Welcome!

Make, Do and Mend


The cyber-diary of what this homemaker makes, does and sometimes mends.
My motto is "if you do stuff, stuff gets done"
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Glazed Doughnut muffins. Another Pinterest recipe

This is my version of a popular Pinterest recipe. I baked them for breakfast before we left Texas. They were enjoyed by my parents, brother and husband. And me.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins - quite rich and they really do taste like warm cake doughnuts.
They would be good to make if you are craving doughnuts but don't want to or can't go to a bakery.

For the Muffins:
1/4 cup butter, very soft
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

For the Glaze:
2 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
about 2 tablespoons hot water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 12 -14 or 15 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. (I used a 12 cup muffin pan and 2 Pyrex custard cups to bake my batch.)
In a mixing bowl stir together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Next, add all the dry ingredients- baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and flour until just combined. Stir in the milk, just until combined. Do not over mix.
Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.
To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and enough water to make a pourable glaze. Whisk until smooth.
When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden then serve.


There was no time to let my batch cool before frosting, so these got frosted almost straight out of the oven. Letting them cool would of been better but they were still delicious.
I will repeat this recipe on special occasions,

Getting the plates and drinks ready

My parents built this house about 1970 and my mom picked her  favorite avocado green for the formica  countertops in the kitchen.
That kitchen has been cooked in lots over the last 40 or so years but that green formica still looks good as new.  


Hope you try this recipe for your next fancier breakfast
they are delicious!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Some little things from this week......

did you know that you can wash the canister on most vacuums?
I did not either until I saw it done on Sunny Simple Life.
This was fast and easy to do-
our vacuum is at least 5 years old and was very overdue for this washing.
The canister on mine comes completely off.
 My filter looks different than Sunny Simple Lifes so I washed mine in the sink and let it dry for 12 hours, like it says my filter but I had never noticed the instructions before.
It smells much better and just looks better too.   


Farmers Pork Chops in the front dish- sauteed spinach behind

I cooked this new to me recipe from the Charm of Home this week- it is a keeper recipe!
I pretty much followed her recipe except I just made a half recipe,  used Mrs. Dash instead of the seasoned salt and put the glass lid on this pyrex dish for the second part of the baking.    

I use the spice rack, junk drawer, utensil drawer and knife drawer every day.  But they had all gotten out of whack  so I spent a few minutes on each one- just straightening and organizing and discarding a few things.






I 've also done a little moving around in my home and have pretty much changed the breakfast room area into an extension of the kitchen- with no money spent.  It has really added to my kitchen work area.
I'll post pictures soon. 

The holiday on Monday was nice but made the week seem shorter and it just sped by.  
No plans for this weekend though and I am hoping to spend some time crafting and sewing Saturday.
I really hope to do a Cricut project,  I never got the Cricut challenge last week.  

I hope you all have a nice weekend!  

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Bananas needing a tweak

I bought this bunch of bananas on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  
We had company for 4 days and the bananas sat on the same serving space as oatmeal cookies, brownies, pumpkin pie, apple pie, little pecan pies and a chocolate cake.  
Apparently during a holiday when there is a choice of healthy fruit or a homebaked dessert, 
everyone (me included) picks dessert.  



such sad bananas!

We have more company coming in about 10 days so 
I baked those bananas into a double batch of banana bread.  
I've tried many recipes but like this one very much -
 it is simple with no obscure ingredients,  just things we most always have on hand.  


Family Favorite Banana Bread
1/2 butter, softened
a scant 1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed- about 1 1/4 cups
2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
about 1/2 cup chopped nuts- we like pecans or walnuts
beat together the butter and sugar.  (I use the mixer to make this)
then beat in the eggs.
next add the bananas and just run the mixer until it all mixed.
hand stir in the flour, soda and salt.
add the nuts last.
Now put the batter into a well greased baking pan- either an 8 or 9 inch loaf pan or muffin cups.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven.  It will be ready in about 60-70 minutes if you make it into 1 big loaf,  less time if you use smaller pans or muffins.
Let cool in pan and after 10 minutes or so, remove from pan to a cooling rack.  



