Focaccia Bread

Supper co-op tonight was very a certain smile maker! The one family gets truly excited over cheese ravioli with marinara sauce, while our family loves alfredo. So tonight everyone got a salad with Olive Garden Dressing, pasta of their choosing, and focaccia bread.

This recipe of Focaccia bread I found on the beloved recipe database "All Recipes.com"
It has 4 3/4 stars with over 500 reviews and over 9000 viewers had "saved" the recipe.

It did not disappoint! Jackson (my almost 8 yr old) helped me make it. We were all delighted with the results. The herbs baked into the bread made the kitchen smell wonderful!


Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Focaccia-Bread/Detail.aspx

Pumpkin Dump Cake

It just feels right cooking this at this time of year! There is no need to burn a candle this morning...no need for potpourri! What a aromatic treat. Looking forward to digging into this!


3 cups pumpkin (2 15 oz cans)
2 cans evap milk (12 oz)
4 eggs
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar (I cut it back to 1)

1 yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix pumpkin, spices, sugar and milk.
Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan.
Sprinkle with cake mix.
Drizzle with melted butter.
Put on the chopped pecans.

Bake 350 for 1 hour and 20 minutes

Sausage Grits Casserole

1 pound ground sausage
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 cup raw grits
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/4 cup cheddar

Preheat oven to 350

Brown sausage and onion together. Drain well

Bring milk and water to boil. Add grits and cook on medium heat until thickened.

Combine onion, sausage, grits, 8 oz shredded cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.

Pour into buttered 9x13 dish.

Top with 1/4 cup cheddar.

Bake 1 hour or until bubbly.

Enjoy immensely!

Adapted from "Jacksonville and Company" cookbook pg 182....lovin this cookbook!

Baby Food Cake...Moist...always a winner

Given to me by my, dear friend and mom to 5 boys! It is a quick cake to make from typical pantry items...well, unless you no longer have a baby in the house...in which case you will keep 2 jars of baby food on hand just for this recipe. It is yummy!

2 cups Self rising flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup oil
3 eggs beaten
2 small jars apricot (sweet potato) baby food
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix first 4 ingredients. Add remaining and mix well.

Bake 325 for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Cutco...amazing outcome....

Remember several weeks back I posted my amazing garage sale find? A set of Cutco knives for $2.50!!!

Mom insisted that Cutco would replace the knives with damaged blades and the others needed to be sharpened. So, when we went to visit mom and dad during fall break, I made it a point to get them sent to the company.

Today I received 4 brand new knives from Cutco with a letter of regret from the company!!!!

First they thanked me for sending in my CUTCO cutlery and giving them the opportunity to service and/or replace my product....giving them the opportunity to honor their Forever Satisfaction Guarantee! Then they expressed their regret that the merchandise that I had returned has been redesigned....(in other words....those knives were soooooooo old) and therefore they had to send me a replacement in their current style. The letter ended with them saying they look forward to providing me service in the future!


My only charge is $6 for postage and handling!!!!!!!! Essentially I got about $500 worth of knives for $8.50!!!!!

Alright, I admit I got a steal. It is no wonder that they have built a great reputation for honoring their guarantee! If anyone is looking to invest in a great set of knives....I would certainly recommend CUTCO!!!!!!!!

Broccoli Bisque

1 large bunch fresh broccoli
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups chicken broth
2 TBS butter
1 TBS all-purpose flour
1 TBS salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups Half and Half

6 servings (small servings)

Steam broc until tender. Chop.

In a saucepan, combine broccoli, onion and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Puree mixture in a blender until smooth.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth.

Stir in Half and Half.

Combine sauce and broccoli puree.

Cook over med heat, stirring until soup bubbles.

Serve hot or cold.

This is absolutely wonderfully satisfying!!!!!!!

A great find....

Having reached a slump and a time of cooking doldrums, I was delighted to find a wonderful new cookbook at a thrift store.

"Jacksonville and Company-Fresh, Inviting Recipes for Entertaining"
by: Junior League of Jacksonville, FL 1982

What a find it has already proven to be!!!!!

So far I have marked several to try. Last weekend I made Broccoli Bisque...it was wonderful and rated exceptional and I even got requests for the leftover soup....

Also, I found a sausage and grits casserole that is absolutely a plate scraper! Sunday, the man clan devoured it.

Tonight I have just taken a Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake out of the oven. It is smelling lovely!

I love cooking successes!