Make and Takes » Food

Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Puree

Marie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:43:08 +0000

Fall is the best time for pumpkin recipes, I think it’s my favorite ingredient. I’m showing how simple it is to make your own fresh pumpkin puree. It’s really easier than you think, and then you’ve got it ready to go for some fall time recipes!

Recipe for Pumpkin Puree:

a Pumpkin – but needs to be a “sugar” pumpkin or “pie” pumpkin
spoon, knife
pan
blender or masher
1/4 cup water
This recipe makes about 2 cups of pumpkin puree

First you’ll want to scoop out all the seeds, but save then as we’ll roast them along with the pumpkin. Then slice up the pumpkin into 2-3 inch wedges. Cut off any of the stringy parts, just slice them off with a knife.

Place them onto a pan, skin side down. You can season them if you want with salt and pepper, but I just left mine plain. I also washed the pumpkin’s seeds and added them to the pan as well, then coated the seeds with lots of salt.

Place your pan into a pre-heated 350 degree oven. I let them cook for about 20 minutes, then checked them for doneness using my fork, but mine needed about another 10 minutes. While you’re checking your pumpkin, stir around your seeds too.

Once the pumpkin is out of the oven and cooled, scoop the flesh with a spoon and place into your blender. If you don’t have a blender that will puree these well enough, you can use a potato masher, but it may not get very smooth.

I added about 1/4 cup of water to my blender, along with the pumpkin, just to help it all mix around better. You can add a little more if you need it, if your pumpkin is sticking to the sides of the blender and not getting pureed.

Now it’s ready for use in all kinds of yummy recipes, pumpkin pie, cookies, cake, rolls, pasta! What are some of your favorite pumpkin recipes?

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Food Blogs, Cookbooks & Pioneer Woman

Marie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:53:55 +0000

I’ve updated my Links page, sharing just a few of my favorite blogs. Please check them out. Here’s just a little shout out to a few of my favorite Food Blogs that I’m reading these days:

This Week For Dinner – Of course Jane is always sharing delicious recipes here as a Make and Takes contributor, but she’s got lots and lots of to die for yummies over at her place too! Her menu plans are always helping me decide what to make for the troops.

Good Life {Eats} - I want to move in to her house and she can be my personal chef! She makes it look effortless. With such beautiful food, how can you resist dipping your fork into the computer screen.

The Feast Within – It’s just that, feeding you from within. Really good home-cooked meals. I can’t wait to try this Crockpot Ham, so easy.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks – I mean, really, she’s fabulous. Here’s Allison and I sporting Ree’s new cookbook. She recently came to Salt Lake City for a book signing, and she is lovely!!

And if you’re interested in purchasing a cookbook with tons of good family-style recipes, the tried and true kind, my good friend Molly is selling her family’s favorites in Pickett’s Picks. They’re $20 each, with shipping add on $5. If you want to order one, email mmpickett{at}gmail{dot}com.

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Tom and Lucy’s Art Shoppe Utah

Marie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:11:10 +0000

Tom and Lucy’s Art Shoppe is just around the corner! Pamela and I are getting everything ready for some fun holiday shopping on November 19-21 (save the date). Here’s just a sneak peak of what you’ll find at this 3 day arts & crafts boutique located in my hometown of Utah.

Vendors from Tom and Lucy’s Art Shoppe:

And if you’ve got Twilight Fever (and live in Utah to come pick up your prize), then head over to the T&L Art Shoppe website to enter for a fun “We LOVE Twilight” prize.

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Oreo Cookie Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Marie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:57:34 +0000

Guest Post by Amanda of Impress Your Kids.

I have a vivid memory of getting off the bus in 4th grade and walking down the driveway while carefully holding a “make and take” in my hand. It was a tiny turkey made out of an Oreo and a few pieces of candy. A room-mother had come to our class that day and taught us to make them. I knew my mom (who is pretty crafty herself) would adore these little turkeys so I decided not to eat mine and bring it home instead. Can you believe the restraint my 4th grade self had?!

Well, my mom apparently loved it as much as I did because we have made these turkeys every Thanksgiving since then! I have loved sharing them with my in-laws, my church friends and other groups of kids I’ve met along the way. Now I’m happy to share them with you!

It’s one of the easiest and yummiest crafts you and your kids will ever make. Ready?

Supplies for Oreo Cookie Turkeys:

Oreos
Candy Corn
M&M minis (separate out the red ones)
chocolate frosting
bell shaped chocolates

I love putting all my supplies in muffin tins. It makes for easy grabbing and you can minimize how many extras are popped into the mouth!

