Blond Brownies

Blond Brownies

1 1/4 Cups packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/3 Cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 Cup oats (quick or regular Old Fashioned)
1 Cup butterscotch chips (cinnamon chips or semi sweet chocolate chips)
1/2 Cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In large bowl, beat together brown sugar and butter, add eggs and vanilla. Blend flour, baking soda, salt, and oats. Add to wet ingredients. Add butterscotch chips (or other chips) and nuts if you are using them.

Pat into a well greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares... so easy!

I think these are even better the second day but I've never been able to wait that long for a bite. :)

Christmas Jam

This recipe was an award winner in Country Woman magazine many years ago.

Christmas Jam

• 2 packages (20 ounces each) frozen whole strawberries or 2-1/2 quarts fresh strawberries
• 1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
• 5 pounds sugar
• 2 pouches (3 ounces each) liquid fruit pectin

Directions:

Grind strawberries and cranberries in a food processor or grinder; place in a Dutch oven. Add sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil; boil for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat; stir in pectin and return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Cool for 5 minutes; skim off foam.

Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids.

Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Yield: about 14 half-pints.

Picture: Country Woman website

Canned Pie Filling

This is a wonderful Beverly Nye recipe for canning your own pie filling. I use it for apples but I have friends who have used it with good success for peaches.

I've written it out just as it came from Beverly's cookbook back in the 70s so from here on out, these are Beverly's words...

Canned Pie Filling

Combine in large kettle:

4 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt

Add: 10 cups water

Cook until thickened and add: 3 T. lemon juice

Fill canning jars 1/3 full of sauce. Peel and slice apples into jars, smooshing down into the sauce until the jar is full.

Put on hot lids and process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Fills 7 quart jars.

When you want to make a pie, just roll out the crust, pour in the filling, dot with butter, and cover with the top crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

You can also substitute other fruits such as peaches or cherries. You may want to vary the spices a little. Sometimes I (Beverly) use a little more cinnamon and nutmeg with apples.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks called The Amish Cook by Elizabeth Coblentz. It is delicious! It is more a cake texture than brownie. I'll add a picture soon.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil*
1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar**
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Your favorite frosting if desired

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the eggs, oil, and sugar in large bowl. In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cocoa. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture.

Add the vanilla, zucchini, and nuts (if using) to the batter and mix thoroughly. Batter will be thick.

Spread into a 15 by 10 inch jelly roll pan. Bake for 25-30 min. until center is set.***

Cool and frost if desired (it is very good with a vanilla or cream cheese frosting). I also recently made it with a chocolate buttercream frosting for additional chocolaty flavory. :)

* Original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups oil but I found that made the brownies greasy. I tried 1 cup and found that much better.

** Original recipe called for 2 cups sugar but I've found 1 1/2 to be plenty.

*** I have made this in a 9 x 13 pan, just increase baking time... check after 35 minutes.

Freezing Zuchinni

This post was originally posted on Coffee Tea Books & Me.

I shred the zucchini and then place it in a colander which is sitting on a plate to let it drain awhile. It stays there an hour or two and I "fluff" it when I think of it.

Some cooks salt the zucchini just a little to help take the moisture out but I prefer to let it sit in the colander since I'm using all of it for quick breads.

I then fill snack size ZipLoc bags with two heaping half-cup measuring cups of the green stuff. It's a little more than a cup total.

All of these bags came from just three zucchinis.

The snack size ZipLoc bags are placed in a gallon size ZipLoc bag. Since I'm putting a "bag within a bag", neither of them have to be freezer strength. I love snack size bags... use them for lots of things.

I froze the sliced zucchini exactly as above except they went into quart size ZipLoc bags and then in the gallon size for extra protection. I have read that some people like to blanch their sliced zucchini for about a minute but I didn't. I'm using them in soups and casseroles.

Freezing corn

The corn this year is especially sweet and that comes from (as I mentioned before) a corn snob. I won't buy corn on the cob in the grocery store. I'm sceptical of any corn I either 1) did not pick, or 2) buy from the back of a farmer's pickup truck down the road.

