Toffee in a Can

I have made a remarkable discovery: Sweetened condensed milk can transform into toffee with the help of a pot of boiling water. IT IS SO GOOD. This is Ryan’s new favorite. There are so many things you can do with this can of sweet goodness. I kind of followed a recipe called “Banoffee Danger Pie” from another blog. 

We start with the sweetened condensed milk. All you have to do is take the label off the can and stick in a pot of boiling water, cover it and boil for 2.5 hours. I usually do three cans at a time. 

The rest is fast and easy! I used a premade crust, but the time that I made my own crust it made a difference. If you need to make something fast for the lady’s club tonight, I’d use the premade crust. Cut three bananas up and place them at the bottom. Pour your toffee can on top and spread it evenly over the bananas (I don’t use the whole can because a thick layer makes the pie too rich and messy). Put it in the fridge for a half hour or more, so the pie can set. Then plop your whip cream on top, spread around and for a more elegant look, you can grate chocolate shavings on the top. WA-LA! I’m so glad I found this recipe. Check out this on the blog Brooklyn Limestone blog. It has a lot of other great stuff. 

http://www.brooklynlimestone.com/2010/08/recipe-banoffee-danger-pie.html#.ULg9X4Ybv9o

We Want Ham!

One of my favorite foods Thanksgiving has to offer are the sauces for the meat. Turkey is the backbone of our Thanksgiving and we couldn't do without the the meat's better half. My mom made homemade cranberry sauce this year instead of using the can. And I'll tell you, homemade sauces are ten times better than the canned or store bought stuff. My mom went all out this year and made almost everything from scratch. I'm really proud of her efforts and the way she took all of these gymnasts into her home. Sometimes I think she does too much, but she really cares about people and wants to make them feel welcome in our home. This Thanksgiving was a success because of her.

Usually turkey and cranberry sauce take up most of my plate but I have now found my new favorite Thanksgiving backbone. This year, my mom tried a new Pineapple Ham Sauce that I could eat by itself. Its just another great, simple recipe. The ham and this sauce were gone first with our 30 something guests. One change we made to the ham sauce was using honey mustard instead of plain mustard. It turned out amazing.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1727,147160-231194,00.html

What a Pleasant Surprise!

One of the salads that my mom and I made for Thanksgiving was called “Mama's Ambrosia” fruit salad. I've had versions of this recipe and have not been a big fan. Its made of marshmallows, canned fruit, sour cream and whipped cream. I know it doesn't sound like much, but most of my family liked it. And I was pleasantly surprised. My mom made a few changes to the recipe.

1. On behalf of my sister and myself, she left the walnuts out. We both dislike nuts, which my dad sees as a major character flaw. If you like walnuts I would keep them in, to make the texture vary a little bit more.
2. My mom used half of an 8 ounce container of sour cream and substituted the other half with whipped cream. We were tempted at first to use only whipped cream, but we are glad we didn't. The salad would have been too sweet. We all would have needed a trip to the dentist afterward.
3. We did not have any fruit cocktail, so we used two little jars of drained maraschino cherries. I don't like these nasty canned cherries, but again I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor they add to the sweetness.

We made a TON of this fruity salad, so we had a lot left over. It is a great bedtime snack and keeps pretty well. In fact, I just had some with my dinner. I will definitely make this again, before next Thanksgiving.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mamas-ambrosia/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=fruit%20salad%20ambrosia&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Simplicity of the Pumpkin Pie

My mom and I have tried so many different recipes for pumpkin pie. But the past couple years we have used this recipe from allrecipes.com. It’s very simple and it is rich and fluffy. The recipe says to use a whisk until smooth after you’ve combined all the ingredients. The pie will be less dense if you also use a electric blender for 2-3 minutes after using the whisk. We read a positive review with a tip and tried it this year. The only changes we made were mixing the pumpkin puree, spices and salt on medium heat over the stove. Then you let it cool before mixing in the other ingredients. I think does lessen the somewhat overbearing pumpkin taste and brings the taste of the spices out more. If I was in a hurry I would use the instructions of the first.