After it cooled,  the 2 bigger loaves went in the freezer for company.  
The little loaf was sliced, tasted and found delicious!

linking to



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

100% whole wheat sandwich buns

Yesterday's baking
100% whole wheat sandwich buns,  made from fresh ground wheat and mixed up in a Zojirushi bread machine
I made one batch of dough,  then after it's first rising,  I rolled it out thin and cut with a 4 inch round cutter.
After they bake and cool,  I slice them open with a bread knife but I don't go all the way through,  leaving about 1/4 inch or so still attached.
this way,  they stay together in the bag and the tops don't go missing from the bottoms.  
Then,  the buns get put in the freezer in a zipper bag.
When we make sandwiches,  we just take out however many we need. 

This method for bread is working best for us right now.
The buns stay fresh and moist in the freezer,  better than slices of homemade bread do.

what the wheat looks like before it is ground

whole wheat flour- freshly ground


Ingredients for the sandwich buns

  • 1-7/8 cups water 
  • 5 cups whole wheat flour - I ground a scant 4 cups of wheat in my vintage Vita-Mix, got about 5 cups of flour but did not use but about 4 cups of it in this batch.  
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar 
  • 2 Tbsp. dry milk 
  • 2 tsp. salt 
  • 4 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten 
  • 2 Tbsp. butter 
  • 2 tsp. active dry yeast
These buns, when rolled thin, bake fast.  Just about 13 minutes to bake at 375 degrees.  

Saturday, November 17, 2012

planning for Thanksgiving during choir practice and naptime

I don't spend much time looking at calendars and was shocked last weekend when I discovered Thanksgiving was so early this year.  
Since I thought it was farther off than it really is,  I am behind in planning.
We will be hosting Thanksgiving at our home for about 8 relatives-maybe more.  I've done this before so I know what to do but it helps to put it on paper.  

I finally got started Wednesday night.  
My husband had church choir practice- I don't sing but I went too- and while I was sitting in the back listening,  I found a short grocery list of the specials at local stores that I might want to get.
I used that sheet of paper as it was all I had.....




at top of the page are the grocery specials.
At the bottom is a very rough menu plan for the next 12 days or so.  Some of our company will stay with us a few days,  others may stay a week so I need to have things at least somewhat planned ahead.

On the back,  I made a list of more items to shop for,  as well as sweets to bake and a start to the Thanksgiving menu.  


Friday, while my grandchildren napped,  I made my tried and true pie crust recipe that makes 4 crusts.
I rolled them all out and put them in the freezer.  At least one will be a pumpkin pie come Thanksgiving morning.  I am not sure what the others will be but they can stay in the freezer for a couple months.

3 of them are in simple metal pans with no handles and those pans fit easily into a gallon zipper bag for freezer storage.  The other pan is a vintage corningware with a wider edge that makes it a little bigger so it has to go in a 2 gallon bag.

No fail pie dough
4 C flour
1 1/3 C shortening
1 T sugar
2 t salt
1 T vinegar
1/2 C cold water
1 egg
Mix together, flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the shortening. In a small bowl add vinegar, cold water and egg, stir with fork till well blended. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well using only a fork. Divide into 4 balls, Roll out one ball at a time on a floured surface into flat circle to fit pie pan. 

Thursday during nap time,  I baked a double batch of oatmeal cookies,  a double batch of brownies and one batch of chocolate oatmeal no-bakes.  
All of those went in the freezer except for the ones that my husband ate when he got home from work and grandson ate when he woke up from his nap.  

I still need to do a little shopping.  Buying the turkey is at the top of the list.  

Are you hosting Thanksgiving?  What is on your to-do list?  

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Thanksgiving lunch at the garage

My husband's division has just one party a year- a very low key lunch  with a Thanksgiving theme.
And it was today.  

I fixed green beans and a double batch of hot rolls that were still warm when we ate.  
Some were cloverleaf and some were just round- all the same recipe though





Because this dinner is literally in a garage at the workday lunch hour,
 everything is very low key.
I take my  food in  non-breakable containers as the guys seem nervous if things are too fancy.  

I wanted to take a simple dessert as I knew there would be a chocolate trifle and a cherry cheesecake and some icky grocery store cupcakes 
(some of his co-workers bring the exact same thing year after year)  
So I baked a new recipe today, they were simple, delicious and a recipe I will make again.  
They are very much like those 7 Layer Bars or Hello Dollies that use graham cracker crumbs and sweetened condensed milk and I rarely have those ingredients on  hand  
But I do usually have all the ingredients this new recipe calls for in my pantry/fridge.

