Domestic Engineering at its Finest

recipe below

I don't claim to be a baker. In fact, I'm terrible at it, but this time of year does something to me. Suddenly I want to start baking cookies, cinnamon rolls, and anything else I can think of. Pumpkin brownies initiate fall for me. I had some chocolate chips and a can of pumpkin left over from last year and decided that this was the week to make them. I love the aroma of  pumpkin and cinnamon as they cook. The timer went off and when I pulled them out of the oven, they looked a little funny.



The color was off. These brownies aren't supposed to be yellow. I mean, they're supposed to be more orange, but definitely not yellow. We cut into them after they had cooled and from the first bite, I knew what was wrong. I forgot one important ingredient. Brownies don't taste very good if they don't have any sugar in them! The funny thing about this is that right before Brandon ate one has asked, "You didn't forget the sugar, did you?" "No!" I replied without even giving it a thought. Then I remembered. I did the same thing last year. You'd think I would have remembered something like that! Our much anticipated treat ended up going bad. Real bad. So much for our fall initiation. At least we had a nice smell throughout the house.

Speaking of smells, Caleb has started to read simple words and this week we were working on "ar" words. It was so fun writing words on the magna doodle and having him read them out loud. So fun, in fact, that his brother and sister got in on the action as well.  Brandon was excited to point out another "ar" word that Caleb could spell, and looking back on it, I should have seen it coming. At least he stuck with the "ar" root. Needless to say, Caleb has a new favorite word. I can't describe the pride I'm feeling right now.


The kids have also been saying some pretty funny things lately:

We overheard Kelsie saying to Brandon in the car, "You have a really high voice for a boy." It reminded us of something a friend pointed out previously: "It's not so much the decibel as the pitch."

Caleb, pouring a package of oatmeal into his bowl for breakfast said, "Now that's what I call a bowls-eye!" when it all landed in the bowl.

Caleb also has been saying things like, "Well looky here!" and "Well, what do you know?" a lot lately.

Brandon, before his first soccer practice: "I can't wait to show everyone my skills!" (Maybe he needs a slice of humble pie?! On the other hand, he did score 3 goals in his first game!)

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Here's the pumpkin brownie recipe if you want to try it. It's really good and a huge family favorite (as long as you don't forget the sugar!):

Pumpkin Brownies

1 1/2 C sifted flour
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 C melted butter
3/4 C cooked pumpkin
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C nuts (optional)

Sift together dry ingredients. Stir eggs, butter, and pumpkin together. Add dry ingredients. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into 9X9 greased pan. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes.

Pizza Night!

Pizza night is one of our most cherished traditions. There's something for everyone, and everyone gets dessert!

Our favorite pizzas include Pineapple and Ham, a meatlovers with "The Works", and the ever kid-pleasing Cheese and Pepperoni. We also whip up the occasional concoctions that don't use a traditional red sauce, like our Barbecue Chicken Pizza and a vegetarian Artichoke Heart Pizza. Whatever it is, we're always looking forward to Saturday Night. (We're also always looking for new ideas, and we'd love to try your favorites too!). If you want to recreate our Pizza Night at your house, here are our favorite basic recipes to get you started:

The Dough:
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4.5 - 5 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
3 Tbsp sugar or honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons of yeast (or up to 2 tablespoons, depending on how active your yeast is)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup milk3/4 cup warm (~110 F) water

Dissolve the sugar in warm water and add the sugar. Add the yeast. If you want to check the yeast, let this mixture sit for 5-10 min and make sure it's foaming. Add the milk and the olive oil.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together 2 cups of flour, the salt, and the wet ingredients. Continue adding 1-2 cups of flour until the mixture forms a course ball. On a clean, flat surface, knead in the rest of the flour. By hand, this takes about 10 minutes (it takes a lot of work to get all 5 cups in). Use the windowpane test to tell if it's done mixing. What's the windowpane test? Take a small piece of the dough and gently tug and turn it, stretching it out until it forms a paper-thin, translucent membrane (the "windowpane") somewhere in the middle. The thinner you can make this membrane without breaking it the better. If it doesn't form this, it probably needs a few more minutes mixing. We usually let the dough rest a couple of minutes before doing the "windowpane test".)

Let rest for a few minutes and then divide into 4 balls. Allow the dough to rise in an olive-oiled container or Ziplock plastic bag for at least 2 hours. (**If you don't need to make that much pizza, you can put the unused balls into an oiled plastic freezer bag and throw them in the freezer until you want to use them. Then when you're ready, throw them in the fridge the night before you want to use it.**)
Roll out each ball into a 12-14" circle. Place the rolled-out dough onto your cooking surface (an olive-oiled cast-iron skillet or a preheated pizza stone sprinkled with corn meal). Poke the crust generously with a fork. Top with your favorite toppings. Cook in a preheated (~450 F) oven for 10-14 minutes, checking the bottom of the crust occasionally to make sure it's not burning. Crust should be a golden brown on the bottom.

