confused yet? you see, my wonderful uncle bill used to make "aunt bill's" candy every Christmas.....and by every Christmas, i mean E V E R Y Christmas...... it would always come cut into tiny sqares in a Christmas tin with waxed paper dividing the layers....some uncle bill's /aunt bill's enthusiasts used to say annually "it just wouldn't be Christmas without your special candy"...which made my sisters & me chuckle annually because, of course it would still be Christmas all over the world in every corner of the Earth without it, but it just goes to show how much a part of the whole celebration & time together uncle bill & that tin of candy was.............
it's really rather delicious- uncle bills' was a light colored version that was a little bit sugary & i loved it- which is saying something because i, as well as my entire 27 member immediate family, adore our famous see's candy company chocolate fudge, which we make only at Christmas.....actually, that is a lie, we make it almost as often as we re-watch *ELF* during the year, which is ridiculously regularly.....but somehow it tastes even better at Christmas....THAT, my friends, is a blog entry for another time & you DO NOT want to miss it- it is heavenly- God definitely poured out His favor upon all of humanity when the see's candy company invented that recipe & we have it.... have had it since 1972 & it's been changing lives one piece at a time (the recipe makes a whopping 6 1/2 pounds-lots of pieces).......can't wait to boil up some evaporated milk & sugar in the coming weeks...........stay tuned.
ok, back to uncle bill- sadly, he is gone now, but he was just a wonderful man...wonderful.....gifted on so many levels & a truly charming gentleman- a retired civil engineering professor who had a love of restoring old model -T fords.......one of which was featured in the sally field movie "places in the heart"....the man could tinker.....patience & care & a lot of little tools & parts soaking in solutions of heaven- knows -what & just a few years later a dingy old rusty frame miraculously turned into a shiny motorcar- just like the ones mr. toad drove way too fast in the wind in the willows, i think.....
uncle bill graciously shared his recipe with the world in 1984 in his houston neighborhood's cookbook, A Taste of Briarmeadow, which auntie gave me as a wedding shower gift 25 years ago & it's a treasured part of my rather extensive cookbook collection.
here's the deal -so if you want it to *really* be Christmas around your house this year give it a try....may make some myself for old time's sake.......gotta go dig up a little tin & some waxed paper.
uncle bill's aunt bill's candy (aka: caramel fudge)
1 large can evaporated milk
3 1/3 cups white sugar
3 T. white corn syrup
1/2 square semi-sweet chocloate
cook in a heavy pan for about 30 minutes....then add:
2 heaping spoons of butter (that's what the recipe says- i think i'll take it to mean large spoons:)
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped nuts, optional
beat vigorously then pour into a buttered 9x13 pan- sets up fast.....(all the better to get it sampled, cut into tiny squares & shared in pretty little tins) miss you, uncle bill! thanks for the memory & the legacy of your candy!
-the snackmom (& snackniece)
November 16, 2011
September 14, 2011
"willy wonka & the temple of doom"
who ever thought the chocolate fountain was a good idea? i own one. a good one. an expensive one. (it was a gift)
it is consistently synonymous with disaster- every time we use it or loan it.
it all SOUNDS so wonderful. gravity intervening to pull melty chocolatey tiers down into a heavenly pool of milk...or dark....or even white chocolate. yummy little tidbits to skewer or hold under the stream or dip into the stuff- things like: marshmallows & strawberries & angel food cake & bananas & pretzels & cookies & pineapple & brownies & chunks of pound cake & rice krispy treats.....ahhhh, heaven........or maybe purgatory..........no, definitely the "other" place.
there's the problem of the chocolate. we use more than 5 pounds at football parties- that can be big bucks IF you can even find it. you cannot & must not use chocolate chips-unless you know a secret, in which case, you must tell. they do not do well in the fountain. the consistency is all wrong & you don't want to add a bunch of icky oil & you can't add cream or milk....especially with white chocolate chips.... because you get g*l*o*p . ask mitzi. we tried it once for a big teacher event. disaster. we got 2 pounds of white oily glop that burbled out of the fountain like an anemic, sickly mount vesuvius. on occasion, sam's will have these wonderful 2 1/2 lb. bars of ghirardelli candy making chocolate, which is perfect...much better than almond bark (a random & deceiving name for totally hydrogenated cottonseed & palm kernal oil-eeeeew). i tend to buy 4 or 5 whenever they appear. i also tend to hoard food. this i hate to admit for fear that i will find myself in a reality tv show like extreme couponing, but for the less thrifty & far less organized.
the other problem can be the machine itself. a memorable mess that comes to mind & still haunts me in my dreams every now & again is the end-of-the-season/end-of the-era jenks black football party late last fall- yeah, you remember, the buffet night people. the plan was for something extra- special. the tragic reality was something extra-messy, extra-embarrassing & extra-gross. SEVEN & A HALF pounds of perfectly melted ghirardelli chocolate, which was no small task in & of itself.....FIFTEEN pounds of dippers, 300+ skewers & about 65 party-goers all primed for the chocolate event of the century. the machine was plugged in & running smoothly...now came the moment of pouring all that melty goodness into the top & then.......T H E N.......the nightmare began....the machine must have been too cold because it just froze up. the chocolate hardened & jammed the rotator thingy. not one to panic,(ok, i am totally one to panic) i calmly stabbed a skewer down the rotator thingy- fully expecting the rich, delicious chocolatey fabulousness to blurp out of the top & begin cascading gracefully down over the 3 tiers of stainless steel 1/2 domes into the little reservoir of glory. only it didn't go that way . at all. it did , in fact, splurp a little, but hardly a flow & the the running motor sound grew faint & died. it was horrifying- crowds had gathered & people were offering assistance & comfort. only there was nothing we could do. we tried everything. unplugging & replugging. re-skewering. stabbing with knives. well, that was about all we tried, but it was an exercise in futility. the machine had failed us. not ones to take failure laying down, we poured it all into a big green flowery crock-pot & cranked the heat.....we did have 7 1/2 pounds & a banquet table brimming with dippers, but it kinda lost its appeal with all the splattered chocolate mess & unsightly serving piece & a flustered hostess with 3 1/2 oz. of hardening brown gook under her fingernails......thank goodness at just that moment the 400 pound jenks black ice sculpture stole the show & diverted everyone's attention so i could haul the giant gooey apparatus outta there in black trash bags & stash it in the garage......just before Christmas i finally worked up the courage to deal with reheating all that mess & cleaning the whole thing up- it took hours.......you can't buy memories like that...and who would want to? we do fondue now. the chocolate fountain has been banished to the attic- where it awaits final judgement.
"chocolate fountain recipe"
let's not & say we did
-the snackmom
it is consistently synonymous with disaster- every time we use it or loan it.
it all SOUNDS so wonderful. gravity intervening to pull melty chocolatey tiers down into a heavenly pool of milk...or dark....or even white chocolate. yummy little tidbits to skewer or hold under the stream or dip into the stuff- things like: marshmallows & strawberries & angel food cake & bananas & pretzels & cookies & pineapple & brownies & chunks of pound cake & rice krispy treats.....ahhhh, heaven........or maybe purgatory..........no, definitely the "other" place.
there's the problem of the chocolate. we use more than 5 pounds at football parties- that can be big bucks IF you can even find it. you cannot & must not use chocolate chips-unless you know a secret, in which case, you must tell. they do not do well in the fountain. the consistency is all wrong & you don't want to add a bunch of icky oil & you can't add cream or milk....especially with white chocolate chips.... because you get g*l*o*p . ask mitzi. we tried it once for a big teacher event. disaster. we got 2 pounds of white oily glop that burbled out of the fountain like an anemic, sickly mount vesuvius. on occasion, sam's will have these wonderful 2 1/2 lb. bars of ghirardelli candy making chocolate, which is perfect...much better than almond bark (a random & deceiving name for totally hydrogenated cottonseed & palm kernal oil-eeeeew). i tend to buy 4 or 5 whenever they appear. i also tend to hoard food. this i hate to admit for fear that i will find myself in a reality tv show like extreme couponing, but for the less thrifty & far less organized.
the other problem can be the machine itself. a memorable mess that comes to mind & still haunts me in my dreams every now & again is the end-of-the-season/end-of the-era jenks black football party late last fall- yeah, you remember, the buffet night people. the plan was for something extra- special. the tragic reality was something extra-messy, extra-embarrassing & extra-gross. SEVEN & A HALF pounds of perfectly melted ghirardelli chocolate, which was no small task in & of itself.....FIFTEEN pounds of dippers, 300+ skewers & about 65 party-goers all primed for the chocolate event of the century. the machine was plugged in & running smoothly...now came the moment of pouring all that melty goodness into the top & then.......T H E N.......the nightmare began....the machine must have been too cold because it just froze up. the chocolate hardened & jammed the rotator thingy. not one to panic,(ok, i am totally one to panic) i calmly stabbed a skewer down the rotator thingy- fully expecting the rich, delicious chocolatey fabulousness to blurp out of the top & begin cascading gracefully down over the 3 tiers of stainless steel 1/2 domes into the little reservoir of glory. only it didn't go that way . at all. it did , in fact, splurp a little, but hardly a flow & the the running motor sound grew faint & died. it was horrifying- crowds had gathered & people were offering assistance & comfort. only there was nothing we could do. we tried everything. unplugging & replugging. re-skewering. stabbing with knives. well, that was about all we tried, but it was an exercise in futility. the machine had failed us. not ones to take failure laying down, we poured it all into a big green flowery crock-pot & cranked the heat.....we did have 7 1/2 pounds & a banquet table brimming with dippers, but it kinda lost its appeal with all the splattered chocolate mess & unsightly serving piece & a flustered hostess with 3 1/2 oz. of hardening brown gook under her fingernails......thank goodness at just that moment the 400 pound jenks black ice sculpture stole the show & diverted everyone's attention so i could haul the giant gooey apparatus outta there in black trash bags & stash it in the garage......just before Christmas i finally worked up the courage to deal with reheating all that mess & cleaning the whole thing up- it took hours.......you can't buy memories like that...and who would want to? we do fondue now. the chocolate fountain has been banished to the attic- where it awaits final judgement.
