TACO SEASONING

Make your own taco seasoning!! It is simple, quick, cheap and useful for almost anything. I use it on steak fajitas, tacos, Spanish rice, chicken and much more. It is so much more convenient (and tasty) than the commercial packets.

BACON WRAPPED SHRIMP

Your guests will never guess how simple these shrimp are to make and YOU will be amazed how quickly they disappear; they are an absolutely delicious hors d’oeuvre.

(1) 16 ounce bag of frozen 16-20 count RAW shrimp (see note)
1 pound of smoked bacon (not the thick kind)
1 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce

In our Fred Meyer store, these shrimp are sold frozen (near the meat case). The one pound package says they are 16-20 count “Wild Caught” with shell on and heads off. Let them thaw in your fridge overnight. The next day, remove the shell (leave tails on). With a small sharp knife, make a shallow cut down the back of the shrimp and rinse out any “vein” you see there. Drain the shrimp on a paper towel and sit in fridge for a few minutes while you prepare the bacon.

If you use the 16-20 count shrimp (16 to 20 shrimp per pound), it will take a whole slice of bacon per shrimp. Make sure you use regular cut bacon (not thick sliced). Partially cook it, to remove some of the fat, but don’t let it get crispy (drain on paper towels). It should look like this:

Wrap the partially cooked bacon around the raw shrimp. Starting at the wide end of the shrimp, attach the bacon to the shrimp with a toothpick. Wind the bacon around (in a single thickness) and all the way down to the tail and secure it with another toothpick like this:
Baste the shrimp on both sides with your favorite barbeque sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.

Line a large baking sheet with foil (to help with cleanup) and put a baking rack on the foil (spray the rack with cooking spray). Place the shrimp on the rack and bake in a PREHEATED 450° oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, TURN OFF THE OVEN (do not open the door) and let the shrimp sit in the hot oven for another five minutes. Remove the toothpicks and enjoy!

HUNGARIAN GOULASH + HOMEMADE PASTA

This is MY kind of comfort food…slow simmered beef until it is fork tender, in a rich, full-bodied gravy and served over homemade noodles; it does not get much better than that. If you make this on the stovetop, it is done in about 2½ hours, at most. If you cook it in the crockpot, it takes about 8 hours on low.

2 pounds of chuck roast
1 medium onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ½ cups beef broth (not bullion)
¾ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika (not the hot kind)
½ teaspoon dry mustard
healthy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Trim all of the white fat parts from a 2 pound chuck roast and cut it into one inch cubes. Brown the meat, onion and garlic in the olive oil. Drain any excess fat.

Add the rest of the ingredients and heat to boiling. Stir well and reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. Cover and simmer until fork tender (about 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on how tough the meat is). While this is simmering, make the noodles.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Do your chocolate chip cookies always turn out THIN? There is a simple “fix” for this problem. All you have to do, is to replace the butter in your chocolate chip cookie recipe with butter flavored Crisco. You will get a light, flavorful cookie that will not look like a flat pancake (and it will taste like you used butter). This “trick” works well with peanut butter cookies too.

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

'Tis the season for Christmas cookies, and this is one of our favorites. Simple ingredients, simple instructions; you can make them as festive (or simple) as you want and they are still "melt in your mouth" delicious. Try these classic shortbread cookies for the holidays.

 

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

 

1 cup room temperature butter (no substitutions)

1/2  cup brown sugar (packed tight into measuring cup)

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

 

In a large stand mixer (using paddle beater), beat the butter, vanilla and brown sugar (on high) for five minutes (scrape down the bowl sides half way through).

 

After 5 minutes, add the flour (one cup at a time) and beat until very well mixed and the cookie dough comes away from the sides of

the bowl.

 

Roll the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least a couple hours (I like to chill overnight).

 

When you are ready to bake these cookies, roll the log in sprinkles or finely chopped nuts, pressing them in with your hands just a little.

 

Using a thin bladed knife, slice the cookie log into 1/4" slices and place on an UNGREASED cookie sheet.  Bake in a pre-heated 325° oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges of the cookies JUST START to change color. My electric oven takes 23 minutes.

