Meatballs!

We don't have meatballs at our house very often.  Husband has been asking.. so here they are.

1 lbs. Ground beef

1 cup Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup Romano Cheese

1 large teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Oregano

1 large teaspoon Parsley

2 eggs

1 medium onion finely chopped and saute

Salt and Pepper to taste

I used a 1/8 cup measuring cup to get uniform size.

Form balls and roll in bread crumbs

Place on lightly oiled baking sheet

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour

Serve with your favorite sauce

Everything Pumpkin

Pumpkin is ready!

 I tried my hand at roasting pumpkin seeds.  Turned out pretty good.  Combined several different recipes, including soaking the seeds overnight in salt water to improve digestion.  I tried, sweet, spicy and hickory salted.

Paula Deen's Gooey Pumpkin Cake

http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/view2/pumpkin_gooey_butter_cake/

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make the cake, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Pat the mixture into a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan.
Prepare filling:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.
Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well.
Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Fresh Apple Pie

9-Inch
Pastry for 9-inch Two-crust Pie

3/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Gold Medal Flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash salt
6 cups thinly sliced pared tart apple
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare pastry.  Stir together sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt; mix with apples.  Turn into pastry-lined pied pan; dot with butter.  Cover with top crust which has slits cut in it; seal and flute.  Cover edge with 2- to 3 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; removed foil last 15 minutes of baking

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.

Sit back and watch it disappear!

Pastor Ryan’s Bloomin’ Herb Bread

My first try at this bread.  It is not a beautiful as the loaf in the link below.  But it will do for a first time try.  I used thyme and chives as the herbs.  My cast iron pot is the old style so the bread baked a bit faster than if I would have had the lighter coated pot.  Very beautiful crust.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/the-bread-in-his-words/

Prep Time 2 Hours
Cook Time 1 Hour Servings 8 Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
20 ounces, weight Bread Flour (all Purpose Is Okay, Too) - About 4 Cups
8 ounces, fluid Water
4 ounces, fluid Melted Butter With Chopped Herbs Of Choice. We Like Chives, Rosemary Or Thyme.
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Active Or Instant Yeast (if Active, It Would Be Best To Sprinkle Yeast Over The Water To Let It Start To Work Before Mixing It In)
Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients together in the KitchenAid stand mixer with the dough hook (it can be done by hand…it just takes longer).

I mixed them together for about 10 minutes or so until I could successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough. This is where you can pull off a small chunk of the dough you’re kneading and stretch it gently to see if it is somewhat translucent. If you can do this without it tearing, it’s ready.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

After the dough starts rising, it should be kneaded for a minute or two so that the yeast can redistribute. Form it into a dome and place in a covered cast iron pan after coating it with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Cut a large ‘X’ into the surface of the bread dough so it can bloom!

Bake on the center rack of your over for 30 minutes with the lid on, them remove the lid to finish it off for another 15 to 30 minutes.

Grilled garlic cheese bread... wow!

Vermont Chocolate Potato Cake

Granny Williams requested MORE desserts... and some more of those cubed fried potatoes... Here's the dessert I decided on..The recipe left one item out -- 2 teaspoons of baking powder. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tarter to the egg whites.

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/vermont-chocolate-potato-cake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2    teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool

2 cups granulated sugar

2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 cup freshly mashed potato

2 eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter used in beaten egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup milk

1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the melted unsweetened chocolate and mashed potato, and beat until smooth. Add the egg yolks along with the vanilla and almond extracts and continue beating.Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, then blend in the nuts.

In a clean, medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then gently fold into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for one hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Tags: cake, chocolate, potato

Pancakes Oatmeal Pecan Spice

3/4 Cup bread flour

1/2 Cup quick cooking oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar-adjust to your liking

1 egg

1 cup butter milk or regular milk with lemon juice added

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Pecans pieces to taste

Mix dry ingredients 

Whisk egg, milk and oil together add to dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Let sit while griddle heats. Stir and cook.  Enjoy. 

A great breakfast for a cool fall morning.

Focaccia

http://www.italianfoodforever.com/2011/09/how-to-make-focaccia-step-by-step/
Not knowing what flavors we would like the best, I seasoned in sections.  The whole loaf was first coated with garlic butter and sea salt, yes I left the chucks of garlic on the bread.  There was Basil, Thyme and several different kinds of graded cheeses.

Basic Focaccia Recipe
Makes 1 (13 x 9 Inch) Rectangular Pan, or 3 (10 – 12 Inch) Round Loaves
by Deborah Mele


5 Cups All-purpose Unbleached Flour
2 Teaspoons Instant Yeast
2 – 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Plus 2 Additional Tablespoons To Oil Bowl)
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Warm Water

Measure and assemble your flour, oil, salt, yeast, and water
Add everything but the water into a large bowl and stir.
Add half the water and stir.
Continue to add water until the dough begins to come together into a shaggy ball.
Dump the dough mixture onto a lightly floured surface surface and begin to knead with the heels of your hand.
Knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and pliant.
Add a little oil (2 tablespoons) to the bottom of a large bowl and place your ball of dough inside. Roll the ball around in the oil, ensuring the sides of the bowl, and ball of dough are both lightly oiled.

Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise.
I cover mine with a kitchen towel on top of the plastic wrap and sit it on a large sunny windowsill.
Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about an hour or an hour and a half depending on ambient temperature.

To make a large rectangular focaccia, lightly oil a 13 X 9 inch baking sheet with sides

Use your fingers to push and press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for another 20 or 30 minutes or until the dough dimples when pushed with your fingertip.

Use the tips of your fingers to dimple the entire top of the focaccia.
Drizzle olive oil over the top turning the pan carefully to allow the oil to roll into the indentations.

Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top of your focaccia and then let it sit and rise for another 15 minutes while you preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool to room temperature before slicing.

For Baking:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coarse Sea Salt
Optional Toppings of Choice