Sweetness

I promised a while back that I’d start sharing some cookie recipes for the holiday baking.

This is one of my favorites.

I made them several years back for a cookie swap party and they have been a permanent part of my holiday baking plan since then.

I’m thinking I’ll make them again this year, but try to make them with Splenda instead of sugar.

If you like eggnog, give them a try. I think you will love them.

Eggnog Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 1/4 cups Sugar
3/4 cups Butter ; softened
1/2 cup Eggnog
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 large Eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
In a second large bowl, cream the sugar & butter.
Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth.
Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until well blended.
Do not over mix.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. (1 inch apart)
Sprinkle lightly with additional nutmeg.
Bake 20-25 minutes until bottom turn light brown. Transfer from pans immediately to cool.

Saturday Sweetness: More Cookies for You

Happy Saturday, everyone. In keeping with what is quickly becoming a habit, here's another recipe for your weekend enjoyment.

It's another one of my favorite cookie recipes for you. I'm off today being nursemaid and SuperGirl to SuperMan as he recovers from his little surgical interlude.

I'm not sure when I'll get around to baking this year… Hopefully sometime soon. It's not as big a priority for me this year, though, so I think I may take it easy on the baking and just make a few favorites and not go all-out like I usually do. We don't really need the calories. I certainly don't need the sweets.

Here is one recipe, though, that I love to make and eveyrone loves to eat.

They're most commonly called Mexican Wedding Cookies. Or, just Wedding Cookies. Although I've never seen them served at weddings… well, except for the eighty-eleven thousand I made for my stepbrother's first wedding reception. But that was the only time. And after that, I was pretty sure I never wanted to see any again.

But, thankfully, I got over that pretty quickly.

Wedding Cookies

1 stick butter, softened
3 Tbsp sugar
dash salt
1 Tbsp milk (or cream)
1 cup flour (all-purpose)
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
Powdered sugar for dusting

Cream butter & sugar. Add milk and extracts, alternating with flour and salt. Finally add nuts.

Form balls from dough (about 1 inch in diameter)

Place on cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 25 min or until edges are golden brown.

Cool.

Roll in powdered sugar.

For an extra good coating, roll once, let sit and then roll again in powdered sugar.

Saturday Sweetness

This is a recipe that is not for the faint of heart.

Seriously.

You must be a bona-fide chocoholic in order to truly appreciate it.

Otherwise, you may find yourself overwhelmed in chocolate-ness. Which, truly, might not be a bad place to be. But, only if you are the kind of person who likes that sort of thing.

It all started simply enough.

Mom and my step-dad decided they had a hankering for a nine-layer cake. There is some dissention as to who actually decided they wanted the cake first – neither is willing to take responsibility for the original idea.

When I got to town, it had become a full-blown obsession and we went on a hunt to find one – visiting a few local bakeries (even one run by an old high-school chum) only to find that “nobody bakes those anymore.” (the standard answer we received)

Apparently, nine-layer (or seven-layer) cakes are a pain to make and are prone to collapse/failure/all sorts of doom and gloom.

Mom and I decided we were not going to be thwarted so easily.

We would just make the cake ourselves.

We’re like that.

We don’t like taking “no” for an answer. We take it as a challenge.

So, we sought recipes for homemade icing and baked our cakes. (well, Mom baked the cake. I focused on the research.)

And the assembly began.

First we started with making the icing (recipe is at the end of this post)

The recipe called for 3-4 tablespoons of heavy cream. But we found that we had to increase that amount considerably to make it to a good icing consistency.

After two batches of icing were prepared and the cakes were cut, we were ready for assembly. We’d decided early on that there would not be seven, eight or nine layers. We were quite content with four. That would be challenge enough.

So, we slathered on our homemade icing and piled on the layers.

Just as I was putting the finishing touches on the outer layer of icing my step-dad magically appeared in the kitchen and whisked the cake right out from under my spatula.

I didn’t even get to take a picture of my finished masterpiece!

After diving in (all three of us) it was determined that the cake was a success. The number of layers were not really important. (Truthfully, I think it is just a way for a pastry chef to show off.)

I did manage to get a picture of the cake the next day – it’s a little crumb-y but that is because the cake itself is so delicate.

So, if you have a hankerin’ like we did, here’s a recipe for a truly decadent chocolate icing to go along with a standard yellow cake.

Chocolate Icing

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa

1 stick of butter (softened)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

Sift cocoa, sugar together. Combine 1 cup of sugar/cocoa with butter. Add cream (1 tbsp at a time) and sugar/cocoa, alternately, until the icing is desired consistency. Add vanilla.

This is an icing recipe that really needs to be made with a mixer. I can tell you from experience that it truly doesn’t come together well without the mixer.