 

Remove from cookie sheet and cool on bakers rack.  These cookies do NOT spread out when you bake them, so you can really place them close together on the baking sheet.

 

 

SPRINKLES?

 

NO SPRINKLES?

 

Just make sure you have a

tall glass of milk!!

 

 





KETCHUP

In your busy, hectic and over-accounted-for day; making homemade ketchup is probably not a big priority ...........I get that. But if you find yourself with a little extra time, this ketchup is WELL WORTH the minimal effort it takes to whip it up. It is not only inexpensive to make (uses every day pantry staples), but it is sweetened with honey, so it is REALLY-REALLY tasty!!

6 ounce can of tomato paste
1/4  cup honey
1/2  cup white vinegar
1/4  cup water
3/4  teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon onion powder
1/8  teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)

Whisk everything together until smooth and then bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer slowly for 20 minutes (whisking every five minutes or so).

Cool and store covered in refrigerator. This recipe makes just over a cup of ketchup, but you could easily double or triple the recipe with no other adjustments.

NOTE: In my humble opinion, this ketchup is just perfect, but if you like your ketchup with a little "heat" to it, just add some cayenne before cooking.

CLASSIC BANANA CREAM PIE

Every family holiday dinner, I make way too many desserts. There is usually a cheesecake, a cream/pudding type pie, a fruit pie, cookies and something "experimental". That just means it is a recipe that I really want to make but I know picky-picky husband wouldn't touch it, so I need my family to "step in" and try it. 

As fun as it is to try new recipes, the old classics are always a hit; this banana cream pie is a tried and true family classic; it is the "real deal". It has a baked graham cracker crust, cooked vanilla custard, bananas and the most delicious whipped cream topping I've ever tasted (it has cream cheese in it)

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1½ cups finely crushed graham crackers
¼ cup white sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
Mix everything well and pat into a 10" pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

PIE FILLING
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 and 1/3 cups water
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (see note)
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas (cubed)

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the cornstarch in the water; stir in the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Cook until thickened and bubbly remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly. Cube the bananas and fold into the slightly cooled pudding. Pour into cooled crust and lay some plastic wrap on the surface of the filling so that it doesn't form a skin. Chill in the fridge for about 3 hours. Frost with whipped cream topping.

WHIPPED CREAM (Stabelized)
I hope you do not skip this step because it really is delicious and "makes" the pie. This is my new "go to" whipped cream recipe.

(1) 8 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

With your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extracts in a large bowl until smooth (scrape sides to make sure you don't have any cream cheese sticking to the interior of the bowl). While the beaters are still running, slowly add the whipping cream (stop a couple times and scrape the bowl). Beat until you get stiff peaks. This makes enough topping to cover a 10" pie generously.

NOTE: Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk in the pie filling (and not evaporated milk).

CHICKEN SOUP FOR A SICK HOUSE

I haven't posted much lately because picky-picky husband and I have had the flu. Not just your every day "better in a week flu", but the old fashioned "don't even get out of your jammies)"flu that has plagued us with lethargy and coughs for almost a month.

Our meals have been simple and mostly from the crock pot (or frozen food entree aisle) but then we haven't had much of an appetite either. Now that we are feeling a little better, I am venturing back into the kitchen.

This chicken soup has been a life saver for us during this time. I just keep it going in the slow cooker, adding a little more broth and veggies when necessary. It is a super simple recipe and if your family is coping with this ugly flu, like we are, I hope you will give this magic "elixer" a try.

6 large boneless-skinless chicken thighs (dark meat has the best flavor)
1 cup chopped onion (I like to use sweet onions)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
2 quarts of good chicken stock (I use the boxed kind)
1 tablespoon chicken bullion granules
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of poultry seasoning
2 cups favorite veggies (I use frozen mixed veggies)
spaghetti or fettuccine noodles (they hold up better than other noodles)

Cube and brown the chicken thighs in a tablespoon of oil until you get brown crusty spots on the chicken. Remove from pan and put it into the crock pot. In the same pan, saute the onion, celery and carrot until they get a little soft. Use a spatula and use the moisture in the veggies to de-glaze any crusty bits left in the bottom of the pan. Add this mixture into the crock pot ; those crusty brown bits in the pan are PACKED with chicken flavor.

