Merica! - Apple Toffee Crumble

Because of the events of this past holiday season, it has taken me a while fall back in love with apples. I usually love the season of honey-crisp and toffee dip but this has not been my season. I have been known to make a caramel apple a time or two. They are usually surrounded in a thick layer of homemade caramel that I stir for hours (really, 25 minutes) then I dunk them in an ocean of white chocolate and roll them in giant sugar crystals. This all sounds so glorious and it typically is, but after dunking an order for 400 of these babies three times and them still not setting right I sort of had a falling out with apples. There is so much more to the story but I have to stop there since I can tell my body is about to break out in hives at the thought of "caramel apple weekend". 

Last night we had a hankering for something sweet. I am menu planning for a large thank you dinner for all of the friends who helped with the lovely caramel apple weekend and after looking at recipe after recipe of chocolates and cookies and cakes I finally shut the books and opened the fridge. When what do my wondering eyes appear but a beautiful apple with butter quite near! I did a bit of scrounging around and put together a super simple apple toffee crumble. I LOVE crumbles with their oatyish (like that?) texture but the Salesman is not about oats under any circumstance. I decided to do a spin on my dump cake since I had everything on hand and it turned out to be a cross between a caramel apple pie/crumble/dump. It was delish and so simple. I think this has helped me fall back in love with apples just a wee bit. Maybe. Possibly. We shall see. 

Apple Toffee Crumble - Serves 4-5

Oh and sorry for the picture! I haven't found the perfect way to take a good photo of a runny bowl of butter love yet. 

5- peeled and thinly sliced apples (I used Fuji)

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Juice of one orange

1/3 C. Heath Toffee Bits (just the toffee, NOT the bits covered in chocolate)

1 c. dry butter or yellow cake mix

3 Tbsp cold butter

Combine the first five ingredients and pour into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle the toffee bits in and around the apple sliced then cover with the dry cake mix. I like to pat the mix down a bit on the apples so that it will help too much from oozing over the sides. Ain't nobody got time for oven cleaning! Finally, thinly slice the butter and using your fingers break it into pieces and lay on top of the cake mix. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. The only addition that needs to be made is a big scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. Amen. 

Enjoy Ya'll! 

Love Mission, Live Mission- Haiti

One thought has run though my mind over and over this past weekend. We are given a command to love God and love others, equally. Not with our leftovers, not as an afterthought but equally. I experienced Haiti this past summer and was rocked to my core. I have reflected over and over that trip and how I feel as if I was split open and parts of me have not be put back in place since. I am surrounded by a throng of people who equally love this place and it's people and who brave the flight to this destination monthly. I thank God for the examples I have of the many who have equally loved God and continue to love others and pray that I might grasp that better. Thank you to the many of you who supported me on this journey. This excerpt was from my first day there and my reflections from the trip are still on going. As I start this new year with new and different visions I pray that God will allow me to have my eyes opened over and over to his goodness in the midst of my overcrowded life. Have mercy on me. 

Isaiah 58:6-7

 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Saturday, June 22, 2013
I had a stirring in my heart as I chanted prayers of peace as we departed our comfortable land to fly out to the unknown. You can only be so prepared for this kind of mission. Between the obvious language barrier and the smoldering heat you lose all hope of trying to blend in as soon as the wheels touch ground. Being seated in a first class seat as we traveled in luxury seemed so sinful. It is easy to sit back and feel so deserving because we live in a land where hope is a reality, not a mere figment.You can ask, "why me Lord?", just as I am sure the crippled man who was healed asked when chosen out of so many. The locals beg to carry our bags, these bags full of belongings we packed for a week, the contents value of these "survival" items being worth more money than many will see in a lifetime here. I felt guilty and shameful knowing I have food from here tucked within the contents of my bag, more food than many will eat in a week or month. They beg for a job, just to carry a bag and be noticed, but we walk through the crowd like cattle keeping our eyes on the sterile tile as images of the comfort of my home I willingly left flash through my mind. The safety and security we find in our chauffeurs arrival rivals the feeling that the crowds must have felt when word of the Messiah being near had spread. We find such comfort in each other. Although we just learned each others name's we cling to each other as long beloved friends. The roads we drive down and stare at through dark tinted windows are the most shocking I have ever seen. The sight of such devastation and despair makes you want to close your eyes but yet I stare in shock, unable to remove my gaze. The high gate and polite guard surrounding our quaint hotel provide such a false sense of security, as if I can pretend that there are not mothers with babies just like me outside these walls who are desperate to provide just the basics for their babies. Do they know we bring a message of peace and hope or do they look to us for a meal meal and money? Does the sound of an airplane landing provide comfort knowing that help may be on the way among the passengers or is it just a hope of a few dollars being made just to put food on the table. The devastation and desperation can be almost crippling knowing that you can not change it all. But if we can help just one then our job is done.
This is Haiti, day one. Dear Lord please help me to never be the same again.