However, we were given corn recently so I happily accepted it and hubby shucked all the husks for me. I served some for lunch but froze the rest for fried (sauteed) corn this winter since I wasn't sure how old it was. In case you have never frozen corn, here are the easy directions (really easy if you got your husband to shuck the corn cobs!).

Bring a stockpot about 3/4ths full of water to a boil. Add corn into the water, one batch at a time. It took me two batches for this amount of corn. When the water comes back to a boil, set the timer for six to eight minutes (the smaller the corn, the less time it takes).

If you are freezing them on the cob, shock them by placing in ice water. If you are slicing the corn off into niblets, just drain them as shown above. This corn is draining on a clean dish towel.


When they have drained, I set them on the cooling rack I use for cookies until they are cool.


If freezing corn on the cob, after they have been "shocked" in the ice water and drained, place them in gallon ZipLoc freezer bags, getting as much air out of the bag as possible. Immediately place in the deep freeze.

I sliced this corn off the cob when it was cool enough to easily handle.


The niblets were placed into snack size ZipLoc bags. Since there are often only two of us at home, this size bag works very well for us. Otherwise I'd use the quart size bags or place them into freezer containers.


The individual snack size bags were placed inside a gallon size ZipLoc bag, especially since they are not freezer bags. The date was written on the larger bag (it can be used again and again when the smaller bags are all used).

I'm thankful now for the corn but how wonderful it will be to take it out in winter, sauteed in a little butter... or a lot... with a little salt and pepper... yum. :)

Salmon Patties

This is the quintessential pantry dish. If you've tried other recipes and hated salmon patties (as was the case with hubby), give this one a try. He actually ASKS me to make them once a week now.

I'll add a picture when I remember to take one before they are inhaled at dinner.

I buy canned wild Alaskan salmon when possible, it is not much more expensive than pink salmon and I've read it has more nutrition.

Also, if you leave the bones in by smashing them a bit when mixing the ingredients, these are also a great source of calcium. My husband didn't know I kept the bones in them until he was told.

When I serve them to my picky eater (aka: son), I just add a slice of cheese on top or pour cheese sauce over them.... he eats just about anything with cheese.

Salmon Patties

• 15 oz. can salmon (reserve liquid)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• Lemon pepper to taste (optional, I added this to the recipe)
• Oil for skillet

Drain the salmon, reserve 2 Tablespoons of the liquid in a small bowl.

In larger bowl, combine salmon, egg, and chopped onion. Stir in the flour and any seasonings you want to add.

Stir the baking powder into the reserved salmon liquid and watch it fizz! This is the secret of this recipe and what makes it so light.

Add the liquid to the salmon mixture and mix just until combined.

Form into patties (I make five from this recipe) and place into a medium hot skillet which has oil to cover the bottom. Brown one side and then turn, frying until other side is brown. I start with medium high and then turn it down to medium as soon as I add the patties to keep the outside from browning too fast before the inside is cooked completely.

I'd say about four minutes on each side.

Recipe was from: Favorite Recipes From Quilters

Sauteed corn

Doesn't that sound better than "fried" corn? My mother was from the south and there were few things she didn't fry. However, unless she was making succotash, she boiled the corn on the cob... but it is still in my genes... frying that is.

I am a self admitted corn snob. I won't buy corn cobs at the grocery store (unless they were flash frozen by Green Giant). I mean, really, I don't know where that corn came from. It wasn't grown on my beloved local soil (which also grows the best tomatoes... believe me). Picked this morning fresh is also preferred.

We were gifted with corn recently, soon after seeing corn fixed this way on a cooking show. It is absolutely delicious and my preferred way to cooking corn now.

Just cut the raw corn off the cob (carefully as the knife can slip) as close to the cob as you can. Heat a heavy skillet and then add as much butter as your waistline and checkbook can handle. Pour the corn into the skillet and salt & pepper to taste. Turn the heat down and saute about fifteen minutes on low to medium... see what works best for your skillet.

You'll need to keep an eye on it and stir from time to time to keep it from scorching. When done, pour into a bowl and serve immediately. This recipe was a huge hit in our house. It brings out that rich corn taste. Yum...