CHURROS

CHURROS

BUDGET RECIPES DONUTS

It has been "churro week" at our house. We love this sweet (stick shaped) donut rolled in cinnamon sugar and served warm!!

"Churro week" came about because I was trying to find a new churro recipe for the grandkids. I tried several new ones and they all had promising results, but none of them were exactly what  I was looking for. I ended up combining the best parts of each recipe and came up with a churro that was light as air and delicious.

I love this recipe for several reasons. First of all they are quick and easy to make. Secondly, you KNOW they are tasty when you have people waiting around in the kitchen for the next ones to come out of the fryer...that is always a good sign. Thirdly, they cost (literally) pennies to make and finally, served with a chocolate dipping sauce or whipped cream, they are great for company.

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Set up a frying station, with about 2" of vegetable oil in a frying pan and bring it to 375 degrees.  I like to use my electric frying pan because I can just set the temperature and forget it.

Next, line a cookie sheet with paper towels to drain the churros on once they are fried.  Also, mix 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and put it in a pie plate (you will roll the churros in the cinnamon sugar after they are fried).

Now, for the batter:

1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan with a heavy bottom, bring the milk, butter, sugar and salt to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil, add the flour all at once and STIR until the dough clumps into a ball and comes away from the side of the pan; this will happen almost immediately.

Remove the pan from the heat and put the dough in your stand mixer fitted with a paddle blade (not the whisk); let it sit for about 2 minutes (to cool down just a tad).

Start up your mixer on medium speed and while the mixer is running, add the vanilla and then the eggs,  one at a time, to the dough, beating well after each egg. The final batter will be very thick and sticky, but smooth.

NOTE: When you put the first egg in,  it will seem like it doesn't want to mix in, but keep mixing, it WILL. As soon as it mixes, in, add the next egg.

Place the batter in a frosting bag fitted with your largest (star) frosting tip.  I use a Wilton 1M.

Your oil should be good and hot by now, so squeeze 4" strips of the batter directly into the hot oil.  I use the tip of my finger to "pinch off" the dough. Fry a few at a time and don't over crowd; they will puff up as they cook.

Fry for about a minute on each side or until they turn golden.  Drain on paper towels and roll in cinnamon sugar while they are still hot.  Serve warm.

Picky-picky husband loves smaller churros, so I make some little 2" churros for him:

 

These churros are the real deal!!

MOCK PECAN PIE

MOCK PECAN PIE

BUDGET RECIPES PIE RECIPES

I know it is hard to imagine a pecan pie without pecans, right? Well, whether you have nut allergies, or you are like me and find it harder and harder to pay nearly $10 a pound for pecans, you might give this fun, quick and easy recipe a try.

 This recipe uses plain old rolled oats instead of pecans. Sounds strange, I know, but the oats soak in the butter and sugars and bake into a golden brown and crunchy topping that sits on top of a traditional soft sweet filling.  As a test, I gave Picky Picky Hubby a slice after dinner and never mentioned the rolled oats. He ate a few bites, declared the pie a "winner" and then said, "I thought you said you were out of nuts" (he thought he was eating nuts)!! It really is tasty.

¾ cup light corn syrup
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup rolled oats (quick cooking is OK if necessary)
¼ cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
9" unbaked pie crust

This takes about "three seconds" to mix up; just mix everything in a bowl (with a whisk) until smooth and pour into unbaked 9" pie shell.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 60 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean (my oven took 50 minutes).  That's it!! Quick and easy.

The baked "nut" topping is nice and crunchy and does not taste like oatmeal at all!!  Picky Picky Hubby has told me how much he likes the pie THREE times this evening (that's rare).

SHORTBREAD MELTAWAY COOKIES

SHORTBREAD MELTAWAY COOKIES

BAKE SALE RECIPES BUDGET RECIPES CLASSIC RECIPES COOKIE RECIPES

My Hubby has started a new hobby...wood turning and I couldn't be happier. I am quickly accumulating beauties like the piece below which is made out of birch (he harvests wind-fallen birch and spruce trees from the forest behind the house). He used to teach college level hand thrown pottery, so I'm guessing some of those skills have carried over to his new wood turning attempts. In any case, I am very happy with the results.

Today's Shortbread Meltaway Cookies are quick, easy and they literally do, melt in your mouth.
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1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoons vanilla
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Cream the butter, in a stand mixer, until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until the dough is well mixed and comes away from the sides of the bowl.
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Roll dough into one inch balls and roll them in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and lightly press down with a fork. Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the outside edges of the cookie start to turn golden. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

TACO SEASONING

TACO SEASONING

A-1 COLEENS FAVORITES BUDGET RECIPES CLASSIC RECIPES MY ORIGINAL RECIPE SPICE MIX BLENDS TEX-MEX RECIPES

Make your own taco seasoning!! It is simple, quick, cheap and useful for almost anything. I use it on steak fajitas, tacos, Spanish rice, chicken and much more. It is so much more convenient (and tasty) than the commercial packets.

 In a bowl, mix together:
12 teaspoons chili powder
8 teaspoons paprika (not the spicy kind)
8 teaspoons ground cumin
6 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder (not salt)
¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tablespoon beef bullion granules

Mix well and store in a tightly covered jar. Can be used as a dry rub or if you are making taco's, brown the meat and drain well. Add 7 teaspoons of this mix and ½ cup water to a pound of ground beef. Stir well and simmer until liquid evaporates.


