Raisin Bars

I have very fond memories of my mom making these when I was little and now I make them for my kiddos ;-)



Raisin Bars

2 C Raisins
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 C butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Cover raisins with water and bring to a boil, turn off, cool for 20 minutes. Strain raisins, save enough liquid to equal 1 C. Add baking soda to raisin water, combine all ingredients and blend well. Spread onto 2 greased cookie sheets (the ones with sides). Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. When cool, frost with a thin frosting...

Frosting

2 C powder sugar
1/4 C butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix with a little milk to make thin frosting


Enjoy!

Detour!

You know how I promised everyone the after pictures of my studio the next day...well it is not going to happen soon, so let's take a detour!


Do you remember this beauty? No, I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about what is behind me...my built-in hutch. Can you believe this is the only before picture I have of it! I had some others but I think they got deleted when I cleaned up the picture file...anyway here is the before:

*Edited: Guess what? I found another picture!!!!

And here is the after...aaaahhhh, a breath of fresh air!

Be still my heart.

Pumpkin Cake in a Jar!

I wanted to share this recipe that my Grandma had sent me for our swap :)



This dessert treat is baked and presented in a wide-mouth canning jar. Because the jar is sealed, the cake keeps indefinitely. It can be made well ahead of the holidays.



Pumpkin Cake in a Jar

2/3 c shortening
2 2/3 c sugar
4 eggs
2 c fresh pureed or canned pumpkin
2/3 c water
3 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 c walnuts, chopped
8 pint-sized, wide-mouth jars, with lids and rings for sealing
8 wax paper circles cut to fit inside the canning jars


Cream shortening and sugar together, adding sugar slowly. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and water. Set aside. Sift together flour,baking powder, salt, ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and stir well. Stir in nuts.
Pour batter into greased canning jars. Filling half-full. Place jars on cookie sheet. Bake upright in preheated 325 degree oven about 45 min. (Cake will rise and pull away from sides of jar)
When done, remove one jar at a time from oven. While still warm, place wax paper circle on the top of the cake . Wipe sealing end of jar. Place lid on jar and close tightly with ring. Turn jar upside down. (Cake will loosen at this time) Repeat with other jars. Leave jars upside down until sealed. (Jar is sealed if lid remains flat when pressed in center)
To serve: Open jar, slide a knife around the cake to loosen and remove the cake from the jar. Warm cake in microwave, slice and serve with whipped cream or ice cream :)


I was thinking about trying this with banana bread?!!!!

Yummy!

This recipe has defiantly made it into our rotation! We had it last night for dinner and loved it!

Cheeseburger Pie


1 pre-made pie/pastry crust
1 lb. lean ground beef (or elk)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c dill pickle juice
1/3 c milk
1/2 c chopped dill pickles
2 c shredded cheese, divided


Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Crumble ground beef into a large skillet and brown over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, saute. Drain grease from mixture (with elk burger, I never have to drain!!!)

Sprinkle beef mixture with 1/4 c flour, Stir in pickle juice, milk, chopped pickles, and 1 c shredded cheese. Spoon into pie/pastry shell.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese and bake an extra 5 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the top is nice and bubbly.



Note: You can also add diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce to the top after it's done, just like a real hamburger! Also make sure you add the pickles and the pickle juice, that is what makes this dish!!!!!!

Crock Pot Tuesday

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe - here is my favorite crock pot soup....



Taco Soup


1 lb. hamburger (I use elk burger)
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
2 cans pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
2 cans diced tomatoes


Brown the burger and then add the taco seasoning mix. Add all of the canned ingredients into the crock pot, do not drain. Add the burger and stir. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Serve with sour cream, chili fritos, shredded cheddar cheese, and small green chilies.

This recipe works well with any beans you may have on hand, sometimes I will chop up an onion and toss it with the browned meat. I also use my own taco seasoning mix recipe:


Taco seasoning mix

1 T chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp . oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper


This makes quite a bit for just 1 lb. of meat so I usually just use half of it and store the rest in an airtight container for later.


Enjoy!

Fall Treat...

