Banana Cream Puffs

From the Food Pusher  http://food-pusher.blogspot.com

1 cup water, boiling
1 stick butter
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 eggs
1 pkg (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
2 1/2 cups milk
3 cups heavy cream
2 largish bananas, cut into about 1/4 inch chunks
Powdered sugar for garnish

Directions
1. Bring water and butter to a boil. Add the flour all at once & stir vigorously until it forms a ball. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

2. When water-butter-flour mixture is cool, beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth each time. Scrape into a gallon-size plastic storage bag. Snip off about ½” of one corner to make a pastry bag.

3. Preheat oven to 450°F. Chill the bowl and whisk attachment of a standing mixer, or other mixing bowl and beaters.

4. Squeeze out blobs that are about 3 tablespoons worth of the paste onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. (More paste for larger puffs, less for smaller puffs) Blobs should be at least 2 inches apart.

5. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes—then turn oven down to 350°F for 15-20 minutes, or until well-puffed and light brown.
Cream puff just out of oven

6. Move puffs to wire racks. Poke each one with a toothpick or a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Once cool, cut each puff horizontally in the middle and gently remove membrane-looking insides.

7. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together milk and pudding powder. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes or more.

8. Place banana chunks in a medium sized bowl and gently stir in about a cup and a half of the pudding.

9. Pour the heavy cream into the chilled mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until almost stiff peaks form. Then fold the remaining pudding into whipped cream. (Use 2/3 to all of the pudding, depending on how sweet you want your cream puffs to be.) Do not over-mix.

Puff interior before picking out insides

10. Spread a layer of banana/pudding into the bottom of a puff. Then with a spoon, scoop enough of the cream mixture into the bottom to just go over the top. Spoon some into the top to fill in. Return top to its puff.

11. Plate puffs and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 12 large, 18 medium, or 24 small cream puffs.

No-Knead Pumpkin Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze

Must make for Christmas Morning 2012, someone please remind me!
makes 16 to 18 rolls
From theKitchn
http://www.thekitchn.com/fall-recipe-noknead-pumpkin-ro-129477

For the dough:
1/4 cup water
1 scant tablespoon yeast (1 package)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups pecans - toasted, chopped, and divided in half (optional)

For the glaze:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit a few minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan on the stove top until the butter is melted. Combine this with the sugar in a large heat-proof mixing bowl and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Let the milk mixture cool until it is just warm to the touch - NOT HOT. Then stir in the yeast and the pumpkin. Add the salt and five cups of the flour all at once, stirring until all the flour has been absorbed. Squish it between your hands if you're having trouble incorporating the last of the flour. The dough will be sticky, but should come together in a shaggy ball. If it's still more the consistency of cookie batter, work in an additional 1/2 cup of flour.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1-3 hours. During this time, it should double in bulk. At this point, you can punch the dough down and refrigerate it overnight or continue shaping the rolls.

To shape the rolls (either immediately or with the refrigerated dough), sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and dump the dough on top. Pat it down into a rough rectangle and then use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a rectangular shape about a half an inch thick, longer than it is wide. If the dough gets sticky, sprinkle a little more flour on the dough's surface and on your hands.

Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the brown sugar and the spices. Spread this over the rectangle of dough, leaving an inch of bare dough at the top. Sprinkle one cup of the toasted pecans over the dough, if using. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll the dough into a cylinder and pinch it closed at the top.

Rub a tablespoon of soft butter into the bottom of two 9x13 baking dishes, two 9-inch cake pans, or a combination. Using a bench cutter or a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into individual rolls 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick. Place them into your baking dishes so they have a little wiggle room on all sides to rise. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise until they fill the pan and look puffy, 30 minutes for already-warm dough and 1 hour for dough that's been refrigerated.

About 20 minutes before baking, begin heating the oven to 375°. When the rolls are ready, bake them for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and starting to look toasted around the edges. Rotate the pans halfway through cooking.

While they are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter. When the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and salt. Stir until the brown sugar has melted. Remove from heat and strain into a mixing bowl to remove any sugar clumps. Stir in the powdered sugar. This should form a thick but pourable glaze.

