jane's apron

bacon is the new cupcake

I read an article this week that said bacon was the new cupcake.  This is funny...and probably true.  Sure, who doesn't love a cupcake?  But also, who doesn't love bacon?  One of may favorite recipes is Spaghetti Carbonara from Everyday Food.  It's one of those go-to dinners...quick, easy, and good.  The link to the recipe is a video and, as I watched it, I reminded myself to have my boys make this next time...cooking easy stuff and knowing how to use a whisk is a good skill.  

Are you a bacon lover too?  Please, please, oh please leave a comment with a link to a bacon recipe and I'll add it here. Starting with this one....

spaghetti carbonara

and these...

paula deen's brown sugar bacon

bakon mary (and others)

blt dip

bacon chocolate chip cookies

pumpkin soup with apple and bacon

sweet bacon dogs

roasted butternut squash and bacon pasta

jamie oliver's courgette carbonara

chocolate drop cookies

I had to make cookies for a "freshman mom" bake sale last week.  I had to quickly find a recipe that made at least 3 dozen cookies, was easy to make and package, and that I had all the ingredients for.  I grabbed an old recipe for Chocolate Drop Cookies.  They are not the prettiest cookie but a true chocolate lover doesn't really care about that.

Chocolate Drop Cookies

1 (12 oz.) bag semisweet chocolate chips

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 C butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 C flour

In a saucepan, melt chips, butter, and condensed milk. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and flour.  Drop teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 7 minutes.  

salad dressing for busy girls

I picked up this vintage salad book recently.  My vintage cookbooks are generally for fun only but sometimes they have a recipe worth trying.  I know that homemade salad dressing is so much better than those you find in stores...but I'm usually in too much of a hurry to whip up a salad dressing.  This recipe from the book, however, seems like something I can remember (no need to search for a recipe).  The exact words are:

Sometimes, awe guests by mixing dressing right 

in the bowl before adding greens - twice as much 

oil as vinegar (guess), smidgen of mustard, dash 

of salt, freshly ground pepper.

I love a recipe that combines the words 'guess', 'smidgen', and 'dash'...not to mention the word 'awe'.  

a recipe worth repeating

We picked strawberries this morning...not the prettiest berries but those are usually the best. The boys did fine but Ellen and I sprouted a few extra freckles and turned slightly pink despite our sunscreen.  Summer is here.

A couple of years ago when my blog was still pretty new, I shared my first "easy bake" recipe.  I think it was the first time I ever had a big response to a blog post and I think the recipe is worth a repeating.  It's my grandma's strawberry pie.  I have so many other things that I'm supposed to do today but I'm going to bake a pie crust and put this pie together for dessert...even if I get nothing else made for dinner.  Summer is definitely here. 

edit:  OK, we picked a lot of strawberries.  The pie is made and I've moved on to a simple strawberry topping from an old Martha Stewart Living Magazine.  Combine 2 Cups hulled and sliced berries with 2 Tbsp each sugar and fresh lemon juice...good for ice cream or shortcake.  According to the recipe "this topping freezes beautifully in an airtight container for up to 3 months".  Next up...freezer jam.

the best irish soda bread

I'm not making my Irish Soda Bread until tomorrow but I've got the dishes and the orange marmalade ready.  I also wanted to share it today so you could make it tomorrow too.  

It's the best...not at all dry.  Slice it thin, toast it, and spread liberally with butter and orange marmalade.  This soda bread usually ends my baking season (the season that started back in November)...I'm really, really going to be good about too many baked goods...after tomorrow.  

Irish Soda Bread

6 Cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Cup sugar

3 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 pkg (15 oz.) raisins

2 eggs beaten

1/4 Cup butter; melted

3 Cups buttermilk

Measure flour by lightly spooning into measuring cup and leveling with a knife.  Combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and raisins and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, butter, and buttermilk.  Pour into flour mixture.  Stir to combine (use a strong wooden spoon or a stand-mixer).  Pour into two loaf pans and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.

valentine oatmeal cookies

The recipe for these cookies was in the newspaper.  When I was in high school.  To say that it was a keeper is an understatement because I've kept it for a long time. These are not your average sugar cookie because they are loaded with oatmeal.  It kind of makes them a little lumpy...a little 'unrefined" but so good (I ate five while taking this picture).

Valentine Oatmeal Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter; softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup oatmeal (regular or instant)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add all but the oatmeal (I know this seems weird that you don't cream the butter and sugar but just go with it).  Mix until combined and stir in oatmeal.  Roll and cut. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes...until slightly golden on edges.

My daughter added the sugar sprinkles but the cookies are good with icing...or icing and sugar.  And I'm happy to share that the cookie cutter I used came from Bake it Pretty.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

brownie mix

The last day of school is this week so we will be putting together these brownie kits for the kids' teachers.   I'll make a couple of extra too...because you never know what gift situation might come up and, even it you end up using them yourself, it never hurts to have a brownie mix on hand.  

