An Update of Paprika, Pepperplate and other Cookbook-Recipe Apps

Once upon a time I was trying to find a recipe I knew my grandmother had sent me in an email. I thought I'd saved it in a Pages doc somewhere, or maybe it was still in Gmail, or on an archive disk. Or maybe ... As I dug through my computer files, I realized I had at least a dozen folders of bookmarks with Must Try or Recommended recipes, eats I never remembered when I was doing my bi-monthly meal planning. I needed a way to keep my cyber-recipes organized and all in one place. Obviously my Pages doc wasn't working for me anymore. So off to Google I went, in search of anything that could help me organize this culinary mess.

One of my new favorites: Cauliflower Pizza Crust!

About the same time I got my first tablet, a little Android thing for Mother's Day that broke in the first few weeks. But I discovered Pepperplate had an app as well as online recipe box. I set it up, and continued to use it with my inherited-from-my-son first gen iPad, and then with my current iPad Mini. I had to do most of my organizing via my MacBook Pro, however, for the simple reason that Pepperplate's app doesn't allow you to add recipes. An annoyance I could work around, although it slowly grew more and more annoying. If only they'd make a few changes to the app! But Pepperplate hadn't had an update for their app in a long time, if ever, and the service is free. Would it disappear from cyberspace, taking all my recipes with it? What other options did I have? So I did what any OCD pregnant lady would do, and started looking.

Some of the main players I discovered are Yummly, Allrecipes, Evernote Food (or something like that - I'm not into the whole Evernote world), BigOven, Pepperplate and Paprika. I have specific needs and wants for a recipe organizer, so while I downloaded Allrecipes and Yummly, I didn't really play with them very much. They don't meet the minimum requirements of: Must be able to add my own recipes/edit the recipes I keep, Must have a meal-planning feature, Must be available offline because, believe it or not, I'm not always connected to the internet. I actually really liked Yummly and Allrecipes for finding new meals, so I'll probably keep them around, but they won't be my go-to apps for cooking or meal planning (and I could just as easily browse their websites so when my iPad is full, they'll go bye-bye).

I posted earlier, my initial thoughts. Now my update: I am still using Paprika, have not looked at Pepeprplate once and deleted the rest off my devices! Paprika wins!

Paprika: My New Cooking BFF (as compared with Pepperplate, BigOven, Yummly, Allrecipes, etc.)

Once upon a time I was trying to find a recipe I *knew* my grandmother had sent me in an email, and I *thought* I'd saved it in a Pages doc somewhere, or maybe it was still in Gmail, or on an archive disk. Or maybe ... Plus I had at least a dozen folders of bookmarks with Must Try or Recommended recipes, eats I never remembered when I was doing my bi-monthly meal planning. I needed a way to keep my cyber-recipes organized and all in one place. Google to the rescue! 

About the same time I got my first tablet, a little Android thing for Mother's Day that broke in the first few weeks. But not before I discovered that one of the sites for collecting recipes also had an app. Bonus! I ended up downloading and using Pepperplate, and continued to use it with my inherited-from-my-son first gen iPad, and my current iPad Mini. I continued to do most of my organizing via my MacBook Pro, however, for the simple reason that Pepperplate's app doesn't allow you to add recipes. An annoyance I could work around, though it grew annoying. If only they'd make a few changes to the app! But then I started to worry. Pepperplate hadn't had an update for their app in a long time, if ever, and the service is free. Would it disappear from cyberspace, taking all my recipes with it? What other options did I have? So I did what any OCD pregnant lady would do, and started looking.

Some of the main players are Yummly, Allrecipes, Evernote Food (or something like that - I'm not into the whole Evernote world), BigOven, Pepperplate and Paprika. I have specific needs and wants for a recipe organizer, so while I downloaded Allrecipes and Yummly, I didn't really play with them very much. They don't meet the minimum requirements of: Must be able to add my own recipes/edit the recipes I keep, Must have a meal-planning feature, Must be available offline because, believe it or not, I'm not always connected to the internet. I actually really liked Yummly and Allrecipes for finding new meals, so I'll probably keep them around, but they won't be my go-to apps for cooking or meal planning (and I could just as easily browse their websites so when my iPad is full, they'll go).

The three that did meet my stringent and demanding specifications (ha) I'll look at in-depth below.

