Homemade Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Hi, I'm back!  I have not forgotten about this blog.  I often write posts in my head, when I can't find the time to sit and type.  I feel as though, now, four months into the school year, I'm getting back on my feet after having kids home all summer and homeschooling one last year.

This recipe for jellied cranberry sauce is so good, it prompted me to FINALLY get back on here!  When I was a kid, a special treat with a meal would consist of a small amount of cranberry sauce or apple sauce.  I remember on Thanksgiving being able to have more than just a small amount of cranberry sauce and it was delicious!

The past two years, I have made my own cranberry sauce (more of a relish style).  This year, I found this recipe for jellied cranberry sauce and I had to share.  I know it's a favorite at my parent's house and people who might not be compelled to try the relish would love this recipe.  It is my goal to eliminate prepackaged and processed foods from my eating.  For the past three weeks, I have not eaten much sugar and little to no grains.  I am not above eating sugar or grains, I just like to make these products myself, so I know what I am putting into my mouth.  I find eating healthy is not a cold turkey and you're done deal, it takes a long time.  My way is do it myself first, then move on to elimination, portion control, etc. If I can't do it myself, I wonder should I be eating it.

At any rate, this sauce came out just like store bought, but with no chemicals.  It's easy and delicious, I hope that I will inspire someone to try to make their own cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving.

Jellied Cranberry Sauce:

2 bags cranberries
2 cups sugar (sugar in the raw is ok too)
juice from 1 orange- then add water so it totals 2 cups liquid
zest from half of the orange

1) Put all ingredients in stockpot and bring to a boil.
2) Let boil for ten minutes, cranberries will start to pop- I gently mashed the berries against the side of the pan.
3) Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve- press hard on the berries to remove juices and pulp.  I ended up putting the remnants from the sieve into a cheesecloth and squeezing out more liquid afterwards.
4) Place in air tight container in refrigerator for up to one week, or seal in a canning jar by boiling in water for 15-20 minutes.  Jar should be ~1" below water level.
Jar can be stored at room temp for one year if sealed.

Once refrigerated, if you use a jar that is straight (wide mouth)- you should be able to overturn and get the sauce to pop out of the "mold".  I will just scoop mine out, as I did not have a straight style jar.

Source:  Foodie with Family (I halfed her recipe and got 3 pints )

Busy Cooking: Spiced Pecans

I had never had spiced nuts until about 6 years ago.  We had a Christmas party before we moved to Japan, and one of our friends brought them over.  They were so delicious and addicting, I couldn't stop eating them.  I got the recipe from her and tucked it away, never to attempt to make them on my own.

This Thanksgiving, my brother, who likes nuts, was coming to visit.  I wanted to make these nuts because I knew that he would really like them.  I couldn't find my friend's recipe, so I resorted to my trusty America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook for a spiced pecan recipe.  Their recipe called for Bourbon, I didn't have any and even if I did, I don't really like rum, so I left it out.  These nuts were soooo delicious and easy to make, and with the 2 tsp vanilla in the glaze, they smelled great too.  I made them four days before Thanksgiving, I had to hide them so Hazel and I wouldn't eat them all.  They stayed fresh and crisp right up until the day after Thanksgiving, when I polished them off.

If you're going to a party this month or anytime really and need something simple, quick, and sure to be a hit, try these!  In total, they took ten minutes to make.  We liked them so much, I have 2.5 lbs in the freezer waiting to be glazed!

Spiced Pecans:

Oven:  350'

2 cups pecan halves

Spice mix:
2 TBSP sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp allspice (I omitted because I didn't have any)

Glaze:
1 TBSP unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp brown sugar
OPTIONAL:  1 TBSP rum

1) Preheat oven to 350', place pecans on baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper (for easier clean up) in an even layer.  Bake in oven for 8 minutes.

2) While pecans are in the oven, prepare the spice mix by mixing all the ingredients together in a large bowl, set aside.

3) Make the glaze- add all the ingredients to a medium pan and whisk constantly over medium-high heat until is reaches a boil.  Stir in the pecans and continue cooking until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 1-2 minutes.

4) Toss the glazed pecans into the bowl with the spice mix.  Place spiced pecans back on baking sheet to cool before eating.  Store in an airtight container- 5-7 days.