Season of Plenty- Granola Bars

This Winter season has been one of the hardest I have remembered in a long time. Between events and dead lines and orders and kids and so much more my life seemed like it was close to the brink of bursting so many times. I anticipated the holiday week away at my parents where I had established some basic rules that everyone had to follow; 1. Don't ask me to cook, 2. I will only cook when I want to, 3. Stay out of the kitchen and just let me be. I loved rolling out the almond sugar cookies drowning in sprinkles and decorating  the collapsing gingerbread house with all of the kids. Squishing the delicate buttery scones with my hands and savoring their brown butter glaze was just what I needed because I was cooking for me and no one else. Recently, as in yesterday, I finished the most amazing book about trying to find that balance of our life and surroundings we have created and trying to find and make more room for our Maker. It hit me between the eyes because I feel that I have overcrowded my life, my calendar and my family with things that aren't the necessities. As I read through the book images of Haiti and the sights and sounds I experienced couldn't help but run through my mind over and over. In reading about our wastefulness I thought of the streets that were lined with trash and images of children the same age as mine rummaging through it all in the hope to find some morsel of substance to sustain them until they were given something to eat. While reading about things we eat I couldn't help but remember how overjoyed we all were at the sight of things like Coke and rice and how frightened we were at the sight of local goat and chicken. We ate around what we wanted and left behind what we were to afraid too eat, all the while knowing that people outside our walls would never see that much food in their life. We had no second thoughts about being picky and choosy because we have never experienced that pit in our stomachs from not having a meal or knowing where the next meal would come from.
Those thoughts and so many others are the things I want tumble over and over in my mind as I approach this season trying to sort through the overstock and leftovers of life. After reading this book I hope to establish some better practices in my life. Simple things like using Tupperware instead of plastic bags, making use of the recycling bin for recycling instead of extra garbage, growing a few herbs and veggies, throwing away less and buying only what is needed. I know I will not get this right but if I can just be mindful of things and teach my children a few best practices I will feel better knowing that I am not shoving them through life with blinders on.
This recipe has nothing to do with the book other than I felt like making something earthy and satisfying. Normally I buy granola bars on sale individually wrapped and ready to drop in a lunch box or purse but something felt really good about making a big pan of these, slicing them and savoring each bite. Plus, it was fun to have a sidekick stirring, asking questions and steeling chocolate chips when I wasn't looking...
I highly recommend Seven by Jen Hatmaker. I loved every second of it! Between our love of Texas, good food and our amazing creator I think we could be best friends

Seven Granola Bars

3/4 C. Creamy Peanut Butter (don't go all natural on this, you need the fat to hold them together)
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/3 C. Honey- warmed slightly (easier to work with)
1 Egg
3 Cups Oats
1/2 C. Flax Seed
2 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 C. Mini semi or dark chocolate chips (I used the normal size Ghiradelli and they were amazing!)
*You can add up to 1/2 cup of mix ins like Craisins, raisins, coconut, nuts, etc but I am a purist.

Combine all of the above ingredients together. Lightly spray a 9x13 baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Lightly spray the parchment paper then dump your granola bars mix and evenly spread them out. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes until slightly browned. Allow them to cool for about 5 minutes then lift them out using the parchment paper. Lightly score the bars with a knife then allow them to cool completely. I sliced the pan down the middle lengthwise then 8 times on the shorter side to get 16 bars. They are a mix between granola bars and oatmeal cookies.

Welcome back Ya'll and Happy New Years!

