Sunday, November 27, 2011

5 Libby's Pumpkin Roll

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! 
Here is a beautiful dessert for any fall table!
Libby's Pumpkin Roll
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.
BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.
BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
Libby's
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

0 Guest Blogging: Pumpkin Pecan PIE! :-)

I'm guest blogging today over at Just Love.ly Things! :-) Go check out a perfect dessert for tomorrow! :-) 
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  
(I am thankful for each of you!)

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

12 Guest Post: Ten Things I’ve Learned in the First Year of Marriage

My sweet sister in law, Emily, is guest blogging today and sharing reflections of her first year of marriage (and is sharing a pretty amazing dessert!) I picked some of my favorite pictures to include with her post! Enjoy! 

Ten Things I’ve Learned in the First Year of Marriage
            One year ago, my husband Parker (Elizabeth’s brother) and I were walking down the aisle into the world of marriage.  He was my dream come true, my knight in shining armor, more special than I could ever have imagined my husband to be. Our pre-marriage counselor warned us against picturing marriage as a fairytale romance where everything goes smoothly.  As wonderful as the first year has been, we have both needed lots of grace along this journey.  Many of you reading this post may be in different stages of life- single, divorced, married many years, or engaged.  I hope this is insightful for whatever phase of life you are in. Here goes!
1.      1. Marriage is like a mirror. There is no greater reflection of your good, bad, and ugly sides than marriage. My husband sees me at my best… and at my worst. God gently shows us areas that need refinement through our marriage. 
2.      2. We must spend time together for our relationship to grow. One of the best pieces of advice came from my sister Lauren who challenged us during our first year of marriage not to commit to a million different activities. As my husband and I both are recovering over-committers, this was difficult. But it truly paid off. If nothing else, we have committed to one date night per week. This can be as simple as taking a long walk together. 
3.      3. Men have selective hearing… especially when ESPN is within sight.
4.      4. There is an art to arguing. My husband could have made a great lawyer. He gets energized from discussing different facets of a case. I, on the other hand, shut down when conflict arises. We have learned to meet each other’s needs in this part of marriage. Over time, he has learned to be a better listener, and I a better communicator.
5.    5. My husband and I have very different shopping strategies. He likes to “hunt” for clothes. He has a specific want, sees it, targets it, goes for the kill, and runs away with his prize. I, on the contrary, am a “gatherer.” I look online at many different options, then go to the store and browse prices and styles. I will try on 10 different items, buy 3 and take back 2 after taking them home and deciding they either don’t look that good or aren’t cost-effective.
6.      6. Men love to be respected. This may look different for each man. For my man, this means verbal affirmation. I cannot tell him enough how much I think of him and how much he means to me.
7.      7. God is faithful. With all of our uncertainties of how our first year would go, he has been faithful in softening us in conflict and reflecting who he is. He sustains our marriage even when we don’t. 
8.      8. Men like things simple. Period.
9.     9. My obedience to God in being a good wife to Parker cannot depend on his actions. This is a hard concept to grasp as we often want to react to our spouse’s actions, good or bad. Christ’s love for us is unconditional and he gave us grace when we did not deserve it; therefore, I have the freedom to do the same.
10 10. The way to a man’s heart really is through his stomach… which leads me to one of my hubby’s favorite desserts. I made this two Thanksgivings ago and it has become a family favorite. 
Double-Apple Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Brandy-Caramel Sauce
From Southern Living Recipes
Cornmeal Crust Dough
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plain yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup chilled shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 to 10 Tbsp. chilled apple cider
1. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut butter and shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. Mound mixture on 1 side of bowl.
2. Drizzle 1 Tbsp. apple cider along edge of mixture in bowl. Using a fork, gently toss a small amount of flour mixture into cider just until dry ingredients are moistened; move mixture to other side of bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining cider and flour mixture.
3. Gently gather dough into two flat disks. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 1 to 24 hours.
Double Apple Pie
2 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples
2 1/4 pounds Braeburn apples
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
2 tablespoons apple jelly
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
Wax paper
3 tablespoons sugar 
1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1. Preheat oven to 425°. Peel and core apples; cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Place apples in a large bowl. Stir in next 7 ingredients. Let stand 30 minutes, gently stirring occasionally.
2. Place 1 Cornmeal Crust Dough disk on a lightly floured piece of wax paper; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Top with another sheet of wax paper. Roll dough to about 1/8-inch thickness (about 11 inches wide).
3. Remove and discard top sheet of wax paper. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around rolling pin, separating dough from bottom sheet of wax paper as you roll. Discard bottom sheet of wax paper. Place rolling pin over a 9-inch glass pie plate, and unroll dough over pie plate. Gently press dough into pie plate.
4. Stir apple mixture; reserve 1 Tbsp. juices. Spoon apples into crust, packing tightly and mounding in center. Pour remaining juices in bowl over apples. Sprinkle apples with 3 Tbsp. sugar; dot with butter.
5. Roll remaining Cornmeal Crust Dough disk as directed in Step 2, rolling dough to about 1/8-inch thickness (13 inches wide). Remove and discard wax paper, and place dough over filling; fold edges under, sealing to bottom crust, and crimp. Brush top of pie, excluding fluted edges, lightly with reserved 1 Tbsp. juices from apples; sprinkle with 1 tsp. sugar. Place pie on a jelly-roll pan. Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape.
6. Bake at 425° on lower oven rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°; transfer pie to middle oven rack, and bake 35 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 30 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with a long wooden pick through slits in crust. Remove to a wire rack. Cool 1 1/2 to 2 hours before serving. Serve with Brandy-Caramel Sauce.
Brandy Caramel Sauce
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar 
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons brandy*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
Bring whipping cream to a light boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in butter, brandy, and vanilla. Let cool 10 minutes.
*Apple cider may be substituted.
Note: To make ahead, prepare recipe as directed. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week. To reheat, let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Place mixture in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds.
Southern Living
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Sunday, November 6, 2011