Busy Cooking: Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

I can't believe it's already less than a week before Thanksgiving.  I'm scrambling to get two more rooms cleaned and organized for some guests that are coming to visit for the holiday.  I am laughing that before we moved in, I was thinking I'd be unpacked by mid- September (ha ha ha).  Amidst everything that's going on, I want to have an amazing Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate our first one in our new house. In order to make the day less chaotic and more enjoyable, I made my menu last week and set up a timeline of little things to prepare everyday so that Thursday solely involves cooking turkey, rolls, and a few veggies.

I thought I'd share my menu and timeline in case someone out there needed some ideas.  I also find it helpful to read what other people prepare in advance- you'd be surprised how well some things keep.

Breakfast:
Cinnamon rolls


Appetizers:
Pumpkin bread
Zucchini bread
Pumpkin apple soup
Spiced pecans

Veggies:
Mashed potatoes
Butternut squash
Corn
Glazed Carrots
Green bean casserole

Main Course:
Turkey
Stuffing with thyme and onions
Homemade Cranberry Sauce (my something new that I'm making)
Parker house rolls

Beverage:
Apple Cider
Cranberry Margaritas

Dessert:
Apple Pie
Apple Cider Pie with fresh whipped cinnamon cream
Salted Caramel Brownies
Homemade Oreo Ice Cream Pie
Chocolate Mousse Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Cheesecake

Timeline:
Some things I already have in the freezer - I made them a few weeks ago, ate half, froze half (pumpkin bread and pumpkin soup).
For the oreo pie, last week I made homemade oreos, I put the leftovers in the food processor and pressed the crumbs into a pie plate, covered with plastic wrap and put in freezer.

Sunday:  Bake Zucchini bread, freeze

Monday:  Make spiced pecans, store in air tight container
Make pie crusts, put in freezer
Make cranberry sauce, can refrigerate for several days
Prepare green bean casserole and freeze
Make cinnamon rolls, freeze once cut into individual rolls

Tuesday:
Make cheesecake
Make oreo ice cream, assemble pie, freeze
Put pumpkin soup in refrigerator to thaw
Make mousse pie and refrigerate

Wednesday:
Bake apple pie, apple cider pie, and brownies.
Make dough for rolls, let rise in refrigerator overnight (you can make them several days in advance and freeze the rolls after the first rise).
Prepare stuffing
Place turkey in brine overnight
Take pumpkin and zucchini bread out of freezer, leave on counter overnight
Put green bean casserole in fridge overnight
Put cinnamon rolls in fridge from freezer

Thursday:
Bake cinnamon rolls
Put turkey in oven
Peel squash, potatoes, carrots, set in pots.
Bake casserole and rolls
Make Maragaritas

Yum, I am getting excited to eat all this food and I am most looking forward to the leftover pie for breakfast over the weekend!  What are you having for Thanksgiving dinner?

Busy Cooking: Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Hidden Cream Cheese Filling

I had these muffins bookmarked for quite some time.  I love any type of cake or muffin that involves a filling.  I finally got around to making them a few weeks ago.  My kids DEVOURED them!  I thought they were delicious, but wasn't going to post about them because they involve three steps.  Then, I made them to take to a mom's group one morning.  Several people commented how good they were and then my friend's husband even came up to me at bootcamp and said he really liked them.  With all those comments, how could I not share the recipe because these truly are delicious muffins.  I'm thinking about making a batch for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.  They would be a great little appetizer on any Thanksgiving table, if you're looking for one more treat to share with your guests.

This recipe was found on Brown Eyed Baker.

Note:  To get the filling to survive baking, it is frozen ahead of time.  It is recommended to freeze it at least 2 hours before baking- I found making it the night before is easy and cuts down on prep time.

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling:

Oven: 350

Cream Cheese Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1) In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla until smooth.  Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap, about 18 inches long.  Pour the cream cheese mixture in a straight line on the plastic wrap, leave room on the ends.  Form into a long skinny log, about 12 inches long, wrap up tightly in the plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least two hours.

2) Toast pecans in oven for 10 minutes.  Let cool, lightly chop.  In a small bowl, lightly mix together pecans, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter to make the streusel.  Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, mix together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

4) In a medium bowl, mix together pumpkin, oil, sugar, vanilla, and eggs.

5) Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients.  Gently mix together until combined.

6) Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare muffin tins with liners (makes 12 large muffins or 24 mini, plus 5 large).  If you make minis, which I always do, you will get a small sinkhole on the top of the muffin from the cream cheese spreading out because they are so small.

7) Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer, remove it from the plastic wrap and place it on a cutting board.  If making full size muffins, cut it into 12 1 inch pieces, if making minis, cut into 1/2" pieces.

8) Scoop a small amount of batter into the bottoms of the muffin cups.  Press one piece of cream cheese into each muffin cup on top of the batter.  Scoop more batter on top of the cream cheese to cover it.

9) Sprinkle tops of batter with streusel and press it down lightly.

10) Bake 18-22 minutes for large muffins and 14 -17 minutes for the minis. Cool and enjoy.

Thanksgiving Leftover Heart Tarts

Every year, my dad makes turkey tettrazine with his leftover turkey.  When I've had my own Thanksgivings away from home, I've always mixed all the leftovers (turkey, carrots, potatoes, stuffing, and gravy) and made them into a pie.  A few years ago, I acquired some cute little heart and star shaped tart makers from Williams Sonoma.  Tonight, I made a wheat pie crust, and mixed together all my leftovers, to make these cute little tarts for dinner.

I rolled out the dough and cut out a bottom and a top heart, the bottom of the press functions as a cutter:

Then, I put the bottom crust on the bottom of the press:

I filled it with my leftover mixture:

I put on the top crust:

I pressed: (if you use the back of the top, you can make a cut out with a small opening in the shape of a heart too.  I didn't want the opening on these though)

I put them on my pizza stone and baked at 350' for about 30 minutes, and then I served them with cranberry sauce on the side.  You can actually just pick them up with your hand and eat them- no fork required ;)

Wheat crust:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 TBSP sugar
3/4 tsp salt
14 TBSP (1 3/4 cup butter)
~ 1/2 cup cold water

Mix together flours, sugar, and salt.  Cut in butter until pea sized clumps form.  Add water until dough forms a smooth ball. Roll out on lightly floured surface.

I made 15 heart tarts.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Japan

This year was our first year without a friend or family member from the States joining us for Thanksgiving dinner.  Every year, our neighborhood club hosts a Thanksgiving dinner party for all the local foreigners.  This year, we attended for our first time and it was very nice and made being far away from home seem not so far.  The friends you meet here become your family for the time you are here, you share most holidays with them and it is nice to be able to celebrate in a way similar to back at home.  The Japanese chef prepared a nice spread of Thanksgiving type fare- there was turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, bread, and then some untraditional fare such as ham and pasta.  This was a fancy turkey, check out the paper caps on the legs, I only see those in movies that take place in fancy restaurants.

Here's the gang before dinner, excited to be there and in their fancy clothes.

Even though we attended the party, we still decided to have our own Thanksgiving as a family at our home.  We invited over another family from our neighborhood that was celebrating their first Thanksgiving overseas and a Japanese family we are friendly with (can you believe they never had turkey before?- they can't believe I've never eaten octopus :).

For dinner, we had turkey, carrots, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and rolls.  I think I am most thankful that this will be our last year having to buy a frozen turkey from a major wholesale grocer and keeping it in our freezer for over 2 months before the holiday in fear we wouldn't find another one.  I can't wait to be able to buy a fresh one next year, maybe I'll actually get some juice in the pan.  Here's an example of what the turkey looks like:

Having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner here requires some planning, if you want to have things like they were back home that is.  For example, we have to have cheesecake for dessert, lemon jell-o is a key ingredient- that comes back in the summer in our suitcase.  I needed graham crackers for the crust, which are very very hard to find here, so that required some strategical planning to visit all the local foreign grocers over and over again.  Of course good rolls are just hard to come by here, so we had to make homemade, which I'd prefer anywhere I live anyways.

For the rolls, both Dave and I made a batch of different types, both equally delicious.  I made Parker House (they were invented in Boston- had to make them) and he made butter twists.  Here's a picture I snapped of his:

One great thing about spending Thanksgiving here is when you realize you run out of an ingredient or forgot to buy something, the stores are OPEN!!!  Of course, I had forgotten to get the baguette for our homemade stuffing, so luckily, we could just run to the store and get some.  Another nice thing is there is no temptation to go battle the crowds for black Friday the next morning since it doesn't exist here.

For dessert, we had apple pie, chocolate pudding pie, cheesecake, peppermint ice cream pie, and a newbie for us, spiced turkey cookies.

These were a HUGE hit with the kids and much easier to make than pie ;)  I made royal icing for my first time, but that was very tedious and time consuming to apply.  I still prefer a normal vanilla cake icing on the cookies, but the kids were gaga for these little guys (maybe because they were personalized) and gobbled them right up.

