Mile High Lemon Meringue Pie

This recipe comes from the Kingsford cornstarch box. Mom made it for Thanksgiving. We'll see if it makes it  until tomorrow. It really is a mile high with the meringue
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
2 cups water
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons butter OR margarine
1 (9-inch) baked deep dish pie crust
MERINGUE
5 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch

 Mix sugar and corn starch in a saucepan. Stir in water and beaten egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a whisk until mixture reaches a boil. Reduce heat and continue stirring for 1 minute until very thick. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice, lemon peel and butter until smooth.
Pour hot filling into pie crust.
To make MERINGUE: Beat egg whites with electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form; gradually add sugar and corn starch, beating until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight), about 3 minutes.
Spoon meringue over hot lemon filling, sealing meringue to the edges of the crust. Use the back of a spoon to swirl meringue and draw up into peaks. Place oven rack in bottom third of preheated 375°F oven.
Bake 10 minutes, until peaks are lightly browned. Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Chill for a minimum of 3 hours before serving

Chicken Florentine

Mom got this recipe from a cookbook created at her work for employee appreciation week last year. This recipe is from Susan Castanette. We had it last night and it was delicious! We served it with rice.


1/4 C butter
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
1/2 c half and half (or cream)
1/2 c grated parmesan
1 bag fresh spinach
8 oz sliced mushrooms
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or abt 8 tenders)
1-2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Melt butter in saucepan, and stir in garlic soup, seasoning, half and half, and parmesan.
Arrange spinach in 9x13 casserole. Cover with mushrooms and half the sauce. Arrange chicken on top and cover with remaining sauce. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until chicken is done. Top with mozzarella for last 10 minutes of baking. Serve!

Cinnamon Rolls

This is a little different than the recipe mom makes. I like this one a little more for cinnamon rolls because they are a little softer than the brioche recipe. I got this recipe from Kyle.

Dough: 
2 pkg (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast 
1 cup plus 2 Tbs sugar, divided 
1 1/2 cups warm water (110* to 115*) divided 
1 cup milk 
1/2 cup soft butter 
2 eggs 
2 tsp salt 
8-9 cups flour 

Filling: 
1/2 cup butter 
1 cup brown sugar 
5 tsp cinnamon 

Frosting: 
2 oz cream cheese 
1/4 cup butter 
1 cup powder sugar 
2 tsp vanilla (Mexican vanilla is best) 
1/8 tsp almond extract

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 Tbs sugar in 1/2 cup water. In a saucepan, heat the milk, butter and remaining water to 110*-115*; add to yeast mixture. add eggs, salt, 5 cups flour and remaining sugar; beat until smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 min. place in a large bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about an hour. 

At this point if you want to make rolls go ahead and divide into thirds roll; roll each portion into a 14" roll. divide each into 14 pieces. roll pieces into 9" ropes and tie into a knot. place rolls 2" apart on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled about 30 min. bake at 350* for 15-20 min or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter 

For cinnamon rolls, roll dough out into a large circle, like a pizza. With the soft butter spread over dough until well coated, spread the brown sugar and cinnamon on top of butter. Roll the dough into a log length wise, use either dental floss or sewing thread to cut out rolls. place on a greased baking sheet, let rise about 10-15 min. bake at 350* for 20-25 min or until golden brown, add frosting to rolls while still hot to allow frosting to melt into rolls.
Prep Time: 120 Minutes
Cook time: 25 Minutes

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This was pretty simple to make, but I was surprised at how good it turned out to be. It has pretty simple flavors, but it tastes like the flavors of fall. My squash was pretty big, so each half is big enough for a full meal for me, though I think it would make a good side dish as well.

2 acorn squash
1 1/2 cups wild rice
Juice of 2 oranges and zest
1/3 cup dried apricots or cranberries
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

Cut squash in halves and clean out insides. Salt and pepper if desired. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook rice with 3 cups of water, about 20 minutes until water is gone and rice is tender. Combine rice, dried fruit, almonds, ginger and cinnamon. Add zest of both oranges, and juice of 1 1/2 of the oranges. Add salt and pepper and stir to combine. Once squash is out of the oven, squeeze remaining half of orange over squash. Fill the cavity of the squash with rice mixture. Return squash to the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Take out of oven and serve.

Easy Sweet Potato Coconut Curry

I got the original recipe for this from veganeatsblog.com, but I made a few changes. I like curry, but sometimes the flavor is a little stronger than I like. I think this turned out to be a pretty good balance of flavors. You should try it.

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, finely grated or minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into coins
½ teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
2 medium or large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
1¼ teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
Pinch cayenne (more if you want it spicy)
Sea salt, to taste
2-3 cups water
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
Juice of one lime juice
1 cup peas
Cilantro, for garnish (optional)
2-3 cups cooked rice

1. In a stockpot or large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrots, and mustard seeds. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in the sweet potatoes, potatoes, red pepper, tamari, curry powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and a good pinch of salt. Sauté together for about 2 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and cover. Simmer until the root vegetables are tender, about 35 to 45 minutes.
4. Uncover and stir in the chickpeas, coconut milk, and sugar. Heat through while stirring for about 1 minute so that the sugar dissolves.
5. Turn heat off and stir in the lime juice. If needed, season to taste with a pinch more salt. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice.

Millet with Asparagus and Oranges

1 c millet
4 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 oranges, cut in supremes
5 tbs orange juice
2 c boiling water
3-4 tbs toaste walnuts, hazelnuts or pinenuts
1 c asparagus cut into 1 in pieces, steamed
2 tbs fresh basil, minced
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
2-3 tbs hemp seeds (optional)

   Place 1 tbs of oil in 2 qt sauce pan over medium high heat. Add millet and cook, stirring often for 3-5 minutes until seeds turn slightly darker and produce fragrant aroma. Stir in garlic and cook for another minute. Add 1 tbs of orange juice and the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 25-30 minutes until water is absorbed and millet is tender. Transfer to large bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining oil and orange juice. Add balsamic vinegar, basil and salt. Add asparagus, nuts, oranges, and hemp seeds to the millet. Fold in dressing to combine and serve. Serves 6-8.

Beth's Whole Wheat Bread

As I said in our family newsletter, I have been making bread a lot lately, and I really like Beth's recipe, I just have to find a way to get more honey for cheap -- still trying to work out a bartering system with Jared... we'll see ;-) Since I am heading to SLC, and getting my some help with my computer, I figure a loaf of bread is good payment, right? So, here is the recipe I got from Beth last year:


Whole Wheat Bread

2 packages active dry yeast

2 1/4 cups warm water

3 Tbs sugar

1/3 C margarine

1/3 C honey

1/2 C instant nonfat dry milk powder

1 Tbs salt

4 1/2 whole wheat flour

2 3/4 - 3 1/2 C all-purpose flour

In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, margarine, honey, milk powder, salt and whole wheat flour; beat until smooth. Add enough all purpose flour to form a soft dough.Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. 

Punch dough down. Shape dough into traditional loaves or divide into fourths and roll each portion intoa 15 inch rope. Twist two ropes together. Place in greased 9x5 in. loaf pans Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 m inutes. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

****Some things I do differently are: I do not end up adding all of the all purpose flour. It seems to be good enough at 2 1/4 cups****

 ****Also because I am trying to be good about studying, not cooking, I use my kitchen aid, and cut the kneading time in half is what it turns out to be about 5 min from when I start adding flower, to when I am done mixing it.****