Add the broth, 2 cups favorite veggies, bullion granules and salt and pepper. Stir and cook on high for about 6 hours, stirring once in a while. Half an hour before you serve this soup, break the noodles into 4" pieces and put into hot broth and stir. The noodles should be ready to eat in about 30 minutes.

NOTE: I have tried many different kinds of noodles in this soup. Spaghetti seems to hold up the best without turning to mush if you are cooking the soup for a long time or overnight. I also use rice instead of noodles, however, DO NOT put the rice into the soup because after a short while, it will deteriorate and make your soup a mushy mess. Instead, make the rice SEPARATELY and put a big spoon of it in your soup bowl and ladle the soup OVER the rice. It only took me about 10 years to figure this trick out.

NOTE: Any cut of chicken will work in the soup, however, the dark meat gives the most flavor and after 6 hours, it will still be very moist and "fall apart" tender.


NOTE: Any kind of veggies can be used for the "favorite veggies" part. Just make sure you use veggies that will stand up to long cooking. I usually use a frozen veggie mixture that has peas, corn, green beans and carrots, but anything will work (just don't used canned veggies).

NOTE: Homemade chicken broth is best, but I never seem to have any when I want to make this soup, so I use a good quality BOXED chicken broth (just don't use bullion and water to make broth because it will be too salty).

GREAT PIE CRUST

A We have all made (and eaten) pie crusts that are flavorless, flat tasting, sort of soggy and, little more than something "necessary" to hold the fruit filling, ha ha!! Well, that does NOT describe today's classic pie crust.

This pie crust is absolutely delicious. It makes three single crust pie shells and bakes up very flaky, very flavorful and very tender. Picky-picky husband RAVED about this pie crust (and he is NOT a rave kind of guy, if you know what I mean).

This dough is extremely easy to work with and because there is a little sugar in it, it bakes to a beautiful deep golden color. You will NOT be disappointed with this pie crust recipe!!

Click on this photo to get a better look at the pie crust.

4 cups all purpose flour
1¾ cups butter flavored Crisco
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
½ cup cold water

Mix the flour, sugar and salt, then cut the butter flavored Crisco into it with a pastry cutter (or two forks) until the mixture is crumbly.

Whisk the egg into the cold water, then pour it into the dry mixture. Mix till everything is moistened but do not overwork it.  Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes before you roll it out.

The recipe calls for chilling the dough for 30 minutes, but I don't find that is necessary.  Roll out the dough and use it in your favorite pie recipe.

NOTE: I always brush my top crust with a mixture of 1 egg white whisked with a tablespoon of cold water. Whisk it thoroughly, then brush your top crust with just a little bit of it, then sprinkle with granulated sugar before you bake it.

CLASSIC SPLIT PEA SOUP

We have lots of snow and it was five below zero a couple nights ago. That can only mean one thing; it is hot soup season!! I love having a pot of soup on the stove (or in the slow cooker) all weekend.  This is a great classic recipe for split pea soup; it is  quick, easy, packed with flavor and one of our favorite soups.

¾ pound smoked ham, cubed
1 cup onion chopped (I like Vidalia or sweet onions)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1 pound dried split peas (rinsed)
2 quarts chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons salt (see important note below)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cream (or half and half)

In a large stock pot, saute onion, celery and carrots together in a tablespoon of vegetable (or canola) oil for a few minutes (they don't have to be cooked all the way through).

Add the split peas, chicken stock, potatoes, ham, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly (covered) for about an hour or until the peas are very soft (stir occasionally).

Now you have to process the soup in a food processor or blender (stick blenders don't work very well for this), so work in small batches, processing the soup until very smooth and thick.

Return the soup to the stock pot and add the cream (or half and half). Stir well and reheat , but don't boil.  When you serve it, top it with some crisp fried bacon (optional). I like to decorate each bowl with a rolled up slice of bacon (looks like a "bacon rose" lol).
NOTE: Don't automatically add the 2 teaspoons of salt before you consider the following.  If you are using home made chicken stock that has not been salted, go ahead and use the 2 teaspoons of salt.

If you are using a soup base, like McCormicks soup base (a fantastic product), well it has salt in it (but not as much salt as bullion).