Happy late Thanksgiving everyone!

Apple Crisp Pie

This is the first year we are eating Thanksgiving dinner all by ourselves.  A big part of the meal is all the pies that you get to eat.  However, just us means me, Dave, and 4 little kids (who only want chocolate pie).  I am used to eating dessert at my aunt's house where there are like 50 people and 20 different desserts.  How can we compare to that?  Well, I decided instead of making our three traditional "have to have" desserts on the day we cook our Thanksgiving dinner, I'd keep trying new pie recipes all week long to give us a sampling of things we might be missing out on/ can't possibly eat all by ourselves.

I found this pie recipe on Pioneer Woman's blog, when I wasn't even looking for a pie recipe.  I was intrigued by the cinnamon cream mixture she added to the apples.  In my whole pie making life, I have never made a single crust apple pie and frankly wasn't sure I'd ever want to.  Well, boy was I wrong, this pie was sooo good, I had two pieces last night, one for breakfast and I'll certainly be having another for dessert tonight. :)  Actually, it's so good, you don't even need to serve it with ice cream, I almost want to call it Apple Crisp Pie A La Mode.  To me, it tastes remarkably like apple crisp, something my mom used to make for dessert a lot in the fall, so I felt that was a good name for the pie.

CRUST: (I used 2/3 of her recipe because I knew I wouldn't need all the extra in my freezer)
1 cup crisco (I ended up using about 2/3 cup crisco, 1/3 cup crisco butter- ran out of crisco, don't know where to get it here in a pinch)
2 cups flour
1 egg
2 tsp white vinegar
3-4 TBSP cold water
2 tsp salt

Using a pastry cutter (or whisk of your kitchen aid or food processor)- cut the flour and crisco together until it forms small pea sized clumps.  If using kitchen aid, switch to dough hook.  Add in the egg (I didn't beat my before I added it, she recommended it).  Add vinegar and salt.  Slowly add water 1 TBSP at a time until dough just about forms a ball and looks sticky.  Pick up the dough, knead with your hands for a minute or two.  Split into two balls and place each in a freezer safe ziploc bag- if you flatten the ball slightly, it will make it easier to roll out later, if you freeze too long.  Leave in freezer about 20-30 minutes, remove ball from bag and roll out on floured surface with a floured rolling pin.  Note:  this makes two crusts, I left the second bag in the freezer for a TBD pie when I feel the need to make another.

While the crust is in the freezer, work on the apple and filling part.

FILLING:
4 large apples (if you are using a large pie pan)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I added more cinnamon than she recommended and heaped it)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP flour

Peel, core, and cut apples.  I cut mine into long thin slices, about 1/8-1/4".  Put in large bowl and set aside.  Mix together sugars, cinnamon, and flour.  Stir in heavy cream and vanilla.  Mix, then pour on top of the apples.  Stir so all of the apples get coated.  By the way, she recommended don't try this because you might never get a pie, well a few of the kids and I each tried an apple slice, it was soooo good!  Set aside.

TOPPING:
7 TBSP butter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pecans

In food processor, chop up nuts.  At this point, I added the butter and chopped up with nuts.  I then transferred the mixture to a small bowl with the brown sugar and flour, and mixed it by hand until it was crumbly.

To assemble the pie: Preheat oven to 375'.  Remove the crust from the freezer, on floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll out dough.  I think a trick to keeping the crust from getting stuck on the surface is to keep flipping it and reflouring the surface.  It is very fragile, but I got mine to behave (and yes the ends cracked a bit like she said)- but since the dough is soft, I used my fingers to press and seal any holes.

Here's my crust in the pan:

Next, pour the apple mixture into the pan:

Finally, using your hands sprinkle the topping on.  I almost feel like it was a bit too much, but that's just me:

I baked mine for 60 minutes and took it out.  It was very juicy and the piece did not hold together like  a perfect pie triangle like Pioneer Woman's.  Then, I realized, I had left the foil on top of the pie the entire time because she said the topping might burn.  I put the pie back in the oven for another 25 minutes with no foil on top and it really thickened up.  Next time I make this pie, I will not put foil over the top unless I see the topping really looking burnt.

Of course, today, after being in the fridge overnight, I was able to cut that picture perfect pie triangle.  Whatever the shape of my piece, it doesn't matter because it tastes really good!  And, that is one flaky, crispy, yummy crust!   Happy pre-Thanksgiving pie eating to me!