1. Bigoven

Cost: $20/each and every year forever (assuming the price never goes up!)

What I like: 

• The meal planner at first glance is awesome! I can drag-and-drop meals to reschedule them, and it will even integrate the weather forecast, so I don't go planning a dinner of grilled pork chops when it's going to rain.
• I also like that I can check off items I already have before adding them to the grocery list.
• I can add recipes from supported sites with one click. Smooth and quick.
• The built-in recipes look yummy, and the "use leftovers" function is sweet.

What I don't like:

• Adding items to the menu involves a scroll-wheel-thing, which doesn't work well with my visual mind.
• There's a definite limit to supported websites, and adding recipes from non-supported sites is a pain in the arse.
• Not all that intuitive to use and I'm not fond of the colors/weirdness.
• Ads, ads, everywhere ads! Blech!!! Look at the screen shot above. It's crazy!
• And the cost to get rid of ads, have unlimited recipes, etc. is truly absurd in the app world. I mean, $20 a year? Every year? Forever?

2. Pepperplate

Cost: Free!!

What I like:

• The grocery shopping list is quite intuitive, and I can move aisles around to match my store. They don't always *stay* moved around, mind you, but in theory...
• I can change servings of a meal when I plan it. Useful if we're having guests, etc.
• The layout is highly simple, clean, clear. Easy to read, search, etc. It's the best looking of the three in my opinion.

What I don't like:

• I can't reschedule meals easily (at all?). 
• I can't tap a meal in the planner and pull up the recipe.
• Ingredients get dumped en masse into the grocery list.
• Sync is slow and grocery items often sync incorrectly.
• I can't add online recipes from my iPad at all. 
• Adding from websites (from my computer) often doesn't work, as there are very few supported sites, and adding manually is slow.
• Limited to one timer, and one recipe open at a time.
• Often loses it's place when I switch from any other app back to this one.

3. Paprika

Cost: $4-ish for the iPad app, another $4-ish for the iPhone app. They sell a Mac app too, but I don't think it will be necessary.

What I like:

• Relocating planned meals in the planner is fairly easy. I do wish it were drag-and-drop, though.
• I love being able to tap the meal in the planner and go straight to the recipe.
• Same with the shopping list. If I have an item and I wonder, "Gee, what recipe needs two cups of fish sauce?" I can tap the item and find out!
• Sync works great.
• I can "pin" several recipes and toggle between them. So if I'm making chili and cornbread at the same time (how daring!), I can easily pull up either recipe without having to leave one and search for the other.
• Likewise, each pinned recipe can have it's own timer. Now THIS is awesome.
• Importing new recipes is a breeze. There's a built in browser that's fairly fast and imports from almost every site in one click. No joke. I was testing out how it worked with non-supported sites and really had a hard time finding one.
• For those rare blogs or sites that aren't supported, cut and paste into the app is done on the same browser screen and is EASY. Truly.
• Plus, if I'm browsing in Safari and run across a website with a great recipe, I can copy the addy, and when I open Paprika, the app will automatically ask if I want to open that link, thus saving me the steps of clicking to the browser and pasting the addy in.
• I haven't played with the "pantry" function, but I *think* I can tell the app what I have on hand so those things won't go on my grocery list. I'd rather check things off individually like BigO does, but I'd have to use this feature more to say more.
• Like Pepperplate, I can scale a recipe when I add it to the planner. A nice feature for a big family where many/most recipes end up doubled (or more!).

What I don't like:

• It gets tedious to change categories in the grocery cart. I wish the cart would just LEARN that aluminum foil is with Cleaning Supplies and not in Home and Garden. Is that so hard?

Conclusion: Although I like Pepperplate's price best (who wouldn't?), Paprika's ease of use is so superior, it's worth the normal "app" price of $4-5. Even paid twice, it's worth it. It could be improved a bit, but that goes for almost all apps. It's an invaluable kitchen tool and opens a whole world of culinary exploration that doesn't involve buying/storing dozens of cookbooks. If I seriously couldn't spend anything, Pepperplate would be ok. It would limp along and sort of serve my needs, kinda. BigOven, on the other hand, though really cool and packed with recipes, is just not worth the annual fee. Had it been a flat $19.99 purchase price, maybe I would have considered it. But that cost every year? I just don't dig subscriptions (another reason I don't do Evernote). Paprika does all BigO does, much of it better, all of it for a teeny-tiny cost.

