Holiday Craziness

I've gotten all caught up in the holiday madness, and I've honestly forgotten all about this little blog.  Unfortunately, I'm still being overtaken by mounds of tangled yarn or else I'd stay and chat a while.  But I'll leave you with a little poem I wrote last year.  It's about one of those chores.  The kind that you avoid but then they creep up on you because all the sudden the holidays are here and people are in your house!  Ahh!  ......Enjoy!


Ode To My Bathtub

I don my gloves and scuba gear
To confront the chore that I most fear
Yes, folks; it's that time of year
Someone must clean the tub

Now I don't mind scouring the floors
I'll even get down on all fours
To be knee deep in elbow grease
Isn't something I mind in the least
But just don't make me tackle that beast
Oh, won't someone clean the tub?!

Hand me a mop, a squeegie, a rag
Just don't make me do it
I think I might gag
It's waited this long
Why must it be now?
It's not gonna be me
But this much I'll vow
Someone must clean the tub!

Well, I guess if I have to
I've got one last request
Just one little plea
On a mother's behest...

In my stocking this year
No chocolates for me
How 'bout a grenade or some TNT?
I'll blow that tub sky high, no doubt!
All that will linger are two tiles and some grout
For that's the only Kaboom! that I'm going to use
This isn't a bet I'm willing to lose
Either I'm going to mangle it or you're going to scrub
But bygosh, SOMEONE is going to take care of that tub!



Happy Holidays Everyone!

Breakfast Muffins

As you can see, this is not your ordinary muffin.  Oh no!  This is like your entire breakfast in one yummy little package.

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but my mother-in-law use to make these a lot.  Of course, she would add mushrooms (bleck).  You can too, if you like that sort of thing. :)  These have become a standard dinner in our household and a huge hit at family gatherings and company potlucks.  So much so that our former HR assistant  (Hi Matt!) said to me one day that I should start a new division of Little CooCoo Creations and call it Little CooCoo Catering.  Aww, bless his little HR heart!

So anyway, here's what you'll need:

2 pkgs. Grands Homestyle Golden Wheat Biscuits
1 pkg. Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage
1 pkg. of shredded cheddar cheese
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 eggs

I know, that's a giant onion, right?  We like onions in our house.  Some people like mushrooms...strange.  I know I'm going with a few name brands here, which isn't really like me.  But here me out.  Jimmy Dean is the only brand (that I've been able to find) that makes ground maple flavored sausage.  The maple really gives these muffins a great breakfast-y flavor.  And the biscuits...

those are kind of a must too.  They're Grands Homestyle Golden Wheat biscuits.  I've tried this recipe with just the regular Grands biscuits, but the wheat lends a better texture in my opinion.  And as for the Sargento cheese, well, that was on sale at Meijer last week otherwise you'd be seeing a store brand there.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Set your pan over medium heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil.  Add your onions and saute until tender and just starting to brown.  Add the sausage and work it into the onions.  Saute the onions and sausage until brown.

While your onions and sausage are working, you can start on the biscuits.  Take one biscuit and smoosh it on your work surface.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the biscuit into a large circle.

I use to do this by flattening it out with my hands.  It worked, but I've found a rolling pin is faster and more consistent.

Once you have a nice, large disc of biscuit, form this into the inside of a jumbo muffin tin.  Like this:

Continue with the remaining biscuits until your muffin tins are full.

My jumbo muffin tins only hold six muffins and I use two tins, so I end up with four biscuits left over.  Consume as you wish, or feed them to the dog like we do.

Back to the sausage!  You haven't forgotten about the sausage have you?  Oh good!  Now we add our eggs.

Scramble until the eggs are incorporated.  They will act as a binder in the mixture, and will help to hold in all the muffin goodness inside the muffins.

Next, add the cheese and reserve about a cup to use for the topping.

Mmmmmm...cheese!

After you've incorporated the cheese into the sausage and egg mixture, your filling is complete.

Scoop the filling into your biscuit lined muffin tins, and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the biscuits are done.

Then admire the cheesiness.  Mmmmm!

And these things are stuffed will all sorts of breakfast-y goodness!

