Butter tarts

The Butter Tart recipe is:

1/2 cup butter, margarine or butter/margarine blend. 
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp butter or cream

Preheat oven to 375.

Prepare tart shells by dropping raisins in them, until about half full.  You can also use currants, or chopped pecans

Melt butter over medium low heat.  Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and keep stirring until sugar melts a bit and the mixture cools.

In a separate bowl mix in egg, vanilla and milk together.

Add the egg mixture into the sugar butter mixture stirring until well blended. 

Poor into prepared tart shells until the raisins are covered, about 3/4 full.  

Bake 18 to 20 minutes.

Recipe is with permission from a friend 

Strawberry 🍓 Rhubarb Pie 🥧

 https://www.food.com/recipe/strawberry-rhubarb-pie-125515

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/great-canadian-cookbook/blog/the-ultimate-strawberry-rhubarb-pie-for-canada-day/

I already made pie crust from the Tenderflake lard recipe. I use the filling recipe from the link above. 

Filling:

5 cups chopped rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 cups strawberries, halved

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup cornstarch 

Bake at 425°F for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pastry is set and beginning to brown. Lower the oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling throughout, 35 to 40 minutes longer.

Cranberry Squares

A simple way to use up the left over cranberry sauce from Christmas dinner.

Crust

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup cold butter, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce, room temperature - any flavor

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325* F

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Combine flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times until blended. (if you do not have a food processor, use a hand pastry blender)

Add the butter and pulse 8-10 times until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas. (Or use your hand pastry blender.)

Remove 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture and set aside.

Press remaining crumb mixture into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan.

Drop teaspoons of the cranberry sauce evenly over the crust, then spread it gently with the back of the spoon to cover the crust.

Sprinkle reserved crumbs evenly over the jam layer.

Bake until the top is lightly browned, 50 - 55 minutes.

Transfer to a rack and let cool until firm, about 2 hours (or chill until firm).

Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 squares.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

 

My Version of Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

1 1/2  Cup of milk

1/2 Cup Softened butter

6 1/2 Cups Flour

2 (.25 ounce)   Pkg Yeast

1/2 cup White Sugar

1 Tsp  Salt

1/2 Cup Water

2 Eggs

Filling 

2 Cups  Brown Sugar

2 Tbs Cinnamon 

1 Cup  Softened Margarine

1 Cup Rasins (optional)

1) Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in butter, stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

2) In a large mixing bowl combine 4 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add water, egg and milk mixture. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup as a time. Make sure to stir the flour well as you add it into the mixture. When the dough has pulled together turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes

3) Cover the dough with a warm damp cloth and let it rest for a couple of hours till it has risen above the rim of the bowl. I have been leaving the covered bowl in my oven with the oven light on to help keep it warm to encourage the dough to rise. 

4) In a small bowl mix together sugar, cinnamon and softened margarine 

5) Once the dough has risen enough take half of it out of the bowl. On a floured surface roll it into an approximate 12 x 9 rectangle.

6) Spread dough with half of the margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. 

Cut into equal size rolls and place cut side up in lightly greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

(Repeat steps 5 & 6 for the remaining dough)

7) Bake in the preheated oven for 19 minutes, or until browned. Serve warm

8) You can also use muffin tins if you prefer. Once you remove the rolls from the oven be sure to remove from muffins cups when you take them out of the oven to let them cool.

Original recipe found on Allrecipes.com I have modified it to adjust to taste as well as doubled the batch.

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut cookies

I've tried the following recipe with a few changes.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/10264/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-i/?evt19=1

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 3/4 cups rolled oats 1 cup raisins
Add all ingredients to list
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 
In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until fluffy.
Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture.
Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. 

I added an extra teaspoon of vanilla and of course Walnuts. I put in about 1/4 cup of crushed Walnuts. I baked the cookies for 9 minutes at 375. I also made the same recipe with chocolate chips.

Vegetable Soup my style

Ingredients


3 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 table spoon of butter
1 medium sized onion (chopped)
Approximately 1 cup of green beans (halved)
2 celery sticks (chopped)
3 roma tomatoes (cut into 1 inch chunks)
2 carrots (sliced into rounds)
2 medium sized potatoes (halved and then cubed)
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 table spoon dried Oregano leaves
1 table spoon dried Dill weed
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. ground oregano
1/2 tsp. ground Thyme
Koser salt to taste (Approximately. 1tsp.)
Ground pepper (Approximately 1 tsp.)
900ml of either chicken or vegetable broth
3 to 4 cups of water

In a large cooking pot heat up the oil and butter on high heat till the butter has melted and starts to bubble.
Add the onions let them cook till slightly tender, then add the celery, carrots and green beans let them cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic let is cook for another 2 minutes to get the flavour of the garlic throughout the other ingredients. Sprinkle the kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper in and stir well.

Add the can of crushed tomatoes, the prepared broth and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add all the spices and stir in well. After about 10 minutes add the potatoes and mushrooms. If you feel there isn't enough liquid you can add the last cup of water, bring to boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Let it reduce to bring out the flavour. Taste as you let it simmer, add salt and pepper again if needed. Then it is ready to serve.

Enjoy

Blood Orange and Kale Salad

Ingredients:

Balsamic vinaigrette:
1/2 shallot minced (or 2 chopped green onions)
1 clove of garlic pressed
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 head of kale, stems removed,split leaves in 2 then cut into about 2 inch slices
2 blood oranges, peeled and cut into supremes
1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries

I mistakenly thought green onions were shallots. I have learned that sometimes mistakes are ok, they added a nice flavour and the salad was so simple to make. Just wash the kale (approximately 6 to 8 average sized leaves) remove the stems, halve the leaves then slice the halves into approximately 2 inch strips. I peeled the oranges and then split them into their natural pieces. I found that 2 oranges were just the right amount. I changed this recipe from one that I found on the net. I made changes by adding the cranberries and not using other ingredients (too much fussy work for me). I like my version of the salad simple and easy to prepare.

Once you make this you should have enough ingredients left over to make a second kale salad in the next day or 2.

• Place shallot (green onion), garlic, vinegar into small bowl and whisk together
• Pour oil into the mixture, while whisking until fully blended. Season with the salt and pepper
• Place kale, blood orange and dried cranberries into a mixing bowl toss together with the vinaigrette
• Top with sliced almonds