Six Degress of Supperation » Not your mom's cookbook

Great Grandma Joyce’s Pancakes and Syrup

Monday, February 6, 2012 Posted in Breakfast/Brunch, Sarah

My husband’s great grandma makes legendary homemade pancakes – even beyond the age of 90! But the homemade syrup makes the pancakes heavenly!

Ingredients
Pancakes –

Pancake Ingredients

2 eggs (separated)
2 cups sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons oil (I used vegetable)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Syrup –

Syrup Ingredients

¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon Karo Syrup
½ cup water
1 tablespoon of REAL maple syrup – the expensive $8/bottle kind.

For the pancakes, combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the egg whites. Keep those in a separate bowl.

Eggs on left/Egg whites on right

After combining all the ingredients except the egg whites, the batter was WAY too thick when I made them.

This batter is TOO THICK!!

I added water and milk (alternating) ¼ cup at a time. The batter was still pretty thick.

Now beat the egg whites until they peak and fold them into the batter. Leave them fluffy!! I failed at this because I added the beaten egg whites before I thinned out the batter. It didn’t do much harm though.

Beaten egg whites

I used a ¼ cup measuring cup to pour the batter. It was too big! The batter spreads a LOT and the pancakes don’t flip as easily as the boxed batter kind. The first batch was a mess…

but then the other batches improved when I cut the pour in half.

The pancakes are surprisingly fluffy – they’ve got a lot of height to them!

And they were REALLY good! I think the sweetened milk takes them up a notch.

For the syrup, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to a ROLLING boil, then cook on low for 3-4 minutes. Check the consistency by holding the spoon up in the air and letting the syrup drip into the pan. It will thicken a little once off heat, but still needs to be like syrup when it’s on the burner.

And if you can make these while keeping up with the kiddos, you get a bonus. I rewarded myself by having a few extra pancakes!

by sarah

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Chocolate Icebox Pie: The Filling

Sunday, November 6, 2011 Posted in Catherine, Desserts, Guilty Pleasures

I’ve always loved Luby’s…the macaroni and cheese, the rolls, and especially the chocolate icebox pie. Something about stepping into the restaurant brings back so many childhood memories.

So, when Luby’s came out with a cookbook a while back, I knew I had to have it. To my delight, it had the chocolate icebox pie recipe, which you can use with the crust recipe I posted previously. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do .

First, get the ingredients together…

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon butter
7 tablespoons cornstarch
3 extra large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup minature marshmallows
1 pre-baked 9-inch pie shell
whipped cream
chocolate curls, shavings, or other garnish

Then combine 2 cups milk, sugar, cocoa, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil.

While this mixture is heating up, mix together the cornstarch and remaining 1/2 cup of milk until the cornstarch is dissolved.

Whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until well-blended.

Just before the chocolate mixture on the stove gets to a boil, gradually whisk some of the hot mixture to the cold egg mixture so the eggs don’t scramble.

Once you have warmed up the egg mixture a bit by adding this in, whisk all the egg mixture into the hot chocolate mixture.

Cook, stirring constantly, about two minutes or until mixture is thickened and smooth.

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the marshmallows until melted.

Pour the mixture into the pie shell and cover immediately with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap directly onto the filling (which prevents a skin from forming on the filling) and refrigerate for at least four hours.

Once you are ready, remove the plastic wrap and top the pie with whipped cream and whichever chocolate garnish you prefer.

When I made this pie last Christmas, I used chocolate shavings (which you can make using a vegetable peeler and a chocolate bar).

But this time around, I decided to use chocolate chips because I was in a hurry .

Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the pie once it was cut, but this pie was donated to the “pie day” fundraiser at work…so I couldn’t bring it with a piece missing .

I can’t wait to make this pie again for the holidays…it is calling my name.

by catherine

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Chocolate Icebox Pie: The Crust

Sunday, October 9, 2011 Posted in Catherine, Desserts, Guilty Pleasures

I love pie. I really, really love pie.

So, when we had a “Pie Day” fundraiser at my office a while back, I thought it was the most ingenious fundraising idea ever…especially in my current prego condition. I made a chocolate icebox pie for the event, and I thought it would be a perfect recipe to share on the blog.

First step’s first…the crust. The crust recipe I use comes from The Pioneer Woman. However, I like a really thick crust on icebox pie, so I double the recipe and make three pie crusts (it’s always good to have extra pie crust in the freezer for a rainy day). If you don’t want a thick crust, use half the amounts I listed below and divide the recipe into two pie crusts.