Go, make some breakfast muffins!  Your family will love you for it! :)

Caramel Sauce Tutorial

Ah, caramel sauce.  How I love you - let me count the ways.  I love you on ice cream.  I love you on apple pie.  I love you on pancakes.  I love you on a spoon...

Yes, I love caramel sauce.  But I'm not talking about the stuff you buy at the store for $4 a jar.  Nope.  For the past two months, I've been making my own caramel sauce!  And let me tell you, it tastes like you've taken Worthers caramels and melted them down into a gooey, liquid, delicious sauce.  Yum!  So of course I want to share the love and tell you just how to make this scrumptious sauce!  Now, I can't take credit for this recipe.  The recipe is actually from Ina Garten on Food Network, and can be found here.

DISCLAIMER: You must note that you will need a candy thermometer.  We are making candy folks, and unless you've dealt with candy before and know all the sugar stages then I would highly suggest purchasing a candy thermometer.  I bought mine for $3 at Meijer.  And we'll be dealing with molten hot sugar that will melt you like water on the Wicked Witch - SO BE CAREFUL!  This probably isn't a good time to have the kiddos in the kitchen.  End Disclaimer (for now).

Let's get started!  First, you will need the following:

1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract

I know, can you believe it?!  Only four ingredients to making the best caramel sauce EVER!

Next, mix the water and sugar together in a heavy bottom saucepan.

Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Do not stir!

Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (350 degrees on your candy thermometer).  This will take about 5-7 minutes.  Again, do not stir!  Gently swirl the pan (BE CAREFUL!) to stir the mixture.

As Ina says, watch it like a hawk!  (Okay, maybe she doesn't say just that)  The sugar will go from caramel to burnt very quickly, so 350 degrees is your magic number.

Once your candy thermometer reads 350 degrees, turn off the heat.  Stand back and slowly add the cream and vanilla.

Now, don't freak out!  The cream is going to bubble violently and the caramel is going to solidify.



Turn the burner back on low, and simmer, stirring constantly until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes.

Now comes the hard part, allow to cool to room temperature for at least 4 hours.  Okay, I know, I should have told you up front that you'd have to wait 4 hours but you would have thought I was a mad woman!  Wait 4 hours for caramel sauce when I could just go to the store and buy some in 15 minutes?!  I can hear you!  But please, your patience will pay off!  The sauce will thicken as it sits.  And no one said you couldn't sneak a taste...

Just have some self control, would you?!  Sheesh!

So, what are you going to do for the next 4 hours?  Well, wanna know what I did?  I made an apple pie!  Because what (what?!) goes better with caramel sauce than apple pie and maybe a little vanilla ice cream?!  Um, nothing!

I snagged my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (I won't show it to you, it's literally been run over by a car and is falling apart), and I turned to the classic apple pie.  The recipe calls for some amount of apples (don't really know how much, I never do pay attention to that).  I usually buy 6 large apples of two varieties.

This time I used 3 Granny Smith, and 3 Braeburn.  Now, why do I use two kinds of apples?  Well, I think traditionally people put Granny Smith apples in pies.  But to me, a Granny Smith is really tart and I like to cut that tartness a little with some sweet.  When I'm at the grocery store, I just look at the little cards above the apples and pick out a variety that claims to be sweet, crisp and good for pies.  Apparently, Braeburn apples fit that category.

Next, I peel, core and slice the apples and put them in a large bowl.

The bowl my grandma used to make tortillas in. :)

Then I add 3/4 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of AP flour, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.  I use my hands, and toss this together with the apples.

Then I ready the crust!

Okay, can I tell you a secret?

*Sigh*  Wow, I'm so glad I got that off my shoulders!  Now you know.  I don't make my own pie crust.  Truth be told, when I was 13 I attempted to make a scratch pie crust and it totally flopped.  I was so traumatized that I haven't tried since.  True story.  But my husband says I really ought to give it another go.  What does he know?  Anyway, refrigerated pie crusts are totally acceptable in my book.  They're super convenient and they taste great!  And I buy store brand stuff or whatever is on sale - it's not always Pillsbury.

Okay, now that we've covered that, let's move on.  I unroll one of the refrigerated crusts, and using a rolling pin, I stretch it a bit bigger so it will overhang the edge of my pie plate.  Then I add my apples.  I might just be a bit nutty, but I like to individually put each apple slice in my pie.  I figure, if I just dump the whole bowl in there may be little hidden crannies that don't get a touch of apple goodness.  So to me, it makes a difference.

