wine on the keyboard

Cooking

Apple Pie

by Kay~Kacey on 6/17/2009

Admit it…

green-apples-3

these just make you want to run to your kitchen and bake an apple pie, don’t they? Pies are one of my claims to fame in the kitchen. Bake them from scratch. Darn good at them if I do say so myself.

As a total aside…do you notice the hint of reflection in the silver bowl of my kitchenaid mixer in the background? Yep, I’m out trying to get that perfect reflection shot for this month’s contest too.

As another total aside, I love my camera. This was shot at 6400 iso with my macro on f 3.2. My camera rocks the high iso.

Okay, back to the subject at hand…do you bake pies from scratch? Or what is your kitchen claim to fame? Tell us!

Traditional Oatmeal Cookies

by Kay~Kacey on 12/20/2008

This recipe has been in our family for generations. It makes the best oatmeal cookies ever. Really.

oatmeal cookie ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
3/4 cup shortening (I use butter, I’m sure my grandmother used lard…)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 C Old Fashioned Quaker Oats (you can use Quick, but I prefer Old Fashioned)
couple tablespoons of powdered sugar for flattening cookies

Makes about 3-4 dozen, depending on size.

kitchenaide mixer

Cream shortening, both sugars, and eggs. Preferably in a lovely KitchenAid mixer. I heart my Red KitchenAid mixer. (Yes, I realize my grandmother mixed her cookies by hand, but I had to go tangential there for a minute. They are still authentic traditional oatmeal cookies if you use a mixer. Trust me!)

Add the rest of the incredients (except the powdered sugar). Mix well. Drop cookies onto greased cookie sheet.

powered sugar mess

Put some powdered sugar in a bowl. Try not to makes a mess like I did.

powdered sugar

If it’s Christmas time and you use a red bowl, so much the better. :mrgreen:

flatten cookies

Flatten the cookies with a fork dipped in powdered sugar.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

milk and cookies

Serve with an ice cold glass of milk. (and if you think that’s all the cookies I ate, you’re sadly mistaken! 🙄 ) You can also substitute a nice glass of wine for the cold glass of milk. Both work well as a side beverage. 😆 Enjoy.

Easy Stuffed Chicken

by Kay~Kacey on 10/19/2008

How about a quick, easy recipe for stuffed chicken breasts? Yes, I’m fully aware that most of the recipes I post here have the word easy or quick in them. I’m an easy kind of gal. No, that didn’t sound right. Nevermind. You know what I mean. While I do have some time consuming, complicated recipes, I find as I get older, I rarely reach for them. So I’ll share with you one of my almost instant dinners.

Easy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

chicken breasts (however many you need to feed your family)
Chives (I prefer fresh, but if you don’t have them growing out your door like I do, use dried)
Cream Cheese (I prefer soft cream cheese, a couple 2-3 tablespoons per chicken breast.)
Bacon (one piece per breast)

easy chicken ingredients

Really, can it get much easier than this?

homemade spice rack

Get your chives right out your back door, or grab them off your homemade spice rack.

cream cheese and chives

Mix chives in with the cream cheese. I think I used about a half the tub of cream cheese for 4 large chicken breasts. Give or take. A couple of teaspoons of dried chives. Use more or less to taste.

stuff with cream cheese

Flatten the chicken breasts. (I flattened but didn’t pound them flat, you know?). Spread on cream cheese mixture.

wrap in bacon

Wrap in bacon and place open/stuffed side up on wire rack over baking pan. (I’ve also just baked them down in the pan, but I prefer to bake them up out of the grease/drippings).

Bake for about an hour on 350. (Note to self, use regular sliced bacon, not this thick sliced bacon I used this time so the bacon gets crispier.)

There you have it! The main course of a romantic dinner for two…

don't forget me

Oh, or a dinner for three if the Geeky One is here too! :mrgreen: