Free Kindle Cook Book!

Guess what I found?! Another Gooseberry Patch cook book…for free! This one is Savory Pie Recipes. Check it out and get some new recipes.

Amy Marie

A Disappearing Act

Happy New Year! Ok so I’m only 18 days late but I have a good excuse…kinda. Right before New Years Eve there was a quick thunderstorm that passed through western Ohio. Well to make a long story short, I probably should have unplugged my computer. I’m not 100% sure that is was the lightning but as of now my computer is out of commission.

I really want to thank all of you for reading my blog in 2011. I hope to make 2012 even better (off to a rocky start, eh?).  One of my other hopes for the new year is to start eating better and drop some dead weight! Last week I decided it was time to try some new recipes! Kyle was such a trooper through it all! I will link to the recipe after the review.

I will link to each recipe and give a little review. Also I will try to add in some Kyle comments too!

Baked Crab Cakes

These were the bomb.com! I tried to make crab cakes a while ago but couldn’t get the right consistency. These were so easy. I followed the recipe exactly, except instead of sour cream I used greek yogurt. Kyle liked them because they have a little spice from the hot sauce. He even told me I could make them again…WIN! Recipe

Grilled Fish Tacos

 

The fish tacos were also pretty good. We used the our George Foreman grill but just used the bottom like a flat top grill. I improvised with the marinade, made it with garlic salt mix and some Mrs. Dash. Use whatever flavors you like! Kyle liked these a lot too. A much lighter way to have Mexican. Recipe

This week I also got Kyle to try a Turkey Shepard’s Pie and Bubble Up Pizza. Both of those are on my Pinterest Page.

Dog Gone Good!

Last week when I was making Christmas goodies to give to my friends, I was also making some goodies for furry friends. I had seen this recipe online, on Pinterest (of course!), for Frosty Paws. They are a delicious frozen treat for dogs. I just couldn’t wait til summer so I made them now! Here is the tutorial for Home made Frosty Paws.

It was a really simple recipe with 4 ingredients, all of which a human can consume without cringing. I made mine in ice cube trays then put them into a baggy with some dog scrapbook paper.

These treats are Moose approved and I’m sure he will enjoy them even more in the hot, dog days (pun intended) of summer!

Amy Marie

Christmas Goodies

Every year I usually spend a day or two baking Christmas goodies with my mother, aunt, grandma and sisters. We would make everything from sugar cookies to caramels! This year was a little different since December has been busier than usual. With people moving, Family #2’s Christmas, etc… I didn’t make it home to bake. The past couple nights however, Kyle and I have been making some Christmas goodies of our own!

We made a fan favorite, Buckeyes, and also peppermint bark, which is new for me. It was Kyle’s idea to make it so I obliged and we made it! It was a lot easier than I expected it to be and turned out really good. I looked at a couple different recipes online just to see what they said but all included two main ingredients…white chocolate and peppermint pieces (go figure!). Those two are the only things we used too!

I purchased the vanilla flavored Almond Bark from Wal Mart(WM), it was significantly cheaper than buying Bakers Chocolate or Vanilla Chocolate Chips. I also bought the WM brand peppermint candies instead of buying candy canes. 1. Because I couldn’t find normal candy canes and 2. they were cheaper!

All you have to do to make the peppermint bark is melt the chocolate and add peppermint pieces. I used a double-boiler for this because I used the whole 1lb brick of Almond Bark. It also helps to cut your chocolate up into slivers so it melts easier. Sometimes I am impatient and have the tendency to burn chocolate in the microwave, so this way was much more effective.

I also melted half then added in the other half just so I didn’t crowd the bowl with a bunch of pieces. Once most of the chocolate is melted remove from the heat and keep stirring! Add in the crushed peppermint pieces, stir and spread on a metal baking sheet covered with wax paper.

I reserved some of the bigger pieces of crushed peppermint to put on top of the bark just to make it look a little fancier. Let it cool for a good half hour in the fridge or until completely hard. Then comes the fun part of breaking it all up. I kept mine in about 2 in x 2 in pieces. Some looked better than others, some are triangles, some are just weird shaped.

I had some left over chocolate from dipping buckeyes and some crushed peppermint so I made some milk chocolate peppermint bark. It wasn’t bad but I think I like it with white chocolate better.

This is the perfect gift to give friends, co-workers, hair dressers, mailman, the list goes on and on! You can put it in a decorative tin, pretty Christmas plate or just in a snack baggy with some ribbon.

Amy Marie

P.S. Coming soon…A present for the dog in your life!

FREE COOK BOOK For All you Kindle Folks

So this is just going to be a quick post, but I wanted to let you all know about an awesome deal I found through Budget Saving Mom! You can get a free digital edition of the Gooseberry Patch Christmas with Family & Friends Cookbook!!