"chocolate fountain recipe"
let's not & say we did
-the snackmom
September 10, 2011
"chocolate soup & the FAB 4"
ok, this isn't about the beatles......and it's not actually about soup either.....but it's kind of about soup. chocolate soup. if God had intended us to be thin, He would not have invented these ingredients.....
it's also about ellen & sarah & jennifer & jane & their passion for chocolate & the night we invented chocolate soup.
it was a good & memorable night. chocolate soup is a wonderful thing....at least on a blustery winter night when four 16- year -old -best friends & a LOT of cocoa & bittersweet chocolate & butter & sugar & good vanilla & chocolate chips & cream & imagination are involved. these girls love chocolate- they ADORE chocolate- one of them whose name (jane) i will not mention is fanatical about chocolate. it was a night when brownies or chocolate chip cookies or hot fudge sauce or fondue just would not do- it HAD to be something extra- especially chocolate. something ridiculous. and so, the idea of chocolate soup was invented. now, i have an extensive cookbook collection- maybe numbering in the hundreds....and not one of them had a recipe for chocolate soup, not that we looked or anything, but it was such a good idea-that didn't stop us.......
basically, we made a wonderful buttery, chocolatey baked fudge (we may have added a big handful of bittersweet chocolate pieces- i don't remember due to the chocolate coma which clouded my memory) which we underbaked & then added a criminal amount of hot fudge sauce (recipe will get in the blog soon, i promise) & cream & it was just insane.....insane.
here's the basic deal, if you want to give it a try.......i was reminded of this because i've been meaning to write a new snackmom blog entry for quite some time & the girls are all over at our house tonight so, ellen & i whipped up a big pan of baked fudge a couple of hours ago.....it's almost gone.....lock the door & give me a spoon.
*baked fudge* (aka: chocolate soup)
4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup melted butter (yes, you read that right- not one, but TWO sticks of butter)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
beat eggs with the dry ingredients until well blended...mix in the butter...stir in the vanilla & pecans & mix thoroughly...pour into a 9x9 inch pan...create a waterbath by setting the pan in another ovenproof dish of boiling water...bake at 325* for 45 minutes-do not overbake- but do try underbaking to get the soup effect.....serve with an arterio-gram.....recipe is based on one taken from "Stir-Ups" , a wonderful cookbook published in 1982 by the junior welfare league of enid, ok....try to find a copy, though it may be out of print..... it's a good one, catchy name, too, for a western oklahoma cookbook:) yeehaw!
-the snackmom
it's also about ellen & sarah & jennifer & jane & their passion for chocolate & the night we invented chocolate soup.
it was a good & memorable night. chocolate soup is a wonderful thing....at least on a blustery winter night when four 16- year -old -best friends & a LOT of cocoa & bittersweet chocolate & butter & sugar & good vanilla & chocolate chips & cream & imagination are involved. these girls love chocolate- they ADORE chocolate- one of them whose name (jane) i will not mention is fanatical about chocolate. it was a night when brownies or chocolate chip cookies or hot fudge sauce or fondue just would not do- it HAD to be something extra- especially chocolate. something ridiculous. and so, the idea of chocolate soup was invented. now, i have an extensive cookbook collection- maybe numbering in the hundreds....and not one of them had a recipe for chocolate soup, not that we looked or anything, but it was such a good idea-that didn't stop us.......
basically, we made a wonderful buttery, chocolatey baked fudge (we may have added a big handful of bittersweet chocolate pieces- i don't remember due to the chocolate coma which clouded my memory) which we underbaked & then added a criminal amount of hot fudge sauce (recipe will get in the blog soon, i promise) & cream & it was just insane.....insane.
here's the basic deal, if you want to give it a try.......i was reminded of this because i've been meaning to write a new snackmom blog entry for quite some time & the girls are all over at our house tonight so, ellen & i whipped up a big pan of baked fudge a couple of hours ago.....it's almost gone.....lock the door & give me a spoon.
*baked fudge* (aka: chocolate soup)
4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup melted butter (yes, you read that right- not one, but TWO sticks of butter)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
beat eggs with the dry ingredients until well blended...mix in the butter...stir in the vanilla & pecans & mix thoroughly...pour into a 9x9 inch pan...create a waterbath by setting the pan in another ovenproof dish of boiling water...bake at 325* for 45 minutes-do not overbake- but do try underbaking to get the soup effect.....serve with an arterio-gram.....recipe is based on one taken from "Stir-Ups" , a wonderful cookbook published in 1982 by the junior welfare league of enid, ok....try to find a copy, though it may be out of print..... it's a good one, catchy name, too, for a western oklahoma cookbook:) yeehaw!
-the snackmom
June 21, 2011
*b*a*n*a*n*a* *b*r*e*a*d*
the banana bread saga- i've been meaning to get to this for months.
...years & years ago, a wonderful family friend named dalta gave my mom her beloved banana bread recipe. it is delicious. my mother makes it beautifully. it crests on top like a wave in the hawaiian surf-which my mother L O V E S. my sister makes it perfectly. the top rises like mt. fugi- i am not sure if she is a fan of japanese geography, but that's what popped into my mind. mine? mine sinks in the middle like a brown abyss. & it's chewy. & very bad.
i cannot make the recipe, try as i might, & i HAVE been trying- for 26 years. at least. joy, on the other hand, turns out a perfect loaf every single time. she totes it to all family get- togethers & brings it over when someone is sick or has surgery & it appears at all holiday breakfasts & brunches. hers is dark brown & dense & has marvelous flavor as well as coveted height. i've renamed mine "julie's sunken banana- taffy loaf surprise". i've always hated surprises.
gratefully, about 18 years ago, i discovered a fabulous alternative to dalta's impossible banana loaf in our church cookbook & it has become a staple in my kitchen, turns out great whether in a loaf or muffins, & i make it as often as i have extra bananas hanging around- which is not often since my son is part monkey. his potassium levels must be off the charts. further complicating matters is the fact that i discovered a recipe for buttermilk banana cake with banana icing that i tried out on the team one football buffet night last fall that is about the best thing ever made with a banana. it's $ m o n e y $. so, as you can see, i'm justifiably conflicted when it comes to extra bananas.
but for now, i will share this banana bread recipe that i love & can actually make with success. dalta's should probably stay a family secret since joy & mom are the only ones who can make it anyway. & probably jana. she's a fab baker, too, but she has 10 kids & my guess is she TRIPLES the recipe & heaven KNOWS how she scares up 18 over-ripe bananas. though she does have some great wisdom about food & raising Godly children & dating & life & pest-control products & maximizing storage space....my favorite of her nuggets of wisdom concerning such matters as this is: "always prepare all carrot & strawberry & zucchini & banana & even chocolate cakes in LOAF pans, that way you can call them BREAD & eat them for breakfast". i like the way she thinks. even if she can make dalta's banana bread & i can't.
*banana bread*
1/2 c. crisco
1 1/2 c. sugar
4-6 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. bran flakes or oatmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts *if you like nuts baked in your bread, which i do not
cream crisco & sugar. blend in bananas, eggs & vanilla . add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. fold in the nuts. or not. grease & flour (or pam) a big loaf pan or 2 small ones or about 18 paper lined muffin tin cups or even a bundt pan. bake @ 325* for about 40 minutes for a loaf/loaves- less for muffins ...i often double this recipe if i am very crafty & hide enough bananas from john. * this recipe was originally submitted in 1993 by gail n. to give partial credit where credit is due......i added the cinnamon*
-the snackmom
...years & years ago, a wonderful family friend named dalta gave my mom her beloved banana bread recipe. it is delicious. my mother makes it beautifully. it crests on top like a wave in the hawaiian surf-which my mother L O V E S. my sister makes it perfectly. the top rises like mt. fugi- i am not sure if she is a fan of japanese geography, but that's what popped into my mind. mine? mine sinks in the middle like a brown abyss. & it's chewy. & very bad.
i cannot make the recipe, try as i might, & i HAVE been trying- for 26 years. at least. joy, on the other hand, turns out a perfect loaf every single time. she totes it to all family get- togethers & brings it over when someone is sick or has surgery & it appears at all holiday breakfasts & brunches. hers is dark brown & dense & has marvelous flavor as well as coveted height. i've renamed mine "julie's sunken banana- taffy loaf surprise". i've always hated surprises.
gratefully, about 18 years ago, i discovered a fabulous alternative to dalta's impossible banana loaf in our church cookbook & it has become a staple in my kitchen, turns out great whether in a loaf or muffins, & i make it as often as i have extra bananas hanging around- which is not often since my son is part monkey. his potassium levels must be off the charts. further complicating matters is the fact that i discovered a recipe for buttermilk banana cake with banana icing that i tried out on the team one football buffet night last fall that is about the best thing ever made with a banana. it's $ m o n e y $. so, as you can see, i'm justifiably conflicted when it comes to extra bananas.
but for now, i will share this banana bread recipe that i love & can actually make with success. dalta's should probably stay a family secret since joy & mom are the only ones who can make it anyway. & probably jana. she's a fab baker, too, but she has 10 kids & my guess is she TRIPLES the recipe & heaven KNOWS how she scares up 18 over-ripe bananas. though she does have some great wisdom about food & raising Godly children & dating & life & pest-control products & maximizing storage space....my favorite of her nuggets of wisdom concerning such matters as this is: "always prepare all carrot & strawberry & zucchini & banana & even chocolate cakes in LOAF pans, that way you can call them BREAD & eat them for breakfast". i like the way she thinks. even if she can make dalta's banana bread & i can't.
*banana bread*
1/2 c. crisco
1 1/2 c. sugar
4-6 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. bran flakes or oatmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts *if you like nuts baked in your bread, which i do not
cream crisco & sugar. blend in bananas, eggs & vanilla . add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. fold in the nuts. or not. grease & flour (or pam) a big loaf pan or 2 small ones or about 18 paper lined muffin tin cups or even a bundt pan. bake @ 325* for about 40 minutes for a loaf/loaves- less for muffins ...i often double this recipe if i am very crafty & hide enough bananas from john. * this recipe was originally submitted in 1993 by gail n. to give partial credit where credit is due......i added the cinnamon*
-the snackmom
May 27, 2011
feeding the 52 with two cake mixes & a casserole...
jenks black buffet night started with coach thomas. several years ago, he suggested that we, and by "we", i mean "i", do a little buffet on thursday nights after the 3rd- sometimes 4th- football practice of the week. up until that time, i'd occasionally bake up a big batch of banana muffins for after practice or pick up a couple of boxes of little debbie's cosmic brownies, which set me back, say $3 or so, but nothing prepared me for what this would become.
