Mexican Wedding Cookies

My husband's favorite cookie:

Mexican Wedding Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I only use 1)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a bowl stir together flour, salt, and pecans to combine thoroughly; set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl combine butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar; beat until fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until dough clings together.

Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake until firm and lightly browned (20 to 25 minutes).

Spread about 3/4 cup of the remaining powdered sugar on a rimmed baking sheet. As cookies finish baking, remove them to the sugar-lined baking sheet; generously sift some of remaining powdered sugar over warm cookies, turning in sugar if necessary to coat all surfaces liberally. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Perfect for a cold winter day:

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

In a large pot boil a whole chicken (make sure you have taken the "innards" out). (Place chicken in pot and add water until chicken is covered. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and a sprinkle of ground ginger to water. Then bring to a boil. Simmer for about 3-4 hours.) Remove chicken from broth. Reserve broth. Take meat off of bones. Discard all fat, bones and cartilage. Add chicken meat back into pot of broth. Add more water and spices (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder & pinch of ginger). You want to leave about 5 (or so) inches between water level and top of pot. Bring to a bowl. Add homemade egg noodles and stir. Let boil for 5-10 minutes, then serve hot.

Egg Noodles

2 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer (I use Kitchenaid) until a dough is formed. Roll out thin (1/8-inch or so) on a heavily floured surface. Cut into short, thin strips with a pizza cutter. Dredge heavily in flour before adding them to the pot of chicken soup. Once dropped into the soup, mix soup thoroughly. Add a handful of noodles at a time.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This is my favorite homemade whole wheat bread:

Honey Wheat Bread

1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons--though I usually do about 3 teaspoons)
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup honey or molasses (I use molasses)
2 tablespoons soft shortening (I use butter)
2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 to 6 cups whole wheat flour (I use about 5 scant cups)

In a mixing bowl place ingredients in order given, except the flour. Add flour gradually to make a stiff dough. Knead on a well-floured surface until smooth and satiny (8-10 minutes). Place in greased bowl (I use Pam). Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

Divide in half; shape into balls. Cover with bowl; let rest 15 minutes. Shape into loaves. Place into well-greased (Pam) 9 X 5 or 8 X 4-inch pans. Cover and let rise until light and double (about 1 hour).

Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a deep, golden brown. Remove from pans and let cool on wire racks.

Rhubarb Pie

This turned out fantastically delicious!

Rhubarb Pie

2 pie crusts for 9-inch pan (see recipe below)

1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I used pumpkin pie spice)
5 cups sliced rhubarb, cut 1/8-inch thick (I used frozen--but defrosted, cut rhubarb)
2 tablespoons butter (I forgot to put this in)
2 teaspoons sugar

Combine 1 1/3 cups sugar, cornstarch, and nutmeg, stirring until blended; stir in rhubarb, and let stand 15 minutes. Spoon mixture into pie shell; dot with butter. Add second pie crust on top of filling. Trim edges, fold under, and crimp edges. Prick top or cut design. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 30 more minutes or until crust is browned. Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.


Beginner's Pie Crust

2 cups flour
1 cup shortening (I use butter--I do not ever use shortening)
2/3 cup buttermilk (You can use soured milk)
1 teaspoon salt

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening until all flour mixture is moist. Then add buttermilk and blend together. Cover and let stand in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Then divide in half and flour a flat surface generously; roll your dough until 1/8-inch thick. Put in pie plate and bake according to pie recipe instructions.

Potato Salad

This is the very best potato salad in the world. I am not kidding. I always get compliments when I make it.

Judy's Potato Salad

5 lbs red potatoes, cooked and diced
1 dozen hardboiled eggs, diced
1 lb bacon, cooked and diced
2 stalks celery thinly sliced (I omit these.)

Mix well. Add salt, pepper and celery seed (do NOT use celery salt) to taste. Add in enough Best Foods Mayo to coat salad (about a quart). Chill for a few hours (overnight is best).

Orange Rolls

These are the best!

Orange Rolls

1 cup milk--heat in pan to almost boiling (stir frequently). When cool enough for yeast (lukewarm), add 1/2 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 2 pkg active dry yeast, 3 tbsp shortening (I actually use butter) and beat. Let rise 1 hour. Add 3 + cups flour (just have the flour come above the measuring cup a tad with each scoop), 1 tsp. salt and stir with wooden spoon. Let rise until real light--about 2 hours.

