Pumpkin Bars

by Melissa Coombs // December 2, 2013 // No Comments

This is such a moist and delicious cake! Every time I make it for church or family activities, it is eaten down to the very last crumb!

Ingredients:

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups canned pumpkin

Directions:

1. With wire whisk or electric beater, blend together oil, sugar and eggs until creamy.

2. Combine baking soda, flour, salt, and baking powder. Then add to creamy mixture. Add cinnamon and pumpkin. Stir until well mixed.

3. Pour into jelly roll pan. (Or two 9×13 casserole dishes.)

4. Bake 350° for 25-30 minutes, making sure center is done. Let cake cool before frosting.

Frosting:

3 oz cream cheese

6 TBSP butter

1 tsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

dash of salt

Cream together and spread on cooled cake. ENJOY!!

3 Layer Ice Cream Cake

by Melissa Coombs // November 18, 2013 // 4 Comments

This is the most awesome ice cream cake, and it’s so easy to make! You have to try this!

Ingredients:
1 pack of Oreos
3 quarts of your favorite ice cream
1 box ice cream sandwiches – keep in freezer until ready to use
Cool Whip

Instructions:
1. You will need a springform pan. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut strips of wax paper to line the pan. The spray will help the wax paper stick to the pan.

2.. Put about half of the Oreos in a blender and blend to make fine crumbs, or small chunks, whichever you prefer. (You can also put the Oreos in a bowl or zip lock bag and crush with a wooden mallet. Sometimes I use the bottom of a drinking glass and gently tap to break the cookies into small pieces.) Save a tablespoon of crumbs or chunks to sprinkle on top of the final layer. Add a little water to your crushed Oreos so that they stick together a bit and you can press them into the bottom of your springform pan. I used a little too much water by accident and made almost an Oreo brownie. : ) It was good, but I prefer the bottom more crumbly instead of gooey.

3. Cut several ice cream sandwiches into 4ths like the picture shows. You will need enough to line the whole pan. That will depend on the size of your springform pan. I used about 8 ice cream sandwiches for mine. I personally like the WalMart brand better than some of the name brands I have tried.They have a good shape and texture for this. It’s a messy job, so be prepared to ruin a few and eat them.

4. Line the pan with the pieces of ice cream sandwich. Make sure the outside rounded edge of the icecream sandwich is facing up and against the pan. This will be what everyone sees when you take off the springform pan, so try to make it pretty.

5. Scoop out about 3/4 of the ice cream for your first layer and put into a bowl. The whole quart would be too much. If you have a smaller springform pan, then maybe half of it would do…I have bought the fancy pints of ice cream for making these in a smaller springform pan. Stir the ice cream until soft and smooth. We have been known to add chunks of brownie, nuts, huge Oreo chunks, or whatever we are craving in each layer! Yum! Pour into pan. You may want to put it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes or so to let that layer get firm. if you don’t, your layers will not be straight.

6. Repeat step 5 for the 2nd layer.

7. Repeat step 5 for the 3rd layer.

8. Spread Cool Whip over the top. Try to make it look pretty. I make little peaks on mine by using the back of the spoon. I can’t explain that…just try to make it look pretty. : )

9. Sprinkle some Oreo crumbs on the top. This is as creative as I get, but I’m sure you could add some special touches to make it look really pretty.

10. Put it in the freezer and let it freeze hard for 24 hours. Every time I have made it in the morning and tried to serve it that night, it was not frozen enough and it was more of a blob than beautiful layers. Take out of freezer and remove the outside of the springform pan and the wax paper. Cut and serve! Everyone will love it! : )

Notes:

1. I did not freeze each layer before I added the next because I was trying to hurry, and I ended up with waves of color and not exact layers. (See picture below.) No one cared though and we ate every last bite of this!

2. My favorite one I have made had pink, white and green layers. The colors were beautiful with the Oreo bottom and the Cool Whip topping. I used a strawberry ice cream, but the ice cream was white, so we added a drop or two of red food coloring to make it pink. Then we used a vanilla bean vanilla ice cream for the middle. For the 3rd layer, we used a mint chocolate chip ice cream, but the ice cream was white, so we added a few drops of green food coloring. It was stunning and the flavors were amazing!

3. Feel free to add cookie pieces, brownie chunks, nuts, mini marshmallows, or whatever you like in your ice cream!

Brown Sugar Muffins

by Melissa Coombs // October 21, 2013 // No Comments

My children ask for these muffins more than any other I make! They are DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

½ cup oil

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg (I have used powdered eggs and it turns out great! 1 TBSP Egg Powder plus 2 TBSP water)

2 cups flour (we think whole wheat flour taste the best in this recipe, but white flour is good too)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk (you can stir in a few TBSP milk powder with the flour and then add 1 cup water)

1 tsp baking soda

Instructions:

1. Stir oil, egg, vanilla, milk and brown sugar together in a bowl.

2. Then stir in dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda.)

3. Spray muffin tins with non stick spray or use cupcake liners. Fill 12 muffin cups with the batter.

4, Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until center of muffin is done. Better grab one, because they disappear quickly!

