Christmas with Nannacakes!

The tree in our home is simple.  We decorate it with love, memories and other happy things.  We don't worry about matching colors or fancy ornaments.  In my house, the tree is a tribute to memories of the children growing up.  The decorations we love most are made with little hand prints and macaroni noodles.  I put lots of poinsettias into my Christmas decorating as well.  They have always meant "joy" to me.  They really make me smile.

This year, Emily and Owen made their own ugly Christmas sweaters.  I hear tell that they were the big winners in the contest at the party they went to.  I think they did a spectacular job making their crazy, ugly sweaters don't you?

Joslyn attended the big 8th grade Christmas dance.  She rocked some pretty great gear for this gig.  Her pug sweater had some awesome jingle bells on it and her hat was just plain awesome!

The best Christmas news was the news that Emily, Alex and Owen shared with the world in their Christmas cards.  Emily is expecting a baby June of 2019!  That's right folks! Nannacakes is getting a new duckling!  I couldn't be happier for them.

Christmas time here is a cookie baking marathon.  We bake with sugar, butter and love for all of our friends and family.  We don't have the money do buy folks big gifts, but I really think they appreciate the baking so much more.

Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting and Pecans

Butter Pecan Cookies topped with Candied Pecan

Chocolate Fudge Cookies topped with Milk Chocolate

We made so many different kinds of Christmas cookies this year.  It would take quite a bit to picture them all here!  Our favorite are the sugar cookies for sure.  They are decorated with the love and laughter of children.  I don't worry about how perfect their presentation is.  I think only of the wonderful time I got to spend with the kids when we made them.

Sugar Cookies 

In this new year, please remember that love and laughter need to come long before worry and sadness.  Pay attention to the little things in your life.  Give thought to the happy moment when you held your husband's hand or when your child shared a funny story from their day.  Take the time to call old friends to re-connect.  Remember, to say I love you to those in your life.

I promise to make a special post for you about the specifics of making my "Wicked Awesome Peanut Butter Cookies" on another day.  Today, I would just like to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! 

Cranberry Apple Pie an Update to my Strawberry Apple Tart Recipe

Cranberry, Apple and Strawberry Pie

I made some great updates to my Strawberry Apple Tart recipe.  For Thanksgiving, I have cooked down some whole cranberries with water, sugar, orange juice and cinnamon.  I added a cup of this mixture to the leftover filling I had frozen when I made the tart earlier this month.

Now, with just a couple of steps I was able to turn the recipe for these tarts into the pie shown below.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

I am going to try to give honor to some wonderful family members today!  A families heritage comes from so many places in today's day and age.  For now, we are going to talk just a little about my mother's father and his family.  I take inspiration from our Mexican heritage for this recipe.

This photo is of my Bisabuela Emily Vega.  My daughter Emily is named after this woman.  She was a survivor.  She had sass and class.  What I would do to have really known her!

Bisabuela Emily Vega
Translation: Great Grandmother Emily Vega

I am a big fan of Mexican Hot Chocolate!  We are going to take our inspiration from the warm, exotic flavors in Nestle's Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate.  Since, Abuelita means Grandmother, I thought to be a good Nannacakes, I should know how to duplicate these flavors.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine 3 large eggs, vegetable oil, milk, seasonings.  Whisk.  Add you fudgy cake mix. (Devil's Food would work well here too!)  Beat together mixture until combined and smooth.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner to 2/3 full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

On to the FROSTING!

One can sweetened condensed milk, one pound or 4 sticks of butter and one teaspoon of cinnamon.

We are going to combine one can of sweetened condensed milk, one pound or 4 sticks of butter and one teaspoon of cinnamon.  Beat this until smooth.

Here, I have added a malted milk ball candy and shaved milk chocolate for garnish.  It also has a dusting of cinnamon on top.

Below is my absolute favorite picture of my grandpa.  Thank you Irene Gonzalez, amazing cousin, for giving me a copy of this.  Both men, as you can see, were military.  I honor them, on this Veteran's Day, along with so many others.  I have brothers, uncles, cousins and a grandfather who have served.  My pride for them overflows.

Gran Tio Jesse, Bisabuela Emily Vega and Abuelo Freddie Vega
Translation: Great Uncle Jesse, Great Grandmother Emily Vega and Grandfather Freddie Vega

Happy Veteran's Day!

Apple Strawberry Puff Pastry Tart

Apple Strawberry Puff Pastry Tart

This recipe was sort of a happy accident.  Many years ago, I needed to use up the apples I had.  There weren't enough apples there to make a pie.  I looked around to see what I could add to them to "beef" up the pie.  I had a fresh box of strawberries.  Why not?  I made the pie just as I would have normally made an apple pie.  The strawberries really made a nice addition.  Since then, I have used this fruit combination at least once a year.

 In this case, I am using McIntosh and Gala apples.  They are just what I have fresh on hand.  Any combination of apples would work. You do you.  I am also using fresh strawberries (frozen thawed berries would do if, you I were to drain them first) and one 

box of puff pastry.

 I peeled and diced the apples.  I cut the tops off of the strawberries and sliced them. Preheat oven to 400°.