Lost Times- Cream Cheese Pound Cake

It's been a long time. I had no idea that so many months had past since I last posted. I have started to post about various meals and events and sights and sounds I have experienced since we last met but I didn't. So much has happened since April. Things like summer and camp and Haiti and the beach and football and baseball and life. I sat down before to share some of my journal from my trip to Haiti because I know many of you out there prayed me through that journey, but my heart becomes so heavy as I reread about so many of the gut wrenching experiences I had there. Soon.
One of the fun highlights of our summer was watching one of our dear friends walk down the aisle to his bride. We have been with them through their courting and have be so blessed by their friendship. I was asked to create a couple of creations for their big day, one being a nurse themed cake for the rehearsal dinner and one being the groom's cake. We had them over one night to think about flavors and designs and settled on a half chocolate, half cream cheese pound cake, all filled with vanilla buttercream and cookie dough....in the shape of the Millenium Falcon. I try to know as little as possible about Star Wars since I live with the Jedi and Darth "Mader" on a daily basis and know first hand how it feels to be smacked upside the head by a "life saber". I knew the pressure was on for this because the Salesman talked about it constantly how it better look good. Stress. I researched and researched and the only thing I knew for certain going into it was that it would taste heavenly. This cream cheese pound cake recipe was given to me when I was in college. I was part of a Wednesday night house church with my best friend and we tended to have pot lucks quite a bit. We knew that our hosts would always have totally bizarre foods so we each did our best to bring our finest dishes to know that we wouldn't leave hungry at the end of the night. One of the girls brought this recipe and one other and the copy I have that she gave me those 13 years ago is so worn and yellow you can hardly read the writing. This is my go to recipe for brides when they want a vanilla cake with the volume turned up. This is delicious with a gooey caramel glaze and sugared pecans, fresh berries and cream, warm chocolate sauce or just a dusting of powdered sugar. I use this recipe in a bundt pan, cupcakes and cake. I love the crunchy crust it gets and the buttery goodness of it. I have made this probably 300 times and it never fails.
As stated previously, always use room temperature ingredients when baking. This doesn't rise up super high so fill cupcake liners a bit fuller then you normally would. It has been known to stick to the pan a time or two so be sure you use a spray with flour added or if cooking in 8-9" round pans line the pan with parchment for easy release. You can easily double it. Be sure you eyeball it while in the oven so you don't burn the edges too much. You will need to do a toothpick test on this for done-ness to make sure you pull it out as soon as it is set.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 Pkg Duncan Hines Butter Cake
8 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 c boiling water
1/2 c cooking oil
2 Tbsp melted butter
3 large eggs

In the bowl of a heavy mixer, cream the cream cheese and sugar together until combined. Slowly add the water and oil and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure it all melts together. Add the butter and eggs and mix just until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry cake mix. It will look very lumpy, just be sure you scrape the sides and let the mixer run on medium for about 2 minutes.
Pour into prepared pan. For bundt, bake 45 minutes then text it every 5 until it a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For cupcakes, bake 12-15 minutes until spring back to the touch. For 2, 9" rounds bake 15-18 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.



Enjoy Y'all!

BFF Curry-licious Orzo

Wild, wild, wild. That word best describes the events of the past two weeks! I have been a wild woman running with a candle lit on both ends. I will post pictures soon of my adventures but I am so glad that the weather is finally taking a change for the better so that I can start making some of my favorite spring and summer time treats. Something doesn't feel right about cooking up pasta salads in the snow.
I have been a fan of Barefoot Contessa for a while now. For years, the salesman and I didn't have cable in our house, funny since I worked for a cable company. When I had my first muffin I caught my first real glimpse of Ina while working as a nanny. I was immediately drawn to her down home, no fuss meals. They are the sort of meals I strive to make. I enjoy her simplistic take on true favorites. I have several of her books and I have them memorized by which of my favorites are in each book. One of my favorite recipes of hers is her Curried Couscous found in the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I love the textures involved and the simple yet sophisticated spices. I have made a few changes to the recipe over the years to suit my own tastes but keep many of the same measurements as the original. She is definitely one of those gals who I just know we will be best friends forever when we finally meet.

Brooke's Barefoot Orzo

1, 8oz box orzo pasta cooked al dente in heavily salted water
Sauce:
1, small container plain Greek yogurt (about a 5 oz size or 1/4 cup)
Olive Oil
1 1/2 cap fulls of apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/4 tsp curry
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp agave nectar or honey
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Add ins:
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 -2/3 cup chopped apricots
3 diced green onions
3-4 carrots, grated
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Drain the cooked pasta. Throw in the add ins.

For the sauce, pour almost the whole container of greek yogurt  (minus a spoonful bite) or the 1/4 cup into a bowl. Fill the yogurt cup about half way up with olive oil (or 1/3 cup). Add in remaining sauce ingredients and taste to make sure it is sweet and salty enough. Pour the majority of sauce into the pasta/veggie bowl, but I typically leave out a tablespoon or two so that it is not soupy. Stir and serve immediately at room temp or chill and bring to room temp before serving.
This is great made the day ahead and is perfect for grilled chicken and veggies.

Enjoy Y'all!

