October's Author of the Month- Heather C.

Heather C.

Idaho

Saltbox Author since 2009

Click Here to read her Bio

Favorite Restaurant(s): Probably Texas Roadhouse. But I do like the wings at Wingers (they go great with sticky rice!).

Favorite Foods: My favorite food is sticky rice. I could eat that stuff all day. And it goes with anything! Meat, veggies, fruit (just add a little coconut milk and sugar to it)...

Feelings about Food: I love to try new things! I have a little motto when it comes to new foods: Try everything twice--you never know if it is just the way a recipe was prepared, or if it really is a gross recipe. :)

At the Table: I love to cook for others. My family likes plain, basic foods, so if I'm ever in the mood for something fancy, I have to round up other people to come help eat it.

Here at Saltbox House, we have been inspired by Heather and chose her as October's author of the month because of her fun and creative posts. She has been a Saltbox House author since the beginning of our expansion and with her fast and easy recipes have been a great addition to our blog. With the holidays coming up, it is nice to have these recipes to take to any party or celebration. To view all of Heather C.'s current posts such as delicious desserts and kid friendly recipes see her link list below:

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 Little Isabelle's Carrot Pudding

Chocolate covered Peanut Butter and Ritz 

For Fat Tuesday: Chocolate Peanut butter Cookie Pizza 

Anything Goes With This One: Homemade Alfredo Sauce 

Old Fashioned Lime Freeze Beverages

Hope Y'All Aren't Sick of Pumpkins Yet!- Pumpkin Muffins and Bio

Little Isabelle's Carrot Pudding

My kids and I read this fun book about a family that grows a carrot, each person having in mind a specific treat they'd like to have when the carrot is grown. Tall Papa Joe wants a tall glass of carrot juice, wide Mama Bess wants a wide bowl of carrot stew, strong Brother Abel wants a jar of strong carrot relish and sweet Little Isabelle wants little cups of sweet carrot pudding.

When we got to the end of the book, there was a recipe for Carrot Pudding! My kids decided they'd like to have some and since we happened to have most of the ingredients on hand (we had to leave out the raisins and nuts), we whipped up a batch. I happen to be eating it as I'm typing this, and it tastes a lot better than it sounds! I think it would be better with raisins, though, and maybe some chopped pecans.

Here's the recipe straight from the book (I put in parentheses any changes I made):

Little Isabelle's Carrot Pudding

Combine and blend until smooth:

     1 C peeled and grated carrots (I recommend grating big carrots; I only had baby carrots on hand and it took forever to grate them! But at least they were already peeled.)

     1/2 C milk

     2 whole Eggs

     1/2 tsp nutmeg

     1/2 tsp cinnamon

     2 Tbsp melted butter

     1 C honey (I used 3/4 cup, and it was still really sweet!)

When smooth, stir in gently:

     4 slices bread, cut into cubes (I used plain ol' white bread, but I think this bread of Madeline's would be delish.)

     1/4 C raisins

     1/4 C chopped nuts

Pour into greased 9" baking dish.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Serve hot or cold in coffee cups. 

Delicious with ice cream, too.

I had an image in my mind of serving this in mugs with dollops of whipped cream cheese frosting on top. I didn't have any whipped cream to add to my icing, so I just used the following recipe and omitted the whipped cream:

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream together until smooth and slightly fluffy:

     6 ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature

     1/2 C confectioner's sugar

     1/2 tsp Vanilla

When completely smooth, gently fold in:

     1/2 C Whipped Cream

Spread, dollop or pipe, using frosting bag, onto carrot pudding.

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Ritz

Are you in the mood for a snack? How about something sweet, salty and chocolaty all at once? This is the snack for you!

My good friend introduced me to this little number the other day. I'm surprised they've lasted in my fridge as long as they have. I've been showing some major self-restraint, and my kids don't know they're there! The best part about these delectable delights, aside from the taste, is that they're super easy to make. I don't have a name for them. Feel free to submit suggestions!

