Turkey Handpies

These little babies have been a holiday tradition in our home since my teenage boys were toddlers. The inspiration came from something my brother-in-law used to make with jalapeño peppers. He'd stuff them with a mixture of ground beef and creme cheese. The recipe evolved over the years to become what I'm sharing with you today.



Turkey Handpies
Copyright 2009 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

INGREDIENTS:
1T. olive oil
1T. unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup frozen broccoli florets, chopped small
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Garlic Powder
1 8-oz. brick of creme cheese
4 rolls of ready-made pie crust (I use Pillsbury)
1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
A small bowl of water
1 egg and 1 T. water, whisked together for an egg wash

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425. Line two cookie sheets with foil. In large skillet place butter, olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and diced onion. Turn heat to medium and sauté onions until translucent. Add ground turkey, more salt and pepper, garlic powder, and cumin to taste. Cook until turkey is browned. Add broccoli florets and sauté for 5 more minutes until broccoli is heated through. Add creme cheese and mix to combine.

This next part can be done a couple of different ways. You can cut the pie crust circles into triangles to make the purses you see in the picture, or you can cut circles with a medium sized biscuit cutter. The latter is really easier. The purses are just traditional with us and what I'm used to doing.
1. Cut the crust in desired shape
2. Place a few fingers full of shredded cheese in the bottom of the wide end of the triangle (or in the middle of a circle)
3. Place about half a tablespoon of the filling on top of the cheese (You can play with the amount here. The key is to not have too much and rip the crust).
4. With your finger, dampen the edges of your shape with water from the small bowl.
5. For the triangles: fold the narrow end over the mixture to the wide end and seal; fold the sides over to the top and press to seal. Crimp the edge with a fork. For the circles: place another circle on top of the filling and crimp the edges with a fork.
6. Brush each pie with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse salt if desired, and bake (20 mins. for purses and 15 mins. for rounds).



I actually made both shapes this year; purses and rounds. It turned out that the rounds were more popular this time, which I was fine with since, like I said, they were actually easier to assemble. I got eight pies out of each round of crust doing the purses, and nine pies doing the circles. That number will vary depending on the size you cut. The whole assembly can be played with. Over the years I've used different cheeses; salt on top and no salt; pie crust and refrigerated crescent rolls. It all depends on your personal tastes. My oldest boy loves bread, so he likes any version that highlights the bread. The rest of us prefer the filling, so we like the rounds and the crescent roll dough as both of those are lighter on the bread. Play with it and find what you and your family like. After all, half the fun of trying other people's recipes is tweaking them to your own liking. Have fun and enjoy!

White Hot Chocolate

Happy New Year, All! I am resolving to create more recipes and do more blogging in 2012 (in between the arm and hand surgeries anyway). My first post this year is something I created for my husband. My sweet man does not care for sweets, particularly chocolate.....EXCEPT, white chocolate. He LOVES white chocolate. I make homemade cocoa every year around the holidays, and today (New Year's Day) I decided to make a hot cocoa that my husband would enjoy. It turns out, he loved it! So, without further ado, the recipe for my homemade White Hot Chocolate.

NOTE: I use nothing but the 4oz. Ghirardelli bars of chocolate for my cocoa. Always have, always will.

4 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2T. sugar
1t. cinnamon
1t. vanilla
4oz. white chocolate, chopped
4oz. milk chocolate, chopped

Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Begin whisking when chocolate starts to melt. Heat and whisk until everything is incorporated and cocoa is good and warm.

You can serve this any number of ways. Today, I placed a small white chocolate snowflake in the bottom of a cup, filled it with the cocoa, and topped it with whipped cream. A sprinkle of cinnamon might be nice too. However you like it. Enjoy!

I made these simply by melting white chocolate, then putting it in a squeeze bottle and filling a mold.

Brendilly's Banana Pancakes

This morning, my 5-year old granddaughter wanted pancakes for breakfast. We decided on banana pancakes and I set to work. Pancakes are a lot of fun because once you have the basics down, you can add just about anything to them and make them all kinds of different ways. Here for your enjoyment, is my latest rendition of the banana pancake.

