Crab Rangoons

I came across my recipe for rangoons…  I about choked on my saliva and wanted to so bad to get the ingredients for them… but somehow in a brief sane moment I decided that toilet paper was more important than canned crab meat…


But I wanted to share the recipe and for some reason I feel like I have to post step by step pictures of recipes so this means I have to one make the recipe earlier in the day when I still speaking in a soft voice.. or two hoard the recipe and never post it online..


After pulling out my stash of cooks illustrated  I got the bright idea of drawing the step by step instructions ……


Those work right??


Until I realized that I forgot to brush my hair before I drew my self portrait.







Gather our usually over priced ingredients but managed to find some store brand.









Plop them all in a bowl and give it a good stir…  disregard the instructions in the recipe… those are for organized people… today we are going to be slobs…









In large pot heat oil till it looks like it will fry fat to a crispy rind… refrain from sitting in pot..







Stop, scream at a kid









With your bowl of water wet sides of wrappers and slop some filling towards the  area of the middle of the wonton…
Fold over… rinse repeat







Slowly add filled wontons into overly hot oil and fry those little suckers up..







Drain… and serve…


You know… toilet paper is so over rated…

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Recipe


8 Ounces Fresh crab Meat or Canned crab Meat, Drained and Flaked
8 Ounces cream cheese
1 – 1 1/2 green onions, finely Sliced
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
1 Package wonton wrappers
1 Small Bowl Filled With water For Wetting Wontons
Oil for Deep Frying


Directions:
Combine the crab and the cream cheese. Mix in the remaining filling ingredients one at a time.
On a flat surface, lay out a wonton wrapper in front of you so that it forms a diamond shape. Wet the edges of the wonton.
Add a heaping teaspoon of filling to the middle, and spread it out toward the left and right points of the diamond so that it forms a log or rectangular shape (otherwise the wrapper may break in the middle during deep-frying).
Fold over the edges of the wrapper so that it forms a triangle shape. Seal the edges, adding more water if needed.
Cover the completed Crab Rangoon with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out while preparing the rest.
Heat wok and add oil for deep-frying. When oil is ready (the temperature should be between 360 – 375 degrees), carefully slide in the Crab Rangoon, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning once.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cool and serve.
Great with Duck sauce or hot mustard!

Granola

Ohh how I love granola… One of my earliest memories is sitting on the deck in Jacksonville ridge and having a bowl of granola that Mama had made and picking out only the raisins and pecans… when I had polished those off I handed the bowl back to Mama  asking for more.. there was probably at least two cups of oats and sunflower seeds still left and she told me to  eat the rest before I got more…

That bowl was probably left on the deck as I ran off to catch some peep peeps and wallow in the mud.. I couldn’t wait till I grew up so I could put in the granola what I wanted..

Every now and then I would go hunting for a recipe that would be feasible  for my lazy self.. and for some reason the thought of cooking something at 250 for umpteen hours just didn’t sound inviting.. a lot can happen in several hours… and to be by the stove for that long in the beginning of the day just wouldn’t work out.. and in the evening when I am tied to the stove there was no way I could throw in one more thing to make with dinner.. so I gave up..

I must not have looked very hard for a recipe because in the past two days I have found at least three where it only takes 30 minutes of baking or maybe the thought of spending over five dollars for a box of granola that only has about 2 cups of processed goodness motivated me to look better.

So here is my conclusion to the breakfast recipes this week….

I changed some things with the original slightly and then completely forgot to add the oil.. Which after researching, is perfectly fine if you want to just use it for cereal or in yogurt.. They say it makes it more crunchy but I doubled my pecans so I think the oil from them should be enough.. I also don’t like something sweet for breakfast so I used less honey and sugar and just let the cranberries be enough

You’re never getting another dime from me you off brand granola cereal makers

Dump all but the dried fruit in your mixing bowl.. Don’t forget the oil!!

Mix well and spread thin on a cookie sheet

Bake for 20 to 30 mins stirring halfway through

Let cool and then add your fruit..

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Granola

3 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

2 cup Pecan Halves, Whole Or Chopped (or any 2 cups of nuts of your choice)

3 tablespoons Honey

⅓ cup Canola Or Vegetable Oil

¼ cup Light Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 cup cranberries  (or any cup of dried fruit of your choice)

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
 

Combine all the ingredients except the dried fruit.
 Spread the oat and nut mixture onto a sheet pan.
 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, stirring halfway through. It should be a nice, nutty-golden color.

Allow it to cool completely on a sheet pan.
Once it is cool, transfer to a large bowl and add in the dried fruit. Stir to combine.

Enjoy or store in an air tight container.

Honey Bun Cake

I think it is breakfast themed this week… ok not that this is a wholesome breakfast.. But this is a truckers breakfast!!

I remember getting honey buns as a child and they tasted soo good! Papa would get the honey buns share with me and what a treat they were. When I came across some at a quick stop I tore into that bag thinking it would taste like before.. at least a hour later I was still trying to get the waxy glaze off the roof of my mouth and trying to forget that horrible dry waste of calories I took a bite of.  

So here is my rendition of honey buns. I was gonna say something sappy about how much I wished I could have made these for Papa but I will refrain from doing so.

Cake mix, filling and topping ingredients

In mixing bowl add your cake mix, eggs and sour cream… mine was frozen so I used water this time..

Mix at least 5 minutes scrape down sides and mix for another minute

Prepare baking pan and pour in half of the batter

Sprinkle cinnamon brown sugar mixture over batter

Lightly pour the rest over sugar

Spread over to sides evenly

While cake is baking prepare topping

In bowl add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla

Mix well and pour over hot cake

Let cool for 40 minutes and enjoy!