See how pretty!

Then I stretch out my second crust (maybe I use a little cookie cutter and surgically remove an apple shape from the center), and apply it to my pie.  Then I flute the edge, brush on a little milk, sprinkle the top with sugar and cover the edge with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.  Then remove the foil, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Yumm!

Oh, I just love how pretty a simple apple pie is!  And, it gives me an excuse to use this:

Why, yes that is the Longaberger cake basket complete with pie riser!

I know that didn't take 4 hours (though it may take you 4 hours to read this post - Wow, longest post ever!).  May I suggest going for a long stroll or some other form of cardio to preemptively burn off all those calories you're about to consume?  No?

Well, whatever you decide to do with your 4 hours, you'll be rewarded for your patience...

And you've really got to try it on apple pie.

Ah, there are no words.  I'm going to eat my caramel sauce and pie now, buh-bye!

HooHoo Hats

When my little coocoo was just learning to talk, she would point to all the animals and call them by the sounds they made.  Dogs were "oof, oofs", cats were "meow, meows", fish were "blub, blubs" and so on.  When I made my very first owl hat she pointed to it and said "HooHoo Hat!" and so the HooHoo Hat was born.

My first HooHoo Hat was lime and pink with little button eyes.  I loved her and Addyson wore her proudly.

As the baby HooHoo Hats continued, I thought to myself "How can there be a baby without a mama?"  So, you guessed it...



I made a Mama HooHoo Hat!

So now all is right with the world and there's a mama and a baby HooHoo Hat.  I'm continuing to experiment with different colors and eyes, and I love each one I make more than the last.  Here's a peek at the latest HooHoo Hats from Little CooCoo Creations.

And what's on my hook next, you might ask.  Well, I'll give you a clue...

Ugh, please ignore the mountains of laundry behind Mr. Kitty.  It was laundry day.

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

One of my go-to-meals is definitely Chicken Pot Pie.  And since chicken breasts were on sale at Meijer last week, Chicken Pot Pie made it on our weekly meal list.  It's another one of those meals that may seem intimidating; but believe me, it's super easy and your family will love it!

Here's what you'll need:

Chicken
*I used two large chicken breasts because we like white meat.  But when I'm in a time crunch, I've used a store-bought rotisserie chicken and just shredded the meat.
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion (or 3 small ones this week), finely chopped
1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
3 ribs celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen peas
1 box refrigerated pie dough (you will need both shells if you want a top and bottom crust)
1 egg, beaten
kosher salt & pepper


Okay, let's just get this out of the way...

Yes, this recipe does call for heavy whipping cream and real butter!  Get over it!  If you use margarine or half/half, well I don't want to know about it.

Now that we've established that, let's start cooking!

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place your chicken breasts on a baking sheet (I line my baking pan with foil so I don't have to wash it later) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  I used bone-in chicken breasts with the skins.  The skin keeps the chicken moist, and I remove it after it's baked.

Bake until done, about 40 minutes.  Allow to cool enough so you can handle it, and shred the meat.  Set aside.

Next, Mirepoix!

The culinary world has never known a finer marriage of flavors!  Chop the celery, onions, and carrots so they are all relatively the same size.  In our house, we have a little mouth to feed so we keep things about a half-inch in size.

In a dutch oven (aka big heavy pot), like this lovely...

My Precious

...melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Saute until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery are tender.

Add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes.  The fat from the butter and the raw flour will combine to make a roux (thickener) for the filling.  You are cooking out the raw flour flavor, so make sure you stir for the full 2 minutes.  The mixture should be pasty and lump-free.

Next, stir in the broth, cream, chicken, and peas.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the filling thickens to your liking.

Line your baking vessel with one of the pie crusts.

It doesn't have to be pretty.  We make a family style pot pie, but you could make individual pies instead.

Ladle the filling into the lined baking dish.

Cover with the remaining pie crust and tuck in the edges.  Remember, it doesn't need to be super pretty.  Pot pie is supposed to be rustic.  Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Serve and enjoy!