First, round up the ingredients…

3 cups Crisco
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
10 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl.

I managed to get flour all over my protruding belly during this step .

Next, add the salt and mix together.

Add the Crisco to the bowl. I love that you can get Crisco in these nice butter-like sticks now.

Using a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour until the mixture resembles “coarse meal,” with pea-sized pieces of Crisco.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the Crisco/flour mixture.

Add the vinegar and cold water.

Stir all the ingredients together gently until just combined.

Divide into three balls of dough.

Place each ball in a large Ziploc bag and roll slightly to make them flat and easy to stack.

Put the dough in the freezer. Even if you want to use one immediately, place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes to firm up the dough and make it easier to roll out. Also, the dough gets even flakier if you freeze it for at least 24 hours. If you go that route (which I did in this case) take the dough out when you are ready to use it, and place it on the counter for about 20 minutes to thaw.

At this point, I use a slightly different technique for rolling out pie dough…one that doesn’t involve any flour! First, slightly wet your counter and stick down plastic wrap.

Place the dough on top of the plastic wrap, and then cover with wax paper.

Gently roll out the dough, from the center outward. Stop when you get cracks around the edge.

Smooth out the cracks before you continue rolling the dough. Repeat this step as necessary.

Roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick depending on how thick you like your crust.

Remove the wax paper and place the pie plate upside down on top of the dough.

Carefully flip over the whole thing and press down the crust into the pie pan before removing the plastic wrap.

Fold over the edges (trim excess if necessary) and flute the edges.

For the chocolate icebox pie, I needed a pre-baked pie crust. For a recipe that doesn’t call for a pre-baked crust, you would be ready to go at this point….for example, for a yummy pecan pie…

To pre-bake a crust, place a piece of wax paper filled with dried beans into the crust.

Cook for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the wax paper and beans, and prick the bottom of the crust with a fork.

Bake the pie crust (without the wax paper and beans) for an additional 20 minutes or until baked through. Cover the edges with foil if they start to get too done. Now you will have a nice pre-baked crust for your icebox pie.

Let the crust cool while you make the filling….which I will post the recipe for soon!

by catherine

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Almond & Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Thursday, March 17, 2011 Posted in Catherine, Entrees, Healthy, Quick & Easy

I am always looking for ways to take the boring out of plain chicken breasts, and this recipe definitely does the trick. Not only is this dish super easy to make, but since it was adapted from a Cooking Light recipe, it is actually fairly healthy too.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup light garlic and herb spreadable cheese (I use alouette brand)
1/4 cup slivered and toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (note that I only had three, but the cheese mixture makes enough for four)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop the parsley…

…and the almonds. Unless you are in a Martha Stewart kind of mood. I recommend buying pre-toasted and slivered almonds like these. They are awesome.

Combine the spreadable cheese, almonds, and parsley in a small bowl. Look at me…I even opted for light cheese this time.

My hips thanked me.

Trim the chicken breasts if necessary, cover with wax paper, and pound into thin cutlets.

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the salt and pepper.

Spread the cheese mixture in the center of each piece.

Roll up the chicken with the smaller side on top, and secure with toothpicks.

Heat the butter on medium-high heat in an oven-proof skillet. I love using my cast iron skillet for this.

I’m not going to lie…I think I used a bit more butter than usual. But I used light cheese, so it all evens out right?

Add the chicken, thick side down, and cook for a few minutes or until slightly browned.

Turn over and do the same to the other side. If your toothpicks are too long (as you can see, I had to use cut-off skewers, so mine were way long), you may have to remove them for this step, but the chicken should stay together at this point.

Turn the chicken back over and put the pan in the oven. It is fine to leave the toothpicks in.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with your favorite side dish. This time around, I served them with veggie couscous. Yum!

by catherine

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Quick & Easy Stuffed Poblanos

Monday, February 28, 2011 Posted in Entrees, Healthy, Jill, Quick & Easy

This is a seriously easy and delicious meal. It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish – what could be better than that?! Wonderful for a weeknight when you just don’t have the time or energy to spend hours in the kitchen! And best of all, it’s low in calories, low in fat, and very filling.

Ingredients:

½ lb extra lean ground turkey
1 bag steam-in-bag white rice (I used Bird’s Eye brand)
1 can refried beans
½ cup shredded cheese – I used pepper jack and cheddar combo
¾ cup salsa
½ onion, diced
Cumin, chili powder, salt/pepper for seasoning

OK, here’s the deal:

Prepare your steam-in-bag rice, then set it aside. I LOVE steam-in-bag rice…so easy!

