Beef Stroganoff

One of my (very many) favorite meals for Winter.  My only complaint:  I ALWAYS overcook the beef.  It really only needs to cook for 5 minutes, and I never get the timing quite right.  Still, a problem with my timing, not the recipe.

It only takes a half hour to make, including time to slice the onions, mushrooms, and steak. 

Apple Pie

The classic... best if it's not too sweet and, ideally, served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Short of that, good at room temperature, too.  (On a technical note, I'm in love with my new camera.  That photo was taken without a flash and in crappy lighting conditions-- just our dining room overhead light and one lamp.)

Double Pie Crust (again)

I've written about how to make a pie crust before, but here's a slightly easier way to do it.  With better pictures.

The crust is rolled out between a folded-over sheet of waxed paper idea (SO much easier, and it means that your rolling pin doesn't get all sticky.)  The wax paper idea is from an episode of Good Eats.  

Hot cocoa

It snowed over the weekend!  Yes, I'm only writing about it now.  In the meantime, I finished my Christmas shopping AND addressed my Christmas cards.  So I haven't been completely slacking off.  Anyway, it was a good excuse to cook up some hot cocoa on the stove...

Adapted from my mom, who uses what turns out to be the exact recipe on the side of a box of Hershey's cocoa powder.  A surprising number of our old family recipes come from packaging. 

Bacon corn bread

This was a very rich corn bread; plus, bacon makes everything better!  This is crunchier and less dense than the last corn bread I made.  The outside edges are cooked in bacon fat, and as such are delicious.  Next time, I'll crumble the bacon into smaller pieces to get more bacon throughout instead of fewer, larger pieces.

Adapted, as ever, from How to Cook Everything.