Peanut Butter Pie

This is what we made for Aaron's birthday this year. It was a big hit with Aaron, who, if you don't know him, loves all things peanut butter. I got the recipe from a friend of mine from church, Amber Still.

1/2 package of oreos
3 Tablespoons of butter
8 ounce brick of cream cheese
1/2 of an 18 ounce jar of peanut butter
8 ounce tub of cool whip

Mix oreos, crushed, with about 3 tablespoons of butter. Press this into your pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Mix cream cheese with half of an 18oz jar of peanut butter. (That's a bit more than a cup) Fold in the tub of cool whip. Spread into pie crust and refrigerate. We kept ours in the freezer and just took it out 30 minutes before we wanted to eat it. Shaved chocolate on top is a nice touch.

Preserving Pumpkins...

This year we decided that it would be wonderful if we bought pumpkins that we could use for cooking and baking instead of just carving and throwing them away a few days later... so after a blog that I follow posted instructions for how to preserve pumpkin (and it seemed really easy) I decided that I could do it:) So here are some basic instructions for turning this...

...into this:)

First, you cut the pumpkin in half and remove all of the seeds and guts. You may find that it is a little hard to cut through a pumpkin... you may need to microwave it for 4-5 minutes to make it easier to cut:) Second, you cut it into wedges and place the skin side up in a casserole dish with 1 1/2 cups of water. Bake at 350 until you can easily poke the pumpkin with a fork... 2 hours or less- depending on how big your wedges are:)

After the pumpkin is cooked, the skin can easily be removed- just scrape off with a spoon:) This is what you will have left of the pumpkin...

Take the cooked pumpkin and run it through a food processor, blender or mash by hand... I used a processor to get the smoothest of pulp:) Because pumpkin tends to separate (water from pulp) after it has been mashed, I used a clean towel to strain it... you can also squeeze it out some of the water to make it go a little quicker:)

Put the strained pumpkin into freezer bags... I put 2 cups of pumpkin in each bag- perfect for pies and bread:)

We are really looking forward to using up this pumpkin:)

Beef Bourguignon

Oh...my...goodness. This was so easy and was insanely yummy. Plus, it made the house smell wonderful on a lovely, rainy Fall day. I HIGHLY recommend it, and the site that I found it at is my new favorite recipe blog (crockpot365.blogspot.com).

3 pounds beef roast, or beef stew meat (I myself used half of a chuck roast that I had saved from when I made beef stir fry and about a pound of beef tenderloin that I got at a Kroger clearance meat sale)
6 slices of bacon, uncooked
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced in rings
1 cup carrots, I used a bit more carrots and the baby ones
4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped (I used a substitute of garlic powder and minced onion flakes for the missing texture)
1 tablespoon herbs de provence ( I just used a healthy sprinkling of the herbs listed here under a recipe for herbs de provence)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I personally thought it needed more salt than this)
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 cups red wine

Use a large slow cooker. Mine is 5.5 quarts and it was perfect. In the bottom of the stoneware, spread out your olive oil. Then 3 slices of bacon. Layer the onions and the garlic. Put the beef into the pot on top of the onions and garlic and sprinkle on dried spices and herbs. Toss the meat to distribute the spices to all sides. Add tomato paste. Lay the other 3 slices of bacon on top of the meat, and throw in the carrots. Pour wine over the whole thing.

Cover and let cook on low for 8-9 hours, high for 4-5, or until meat has reached desired tenderness. I did mine on low for 8 hours and it was perfect.

Serve on top of whipped mashed potatoes and a ladle full of the juices.

This is soooo a keeper and one that we will be making again.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

This is a recipe from a very dear older lady that used to give my family apples when I was a child, Stella Ells; isn't that a beautiful name, Stella? Anyway, I have found that one of the easiest things to do to apple butter is to burn it. But, by cooking it in the crock pot, it seems almost impossible to do this. We just made a trip to Stuckey's and my goal was to make apple sauce and apple butter. This was a great website that walks you through making both the applesauce and the apple butter. I think this is just about fool proof. Another invaluable resource to the home canner is the Ball canning book. If you don't have one, get one!

2 quarts of cooked apple pulp/sauce
4 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

Put on ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours. I did mine for five and it was perfect. Stir well and often. Sooooo good. I will definitely keep this recipe for our family apple butter.

Note: 1.5 times the recipe will fit into both of my larger crock pots. I think they are 5.5 quarts.

Freeze Your Pies

I was given this tip by my wonderful mother-in-law...

Next time you make a fruit pie (apple, peach, etc.) make an extra one in a foil pie tin and freeze it. They fit perfectly in a large ziploc and you will have one the next time you really are craving a 'fresh' pie. Bake your frozen pie like you would your unfrozen pie... just add more time to your baking time:) No need to thaw...

Plain Cake Doughnuts

A little while ago I decided that I needed to make some doughnuts so I went in search of an easy recipe:) These are wonderful...

Plain Cake Doughnuts

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 quart oil for frying

Directions:
1.Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk and egg until smooth. Knead lightly, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter, or use two round biscuit cutters of different sizes (I used different size glasses).
3.Carefully drop doughnuts into hot oil, a few at a time. Do not overcrowd pan or oil may overflow. Fry, turning once, for 3 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Enjoy:)

I hope to be able to soon try my mother-in-law's doughnut recipe... so stay tuned for that:)

Apple Crisp

As we enter the season of the apple, also known as Fall, I will be trying a lot of different apple recipes. This one I got from my MOPS ladies, who truly have been a saving grace to me as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, also known as the preschool years. I myself doubled the recipe to make a 13x9 version, cause y'all know an 8x8 size dessert isn't gonna cut it in this house. This was delicious and was even good the next morning with yogurt on it.

4 medium apples
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, softened

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray or shortening. Spread apples in bottom of dish. Stir dry ingredients with butter until it becomes a crumbly mixture; best done with your hands. Spread over apples. Bake about 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and apples are fork tender. Top with ice cream if desired.