COOKING WITH MADISON

I may be spoiled forever after cooking with seven-year old  Granddaughter Madison. Saturday my husband and I spent 12 hours with our MO grandchildren. Almost six-year old Grandson Tyler also helped Madison and me with some "cookies" but I will be sharing them in a later post. 

We hadn't seen the grandchildren for a little over 2 weeks so I told our son Patrick they needed to find a time when we could get together. He called me Friday night and said we had several options - both he and Lori had to work a few hours on Saturday morning so we could come hang out at their house or take the kids somewhere OR come hang out Sunday after lunch at their house. Since Saturday was supposed to be a sunny day in the 50s and Sunday was going to be cooler and cloudy, my husband and I decided we would go get them Saturday morning. 

We started the morning by going to Roxanne's Cafe for breakfast. (We go almost every Sunday after church to Roxanne's for lunch. It was fun showing off the grandkids to everyone who works there.) Then we came back to our house. I wanted to make some last treat for the boys next door since they would be finishing with moving out probably over the weekend. Right now I don't remember who brought up making the Peppermint Sandwich Cookies I made before Christmas and took some to our Family MO Christmas, but we decided we would make some of them also. Since they require time in the freezer, I decided to make them first and Tyler helped. While Madison and I made the brownies for the boys, he decided to help "Grandad" do some yard work. (She and I also finished the Peppermint Sandwich Cookies.)

This recipe for Best Brownies was in a Hershey's Chocolate Cookbook I got at an estate sale on Friday with Friend Janice. (That was the only thing I bought and it cost me 75 cents because everything was 25% off at the sale. I was really proud of myself because I saw several things I could easily have bought, but I didn't.) If you have kids or grandkids or nieces and nephews or any child you want to have fun with in the kitchen, this recipe is perfect. (I did make the frosting by myself - Madison and Tyler had gotten interested in playing on the back porch/deck.) You stir with a wooden spoon everything but the frosting so Madison had no difficulty at all mixing it up. I did reduce the sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 cup and personally the brownies were perfect. (And all of the boys said they were delicious.)

HERSHEY'S BEST BROWNIES

1/2       cup butter or margarine, melted (we did use butter that I melted in the microwave)
3/4       cup sugar
1          teaspoon vanilla
2          eggs
1/2       cup unsifted flour
1/3       cup Hershey's cocoa
1/4       teaspoon baking powder
1/4       teaspoon salt
1/2       cup chopped nuts (optional) (we did leave out)
            Creamy Brownie Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 9 - inch square pan and set aside.

Blend butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl using a wooden spoon. Add eggs and beat well.

(I had Madison crack the eggs over another small bowl, just in case. I also decided she needed an apron and she wore my Auntie's apron.)

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in another bowl with a whisk. Gradually blend into egg mixture.

(Madison dumped a little bit at a time until it had all been added.)







Stir in nuts, if you are using them.

Spread in pan.








Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan.

Cool in pan over wire rack.

Frost with Creamy Brownie Frosting. 






Cut into square to serve.

CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING

3         tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3         tablespoons Hershey's cocoa
1         tablespoon light corn syrup or honey (I did use corn syrup)
1         cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2  tablespoons milk (I just used 1 tablespoon)

Cream butter, cocoa, corn syrup, and vanilla in a small mixer bowl.

Add confectioners' sugar and milk;

beat to spreading consistency.







Here are a couple of more pictures of Madison....

Here she is measuring out the sugar  - we only spilled a little bit....

When I asked her at lunch what her favorite thing she had done so far that day, she said, "Taking the brownies over to the boys." Here she is giving Wyatt his brownie. (He was the only one there at first. I didn't have my phone when we took one over to Jeff later.)

Then I took one of her and Tyler with Wyatt.

I think she is so cute in Auntie's apron. Auntie was an aunt that I called my second mother after my mother died who has joined my parents in Heaven. She would have enjoyed seeing Madison wearing her apron.

One more look at the brownies...

