Oreo Turkey Treats!

Again a little pre-post post! I am going to make these tomorrow - Thanksgiving Day - with my son and his cousins. There are several versions out there. We are opting for the peanut-allergy-friendly version and still oh-so-cute!

A note on the candy corn...pretty much everywhere was OUT of candy corn now that Halloween is over. I found a bag in the Safeway brand candy of the candy section. The last bag!!! woohoo!

******Disclaimer: Not my kid, not my picture...from familyfun website!!!******

Oreo Turkey Treats

Oreo Cookies

Whopper Candies

Candy Corn Candies

Royal Icing (recipe to follow)

Take half of an Oreo with the frosting side up, place a full Oreo vertically on top of this Oreo using Royal Icing to make it "stick". Place a Whopper front and center for the "head". Use candy corn for the "tail" and the "beak", using Royal Icing to make it "stick". Use Royal Icing to dot on a couple eyes...if you don't have a small piping bag - just put royal icing in a small sandwich bag, and clip off a small corner...voila!

Royal Icing

3 egg whites, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C. powdered sugar

Mix until light and fluffy. Use immediatly because royal icing hardens QUICK!

Baked Potato Soup

OH YUMMMMMMY!!!! I tried this soup for the first time at a Relief Society Enrichment Night event. I fell in love! I immediatly ran home to see if it was in our RS ward cookbook and it was!! I love when that happens. So many sister's have yummy recipes and I love sharing! My dear sweet Mr. H loathes soup except for cheese & broccoli soup from Quizno's - UNTIL he had this soup tonight. He ate a huge bowl with at least 2 servings in it! He kept MMMMM MMMMM-ing the whole time commenting on how he loved getting little bites of bacon and it was like gravy heaven (referring to the yummy consistency...he loves gravy...he would drink it if he could!). So now that the weather is cool or just down right freezing...enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

4 lg. baking potatoes
2/3 C butter
2/3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 C milk
1 C sour cream
4 thinly sliced green onions
10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 C shredded cheeder cheese

Scrub potatoes, pat dry & cover with foil. Bake for 75 minutes at 350 or until tender; cool completely. Peel and cube potatoes. Bake the potatoes a day ahead of time and just refrigerate until you make the soup - this makes the process that much easier. In a large pot melt the butter, stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. I use a potatoe masher to make sure any lumps from the flour are smoothed out. Gradually add milk a couple cups at a time. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for a couple minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add cubed potatoes. Garnish with bacon, cheese, and green onions. Great with homemade rolls or bread bowls! Yield 10 servings.

Creme Brulee - Barefoot Bloggers

Okay this is my first official post as a Barefoot Blogger!! I just made Ina's creme brulee, and it was SO easy!!! It is a bit time consuming - you do a lot of sitting and waiting! It's worth the end result though...the only thing I wished I had done a little different was not be shy with the sugar on top. I would have liked a little more crystalized sugar on top.

Before the water bath in the oven .... a little tip to make things go a little faster - start your water boiling before you do anything else. That way when you are done with your "batter" your water will be ready and you can pop everything in the oven!

Here's my two little guys takin' a HOT bath! *Ignore the ugly foil on the bottom lol I keep it in there for when we make pizzas to help keep things a lil cleaner!*

Okay I don't have an official "kitchen torch"... this is my husbands from the garage...worked out just great though!

I added some strawberry slices to garnish my creme brulee...yummy! If I had some blue or black berries too...that would have been awesome!

Ina Garten's Creme Brulee - Barefoot in Paris
*I only made 1/4 the recipe...below is the actual measurements for 5-6 servings*

1 extra large egg
4 extra large egg yolks
1/2 C sugar, plus 1 T sugar for topping each serving
3 C heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 T orange liqueur *I omitted because we don't use/have/consume alcohol - tasted great w/out

Start a pan with boiling water to use as a water bath for your ramekins.Start heavy cream on medium low until just scalded - not boiling (look for bubbles around the edges). Preheat oven to 300. In a large standing mixer with attachment - mix eggs and sugar until JUST combined. With mixer on low - slowly add heavy cream and vanilla (and liqueur if using). Fill 6 8oz ramekins nearly full and place in a baking pan. Fill baking pan with boiling water until it goes half way up each ramekin. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until custards are set when gently shaken. Remove from bath and set on counter until reach room temperature. Place in fridge for about 20 minutes or until firm. Top each ramekin with a T of sugar. Use torch until sugar has carmelized and hardened.

Sesame Parmesan Dressing

I am trying to stick to a low sodium, low fat, low carb diet. So my search for a homemade dressing (thus controlling just what goes in there)...led me here. I have altered it a bit because I prefer the flavor of the red wine vinegar over any hint of oil. Feel free to adjust as needed. The sesame seeds are great little treats every time you get one in your bite of salad. For my salad Ijust did simple green leaf lettuce, sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and baby carrots sliced. I did learn a little trick to make your lettuce come out in great bite size pieces (I think watching Ina)...Place several leaves on board and slice lengthwise about 2 inch sections, then on a diagonal slice in 1-2 inch sections horizontally. I was never trying to catch my lettuce with my mouth if you know what I mean lol!