Follow the link connected to the cook book title and it takes you to amazon.com. Even if you don’t have a Kindle there is Kindle app’s for PC, iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry. Amazon will help you get those app’s if you don’t have them.

I guess Amazon does this every once and a while without warning and there is no telling how long it may last. So go now and get it!

Thought this was too good not to share! Enjoy!

Amy Marie

An Apple (Pie) a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Its almost the weekend, woot! Unfortunately the weather outside still stinks. The weatherman said this morning that we could expect  frost and temps in the 30’s tonight. Its only October folks and I’m not sure I’m ready for winter to set in. I did also hear from a reliable source (no idea where) that this winter is going to be comparable to the winter of 1978! Yikes!

The great blizzard of ’78, I remember seeing pictures of my grandparents house with snow up to the second story. Mom also told me stories about climbing through the windows to get out and what it was like holed up in the house. I can only say I am thankful that I will not be commuting long distances for work and that Kyle told me he’d clean the garage out for me so my car wouldn’t be snow covered!

With a cold weekend ahead I have plans to stay inside and once again be productive. My mother and sister are making the 2 hour trek to Urbana to help me do a little cleaning at Kyles house. For those of you who don’t have a lot of plans for the weekend, I say its time to do some baking!

Mom’s Fool Proof Apple Pie

1 Box Pillsbury Pie Crust (contains enough for 1 double crust pie)
4-6 Apples Depending on Size ( I used large Golden Delicious and Granny Smith)
3/4 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Apples, yum!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and slice apples into a large bowl. Add in sugar, flour and cinnamon then mix. Place one pie crust into the bottom of your pie plate (don’t crimp edges yet) then pour apples into the pie plate. I try to buy a few extra apples so it the pie doesn’t look full enough you can add in some extras.

It should look like this!

Next you can add on the top crust and crimp the edges together. Make sure you don’t have any crust hanging over the edge of the plate. You can either crimp edges with your fingers or use a fork to press the dough together. Once the top is on use a knife or fork to poke some holes into the top of the dough. This lets the air escape when the pie is baking. My mom always puts a heart or letter in the middle. You can also cut some slits into the top. Lastly, wet your hand with some water and rub the top crust, then sprinkle sugar on top.

Wrap the outside edge of the pie crust with foil so it doesn’t burn during baking. Bake for 35-40 minutes then remove foil and bake for the remaining 5-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.

Lovely Pies! One marked with a "D" and one with a Heart.

The best way to eat apple pie is with a little ice cream on the side! Last weekend I took one of my pies to Kyle’s brother Don, sister-in-law Alisia, and daughter Allison, along with his sister Amy, brother-in-law Adam and son Jake, for a little sibling bonding time. It was a lot of fun to just kick back and hang out with them. After we ate dinner I made a quick trip down to Fent’s, a little ice cream place down the road from their house.

Best desert everrr!

I realize that ice cream may be a little silly to eat while its so cold outside but if the pie is warm it will be worth it!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and stay warm!

Amy Marie

Its a Comfort Food Kinda Day

Its a crappy, rainy, gross, grey, cloudy day out! If you are lucky enough to be reading this blog from somewhere nice, I envy you. Its days like this that always make me want something warm and delicious to feed my soul. This past weekend in my cleaning/packing/decorating excursions I took some time out to try a new recipe, Roasted Spaghetti Squash!

View out side of my window

Two weekends ago I had bought a spaghetti squash because I had seen a fair amount of recipes and also heard people raving about them. I made up my own recipe because I didn’t have one on hand and figured I couldn’t screw it up!

Garlic Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:
1 Spaghetti Squash
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
2 Teaspoons Black Pepper
2 Teaspoons Salt

Cut squash in half length wise and scoop out seeds/gook (like you would for cantaloupe). Combine garlic powder, pepper and salt together and sprinkle over the 2 halves. Place 1 tablespoon of butter in each half (you don’t need to spread it around since it will melt into the center hole). Place in 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

When it comes out use a fork to pull away the squash from the skin. Pulling the fork from top to bottom will help you get long, spaghetti like strands.

Results after baking and removing most of the squash.

You can eat it like that or dress it up a little. I added a little bit of grated parmesan cheese and spaghetti sauce.

Bowl of plain spaghetti squash

NOTE: The nature of squash is to take on the flavor of whatever you put it in so for me it really did taste like spaghetti however Kyle did not approve. Give it a try though and see for yourself! The squash only cost about $3 at Kroger.  I baked my for 35 minutes and the squash was still a little undercooked so it had a crunch to it. I didn’t mind that but if you want a softer squash cook for the whole 40-45 minutes.

Let me know how your squash turns out!

Amy Marie

P.S. I know this has nothing to do with “Being Crafty Enough” but everyone loves a new recipe, right?