Isaiah 6:8

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Thursdays Tasty Tidbits

It is fall and I am in the baking mood.  I have been outdoing myself in the kitchen and thought I would share some of my tasty finds with you all today.  I love pretty much anything with pumpkin or apple in it so that is my theme for these fall recipes.  One of my favorite things to make is pumpkin bread.  It is easy, it is good, and it is a great comfort food.


 
My recipe makes  3 - 7x3 inch loaf pans or a 1 med/lg bread crock(my favorite)
Ingredients:
 
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
  3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
FYI can fancy this up with icing, glaze, drizzle, or sprinkling confectioners sugar on it.

 My second favorite thing to make and eat would have to be fried apple pies.  I love them.  You can make them with any kind of fruit....but apples make the best.
 

Aunt Virginia's Fried Pies

Ingredients:

Pie Dough:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup shortening, chilled and cut into pieces
  • 1 1/2 sticks cold butter, diced
  • 4 to 8 tablespoons ice water
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Filling:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 Braeburn apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 1 pound)
  • 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 1 pound)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Pinch ground ginger
  • Pinch ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • Oil, for frying
  • 1 egg

Directions:

For the pie dough: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the shortening and butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add in the ice water and vinegar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the mixture just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press into a large disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.


For the filling: Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and then saute the apples, stirring, until just starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the sugar and stir. Add the cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until some of the apples start to break apart (but most are still whole), about 4 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and remove from the heat. Set aside to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Fill a deep pot halfway with oil and heat to 365 degrees F. Roll the dough out 1/8-inch thick on a lightly-floured surface. Cut out eighteen 4 1/2-inch-diameter circles, gathering and re-rolling the dough if necessary. Beat the egg in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water. Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of the apple filling into the center of each dough round. Brush the edge with some egg mixture and fold the dough over to make a half-moon shape. Press out the air and seal the edges with a fork. Repeat with the remaining filling and dough.

Place 4 to 6 pies at a time into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, flipping as needed, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Note: The pies can be frozen for up to 6 months before frying. Frozen pies will take about 8 minutes to fry. You can also refrigerate the pies for up to 2 hours before frying.
FYI - These are good solo, with ice cream, with a cup of coffee or glass of milk. 
 
 
Last but not least is my other favorite fruit....blueberries.  I can eat them til I am sick.  My mom used to make this cheating cobbler/cake when we had covered dish things. she made it often because she knew how much I loved blueberries.  My aunt would make it and use cherries and pineapple....my mom's were always blueberry.  This is the simplest of simple recipes.


 
 
Momma's Blueberry Dump Cake

Ingredients:

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Mix berries, sugar, and cinnamon in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover berries with dry cake mix. Pour butter over cake mix, do not stir.
  3. Bake for 30 minutes, or until light brown. Serve warm or cold. top with ice cream.
I hope you will at least try one and let me know how it turns out.  Bon Appetit!

1 comment:

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Wow, they are look and sound amazing. Thank you for sharing the recipes!