Mini Juice Fast: Day 1

Quite a while ago, Dr. D and I watched the documentary, Sick, Fat and Nearly Dead. Not long after, we bought a juicer with the plan of making juicing a part of our daily routine. After a day or two of: WOW! This is AMAZING! I LOVE juice! Pineapple-Fennel-Beet is AWESOME! Little Miss Rowdy made her own announcement.

She did not like juice-milk. At all.

So the juicer collected dust. Just when I was thinking it might fetch some green on Craigslist, we decided to try again. Wouldn't you know, Rowdy-button doesn't mind juice-milk so much when she's chowing down on pork-and-veggie delight or pumpkin-oat bars. Yippee!

This morning we began with a delicious pineapple-orange-pomegranite, followed up with a carrot-apple-beet-ginger-lime for lunch. Now it's 4:12. I am so hungry. So. Very. Hungry. That itself isn't much of a surprise. I'm always SO HUNGRY at 4:12. What I didn't realize was how mindlessly I forage in the cupboards when I'm hungry. About ten times a minute I catch myself getting up and reaching for the cupboard door with visions of chocolate chips or dates or a handful of cereal dancing in my head.

Since We Were Talking About Pepperplate

We were, right? Yet another Amazing Advantage of the uber-super recipe management tool: Pepperplate, which is like Ziplist and a host of others, only prettier and more powerful.

The other day I desperately needed to finish a Skype call with a colleague to wrap up a project. I also desperately needed to start dinner. Dr. D had been asking, "What are we having?" for like ever so finally I said, "Check the menu!" Because I print off the calendar page of Pepperplate at the start of the week and post it on the refrigerator.

The question then became, "What can I do to get started?" Which in the past would have been answered by, "You'll just have to wait!" Because unless it's tacos or spaghetti, explaining where the recipe is and how to find it (or the fact that I have no recipe, or how to follow the recipe but omit these ingredients and substitute those, etc.) is just too much.

Not this time! I said, "Look up the recipe on your phone!" So he did.

And would you believe it? Dr. D had most of the meal prepared by the time I finished my call! Now THAT is a Pepperplate success.

On Working With Pepperplate

Last week I committed myself (noooo, let me finish) to using Pepperplate for meal planning, shopping, recipes. And oh my word, how my life has changed.

I think this will be more meaningful if I show what my meal planning process used to be ...

Imagine it: Every Saturday (ideally, usually Sunday or Monday) I sit with my favorite cookbooks, recipe books, a notepad and paper. I write up what's on sale or what I have a coupon for. Then I plan out the week. I make the list on a sheet of scrap paper with three columns drawn. I add items from recipes, leaving off things I already have, and I organize the items - sort of - according to the layout of the grocery store. So long as I don't forget to add something, I'm good. But look at those cookbooks! One is a beautiful out-of-print thing from the 90s. The others? Yes, they are photo albums with index cards as dividers. Useful for keeping my favorite recipes close at hand, but a pain in the !#$#& when I'm looking for something a little out of the ordinary. And a real pain when I forget to replace the recipe after I've used it.

Add to that, lately when I've wanted to use up the frozen blueberries, or a can of tomatoes, I'll just look online. Allrecipes, food.com, and others have become my favorite places to type in "zucchini bread" and surf until I find a recipe that uses coconut, chocolate chips, zucchini, and apple sauce. My old homemade recipe books? They've collected a layer of dust.

So using Pepperplate is natural, right? Indeed, it is! I've added 96 recipes so far. My favorites from Taste of Home, plus a heap of new ones that look so delicious I can't wait to try them. Cornmeal pancakes? Mexican quinoa? Can you say YUM?

Planning meals for the week is as easy as a click. I can search for what I have on hand, then I add it to the weekly plan. Another click adds all the ingredients to the shopping list. I thought I would be annoyed having to go through and delete the items I don't need to buy, but it's a good way to double check. I may think I have enough flour, but if I need flour for bread, pancakes, and three other meals, I may just have to buy more. Plus! (wait for it) I personalized the grocery list so items automatically fall into categories that are then organized according to my store's layout! Woot!

