Home Made Mac & Cheese

Is there anything more comforting that Mac & Cheese? This is a simple go to in the winter as a heartier meal between soups, stews, and chili. It takes 30 minutes max including boiling water!

Start by making a roux. Melt 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat and then whisk in 1/4 cup of flour until it starts to brown. Turn down the heat and add a can of coconut cream, whisking until the mixture is smooth. This is also when to add your preferred spices. Standard for us is pepper, mustard powder (or in a pinch a squirt of prepared mustard), onion powder and garlic powder. Spice with your soul! Now, fold in a bag of shredded cheese (or about half a block shredded). This will become nice and smooth with good pull. Stir in some reserved water from your cooked pasta. If it gets too thick, stir in more coconut cream. Mix this into your cooked pasta and serve!

Apple Crisp

This recipe is a long-standing favourite. When my son asked to make it for us for Christmas, I dug around and couldn't find whatever recipe I had been using. That is mostly because I had not been using a recipe, but filling the dish and spicing free hand. I've been working (slowly) on making a proper recipe book for my extended family using several generations of recipes left as a legacy by my Aunt Freda. When I went through my files, this recipe popped out as the closest to what I'd been doing. I've adjusted the recipe with some basic spicing for the apples, but honestly, spice as you like! The crumble topping is directly from her recipe. No pictures yet as my son will be making it later.

Grease a 9x13 pan. Peel and slice preferred apples to generously fill.

 

Cover sliced apples with the following, stirring to coat.

 

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ cup of sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

 

Topping: 

¾ cup of brown sugar 

¾ cup of rolled oats 

¾ cup of flour 

½ cup of margarine 

 

Work topping into a crumb with a fork and spread over apples. Bake 350ºF for about 45 mins or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Gingerbread Cookies

I don’t have an origin for this recipe - I found it handwritten on lined paper at the back of my family recipe book. It’s my handwriting so it was tried and enjoyed several moons ago. We’ve already tried the first batch and they passed the test for everyone. Lego cookie cutters were a Lego VIP gift with our Christmas shopping this year. On to the recipe!

Cream together in order:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift together following ingredients then mix into wet ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 tsp nutmeg 
1/2 tsp cloves 
1/2 tsp salt

Once well combined, refrigerate for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Then roll out about half the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick (or roll with your heart). Cut into desired shakes and bake on greased cookie sheets for 8 minutes. Let cool on wire racks as long as your patience allows. 

Chocolate Cherry Spice Bundt Cake

This is a modification of a recipe I found at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8472/chocolate-bundt-cake/. It has become my go-to cake for special occasions but feels especially suitable for the cooler months with all its spice and sweetness. 

Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a 10-inch Bundt pan. If you have a smaller Bundt, don’t fit it more than 3/4 full as this does rise during baking. We use any kind of oil spray as it gets better coverage than butter. Put a bag of frozen dark cherries on the counter to defrost while you prep the batter.

Dry ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (can be substituted with 1 to 1 gluten-free baking flour)

½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice 

½ tsp cloves

Sift together all dry ingredients and set aside. 

Wet ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening or pure lard
3 cups white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (optional)
5 eggs

Cream together wet ingredients in the order given. Add eggs one at a time and mix them well.

Add dry ingredients to wet gradually, alternating with milk (1 cup total).

When all ingredients are combined halves the cherries (they will still be mostly frozen but manageable. Fold the halved cherries into the batter and then pour the batter into your greased Bundt.

Bake at 325°F for 90-100 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in the cake comes back clean. If your oven runs hot, start checking at the 70 min mark.

Once your cake is out, loosen it from the sides of the Bundt pan and flip it onto your serving dish. Sift powdered/confectioners sugar on top. This cake is great hot out of the oven or cooled.