Book sculpture: Little House in the Big Woods. Made from  a 1950's edition of Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilders and shadow box framed.

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Creamy Celery Bacon Soup

This weeks Bountiful Baskets had great stalks of celery. Since I don't like Mangos, I traded my mangos for someone's celery. Of course, I hate anything going to waste so I am trying new things.  This is what I came up with.

3 strips of bacon

¼ cup onions - diced
¼ cup bell pepper – diced
3 cups sliced celery
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk or half & half
3 Tbsp flour
¼ milk
Add to taste – salt, pepper, granulated garlic, celery seed, sage

1.  Put chicken broth on to boil while cooking bacon until crisp.   When broth comes to a boil, turn     

     heat to simmer.  When bacon is crisp, remove from skillet unto a paper towel.

2. To skillet, add onion and bell pepper and saute for about one minute, then add celery. Continue
     to saute for  another 3 minutes.
3. Pour all contents of skillet and bacon (crumbled) into simmering broth (to reduce fat, drain off
     bacon grease before adding to broth). 
4. Turn up heat to medium high and add milk/half&half and seasonings.  Because some brands of
     bacon is saltier than others, be sure to taste before and after adding spices until you get the taste
     you desire. 
5. In a small bowl stir together flour and ¼ cup of milk until smooth. Add to soup and stir.  Bring to
    almost a boil and remove from heat.
6. You can garnish with a sprinkle of cheese, homemade sour dough croutons, and bacon bits.

Please note that with all my recipes, amounts are adjustable. Such as; more flours makes the soup thick, while less makes it thinner; more broth less milk makes it soupier, while less broth more milk makes it creamier; more celery makes it more chunkier; ham instead of bacon, red bell peppers instead of green bell peppers and so on. Have fun and make it your own!

This is a quick and easy soup and I was surprised that I was able to please everyone! My youngest son is super picky about having to eat veggies.  I prepared his bowl by straining out all the chunky parts and topped it off with a bit of cheese and a few sourdough croutons. He loved it and actually wanted more!  Wow, this is a soup I will make more often.
Serves 4

Mexican Squash Over Angel Hair Pasta

This week I purchased the Veggie Pack - Mexican from Bountiful Baskets. I have never had Mexican squash before and I was anxious to try it.   This is what I came up with.


2 Mexican Squash - 1" dice
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced bell pepper
6 cherry tomatoes - sliced in two
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste
Basil (fresh or dried) to taste
4 servings Prepared Angel Hair Pasta

1. Prepare angel hair pasta. Add a bit of olive oil and basil after it has been cooked and drained.

2. Add olive oil to a medium high skillet. Add onions, bell pepper and saute' briefly before adding squash, tomatoes and garlic. Add Salt, pepper, and basil. Saute until tender.

3. Serve squash mixture over pasta and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.  Bread sticks or homemade sourdough croutons go great with this dish.

"This dish is so summer fresh tasting and great for a light dinner after a hot afternoon."

Serves 2 large servings or 4 light servings.

The Wonderful Wizard of OZ - Book Sculpture created April 2012

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The World of Insects - Book Sculpture created March 2012

The Wind in the Willows - My newest book sculpture

     My newest book sculpture is created from a 1950s edition of the Wind in the Willows. Fully framed in a wooden shadow box and ready to display. Now I must go and get started on my next book sculpture.

Pecan Pie Mini Muffins

       The other day, a friend of ours stopped by for an afternoon visit. Well, if you know me, I have to cook something for my guests. I had been wanting to make these muffins all week, but I knew if I did, Bob and I would eat them ALL. They are addicting!!  So, Doug saved us! We had enough to have a little endulgence and plenty left over for Doug to take home to Holly.

       These little muffins are so quick and easy to make, that if I have the ingredients in the cupboard, I'm in danger of eating way too many of these.

Pecan Pie Mini Muffins

MUFFINS

1/2 cup flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

2 beaten eggs

1 cup chopped pecans

Dash of salt

1/8 tsp vanilla

FROSTING

1   8oz block of cream cheese (room temperature)

2 Tbs milk or cream

2/3 powdered sugar

1/8 tsp Vanilla

Directions

Muffins
1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Line mini muffin pans with mini muffin liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and pecans. In a smaller bowl, combine melted butter and eggs. Pour butter egg mixture into flour mixture and stir until blended.

3. Fill mini muffin cups 2/3 full (about a heaping tablespoon). Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan to wire racks to cool.

Frosting
4.  With an electric mixer blend together cream cheese, milk/cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, until smooth.  Chill for 10 minutes.