The final bonus? The grocery list automatically syncs with my little tablet and with Dr. D's phone. So he can stop at the store on the way home, and I don't have to worry that he'll forget something. I've resisted the whole paperless movement - I love the feel of a book in my hand - but first my e-reader, now Pepperplate. What will be next? An iPhone?

Pepperplate Ziplist Allrecipies Online, Oh My!

Over the weekend I got in my head to transfer all my recipes to an online recipe box and meal planning account. Here's why: I've been wanting to change our eating habits, less "comfort food" (Taste of Home) and more whole foods, Mediterranean cuisine. So I ventured to Bargain Books to find a new cookbook (I love cookbooks). I found one, but most of the recipes were things I knew I'd never in a million years make. I mean, I have four kids. Let's be realistic.

I figured I'd just find recipes online - it's what I've been doing lately anyhow. Chocolate Zucchini Bread? Something that uses beets or green tomatoes? First stop, Google! Send myself a link. Search again the next time I want the recipe and bang my head when I can't find it.

And then I had the brilliant idea: collect recipes online! "An online recipe box! I wonder if such a thing exists?" (Wow, I'm blown away by my own smartness.) Not only does it exist (imagine!), most of the programs are FREE, incorporate meal planning, and automatically make shopping lists. Oh my word, why did it take me so long to discover this? See how smart I am?

Um, yes. The big question now: Which service to use? It came down to Ziplist and Pepperplate. The blogger Casey Watts talks about the pros and cons of each, and her post ultimately helped me decide. In case you were wondering, and I know you were, here's how I made my decision:

Things I liked about Ziplist:
--I could search and add recipes right from the page.
--Flashy options like guessing what you already have in your cupboard before adding to the shopping list, seemingly incorporated with my local grocery store (though only one of my regular stores showed up).
--Recipes on the meal plan link to the actual recipe. HANDY, THAT!
--A huge number of partners.

Things I didn't like about Ziplist:
--I had to leave Ziplist and go to other sites to get directions for most recipes.
--Format of each recipe is different.
--Bizarre navigation/slow website.
--Meal planner planned one meal each day. What if I'm hosting a brunch and serving dinner on the same day? I know, I know, two meals in one day. It happens.

Things I didn't like about Pepperplate:
--No link from meal plan to recipe.
--Shopping list is a little more clunky - adds everything from ingredient list.

Things I LOVE about Pepperplate:
--Formatting is consistent and beautiful.
--Easy to add recipes even from non-partnered websites.
--I can add categories to recipes: i.e., "brunch" or "pork."
--I can build menus (main course plus salad, side, etc.) and plan three meals a day.

The winner, if it isn't obvious, Pepperplate! Now I get to hoard recipes, too!

Every Day New

Ah, Thursday. A hint of Friday, the faintest fragrance of Saturday. Not that Friday or Saturday will be different, mind you, not with Dr. D at his conference. But we can pretend.

Unlike the pretending I usually do when giving the kids popsicles. I always avoid reading ingredient lists on sugary treats, or cling to the bright, "Made with REAL Juice!" on the box. Not this time.

This time we made our own popsicles, just like I did as a kid. (See, Mom, I DO remember the good things.) Only I didn't whip up pudding or break out the Kool-Aid. We juiced pineapple, strawberries, a beet, some chard, some cherries, a little fennel, and I think a plum ... maybe a few other things too. All for truly delightful, wonderfully healthy Juicesicles!

That smile says Yum.

Blasted Blight: or What to do with Green Tomatoes

I started the season with ten lovely tomato plants. A few heirloom, some beefsteak, others. All went well for quite a while. We made it through June, July (even with two weeks of neglect while I was at Hamline University), into August. But then the cool nights hit, and the wet days, and the icky constant dampness. Blight set in.

Last weekend I sacrificed nine of my ten beloved lovelies to the fire pit (you can't compost blighted plants), and with St. Nick's help salvaged as many tomatoes as I possibly could. About two thirds of the maters we gathered:

That's a lot of green tomatoes. What on earth would I do with all these absurd green tomatoes? I live in Michigan. We don't fry them up here. I wasn't about to pitch them, though. So, Google to the rescue! I found two lovely canning recipes for green tomatoes.

Imagine an entire day slicing and chopping and cooking and stirring, all the while Dr. D checking in, thinking I'd lost my blinging mind. Lemon and Green Tomato Marmalade? Apple and Green Tomato Chutney/Mincemeat? Was I insane?