Also,  the recipe says it makes 12 but I used my older muffin pans that I think are a little smaller than newer muffin pans.  
I got 18 nice sized cookie muffins from one recipe.  
I think this smaller size makes are a  good serving as they are a rich dessert.
I may try making them in mini muffin pans next time.


my version of 
Magic Blondies 
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut I used a geneous hand measuring this
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans  I used walnuts 
1 2/3 cups  flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons  butter, softened
1 cup  packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
 Line a 12-cup muffin tin (standard size) with paper liners; set aside.
Stir together coconut, chocolate and pecans; set aside.
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low or by hand, stir in flour mixture, scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined. Mix in about a cup of the coconut mixture.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Sprinkle remaining coconut mixture over tops and bake on center rack for about 25 minutes (or less if you make them smaller) or until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs.

these are a sturdy dessert that would be good in a lunchbox too.  

I found this recipe on http://www.cookiemadness.net/  and she got it from Martha Stewart.


Saturday, October 20, 2012

Nut Bread

I got this recipe in 2006 from SusanBranch.com. 
I am sure many of you are familiar with her and her beautiful books.  
I have made it dozens of times and we all like it.  
It is especially nice to have it lightly toasted and buttered, with hot tea for breakfast.



Susan Branch's Nut Bread

1 egg, beaten
1/3 C sugar
1 C Milk
2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 C chopped pecans or walnuts

Beat the egg well. Then add the sugar and milk, mixing well. Stir in flour,
salt, baking powder, then the nuts, just until blended.
Put into a well greased 8x4 loaf pan.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven, about 45 minutes, until it tests done.


Really, it does not call for added oil or butter and it is delicious!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Weekend Breakfast- New York Crumb Cake

My version of a Martha Stewart Recipe
if you like a lot of struesel with just a little cake,  this is the recipe for you.  


  • New York Crumb Cake 

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons  vanilla extract
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  •  
  • Preheat oven to 325.
  • Grease a 9 by 13 baking dish.
  •  In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
  • In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.   
  • Spread this  batter evenly into prepared pan, and set aside.

  •  In a medium bowl, combine remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over flour mixture, and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.

Bake for about 20 minutes until it tests done.

Cut into squares and serve to your family who will be so happy.
This is also nice to take to Sunday School or to any kind of breakfast gathering.

The last time I baked it,  I just made a half recipe and baked it in a pie pan,  that is why the pieces in the pictures are wedges instead of squares.



Thursday, September 20, 2012

Fall Slow Cooking- Chili Beans

Chili Beans
so thick,  they don't need a bowl

This is another recipe I first made when we lived in the country.  We butchered pigs our sons raised for FFA projects and usually had plenty of sausage in the freezer back then.  Now, I get my sausage at the grocery store but the recipe is good either way.  It would probably be good with turkey sausage or even just ground beef too.

Chili Beans
1 pound dry pinto beans
3 1/2 C cold water - watch the beans as they cook,  you might need to add a little more
1 pound hot breakfast sausage- cooked, crumbled and drained
crushed red peppers to taste- I used about 1/2 t
a little garlic powder or fresh garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
6 ounce can of tomato paste
2 t chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t salt and about 1/4 t black pepper

Wash and soak beans overnight.  
When ready to cook,  drain and put beans in water in a slow cooker/crockpot.  Cook on high until beans are soft- mine took about 3 hours. 
Stir the remaining ingredients into the beans and simmer another 2 hours or so.  
This makes a very thick spicy dish,  you may need to add a little more water during cooking.  
Serves 8 generously. 

Can also be cooked the old fashioned way in a pot on top of the store.   

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Fall Baking- Shaker Spice Cookies

easy Shaker Spice Cookies
one of my daughter's favorites

I don't know where I found this recipe but I do remember the first time I baked them.
We were living in the country and I needed to do some baking but did not have any butter.  So,  I looked for recipes that used oil as I had plenty of oil.
This is one of the recipes I used that day and they were so good,  
they are still a family favorite.  

I also like that they can be stirred up quickly,  no need to use the mixer unless you just want to.
My daughter and I made a batch Sunday afternoon.  We had them mixed up and the first batch on a cookie sheet waiting to bake just at the timer on the oven signaled that the over was preheated and ready to bake.  

Shaker Spice Cookies
2/3 C Oil - I like canola but you could use any vegetable kind
1 C sugar
1/4 Cup molasses
Beat together,  then add
1 egg
and beat some more.
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
2 t baking soda
2 C flour 
Stir in the dry ingredients until well mixed
Now,  drop the dough by spoonfuls into a small dish with a scant 1/4 Cup sugar in it.
Roll the dough balls around until lightly coated with sugar.  Then put them on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-11 minutes.  

this makes a nice, chewy cookie.  