If you use this, I would use only ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt.  If you are using regular bullion, leave the salt out all together and taste the soup just before serving to check for salt content.

CLASSIC APPLESAUCE CUPCAKES

I have been making these cupcakes for my kids since they were little. They all have teenagers of their own now, so, lets just say the recipe has been in our family a while. It is a simple, one bowl recipe, that produces a moist and flavorful cupcake in short order.

NOTE: Baking times for using this recipe in a 9" x 13" pan, a 9" square pan, or (2) 8" or 9" layers and cupcakes are at the bottom of this post.

2½ cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
1½ cups applesauce
½ cup water (I use apple juice)
½ cup shortening (I use butter flavored)
2 eggs
1 cup raisins (I use golden)
½ cup chopped walnuts

Beat all ingredients (except raisins and nuts) in a large bowl with an electric mixer (on low) for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Then beat on high for 3 minutes. Stir in raisins and nuts and pour into greased and floured pans. It is just that quick and easy!!

NOTE: If you want to make half of this recipe (my mother used to call them "snack cakes"), just cut the recipe in half and bake it in a 9" square pan.

BAKING TIMES
9" x 13" pan = bake for 60 to 65 minutes
(2) 8" or 9" layers  = bake for 50 to 55 minutes
9" x 9" snack cake = 50 to 55 minutes
cupcakes = 20 minutes  (makes 3 dozen)

A toothpick, inserted in baked cake should come out clean when the cakes are done.

CLASSIC JELLY ROLL CAKE

This is an old classic recipe. I see variations of it online (with a whipped cream filling) however, this recipe holds true to its name JELLY roll, and was filled with jam. It is definitely a crowd pleaser. This one is made with my raspberry preserves and it is one of Picky Picky Hubbies favorites.

3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon butter extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup of water (see note)
1 cup of CAKE FLOUR (see note)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup jelly or jam
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 10” x 15” jelly roll pan with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper with cooking spray, set aside.

Lay out a clean kitchen towel, preferably one with little or no texture type surface (especially not terry cloth). Dust a generous layer of powdered sugar onto the surface of the towel (the same dimensions as the pan or even a couple inches bigger).

Beat the eggs, on high speed, until very thick and lemon colored (5 minutes). Gradually add sugar while the mixer is running. Put butter extract into a 1/3 measuring cup and then fill the rest of the measuring cup with water (water + butter extract should = 1/3 cup). Add vanilla and water/butter extracts to batter and mix well. Add flour, baking powder and salt to the egg mixture and beat just until batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Slide a knife around the cake edges to loosen it from the pan. While cake is still hot, turn it out onto the powder sugared kitchen towel. Immediately roll up the cake (ALONG WITH THE KITCHEN TOWEL) starting with the narrow end, like this
Set the kitchen towel wrapped cake on a baking rack to cool for 45 minutes. When it has cooled for 45 minutes, unroll the cake/towel (gently peeling the towel away from the cake as you unroll). The surface now facing you will have no powdered sugar on it. Stir the preserves well, to get them all loosened up, then spread it on the cake. Gently roll the cake back up (with NO towel this time). Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and let it cool completely. When cooled, take plastic off and top with glaze.


JELLY ROLL CAKE GLAZE

1/3 cup of butter melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons of milk

Whisk everything together. If it seems too thick, add another tablespoon of milk. If it seems to thin, add a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar. Spoon glaze onto jelly roll and let it drip down sides.
NOTE: Any kind of kitchen towel will work, but the more textured it is, the more the cake will want to stick to it. If you only have textured kitchen towels (like me) just be careful and pull the towel off of your cake slowly and it will come away fine.

NOTE: The cake will continue to get more and more moist (the moisture from the jam works its way through the cake). So the jelly roll will be at its prime after it has been covered a few hours.

Some cooks feel intimidated by jelly roll cakes, but this recipe is nearly a foolproof. The main trick to rolling cake is that it has to be a special sponge type cake to work (don't just try ANY old cake recipe).

Here are a couple more tips:
Remove the HOT cake from the pan and trim any dry edges (that will keep it from cracking when you roll it).