I made a 4x6 recipe card to go along with the mix and you can download a copy.  Just to be clear, the card is the recipe that goes to the recipient of the mix (see the above link for how to make the dry mix)...but you knew that right?

Like last year, I'm putting the dry mix in zip lock bags and placing it inside a brown bag.  I might use a ribbon to tie on the recipe card or I might staple it to the bag...easy to put in a backpack and make it to school all in one piece.  

shortbread cookies

Let the baking season begin...the best part of the holidays.  I've had pie for breakfast for the last two days so the season actually started a few days ago but you get the idea.  

With three kids, it's not really feasible to have a completely "handmade" holiday but baked goods make easy handmade gifts (plus they get consumed so the recipient doesn't have more stuff around their house).  I made these shortbread cookies for an exchange with my friends from school.  They are simple, pretty, good and, baked in paper cups, they are easy to give.

4 sticks butter; softened

1 C sugar

4 C flour

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 C milk chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add vanilla and combined flour and salt.  Stir until combined.  Stir in chocolate.  Line muffin pans with paper baking cups and scoop 2 Tbsp sized drops in each cup.  Flatten slightly. Bake at 325 for 12 minutes until they brown slightly. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.  

roasted applesauce

 

There are certain foods that don't seem worth the effort to make yourself.  Like butter, bread, croutons, mashed potatoes...and smooth applesauce.   Last year, my mother-in-law gave me this thing that she used to make mashed potatoes and applesauce.  It's not a ricer and I think it has a french name...it's a big cone-shaped thing that sits on a stand and has a wooden cone-shaped stick that you use to press the food.  Anyone know what it is called? Anyone?

Thanks to Anna for the correct name...it's a chinois (knew it was french!)

The idea is that you cook the apples until they are soft and then put the whole apple into it and the core, skin, and seeds stay in the cone and the applesauce gets sifted out.  Fun for the kids...a pain in the butt to me.   But, in general, I will sacrifice convenience at certain times of the year...like Thanksgiving.  

I made a Martha Stewart recipe for roasted applesauce last year and it was worth the effort.   It smells good, tastes good, and you can make it ahead.  Plus, it was something that the kids are still talking about and makes a nice little family tradition...it's a keeper that I plan to make every year.

The pictures are from a cute recipe book that I got at our church garage sale at the end of October...so cute and fall-like (and I have no idea why they are so large...same camera settings, same width in typepad...it's a mystery).

I want to thank everybody for the birthday wishes and grey hair "support".  My 7-year-old taught me how to use photo booth and I took pictures of myself and added it to my About link (nothing else there yet but it's on my list).  

slow cooker chocolate chip pudding cake

 

My partner for the 2008 Sweet & Sinister Swap is Heidi at Everyday Cookies (love that blog name!). When I talked to Heidi she said she didn't so much like the scary but preferred the sweet part of Halloween.  She also liked thrifted items, baking, and crafting supplies...hmmm, sounds like Heidi and I are kindred spirits. 

 

I put the swap package together in a completely black & white theme.  It was a little hard for me not to squeeze a little orange in there but I ended up being really happy with the color constraints.  I thrifted a pretty english sugar bowl and filled it with candy, created a new "sew wicked" banner, included a pretty (scary!) pocket mirror, and painted an "H" with chalkboard paint and wrote "sweet" on it, and made a set of dress pattern notecards.  

I also put together some supplies; pretty ribbons, a pack of black & white papers (including pages from a See's Candy book), vintage buttons, and white pumpkins.

And finally, I wrapped it all up in vintage sewing pattern tissue.  I am now thinking I will buy patterns at the thrift store just for the tissue paper...way cheaper than new tissue paper and so much cooler.  

So, are you wondering..."When is she going to get to the slow-cooker chocolate pudding cake in the title of this post?".  I know I would be thinking that.  Since Heidi said she likes to bake, I also included a few printed recipe cards with some of my favorite chocolate recipes.  I've already shared them all here on the blog except the pudding cake. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it is so, so sinister...

Slow-Cooker Chocolate Chip Pudding Cake

1 pkg. devil's food cake mix

1 pkg. chocolate instant pudding

1(16 oz.) container sour cream

4 eggs

3/4 C vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 C semisweet chocolate chips

Place all but the chocolate chips in the slow-cooker.  Add 1 Cup water and beat ingredients with a mixer until well blended (about 2 minutes).  Fold in chocolate chips and bake about 3 - 4 hours on high or 6 - 7 hours on low (until cake is puffed in the center and pulls away from the sides of the cooker).  Spoon the warm cake into serving bowls.