Apple Pandowdy

In Civil War Days, there was the following recipe for apple pandowdy.  The origin of the name pandowdy is unknown, but it may have come from the fact you break the crust and then the dessert becomes dowdy (messy, shabby) in appearance.  Well Miriam’s hands became “messy” when she was helping mix the apples in the spices.

Ingredients

• ready-made pie dough (refrigerated kind)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 large baking apples
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• tap water
• 5 tbsp butter
• 1/2 light molasses
• optional: cream, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream

Directions

1. Keep the pie dough in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Measure the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir with a mixing spoon.
3. Peel and core the apples, and cut them into slices about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Pour about 1 cup of water into the small bowl and stir in the lemon juice. As soon as each apple is sliced, dip the slices in the lemon water. This will keep the apple slices from turning brown. (I skipped this part).
5. Place the apple slices in the large mixing bowl and stir well to coat all of the slices with some of the spice mixture.
6. Coat the bottom of a casserole (1 1/2 quart) or baking dish (9x13x2) with 3 tbsp of butter.
7. Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to fit the top of your casserole or baking dish.
8. Place the apple mixture in the casserole or baking dish, and pour the molasses over the top. Dot some of the apples with pieces of the leftover butter.
9. Lift the crust and place it on top of the apple mixture. Make sure the apple mixture is completed covered with the crust. If you have leftover dough, fit it around the sides of the casserole or baking dish.
10. Bake the apple pandowdy at 400 degrees for 12 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more. The pandowdy is done with the crust is lightly browned.
11. Break into the crust with a mixing spoon, shoving some of the pieces down into the apple mixture.
12. Serve it warm...either plain or with one of the suggested toppings. <.ol> It was yummy, but would have been even better if we had some ice cream to go with it!

Pioneer Food

We haven't done many of the crafts that correlate with our history reading about the US moving westward. But there were 2 recipes that we decided to do.

Bacon Stew - taken from Life on the Oregon Trail by Sally Senzell Isaacs

• 1 cup of rice
• 2 cups of water
• 1 small onion, cut up
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• dash of pepper
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 16-ounce can of red beans

1. Put 2 cups of water in a pan. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Add the rice to the boiling water. Lower the heat, and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for about 20 minutes until all the water is gone
3. In another pan, heat the oil.
4. Cook the onions in the oil until the pieces are almost clear.
5. Pour the beans into a strainer and rinse them with water.
6. Mix the beans into the onions. Add the rest of the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Heat for 10 minutes.
7. Fry the bacon in a skillet until it is crisp.
8. Remove the bacon and break it into pieces. Mix the pieces with the beans.
9. Spoon the bean mixture over rice, mix together, and serve.

I didn't really follow the directions. I cooked the bacon in a iron skillet (to be more authentic) and put some frozen onion/celery/bell pepper mix in with it. Then I dumped in a can of Blue Runner red beans. I served it with sausage. This is not really anything new for us since red beans & rice is a typical dish in Louisiana. Daddy doesn't really like red beans and rice, but he said it was the best beans and rice he ever had. It was probably all the bacon grease or he was just really hungry!  He did plate his really pretty though. 


Johnnycakes - taken from Westward Ho by Laurie Carlson

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• Butter
• Maple syrup

1. Mix the eggs, water, milk, oil and salt together in a bowl.
2. Stir in the cornmeal.
3. Stir it until all the lumps are smooth.
4. Heat the griddle.
5. Put a bit of oil on the griddle to keep the cakes from sticking.
6. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot griddle.
7. Fry the cake until it's done on 1 side, then turn it over and cook the other.
8. Eat johnnycakes warm with butter and syrup. This recipe makes about 12 cakes.

We, of course, served it with bacon. They basically tasted like fried cornbread. I made a double batch, but we didn't really like them for breakfast. I froze the rest to have the next time we have beans & rice. Cole even had some theme food since we've been talking about wagon trains on the Oregon Trail.

Chocolate Friday & Fun Friday–Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Chip Waffles

This morning I had planned to make chocolate chip waffles, but when I went to look for flour we didn't have any. But we did have a bag of whole wheat flour that I've never used. So I googled whole wheat chocolate chip waffles and stumbled across this recipe.

Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Chip Waffles

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat waffle maker.

Combine all dry ingredients together, then add egg, milk and oil. If batter is too dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is wet but thick. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into waffle maker, cooking for 2-3 minutes or until waffle is set.