Roll the cake AND THE TOWEL up immediately, don't let it cool down. Let it sit for a full 45 minutes then unroll and spread jam and roll back up immediately. Lay it on plastic wrap and wrap tightly. This will help also help the cake from mis-shaping while it cools (although I've never had a problem with that).

The biggest trick is to get the cake right in the first place. Whip those eggs a full five minutes. The pan size is another thing. For this recipe it HAS to be a 10x15. A thinner cake rolls easier than a thicker cake.
 

If you don't have butter extract...just add an extra teaspoon of vanilla OR a teaspoon of rum extract.

CLASSIC BREAD PUDDING

"Classic" recipes are classic for a reason; they are great old recipes. Bread pudding is one of those classic recipes that most people have a fond childhood memory of. It doesn't take any special ingredients, it is inexpensive and easy to make. It is total comfort food, so it works well for any family gathering or holiday.

10 slices of white bread cubed (see note)
¼ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
½ cup raisins (soaked)
6 eggs lightly beaten
¾ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups hot milk
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Preheat oven to 375 and spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray. Put your raisins in a small dish and cover them with boiling water and ½ teaspoon of rum extract (if you don't have rum extract, just leave it out, but its very good).
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Cube the bread (you can leave the crusts on or take them off, whichever you prefer). Place the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish and set aside.
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Heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt until the butter melts (I use microwave), add vanilla & spices and whisk in the beaten eggs (whisk while adding the eggs).
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Drain the raisins (throw away the liquid) and sprinkle them over the bread cubes. Pour the egg -milk mixture over the bread cubes. Let this sit for 15 minutes (important).
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Before baking, sprinkle the surface with a little cinnamon sugar (or just sugar) and bake 30-40 minutes (my oven takes 35 minutes). Bread pudding is done when knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm (not hot) with whipped cream or ice cream.

NOTE: This recipe works better with bread that isn't super fresh/soft. Specialty breads like brioche or egg bread work well.

NOTE: When making this for company, I use raisin bread, and I let it sit out in the air for a couple of hours to remove some of the breads moisture. I don't add other raisins.

NOTE: I hope you will all go over to Sweet as Sugar Cookies and take a look. Lisa, is hosting the neatest "Sweets for a Saturday" post. Tons of sweet goods to inspire you!!!

OLD FASHIONED APPLE CRISP

I've been tweaking this apple crisp recipe for most of my married life. I've tried a variety of spices, crusts, topping ingredients, apple types, nuts/no nuts, oats/no oats, baking times, etc. After many years of trial and error, we are happy with this final version. The apples are cut smaller than for a pie (see note) and the topping bakes into a sweet, crispy, nutty perfection.

I like to make this in a 2 piece 10" tart pan because it is very easy to serve and makes a pretty presentation, but any 9" or 10" pie plate would work well also.

(1) 9" or 10" single pie crust, placed into a tart pan (or pie plate) and chilled until the apples are ready.

6 Granny Smith apples (see note)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar packed
¼ cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

TOPPING
2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
2/3 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped walnuts

Peel and core the apples and slice them very thinly. Blanche the apples in boiling water for one to two minutes (depending on how thin you cut them). Don't cook the apples all the way through, they should still be slightly crunchy.

Drain very well and add the sugars, flour and spices (stir to coat evenly).

Make the topping: mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cut in the cold butter until it is crumbly, stir in nuts. Place apple mixture into chilled crust and spread with topping mixture.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 40-45 minutes or until the filling looks bubbly. Cool before serving (see note).

NOTE: I like to serve this before it has completely cooled. When it has cooled down enough so that I can hold my hand (without burning it) on the bottom of the pie pan, it is time to eat it. I serve it with vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: I cut the peeled and cored apples into quarters and then cut the quarters in half before I start slicing them. This gives me smaller slices that work well with this crisp recipe.

NOTE: I encourage you to use freshly grated nutmeg if possible, it makes a WORLD of difference (so mellow compared to pre-ground nutmeg).

