berry pie

for raspberries, blackberries, or boysenberries. or mixed berries. so yummy!

filling:
6 c. berries, washed and patted dry
1/2 to 1 c. sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. minced lemon zest (optional)

mix together dry ingredients. toss with berries. add lemon juice and lemon zest and stir.


never-fail pie crust:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/3 c. cold milk

stir flour and salt together. cut with shortening until it forms pea-sized crumbs. stir in vinegar and milk. roll out half of dough to line pie plate. fill with berries. roll out the remaining dough to cover. pinch together edges. slit several vents in the top of the crust to provide steam escape. brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar.


bake at 450 for ten minutes.

reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40 - 50 minutes (until top crust is golden brown). let cool before serving.

i made this with fresh, home-grown boysenberries for a friend's birthday last week. it was delicious. especially with the coconut ice cream we ate alongside it. enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's

My sister asked me for this recipe...

It is such a yummy meal for the summertime!

• 1 lb Hambuger, ground
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 1 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
• 2/3 cup Ketchup
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Mustard
• 1 Tbsp Vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce

Brown hamburger and drain excess oil, add onion and saute until soft. Add all other ingredients and simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes until thick. Serve on buns. Makes about 8 sandwiches.

Lemon Cake

This cake is so good! Hope you all enjoy!


Lemon Cake

1 yellow cake mix
3 oz. Lemon jello
¾ cup vegetable or canola oil
¾ cup water
4 eggs

Mix until smooth. Place in a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Glaze topping: Poke holes in cake with a knife and drizzle over
2 cups powdered sugar the top of the cake while still warm. Also great 1/3 cup lemon juice served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Italian goodness

Last weekend we had an Italian themed dinner to thank all who serve in our Primary. Our Primary president happily shared the following family recipes for us to prepare and serve. Try them out--they are absolutely delicious, quick and easy to prepare!

Pasta Casserole

(reminds me a bit of Baked Ziti, or a super alternative to homemade Lasagna)

Cook a 1 Lb. box of Rotini, drain

Brown 1 Lb. hamburger

Cut up ½ Lb. pepperoni (cut into quarters)

Cover with 1 Lb. shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix all together with one large jar of spaghetti sauce.

Put in baking dish.

Cover with 1 Lb. shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (until top is melted and lightly browned)

Italian Tomato Salad

5 Roma or Plum tomatoes (quartered)

1 Whole cucumber, sliced (skinned or not skinned, you decide)

1/2 Small onion (sliced)Mix with olive oil and salt to taste.

Best when served with Italian white bread for dipping in the juices and oil!

Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

I know today is St. Patrick's Day...but you could make this next year! My family has celebrated this holiday heartily since I can remember. Maybe it's because my great-grandparents both hail from the beautiful isle of Ireland. We make Irish stew or corn beef, with a veggie tray that looks like the Irish flag (carrots, cauliflower & broccoli or cucumbers), steamed fresh string beans, boiled new potatoes with butter & fresh chopped parsley on top. My family looks forward to this yummy treat each year. Hopefully, yours will too. This bread is really moist and is delightful served warm with butter. Enjoy!!

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. caraway seeds (I usually omit these for the kiddos)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs

2 c. (16 oz) sour cream

3/4 c. raisins

In a lg. bowl, combine the flour, sugar, caraway seeds, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a sm. bowl, whisk eggs and sour cream. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raisins.

Spoon into a greased 9 inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cook on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing sides of pan. Cut into wedges & serve warm.

Iron Chef for Teenagers: Ideas?

Our ward is having an Iron Chef competition for a combined young men/young women activity in a few weeks. I've honestly never seen more than fifteen or twenty minutes of the show, but have been doing a lot of reading up on it. It sounds like fun. How do I pull off a cooking competition for roughly 15-20 teen age boys and girls (mostly girls), especially on a very limited budget and in around 45 minutes? My biggest fear is that two or three will do all the work and the rest will wander the halls playing with their cell phones and ipods?

Any ideas for simple foods that will keep everyone interested and involved?

Here are a few that I've come up with. Maybe that will generate some ideas from all of you, too!

Set up a "grocery store" and give each person a set amount of money. Everyone has to buy something that will contribute to the meal.
Have some sort of secret ingredient like pineapple or potatoes (any other good ideas?) that everyone has to use in some way
Have each team make crepes: they get to choose the ingredients to make the fillings--one dinner crepe, one dessert crepe.
Have each team designate two head chefs, one girl and one guy. Do you think that would help the kids pay closer attention and keep themselves more occupied?

I went on a really fun date in high school where we had a cooking competition. We all went to the grocery store with $1 each. My team made stone soup (broth and veggies mostly) and had gummy peach rings for dessert. I think the other team made hotdog cut up in tomato soup or something.

I've been reading about hosting grown up iron chef dinner parties. I wonder if we'd end up with hot dog soup with a bunch of thirty something husbands making dinner.... (To his credit, my husband is an excellent and creative cook who loves to try new things. And he doesn't really like hot dogs any way. Grilled cheese is more his style.)

Deutsche Butterplätzchen (German Butter Cookies)

So I don't know much about Germany, except they make really cool castles, cars and dogs. These cookies however, are awesome. I got the recipe from culinary institute. The theme was left over Easter eggs. I would suggest making these... they are yummy


GERMAN BUTTER COOKIES

this is a large ( ward size) recipe you can cut in half, or fourths.
8hard boiled egg yolks, mashed.
1 lb softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp almond flavoring
4 cups flour (sifted)
Cream butter, adding sugar gradually. Add egg yolks and almond flavor. Add flour slowly, mixing well, but DO NOT OVER KNEAD.Using a cookie shooter we made them into little balls and flattened, press onto parchment-lined baking sheet. If you are using a flower-shaped shooter, you can put a smudge of jelly, or a small chocolate morsel or 1/2 a maraschino cherry in the center of each one - but don't use sprinkles, they just detract from the cookie. Bake at 400 degrees until the edges are JUST brown. Any more than that, and they are over baked