Notes: The food storage substitutions turn out really well. And the whole wheat flour gives it a great texture and density that we all love. My family does not love it when I make oatmeal for breakfast, but when I have brown sugar muffins to go with it, they do not complain!

Source: Original recipe from my sister-in-law Margo Coombs

Mini German Pancakes

by Melissa Coombs // October 7, 2013 // 1 Comment

My friend Jillian Ennis (soon to be Jillian Mendez in 26 days!) made these scrumptious Mini German Pancakes for us yesterday! They were DELICIOUS! You can top them with any kind of fruit, powdered sugar, syrup, cinnamon sugar, lemon sauce, or whatever your heart desires!

Mini German Pancakes

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or spray muffin tins well.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Or you could whirl it in a blender for a few seconds until smooth.

3. Fill baking cups with the batter almost full if you want them to puff up high like the picture below. (Makes 12-18 depending on how high you fill the muffin cups.)

4. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown. They will puff up really high while baking, and then deflate a bit as they are cooling.

5. You can fill with fruit topping or a lemon sauce, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or use cinnamon sugar and maple syrup, whipped cream, or whatever sounds good to you!

This one came out with a heart in the middle! How sweet!

Easy French Bread

by Melissa Coombs // September 23, 2013 // No Comments

If you have never made bread before, this is a perfect place to start! This is such an easy, delicious bread! And really it’s hard to mess it up! It makes fabulous garlic bread, French toast, delicious sandwiches and bread bowls! It will be a family favorite!

Easy French Bread

Ingredients:

2 TBSP yeast

5 TBSP oil

2 ½ cups warm water

1 TBSP salt

2 TBSP sugar

6 cups white flour

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and knead in a mixer (like a Bosch or Kitchen Aid) for 10 minutes. You can do it by hand with a bowl and spoon, but just add half of the flour at first and stir for a while until the “batter” seems smooth. Then add in more flour and mix until it gets too difficult to stir by spoon. Dump it out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining of the flour. I actually do not ever exactly measure the flour. I know I have enough flour when the dough is no longer really sticky, but be careful to not add too much. You do not want the dough to be stiff or dry. A little less flour is better than too much!

2. Let the dough rise in the bowl until doubled. Punch down. (I usually cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out.)

3. Divide and form into 2 french loaves. (Or you can braid it!) Cut top of loaves three times with a serrated knife. You can also brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

4. Let rise until double – 30 mins or so. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 400 °. (Shorter for a soft crust, longer for a thick and chewy crust.)

Notes:

*You can also put balls of this dough on a cookie sheet to make “Bread Bowls”. Once baked, cut out center of round loaf and pour in a creamy soup. Make the Bread Bowls any size you want.

*People love to receive this as a gift, especially the braided bread below!

Here is how I form the loaves:

Then put it on a baking sheet and cut the top of the loaf, and let it rise.

If you want to braid it, divide one half of the dough into 3 equal pieces, and roll out each piece with your hands into a long skinny “snake”. Pinch the ends together, or start braiding it however you can. I often have to rebraid it because I get messed up a bit, like in the picture below. I eventually got it right. : ) Pinch the ends together and tuck them under and try to make it pretty. Even if it’s not perfect, it will still look pretty and taste delicious!

I forgot about my bread that morning while I was homeschooling my children, and I let it rise a little too much. It got huge, but it was still gorgeous and delicious! You can spread a little butter on the top of the hot loaves when it comes out of the oven. ENJOY!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Melissa Coombs // September 9, 2013 // No Comments

I was camping in the mountains recently, and those cool mornings reminded me fall was right around the corner, and it made me think of my favorite cookies! Yum! These are soooo delicious!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used some chocolate chunks this time)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, milk, cinnamon and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

2. Spray cookie sheet with baking spray. Drop cookie dough by spoonful onto baking sheet.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. These are cake-like, so make sure centers are done like a cake. Baking time will depend on the size you make the cookies. I personally like to take them out of the oven right before they start to brown. I’m not a fan of overdone cookies!

4. Eat warm with a glass of milk and you will think you have died and gone to heaven!

Notes:

1. I am pretty crazy over lots of chocolate chips in my cookies, and lots of nuts too. Feel free to use as many or as little as you like. 2 cups is quite a lot, and that’s how I like them! For these in the pictures, I used 1 cups of chocolate chips and 1 cup of chocolate chunks. And I used about 3/4 cup of chopped pecans. So, so, so delicious!

Source: I’ve had this recipe for over 20 years in my notebook. Not sure where it came from!

Peach and Berry Cobbler

by Melissa Coombs // August 12, 2013 // 1 Comment

This cobbler is fabulous to make in the summer during peach and blueberry season. This is requested often in the summer at our house, and it is a great dessert to share with friends.

