Thanksgiving break! (and spiced pear bread)

     Okay, technically it doesn't start until Wednesday, but because I don't have any more homework to do until after the break, I'm counting as started already. So excited for this. I can bake, and sew, and do crafts, and clean my house. Plus, I won't have to worry about Black Friday sales (since Christmas shopping is done already) so on Friday I will be setting up Christmas decor. I've already started my baking spree. I am seriously so excited. I was working my hardest to make sure I would have no homework over the break, because I wanted to have fun. So now I will. So. The first item in my Thanksgiving baking spree...
Spiced D'Anjou Pear Bread.
     Okay, so I don't know if I actually used D'Anjou pears. But I figured any kind of pears would work So, here is the recipe. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. I really like this website. They've got some good recipes on there. Nathaniel and I both thought it turned out really well. There is a fair amount of spices in the bread, so I thought there would have been more of the cinnamon/clove/allspice taste to it, but there wasn't. (I tend to like LOTS of flavor in things though, so maybe for someone else it would be exactly right). I may (or may not) add some extra spices next time. And there will be a next time. I've been getting lots of fruit from Bountiful Baskets, so I've been having to bake to use it all. It was fairly easy to make. You do need to peel and "thinly slice" the pears, so that took me a bit of time, but it wasn't really too terribly long or anything. I was able to get it mixed and in the oven and everything cleaned up well within my daughter's nap.
     So, the recipe:
Spiced Pear Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
3 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
4 firm pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
3 cups flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*, and generously grease 2 loaf pans. (The pears will make the bread stick if they aren't generously greased) In a large bowl combine brown sugar, vegetable oil, molasses, and eggs. Mix in salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and allspice. 

Stir in pear slices, coating evenly. Stir in flour. (Pears need to go first, or batter/dough will be too thick to coat the pears evenly. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 to 65 minutes (I did 55, and they were a little dark on the edges.) Allow to cool in the pan about 10 minutes before removing them and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

 So, there you have it. It actually makes more slices than shown, I just didn't get a picture before we started devouring it.

Orange Raisin Cake and Italian Chicken Pizza

     Whee! I've had lots of fun recently playing in the kitchen. I've been trying to get some variety into our daily meals (as that makes me enjoy cooking more, and so that I actually will cook more often), but also, we've been getting the bountiful baskets, so I've been having to come up with ways to use the fruits and veggies.  Definitely having fun with it. Sometimes the recipes turn out very yummy, sometimes they're not so great, and sometimes they've been downright bad (not too many of those thankfully). Anyway, yesterday we tried 2 new recipes. We had Italian Chicken Pizza for dinner, and then Orange Raisin Cake for dessert. Technically I made the cake a couple days ago, but we only got around to eating it yesterday.  (sorry this post will be kinda long)
     The pizza recipe came from my mom's "No Complaints" cookbook, which is a compilation of recipes that have been tried and true with her kids (me and my siblings) and even with 3 of us being very picky eaters, they had... "no complaints". That being said, I don't remember ever having this before, so it was a new recipe for Nathaniel and me. Sorry I don't have any pictures, I didn't think about it until today. So, I made it (the recipe will follow) and it was surprisingly easy for me. I thought it would take a lot more work than it did. We got it out of the oven, and I cut it up, and we dug in. It turned out really delicious. Definitely going onto our 'favorites' list (in other words I'll make it again). The only problem we had was that it seemed very juicy. However, I think that is because of the chicken and the cheese not being entirely thawed, so they could have had ice crystals that melted, adding water to the sauce.
Pros: Delicious, simple, few (and inexpensive) ingredients
Cons: juicy (possibly fixable), takes a large brownie sheet, or you end up with REALLY thick crust.
Italian Chicken Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza crust (homemade or frozen, thawed if frozen)
2 8oz cans tomato sauce, divided
10 oz boneless chicken, cooked and chopped
1 2.25oz can sliced, black olives (I actually used chopped because that's what I had, and Nathaniel doesn't like olives if he can actually taste them. )
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Italian seasoning:
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
(I upped both the onion and the garlic, because we tend to like things very flavorful and these flavors especially)
Preheat oven to 450*. Roll pizza crust into a 15 x 11 rectangle and press into a 15 x 11 x 1" pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with half the tomato sauce and half the Italian seasoning. Mix the remaining Italian seasoning with the remaining tomato sauce and spread most of it over pizza crust, leaving a 1" border around the edge. (You don't need the whole amount, it will make the pizza too soggy and wet.) Arrange the chicken mixture in a single layer over the tomato sauce, and sprinkle half the loves over the chicken mixture. Top with all the cheese, then sprinkle on the remaining olives.
Bake pizza 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted. To serve, cut into 3 x 4" rectangles.