$40. f o r t y d o l l a r s. that was my thursday night buffet night budget. to feed up to 52 whole people. that was the record anyway. once i told the marketing gal at a local restaurant that i fed as many as 52 people for $40 & she said, "you have to be kidding- you can't feed 52 people bologna sandwiches for $40." wanna bet? & don't get me started on bologna. i love a challenge. especially if it relates to food. heck, i love anything that relates to food.
now mind you, buffet nights were by no means haute cuisine, but they got the job done. things like chili, potato soup on cold nights, mostacolli (thank you, marguerite:), Grandma Opal's chicken tetrazzini & build-your-own taco bar provided the thrifty, yet satisfying post-practice buffet night staples that united a team & brought their families a little closer, though after 6 years together, we pretty much knew all of each others secrets anyway.
i LOVED planning for buffet nights- all week long, i would be on the prowl for a great meat special or a new way to glorify a cake mix (you can't beat that $.88 investment with a stick) or a way to stretch a dollar... or maybe a chicken. it was like a game to me & i always won (i'm very competitive when it comes to desserts). approval. smiles. hugs. happy tummies. best- game- ever.
now that we've moved on to school football & there are 3 teams & 70 players & they're much bigger in size & appetite & there's no budget for thursday night buffets- in fact, there are no thursday night practices at all- i will have to get a new game plan- but don't think i'm not working on it, coach barnes. i already have chick-fil-a on the calendar for the team's road trip food-or WILL when we get a calendar...& i will find a way to weave in a few lemon cakes every now & then for old time's sake. i just have to. it's a jenks black all-time favorite. this is for patty-who likes them most of all.
*lemondrop cake*
1 box lemon cake mix (any brand-pudding in the mix is best)
prepared according to pkg. directions...only i use orange juice instead of water & add about 1/2 tsp. of McNess lemon oil extract (available at williams sonoma & well worth the $10 for a 4 oz. bottle since it provides wonderful zesty lemon flavor & lasts for at least 2 football seasons making a lemon cake every week)... bake the cake in a well cooking- sprayed bundt pan or a 9x13 or my personal favorite, a 15x10 1/2 sheet pan, since i have one with a cover. ice with about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar mixed with fresh or that minute- maid lemon juice that comes frozen- it's wonderful- & a few more drops of lemon oil extract to make a pourable, thin glaze- pour it on the hot cake. never a crumb left- they fight over the crumbs. * you can crush lemon drops on the top for sparkling crunchies*
-the snackmom
who would like to take this opportunity to thank patty's mom, lynn, my sangria buddy, for helping me every thursday night when this whole thing got too big for me to cook up & pack up & set up- as well as the MANY football moms (mitzi, charm- you know who you are:) & dads (jeff, lynn & ken come to mind:) & siblings(chase & the duncans-you're the best!), who bolted out to the "snackmom" truck to unload tables & the tins & boxes & trays & baskets of food & paraphenalia & to all those players & parents & my own kids who stayed around in the dark after the lights went out to throw stuff away & help me take down tables & re-load the car...it was so fun! & thanks coach thomas- best idea ever!
$40. f o r t y d o l l a r s. that was my thursday night buffet night budget. to feed up to 52 whole people. that was the record anyway. once i told the marketing gal at a local restaurant that i fed as many as 52 people for $40 & she said, "you have to be kidding- you can't feed 52 people bologna sandwiches for $40." wanna bet? & don't get me started on bologna. i love a challenge. especially if it relates to food. heck, i love anything that relates to food.
now mind you, buffet nights were by no means haute cuisine, but they got the job done. things like chili, potato soup on cold nights, mostacolli (thank you, marguerite:), Grandma Opal's chicken tetrazzini & build-your-own taco bar provided the thrifty, yet satisfying post-practice buffet night staples that united a team & brought their families a little closer, though after 6 years together, we pretty much knew all of each others secrets anyway.
i LOVED planning for buffet nights- all week long, i would be on the prowl for a great meat special or a new way to glorify a cake mix (you can't beat that $.88 investment with a stick) or a way to stretch a dollar... or maybe a chicken. it was like a game to me & i always won (i'm very competitive when it comes to desserts). approval. smiles. hugs. happy tummies. best- game- ever.
now that we've moved on to school football & there are 3 teams & 70 players & they're much bigger in size & appetite & there's no budget for thursday night buffets- in fact, there are no thursday night practices at all- i will have to get a new game plan- but don't think i'm not working on it, coach barnes. i already have chick-fil-a on the calendar for the team's road trip food-or WILL when we get a calendar...& i will find a way to weave in a few lemon cakes every now & then for old time's sake. i just have to. it's a jenks black all-time favorite. this is for patty-who likes them most of all.
*lemondrop cake*
1 box lemon cake mix (any brand-pudding in the mix is best)
prepared according to pkg. directions...only i use orange juice instead of water & add about 1/2 tsp. of McNess lemon oil extract (available at williams sonoma & well worth the $10 for a 4 oz. bottle since it provides wonderful zesty lemon flavor & lasts for at least 2 football seasons making a lemon cake every week)... bake the cake in a well cooking- sprayed bundt pan or a 9x13 or my personal favorite, a 15x10 1/2 sheet pan, since i have one with a cover. ice with about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar mixed with fresh or that minute- maid lemon juice that comes frozen- it's wonderful- & a few more drops of lemon oil extract to make a pourable, thin glaze- pour it on the hot cake. never a crumb left- they fight over the crumbs. * you can crush lemon drops on the top for sparkling crunchies*
-the snackmom
who would like to take this opportunity to thank patty's mom, lynn, my sangria buddy, for helping me every thursday night when this whole thing got too big for me to cook up & pack up & set up- as well as the MANY football moms (mitzi, charm- you know who you are:) & dads (jeff, lynn & ken come to mind:) & siblings(chase & the duncans-you're the best!), who bolted out to the "snackmom" truck to unload tables & the tins & boxes & trays & baskets of food & paraphenalia & to all those players & parents & my own kids who stayed around in the dark after the lights went out to throw stuff away & help me take down tables & re-load the car...it was so fun! & thanks coach thomas- best idea ever!
May 20, 2011
"the great bologna disaster"
it started out well. my 39th birthday.could have been my 40th- none of us can remember- probably, we tried to block it out. my birthday is july 1st, which has always been like a long, continuous party running on into the 4th of july. i've always loved that.
this particular year i had the brilliant idea idea of a lake birthday. i L O V E the lake. we grew up spending wonderful weekends on lake eufaula on our houseboat of many names...."first mate", 'forty-feet-of-fun", "tres niñas"...say when.....depending on who you asked. i could write a blog about that boat.
this fine saturday, we'd rented a huge pontoon boat for the day & ventured out with us, my sister, joy, her husband & some of their kids as well as my beloved in-laws & 47 life preservers. now, joy & i love the lake- the suntan (burn), the swimming, splashing, that good kind of tired & hungry, & all of us (except joy) laughing at the ever -present terrorizing threat of "balls-of-snakes"(read: large entangled masses of water moccasins) that to this day joy S W E A R S lurk under every floating styrofoam dock & roil around in the open water waiting to bite skiiers & her......but especially, we love the food the ice chest might as well have been a treasure chest full of gold. that's how much we love our lake food. joy & i had been planning this feast for days- chips ahoy cookies, carrots, grapes, pop, cantaloupe, those frosted sugar cookies that are way too messy for home, white bunny bread, iceberg lettuce, but most importantly that all-important yellow plastic package of oscar mayer beef bologna. things you would never eat at home are magically transformed into food of the gods in a boat on the lake.
joy had been talking incessantly for days about how much she was anticipating this delicious sandwich-this memory of our childhood come to life between two slices of wonder bread. it was to be the much bally-hooed highlight of her weekend. maybe even her whole summer.
the morning went well. lots of kids taking turns tubing. lots of kids taking turns "driving" the boat. l i f e w a s g o o d ....for about 12 more minutes.
we found a nice little spot to cut the motor-thought we might drift a little, but we didn't drop the anchor. joy & i set out the smorgasborg. it was a thing of beauty.... for about 7 more minutes.
kids were all happily eating, grandpa bill was admiring the scenery, the guys were talking about how to keep the motor from flooding again....joy & i had everyone taken care of , as is customary among us moms... the moment came when joy began assembling her beloved favorite bologna sandwich on 2 perfect pieces of white (it's gotta be white) bread - when all of a sudden......what's THIS? grandma nancy seems to be in a bit of distress............good heavens......she's....she's......choking?!? oh-my-gosh. i sprang into action-which for me was talking. "are you ok?"......no words....turning red......"are you breathing?".......i rather firmly began patting grandma nancy on the back...i'm on the verge of panic. with 11 people in a relatively small space, what was astounding was how oblivious everyone was to this turn of events. grandpa bill was still gazing into the distance pointing out interesting features of the shoreline to 2 totally engrossed 6 year olds. david & josh were having trouble getting the boat to start back up & were considering options as we began drifting dangerously close to the reeds (they figured it was just flooded again). other kids were trying to poke holes in their juice boxes with the flimsy straws clinging to the sides of their hawaiian punch.....and all the while, joy is holding her precious bologna sandwich with mayonnaise watching in horror as i try in vain to help grandma nancy- who at that precise moment coughed up a baby carrot onto the fake blue carpet on the floor of the boat....then proceeds to announce that she is going to LOSE IT. oh, noooooooooo! not on the kids! not on the....... b o l o g n a ! "quick! over the side!"
i am still talking. some of the less fortunate kids had caught on by now-ellen was holding her ears & covering her eyes & might have been humming, too- who knows? john had,too - john, my child who barfs any & every time any one else does......."JOHN! CLOSE -YOUR- EYES!" but , it was too late. seconds later, the co-captain's chair was covered in orange cheet-o remains & sticky pink sugar cookie icing. not completely sure, but there may have been sprinkles. all the while, joy is sitting there on her igloo, mouth agape, yet unable to speak surveying the hysteria unfolding all around her. then, without expression, in one swift motion of the arm, she flung her beloved bologna- on- white over her right shoulder & into the lake.
it was the single most horrifyingly funny 75 seconds of my entire life. i HAD managed to remember to throw in a roll of paper towels, so after a brief wipedown of the orange & pink food carnage- lest some other offspring would begin to hurl- the boat was still stalled & we were up to our pontoons in reeds. there was only one solution. someone was going to have to get in & physically hold the boat. everyone peered over the side into the shallow, chunky reeds- complete with the remains of one bloated bologna sandwich which the fish (at least the ones who didn't like barf) were starting to fight over. no one spoke. finally, without discussion, it became clear that josh & david were going to have to do it. reluctantly, but bravely they gathered their courage & together they bailed over the side & held the boat in chest-deep murky bologna barf water until the people from the marina jet-skiied out to save us.
joy never had her sandwich. grandma nancy was NEVER invited to the boat again. but, i turned 39...or 40 (who's counting?) none-the-less & as a birthday present have this great story to tell & re-tell & it always bring down the house. the end.