NOTE: Place your unbaked apple crisp on a cookie sheet before putting it into the oven. The heat from the cookie sheet will help brown the bottom of the pie crust. It will also help with any potential spill-overs.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

CRANBERRY SAUCE

I have been trying out various side dishes and condiments with Thanksgiving in mind. Lately, I've been trying out cranberry sauce recipes. If you follow my blog, you know my dear sweet Hubby is a "purist" when it comes to a lot of all foods. Actually, that just means he is very picky eater and doesn't like a lot of "extras" in what he eats. This simple cranberry sauce really fills that bill; he loves it and has asked me to stock up on cranberries for the freezer, with this recipe in mind.

Three Simple Ingredients:
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pineapple juice (or orange juice)

Wash and sort the berries,  throwing away any light pink or mushy berries.

Put all ingredients into a heavy bottomed (non-aluminum) sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to a medium simmer and cook the berries (stirring berries about once a minute). When they first start to boil, the berries will actually pop (you will hear it), so cover the popping berries with a splatter screen to reduce any mess.

After the popping noise stops, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the cranberries for about 10 minutes.

If you like whole berries in your cranberry sauce, just pour everything into a bowl and chill for a few hours.

For  Picky-picky Hubby, I press the sauce through a strainer to remove the berry skins and seeds. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

 
UPDATE: Since I posted this, I've discovered that using half white sugar and half brown sugar is a fantastic addition.

CLASSIC PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

I have been making this classic cookie for so long (and so often) that I no longer need a recipe. It has been my "go to" cookie for decades. It is sweet, crispy (but not hard) and light as air. A great cookie for the lunch box, bake sale or to send off to your college freshman.

In a stand mixer, cream together:

½ cup butter flavor Crisco (no exceptions)
½ cup extra crunch peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon good vanilla
½ cup dark brown sugar packed
½ cup white sugar
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When this has been creamed thoroughly, beat in 1 & ¼ cups white flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon baking soda. Beat well.

Roll dough into 1" balls and roll them in white table sugar. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2" apart. Flatten with fork tines in a criss cross pattern. Bake in pre-heated 375 oven for 10-12 minutes (11 minutes is perfect in my oven).
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NOTE: I've made this recipe using butter instead of the butter flavored Crisco and it produces an entirely different texture. It is no longer a "light as air" cookie and it gets very flat and thin. I hope you will try it with the butter flavored Crisco.
NOTE: If you do not have parchment paper, bake them on an UNgreased cookie sheet.

FLUFFY WHITE FROSTING

This is a fantastic frosting recipe, for many reasons. First of all, it is delicious. After that, it is super easy, super quick, it takes no special ingredients, it is pretty to look at and it is very versatile. It is a classic.

 In a large  GLASS OR METAL bowl, put two egg whites, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract...set aside.
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In a saucepan, mix 1 cup of granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, dash of salt and 1/3 cup of water. Cook and stir until it just comes to a boil and sugar dissolves.
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Start beating your egg whites and extracts on HIGH while you slowly drizzle in the hot syrup. Keep beating on high until stiff peaks form like this:

With a hand held electric mixer, this can take up to 7 minutes, but with my stand mixer it only takes about 4 minutes. Recipe makes enough to frost a 9" two layer cake or a 10" tube cake.

NOTE: To get these lovely big swirls, use a Wilton tip # 1M...it is a huge tip and will duplicate these swirls with total ease...I promise.
Very light, this frosting is a dream to work with.

NOTE: The bowl AND beaters that you use, for this frosting, can have NO TRACE of grease or oil on them (or the frosting will not whip properly...right out of the dishwasher is perfect). A big stand mixer, like a Kitchen Aid, works the best, but this can be done quite successfully with a hand held electric mixer too (it just takes longer).

NOTE: While this frosting holds up well in all kinds of weather, it WILL form sort of a skin over the soft fluffy frosting if left in dry air for several hours. To prevent this, just cover it if you are not going to eat it the same day.

SHORTBREAD MELTAWAY COOKIES

My Hubby has started a new hobby...wood turning and I couldn't be happier. I am quickly accumulating beauties like the piece below which is made out of birch (he harvests wind-fallen birch and spruce trees from the forest behind the house). He used to teach college level hand thrown pottery, so I'm guessing some of those skills have carried over to his new wood turning attempts. In any case, I am very happy with the results.

