No-work, non-dairy all-delish cherry turnovers!

These are so good that my kids licked the plate afterwards! It has been so long since I've had turnovers, and I really miss that flaky, sweet, spicy goodness. Most turnovers are made with butter in the crust, and I haven't yet pulled together the motivation to try to make my own pastry dough with margarine.

But guess what? I discovered that Pillsbury Crescent dough is dairy-free! And guess what else? They have new dough SHEETS. One big roll of crescent dough in an un-perforated sheet! You can use them as pockets, cups, triangles, whatever. And NO BUTTER! :::swoon:::

Of course, I was immediately inspired to make turnovers. I had a bowl of fresh, pitted cherries in the fridge, which were tossed with brown sugar and cinnamon, quickly nestled into little folded triangles of dough and dotted on top with raw sugar, baked for 15 minutes and then devoured!

Nom-nom-nom-nomnomnomnom. Mmmmmm. Smile.

Here's the recipe (it's so easy, can it even be called that?)

Cherry Turnovers

2 cups fresh, pitted cherries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pkg Pillsbury Crescent Sheets dough
1/4 cup raw sugar

Toss cherries with brown sugar and cinnamon to coat. Unroll dough and cut into squares (I cut them at about four inches each). Stretch each square slightly, then spoon just enough cherries to cover 1/2 the square. Fold one corner across the cherries diagonally to form a triangle and pinch the edges closed. Sprinkle raw sugar over the top. Repeat with remaining squares of dough. Secretly eat the leftover cherry mixture in the bowl before someone else notices. Place the turnovers on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until light brown. Enjoy!

Supper in a Dish

Oy, I've been away a long while!

All of a sudden, I'm inspired to return to my blog and share with you some household disasters, or potential disasters if they were to be fulfilled. Let's start with this cookbook, "The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients" (from which I will not cook, soon you will see why).

At first I thought this book could really have potential in my kitchen. I'm often thwarted from cooking gourmet meals that impress my family and make me the envy of my friends because of my limited pantry space (well, usually I just want to fix something quick and edible).

Instead of feeling inspired, I found myself reliving the horror of the church potluck picnics of my childhood upon flipping through this book. The recipes seem to be compiled from 1970s women's magazines -- odd combinations of cubed ham, seasoning packets, cans of cream soups and an occasional bag of frozen vegetables.

For example:

Smothered Steak: 1 large round steak; 1 can golden mushroom soup; 1 envelope dry onion soup mix; 2/3 cup milk.

or Chicken Broccoli Skillet: 3 cups cubed, cooked chicken; 1 package frozen broccoli florets; 1 package Velveeta cheese, cubed; 2/3 cup mayonnaise.

or Tuna Toast... oh never mind.

I did catch them cheating on the four-ingredient rule:

Curried Red Snapper: 1 1/2 pounds fresh red snapper; 2 medium onions, chopped; 2 celery ribs; chopped; 1 teaspoon curry powder; 1/4 cup milk. A-HA! FIVE ingredients!

There were other cheating recipes, and some real doozy desserts, but I'll spare you the gory details.

Lastly, the recipe that made me throw up a little in my mouth:

Supper in a Dish: 2 bags instant rice in a bag; 1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked ham; 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese; 1 can green peas. Sounds wonderful, super easy and perfect for busy weeknights... NOT!

If you're planning a 70s Throwback-Potluck-Barbeque, this is the perfect cookbook for you! Want it?

Sewing lessons and clothespins capers

Thank goodness for that rare, long baby nap!

Yesterday, while Baby C was taking one of his long naps to recover from an outing (after we had a shopping misadventure at the children's resale shop... more on that later), I decided to sew up a clothespin bag for my outdoor clothesline. Desperate times call for crafty solutions, and I had scored the last package of clothespins at the 99-Cent Store (there was a run on the clothespins while we were there, with three other customers and two employees involved, racing around the store to find them--who got to them first? My smart but rambling grandmother-in-law!)

Anyways, with Grandma watching intently, I got out some fabric, and tried to wing it through a clothespin bag, which I immediately screwed up. She asked, "What are you trying to make?" I told her, then she quietly came over and showed me how.

Man, I love her!

Food Processor Lesson #642

Very important to remember: when incorporating liquid to a mixture in the food processor, add the liquid last, not first. For example, when chopping up frozen berries for sorbet, it is best to process down the berries first then add in the water slowly. Filling the processor bowl with two cups of water and one cup of frozen mixed berries, then turning it on, will result in pink water spewing out of every crack of the food processor all over the machine, kitchen counter and your clothes.

Better yet, for this type of recipe, use the blender.

In thanks for reading this blog, I will share the recipe that taught me this lesson, created by yours truly.

Lemon-Berry Sorbet
Created by Your Incompetent Hostess

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup lemonade concentrate
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup sugar

Combine berries with lemonade concentrate in food processor or blender. Chop until smooth. Slowly add in water and sugar. Transfer mixture to ice cream maker. Turn on ice cream maker, for about 25 minutes until mixture is frozen to consistency of soft-serve. Eat immediately. Delicious with a little vodka mixed in at a "Girls' Night In" party (as I was told).

All-Day Bread

A new recipe I perfected this week:

Around 9 am, take an excellent recipe like this one for Oatmeal Sandwich Bread. Load all the ingredients in the bread machine pan (don't leave anything out! whew!). Place the bread machine pan in the bread machine. Set the bread machine cycle to "Dough."

About an hour later, wonder how the bread is doing. Run back to the kitchen and look in the bread machine to find a bubbling mass and notice that you did not yet turn the machine on. Turn machine on.

When the buzzer sounds the end of the rising cycle, open the cover and notice that the bread didn't rise. Warm the oven slightly, place the dough in a bread pan, put the pan in the warm oven and cross your fingers.

Entertain a friend who has stopped by while your dough hangs out in the pan for an extra long period of time in the oven, not rising. Just before the end of the rising time, get ready to leave the house. Ask friend how to rescue this poor loaf that now needs to bake but can't start yet because you have to go pick up a child from school and can't leave the house with the oven on. Friend advises putting the bread outside where it is chilly so that the yeast growth is arrested. Follow her advice and go pick up child.

When arriving back at the house, surmise that you can warm it back up and maybe help it rise a little more by putting back in a warm oven. After another 30 minutes in warm oven, give up and bake the bread according to the original instructions. By dinnertime, remove bread from oven and present it to family as Dense Oatmeal Toasting Loaf for breakfast the next morning.