Brown your turkey meat with the onions in the same pan. Add some seasonings that you like – I like cumin and chili powder, so that’s what I added. I didn’t add any salt, though, because the salt from the canned beans is enough for me (trying to stay low-sodium).

While the turkey and onions are cooking, take your poblano peppers and slice them in half length-wise. Then take out the seeds and stems. Stick them on a microwave safe dish and cover them in wax paper, then microwave on high for 3 minutes. The peppers will make squealing and hissing sounds, but just ignore them.

While the peppers are doing their thing in the microwave, throw together the filling. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked rice, the can of refried beans, ¼ cup of cheese, ¾ cup of salsa, and the turkey/onion mixture. Mix it all up with a big spoon.

Now your peppers should be done with their 3-minute microwave session. Spoon fillings into the peppers.

Then cover them with wax paper again and microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Turn on the oven broiler at this time, and get out a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Transfer the filled peppers to the cookie sheet, sprinkle with cheese, then broil them for 2-3 minutes, or until they reach the desired level of brown-ness.

(please ignore my old, gross pizza pan)

Serve with salsa – easy and delicious!

TIP: You can make these vegetarian, too, and I’m sure they’d be just as wonderful! Just take out the turkey.

by jill

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Google to the Rescue

Monday, February 28, 2011 Posted in News, Sarah

The cook book is going to be a thing of the past. Google now has a “Recipes” tab. I’m SURE that I’ll be using this. Just last week, I was typing in the ingredients that I had on hand into several aps on my phone. Google has nipped that “incovenience” in the bud. Google has a checklist of other potential ingredients, a calorie guide, and a filter for cook time. I’m hoping this adds a little more variety to my kitchen!

by sarah

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Cat’s Deviled Eggs

Saturday, February 19, 2011 Posted in Appetizers, Breakfast/Brunch, Catherine, Holidays

I absolutely love deviled eggs! My Mom used to make them every Easter Sunday growing up, however, I think life is too short to only have these delectable appetizers once a year.

I’ve adapted this recipe from a few I have tried, and I think the addition of bacon is what really takes these puppies to a whole other level.

Enjoy .

Ingredients:

12 eggs + a few extras
1 teaspoon pickle juice
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
¼ cups finely grated yellow onion
5 slices bacon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped dill pickles
paprika (to sprinkle on top)

Of course, the first step is boiling the eggs. But I hate when recipes say something like “boil the eggs” and don’t explain how to do so. There are many schools of thought on the best way to boil an egg, and I basically combine three different methods.

I put my eggs in a pan big enough where they aren’t completely smooshed together.

Then I add this nifty egg boiling thingy…

Fill the pan with water so that there is about an inch of water above the eggs, and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Then turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.

While the eggs are cooking, you can prep the other ingredients.

Cook the bacon…

Chop the parsley…

and grate the onion…

On that note, shout out to my awesome parents-in-law who bought me some onion goggles for Christmas. And they really work!

I had Josh take a picture of me in these things, but I don’t know if I really want that floating around on the Web .

Back to the eggs…despite my cool egg boiling gadget, I also always add a few extra eggs so I can test a couple to see if they are done yet (this also comes in handy when you peel the eggs, because I inevitably mess one up in the process).

For example, this one wasn’t quite ready yet.

Once the eggs are ready, immediately put them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

While the eggs are cooling, put all the other ingredients in a big bowl.

Chop the pickle if you haven’t already, and add that in as well.

I usually wait and chop the pickle at this point because you need the pickle juice too, so I get it out all at once.

Once the eggs have cooled, it is time to get peeling. This is not the most fun process, so try recruiting some family members to assist. Unfortunately for me, Josh was running some errands, and Stella and Louie aren’t much help in the kitchen .

In fact, Louie was lounging on the couch. What a rough life.

So, I peeled all these eggs by myself.

Once they are peeled, slice them in half lengthwise. Put the yolks in the bowl with the other ingredients, and put the empty whites on your serving plate.

Since I was taking these to Jeff & Jill’s for the Superbowl, I put mine in a portable pyrex dish and then in my nifty cooled egg plate once we got there.

Next, mash up all the ingredients in the bowl until the yolks are completely smooth and mixed in.

Spoon this mixture into a piping bag (or ziploc bag with the corner cut).

And pipe it into the egg whites. You could also just spoon in the mixture, but I don’t think it comes out as pretty.

