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recipes

Recipe: AppelFlappen

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Made a new recipe for New Year’s Day, a dutch recipe that we’ve not tried before.  AppelFlappen.  Turned out well.

You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

6 baking apples (Spy, Red Delicious and Granny Smith work well)
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1⁄2 cup milk

Instructions:

Peel and core apples, cut into slices to form rings about 1/2 inch thick.  We made a couple of rings and then decided it was easier to just do small chunks. 
Beat egg into milk and add to dry ingredients. result should be the consistency of pancake batter.  We needed more milk than the recipe called for. 
Dip apple rings into batter and deep fry at 350* until golden brown on both sides. do not overcrowd, fry 3 or 4 slices at a time allowing plenty of space to flip the slices over.
Drain on paper towels and let cool for 30 minutes.
Place on a tray and sprinkle with icing sugar. (also good plain).

 

For other holiday cooking see the following

New and old, the boys,and togetherness.

Recipe: Pineapple Lamb

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My son made me laugh tonight.  I created a new recipe and well as we were eating it, he looked at me all serious like “mom, this is so horrible, you should punish me severely and make me eat the rest of it all by myself!”

I laughed, hubby’s response was “I guess you like it then eh?”.  🙂

As I wrote this post I asked hubby “what should I call this?”

“Pineapple Lamb”.  So there you have it.. PINEAPPLE LAMB.

Ingredients:

1 lb lamb.  I bought the shaved lamb that comes in rolls from the Asian market.
3 green onions
about 2 tbsp. rosemary – we used fresh
1 medium carrot, coarsely grated.
Celery (about three stalks thinly diced)
1 can pineapple tidbits drained…if you have a boy child watch him steal the pineapple juice.. let him 🙂
Salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder as well.
Worchestershire sauce (to taste… we put in 3-4 shakes)
1 jar pineapple sauce.

Directions: 

Let the meat cook a bit until browned, season it as you will (we used salt, pepper and garlic powder).
Add the green onions, carrot and pineapple tidbits. Stir it around so it’s well mixed.
Add in the jar of pineapple sauce.

Let it cook for about 20 minutes roughly covered.
I checked it at the 10 minute mark, turned it down and opened the vent on the lid to let it cook down a touch.

Made up some mashed taters to go with it at the lad’s request.. I originally wanted to do it over a bed of rice but since the boys asked so nicely… 🙂

Thoughts when eating

  • “this turned out well”,
    “Good, good, make it for my birthday please”,
    “tastes good, bet we could add some yellow or orange bell peppers too”
    “Can I finish it off?”

Serves four if you are eating conservatively… three if people are hungry with just a touch left over.

Christmas Baking, The New and The Old

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EVERY Single year I make papernauten for Christmas. The very odd occasion I will make them other times of the year, but to me they are the best Christmas cookie EVER.  🙂  BAR NONE!

So here’s my recipe:

Papernauten

Here’s how to make them.

Beat three eggs until frothy
Add 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar (packed) Beat until very light and fluffy about 5-6 minutes. Set aside.

Mix together the following:
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup ground almonds

Then add the following

In our family we double the amount of spices,  This is the doubled amount, if you don’t want them as strong tasting cut all this in half. 🙂
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tsp grated lemon rind …or add some lemon juice to the eggs and sugar mix

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients. It is a VERY dry mix.

Pick some up and knead it in your hands for a bit, if needed dip your fingertips in water to make it more pliable.

Then form it into a rope about 1/2 inch in diameter. Break into bite-sized chunks (about 1/2 inch) and then cook in preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes (until lightly browned)

YUMMY.  Your children will be begging for more (at least mine does).

 

AND… Like my boy I decided to try something new this year.

Geertsma Family Spiced Egg Cookies.

