Holiday Baked Fruit: Perfect for a Crowd

 

With a 4-day work holiday for New Years, I'm working to get caught up on a bunch of stuff: sleep, housework, recipes, etc.

This is an old favorite from my mom's recipe cards, labeled as being from "Taste of Farmland" magazine.  You could swap out whatever fruit you want and use the fruity liquor of your choice.  For example, I couldn't find pineapple chunks this holiday, so I used an extra can of pears.  And I didn't have any orange liquor, so I used Chambord.  Oh, and I added dried strawberries, just for kicks!  

Also, while it makes a huge batch, it keeps well.  I had several servings over the Christmas week, but I have some in my freezer for later.  It can be served warm or cold, but my favorite is warm.      

Ingredients:

• 1 can apple pie filling
• 1 can cherry or strawberry pie filling
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 can pineapple chunks, drained
• 1 can pear halves or slices. drained
• 1 can sliced peaches, drained
• 12 oz. pitted prunes
• 2 to 4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup orange liquor or brandy (optional)
• dash of salt

Directions:

1. Combine fruit
2. Place in greased 13x9 baking pan
3. Sprinkle with a smidge of salt, and dot with butter and liquor/brandy
4. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.

Peanut Sauce

This recipe is based on a Local Crate box that I got several months ago.  What annoys me about them is that they don't tell you how much of each ingredient you are getting, so you can't recreate the recipe easily later on by yourself.  Boo!

Instead of giving up, though, I eye-balled what they gave me in my box.  And then experimented.  I like this combo, but it is very rich and makes for a sauce-y, big serving.  You could use the same amount of sauce for more food, cut the ingredients, etc.  

The key seems to be 2 parts peanut butter to 1 part rice vinegar to 1 part soy sauce.  Then add garlic and other flavors for depth.  And be careful if you add the ginger--a little bit goes a long way and I had one bowl that was very, very ginger-forward!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
• 1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1+ tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. (or to taste) sambal oelek (or other hot sauce type thing)
• 1/4 tsp (or to taste) fresh ginger (do not use powdered! I have some in a squeezy jar that works nicely)
• water, as needed to thin sauce

Directions:

1. Add peanut butter to a bowl and heat in microwave for 30 seconds or so, warm enough to get softened to be puddle-y or a bit runny, and easy to stir.
   
2. Add all ingredients except water and stir together
   
   
3. Stir in a bit of water if you think the sauce is too thick.
4. Stir in cooked noodles (rice noodles or just spaghetti noodles both work fine),veggies, and protein.  (pictured here is steam-in-bag vegetable mix, cut up Morning Star Farms chix pattie, and some unsalted roasted peanuts).   
   
     

 

Mushroom, Chicken, and Rice Casserole

This is another of my new, (at least relatively) healthy recipes for January.  It turned out to a be a very nice, comfort-food type of recipe.  Very easy to make and my kitchen smelled amazing as it baked!

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice (I used basmati, because that's what was in my cabinet)
• 1 10.75 oz. can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used a healthy version with less sodium and fat, and could probably use cream of chicken, celery, or whatever)
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 envelope onion soup mix, dry
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms
• 1 pound chicken breasts, preferably 3
• Black pepper
• Cashews for the top (original recipe called for toasted slivered almonds, but I don't have those)

Directions

1. Grease 2 quart casserole dish
2. Preheat oven to 375°F
3. Sliced and saute mushrooms, cooking until soft and liquid is mostly gone
4. Put uncooked rice in dish
5. In a bowl, mix water, dry soup mix, condensed soup, and mushrooms.  Stir to blend
6. Pour over rice and mix together.
7. Put chicken in the rice mixture (actually push down into the mixture) and sprinkle with pepper
8. Cover dish with foil and bake for about an hour, or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked.
9. Uncover dish, sprinkle top with nuts, and put back in oven for 5 minutes.