Finally, sprinkle on the paprika for a little color. You can tell I was in a hurry with these…the paprika is kind of all over the place. Whoops!

Nom nom nom. It is really hard to eat just one of these.

Make them for Easter Sunday, your next party, or for a random treat on a Tuesday night. Again, life is too short to just enjoy these yummy treats on special occasions.

by catherine

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Valentine’s Day Dinner

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Posted in News

The hubby and I don’t really go crazy over Valentine’s Day. The crowds that invade all the restaurants around town just aren’t our scene. So we usually make a nice meal at home and take some time to relax and enjoy each other’s company. This year we savored a long dinner, broken up into courses. We had soup at 7:00, dinner at 9:00, and dessert at 10:00. In between we sipped wine and played Scrabble. It was lovely and relaxing…even if Jeff did beat me – TWICE!

I see V-day as a great excuse to try new recipes that are maybe more complicated than my normal weeknight dinners. A couple years ago, I made a delicious seafood paella that is definitely worth repeating. But the Great Food Poisoning Incident of 2010 ruled out seafood and paella for me this year! So…I turned to a trusted source – The Pioneer Woman. I knew she would come through with something delicious and worthy of a special occasion. After perusing her recipes, I settled on her Braised Short Ribs over Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta. I see now why it is one of her favorites…it was absolutely delicious!

I usually add my own touches or alter recipes according to which ingredients I have on-hand or whether I am trying to cook extra healthy at the moment. But this time, I went ahead and made the recipes exactly as written. So I am not going to list out the ingredients and steps here…the Pioneer Woman has already done that very thoroughly on her site. But I’ll share the links, some pictures of my finished products, and give you guys some tips based on making these recipes.

First, here is a pic of my short ribs and polenta:

Click HERE for PW’s step-by-step instructions to create this dish.

The polenta was creamy and divine – the goat cheese is a miraculous addition! The beef was flavorful and so tender it was falling off the bone. The veggies were an understated but essential part of the dish. Jeff said it was better than something we could have ordered if we went out to eat!

Some tips if you decide to make this meal:

1. Begin early! The ribs have to cook 2 hrs in the oven at 350, then 30-45 min at 325, then they have to sit out of the oven, covered, for at least 20 minutes. Jeff and I were super glad we had soup, bread, and wine to tide us over as the ribs finished cooking.

2. Whisk, whisk, whisk the polenta! It’s best to have it all measured out into a measuring cup that is easy to pour from, because you need to be pouring with one hand and whisking with the other. Polenta gets lumpy very quickly, so keep up the whisking! I may have had a few lumps, but hey, it was my first time making it, and it was still delicious!

Now for dessert! I went to my old stand-by for Valentine’s Day: Molten Chocolate Cakes with vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries. This dessert simply cannot be beat…it might be my all-time favorite (especially considering how EASY it is)! You can find that recipe in one of my earlier blog posts HERE. But here is a pic from this year’s batch of cakes – they turned out better than all my previous times making them:

My #1 tip for these cakes is: use the cooking spray specifically formulated for baking. I have used regular cooking spray before, and the cakes break apart when I try to get them out of the custard cups. But with the baking spray, they slide right out and remain intact until you cut into them for the first time and find the gooey goodness within!

We prepared this divine meal on Sunday night so we could hang out and enjoy a leisurely dinner together (not always a possibility on a weeknight). Plus, on ACTUAL Valentine’s Day, I had fun plans! I went to meet the Pioneer Woman, right here at a local Dallas Border’s bookstore! She was in town for a book signing event, and it was great to go see her. I went with Erin, Sarah, and Rachel (along with Rachel’s mom and Rachel’s friend Sarah with her adorable baby Charlie)…so 4 of the Six Degrees of Supperation were present! Too bad Lolly had to study and Cat was stuck at work. Next time maybe we will all get to go. Here is our pic with her – thanks so much to Jesse for coming to snap a pic of us with the sweet, funny Ree Drummond!

by jill

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Lemon Custard Bars

Monday, February 7, 2011 Posted in Desserts, Jill

These little treats are extremely easy to whip up. I made them during the Great Dallas Icepocalypse (aka Snowmageddon) that kept me trapped inside for DAYS! I found the recipe on one of my favorite cooking sites – Tasty Kitchen. These light, fruity bars might be more appropriate for a summertime dessert, but hey, when you’re snowed in, you use whatever is on hand!

Ingredients

CRUST

1 lb butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt

FILLING

4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

(Note: two large, juicy lemons should yield enough lemon juice for this recipe. I used my handy Octo-juicer that I got in a White Elephant gift exchange a few years ago!)