I doubled the recipe because I wasn't sure how many it was going to make. I wasn't sure if the kids were going to like them or not since it was whole wheat, but I don't think they really noticed especially with the chocolate chips and adding syrup. They were a lot denser so Luke & Cameron didn't eat as much as they normally do.

Cinnamon Toast

I knew I was going to make cinnamon toast for breakfast this morning. So as I was drinking my coffee, I googled cinnamon toast just looking for some pointers on the oven temp. It's been a while since I had made cinnamon toast. I came across Pioneer Woman's blog post about cinnamon toast and I decided to try her version. It looked and sounded yummy. I made 2 pieces for each person, but the kids asked for more. Next time, I'll have to make more. Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast

1. Smash 2 sticks of softened butter with a fork.
2. Add 1 cup of sugar to the butter.
3. Add 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon depending on your tastes.
4. Add 2-3 teaspoons of good vanilla (Mexican).
5. Stir it all together until it is creamy. 
6. Spread a good tablespoon of the mixture onto each piece of bread.
7. Put on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes .
8. After the 10 minutes, turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes. Watch carefully b/c you don't want to burn it.

Mrs. Pat’s Granola Bars

Mrs. Pat gave me this recipe sometime last year and I bought some of the ingredients, but never made them.  I finally decided to make them yesterday since it’s a new year and I want to eat healthier and save money. 


1. Spread out on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper (I reuse the same parchment paper for several times) and toast in 325 degree oven for 15 minutes:

2 cups rolled oats

½ cup flax meal
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup flax seeds

2. Line 7” x 11” glass baking dish with parchment paper (clothespins work well to hold it in place)

3. In a mixing bowl put (I find a plastic bowl works better than glass because the mixture seems to stick less):

1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup almonds or peanuts (I break them up)

¼ cup chocolate chips (can use up to ½ cup)

4. In a saucepan heat over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. If the sugar dissolves before the oat mixture is done toasting, reduce the heat to low:

½ cup + 1 Tbsp honey
½ cup (heaping) reduced fat peanut butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 - ¼ cup brown sugar

When the oat mixture is done toasting, transfer it to a large bowl containing the nuts, sunflower kernels and chocolate chips; add the honey mixture; stir to incorporate. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan, using the back of a wooden spoon to create a smooth, even surface. (The harder you pack down the mixture, the harder the bars will be.) Bake the granola mixture for 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

Using a large sharp knife, cut the cooled bars into desired size. Store in an airtight container. (She said that they've lasted for up to 2 weeks at her house.)

NOTE: Using less honey and peanut butter make for a crunchier bar. I personally like mine a little chewy so I use the maximum amount. Also, don’t over-pack the uncooked material or it will be too hard and compact.

My notes: I used regular peanut butter, and cashews and craisins instead of the sunflower seeds and other nuts. I think I still need to play with the ratio of chocolate chips and brown sugar. I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 brown sugar. Sometimes it seemed too sweet and sometimes it seemed too salty.

Chocolate Friday–Haystacks

I intended to make these yesterday for our school snack since Levi was counting horses and horses eat hay!  Can you tell I like themes?  Well anyway, the original recipe calls for butterscotch chips and peanuts.  Well I didn’t have any butterscotch or peanuts, so I just used some white chocolate chips and I picked out the cashews out of a can of mixed nuts.  I made just a little batch for our school work snack, then after I read Amy’s Chocolate Friday post, I decided to make some other variations.  I had 3 bags of different chocolate chips that only had a little in each one so I made the following batches:  Nestle Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels, Andes Crème de Menthe chips, and white chocolate chips with almonds from the mixed nuts can. 

So basically melt any kind of chocolate chips you want and add chow mein noodles and/or nuts.

For more chocolate recipes, be sure to check out Kristal's Chocolate Friday.

Chocolate Friday–Kahlua Cupcakes

I’m participating in Kristal’s Chocolate Friday.  In general I don’t participate, because I don't make too many chocolate things.  However around Christmas I often make this Kahlua cake.

Kahlua Cake Recipe
-given to us by Dennis & Kelly Meyers

• 1 pkg Devil’s Food cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup Kahlua
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ½ bag (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream, Kahlua, and oil in a bowl. Using mixer, beat at low speed to blend ingredients. Increase speed and beat 3-5 minutes on med or fast speed. Stir in choc chips. Pour batter into greased pans. We use small “tin” or aluminum pans (they take less time) but any size will do. Bake at 350 F for 55-60 minutes. We use a toothpick to check for doneness, it should come out “clean”. Let cool for about 30 minutes.

