BUTTERY LEMON SQUARES

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 - 1/3 cups all - purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 - 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

6 tablespoons lemon juice

4 eggs

In a bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar at medium speed until smooth. Beat in 2 cups flour until dough is no longer crumbly. Pat into a ball.

Press dough evenly into a buttered and flour 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 F oven until golden, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a food processor, or in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, whirl or beat sugar, remaining 1/3 cup flour, baking powder, grated lemon peel, lemon juice and eggs to blend. Pour onto hot crust.

Bake until lemon mixture is no longer runny in the center (cut to test), 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust with remaining 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.

Let cool completely in pan, then cut into 24 bars.

Makes: 24 bars

NOTES:

The lemon squares can be chilled airtight for up to 2 days.

" APPLE GRANOLA MUFFINS "

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup granola

1 cup Granny Smith apples, unpeeled and shredded

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup raisins, optional

(An additional 2 tablespoons each of brown sugar and sugar)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease twelve 3-by-1 -1/2-inch muffin cups.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In another large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, sugar, sour cream, milk, vanilla and eggs. Add butter mixture to flour mixture and mix lightly. Fold in granola, apples, walnuts and raisins. Don't over mix. Spoon mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with the brown sugar and sugar mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.

Yields: 12 muffins

" SOUR CREAM PUMPKIN PIE "

CRUST: 9 - inch single crust

FILLING:

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 can ( 16 oz. ) solid pack pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Prepare pie crust and flute edges. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine sour cream, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Stir until blended. Pour filling into prepared pie crust. Bake for 1 hour. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Garnish with whipped cream.

"SKILLET CABBAGE AND HAM"

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 head of cabbage,thinly sliced ( about 8 cups )

2 large carrots, peeled and shredded

1/2 cup white wine

10 ounces ham steak, cut into bit size pieces

1 large apple, cored and diced

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 - 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and carrots, cook covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in wine and simmer for 1 minute. Add ham, apple, vinegar, caraway seeds, salt and pepper. Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes, uncovered, stirring until cabbage and apples are tender and most of the liquid has cooked off.

Cover and let stand a few minutes before serving.

Serves: 6

" SWEET BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD "

My family loves sweet cornbread. When I was a young girl my best friend mother made cornbread for her family. I remember eating it for supper and then we would eat it for breakfast. She would give us a piece in a bowl with milk poured over it. This was the first time I ate cornbread this way. I didn't think I would like it, but to my surprise it was delicious. Now my grandchildren and me eat it this way as a treat for breakfast. Hope you enjoy this sweet cornbread as much as I do and share it with the ones you Love. Remember what you make with all your heart n soul is made with Lots of Love.

Geri

Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread

1/4 cup butter ( melted, slightly cooled )

2 eggs

2 cup buttermilk

1 cup cornmeal

2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Grease a 9 x 12 inch baking dish.

In a med. bowl mix butter, eggs and buttermilk, set aside

In a large bowl combine cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add buttermilk mixture to cornmeal mixture blend together, a few lump will remain.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

serves 12

" BREAD OF THE WEEK "

I experimented with several different kinds of granola from the health food store. The plain granola made a very tasty loaf of bread, but a fruit granola like one with raspberries or apples make a extraordinary breakfast bread.

Geri

Granola Date Bread

1 - 1/2 Pound Loaf

1/2 cup granola

3/4 cup buttermilk ( or 3 tablespoons dry buttermilk powder and 3/4 cup water )

1/2 cup water

2 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat

1 - 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 - 1/2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons honey

1/3 cups chopped dates

1/4 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 Pound Loaf

1/3 cup granola

1/2 cup buttermilk ( or 2 tablespoons dry buttermilk powder and 1/2 cup water )

3/8 cup water

1 cup bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 - 1/2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup chopped dates

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 - 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread maker, select Light Crust setting and press Start.

After the baking cycle ends, remove from pan, place on cake rack and cool 1 hour before slicing.

CRUST: LIGHT

MENU SELECTION: BAKE ( LIGHT )

" Cooking and Baking Tips Thursday "

Tips when using salt

Salt: You can omit the salt in recipes if you are on a salt-restricted diet. However when making bread salt affects both the time it takes the dough to rise and the strength of the gluten formed. Your salt-free loaf will rise more rapidly, but not as high, and will a tendency to collapse. You might have to reduce the amount of liquid and yeast slight;y. If the loaf still collapses, use a Rapid Bake setting. Salt substitutes are unsatisfactory.
Avoiding adding the yeast on top of the salt or vice versa. The two don't mix. If your bread making drops the yeast automatically you won't have this problem.

Geri

" Cooking and Baking Tips Thursday "

Tips when using White Flours

Bread flour is sold in most grocery stores. ( Gold medal package it as " Better for Bread" flour. ) It has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour. Gluten gives your bread structure and height. Therefore bread flour will produce a higher loaf of bread with a coarser texture and should be used in recipes when indicated.