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

My new favorite bread recipe

We bought a Zojirushi bread machine around Christmas and I use it so much.  This recipe is the book that came with that machine and it may be the best yeast bread recipe I have ever used- and I have baked a lot.  
It would be equally delicious mixed by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook too.


Zojirushi recipe for dinner rolls or richer bread by the loaf

7/8  Cup water
1 Large egg
3 1/4 Cups bread flour - I use 1/4 C vital wheat gluten and 3 C flour-either bread flour or all purpose gave great results~
4 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons dry milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup butter- cut in cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
I mix this dough in my bread machine,  adding the ingredients in the order listed.
Let mix and rise on dough cycle.   Check the dough about midway through the kneading- it may need a little more flour. 
Then, shape the dough into rolls or bread loaves.
It will make about 20 dinner rolls- this is what I used for the sausage biscuits,  or 3 small loaves of bread- I like to bake them in little vintage Pyrex loaf pans. 
Let the dough rise again after it has been shaped and put into well greased baking containers.
The rolls bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes,  the small loaves take about 30 minutes.  

Today,  I did a lot less cooking than yesterday.  I was busy with housework and with my grand daughter.  I am also getting ready for a big grocery shopping trip.  I worked on my shopping list and coupons.  I also cleaned and organized the fridge and organized my food storage containers.  When I get home with all those groceries, I want to have containers to put them in and room in the fridge for the things that need refrigerated.  

When I was straightening the fridge,  I found about 8 slices of bacon that needed to be used.    I cooked that bacon in the oven,  then put it and grated cheddar cheese into flour tortillas that I browned on the griddle with just a dab of butter - Bacon Cheese Quesadillas -they were yummy and  we will have them again.  Supper was not gourmet but turned out delicious.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Beans, Skirts and Baking

More projects from Monday


I made a huge batch of crockpot refried beans.


I soaked 6 cups of pinto beans overnight,  then put them in a 6 quart crockpot and covered them with water.  
You can cook 1 cup of beans for each quart capacity of your crockpot.  


Seasoned them with 
2 T chili powder
2 t cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
about a dozen jalapeno slices
and about 1 cup chopped onion.
Let them cook high - about 5 hours or so- until tender.
Then add salt to pepper to taste
Get out the food processor and process the beans in batches, adding 6 T of butter for the whole batch and enough bean juice to keep them smooth and with a soft consistency.
You can leave out the butter but they won't be creamy like we like them.  

These are so much tastier than canned refried beans!  
cheaper and less salty too.  



Refried beans freeze beautifully too!  We ate some for supper last night and then I froze the rest in meal size containers.




Sewing project

My daughter had both this striped maxi skirt that she likes and a strapless dress she did not like.  
She asked if I could make the dress into a skirt.
No problem!
I used the striped skirt as a guide and cut off the top the dress.
Then I used part of that to make a  new waistband and inserted some elastic.  

The striped skirt has a wider fold-over waistband but I could not copy it as the purple fabric is softer and stretchier and would not have the same support. 


Now daughter have 2 maxi skirts!


My husband put on this shirt to wear to church on Sunday but it had a bad grease stain down the front. I rewashed it but it did not come clean.
It was really faded and worn in spots so it needed discarded anyway.

Before I threw it out,  I cut off all the buttons.
I sew blouses for my self and this is enough buttons for 2 blouses.

I have a drawer full of buttons but finding matching buttons for a blouse is a trick sometimes.
So put all these on a safety pin
now they are ready when I make some fall blouses.  

Baking 

 I made some small yeast buns, filled them with sausage patties and froze for future breakfasts.
A store in my town had sausage on sale last week,  I stocked up- got 28 pounds at $1.99 a pound for Potters whichs is a very good brand.


And I baked 3 small loaves of bread.  
I used a bread machine to mix and knead both batches.  

I don't always do quite this many things in one day but I had lots of accomplish Monday as I expected to have 3 of my grandchildren here today.  
But plans changed and just one is here.
She is watching some TV and I am catching on some blogs.  
We will do some crafts and cooking later. 

what are you doing today?  -I would love to know




1 Peter 1  

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,

    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

25 
    but the word of the Lord endures forever.”



And this is the word that was preached to you.