Iced Capps the Easy (and Cheap) Way

Looking for an easy but luscious alternative to those yummy but oh-so-pricey iced coffee confections at your favorite coffee shop? Here's one for you - a rich, chocolately iced "cappuccino" with little fuss, that makes a family-sized blenderful of summertime yumminess! :) We threw together this recipe yesterday, on a hot, muggy afternoon, and we all loved it. With these proportions, it is truly more like a nice, cold, rich cappuccino, but feel free to increase the ice and/or ice cream proportions in the recipe if you want it to be more like a milkshake. And of course, you can scale down the ingredients if you only want to serve one or two. Either way - YUM!

Blender Iced Cappuccino

-4  (6 ounces each) cups VERY STRONG coffee (I used decaf coffee, and about 2 tbsp of grounds per coffee-pot-cup of water. Coffee pots usually measure cups in 6 oz servings, not the 8 oz of a measuring cup.)
-1/2 cup instant chocolate milk powder (I'm sure chocolate syrup would work just as well :) )
-1 quart vanilla ice cream
-Handful of ice cubes
-Extra ice cubes for each glass

 Combine the first four ingredients in a large blender; blend until very smooth. Pour into ice-filled glasses and serve. Serves approximately 4-6 adults.

Any extra cappuccino can be chilled in the fridge until needed; it will be of a slightly thinner consistency since the ice cream and ice cubes will have melted, but it will be fantastic over ice nonetheless. :)

*Out of chocolate milk powder or syrup? No vanilla ice cream? Just substitute chocolate ice cream instead. :)

Easter Eggs - some easy tricks

Easter 2010

For the last few years, we've enjoyed doing our eggs a bit differently... and they come out so pretty, with a gentle sheen, that neighbors have asked whether they were real. ;) The secret? Plain old vegetable oil. It's a cheap ingredient and something most of us already have in our cupboards. We use it in two ways:

~~~~ After you've colored all the eggs you wish to do in a solid color, you can make swirly marbled eggs by adding 1 tbsp vegetable oil to each cup of egg dye. Stir briskly before quickly adding your egg (either a plain white one, or a dry, lightly colored one). Remove egg after just a few seconds, and lightly rub with a paper towel. Where the swirling oil touched the egg, no new color will appear - it will only appear where the color dye alone touched the surface. The whole surface of the egg will also have a gentle sheen from your paper-towel rub after dipping.

We made a batch of white/blue, white/pink, and pink/blue eggs at the end of our egg-dyeing a few years ago, and these were some of the prettiest Easter eggs we've ever made. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of those ones. :( But, you can see two swirled eggs from last year's bunch, in the back of the group in the picture at the top of this page. :)

~~~~ The other simple trick we do with vegetable oil is to simply pour a small amount (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 tsp) on a soft paper towel, and gently buff each solid-colored egg after they've been dyed and dried. This helps protect the eggs, brings out the color, and gives that pretty sheen as well. Add more oil to the paper towel as needed.

You can use these oil tricks on any kind of hard-cooked eggs, whether you dye them with commercial kits, liquid vegetable/vinegar dye, or any other kind of egg dyes. (This year I'm planning on using my paste food colors from cake decorating to make a bunch of egg dye colors we've never had before... should be fun, as long as this mama's not too sick! ;) )


May the love and peace of Our Risen Lord be with your family this Easter and always!


Good Friday, 2010 ~Timmy



The "Best You've Ever Made" Granola

Ah... after 5 weeks of bedrest, anxiety, extreme boredom (how is that possible with 3 very active young children?! ...I have an even GREATER respect for disabled parents now!) and loneliness (ditto!), this mama is mostly back on her feet... thank God! To celebrate, we took the opportunity this week to make some good, old-fashioned, and easy recipes - like granola. It's simple, economical, tasty, healthful, and requires very little hands-on time... the perfect recipe for us. :) The basis for this recipe came from an older cookbook which still graces the bookshelves of both my mother and my husband's mother... La Leche League's Whole Foods for the Whole Family. Using their basic recipe and choosing our favorite additions, we came up with this fantastic combination of ingredients which everyone loved. When my husband came home from work, he grabbed a handful out of the pan and immediately declared, "Wow... This is the best granola you've ever made." That's settled... this recipe's a keeper!