For the Pizza dough I used this recipe: (directions specified for Italian chicken pizza. Everything after "Let Rise" can be changed if using a different dinner recipe.)
Ingredients
2 pkg yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 cups water, warmed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt 5 cups flour
Mix yeast with all ingredients except flour. Add flour gradually, then add more if necessary. Knead about 5 minutes. Let rise while making chicken and meat sauce (about 15-20 minutes). Roll out dough on a floured surface (or press with hands) until it reaches the desired size, and put it in your pan.
   
     The Orange Raisin cake was found on Allrecipes.com and it ended up being very delicious. It was quite moist by itself, and all of the flavors mixed well together. It was slightly more work, but didn't feel like too much. I have to admit though. I was really worried about it. I ground up the fruit and nuts, and it looked like it would be disgusting. I was worried enough that I was willing to foist it off onto Nathaniel's friends at LAN party without even knowing how it tasted. Luckily for me, Nathaniel said no.
Pros: Moist, flavor, flavors mixed well, no need for extremely sugary frosting, uses the whole orange
Cons: takes a bit to grind the orange, raisin, and nuts together.

Orange Raisin Cake

Ingredients
 1 large orange
1 cup raisins
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I didn't put walnuts on top, only inside)
Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour a 9x13" pan. Squeeze the orange, reserving 1/3 cup juice. Grind orange peel, pulp, raisins, and 1/3 cup walnuts together. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add milk, shortening and eggs. Beat for 3 minutes. Stir in orange-raisin mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Topping:
Drizzle reserved 1/3 cup orange juice over warm cake. (I brushed it on with a pastry brush instead. A more even, and less soggy approach in my mind). In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup walnuts. Sprinkle over cake.
So yeah. Those are my latest exploits in the kitchen. There are probably more to come.

Updates

     Okay, well, I don't have tons to write about, but I figured I needed to keep from having only cooking updates, and I tried 2 new recipes yesterday, so I definitely need to do an update about the family.
     Lets see... I have finished all of my Christmas shopping, which is a fantastic feeling. I don't think I've ever been done this early. Craziness. Actually, that is what won't happen. I won't have to brave the craziness that is retail stores around Christmas time. Yes, I will still have to go grocery shopping, but that is it.
     As far as Jessica goes, (because lets face it, she's who everyone really wants to know about) she now has 2 teeth. The second bottom front tooth came in about 2 days ago. It is very, very cute. She still loves her books more than her toys, but she will play with her toys now. Amazingly, we've only had 2 small tears on any of the books, though the covers and pages are not crisp anymore.