Tips and tricks: I've found that the crust can make or break an otherwise ordinary pizza. There are a lot of recipes out there, and most of them are pretty similar. We've found a few things that make the difference between a "just okay" and a really great crust:

1. Use high-gluten or bread flour instead of "all-purpose" flour.
2. Let the dough rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Overnight in the fridge is better.
3. Let the dough rise for more than 10 after rolling it out before you start putting on the toppings.
3. Cook the pizza on a pizza stone in the oven or a cast-iron skillet over the grill.

The Sauce:
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1 15-oz can (or 2 8-oz cans) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 clove finely grated garlic)
Dash of onion powder (or ~1/4 teaspoon finely grated onion)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a pan and heat over medium heat until bubbling. Simmer over low heat for at least 15 minutes, or until your ready to make the pizzas.

KP is our resident sauce expert. She says: "The sauce turns out better when it's not exactly the same every time. Change up the amount of each spice once in a while to keep it interesting. " And using her very best Rachel Ray impression, she doesn't bother measuring out some of the ingredients any more. Sounds risky, but so far this is working out just fine, so keep on doing what you're doing, KP.

Now you're ready for your own pizza night. Hope you like it. Let us know what you think! And, of course, we'd love to hear your suggestions for new ways to keep Pizza Night the best night of the week.

Cooking, yet again!

 

I really like to experiment and try  new foods at our house with the hopes that one day, (soon?), my kids will actually appreciate all the delicious food out there.  I recently found a recipe for some lettuce wraps (which I love) and they turned out so good, I just have to pass it on.  Check it out here and if you try it, let me know how you like it!

(If you’re into crafty things like me, check out the rest of her blog for some other great ideas too!)

Love Day Dance

Ahhhh, love is in the air! Did you get bit by the Lovebug this year? We had such a fun Valentine's Day! We had our annual Family Valentine's Dance Saturday night and it was the best one we've had yet! Kelsie was excited to decorate the basement with streamers and balloons while the rest of us cleared the room of toys to create our dance floor and protect our feet! We began the night with homemade heart shaped pizza's for the kids to eat and then sent them on a little treasure hunt to find their box of Valentine cards and goodies. They had a great time running all over the house looking for the clues!

Our dance started as soon as the "tub of love" was found and we spent the next hour dancing away! Kelsie and Brandon really got into the dance this year, moving to the beat like never before. Wally taught Kelsie a few swing dance moves and that took our dance to a whole new level! We all contributed to our playlist which included everything from The Wiggles for Caleb to The Boys Are Back from HSM3 for Brandon. Our Valentine's dance wouldn't be complete without Kelsie and Wally's special song, Butterfly Kisses.

This is one of our favorite family traditions that we have. It's always fun, chaotic, and everything in between. We loved how Caleb would ride his new scooter through the dance floor, oblivious to anything that was going on, and how Brandon would take a break from dancing to play with his Bakugan's. Kelsie was as beautiful as ever and danced to every single song. We love our family and all the fun things we do together.

When the dance was over, and the kids all sugared up and in bed, Wally and I celebrated our Valentine's Day by making our own Chinese food take-out. My sister-in-law gave me her Kung Pao Chicken recipe, and I found a Fried Rice recipe online. We also made Moo Shu Noodles to go along with our meal and all the food turned out so yummy! We ate as much as we could (probably more than we should have eaten) and then talked for a while. It was such a fun, relaxing Valentine's day and I wouldn't have changed anything about it!

Happy Love Day!

The Best Ever Turkey Recipe

I have had a lot of people ask me for this recipe this year, so I thought I'd just post it and share with everyone. This is, by far, the best turkey recipe I have ever had. Just remember, if it doesn't turn out for you, it's not my fault. Blame the cook. : )

Put your turkey in a 5 gallon bucket, or something about that size, and cover it with water. For every 1 gallon of water, add 1 cup salt and 1/2 c. brown sugar. Let your turkey soak in that overnight.

In the morning, stuff the turkey with a cut up pears, apples, limes, oranges, garlic and onions. i just quarter them and stuff them like that (you won't be eating these, they are just there to give flavor to the bird). Spread butter or oil the skin on top, and make a tin foil hat for the breast of the bird.

Put it in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes at the hottest temperature your oven will go, about 550 degrees. After 30 minutes, put the tinfoil hat on and turn the heat down to 350 degrees. **Don't forget to turn the heat down, you don't want a burnt turkey. Cook it for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or longer depending on how big your turkey is, until your meat thermometer reads 180 degrees. (The bones get hotter than the meat, so make sure you have the thermometer deep into just the mea.) Let your turkey rest for about 15-20 minutes before cutting it up and serving for the best flavor.

Gravy:
I just pour the drippings into a pan under high heat and thicken it with a mixture of corn starch and water to the desired consistency.

Happy Thanksgiving! Let me know if you have any questions!