-the snackmom ...who decided not to post a recipe this time since 1.) no one probably has an appetite after that & 2.) nothing, but nothing, we take to the lake is EVER home-made...that's the best part of it...well, that & the stories
this particular year i had the brilliant idea idea of a lake birthday. i L O V E the lake. we grew up spending wonderful weekends on lake eufaula on our houseboat of many names...."first mate", 'forty-feet-of-fun", "tres niñas"...say when.....depending on who you asked. i could write a blog about that boat.
this fine saturday, we'd rented a huge pontoon boat for the day & ventured out with us, my sister, joy, her husband & some of their kids as well as my beloved in-laws & 47 life preservers. now, joy & i love the lake- the suntan (burn), the swimming, splashing, that good kind of tired & hungry, & all of us (except joy) laughing at the ever -present terrorizing threat of "balls-of-snakes"(read: large entangled masses of water moccasins) that to this day joy S W E A R S lurk under every floating styrofoam dock & roil around in the open water waiting to bite skiiers & her......but especially, we love the food the ice chest might as well have been a treasure chest full of gold. that's how much we love our lake food. joy & i had been planning this feast for days- chips ahoy cookies, carrots, grapes, pop, cantaloupe, those frosted sugar cookies that are way too messy for home, white bunny bread, iceberg lettuce, but most importantly that all-important yellow plastic package of oscar mayer beef bologna. things you would never eat at home are magically transformed into food of the gods in a boat on the lake.
joy had been talking incessantly for days about how much she was anticipating this delicious sandwich-this memory of our childhood come to life between two slices of wonder bread. it was to be the much bally-hooed highlight of her weekend. maybe even her whole summer.
the morning went well. lots of kids taking turns tubing. lots of kids taking turns "driving" the boat. l i f e w a s g o o d ....for about 12 more minutes.
we found a nice little spot to cut the motor-thought we might drift a little, but we didn't drop the anchor. joy & i set out the smorgasborg. it was a thing of beauty.... for about 7 more minutes.
kids were all happily eating, grandpa bill was admiring the scenery, the guys were talking about how to keep the motor from flooding again....joy & i had everyone taken care of , as is customary among us moms... the moment came when joy began assembling her beloved favorite bologna sandwich on 2 perfect pieces of white (it's gotta be white) bread - when all of a sudden......what's THIS? grandma nancy seems to be in a bit of distress............good heavens......she's....she's......choking?!? oh-my-gosh. i sprang into action-which for me was talking. "are you ok?"......no words....turning red......"are you breathing?".......i rather firmly began patting grandma nancy on the back...i'm on the verge of panic. with 11 people in a relatively small space, what was astounding was how oblivious everyone was to this turn of events. grandpa bill was still gazing into the distance pointing out interesting features of the shoreline to 2 totally engrossed 6 year olds. david & josh were having trouble getting the boat to start back up & were considering options as we began drifting dangerously close to the reeds (they figured it was just flooded again). other kids were trying to poke holes in their juice boxes with the flimsy straws clinging to the sides of their hawaiian punch.....and all the while, joy is holding her precious bologna sandwich with mayonnaise watching in horror as i try in vain to help grandma nancy- who at that precise moment coughed up a baby carrot onto the fake blue carpet on the floor of the boat....then proceeds to announce that she is going to LOSE IT. oh, noooooooooo! not on the kids! not on the....... b o l o g n a ! "quick! over the side!"
i am still talking. some of the less fortunate kids had caught on by now-ellen was holding her ears & covering her eyes & might have been humming, too- who knows? john had,too - john, my child who barfs any & every time any one else does......."JOHN! CLOSE -YOUR- EYES!" but , it was too late. seconds later, the co-captain's chair was covered in orange cheet-o remains & sticky pink sugar cookie icing. not completely sure, but there may have been sprinkles. all the while, joy is sitting there on her igloo, mouth agape, yet unable to speak surveying the hysteria unfolding all around her. then, without expression, in one swift motion of the arm, she flung her beloved bologna- on- white over her right shoulder & into the lake.
it was the single most horrifyingly funny 75 seconds of my entire life. i HAD managed to remember to throw in a roll of paper towels, so after a brief wipedown of the orange & pink food carnage- lest some other offspring would begin to hurl- the boat was still stalled & we were up to our pontoons in reeds. there was only one solution. someone was going to have to get in & physically hold the boat. everyone peered over the side into the shallow, chunky reeds- complete with the remains of one bloated bologna sandwich which the fish (at least the ones who didn't like barf) were starting to fight over. no one spoke. finally, without discussion, it became clear that josh & david were going to have to do it. reluctantly, but bravely they gathered their courage & together they bailed over the side & held the boat in chest-deep murky bologna barf water until the people from the marina jet-skiied out to save us.
joy never had her sandwich. grandma nancy was NEVER invited to the boat again. but, i turned 39...or 40 (who's counting?) none-the-less & as a birthday present have this great story to tell & re-tell & it always bring down the house. the end.
-the snackmom ...who decided not to post a recipe this time since 1.) no one probably has an appetite after that & 2.) nothing, but nothing, we take to the lake is EVER home-made...that's the best part of it...well, that & the stories
May 9, 2011
long live peach tea! (it may be served at my funeral)
peach tea is T H E drink of jenks black football.
& the VBS teacher snackroom ...& pre-school mother's day tea parties ...& piano recitals. ..& other things.
i have probably made thousands of gallons of the stuff. people swear they volunteer to work at VBS just for the peach tea that awaits them on breaks. it's embarrassingly simple & probably my most requested recipe... which would be even better if there WAS a recipe. i wing a lot of things.
it's just a can of powdered peach flavored tea mix (name brand or generic) doctored up a little. i LOVE doctoring stuff up. i'm sorta like ann byrn, the cake mix doctor, meets sandra lee, the semi-homemade gal, meets giada. well, kinda. i just threw that in to keep you on your toes. i AM Italian, but that's where the similarities end, sad to say. but back to all- American peach tea. i like to label it "peach/apricot/mint" tea. sounds much more complex & it gives me more credibility that admitting i dump in a canister of artificially flavored peach tea mix & add water. SO, i add apricot nectar...or peach nectar, if apricot disappears from the grocery store shelves , as it has the habit of doing. then i plop in a few sprigs of fresh mint, sprinkle in a little extra sugar & tons of ice.
one unfortunate day years ago in the VBS snackroom, when apricot nectar was nowhere to be found, i had the brilliant idea of adding apricot jell-O (you know i love me some jell-O:) into the mix....with disastrous results. there were tiny apricot jell-O beads permeating the whole mess & it was terribly embarrassing to serve up my now-famous tea as a part solid/part liquid. live & learn. tea should not have to be served with dental floss.
last june during VBS, i couldn't find apricot nectar ANYWHERE (& it's pretty expensive when you're making 11 gallons a week anyway) so i revisited the jell-O idea. great flavor, but the big question was how to avoid miniscule jell-O shots in every glass? so, i experimented. prepared the jell-O according to directions (for once) & then dumped it into the crock with the already made tea- it was wonderful-and as a bonus,cheap.... but, you MUST add the mint for the necessary depth of flavor & sophistication. it's so Southern.... mint is so easy to grow, too- just throw it into a pot or the segregated corner of your garden where it can be contained. it's like a bossy sister (no, i do not have a bossy sister, but i've seen them) & takes over everything until it has control & has permeated everything. so, unless you are a fan of mint infused chives, tomatoes & peppers, keep it apart from the rest of your herbs & stuff.
anyway, peach/apricot/mint tea is refreshingly delish. i've seen football players actually lay under the igloo & dispense it directly out of the spout without bothering with
a paper cup. i've seen football players do a lot of weird things. but, they love & adore peach tea. it's a mainstay at all thursday buffet nights- i can not make enough. it's a ritual. well, that & i don't want to even THINK about facing a 230 lb. offensive lineman if i show up without it.
this is for you, sheldon.
*peach/apricot/mint tea* (of which no official recipe exists)
1 canister peach flavored iced tea mix (lipton & great value make it)
1 12 oz. can apricot nectar, if you're lucky & can find it, peach of you can't, jell-O, if you're gutsy
3-4 sprigs fesh mint, crushed a little
water (not sure how much- about a gallon or whatever the can says)
ice
mix all of this up & stir well to dissolve the tea mix...& by the way, jell-O beads to not dissolve-ever. just adjust the amounts according to your taste-add more sugar if you want-or use apricot jell-O , if you're the brave sort. take to football practice. or anywhere.
-the snackmom
& the VBS teacher snackroom ...& pre-school mother's day tea parties ...& piano recitals. ..& other things.
i have probably made thousands of gallons of the stuff. people swear they volunteer to work at VBS just for the peach tea that awaits them on breaks. it's embarrassingly simple & probably my most requested recipe... which would be even better if there WAS a recipe. i wing a lot of things.
it's just a can of powdered peach flavored tea mix (name brand or generic) doctored up a little. i LOVE doctoring stuff up. i'm sorta like ann byrn, the cake mix doctor, meets sandra lee, the semi-homemade gal, meets giada. well, kinda. i just threw that in to keep you on your toes. i AM Italian, but that's where the similarities end, sad to say. but back to all- American peach tea. i like to label it "peach/apricot/mint" tea. sounds much more complex & it gives me more credibility that admitting i dump in a canister of artificially flavored peach tea mix & add water. SO, i add apricot nectar...or peach nectar, if apricot disappears from the grocery store shelves , as it has the habit of doing. then i plop in a few sprigs of fresh mint, sprinkle in a little extra sugar & tons of ice.
one unfortunate day years ago in the VBS snackroom, when apricot nectar was nowhere to be found, i had the brilliant idea of adding apricot jell-O (you know i love me some jell-O:) into the mix....with disastrous results. there were tiny apricot jell-O beads permeating the whole mess & it was terribly embarrassing to serve up my now-famous tea as a part solid/part liquid. live & learn. tea should not have to be served with dental floss.
last june during VBS, i couldn't find apricot nectar ANYWHERE (& it's pretty expensive when you're making 11 gallons a week anyway) so i revisited the jell-O idea. great flavor, but the big question was how to avoid miniscule jell-O shots in every glass? so, i experimented. prepared the jell-O according to directions (for once) & then dumped it into the crock with the already made tea- it was wonderful-and as a bonus,cheap.... but, you MUST add the mint for the necessary depth of flavor & sophistication. it's so Southern.... mint is so easy to grow, too- just throw it into a pot or the segregated corner of your garden where it can be contained. it's like a bossy sister (no, i do not have a bossy sister, but i've seen them) & takes over everything until it has control & has permeated everything. so, unless you are a fan of mint infused chives, tomatoes & peppers, keep it apart from the rest of your herbs & stuff.
anyway, peach/apricot/mint tea is refreshingly delish. i've seen football players actually lay under the igloo & dispense it directly out of the spout without bothering with
a paper cup. i've seen football players do a lot of weird things. but, they love & adore peach tea. it's a mainstay at all thursday buffet nights- i can not make enough. it's a ritual. well, that & i don't want to even THINK about facing a 230 lb. offensive lineman if i show up without it.
this is for you, sheldon.
