Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

We're having a simple Thanksgiving this year. It's just the two of us and I'm not making a bunch of food.  I bought a frozen turkey breast and we'll have mashed potatoes and a salad. I did buy cranberry sauce as it is necessary for the sandwiches over the coming days.

I decided I needed to make some pumpkin cookies in lieu of having candied sweet potatoes or pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves (optional. I wouldn't buy it just for 1/8 teaspoon!)

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups (one package) chocolate chips. I splurged with the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Place precut parchment paper on a couple of baking sheets.  

Mix sugar and oil in a large bowl.  Add the eggs, milk, pumpkin, and vanilla and stir to combine.  

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Stir to combine.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

I wanted to use my largest cookie scoop to make big puffy cookies.  It looks like an ice cream scoop. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart,  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are no longer glossy.  Mine took 14 minutes.

Remove the pan and allow the cookies to rest for about 5 minutes.  Remove to a cooling rack.

If you looks closely you can see the flecks of spices in the cookies.  They add a nice touch but you can just add the cinnamon if you wish.

When the cookies are completely cool they can be stored in an air tight container.

These cookies are moist and will become  even more moist when kept in storage.  I found that cookies the next day were better when placed in a toaster oven at 300° for 2 minutes.  

Oatmeal Bread

I've been enjoying making bread but got tired of the same thing. I thought oatmeal bread would be a fun and different thing to try.  This time I just made a single loaf. I have been having to freeze the second loaf to keep it from going bad. After all, homemade bread doesn't have any preservatives.

Oatmeal Bread

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup scalded milk

1 envelope yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons

1/2 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons molasses

2 1/2 cups flour plus 1/4 cup as necessary

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons butter cut in small pieces

oil for greasing the bowl

Pam for spraying the loaf pan

Heat 1 cup of milk to just when it starts to bubble and before it boils. 

Pour the milk over 1 cup of oatmeal in a medium bowl. Stir to moisten and set aside.

Put the molasses and the very warm, but not hot, water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top, give it a brief stir and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer place the 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar and salt.  Use the paddle to mix slowly.  

Remove the paddle and add the oatmeal, butter and yeast mixture.  Use the dough hook to mix. Stop frequently to scrape down the sides. 

My dough needed a bit more flour.  It was too sticky to form a ball.  I added about 1/8 cup more of flour and then used the rest of the 1/4 cup to sprinkle on the counter.

 

Then I hand kneaded for about a minute until it was smooth and elastic and had absorbed the flour.  

Pour about 1Tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large bowl and spread up the sides.  Place the ball of dough in the bowl and flip it a few times to oil the whole ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and set aside to rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.

Lightly flour the counter.  Punch the dough down and knead it to get rid of bubbles.  

Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle slightly wider than the bread pan. Roll it up tightly and then fold the ends in so it is slightly shorter than the loaf pan. Pinch the ends to try to make a seamless tube.

Spray the loaf pan with Pam.  Place the dough in it with the seam side down. Cover with whatever you used to cover the bowl. Let it rise until it has doubled, about an hour.

Adjust the rack in the oven so the bread can cook in the middle of it. Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake about 30-40 minutes.  Mine was done at 30 minutes. 

Set the loaf pan on a rack to cool.  

While it is cooling brush the top with butter.  After about 5 minutes turn the bread out onto the rack to finish cooling.

After it had cooled completely, I cut it and had a bite.  It was great.  

Then I buttered the slice.  It was even better.

I served it toasted with eggs.  Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? It was great toasted, too.

Garlic Butter Steak Bites With Veggies

I found this quick recipe for a complete meal on one sheet pan. It feeds 4 or 5 people or a bit more than two meals for us. 

Garlic Butter Steak Bites

1 Bag of the tiny mixed potatoes (1 pound)

12 ounces green beans

1 small onion. I like Vidalia but a red onion would work

Olive Oil

salt and pepper

1 pound sirloin steak

1 Tablespoon Worchestershire sauce

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley or rosemary

Set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and set it to 450 °. Spray a 10x15 baking sheet with Pam.

Wash the potatoes and cut in half. Place in a medium bowl. Wash the green beans and trim off the ends. Put in the same bowl.  Cut the onion in half and then in wedges.  Add to the bowl.

Pour about 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil over the veggies and add about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Mix well and spread in the prepared pan.

Roast the veggies in the oven for 15 minutes.  Set the timer for 7 minutes, remove the pan and flip the veggies over, return to the oven and set the timer for 8 minutes.

While the veggies cook, trim the fat off the steak and cut it into 1 inch cubes.  Place them in the same medium bowl and add the Worchestershire sauce, about 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. stir and set aside.

Preheat the broiler. After the veggies cook for 15 minutes, remove the pan and push the veggies aside to make a circle in the center where you place the meat.  Arrange them in a single layer and return to the oven.

Broil for 6 to 8 minutes, flipping everything half way through. I did it for 8 minutes but might do 6 minutes next time.

While the meat is cooking, place the butter in a small saucepan and melt it over medium heat,  Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds or so.

Drizzle the butter over the meat and veg.  Sprinkle the minced parsley over everything and serve.

I served it with a bit of horseradish and mayo.  It's a favorite of mine.  I like it with meat and potatoes!

Dolls and Houses

I do a fair bit of pattern searching on the internet. Mostly I am looking for cute quilt patterns.  So then I sometimes get not searched for patterns that just pop up.  

This is what happened with a fabric doll house in a book form.  It came in three sizes. It came with the pattern for a doll and then there were other patterns available for clothes for said doll. 

        

The inside of the house has a bed and a closet to store the clothes.

My granddaughters were coming for a visit, so I decided to make them each a doll and dollhouse. 

I made one doll with blonde hair and one doll with black hair to match the hair color of my granddaughters. 

Then I thought I would make each granddaughter two dolls. Dolls need friends and I thought that might make for fun play.

All the clothes are lined.  This means they can be reversible and doubles the number of outfits.  

They are sewn with the right sides together leaving a small opening to turn them right side out.  It is very tedious and difficult to turn them, but it is doable.  

 

Needle nose pliers help pulling the fabric and I bought some metal and plastic tools to assist and to poke the corners mostly square.  

        

The jackets are the hardest, but are so cute.

           

After I gave the two sets to my older granddaughters, I started making one for my one year old granddaughter.  

She won't be able to play much with it now, but I wanted to make it while I was in the mood.  

It is fun and challenging and finding the right fabrics is an aspect I really enjoy. 

 

I gave the finished house to CeCe for her first birthday and I made a second for another girl attending the party.  There were two more girl friends at the party so now I'm starting on two more houses.  

It's fun and I'll keep making these houses as long as I enjoy the process and as long as there are kids that want them.