BEEF PATTIES with GRAVY

Tuesday night I spent a little bit of time looking through one of my cookbook (Taste of Home 2003 Annual Recipes) hoping maybe I could find something that would inspire me. I haven't been very inspired to spend much time in the kitchen lately so I am glad I found several recipes that looked promising.

I spent much of yesterday cleaning out my closet. That might have been a little misleading. I didn't clean out my whole closet but I did get the floor better organized. That was really the worst part. I already have my clothes organized. What I need to do is go through them and donate a bunch to Hillcrest Thrift Shop, but that will be for another day. I did get rid of ten pairs of shoes that I no longer wear and so many belts I just didn't count them. I didn't take a picture of before because I was too embarrassed at how it looked. It does look so good now. I can actually even see part of the floor. I did buy a shoe rack (2 shelves) at Wal-Mart that helped out a lot. Now I can find my shoes and see the floor on my side of the bed. 

One of the recipes I found to try was this Beef Patties with Gravy (from Sharon Manus of Smyrna, Tenn). I had to buy a can of Golden Mushroom soup, but I did that when I bought the shoe rack shelves. My mother loved to use Golden Mushroom soup when she baked a chuck roast. I couldn't help but think of her when I opened the can. I made it special for my husband by added minced onions to his patty since I didn't want them in mine. (He appreciated them.)

BEEF PATTIES with GRAVY

1          egg
1/2       cup soft bread crumbs
1          tablespoon finely chopped onion
1/2       lb ground beef
1          can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed Golden Mushroom soup, undiluted
2/3       cup water
Hot cooked noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes

Beat the egg and then add bread crumbs and onion.

Stir

Crumble the ground beef over the mixture and then stir to mix well.

Form into two patties.

(This is where I took one patty back and added 1/2 tablespoon minced onion.)

Brown patties in skillet over medium heat on both sides.

Combine the soup and water
and pour over browned patties.

Bring to a boil,

cover, and reduce heat to simmer.

Cook until patties are done. (I cooked them while the noodles were boiling - about 8 minutes.) 

I served them over cooked noodles and added extra sauce.

I made my own soft bread crumbs using two heels from a loaf of multi-grain bread. It is so easy and a lot cheaper than buying bread crumbs.

Just break up the bread and process in the blender (I used the shred setting.) until

you just have crumbs.

OATMEAL COOKIES

I could make up a lot of excuses but the bottom line is I goofed. Actually it isn't the first time. And the results were not bad. In fact, I really liked the results. I did make a second batch to see what they were supposed to look and taste like. 

Well, I have teased you enough? 

You see it was last this...I have mentioned several times that the boys next door were having to move. I woke up Saturday morning and took advantage of the house being quiet (my husband was still asleep) and picked up Caroline Fraser's Prairie Fires, The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the book I am currently reading and read for a couple of hours. The boys pulled up next door in a U-haul truck they rented for the day and started packing it up. My husband woke up and I started thinking I should have made something for them to enjoy while they were moving furniture and stuff around. By this time it was 11 o'clock and I couldn't think of anything to make them that would be quick. Finally, I decided to make them some cookies. That way I could give them some if they started to leave before I had them all baked. 

I had seen this recipe for Oatmeal Cookies in a new cookbook Friend Jean had given me from Hillcrest Thrift Shop called Pennsylvania DUTCH Cookbook - Fine Old Recipes Made Famous by the Early Dutch Settlers in Pennsylvania. The recipe made 5 dozen cookies which were more than I wanted to make, in case the boys left before I got them all made and we would be stuck with a bunch of cookies. The first thing I always look at is the number of eggs in the recipe. This one had two which would be easy to cut in half (just use one egg) so I decided to try the recipe and just make 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

My husband came in while I was mixing them up and asked me if I were making some biscuits for the boys. I told him no that I was making some cookies. I baked one pan full (1 dozen) and while the second pan was baking, I asked him if he wanted to try one (while they were still warm). He took a bite or two and said they tasted a little bit like biscuits (which totally confused me). Just before the second pan was ready to take out of the oven, I decided I would try one myself. Surprise, surprise...they did taste a little like biscuits. Then it dawned on me. I had cut the shortening in half, also the brown sugar. I had used only one egg....BUT that was as far as it went. The rest of the ingredients? I forgot to use only half of the called for amounts. I couldn't believe it! But the crazy thing? They didn't taste badly. They tasted pretty good, in fact. I took about 3 dozen cookies to the boys, but I didn't tell them what I had done. (In case you forgot, I did tell the boys when they first moved in back in the summer that I would bring them goodies often, but they needed to remember they were my test kitchen.)