Today's Shortbread Meltaway Cookies are quick, easy and they literally do, melt in your mouth.
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1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoons vanilla
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Cream the butter, in a stand mixer, until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until the dough is well mixed and comes away from the sides of the bowl.
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Roll dough into one inch balls and roll them in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and lightly press down with a fork. Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the outside edges of the cookie start to turn golden. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

BEEF POT ROAST (OVEN BRAISED)

I will be posting some old classic recipes, from time to time, for the younger cooks that visit my recipe blog. These recipes are classics for a reason (they are really good) and todays post is a real winner.
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Not only is this an easy family style meal, but it creates some of the best leftovers. Start by browning large chunks of chuck roast, then slow roasting them (in beef broth) in a low temperature oven, the end result is super moist, super tender and super beefy.



4 pound beef chuck roast (about 2" thick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14 ounce) beef broth
potatoes
carrots
salt and pepper

Don't let the simplicity of the ingredients fool you, this is more about the cooking method than the ingredients. The final flavor is huge and it comes from browning the beef well before you put it into the oven (at least 4 minutes per side). Cut up the chuck roast into large pieces by removing any large white (fat) pieces that run through the meat. Some of you have commented that meat grosses you out. I hope you are courageous enough to try this cooking method, because your family will love you for it. After you cut the large pieces, salt and pepper them, generously, on all sides and brown them in a hot (preferably not a Teflon pan (see note). After the meat has nice crusty brown edges, remove it from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, saute a medium (diced) onion (about a cup). If you used a non-Teflon pan, there should (hopefully) be bits of browned beef stuck to the bottom of the pan. The moisture of the onions, will help de-glaze these little crusty treasures (where a lot of the flavor comes from). Keep cooking the onions until they turn soft. They should look like this (brown from the meat).
When the onions are soft, add the beef broth and stir to loosen everything in the pan.
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Place the meat in a large roasting pan and arrange potatoes and carrots around the meet. Pour the onion-broth mixture over everything (make sure everything gets coated) like this:

Seal the pan tightly with foil and put into a pre-heated 300F oven for three hours. The meat will be extremely tender and moist and there will be enough broth to make a gravy (or we like the broth just spooned over the meat and potatoes); just make sure you have lots of crusty bread to dip in the broth.
NOTE: If you use a teflon pan, your meat will not leave those wonderful browned bits in the bottom of the pan, thats why I like to use a non-teflon pan to brown.
.NOTE: Leftovers make delicious cold sandwiches, beef & cheese burritos, barbecue beef sandwiches, etc.

NOTE: This recipe can be done in the crock pot, but it is just never quite as moist as it is when cooked in a 300F oven for 3 hours.

NOTE: We are purists when it comes to beef pot roast. I've tried adding herbs and other flavorings, but Hubby likes this simple recipe the best. If you want to liven up the taste with herbs, garlic, etc, go for it.

CLASSIC CHICKEN-RICE BAKE

I think all cooks have their own version of this baked chicken and rice recipe. Some people use cream soups, some use broth, but they all call for baking chicken and rice together in the oven. This is our version (my favorite part is the rice). I usually put in tons more chicken than the recipe calls for, because it is a "freebie" way of making sandwich fixings (not to mention, chicken cooked this way has a wonderful flavor).
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4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons chicken bullion granules
1 cup raw long grain white rice
½ teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoon poultry seasoning (see note)
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
16 ounce bag frozen peas and carrots
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Brown the chicken breasts in a couple tablespoons of butter then set them aside. In the same pan that you browned the chicken in, saute the onion and celery until tender, then stir in the raw rice (you stir in the rice so that it will get coated with butter and not stick together while baking). Once the rice has sauteed for a minute or so, add the soup, stock, chicken bullion and spices. Whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and stir to distribute the rice evenly. Set the browned chicken on top of the rice (push it down into the liquid a little) and top the whole casserole with frozen peas and carrots. Cover tightly and bake at 325F for 1½ hours (if the chicken breasts are large).
 

NOTE: I don't buy poultry seasoning because I use it so seldom and it goes to waste. Instead, I use equal parts of dry rosemary, rubbed sage leaf and thyme leaves and a pinch of marjoram. I grind these together then measure ¾ teaspoon.