Maybe a little.

Or maybe not. Below is the marmalade, which tastes just a bit like lemon drop candies (only better). The original recipe from the NY Times, and mine with just a few alterations:

Lemon & Green Tomato Marmalade

Lemon & Green Tomato Marmalade

1 lemon, seeded and thinly sliced
2.5 lbs (about 5 lg) green tomatoes, cored, seeded, thinly sliced
3 1/4 C sugar
2 T lemon juice
1/8 C water
1/8 C vinegar
pinch salt
2 T liquid pectin (as needed)

1. Boil the lemon slices in water for just a moment, drain.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened. The NY Times site says 20-30 minutes, but HAHAHAHAHAHAH! that's funny. It's more like 2-3 hours. The key is to cook it until the jelly/thick sheeting point. If you've never made jam or maple syrup, this may be a new term.

Sheeting is this: when you dip a spoon into the pot and pull it out, the final drips will come together and fall off the spoon in a sheet (vs. individual drips). Watching a boiling pot and checking every thirty seconds for sheeting is an odd and effective torture. I think many governments will be making use of it soon.

3. Fill jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Yield: about 3 half pints.

Zippy Apple and Green Tomato Chutney

And the chutney, zippy and delicious. The original recipe here, mine below:

Zippy Apple Green Tomato Chutney

3 C currants, raisins, dried cranberries (one or a mix)
4 1/2 C chopped green tomatoes (again, cored and seeded)
4 1/2 C chopped apples (peeled)
1 lemon, seeded, quartered, sliced thin + 2 T lemon juice
2 C minced onion
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 C honey
1 C vinegar
1 C water
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 t ground ginger

1. Combine everything and bring to a simmering boil. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Ladle into sterile jars.
3. Process 15 minutes.

Yield: about 9 half pints.

Now, just for kicks I made four half pints of this, then I played with the spices. I added:

1/4 C brown sugar
allspice
cinnamon
a touch more lemon juice

Oh my word. Awesome. Sweetness with a zing. It reminded me of Izzy's Hot Brown Sugar ice cream (one of the best I've ever had, at THE BEST ice cream parlor I've ever visited).

What do you do with chutney? I've heard that some folk serve it over ice cream or mix it in yogurt. That sounds bizarre to me, but to each his/her own. I'd serve with curry, roast, or add it to a coffee cake or quick bread mix. I'd even use it for a mincemeat pie. I have nine jars of it, so I better figure out some way to use it, right? Right.

Oatmeal Cookie Cobbler

To finish off our rough day yesterday, I thought I'd make something especially healthy ...

I was going to make peach crisp from a recipe, but I got a little carried away. This is what I ended up with: a peach-apple base with oatmeal cookie crust. Amazing! Served with mini egg fritatas (slices of deli ham in muffin cups filled with whisked egg, milk, salt, pepper and a dash of garlic powder, topped with swiss, baked for 20 mins at 350), this was an amazing comfort meal. I think the cobbler would likely be amazing with cranberries and apples for a Thanksgiving desert.

Oatmeal Cookie Cobbler

Fruit base:

5-6 chopped peaches

2 chopped tart apples

1/4 C orange juice

1 T brown sugar

2 T whole wheat flour

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t ginger

*put chopped fruit into a greased 8x8 pan, mix other ingredients and pour over fruit*

Topping:

1 stick butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C water

1 t vanilla

*mix together*

1/2 t salt

1/2 t soda

3/4 C whole wheat flour

3+ C quick cooking oats

*mix into dough, drop by large spoonfulls onto fruit mixture so covers, bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until beginning to brown*

I would have taken a picture, but we honestly ate it so fast, I didn't get a chance!

A Christmas Treat Parfait

A (potentially) healthy lunch idea! (That's fruit, yogurt, and breakfast cereal.)

Holiday Surprises

#1 Stuffed Pumpkins!

I tried this recipe on a whim a few weeks ago and it immediately became a favorite. Adapted (as always) from Taste of Home, this brought oooohs and aaaaahhhhs from everyone around the table - and more - once all had been served and were tasting the delightful sausage-rice stuffing within, they were ooooohing even more! There's nothing I love more than to share something I find absolutely delectable with others (who are appreciative, i.e., not my kids, unless the pumpkin is stuffed with SUGAR)!

