Homemade Refried Beans

From the kitchen of Holly Griess:

Pinto Beans

Start with a really big pan.  Take about 2-4 lbs of pinto beans and rinse in a colander and pick out rocks and dirt.  Pour cold water over them and soak them overnight. 2 parts water to 1 part beans because they will soak up the water.  If you are in a hurry, then bring water and bean mixture to a boil.  Put the lid on, turn off the heat and soak them until the beans have soaked up all the water and the beans have doubled in bulk (a couple of hours) 

After the beans have soaked, pour off the water then pour fresh water ove the beans and cover amply.  Bring beans to a boil, cook for 1/2 hour and then pour the water off.  Cover with fresh water. (This step degassifies the beans, and we all know how important that is so don't forget this step.  All friends and family will thank you!)  To this fresh water add 1 TBSP. oil, alot fo salt depending on how many beans you are cooking and 2 tsp. of chili flakes or chili peppers.  Cook until beans are tender.  Watch beans to make sure they don't dry out.  Keep them covered with water.  This can take an hour or two..  You should have a huge pan of beans and broth!

Now, this is the point where I divide them up into containers (about two cups per container) because these become the beans for my chili and for future refried beans.  Store in containers in the freezer.

Refried Beans

Take an iron skillet if you have one or just a frying pan will do but iron skillet is the best. put the warm pintos in the pan with broth and smash them up with a fork or other utensil.  Stir in a package of taco seasoning and cook for a bit then stir in a grated cheddar or monterrey cheese or both--whatever!  Serve these in chapattis, burritos, or eat them straight out of the pan--they are better than the canned beans anyday!!!

I will post the homemade burrito recipe soon!

Granola!

I got a great recipe from Holly for granola. We use this treat alot--sprinkled on yogurt, or covered in milk with blueberries, bananas and strawberries for cereal-It is YUM!  I make it probably once a month or once every other month and keep it stored in an air tight container. Joey takes it to work, the kids eat it for snack. It's defintely a fave!

Dry Ingredients:

7 cups of old fashioned oatmeal (I buy the 42 oz. container "Great Value" from Walmart)

1 1/4 cup wheat germ

1 1/4 cup coconut

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (I use walnuts but I am sure pecans would work too/ I get the big bag of walnuts from Sams)

1 cup ground flax seed

1 tsp salt

you can also add 1 cup of lechithin ( But I haven't been able to find this yet)

Combine all dry ingredients in big bowl and stir.

In separate bowl combine these liquid ingredients:

2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup canola oil

Slowly add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together with a spoon.

Place in a large pan. I use a 9x13 baking pan.

Bake at 250 for 1 1/2 hours stirring after each 1/2 hour.

Add 1/2 cups raisins and/or 1/2 cup craisins (chopped) the last 1/2 hour of baking.

Amanda's Lentil Soup

As Joey and I have tried to implement healthy eating in our house we have tried to cut back on our intake of red meat.  To do this, I have been cooking up recipes that have no meat at all.  This is a great " All Vegetable" meal that our entire family makes.  It makes a lot and so I usually freeze half of it for another night.  So without further adieu--

Amanda's Lentil Soup Recipe

1 1lb package of green lentils

1 pkg carrots chopped

1 pkg celery chopped

2 large leeks finely chopped (white part only)

1 large yellow onion chopped

2 TBSP olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper

1 can tomato paste

2 tsp salt

3 quarts chicken stock

1. Pour lentils in a bowl and cover with boiling water.

2. Heat olive oil in large saucepan big enough for whole soup.

3. Add garlic, leeks, and onion. Saute' until transluscent (about 15 min).

4. Add carrots, celery, cumin, thyme, salt, and pepper. Saute' another 20 min, stirring frequently.

5. Add chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover.

6. Bring to a boil

7. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for  one hour.

Michael's Groom Cake and the Wedding!

Cake Transportation Day was a complete success and a relay race! We headed with cakes in coolers to Gardendale to meet Aunt Frankie and Emily. Joey, the kids and I were able to meet in Birmingham with some friends we have not seen in at least 8 years so. This made the transporting a bit complicated but only for a few moments. I was, at the last moment, hopefully going to meet Mom T. in Birmingham, but our schedules were all packed and Aunt Frankie came to the rescue! I did have a sinking feeling as the cakes were leaving my care. Will they thaw before they get to the Thompson's? Is it okay that they are standing on their sides in the cooler? Will Uncle Billy eat the cakes? (just kidding) There were no problems and the relay began. Frankie passed the cakes to Billy and Billy took them to Mom T. There they were stored in the deep freezer until Friday.

