German Chocolate Pudding

So last time I made chocolate pudding, I did not point it out to anyone, but it tasted a little powdery. It was good, but left room for improvement... Lately I have been short on money, but the last 3 days with all of the hiking that I have down or who knows what I have been craving sweets... but not caved to buy anything... rather I have made a few things here and there... I noticed the stamp date on my milk was yesterday, and there were about 4 cups left, so I began to think...  and re-create... I had some German Chocolate baker squares I found at the dollar store earlier this year... so... here is what became of it...

German Chocolate pudding...

In large enough pan add:

3 c whole milk

1 c sugar

2 oz of Baker's German chocolate 

(half of the box)

2 T of cocoa 

Bring to a light boil at medium heat.

While the first pan heats, in small bowel whisk: 

1 c whole milk

2 t vanilla

1 t salt

3 egg yolks

6 t of corn starch

Once the pan comes to a boil gradually add small parts of the the cold mixture in, whisking fast while adding. 

The flavor of this pudding turned out really good, but there were small pieces of egg that had cooked  before beating in, and I probably should have cooked it a bit longer because it did not set up fully... even this morning when I had some for breakfast... Anyways the flavor was good enough, the lack of powder flavor was gone, so I enjoyed it ;-) Maybe next time I'll use the same ingredients, but once the chocolate mixture boils gradually pour it in as my kitchen aid beats everything, then return it to the stove for a boil? We'll see ;-)

Tart Cherry Galette

 Yes, that is my foot in that picture. With a beautiful tart cherry galette. So what? Maybe I am the worst at photography, but it doesn't change how good the food I make is.
 The family ward has an annual pie party which we went to yesterday. I made apple pie. I wasn't really thinking and I made extra pie dough thinking a double batch of this recipe would lead to a double pie crust. One batch makes a double pie crust. So I did the sensible thing when we got home from the party and made a tart cherry galette and a peach galette. Sensible might not be the right word.
 I am justifying at least the cherry galette after hearing a story on NPR this week about cherries as an anti-inflammatory for joint pain. In reality, I am just helping to heal myself after that car accident badness a few weeks ago. I am sure this will reduce the amount of physical therapy for me in the coming weeks.
 Okay. So maybe it won't. But at least it tastes good.
 Oh and I think this is my favorite pie crust recipe. It comes from King Arthur Flour and I have never had a problem with it. My go-to pie dough recipe. Try it. It's as easy as pie.

Peach Galette. Also a
 delightful way to get fat.

Crust
2 1/2 c flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 c shortening
1/2 c cold unsalted butter
1/2 c ice water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening into pea-sized lumps. Cut in butter until you have small flakes (I think the original recipe says flakes the size of a finger nail.) Add water, two tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork. When dough begins to hold together, transfer to a  piece of wax or parchment paper. Sprinkle any dry spots with water. Fold dough 3-4 times to bring together. Divide in half and form 2 round disks. Roll the edges of the disks until smooth to prevent cracking when rolling out dough later. Wrap disks and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cherries
2 c tart cherries
1/2 c sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 TBS cornstarch

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Stir, cooking on low until cherry juices have thickened. Remove from heat.

Galette
Roll out one of the disks of dough. Place in pie pan and trim edges. Pour cherries into crust. Bring down the edges of the crust, folding over on itself every inch or two. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until crust has browned. Cool and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

We made peanut butter cookies this weekend as a thank you for some of the people who've helped us out lately. It was Sunday, and we never made it to the store the day before (turns out cracking your head open changes your plans for the day) so we didn't have any butter for cookies. Fortunately, this recipe calls for shortening. I took this recipe from Kyle and Bekah's blog, but I am pretty sure it comes from Betty Crocker originally. I forgot to take a picture of them before we had them almost all packaged up, so this isn't the best, but believe me, they were good!

1/2 C Shortening
1/2 C Peanut butter (creamy or crunchy is fine)
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown sugar 
1 Egg
1 1/4 Flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp Baking soda
1/3 tsp Salt
Sugar

Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm. Heat oven to 375ºF. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar (water works too). Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from pan and let cool. Enjoy!

Noall Pumpkin Bars

The Noall's are perfectionists... but because they are... they have some darn good recipes... one of my favorite that they have is there Pumpkin Bars, I believe they are from some Uncle Paul... Anyways snuck a pic of the recipe after I made them last week... and thought the family may want to use it because they are SOOO easy and soo good. However, they are best refrigerated the next day.

• 4 Eggs
• 1 2/3 c sugar
• 1 c vegetable oil
• 16 oz of pumpkin
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and soda. Mix thoroughly. Spread patter in an ungreased 15x10x1 baking pan (Jelly Roll). Bake at 350 for 30 min. Cool, then frost with the following cream cheese frosting. Store in refrigerator in Tupperware.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 6 oz Cream cheese
• 1 c butter, softened
• 2 t vanilla
• 6 c powdered sugar

Cream together cream cheese and butter. stir in vanilla and add powdered sugar, a little at time beating well till mixture is smooth.

Melissa's Internet Snicker Doodles

Years ago, when I was living in Ogden, and Melissa was in Atlanta, I was talking to her and got some recipes from her for cookies. This is one of them, when I asked her where she got the recipe, she did not remember where, but that it was off of the internet somewhere. I have made these here and there over the past few years, and they are great. The key to this recipe, is to not make them too large, and pull them out of the oven when they look underdone, and then let them harden on the pan for few minutes before placing them on the rack to cook. This makes for a great chew snicker doodle ;-)

1/2 c Shortening
1/2 c Butter
1 1/2 c White sugar
Cream the above ingredients.

Add the following:
2 Eggs
2 3/4 c Flour
1 t Baking Soda
2 t Cream of tarter
1/2 t Salt
Stir in until fully incorporated.

In another small 1 cup bowl combine:
2 T White Sugar
2 T Cinnamon

Roll into small balls and then coat with the cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 min.

Spaghetti Squash and Asparagus with Coconut Sauce

We made this for lunches this week. I started with a few recipes but, it evolved to this. The sauce was so good! I think next time I make it, I'll try it on pasta.


Sauce
Zest of a lime
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon coconut 
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup coconut milk

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until combined.  
On 350, bake a spaghetti squash for 45 min to an hour, until done. Meanwhile, steam about a cup of asparagus. Scrape out the inside of spaghetti squash and separate strains into a bowl. Add asparagus and 3-4 TBS of pine nuts. Pour sauce over and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper as desired. May serve with rice.