Turkey Handprint Pillow

Last year, I decided that each year I would make myself some type of keepsake at Thanksgiving using the kids' handprint turkeys.  Last year, we made placemats on paper and laminated them.  This year, I wanted to take it a step further and make a throw pillow cover.  I painted each kid's palm and thumb brown, and let them choose the colors for their feathers.   I added an eye, beak, and gobbler after.  I made the turkey's feet be the initial of the person whose handprint it was.  I added some brown fabric as a border and Charlie Brown autumn fabric for the back, I sewed in velcro so that we can take the cover off the pillow if it needs to be washed.  I hope it doesn't because half the paint is fabric paint and the other half is acrylic, which means it would dull down a bit in the wash.  The kids have been admiring it all night, comparing their hand sizes and feather color choices.   I can't wait to build up my collection over the years.

Here's the back:

Apple Pie in a Frying Pan

I LOVE apple pie! In fact, since I can remember, I'm the one that has always made the apple pie for my family for Thanksgiving.  It's always the same two crust pie, with apples covered in sugar and cinnamon.  I had a sudden burst of energy this weekend (probably after drinking my gingerbread latte)- and I went through stacks of old Cook's Illustrated magazines.  And this apple pie recipe jumped out at me.  I'm all about easy and one pan lately (wonder why).  I was skeptical about it once I read that there was maple syrup in the recipe, but decided to try it anyways.  Typically my apple pies have not turned out well in Japan and I have always blamed it on the apples.  This pie was scrumdiddliumptious!  This might be my go to recipe now (especially since I just realized I did not pour one whole cup of pure sugar over my apples).

CRUST:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP vegetable shortening (crisco)
6 TBSP cold butter (they recommended unsalted, I had to use salted- noticed no difference)
3-4 TBSP cold water (yes, I actually, put ice in the water to get it colder- saw the tip online)

FILLING:
1/2 cup apple cider (I used apple juice- in the magazine, they tell you to use 1 cup juice and reduce to 1/2 cup, I did not and my pie was still delicious)
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 TBSP Lemon juice (I used fresh squeezed)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP butter (again, they recommended unsalted, I used salted)
2 1/2 lbs apples (I used 4 large- you can use 5 or 6 medium)

For the crust, pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor, or mix with fork.  Add in the butter, cut into 1 TBSP sized pieces.  SInce the butter was cold, my kitchen-aid dough hook did not break it up, so I did put it in the food processor for a few seconds, then put it back in the kitchen-aid for the water addition.  After the butter is cut into the flour, and looks like crumble, add 3 TBSP ice water.  Mix until dough forms a ball- if necessary, add 1 more TBSP water.  Form ball of dough and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).

***Before making the filling, preheat the oven to 500'.  Note:  I was worried my pan was not oven safe past 350', so I set it at 350' and increased the cooking time.  If the oven is at 500', cooking time was suggested for 20 minutes.  I left mine in for about 35 minutes at 350', until the top was golden brown.

For the filling, peel apples and cut into thin slices (1/4-1/8")- set aside.  In small bowl, whisk together cider, syrup, cornstarch, lemon juice, and cinnamon- set aside.  In an oven proof skillet, preferably 10-12 inch size, over medium-high heat, melt butter until bubbly.  Add apples into skillet and cook about 4-5 minutes, tossing occasionally.  Do not overcook.  After the 5 minutes, turn off the heat, add in the juice mixture and toss to coat all the apples.  While this is cooling down for a moment, get the crust out of the fridge.

Lightly flour the counter and roll out the dough to approximately 10" circle.  Place the dough on top of the apples in the skillet.  Using a sharp knife, gently score the dough down the center and then two cross cuts, so it looks like it is cut into six pieces.  The explanation is that the juices will bubble up over it and make the crust crispier.

Let cool, serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Felt turkey match

I found this idea on ittybittylove's blog. I cut a turkey body, some feathers, a beak, feet and gibble out of felt. I took eight different photos of the turkey with different eye colors, feather arrangement, and even some sticker jewels for bling on the "female"colored turkeys. I laminated the photos of the turkeys and placed them in a basket with the felt pieces. My children love to look at the photos and try to create the same turkey. Warning: the 2 year old did try to eat a jewel, but got caught in the act. Even my six year old likes to do this activity. Here are four of the eight photos of the turkeys.