Granola Recipe

In a large bowl, combine:
6 cups old-fashioned oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Choose any combination of some or all of the following ingredients to equal an additional 6 cups, and stir into the oatmeal base:
Wheat germ
Powdered milk
Bran
Flax seed
Coconut (shredded- unsweetened or sweetened)
Unsalted, unroasted nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, etc.)
Unroasted seeds (pumpkin, sesame, or sunflower)
Rolled wheat flakes

 *We used the following ingredients and proportions to equal 6 cups:
           1 1/3 cups powdered milk
           1 1/3 cups wheat germ
           1 1/3 cups shelled almonds and pecans
           2 cups shredded coconut

Set dry ingredients aside. In a saucepan, combine:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup honey
1/2 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
         
Cook over medium heat until warm and thinned. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.
Place mixture into a large roasting pan (we used a deep-dish [3 inches] 13x9 glass casserole dish, but any large, deep pan will work).
Bake at 250 degrees for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring well every 20-30 minutes, until mixture is dry and a nice, rich golden brown. Your baking time will vary, based on the size and depth of your baking dish, and the desired crispness of the cereal. (Keep in mind that it will crisp a bit more upon cooling.) 
Remove pan and allow to cool before placing the granola into an airtight container, stirring several times to allow for even cooling.

Add dried fruits - raisins, cranberries, cherries, chopped apricots, apples, chopped dates, etc - or other uncooked additions to the whole batch, or individual servings, if desired. :)

Makes approximately 14 cups of cereal.

Nutritious Strawberry Cheesecake Shakes

This afternoon, the kids and I decided to try something a little different for lunch. I'm almost at the end of my first trimester with our newest baby, and eating healthful, protein-rich foods is really important to me (not only for the sake of my health and the baby's, but also because light proteins help with my pregnancy sickness). And of course, 3 young children need all the good, nutritious food they can get! So we mixed, and we fiddled - and we came up with this absolutely delicious and energy-packed milkshake that tastes just like a strawberry cheesecake... in fact, my oldest son's reaction was, "HOLY COW! WOAH - that's deeeeeLICIOUS!!!!" All 3 drank it right up... even my picky 2-year-old, who told me that it was "Yummy!" And - it settled well in this new mama's tummy, too. :) A recipe like this is easy to adapt to your own family's tastes and needs, as well as the ingredients in your fridge... but here's what we did, to get you started:

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla (or to taste)
1 frozen, ripe banana
1-2 cups frozen strawberries (or you could just use 2 bananas... or strawberry preserves... or whatever other fruit suits your fancy and goes well with a cheesecake flavor!)
A splash of milk if necessary, if your blender needs help mixing the frozen fruit

Blend all ingredients at medium speed in a blender until very smooth. Adjust sweetener and flavorings to taste. If you have only fresh fruit, just use that and add 1-2 cups of ice cubes to make a nice, cold milkshake. It won't be quite as creamy that way, but it will still be good.

Amazingly, the cheeses blend quite well together and this milkshake is luxuriously smooth, without feeling TOO creamy in your mouth. With so many possibilities for variations... chocolate, blueberry, cherry, etc. etc... I have a feeling this is going to be a lasting family favorite!

Cream Cheese-Buttercream Cookie Icing

The kids and I spent a few hours last night
decorating dozens of cookies! :)

I'm not really sure what to call this frosting recipe... besides "good." ;)  I've combined a few frosting recipes into one that tastes really good, goes on smoothly, holds its shape, and dries well enough that the cookies can be lightly stacked on top of each other without smushing - as long as you have a few layers of waxed paper in between each layer of cookies to help spread out the weight.  It goes very well with sugar cookies or other light cutouts (my favorite this year is a melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese cutout recipe), as well as with spiced cookies, such as gingerbread.  You can even use it to frost or decorate a cake. :)  Best of all - it's really yummy... and that's saying a lot, coming from a person who doesn't generally care for frosting. ;) 

This recipe makes about 4-1/2 cups or so of frosting, but can be easily cut in half if you don't have 6+ dozen cookies to frost. :)  Likewise, the flavorings can be easily varied to suit your taste.

