Recent Recipes

As promised I am posting some recipes I made recently...



A long lost family recipe.... Buttermilk Sugar Cookies



My Grandma made these when I was growing up and I always wanted the recipe. I don't why I just didn't ask for it!! The recipe is actually from my Great Grandma, but I only remember my Grandma making them. I actually found it in my Mom's recipe box this summer. She was moving out of her house and sent me her over flowing recipe box. It was awesome to rummage through it and organize it. It brought back a lot of memories. When I came across the cookies recipe I almost cried!!! The strangest thing though was that it was written in my handwriting when I was younger! Had I stole the recipe as a child for my Mom?? Who knows? Divorced parents tend to want their kids to do interesting things... When I made the newly discovered recipe, a wave of nostalgia came over me and my eyes filled with tears as the freshly baked cookies filled the air. Memories of Grandma house came rushing back, like sneaking cookies before dinner, watching Grandma in the kitchen wiping her hand on her apron, and secretly touching rising bread dough because it was so smooth. Please enjoy these cookies as much as I do. They are so moist that you'll want a large glass of ice cold milk.



Buttermilk Sugar Cookies



Preheat oven to 350 degrees



Mix together: 1 cup White Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup softened Butter or Shortening*


*I prefer butter because I can taste the shortening favor too much



Add: 2 Eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Nutmeg-this is the star of this recipe so do not omit!!



Add: 2 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 cups Flour


Use more flour to make a soft dough, about another cup and a half. This is a very wet dough and can get annoying, but do not over flour!! Roll out dough on a heavily floured surface to 1/4 inch thick and cut with a basic floured biscuit cutter. You will probably need a floured metal spatula to get them off the counter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes makes about 3-4 dozen



I new favorite at my house is Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies. These are not your average boring oatmeal cookies, these rock! I got the recipe from the newspaper when they print holiday cookie recipes. You can jazz them up with chunks of white chocolate too!!



Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat Oven 350 degrees

Mix together in a separate bowl: 1 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
3 cups Oatmeal

Mix together in another large bowl: 2 sticks unsalted softened Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup White Sugar

Blend until fluffy and add one at a time: 2 large Eggs

Add: 2 Tablespoons Honey
2 teaspoons Vanilla

Beat until well blended and add flour mixture in two batches. Blend well

Stir in: 1 1/2 cup Crasins
1 cup Walnuts (optional-I never add these, Man has tree nut allergy)

Drop by heaping tablespoon on to greased or parchment lined cookie sheets and bake 12-14 minutes

Makes about 4 dozen

Last weekend I made Lemon Cheesecake Bars, mainly for Relative. He likes lemon and cheesecake, so this seemed like a good choice. The kid is not a big icing fan, so few cakes are baked. The bars were okay. I was not crazy about the crust, too chewy. The cheesecake section wasn't very thick and it should have been the star of the bar!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Preheat oven to 350 or 325 if using dark or nonstick pan

In a large bowl mix: 1 box Lemon Cake Mix
1/3 cup softened Butter
1 Egg
Mix until crumbly and press into the bottom of a 9x13 ungreased pan

In a medium bowl Beat 8oz. softened Cream Cheese until smooth.
Add: 1 cup Powdered Sugar

Beat then stir in: 2 teaspoon Lemon Peel
3 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Reserve 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate.

To the remaining cream cheese mixture add: 2 Eggs

Blend until creamy and spread over the cake mixture. Bake 23-28 minutes or until set. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Spread reserved cream cheese mixture over the top and refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Store covered in the refrigerator.

I made a few really good recipes for dinner the past week. They were quick, easy, and yummy! Chile Verde was really delicious. I served it with sour cream and shredded cheese as toppings. I also baked some leftover tortillas brushed with olive oil for dipping. You can adjust the heat to your liking. Plus, I love one pot meals!

Chile Verde

In a large sauce/soup pan over medium heat cook: 1 lb. Ground Turkey (beef is fine too)
1 Red Pepper chopped
1 Red Onion chopped

Cook 8-10 mins. crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon until browned.

Add: 6 Cloves chopped Garlic
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne (or to taste)

Cook until fragrant about 20 seconds.

Stir in: 2 jars Green Salsa (original recipe called for 1 jar, but it needs 2)
1/4 cup Water

Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover and cook until vegetables are done. Stir occasionally 10-15 minutes. Stir in one can of beans (pinto, black, or kidney) and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Next time I am going to add 2 cans of black beans because I like them.

My favorite dinner last week was Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Mushrooms. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!!!

Vodka Sauce

In a large saute pan heat 2 Tbl. Olive Oil and add: 1 Red Onion finely chopped
4 Cloves Garlic finely chopped
1 8oz. package of slice Baby Portabello
Mushrooms
Gently cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes

Add: 1 pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

Cook 1 minute and Add: 2 28 oz. cans Crushed Tomatoes

Bring to a boil and add: 1 cup Vodka

Simmer uncovered for about 8 minutes.

Add: 3/4 cup Heavy Cream

Heat for another minute or so and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over your favorite pasta and garnish with chopped parsley and grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. SO GOOD!!! The leftover sauce freezes well, if fact we are having it tonight!

On Monday night I made these incredible mashed potatoes from a favorite magazine. They were so good they should be against the law! We had them with slow cooked short ribs and mixed vegetables. I was off Monday from work so slow cooked shorts ribs were an option.

Garlic Onion Mashed

Roast 1 whole garlic bulb (remove papery outer skin and chop off top) brushed with olive oil and wrapped in foil at 425 degrees for 3o mins. If you burn the garlic like I did, just use unroasted chopped garlic.

Meanwhile in a large skillet over low heat, heat 1 TB. olive oil and cook: 1 Red Onion Chopped

Cook 10-15 minutes until golden, set aside

In a large sauce pan boil 6 medium potatoes peeled and quartered until done.

Drain and place in a large bowl.
Add: Roasted Garlic
1/4 cup softened Butter
1/4 cup Sour Cream (I used low fat, if that matters much with this recipe!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Cooked Onion

Mash until well blended and season with S&P to taste. Delicious!!

I hope you try these recipes and let me know what you like!! I have no new recipes planned for this weekend. Man and I are going on a weekend getaway!!! Details to come later...