    Since this is the first fall that she is old enough to see what's going on, I got some pictures of her in the leaves. Funny thing is, she likes sitting in leaves better than sitting on grass. She wasn't really a fan of touching them with her hands but she did sit there without crying.
     The biggest thing that has Nathaniel and I way excited though, is that she is now standing on her own for up to the count of 10! She generally doesn't do it if we're actually trying with her, but if she's standing holding on to something and gets distracted by a toy in her hand, she'll sometimes take her other hand off whatever she's got balancing her, and she'll stay upright for a few seconds. We may actually have a walker by Christmas.
     As far as the "failure to thrive" goes... I've been feeding her a lot more solid food than I was, and she seems to be doing better. I set up the appointment with the clinic, but the earliest they would set it up for was December 2nd. So it is still going to be a bit. However, we did "weigh" her the other day (using the weigh myself holding her, and then without) and if our scale is working correctly (though it is quite possible that it isn't) then she ways 16 pounds 8 ounces. I"m pretty sure that would still be under the 5th percentile, but it is gaining weight, so I'm not worried at all. It seems that while I was feeding her enough that she was happy, I wasn't feeding her the right foods for her to get the nutrients she needed.
     So yeah, that's all the updates I can think of for now. Next up, Orange Raisin Cake, and Italian Chicken pizza

Apple Pomegranate Pie

Yummy. Definitely Yummy. Though, if I try it again, I may try to use just the juice from the seeds, as opposed to the seeds themselves. The seeds were still a bit crunchy, which, in my opinion, kinda hurts the pie experience. However, the flavor was delicious. Not too sweet, but sweet enough. A little bit of tartness added from the pomegranate. I got the original recipe here, but me being me, I couldn't help but modify it a little bit. First of all, I am very much a fan of my mom's pie, and I like making pie in pie pans, not free standing, so I used the Newbold pie dough recipe instead. (at the end of post) Then, because I used the different pie crust, I had to modify the filling just a bit to get all of the seasonings in. I also doubled the apples called for, because I thought it didn't look like quite enough filling. I do have to say that I think if I make it again, I will also add even more apples. The pie was very short. I like more filling in my pies. So, the recipes and pictures...

 Sorry, No in the process pictures, but we have before baking and after.

Pie Crust (makes 3-4 single shells (up to 2 covered pies), depending on how thin you roll it
Ingredients:
-3 cups flour, stirred and sifted
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 cup shortening
-1 egg beaten
-5 Tablespoons water, cold
-1 teaspoon vinegar
Stir salt into flour. Cut shortening into the flour using a pastry cutter (I used a knife and fork, but the pastry cutter would be easier). Add beaten egg mixed with water and vinegar. Blend gently with spoon, then mix with fingers until somewhat mixed. It's okay to have crumbs in the bottom of the bowl when you're done with the gentle mixing, just mop them up with the main ball of dough. Do not knead or handle a long time. That causes the crust to be tough. Divide pie crust dough into 2-4 pieces. Roll out to fit your pie pan. Bake at 450* for 10-15 minutes. (Ignore the baking for the apple pomegranate or any other baked pies. The baking is if you are cooking just the crust)

Apple Pomegranate Pie
Ingredients
-pie dough
-4 med apples (peeled, cored, and sliced) (I used 4, I will probably add at least 2 more next time)
-1/2 cup pomegranate arils (seeds) (again, next time I may just take the seeds called for and juice them,  then add the juice
-2 Tablespoons brown sugar, rounded
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, rounded
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, rounded

-1 Tablespoon sugar
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375*. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix with the apples and the pomegranate arils. Roll the dough out and put the bottom crust in the pie pan. Pile the fruit mix in the pastry, cover with second crust. Seal crust, cut openings in top (whatever design you want) Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 40 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

There ya go. Not too hard, and definitely delicious. Probably going to try this one again, see if I can perfect it.

Deadlines...