*peach/apricot/mint tea* (of which no official recipe exists)
1 canister peach flavored iced tea mix (lipton & great value make it)
1 12 oz. can apricot nectar, if you're lucky & can find it, peach of you can't, jell-O, if you're gutsy
3-4 sprigs fesh mint, crushed a little
water (not sure how much- about a gallon or whatever the can says)
ice
mix all of this up & stir well to dissolve the tea mix...& by the way, jell-O beads to not dissolve-ever. just adjust the amounts according to your taste-add more sugar if you want-or use apricot jell-O , if you're the brave sort. take to football practice. or anywhere.
-the snackmom
May 8, 2011
"i'll never fall in love again..." 1969 & other tales
1969 was a good year. i was in kindergarten, sporting a pixie haircut & carpooling every afternoon at 12:30pm with two of my best friends, john & shawn.
my clearest memory of that year (aside from meeting my best friend, kristie, & the GLORIOUS play kitchen in our classroom- that even at the age of barely 5 was my favorite place on earth) was listening to "i'll never fall in love again" playing on the radio in the blue oldsmobile on the way to st. stephen's methodist church every afternoon (kindergarten was private in OK in 1969). "what do ya get when you kiss a guy? you'll get enough germs to catch pneumonia- after ya do, he'll never phone ya...i'll 'll 'll ......"
what i DON'T remember was the blessed day in that year when mrs. nickle scribbled down the recipe for brownie fudge cupcakes & gave it to my mother. l i f e c h a n g i n g.
perhaps there is no single recipe that defines my family like this one- it is our family tradition. period. there is no telling, although i wish there was, how many hundreds (thousands, definitely thousands) of these my mom & sisters (& friends & nieces) & i have made since that day........enough to build an oleo colliseum (see * i can't believe it's not butter* from april for the oleo lowdown-this is one of the exactly 3 recipes in the world that must be made with margarine-butter just doesn't get the same result-weirdly).
they are perfect. perfect. perfect. made with simple pantry ingredients you always have on hand (or should). they are fudgy, rich & develop this wonderful crackly top when they bake- no need to frost. they're so easy to mix up in a single bowl (no mixer needed), tote well to everywhere & anyone at all who has ever tried one has fallen in love on the spot.
it's the ONLY family recipe that has ever begged the question, "should we SHARE it?" "COULD we share it?" it's almost sacred.
well, i think the statute of limitations has run out on hogging this recipe, so now, some 42 years later, it's going public. it may disappear tomorrow since i didn't hear back from my sisters & mom when i asked their permission to post it & they may blow a brownie fudge gasket when they see this .....so, write fast, my 20 followers (& julius)........this is your chance!
i think i hear karen carpenter singing in approval............
*brownie fudge cupcakes*
1 stick (nearly plastic) margarine ( i like imperial brand the best)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans-optional, but recommended*
*man, these are full of naughty, bad ingredients*
melt & mix the "oleo:)" & chocolate chips in the 'wave or on the cooktop... in a medium mixing bowl mix the other 4 ingredients together, beating well.....add the chocolate mixture- no need to cool before- mix well & pour into 10 paper lined muffin tins....that's it- ridiculously easy...bake at 325* for , hmmmmm, i never set the timer.....say, 18 minutes, until they crackle on top but are still slightly underdone.....we eat them warm right out of the muffin pan, but if you have people coming over, then 1. make a double batch 2. hide them & 3. serve with ice cream & hot fudge (homemade is best & easy- i'll post that one soon)....it's so fun to share this special recipe with you all-happy mother's day!
*almost forgot to mention that these are insanely good with a peanut butter cup smooshed in before baking- we love the great value brand b/c they have really creamy centers & melt marvelously*
-the snackmom
*this post created a little bit of a stir for the 9 hours it was on recently- my mother saw it & read it & hinted that maybe the statute of limitations NEVER runs out on things of a sacred nature, like brownie fudge cupcakes- then she was shocked when i hastily deleted it....you see, she wasn't serious, she was trying to joke around with me a little- it's just that she's not the goofy, joking type- you all who know & love her appreciate how kind & sweet she is- and she DOES like to laugh a lot, but she just doesn't kid a lot- so i took it seriously & got all prickly-panicked-you know that feeling......but really all along she was happy for me to pass on this little treasure that means so much to our family......so, to make a long story a little bit longer.....here it is......at long last- joy said just today that she is happy to be sharing it , too, though josh doesn't think she's made hundreds of them-she needs to get bakin' 'em.....hoping jana feels the same way- we're sure she does:) we hope she does....
my clearest memory of that year (aside from meeting my best friend, kristie, & the GLORIOUS play kitchen in our classroom- that even at the age of barely 5 was my favorite place on earth) was listening to "i'll never fall in love again" playing on the radio in the blue oldsmobile on the way to st. stephen's methodist church every afternoon (kindergarten was private in OK in 1969). "what do ya get when you kiss a guy? you'll get enough germs to catch pneumonia- after ya do, he'll never phone ya...i'll 'll 'll ......"
what i DON'T remember was the blessed day in that year when mrs. nickle scribbled down the recipe for brownie fudge cupcakes & gave it to my mother. l i f e c h a n g i n g.
perhaps there is no single recipe that defines my family like this one- it is our family tradition. period. there is no telling, although i wish there was, how many hundreds (thousands, definitely thousands) of these my mom & sisters (& friends & nieces) & i have made since that day........enough to build an oleo colliseum (see * i can't believe it's not butter* from april for the oleo lowdown-this is one of the exactly 3 recipes in the world that must be made with margarine-butter just doesn't get the same result-weirdly).
they are perfect. perfect. perfect. made with simple pantry ingredients you always have on hand (or should). they are fudgy, rich & develop this wonderful crackly top when they bake- no need to frost. they're so easy to mix up in a single bowl (no mixer needed), tote well to everywhere & anyone at all who has ever tried one has fallen in love on the spot.
it's the ONLY family recipe that has ever begged the question, "should we SHARE it?" "COULD we share it?" it's almost sacred.
well, i think the statute of limitations has run out on hogging this recipe, so now, some 42 years later, it's going public. it may disappear tomorrow since i didn't hear back from my sisters & mom when i asked their permission to post it & they may blow a brownie fudge gasket when they see this .....so, write fast, my 20 followers (& julius)........this is your chance!
i think i hear karen carpenter singing in approval............
*brownie fudge cupcakes*
1 stick (nearly plastic) margarine ( i like imperial brand the best)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans-optional, but recommended*
*man, these are full of naughty, bad ingredients*
melt & mix the "oleo:)" & chocolate chips in the 'wave or on the cooktop... in a medium mixing bowl mix the other 4 ingredients together, beating well.....add the chocolate mixture- no need to cool before- mix well & pour into 10 paper lined muffin tins....that's it- ridiculously easy...bake at 325* for , hmmmmm, i never set the timer.....say, 18 minutes, until they crackle on top but are still slightly underdone.....we eat them warm right out of the muffin pan, but if you have people coming over, then 1. make a double batch 2. hide them & 3. serve with ice cream & hot fudge (homemade is best & easy- i'll post that one soon)....it's so fun to share this special recipe with you all-happy mother's day!
*almost forgot to mention that these are insanely good with a peanut butter cup smooshed in before baking- we love the great value brand b/c they have really creamy centers & melt marvelously*
-the snackmom
*this post created a little bit of a stir for the 9 hours it was on recently- my mother saw it & read it & hinted that maybe the statute of limitations NEVER runs out on things of a sacred nature, like brownie fudge cupcakes- then she was shocked when i hastily deleted it....you see, she wasn't serious, she was trying to joke around with me a little- it's just that she's not the goofy, joking type- you all who know & love her appreciate how kind & sweet she is- and she DOES like to laugh a lot, but she just doesn't kid a lot- so i took it seriously & got all prickly-panicked-you know that feeling......but really all along she was happy for me to pass on this little treasure that means so much to our family......so, to make a long story a little bit longer.....here it is......at long last- joy said just today that she is happy to be sharing it , too, though josh doesn't think she's made hundreds of them-she needs to get bakin' 'em.....hoping jana feels the same way- we're sure she does:) we hope she does....
April 20, 2011
...never been to paris (although my mom is there today)
but i did go through a phase right after "julie & julia" when i made beef bourguignon way too often ( just ask my kids) & i do have a great recipe for french drip beef... it's from an old cookbook that was a wedding gift 25 years ago & somewhere along the way it got wet & now all the pages are stuck together, but i can't part with it even though it is about as useful as a brick & weighs almost as much... the recipe is committed to memory, but sometimes i pry open the pages just to check. as recipes go, this one is just about perfect. it's up there with the nestle toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe. it really is.
everyone loves this drip beef. men love it. women love it. kids love it. football players & coaches (are you surprised?), principals & superintendents, book club friends, sorority sisters, regular sisters, vacation Bible school teachers, & Habitat-for -Humanity workers...the list goes on- i have served this to all of these. you MUST have this recipe. you will wonder what you ate before. now you will have the perfect thing to take to a pot-luck or serve a crowd watching the big game at your house. or anyone's house. it comes out perfectly every time. there's really no way to ruin it. if you're out of an ingredient, no one will notice (unless, of course, it's the meat). it holds well, feeds a crowd , is easy, relatively inexpensive & **smells heavenly. perfect. at least for us carnivores.
** though it does smell heavenly, you might want to start the cooking process in the morning- whenever i forget & put this in the crock-pot at night- we inevitably awaken @ 3:37am with the feeling that an Old Testament burnt sacrifice is going on in the kitchen & it's not altogether that pleasant to smell rosemary & beef in the night- trust me on this**
*french drip beef*
1 rump or well-trimmed chuck roast
(at this point, i rinse & dry the roast then dust it with flour & sear it in hot pan with a little bit of olive oil)
transfer the roast to your crock-pot & add:
1 T. cracked pepper
1 T. garlic salt
1 T. dried rosemary or a sprig of fresh
1 tsp. summer savory
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley
1-2 beef bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
feel free to add any additional spices you like to this or adjust amounts-you can't go wrong
* i love about 2 T. pampered chef's grandmother's roast beef seasoning, too, but you may not have that
1/3 cup red wine to loosen the bits in the pan then add to the pot
water to barely cover the meat
cook on high (or medium if your crock-pot is like mine & boils on "keep warm") for about 6 hours...shred with forks & serve with french rolls (i like the earth grains whole wheat sub style rolls) or any rolls you like & an assortment of mustards or some of the au' jus.....easy! yummy! run out & get a roast !