5. Top each muffin with a dollop of frosting.  For a fancier look, use a pastry bag with a star tip to frost muffins. 

Serving suggestions: Top frosted muffins with a sprinkle of chopped pecans, or crumbled crisp bacon.

Sinfully Easy Eclairs

I have always had a LOVE for eclairs, but have never had the time to make them from scratch.  I have tried many 'shortcut' type recipes, but nothing that thrilled me... until now.

After many trys I have decided that there is no shortcut to a great pastry.  As for the filling and chocolate topping, I have come up a few quick and easy shortcuts that still give the eclairs the wonderful, rich flavors I remember experiencing as a child.

The pastry may take a little time and patience, but trust me, it is well worth the effort.

Sinful Eclairs

CHOUX Pastry:
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Butter (real butter)
1 cup Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
4 Eggs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.
In a medium sauce pan bring water to a boil, add butter and stir until butter is melted.  Reduce heat to low and stir in flour until it forms a dough ball.  Remove from heat. Working quickly, add one egg at a time, mixing quickly so that the eggs do not cook. Continue until all eggs are mixed in.

Spoon dough into pastry bag.    Pipe dough into lightly greased cookie sheet into 12 strips of 1 1/2" x 3" about 2" about.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce Oven to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes until golden brown. Working quickly, remove from oven and with a wooden spoon handle pierce a hole along the center, almost to the other side, but not all the way through. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

FILLING:
1 box of Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Milk
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

With electric mixer mix together, pudding mix, cream, milk, and vanilla until smooth and thick. Spoon filling into pastry bag with a medium to large size tip. Close and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
1 tub Ready Made Milk Choclate Frosting
1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

With electric mixer, mix together frosting and cream until smooth. Spoon into pastry bag with a medium or large star tip. Set aside until ready to use.

Time to fill the pastries. With pudding filled pastry bag, insert tip into each pastry and squeeze. If you hold the pastry gently, you can usually fell when the filling has reached the end. Repeat until all pastries are filled. Arrange onto serving platter and creatively top with chocolate frosting. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Store leftovers (if there are any) in refrigerater in a sealed container. Can be stored up to 3 days. NOTE: If you are wanting to pre-prepare these for an event. Make the pastries and store in an airtight container in the refrigerater. The pudding and frosting can also be pre-prepared and stored in the refrigerater for up to 4 days. Simply assemble when ready.

Pull-Apart Pizza

I really wasn't in the mood to cook this evening, so I threw together a quick and easy Pull-Apart Pizza.

Pull-Apart Pizza

2 Containers Pillsbury Refridgerated Biscuit Dough
1 Jar Pizza Sauce ( I acutually used some of my homemade pasta sauce)
1 Cup Pepperoni/Sausage/or any other favorite Pizza Topping (I use 1/2 Chorizo, 1/2 Turkey Sausage)
1 Cup Diced Mixed Veggies (such as onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, Olives and such)
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (or fresh herbs if you have them)
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 9x13 baking dish/pan with oil or cooking spray.
Cut each biscuit dough into 4 pieces and place into large mixing bowl.  Add pizza sauce, meat, veggies, seasonings, and cheese (reserve a bit of cheese for topping). Fold together gently until combined.

Pour mixture into greased baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 to 30 minutes depending on the style of biscuits you used (I used the smaller biscuit style instead of the Grands style).  Check for doneness by pulling up on one of the biscuit pieces to make sure the inside dough is cooked through. If your dough is having a tough time getting cooked through, don't be afraid to give it a stir. Once done, remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Mini Twice Baked Taters

                                 Mini Twice Bake Taters

10 - 12 Butter Gold Potatoes (or any small size variety)
Olive oil
1/2 cup shredder Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sour cream (room temp)
1/4 cup cream cheese
3 Tbs chopped green onions
3 strips crispy bacon (6 if you have bacon thieves)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Wash, dry, then coat each potato with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees until tender (approx 20 to 30 minutes). Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes.

Cut each potato in half. Using small spoon, scoop out center portion of potato halves and place in bowl. Be careful to leave enough potato on skin to give enough support so that they stand on their own. Arrange skins on baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and shredded Parmesan cheese. Return to oven at 400 degrees for approx 20 to 30 minutes to desired crispiness. Remove from oven and set aside.

Mash the reserve potato centers with fork. Add butter, sour cream, cream cheese, green onions, salt, pepper, garlic powder.  Mix well. Spoon mashed potatoes into potato skins and top with bacon crumbles. Return to oven for 10 minutes. Serve hot!