Here is the recipe:
Prep: 50 minutes (really true)
Bake: 1 1/4 hours (true there too)
Yield: 8 servings (as a side); 4 servings (as a main dish)

2 cups water
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 teaspoons bullion (I use beef)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Mix spices into water with rice and boil for 40-50 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

1 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 cups chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons dried currants
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or water)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

In a large skillet (VERY large) cook sausage until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the same skillet, sauté the celery, onion, garlic until tender (3 mins). Reduce heat and add currants, broth, and seasonings. Return sausage and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the rice.

2 medium pie pumpkins (2 - 2 1/2 pounds each)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Wash pumpkins and cut opening in the top, reserving the tops (for lids). Remove and discard the loose fibers (save the seeds for roasting, if desired). Prick inside of each pumpkin with a fork and sprinkle with garlic powder and salt. Stuff with rice mixture, pressing down firmly; replace tops. Tip: use a small and very sharp knife for the pumpkins!

Place in a 13x9 inch baking dish and add about 1/2 inch of water. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and bake another 50 minutes longer or until tender. Cut each pumpkin into four wedges to serve.

I'm so glad the only pie pumpkins I could find were unusually small. I have half a bowl full of stuffing left and two acorn squash just begging to be stuffed!

#2 No Post-Holiday Aftermath

I didn't have the same "morning after" sensation - tired, dishes left from the previous night, spots on the rug, piles of linens needing to be laundered. The festivities were at my brother's house, despite my sister-in-law just having had surgery last week. It was her choice - she'd rather bake a ham than ride in the car for six hours in one day. I can see her point, though I have to say, though I love hostessing, this time around I was very thankful that I got to ride in the car!

Ahhhh, so nice coming home.

Breakfast Monster Cookies - Grrrr ... Yum!

The scariest thing about these cookies is how fast they disappear! You'd never guess they were healthy.

Breakfast Monster Cookies

6 eggs
1 Cup butter
2 Cups brown sugar
1 1/2 Cup honey (I substituted sugar and molasses and they were great!)
9 Cups oatmeal
4 tsp. soda
18 to 24 oz. peanut butter
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 Cup dried milk
1 Cup golden raisins
1 Cup dates
1 (6 oz.) pkg. dried mixed fruit
12 oz. chocolate chips (optional, but come on, is chocolate ever optional?)

Mix ingredients in order. Use a tablespoon to make large scoops. Flatten to 3/4 of an inch (though I didn't flatten mine and they came out fine). Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Do not overbake. These really are a meal in themselves (or so I tell myself when I'm nicking three and calling it lunch).

Delicious Sunday Blessings

Cinnamon Roll Cherry Cobbler is a new family favorite. Funny, I've had the recipe (Taste of Home) since 2003, but only just tried it a month ago! Following is my (altered) recipe and a guaranteed EASY version for this delicious treat. We're having it today for Sunday brunch, served with sausage and orange juice.

Cinnamon Roll Cherry Cobbler

Filling:
1 can (14.5 oz) pitted tart cherries OR 1 bag frozen pitted tart cherries, thawed (reserve juice)
1/2 C sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/2 C water
3 T red-hot candies

Cinnamon roll topping:
1 2/3 C flour
6 T brown sugar, divided
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 C shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 C milk
1 T butter, softened
1/3 C finely chopped pecans
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Lemon glaze OR glaze:
1/2 c confectioner's sugar
1 T lemon juice (OR Milk for regular glaze)

Drain cherries, reserving juice. Set cherries aside and in small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water, and cherry juice. Heat until smooth. Stir in red-hot candies, boil until dissolved, 1-3 minutes. Stir in cherries. Transfer to a greased 8-in square baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the flour, half the brown sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Combine egg and milk; stir into crumb mixture. Turn onto a flowered surface, kneading until workable. Roll into a 14-in rectangle. Spread with butter, sprinkle with pecans and cinnamon and remaining brown sugar.

Roll up jelly roll style from a short side and cut into 8 (or so) slices. Place cut-side down over cherry filling; bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Cool 10 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over top.

Easy version: 1 can of cherry pie filling and 1 package of refrigerated cinnamon rolls with frosting. I think assembly of the easy version will be pretty obvious!

Have a blessed day!