Friday was fun! Joey and Mom T. are seen here leveling the cakes. We cut and cut and cut and iced and iced and iced.

Mom T and Pop surprised me with a new mixer and it's a fancy one! I was thrilled! Look at me mixing!

This cake thing was a family affair for sure. David came over and provided encouragement like "You know its going down the toilet in three days, right?" He was also key in assisting Joey with the math needed for this operation.

At the end of Friday, the layers were iced. It took all day.

But the results were worth it! On Saturday morning I glazed it with the ganache' and placed the "A" on top. It broke in half, but that's the great thing about fondant. I just smoothed it back together and it was as good as almost new. My sister-in-law, Tammy, offered the final piece to the cake. "How about strawberries!" Fantastic! That was the final decoration that would bring it all together. Thanks Tammy!

Dad and Joey crafted a box that would be used to transport the cake to the wedding and voila! Which was also quite a little project but good thing Dad used to work at a moving company in his younger years (who knew). We drove the cake to the wedding (about 45 minutes away) and put it in place. I arranged the strawberries on site. WHEW! It was done!

The rest was just enjoying being with family and hoping that when they cut into the cake it would be eatable.

It rained all day but come wedding time everything dried out and the weather was beautiful. Here, my niece, Ashley and my brother-in-law Kenny are riding in on a horse and carriage. Gorgeous!

My nieces, Kayla and Eryne, were exquisite. Eryne was the maid of honor and she sang two songs beautifully. Prior to the wedding, she fell and really banged up her knees. She had been in braces all week but you could not tell today, she was a real trooper.

Rarely do we get a picture together just the two of us.

My beautiful family! Angie (my sister in law), Ashley, her husband, Michael, and Kenny (my brother in law)

Goodbye cake! It actually tasted great! Thanks again, Selinda, for giving me this fabulous recipe!

The wedding was beautiful. It was a great time to just be family. Truly a treasure!

I could not have done it alone and so I would like to give a special thanks to:

Recipe Contributors:
Selinda (cake)
Leigh (fondant)
Wiliton's

Cake Advisor Committee:
Selinda
Janett
Mom T.
Joey

Special Listeners and Sounding Boards:
Amanda
Cindy
Leah
Tammie
Mom T.
and all the ladies at Southside who listened to me go on and on about this cake

Deep Freeze Committee:
Traci
Jason
Mom T.

Cake Transporting Team:
Frankie
Emily
Billy
Mom T.
Joey

Cake Cutting Team and Math Geniuses:
Joey
David

Box Making Specialist:
Dad
Joey

Taste Testers:
The Clement Family
Pop and Mom T. (thank you also for the mixer)

Last Minute Ideas Committee:
Tammy T.

Staying Away from the Cake Committee:
Andrew and Alora

Encouragers:
Thanks to all my friends who read the blog and who support me with your phone calls, comments, texts, emails, etc. etc. etc.

Thanks to all of my family!

And a special thank you to my dear mother in law: I could not have done it without you!

Another special thank you to my fabulous husband: I could not have done it without you!

In the Kitchen With Alora-Strawberry Delight!

When Alora goes to Meemaw's house, she and cousin, Abby have a blast in the kitchen. These two are the masters of kitchen concoctions! The last time we were there, the two chefs came up with a sweet treat that has become a family fave!

Strawberry Wafer Surprise

Needed:

1. 
   
   Vanilla Wafers,
2. 
   
   Strawberries (sliced),
3. 
   
   Cool Whip
4. 
   
   Confectioners sugar for that extra sweet punch.

• 
  
  Take the wafers and spread some cool whip on top.
• 
  
  Place a slice of strawberry on top of that and pop it in your mouth.

Optional- you can even sprinkle a little confectioners sugar on top of the slice of strawberry for added sweetness. We even enjoy making double and triple deckers. A simple and tasty snack! Way to go, Chef Alora!

Eryne's Wedding Cake!

Last weekend was wedding weekend. Eryne, my niece, married her sweetheart, Josh. It was a very beautiful wedding and they were so happy. I left for Pell City on Wednesday and prepared for a lot of work. Meemaw and I had our work cut out for us. The reception was a dessert reception and she was in charge of making punch bowl cakes and cake balls while I would be making the bride's cake. We also were on the decorating committee.

On Tuesday before I left, I baked all of the cakes. Two rectangular cakes to feed 200 guests and one 8' round cake to feed the bride and groom. The other 3 8' round cakes would be made of cardboard (for display only). On Wednesday I headed to Pell City and straight to Brittney's freezer! Thanks, B, for letting me use use your facilities! I did not pull them out again until Friday. Wednesday was a long day; we spent all day dipping cake balls. Thursday was spent working on the cardboard cakes and decorating. We finished that night around midnight!