Two bowls needed.  Preheat oven to 400F

Bowl one:

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda

Bowl two
3 eggs
3/4 c white sugar
1 1/2 tsp corn syrup
3/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 c toasted sliced almonds (we fiddled with this a bit)

Instructions. 
Preheat oven to 400F
1. Mix all dry ingredients in bowl one.  Set aside.
2. Mix all wet ingredients in bowl two until creamy.   Takes about 6 minutes.
3. Slowly add dry to wet until well combined.
4. Drop onto parchment paper, leave about 2 inches between.  About a good tablespoon each. 
5. Sprinkle almonds on top. 
6. Bake for 8 minutes until light browned. They tend to stick so store with wax paper between.

Christmas Baking, The Boys

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The boys did some baking!   It’s always good to have the boys help out.  AND it’s fun to watch skills develop (in the lad) and creativity happen in my man!   I just thoroughly enjoy it. 🙂

So the lad made some Sugar Cookies today.  He saw how much they made and promptly cut the recipe in half.  MOM!  We don’t need to eat THAT many cookies!!!!!!!   Made dad and I laugh in agreement.  🙂  I decorated half of them, he did the rest.  I taught him a couple things to make it easier (like rolling out half the dough at a time)

Chocolate Pretzels.

The other day he made pretzels.  VERY easy for a lad to make.  Take some milk chocolate, melt it slowly in the microwave, dip the pretzels.    I told him what to do and off he went.  They turned out a bit more chocolatey than I expected, but it’s all good cause… WE LIKE CHOCOLATE.  🙂

 

 

Then Dad found a recipe and said “Think we should try it?”  I told him.. “Go ahead, looks good”.

Fudgey Marshmallow Squares. 

Ingredients
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup Nutella (or smooth nut butter of choice)
¼ cup salted butter
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut
4 cups mini rainbow marshmallows

Instructions
Line 8” x 8” pan with wax paper, letting the ends hang over the edges. You will use these as handles later.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the chocolate chips, Nutella and butter. Heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool until pan is safely touchable on the bottom but still smooth to stir.
Stir in coconut to combine well. Stir in marshmallows to cover.
Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Place a sheet of clear wrap over the top and press mixture firmly and evenly down into pan to make an even top.
Chill in refrigerator, covered with the plastic wrap, for at least 3 hours before cutting into squares. Remove from refrigerator just before serving.

Anyways, if you make them… let me know!   Take a pic and send it to me.  Always good to share eh?

 

Christmas Baking Togetherness

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Do you know what’s been special about this year for Christmas?   

It’s not just me making the Christmas goodies.   Hubby and son have pitched in which has been totally wonderful!  

So I thought I’d do up a few posts talking about some of the recipes we’ve made together.  Today part one, recipes the lad and I made together. 

Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix together:
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
Set this aside for now.

Separate bowl cream: Mix for about 2 minutes, you want it light and fluffy
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/3 light brown sugar

Add 2 large eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Add:
1 1/3 c pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla

Now add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Divided evenly into muffin tins.. either use muffin liners or grease the cups well.
Makes 12 muffins.

Cool on wire rack. I found them very easy to remove from the cups and they cooled nicely. They are a somewhat moist muffin so only keep for a couple days on counter, or keep them in the a cool area.

 

Cherry Pie with Mousse

I unfortunately don’t have a picture of this pie as well…. a 12 year old happened!!!!

I told him how to make it and he did.  🙂   It’s REALLY easy.

Take a graham crumb pie from your local Dollarama (or grocery store etc).

Spoon in almost a full can of cherry pie filling (since a boy was doing this he retained some for his own pleasure).

Mix up some mousse (make your own or use a package). Spoon the mouse (we used a vanilla one from a package) over the pie filling.  Let it set in your fridge warning a boy to keep his paws off it until it sets.

Make some quiche for supper and have the pie as dessert or as a counter point to the bacony taste of the quiche, and be amazed at how quickly a boy can pack pie away.  🙂

Recipe: Jam Pork Fry

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Today I confused my sweetheart.  He had this thought I was going to make honey garlic pork and here I was adding stuff to pork in a pan and not making a marinade.   I told him I wasn’t making that but was replicating a meal I used to make when I wasn’t hungry but needed to eat something.

