Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I made this in 2013. It is a Ina Garten recipe.  We enjoyed it.

Ingredients

4 cups fresh rhubarb, diced 1" (4 to 5 stalks)

4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided

1 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup quick cooking oatmeal

12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, diced

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

For the fruit, toss rhubarb, strawberries. 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and the orange zest together in a large bowl.

In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit.

Pour the mixture into an 8 X 11 inch baking dish and place it on a parchment lined sheet pan.

For topping,  in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the brown sugar, salt, and oatmeal.

With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles.

Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering completely, bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.

Serve with ice cream.

Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes

In 2012 I made these pancakes.  The recipe came from The Pioneer Woman.

The recipe says you should get 12 4" pancakes.  I got about 8 that were closer to 5".  In looking at this photo it appears I added blueberries to them.

Ingredients

7 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/ 2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (I swapped some with yogurt when I realized I was short, to no ill-effect)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, or fresh

Directions

 

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat; you want it to slowly get nice and hot.

Stir the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in the bottom of a medium bowl.

Dump the sour cream in on top and stir it together very gently; it’s okay to leave the texture a bit uneven.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and stir them into the sour cream mixture, once again, being careful not to over mix.

Melt about a tablespoon of butter in your skillet or griddle and pour the batter in, a scant 1/4 cup at a time.
Sprinkle a few blueberries on top while pancake is cooking.
 Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side, or until bubbles appear all over the surface, flipping them carefully and cooking for about a minute on the other side.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve in a stack, topped with a pat of butter and a cascade of maple syrup.

Sirloin Stir Fry With Ramen Noodles

This recipe was made 2013. The recipe came from Taste of Home.  It was delicious.

Ingredients

2 packages (3 ounces each) beef ramen noodles


2 tablespoons cornstarch


2 cups beef broth, divided


1 pound beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips


2 tablespoons canola oil


2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce


2 cans (14 ounces each) whole baby corn, rinsed and drained


2 cups fresh broccoli florets


1 cup diced sweet red pepper


1 cup shredded carrots


4 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces


1/2 cup unsalted peanuts 


Directions
  
Set aside seasoning packets from noodles.


Cook noodles according to package directions. 


Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup broth until smooth; set aside.


In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry beef in oil until no longer pink. 


Add soy sauce; cook for 3-4 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Remove beef and keep warm. 


Add the corn, broccoli, red pepper, carrots, onions and remaining broth to the pan. 


Sprinkle with contents of seasoning packets. Stir-fry for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. 


Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to skillet. 
Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened
Drain noodles. Add beef and noodles to pan; heat through.
Garnish with peanuts.
Makes: 4 servings. 

Nanaimo Bars

I made this in 2013.  The recipe came from food net work The great Canadian cookbook.  I could not believe how fast these make up.  Have made them a few times.

Ingredients

Bottom Layer

½ cup unsalted butter (European style cultured)  

¼ cup sugar 

5 tbsp. cocoa 

1 egg beaten 

1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs 

½ c. finely chopped almonds 

1 cup coconut

 Directions

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in graham wafer crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased  8" x 8" pan.

Ingredients

Second Layer

½ cup unsalted butter 

2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream 

2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder 

2 cups icing sugar

Directions

 

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Ingredients

Third Layer

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each) 

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

In 2013 I made these brownies.  The recipe came from Pinch of Yum.

Ingredients

 Cookie dough

1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup, very soft) 


¾ cup white sugar


2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed 


1 egg 


½ teaspoon vanilla 


1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour 


½ teaspoon baking soda 


¼ teaspoon salt 


1 cup chocolate chips 


Brownie mix, I am guessing I would have used Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix.


Directions

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars in a small mixing bowl. 


Add vanilla and egg; cream again until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. 


Stir gently until incorporated. 


Stir in chocolate chips. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


 Prepare brownie batter as directed.


Pour batter into a glass 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish. 


Scatter pieces of cookie dough over the top of the brownie batter. 


In my 8×8 square pan, I was able to get about ⅔ of the cookie dough to fit over the brownies and I just saved the rest for regular cookies. 


