Now that we have two Carols, I will say I am not the one making jelly. It has probably been 20 years since I made jelly and since we probably use 4 jars a year, I'm not likely to become a big jelly maker. I was, however, intrigued with the pepper jelly being made after Dawn said how good it was spread over cream cheese. Now I might like to spread that on something, so I will probably try growing a few habanaros next year and give that a shot. I have to jump in on the pie crust issue though. Mine may not be the "most perfect" piecrust in the world but it is very good and oh, so easy. I call the flour measurement (scant) because I probably use about a tablespoon less than the measurement. This will make a regular size double crust pie or two one crust pies if using those disposable pie pans. 2 cups (scant) all purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup cooking oil 1/4 cup buttermilk Mix the dry ingredients together then mix in the wet ones. This is soft crust and you can stir it with a spoon. When you have a big ball, put half between two sheets of waxed paper and roll it out. Lift the top sheet of paper to release it from the paper, then put it back on loosely. Lift the entire crust with both sheets still attached and turn it over on the counter. Your can pick it up by the back and it doesn't fall off (on this turn). Now release the second sheet the same way except DON'T put it back on. Now this is the hardest part. Put the pie plate close to you and lift the pie crust and paper together. You need to put your hands 2/3 of the way back on the crust (and bottom paper) and let the back 1/3 fall over the back of your hands and the 2/3 in front of you hands. It will still be attached to the paper, but only lightly, so put it onto the pan, paper side up and slowly release the paper from the crust after you have it all placed in the pan. If you get a hole in it, no problem, just patch. Make the edges pretty and it is ready to bake or use depending on the pie. One bowl, one spoon and the rolling pen never touched the dough. It is also oil which I feel is safer than shortening. I know, I know, it sounds too easy. I have been doing it this way for around 15 years and have not once made a different pie crust, except for fried pies and one dutch oven class. I sent pies to Uniroyal with my DH once and five people asked for the recipe. I carefully made five typed copies and sent back with him the next day. He said they had it at the copy machine making more copies last time he saw it. LOL I never, ever, use sugar in the crust, but for a two crust pie I mix a little cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle over the top crust just before it goes into the oven because it makes it pretty. When I make fried pies I use a recipe with an egg in it because I want the crust to be tough enough so the filling doesn't come out during cooking. I assume that was the reason for making that other crust recipe in the dutch oven because they wanted to be able to let it cool and lift the entire pie out using the parchment strips underneath the crust. Don't laugh until you try it. I will be very surprised if you don't like it.

Jasdip, I made 12 muffins from your recipe. Usually I make the jumbo size muffins and use a full recipe for only six gigantic, bakery size muffins. This time, I decided to go back to the smaller, regular muffins size. The muffins didn't crown the top of the muffin tin much, so maybe I should have made 8-10 rather than 12. No matter -- they taste really good. I had another one this morning, thawing it in the microwave. I used half butter & half applesauce. I'm not one to eliminate butter altogether. Also, I eliminated salt because of my husband's dietary restrictions. If I hadn't been making these muffins for the first time, I might have used a no-sodium baking soda product too. But I didn't want to risk ruining the muffins. I use a no-sodium baking powder for all my quick breads, and it works just fine. But I've had some trouble in the past with the sodium-free baking soda. I also used the lowest sodium of all the commercial buttermilks available at my local grocery stores. Donna, I may try your recipe next. As I've said before, I'm a sucker for bran muffins. I'm still hoping to replicate the wonderful flavor of the Van de Kamp's bran muffins of my childhood in Los Angeles. I loved them, but unfortunately, Van de Kamp's discontinued most of their bakery items years ago.

Wow! I never thought this post would turn into a discussion of baker's math! I think arley explained it well: "... the baker's percentage system, which considers all other ingredients as a percentage of the flour used." That's the starting point for the percentages -- whatever the amount of flour is (whether 1 cup or 1 pound) THAT will be the 100%. It's "Baker's Math" not arithmetic math. From "The Fresh Loaf" Website: "Math?! Yes! Professional bakers don't usually talk about recipes, but rather about formulas. Bread is all about proportions, and baker's math is a way of breaking down ingredients into these proportions so that you can scale up or down as needed. It also makes baking much easier because, once you understand the basic proportions, you can freely mix and match ingredients to invent all kinds of breads on your own. "It's not necessary to learn baker's math to bake good bread, of course, but it can expand your ability to mix and match ingredients and break free of recipes to create your own formulas. "In baker's math, every ingredient is expressed in terms of the flour weight, which is always expressed as 100 percent." Don't get me wrong. I don't use this method because my pipsqueak brain cannot handle it. But I can understand how this system would be helpful to professional bakers and also those "die-hard" home bakers that keep pushing the envelope on hydration, looking for the perfect artisan bread with both tons of hole & chewiness and adequate structure. Here is a link that might be useful: Baker's Math Article

I made these in 2-8 inch pans instead of 9x13. I froze one. Topped with lettuce,sour cream, onions, black olives etc. I don't use cilantro! Ground Beef Enchiladas Ingredients: For the Sauce: 1 large (29 oz) can tomato sauce 1/2 cup water 2 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. onion powder 1 bay leaf Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste For the Filling: 1 T. canola oil (or other flavorless oil) 1 medium onion, diced 1 poblano or green bell pepper, finely chopped 1 lb. lean ground beef 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup water 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 1 1/4 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 1 tsp. brown sugar 2 oz. cream cheese 10 to 12 flour tortillas (you may need more or less depending on the size) 1 to 2 cups cheese, shredded (Cheddar, Monterey Jack, etc.) Optional garnish: chopped cilantro Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, combine all of the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the filling. Discard the bay leaf before assembling the enchiladas.In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onion and poblano/green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften.Add the ground beef and garlic. Cook the beef until browned, breaking it up with a spatula or wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain off any accumulated fat.Add the water, cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and brown sugar to the beef mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until most of the water has been absorbed. Taste again, and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.Allow the beef mixture to cool slightly, then add the cream cheese. Stir to combine.To assemble the enchiladas, spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.Fill the tortillas with a little bit of the meat mixture.Place the tortillas seam-side down in the baking dish.Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas. (You may have a little more than you need.) Sprinkle cheese over the top of the enchiladas.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the enchiladas are bubbly and golden brown on top. Serve hot, topped with chopped cilantro, if desired. Sour cream,onions,etc