All-purpose flour ( bleached or unbleached ) is for most rolls, sweet rolls, and specialty breads, as well as for loaves that rise too high with bread flour. Bleached and unbleached all-purpose white flour are refined. Bleached flour has been whited with chlorine. There is no difference in texture or flavor whether you choose bleached or unbleached flour.

Geri

Whole Wheat Beer Bread

Like the Basic White Bread Recipe, this is a simple, easy-to-make whole wheat bread. Want a wholesome, high-fiber bread this is the one. What great about this bread is that it only has whole wheat flour, which is unusually. Whole wheat doesn't have enough gluten so you need to add bread flour. But, because of the beer this doesn't need bread flour. It's a moist, evenly textured bread that's good enough to eat plain. I think this is the best whole wheat bread.

Whole Wheat Beer Bread

1 - 1/2 Pound Loaf

1/2 cup milk
1 cup flat beer ( any kind )
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons wheat germ
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 - 1/2 tablespoons molasses
1 - 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 Pound Loaf

1/4 cup milk
5/8 cup flat beer ( any kind )
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Light Crust setting, and press Start.
After the baking cycle ends, remove bread from pan, place on cake rack, and allow to cool 1 hour before slicing.

CRUST: Light
MENU SELECTION: Bake ( Light )

" BREAD OF THE WEEK "

This a a very basic recipe for white bread and probably similar to the one that comes with most bread machines. It's a great place to start. The ingredients are readily available.

BASIC WHITE BREAD

1 - 1/2 POUND LOAF

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

5/8 cup milk

3 cups bread flour

1 - 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 - 1/2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons active yeast

1 POUND LOAF

1/2 cup water

3/8 cup milk

2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon sugar

1 - 1/2 teaspoons active yeast

Place all ingredients in bread pan and press start.

After the baking cycle ends, remove bread from pan, place on cake rack and allow to cool 1 hour before slicing

CRUST: Regular

MENU SELECTION: Bake

BREAD MACHINE MAGIC

    Welcome to the world of bread baking made easy!  For years I made bread the old fashion way, like my grandmothers and mom taught me.  Then, my brother gave me a bread machine for my birthday one year and bread baking was never the same. With a bread machine and five minutes of your time, you can create an endless variety of beautiful and delicious loaves of homemade bread for your family and friends. No more kneading until your muscles ache or waiting four to five hours for your bread to rise, then having to  punch down the dough, form it into a loaf, waiting for it to rise again and then finely  into the oven to bake. Kneading and punching the dough may have been good therapy years ago. It's aerobics, walking and weight training these days...I like doing my nails and going shopping as therapy!  Let the bread machine do all the hard work for you and you can go on with your busy schedules.  The nicest bonus is coming home from a busy day to homemade bread.  Try waking up any given morning to the aroma of freshly baked bread. How can any day go wrong when it starts or ends like that.  

     Because freshly baked homemade bread is made with all your heart n soul, it's a perfect gift of love that simple says thank you.  It's a special gift that's always appreciated when you're invited for dinner and want something special to take. The holidays will never be the same when you bake your favorite rolls for dinner or make a special loaf as a gift for the ones you love.  The memories of eating a freshly baked loaf of bread are treasured.

    Some of you may already own a bread machine and may be aware of all the advantages of having such a great tool.  Some may have a machine, used it, and the results were disappointing. Don't give up, sometimes worth wile things can require a little perseverance. Once you find a recipe that gives you satisfying results, it will be easy to make family pleasing bread. 

     Home made bread can be a economical and healthy alternative to store bought breads with their added preservatives. If you don't own a bread machine this maybe a good reason for you to go out and buy yourself a gift that whole family can enjoy. 

      With all their advantages, bread machines can be rather inspiring. I will try to help with useful information and recipes. Maybe you can even come up with a recipe of your own that your family and friends will enjoy.  The varieties are endless, white, healthful whole grains, rye, sour dough, sweet breads, breads with fresh fruit,  luscious coffee cakes and sweet rolls. The combinations are endless.

Before long you will be creating your own masterpieces.  You will discover how easy it is to produce a loaf of delicious homemade bread even as a beginner. 

 

        I will be posting some helpful tips on Thursdays that I'll call "Baking and Cooking Tips Thursdays".  These are tips that I have learned over the years. I will share info on the unique requirements of the various breads that will help you create your own great and delicious loaves of homemade bread that can be eaten by your family and friends. Bread recipes will be posted on Mondays, this will be the "Bread of the week".  

      If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I will be happy to help you make a wonderful loaf of homemade bread that comes from your heart n soul.  Remember what you make with all your heart n soul is made with Lots of Love.  

Geri