Winter Cooking

Good afternoon everyone! It is  42 degree's in Central Kentucky but some think it feels like 37! Personally I don't but I am by nature hot natured. As we get closer to winter I began to think about cooking, actually I like to bake so I have decided to add some old family recipes and hope that you will try them. I don't have pictures  but if I make some some of these recipes in the next few weeks I will take pictures and post. So here goes:

This recipe is my own. I will not use any other sauce as it is so good!

                                       Spagetti Sauce

1/2 cup Onion, Chopped
2 tbsp. Oil
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 lb. hamburger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar (You can add more or less to taste)

1. Brown hamburger with onions and garlic.
2. Add rest of ingredients and simmer 2 hours.  ( I rarely ever cook it this long)

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                                               Pauline's Cheesecake

This is a recipe from one of my friends. It is very good and I think you will really like it.

5 eggs
2 cartons Sour Cream
3 8 ounce packages Cream Cheese
2 tsp. Vanilla
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 cans Crescent Rolls

1. Press rolls into the bottom of a 9"x13" pan
2. Cream together sour cream and cream cheese until smooth. 
3. Add eggs, one at a time and beat till smooth
4. Add sugar and mix well
5. Add vanilla
6. Bake at 350 degree's for 30-35 minutes.

* watch your crust carefully as you do not want it really brown

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This recipe is from my late mother- in-law. She is now gone from us but she left this with me. I make it usually around Christmas but it is good any time .

                                            Out of This World Candy

1 can Condensed milk
2 lbs powdered sugar
2 stick butter
12 ounce chocolate chips
1 cup coconut
2 cup nuts (chopped)
Paraffin Wax

1. Combine Milk and butter and beat until smooth
2. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until mixed
3. Add coconut and blend
4. Add nuts and blend well
5. Roll out waxed paper
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax  paper
7.Let this stand until firm ( this is your filling)
8. Melt chocolate chips in double boiler or pan over boiling     water 
9. Add about 1/2 block of wax to chocolate until completely melted
10. Using a fork, dip the filling pieces into the chocolate mixture and drop onto wax paper. Let harden. (If this does not harden where you can pick it up without it falling apart you will need to add more wax.)

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This recipe is one I found online and I use it all the time. I do have a photo of the finished cookies! You will love them, I promise! I added macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. You can add anything you wish but it's a basic sugar cookie.

Sugar Cookies

          Sugar Cookies
                                               
2-3/4 cups All purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (room temp
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven at 375 degree's
2. Cream together sugar and butter until smooth.
3. Add egg
4. Sift together baking soda, baking powder and flour
5. Add vanilla
6. Gradually add flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time. ( as you do this the batter will become very stiff)
7. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls if dough into balls 
8. Drop onto cookie sheet
9. Bake 8-10 minutes ( I tried 8 and 10 minutes both but I like the 10 minutes best due to looking browned)

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Some things you may find helpful:

To make pastry flour: 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cake flour
Almond Flour: Just grind almonds really fine
1 tsp. salt equals 1 tbsp sea or kosher salt
Cake flour: 1 cup minus 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 cake yeast equals 2 tsp. dry yeast
1 Tbsp. fresh herbs equals 1 tsp. dried herbs
1 clove garlic equals 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

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Sometimes we want to make a double layer cake and want a good filling instead of icing. So here are some good filling recipes for cakes.

                                  Pineapple Filling

8 ounces Cream Cheese
8 ounces crushed pineapple ( include juice)
3-5 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese on low speed
2. Add pineapple and beat till mixed
3. Add sugar one cup at a time until as thick as you would like it.
4. Add filling between the layers

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                                   Strawberry Cream Filling

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg white, stiffly beaten
1/2 cup mashed strawberries

1. Whip cream until stiff peaks
2. Fold in sugar,egg white and strawberries

Makes 3 cups

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                               Lemon Curd Filling

6 tbsp. butter
1-1/4 cups sugar
3 large egg whites
Juice and rind of 2 lemons

1. Melt butter in large bowl in microwave for 1-1/2 minutes
2. Add sugar, eggs, lemon juice and rind. Mix well
3. Microwave 3 minutes. Stir
4. Again, microwave 3 minutes, stir and repeat over and over until thick.
5. Cool

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Hope you like all of these. That's all for this post. Will post later! :)