Well for the Homeschool Ladies Fellowship, I decided to use the recipe to make cupcakes. I baked the big ones for about 30 minutes and the mini ones for about 20 minutes. Then I made some cream cheese frosting that I dyed green.  Then Miriam helped me decorate them with different Christmas sprinkles and toppings.

E is for Elephant Ears

Wednesday, we continued our study of the letter E.  Levi was also learning the color gray and made this elephant craft.  For our snack, I decided to make elephant ears.  I had never heard of these but my husband kept talking about them when the state fair was in town.  They never had these at our state fair growing up.  I googled them and found out what they were.  Basically I made them the same way I make my quick donuts.  Here is a recipe for them.  

Quick Donuts

For Miriam’s school work, one of the activities was to make quick donuts.  We’ve done this recipe many times varying the topping we put on them.  This time I used the smaller biscuits (not the Grands) and Miriam and Levi used an apple corer to cut out the hole.  Then I I just put some powdered sugar in brown lunch bags and put the hot donuts in there.  The kids then got to shake their own bag to cover their donuts.  We had these as a snack while we started our school work.  We usually have a snack that corresponds with the letter that Levi & Micah are learning so it worked out that we were on D! Here's the link from when we did this activity for Cameron's school work.

Fruit Pizza

I made this dessert Tuesday for Bible Study.

Fruit Pizza
Ingredients
1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
2 medium bananas sliced

Glaze
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions
On a greased 14 inch pizza pan, press cookie dough into a 12 inch circle. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over cookie crust.

Arrange fruit in a patter on pie.

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in pineapple juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or unitl thickened. Cool slightly. Drizzle over fruit. Refrigerate until chilled.

Note from my sister Sara: Soft cookies are awesome!

Colonial Kids Recipes

Here are some of the recipes that we made on Monday night from the book Colonial Kids.

Cornbread
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix the cornmeal, flour, and salt in the bowl. Stir in the milk, egg, and oil. Beat until it's a smooth batter. Pour into the greased pan. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Cut into pieces and eat it while it's warm with butter!


Baked Apples
Ingredients
4 large apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
butter or margarine
3/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Wash the apples and cut out the core. Use a knife and spoon to scoop out the center, or better yet, use a vegetable paring tool. (I used an apple corer.) Don't cut through the bottom of the apple. Trim the peel away around the top. Spoon brown sugar into the center hole of each apple. Sprinkle cinnamon in the centers, too. Put a thin slice of butter on top of each apple's center. PUt the apples in the baking pan and pour the hot water in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 1 hour. (Small apples may not take as long to cook.) Apples are done when an inserted knife goes in smoothly. I served our with some caramel sauce on the top...would be great with icecream too!

Pannekoeken

Luke & I have been reading about the first North American colonies.  In the book Life in New Amsterdam, there was a recipe for pannekoeken, a very thin pancake that the Colonial Dutch would have made.  Luke wanted to make these for breakfast yesterday. 

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling
• butter for spreading

Steps

1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in half of the milk and half of the flour. Stir to combine. Stir in the rest of the milk and flour until the mixture is smooth and thin. (It was really thin compared to pancake batter.)
2. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Melt a half teaspoon of butter in the pan. To make the pancakes, pour about 1/3 of batter into the pan. Tilt the pan to spread the batter out evenly and thinly. Cook one minute or until the edges of the pancake turn brown. Flip the pancake and cook for 30 more seconds. (I think they’re basically the same thing as crepes.)
3. Stack the pancakes on a plate. When all pancakes are cooked, spread each pancake with a thin layer of butter. Sprinkle each pancake with cinnamon and sugar, roll them up, and serve. (We drizzled maple syrup over the top, but the Dutch would use a syrup similar to sorghum syrup.)

Mardi Gras Pasta

I posted this recipe last year at Mardi Gras time.  I made it again last night to celebrate Craig’s birthday and remembered to take a picture this time.  I even made a Mardi Gras themed salad (green, purple & yellow) and Sara made him cupcakes.
 

