Family favorites
This is a recipe I made a while ago but at the time I was having some difficulties adding pictures into the posts. Well, today I fixed that! This dish would be great for the upcoming holidays!
I will be doing some catch up posts next week with some restaurant reviews from some of our travels and I also have some quick and delicious stir fry and one pot dishes coming up!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Tablespoons of salted butter
- 2 Tablespoons of honey
- 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen corn
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- pinch of salt
- pinch of pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a skillet over medium high heat melt the butter and honey. Once melted add the frozen corn and cook for 5-8 minutes stirring occasionally until cooked through.
Add the cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir together and let cook an additional 3 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve immediately. Left overs can be stored covered in the fridge.
Enjoy!
I mentioned we went to Cape Cod Massachusetts for a few days with friends, one of the things we did was to go to the New England Harvest Feast at the Plymouth Plantation. What an amazing experience. It’s basically a pilgrim dinner just like they would have had many years ago but with some obvious changes. All of the people were dressed in character and played a role that included talking about what their life was like, telling us about each course we were being served as well as making sure we were using proper table manners. Proper table manners now and then are very different. We were asked to put our napkin over our left shoulder and we were told to use our thumb and two fingers to eat our meal. We were given a spoon so there may have been a little cheating going on!
NOTE- it was extremely difficult taking food pictures at an interactive family style dinner so my apologies with a few of the pictures!
This was a family style dinner served at one very long table. If you are concerned with covid this may not be the event for you as the food plates were passed and shared BUT I will tell you some interactive type dinners are fun and the food is just ok at best BUT not only was the service and experience exceptional but the food was absolutely terrific! As you can see we had butter and salt at the table, along with fresh pressed apple cider. Then we started with a salad of romaine and watercress, cucumber ,chopped egg with a sweet and sour dressing. This salad dressing was amazing! So fresh and bright!
Next up we had mussels sautéed with beer and garnished with parsley along with the star dish of the night, the roasted Turkey with a cabbage, leek and onion gravy. The mussels were enjoyed by all but that turkey is dream worthy. It was hands down the most moist turkey anyone at the table had ever eaten and that onion gravy was a terrific compliment! Jim loved this so much he asked the people further down the table for their turkey if they were not going to eat it…..I kid you not that really happened!
Next we had some veggies, starting with a native sweet corn pudding and a stewed squash. Both of these dishes were very good, we particularly liked the corn as it was a bit sweet and had dried cranberries in it. We emptied the bowl of that! The squash was also very good but also very different as it had a hint of vinegar in it making it just slightly tart.
The next two dishes although still very good and enjoyed by everyone these were my least favorites. They were roasted pork and fricassee of fish. The pork was just a touch dry for my taste but still good and the fish Was cod and beautifully cooked and perfectly flakey. Are you feeling full after all of this? We sure were! We were not done just yet though! They were not letting us go without dessert!
The dessert was a 17th century cheesecake and a plate of dried apricots, grapes and a velvety smooth cheese. The cheesecake was not at all like the cheesecake we are used to now. It was closer to a ricotta cheesecake but this one also seemed to have some dried fruits in it. Not everyone loved this dish, if you wanted a sweet dessert this was not it. I enjoyed it and would have it again!
If you find yourself in the Cape Cod Massachusetts area check out everything the Plymouth plantation has to offer. It’s a wonderful place to visit and go back in time a little bit!
Enjoy!
It’s been a while! Life has been busy and full of ups and downs the past couple years! My husband Jim was deployed to Afghanistan and got back just over a year ago. So with Jim being away and then returning we spent much of the time after he returned traveling and visiting family and friends we have finally started to settle down and get back into our normal routines.
We recently spent a few days in Cape Cod Massachusetts with friends. We went to Provincetown and did some shopping and dined at a terrific Italian restaurant on the water, visited the Mayflower and Plymouth Plantation. While we were there we purchased 3 pounds of fresh cranberries right from the bog. When we got home I could not wait to do some baking with all the cranberries. This cookie recipe is a new holiday favorite, I’m already planning to make them again! I shared them with some of our neighbors and they loved them as much as we did!
I made just a couple very small changes to the frosting recipe and you will see those notes in the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of butter softened
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons orange juice
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
FROSTING INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 Tablespoons hot water…..for this I used fresh squeezed orange juice (not warmed) I also added some of the zest from the orange.
DIRECTIONS
In a bowl cream butter and sugars. Add milk, egg and orange juice, mix well.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and add into the creamed creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cranberries and nuts.
Drop by Tablespoons 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
For the frosting-
Heat the butter in a saucepan over low heat until golden brown , about 5 minutes. Cool for a couple minutes and transfer to a bowl. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla. Beat in the hot water or in my case fresh sneezed orange juice 1 Tablespoon at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency. I kept my frosting on the thicker side.
Frost the cookies and enjoy!
This recipe comes from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, I found this recipe on Pinterest but have made many items from the Gluten-Free on a Shoestring blog. They are tried and true and this recipe is no different. Not only did Robby enjoy these gluten-free bites, but I did too. I like to use flour from Karma Baker. She specializes in Gluten-free /Vegan baking products. You can find her products online. I have ordered a number of things from her including her cookies and baked goods and I’m always pleased with the quality. https://karmabaker.com/shop/
INGREDIENTS
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour has it in it already, Karma Baker includes it)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- juice and zest of one lemon, reserve 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice for the glaze
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- more lemon zest to sprinkle on top of cupcakes, I forgot this step!
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line the wells of a standard muffin tin and set aside. In a large bowl place the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and juice (reserving the ! tablespoon for the glaze) beat to combine. Add the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt mix to combine. Add the sour cream to the batter and mix until just combined. The batter will be light and fluffy but not too thin.
Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cups. Place into the center of your preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a baking rack allowing them to cool completely.
Once the cupcakes are cool, make the glaze. Place the confectioner’s sugar in a medium-size bowl and add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the reserved lemon juice. Mix until you have a smooth and thick paste then add more lemon juice until you have a slightly thick but pourable glaze. Pour or spoon the glaze over the cupcakes once they have completely cooled. Sprinkle with lemon zest if desired.
Enjoy!
I could not resist making these muffins after seeing all the garden-fresh vegetables at my grocery store. Our local grocery store carries many products from our local farmers and I just love that. When I saw the zucchini I knew I was going to make this recipe. I hardly ever make changes to any Taste of Home recipe but I did swap out the walnuts for pecans and I added some raw coarse sugar on the top of the muffins just before baking for that bakery-style muffin. I did share some of these with a couple of neighbors and both neighbors gave these muffins a thumbs up!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded and squeeze dried zucchini
- 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- raw coarse sugar to sprinkle on top if desired
DIRECTIONS
In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl beat the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moist. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and nuts.
Spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray and fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and sprinkle with raw coarse sugar if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
Enjoy!
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