This is what I did.  MIND… no real measurements happened here as I was just tossing stuff in.   I’ll give approximates where I can.


One pork tenderloin cut into bite sized pieces.
Toss that into a fry pan,
add  
Thin jam jelly mixed half/half with water.   About… 1/4 cup jelly.  (I used beet jam)
3 tsp of minced garlic
Soy sauce…I aimed for about a tbsp but ended up with about 2  tbsps.
1/4 of a medium onion diced.
add some seasoning: I used parsley, oregano, montreal steak spice and salt. But you know.. add whatever you like, everyone has different taste buds.
Let that cook a spell.
Then add
About 4 tbsp of a whole berry jam…. I used Saskatoon berry today but have used gooseberry and blueberry in the past.
add 1/2 diced apple just before it’s cooked through.
Let it cook down a bit as you want it to be saucy not overly runny. 

Give it a taste test and then add more seasonings if needed.   This part was fun today as I had my lad taste testing it with me.  We ended up adding a bit of lemon pepper and then deemed it good.

How to serve?
In the past I’ve done it on bread (like a sandwich), or served over a bed of rice or mashed taters.  Everytime I make it, it’s a touch different, depends on the species used.

Today I served it over sliced skin on boiled potatoes.

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Friday Fun: Math in the Kitchen with free printable

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One of the most enjoyable ways I know of to do math is using food.   

When my lad was young we used skittles and m&m’s to count and subtract.  We broke hallowe’en candy down into groups and numbers, seeing how it all went together and what not.   We’ve done gummy bear math, lego math, and math blocks.  Lots of fun in many different ways.  

As he gets older I find it harder to make math fun, but I’ve also discovered my lad finds new food FUN NOW!!   Gack!   Can you imagine it?   This super picky boy likes experimenting with food now!  

It moves fun into the kitchen, trying new recipes, finding ones that are for singles and making them work for threes, finding recipes for crowds, and making the recipe just enough for one, maybe two meals.  Math is fun when it involves new food.  

Here’s a recipe we worked with recently, that was way too big for our family of three.  Throw into the math mix was the variation in veggies available.   What to do eh?   Can a lad use his math skills to figure out how to work it all out?  Can he use his critical thinking skills to determine all the changes he may need to make?

Ingredients

  • 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
  • 2 cups frozen green beans
  • 1 cup sliced celery
  • 2/3 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup chopped onion
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 1/3 cups milk
  • 4 cups cubed cooked turkey meat – light and dark meat mixed
  • 4 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
  2. Place the peas and
    carrots, green beans, and celery into a saucepan; cover with water,
    bring to a boil, and simmer over medium-low heat until the celery is
    tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the vegetables in a colander set in the
    sink, and set aside.
  3. Melt the butter in a
    saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent, about 5
    minutes. Stir in 2/3 cup of flour, salt, black pepper, celery seed,
    onion powder, and Italian seasoning; slowly whisk in the chicken broth
    and milk until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. Remove from
    heat; stir the cooked vegetables and turkey meat into the filling until
    well combined.
  4. Fit 2 pie crusts into
    the bottom of 2 9-inch pie dishes. Spoon half the filling into each pie
    crust, then top each pie with another crust. Pinch and roll the top and
    bottom crusts together at the edge of each pie to seal, and cut several
    small slits into the top of the pies with a sharp knife to release
    steam.
  5. Bake in the preheated
    oven until the crusts are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 30 to
    35 minutes. If the crusts are browning too quickly, cover the pies with
    aluminum foil after about 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before
    serving.

Would you like to work through the same thinking my lad had to do?
There are no really wrong answers.   It’s playing around with a recipe and seeing what you think works and then proving out your thoughts and math skills.

Click on the image below for a free printable.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15zSodL9tmo1m8VuDgreMaPo5YSpEXupd0gSk6-FvK3w/edit?usp=sharing

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.