Happy decorating!!

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
6-7 cups confectioners' sugar (sifted if possible)
3/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp rum extract (optional - but I LOVE this addition... it's so subtle you'd never guess it was in there, but it's very noticeable when it's not. :) )
Heavy cream

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter and beat until light and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla.  Gradually add 5 cups of the confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, and beat until smooth and fluffy after each addition.  Beat in the remaining extracts, followed by the final 1 - 2 cups of confectioners' sugar (the amount will vary, based on the desired stiffness of your frosting, as well as the heat and humidity in your kitchen.)  The frosting should be easily spreadable and not too stiff, but stiff enough to hold its shape.  If you find it too thick for spreading, or if you wish to make a thinner icing to drizzle on top of some of the cookies (frosted or unfrosted) you can mix in heavy cream, a teaspoon at a time per cup of icing, until the desired consistency is reached.  Leftover icing may be covered and chilled until needed - rebeat before using.

Tint, frost, decorate, and enjoy!

Soft Molasses Spice Cookies (Gingerbread Men)

Finally... a recipe that not only makes the cutest little gingerbread men, but bakes up soft and chewy, too!  My family loves decorating gingerbread cookies, but most of us didn't like eating them - until now.  These tender, lightly spiced cookies are so much fun to decorate, and a joy to eat. :)

Ingredients

1 cup shortening (I use palm oil shortening, which is trans-fat free... if you can't find it, you can use butter instead - or use half butter and half vegetable shortening.  The shortening adds to the chewy texture, and helps prevent them from burning.)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup molasses
5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Directions

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. Combine the dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters dipped in flour. Place 1 in. apart on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets. (I prefer parchment... it helps keeps the bottoms from turning too brown.)

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or just until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. Frost and decorate as desired.
 Yield: about 6-1/2 dozen.

Variation:  For a lighter cookie which reminds me of the "lebkuchen" in Germany - thick, spiced cookies made with a fermented honey/flour base - you can substitute honey for half of the molasses in the recipe.  It's equally good, with a slightly different flavor. :)

Butterscotch Taffy

One of our favorite Christmas candy recipes is this luscious, easy taffy.  I found the original recipe on tasteofhome.com four years ago, and we've been making it ever since.  It keeps well at room temperature for several weeks - if it lasts that long. ;)  The most time-consuming part is simply wrapping each piece in squares of waxed paper, but if you can enlist help (even older toddlers can do this) then it won't take long at all.  It makes a great addition to the candy/cookie tray, as well as a nice Christmas or hostess gift!

Ingredients:

48 large marshmallows (I've done it with the equivalent amount of mini marshmallows, but it sets up better with the large ones.)

1 stick butter, cut into pieces 

1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1 pkg (approximately 2 cups) butterscotch chips

Directions:

Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with butter.  Set aside.  In a large pot, combine the first 4 ingredients; cook and stir over medium-low heat until marshmallows are melted.  Add butterscotch chips; cook and stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth (approximately 8-10 min.)  Pour into the greased pan and chill until set and firm. 

Slice into logs approximately 1/2 inch thick; remove from pan and cut logs into pieces (I usually cut them so they make about 1/2 inch squares, but sometimes I cut them in slightly longer, log-shaped pieces.)  Wrap each piece in waxed paper squares and twist ends (I cut my waxed paper into strips about 2 inches wide, and then cut each strip into 3 rectangles approximately 2 1/2 to 3 inches long.) Store in a cool, dry place.  Enjoy!! :)



My 5-year-old daughter helped with the wrapping. :)