Breakfast Sausage Patties

Breakfast Sausage Patties
Adapted from the American Girls "Kristen's Cook Book"
5 servings

Ingredients:
1lb lean ground pork
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp plus a pinch of cloves
1/8 tsp plus a pinch of ginger

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.

2. Using an ice cream scoop, divide the mixture into 10 equal portions.

3. Roll each portion into a ball and flatten to make a patty.

As you can see, I had some extra mixture left over that I turned into a mini patty.

4. Heat frying pan over medium heat and preheat oven to 300F degrees. Cook four patties at a time, roughly 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.

5. Once both sides are browned, transfer to baking sheet. Bake until pork is fully cooked and juices run clear.

6. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving:
Calories 161; Total Fat 9g; Cholesterol 56mg; Sodium 181mg; Total Carbs 0g; Protein 18g

Blueberry Pie

Based on three different recipes, this blueberry pie is perfectly sweet and juicy, and adds a nice pop of color to any holiday dessert offering. Please note though, if you use the streusel topping, make sure to eat the pie the same day it is baked! Otherwise, the juices from the pie will eventually overcome the topping, leading to a still delicious, but less than appealing looking purplish-blue mixture.

Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Betty Crocker "Baking Basics"
12 servings

Ingredients:
Pastry crust for 9 inch single crust pie
6 cups unsweetened frozen blueberries, thawed and drained
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cold butter
Streusel topping

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees.

2. Prepare pastry crust. Roll the pastry into the pie dish. Trim and set aside.

 3. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.

4. Stir in the blueberries.

5. Spoon blueberry mixture into pie dish.

6. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the pie, along with the lemon juice. Cut the butter into small pieces and sprinkle over pie as well.

7. Cover pie with streusel topping.

 8. Bake 30-45 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and pie juice begins to bubble.

9. Cool on a cooling rack at least 2 hours.

You can see here that the pie juices are already beginning to overtake the streusel topping.

10. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving (not including pastry crust or streusel topping)
Calories 172; Total Fat 2g; Cholesterol 3mg; Sodium 2mg; Total Carbs 41g; Protein 1g

Streusel Topping

This is a great simple topping for berry pies.

Streusel Topping
Adapted from "American Desserts"
Makes enough topping for one 9 inch pie

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar (original recipe called for dark brown sugar, but I don't keep that on hand)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pea-sized bits

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar.

2. Work in the butter with your hands until the mixture looks mealy and lumpy, but is not sticky. To get this consistency, it is best to work with cold butter.

3. Keep in a cool place until ready to use.

4. When ready to use, spoon generously over pie filling, making sure to completely cover the filling.

5. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info for Streusel Topping:
Calories 1411; Total Fat 69g; Cholesterol 183mg; Sodium 29mg; Total Carbs 188g; Protein 17g

Apple Pie

As an apple lover, this is my all-time favorite pie. A staple at my family holiday functions, it's deceptively simple to make.

Apple Pie
Adapted from "The Williamsburg Cookbook"
12 servings

Ingredients:
Pastry crust for 9 inch double crust pie
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
6-8 tart apples, I used 2 Granny Smith, 2 Red Delicious, & 3 Macintosh (if you use these, the pie will be juicy!), though the original recipe calls for Rome Beauty apples
Sprinkle of lemon juice (optional)
2 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees.

2. Prepare pastry crust. Roll the pastry for the bottom crust into the pie dish. Set aside. Cover pastry for top crust while preparing the filling to keep it moist.

3. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

4. Peel, core, and slice the apples.

5. Add the sliced apples to the dry ingredients and mix to coat.

Feel free to taste-test!

6. Place the apples in the pie dish, making sure to spread them out as evenly as possible.

7. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with the butter.

8. Roll top crust over the pie. Since I used Macintosh apples in my pie, I next fold over the edges of the top and bottom crust together to help seal the pie tightly shut, so that the juices will not bake out completely while in the oven. Use a fork to crimp the edges shut and pierce the crust to allow for venting.

9. Use aluminum foil to cover the edges of the crust. I would also suggest placing the pie on a baking sheet (or pizza tray), so that if any juices overflow they won't burn in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

 10. After 30 minutes, remove aluminum foil and continue baking, roughly 20-30 minutes, until the crust is a nice golden brown.

11. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving (not including crust):
Calories 147; Total Fat 2g; Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 25mg; Total Carbs 35g; Protein 0g

Pastry Crust

The period from Thanksgiving to New Years is my favorite time of the year. During this long month of holiday festivities I attempt to do as much baking as possible, both as stress relief (it's also the period when all my major papers are due!) and as a way to share my love of good food with friends and family. My real passion for baking homemade pies began with this pastry crust mix, one of the simplest and easiest to use recipes I have ever found. While I have experimented with others, I always keep coming back to this one.

Pastry Crust
Adapted from "The Williamsburg Cookbook"
Makes roughly 4 cups pastry crust mix

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 cup shortening
Ice water

 1. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together.

2. Cut in shortening, either with knives or a pastry blender, until the mixture is of a pebbly consistency.

Shown here is the pastry blender technique, for using knives, see my comments on making chocolate chip scones.

3. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until needed.

4. When needed, use the following amounts depending on the pie being made:

8 inch pie - single crust (1 1/4 cups); double crust (2 1/4 cups)

9 inch pie - single crust (1 1/2 cups); double crust (2 1/2 cups)

10 inch pie - single crust (1 3/4 cups); double crust 2 3/4 cups)

5. Moisten the required pastry mix with enough ice water to hold dough together when pushed lightly with a fork.

6. If making a double crust, divide dough in half. 

7. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface.

8. Transfer dough to the baking dish. This is best done by using a rolling pin, as shown below.

9. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Cup:

Calories 778; Total Fat 48g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 605mg; Total Carbs 71g; Protein 12g

Hash Browns

While frozen hash browns are alright in a pinch, these homemade ones are delicious and super easy to make.

Hash Browns
Adapted from Betty Crocker "Country Cooking"
2 servings

Ingredients:
3/4 lb baking potatoes
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
pinch ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Shred potatoes. Rinse well; drain and pat dry. For more on shredding and rinsing potatoes, see my comments on making potato pancakes.

2. In a medium bowl, mix potatoes, onion, salt, and black pepper.

3. In a nonstick skillet, heat 1/2 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Pack potato mixture firmly in skillet. Reduce heat to medium low and cook roughly 15 minutes or until bottom is brown.

4. Before turning over potatoes, drizzle remaining 1/2 tbsp oil evenly over them and cut into quarters.

5. Gently turn over and cook for about 12 minutes or until bottom is brown.

6. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving:
Calories 168; Total Fat 7g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 296mg; Total Carbs 26g; Protein 3g

Carrot Cake

Note: The below recipe is for a half carrot cake, good for an 8 or 9 inch round pan, or a smaller rectangular baking dish, which is what I used. If you want to make the full traditional cake, just double the ingredients. I made the half cake since I only had 1 1/2 cups worth of shredded carrots available. Also, while I opted not to frost this cake, since I will be freezing half of it, you can frost it with some vanilla buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting of your choosing.

Carrot Cake
Adapted from Betty Crocker "Heart Health Edition Cookbook"
10 servings

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup applesauce (I used Mott's natural applesauce since it was all I had available, but I would highly recommend using homemade applesauce instead)
1 1/2 eggs*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Prepare cooking dish for baking, using either shortening and flour, or spray with cooking oil.

2. In a medium bowl, beat sugar, applesauce, and eggs.

3. Add cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt.

4. Add flour. Stir in carrots. Pour batter into baking pan and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

5. Once done cool on a wire rack.

6. Enjoy!

*I find the best way to get half an egg is to scramble one in a measuring cup and then slowly pour out the needed amount, roughly 1/8 cup.

Nutritional Info per Serving:
Calories 117; Total Fat 1g; Cholesterol 32mg; Sodium 144mg; Total Carbs 26g; Protein 3g

Apple Cheddar Bread

This is a nice flavorful bread which is best served straight out of the oven.

Apple Cheddar Bread
Adapted from Wellspring Classics "Apple Recipes"
Roughly 14 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 apple
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (roughly 2 oz)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.

3. Beat in eggs.

4. Peel, core, and grate apple.

5. Fold in apples and cheddar cheese.

6. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

7. Gradually stir dry mixture into apple mixture.

8. Transfer dough into a lightly oiled loaf pan.

9. Bake 30-45 minutes until golden brown and tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

10. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving:
Calories 184; Total Fat 9g; Cholesterol 52mg; Sodium 206mg; Total Carbs 23g; Protein 4g