Flour counter space well. Take 1/2 of dough and roll thin. Spread with filling (see below). Roll as a jellyroll (or cinnamon roll). Cut into 1 inch slices (I'm never precise about this). Put into greased muffin tins. Let rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 8 minutes (just prior to baking, I put a dot of the leftover filling on top of each roll). Remove from oven. If desired, brush with butter (I don't). They are delicious when hot.

Filling

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 6 tbsp room temp. butter, grated rind of large orange (I usually double my filling, and with the extra, I put a dab of it on top of each roll right before I bake it).

White Bread

White Bread

This is an easy-to-handle, 2-loaf recipe:

1 package active dry yeast or 1 cake compressed yeast
1/4 cup water

* * * * * *

2 cups milk, scalded
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon shortening (I use butter and have also used canola oil--the same 1 tbsp.)

* * * * * *

6 to 6 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (I never sift)

Soften the active dry yeast in warm water or compressed yeast in lukewarm water. Set aside. Combine hot milk (bring to nearly a boil and remove from heat), the sugar, salt, and shortening. Cool to lukewarm. Stir in 2 cups of flour; beat well. Add the softened yeast; mix (I use my Kitchenaid). Add enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough (I usually get in a little less than 4 additional cups of flour...bringing the total to just less than 6. If I make it with wheat flour I am only able to get a total of 5 cups).

Turn out on a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and satiny (about 6-8 minutes). Shape into a ball; place in in lightly greased bowl (use a large one, and I always spray it with Pam), turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 1/2 hours).

Punch down. Let rise again until double (about 45 minutes). Cut into 2 portions (I put it on the counter for this and just cut with a large knife). Shape each into a smooth ball. Cover (I use the same large bowl); let rest 10 minutes. Shape into loaves*. Place into greased (I use Pam) loaf pans. Let rise until double (I cover with a clean, wet dish towel that I have used to cover the bowl throughout, but you can also cover loosely with plastic wrap)--about 1 hour. Bake in a hot oven (400 degrees F) for 35 minutes or until done (when you put them in the oven, make sure there is space between them, so that the hot air can circulate properly). Peek in oven after 15 minutes; if tops are browning too fast, cover loafs with foil. Brush tops with butter when done for soft, shiny crusts. Cook on cooling rack. Slices best when cool (but is delicious when fresh and hot).

*To shape loaf, flatten dough with rolling pin in a 15 x 7-inch rectangle (I do not measure mine, just eyeball it). Roll up like a jellyroll (start at narrow side), sealing at each turn with fingertips or edge of hand. Press down ends of loaf with sides of hands to make two thin sealed strips. Fold strips under loaf as you put it in the pan so bread will have smooth crusts at both ends.

Greek Chicken

This is delicious, so give it a try.

Greek Chicken

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, diced
1-2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. dried parsley or 2 T fresh chopped parsley
2 T. lemon juice

In a large skillet, cook chicken in olive oil until browned. Add onions and cook until golden and soft. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer over low heat for approx. 30 minutes.

Serve over penne pasta with feta cheese, and a nice garden salad.



Before feta cheese ...



After feta cheese (the more the better in my opinion)!

Lasagna

Debi's Lasagna

Meat Mix
1 lb. ground beef cooked
1 lb. ground pork or ground Italian sausage cooked
1 large jar Classico spaghetti sauce
1/4 or 1/2 of spaghetti jar filled with water (after you pour the sauce into the meat)

Mix all together.

Cheese Mix

2 pints cottage cheese (small curd)
Kraft parmesan (enough to make cheese mixture thicker--you don't want it too runny--usually about 1 cup)
2 eggs slightly beaten

Mix all together.

Grate about 1 lb of mozzarella cheese and set aside.

Layer a 13 x 9 or larger dish (I use a Pampered Chef large baking stoneware dish). First goes lasagna noodles uncooked. Then in order add meat mix, cheese mix, and grated mozzarella. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes covered. Take tinfoil off and cook 15 more minutes.

Fish Tacos

These are our favorite fish tacos. We used to eat something similar to them at a restaurant called Rosa's in Mesa, Arizona. I tried to copy their recipe by taste, and got it close enough. I do not measure with this recipe usually, but did this last time, so I could give you all an approximation (this recipe makes a lot. And I mean A LOT).