Roll out one sheet of the puff pastry until it is approx. 12"x12".  

Cut that sheet in half.

Spray your baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine apples, strawberries, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, 2 Tbsp flour, and a dash of nutmeg.  Gently fold all of these ingredients together.  You don't want to mash up those strawberries!

Spoon the mixture out onto the puff pastry leaving about a half inch of pastry showing all the way around.  Beat one egg and brush that onto the exposed edges of the pastry.  Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown.

NOTE:  I try not to make too many sweets in my house.  The more I make, the more they will eat.  So, in this case, I only used one of the two sheets of pastry that come in the box.  I put the other in a freezer bag right back into the freezer.  I also had enough of the fruit and seasoning mixture to make 2 tarts again at a later date!

3 Ingredient Banana Bread

I love making this recipe.  Usually, I use very ripe bananas.  Since, bananas were on sale for just 38 cents per pound, I jumped on them!  The thing was that the bananas were really green.  Well, I am not waiting!  I have a trick for this.  Easy peasy!

Nannacakes why are those bananas black??  My trick is to put the green bananas on a cookie sheet in he oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  The bananas come out perfect for cake, bread or cookies!

3 simple ingredients.  2 eggs, 3 ripe bananas and any yellow cake mix. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix bananas and eggs until combined.  Stir in cake mix until just combined. 
Fold in 1 cup of dark chocolate chips.

Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.

Place batter into loaf pan and bake 50 minutes.

Let cool 15-20 minutes before serving.

Roasted Redskins with Shaved Parmesan

Lately, I have been striving to make the most out of inexpensive side dishes.  I am working with a very small food budget right now.  I need to get big flavor without spending a lot.  This dish meets all of those criteria. 

Slice redskin potatoes into 1/4" slices.

Put about 2 Tbsp olive oi and 1 Tbsp butter into the pan along with the potatoes.  Season with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper.  Stir potatoes to coat.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Sprinkle shaved parmesan over hot potatoes before serving.

Enjoy!

Scallops With Brown Butter and Sage

Fancy seems so out of reach sometimes.  Yes, scallops can be a bit pricey.  Keep in mind though that the rest of the ingredients in this dish are very low cost.  I believe, when I did the math, that the remaining ingredients in this dish came to less than $5.  That is certainly reasonable when you add in the cost of the scallops and divide it by serving.  Here are some of the ingredients we are working with today.

Fresh Sage, Scallops, Lemons, Crimini Mushrooms, Knob Onions and Garlic

You really can use any pasta here.  I had spaghetti, so that is what we are using.  I also used butter, olive oil, clam juice, salt and pepper.  I sliced up some of the whites from the knob onions, added 5 sage leaves, minced garlic, olive oil and a Tbsp of butter to the saute pan.

I sauted these things on medium heat for 6-8 minutes.  Then, I took them out of the pan and set them aside.  

I put a Tbsp of butter, and a Tbsp of olive oil in the pan.  I seared the scallops for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side.  I took them out and put them aside so that they would not overcook.

Now, our veggies are cooked and our scallops are done.  It is time to build the sauce.  I added a stick of butter, zest and juice of a lemon, 1/4 cup of clam juice, salt and pepper to the pan. I stirred the mixture until the butter was a golden brown.  I pulled the hot pasta out of the water and added it directly to the pan.  I added back in the vegetables.  I let this cook for about 10 minutes to marry the pasta to the sauce and veggies.  The starchy pasta has thickened up the sauce.  I diced some of the bright green tops from the knob onion to garnish.

It got some big smiles from my family.

Keeping It Simple

There is no escaping that I am a "thick chick".  I try to keep my snacks simple.  Gone are the days when I went through a bag of chips.  Now, I try to make sure that my snacks are satisfying, but won't add pounds.  Today's snack is really simple.  Today we used the AIR FRYER!  This gadget has changed my life.  I get yummy things without the grease.  Since, it is fall, there are so many awesome vegetables and lots of squash that are new in season.  I keep acorn squash on hand.  I cut them in half, clean out the seeds and they are ready for me when I am looking for an evening snack.

This is my trusty AIR FRYER!

There are so many air fryers on the market right now.  I am not a great resource for any other brand out there.  I only know about my trusty fryer.  This one was a gift.  I know that it is the largest one.  This, really helps in making meals for my family.

COOK'S ESSENTIALS

My AIR FRYER is a COOK'S ESSENTIALS.  I use it for everything really.  I use it way more than the microwave.  I will try to share with you something new at least once a month using this awesome small appliance.

Moving on...  I brush the acorn squash half lightly with olive oil. (vegetable oil is just fine here)  Then, I place the squash open side down on a square of foil inside the fryer.  I set the fryer to 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  When, the timer goes off, I pull the fryer basket and turn the squash over.  I lightly salt and pepper.  I put the squash back in for 10 minutes more.  Considering that this would take almost an hour in the oven, I prefer this method.

The result is this awesome, caramelized, golden goodness!  Let's just say that this is so much better for me than the potato chips.  I could add many more seasonings like onion, garlic, etc.  I imagine that a pat of real creamery butter would be splendid.  This is just my way of watching my waist.

Until next time...

Blessings from Nannacakes!