-the snackmom
everyone loves this drip beef. men love it. women love it. kids love it. football players & coaches (are you surprised?), principals & superintendents, book club friends, sorority sisters, regular sisters, vacation Bible school teachers, & Habitat-for -Humanity workers...the list goes on- i have served this to all of these. you MUST have this recipe. you will wonder what you ate before. now you will have the perfect thing to take to a pot-luck or serve a crowd watching the big game at your house. or anyone's house. it comes out perfectly every time. there's really no way to ruin it. if you're out of an ingredient, no one will notice (unless, of course, it's the meat). it holds well, feeds a crowd , is easy, relatively inexpensive & **smells heavenly. perfect. at least for us carnivores.
** though it does smell heavenly, you might want to start the cooking process in the morning- whenever i forget & put this in the crock-pot at night- we inevitably awaken @ 3:37am with the feeling that an Old Testament burnt sacrifice is going on in the kitchen & it's not altogether that pleasant to smell rosemary & beef in the night- trust me on this**
*french drip beef*
1 rump or well-trimmed chuck roast
(at this point, i rinse & dry the roast then dust it with flour & sear it in hot pan with a little bit of olive oil)
transfer the roast to your crock-pot & add:
1 T. cracked pepper
1 T. garlic salt
1 T. dried rosemary or a sprig of fresh
1 tsp. summer savory
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley
1-2 beef bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
feel free to add any additional spices you like to this or adjust amounts-you can't go wrong
* i love about 2 T. pampered chef's grandmother's roast beef seasoning, too, but you may not have that
1/3 cup red wine to loosen the bits in the pan then add to the pot
water to barely cover the meat
cook on high (or medium if your crock-pot is like mine & boils on "keep warm") for about 6 hours...shred with forks & serve with french rolls (i like the earth grains whole wheat sub style rolls) or any rolls you like & an assortment of mustards or some of the au' jus.....easy! yummy! run out & get a roast !
-the snackmom
April 11, 2011
aunt alice & the porcupines...
when i was about 12 years old, my mother's aunt alice took the train up from south texas for a little visit. naturally, this called for an extra special jell-o concoction-possibly a pink one involving pineapple & cool-whip- i don't remember. it was also, memorably, the first time i cooked an entire dinner by myself. i chose one of my absolute favorites: porcupine meatballs- meatballs with minute rice mixed in so when they baked, the rice kinda poked out like porcupine quills- with baked potatoes, tossed salad & rolls. it took me f o r e v e r... & that was just chopping the carrots. those were the days when ranch dressing was all the rage & it didn't come in a bottle-you had to shake up the hidden valley ranch dry mix with milk & mayonnaise.....so that was another forever.
when we finally ate-it was around 9:30pm, i think, everyone oohed & ahhed....actually, they were starving & would have raved if i'd fed them rice cakes & fruit cocktail, but that's not the point. there really is no point. just that i vividly remember that night- being given the task of making dinner for company- TRUSTED to make dinner for great aunt alice & i did it!....it was a huge confidence builder. i hope you do that for your kids- give them the chance to do something you could maybe do a lot faster & easier (& with far less mess)-like baking cookies or even cooking dinner for great aunts to let them know they can do it-that they have what it takes. after several years of teaching kids in public schools, i came to the conclusion that nearly all of the problems/poor choices/conflicts/bullying i saw in the classroom (maybe the world) somehow seemed to point back to lack of self-confidence & poor self-esteem. it may be a stretch to fix that with meatballs, but whatever makes a kid succeed in some way, to be confident & capable, is a step in the right direction...maybe it's cooking...or sports...or photography...or cheerleading...or academics....or art...or music...or drama...or martial arts...you get the picture....
and i still love porcupine meatballs. (i debated sharing this-they're not very sophisticated, but then again, neither am i...and they are tasty:)
*porcupine meatballs*
1 lb. ground chuck, sirloin or round (i prefer ground something" identifiable"-usually it's leaner & ground beef might be meat from lots of parts of the cow- legs, etc...did you know that?)
1 cup minute rice (brown or white)
1 egg (or egg white, if you're not into cholesterol)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
dash worchestershire
juice from 1 can of diced tomatoes (save the tomatoes) & a little water- maybe 1/2 cup
salt & pepper...maybe celery salt or garlic salt or seasoning salt, if you like the flavors, or any herbs you like...
mix all of the ingredients together. form meatballs about the size of a golf ball ( i use a large metal scoop-like a big melon-baller) & place in an 8x8 or 6x10 baking dish sprayed with pam-makes about 16... i like to dump the remaining tomatoes on part of the top- my kids don't like them, but i do- you could add ketchup if you like that whole meatloaf-y thing...bake covered with foil for hmmm...50 minutes or so at 350*
* this isn't really a recipe- i just made it up since it isn't writen down anywhere, but i think it's about right- these are good with baked potatoes & salad & rolls-great aunts optional- i'm going to BE one this summer! can't wait!
-the snackmom
when we finally ate-it was around 9:30pm, i think, everyone oohed & ahhed....actually, they were starving & would have raved if i'd fed them rice cakes & fruit cocktail, but that's not the point. there really is no point. just that i vividly remember that night- being given the task of making dinner for company- TRUSTED to make dinner for great aunt alice & i did it!....it was a huge confidence builder. i hope you do that for your kids- give them the chance to do something you could maybe do a lot faster & easier (& with far less mess)-like baking cookies or even cooking dinner for great aunts to let them know they can do it-that they have what it takes. after several years of teaching kids in public schools, i came to the conclusion that nearly all of the problems/poor choices/conflicts/bullying i saw in the classroom (maybe the world) somehow seemed to point back to lack of self-confidence & poor self-esteem. it may be a stretch to fix that with meatballs, but whatever makes a kid succeed in some way, to be confident & capable, is a step in the right direction...maybe it's cooking...or sports...or photography...or cheerleading...or academics....or art...or music...or drama...or martial arts...you get the picture....
and i still love porcupine meatballs. (i debated sharing this-they're not very sophisticated, but then again, neither am i...and they are tasty:)
*porcupine meatballs*
1 lb. ground chuck, sirloin or round (i prefer ground something" identifiable"-usually it's leaner & ground beef might be meat from lots of parts of the cow- legs, etc...did you know that?)
1 cup minute rice (brown or white)
1 egg (or egg white, if you're not into cholesterol)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
dash worchestershire
juice from 1 can of diced tomatoes (save the tomatoes) & a little water- maybe 1/2 cup
salt & pepper...maybe celery salt or garlic salt or seasoning salt, if you like the flavors, or any herbs you like...
mix all of the ingredients together. form meatballs about the size of a golf ball ( i use a large metal scoop-like a big melon-baller) & place in an 8x8 or 6x10 baking dish sprayed with pam-makes about 16... i like to dump the remaining tomatoes on part of the top- my kids don't like them, but i do- you could add ketchup if you like that whole meatloaf-y thing...bake covered with foil for hmmm...50 minutes or so at 350*
* this isn't really a recipe- i just made it up since it isn't writen down anywhere, but i think it's about right- these are good with baked potatoes & salad & rolls-great aunts optional- i'm going to BE one this summer! can't wait!
-the snackmom
April 6, 2011
by special request....the carrot
i adore carrots. really, i could LIVE on them. as a testimony, i also have 20/25 vision- i have to intentionally fail eye exams to qualify for glasses, because i love them... once when i was in the 8th grade, our dear family friend, who is a dermatologist, gave me a gamma gobulin shot because the soles of my feet & my palms were turning ORANGE- which is just one over on the color chart from yellow-the color of hepatitis...granted, our neighborhood grocery store had just caused an outbreak of hepatitis (which i know everyone in my hometown remembers-you remember, don't you, 1978?) so we were on heightened alert......i never got hepatitis- just a little vitamin A overdose. (and a huge shot)... vitamin A-fat soluble-who knew?
as well as being potentially toxic, carrots are extremely versatile. we love them steamed, in stir fry, added to a sunday pot roast, glazed with brown sugar, orange juice & butter, raw with dip or hummus, shredded in a big salad....but i don't need to sing the virtues of carrots- you know all about them- chances are you've been eating them in some form or another since you were 4 months old.
the short history of this little blogging adventure, though, reminds me that i tend to gravitate toward baking. this coupled with the carrot thing naturally brings to mind carrot cake. unfortunately, though i love it & have a number of good recipes, i can't make it. it always sinks. and has strange texture. fortunately, my mom & my sisters make it very well (we'll talk banana bread sometime soon, too) . so do a lot of bakeries, so i don't spend much time worrying about it. maybe someday i can figure it out. until then , i will enjoy someone else's...
many years ago at a bed & breakfast in colorado springs, i fell in love with these muffins AND i can make them. they are made with carrots. and a lot of other things. good use of a vegetable, huh?
*morning glory muffins*
2 cups flour- may use 1/2 whole wheat/ 1/2 white
1 1/4 cups sugar ( you healthy types can substitute 1/2 apple sauce)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups shredded apples
1/4 cup raisins (if desired or not feeding these to children who may think they're gross & pick them out)
1/2 nuts (optional* i don't care for nuts baked into muffins or bread- i think they're gross & pick them out)
3 beaten eggs
1 cup oil (or again, use 1/2 applesauce- & rename them "applesauce glory muffins")
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coconut, if desired or 1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple, if you have some
combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt & cinnamon in a mixing bowl. in another bowl, mix up the carrots, apples, and *optional nuts & raisins, coconut & pineapple. mix in the eggs, oil & vanilla. pour this mixture into the dry ingredients & combine thoroughly. fill muffin cups 2/3 full & bake at 350* for about 18-20 minutes.... these make a great snack or quick breakfast on the way out the door......football players like them, too:)
-the snackmom
as well as being potentially toxic, carrots are extremely versatile. we love them steamed, in stir fry, added to a sunday pot roast, glazed with brown sugar, orange juice & butter, raw with dip or hummus, shredded in a big salad....but i don't need to sing the virtues of carrots- you know all about them- chances are you've been eating them in some form or another since you were 4 months old.
the short history of this little blogging adventure, though, reminds me that i tend to gravitate toward baking. this coupled with the carrot thing naturally brings to mind carrot cake. unfortunately, though i love it & have a number of good recipes, i can't make it. it always sinks. and has strange texture. fortunately, my mom & my sisters make it very well (we'll talk banana bread sometime soon, too) . so do a lot of bakeries, so i don't spend much time worrying about it. maybe someday i can figure it out. until then , i will enjoy someone else's...
many years ago at a bed & breakfast in colorado springs, i fell in love with these muffins AND i can make them. they are made with carrots. and a lot of other things. good use of a vegetable, huh?