Sesame Parmesan Dressing

1/2 C red wine vinegar
1/4 C olive oil
1 tsp sesame seeds (prefer toasted...if your's don't come toasted stick on cookie sheet in over for about 8 minutes on 350)
1 tsp grated parmesan cheese (I bought mine pre-grated at Sprouts to save time)
1 tsp pepper

Mix red wine vinegar, sesame seeds, parmesan cheese and pepper well. Toss mixture in salad until well coated. Add oil to salad mixing well until evenly coated. Sprinkle extra grated parmesan cheese over salad yummmmm!

Grandma's Chicken & Rice Soup

My grandma passed away about 2 months ago. I love her so much. She helped raise us when we were little. She was an amazing woman and an amazing cook! She's mexican and could make the BEST tamales, burritos, enchiladas, menudo, and SO much more! I remember she would always make us either oatmeal or cream of wheat with LOTS of bread and butter for breakfast. I remember going to pick out mexican pastry's early in the morning and going to get some of El Paso's yummiest treats at Chico's Taco's, Delicious, and Forty's. Isn't it funny how much food can make and bring back memories! Well whenever we were sick she would make chicken soup, and my mother would make us the same soup as well. Our family has had the cold bug that won't die and my mother came to make us this yummy dish! Now I'm not proclaiming this to be the ultimate best soup in the world that you will ever have. This is just a good 'ol homemade batch of my grandma's chicken soup. I love it so much because it is what I'm used to (we tend to enjoy those foods we grew up with opposed to new ones)...and it reminds me of my dear sweet grandma! Enjoy!

Grandma's Chicken & Rice Soup

2 lb chicken breast pieces, skin and fat removed
1 bunch celery, cut into 1/2" chunks
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
1 yellow onion cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 C rice
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)

In a large deep pot bring water to a boil and add chicken. Cook chicken for about 45 minutes. Continue to drag a spoon across the top of the water to gather any fat that has come to the top, set aside in a dish to discard later. Add carrots and garlic for about 15 minutes. Add celery and onion for another 15 minutes. Finally add rice and let cook for about 30 minutes. Test to make sure veggies and rice are cooked to liking. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I tend not to add too much salt because I love the pure chicken and veggie broth flavor. Enjoy! Really good with bread and butter!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

Okay so the picture is of the perfection I created before I made a rookie mistake...I thought I could put them in the fridge after letting them rise a couple times. Then wake Sunday morning and pop them in the oven for a wonderful fresh from the oven breakfast...not so. When you make these yummy buns do it all in one shot! We still baked them and the tops baked well and tasted so yummy. I was tempted to put cream cheese frosting instead of the icing in the recipe, and it would be good with cream cheese frosting (what is not?!?!), but this icing is just perfect! I am going to make again this Saturday and then we will eat re-heated Sunday lol. Live and learn right?!?! I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. It doesn't replace the infamous cinnamon bun...but it's a fun change for a warm fall breakfast.

A few things I've learned along the way that make dough easier to work with...

When heating milk just bring it to a warm enough temperature that around the edges you see little bubbles, but DON'T bring it to a boil.

For your rise(s)... Heat your oven to the lowest setting (mine is 170). As soon as it hits its mark turn your oven off. I do this while I'm preparing my dough. Then when ready for my rise I place in a bowl loosely covered with plastic wrap. This creates the perfect warm environment for a good rise.

For your rise, very lightly grease the bowl with SHORTENING - not Pam - not butter. Place ball of dough in bowl and flip it around a few times to lightly cover the entire surface with shortening to prevent drying while rising.

Hmmmm... I think that's it... Oh one more thing. When you are waiting for your yeast to dissolve throw in a T of sugar. This will help activate your yeast so that you know if it is "good" or not.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns


2 T active dry yeast
1/2 c warm water (110-115 degrees)
4 eggs
1 c shortening
1 c canned pumpkin
1 c warm milk (110-115...I learned that its warm when there are bubbles around the edge of pan BUT don't bring to a boil)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/3 c instant vanilla pudding mix
1/3 c instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 tsp salt
7-8 c all-purpose flour

Filling

1/4 c butter, melted
1 c packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing

3 T water
2 T butter, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 c powder sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In large mixer dissolve yeast in warm water. Add eggs, shortening, pumpkin, milk, sugars, pudding mixes, salt and 6 C flour. Beat until smooth. Stir enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth (or in mixer). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top, Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch down; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12x8" rectangle; brush with melted butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2" of edges.
Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Cut each into 12 slices. Place cut side down in two 9x13 pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 350 for 22-28 minutes or until golden brown. In a small mixing bowl, combine the water, butter and cinnamon. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over buns, serve warm.

Zucchini with Parmesan

I have joined the Barefoot Bloggers! I am very excited about this. I had joined the Daring Bakers awhile back, and didn't end up liking it because I didn't always like what the challenge was. I feel a lot more hopeful for BB because I HEART INA GARTEN!! So here is one of several recipes of hers that I have already blogged about. This si super yummy. Very classy and elegant side that would go great with any protein i.e. steak, chicken etc. in a simple form. That's the other thing about this...it's simple yet SO yummy! I could see this is a side dish component at a nice restaurant.

Zucchini with Parmesan

8 zucchini, cut lengthwise then diagonally in 1/2" chunks

2 medium yellow onions, cut in half and then 1/2" slices

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 C grated parmesan

Saute onions in about 2-3 T good olive oil until slightly browned and then on low for about 10 minutes in a skillet. Add half of zucchini and cook on medium-low about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and cook about 30 seconds. Remove to serving platter. Add other half of zucchini and cook on medium-low about 10 minutes and sprinkle with parmesan & cook about 30 seconds more. Enjoy!