As Good As It Gets- Smokey BBQ Brisket

There are sometimes in life that I take for granted that I come from a long line of good cooks. I mean, a long line. I could probably write down 100+ recipes just from my mom's side of the family. Recipes like Nana's fried pies and chocolate pudding, my great grandmothers German cookies that we use to make every Christmas eve growing up, my Aunts delicious sugar cookies and on and on. Several years ago my sister compiled a few of her favorite recipes and a few from our family and passed out mini cookbooks for Christmas. I have many of the pages so stained with oil and flour, pages like her pizza dough and pumpkin bread, that I have a hard time reading them. There are so many treasures in that tiny book that it would be on my list of top ten things to grab in case of a house fire. One of the recipes in this treasure came from our Great Aunt. I, like my sister, took way too long to cook this recipe. I grew up in "Where's the Beef?" country so I was very familiar how glorious brisket could be. Brisket is a staple on all Texas tables but at this stage in my life I don't have the time to sit around a smoker for 15 hours and entertain like we use to do growing up. This recipe is perfect for those who love the smokey goodness of a beautiful brisket with a fraction of the work. I like to pop this baby in my crock pot and let it cook overnight so that I wake up to the smell of heaven in my kitchen.
Before you start there are a couple of things you should know.
1. Don't change a thing on this recipe. Trust me.
2. Double wrap the brisket in foil if cooking in a crock pot and don't add any water as it will make it's own juice.
3. The addition of the BBQ sauce is optional. I typically don't add it at all.
4. GET TO COOKIN'!

Aunt LaVera's Smokey Brisket

1 Tbsp liquid smoke
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp onion salt
2 tsp Celery Seed
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1, 3-4 pound beef brisket trimmed

1. Mix all of the above ingredients into a bowl and pour over your brisket. Be sure you rub it in a bit. Wrap it up and 2 layers of foil and marinate 3-4 hours or overnight.
2. Bake at 300 degrees for 3-3 1/2 hours wrapped in foil or place in a crock pot on low and bake 8-10 hours.  If you want to coat it in BBQ Sauce, open the foil, spread 1 cup of your favorite sauce on the brisket, wrap it back up and continue to cook for 1 hour.

This is great sliced and served with a baked potato or on a bun, chopped up for tacos or shoved in a quesadilla. It reaheats great so it is perfect to make the day before. If you have a smoker and the time this is a great marinate. Just let it soak everything up the night before you are smoking then throw it on your grill.

Enjoy Y'all! 

Happy Hoppy! Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I really can't believe it is Easter weekend! As I look out the window to see the snow falling on the ground it is hard to imagine that my kids will be comfy in their cute sear sucker shorts and linen shirts I have picked out for them to wear.
My weekend is going to be quite wild with egg hunts and a huge wedding I am catering but one item that will be on my weekend to do list will be making a batch of these delicious carrot cake cupcakes to take for a family dinner we will be crashing...that is not our family! The salesman was totally against carrot cake until he had these. With some strong convincing a few years ago he finally took a little nibble of one cupcake, then a bigger nibble, and by the end of the day he agreed with me that eating healthy can be fun! I have overheard him several times telling others to try a bite because these are the best. Remember, I am a purist when it comes to my food so you will not find any impostors like raisins, nuts or pineapple in this recipe which is exactly how I like it. This cake has made a believer out of many who didn't think they would like veggies in cake...but trust me, they will. These are very reminiscent of a delicate spice cake muffin but with a big slather of old school cream cheese frosting it sends them over the moon. This recipe can be made as a cake with two, 8 inch round pans lined with parchment, a greased 9x13, or about 24 cupcakes made with a liner. Oh, and the lovely picture was provided by my dear friend Evin of www.evinphotography.com where these appeared at her daughters Easter birthday celebration. Happy Hoppy Day, Y'all!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 Cups all purpose four
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3 cups fresh shredded carrots (I prefer to do this in a food processor but you can grate them as well)
1 cup veggie oil
4 eggs

1. Grease and flour a 9x13, 2 8inch rounds or line 24 muffin cups with liners.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer combine the first 7 ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients and lightly mix just until combined, scraping down a few times to make sure there are no dry ingredients stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
3. Pour into selected pan. Bake at 350 degrees, 25-30 minutes for pans and about 18-20 minutes for cupcakes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. The cake should spring back when gently touched. Remove and allow to cool on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting (I have been known to double, and would if you are doing an 8 in round or cupcakes...you need plenty to lick up after!!)
1 8oz package of cream cheese at room temp
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk or cream

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until softened and combined.
2. With the mixer on low add the vanilla and powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time.
3. This will be really thick frosting so add just 1 Tbsp at a time of milk until it is a good spreading consistency.
4. Spread over cooled cakes or cupcakes and sprinkle with chopped nuts or any decoration of your choice.

Enjoy Y'all!