Brendilly's Banana Pancakes
Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

1 C. Milk
3 T. Fresh Lemon Juice
2 cups White Whole-Wheat Flour
2 t. Baking Powder
1-1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon
1 t. Kosher Salt
1 t. Grated Lemon Zest
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1/4 C. Agave nectar
2 Eggs
1 t. Vanilla Extract
1 T. Torani caramel flavored syrup
4 Ripe Bananas, coarsely mashed (so you have banana lumps in your pancakes)

DIRECTIONS: In a bowl or quart measuring glass, pour lemon juice and milk, and let sit while you mix the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and cinnamon.
To the milk and lemon mixture add; sour cream, eggs, vanilla, Agave, and caramel syrup. Whisk until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.
Fold in the mashed banana.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet or on a griddle over medium-low heat (300 on an electric griddle). Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Batter will be thick, so spread the pancakes out a bit as your ladling. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with butter and maple syrup.








Pancake syrups abound on grocery store shelves, but for my money, there's no skimping on the real thing. For one thing, real maple syrup is typically not processed and therefore contains higher levels of potentially beneficial minerals including, copper, potassium, and calcium. Real maple syrup also has a higher antioxidant content than processed sugar, which is found in many of the counterfeit syrups. From what I understand, the body also assimilates pure maple syrup much slower than processed sweeteners, which translates to "better for you". One of the major differences between pure maple syrup and the others is taste. The real thing does taste different, like farm-fresh eggs or fresh cow's milk taste different than their processed counter-parts. Trust me though, it's good, and once you get used to it you won't want to go back. Give it a try......maybe on these yummy banana pancakes, and see what you think. :-)

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

Something fun to do with leftover pumpkin pie. Toss a couple of slices in a blender with 4-5 scoops of vanilla ice cream, 1t. vanilla, 2t. cinnamon, and 1c. milk. Whir until smooth. Pour into 1 tall or 2 medium-sized glasses.












Top with whipped cream, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a yummy and festive treat!

Pumpkin Pancakes

One of my favorite ways to celebrate fall is with pumpkin pancakes! I have searched far and wide for a good recipe and I think I may have finally come up with it. They're sweet, but not too sweet, and they have a definite pumpkininess. This batter is thick, so kind of spread it out a bit when you drop it onto the griddle or fry pan. Don't be tempted to thin it out. It's part of what makes these pancakes light and fluffy.

Serve with warm maple syrup for a true taste of fall! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups fat-free evaporated milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chocolate chips (if desired)


DIRECTIONS:
1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/3 cup for each pancake. Drop chocolate chips onto each pancake if desired. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Meximayo

I came up with a new concoction the other day when I was experimenting with a sandwich. I wanted the sandwich to have a mexican flavor so this is what I did:

1 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Mild Picante
Salt, pepper, and cumin to taste
Mix it all up in a bowl and spread it on the sandwich.

It was really good and the folks I was preparing it for liked it too. Just a little concoction I thought I'd share with you. :-)

Falling for Fall!!

Fall is right around the corner!!! Yay!! Our mornings here are already feeling like it and I'm SOOOO excited!! I LOVE fall. It's when I make my amazing Pumpkin Bread and Molasses Cookies. My crockpot also gets a lot of use this time of year as I fill it with homemade soups, stews, and our award-winning chili. My baby sister and I try to get together and go pumpkin hunting every fall. It's her favorite season as well. I just love the feeling in the air this time of year. I can't really put it into words, but it just feels cozy. Cool air wafting through the kitchen windows and mingling with the aroma of fresh baked bread or homemade chili on the stove. It's the time of year for cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. There's nothing like that cool air mixed with the smell of Pumpkin Bread in the oven! Mmmmmm!!!! :-)

I can't wait to share some of my favorite fall recipes with you......just as soon as I sneak in one more batch of peach jam. ;-)