Friday was assembly day and I have to say, I was pleased with the results. The cake recipe actually came from some fun stuff I got while I was in Texas. I was talking to Jennifer and Ms. Didi while I was visiting with them and she gave me some helpful hints on baking cakes. I used the recipe for cake and icing that she gave me and it turned out fabulous. I received many compliments at the wedding--Thanks Didi! This was my first attempt at free hand scrolling and it turned out pretty well.

I called Joey during the day a few times to just release the tension. I really don't have a clue what I am doing so it helps me a lot to talk it through with him. He was not planning on coming to town until the wedding on Saturday so I was on my own. Around 4pm, I took a break from decorating and had my hair cut at the hair salon. Note to self: Never get a hair cut while stressed out over cakes. I had him cut off about 6inches! It was totally a stress cut and now I have hair that is above my shoulders. Around 8pm, Joey called and said, to my surprise, that he was on his way! Yeah! He got there about 10pm and went straight to work! It's funny how at around 9:50 I got to a point with the cakes that I just couldn't handle on my own. It was a job for "SUPER HUSBAND"!

What a team! At 12:15 ish we were finally finished and headed to my mom and dad's house for some quick sleep before being back to transport cakes, ferns and such to the wedding at 8:30am Saturday morning.

And here are the results. Yep, those are fake cakes! Each one of them cardboard, covered in buttercream icing and then covered in fondant. I hand-scrolled each one and then covered them with a ribbon at the base to cover the cardboard base and then a flower went on top of two and a large "G" on the middle one.

Eryne loved it and that is what was important to me! She was so surprised at her table and thanked me repeatedly. I am so glad that it was what she wanted. Whew!

That one they are cutting is real! Just so you don't think they ate cardboard!

Once the cakes were delivered it was time to just enjoy the wedding with family and friends.


Meemaw and Poppie looked very snazzy!


Kayla was a dazzling bridesmaid!


Ashley was also gorgeous in the red Greek goddess dresses!


Well, two of their babies are married. I cannot imagine what it is like to have your two oldest girls get married within a month of each other. Kayla--Don't even think about it! You are not to get married for at least 10 years! Kenney and Angie were an absolutely beautiful mother and father of the bride!

Congratulations, Eryne and Josh! We wish the best for you.

Andrew's NXT Cake!

Cindy's Icing!

On my birthday my friend, Cindy, made me a fabulous strawberry cake and it is definitely worthy of a serious "SHOUTOUT". Have you ever tasted something soooo good only to find out that it is the most simple recipe ever. "Why didn't I think about that?" runs through your head. This is one of those moments. At least it was that way for me when she told me how she made this delicious treat. Well, I have company coming and it was time to try it out. It was sooooo easy that I just had to pass it along to you!

I baked a strawberry cake (Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, etc. is fine). It is the icing that is the kicker! You beat 1 box of confectioner's sugar with 1 stick of butter and then gradually add fresh strawberries starting with 1/3 cup. That's it! As you add the strawberries, the juice permeates the entire batch of icing giving it a fabulous, and fresh summer strawberry taste. It can get runny so be careful but if you gradually add the berries until you are satisfied you should be okay. I don't even know how many I added but it was less than a cup. TADA! Delicious strawberry dessert. I added the strawberry fan, that I learned from Pampered Chef, just to give it the decorator's touch.

Cindy and I think that the icing would probably be good over white cake or even chocolate cake, if you like the taste of chocolate and strawberries. I have visions of choco. dipped strawberries for decorations around the top and base. If you want to be fancy! The cake is an A+ on simple and satisfying! Thanks, Chef Cindy!

Skyler's Swimming Cake and Lady Bug Baby Shower!

In the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to make a birthday cake for a friend and a baby shower cake for another friend. I only post these pics to say, "If I can do it, so can you!" I haven't had any lessons, I' am just a big copy cat! I surf the internet find a pic and make it up in hopes of creating something that looks kind of-sorta like the original. I get real picky because I am such an amateur and I always see alot of flaws but I am trying to get over that. After all, I am not charging some outlandish professional fee. Nope, these are cheap cakes! Its fun but I won't lie, my imperfections stress me out.

I really do want to take some lessons soon and hope that it will be possible in the near future, cause, to be honest, I can't make a rose, at all. Not even anything that remotely looks like a rose and I am pretty sure that making a rose is like cake decorating 101. I also can't make the shell border that is like a cake making standard-I just make up borders and hope people don't look that closely.

This first cake is a pool in case you can't tell. My young friend swims on the swim team and so I tried to make it look like lanes at a swim meet. He is winning and these other two guys are close behind. Their even wearing little speedos! Haha! They are made out of fondant, so completely edible.