What you need:
Melted Dipping Chocolate.
Smooth Peanut Butter 
Ritz Crackers
A cookie sheet lined with wax paper


What you do:
(Are you sure you're ready for this?) Spread a generous amount of peanut butter on a cracker. Top with another cracker. Dip the whole thing in the chocolate, making sure it is entirely coated. Place it on the wax paper. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Let cool in fridge until chocolate is hard. Store in airtight container or Ziplock bag. 

For Fat Tuesday*

Every Valentine's Day (and every Thanksgiving), I make a fabulous dessert that I wish I had invented. I got the recipe a few years back on Pillsbury.com, and it's become sort of a tradition. Incidentally, Pillsbury has a new  Rocky Road cookie pizza that also looks delicious. I'll have to try it sometime...

Here's what you need for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza:

1 roll (16.5 oz) premade chocolate chip cookie dough

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

3/4 cup hot fudge topping, divided

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Heat oven to 350°F. In ungreased 12-inch pizza pan, break up cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. It'll look something like this (you can  really use any shape pan you wish):

Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. 

While the cookie is cooling, 

in medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Fold in whipped topping (I forgot to get a picture of this step).

Spread 1/2 cup of the fudge topping over cooled crust (the recipe doesn't specify if it should be heated or not, but I always heat it to make it easier to spread. Just follow the directions on the jar). Spread peanut butter mixture over top. Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup fudge topping. Sprinkle with peanuts. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until serving time. Cut into wedges or squares.

We're not crazy about peanuts as a topping, so we use any variety of chocolate chips; I used to use Nestle chocolate-caramel swirls, but haven't seen them in stores lately. The ones pictured are just white chocolate. Butterscotch morsels would probably be great, too.

We also never make it 30 minutes before eating! Usually, as soon as the chips are sprinkled on top, we're cutting it up to enjoy!

*It's possible to make a less fattening version of this dessert, but I wouldn't recommend it. My husband likes to use low-fat everything, so he can eat more. Good diet advice, right? :P I tried this recipe with low-fat cream cheese, fat free milk, and fat free whipped cream. It didn't turn out very good. I found that the low-fat cream cheese didn't blend as well as regular cream cheese. I do use fat free milk and whipped cream, and they seem to work fine. But it's best with full-on fatty cream cheese.

Anything Goes With This One...

I came across this recipe for Alfredo sauce a while back at allrecipes.com. I haven't done anything to alter it; I love it as is. I do have a particular way I like to serve it, though, so I thought I'd post it here. I call it Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! My kids love saying the name, and they actually like eating the food, too. That's a winner in my book!

I start with the chicken: I make a marinade and usually let it sit for a few hours, but you can let it sit for as little as 20 minutes if you're in a hurry, and it'll still work. I don't have a real recipe for a marinade, but it's really easy to throw one together. All you need is oil, vinegar and spices. For a pound of chicken, I usually use something like 1/2 Cup vegetable oil; 2-3 Tbsp vinegar (I prefer red wine vinegar or Basalmic vinegar); 2-3 Tbsp spices (I love to use Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper--all it is is lemon rind, pepper and salt. Very basic. I've also used things I've thrown together from my spice rack. Anything works!) Mix it all together in a one-gallon zip lock bag (the less dishes the better), add the raw chicken to the bag and let it sit in the fridge. While the chicken is marinating, start cooking your favorite kind of pasta. After the chicken marinates for a while, I usually let George Foreman take over. It would be just as easy to grill it in a skillet, or on a barbecue, whatever is easiest for you. While it's cooking, work on the sauce.

I can't get enough of this Alfredo sauce. It's so easy to make, too!