Let the baked rolls cool for about five minutes and then pour the glaze on top. Sprinkle the remaining cup of pecans over the top, if more nuttiness is desired. Eat them immediately. Leftovers will keep for several days and are best reheated for a minute in the microwave.

Another Birthday gone by...

So here it is another year gone by already.  How does it seem that the years slide by so quickly?  I didn't get near all the things I wanted to get done this past year.  I think I'll have to make a smaller list for this year since I'm either slower or time is flying by faster than ever!
This year I want to have two more programs for sale and a couple new patterns.  I want to concentrate on having downloadable sales rather than 'go out into the garage and make' sales...
I want to be a non-smoker (I'm well on my way with this one) and I want to loose a few (a lot) pounds and get a little (a lot) healthier!
I want to have more stuff for my little grand baby hope chest.  And last but not least I want to help my son purchase his first home.
So that doesn't sound to difficult, I think I just might be able to accomplish these unless of course I get slower or time goes by faster!

I'm making myself a Chocolate Mouse Cake for my birthday, I deserve this today!  I'll post a picture later once it's done and a slice has been removed to reveal the luscious center...  The recipe url is on the right >>>> and believe me...this is the cake to die for!  Here is the URL:
http://handywomanshop.blogspot.com/2011/07/chocolate-mouse-cake.html

Potato and Cheese Pierogies

For the dough
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream

For the filling
1-1/2 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup grated dry farmer's cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

To finish the dish
1/2 stick butter, cut into 1 tablespoon portions

To Prepare the dough
In a large bowl or mixer, combine the flour, eggs, sour cream and 1/2 cup of water. Beat the eggs as you mix and gradually add the rest of the water until the mixture is combined.
Turn the dough onto a well floured surface. Knead it gently, using a dropping technique (lift the dough from the surface and drop it down). Knead only until the ingredients are blended and the dough is smooth and slightly sticky, about 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to over work the dough.
Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.

To prepare the filling
Put the potatoes in a medium pot and add just enough cold, salted water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.
While the potatoes cook, melt the butter and oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion, garlic and thyme, cooking until the onion turns translucent, about 2 minutes. Lower the heat and continue cooking until onions caramelize slightly, about 20 minutes. You may need to add a bit more butter as the onion and garlic mixture cooks. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside to cool.
When the potatoes are soft, drain them in a colander and lightly press out the remaining moisture. Return them to the pot, remove from heat and add the cooled onion mixture and the cheese. Mash them just until blended and large lumps are gone. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool while you roll out the pierogi dough.

Assemble and cook
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. With lightly floured hands, pinch off tablespoon sized portions of the dough and roll them into balls. The balls should be about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, yielding about 3 dozen total.

On a well floured surface, gently roll each ball with a rolling pin until about 1/8 inch thick and 3-1/2 inches round. Cover the finished rounds with a damp towel so they don't dry out while you're working.
Once your rounds are rolled out, hold each in the palm of your hand, filling the center of it with a generous tablespoon of the potato mixture. Gently fold the round in half, pulling the edges away and pinching them firmly shut to enclose the filling. Be sure the edges are sealed by working from one end to the other.

As you work, set your filled pierogi aside on a floured surface and cover them with plastic wrap.
Working in batches, drop no more than 6 pierogi at a time into the boiling water. After they float back to the surface, allow them to cook another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the pierogi with a slotted spoon and place on a towel to drain and cool.

Sauté and serve
To finish the dish, heat a tablespoon or two of butter in a pan over medium heat and briefly sauté them in batches until they are slightly crispy and brown on the exterior.

Jason's Birthday Card

Okay so I just started using my Cricut with the SCAL program and I've made a few cards.  I've made my Christmas Cards for next year, my thank you notes for my customers and My son's 29th birthday card.  My son so appreciates handmade items, not sure if all children do or not but I'm very pleased he does.  So for the first time I've made him a card.  He loves and plays the game Angry birds and because coming up with a birthday card for a guy is hard I thought this would make the perfect choice!  I'll post pictures of my Christmas and Thank you cards soon but for now I'm posting my Angry Birds Birthday card.  So so so cute!

You can get your own free svg file from The Lady Wolf's blogg spot: http://theladywolf.blogspot.com/2011/06/angry-birds-svgs.html

Okay so here is my thank you and Christmas cards