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Honey Bun Cake

1 bag of dry cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

Filling:

1 cup of packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Topping:

2 cups of powdered sugar

6 tablespoons of milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix sour cream and eggs with cake mix for 4 minutes. Scrape down sides and mix for 2 minutes more.

Pour half of batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan , sprinkle evenly brown sugar mixture, lightly pour over the rest of the cake batter spreading with spatula .

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until done in the middle.

Pour over the topping while cake is hot and let sit to cool for 45 minutes.

Homemade Cake mix

Over a year ago I was going through my cake stage… where I did nothing  but cakes and was obsessed with making the perfect moist cake that made the last one look like a stale little duddie. I was using cake mixes and then came across some Paula Deen cakes that made the box cakes weep with envy… That made me think, why couldn’t there be a homemade mix?




There is… and here it is!!

This is all you need

Mix your dry ingredients well…

Add your butter… it will take awhile if using a mixer (If your food processor is bigger than 8 cups then use it instead) about 5 minutes on low

Until looks like rough sand.. add your vanilla and mix for 1 minutes more
Store in the freezer up to two months..


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Homemade Cake Mix
2 cups granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Process sugar, flours, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a food processor for 15 seconds to combine. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (you want this much finer than, say, a pie crust). Freeze the dry mixture in a zipper-lock bag for up to 2 months or use immediately.
To make the cake, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pan of choice (see the note above the recipe).
With an electric mixer, beat the prepared cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-27 minutes for two 9-inch layer cakes.
Makes enough for two 9-inch layer cakes (bake according to recipe), or one 9X13-inch cake (bake for 30 to 35 minutes), or one 12-cup bundt pan (bake for 40 to 45 minutes), or 24 cupcakes (bake for 18 to 20 minutes)


As for the flour..If you have cake flour omit the cornstarch and use 3 cups of cake flour... if your like me and don't ever buy it then use the 2 3/4 cup plus one tablespoon of flour and three tablespoons of cornstarch.

I feed enough for a small army ( one teenage boy) so I use the whole bag of mix for a cake.. you can half the mix and just use ¾ cup of water and one egg

I usually use sour cream as the liquid in my cakes, it makes it a lot more dense and moist but if the back of your fridge freezes everything like mine and you lost yours water or milk is just fine.

Buttermilk Syrup

Pancake syrup has been a battle in my house for years… always forget to buy it and when the budget was honored the cheap stuff was the only way to go… that stuff is watery and gross but everyone insisted on it. When the kids were little I could get by with applesauce or honey when we had it but as they got older and picker, it was pancake syrup…

A few years ago when the anti processed food bug hit me I would make our own.. brown sugar, water and Karo  syrup… it was good… but I knew it wasn’t any better than the stuff at the store.. so when I came across this recipe and everyone scarffed it up I was finished with my search for the perfect syrup…

Don’t turn up your nose at the thought of buttermilk in syrup… not until you try it once..

In a large pot put in your sugar, buttermilk and butter… why a large pot? You’ll see why in a bit

Heat on low heat till butter is melted..

And once it starts to boil let it cook while stirring for about 3 to 4 minutes.. if you let it go past this ( and I have several more times than I like to admit) say about 6 or 7 minutes the sugar becomes “burned” and your syrup becomes caramel like.. perfect for ice cream or if you want a variation with your syrup…

Add one teaspoon of baking soda…  what does this do you ask? Beats me.. when I find out I will let you know.. and watch.. your syrup with foam up twice it’s size… this is why you need a large pot… other wise half your syrup will be on your stove. Remove from heat and set aside

Keep stirring until cooled slightly

Enjoy on pancakes!

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Recipe

1 cup sugar

½ cup buttermilk

1 stick butter  ½ cup

1 teaspoon baking soda

In large pot heat butter, sugar and buttermilk to boiling.. let boil 3 minutes add baking soda , remove from heat .

Serve warm over pancakes or ice cream.  

Homemade Oatmeal Pancake Mix

I used to be into pancake mixes a lot.. I never felt like I had the time to make them from scratch but I was really just lazy and the thought of dirtying up ten mixing bowls wasn’t a very fun thought for me..

I knew that if there could be store bought mixes there should be homemade right??

You should have seen me the day I found this mix.. I was so excited and the kids were too… now they could make pancakes when ever they wanted and didn’t have to rely on mama to get off her butt to make them..

This recipe makes about 10 cups… each cup makes 6 pancakes.. so that is about 60 pancakes and the mix lasts forever in your fridge.

These are so soft and creamy… and filling too… the oatmeal makes a nice change with pancakes.

Here we have our dry ingredients..

In mixing bowl add your flour

Oatmeal

Four dimples with salt, sugar, baking soda, baking powder

On low speed mix well.. we want it all incorporated before we put the oil in

While on low speed slowly drizzle oil in

When you can clump the mix together there is enough oil.. store in air tight container in your fridge

To make pancakes

In bowl add one egg, one cup of buttermilk. If you don’t have butter milk you can use ½ cup of plain yogurt and ½ cup milk, beat well

Add one cup of pancake mix and lightly stir

Set aside and heat griddle

Annnnnd cook your pancakes till done.

Serve with the best pancake syrup…  (next blog post)

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Homemade pancake mix

5 cups flour

3 cups quick oats

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

3 tablespoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup oil

Mix all dry ingredients well and slowly drizzle in oil on low speed.

Store in fridge in air tight container.

To make pancakes:

1 cup pancake mix

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

Stir lightly and cook.