Fish Tacos

3-4 lbs. tilapia
1 head red cabbage sliced thin
1 lb. (or so) shredded monterey jack cheese
corn tortillas
limes
sugar

Cook sliced cabbage in about 3 tbsp. of canola oil until very limp and darkish in color.

Cook tilapia in about 1/4 cup canola oil and 1-2 tbsp. butter. Sprinkle with 1-3 tbsp. McCormick's Cajun seasoning (I used 2).

In a bowl mix 1 cup sugar and the juice from 4 limes until sugar is dissolved. Pour more than half of sugar/lime mixture over tilapia, and pour the remainder on the cooking cabbage. Stir both tilapia and cabbage. The tilapia will eventually break up into bits. This is fine.

Sprinkle about a half to a full teaspoon of salt on cooked cabbage and stir well.

When the tilapia and cabbage are both cooked well, serve immediately.

Grab a corn tortilla and spoon a bit of tilapia on it. Add cabbage and monterey jack cheese on top. Squeeze lime juice on top, if desired.

This is not the greatest photo, but these are the greatest fish tacos in my humble opinion:

Granola

Mary's Granola

In HUGE bowl combine:

12 c. oats
1 T. cinnamon
4 c. “goodies”– nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut, and dried fruit all work well. (I usually use a combo of pecans, walnuts and almonds.)

Mix well.

In glass measuring cup pour:

1 c. canola oil
1 c. honey (I have used maple syrup before and it adds a nice flavor.)

Zap oil and honey in microwave for a couple minutes, until hot.

Pour over dry ingredients. Mix well.

Spread onto 2 or 3 large greased (I use Pam) cookie sheets and bake at 325 degrees F till light to medium brown, 15-25 minutes.

Cool and store in sealed plastic containers or ziplocks.

Apple-Spinach Salad

Apple-Spinach Salad

1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
2 small Granny Smith apples, chopped
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup craisins
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large salad bowl.

Whisk together sugar and next 4 ingredients until blended. Serve dressing with salad.

Note: You can chill dressing up to 1 day; whisk well before serving.

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
2 tablespoons flax seed
2 tablespoons wheat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
1 1/2 cups walnuts

optional: 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips (we usually don't put them in)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, flax, wheat bran, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl; mix well. Slowly add flour into wet mixture and mix until well combined. Add oats; mix well. Add walnuts (and chocolate chips); mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack for further cooling. Makes about 4 dozen. Store in sealed container for about 3-4 days.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

1 3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup uncooked oatmeal (I use old-fashioned oats)
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 extra large eggs
1 cup unsifted white flour
3/4 cup unsifted wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (I use about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour boiling water over oatmeal and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Add brown & white sugar and butter to oatmeal. Mix well (until butter is completely blended in). Add eggs and mix well. Sift together flour, soda, salt and cocoa. Add flour mixture to oatmeal/sugar/butter/egg mixture. Mix well. Add half of the chocolate chip package to batter and mix. Pour batter into greased and floured (I just use Pam) 9 X 13 baking dish. Sprinkle nuts and remaining chocolate chips on top. Lightly press down with hands. Bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool and enjoy. Goes perfectly with a glass of cold milk.

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread

3 cups shredded zucchini (2 or 3 medium)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup all-purpose in mine)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I used about 1 1/2 cups for mine)
1/2 cup raisins, if desired (I left them out in mine, because I never desire raisins)

1. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 X 2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan 9 X 5 X 3 inches, with shortening (I sprayed my 2 loaf pans with Pam).

2. Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and raisins. Stir in nuts and raisins. Divide batter evenly between pans.

3. Bake 8-inch loaves 50 or 60 minutes, 9-inch loaf 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (I cooked my 2 loaves for 1 hour.) Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack (I didn't let mine sit for the suggested 10 minutes--I immediately emptied them onto a cooling rack).

4. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing (we always slice after about 15 minutes--so yummy hot with butter, or Smart Balance, which is what we use now). Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Portabella Mushroom Burger

Portabella Mushroom Burger

Get a portabella mushroom cap (not too big) and marinate it in teriyaki sauce for a couple of hours. Then throw it on the barbie (BBQ) and grill for about 5 minutes. Flip it to the other side and add some thinly sliced gouda cheese. Grill for about 5 more minutes (you want it to be soft-ish). Put it on your favorite bun, and add your favorite condiments. I used lettuce, tomato, and a little 'Ultimate Dipping Sauce' (equal parts mayonnaise & BBQ sauce mixed together). It was very good, but a little on the messy side. Have a huge stack of napkins standing by. ;-)

Caramel Popcorn

This is the yummiest caramel popcorn ever:

1 cube (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup light karo syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar

Mix together and bring to boil (in large, heavy pot). Continue boiling for 2 minutes. Take off burner and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. THIS WILL FOAM (do not use a small pan or it will overflow). Pour over 10-12 cups popped popcorn and stir until well coated. Make sure the bowl that you are mixing the popcorn in is large and buttered. You can shape it into popcorn balls, if you prefer, once mixed. Sometimes I will use a paper grocery bag (a large one) sprayed with Pam to mix the popcorn in. Then I transfer it onto wax paper on a countertop to cool or shape into balls.

Buttermilk Syrup

Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup granulated and 1/2 cup brown sugar)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter (it must be real butter)
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla *

Combine first 5 ingredients in a sauce pan. Heat over low until boiling. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Store in fridge.

* I am hesitant to use very much vanilla in my cooking, as it often seems to overpower the flavor. I always cut vanilla in half. Even with doing that, it made the syrup taste super vanilla-y. In the future, I will completely eliminate the vanilla (I tasted it before I added the vanilla and felt it tasted much better without--you get more of a buttery taste without it). If you like vanilla a lot, then ignore this advice. ;-)

Tacos

All you do is brown some ground beef (when I was vegetarian, I made them with refried beans). In a pan heat up some canola oil. Then take a white corn tortilla and put a small spoon of cooked ground beef inside. Gently set it in the oil, holding it with tongs. After the bottom has fried for about 30 seconds, set it on its side and cook for a minute or two. Flip to the other side and allow to cook for another minute or two. Then with the tongs take the taco out of the oil and set to drain on a plate that has paper towel on it. For condiments we use grated cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese (Kraft--and this is KEY to a good taco), tomato sauce (straight from the can--though I personally skip this one), avocados, cilantro, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, & green onions.

Mini Calzone/Pizza Recipe

I made 45 of these little puppies yesterday and put them in the freezer. Beth & Sahara like to take them in their lunches and the rest of us like to eat them whenever (we just microwave them for about 40 seconds straight from the freezer--of course they are best straight from the oven).


Pizza Dough

2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons olive oil

In a large bowl combine 1 1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt. Add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. (I use my KitchenAid for this first part of the process and then hand knead.) Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total). Divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

Thin Pizzas: Make pizza sauce (see below). Grease two 12-inch pizza pans or cookie sheets. If desired, sprinkle sheets with cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough into a 13 inch circle (if using cookie sheets, shape into rectangle). Transfer to pans. Do not let rise! Bake in 425 degree F oven about 12 minutes or until browned. Spread pizza sauce, cheese, desired meats and/or other toppings on hot crust. Bake 10-15 minutes more or until bubbly. Serves 6.

Calzones: Prepare as for Thin Pizzas, except after the transferring to prepared pans, spoon sauce and meat on half of each circle to within 1 inch of edge. Sprinkle with vegetables and cheese. Moisten edges of dough with water. Fold dough in half over filling. Seal edge by pressing with tines of fork. Prick top. Brush top with milk. If desired, sprinkle parmesan cheese. Back in a 375 degrees F oven for 30-35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Serves 6.

Mini Calzones: I take a small ball of dough (a little bigger than a golf ball) and roll it in my hands. then I flatten it on a lightly floured surface and roll thin with rolling pin. Spoon a little sauce in the middle and spread around with back of spoon. Add a few pepperoni slices or a small spoon of sausage on top of sauce. Add tiny bit of cheese. Moisten edges. Fold over and crimp edges with fork tines. Do NOT brush with milk and prick top (as you would with a regular calzone). Place on a baking sheet (sprayed with Pam). Bake in 425 degree F oven for about 15-18 minutes. Let cool before freezing.



Pizza Sauce

I made myself measure everything this last time I made pizza sauce to get an idea of what I use. I rarely measure. Adjust to your own tastes.

2 14 oz. cans tomato sauce
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons basil (or more--this is what makes a great sauce in my opinion)

Mix all ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minute (or 20 min). Use on pizza or calzones, or as a marinara dip.

(I use the same thing for my spaghetti sauce. However I do NOT add sugar, and I add a couple bay leaves. You can add whatever cooked meat you'd like to the sauce and let simmer for a half hour or so.)