The icing also needs to be refrigerated. We made a double batch for this cake and had about 1 1/2 cups of extra icing left (which we’ll use for cupcakes next week)

Mid-week meal check-in

I mentioned on Monday I was planning to make meatloaf this week.

Well, I cooked it for dinner Tuesday night. It was a big hit.

I also made roasted vegetables. Loved the fact that everything went into the oven and I didn’t have to stand at the stove while my dinner cooked. Almost as good as the crock-pot.

I thought I’d share the recipes for the different menu items with you because this was a really, really good meal. Very filling – one of those nights when I actually wished my little tummy wasn’t so little so I could enjoy more.

Big Girl says that everyone at school says their meatloaf tastes awful. She said she told them you haven’t had my Mama’s meatloaf, then. *grin*

no… not THAT meatloaf!

Mama’s Meatloaf

(click on the link to print)

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
~ 2/3 cup bread crumbs
~ 1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tbsp minced garlic

Houston House Seasoning or Season Salt

Glaze:
1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 cup Splenda brown sugar blend (or 1/4 cup brown sugar)
1/4 cup honey bbq sauce
1 tsp ground mustard

In a large bowl, mix milk and bread crumbs. Mix to combine and let sit for about 2-3 minutes. You will need only enough milk to coat the bread crumbs to make a paste – maybe a tiny bit more.
Add meat, eggs, & seasonings. Be careful not to over mix the ground beef or it gets tough. It’s gross, but I use my hands to mix this part. You just can’t do a good job with a spoon or fork.
Mold into a loaf shape. I put mine in a stoneware loaf pan. Cover with foil.
Bake at 350 for about an hour and a half. After about an hour remove foil and add glaze. Bake uncovered for at least another 30 minutes.
Let rest about 5 minutes (tented with foil) before serving.

If you are making mini-meatloaves, use a muffin tin and make them into fist-sized meatballs. Bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes. Add glaze in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

**~*~**

Nothing outstanding about the making of these potatoes, but they sure cook up good.

Roasted Potatoes

2-3 Russet potatoes, washed and cut lengthwise into spears or wedges.
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
Paprika
Houston House Seasoning

In a large zip top bag, combine all ingredients. Shake well.
Pour out potatoes on baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.
Finish on Low Broil setting for about 5 minutes to crisp up the skins.

~*~

Remember my post a while back about “the best broccoli you will ever eat?” Well, I finally got around to trying this recipe. All I can say is, “Broccoli, where have you been all my life?” This takes broccoli to a whole new dimension in flavor. Nothing like the “regular” broccoli we eat all the time. Soooo good.

Try this.

Trust me.

You won’t be disappointed.

Roasted Broccoli

Ok, there you go. Now you have the perfect menu for dinner tomorrow night. Or tonight if you have time to get the ingredients on your way home.

Your family will thank you.

Souper Easy ~ Souper Good

I am a big fan of soups – especially in the fall and winter.

I love how they make my house smell when I’m cooking them – homey and warm and welcoming.

I love how they feel when they’re in my tummy – warm and filling.

I love how they feed my family healthy things that taste great and fill them up inside.

I love that I can usually get multiple meals out of one preparation… especially if you pair it with some good bread or a salad.

I made this soup the other day with some leftover vegetables. That’s another thing I love about soups- that I can clean out the crisper and makes something good at the same time.

This soup is one of those “clean out the ‘fridge” recipes. So, use your own veggies that you have on hand – don’t think you have to match my recipe exactly.

I let this cook overnight in my crock pot on low and then SuperMan and I have been eating on it for lunch all week.

Clean out the Crisper Soup

2-3 celery stalks, chopped
onion, chopped
~2 tbsp minced garlic (to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 box beef broth
1 beef bullion cube
~1 cup corn kernels
~1 cup butter beans
~1 cup spinach leaves (chopped or julienned)
~1 cup carrots, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
~1 cup frozen hash brown potatoes
Salt & pepper to taste

Sauté the peppers, onion, celery and garlic in some olive oil until transparent.
In crock pot, combine remaining ingredients, adding sautéed vegetables when they’re done.
Set crock pot on low and cook 6-8 hours.

I also added some leftover roast beef and gravy that was taking up space in my refrigerator.

You can also make this more hearty by adding a cup of barley about an hour before serving, but you may need to add more broth if you do that as the barley will soak up some of the broth as it rehydrates.

I buy Publix’s frozen diced hash brown potatoes. They are great for soups and stews and no potato chopping!

Use whatever veggies you have on hand. I have used squash, zucchini, green beans, peas, etc. before as well.

Sprouting Feathers

My family loves chicken. So much so that I think I could cook it for them every day and they would be happy. Well, except for BigGirl (the Meatasauraus) who needs her steak and “pork butt” to be happy.

I seem to cook an awful lot of chicken recipes. Do you?