Nutella Cheesecake Crescent Ring Recipe: For Coffee Station Grand Opening Day

We used to have an EXTREMELY sad break area by my office suite at work.  It is the lobby of the museum's freight elevator, has industrial grey floor and white walls with strangely-dim recessed lighting, and was home to a table and a few relatively uncomfortable chairs.  The one good thing was that we had a water filter/dispenser that would provide good, clean water in both the cold and hot varieties.  Perfect for a nice cuppa tea or for refreshing hydration.  It is notable that I work on the 2nd floor and this is the only work floor in the building that didn't have a full-on "Coffee Station."  That's right: B, A, 1, and 4 all have coffee stations, but 2 didn't. (I know what you are thinking: but what about the poor people on level 3?  Well, 3 doesn't have one because it isn't a real office floor. That is the floor the museum exhibits are on and only a couple of people have their offices there.)  

For a while now the powers that control the facilities aspects of the building have been saying that they might upgrade this space.  Ok, I'm gonna be honest with you: For literally *years* they have been going back and forth about this.  Late last year they finally committed to it and they removed our water cooler/heater to prep for it...even though the water cooler/heater was on the other side of the area from the construction...and then they did nothing for several months.  It was amazing when they started working on it for real, though not surprising that it took several extra weeks to get the water-bottle filler (the replacement for the water cooler), coffee-maker, and mug-washer to work.  

What's a mug washer, you ask?  That is a great question and thank you for asking!  Since the coffee station has a sink with hot water and a dish-soap dispenser, it might seem like a completely useless piece of equipment that just takes up valuable countertop real estate and is a waste of money. I wouldn't really disagree with any of that.  *But*, since we are only the second area to get one (the first being the 4th floor were all the high muckety-mucks work), I'm pretty OK with it.  Also, it is basically a car wash for mugs, and since I like to go through car washes--usually with my music blaring--I don't begrudge my mug the same experience.   

Since the coffee station is now fully operational, I thought we needed to celebrate it.  (And yes, the phrase "fully operational" in reference to any kind of station should make you think of the Emperor saying, "Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL battle station!"  What can I say? Star Wars nerd over here.)  I unilaterally decided Monday, April 2nd would be the Grand Opening of the station.  On Sunday I was alone for Easter and so I had plenty of time to make a batch of cookies and a Nutella-cheesecake crescent ring.  Then I gathered up the snack food that didn't get consumed at work on Saturday, the giant container of cocoa I bought for D&D brunch, and some half-and-half.  And it made the morning much better for a number of people!

The danish/crescent ring was REALLY GOOD!  Also very sweet, but it is called Nutella-Cheesecake so people should have expected that, right?

My recipe is based off of this one, but--as usual--I made some changes.  Also, this danish doesn't need any sort of glaze.  It might look nice, but the thing is 100% sweet enough without it.  I'm telling you: don't do it! 

Ingredients:

• 2 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 (plus or minus) cup Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.
3. Unroll crescent rolls and separate them into individual triangles. Arrange the triangles in an overlapping circle on the the pizza pan with the points out. (I originally used only 1 1/2 tubes of crescent dough, but this ended up with bigger spaces and some of the filling oozed out.  This wasn't bad, but use all of both and it should be better.)
   
4. Gently press the dough together where it overlaps.
5. Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth (you might want to use a mixer, but I did fine with just a sturdy spatula) 
   
6. Spoon a generous dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center of the base of each triangle. (Only use about half of it...Don't use it all!)
   
7. Mix the chocolate hazelnut spread into the remaining cream cheese filling.
8. Drop the chocolate filling between cream cheese filling.
   
9. Drag a spoon around the top of the dollops in one circle, evening them out on top
   
10. Fold the points over the filling and tuck them into the center of the ring, pressing gently.
    
    
11. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Cool before serving.  Store covered in refrigerator. 

Rustic Fruits-of-the-Summer Galette

Once a year my book club--The Amazing Book Club of Doom--has a book/movie combo.  We read a book made into a movie (or vice-versa), watch the movie together, and discuss both.  In previous years it was Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and the classic 1974 film, or Ian Fleming's Casino Royale followed by the 2006 movie.  This year we read the graphic novel of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 1, then watched the 2003 movie.