The Oreo is your turkey’s body, so let’s slather him with our frosting first. (My best frosting tip? Use a spoon for easy spreading but give each kid their own, just in case someone decides to lick the spoon!) Then place your bell shaped chocolate all the way to the edge of the cookie to leave plenty of room for your feathers. This will be Tom the Turkey’s head.

Grab about 4 or 5 candy corn and place the small white ends closest to the head. Add a little more frosting to the front of your turkey’s head, place M&M minis for eyes and a red M&M mini gobble! (You could use Red Hots, too for a different flavor. I just couldn’t find any Red Hots at any store in my city!)

Isn’t that adorable? And easy!

There are several versions of turkey cookies (try searching flickr!) but of course, I like this one best. It’s more than a cute snack or decoration to me–it’s a fun memory! I love thinking about the mom who shared this with my 4th grade class. She didn’t know she was starting a tradition in my family. Why don’t you try something new this year? You never know what special memory or cherished tradition you might create!

Amanda is a stay-at-home mom to two. She blogs her daily life at ohamanda.com and her crafty parenting endeavors at Impress Your Kids. You can also find her twittering waaay too much @oohamanda.

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Gobbling Turkey Apples

Marie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:06:08 +0000

This is a fun classic craft, perfect for Thanksgiving Day. These Turkey Apples can be “gobbled” up as a snack while they wait for the turkey to be done or saved as part of Thanksgiving dinner.

Supplies for Turkey Apples:

whole apples, any color, washed and dried
toothpicks
stick pretzels
marshmallows
raisins, craisins
popcorn

Set out your supplies. Use your toothpicks to attach some of them together in a line. Then press them into the back part of the apple. We also tried to make some turkey faces. I used chocolate kisses for one and a craisin on a toothpick for another, making the waddle. You could use a grape or olive too.

Now these turkeys are ready for Gobbling!! Have fun with Turkey Dinner!

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Easy Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Marie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:32:46 +0000

Yes, homemade microwave popcorn, and it really works! I was skeptical. I didn’t believe it could be that easy, but IT IS! Lisa, from Snack Snoop, has shared her how-to for Homemade Microwave Popcorn.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

Put 1/4 cup popcorn in a brown paper bag. Fold top over a few times and tape it.
Place in microwave folded side upfor 2 to 3 minutes or until there is 5 seconds between pops.
Eat plain or add flavors (such as salt, butter, sugar, etc.)

With this system of microwave popping, you can:

control the amount of salt and butter
reuse the paper bag again and again
save money from buying the corn kernels, which yields a lot more popcorn
pop popcorn fast, without getting out the heavy machinery

I just can’t get enough of this popcorn, we make it all the time! It’s been a great after-school snack. Thanks, Lisa!

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Trick-or-Treat Cookies

Lindsay — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:09:13 +0000

My husband does not like sugar cookies. No way. But he does like these Trick-or-Treat cookies a lot. The dough is soft and pliable and full of Fall–honey, molasses, raisins, and spices.

For the cookies in the pictures, I used half whole wheat flour and omitted the raisins (didn’t have any on hand). The only problem was that the dough was so tasty that we didn’t end up baking very many cookies. (Good thing I froze half of the dough for later!)

This is a nice alternative to the normal sugar-laden cookie doughs. It’s lightly sweet. If that bothers you, load up on the frosting. That will more than make up for it. The cookies are also very good sans frosting and work well as the “bread” for ice cream sandwiches.

Also, yes. They are really just gingerbread cookies with a snazzy new name. But try them. They are one of our favorites.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies. It halves well, but it also freezes well, too. Just make sure to keep the dough tightly covered or in a Ziploc bag so it doesn’t dry out.

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-Treat Cookies
Recipe source: Mrs. Hilton, my neighbor from 10 years ago.

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
5 cups flour (can do half whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins, chopped (can sub mini chocolate chips or other dried fruit)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. With mixer running on low, slowly add the honey and molasses. Beat well.

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add a cup at a time to the creamed mixture.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure there isn’t any flour left. Add the raisins. Transfer the dough to an airtight container or large Ziploc bag. Chill until very cold–about 4 hours or overnight.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets at 375 degrees F for 6-7 minutes (shorter for smaller cookies, longer for larger cookies) or until cookies are firm to the touch and lightly golden. (If you like crisp cookies, bake for longer.)