Over the past weekend I made lots of yummy recipes, but this one is my favorite during this time of year :) It's so good I always double the recipe :)



Pumpkin Pie Pudding


1 15oz. can solid pack pumpkin
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c biscuit/baking mix
2 eggs, beaten
2 T butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
whipped topping



In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Transfer to a slow cooker coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Huckleberry Muffins

One day, up high in the mountains of nowhere, we found ourselves a huckleberry patch...they were small...and after about 3 hours of picking we had about 2 cups...just enough for some muffins. Yum...



Huckleberry Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 c butter
1 c white sugar
1 egg
3/4 c milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c huckleberries


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 15 muffins cups, or line w/ muffins papers. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla until well blended. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into batter until just moistened. Fold huckleberries into batter. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling at least 2/3 full. Bake for 15 min. or until tops spring back when lightly pressed.


*If you can't find huckleberries, blueberries work well.

Operation Organize...

A while back Teri at the Farm Chicks posted about going through a "detour." Here is my MAJOR "detour." It all started with wanting to get out my fall decorations! But, first I decided that I should wipe out and organize the cabinets in the kitchen (I can't remember the last time I did this? Is that bad?)...


The Before...Yuck!....Can you tell where I keep the toaster?...







The After....now filled with things from the pantry...







Before....So I counted TWO sets of pots and pans...don't ask LOL!







After...I'm getting rid of one set and had room left over to fit stuff from the first cabinet...






So now that I had the pantry door open might as well keep going, right?



I'm not sure why I keep my shoes in the pantry...was a good idea at the time?





...So then I started thinking...I have a lot more room downstairs in the basement storage room...hummmmmmmm......

...So now I'm moving all of my pantry things and then decided to turn the previous pantry into...wait for it...



A Craft Closet!!!!










I might be crazy, but I LOVE it! I not quite done filling it up with all of my stuff, but you get the idea. The books will eventually be moved to a bookcase when we find one...I love being able to see all of my craft books and supplies, that were previously boxed up...there is even a spot for my sewing machine when I'm not using it!

Crock Pot Tuesday?

So I know I declared "Crock Pot Tuesday," but my Hubby wants to BBQ tonight and try out a new sauce recipe, Yee-haw!...


Texas Jack Sauce

2 c ketchup
1/4 c Tabasco sauce (must be Tabasco sauce)
1/4 c Dijon mustard
1/4 c Jack Daniel's whiskey (I use this just for cooking LOL)
1/4 c molasses
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke

Combine all the ingredients in a deep, heavy, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer the sauce, uncovered, until thick and richly flavored, 15 to 20 min. Correct the seasonings, adding any ingredient you fancy. Use right away or transfer to jars, cover, cool to room temp. and refrigerate. The sauce will keep for several months. Makes about 3 cups.

This baby has quite a kick! The tender of tongue may wish to cut back on the Tabasco sauce!


Note: We will be trying this on BBQ pork chops (both Jason and I like heat). The little ladies will get heat-free sauce!

AWANA

Today AWANA starts! Makaila can hardly stand herself she is sooooo excited! This year she will move up to Sparks. So, I have declared Tuesdays' Crock Pot Day to help with the evening rush. Here is this weeks recipe:

Slow Cooked Chili

2 lbs. ground beef (I use ground elk)
2 16 oz. cans kidney beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (I use a little more)
2 med. onions, chopped
1 can green chilies
1 can corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tsp. pepper
Shredded cheese
Sour cream


In a skillet, cook beef over med. heat until no longer pink, drain. Transfer to slow cooker. Add the next 9 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. Garnish individual servings with cheese and sour cream if desired.

Today's breakfast...

This is a recipe I got out of my "Best of the Best from Alaska Cookbook!

Early Morning Quiche

1 unbaked pastry shell
12 stripes of bacon, crumbled
1/2 c grated cheese
1/3 c chopped onion
4 eggs, beaten
2 c whipping cream ( I used half and half)
dash of cayenne pepper, black pepper, and basil

Line pastry shell with double thickness of foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 min. Remove foil and bake another 5 min. Remove from oven. Reduce heat to 425. Sprinkle bacon, cheese, and onion over crust. Beat eggs, cream, and seasonings. Pour into crust. Bake for 15 min. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake for 30 min. or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Serves 6-8. Enjoy!