Applejack Mincemeat

This recipe is from my "The Saturday Evening Post" Christmas Book.  I made this recipe years ago for my Dad.  His favorite pie was Mincemeat, any kind of mincemeat... Every Christmas and his birthday, he got a Mincemeat Pie from me.  My mom, who is an excellent baker and cook, does not like to make pie crust.  It has a long list of ingredients, well worth the efforts..

2 pounds lean venison or beef, chopped or ground
1 pound suet, chopped or ground
6 cups cubed apples
1 pound currants
1 pound seedless raisins
1 pound muscat raisins
1 pound store-bought diced candied fruit (orange, citron, cherries, lemon)
3 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 to 3 cups water
2 cups applejack

Combine all the ingredients except for the applejack in a heavy kettle or casserole.  Stir well and add enough water to make the mixture quite moist.  Cover and barely simmer for 2 to 3 hours.  Stir occasionally, adding more water if necessary.

When cooked, the mincemeat should be fairly dry.  Stir in the applejack and pack into pint jars or cool and pack into containers for freezing.  This recipe makes 10 pints, enough for 5 large pies.

Pumpkin Doughnuts:

BAKED to perfection September 7th, 2012 by PJ Hamel Recipe: Pumpkin Baked Doughnuts


http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2012/09/07/pumpkin-doughnuts-baked-to-perfection/#.UMM0rEJLn38.pinterest

Are you ready? Let’s bake some pumpkin doughnuts. Preheat your oven to 350°.

Place the following in a mixing bowl:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus a heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Beat everything together until smooth.

Add 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, stirring just until smooth.
BTW, this is a great place to try King Arthur Unbleached Self-Rising Flour. Reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon; omit the baking powder, and substitute 2 cups (8 ounces) self-rising flour for the all-purpose flour.
Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans.

As I mentioned earlier, if you don’t have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a couple of standard muffin tins; they just won’t be doughnuts.

Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full, using a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well; a tablespoon cookie scoop helps with this task.

If you’re making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you’ll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).

Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you’re using self-rising flour, bake for the longer amount of time.

If you’re making muffins, they’ll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with cinnamon-sugar. Or better yet, pumpkin-spice sugar, made by combining the aforementioned pumpkin pie spice (or substitute) with granulated or extra-fine sugar.

If you’ve made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with the spiced sugar of your choice.

Quick Gingerbread Coffee Bars

This recipe comes from the current issue of Today's Farmer.  I have to say this is the first time I have seen a recipe published that had an obvious error..  They left out an ingredient!!  Eggs...they were referenced in the the instructions but not listed..so I guessed... two eggs work..  Another must when eating this bar, you have to like Ginger!  We topped with whipped cream.

Ada Yoder, Clark, Mo.

1 cup shortening                 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar                        1/2 tsp.ginger

1 cup water                        1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 cup molasses                1/2 tsp. salt

2-1/2 cups flour                  Confectioners' sugar (Optional)

1 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs; beat well.  Beat in water and molasses.  Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.  Add to molasses mixture and mix well.  Spread in a greased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 22 minutes or until bars test done.  Cool.  Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.. Yields 16 to 20 servings.

When using a different size pan as I did you will have to adjust baking time.  Smaller pan longer baking time.

More recipes at:  http://todaysfarmermagazine.com/mag/recipes.html

Banana Bread Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze

From:

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-banana-bread-scones-wit-155500

Makes 8 scones
2 very ripe bananas (about 8 oz or 1 cup once mashed)
2-4 tablespoons milk, whole or 2%
1/2 cup (4 oz) plain yogurt, whole or 2%
2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
For the glaze:
1 tablespoons (1 oz) salted butter
2 tablespoons (1 oz) milk, whole or 2%
1/4 cup (2 oz) packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 cup (2-4 oz) confectioner's sugar
Mash the bananas and then add enough milk to make one total cup (if necessary). Stir in the yogurt and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Cut the butter into several pieces. Work it into the dry ingredients using a fork, pastry cutter, or your finger tips until there are no pieces of butter larger than a pea.
Pour the banana-yogurt mixture into the bowl with the flour and stir just enough to incorporate all of the flour. Fold in the walnuts, if using. This will make a fairly wet dough.
Line a dinner plate with a piece of wax paper and turn the dough out on top. Pat it into a disk about 1-inch thick and cover with another piece of wax paper. Freeze the scone dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Peel off the top layer of wax paper and invert the scones onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Peel off the second layer of wax paper. Slice the scones into eight wedges and pull them apart a little to give them some room to expand. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the scones are firm to the touch and turning golden-brown on the edges. Cool completely and cut apart any scones that baked together with a sharp knife.
To make the glaze, melt the butter and the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and vanilla, and stir until the sugar has melted (heat for an additional 30 seconds in the microwave if necessary). Whisk in the confectioner's sugar, starting with 1/4 cup. Add more confectioner's sugar if desired to make a thicker glaze.
Just before serving, drizzle the glaze over the scones. The glaze will harden after setting for a minute or two, and can be served right away or packed for a later snack. The glaze can make the scones a bit sticky if kept for longer than a few hours, so store any scones to be eaten later un-glazed. Extra un-glazed scones can also be frozen and re-heated in a microwave or toaster oven.

African Chow Mein

This recipe comes from my mother's 1960's church cookbook and a  recipe from a dear family friend.. Alma.

Watch out for all the salt in this recipe.  DO NOT add additional salt.  Great comfort food on a cold winter day.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2  large onion
Brown hamburger and onion together.

1    can cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1    can chicken noodle soup (undiluted)
3/4 cup rice uncooked
1/2 cup celery, diced
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce

Mix all together and put in a 2 quart casserole.  Bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

The Blue Owl Restaurant's White Chili

4½ to 5 pounds boneless, skin-on chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 (4-ounce) cans chopped mild green chiles, undrained
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
3 (15- to 16-ounce) cans great Northern beans, undrained
6 cups chicken stock or canned broth
3 cups (12 ounces) grated Monterey jack cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sour cream, for optional garnish

1. Place chicken in a large, heavy saucepan. Add cold water to cover; bring to a simmer. Cook until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool. Remove skin. Cut chicken into cubes.
2. Add oil to the same pot; place over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add onions; sauté until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, then chiles, cumin, oregano and cayenne; sauté 2 minutes.
3. Add beans and their liquid and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; add chicken and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls. Garnish with sour cream if using.
Per serving: 460 calories; 17g fat; 7g saturated fat; 140g cholesterol; 53g protein; 22g carbohydrate; 3g sugar; 6g fiber; 805mg sodium; 270mg calcium.

Recipe adapted from The Blue Owl Restaurant in Kimmswick.

White chili prepared at Blue Owl Restaurant in Kimmswick in 2005. Photo by Katherine Bish.

Squash (Pumpkin) Bread Betty Crocker

2/3 Cup Shorting
2- 2/3 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Can Pumpkin (2 cups fresh squash)
2/3 Cups Water
3- 1/3 cups flour
2   Teaspoon Soda
1-1/2 Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Cloves
2/3 Cups Chopped Nuts
2/3 Cups Raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans or three 8-1/2x4-1/2x2-1//2" loaf pans. In large bowl,  cream shortening and sugar until fluffy.  Stir in eggs, pumpkin and water.  Blend in flour, soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves.  Stir in nuts and raisins.

Pour into pan.  Bake almost 70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.