Today is the BIG day!

Today is the big day so head on over to Joy of Desserts to enter
your ice cream recipes and see everyone else's recipes!!!

While I have your attention and we are on the topic of Round-Ups, if you find yourself with the Need to Knead, we have the bread round-up for you. Joy and I will be co-hosting this event. Start scouring the nooks and crannys for all those bread recipes. We will round-up all types of bread recipes on October 15th. We hope you will participate!

Swedish Meatballs

Traditionally this recipe is served with lingonberries - YUMMMMMMY!!

MEATBALLS
1 Jumbo egg
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large slice white bread, crusts removed, and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces ground pork, double ground
8 ounces ground beef, double ground
1 medium onion, grated or minced
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
Olive Oil, heavy coat

• Whisk egg and cream together in small bowl. Stir in bread and set aside to soak.
  
• Blend hamburger & pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, and salt smooth and uniform.
• Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain.
  
• Add mixture to beef mixture and blend until well mixed.
• Form 1-inch round meatballs. You'll have about 25-30.
• Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat.
• Add meatballs in single layer and fry, turning several times, until lightly browned on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes.
  
• Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.
  
• Transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.
  

SAUCE
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
Table salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Pour off and discard the oil in pan.
  
• Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. Once melted, add flour and cook, stirring constantly with whisk, until flour is light brown.
  
• Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits.
  
• Add brown sugar and bring to simmer.
  
• Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes.
  
• Stir in cream and return to simmer.
• Add meatballs back to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.
  
• Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over noodles.
  

Brioche EGG Bread

Brioche EGG BREAD
1 1/2 pound loaf

2/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
2 eggs
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

The beauty of bread machines is they always want the same layering.

Liquids
Butter chunks & Eggs
Flour & Sugar
Yeast
The key to any good bread is using quality fresh ingredients.
Just remember, garbage in is garbage out.
Let your bread maker do the rest!

Favorite Ingredient Friday ~ French Onion Soup

hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

FRENCH ONION SOUP

1/3 cup butter
1 tablespoon sugar
4 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon flour
5 cups hot water
5 teaspoons beef granules
1 tablespoon kitchen bouquet
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
4 thin slices french or sourdough bread, toasted
4 slices Gruyere cheese*

• Melt butter in bottom of stock pot.
  
• Stir in the sugar.
  
• Separate onions into rings and add to butter. Cook until tender and golden.
  
• Add flour and blend well with butter mixture and onions.
  
• Add water, beef granules, kitchen bouquet, salt and pepper and stir well.
• Simmer 15-20 minutes.
• Toast bread and then butter it.
• Ladle soup into 4 oven proof bowls that have been put on a cookie sheet for easier handling.
  
• Place 1 slice of toast over top of soup.
  
• Lay 1 slice of cheese on top of toast.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  

*mozzarella cheese works well too

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Write you own Cookbook Review in Progress

While I was catching up on my Google Reader this morning I ran across an interesting post by Michelle at Scribbit.

I have written 2 cook books in the past for family reunions and let me tell you they were serious labors of love and no easy feat using Microsoft Publisher while deciphering everyone's chicken scratch too. This new website, Tastebook.com will make your job simpler. Be sure though to check the supported characters if you have any family legacy recipes that are in need of 'characters' from other languages. I know Barbara and I discussed this at length regarding the Icelandic language. I could cut and paste and it appeared to preview well, but Tastebook's disclaimer specifically says it is not supported. It does support your own photo images though, making it feasible to look as professional as any other publisher out there. They are hard bound spiral books with the option of taking the pages in and out as necessary.

Here's your opportunity to create your own cook book whether it is just for your own use or you want to print Christmas gift copies for mom and grandma. Give yourself a break an take a minute to check it out.

Bread Pudding ~ All versions

TIP: after draining the pineapple use the juice to soak the currants and/or raisins before using. Be sure and drain the excess juice from those too.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I'm posting this especially for Barbara, but she'll have her very own copy of the whole book later this week.

Scrumptious Sunday ~ Patio Coolers

hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks

PATIO COOLERS ~ alcoholic and tea totaler versions

1 small can Minute Maid limeade concentrate
1 small can Minute Maid Orange juice concentrate
1 cup pina colada mixer
32 ounces pineapple juice
1 cup peach Schnapps (optional)**
1 cup Captain Morgan Rum (optional)

• Mix together well.
  
• Pour over crushed ice.*
  
• Garnish with a pineapple or orange slice.

*When I'm making it for a large group, I prepare it as a double or triple batch in advance and freeze as a slush. You can then serve it in a punch bowl and garnish with a small carton of rainbow sherbet, a bottle of ginger ale, sliced fruit and maraschino cherries.

**If making the tea totaler version substitute peach nectar for the schnapps.

Sweet Sweet Surprise!

I signed on for a quick email check while we are preparing for our family reunion and look what I found. Joy @ Joy of Desserts left me a super sweet surprise. This is her quote that made me smile big and feel some serious heartstring tugs:

"3 Sides Of Crazy. Tamy and I seem to have a lot of little things and interests in common. She blogs about all sorts of things like cooking, her home and barn, faith and more. You won't get bored. If you enjoyed my post about the first American cookbook and antique recipes, you'll like her series on an old 1917 cookbook she found. She calls the series Tuesday's Romance of Cookery and Housekeeping. "

These are the other 9 recipients. Stop by and congratualate them. You can read what Joy had to say about them on her post.

Canela's Kitchen...Mil Postres...Culinarty...4urpets...yay pie!...

Texas Tanya...Grace Today...Erin Craig...Tad Cronn...

Now it's my turn be thoughtful & present 10 more awards.

SO, know that while I am on R&R I will have my thinking cap on!

Taco Ring Salad ~ Recipe of the Week

A lot of people have asked about this recipe of late, so I thought it was time to share it.
It is so simple and looks so good too.
It's great for Super Bowl parties, potlucks, etc...
Kids really love it too.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
taco seasoning
1 large onion, chopped small
4 oz. can chopped green chiles, not drained
1 package refrigerator crescent rolls 1
large tomato, chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced
3 cups shredded lettuce
1 package Sargento Mexican blend fine shredded cheese
sour cream

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a skillet brown the ground beef and onion. Drain.
  
• Add taco seasoning and green chiles.
• Simmer 5-10 minutes. Drain again so there is no excess moisture.
  
• I use my stoneware pizza stone. Lightly spray it with PURE.
• Unroll the crescent rolls and separate them.
  
• Arrange the rolls (wide edges inward with the thin corner edge slightly hanging off the pizza stone) in a circular pattern around the pizza stone with the corners slightly touching.
• Arrange the meat mixture in a circular pattern covering the large end portion of the crescent rolls. Sprinkle 1/3 -1/2 of the cheese over the meat.
  
• Pull the small pointed end up over the meat mixture and pinch into large portion creating a ring that resembles a wreath. You will have an open area with meat showing through.
• Bake according to the biscuit directions and golden.
• I also serve it on the stoneware. Arrange the shredded lettuce, green onions and tomatoes in the center and edges. For just us, I just put it directly on the plate.
  
• Garnish with sour cream and remaining cheese.
• Serve immediately.