     I hate them. Don't get me wrong. I'm always busy, and I know it. I also know I like being busy. I give myself a "lazy day" and unless I'm reading a really good book that has me completely enthralled, I am doing crafts (generally as gifts) or baking or something like that. I just can't sit and do nothing for very long. I get antsy. That being said, I don't like having deadlines for my busyness. That doesn't work quite so well. That makes me go from happily busy to going crazy.
     So, why bring this up? Well, I have found out recently that I have a new deadline coming up. I was able to sign up a while ago for my classes for next semester. My academic adviser wanted me to talk to her before I did. Well, when I talked to her, and we got my classes for this coming semester all figured out, (as well as summer and next fall) we realized that I would be in the last pre-requisites for the Art program in the Fall 2011 semester! That means that I can apply for the Art Illustration program at the beginning of October 11 months from now.
     Let me tell you, I was so very excited. I still bounce up and down thinking about it. (I guess that means I'm in the right major huh?)  Little nervous, but way excited. She also gave me the information on what applying is. I get to turn in a portfolio to be "judged". Basically its an audition. So when I got home and read the information she gave me, I got a little more nervous. The portfolio includes 16-20 pieces of art (best work obviously)
                             "There may be a mix of traditional and digital art. A good balance of black and white and color art is required. Art submitted must have been created within the year prior to the student's aplication to the program."
     They are looking for art that is relevant to the program being applied to (makes sense), that communicates the idea effectively, has unique concepts solving the visual problems, has interesting and intriguing imagery, uses the design process to create strong illustrations, and, obviously, a demonstrated basic knowledge and use of the basic design elements.
     Did I mention that I have really only taken 1 drawing class? So yeah, I'm a little nervous. I knew this was coming up, and I was mentally prepping myself to start doing a lot of art projects, but I didn't realize how many, and I didn't have a date set. Now I have a deadline. October 1st, 2011. That gives me 11 months to get at least 16 art pieces not only done, but perfected. They also need to be various different media. So I basically get to do about 1 1/2 pieces every month. Not quite 2, but definitely more than 1.
     I hate deadlines.

(still way excited though)

Apple Pomegranate Crisp

So, I said a couple weeks ago that I would write about this when I made it. Well, I made it last night. So I figured I would write about it. Here is the link to the recipe I used. It was actually really easy. We did have a couple problems, Nathaniel was nice enough to peel the apples for me, but it wasn't too easy for him, and then when I opened up the pomegranate to get to the seeds, some of it was going moldy.  (sad face) But we got it all figured out, and then once we got the brown sugar softened (the brand new bag was hard as rock) by putting it in the microwave with a small bowl of water beside it it was smooth sailing, and really quite easy to make. Then we just had to wait 45 minutes for it to cook before we could see how it tasted.

So, here is the finished product. We dished some up and put it with vanilla ice cream and ate it. It was delicious!! It started getting a little rich toward the end. I don't think either of us would have been able to finish our servings if we had not had the ice cream with it, but we did have fairly large servings, so I don't think it's a bad thing that it was rich. This recipe is definitely a keeper, and as long as I keep getting pomegranates from bountiful baskets (they're a little expensive otherwise) I will probably make it again.

Jessica's "First" Halloween

Okay, okay, I know, it technically was not her first Halloween. She was born on October 23rd, so last year she was here. However, seeing as she was only 8 days old last year, I'm not counting it. This year was her "first" Halloween. I wanted her to be a fairy for Halloween, but as I looked around, fairy costumes for a 1-year-old consisted of Tinkerbell, and I didn't want her to be Tink. (Too stereotypical/common) So I decided to make her costume. I bought a Disney Fairies costume (Tinkerbell has friends/fellow fairies now), and I made her into more of a woodland fairy. The colors turned out to look really nice on her.

These are the portraits I had taken of her in her costume. For some reason (even though no nap this day, and nap on the day of her 1-year portraits) these turned out WAY better.
     We had so much fun on Halloween going around visiting people. We spent the afternoon at a Halloween party, and then when we were going to go to the ward's Trunk or Treat, it started pouring. We headed over to my parents instead. It was raining off and on, so we ended up doing absolutely no trick or treating, but we did have fun. I don't have the pictures from at Mom's house, (Jessica had a sucker) but here are some of the others. Some of them are just from earlier in the day, in her Halloween outfit (not costume) or her wings. But most of them are from the party.

So that was this year's Halloween. Next year I do plan on taking her trick-or-treating, even if the weather isn't great, at least to a few houses, so she starts to get that experience.