This past weekend (as you know if you are a regular blog reader) I cooked 2 5-lb chickens on the grill. I used my beer can chicken recipe and they turned out super good.

We ate some chicken on Sunday with our spaghetti and then I deboned the rest and saved it for recipes this week.

Last night I made chicken and dumplings (and a mess in my kitchen) and chicken salad with those leftovers.

I thought I’d share the recipes with you today.

But first, I must confess one thing. When I cook, I’m one of those “dab of this, pinch of that, sprinkle a little of this” kind of cooks. So, when you read my recipes, especially these two, remember that fact and feel free to get creative as you cook them. I approximated in the recipes what I did last night while I prepared these two things, but other than the dumplings, the rest was just eyeballing it and flying by the seat of my pants (how is that for mixing my metaphors?)

Anyway, thought it was important to get those disclaimers out of the way.

If you don’t think of yourself as a good cook, I know it is a little intimidating to try to follow someone’s recipe when they don’t give you actual, definite amounts to go by.

But one thing to remember. Cooking is more about the blending of flavors and seasonings and less about science. Baking, well, that’s a whole ‘nother blog post. Baking IS science. And I have the disaster stories from my experiments to prove it. Baking is more precise.

Cooking, on the other hand is more like art. Just go with the flow and see where it takes you. Usually to something good.

Ok, enough of my ramblings. I know you really just came here for the recipes anyway. 😉

Here’s a link to the chicken & dumplings recipe. I changed it only in that I used the leftover chicken and I substituted half whole wheat flour for my dumplings. BigGirl said it was the best chicken and dumplings I’ve ever made. She ate two helpings.

Here’s the chicken salad recipe. It is an approximation of the chicken salad my friend Donna makes. It’s got some non-traditional ingredients, but I love it. I eat it all by itself, unadulterated with bread or crackers (although it is good that way, too)

I hope you enjoy.

Creation is Messy

I have shared with you before that I love to cook.

Love it.

I think I am happiest when I’m cooking. Chopping vegetables, mixing a cake, creating goodness and love for my family and friends.

I love the process and I love watching the raw materials turn into mini masterpieces of goodness.

I love watching my family and friends as they dive in and savor every bite.

It’s one of the ways I express my love.

BUT

Creating these mini masterpieces, for me, is a very messy process.

Just ask SuperMan.

He is often called in to help me rescue the kitchen from imminent disaster after one of my cooking sessions.

I have been accused (often) of using every pot, pan, and bowl in my kitchen when I cook. I think that would be impossible – unless I were cooking a wedding banquet or something – as I have a ton of kitchen implements. (thanks to a generous mom and a generous inheritance of cooking apparatus from my grandma)

I will admit that I am not one of those cooks who cleans up as I go. When I cook, I am in the throes of a creative process. Cleaning is NOT part of being creative. Cleaning is the antithesis of creativity for me. Cleaning is not fun – cooking is fun.

And so, when I cook, my kitchen usually looks like this:

And that is just half the kitchen. What this doesn’t show is the counter on the other side that was filled with flour and the remnants of the just-rolled-out dumplings for the chicken & dumplings we had for dinner last night. (yummy, by the way. recipe to come soon)

I have also realized that I rarely cook one thing at a time. What fun is there in mono-tasking? My little ADD-brain can’t take that single-mindedness. I must multi-task or I will, well, I don’t know. (never been able to do that)

Anyway.

Last night’s cooking bonanza included: chicken & dumplings (with homemade dumplings) and chicken salad (with the extra chicken).

Lately, I have been cleaning up before SuperMan gets home from work. Last night that didn’t happen. It was kind of cute to see his face when he saw the kitchen. We tackled it together and it was sparkly and clean before we went upstairs to put the monkeys to bed.

Today, I’m making my baked oatmeal bars and probably getting some parmesan chicken going in the crock pot. (finishing up the last of the leftovers from this past weekend’s cooking frenzy) Whatever else comes will depend on the muse.

But, I can assure you – it’s gonna get messy.

You should bake this

I have it on good authority (my mom) that this is one of the best cakes you will ever bake. She has just baked it and called me to tell me to bake it right away. I have one in the oven, because, as we all know, I’m a very obedient daughter. Of course I hung up the phone and started mixing! Mama said to!

I’m baking 2 small loaf cakes because I’m taking one to a friend who just had surgery. Everyone knows cake is the best medicine when you are recovering from surgery. That, and my great-grandma’s sausage-rice casserole. That’ll cure anything that’s wrong with you.

Now that I've baked the cake and had a teensy-tiny sample, I can tell you it is soooo good. There's a rich, buttery taste to it. I am thinking it would be great served on a cool fall morning with some tea or coffee.

Next time I make it I may add some diced apple and/or cinnamon.

But it is definitely worth a try.

