A Little Christmas Baking

A couple of weeks ago, I started marinating 6 cups dried fruit in brandy.  Instead of using the candied fruit sold for fruitcake, I used dried papaya, cranberries, cherries, dates, and raisins.  I poured enough brandy in to cover the fruit.  I rotated the bag everyday to get all the fruit soaked.

Today, I mixed up the batter.  For the cake, I used 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 cups sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons vanilla in my kitchenaid blender.  After it was all incorporated, scraping down the sides, I added 4 eggs, one at a time.

Stir in the 3 3/4 cups flour and 1 cup orange juice, alternating.

Drain fruit and stir in 2 cups nuts.

I prepared my pans with cooking spray and then lined with parchment paper.  What a chore that was.  I didn't line my 2 loaf pans.  We'll see how it turns out.  Fill each pan about 3/4 full and bake at 325 for 60 minutes.

Check with toothpick to see if the centers come out clean.  Place on cooling rack then remove from pans.  Brush with brandy.  Wrap and let rest at least 24 hours or up to a month, brushing with brany weekly,  I made this fruitcake last year and brushed with brandy every other day.  I was delicious,

This is the best fruitcake I've ever had.
I got this recipe from CJ who's blog in not working.  

This post is being linked to Homestead Revival Blog Hop

One Homemade Christmas Gift Made

We don't do much for the holidays.  There is just my son, significant other and myself here.  So I cook Thanksgiving because I love to cook and bake.  Plus the leftovers are awesome.  Same with Christmas, just the three of us.  I usually only gift to my son, one neighbor, a co-worker of my man's and my maillady.  This year I decided to make Kahula, mainly for me but though my maillady would like some.

I start with 4 cups coffee (recipe says Yuban, which I used but I shopped for price) in a kettle with 1 1/2  quarts plus 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.  Let cool and strain.  I strain mine twice so I don't get a lot of fine coffee grounds.  I strained through a double layer of cheesecloth.  Once strained, add 3 quarts water with 7 cups sugar and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  Completely cool.  Then add 2 ounces pure vanilla, 250 ml vodka and a fifth     Everclear or Clear Spring. ( I used Clear Spring).

cool completely

add vodka, vanilla and Clear Spring

add all of it

then pour into bottles.  Save those bottles.  You can use at least one from this batch (Clear Spring)

I ended up with 6 fifths plus a little in another bottle.  Hopefully I'll get my bottles back.  It took a while to accummulate these.

Store the bottle in a dark, cool spot for about 3 weeks.  Just in time for gifting. 

This post is being linked to Homestead Revival Blog Hop

I Can't Get Enough

I guess I didn't get enough canning done this year.  I feel needy still.  I love canning, baking, cooking, and quilting.  I can't get enough of any of them.  Today, I was reading Judy's blog and decided to try canning dried beans.  We love hammocks and bean soup.  I always have to plan for this meal.  Not any longer.  With canned beans in my pantry, I won't have to plan, soak or rinse.  This may not seem like a big deal and maybe it's not, but it's going to be a big timesaver.  Why not?  I have time today.

  I used Judy's recipe but added a bayleaf, garlic, salt and pepper.  Here's my recipe.

16 cups (5 pounds) of dried beans will produce about 16 quarts.  I had a couple of quarts not seal so I'm going to re-process them in pints with what is leftover.  So I got 14 quarts and 8 pints.  They're all in the pantry now just waiting for the day.

I hope you enjoy this.  Tell me if you tried this.


This post is being linked to Homestead Revival Barn Hop

Granola

Yesterday I made Granola because I've been craving it.  I had gone to the store the week before and got some of the ingredients I needed.  I like going to this one store because I can purchase in bulk.  It really saves $.

Here's how I make it:

I forgot to show the oatmeal.

I mix the oats, raisins, cherries, nuts, coconut on a baking sheet and bake it for about 20 minutes turning once.  While that's baking, I mix the butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar and heat till it's melted.

After the first baking, add the melted mixture and toss.  Place back in the oven for 10 minutes turning once.  I let mine cool on a wax paper lined tray.  

Enjoy!

Linked to Barn Hop

Chicken Ahead

This morning I was reading this post about making chicken for a week of meals and decided to try it.  I have done this with Chicken Tetrazzini.  The Chicken Tetrazzini recipe makes enough for five meals.  I substituted chicken for the turkey.  I labelled each container and then froze them.  It was great to come home after work and be able to have a good meal without all the prep.  It was such a great experience that I decided to try Dicky's Chicken for a week.  Once the chicken has defrosted some, I will take out the giblet bag and the tray packing.  You can see it on the chicken in the front.

The chicken is in the roaster and it's Saturday, so I have time to do this.  I was glad that I had whole chicken in the freezer.  I bought these for $.79 a pound.  I buy the limit everytime they come on sale and of course, space availability in the freezer.

Now, I have all day to finish my quilt.  I've been saying this for two weeks.  It's a quilt I'm donating to the St. Paul Parochial School Auction.  It'll be held February 4. So you won't be hearing about it after that.  Then I'll be on another UFO (unfinished project).

I should be able to take if off the longarm today and make the binding and attach it.  I can make it.

How is everyone's Saturday?

Ramblings from last week

I worked 4 days last week, then I'm off (from work) until January 3.  I've never had a staycation before.  I always went somewhere.  This time off kind of took me by surprise,  I guess I didn't plan my summer time off very well.  Well I have lots to do.

I have several quilts I'll be finishing.

This is my daughter's quilt.  It's on the longarm now with only the borders and binding left to do.