The picture of this one really makes it look better than I thought it did. I had thin spots in the icing in a couple of places that really frustrated me but after its been in the fridge it is too late to do repairs so you just have to live with it. The baby's nursery is all decorated in ladybugs so I found a picture like this on the internet and just had to try. Again the bug and spots are made out of fondant and I left circle cutting on the lady bug up to my fabulous husband. He is more precise than I would ever be. He used a small plate to get the bug perfectly circular. The spots I made with a candy thermometer tube that was just the right size for punching out circles. It's amazing what you find in your kitchen to use on these cakes.

Looks like I have another groom's cake coming up in January, so my wheels will begin to spin about that one soon. I hope this inspires some of you amateurs out there. Seriously, if I can do it, a mere "Ace of Cakes want-to-be", then you can too! Its fun, a little stressful but fun and you can do it. Also, your family will love you for all of the practice cakes you will try out on them!

Alora's Seven Cake! Little Pony Theme!

We had BIG plans for Alora's birthday this year! When Andrew turned five, we took him to the beach to celebrate his birthday and this would be Alora's year to go for hers. Have I mentioned I love homeschooling! This was our Fall Break week and so we headed down to pick up my parents and drop off Cookie to be boarded on Wednesday. I looked all over the internet trying to find a bakery in Gulf Shores with no success. So, I planned to pick up a cake from Edgar's Bakery close to my parents and just have cake before we left this year since everything was going to be so hectic with packing and getting ready. When I asked Alora what she really wanted on her cake, I decided I was going to have to make it--or pay a ton of money at Edgar's! I began the cake process at about 9pm on Tuesday night. What a mother will do for her kids!
She couldn't decide between a cake and cupcakes so I made both-one three tiered cake and one cupcake. The three tiers was my idea not hers. I just like it with some height. It really was a small three tier cake the pic makes it look a lot bigger. Granny sent me pans (all sizes) a while back and I am lovin' em! Alora LOVED the finished product and that is what counts.

I added some ponies because Alora loves My Little Ponies.So my baby is 7 now!!! It's crazy! How did this happen? I am grateful for all that God has blessed us with in Alora. She has such a tender heart toward the Lord. She is memorizing His Word and loves to talk to Him. She prays the sweetest prayers. She is girly and loves glitter but at the same time she would beat you to the top of a tree any day! She loves digging for worms and wearing pink while she does it! Basketball and barrettes, Soccer and Snacks. Singing and Racing. Animals and Piano. She is truly a blessing to our family. Happy Birthday, Alora-LuLu-Wheezy-Ali Noel Thompson. We love you bunches!

Squirrel Cake For Spencer!

One squirrel cake coming up!

Complete with acorns, tree and leaves.

And with the leftover batter and icing--we made fall cupcakes. The kids really came up with some awesome designs.

Birthday Cakes in Red!

An American Girl Cake!

It seems like forever since I have made a cake! Bethany, a sweet friend of ours had a birthday and she received a special treat this year- a trip to the American Girl store in Atlanta! She was so excited and her trip became the inspiration for her homemade birthday cake.

We had a little surprise shindig at our house. The cake was chocolate on chocolate and decorated with buttercream icing. It was very sweet but quite delicious!

Happy Birthday, Bethany!

A Fall Wedding Shower Cake

I finally figured out how to upload my pictures from my Blackberry to my computer so I can retrieve some photo that I took. Yes, I have had the phone since July! I just have no confidence with electronic devices, but as of recent, I am out to figure it out myself. A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of making another cake for a special occasion. A Bridal Shower!

The decor and theme for the wedding is fall and so I had to come up with a fall cake. I surfed the internet and just couldn't find the perfect combo of "fall" and "classy" and "attainable" that I wanted so as usual, I took multiple pictures and laid them out side by side and went to work making stuff up.

This is the first time I actually didn't cringe when I presented the cake.
Most times I can see every crack and crevice in my work and strategically turn the cake hoping people won't notice, but not with this one! It actually did exactly what I wanted. (except I wasn't perfectly pleased with the way I wrote their initials; should have been curlier but it wasn't happening and I gave up) The fondant turned out with the perfect consistency for the first time since I started baking cakes!
What was different?
I decided to follow the directions!!! HA! Funny how that works.
That is not chocolate icing, by the way, I colored it with so many colors trying to make brown that I will never reproduce that color again! It was a great shade of brown, too bad I don't have a formula of how to achieve it again.
I am looking forward to one more wedding occasion cake in the future--my brother's groom's cake!
Could there be a more important one?!?
Sigh.