Brown Sugar Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
4 Eggs
2/3 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
2/3 cup Water
1/2 cup Oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans
2 tsp. Powdered sugar

HEAT oven to 350ºF.
BEAT first 6 ingredients with mixer 3 min. or until well blended. Add brown sugar and nuts; mix well.
POUR into 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray.
BAKE 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto wire rack. Remove pan; cool cake completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

I also added about 2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar to the cake pan after I’d sprayed it with non-stick spray and before I poured the cake in. Next time, I may get crazy and add some to the cake, too.

*Click on the cake name to get a printable copy of the recipe. 🙂

Oh, and I'll be sitting over there in the corner in a diabetic coma after my little taste. If you need me, just nudge me.

Flying by the seat of my pants

My menu plan was out the window this week. Between travel over the weekend and the Labor Day holiday AND a raging cold, thinking about what to eat/cook this week was just beyond my capacity on Sunday or Monday.

So, I’ve been winging it. Which is a little stressful, a lot more expensive, but is also blossoming my creativity. What can I cook with what I have on hand and without a trip to the fast-food takeout joints?

Tonight’s dinner?

Chicken Parmesan.

YUM.

I love Chicken Parm. It brings back memories from my (Italian) childhood. Lots of cheese, garlic, tomato sauce, and of course, chicken.

Today I tried a crock-pot recipe for Chicken Parmesan recipe. I checked out several “traditional” recipes and a few crock-style recipes and invented my own version.

One thing I did differently was that I did not bread my chicken. My grandmother may be watching from up above thinking this is a sacrilege but I was trying to eliminate the extra carbohydrates and I figured that was an easy way to do it. Besides, in the crock pot, the breading would’ve just turned to mush. And I don’t need bready mush – ever.

I also didn’t make my traditional tomato sauce that I use for spaghetti and most anything else Italian I make. (Grandma may decide to disown me now.)

I figured I was going to try the super-easy, super-simple method and see how it turned out. So, I just used an extra-large can of crushed tomatoes and seasoned them with some garlic, Italian seasoning and my Houston House Seasoning.

And, I used high-protein pasta. I like Barilla Plus. They have an angel hair pasta, so that made the decision easy for me. I like the fact that I’m feeding my family the extra protein and vitamins without the white flour and fillers in regular pasta.

The verdict?

Major yumminess. And major easiness, too. A win-win as far as I’m concerned.

The kids loved it, too.

I served it with garlic bread and SuperMan will probably get a salad with his (when he gets home from work, that is)

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
4-6 Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)
Houston House Seasoning
Italian seasoning
Garlic (I use diced garlic in the jar but you can press 2-3 cloves fresh garlic)
1 tsp sugar
pinch of celery seed
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 pound of angel hair pasta
Garlic Bread (you can’t eat this without it!)

Preparation:

Season chicken breasts with Houston House Seasoning.
In a large skillet, brown chicken breasts in olive oil.
In a large bowl, mix the crushed tomatoes, sugar, celery seed, about 2 Tbsp of Italian seasoning and 2 Tbsp of minced garlic.
Add your chicken to the slow cooker.
Pour tomato mixture on top.
Set your slow cooker on low and let the chicken cook for 6-8 hrs.
When you are ready to serve, boil your pasta water and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
While the pasta is cooking, place the chicken breasts in an oven safe dish and top with about 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture on each breast.
Sprinkle some of the cheese on top of the chicken.
Bake in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.
Serve the chicken on a bed of pasta that has been topped with about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce that is left over in your slow cooker.

And here’s a link where you can print your own copy.

And, as my grandpa would say… mangi!

Menu Plan Monday ~ 30 August

Happy Monday, everyone!

This week will be an interesting one for us. SuperMan is going on a new work schedule and won’t be home until after 7 each night (boo!) which means that the girls and I will be on our own for supper most nights. This will be a challenge for me. What to cook that the girls will enjoy/eat and will still be appetizing for SuperMan when he gets home…

Here’s what I have planned for the week:

Twice-baked potatoes with a salad
Chicken Parmesan
This will be a new one to try on the kids. I don’t know if they will like it or not.
Steaks cooked on the grill with fresh veggies and buttered potatoes
This is usually a SuperMan-cooked dinner. It will be interesting to see how I do cooking steaks.
Pizza Braid
I saw this recipe last week when I was perusing other Menu Plan Monday posts. Have to try it.
Sloppy Joes with homemade french fries & fresh fruit
Kid-friendly & fast – good for one of those nights we have dance classes.
Chicken Pomodoro
I have had this on my list for two weeks and haven’t made it yet. Maybe this week?

What are you cooking this week?

Join us over at orgjunkie.com and share your menu plan!

Eggnog Cookies

Ingredients

Instructions

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Chocolate Icing

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Roasted Potatoes

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**~*~**