NOTE: This is not super spicy, but it is very full flavored. If you like more heat, you can always add more cayenne. Approximately 7 teaspoons of this mixture will season a pound of ground beef.
NOTE: If you don't want to make a whole jar of seasoning...just divide this recipe by 4.

BACON MACARONI & CHEESE

BACON MACARONI & CHEESE

BUDGET RECIPES CLASSIC RECIPES PASTA RECIPES SIDE DISHES

This recipe has evolved over the years, to what it is today; one of our (my) favorite side dishes. It's just your basic mac and cheese with a few small tweaks. I've tried it with almost every kind of cheese you can think of and I still like good old American cheese the best.

2 cups mini-penne pasta
4 cups chicken broth
¼ cup finely minced onions, sauteed
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots)
5 strips of bacon fried and crumbled
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground dry mustard
2 teaspoons dry parsley flakes (opt.)
2¼ cups milk
1 cup diced American cheese
bread crumbs and butter

Saute the finely minced onions until they are tender and sweet, set aside. Boil the pasta and vegetables (together) in the chicken broth until tender, then drain and stir a little butter into the pasta-veggies and set aside.

In a sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter then stir in 3 tablespoons of flour, parsley, pepper and dry mustard. Stir and cook very slowly (let it just bubble) for about a minute, then add the milk, sauteed onions and bacon (whisk like crazy when you first start to add the milk to avoid any lumps). Stir and cook this sauce until it thickens. Remove from heat and add the cheese. After it sits for a few minutes, stir and the cheese should be mostly melted. Pour over the pasta and veggies and mix well.

 Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and top with bread crumbs (see note). Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until bubbly.

NOTE: Place 2 cups of plain dry bread crumbs in a frying pan and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Toast over medium high heat (stirring) until bread crumbs have absorbed all of the butter and the crumbs are golden. Spread evenly over the macaroni and cheese before putting in oven.

EASY PLAY DOUGH - A GREAT WEEKEND PROJECT FOR THE KIDS or GRANDKIDS

EASY PLAY DOUGH - A GREAT WEEKEND PROJECT FOR THE KIDS or GRANDKIDS

A-1 COLEENS FAVORITES BUDGET RECIPES CRAFTS

I've tried many play dough recipes over the years and this one is, by far, the best yet. It is made with common pantry items and is ready to play with, literally, in a few minutes!! It's soft, pliable and super easy to work with. When the kids are done with it, recipe says to keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, but with all that salt, I doubt that is necessary.
EASY PLAY DOUGH
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup table salt
2 cups water
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
food coloring (see note)

Put everything in a large, heavy bottomed, sauce pan and cook (stirring) on medium high until this comes away from the sides of the pan and thickens to the consistency of Play Doh (it just takes a couple minutes). Make sure you have a very sturdy wooden spoon to stir this with and it takes a little elbow power at the very end.

Remove the cooked dough from the sauce pan and knead it for a minute or so until it becomes smooth. I did this kneading stage with my stand mixer which cooled the dough down almost immediately (a good thing).

If you want the play dough to be all the same color, add the food coloring with the water before cooking. I wanted to try two colors, so I divided the cooked dough in half and put half in my stand mixer (for the kneading step) and I added food color paste to the dough while the machine was kneading the dough (this step can be done by hand, but I would suggest you use rubber gloves so you don't get green fingernails).

My one concern with using the concentrated food color paste was that it would come off on my hands when I "played" with the final product...it did not!! This is a great weekend project for the kids!!

NOTE: The colors in this photo were obtained by using Wilton frosting color paste, which is very concentrated color. You can use ANY food coloring (or NO food coloring) that you like.

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

BREAD RECIPES BUDGET RECIPES QUICK BREAD RECIPES SANDWICH RECIPES TEX-MEX RECIPES

This was my first attempt at homemade flour tortillas and I was "stunned and amazed" at how easy they were!! Since there is just two of us at home these days, I have wasted a ton of money on commercial tortillas that never get used. I buy a package of 12...use three or four and put the rest in the freezer. I don't know how many partial bags of ice crusted tortillas I've thrown away over the years, but not any more!! Fresh tortillas are so much tastier than commercial ones.

While this recipe makes about eight 8" tortillas, it is also a wonderful convenience not to be stuck with "one size fits all" tortillas. For example, you could make half full size tortillas and half "toddler size" tortillas. I think the little ones would get a kick out of that.

This recipe produces a dough that is very easy to work (feels almost like Play Doh) and it fries up in either a dry pan (if you are watching calories) or in vegetable oil if you are looking for a nice and flaky tortilla. Hubby gave the flaky style both thumbs up!!

 4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cold shortening (or bacon grease)
1½ cups hot water

Put first 4 ingredients in the food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add hot water while machine is running. Turn machine off when dough comes together. Remove dough and knead about half a dozen times or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, turn dough out onto lightly floured counter and roll into balls about the size of a small golf ball. Roll out tortillas (starting in center and rolling outwards, turning often).
To cook the tortillas, the recipe says to use a cast iron skillet, but I found it hard to regulate the temperature (it got too hot) so I used an electric skillet instead. I'm sure with practice, the cast iron skillet would be the way to go. I fried the ones I wanted to eat in a dry skillet, but to get the big flaky bubbles, fry them in a little vegetable oil. Keep the tortillas warm in a kitchen towel while you cook the others.
NOTE: I made a half recipe for just hubby and myself and it gave me five nice big tortillas. It is such a great dough, I'm sure you could double the ingredients as well if you are cooking for a crowd.