We were lazy this year and cheated with store bought pie crusts. The most important part of this recipe is the baking time and temperature. You preheat the oven for 425 degrees and put the pie in for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes. This way you don’t burn the top. The pumpkin pie was the second most popular pie this year, next to the chocolate cream pie. With a dollop of whip cream on top, it was delicious!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/perfect-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=pumpkin%20pie&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Deviled Eggs

Recipe #1: Deviled Eggs

These are a delicacy at the Nye house. My mom usually only makes them for Thanksgiving, but they are gone after their journey around the table. I’m not a big fan of deviled eggs but Christina and Ryan like them so much that I had to post about it.

Christina helped with the peeling of the eggs, of course (one for me, one for dinner, one for me…). My mom told me that older eggs are much easier to peel than the ones you just bought at the grocery store. And when you’re peeling 20 eggs or so, it helps if the shells cooperate. 

After you’ve peeled the eggs, carefully cut them in half, long ways, and take the yolk out. Mash all the egg yolks in a bowl with a fork. Add mayo, honey mustard and a little bit of ranch dressing (add at small amounts (¼ cup) of the mayo and mustard until smooth and then add a little ranch. Spoon the mixture into the egg hole and then dash the top with paprika. If you would like a clearer recipe, I’ve provided a good recipe at the bottom. Recipe #1 was a success and there are no more!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/deviled-eggs-i/

Thanksgiving Eve Anxiety

American’s are known for our eating habits, but we are the only country that I know of that dedicates a whole day to eating. I’m a stick thin American and my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I’m not sure if it’s because my Thanksgiving Day’s have a bunch of extended family involved or that my favorite foods are involved. I love turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and PIE!

Tomorrow will be the craziest Thanksgiving the Nye household has ever hosted. We won’t have any extended family, but we will have the entire Utah State University gymnastics team.  My sister Christina is on the team and this year the coach decided to have practice over the break. None of the girls could go home for Thanksgiving so my mom bravely invited them all over. She’s a little overwhelmed at the moment, to say the least. I will be her assistant tomorrow and I’m sure that I will learn a lot about how to organize and cook a Thanksgiving dinner. Over the next week, I will post once a day sharing the recipes my mom and I used, and how they turned out. Wish us luck and stay tuned!

Beef Stew for You

Every student, elementary or college level, can attest to the fact that all teachers get to together and plan to have all their papers due and tests taken in one single week just to torture us. The last couple weeks have been so busy for me that I barely find time to eat. I’ve been trying to find some recipes that can be made quickly and are good leftovers. I absolutely hate leftovers. But last week I tried a Beef Stew recipe from the Food Network. It has saved me from starvation. It is called Old-Time Beef Stew by the famous Paula Deen. I made the stew on a Sunday when I had some time and then put it in some small individual Tupperware (the amount I put in the container was for a small crockpot I have). I followed the recipe instructions exactly and I stuck them in the freezer. The next week, after I got ready in the morning and was about to head out the door, I put one of the containers in the crock pot and set it on low. Then when it came time for my short lunch break, I’d run home and eat the stew with a piece of bread and milk. It really was an amazing lunch compared to the Mac n’ Cheese I’ve gotten used to.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-time-beef-stew-recipe/index.html

 

Football Finger Food

This weekend, my family went to St. George, UT to enjoy the warm weather. Too bad we brought the cold weather with us. Saturday’s low was 35 degrees, so most of the morning we stayed inside, watching football and playing Catchaphrase. The relaxation was nice. Isn’t that what vacations are all about? The only thing missing was unhealthy, fattening food. One of my family’s favorite finger food recipes is this Cheesy Mushroom Pull-Apart bread we tried a while back. A perfect snack for a lazy day. 

We bought all the ingredients, but left the poppy seeds out. The hardest part while making this is cutting the bread. It really helps if you use a bread knife. You cut the bread so it looks like a big tic tac toe box. The first time I tried cutting the bread, it fell apart and did not look like the picture at all. But to my surprise, it was easier to pull apart and still had great flavor. So don’t fret if it looks unappetizing. It is supposed to be a messy, lazy, delicious finger food. Enjoy!

http://www.beantownbaker.com/2012/01/cheesey-mushroom-pull-apart-bread.html