*morning glory muffins*
2 cups flour- may use 1/2 whole wheat/ 1/2 white
1 1/4 cups sugar ( you healthy types can substitute 1/2 apple sauce)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups shredded apples
1/4 cup raisins (if desired or not feeding these to children who may think they're gross & pick them out)
1/2 nuts (optional* i don't care for nuts baked into muffins or bread- i think they're gross & pick them out)
3 beaten eggs
1 cup oil (or again, use 1/2 applesauce- & rename them "applesauce glory muffins")
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coconut, if desired or 1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple, if you have some
combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt & cinnamon in a mixing bowl. in another bowl, mix up the carrots, apples, and *optional nuts & raisins, coconut & pineapple. mix in the eggs, oil & vanilla. pour this mixture into the dry ingredients & combine thoroughly. fill muffin cups 2/3 full & bake at 350* for about 18-20 minutes.... these make a great snack or quick breakfast on the way out the door......football players like them, too:)
-the snackmom
April 3, 2011
"i can't believe it's not butter" -aka "oleO-H no!"
...i've been avoiding the subject...but, it's time....
*o*l*e*o*- those four little letters that fill county extension cookbooks (who extends a county?) of days gone by...it's kind of an outdated term- not really sure what oleo even means, possibly a reference to the one molecule that separates it from a plastic, but it's out there & we've gotta deal with it......
sometimes it's referred to as plain "oleo" or just "margarine", also known as "oleo-margarine", but isn't that redundant? AND repetitive? all i know is, with very few exceptions, i prefer b u t t e r- full-fat, full-flavor, non-plastic, artery-clogging butter...it's natural, from a cow, after all, not a nearly- plastic substance in a plastic tub- which is kinda ironic, if you think about it...
in my (disorganized) permanent recipe collection, all but 2, no 3, recipes have been converted to butter instead of oleo or it's evil twin, margarine...but, i must say, there are three that work better & taste better with.....ahem......o l e o. there, i said it- hope that doesn't knock a horn off any sacred cows.......i TRIED to make butter work, but somehow the results are a little slick, shiny or weird. maybe due to the fact that butter goes rancid easier & plastic lasts- well- forever. oleo just out performs butter in these recipes- kinda like motor oil. here's one of the winners of the butter/margarine debate....there are two more that will get their own page someday- interestingly, all three are chocolate. by the way, when one must use marg, my personal recommendation for the best tasting brand out there with the most butter-like texture & color & no icky aftertaste is Imperial. i won't use any other brand. i can't believe i'm an oleo snob.
probably every one of you has this recipe already, but it is hands-down the best use of 1/2 lb. (yikes) of margarine in the world-unless you count fudge.......or brownie fudge cupcakes-so stay tuned.
*chocolate sheet cake*
sift together:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda &
1/2 tsp. cinnamon ( i love this little addition)
in a saucepan heat:
i stick oleo ( i swear the recipe i have says oleo)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water & 8 tbsp. cocoa ( i DOUBLE what most recipes call for, which must be why people like it so much)
bring to a boil & pour over the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl
add:
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 beaten eggs &
1 tsp. vanilla
mix well & pour into a 15 1/ x 11 1/2 sheet pan-sprayed with cooking spray- then bake at 350* for about 30 minutes.... now the even yummier part!
the icing! (make while the cake is baking- you ice it while the cake is hot)
in a saucepan heat:
1 (more) stick of oleo
4 tbsp. cocoa & one unsweetened chocolate baking square (that's a secret, too)
6 tbsp. milk-whatever kind you have , but using 1/2 & 1/2 will make the frosting greasy, i find
remove from heat & pour over 1 pound of powdered sugar- i buy it in the box for easy measuring-
mix well & add 3/4 cup or so of chopped pecans, if you like - i like:)
kids will fight over licking the bowl- i've found it's best to leave a lot in there for the sake of family tranquility
this is the best cake- i make it all the time & sometimes divide it into three 8 X 8 aluminum cake pans to share-(you may need more icing- just 1 & 1/2 it)
once i was told i had the *spiritual gift of chocolate* when i served this at a church function- don't know if that's possible, but it made me happy:) thanks, MS!
-the snackmom
*o*l*e*o*- those four little letters that fill county extension cookbooks (who extends a county?) of days gone by...it's kind of an outdated term- not really sure what oleo even means, possibly a reference to the one molecule that separates it from a plastic, but it's out there & we've gotta deal with it......
sometimes it's referred to as plain "oleo" or just "margarine", also known as "oleo-margarine", but isn't that redundant? AND repetitive? all i know is, with very few exceptions, i prefer b u t t e r- full-fat, full-flavor, non-plastic, artery-clogging butter...it's natural, from a cow, after all, not a nearly- plastic substance in a plastic tub- which is kinda ironic, if you think about it...
in my (disorganized) permanent recipe collection, all but 2, no 3, recipes have been converted to butter instead of oleo or it's evil twin, margarine...but, i must say, there are three that work better & taste better with.....ahem......o l e o. there, i said it- hope that doesn't knock a horn off any sacred cows.......i TRIED to make butter work, but somehow the results are a little slick, shiny or weird. maybe due to the fact that butter goes rancid easier & plastic lasts- well- forever. oleo just out performs butter in these recipes- kinda like motor oil. here's one of the winners of the butter/margarine debate....there are two more that will get their own page someday- interestingly, all three are chocolate. by the way, when one must use marg, my personal recommendation for the best tasting brand out there with the most butter-like texture & color & no icky aftertaste is Imperial. i won't use any other brand. i can't believe i'm an oleo snob.
probably every one of you has this recipe already, but it is hands-down the best use of 1/2 lb. (yikes) of margarine in the world-unless you count fudge.......or brownie fudge cupcakes-so stay tuned.
*chocolate sheet cake*
sift together:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda &
1/2 tsp. cinnamon ( i love this little addition)
in a saucepan heat:
i stick oleo ( i swear the recipe i have says oleo)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water & 8 tbsp. cocoa ( i DOUBLE what most recipes call for, which must be why people like it so much)
bring to a boil & pour over the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl
add:
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 beaten eggs &
1 tsp. vanilla
mix well & pour into a 15 1/ x 11 1/2 sheet pan-sprayed with cooking spray- then bake at 350* for about 30 minutes.... now the even yummier part!
the icing! (make while the cake is baking- you ice it while the cake is hot)
in a saucepan heat:
1 (more) stick of oleo
4 tbsp. cocoa & one unsweetened chocolate baking square (that's a secret, too)
6 tbsp. milk-whatever kind you have , but using 1/2 & 1/2 will make the frosting greasy, i find
remove from heat & pour over 1 pound of powdered sugar- i buy it in the box for easy measuring-
mix well & add 3/4 cup or so of chopped pecans, if you like - i like:)
kids will fight over licking the bowl- i've found it's best to leave a lot in there for the sake of family tranquility
this is the best cake- i make it all the time & sometimes divide it into three 8 X 8 aluminum cake pans to share-(you may need more icing- just 1 & 1/2 it)
once i was told i had the *spiritual gift of chocolate* when i served this at a church function- don't know if that's possible, but it made me happy:) thanks, MS!
-the snackmom
March 29, 2011
isn't no-bake cookies an oxymoron?
one day during the cookie year, i came home from school, reported to my place in the kitchen & found someone there-standing in front of the mixer....MY mixer....my avocado green Sunbeam mixer with the big glass bowl. to make matters worse, something brown & sticky was involved as well as my little sister & her neighbor friend, mignonne. on this day (and far too many days to come), they had taken over my hallowed place & were making "no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies"...the nerve.
much as i hated to admit it, they weren't bad...what WAS bad was sharing the cooking spotlight with her. that night daddy gobbled them up like he'd never had a cookie- at least for 24 hours. it was horrible. the next day was no better as she & mignonne were there again standing in my spot making no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies once more. i think i went to pet the dog, janie, or practice for my piano lesson.
this unfortunate pattern continued for at least 13 days straight- one day i think she even made them TWICE. it was like groundhog day with waxed paper instead of bill murray.
by day 6, every cookie sheet in the house was stacked wall to wall in the refrigerator & where the pickles once stood was an army of no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies in varying degrees of dehydration. i fully expected Quaker Oats to erect a silo in our back yard to keep up with the demand for oatmeal. there seemed to be no end in sight. my dad became increasingly unable to hide his fear of the known & began spending evenings away from home- not really, but he did seem to be spending more time hanging out with janie & i swear i smelled peanut butter on her breath.
my sister eventully moved on to other hobbies including far, FAR surpassing any talent i had for the piano & becomming a really good cook. not sure if she still makes no-bake chocloate peanut butter cookies for her kids- she may have blocked it....i'll have to ask when i talk to her today.
it took almost 35 years until i had the chance to try another n-b-c-p-b-c (it's getting tedious to type), but it happened. a couple of years ago, one of my son's football teammates mom brought them to a tailgate party. they were fabulous. the boys went wild. she became famous for them & now totes them along to all our potlucks & parties & get togethers. there's never a crumb left. redemption.
have you tried one since 1976? or ever? if not, here's the recipe for nostalgia....and joy:)
*chocolate no-bake peanut butter cookies*
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
pinch salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick oats
in a large saucepan, combine sugar, milk, cocoa, salt & butter. mix well. bring to a boil then remove from heat & add the peanut butter & vanilla. beat until smooth. add oatmeal & mix well. let stand for a few minutes, then drop by spoonfuls onto a wax paper lined baking sheet- or two or three...stack in the fridge if you have the space....*you might want to 1/2 (1/4?) the recipe in case you start something with aspiring chefs in your household
-the snackmom (who adores her sisters & may take a wee bit of liberty in recalling the details of her stories)
much as i hated to admit it, they weren't bad...what WAS bad was sharing the cooking spotlight with her. that night daddy gobbled them up like he'd never had a cookie- at least for 24 hours. it was horrible. the next day was no better as she & mignonne were there again standing in my spot making no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies once more. i think i went to pet the dog, janie, or practice for my piano lesson.
this unfortunate pattern continued for at least 13 days straight- one day i think she even made them TWICE. it was like groundhog day with waxed paper instead of bill murray.
by day 6, every cookie sheet in the house was stacked wall to wall in the refrigerator & where the pickles once stood was an army of no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies in varying degrees of dehydration. i fully expected Quaker Oats to erect a silo in our back yard to keep up with the demand for oatmeal. there seemed to be no end in sight. my dad became increasingly unable to hide his fear of the known & began spending evenings away from home- not really, but he did seem to be spending more time hanging out with janie & i swear i smelled peanut butter on her breath.
my sister eventully moved on to other hobbies including far, FAR surpassing any talent i had for the piano & becomming a really good cook. not sure if she still makes no-bake chocloate peanut butter cookies for her kids- she may have blocked it....i'll have to ask when i talk to her today.