The other notable thing about this book/movie meeting is that we also usually eat pie.  I'm not sure why or where the pie-thing came from, 'cause it pre-dates my membership in the club.  But it is almost certainly our best meeting of the year.  This year there was pizza and sweet pies.  Someone brought a cherry, another brought blueberry/frangipane, and another was chocolate cream.  Someone else brought peach/cream mini pies made in wonton wrappers. They were all really awesome.

My contribution was a rustic fruit galette--Fruits of the Summer--and it gave me an opportunity to try a new technique.  It was incredibly easy, especially because I used a store-bought crust...and it turned out great!

[Oh, and I based my version on a recipe from a blog called Gimme Some Oven.]  

Ingredients:

• 1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust (I used Pillsbury)
• 2 Tbsp. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on crust
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3 cups of fresh fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used peaches, strawberries, and blueberries...because that's what I had in my house)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Unroll pie crust and put it out flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet
   
3. In a medium bowl or really big measuring cup, mix together fruit, sugar, and cornstarch. (The recipe I looked at suggested that if there's a lot of extra juice, you should pour the whole fruit mixture into strainer. I didn't have to this time, though.) 
     
   
   
4. Put the mixture in the center of the unfolded pie crust, with a 1 1/2- to 2-inch border.
   
5. Fold up the uncovered border over the edge of the fruit and pinch into pleats.
   
6. Brush the egg onto the crust, and sprinkle crust and top of fruit with sugar.
   
7. Bake in preheated oven until crust is lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
   
8. Serve warm or at room temperature (or, if you happen to have left-overs, you could serve it cold from the fridge).
   

Cake Batter Cheeseball (covered with Sprinkles!)

A few weeks ago I said to some folks at work: "I could solve all the world's problems with enough sprinkles and glitter!"  Did I really mean that?  No.  Obviously I didn't.  Because the world's problems are complicated and involve things like authoritarian regimes, droughts, massive cultural clashes/misunderstandings, greed, hate, etc.

Now, do I think that sprinkles and glitter bring some happiness into my very-definitely-First-World life?  Yes.  Yes, I do.  And do I think that I'm shallow for liking glitter and sprinkles (which are really just the edible equivalent of glitter anyway)?  Why, no.  No, I do not.  But I do know that there are people who do judge me for liking "trivial" things....and I think that is shallow on their part.  Because--and let's be honest here--I'm pretty awesome.  In addition to my love of sparkles and brightly colored bits of sugar, I'm a highly skilled research librarian sharing info with my patrons everyday. I'm an activist working toward improving my community and my country. I'm a caring friend, proud aunt, pretty decent sister and mostly-OK daughter.  I'm a reader, sci-fi fan, Star Wars devotee, kick-ass board game player, namer of houseplants, player of bar trivia, and baker of award-winning cakes.  Like most people, I'm complex.  And my love of parades, balloons, cupcakes, hedgehogs, penguins, sprinkles--and, yes, even glitter--does not make me a foolish little girl or a person who can't grow up.  It means that I like what I like, even though much of society tells me that I'm dumb for doing so.  

Anyway, since I like sprinkles, I decided they needed to be a component for my entry into work's most recent food challenge.  The theme was snack food, so I brought Nilla wafers and pretzels to dip into a sweet cheese ball.  Specifically, I made a sprinkle-covered, cake-batter flavored ball of cream-cheese-based wonder.  The secret ingredient is actually cake mix, so this makes it even more appropriate for me!

The original recipe came from a blog called Like Mother, Like Daughter, and it was really the photos that drew me in.  I'm also pretty certain you could use all kinds of cake mix to make this super-tasty treat.  I think chocolate would be worth a try...but I'm thinking that spice cake and/or carrot cake might be amazing.  Also, this recipe is seriously delicious and a bit addictive...and it won me my second-ever Golden Spatula ("Spatchie") award from co-workers voting it as the best food in the challenge.  I'm honored and also just glad they enjoyed it! :)  

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1½ cups yellow cake mix, dry
• ½+ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• approximately 1 cup sprinkles, optional-but-not-really-optional (don't use the colored sugar or the non-pareils.  The first will disappear and the second are too crunchy.  Use the long-shaped sprinkles.)            