As I said I did try the recipe again yesterday and this time I remembered to cut each ingredient amount in half. The result was a thinner, crispy oatmeal cookie. Tastes good, but I have to admit, I still like my goofed version also. 

OATMEAL COOKIES

1         cup shortening
1-1/2  cup packed brown sugar
2        eggs
2        cups sifted flour
1/2     teaspoon baking soda
2        teaspoon baking powder
1/2     teaspoon salt
2/3     cup buttermilk, or sour milk
1-1/2  cups uncooked rolled oats
1        cup raisins (I used dried cranberries)
1        cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets (I used nonstick ones and didn't grease them.)

Cream shortening and brown sugar together til fluffy.

Beat eggs and add to mixture in thirds (this isn't easy to do. I added my egg in two attempts), beating well after each addition.

Sift dry ingredients together in a smaller bowl. (I sifted some flour first before I measured the required amount and then resifted it with baking soda, baking powder, and salt.)

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, mixing until blended after each addition. (I began and ended with the flour.) Make sure you scrape the bowl as needed during this process.

Blend in oats, raisins, and nuts.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. (I use my cookie scoop that holds 1 tablespoon of water.) I had to flatten the "cookie dough" slightly with the first batch, but it was not necessary to flatten the second batch.

Bake for 15 minutes. (The second batch I baked only 14 minutes.)

I left cookies to cool for a minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to finish cooling on a wire rack.

The recipe (above) .... 

My version (1/2 cup shortening, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, + the rest of the recipe)

I'll leave it up to you which one you try. Interested to hear your results in the comment section.

ORANGE-GLAZED PORK CHOPS

It was warmer yesterday - maybe even almost 40 degrees and it is supposed to be even warmer through the weekend. I am also feeling better. Not 100 % yet, but definitely an improvement over the first part of the month. I also played canasta with my quilting friends in the afternoon. Even though we lost the game, we did come back and win the revenge hands. (We managed to get in 3 hands before it was time to call it "quits" and we were fortunate enough to be ahead when we quit.)  All of that together helped improve my disposition. I am so ready to be back to "normal" or as close to that as is possible. Depression is not fun.

I used to have a sign in my classroom when I taught middle school that said - Attitude is Everything. (I have also seen the signs that add "so choose a good one".) I do believe that is so true. I also realize that sometimes circumstances make it difficult to "choose a good one". Activity helps so I am trying to find fun things to do to help. (Sometimes I still have to make myself do them, but I am sure with each day, it will get better.)

Making these Orange-Glazed Pork Chops helped also. (Even better I didn't have to "make" myself prepare them. Yay.) Anyway, they turned out so pretty and delicious - my husband really enjoyed them. Nila Towler of Baird, Texas shared this recipe for two in the Taste of Home, 2008 Annual Recipes cookbook. It was fast and easy and just the right amount for us. 

ORANGE-GLAZED PORK CHOPS

2       boneless pork loin chops 
1/2    teaspoon salt
1/8    teaspoon pepper
1       tablespoon oil
1/2    cup packed brown sugar
1/2    cup orange juice concentrate (do not dilute with water)
Hot cooked rice

Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper.

Add oil to a skillet that has heated over medium high heat. Add chops and brown on each side.

Combine brown sugar and concentrate in a bowl.

Pour over chops. Bring to a boil. (This didn't take long at all since the skillet was hot.)

Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the meat juices run clear. (I cooked mine the 9 minutes.)

Serve pork chops with some of the sauce over the rice.