it took almost 35 years until i had the chance to try another n-b-c-p-b-c (it's getting tedious to type), but it happened. a couple of years ago, one of my son's football teammates mom brought them to a tailgate party. they were fabulous. the boys went wild. she became famous for them & now totes them along to all our potlucks & parties & get togethers. there's never a crumb left. redemption.
have you tried one since 1976? or ever? if not, here's the recipe for nostalgia....and joy:)
*chocolate no-bake peanut butter cookies*
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
pinch salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick oats
in a large saucepan, combine sugar, milk, cocoa, salt & butter. mix well. bring to a boil then remove from heat & add the peanut butter & vanilla. beat until smooth. add oatmeal & mix well. let stand for a few minutes, then drop by spoonfuls onto a wax paper lined baking sheet- or two or three...stack in the fridge if you have the space....*you might want to 1/2 (1/4?) the recipe in case you start something with aspiring chefs in your household
-the snackmom (who adores her sisters & may take a wee bit of liberty in recalling the details of her stories)
March 26, 2011
C*O*O*K*I*E*S!
for those of you who have been following my blog- well, the one, single, lonely entry to date- you know all about my simple cooking beginnings of endlessly boiling water for dissolving jell-O granules & spending hours creating fruit & gelatin masterpieces consisting of such appetizing combinations as cut up apples with the peel still on(!) suspended in lime Jell-O & my eventual weariness of the jiggly stuff. enter the book that saved the day-possibly the year, not to mention my poor dad's taste buds. BETTY CROCKER'S COOKY BOOK. for old times sake, i recently bought my sisters & myself a crisp new copy of "betty crocker's cooky book". no, that is not a toyp....tpyo....TYPO - betty really does spell cookie that way & as far as i'm concerned, anyone who still looks that good after 74 years can spell it however she wants...
first published in 1963, the book, much like betty, is a real treasure...speaking of betty, i swear, the woman is ageless-actually, i don't think she's even real though i do appreciate her classic style & smart red suit- even if she is only a head with shoulders, but i digress.
every recipe in this bright little collection is a winner (with the possible exception of the prune bars-page 12 & fig nut squares-page 68) -at least as a kid i wouldn't have gravitated toward foods with a laxative effect or without the word chocolate in the title. i spent hours pouring over recipes & pictures-planning the next scrumptous batch of cookies to present to my ever-willing- to- eat -whatever- i -made dad- who always acted like i'd just carved faces in granite or something spectacular whenever i made anything. this one book alone accounted for many, many happy hours baking in my childhood kitchen & every single kitchen in any apartment or home we've rented or lived in since. 9 kitchens to date- hopefully that record will hold as i plan to be buried in the yard of our current home right next to the septic tank.
my very favorite part of the cookbook begins on page 138. cookie recipes are catagorized chronologically by decade starting with the best cookie of 1880-1890 ("hermits", in case you're the curious type- a lot of raisins). anyhoo, to my former social studies teacher sensibilities, this is a terrific bonus- history as well as snickerdoodles.
the "kaleidoscope" cookies were always my favorite (see page 127 for the recipe). the picture of them on page 15 is fabulous. mine never quite looked that perfect. somehow the non-pareils (what the heck is a "non-pareil" anyway? i've always wondered-obviously, i didn't take French- i was way too busy baking) didn't stick as uniformly & my dough logs weren't 360* perfection, but i adored tinting the dough pink & green & rolling it in colorful candy sprinkles & lovingly wrapping it in wax paper-the whole thing was a party.
i remember clearly one afternoon in about 1975 (after my jell-O kick was mercifully over) peering through the oven window watching with delight as my lace cookies spread out all over the cookie sheets-just like they were supposed to- while the "Family Affair" theme song played in the other room. i think it just may have been the episode where buffy wanted to visit her friend on another floor for dinner because she had ice cream for dessert while all buffy, jody & sissy ever got was "plain old custard"...and as i painstakingly wrapped my slightly pliable lace cookies around a broom handle i thought to myself, "not me, not my family, no plain old custard here". we were having lace cookies (again). Mr. French had nothing on me.
cookies are still important to me & we make cookies several times a week around our house- they're attached to so many childhood memories (empty tomb cookies each Easter/ soft sour cream drops in the event of getting my braces tightened/ chocolate chip cookies in the event of anything) & though it would be impossible to single out just one favorite to share, i think you'll like this one...it is tres fab (to mis-use the French i never learned) & came from our dear friend & childhood neighbor, "aunt julie"- everyone should be lucky enough to have neighbors who share recipes. this one's for you, davis...
in a large mixing bowl, cream Crisco & sugar - add the molasses & egg. beat well. sift flour, soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves & salt. ( i never sift, but the recipe says to) add to the first mixture & mix well. chill. ( you AND the dough- the hard part is over) form dough into 1" balls & roll in *coarse decorator sugar (it's available at all grocery stores by the sprinkles-it sparkles & is SO much prettier than granulated sugar). bake on a greased cookie sheet or parchment lined baking sheet 2 1/2 inches apart for 8-10 minutes at 350* ...your house will smell like Heaven in November
-the snackmom
first published in 1963, the book, much like betty, is a real treasure...speaking of betty, i swear, the woman is ageless-actually, i don't think she's even real though i do appreciate her classic style & smart red suit- even if she is only a head with shoulders, but i digress.
every recipe in this bright little collection is a winner (with the possible exception of the prune bars-page 12 & fig nut squares-page 68) -at least as a kid i wouldn't have gravitated toward foods with a laxative effect or without the word chocolate in the title. i spent hours pouring over recipes & pictures-planning the next scrumptous batch of cookies to present to my ever-willing- to- eat -whatever- i -made dad- who always acted like i'd just carved faces in granite or something spectacular whenever i made anything. this one book alone accounted for many, many happy hours baking in my childhood kitchen & every single kitchen in any apartment or home we've rented or lived in since. 9 kitchens to date- hopefully that record will hold as i plan to be buried in the yard of our current home right next to the septic tank.
my very favorite part of the cookbook begins on page 138. cookie recipes are catagorized chronologically by decade starting with the best cookie of 1880-1890 ("hermits", in case you're the curious type- a lot of raisins). anyhoo, to my former social studies teacher sensibilities, this is a terrific bonus- history as well as snickerdoodles.
the "kaleidoscope" cookies were always my favorite (see page 127 for the recipe). the picture of them on page 15 is fabulous. mine never quite looked that perfect. somehow the non-pareils (what the heck is a "non-pareil" anyway? i've always wondered-obviously, i didn't take French- i was way too busy baking) didn't stick as uniformly & my dough logs weren't 360* perfection, but i adored tinting the dough pink & green & rolling it in colorful candy sprinkles & lovingly wrapping it in wax paper-the whole thing was a party.
i remember clearly one afternoon in about 1975 (after my jell-O kick was mercifully over) peering through the oven window watching with delight as my lace cookies spread out all over the cookie sheets-just like they were supposed to- while the "Family Affair" theme song played in the other room. i think it just may have been the episode where buffy wanted to visit her friend on another floor for dinner because she had ice cream for dessert while all buffy, jody & sissy ever got was "plain old custard"...and as i painstakingly wrapped my slightly pliable lace cookies around a broom handle i thought to myself, "not me, not my family, no plain old custard here". we were having lace cookies (again). Mr. French had nothing on me.
cookies are still important to me & we make cookies several times a week around our house- they're attached to so many childhood memories (empty tomb cookies each Easter/ soft sour cream drops in the event of getting my braces tightened/ chocolate chip cookies in the event of anything) & though it would be impossible to single out just one favorite to share, i think you'll like this one...it is tres fab (to mis-use the French i never learned) & came from our dear friend & childhood neighbor, "aunt julie"- everyone should be lucky enough to have neighbors who share recipes. this one's for you, davis...
*molasses sugar cookies*
3/4 cup crisco ( i didn't say they were health food)
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
in a large mixing bowl, cream Crisco & sugar - add the molasses & egg. beat well. sift flour, soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves & salt. ( i never sift, but the recipe says to) add to the first mixture & mix well. chill. ( you AND the dough- the hard part is over) form dough into 1" balls & roll in *coarse decorator sugar (it's available at all grocery stores by the sprinkles-it sparkles & is SO much prettier than granulated sugar). bake on a greased cookie sheet or parchment lined baking sheet 2 1/2 inches apart for 8-10 minutes at 350* ...your house will smell like Heaven in November
-the snackmom
you had me at Jell-O...
at least that's where it all started... my love, no- my passion for food- baking, cooking - the process of it all. not being one to have the patience to say, restore a house, there's just something magical about transforming simple ingredients into a golden loaf of banana bread within an hour's time that makes my world go 'round... but, banana bread is another story.
it was 1974- carol brady was rocking the long shag hair-do & "1-2-3 Jell-O" hit the shelves of supermarkets nationwide. to my 10 year old self, it was magic... 2 cups of water, the mystical contents of the white packet & WA-LA! three hours in the refrigerator & there sat the most glorious sight-3 separate layers of pink (or purple or orange) gelatinous bliss- darker pink & more solid on the bottom, medium pink, slightly whippy in the middle, & petal pink, frothy joy on the top- garnished with a generous dollop of my favorite Dream Whip & 1/2 a strawberry & i was a goner.
making Jell-O parfaits became my hobby, my favorite past-time, my all-consuming passion. thank heaven my mother was a daily "what's-for-dinner?" kind of gal, so we made frequent trips to the Safeway not 3 blocks from our house & soon i'd amassed a collection of Jell-O that would make a church cookbook envious.
my dad loved it. he was an estate planning attorney who came home every night for dinner , which we (my mom, dad, two sisters & me) ate happily in our customary places around the kitchen table. each night following dinner which likely included chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, gravy, green beans, tossed salad & iced tea (my mom is a good cook), i would present my Jell-O offering as if it were a scepter for a king... served in a curvy parfait with an iced tea spoon -so my dad could make sure & retrieve every jiggly bit . you may be wondering if all this Jell-O became monotonous- heavens no- i had a million combinations of fruits (bananas, pineapples, oranges & apples) & flavors (orange, cherry, lime, and strawberry- banana) with which to wow my family- ok, i did the math, i had exactly 16 combinations, but who's counting ? sometimes, i even tilted the base of whatever sparkling glassware i was using that day in the racks of the fridge for a diagonal effect that took my breath away- i was SO fancy.
well into the first year of my humble culinary beginnings, worried that my dad was at risk of actually congealing in his LazyBoy, i made a momentous decision. it was time to move on... to cookies. and i never looked back.
-the snackmom
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