Important directions re: sprinkles
Man!  Sprinkles sure have a bunch of blue in them these days!  (Though Wilton does sell jars of non-blue-containing sprinkles, they are sort of expensive.)  I bought a small shaker of sprinkles so that I wouldn't have to use all my "good" ones, but the bottle was about 1/3 blues.  Blech!  So I decided to remove all the blues and throw those away.  I did this using a plate, small sharp knife, and a bowl, plus a good conversation with a friend on the phone. It was actually kind of relaxing to separate out the good colors from the bad.

At the beginning

Mid-separation

Basically finished

So much better!

 Directions:

1. Stir/whisk/beat your cream cheese until smooth and creamy
   
2. Add butter and stir/whisk/beat until smooth
   
3. Mix in cake mix, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
4. Add half of the sprinkles and stir (optional)
   
5. Place all of mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap in a generally ball-like shape
6. Wrap the plastic wrap around the mixture and roll into a better ball
   
7. Refrigerate for at least an hour (until cheese ball is at least mostly firm)
8. Spread remaining ½ cup sprinkles onto a large flat plate or into the bottom of a large bowl
9. Remove cheese ball from plastic and dab/roll it in the sprinkles, then press sprinkles into an empty spots so that it is even.  Note: I did not put sprinkles on the bottom of the cheeseball.  
10. Cover bowl with cheese ball in it and put in freezer for about 1 hour (or in fridge overnight).  If left in freezer for several hours/overnight, remove to thaw 30 minutes before serving
11. Serve with cookies, graham crackers, pretzels, or whatever

And no, I don't have a photo of the finished product.  People pretty much dug in right away and I didn't have a camera or phone.  But here it is after most of it was eaten:

Chocolate-filled Croissants: Valentine's Treat #2

Since a package of cinnamon rolls only makes 8 treats--and I wasn't sure of success--I decided to make another type of small-batch, easy treat.  This is something I've made before, and they are fast and easy.

The only rough part is that they call for nutella or other chocolate spread.  Which isn't terrible, but then I have left-over nutella.  Which means that at some point I end up eating a spoonful out of the jar.  Again, not a terrible hardship.  But it is a little shameful, and a little bad for my healthy-eating goals.  In this case, however, I already had a partial jar, so this recipe was actually helpful.

All you do is unroll the Pillsbury crescent rolls, spread with a spoonful of nutella, roll up, and bake.  Be sure to roll from the wide end toward the point, and to put the point on the bottom before baking.

Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls: Valentine's Day Treat #1

I was looking for something festive, but easy to make to share with my co-workers on Valentine's Day, obviously I went on Pinterest.  Well, not obviously.  But that *is* a good place to just see a bunch of ideas in one place.  I saw this recipe's photo, followed it to the Pillsbury site, and thought: "Dang!  Easy, cute, cheaper than bakery cinnamon rolls.  A winner!"  

Well, it turns it it wasn't as easy as I thought.  "But, why?" you might ask.  Well, apparently the Pillsbury people make several different kinds of cinnamon rolls and they are relatively different...and the vital preliminary task of unrolling the cinnamon rolls is made significantly harder if they are not technically rolled in the first place.  Yep, somehow I managed to buy the type of rolls that are more of a solid roll with cinnamon stuff on top.  

"Ok.  No problem," I thought.  I can do this.  And I did!  They turned out pretty cute, actually.  Here's what I did:

1. Take a cinnamon roll and rip it in half.  Then stretch each half out and pinch ends together to made one long piece.  (Now, if I'd really been thinking, I would've just cut a spiral myself.  But did I do that?  Uh, no.)

2. Fold long piece in half and pinch bottom together.

3. Roll under loose ends to make a heart-shape

4. Spray an 8 or 9 inch round pan with non-stick spray and place hearts around edge, points to the center

5. Bake according to the package directions

6. Separate the rolls and then use frosting that came in package, if you like.  (I left mine plain and brought the frosting and a knife, so that people could add as much or as little as they liked.)