Decorate as desired.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup half and half

Beat until fluffy. Tint with food coloring. Store in the fridge until ready to use. Let come to room temperature before decorating cookies.

Lindsey Johnson is the mother of three children and loves to bake, cook, take pictures, and read good books. She also adores Halloween.

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The Joys of Meal Planning with Kids

Jane — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:11:49 +0000

I am currently experiencing two issues with my daughter that I’m sure many parents can relate to. #1: She HATES going grocery shopping with me. This is pretty annoying seeing as how she HAS to go grocery shopping with me, unless leaving a 4-year-old home alone is kosher nowadays? I didn’t think so. #2: She only eats about half of the dinners that I prepare. I know this is a universal parenting challenge…getting your kids to eat!

The other morning I was chatting with some moms at soccer. One of them mentioned that her 9-year-old daughter had planned their meals that week and that it had gone very well. A light bulb went off in my head. I just need to get Cate involved with the meal planning! I don’t know why this light bulb didn’t light up sooner…I mean, I do have a meal planning website, you think this would have crossed my mind at some point.

Last week I gave my new plan a try. One morning I called Cate into the kitchen and asked her if she would help me plan our meals and our grocery shopping list. I had two pieces of paper and two pens ready to go so we could each jot things down. She was all over it! She came up with some great ideas for dinner and was super excited about her ‘list.’ We got dressed and headed to the store. She helped me pick out the food we needed and I kept her involved with the shopping.

The following is TRUE. I will swear on the Bible, the Koran and all seven Harry Potter books if you need me to. As we were driving home from the store, out of the blue Cate said, “That was so fun!” This is major. I don’t think the word ‘hate’ describes well enough Cate’s previous feelings about grocery shopping. I considered Cate’s statement a huge victory!

And as for eating dinner…so far, Cate has eaten the meals that she helped plan. We’re still in the honeymoon phase, but I really believe that we are on to something here!

Of course, I’m always open to more ideas! Please share your own tips for involving your kids in meal planning and/or food preparation.

Jane Maynard, writer and founder of This Week for Dinner, is a wife, mother to two beautiful girls and freelance graphic designer. Jane loves eating, which comes in handy for a food blog. Chocolate, cannoli, and H&H Bagels are her top foods of choice.

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Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes

Lindsay — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:21:53 +0000

These are the perfect chocolate cupcakes. Perfect. They aren’t too chocolaty, but enough to tame a heavy-duty craving. And the texture is lovely too. They practically melt in your mouth.

The recipe comes from baking wizard, Dorie Greenspan. If you aren’t familiar with her and you like to bake, do a quick Google search and check out her recipes. They rarely, if ever, disappoint.

When we decorate cupcakes at our house in a few weeks, this will be the recipe we use.

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes
from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

INGREDIENTS

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

INSTRUCTIONS

Getting ready–Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fit the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with paper muffin cups, or butter them with flour and tap out the excess.

To make the cupcakes—
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until it is blended into the butter. Add the egg, then the yolk, beating 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate and mix it in with the rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes are dry and springy to the touch and a knife inserted into their centers comes out clean. Transfer the muffin pan to a rack and let the cakes cool for 5 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature on the rack before decorating.

Powdered Sugar Frosting

1 stick butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
a little milk

Beat butter for a minute with an electric mixer. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time alternately with a little milk. Add the vanilla extract. Continue beating until light and fluffy.

Lindsey Johnson is a stay-at-home mom who loves to bake, cook and take pictures. She blogs at Cafe Johnsonia.

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Boo-tastic Goblin Treats

Marie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:02:26 +0000

Are you needing a ghoulish treat to make for a few little goblins at your feet? Well, these Rice Crispy Goblins are all too fun to make and even more creepy to eat!

Supplies for Rice Crispy Goblins:

rice crispy treats recipe
food coloring
toothpicks
candy corn
chocolate candy rocks
m&m’s, raisins, other candy around the house

Make rice crispies according to the directions, BUT add some food coloring in to the marshmallow mixture before you add the cereal. I put half my marshmallow mix in one pan and added yellow and red coloring to make orange, then left half in the original pan and added green coloring. Then I added in the rice cereal (3 cups each) into the pans and mixed until it was incorporated.

Once your treats have cooled, form a piece into a ball shape. We made an orange pumpkin ball and a few miss-shaped green goblins!

Now add candy for eyes, chocolate rock teeth, candy corn horns, toothpick stems, raisin nose, licorice arms, whatever you’d like to add to make your creature even more haunting to enjoy!

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