Coco's Ooohy Goohy Cake

So I was pretty excited because this last weekend I had reason to make our cousin Coco's FAMOUS Ooohy Goohy Cake. It goes without saying that you never need a reason for cake, but I do feel a little, teeny tiny bit of shame baking up a full 9x13 for just the three of us. I need to get over it. Anyway, my excuse came in the form of a Forest Service Archaeologist Work BBQ! Doesn't that sound fun!? Well, it was even cooler, and weirder than it sounds. I wish I had been brave enough to snap photos of the goings on. Jacob may have the coolest boss on planet Earth. The BBQ was at said bosses house. A collector of bizarre hats, one each was handed out to the party goers and we continued to trade off throughout the day. Finn played with his daughter, who, as the daughter of a single male archaeologist had a room that made Finn's blush with shame. She had boxes of dinosaurs, Indiana Jones figurines, a knee high Godzilla and a knee high King Kong, a terrarium with TWO real live lizards...on and on. Finn cried for an hour after we left. Aside from the cool stuff in her room they also played: dinosaur hunters (in the back yard with squirt guns), attack of the mummy, and (with the aid of a super creepy ware-wolf mask) attack of the ware-wolf. They got everyone in on the action, and one poor girl almost got pantsed and had her shirt ripped off at the same time in the kid's excitement.

Anyway, in case you have forgotten about the simple easy glory that is the Ooohy Goohy Cake, you can find it HERE.

Hash-brown Casserole

After our first trip to New Mexico, Finn and I became pretty huge fans of the Cracker Barrel breakfast.  Our hotel of choice when we visit NM is right next door to a Cracker Barrel, and we met my dad there for breakfast every morning of that trip before we headed over to Grandma's house. My favorite things there are the cinnamon apples, and of course the hash brown casserole. Here is my make at home version. Stand by with defibrillator. (I feel like I say that a lot...)

Ingredients:

- 5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
- 1/4 Kielbasa Sausage (optional), cubed
- 1/4 onion diced

for the cheese sauce:
- 2 tablespoons (unsalted) butter
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup milk (2% or whole)
- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
I have an 8x6 in casserole that my sister in law gave to me. It came in a set of three from Crate and Barrel. If you have something that size get it out and have it ready for assembly.
Begin by boiling the potatoes until just tender, as they will continue to cook in the oven. While your potatoes are cooking you can prep your cheeses and start your kielbasa (optional) and onion on a skillet over medium high heat. Cook until the kielbasa is caramelized and your onion is as tender as you like it. Set aside until cheese sauce is done and you are ready to assemble.

For the cheese sauce: melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the corn starch and salt and pepper to taste (remember: your cheese will be very salty). Stir together, a paste should form quickly. Add in the cream and milk and stir regularly until mixture comes to a boil. Allow to boil for about a minute, then add in your cheese, reserving some to top casserole once assembled. Stir cheese until just melted and remove from heat.
Once your potatoes, kielbasa, onion, and cheese sauce are done you are ready to assemble.

Add potatoes and kielbasa/onions to dish first and gently mix. Then add cheese sauce and gently mix once again.
(If you are making this the night before this is the point where you would cover with plastic wrap or tin foil and keep in fridge until next morning.)

Pop dish in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, then top with cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly. Eat.

Chili, Garlic and Lemon Hasselback Potatoes

A really easy and fun way to eat everyones favorite vegetable. You can peel your potatoes or leave the skin on.

Ingredients:

- Yukon Gold Potatoes (enough for 1 or 2 per person, depending on size)
- olive oil
- Salt and fresh ground Pepper
- Red Chili Flakes
- fresh Lemon for juice
- Garlic Powder
- butter
- Fresh Parsley

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425˚

Cut your potatoes. One option recommended by my favorite food blogger at Sea Salt with Food is to: "place the potato on a wooden spoon, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato and cut all the way until the knife touches the spoon, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals." Or you can do like me and just free hand it. When my knife skills let me down and I cut all the way through, I found that a tooth pick worked perfectly to reattach the potato and held up through the roasting process. See photo below.

Arrange the potatoes on a baking tray. Brush the top of each potato with olive oil and/ or butter, and sprinkle desired seasonings over top.

Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft. Top with more butter and fresh parsley if desired.

Deep Dish Caramel Apple Pie

Cook time: eh, maybe like 3 hours including prep.
Serves: At least one

Ingredients:

- Pie crust for double crust pie (find recipe HERE)
- 8 to 10 apples pealed, cored, and thinly sliced

• - 1 cup sugar
• - 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• - 1/2 teaspoon salt
• - Juice of 1/2 lemon
• - 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• - 1 large egg
• - Caramel sauce, recipe follows:
• • - 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • - 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • - 4 tablespoons heavy cream (or 2 tablespoons whole / 2% milk, and 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk)
  • 
    
  Caramel Sauce directions: In a small saucepan combine brown sugar, butter and cream. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve to layer with apples.

  
  

  Directions:

  Roll out one pie crust and place in a 9 inch deep dish pie tin. Refrigerate crust until ready to fill. Combine sliced apples with the sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice in a large bowl. Beat together the cream and egg to make a glaze to brush over the edges and top of the crust. Mound the apple filling in the pie shell, layering with the caramel sauce. It will be quite full. 

  

  
  

  

  Roll out the remaining dough to a large round about 1/8'' thick. Place over the filling a seal the edges together by gently pressing together. Trim any excess dough and flute the edges. Brush the top with the egg glaze. Using a  knife, cut 5 or 6 slits in a spoke pattern beginning 1/2-inch from the center  and ending 1/2-inch from the outside edge. You can bake off right away, or chill for up to 30 minutes before baking to re-chill the pie crust.

  
  

  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet and bake 10 - 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and continue baking until the juice visible becomes thick and bubbly, about 1 hour (if the edges are browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil). Cool on a rack at room temp for at least one hour before serving 
  

  to allow the fruit pectin to gel and set; otherwise the pie will fall apart when you cut into it.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

Peach Cobbler (Easy and Yummy)

Prep + Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

- 4 ripe peaches, sliced
- 1 loose packed cup brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes

for the topping:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk (2% or whole)
- 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a small oven safe dish or casserole (I used a 4x7 casserole). Scatter the 2 tablespoons cold butter over top. Bake for 20 minutes, until peaches are tender and caramelized.

While peaches are cooking assemble topping. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Mix together milk and egg, and add to flour mixture. Add in oats and cubed butter. Mix until JUST combined, being careful not to warm or break down the cubes of butter.

When peaches are ready add large dollops to the top, and return to oven for an additional 15 minutes, until topping is golden and cooked through.

Eat for breakfast with Hash-brown Casserole, or eat for dessert with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.