Press gently on the dough just until it starts to sink down into the batter a little bit. 


Bake for 35-40 minutes (35 for gooey, 40 or more for fully baked), covering with foil if you need to keep the cookies from getting too brown on top. 


Let stand for 15-20 minutes and cut into pieces for serving. 

Cherry Chip Muffins

In 2012 I made these muffins and again did not put it on the blog.  The recipe came from Muffin Mania cookbook.  I have made many muffins from this cookbook, all have been pretty good.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. melted butter

2 eggs 

1 cup  milk and cherry juice combined

1/2 small jar maraschino cherries cut up

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions 

Stir together dry ingredients and add the cut up cherries and chocolate chips.

Mix eggs, milk and cherry juice (1/2 and 1/2) and melted butter.

Stir the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture stirring just to moisten.

Bake 375F for 15 -20 minutes.

 

Anna Olson Raisin Butter Tarts

I also made this recipe back in 2013 and did not put it on the blog.  Anna's raisin butter tarts.  They were very good.

Ingredients

 Pastry 

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup cool unsalted butter

1 large egg

2 tbsp cold water

Filling:

¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed

¾ cup corn syrup

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup golden raisins ( I used normal raisins)

Directions 

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar and salt.  

Cut butter into small pieces (you can pull the butter from the fridge 30 minutes before adding) and add to flour, mixing until dough is a rough, crumbly texture.  

Whisk egg and water and add at once, mixing until dough comes together.  

Shape dough into 2 logs, wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 400 °F and lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.  

Lightly dust a worksurface with flour and unwrap pastry logs.  

Slice each log into six pieces.  

Roll each piece to about ¼-inch thickness and line each muffin cup  (you can trim the crust, or leave the “ruffle” of pastry for a pretty effect once it bakes.  

Chill lined muffin tin while preparing filling.

Whisk sugar, corn syrup and butter in a bowl by hand until combined.  

Whisk in eggs, then vinegar and vanilla.  

Sprinkle a few raisins in the bottom of each muffin cup and pour filling over the raisins.  

Bake the tarts for 5 minutes, then reduce oven to 375 °F and continue baking until butter tart filling starts to dome, about 20 more minutes. 

 Cool tarts in the tin, and chill the tarts in the tin before removing.

Banana Bran Blueberry Muffins

This recipe came from Ina Garten.  I made them back in 2013 and never put the recipe on the blog.

Ingredients 

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran used fiber one...put in food processor

1 cup buttermilk (shaken)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

6 tablespoons unsulphured molasses

1 teaspoon grated orange zest did not put in

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup raisins...put in blueberries

1 cup large-diced bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (did not use)

Directions 

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners into 1 (10 or 12-cup) muffin tin.

Combine the bran and buttermilk and set aside. 

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. 

With the mixer on low, add the eggs, 1 at a time. 

Scrape the bowl and then add the molasses, orange zest, and vanilla. (The mixture will look curdled.) Add the bran/buttermilk mixture and combine.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the batter just until combined. 

Don't overmix it!

Fold in the raisins, bananas and walnuts with a rubber spatula.

With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill the muffin cups to the top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Mermaid Softie

In September 2019 I made the mermaid from Dolls and Dreams: Merbaby sewing pattern.  It was very easy to put together and turned out nice.
I should have stuffed the head more.

Cabbage Patch Clothes I have made

I made these a few years ago, I was selling them on line.  I found them and gave them to my Granddaughter.

Today weather hanger

I made this from looking at the little passports. 

Birthday Card Box

I was looking for a birthday card and found this on utube:  Explosion Card.  It took me a bit to figure out the heart part as there is not a pattern for it.  I really liked how it turned out.

When I was crocheting the purple outfit I decided to sew jeans and blouse to go with it.  The pattern for the jeans came from Sew Trendy Fashions & Accessories: Casual Saturday and the blouse pattern came from Doll Fashion Studio: Back to school outfit.

granddaughter birthday hats

I have made these hats for my granddaughter.  I found the pattern and directions at skp to my lou blog