Peach and Berry Cobbler

1. For topping stir together in a bowl:

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

Add: ½ cup milk

¼ butter (softened)

2. For filling, in saucepan stir together:

¼ cup brown sugar

1 TBSP cornstarch

½ cup cold water

Add: 3 cups sliced peaches

1 cup blueberries

Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Add: 1 TBSP butter, 1 TBSP lemon juice

3. Pour into casserole dish.

Spoontopping in mounds over hot filling. Spread evenly over filling as well as you can.

Mix together 2 TBSP sugar and ¼ tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Bake 350° for 35 minutes. Serve with ice cream if you want! Delicious!

Winter Cobbler: You can substitute frozen berries for fresh, and canned or frozen peaches, instead of fresh, with ½ cup peach syrup instead of cold water.

Source: My amazingly talented and brilliant friend Ninette Galbraith! : )

Here’s one of my hungry teenagers. He gobbled up 2 plates of this yummy cobbler and came back asking for more, but it was all gone! Do I have to make a double batch of everything? 🙂

Homemade Playdough

by Melissa Coombs // July 29, 2013 // No Comments

I love this recipe! It makes the BEST playdough! And it’s is safe for little ones, has a nice texture to play with, and it comes out of clothes and carpet with just a moist rag. Such a fun, cheap easy activity for kids!

Homemade Playdough

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 TBSP oil
food coloring (I have used liquid drops and gel. Either one works great!)

Directions:
1. Mix flour, cream of tartar and salt together in a saucepot (no heat yet!). Add water, oil and food coloring.

2. Stir mixture together. Make sure you have the right amount of food coloring so that it is the color you want. This is the only chance you have to add more coloring!

3. Turn heat on high and stir constantly until it forms a ball. This happens really fast!

4. As soon as it has formed a ball and most of the wetness is gone, dump playdough onto a counter or cutting board. Let cool for a few minutes, and knead to until smooth. If you overcook it, the dough will be a little dry. I like to take it off the heat with a little wetness still showing in the dough, and then knead it until smooth. (See picture and explanation below.)

5. Store in a plastic bag. Have fun! (I put it in a plastic bag while still warm, so it keeps the moisture and does not dry out.)

Note: I always make a double batch, or a few batches with different colors. One batch will not be quite enough to share happily with 2 or 3 children. More is better!

Source: Adapted from Cookin’ With Home Storage by Vicki Tate

This is what it looks like as it starts forming a ball. See how it is still wet? At this stage, I would flip the dough over and let the wet part touch the hot pan and then take it out with just a few wet spots on the dough. Once you make your first batch, you’ll understand how fast it forms a ball, and when to take it out of the pan!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

by Melissa Coombs // July 15, 2013 // 2 Comments

Forget about your diet! You have to try these! They will make you so happy!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

Cream together:

1 cup CRISCO shortening (Sometimes I use ½ cup shortening and ½ cup butter)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

Mix in:

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Add:

2 ¼ cups white flour (you can use white wheat flour…it’s very good)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Chocolate chips (as many as you like!) I used “chunks.” You can add chopped nuts too!

Put spoonfuls on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until just barely starting to brown on the edges. They will look a bit underdone to the average person! Take out of oven and let them sit for a few minutes on the pan. (DO NOT over cook if you want them to be chewy and soft.)

Pour a glass of milk and ENJOY!!!! YUM YUM!!!

Notes:

1. One batch makes 2 dozen large cookies. Trust me, you’ll want to make a double batch.

2. These make fabulous M&M cookies too! You can add anything you like in these cookies! White chocolate chips and macadamia nuts, or dark chocolate and pecans…the possibilities are endless!

Source: My amazing mom! (Brenda Joyner) She taught my sister and I how to make these when we were really young, and we were famous for our delicious cookies!

Easy Homemade Biscuits

by Melissa Coombs // July 1, 2013 // 1 Comment

The other night we were out of bread and rolls, so I decided to whip out some quick biscuits to serve with dinner. These are easy to make, delicious, and it only takes a few minutes until you can sink your teeth into a hot, fresh, fluffy biscuit!

Easy Homemade Biscuits

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour (you can use 1 cup whole wheat flour in the place of 1 cup all purpose flour)
1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP sugar (I personally don’t add the sugar, but it’s part of the original recipe.)
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cups cold butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/3 cups milk (plus a little more)
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture looks crumbly. If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can cut up the butter with a knife as shown in the picture, and then mix and blend with your hands. That might not be the most sophisticated way to do it, but it works just fine.

3. Add egg and milk, stirring just until moistened. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more milk. You want the dough to be quite moist, like the photo below. Do not overmix. You want to stir the dough as little as possible.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour onto dough so you can touch it. Pat out about 1 inch thick or so. Cut dough with a biscuit cutter, or use a glass or cup like I do. Do not handle the dough very much. The less you touch it, the lighter they will be.

5. Place biscuits on a sprayed baking sheet. Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 10 – 12 minutes or until the biscuits are done and are starting to brown on top. I like them when they are lightly browned, but some people like to cook them a bit longer and get them more browned and crustier.

6. Enjoy immediately with butter and honey, jelly, or even some delicious sausage gravy!

Source: I got the original recipe from my friend Patty Graff, a fabulous cook!