7 Heath Bar Cake and a giveaway!

I saw this Heath Bar Cake on Harvest Home a while ago and this weekend provided the perfect opportunity to try out a new dessert!! Everyone loved it, and I loved how easy it was since I was pressed for time! ;-)
(I am giving away an Emile Henry Pie Dish on Facebook! The giveaway ends Thursday at midnight!)
(if you missed sweet Nate's guest post, read it here)
Heath Bar Cake 
1 pkg. German Chocolate cake mix
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
1 jar Hot Fudge Sundae Sauce, heated
6 Heath Bars, crushed
1 8 oz. Cool Whip
Prepare cake mix according to package.  Bake in a 9x13 pan.  Let cool 10 minutes. Poke holes over entire cake.  Pour condensed milk into all holes and then top with heated fudge sauce.  Make sure fudge gets into all the holes. Cool completely. Spread Cool Whip on top and then sprinkle Heath Bars over the entire cake.  
Harvest Home 
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Saturday, November 5, 2011

8 Guest Post from NATE!

My sweet wife has asked me to write a post on her blog for a while now. 
I reluctantly agreed to do so, not wanting to mess her blog up, so forgive me if this stinks. (Stay with me here and try to stay awake)  
Obviously, my sweet wife loves to cook. I love to eat, so it works! Every road trip I go on whether it's a hunting trip, business, etc I can count on a box of homemade, from SCRATCH goodies she has made for me. My friends or colleagues have grown accustom to this tradition and have even started to make requests! 
Now, I will tell you that when we first met, Elizabeth wasn't quite so comfortable in the kitchen. She really liked to cook and strived to perfect the art. I helped a little along the way, only playing the roll of tester and an honest opinion giver. I don't have to tell you those are treturous waters to be in. These days, it's not so tough. She legally has to stick around so I'm not AS scared to offer up my honest assessment. Little to none of that is necessary anymore, thank you Jesus. She does like to try new cook new stuff, stuff that I've never had before.
99% of the time it's awesome. Though, I'm kind of a traditional guy. You know, meat, potatoes, and chocolate chip cookies. What is better than coming home from work to the aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, and find your cute wife slinging flour and sugar around in the kitchen? Coming home to her is enough, but homemade cookies too, eat your heart out fellas. 
Now, let me say this, anything with cream cheese icing is HARD to beat. 
Cake, cookies, pumpkin bread, I could go on a while on that topic. Cream cheese icing makes all these good things great! 
Now, she's asked me to include a recipe on here. For that, I have something simple and sweet in mind.
A bag of teddy grahams, a jar of cream cheese icing and a gallon of milk is hard to beat. 
Thanks for putting up with my errant ramblings everyone. Happy cooking. 
Love ya, Honey.
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