Here is how you make the crust:

1. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking or baking spray, then preheat your oven to 350.

2. Cut up 1 lb (2 sticks) of butter into small pieces. Here are the butter cubes in the mixing bowl that I tried to make the crust in before getting frustrated with the pastry cutter and hauling out the food processor:

3. Add ½ tsp salt, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 2 cups of flour to the butter.

4. Turn this mess into dough! I used my food processor with the dough blade, but if you have a lot of patience (and arm strength) feel free to use a pastry cutter. You want it to be combined really well so it can make a compact shortbread crust.

5. Press the crust into your baking pan. I first spread it out using my fingers, then pressed a spatula into it to make it even flatter. Then I pricked it a few times with a fork and baked it for 15 minutes. Press it again with the spatula after baking so that any steam bubbles will flatten out. Here’s what my crust looked like right before going into the oven:

Now that your crust is baking, it’s a perfect time to make the filling:

1. While crust is baking, whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add the sugar, whisking constantly as you add it, until fully combined.

3. Whisk in the flour and the lemon juice until everything is well combined.

4. Pour the filling mixture over the hot crust after you get it out of the oven.

5. Return pan to oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the filling is just set and the top is a light golden color, like this:

6. Let the bars cool entirely, then dust with powdered sugar before you cut them. Letting them firm up in the fridge always helps so they aren’t all gooey when you are trying to cut them. I like to eat them slightly chilled, so I’ll remove them from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. My hubby declared them the “best ever lemon bars!”

I got this adorable plate at an Anthropologie sale…I love random, cute dessert plates!

If you like lemon and shortbread, you really should try this recipe! These bars are great for parties because you can make them a day or so in advance. Plus, they look fancy and hard to make, even though they are ridiculously easy!

by jill

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Slow Cooker Mediterranean Turkey

Thursday, February 3, 2011 Posted in Entrees, Healthy, Jill

A few weeks ago, Jeff informed me that he needs to start eating healthier (especially at dinner)…which means I need to start cooking healthier! We’ve been doing well so far, it just takes a lot of planning and recipe searching. I know he would be fine with grilled chicken or fish and a veggie every single night, but that just makes me want to DIE! I need variety, I need to try new recipes…so I’ve been going through my cookbooks and perusing the Cooking Light website.

So far, I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve found. This is one of the recipes I found on Cooking Light. It’s a hearty, flavorful meal that is satisfying without making you feel guilty or heavy! Best of all, you can put it in your crock pot before work (or overnight) and have a quick, easy meal with little effort. I’ll definitely be adding it to my rotation.

Here’s what you need:

3-4 lb boneless turkey breast – I had NO CLUE where to find this. I ended up getting a 3 lb turkey breast roast in the frozen section – like a tiny Butterball turkey type thing:

Maybe a place like Whole Foods or Central Market would have a better selection. It did the job, though. I also think this would be great with boneless skinless chicken breasts if you don’t want to bother with turkey.

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives (I actually HATE olives, but I left them in this dish because I really do like the flavor they impart when cooked this way…I just pick out the actual olives in my dish. Luckily, Jeff loves them).

1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes (drain the oil off of them, no need to rinse them though)

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1.5 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (I have McCormick’s)

1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1/2 cup less sodium chicken broth

3 Tablespoons flour

OK, you’re ready to go. Get your crock pot out and put everything but the flour and half of the chicken broth into it. So that means you will add 1/4 cup of the broth and reserve the other 1/4 cup. Mix all those ingredients around in the crock pot so that everything is blending well. Cook on low for 7 hours. It looks pretty gross when you first put everything together:

When the 7 hours is up, whisk the reserved broth with the 3 Tablespoons of flour, then add it to the pot and continue to cook on low for 30 more minutes. This will give the sauce a chance to thicken and also give you time to prepare any side dishes. I served mine with plain old couscous – the sauce is excellent on it. The turkey will be so tender that it falls apart when you try to cut it. So I just stuck a big spoon into the crock pot and spooned some of the turkey and sauce mixture over my couscous. Not a great presentation, maybe, but hey, it’s all going to the same place.

You won’t believe how delicious this simple dish tastes! The sun-dried tomato and olives add so much flavor without adding a lot of bad fat or calories. If you are looking to try something with a Mediterranean flavor, this is an easy way to get started. I think it would be great served with a Greek salad and roasted red pepper hummus with pita wedges!

by jill

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