Ingredients

12 oz fettuccine (I used penne instead because Craig doesn't like long noodles and it's also easier for the kids)

1 - 1.5 lbs combination of raw shrimp, cooked crawfish & crabmeat (I used frozen shrimp & crawfish)

1 tbsp Cajun seasoning (Tony's)

4 tbsp butter

1/3 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder or 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic

8 oz half & half

8 oz heavy cream

1/2 tbsp dried basil

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook & drain pasta according to package directions.
2. Combine shrimp, crawfish, crab meat and Cajun seasoning in a large bowl. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add seafood mixture, onions and garlic. Cook about 4-5 minutes or until shrimp is light pink.
3. Reduce heat, add half & half, heavy cream, basil and Parmesan cheese. Cook and stir until heated through and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. (Mine didn't really thicken until it cooled but maybe because I made a double batch.)
4. Pour over pasta and serve immediately.

Now you can see why it's called Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) pasta - heavy cream, half & half, butter, and cheese! But it was sooo good!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I'm always looking for recipes to use overripe bananas. We always have a bunch in our freezer. My kids don't really like banana nut bread so it just goes to waste. I've made banana pancakes a couple of times and they like them. So I decided to try this recipe below. I liked it alot, but I don't think the kids liked the texture of the oatmeal in it. I think they'll like them better if I add chocolate chips next time!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 cup flour, oats, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and baking powder. Whisk together milk, peanut butter, banana, egg, oil, and vanilla. Add banana mixture to dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

This recipe was adapted from allrecipes.com.  Other reviewers on allrecipes suggested increasing the peanut butter & banana to 3/4 cup.

Pies

Tonight we had pies for supper.  In the middle ages, pie shells were called coffins and filled with different kinds of meat and vegetables, or fruit and custard.  We had meat pie pie (aka breakfast casserole).  It suggested using pork sausage/beef/hamburger, and spices (sage, oregano or thyme).  I used pork sausage and sage, and of course added a little cheese.  Brown your meat and put it in the pie shell.  Mix 3 eggs, 1/2 cup milk and add spices to your liking.  Pour on top of meat.  Add cheese if you like.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

 
For dessert, we had cherry pocket pies/pastries.Take some canned biscuits and  roll them out flat.  Take one biscuit and put in a little pie filling.  Top with another biscuit and pinch together.  Stick the top with a fork to let the steam out.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.
  

New recipes

I tried a couple of new recipes for dinner tonight:

Beef Gyros and Yogurt-Dill Sauce from Woman's Day Magazine - the meat was really good, but it just reminded me of roast unless you ate it with the yogurt-dill sauce

Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans from allrecipes.com - I thought this would be a good side dish for the gyros, but it didn't really have a greek flavor to me. But it was a really pretty dish.

MckHummus - well I really just named it that...MckMama's hummus recipe - pretty good

We also had the left-over Bean Salad from lunch.

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls - adapted from the recipe in Classical Kids

1 can italian breadsticks

margarine

brown sugar

cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Take a breadstick. Spread margarine on it. Sprinkle with brown sugar & cinnamon. Add raisins if you like. Roll into the cinnamon roll shape. Bake as directed on the package.

Olive Rolls

Olive Rolls - adapted from the recipe in Classical Kids

1 can italian breadsticks

1 can Manzanilla olives (the green ones with pimento stuffing)

1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water, stirred together

Garlic powder (if desired)

Parmesan cheese

Put an olive on the breadstick and roll it into a ball to cover the olive. Paint the roll with the egg wash. Sprinkle with garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Bake according to directions on the breadstick package.

It's fun to find hidden olives in the warm rolls!

Bean Salad

Bean Salad - taken from Classical Kids

2-15.5 ounce cans garbanzo beans (chick peas)

2 green onions

1 tomato, chopped (I used grape tomatoes)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley or 2 tablespoons dried parsley

salt & pepper to taste

Drain the garbanzo beans and rinse them in a colander. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Chill in the refrigerator.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Yesterday, I needed a new recipe for my ripe bananas. I didn't want to make banana bread because my kids never eat it. I thought something with oatmeal & bananas sounded good so I searched on allrecipes.com, my standby for recipes. I found this one that was pretty good and I had all the ingredients.

I don't know if my older ones liked them or not. Luke kept asking "What kind of cookie is this?"

However, my younger ones liked them.

When Miriam saw this picture, she called it her "cookie face".

Levi with his cookie
Micah even got to try one