A Boushell and a Peck: Twins Birthday

A Boushell and a Peck: Twins Birthday

Twins Birthday

Our twins turn 2 on Monday!
We'll be having Italian Coconut Cake and chocolate cupcakes to celebrate.

Italian Coconut Cake

Cream together:

2 cups sugar

5 egg yolks

1 stick margarine

½ cup Crisco shortening

Add:

 2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups coconut

½ cup pecans

1 tsp. vanilla

In a separate bowl:

Beat 5 egg whites until stiff

Fold into mixture.

Pour into:

3 8 in. pie pans that you have greased and floured.

Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Don't worry if it sticks to the pan. There's plenty of  frosting to cover up your mistakes.

Icing

Cream well:

16oz. cream cheese

1 stick margarine

2 box powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

Put coconut between layers and on top.

My So-Called Meal Plan for 9/26-10/2

Who wants to cook? This was our plan until it turned out to be the bloodiest hot week of the year! We've bbqd the past two days but here's what was on the plan:

Sunday
bbq chicken
rice pilaf
ramen salad

Monday
chicken divan
broccoli

Tuesday
meatloaf
potatoes
glazed carrots

Wednesday
leftovahs

Thursday (Book Club)
crockpot potroast
carrots
potatoes

Friday (soccer practice)
taco salad w/pot roast meat
beans
guacamole

Meal Plan for September 19

Sunday
pizza
salad

Monday
Indian nite
Chicken w/ masala and korma sauces
rice
naan
curried lentils

Tuesday
tacos
beans
rice
salad

Wednesday
turkey burgers
sweet potato fries
tomatoes

Thursday
Back-to-School Night
fish sticks
cucumbers
honey carrots

Friday
Soccer Prectice
chili dogs salad

Meal Plan September 5th

Meal planning works so well for our family BUT I absolutely hate having to sit down and do it every week. I'm going to keep the list on here so I can go back and repeat a week if I want- no it didn't just dawn on me to do it, I've just decided that it's time to take the time to type it out and stop whining about it! How almost 40 of me!

Sunday

bbq baby back ribs

ramen salad

corn on the cob

Monday

chicken taquitos

black beans

brown rice

ramen salad

Tuesday

chicken gouda sausage

salad

quinoa

smashed potatoes

Wednesday

crock pot chicken thighs w/ teriyaki marinade

pineapple rice

salad

Thursday

sole w/ breadcrumbs and lemon

cole slaw

reheat leftover smashed potatoes

Twins-elbow mac 'n red sauce

The black bean recipe is on here. Now we're just taking canned beans and throwing in onion and cilantro to make it super easy. The big recipe really is the best though.

We make the pineapple rice with 1/2 water and 1/2 pineapple juice, then throw in the cut up pineapple when it's done.

The quinoa tastes really good made with chicken stock instead of water. Try the chicken stock packets from Trader Joes. They make 1 cup of stock. We add feta, basil, kalamata olives and tomato w/ some olive oil to brighten it up on Day 2 for lunch or a side.

That was too much cabbage in one week!

Coleslaw Crunch Salad

Serves 12

1-    1lb bag coleslaw mix

2-   2.8oz. pkgs. Ramen Soup

1 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1 cup toasted slivered almonds

1 bunch green onions, chopped

3/4 cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar (you can use part rice vinegar if you like the flavor)

In large bowl combine coleslaw, noodles from ramen (preserve the seasoning packets), sunflower seeds, almonds and green onions.

In small bowl combine oil, sugar, vinegar and seasoning packets. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Pour dressing over salad and toss.

You can also add golden raisins, mandarin oranges and chopped up raw broccoli.

Alternative to the seasoning packet:

(can't find the recipe, but there is one out there in cyber space somewhere!)

Who doesn't love a crab?!

Thank you Richard Scarry for the greatest story books and illustrations ever!

Annie Kay's Crab Appetizer

1 sm. tub Kaukana cheese
1 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
7 oz. can crabmeat

6 English muffins, split

Combine first five ingredients.

Spread over muffins.

Freeze.

When needed, cut each into eighths and broil 3-5 minutes.

Happy National S'mores Day

Happy National S'mores Day

The origin of S'mores dates back to the 1920's. The recipe was first discovered by the Girl Scouts. S'mores got its name right at the campfire. After eating one, young kids screamed "gimme some more!"

There's a great recipe for Nutella S'mores Bars at this blog:

http://www.myteenytinykitchen.com/2009/08/nutella-smore-bars.html

Here's another recipe for you:

S'more Tart Noire

Sweet Tart Dough (Dorie Greenspan Baking: From My Home to Yours)

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in – you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses – about 10 seconds each – until the dough , which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change – heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

TO PRESS THE DOUGH INTO THE PAN: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy-handed – press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

TO FULLY BAKE THE CRUST: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown – just make sure to keep a close eye on the crust’s progress – it can go from golden to way too dark in a flash.) Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

TO PATCH, IF NECESSARY: If there are any cracks in the baked crust, patch them with some of the reserved raw dough as soon as you remove the foil. Slice off a thin piece of the dough, place it over the crack, moisten the edges and very gently smooth the edges into the baked crust. Bake for another 2 minutes or so, just to take the rawness off the patch.

Tarte Noire (Dorie Greenspan Baking: From My Home to Yours)

For the Filling:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 1 9-inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough (From Baking: From My Home to Yours – recipe above)

Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and have a whisk or a rubber spatula at hand.

Bring the cream to a boil, then pour half of it over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Working with the whisk or spatula, very gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in concentric circles. Pour in the remainder of the cream and blend it into the chocolate, using the same circular motion. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece. Don’t stir the ganache any more than you must to blend the ingredients – the less you work it, the darker, smoother and shinier it will be. (The ganache can be used now, refrigerated or even frozen for later; see Storing.)

Pour the ganache into the crust and, holding the pan with both hands, gently turn the pan from side to side to even the ganache. Refrigerate the tart for 30 minutes to set the ganache, then remove the tart from the fridge and keep it at room temperature until serving time. (Note – don’t cut right into it because the ganache won’t be set yet).

Makes 8 servings.

SERVING: Purists will want to enjoy the tart at room temperature and au naturel. Having gone to pains to use great chocolate for the tart, you might want to show it off solo. However, like all good things chocolate, the tart is lovely with just a little lightly whipped very sparingly sweetened cream. I wouldn’t serve this with ice cream – the contrast between the thick room-temperature filling and the frozen ice cream would be too jarring.

STORING: The tart should be served the day it is made. However, the ganache can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. When you are ready to use it, allow it to come to room temperature, then heat it gently in a microwave oven, using 5-second spurts of heat and checking on its progress vigilantly, until it is pourable. Or you can put the bowl of ganache in a large bowl of hot water and stir every 10 seconds until it can be poured. You can even freeze the ganache, tightly covered, for up to 2 months. Thaw it overnight, in the refrigerator, bring it to room temperature and then warm it in a microwave oven or bowl of hot water until it is pourable.

S'more Tart Noire

Top with a little marshmallow fluff and stick under the broiler to toast-yum!