Not a quilt but I have two of these to finish for my grandson's cub scout troop.  They are using them to put their badges on.

My number two granddaughter's quilt.  She's graduating from a lap to a double size quilt.  The top is all that is done at the moment.

This quilt top will be donated to Saint Paul's Parochial School auction in February.

This one, when finished will be for a co-worker of Doug's.  She picked it out so it's not a surprise.

So, I have a lot to do this week and next.  I really need to get the last two done first, but my daughter's quilt is already on the longarm, so that one will be first.

I have just a small amount of baking to do.  I've made my fruitcake, and several cookies already.  I had planned on making up plates for the next door neighbor, mail lady, and a couple people from Doug's work, plus my son.   But...... I only have a very small cache of cookies left.  Doug has been eating them like they are going out of style.  So I have cinnamon roll batter in the fridge and those will go as gifts instead of cookies.

Cowboy Cookies and Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Fruity Fruitcake

Yesterday, we sort of took the day off and relaxed.  We got a used roll of fencing from a friend of mine and plan on using it to expand the chicken yard.

You can't even see that it's fencing for all the weeds in it, but the chickens love it.  PJ (Plain Jane) the white chicken is climbing up the fencing to see if there is anything edible up there. We hope to get the fencing put up this week.

Below are the newest additions to our coop.  We got these from my son.  One is a Red Wynadotte, Black Wynadotte, and an Ameracona.  They are assimilating but it's a slow go.  

Below is Olive Oil.  She is about six months old and a regular layer.

Christmas Baking

I started baking last week with a Fruity Fruitcake, then yesterday with Cowboy Cookies and Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies.

I plan on making some more sweets but haven't decided yet what.  We love them but this time of year they go directly to the waistline.  I'll probably make more and give away to Doug's work and take them to my work.

Weekend Cooking, Baking and Firewood

Since the days have been cooler, I've been wanting to make some comfort food.  I started with soup.  No name actually.  I looked in the freezer for meat and found some hamburger patties and pulled them out, next I went to the fridge and found some leftover pork roast, pulled it out, with carrots and celery.  Soup needs onions so I went to the garage and cut off an onion from the braid we have hanging in there.  I went to my pantry and got some canned corn and green beans from last year.  So pretty much the soup was all homemade except the meat.

I added a finely chopped jalenpeno, potatoes, garlic, some tomato sauce, beef broth and let it simmer all day.  I didn't want to go to the store for bread so I made bread next.  DB has been talking about wanting some "stretch necks" so instead of making two loaves of bread, I used one for the stretch necks.  I call them "fry bread."  I love making bread, it's so easy and rewarding.  I love the smell of the yeast and the baking.

I didn't get a snap of the bread, this is from last weekend.

And because I was on a roll, I also made Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for Saturday morning.  I started these in the evening.  They only took a couple of minutes to mix together and an hour for the first raising.  I rolled them out and filled them with cinnamon, melted butter, a little nutmeg and some walnuts we harvested roadside last year.  I covered them with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge.  The next morning I took them out while the oven was preheating.  Thirty minutes later we had fresh, hot out of the oven cinnamon rolls.

Firewood:  DBs nephew brought us out a couple cords of wood.  Saturday morning we hauled it all to the back of the house and stacked it.  We'll probably have to get a couple cord more because we don't plan on using our oil heat too much this winter.

DBs in the living room right now, I hear the snap and pop of a fire getting started.  Ahhhh.

This post is also published on Homestead Revival.

Who's Your Pick?

Superbowl Sunday, Packer vs. Steelers I know lots of you care, I don't not really. I hope to see some good commercials and visit with family and eat. Maybe we'll get in a couple games of Pinochle and of course snack. I made some rockin Wontons. I tasted them. Wow, good. I got the recipe from Picky Palate.
It's call Crispy Southwest Chicken Wontons. The recipes calls for 1/2 cup of both onion and red bell pepper. I used one each finely minced. I also used on 1/2 pint home canned chicken and one store bought can of chicken. I used all my wontons (43) and only had a couple tablespoons of mix left. We will serve it with ranch and green salsa verde, although I thought they tasted wonderful without. Try them and subscribe to the Picky Palate. She has lots of recipes.

Try them and let me know how you like them! BTW, I don't have a favorite for the game. I guess since I'm from Montana, I would probably go with the Packers but I'll root for both. I just want me and my partner to win at Pinochle. That's what I'm interested in!

No sewing today or this weekend either. Man, I have to get myself in gear. I've a lot of projects waiting for me.

Chicken Tetrazzini

I just made this recipe I got from Judy at Patchwork Times. It was delicious. I just had to tell someone. I made 4 dishes and froze 3. Now, like Judy, I'll have 3 dinners where I won't have to cook. I'll definitely put this in my recipe box for dinners to make again.
In a day or two, I'll post some of the sewing and quilting I have done for Christmas.

Ramen Cabbage Salad and Giveaway

I read Chickens in the Road daily. Suzanne has so much to blog about and her dailies are so interesting. Today she's having a Giveaway for a cast iron dutch oven if you submit a summer recipe. Here's mine:

Ramen Cabbage Salad
1 head of cabbage, sliced thinly
1 green pepper, sliced thinly, optional
1 package Chicken flavored Ramen
1 package toasted sliced almonds

2 T. sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2T. vinegar
1 packet chicken flavor

Put in a jar with lid. Shake to mix. Reserve.
Break up package of Ramen noodles

When ready to eat, mix all together and serve immediately.

Don't mix ahead of time. It will get soggy.

I usually put the ramens in a baggie and another baggie for the cabbage.

This is simple but delicious.