or just warm?)
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
5-7 cups flour

Into a large mixing bowl/kitchenaid/bosch put the water and sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Proof--after five minutes it should be foamy.

While yeast is proofing, put the milk and butter into a saucepan and heat until butter is melted. (Question: Why are you supposed to scald the milk? My grandma's dinner roll recipe says to scald the milk, too, but I want to know why. And here is my little secret--I never do it. I just heat it up and melt the butter in it, but I don't really want it hotter than lukewarm because then I have to wait for it to cool and what a pain. But I wrote "scalded" milk in this recipe because that's what the recipe said and maybe there is a good reason to do it, but I just don't know it. If anyone knows, please enlighten me. It troubles me enough that I wrote this big, huge, long question about it in this post.) Cool to lukewarm if it is too hot.

Pour milk and butter mixture into the yeast mixture and add the salt and three eggs. Whisk or mix to combine until smooth.

Add 5 cups of the flour and mix with the dough hook on low for a minute or two, until the dough is wet but not smooth. Allow to rest for five minutes. Then resume mixing with the dough hook on a medium speed. Keep adding flour as needed. The dough should be soft and sticky but should come together into a smooth ball as it mixes. I ended up using about 6 cups of flour. Mix for about 7 minutes.

Remove the hook and cover the bowl with a towel and allow the dough to rise until double. (An hour, maybe?)

Butter a jelly roll pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Punch down the dough and scoop it together. Using a serrated knife, cut off chunks of dough, about the size of a golf ball, or a tad larger. Shape into balls and place on the buttered pan in rows, not quite touching each other.

Allow to rise for another 15 to 30 minutes until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until turning golden on top.

Immediately inhale ten or more, if you are like me and have no self control or shame. Or be good and eat just one. (Is that even possible?)

Enchiladas (3 Star), Refried Beans, and Cilantro Lime Slaw

This dinner was to die for. Everything was so good, but especially in this combination. The boys only liked the enchiladas, so that is what the rating refers to. (Crazy punks! How could they not like the refried beans? They were awesome!) All the recipes are courtesy of Prudence Pennywise, original recipes found at the following links: enchiladas, refried beans, and slaw.

I did change up the enchiladas to make them lower fat and more nutritionally packed, so here is the recipe:

Beef and Veggie Enchiladas

For Enchiladas:
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
15 corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheese, for top (I used a mozzarella, provolone, cheddar blend from Costco)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, or sliced green onions, for garnish

For Sauce:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoon flour
5-6 tablespoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon dried cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
2 cups/cans tomato sauce (if you can find it, try El Pato spicy tomato sauce in the yellow can)

For Filling:
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chilies
1/3 cup finely minced onion or scallions
1 cup finely chopped broccoli
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
juice of 1 lime

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add corn tortillas, one at a time, and lightly fry just until softened, adding more oil as needed. Stack tortillas atop one another on a paper towel

When finished, in same skillet heat oil for sauce. Whisk in flour; cook for one minute. Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. Stir for one minute. Whisk in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce simmers, put a large skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Fry the ground beef, onion, broccoli, and carrot together until the beef is cooked through. Add the green chilies, salt, cumin, and lime juice and stir until heated through and remove from heat to assemble enchiladas.

Preheat oven to 425 if you are baking the enchiladas now. Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan and an 8 inch square baking dish. Pour enough of the enchilada sauce into both pans to just cover the bottom. Dip the tortillas into the sauce in the skillet, on both sides. Add about 1/4 cup filling and roll up and arrange tortillas between the two pans. Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle lightly with cheese. (Can be prepared up to this point. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to two days.) Place tortillas in 425 degree preheated oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until just bubbly and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with cilantro and let cool for five minutes before serving. (If baking refrigerated enchiladas, increase baking time to 20-25 minutes. Keep covered with foil for first ten minutes of baking, to prevent drying.)


I am also including the refried bean recipe because I want to remember what seasonings I used this time, and I also made a larger batch. These beans were so good and so easy.

So Easy "Un" Refried Beans in the Crock Pot

3 cups dried pinto beans-no need to presoak
12 cups water
1 onion, diced

Put beans, onion, and water in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low overnight, or about 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. (Every crock pot is different, so give yourself plenty of time.) When the beans are very soft, remove all of the liquid that you can with a small ladle or measuring cup. You don't need to strain the beans, just get out as much of the cooking water as possible. Mash the beans with a potato masher or immersion blender, getting them as creamy as you like, or leave them whole, if that floats your boat. Add seasonings and stir.

I (Becky) added:

4 tsp. chicken base
2-3 tsp. salt
2 dashes liquid smoke
3 dashes Tabasco
2 pinches chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Prudy's other add-in ideas:

start with 1/4 teaspoon salt (or use granulated chicken bouillon)
1/2-3/4 cup flavorful liquid: taco sauce, red or green salsa, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce (my favorite is El Pato spicy tomato sauce), or even a 14 ounce can of undrained Mexican style petite diced tomatoes
Optional Add ins: sauteed garlic-onions-jalapenos, bacon grease, chopped cooked bacon, roasted red peppers, diced green chilies, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro


Well, I guess I'm going to put the slaw recipe in here, too, since it is hidden inside her post and I did make one change by adding tomatoes.

Cilantro Lime Slaw

1 10 ounce package coleslaw mix or 1 small head of green cabbage, shredded
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 tomatoes, diced
juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine coleslaw mix, cilantro, tomato, lime juice, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cajun Meatloaf (3 Star)

If you like meatloaf, you will love this. If you don't like meatloaf, this is worth trying anyway because it's awesome and you'll probably love it and discover you've been missing out, thinking that you didn't like meat loaf. And if you think you don't like meatloaf, I can empathize because there was a time that I didn't either. Any food with the word "loaf" in it that is not bread has always worried me a little.

But with this meatloaf, there is no need to fret, because it is juicy, spicy (I halve the cayenne to protect young taste buds), and so flavorful. I found the recipe here, on Pioneer Woman's site. In the past, I never would have considered serving meatloaf to company, (due to my meatloaf misgivings and reservations) but this is very much company-worthy. I served it to a group at my home the other day and received much praise and glory.