Roasted Pumpkin seeds

It's that wonderful time of year again. The pumpkin patch vines are faded and dying away, all that's left are golden balls sitting in the cool morning air. Pumpkins are sitting on the porches, out on the walks, some with welcoming lights inside. From the inside of this wonderful fruit, pumpkin is being cooked and stored away for pies and breads. So many seeds are also available. Roasted pumpkin seeds are the best snack around this time of year. I have two extra tasty recipes if you are getting tired of just plain roasted salted seed. Enjoy!

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. (This is easiest just after you've removed the seeds from the pumpkin, before the pulp has dried.)
Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, stirring to coat. If you prefer, omit the oil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.
Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted, about 25 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.
Let cool and store in an air-tight container.
Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Cinnasweet Pumpkin Seeds
4 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine the pumpkin seeds, margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; stir to coat the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer in a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; stir and return to oven for 15 minutes more; remove from oven and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the seeds; stir to coat. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes before removing again to sprinkle with remaining sugar and stirring. Bake another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Store leftover seeds in an airtight container.

Cranberry Orange Bread

The day was cloudy and slightly cool. By the time Sophie and I decided to take our afternoon walk, a steady sprinkling of rain was falling. That did not stop us, however,....... with umbrella in hand, I walked along with Sophie as she stopped to smell each wet plant along the way. Before we took our walk, I pulled out a loaf of Cranberry Orange Bread from the oven, and set it on the table to cool while we were out.

Only slightly damp, we made it back and the wonderful smell of this bread filled the house and greeted us at the back door. I quickly settled down with a cup of coffee and this delicious bread......

and Sophie?
She already found her favorite spot to take a nap.
This bread is wonderful. Here is the recipe.......

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

1/2 cup orange juice
Grated peel of 1 orange
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg. Add orange juice, peel, butter and hot water. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Gently fold in cranberries and walnuts. Spoon into greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Ma Ferguson's Pecan Cream Pie

Miriam Amanda Wallace (1875-1961) was born into a family rich in Texas land and cattle. She married wealthy James Ferguson, who became governor of Texas in 1914. During his second term, he was convicted of irregularities and imprisoned. M.A. Ferguson (her name shortened to Ma by the press) was elected governor in 1924 and again in 1932. She pardoned her husband and hundreds of other prisoners. Reviews are mixed, but she left her mark on Texas politics.

Here is her pie recipe:

Ma Ferguson's Pecan Cream Pie

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 tbs. flour

2 eggs, separated, using whites for topping

1 cup milk

1 tbs. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

1 baked 9 inch pie crust

TOPPING:

1/4 cup sugar

14 tsp. vanilla

2 tbs. finely chopped pecans

Combine sugar, pecans, and flour in a heavy saucepan; stir well. Combine egg yolks and milk in a mixing bowl, mix well.

Gradually add milk mixture to pecan mixture, stirring until well blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat: add butter, and 2 tbs. vanilla, stirring until butter melts. Pour into pastry shell.

Beat egg whites (at room temp) until foamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks from. Beat in 1/4 tsp/ vanilla. Spread meringue over top of pie filling, making sure edges are sealed. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 400.F for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool....ENJOY!

Fall is just about here and it's time for all of those wonderful dishes with apples to fill our homes with the aroma of cinnamon and spices.

One of my favorite apple dishes is this rich, wonderful apple dumpling recipe. So good by itself or served with a scoop of ice cream.

Apple Dumplings

2 large Granny Smith apples

2 cans crescent rolls

2 sticks butte

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

cinnamon

8 oz. Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples and slice each apple into 8 slices. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll and place in a 9x13 lightly greased baking dish. Melt butter, then add sugar and stir slightly, leaving the mixture grainy.Add vanilla, stir and our over apple crescents. Pour Mountain Dew around and down the center of rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 F. for 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Authentic Flour Tortillas

Everyone has their "quirks" right?

Those little weird things we do that set us apart from everyone else. My quirk?