What you'll need:

1/4 cup butter

1/2  package cream cheese (4 ounces total)

1 teaspoons garlic powder

1 cups milk

3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

What to do: 

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. (I cut the recipe in half because it makes a ton, but I left the amount of pepper the same because 1/16 teaspoon hardly seems worth it. So if you make this for a large crowd and double the recipe, still only use 1/8 tsp. pepper)

We serve noodles and sauce separately at our house, but you could easily toss the pasta in with the sauce. Serve the chicken on the side, or cut it up and serve it on top of the pasta and cover with sauce. Basically, do what you like; it's hard to ruin this dinner!

Old Fashioned Lime Freeze

One of my favorite restaurants is the Bluebird in Logan, Utah. It's a historic part of the city, and the menu offers ample portions of tasty home-cookin' for a reasonable price. The best part of the place, though, is the soda fountain. (Well, some people might argue that the candy counter just across from the soda fountain is the best part--it's probably a toss-up.) I don't know any statistics on how many old fashioned soda fountains are in operation in the United States, but I'm guessing relatively few in comparison to the numer of restaurants. So it's kind of fun to walk into a restaurant, sit on a spinning stool at a marble counter and order a hot fudge sundae, or a lime freeze, then watch them make it right there.

I haven't been to the Bluebird in years since I don't go to Logan very often. I was feeling really nostalgic yesterday, and craving a lime freeze, so I came up with my own version of one to tide me over until the next time I make a trip to my childhood town. A lime freeze is a pretty basic concoction that tastes sweet, sour and a little bitter all at once. It's like a party in your mouth. Try it! You'll like it!

Lime Freeze

3/4 Cup Tonic Water*

1 C Plain Ol' Vanilla Ice Cream (I used French Vanilla and it didn't taste very good with the lime)

3 Tbsp Lime Juice (juice from about 1 1/2 medium limes)

Dump all the ingredients into your blender and blend until mixture is smooth and all lumps of ice cream are incorporated. Mixture will be of a thin consistency. Top with whipped cream and a Maraschino cherry to make it look authentic! Makes about 12 oz.

*Note: Tonic water contains quinine, which is what gives it its bitter taste, but which also has health benefits if you have muscle cramps or malaria (though, modern day tonic water doesn't contain enough quinine to be medically beneficial). If you really hate the bitter taste in the lime freeze, you could probably substitue club soda on a 1:1 ratio. Click here to read about the difference between tonic water and club soda.

Hope Y'All Aren't Sick of Pumpkins Yet!

Hi, everyone! My name is Heather. I also go by Heathie, particularly with the younger crowd--4- and 5-year-olds who can't pronounce their 'R' sounds. I'm glad to be part of this blog because I need to start cooking better! My husband is incredibly picky. Basically if it has sauce or vegetables, he won't eat it. Thus, a lot of my posts will be foods for picky eaters (except for the days he's not home; those days, we eat well. Hee hee!).

I know Madeline already did a recipe for Pumpkin Muffins. I totally forgot about it last night when I was looking for a pumpkin muffin recipe, and I think it would have been more what I was looking for than the one I came up with. So I'll probably use it next time. The following recipe, though, is one I tweaked to try to make it more "healthy." I used some honey, but ran out so I also used some brown sugar. I like it better in pumpkin things than white sugar. But honestly, sugar is sugar and it all surges through the blood stream the same way. Without further ado, here is my version of Pumpkin Muffins:

In a large bowl, combine
1 1/3 C Pumpkin Puree
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Honey
2 Eggs
1/2 + 1/8 C oil (I'm no good at fractions, so I didn't bother consolidating those amounts into one number...)

The resulting sludge will look something like this.

In a smaller bowl combine

1 1/2 C Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/8 tsp Ground Ginger

Add the dry mixture to the wet, and mix well.

Recipe fills 12 regular size muffin cups almost completely.

Bake at 400 F for 16-20 minutes.

I was actually looking to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, but half way through realized I was out of chocolate chips. These muffins aren't really chewy-gooey enough for chocolate chips anyway. But I think they make a good breakfast muffin to be enjoyed with scrambled eggs and fruit, which is just what we had for breakfast this morning!