by jphilo | May 27, 2011 | Recipes
Today’s recipe has no redeeming qualities. It doesn’t contain oatmeal. Whole wheat flour can’t be substituted for white. Brown sugar can’t replace either the granulated or powdered sugar. It has too much oil and too much butter.
Then why feature Super Sugar Cookies on this blog? Because I made a batch for today’s time capsule opening. The recipe is a huge hit with high schoolers. And since this is the last group of seniors who spent the year in the Philo Pig Pen, and thus our last Time Capsule Opening, this could be the last time I make the cookies for a long, long time.
So today is the right day to feature Super Sugar Cookies and to remember June Bricker, my best friend’s mom, who passed along the recipe when I was in high school.
Sweet memories.
Sweet cookies.
Sweet time with the seniors today.
Super Sugar Cookies
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond or lemon extract
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon soda
4 1/2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugars, butter, oil, and eggs until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Chill. Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheets. Press flat with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes.
*This makes a large batch. I often half it.
by jphilo | May 25, 2011 | Recipes
Today’s offering comes from the more-or-less healthy category in my recipe file. I’ve heard it called oriental cabbage and crunchy coleslaw, so choose whichever strikes your fancy and run with it. However, you should know that this recipe was a favorite of our Romanian exchange student, Adrian, but not with Miyuki, our Japanese exchange student. Go figure!
Oriental Cabbage (aka: Crunchy Colesaw)
1 pound colesaw mix or 1 pound chopped cabbage
1/2 cupped chopped onion
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 packages chicken flavored Ramen noodles
For dressing, mix together:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
flavor packet from noodles
Break up the noodles while still in the package. Put in a 9 x 13 cake pan and add sunflower seeds and almonds. Toast at 400 degrees until noodles start to brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Put cabbage and onions in a large bowl. Pour dressing over top and mix well. Just before serving either add the toasted noodle mixture and serve.
*We like to serve the noodle mixture separately and sprinkle it on top of the cabbage. That way, there are no soggy leftovers. Also, I usually half the recipe for just Hiram and me. The leftover noodles make great lettuce salad crunchies, too.
by jphilo | May 18, 2011 | Recipes
Today’s posts is the final in the occasional series of recipes featuring variations of sweet rolls from the Shadow Valley Family Camp Cookbook. The first variation was cinnamon rolls, and the second was orange rolls. Today’s variation is caramel rolls, my personal favorite. In fact, my mouth waters every time I look at the picture. Actually, my mouth waters when I look at the posts for any of the pictures. But it waters the most at this one, which makes it my favorite.
If your mouth is watering, too, we’d best get on to the recipe so you don’t start drooling on your computer keyboard and short it out.
Caramel Rolls
Make dough following the basic recipe for cinnamon rolls. Instead of using a greased 9 x 13 pan, melt a stick of butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar in the pan. Slice rolls as directed in the basic cinnamon roll recipe and place on top of the caramel mixture in the pan.
Let rise 45 minutes. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven. Cool slightly. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Place a cookie sheet over the cake pan and flip the two pans over so rolls fall out onto the cookie sheet. Scrape any remaining caramel topping from the cake pan and spread on the rolls.
Use the remaining dough to make more caramel rolls or for whichever variation is your favorite!
by jphilo | May 12, 2011 | Recipes
his post may win the award for Lamest Recipe Ever. Then again, it could win the award for Most Kid-Friendly Recipe Ever. Either way, this incredibly easy fruit salad has been a favorite at our house for about 20 years. I wouldn’t have thought to post it except that my husband now makes it for work potlucks.
Partly cause it’s so easy.
Partly cause it’s so pretty.
Partly cause it’s tasty.
Partly cause he’s on a healthy kick, trying to eat lots of fruits and veggies.
Banana/Mandarin Orange Salad
Open a small can of mandarin oranges and pour into a bowl. Just before serving, add a sliced banana and stir well. Or, open a large can of mandarine oranges and pour into a bigger bowl. Just before serving, add two sliced bananas and stir well.
See, the recipe’s versatile and so easy your kids can make it while you sit on the couch eating bon bons. How about that?
by jphilo | May 4, 2011 | Recipes
Today’s recipe is the latest entry in my all things oatmeal crusade. In fact, I can’t believe this recipe hasn’t been posted before this, since it is a family favorite that gets rolled out for weekend company and holiday gatherings. It’s especially tasty on cold winter mornings, but as chilly as the weather’s been lately, there’s plenty of time to enjoy it this spring, too.
Baked Oatmeal
¾ cup brown sugar 2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt ½ cup oil
1 tsp. cinnamon 2 eggs, beaten
3 ½ cups old-fashioned oatmeal ½ cup applesauce
1 fresh apple, chopped 1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup dried fruit*
½ cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir well. Add apple, nuts and dried fruit. Pour into greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes.**
*Craisins, dried cherries, and dried blueberries are our faves. Blueberries are divine!
** When my daughter and new son make it, they bake it longer. After breakfast, they let it
cool and then cut it into squares to make their own granola bars.
by jphilo | Apr 20, 2011 | Recipes
A couple weeks ago, I started an occasional series about the Family Camp sweet roll recipe. The first post showcased basic cinnamon rolls, with the promise of more variations to come. With Easter around the corner, it’s time to keep the promise by unveiling the recipe for orange rolls.
Don’t think more highly of me than is warranted. I’m not feeling festive or magnanimous. I’m craving orange rolls. And with the daughter and new son coming to celebrate with us, the craving may get satisfied on Easter morning. Who needs an Easter egg hunt with warm rolls fresh from the oven?
Orange Rolls
Prepare dough according to the recipe for cinnamon rolls. While the dough is rising, make orange filling:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Beat butter, orange peel, juice, and powdered sugar until creamy and smooth.
When dough is done rising, punch down and divide dough in half. Roll one half into a rectangle and spread with 1/2 the orange filling. Roll up from the long side. Pinch ends of dough into a roll to seal well.
Cut the roll into 12 slices. Place slightly apart in a greased pan. Let rise 45 minutes. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven. Cool slightly and frost with remaining filling.
Double the filling recipe if you want to make orange rolls with all the dough. (Or use half as much filling if you don’t like too much sweet.) Or make cinnamon rolls from the remaining dough using the original recipe.