I love to READ cook books. I don't mean just browsing through until I see a great picture and a great recipe.....I really read the whole thing through. I am always on the lookout for cookbooks that have added stories of family and friends.....and why the recipe was so good! Do any of you do this? One book I just love and read often is this book.....Better Homes and Gardens Heritage Cook Book.
A dear friend, who knows just about all of my weird quirks in life, gave this to me, knowing I would sit down and pour over every page as if it were the latest romance novel. This book is wonderful.....full of history on the origins of the foods we are familiar with.....


and ones that we may not have ever tried.....but can because of the recipes provided.

Living in West Texas and not too far from the Mexican border, there is a type of food we are all accustomed with....Tex Mex. It is a variety of wonderful spicy Mexican influenced foods. One thing my son loves for me to do is to make flour tortillas. The recipe in the book is a true tortilla recipe. As you will notice, it calls for .....lard. That's right, that awful nasty greasy stuff that was used way, way, back by Grandmother and Auntie. However, it is important to use it for these. You can still purchase lard in almost any store. I have used vegetable shortening when I don't have lard........however, the tortillas come out stiff and cracker like. If you use lard...they come out thick and soft and just like the authentic tortillas you purchase. If you ever get a chance to read this cook book.....please do! It is full of the most interesting stories and recipes!

Flour Tortillas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tbs. lard

1/2 to 3/4 cup warm water (110.F)

In mixing bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in lard till the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add 1/2 cup of warm water and mix till dough can be gathered into a ball. (If needed, add extra water, 1 tbs full at a time.) Let dough rest 15 minutes. Divide dough into 12 portions. Shape into 1-inch balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball to a 7 inch circle. Trim uneven edges to make a round tortilla. Cook in un-greased skillet over medium heat till lightly browned. Serve hot with butter. Enjoy!

Tantalizing Flatbread

One of my blogging friends was asking if I had a good pizza dough recipe. This one I have used for the past 10 years. I have used it as the Parmesan Onion flatbread.....but when I want pizza, I just put pizza sauce on the dough, and then add my favorite toppings and follow the baking instructions. I hope you try it with the onions as well....it is so delicious!
Parmesan-Onion Flatbread
1 envelope of active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105.F.)
2 tbs. honey, divided
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 3/4 tsp. salt, divided
3 cups bread flour
1 tbs. butter
3 large onion thinly sliced
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 tbs. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine yeast, 1 cup water, and 1 tbs. honey in a 2 cup measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes
Combine yeast mixture, remaining tbs honey, oil and 1 tsp. salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in 2 cups flour, beat at medium speed. Let rest 5 minutes, add remaining flour beating at low speed until well blended.
Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead well. Place in a well greased bowl, turning once to grease top.
Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place 45 minutes.
Punch dough down and turn out onto a well greased 15x10 jelly roll pan....or if making pizza, a large pizza pan. Let rise 15 minutes or just until it begins to puff.
Melt butter in a large skillet; add onion and garlic and saute' until tender. Stir in remaining salt, Italian seasoning, and red pepper. Spoon mixture over dough.
Bake at 425 F. for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and bake 5 more minutes. Cut into squares, serve immediately. Enjoy!

Toasted Ravioli

We don't eat out at restaurants very often......so when we do.... and I try something that is just so wonderful......I try to re-create it at home to enjoy.

We recently ate at Olive Gardens. We got an appetiser plate and one of the items was Toasted Ravioli. It is so good!...What's better...it is so EASY to make!

Select the kind of ravioli( about a dozen) you like best.

Also, you need one egg, lightly beaten.

Also....Italian style breadcrumbs. ( 1 cup)

Cook ravioli in boiling water until they float to the top. Remove from water and drain. Set aside to cool.

Heat vegetable oil in fryer or skillet at least 2 inches deep to a temperature of 375 degrees.

Dip ravioli in beaten egg, then cover in breadcrumbs.

Fry in batches in hot oil until golden brown, drain

Sprinkle hot ravioli with Parmesan cheese.

Heat marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce and set aside in serving bowl.

Serve ravioli with dipping sauce. Enjoy!